48 Hours a Day

The Mole saw Zhang Heng eyeing the game item that resembled a bird’s foot, and proceeded to explain in an enterprising manner. “This is Shadow’s Foot, Grade-F. The effect is kind of… useless. It allows the user to summon a shadow, and the shadow covers an area of about ten square meters. It’s just an ordinary shadow, though. It has no offensive capabilities or special effects. At most, you can use it to deceive your enemies. I have to say that it is not very useful in a real battle. And there is a limit on the number of times you can use it. Right now, you can only use it once more.”

“This should be the least valuable item here.” 1810 added, “Perhaps you can look at the others.”

Since Zhang Heng was about to pick two game items, 1810 clarified things, ensuring that Zhang Heng would not regret his choice. After all, these items were just Grade-E and F, and even if they were of different value, it was not that significant. Hence, there was no need to sweat over the minute differences.

“That’s fine. I just need this Grade-F,” Zhang Heng said.

Ever since he learned that he needed to collect every single piece of item to complete the Shadow Set, Zhang Heng had been paying attention to the whereabouts of the remaining ones. Earlier, he even entrusted Fulou to help him find the rest, but he had not heard back from them ever since. This time, Zhang Heng was lucky enough to encounter one. The name of this Shadow Set item was easy to recognize—the Shadow Feet’s effect was similar to his Shadow Moment and Shadow Key. Even without the four hundred game points, this trip was worth it.

After that, 1810 introduced the two other Grade-E items, to which, Zhang Heng went for the bottle cap.

This object was called Ramune, and its effect was fascinating. When the user poured any kind of liquid in the bottle and closed it with this unique cap, the liquid would instantly turn into Ramune. However, it would yield a random flavor each time. Now although it looked amazing, it served no other function except saving Zhang Heng some money if he wanted soda.

Though this game item was nowhere nearly as versatile as Black Swan’s choker, Zhang Heng could see how unwilling she was to give it up. So, since he had obtained the Shadow Foot, he had no intention to possess a beloved game item of another. Besides, he was a man and it would be a little too weird for him to go out wearing a choker…

As for the remaining four hundred game points, Shen Xixi would act as their middle-woman, waiting until Zhang Heng had rescued Yogurt before seeing that they paid him.

Seeing Zhang Heng had agreed to help them out, 1810 was relieved, asking for everyone to enjoy the dishes on the table and at the same time, streamlining the next plan of action with Zhang Heng. To his surprise, Zhang Heng insisted on investigating the case alone this time.

Black Swan’s and 1810’s expressions remained unchanged, but the embarrassment on Little Yellow Duck’s face was obvious. Upon seeing this, Zhang Heng quickly explained, “Don’t get me wrong, I’m just used to acting alone. I will contact you if I have any questions.”

Hearing this, Black Swan bowed and silently drank her orange juice, making it clear that she planned to stay out of the matter. 1810 thought for a while before subtly voicing out.

“Our enemies are quite powerful. If you act alone and encounter any danger. …”

Shen Xixi knew that 1810 was still a little apprehensive. This was, after all, only the second time Zhang Heng worked with them, and although they knew he ranked first in the Proxy War’s first round, they still had no idea how powerful he really was. She was also worried that Zhang Heng wouldn’t do his best in his attempt to rescue Yogurt.

So she said, “I will investigate this matter with him. What do you think?”

Shen Xixi turned to face Zhang Heng.

Zhang Heng nodded. “Okay.”

He had a lot of secrets, and he did not want his secrets to be known by outsiders. It would be hard using his full strength when there were others around him. Fortunately, Shen Xixi was one of those allies that he could fully trust. Besides, he could simply wait until midnight to act independently after finding out where Yogurt had been held.

As they all began to devour the food on the table, Zhang Heng inquired about the details of their latest investigation and even took notes of key points worthy of attention.

…

The meeting ended in less than an hour. After the meal, Black Swan took the initiative to exchange phone numbers with Zhang Heng. She dug up two tickets from her bag and handed them to Zhang Heng. “I’m playing in this musical theater. If you are interested, you can come and watch with your friends.”

“Sorry, I have to deal with things here first…”

“I know. I’m not giving you the ticket for the premiere tomorrow night. These tickets are for next week’s show,” Black Swan smiled. She then whispered into Zhang Heng’s ear, “Thank you for not choosing the choker. Maybe when you are free next time, we can discuss how I can repay you.”

“You’re welcome. It just happened that I had no use for it.”

Black Swan winked at Zhang Heng and got into her car.

Meanwhile, Shen Xixi who had been left behind, walked over after talking with 1810. “What did she tell you just now?” she asked curiously.

“She gave me two tickets to a musical theater,” Zhang Heng explained.

“Oh…” Shen Xixi responded with a playful look on his face.

“…”

“You performed so well in the first round of the Proxy War’s quest. It is normal for a girl to notice you.” Shen Xixi said, and she sighed again, “Black Swan has been through a lot. A woman like her will always attract the men around her. I heard that she was unhappy with her original team. And she was forced to play two single-player games before joining 1810’s team.”

“Really?” Zhang Heng paused, then asked, “What about you?”

“I’m lucky. When I was in the Novice Group, I met some nice people,” Shen Xixi chirped. “It’s a pity that some of them didn’t make it to this day.”

Although Shen Xixi made it sound so easy, Zhang Heng knew that her initial gaming experience was not the most pleasant. In fact, that was how most new players felt. Zhang Heng’s first game was quite challenging as well. He had to stay on the deserted island for more than a year to the point he was close to becoming the next Robinson Crusoe.

Shen Xixi opened the Polo’s door and naturally sat in the co-drivers seat, just like when she came. After thinking for a while, she decided to ask Zhang Heng. “Do you know why 1810 wants to rescue Yogurt so desperately?”

“I know. Yogurt is his daughter,” Zhang Heng nodded.

“Huh? When did he tell you?” Shen Xixi was stunned.

“It is actually quite obvious. All I did was observe them. They were probably arguing about this matter before we came.”