48 Hours a Day

After that, peace was restored. Wendy was nervous, not knowing who the final winner was. Suddenly, she heard someone knocking at the door. Fear kicked in once again. Immediately, she looked around and grabbed the fruit knife on the table.

“I hope you won’t stab me when I go in,” Zhang Heng’s voice came from outside the house.

Wendy was relieved, but instead of opening the door immediately, she asked, “Are you the only one outside?”

“You can take a look under the crack of the door.”

Wendy ducked the moment she heard Zhang Heng’s instruction. Through the crack, she saw only a pair of shoes outside the house. She then opened the door but still hid the knife behind her back.

“It’s over,” Zhang Heng, who was outside the door, said, handing a revolver to Wendy at the same time. “I killed the other people and caught the guy who pretended to be a sheriff. I am about to interrogate him. In the meantime, I need you to keep an eye on the boss. We are still trying to figure out the relationship between this group of people and the town people. Maybe they still have accomplices. So it’s always right to be more cautious.”

“Since you are going to question him, can I listen outside the house?” Wendy asked.

“No, the interrogation will probably be a bit inappropriate for children,” Zhang Heng said. “It’s better that you wait outside. I’ll tell you the results later.”

Zhang Heng did not wait for Wendy’s reply. He turned around and closed the door before he left.

Wendy walked out of the room and went downstairs. Instantly, she saw bloodstains from the corpse that Zhang Heng had dragged to the kitchen. She then moved a chair and sat in front of the innkeeper, now paralyzed by fear. In fact, there was no need to keep an eye on him all the time. His two allies had just expired before him, one of them shot in the head, with his own brain matter splattered over his face. The innkeeper’s legs had gone so soft that he could no longer stand up for now.

However, Wendy decided to do something to make sure that the innkeeper would not escape. She then waved the revolver in his hand and threatened, “You better stay put. I will kill you if you dare to move. Don’t put my marksmanship to the test.”

About twenty minutes later, a gunshot came from the second floor, and Wendy saw Zhang Heng walking out of the room. “How did it go?” Wendy stood up. “Did he tell you anything about my father?”

“Well, I’ve figured everything out, but some people need saving first. I will explain when I come back,” Zhang Heng said.

“Saving people? Where?”

“The church... the missing farmers are there, and there are four guards too.”

“Is my father there too?”

“No, your father is not in town, but he should be in no danger for the time being.”

Before Zhang Heng left, he added, “After I leave, I need you to lock the hotel’s doors. Don’t let anyone approach and don’t trust the people in the town.”

“Okay,” Wendy nodded.

After Zhang Heng finished speaking, he hurried out of the hotel with his weapons in a bag.

Wendy then watched him disappear into the night. When she turned around, she saw that the innkeeper’s face was pale. “It’s over, it’s all over!” he kept muttering. “What’s over?” Wendy asked. The boss was indifferent when he heard this and just murmured, “We’re all going to hell.”

Instead of heading to the church, Zhang Heng first went to the grocery store he visited during the day. He barged in and stuffed the three shotguns and five revolvers on the shelf into his bag, even grabbing some ammunition with him. The grocery store owner, still in his pajamas, heard the commotion, and walked downstairs.

He was bewildered when he saw Zhang Heng, oblivious to what was going on. He then asked, “You...what are you doing?”

“I’m borrowing something from you, and I will return them to you when I’m done with it.” Zhang Heng put the last box of bullets into his bag and picked it up.

The boss reacted, and his eyes widened, “Are you robbing me?! In our town? Are you not afraid of being arrested by the sheriff?”

“The Sheriff of Bliss is dead a long time ago. You guys are the ones that caused his death. I don’t think I need to worry about him anymore. If you are talking about the fake sheriff, I don’t think he would have any objections,” Zhang Heng shrugged.

After speaking, he kicked open the grocery store door, put the bag of weapons and ammunition on Radish, and headed towards the church alone.

As he approached the church, Zhang Heng jumped off the horse.

He had not learned to shoot while riding a horse, but he used to wander on the sea, which makes his balancing ability better than the average person. It will be a matter of time before he mastered this skill. However, before that, he could only dismount and fight.

The church’s door was closed tightly, and a faint light squeezed out from it.

Zhang Heng walked towards the door and fired a shot at the sky. About half a minute later, the door was opened slightly, and a gun emerged from the crack. The man turned left and right, and he saw no one was outside. The one-eyed gunman then poked his head out carefully.

Immediately, Zhang Heng killed him with a single shot.

After that, his left hand drew the revolver around his waist and dangled it from the gap. Zhang Heng then adopted the same strategy as before. First, he broke the kerosene lamp and filled the church with darkness. He then used his Filter Lens to look at his surroundings. With ease, he killed all three gunners inside the church.

When Zhang Heng put away his Filter Lens and re-ignited the kerosene lamp, the light revealed the people imprisoned inside the church. Most were blacks, and there was a girl, weeping in the corner, her body covered with nothing but tattered rags.

Zhang Heng quickly took off his coat and put it over her. He then looked at the side of the pulpit. There was a strong man who looked like the leader of this group. When Zhang Heng walked into the church, a few of them looked at the strong man in panic. Clearly, they were used to letting him take charge.

“How many of you are being imprisoned here?” Zhang Heng asked.

“There are twenty people on the first floor, and thirty on the second, but most are women and children. They killed half of the men.” The strong black man who said that had a hint of anger flashing in his eyes. “Okay, pick someone who can fight. Both men and women are fine.” Zhang Heng threw the sack that used to store all his guns and bullets on the ground and pointed at the corpse on the floor, “Arm yourself; the sooner, the better. We will leave here in five minutes.”

“Sir, are you the bailiff nearby?” someone asked.

“No, I’m just a passerby.” Zhang Heng replied, pulling the brim of his hat.