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

The Chinese people of this era generally wore queues, and unlike later generations, were extremely skinny. On top of that, there were also yellow-skinned Native Americans, so it was not surprising that the bailiff failed to recognize Zhang Heng's ancestry.

But when the bailiff dismounted and approached the stranger, he could tell that Zhang Heng was not an Indian—which was a relief. With all the conflict between the colonists and the natives, he did not want to be standing at the end of the barrel of an Indian's gun in the no-man's-land of the Gobi.

The bailiff removed his other holster and hung it on the horse's back to reassure the Chinese man he meant no harm.

Seeing that the other party had expressed deference, Zhang Heng returned the favor by putting away his revolver.

"Alright. I never thought I'd come across a Chinese in this god-forsaken place." The bailiff offered Zhang Heng a hand. "I'm Morton."

Mysterious Oriental Man