48 Hours a Day

Before Zhang Heng could say anything, Ma Wei’s imposter popped her head up and asked the question.”You know how to deal with this thing?”

“This is my first time facing this creature. Of late, lots of stray animals and homeless people have been disappearing from the streets. We received news that someone saw the black liquid moving within the walls at the locations of those unexplainable disappearances. My people have been trying to track it down for some time. However, it’s extremely cunning. Judging by the victims’ background information, it basically targets the weakest group of the society. Nobody would notice that they’ve gone missing. I can’t figure why it would come to the university this time, though. This is our best chance to get rid of it.”

As they ran, Shen Xixi took out her cellphone to contact Wang Yu and the rest of the organization to gather at the university. When she returned her phone to her pocket, Zhang Heng asked her a question.

“Your organization deals with these matters as well?”

“I’m sorry that I lied to you. Usually, people wouldn’t believe us if they didn’t see such creatures with their own eyes. It’s hard to explain these things to the public, which is why we call ourselves a non-profit organization.” Ma Wei’s imposter whispered into Zhang Heng’s ear,

“She’s trying to say that you’re not going to be much help. What’s going on right now? This woman doesn’t know that you are a player. And it seems kind of sadistic too. She likes using her allies as bait.”

“Just stay put.”

“Huh?”

“I’m not talking about you.”

“I know that you’re not talking about me.”

Ma Wei’s imposter looked really serious. She then turned around to look at Shen Xixi.

“Hey, pretty one. When are your men coming?”

“Usually, all of them are home at this hour. They live some distance from this place, and would need at least an hour and a half to get here. That’s if they manage to get a cab right now. As for those living nearby, they can get here within half an hour.”

“Great! At least someone will take care of our bodies.”

Although whatever Ma Wei’s imposter said was unpleasant to the ear, she was trying to tell everyone that the three weren’t in a good state. Until now, Zhang Heng still had his stamina in tip-top condition and didn’t show signs that he would tire anytime soon. However, he was still carrying someone over his back, and it would be impossible for him to keep running at such speeds for a sustained amount of time. As for Shen Xixi, one could easily see the regular workouts she’d been doing, with only the thick winter clothing covering her dazzling figure. As compared to Ma Wei’s imposter that fizzled out after only a minute of running, Shen Xixi was definitely more durable than her. Until now, at least, her breathing was still steady, and it certainly didn’t look as if she was about to collapse anytime soon. However, nobody could predict what would happen in ten minutes.

Among the three of them, Ma Wei’s imposter was the only one that didn’t use any of her stamina. That said, she still tried to put herself to good use. While the monster was jumping from wall to wall, she had noticed a pattern to it, and the moment she spotted the walls around them changing, she would quickly inform Zhang Heng. “We need to do something about this,” said Zhang Heng after running for a while.

The three ran at the same pace with the monster. However, the path they chose was predictable, where they ran along the tar roads. Besides not always being a straight path, they would sometimes come across buildings in front of them. In such instances, the creature would take advantage of its wall-jumping abilities to move along the buildings, closing in the gap between them or even surpassing them at times. Left with no other option, they could only turn and run back in the direction from where they came.

IOT

After a short silence, Shen Xixi finally made up her mind.

“The typical human isn’t powerful enough to deal with such a creature. I have a way to distract him. I want the two of you to use this opportunity and get away from this place.”

As she spoke, Shen Xixi took out her wallet and drew out a red card. Zhang Heng turned to look and found out that it actually looked familiar to him. He soon recognized that it was a trap card from Yu-Gi-Oh! – Battle Mania

Card Type: Trap card.

Number of uses: Unlimited.

Rarity: Rare (R)

Effect: Activates only during your opponent’s Standby Phase. All face-up monsters that your opponent controls would be changed to their Attack Position and cannot change their battle positions this turn. If possible, all monsters your opponent currently controls must attack in this turn.

After seeing the effect of Escape Dagger, Zhang Heng wasn’t surprised by Shen Xixi’s item. He could guess what she was trying to do. In Yu-Gi-Oh, this card would force the opponent’s monster to morph into its attack position. In other words, she was trying to taunt the beast. After creating an opportunity for Zhang Heng and Ma Wei’s imposter to escape, she would contact Wang Yu to help her. Acquiring a game item wasn’t her only reason for her insistence on killing this monster. She was mainly tired of seeing people getting killed by it.

“Wow! Look at her spirit compared to you. When we first met, you completely ignored me even after seeing those thugs about to rape me. What a stark difference!”

Zhang Heng said nothing in defense. Instead, he stopped running and said, “Come down.”

“No way! Are you angry with me? I was just making a random comment.” Ma Wei’s imposter seemed to be unhappy, but she had to come down from Zhang Heng’s back regardless. Both of them were safe for now after Shen Xixi used the trap card. However, Ma Wei’s imposter didn’t think that Shen Xixi could outrun the monster and win the battle. Judging by her looks, Ma Wei’s imposter knew that Shen Xixi wasn’t confident that she could hold up until her people came to her aid. Still, she had used the trap card to get Zhang Heng and the woman to a safe spot. At the same time, she didn’t stop running away from the monster, trying her best to draw it as far as possible from them.

“We should do something to help her!” muttered Shen Xixi when she saw her getting further and further away from them.

“Great! Go help her then. If she lives, I won’t hold you responsible for what you did to me before this.”

“I have something to do. So, I’ll be away for a while.”

“This is unreal! Come on, brother?! Why do I have to go first every bloody time? You’re exactly like my primary school teacher. He lets his students do the most difficult stuff and only starts to work properly during award month,” groaned Ma Wei’s imposter while rolling her eyes at Zhang Heng. “Remember. Hang on until I come back.”

“Wait. What if you don’t come back?”

Zhang Heng had already left when Ma Wei’s imposter asked the question. As a chilly gust of wind blew at her, she pulled her coat together. Just like what she did to Zhang Heng when the monster had attacked him, she chose to run towards Shen Xixi for help.