48 Hours a Day

The employee was left in a dilemma. Although it was true that Zhang Heng surpassed the score required for the first prize, no one would have expected that two players would be good enough to claim first prize. It was definitely a rare situation. The arcade’s management, too, had no idea what to do next. As the victors were already present, going to get a second giant teddy bear now was out of the question.

In an attempt to ease the predicament, the employee suggested that they could choose other prizes in exchange for the bear.

Zhang Heng turned around to look at the group that bullied them earlier. It seemed this Wang Bin guy was the leader of the group. He appeared somewhat happy with the outcome and chose to stick to the bet.

“We have lost, and we will call ourselves weakasses.”

Zhang Heng was taken aback hearing that they would stick to their promise. Since they came in bigger numbers, they could actually leave the place without honoring the deal. It would be embarrassing if they did so, but still, it was better than calling themselves weakasses. As for Asuka’s admirer, Zhang Heng was truly disappointed in him. Although having knowledge that he lost the bet and had even dragged both of his friends into his trouble, he didn’t even have the courtesy to tell his opponent that he would bear all responsibility.

“You don’t have to call yourself that in public. I know you guys don’t really want the giant teddy bear. Why not just give it to us? Then, we can put this matter to rest,” Zhang Heng offered.

Wang Bin was taken aback by the methods Zhang Heng had used to deal with this matter. A few seconds ago, he saw the guy who spoke fluent Japanese taking out his cellphone and was prepared to put them on the record. They thought that they would surely be humiliated to death by the three of them.

Now, they were pleasantly surprised when they heard Zhang Heng’s suggestion to call this off peacefully. Everyone initially thought that he was extremely arrogant when he left the coin under the screen if the plump guy asked for a rematch. His prior actions contrasted greatly with the merciful decision that he just made.

Zhang Heng and Wang Bin were no enemies, having simply undergone a small conflict. Earlier, Wang Bin was bullying the guy that spoke fluent Japanese because he knew that he had the plump guy behind him, which was why Zhang Heng used the same method to let him taste his own medicine.

The token just sat there under the screen, but none of them dared to touch it. This tiny gesture trumped over whatever word that would come out from one’s mouth.

Since they had learned their lesson, Zhang Heng had no intention to humiliate them in front of everyone. Immediately, the plump guy handed the giant teddy bear to Hayase Asuka.

“This is great! True men like us should not play with teddy bears anyway. It’s a good thing you guys want it from us.”

The other members of the group laughed and smiled, seeking to make the whole affair a little less awkward. Before this incident, they had always go around and mess with other people solely in the name of proving that they would be the winner. This was their first time tasting the bitterness of what it was like to lose. Seeing that Zhang Heng was willing to let them off the hook, they were all relieved. Having no intention of lingering around any longer, they left the arcade the moment everything was settled.

Wang Bin was the last to leave. Zhang Heng frowned when he saw him walking towards them. He believed that he was a sore loser and wanted to come back for revenge.

“I owe you a favor this time. Save my number on your cellphone. You can call me anytime you need my help. Let me be frank. We are not going to get ourselves in any sort of fights. Our school is really strict about these things.”

Zhang Heng was astonished that Wang Bin did not throw a tantrum in front of them. In return, he nodded and took down his number.

………

Hayase Asuka hugged the teddy bear tightly as they walked away. She felt as if she was living in a dream.

“Woah! I didn’t know you’re such a good shooter! Were you a secret agent or something?!”

Hayase Asuka was so happy that she jumped around and pretended to shoot with her finger.

Zhang Heng could only think of the first excuse that came to his mind.

“I play a lot of shooting games,” he said.

Since Hayase Asuka had never played an FPS game before, she did not suspect anything wrong with Zhang Heng’s statement. All she knew was that he was really good at video games.

On the other hand, the guy who spoke fluent Japanese was now embarrassed by what he did earlier. He knew that he would never be able to get Hayase Asuka to like him. Besides, Zhang Heng had overshot him by miles after successfully handling the matter. In the end, he made up an excuse for himself before hurriedly retreating to his dorm.

Zhang Heng wanted to convince him to stay, but he was determined to leave. That meant only two of them were left. After that, they both decided to try out the bumper cars while waiting for the live performance to be over. Soon, they met up with the rest of them at the Ferris wheel.

It was late, and the exam was at hand. So, they eventually decided it was time to head back to the hostel.

Of course, if someone could win an award for the most fruitful trip, it had to be Hayase Asuka. She hugged the giant teddy bear with one hand, and her other held the mug, becoming the envy of many girls. While chatting with the other two Japanese girls on the MRT, she told them she had singlehandedly won those two items by herself!

Of course, Zhang Heng had no intention to expose her. To be honest, if Wang Bin and his group of friends did not bully them in the first place, Zhang Heng would have never showcased his marksmanship.

If Chen Huadong and Ma Wei were there with him, they would never believe that he improved his shooting skills all by playing FPS games. A month ago, Zhang Heng played CS:GO with Chen Huadong and Jiang Weiyang. Zhang Heng’s shooting skills only slightly bettered Chen Huadong. He would never accept Zhang Heng’s reason.

All the skills he possessed right now were better than most of his counterparts. Considering that he was still really young, few people got to experience what he went through in the game.

As his skills would only improve the longer he spent playing the game, it would surely be harder for him to explain the things that he could do when the time came. Simply put, Hayase Asuka had actually saved him a lot of trouble by claiming all the credit.

…….

It was Christmas today and the last day to join the auction as well. Two days ago, Zhang Heng received an invitation from the gaming committee.

He had been invited to join an auction for game items.

Zhang Heng took a look at the auction’s date and time written at the bottom left of the invitation and saw that is was to be held tomorrow night. He was always curious about how other players looked like, so naturally, he would not miss this opportunity. Of course, the main attraction was obtaining items that could assist him in-game.

Shadow Moment had played a significant role in Zhang Heng completing the third round of the game. Without it, Simone would have definitely killed him in the game’s early stage. Though he could not see it, the Lucky Rabbit’s Foot helped him a lot as well.

The chance of discovering these miraculous items were the reason why Zhang Heng looked forward to the auction.