48 Hours a Day - Chapter 56

Chapter 56: The Dispute on Food Street

Zhang Heng helped the old man load the carcasses into the trunk.

After slamming the door shut, the latter clapped, “Typically, I should be bringing you somewhere and buy you a drink to thank you, but unfortunately, we won’t be able to find any bar that is still open at this time, so let’s part here… You can just leave the rest to me. ”

The old man offered his hand, and Zhang Heng shook it.

“Something’s up in the north. I better go return the weapon and see a few of my old friends. I will be out of the country, so we won’t be seeing each other for a while – we were not supposed to meet so soon anyway. Thank goodness this is during still time, so it’s not that big of a problem. Finally, I wish you success in the upcoming CET-6 exam!”

The old man climbed into the driver’s seat and cut away the deflated airbag with a small knife. Just as he was about to start the car, Zhang Heng called out and asked the question that concerned him the most, “Wait! Are there many types of these… monsters here on earth?”

The old man chuckled. “A very long long long time ago, there were actually quite a few of them. But now…” He pointed at the lucky rabbit’s foot hanging from Zhang Heng’s keys, and then the bloody bone wrapped in tissue. “I’m very sure that most of them are very safe.”

“You mean that all of those game items that we found are their remains?”

The old man clammed up. “I’ve already said too many things I shouldn’t have. This meeting never happened! You should get back to school and continue to the next game. You’re already one step closer to the truth!”

Zhang Heng watched the black Audi disappear from the tunnel’s exit. Discounting the hole in the wall, the road of the tunnel, and also the small missing parts on the car, it was as if nothing had happened.

…

That night left a deep impression on Zhang Heng. After that incident, he looked up Moresby and Alkiz, and he found several records. Clicking onto one of the research articles on Alkiz culture, he was immediately drawn to a picture of a recently exhumed stone relic with a carving of a creature. It looked exactly like the Moresby creature from the tunnel!

Other than that, there was also a picture of the spear the old man in the Tang suit had used. The more Zhang Heng thought about the fight that night, the more he realized that the spear was very similar to one he heard in a story when he was still a child.

Zhang Heng suddenly discovered that he was not as unfamiliar with this world as he thought he was.

Alas, no matter how much he searched, he could not find any other evidence to support his theory and had to leave that night on the back burner as time passed.

After a week, his work ‘Late night fried pancake stall and night bus’ had won second place in the urban impression themed photography competition. The comment the judges gave was, ‘Although its technical skills were a little crude, the details were outstanding! The picture is full of emotion!’

Owing to this, Zhang Heng went to the society to collect his 3,000 yuan prize money. A tripod and a camera bag were also included. After taking a picture of him with the other winners and their prizes, it was posted in an article on the school website that afternoon.

“That’s not real! You’ve only just started learning!” Wei Jiangyang said when he saw the names on the list of winners, popping a hard-boiled egg whole into his gaping mouth.

On the other side of the room, Chen Huadong had grown rather numb to all these surprises. Last time, his friend had only started practicing archery and could already ‘accidentally’ scare the trespasser away. This time, he had only just bought the camera for two months and was already winning prizes.

On the other hand, Chen Huadong had been working double shifts trying to promote the development of his Anime, Comic, and Games (ACG) career, looking up resources for everyone for free. Despite that, he had yet to receive a single consolation prize.

“Sigh, life is getting more stressful thanks to those Europeans who are everywhere.”

“Let me treat all of you to dinner!” Zhang Heng volunteered as he placed the tripod and the camera bag on his table. He had missed his three dorm mates ever so often during the one year he spent in Japan. This was the perfect opportunity for a gathering.

“Sure. Sure!” The expression on Chen Huadong’s face changed instantly as he broke into a smile. “Europeans may be hateful but they are not all that bad…”

Wei Jiangyang informed Ma Wei, who was still studying in the library, and when it was time to eat, the four of them gathered in front of the campus gate and headed straight for the food street nearby that they usually frequented.

Lined with popular stalls and restaurants, it was always packed with students from universities and schools nearby enjoying their meals or having supper – not only because the food there was particularly good or affordable, but it was a great spot to gaze at pretty girls from other schools as you ate.

Zhang Heng ordered 50 skewers of lamb, 1 grilled fish, 8 oysters, some goat liver, vegetables, and baked bread slices.

When the food was served, Chen Huadong picked up the beer bottle from the table and said, “May Africans never be servants[1]!”

His friends all dissolved into laughter as they clinked their bottles together!

After a few skewers of meat, even the usually quiet Ma Wei was yakking away. When boys chatted, they either talked about sports or girls. After hovering over several subjects, the topic finally came to relationships.

Wei Jiangyang asked Chen Huadong, “How are you and Xu Jing? Have you decided on your relationship yet?”

The latter shook his head. “We’ve gone out a few times, but each time, she would ask for us to go AA[2]. I don’t really understand what it means. Was it the same when you were wooing your girlfriend?”

Wei Jiangyang was quiet for a moment, then answered cheekily, “I’m sorry. Xiao Xiao was the one who pursued me!”

“Tsk! Tsk!” Everyone gave him the middle finger.

Ma Wei, the honest guy, commented, “Old Wei, you are you lying to? Whenever you’re next to Han Xiaoxiao, you become more docile than an Angora rabbit!”

“I don’t know how, but it just happened. It’s true, she was the one who saw me playing ball and asked for my WeChat.” Wei Jiangyang grinned.

As they were talking, there was a sudden commotion not far away from where they were.

Two black men were tugging aggressively at a petite girl. The latter looked alarmed, the rims of her eyes red, and she was repeating something over and over again. The men looked on with amused smiles on their faces.

This had caught quite a few people’s attention, and eyes were drawn to the spectacle.

One of the black men addressed the onlookers and said in broken mandarin, “My friend and his girlfriend have a disagreement! I’m really sorry for the disruption!”

The crowd looked uncertain. The two men looked like exchange students from one of the universities nearby. When someone asked the girl if she needed help, she said nothing and kept shaking her head.

That seemed to confirm the black man’s statement.

Was this just a false alarm?

When they realized that it was simply a misunderstanding, the crowd gradually dispersed. Despite that, the girl’s face grew redder. She looked extremely troubled. A few times, she made attempts to grab the black man’s shirt, but the guy evaded her effortlessly.

Just when she was about to give up, a voice spoke from behind her!

“Dōshitandesuka[3]?”

[1] A phrase from Fate/Grand Order, an online free-to-play role-playing mobile game

[2] Go Dutch, pay separately.

[3] どうしたんですか Japanese for what’s the matter?