48 Hours a Day

Panda Novel

No one was allowed to surrender in the fight. Though the loser was now unconscious, the scar-faced man had no intention to stop bludgeoning his opponent up, knowing that he had to put on a good show by crushing him to oblivion. He finally stopped when his opponent’s face was covered in blood and torn flesh. The cheers from the audience got louder and louder, fueled by the ever-increasing violence and gore.

It seemed like scarface, the winner, was getting tired as well. Seeing that his time was almost up, he stood up, walked to the side of the stage, and lifted a heavy bronze statue, intending to use it to deal a final blow to his opponent. Suddenly, the audience screamed. It was too late when scarface realized that something wasn’t right. From the back, his opponent suddenly dealt a massive blow to the end of his head! This caused him to lose all strength and as he dropped the statue in shock. It landed directly on his feet!

The bronze statue weighed around 100 pounds, crushing both his feet under its weight. Before he could even scream in agony, someone grabbed his arm. Nobody expected his opponent to be still strong enough to continue fighting. Without hesitation, he came up with every bit of strength he had and snapped his opponent’s arm.

Scarface was now sweating bullets, shuddering in excruciating pain from his crushed arm and feet. The audience cheered even louder in delight as they witnessed the unexpected plot twist. Seeing the opportunity at hand, he instantly grabbed the other arm and broke it as well. Naturally, he wasn’t about to let scarface attack him anymore. As a final hurrah, he wrapped his arm around his opponent’s neck and attempted to squeeze as hard as he could.

Scarface made some unintelligible grunts as he tried his best to free himself from the choke. Alas, his final struggle was pointless because both his arms were broken. It was apparent that the scarface would soon get to meet his maker.

Instead of watching the brutal fight, the middle-aged man chose to focus his gaze on Zhang Heng, seeming as if he could read his mind and peek into his soul. After a short pause, he continued,

“I have to admit that I had made a mistake when I negotiated with you earlier. We have underestimated your capabilities. My employee has also been rude to you without my consent. I’m sorry that you’ve encountered so many problems during your first voyage. I actually invited you here to apologize to you personally. I hope that you can reconsider partnering with the black-market alliance again.”

“Be partners with your lot?”

“You have proven your capabilities to all of Nassau. I’m willing to talk to the alliance to adjust the initial price that we proposed. We might even offer you the highest price that we could, as long as you stop working with the woman called Carina.”

“Do you really think that a new merchant like her is powerful enough to go against the entire alliance? Carina’s father used to be a black-market merchant in Nassau, and many from the alliance knew him personally. It was only because of her father that we decided not to make her life difficult. I have to compliment her for keeping the secret so well. We were only informed that she was working with you when the Jackdaw returned from her first voyage. Our grace was the only reason why she could complete her tasks without facing any obstacles. If the alliance did decide to do something about her, I promise you that there would be no way that she could survive in Nassau.”

“If that’s the case, Mr. Malcom, why the rush to renegotiate with us then?”

“Although I believe that order makes this a beautiful world for us to stay in, I know that things are always difficult in the beginning. Three months ago, the alliance set up a new set of purchasing rules for Nassau’s captains. We spent a great deal of effort in coming up with a system for the trades occurring on this island. It’s no easy task to keep it going, but I believe we will eventually conquer all challenges. It’s always a good thing if the whole process can be sped up.”

Malcolm grabbed a glass of wine from a passing butler.

“Recently, there have been many small-time pirates who consider you their anti-alliance leader. They have all been motivated by your brazenness, and this is a problem for us. By the way, have you played poker before, Captain Zhang Heng?”

“Of course.”

“To me, good timing is needed to win a poker game. The moment you have a good hand, you should instantly place your bet. If you miss the golden opportunity, you’ll be unable to win any money. Now would be your golden opportunity to win the game. Once Carine is out of the picture, the black-market alliance will regain its stability, and the small-time pirates will be left with no other option but to accept the new reality. By that time, whatever ace up your sleeve would become useless. You will regret it if you don’t accept my offer today.”

“Is that a threat?”

“No. It’s just a friendly reminder. I admire everything that you’ve achieved thus far. The last person managing to make his name known in the entire Nassau was William Kidd. You should know that you have a bright future ahead of you, but you need to select your trading partners with the utmost care. I don’t wish to become your enemy someday.”

On the stage, scarface finally stopped struggling as he breathed his last. One of his legs still twitched and convulsed. On the other hand, his opponent had finally used up all his strength and had collapsed to the ground. The back of his head was still bleeding profusely, covering the stage in blotches of red. As the gruesome battle came to an end, the audience cheered loudly and clapped for them.

The butler then ordered the servants to clean up the stage.

“Please. Excuse me for now,” said Malcolm.

Holding the glass of wine in his hands, he walked onto the stage as he trampled over the blood. Clearing his throat, Malcolm then gave a short opening speech. He thanked everyone who had supported the black-market alliance. The end of his speech marked the official beginning of the banquet. There was a violinist who had waited backstage for some time to begin his performance. Then, in a long line of servants, the food was finally served.

As for the scarface and his opponent, they were carried out of the ballroom. Malcolm did not stay at the banquet for too long though seeming as if he had something urgent to deal with. He left right after he finished his speech.

Zhang Heng, Anne, and Billy had no intention to stay overnight at the mansion as well. They were ready to leave once they finished their food. As they were leaving, Zhang Heng suddenly stopped walking when he arrived at the gate. He saw two people who were under an apple tree digging the ground with shovels.