48 Hours a Day

Finding a rock wall that offered some shade, he sat down to rest for a while, waiting for the scorching sun to go down a little before taking off again. He had a whiptail lizard for company, hiding in the same spot as him to escape the tremendous heat.

In the Apollo program training camp, Zhang Heng underwent an exercise to test how well he could survive a desert. The only difference was that he was given a supply package. NASA had done an excellent job providing proper training to their future astronauts, having accounted for every emergency that could happen and provided contingencies for them. The trainees were even given anti-inflammatory drugs. This time, it was different. Zhang Heng was being thrown into the Gobi by the game system. From his clothes to personal effects, he was sorely unprepared to survive the rigors of the desert.

Since he had found the railroad, Zhang Heng originally planned to walk along with it for a while until the train came, intending to hop onto it and get off at the next settlement. Unfortunately, it seemed like he was not in luck today. Two hours had passed, and he still had not seen a train pass. So, he could only carry on the journey with his legs.

After walking for almost four hours, water in his body was evaporating quickly. Not only did the corners of his mouth become dry and cracked, but the exposed calves and arms were also a little red and swollen, an indication that he was experiencing sunburn. Fortunately, he spotted a small town from far.

He was relieved. Like most of the small towns in the west in this era, the unknown town he spotted was built along the railroad. The railroad tracks went through the town center, with residential houses on one side and taverns, brothels, and casinos on the other side. Drunkards tend to make a lot of trouble. So, it was necessary to keep them on the other side.

When Zhang Heng got closer, he realized that something was not right with this town. It looked entirely deserted; and through the open doors of a few houses, there wasn’t a single living soul to be seen in them. Not to mention how they were devoid of furniture as well. Zhang Heng randomly walked into one and found the ground filled with dust. It seemed the owner had not stayed here for a long time. The other residential buildings of the town were no better than this one. The only one that showed the slightest difference was the bar in the town. Eight horses were hitched outside the bar. Considering that this was probably the only place with humans in the entire town, Zhang Heng did not hesitate to open the door and enter the bar.

Unlike the empty town outside, the atmosphere in the bar was vivacious. Four men gathered around a table playing poker while cursing at each other loudly. There was also a guy who was already drunk lying on a table by the window; he had a booming snore. Meanwhile, the lame barkeeper was counting the bottles of liquor on the alcohol rack. On the other table, two young men were sitting there quietly. One was cleaning his rifle, and the other played with a dagger.

The moment Zhang Heng strolled in, the racket of a bar fell into a hushed silence. Of course, such behavior was completely understandable. His 21st-century attire looked a little too trendy, not to mention the eye-catching skin color he had.

Since he was not here on a date, he didn’t really care what people thought of him. Glancing around, he walked to the bar and put down his backpack.

“Excuse me, give me a glass of water... beer is fine too.”

The lame boss did not turn around when he heard Zhang Heng’s request, seeming as if he heard nothing, and continued to sort out the alcohol rack. Zhang Heng frowned. The United States had a very complicated immigration composition. The English and Scottish weren’t the only ones that emigrated here, and though relatively rare, the possibility that the boss spoke no English couldn’t be ruled out completely. So Zhang Heng asked him again in French and Spanish.

Yet, there was no response from the boss.

Instead, a bearded man put down the cards in his hand and walked over. Though coming off as rugged and weathered, he was unexpectedly polite. “Mind if I sit next to you?”

“Please,” replied Zhang Heng after a pause. “Since you are a patron, perhaps you could answer my next question. Is the owner of this bar deaf?”

“Hahaha!”

The man laughed when he heard Zhang Heng’s question. Instead of answering directly, he posed another question. “Where do you come from, my friend? I don’t see your horse outside the bar.”

“It’s in... another town.”

“Well, as far as I know, there are no towns within a hundred miles.”

“So, as you can see, I’ve walked a long way,” replied Zhang Heng. He looked toward the table where the man was sitting and pointed to the bottle of whiskey on it. “Can you give me a glass of whiskey? I have not taken a sip of water for some time.”

“Of course! As the saying goes, good whiskey is meant to be shared among friends.”

The bear-like man smiled, but he did not get up. He then looked at Zhang Heng and blinked. “You are a Chinese man, right? You look stronger than most Chinese guys, and you are wearing some weird clothes. Also, you don’t have that thing behind your head...”

The bear-like man made a braid gesture. “Don’t be nervous. I had two Chinese friends who owned a grocery store in the town. I truly liked them. I did visit their grocery store frequently... you know, they were like tireless bees flying beside your ears every day. Buzz... Buzz... Buzz... Ah... forgive me; I’m not well educated. That might have been an inappropriate analogy... One day, our friendship came into a little hiccup...”

The bear-like man suddenly looked very troubled. “You be the judge. That morning, I went to their store as usual and took honey, candles, and two wine bottles. Before leaving, they stopped me and asked me to settle my debts. Their actions hurt me deeply. Considering our friendship, I never thought money could be used as a measure. So I put down the honey, candle, and the bacon in my hand. I opened one of the wine bottles and took two big sips from it. “And as that happened, my two friends kept chattering, and chattering in my ears... So I drew my revolvers from my waist and shot-off their cute little heads! Suddenly, all problems between us have been resolved!”

The bear-like man grinned widely.

“Now, let me answer your previous question. No, one-leg Randall ain’t deaf. Considering his age, this old bastard hears sharper than a dog. He clearly heard every word you said. It’s just that... he doesn’t give a f*ck about you.”