48 Hours a Day

“Yes, yes! Of course. Such a cool thing needs to have the most advanced technology. In fact, it can even be controlled remotely by Bluetooth.” “Wow! Although I don’t know why Bluetooth technology would be used on a popcorn machine, it’s still cool anyway!” “Isn’t Qianqian coming with us? Are you going to stay here and wait for the popcorn to come out? Err... is it okay? Is it safe?”

“Let me take a look at the instructions given to me by the scientist...” a voice said.

The lens then pointed toward the person behind it.

“That’s me. I mean, me three years ago,” Baldy said. “I was pretty handsome back then.”

“I found it... the instructions say, please do not enter the heating chamber when the machine is in operation,” Baldy was saying.

“That means the other places are okay?”

“Yes, I’m just following the instructions. The scientist can’t be wrong.”

“Cool! Then the little birthday star can stay here. The rest of us will go to the control room.”

The camera started re-recording the shy little girl, before panning to another angle. Evil Scientist knew the moment was coming, and he had his eyes glued to the screen, afraid that he would miss something important.

However, the next moment, Baldy clicked the space button and paused the video. He then gazed into Evil Scientist’s eyes and said, “Are you sure you want to continue watching? I’m not sure if I should show you this video.”

“Of course, I need to know the truth,” Evil Scientist firmly replied.

“But, you know, the truth doesn’t always make people feel good,” Baldy sighed.

“I understand... but even so, it’s still the truth,” insisted Evil Scientist.

“Okay.” Baldy pressed the spacebar again and let the video continue.

This time the camera was shooting a convenience store, where everyone bought beer and braised peanuts. Some were craving for milk tea, and later, everyone went to a different street and got themselves milk tea and egg waffles. At the same time, Ocean King forgot to turn off the DVR, and the camera was recording his feet...

Ten minutes later, Fan Meinan could not help but blurt, “The two of you, no matter what you want to do, you best hurry up, because the situation above your head doesn’t look too good.”

High above in the sky, the menacing claws of a dragon-like creature pierced out of the cyclone, exuding a terrifying aura.

“Give me two more minutes. I will be done in two minutes... We are about to reach the most important part,” Baldy pressed on.

“Well, I don’t have a problem with that but the city might not wait for you to be done with the video.” Fan Meinan chewed on the gum Zhang Heng handed her. The two now knew the zombie battle downstairs was the final battle of this quest.

As for Evil Scientist, no one could defeat him at this stage. The outcome of the game here had nothing to do with the player. Fan Meinan and Zhang Heng stood there as they watched the drama unfold before them.

“Well, let’s speed up the video a little bit.”

In the control room, Baldy rubbed his hands and opened the instruction manual. “Next, just follow the instructions above, and you will be able to make the most delicious popcorn in the universe. What’s the flavor Qianqian requested again?” “Uhh... I don’t remember. I think it’s grape and apple?”

“I think it’s banana and durian.”

“No, it’s lychee and milk.”

“Everyone,” Baldy said solemnly, “The scientist has always been helping and guiding us. He has done a lot for us. Now, we shall do him a rare favor, and that is to celebrate his daughter’s birthday when he is away. We need to make sure that it’s perfect. So... please think about what kind of popcorn Qianqian would want to eat.”

Half a minute later, Candy Baby suddenly chipped in, “Chocolate.” “Eh?”

“Pure chocolate, no sugar, the taste of cocoa exploding on your tastebuds, its bitterness, and mellowness, just like first love.”

“That’s right. It’s chocolate. I remember it too. She is absolutely right!”

“Now that you’ve mentioned it, I seem to remember it...”

“Okay, I get it. Let’s do it. Phantom Ninja, can you operate the machine?” Baldy shrugged and turned to the page with the chocolate recipe. “Let me see... turn on the power button and preheat the machine for ten seconds... enter the code, coco... ...”

Evil Scientist opened his eyes wide, carefully scouring the video to see if Phantom Ninja had done anything wrong. However, no matter how hard he looked at it, he could find no problem with the operation.

“Finally, press the enter button. Why is there an enter button here?” Baldy picked up the manual and looked at it thoroughly.

“I don’t know, just press it. The scientist doesn’t make mistakes.”

“Yeah, you’re right.” Phantom Ninja’s finger dropped and hit the enter key.

After that, the control room remained quiet for half a second, before the place suddenly erupted in cheers and applause. Someone opened a can of beer and sprayed it all around the place. Some even spilled milk tea on the DVR’s lens.

“We did it. We did it!!! I can’t believe that that we actually did it.”

“Yes. Just like what the scientist said, as long as we stick together, there will be no difficulties that we can’t overcome.” “It’s true. I feel we are one big family.”

While everyone was celebrating, a loud explosion suddenly erupted in the background.

“What’s that? The sound of popcorn popping out of the pot?”

“I don’t know. I can’t find it in the manual...”

“Should we check it? I feel having eating popcorn now.”

“Uhh... urm... but the manual says that we shouldn’t simply move around at this time.”

“What should we do now? Should we head out?”

“No, no, we should just listen to the scientist. He is always right.”

“Also, the scientist is the best! Let’s just follow what he says.”

As the video progressed, Evil Scientist started sobbing. Baldy built a roll of toilet paper, tore off a sheet, and passed it over to him silently. At the same time, he moved his shoulder to the opposite side as well. Finally, Evil Scientist could no longer control his tears and started crying bitterly on Baldy’s shoulder. Despite how terrifying a person Evil Scientist was, he was now no different than a lost child who had misbehaved and didn’t know what to do right now.

“It’s okay, it’s okay,” Baldy patted him on the back, “Just cry it all out. Don’t hold it all in your heart...”

“It’s me... It’s all my fault... I don’t have a family anymore,” Evil Scientist buried his face deep into Baldy’s shoulders. His voice was blown away by the wind blowing at 488 meters above ground, carrying with it the tune of a heartbroken man.

“I don’t think so,” Baldy softly said as he hugged Evil Scientist. “You haven’t lost all your family members. You see, I’m still here. We are all here. Every day... we are always waiting for you to come back to us. As you said, idiots like us are the garbage of society, and nobody pays attention to us. Without your leadership and guidance, we can never do anything well. We wouldn’t be who we are today if it wasn’t because of you. So... please, don’t give up on us.”