Xiao Daidzhao

Growing up with eccentric materialistic parents who left him in the care of his grandfather for a job overseas, Zhang Heng had learned to adapt and be unfettered by the oddities and challenges in life. But he would soon learn the baffling truth about the world he thought he knew when one day at midnight time froze and he found himself in a world so quiet and still it was deafening. That night, he discovered that he had 24 hours more than everybody else and thus, marked the beginning of his adventures. The mysteries surrounding his newfound ability only deepened when a strange old man claimed to have given Zhang Heng that ‘gift of time’ and recruited the young man to participate in a cryptic ‘life-changing’ game on his behalf. Little did Zhang Heng know that accepting those terms meant embroiling himself in many versions of reality and exposing himself to the hidden secrets of the world—a decision he could never undo.

48 Hours a Day

Zhang Heng put on his clothes and followed the doctor to where Ah Ji's residence. When he opened the door, Ah Ji was sitting on the table with a small knife while trimming the tip of a cigar.

"Welcome! Friend of Finland! Freedom fighter! My yellow-skinned friend!" he exclaimed with his arms open.

Zhang Heng was invited to sit in front of Ah Ji. He had little contact with the guerilla commander for the past two months. The last time he walked into this cottage was during his first arrival. He still remembered that the commander left after speaking a few sentences, and Maji was the one who talked to him after that. Zhang Heng had no idea why the commander would want to talk to him now.

Ah Ji put his cigar aside and produced a bottle of vodka under his table. It had been confiscated from one of the Soviet troops with only half a bottle left. Maji then took out three glasses and filled them up.

The Mannerheim Line Welcomes You XVIII