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

"That was an exhilarating fight! You followed all the pointers I gave you, won the fight, and fooled all the spectators at the same time. Here's the money you won."

Holmes handed all thirty pounds to his flatmate.

As a participant, Zhang Heng couldn't bet on himself, so he had Holmes place the bet on his behalf. In addition to the two pounds he won, he received a respectable 32 pounds from the fight alone.

"You have no prior reputation, and no one knows how good you are. What more, this is just some lowly anonymous fight, so the fee for your appearance is only this much. It will get better, but it looks like you're too eager to make a name for yourself, haha!"

"Like I said, making money is of secondary importance to me," replied Zhang Heng as he wiped the sweat off his face with a towel.

The Idle Days