Die, Replay, Repeat

Chapter 172: Glorious Specterization

_"Today the subjects rebelled, many colleagues were eaten. I'm so happy! It would be great if only President Zhou and I were left. Why did the subjects rebel? Participating in such a grand experiment is a great honor!"_

_"President Zhou treats each of you like his own children. How could you do this to him?"_

_"Only I can understand the greatness of President Zhou. Those foolish people say President Zhou is a devil, how stupid! President Zhou is the kindest person in the world! Everything he does is to save the world."_

_"Save everyone!"_

_"Humans cannot defeat Specter. To save humanity, we must transform humans into Specter. The Other Side is the ultimate destination for humanity."_

_"With the human spirit, control the body of a Specter! We must start the era of turning everyone into Specter, letting everyone join this glorious evolution. Thinking of President Zhou's ideals makes me tremble with excitement."_

…

_"Looking at this disobedient kid, always shouting and yelling to become President Zhou's weapon. Annoying, I should have never let him watch cartoons, hmph, I'll give him two extra injections today."_

_"Today I took a photo with President Zhou! Ahhh! I'm so excited that I could't breath!"_

Seeing the word "photo," something clicked in Fang Xiu's mind. He turned the trash can upside down and shook it, causing a heap of garbage to fall out.

He carefully searched and finally found a photo torn into pieces.

Slowly piecing it together, he restored it to its original form.

The photo was of a young woman in a white lab coat, happily linking arms with a man also in a white lab coat.

The woman was petite, and the coat looked a bit bulky on her. She looked pure and cute, very excited. Her cheeks were flushed, and she was making a peace sign with her fingers.

The man was about thirty years old, wearing black-framed glasses with a gentle smile and a scholarly demeanor. His slightly squinted eyes gave a trustworthy impression.

Fang Xiu stared intently at the man in the photo. It was Zhou Qingfeng, the director of the Green Mountain Mental Hospital!

Just by looking at the photo, Fang Xiu would never guess the smiling guy was the man behind the creation of so many fierce Specters. He seemed more like a refined scholar.

Just as Fang Xiu was about to put the photo away, something strange happened.

Fang Xiu's eyebrows furrowed slightly as the image of Zhou Qingfeng on the photo started to blur and fade, as if a mysterious force was trying to erase him.

Quickly, Fang Xiu took out his phone and snapped a picture of the photo. After he took the picture, Zhou Qingfeng completely disappeared from the photo, leaving only the woman in the white lab coat.

Fang Xiu checked his phone gallery, and Zhou Qingfeng was not there either, as if he never existed in the first place.

_'What's happening? Did he erase his own existence?'_

He looked back at the paper, and sure enough, the text had vanished into thin air.

This reminded Fang Xiu of the bloody message on his own home ceiling, warning him not to 'let them know he could see.'

Like the text, the bloody message had mysteriously disappeared after he read it, as if erased by some force.

_'Could the bloody message have been left by Zhou Qingfeng? Was the gift he mentioned meant for me, not Yang Ming?'_

At that moment, Fang Xiu felt he might be caught in a vast conspiracy, controlled by someone behind the scenes.

_'Green Mountain Mental Hospital's Specter Zone appeared at my former workplace, not somewhere else—is that a coincidence, or a deliberate arrangement?'_

Fang Xiu's brow furrowed deeply, but then he thought something was off. Ace and King of Spades were clearly instructed to ensure Yang Ming received the gift, not him.

And if Zhou Qingfeng were truly the puppet master, his power would have reached unimaginable levels. Time travel, death reset—these feats were beyond human capability.

If Zhou Qingfeng had god-like power, he would have already transformed everyone in the world into Specters without needing to conduct secret experiments.

Thinking this through, Fang Xiu concluded that Zhou Qingfeng was likely not the one who left the blood message. Yet, he still wondered about the identity of the writer, as such power was beyond imagination.

Sometimes, Fang Xiu even considered the possibility that the blood message was left by his future self. The ability to rewind death clearly touched upon the realm of time. If he could one day fully control this power, he might be able to leave messages for his past self.

After a moment, Fang Xiu stopped his wild speculations, knowing that without power, all his thoughts were meaningless. He knew that once he reached the pinnacle, all mysteries would be unraveled, and there would be no secrets left in the world for him.

He put down the paper and left the office, with the Specter still closely following him, its cold presence ever by his side.

Fang Xiu walked out of the office backwards to avoid triggering the Specter that could twist his neck if he turned around.

As long as he didn't turn his head directly, he could change directions, like moving to the right or left front. He could even make turns, but not too sharply.

These were all the precautions he needed. Besides that, having a Specter hanging on him didn't really affect him. Fang Xiu even began to enjoy the cool sensation it brought.

As he continued forward, dense footsteps sounded not far behind him.

Then came Yang Ming's voice, "Damn! Another Specter!"

Yang Ming and others had escaped the grasp of the Specter Hands and was now following his trail.

The Specter clinging to Fang Xiu was so large that it completely obscured his body from view, so Yang Ming and the others only saw the Specter.

"Don't worry about this Specter, keep going," Fang Xiu's voice sounded.

"Damn! This Specter is telling us not to bother it!" exclaimed Yang Ming.

"Idiot!" Bai Qi gave him a disdainful look and then walked toward the Specter clinging onto Fang Xiu's back.

As the distance closed, Bai Qi soon saw Fang Xiu standing in front of the Specter. Even after experiencing many Specter events, Bai Qi was taken aback by this sight—a man and a Specter standing closely together, coexisting surprisingly harmoniously.

The others also approached and were secretly amazed by the scene.

"Xiu, what's this? New bodyguard?" one of them joked.

Fang Xiu looked at them and noticed there were no Specters following them. He realized that this type of Specter on his back attacked one person at a time, choosing a new target only after finishing with the previous one.

"Let's go."

Fang Xiu didn't explain further and just moved forward. The others, although curious, didn't ask further questions and followed him.

At that moment, Ma Xingbang suddenly stopped.

"Wait, there's an office here. What if there are clues about the hospital? Shouldn't we check it out?"

Yang Ming and the others looked toward Fang Xiu, seemingly waiting for his opinion.

Being someone with the ability to foresee the future, Fang Xiu was accustomed to being relied on as the brain of any group.