Die, Replay, Repeat

Chapter 10: Want the Real Story?

Wang Ziteng looked at Wu Dahai, who was panting hard and dripping with sweat. His white shirt was all messed up and missing two buttons.

"Useless trash!" he yelled madly. Without missing a beat, he redirected his anger toward Fang Xiu. "An you, Fang Xiu, what's your game? Do you even know who I am"

Wang Ziteng couldn't finish his words as Fang Xiu pushed him onto the floor, revealing a scared and helpless Li Feifei behind him.

"Hey, you pushed me?" Wang Ziteng roared, fuming.

"Ahh!" Li Feifei shrieked, afraid that Fang Xiu was out to hurt her. The next thing she knew, she was pushed, and her slender body tumbled off the table.

Once they were taken care of, Fang Xiu focused on a piece of old paper on the Director's desk.

A quick look made his heart drop.

"To the lucky one, want to know the real story? Want to know what the Specter truly is? If you're here, you must be full of questions. Don't worry, my friend. I've left all your answers in Room 520, Building C, at Green Mountain Mental Hospital. Go there, find out. When you uncover the truth, it will be your time to choose. Follow your gut, and seize destiny's gift."

The letter was signed by a guy named Zhou Qingfeng.

With each word Fang Xiu read, his heart felt heavy.

_'Just as I thought! There's a big secret hiding in this hospital! This Zhou Qingfeng must be the head of Green Mountain Mental Hospital. Who's this letter for? Is it for him or someone else? Did Zhou Qingfeng know I was coming?'_

It seemed that before Fang Xiu could answer the old questions, new ones popped up.

_'Building C, Room 520, huh? Maybe that's where all the answers are.'_

Fang Xiu spun around, ready to leave. But Wang Ziteng was now blocking his path, looking threatening.

"You think you can push me and just walk out? Today" Wang Ziteng's words stopped short as the light bulb above fizzled out, plunging the room into darkness. He was ready to throw a punch but couldn't see his target anymore. "Darn! Is the power out? Wu Dahai! Go switch on the backup power. And Fang Xiu, you better not run, bastard!"

In the darkness, Fang Xiu ignored Wang Ziteng's threat. His mind was racing because, as soon as the lights went out, the Green Mountain Mental Hospital vanished! His vision was filled with darkness, but it wasn't the lack of light that made the hospital disappear. It was because the power cut was in the real world, not the mental hospital.

The mental hospital was always dimly lit. Logically speaking, even with the power outage in the real world, he should still be able to see the hospital. But now, the mental hospital had vanished, like it was swallowed by the darkness.

This sudden change gave Fang Xiu a bad feeling. He quickly whipped out his phone and switched on the flashlight, but all he saw was the real-world office, with no trace of the mental hospital in sight.

_'What is happening?'_

Fang Xiu bolted out of the room and headed to the second floor. He wanted to see if the mental hospital was also missing elsewhere.

Seeing Fang Xiu "run away," Wang Ziteng cursed and ran after him. Wu Dahai, worried about Wang Ziteng, followed. The only person left, Li Feifei, was too scared to stay alone in the dark. So, they all rushed to the second floor.

Once there, Fang Xiu moved about, using his phone light to look for signs of the mental hospital. However, he found nothing, absolutely nothing. The mental hospital had vanished like a mirage.

The staff on the second floor stayed cool. It was just a power cut, and with so many people around, even the most timid ones weren't scared. A few staff, however, tried to intentionally scare everyone else by pretending to scream.

"Ah! I just filled out that form! Didn't even save it! Why now? If I have to do this over, how late will I work?"

Laughter filled the room.

"I'm glad I saved mine."

"Me too."

Then, in the dark, Wu Dahai's voice called out, "Quit yelling. Someone check the circuit breaker!"

"I'll go see what made me redo my form!"

The staff who had just screamed volunteered. He turned on his phone flashlight and ventured off into the dark.

Maybe because there were lots of Specter stories in this world, a coworker teased, "Want me to come with you? Be careful not to bump into anything weird if you're alone."

The staff heading to check the power supply snorted, "Anything weird? The thought of working extra hours tonight scares me more than anything."

With that, his figure slowly vanished into the dark.

Laughter filled the office.

"Hey! What's up? Why's my phone light so dim?" a woman suddenly yelled.

A coworker suggested, "Maybe it's dusty. Give it a wipe."

"I did wipe it, but it's still dim. Stupid phone."

"Wait, my phone light's dim too."

"Same here."

Several staff holding their phones agreed.

It caught Fang Xiu's attention, and he looked over, his eyes narrowing.

In the dark, he could see the staff sitting or standing, each with a phone providing light. Normally, the lights should brighten up the whole office. But now, it seemed like the light was choked by the dark, reaching only half a meter ahead.

Even odder still, a flashlight's beam usually got weaker the further it went. But now, at half a meter, there was a distinct line between light and dark, and the light couldn't extend any further like it was abruptly cut off by the darkness.

It seemed like some strange floating things were whirling around in the dark.

_'It's Specter!'_

Fang Xiu almost instantly knew. This familiar feeling couldn't be mistaken!

Just then, a scream filled with terror erupted from the distant darkness.

"Ah!!!"

The voice was familiarit was the worker who had gone to check the power earlier.

The scream shocked everyone.

"Zhang Bo, what's wrong? Did you get a shock?"

"Zhang Bo, stop trying to scare us!"

THUD!

The sound of something heavy hitting the floor echoed.

"Ah!"

Several women screamed in fear.

"Stop screaming. Zhao, go check it out quickly." Wu Dahai quickly ordered.

Zhao hesitated, but due to Wu Dahai's earlier scare, he had to go.

Zhao was the security guard Fang Xiu had met before. He was called up by Wu Dahai, likely because of his job. So when danger struck, Wu Dahai thought of him first. Flashlight in hand, Xiao Zhao slowly walked into the dark.

Time ticked by, and about five minutes passed. Xiao Zhao hadn't returned, and there were no sounds from the darkness. "