48 Hours a Day

Chapter 711: Planning

“This explains 1810’s abnormal behavior. Once he heard what we told him, he had actually accepted the results of our investigation. However, he knew all too well in his heart that he would have to bear the consequences of this matter going public.”

“The other players in the team will make him reimburse all their game points,” said Black Swan while as she blew out a cloud of smoke.

“He’ll have to admit to everything even if he refuses to do so,” Shen Xixi said. “We found this place, and we even got the name, photo, and bank card number of Yogurt’s friend. It’s only a matter of time before we find him.”

It seemed Shen Dongxing wasn’t expecting anybody to be able to locate them, seeing how no defensive measures had been set up around his house. Since it was an ordinary home, all manner of necessities were lying around. Although Yogurt and Dongxing managed to escape tonight, they brought nothing with them since they left in such a rush. Zhang Heng even found Shen Dongxing’s ID card in the drawer.

“It depends... How far is a father willing to go for his daughter?” Zhang Heng asked gingerly.

“Hmm?”

“Didn’t you send all the information about Shen Dongxing to 1810?”

“Yes.” Shen Xixi seemed lost in thought for a moment. “He deliberately pretended not to remember Shen Dongxing’s name to confuse us? And when he finally left, my, was he in a mighty hurry. He then asked us to keep staying here to collect more clues. He must have wanted to be first to find Yogurt, lest he doesn’t have to pay us the balance.”

Black Swan shook her head. “The moment you found this place, this whole incident was over. If Yogurt directed this disappearing act, 1810 wouldn’t dare to not pay up the balance. After all, you now rank first on the proxy war’s leaderboard.”

“So he’s colluding with Yogurt and the others to make this a real kidnapping case?” The frown on Shen Xixi’s brow only grew deeper.

“This is the only way for him to avoid bearing the cost of all 500 game points on his own,” Black Swan nodded. “But as far as I know him, he’s not going to do something like that.”

“Why?”

“Because he knows very well that this trick won’t work. Even if you get the balance and leave them alone, the nature of his relationship with Yogurt will cause the other team members to keep investigating this matter. And say if we found Shen Dongxing, we can figure out a way to make him talk.”

“Does that mean this is his end?”

“No, he still has a choice. He will need to kill Shen Dongxing before you guys locate him. If Shen Dongxing is dead, he can twist the truth into however he likes,” Black Swan went on.

“Is he going to do that for the sake of 500 game points?” Shen Xixi asked in disbelief.

Black Swan thought on it for a moment. “Under normal circumstances, he would never do such a thing since he has a decent job and a happy family. Unless it’s his last resort, it makes little sense for him to take so great a risk. 500 game points is not a small amount for our team, and 1810 certainly doesn’t own that many. However, I know that he has a Grade-C game item. It should value around 1300 points. If he sells it, he could just top it off.”

“Is he willing to sell the Grade-C item?”

“I don’t know about that, but from your description, I think he is prepared to kill Shen Dongxing.”

“Then we’d better find Shen Dongxing and Yogurt before he does,” Shen Xixi sternly voiced, a sense of great urgency marring her tone.

Shen Dongxing and Yogurt left in such a hurry; they had no time to cover their tracks. Nonetheless, it was still daunting of a task to find those two in such a short time. While looking for them, another doubt seeped into Shen Xixi’s mind. “1810 made his move before us, and he got Shen Dongxing’s picture as well. How is he sure that he can locate the two before we do?”

Upon that, Black Swan turned serious. “Although 1810 can be quite selfish, he’s been doing a good job as our captain, that was until Yogurt joined the team, of course. I think it has something to do with his career. No matter what he does, he always figures out every move he needs to take. If he decides to kill Shen Dongxing, then he would’ve found a way to find him before us. I am afraid that the kid will soon die.”

...

On the other side, in a 24-hour McDonalds restaurant, Yogurt returned to the table with french fries and drinks.

She then talked to a somewhat scrawny boy who was facing her. “Do you want Fanta or Coke?”

“This is not the time to pick a drink.” The boy smiled bitterly. “What should I do? My ID card and wallet are still at home. We can’t even stay in a hotel, and we don’t know where your dad hired such a powerful guy from. He’s too skillful. Not even my Spider-Man can take him on. Is he still human?”

“That guy is despicable and shameless. He worked with the victim to attack us. And he even hid away that...”

“Anti-material rifle.”

“Yes, the anti-material rifle injured your Spider-Man.”

Shen Dongxing did not seem to think so, though. He watched the battle through Spider-Man’s eyes, realizing that Zhang Heng had terrifyingly accomplished swordsmanship, almost as good as legendary anime characters. Soon, Shen Dongxing began to hesitate. “Maybe... Maybe... You should go back first.”

When Yogurt heard that, she threw the tray on the table. “Shen Dongxing! What do you mean? Are you trying to get rid of me?”

“No, no, I’m not trying to get rid of you. We talked about getting revenge from your dad, but I never knew when this matter would truly end.” Shen Dongxing cautiously continued, “We’ve already taken his Grade-C item. Don’t you think... we should stop here?”

“Stop here?” Yogurt snorted coldly, “It’s too early to stop. He needs to pay for abandoning my mother. My mother got pregnant before she graduated university and was forced to return to her hometown alone. On the other hand, that bastard was flirting with the dean’s daughter. While his life got better, my mother had to endure everyone’s criticism. Her family had their backs turned on her, and she had a hard time looking for a job as well. In the end, she had to toil in a factory and eventually married a foreman. That asshole would go bonkers whenever he got drunk, and he would start beating the life out of my mother. Her whole life was ruined. Can a grade-C game item make up for it? No! I need to ruin his life! An eye for an eye!”

Yogurt tore open a packet of ketchup as she talked.

“But... I think your dad’s been treating you well. He actually gave us the game item when I threatened him. He still cares about you.”

“He doesn’t care about me. He just wants to make himself feel better by showing me some kindness. And he thinks that this makes up for what he owes my mother and me? I won’t let him get what he wants.” Yogurt sneered. “This’s why I joined his team!”