48 Hours a Day

While those half-man-half-fish and frog monsters looked at Zhang Heng in bewilderment, Zhang Heng’s soared into the air. A massive pair of black wings spread out behind him. And at the same time, feather-like fine fragments of shadows were falling from the sky.

This was Zhang Heng’s first experience flying in the air.

Of course, flying on a plane didn’t count. This time, he was flying without the help of an external source. Differing from the birds that flew in the sky, he could feel the presence of the wings in his consciousness, but they were not controlled by his muscles. As of now, Zhang Heng was still discovering how to use his wings right.

Zhang Heng looked a little clumsy as he tried to learn the reins of flight. Since it was his first time using such an ability, he did not dare to rise up too high, merely hovering high enough so the monsters could not reach him by jumping. After that, he flew out of the encirclement.

Under the moonlight, a black shadow floated over the wasteland. Zhang Heng could see that all those monsters lifting their heads, staring at him from the ground. They had been preparing for this battle for a long time, and everything that they did was like a carefully rehearsed stage play. However, none of them foresaw that Zhang Heng would grow a pair of wings and fly away.

Twelve seconds was a short time.

Zhang Heng silently counted the seconds in his heart. He managed to lower his altitude one second before his wings disappeared. Due to his inexperience in flying, he couldn’t estimate the right speed and strength needed for landing. His arm landed first, and he rolled on the ground a few times before coming to a stop.

He didn’t even care about checking his injuries. After he got up from the ground, he continued to run forward. Although he had managed to avoid many enemies by flying, there were still many scattered nearby.

Since he could not use his wings, for now, Zhang Heng was not entirely confident that he would be able to run away. After all, the residents who had lived here for decades or longer knew these grounds much better than him.

Suddenly, he heard someone uttering a series of rapid syllables. The noise came was coming from the priest with the gold crown.

Zhang Heng wasn’t sure if this priest was the one that survived the shootout earlier. Although there were more monsters than priests, he was certain there were more than just three priests. After a while, more and more monsters started to repeat the series of strange syllables and, at the same time, stopped advancing as well. It was as if they had just received an order from their commander.

Although unaffected by the chants, he still looked back as he ran. For the time being, he did not see them coming after him. It seemed they were just going to stand there and watch him leave.

After running for a while, Zhang Heng gradually slowed his pace.

Right now, another sound permeated his ears.

If the voices of those monsters made him feel uncomfortable, then these low-frequency hums filled with malicious intent would probably turn a sound-minded person utterly crazy. It was comparable to the sound that came from the deepest parts of hell.

Since Zhang Heng was gradually losing his emotion, he showed little reaction to the sounds. He guessed that the sounds roughly originated from the black reef.

It was a shame that the wave breaker blocked the person, and he couldn’t see what was beyond it. All of a sudden, a cloud of white smoke reappeared beside Zhang Heng. Judging by its taste, it was the cigar that the bartender gave him.

Zhang Heng knew that it was time to leave. Before he left, he took one last look at the low and dilapidated buildings and ruins in the distant town, and half of the tower spire bathed in moonlight. He then allowed the white smoke to engulf him.

…

“You stayed longer than I expected.” The bartender lady glanced at the clock hanging on the lounge’s wall and asked Zhang Heng, who had just opened his eyes, “How did the test go?”

“I don’t know if it went well.” Seemingly remembering something, he went silent before asking, “How much time has passed?”

The bartender lady wasn’t too bothered about Zhang Heng not wanting to talk more about the test. She was never a person who liked to explore the secrets of others and had done an excellent job as a game checkpoint staff. That said, she was quite obsessed with the game herself.

“You were in there for about half a minute. Since you are awake, come and settle the bill first.”

“How much?” Zhang Heng was not too surprised by her answer. Although he had been in that weird town for almost half a day, he had become accustomed to the change of time after experiencing so many quests.

But that place wasn’t like the dungeons he had been to before. His game items, character panels, and even his watch were taken away from him. If he were to describe it, it was more like a dream.

“100 game points.”

“Why is it so expensive?” Zhang Heng frowned.

“Compared with what you have recently received, this is nothing to you.” The bartender raised her eyebrows and returned all the game items to him. Zhang Heng had stored all his game items here before he entered the game.

“But I don’t have so many points with me.” Zhang Heng said.

“Impossible. Aren’t you ranked first on the proxy war’s leaderboard?” The bartender lady was surprised.

“But there were no game points to earn in the proxy war’s dungeon.”

Zhang Heng told everything truthfully to the bartender lady. Initially, he could have gotten four hundred game points from 1807, but the latter decided to pay with his game items. And the points that he earned from the Western dungeon had practically been used to pay off his debts. Now, all he was left with were thirty game points.

“All your points have been used to recast the sword.” The bartender lady rubbed her chin. “What should I do?”

“I still have twenty-nine game points. If possible, I will pay the remainder after the next quest,” Zhang Heng said.

“If it was someone else, I won’t take the deal because I don’t know if the player can survive the next round. And even if they do, I don’t know if they can earn enough points. But given that we have done so many transactions, I might make an exception and let you pay the next time. However, this is only a one-time thing,” Miss bartender said. She seemed nicer to him this time.

However, Zhang Heng did not seem to appreciate the favor very much. His expression changed, “You used to collect game points before providing me with services.”

“You mean, I’m making you pay all your game points now?”

“That’s not the case. I mean, why did you set a different rule this time. You seem to be really eager for me to participate in this test.” Zhang Heng looked into the eyes of the bartender, his mind filled with thought.

“Are you doubting me? Why? Did anything happen during the test?”

Zhang Heng could read nothing from the bartender’s cunning eyes. In the end, he said, “Nothing, maybe it’s just a coincidence.”