48 Hours a Day

Chapter 918: Breaking Out

When the monsters saw that Zhang Heng was about to leave the dome, they became very anxious all of a sudden, quickly going after him to bring him back. However, Zhang Heng was now different from when they dragged him into the sea.

Although he still couldn’t swim as fast as those monsters, it was undeniable that he swam a lot faster than before. He also knew how to control the ocean currents. Not only could he accelerate or stop the enemies from coming after him, but he could also stir up the sand at the bottom of the sea to make the seawater muddier.

Speaking of which, such a strategy was inspired by the red tide created by those monsters. With the help of the Filter Lens, Zhang Heng could always prevail in this chaotic situation. However, when he swam past the layers of the monsters and returned to the surface of the sea, he realized that it was already dark outside.

Zhang Heng was a little surprised. He didn’t manage to look at his watch at the bottom of the sea, but as far as he was concerned, the time between him falling to the bottom of the ocean to when he started suffocating and being able to breathe again after taking off his respirator; Zhang Heng did not expect it to last so long.

He seemed to have completely lost the concept of time at the underwater palace.

When Zhang Heng looked at his watch, he found out that the time was ten at night.

The boat that brought him here was long gone.

There was still some distance away from the island. Under normal circumstances, Zhang Heng would be completely exhausted even if he could swim back to the island. In order to get rid of the monsters that came after him, the wind and waves on the sea were so strong they prevented him from swimming forward.

But now, Zhang Heng could dive to the bottom of the ocean again and send himself back to the island with the help of the underwater current.

There were a lot of monsters coming after him, but they were now in their nest. Once they left the undersea tunnel, it would be difficult for them to surround Zhang Heng in the vast sea.

Therefore, Zhang Heng did not take too long to return to Yonaguni.

This was not the first time Zhang Heng fought with those monsters. Their first fight happened in the hazy seaside town; hence he understood those monsters quite well. And when he went diving this time, he saw their history carved on the wall.

Zhang Heng knew that those monsters liked to deceive the nearby humans and tourists who visited Yonaguni Island. For so many years, none had found out about them. To say that they did not have people that sided with them on the Yonaguni Island, Zhang Heng would never believe in such a thing.

Zhang Heng initially suspected it was the island’s fishermen who sided with the monsters because fishing was the backbone of Yonaguni’s economy. The vast majority of men on the island were fishermen, and in order to support their families, Zhang Heng would not be surprised if they made some kind of trade with those monsters in exchange for the abundant fishes.

And Yonaguni Island had the world’s second-largest marlin fishing ground, which might just prove his conjecture. Therefore, Zhang Heng did not stop the storm after he returned to the island. On the contrary, he concealed his whereabouts under the cover of the heavy rain to avoid being spotted by the fishermen on the island.

Coupled with Zhang Heng’s stealth technique and bad weaather, no one would notice him.

But when he arrived at the hotel where he had stayed before, he soon discovered that someone downstairs was watching Han Lu.

Moreover, from the way the man behaved and the equipment he used, he seemed to be from a military background. Zhang Heng knew that the Self-Defense Forces had a base on the Yonaguni Island, but it was said that the soldiers there had been very low-key, and they interacted little with the island’s population.

That was why Zhang Heng did not suspect them earlier.

But now, it seemed like they were the ones that sided with those monsters on the island. Since the military base was a restricted area, it was not easy for others to notice the changes in their appearance. This was why they rarely interacted with the residents on this island. Just like the hazy seaside town, they were the party with overwhelming force, and they could protect the undersea palace.

Zhang Heng put himself into Han Lu’s shoes, guessing that she would’ve looked to the Self-Defense Forces for help after he was dragged underwater by those monsters. They were the people with the closest proximity to Han Lu where she could seek help.

Unfortunately, she had asked the wrong people this time. To further prevent a dramatization of the situation, the enemies did not act on her for now, and they chose to only observe her. However, once they discovered that Zhang Heng was out of the sea, Han Lu’s life might be at risk again.

Zhang Heng figured that those monsters had already contacted the Self-Defense Forces when he returned to the island and asked them to capture Zhang Heng. Therefore, Zhang Heng did not stay downstairs any longer. He borrowed a poncho from the nearby resident and knocked out the man watching Han Lu at the hotel’s side entrance. From there, he slipped into the hotel, bypassed the front desk, and came to the floor where Han Lu was.

Then Zhang Heng met the man who stuck the tape on her room’s peekhole in the hallway.

With Zhang Heng’s Lv.3 assassin skills, it was easy for him to deal with the man.

Until he walked to the man’s back, the man didn’t realize someone approaching. He held a knife in one hand and inserted the key that he got from the front desk into Han Lu’s door with the other, waiting to surprise the woman. Zhang Heng did not forget that he was now in the real world. Just like those Self-Defense Forces men, he did not want to raise the alarm.

So he knocked out the man outside Han Lu’s room with a stone. After that, he knocked on Han Lu’s door, but she did not open the door. So, he twisted the key he inserted in the door, picked up the knife and pried the lock to break in.

That was what Han Lu saw earlier.

.....

Zhang Heng led Han Lu downstairs, but at that moment they also heard a series of footsteps under the stairs.

Zhang Heng figured that the men who were tasked to keep an eye on Han Lu had discovered that they had lost contact with two of their companions. However, Zhang Heng had no intention of retreating when he saw the enemies. There were a lot of people in the Self-Defense Forces, and dragging it on would be more unfavorable for them.

Once they called more men to surround the hotel, it would be more difficult for them to break out.

Zhang Heng asked Han Lu to stand against the wall on the left side for a while. He then paid attention to the sound of footsteps beneath them and silently counted the number of people coming from downstairs and the distance between them. When the enemies were about to climb upstairs, Zhang Heng jumped down and kicked away the weapon from the hands of one of the men. By the time he reacted, Zhang Heng had already knocked out the other enemy.

After that, it was easy for Zhang Heng to end the battle.

The enemies thought that they were well-trained, and they decided to underestimate Zhang Heng. They thought that the reason their allies lost to Zhang Heng was that he had ambushed them. When they fought against him for real, they quickly realized that he was a lot faster than their allies.

The assailant did not manage to see what Zhang Heng did to him. By the time he came to a realization, a knife was placed under his neck.