48 Hours a Day

“I’m not trying to split up. I’m just giving my opinion,” the maintenance man said. “Since we don’t know what the main mission is, why don’t we each choose a direction and do our own thing to increase the chances of completing the mission?”

“What an excellent plan: finding yourself a safe place to hide while letting us investigate and risk radiation. If we complete the main mission, you can leave with us. If we go in the wrong direction, you can continue to wait until the official investigation results are out,” Master Kui said coldly.

“That’s right, that’s what I thought,” the maintenance man admitted generously, “But I didn’t stop you guys from leaving with me. And after leaving, I didn’t do nothing like you said. I just chose to ensure my own safety before thinking about the next step.”

The doctor hesitated for a moment and said, “From my professional point of view, the latter’s plan is indeed safer.”

“You’re just afraid. After seeing Coconut’s condition, you’re just worried you’ll become like that,” Kui spat.

“Who wouldn’t be?” the maintenance man defended. “We’re facing nuclear radiation in this dungeon. Think about its name: the Invisible Killer. We’re facing an enemy that we simply cannot defeat. The most important thing is to try our best to save our lives.”

“I’ll stay behind and help you guys with the translation,” Mouse said to Master Kui. “We can’t wait for the official report. The sooner we complete the main mission, the better Coconut’s chances of surviving.”

When he finished speaking, the eyes of all the players turned to Zhang Heng.

Only Simon remained silent.

Simon was the most famous of all the players. Even though Zhang Heng did not admit it, after entering the dungeon, he did assume the role of leader of the temporary party. Furthermore, he had a fanboy willing to kill the youth, the latter already expressing his unconditional support for Zhang Heng’s decision. In other words, one vote for Zhang Heng was equivalent to two votes.

However, Zhang Heng’s mind did not seem to be on the argument between Master Kui and the maintenance man. He stood in front of the glass window and looked out at the night sky. No one knew what he was thinking.

Just as the maintenance man and the others were about to lose their patience, Zhang Heng said, “I will stay here.”

Master Kui, Mouse, and the others heaved a sigh of relief when they heard this.

“Of course, it’s up to you whether you want to leave or stay. If anyone wants to leave Pripyat, I won’t stop them,” Zhang Heng continued. “But from a personal point of view, I don’t recommend that anyone leave.”

“Why?” The repairman was stunned. He had already made up his mind to leave. Zhang Heng’s decision didn’t affect him, but he found it hard to ignore the latter’s suggestion. After all, Simon was the number one player in the game. The repairman wouldn’t be surprised if he discovered something that no one else had.

However, Zhang Heng didn’t have any intention of explaining himself. He only asked, “Is there anything else?”

“No, there’s nothing else.”

“Then that’s it.”

This also marked the end of that night’s argument. The repairman and doctor looked at each other and left the room together. After that, Master Kui and Mouse walked to the door. Kui said, “I’ll see you in my room in 15 minutes. Let’s discuss what to do next.”

“Okay, but let’s delay the time. How about an hour later?” Zhang Heng said.

“No problem. We can also use this time to pack our things. After tonight, we probably won’t be able to stay at the Pripyat Hotel anymore.”

After saying that, Master Kui and Mouse walked out of the room. Finally, only Zhang Heng and the young man were left. The young man’s face immediately revealed an expression of discovery. He rubbed his hands together and said excitedly, “Idol, did you discover something?”

“I told you not to think too much of me. I’m just like the other players, still trying to figure out the main storyline mission,” Zhang Heng said. He pointed out the window. “Do you see it?”

“What?” The young man walked to the window and looked down.

At this time, Pripyat was still in a deep sleep. The streets looked deserted, and even the most dedicated shops were not open yet. However, on the street opposite the hotel, a group of people dressed like militia was following a sprinkler truck to do the sanitization work.

“We need their clothes,” Zhang Heng said. “Once the official evacuation order is issued, we’ll have to change our identities to stay in this city.”

“Do you want me to go get their clothes?”

“Can you do that?”

“There are exactly four drivers and the people behind them. I can handle two at a time.”

“Yes, I can handle the other two,” Zhang Heng said. “Let’s go. They’re about to leave this place.”

To avoid alerting the receptionist, the two of them jumped out of the empty room on the second floor and landed on the floor. Then, Zhang Heng and the young man put on their gas masks. One was to isolate themselves from the radiation dust outside. At the same time, they also covered their faces.

Before leaving the room, the young man grabbed a bottle of vodka from the bar counter. He held the bottle and walked toward the sprinkler with his head lowered.

One of the three militiamen behind noticed the sudden appearance of the uninvited guest. He said something to the young man and gestured for him to leave. He was probably trying to persuade the young man to go home.

However, the latter seemed to have not heard the militiaman’s words and continued to walk towards the four of them with his head down. He even quickened his pace when they were less than fifty meters away.

Although the militia felt that the newcomer was a little strange, they did not think too much about it. After all, there were four of them on their side, and there was only one on the other side. No matter how they looked at it, it did not pose a threat to them. Moreover, when the uniformed youth walked into the militiamen, they also saw the wine bottle in his hand.

This seemed to explain the youth’s abnormal behavior. Thus, a militiaman walked up and wanted to ask if the battle uniform youth needed help. However, when he was almost in front of the uniformed youth, he felt that something was wrong. He couldn’t tell what was wrong either until the two of them were less than half a meter apart.

The militia realized what was wrong. Although the other party looked drunk, there was surprisingly no smell of alcohol on his body. However, just as he was about to warn his companions behind him, the beheading youth had already made his move. At this moment, he was no longer drunk. He directly threw the wine bottle in his hand at the head of the militia in front of him. The latter was smashed to the ground.

This sudden scene also made the two companions behind him stare blankly.