48 Hours a Day

“What kind of person is that? We didn’t owe him any money. Why would he put on such a stinking look when he talked to us? Look at Clint. He could be so polite.”

“Hmm.”

“Clint told you that you could choose the area you liked. Why did Pannonax arrange it for you then?”

“Ok.”

“I think he has bad intentions. He didn’t find a good place for you, and he doesn’t look like a good guy. Don’t let him...”

“Plot against me?”

“Yes, I’m pretty sure that he is plotting against you. I heard that the people in the palace are not that simple. They cook up plans to eliminate the people they don’t like.” The slave girl felt that she performed rather well this time. She could not believe that she could see through Pannonax’s evil plan with a single glance. She thought that no one else could see through him except for her. At least for that moment, she was standing on the pinnacle of truth.

“Hmm.”

“Don’t you have anything else to say except hmm?” The slave girl was speechless.

“Then what do you expect me to do?” Zhang Heng asked rhetorically.

“At least go and look for Clint and tell him what Pannonax has done to you. Clint would not let him off the hook.”

“Hmm.”

“What do you mean by hmm?”

“Do you think Clint would not know what Pannonax had just done?”

“What do you mean?” The slave girl was a little at a loss when she heard what Zhang Heng said, “But Clint wasn’t present at the time, right? He left in a hurry.”

“What you said is quite right. We have no grievances with Pannonax, and we didn’t owe him any money either. So, why did he mistreat me? He even risked getting being beaten by me just to irritate me? Especially considering that I will probably become an important person to the emperor in the future.”

“Yes, why?” The slave girl was puzzled.

“Because Clint asked him to do so.” Zhang Heng smiled.

“Huh?” The slave girl felt that something was not right. After thinking about it, she finally grasped the key point, “But we have no grudges with Clint, and we don’t owe him money.”

“But I might be blocking his path,” Zhang Heng said lightly. “A small group like this gets all the authority from the emperor. And although the emperor is the supreme ruler of the empire, he does not possess unlimited power. In other words, if one more person joins the group, the new member will receive part of the power. Of course, it won’t be enough to make Clint target me. It is probably because the emperor visited me privately some time ago. And Clint feels threatened by it.”

The slave girl opened her mouth wide. She felt like she was listening to a story from another world.

Zhang Heng decided to explain everything clearly to the slave girl, “If he goes against me personally, everything will go smoothly for him if he wins. However, if he fails to bring me down, he would be putting himself in a dangerous situation. That’s because he’ll be adding another enemy to his list. For a mature politician, it’s unworthy to take the risk. Due to all these reasons, he chooses to smile at me and act like a good guy.

“On the other hand, he lets Pannonax be the bad guy. If things go wrong, he can abandon Pannonax. And I won’t bother him if I turn out to be the winner. On the contrary, he might think that I’ll have a good impression on him because he reaches out to help me in difficult times. At worst, he would get himself an extra political ally.”

“Is th- that... the case?” the slave girl stammered. “So Pannonax is willing to be a shield for others?”

“Of course, he’s not happy about it. It is common for a person like him to become their superior’s shield if they want to be promoted to a higher rank. If he helps Clint get rid of me, Clint will naturally take good care of him in the future. This is something consensual. With his current position, it is necessary for him to take a little risk if he wants to reap the benefits,” Zhang Heng said as he picked up his unfinished slice of bread.

“He deliberately tried to annoy me earlier. He probably expected me to beat him up. If I did as he wished, he could use that against me. Commodore has a good first impression of me. However, I’m still a gladiator to him, and he didn’t know whether I can take on the big task. The first task given to me was actually more like a test.”

The slave girl could not help but shudder. She had never thought that humans could be so complicated.

The person who smiles at you on the surface might want to stab you in the back. What surprised the slave girl more, was that Zhang Heng was still in the mood to finish his breakfast.

“Working for the emperor turns out to be very dangerous. Better don’t take the job. At most, I can go and work at the laundry house. We can make some money easily if we want,” the slave girl blurted anxiously, “Or we can leave Rome and settle down in Syria? I met a friend when I was in the gladiator school. She comes from the Syrian province. She told me about the scenery there.”

“If I wanted to make money, I can earn a lot from performing in the Victor Arena.” Zhang Heng finished eating bread and peeled a fig. “Ah, this is just a small matter. I can handle it. We will stay in Rome.”

“But... According to what you said, the man named Clint has already started to plot against you. Even if he fails this time, he will not stop until he succeeds in eliminating you.”

“Of course, the area that he asked Pannonax to choose for me is definitely a high-risk zone.”

“What should I do then?” The slave girl looked sad.

“Let’s check it out first,” Zhang Heng finally finished his breakfast and wiped his mouth.

He did not wait until dark to report to the patrol team.

It was mainly because of Zhang Heng’s unfamiliarity with the city of Rome. Hence, he needed to do some preparations in advance. It could prevent the patrol team from giving him the wrong information. Besides, he did not know if the patrol team was controlled by Clint.

However, Zhang Heng was a little worried this time. That was because the patrol team in charge of this area was desperate to make it a better place. But the problem was that they lacked the ability to do so.

The area that Zhang Heng assigned to was the most chaotic place in the whole of Rome, with most living in the area being Jews. Other than that, many other ethnic minorities called the place home as well. They looked different in appearance, but they shared a common characteristic, and that was poverty. Due to poverty, this area was infested with criminal activities.

Almost more than one homicide took place every night. The crisscrossed alleys were extremely dark at night. They were the perfect places to kill someone. After the murder, the murderer could look for a nook to hide, and the authorities would never locate them. With the patrol team’s manpower, it was impossible to figure out this place altogether. In fact, once darkness befell, the patrol team members would not dare to go out alone.