Die, Replay, Repeat

Chapter 50: Ace of Spades

"Tell me what you think," Wang Dehai pushed.

"I've faced off with this Shadow before. He's not like other Specters. Even though he's covered in a dark shadow, fighting him feels more like I'm fighting a real person," Yang Ming explained, looking serious.

Wang Dehai was concerned. "So you're saying Shadow might not actually be a Specter, but maybe a psychic with shadow-based powers?"

Yang Ming nodded. "Exactly. Shadow was incredibly powerful, and there was also Human Head helping him. If I hadn't luckily beaten that Human Head first and leveled up to the third-tier, I would've lost for sure.

"And honestly, even after leveling up, I wasn't sure I could beat him. The weird thing is, he vanished as soon as he saw me level up. His fighting style was also odd. He seemed to be holding back. Even though it was powerful, Shadow let Human Head do most of the fighting. He only attacked a bit from the side.

"It felt like he was waiting for me to level up, and that's why he just left. That's purely my speculation thought, and it doesn't make much sense. Those who wait and let the hero get stronger don't exist in real life."

A moment later, Yang Ming added, "Oh, and I found this."

He dug into his pocket and pulled out a metallic poker card. It was battered, but you could tell it was an Ace of Spades.

"Ace of Spades? And it's made from Mind Steel!" Wang Dehai looked really deep in thought as he stared at the card.

After a while, he said, "If this card is actually Shadow's, we've got a serious problem. It pretty much proves that Shadow is not a Specter but a psychic, and possibly one belonging to a big organization."

"Do you think Fang Xiu could be part of that organization?" Yang Ming asked, sounding suspicious.

Wang Dehai shook his head, "I don't think so. Fang Xiu's ability to see the future is too valuable. Nobody would waste him by having him go undercover. He's more useful if he remains in the background, predicting the future.

He added, "Also, if the group behind Shadow was against us, it makes zero sense for them to have Fang Xiu warn you. They'd be better off if Bai Qi had died. Yang Ming, your main job now is to investigate Shadow. If he's backed by an organization that's after us, they could be even more dangerous than Specters."

"Understood. I won't rest until I get to the bottom of it. Bai Qi nearly died because of this. Whoever is behind it, I'll uncover the truth," Yang Ming said, his eyes flashing with determination.

"So, what about Fang Xiu? Should we have someone guard him? After all, he has an important skill," Yang Ming asked.

Wang Dehai thought it over and then shook his head slowly. "There's no need. Right now, nobody knows who Fang Xiu really is. People just think he's a new psychic with some kind of perception skill. They won't pay much attention to him. But if we put a bodyguard on him, that might actually make him a target, which is way riskier.

"Plus, Shadow is incredibly powerful. Except for you and Bai Qi, who else in Greenvine City's Investigation Bureau could even handle him? You guys can't stick to Fang Xiu 24/7. If you did, who would deal with all the Specters running around in Greenvine? So, the best plan is to keep treating Fang Xiu like any other new psychic and not give him special protection."

"Honey, I've missed you so much," Fang Xiu's wife said, floating around him like a butterfly among flowers.

But Fang Xiu just sat on the couch, idly examining his new investigator badge, his new uniform, and a special, encrypted phone. Then, he opened a black briefcase next to him. Inside were exactly two hundred dark gold coins.

The coins were heavy and small but adorned with intricate designs. They were forged from Mind Steel, also known as 'spiritual coins.' They can carry Spiritual Energy. Just one of these coins could go for hundreds of thousands, even up to a million bucks, on the black market. They were hard to come by.

It was not that the coins themselves were valuable; it was just that very few people wanted to sell them. Most psychics hoard these spiritual coins to make their own Spiritual Energy weapons.

After all, you couldn't put a price on your life, especially when facing off against a Specter. A weapon made of spiritual coins could seriously enhance combat skills and increase the chance of survival, which no amount of money could achieve.

Besides, the Investigation Bureau's headquarters tightly controlled the production of these spiritual coins. Usually, they prioritized the coins for internal use, and only the surplus found its way into the outside world. That was what drove up the price of these coins on the black market.

Given how valuable these two hundred coins were, only a team leader like Yang Ming could get so many at once. An average psychic couldn't even get that many if they tried to sell everything they have.

Yang Ming made 20 spiritual coins each month, the top salary in the Greenvine City Investigation Bureau. But the real big bucks came from extra rewards for dealing with Specter incidents. The stronger your skills, the more spiritual coins you could earn.

Even so, two hundred spiritual coins was not a small amount, even for someone like Yang Ming

Fang Xiu understood the dynamic between Yang Ming and Bai Qi. Although they seemed like they had a love-hate thing going on, they likely had a strong bond.

Yang Ming's willingness to give in was partly to keep the drug incident a secret from Bai Qi. But mostly, it was like giving his thanks for the early warning that saved Bai Qi's life.

Staring at the spiritual coins, Fang Xiu fell into deep thought.

_'Should I make an armor out of it?' _

He quickly nixed that idea. With his 'reset' skill, he could mess up and still be okay. So, he didn't need an armor. Plus, using two hundred spiritual coins to craft a full set of armor was impractical.

That left him with two choices: craft a weapon or sell the coins.

If he sold them, he could get into the Global Specter Forum to get more information about Specters and the truth of the world. He already had a scalpel, so the need for another weapon wasn't high. But since the scalpel was a Specter Gadget, having a backup was a good idea.

Two hundred spiritual coins might sound like a lot, but it wasn't enough to craft something big like a sword. Luckily, Fang Xiu wasn't planning on a sword.

He was good with the scalpel. Besides, he didn't need a super-lethal weapon. What he needed was something small, sharp, and good at breaking through things, like another scalpel.

After thinking it over, Fang Xiu decided to use the two hundred spiritual coins to make another scalpel. It would work well for him and also hide his Specter Gadget.

If any spiritual coins were left over, he'd use them to buy information.

Just as he was deep in thought, suddenly, he heard a knock on the door. "