48 Hours a Day

Zhang Heng used his Oath Ring to authenticate Scarlet’s words, then exchanged the upper part of the Mikazuki Munechika for Scarlet’s scabbard.

Scarlet checked the hilt she received to confirm that it was genuine before slipping it into its satchel. She then instructed Zhang Heng on how to use the scabbard. “Cut the flesh of your palm and let your blood drip onto it, about two milliliters. After three minutes, you will find yourself in the special quest.”

The transaction was complete, at this point, and eager to reforge her Mikazuki Munechika, Scarlet didn’t linger around the checkpoint, leaving hastily after a handshake with Zhang Heng.

Both enemies in the Whistleblower quest, Scarlet attacked Zhang Heng on the Dodge Tomahawk, and Zhang Heng almost killed Scarlet in the subsequent fight. But their few meetings outside the game had been pretty pleasant. Scarlet even said that if given another opportunity, she would work with him again.

After Scarlet left, Zhang Heng checked his watch. It was forty minutes to midnight, and since he wasn’t in a hurry, he ordered a drink and asked the bartender for a knife. Five minutes to midnight, he cut his left palm and let some blood drip into the scabbard.

When the blood looked to be enough, Zhang Heng wrapped the cut on his hand with some gauze.

Two minutes later, that familiar dizziness struck, and he could hear the system prompts in his ear.

[Verifying player’s identity]

Verification complete. Player 07958 has the scabbard in possession. Connecting player to the quest...] [Extraction completed—Your quest is Bakumatsu Kyoto (Special Edition)]

“The Battle of Sekigahara in 1600 paved the way for the Edo period. The Tokugawa clan ruled the country and instituted a policy isolating the country for more than two hundred years. At the end of the Shogunate, finances were tight, exploitation was risingcommoners could no longer stand the oppression, and riots became rampant. During the Black Ship incident, an East India Company’s warship had broken through the country’s gates with artillery, forcing the Shogunate to sign a series of unfair treaties, forfeiting their sovereignty and humiliating the country. This infuriated the locals. With internal and external troubles on the rise, the philosophy “Revere the Emperor, expel the barbarians” became the slogan that kickstarted the movement to overthrow the Tokugawa shogunate. The rebellion was led by Satsuma and Choshu provinces, where a secret meeting took place in Kyoto-leaders conspired to launch a coup against Tokugawa Yoshinobu, leaving the country in a precarious state...

This game will not be included in your stats, and you will be unable to reenter the quest once you exit.”

[Mission Objective: Find the sword]

[Mode: Single-player]

[Time flow rate: 240] (One hour in the real world is equivalent to 10 days in this quest. The quest ends in 30 days. Players can terminate the game at any time and return to the real world)

Friendly reminder: the game will begin in 5 seconds. Players, ready yourselves!

Unlike previous quests, before Zhang Heng entered this one, Scarlet had given him a treasure trove of information, and he could prepare well ahead of time. He spent one night (plus the extra twenty hours) skimming through Japan’s history and had become relatively familiar with the Bakumatsu period.

If memory served him right, the Black Ship or Kurofune incident took place in 1854. By 1865, Saigo Takamori and Okubo Toshimichi of the Satsuma Domain had taken over. In 1867, Emperor Takamori, who suppressed the movement, passed away. Emperor Meiji, who was only fourteen at the time, succeeded the throne. Meiji sided with the movement.

That year was also probably Kyoto’s most tumultuous period. In fact, most daimyopowerful Japanese feudal lords—took the wait-and-see approach. It wasn’t until the Toba Fushimi battle the following year that the Satsuma Rebellion took complete control of Gyeonggi-do and gained the majority’s support.

During the subsequent Meiji Restoration, Japan underwent rapid advancement, making it the first country in Asia to embark on industrialization. In contrast, China, which had been in contact with the West, was still under the rule of the Qing dynasty. After the Opium War, the semi-colonial and semi-feudal countries continued to decline. Although Lin Zexu, Wei Yuan, and their likes, whose eyes were opened to the world, worked hard to promote reforms, they struggled under the existing system. The irony was that Wei Yuan compiled the “Illustrated Treatise on the Maritime Kingdoms” in hopes that his compatriots would be able to recognize a world-renowned force. To his surprise, the book sold poorly in China-Qing Dynasty scholars were probably busy memorizing stereotypes at that time. Consequently, the publishing house lost a lot of money. An ocean away, in Japan, the book sold out and had dozens of reprints.

In addition, after the Meiji Restoration, the military, especially the navy, became increasingly powerful, and Japan began embarking on a path of brutal expansion. Most people were already familiar with subsequent events that followed.

Now that the dust had settled, and while missed opportunities to make history could be made up with hard work, the deep wounds and scars it left behind could never be restored no matter how hard the future generations worked.

Zhang Heng briefly recalled the related historical events during the countdown, and when he opened his eyes, he found himself standing in a town, most likely Kyoto. It seemed a very prosperous area; its streets were flanked with tea houses, bathhouses, and shops, and lining them were dozens of street peddlers.

The atmosphere was crowded, festival-like and abuzz-young women in kimonos, geishas, samurai with large and small swords on their waists, and even Western faces were walking about. It had been thirteen years since the Black Ship Incident. In addition to the “Japan-US Peace Treaty,” the Shogun signed a series of trade treaties with Britain, Russia, France, and other powers. In the early days, only a small handful of Dutch (the Netherlands was the only country that could trade in Japan before the Black Ship Incident), but now, the western population in the city had grown substantially.

On top of that, there were many more foreign products available for purchase. Zhang Heng’s first stop was a shop selling mirrors. His reflection showed that he was dressed like the typical ronin*-a straw hat and a worn-out Haori that had not been washed for god-knows-how-long-the sword on his waist indicated his status as a samurai. The Edo society had a strict and elaborate social structure, and samurais were members of the ruling class. All feudal lords owned these warriors’ large armies, where their masters would pay them salaries and provide food and lodging. Of course, whenever there was war, these warriors would have to sacrifice their own lives. Both parties had their own rights and obligations, but ronin or wanderers like Zhang Heng’s had no master and had no income. In fact, there was practically no money in his pocket.

Regardless of the time period, filling your stomach would always be the most crucial thing. What was more, Zhang Heng was going to stay here for a long time. He would have to solve the issue of food and accommodation first and foremost.

*Ronin: A samurai without a lord or master during Japan’s feudal period