48 Hours a Day

Evil Scientist then took apart a toy car to build a mechanical viper. He then swung it into the air to throw it at the bald man.

However, the bald man stopped him. “Hold on.”

“What is it? Any last words?”

“Yes, you’re right. Our plan is to remove the Infinite building block from the quantum collider and stop you from destroying the city. That aside, there’s something important I need to do.”

“And what’s that?” Evil Scientist frowned.

The bald man grabbed the smart toilet seat under his armpit and offered it to Evil Scientist.

Evil Scientist looked perplexed. “What? I didn’t say that I would provide any warranty service when I gave it to you, did I?”

“I’ve been thinking... about how to end our relationship. I lost my father when I was only a child, and I dropped out of high school to work at a small brick factory-I used to think that getting paid and buying a can of soda in my village were the best things in my life. If you hadn’t found me and told me you saw something in me that no one saw, I would have continued living like that, accomplishing nothing...”

“There are times when I get blinded too. Don’t take it at heart.”

“You told me I could be a different person. You taught me how to discover my potential, potential to build something to make the world a better place. I don’t know... ever since I was a kid, people kept telling me that I could never achieve anything and that I was destined to fail in anything I do. My employer even told me that if I left the factory, I would starve to death, so I should be grateful even if I had to work eighteen hours a day. That was the first time anyone’s ever praised me. I’ve never met my father and never knew what it was like to have one. But at that very moment, I felt certain that you were my father.”

“Why are you suddenly talking about this... you hope I’ll be guilty after killing you? What a contemptible maneuver!” Evil Scientist hissed.

The waiter piped in, “Yeah, I still remember the first time I met you. At that time, I failed my college entrance exam, and I was about to join a gang with Brother Kun next door, collecting protection money from the stalls on the street. You were the one who told me

-before becoming a hero; all heroes have to endure pain and suffering no ordinary people can bear; even if they keep getting knocked down, they’d always stand up again. That’s why they’re called heroes. In the end, I chose to repeat a school year... although I still failed the second.”

“That... Well... it’s always easy to go on about philosophies,” Evil Scientist shook his head.

“You were our leader once, the person I admired and loved the most,” the bald man continued. “But since the explosion, you’ve become different. I should be the one who’s disappointed here. Look at what you’ve done — pulling out Phantom Ninja’s butt and displaying it on the wall of the theatre, hunting down and killing the remaining master builders, and sacrificing the entire city for your own selfish reasons. You even... turned all those innocent tourists into zombies! By the way, you could have just called me and given me a notice in advance. I could have invited my elementary school headteacher here—always hated that one.”

“The point is, you’ve betrayed my love and respect for you, so I don’t think I can still regard you as my father, mentor, or even a person I respect...” The bald man opened his mouth several times, trying to coax something out, but the words just wouldn’t come out. Then, after a while, he finally said with hesitation, “I... I don’t think we can continue our relationship.”

A look of sadness flashed across the Evil Scientist’s face, but he maintained his bluster. “If it’s over, it’s over. I’ve already proven that I am stronger without you idiots anyway.”

“Since it’s over between us, I feel that it’s only appropriate to return this to you.” The bald man offered the toilet seat to the Evil Scientist again. “That’s why I brought it here. Once you accept it, it means that from now onward, you and I are strangers.”

Evil Scientist harrumphed and reached his hand out. “Fine... then we can permanently...”

Just as he was about to touch the toilet seat, the bald man retracted his hand. “You couldn’t do it, right? Just like me. To be honest, I’ve played this scene this a million times in my head before I came to see you. I thought I’m ready to be done with you, but when the moment came, I realized I couldn’t do it. I can’t pretend that the relationship we had never existed... most importantly, I can’t lie to myself...”

The bald man looked into Evil Scientist’s eyes and said softly, “Come back, dear scientist. It’s still not too late.”

Evil Scientist was quiet for a moment. Then, he looked up. “No. I may be able to stand your idiocy, but I will never be able to forgive you for what you did to my wife and daughter,” he said resolutely. “Everything that’s happening now; take it as atonement for what you’ve done.”

With that, he reached out and grabbed the toilet seat from the bald man’s arms, and in a swift motion, broke it apart. Then in a cold, calm voice, he said, “As you wish. We no longer have anything to do with each other.”

“Really? We’re no longer friends?” “Yes, and you better leave before I change my mind, or else...” The bald man stood his ground, unmoving. “But I still have things to say to you,” he said.

“My goodness! Are you really going to continue playing the emotional card? Can’t you say what you need to say in one breath? I’m getting really tired of all of this,” Evil Scientist shot his old companion a murderous look.

“No. It’s something I can only say when we’re no longer friends,” said the bald man. “We’re not responsible for the death of your wife and daughter.”

“What?” Evil Scientist frowned. “What are you blabbing about?”.

“We operated that machine exactly according to the manual you gave us. It exploded because there was a flaw in your design.”