48 Hours a Day

Three years ago, his height and figure were starkly different from what it was now. Fortunately, his attributes-strength, and speed included—were preserved in this quest. After that, Zhang Heng unlocked his Mate 7 and looked at the time. The screen displayed today’s date as Wednesday, April 13, 2016.

Zhang Heng had no idea what happened during the previous day. Even if he did remember it, it wouldn’t help much because he was now in a dungeon. A quest where the setting mimicked the real world was actually quite a troublesome one. He would now need some time to figure out the difference between this world and the real world, and he couldn’t tell for sure whether his past memories would have a positive or negative effect.

Zhang Heng walked around the living room, then entered several rooms and found nothing unusual. So he planned to go out and have a look. His grandfather did advise him to stay put before he left, but Zhang Heng wasn’t really just going to sit there and do his homework obediently since he wasn’t in the real world.

Finding the key, Zhang Heng took it and opened the door. Usually, his grandpa would go to this huge wet market to buy fish, and it was quite a distance from his house. Taking that into account, he had about forty minutes to explore this dungeon before his grandpa returned.

He wasn’t given any goals either, and so far, he had been given nothing that could be considered a clue. So all he could do was to continue wandering around.

The residents that lived in the community were exactly the same as he remembered. He even ran into Qin Zhen. He rode a bicycle, and there was a basketball in the basket, ready to head to the court by the riverbank for a game.

Once he saw Zhang Heng, he stopped the bike with one foot on the ground. “Come and play basketball with me.”

“No, I haven’t finished my homework yet,” replied Zhang Heng. “I didn’t do mine as well. I’ll wake up a little earlier tomorrow and go copy the others’ work in the classroom.” Qin Zhen spread his hands, “Why are you wandering outside now?”

“I have something to do. We’ll play together next time.”

“What’s the matter?” Qin Zhen was intrigued by Zhang Heng’s reaction, “Is it a date? Is it a girl in your class? Do you want me to help you? For example, I can act like a bully, blocking her way, then attempt a robbery. You can then be the hero and come to her rescue!” Qin Zhen waved his arm as he spoke. His tanned skin and lanky figure made him looked like a bully.

“I appreciate your kindness,” Zhang Heng said. “You should go ahead and have fun with your basketball. We ran out of soy sauce at home. I need to get a bottle for grandpa.”

“Pfft! You should have told me earlier.” Qin Zhen retracted his foot and stepped on the pedal, “Don’t forget about the weekend,” he said before cycling away.

Zhang Heng did not know what he promised Qin Zhen three years ago. Friends since childhood, he must have either promised to play games or basketball with him. These two activities were basically his hobbies. When he was alone, he would download porn to watch.

Undoubtedly, Zhang Heng was not too bothered by it. Apart from Qin Zhen, he met several other familiar aunties and uncles. He greeted each of them before stopping at a newsstand where he bought the day’s newspaper. The reports in this now three-year-old edition were the way he remembered it. Most articles focussed on meetings that different politicians held at various places in the country. There were particular articles promoting positive thinking and Zhang Heng could remember most of them. However, after reading them altogether, he realized he didn’t remember its details. The following story was about workers who were trying to restore the electricity somewhere, and three children who had drowned in a river.

Zhang Heng clearly remembered this one. A major event three years ago, no one knew how the three children quietly fled their respective homes after their families fell asleep that night. And the most bizarre part was that they walked a whopping five miles, arriving at the river before dawn where they eventually drowned.

This incident was questionable, causing quite a stir among the public at that time. It was the talk of the week, and along with it sprouted speculations of all manner. Among them, the river spirit had to be the most popular one. Every summer, there would surely be a drowning case in that particular river. Some drowned while playing in the water, while some committed suicide. Although there was a sign prohibiting people from swimming, it wasn’t enough to stop the more eager residents from getting their fix of the river.

The three kids found drowned were relatively young. The oldest was only fourteen years of age, and the youngest was only ten. At that time, the authorities had swiftly announced the results of their investigation. One child left a diary to prove that this was indeed an accident. Zhang Heng was still studying at that time, didn’t think much about it.

He was now in the proxy war’s dungeon, and the game started on the second day after the drowning of the three children. Perhaps the incident might have had something to do with the quest. Having no more use for the paper, he tossed it into the trash can but kept the page that contained the report about the drowning

After that, he saw a pancake stall next to the newsstand and a wave of nostalgia washed over him. The stall was closed permanently during his third year in high school. Apparently, the owner had made enough money and had gone back to the village to build a house and get married.

Sometimes, when he woke up late in the morning; he would come here to buy a pancake for himself. The owner could recognize him, and he always smiled as a friendly gesture. Looking at the time, Zhang Heng figured that if he went to the river, he wouldn’t make it back in time before his grandpa got home. Left with no other options, he had to postpone his investigation until that night. That, however, left him with time to prepare. Zhang Heng first visited the convenience store and bought a bottle of mosquito repellentmosquitoes swarmed by the thousands by the river in summer. He then got four batteries for the flashlight that he saw at home, a bottle of mineral water and a packet of biscuits. The sum of those items almost comsumed all of his pocket money.

While he was paying, he saw another familiar face.

The person was a rather well-known in the community. Having graduated from a prestigious university, he was the child that families would use to compare with their kids, excelling in both character and academics. After graduation, however, something happened to him. He found a few jobs, but couldn’t hold any of them. After that happened, he just stayed at home to play games and watch anime.

As a result, the people around him started to see him differently-from role model to bad example. After staying at home for such a long time, his mental state began to deteriorate, and he was soon admitted to a mental hospital by his family. If Zhang Heng remembered correctly, he should have just been discharged.

He looked frail and thinner, wore an old T-shirt, and looked like hadn’t shaved in a long time. When he entered the convenience store, his head was faced down all the time because he did not dare to look at others. He came to the convenience store to buy cigarettes. In this era where almost all people were using Alipay and WeChat to make their payments, he still used paper money to pay. After he spent a long time searching for the money that he had on him, it yielded no result.

The cashier started to get a little impatient.

“Let me pay for him,” said Zhang Heng.