Die, Replay, Repeat

Chapter 66: Body Under Water

The strength of the hair was unknown, but it couldn't possibly resist the blade of a Specter Gadget. Once the strands were cut, they snapped back to the riverbed like severed tentacles, disappearing without a trace.

Fang Xiu was annoyed. He loathed these kinds of Specters. Not only were they elusive, but they also retreated after a single blow, depriving him of the pleasure of slaughtering them. Without a second thought, Fang Xiu dove deeper, agile as a fish with his activated psychic power.

Guided by his blood-pupil, he followed the direction the hair had retracted. At last, upon reaching the bottom of the lake, he saw the Specter's true form.

It was a female corpse!

She was dressed in white, her skin pallid and her face unrecognizable due to swelling and decay. Even her eyeballs were gone, leaving only dark, empty sockets.

Her long, sleek, black hair floated at the river's bottom, constantly writhing. From a distance, it resembled a thick nest of snakes. Excitement glinted even brighter in Fang Xiu's eyes, and his blood-pupil faintly shimmered.

He charged directly toward the female corpse.

Perhaps angered by his actions, the corpse suddenly opened her lipless mouth and emitted a muffled roar. Her hair, like tens of thousands of water snakes, surged toward Fang Xiu.

Fang Xiu was restricted in his movements underwater. It was impossible for him to cut all the hair with just a scalpel. However, he remained calm and showed no panic.

A bloody light radiated from his right eye. Under its glow, the female corpse seemed as if hit by a hammer, letting out a shrill scream. The hair that had been attacking him suddenly retreated in fright, like an octopus pulling in its tentacles.

Seizing the moment of her agony, an increasingly thrilled Fang Xiu aggressively swam toward her. By now, he started to feel a bit oxygen-deprived, a light dizziness setting in, but he didn't stop. The Specter was right before him; he needed to make her feel pain.

Sensing the approaching danger, the corpse extended her swollen, pale hand, lunging at Fang Xiu menacingly. But Fang Xiu didn't care. His excitement was almost tangible in his eyes, and the calm expression on his face had vanished, replaced by an involuntary, twisted grin.

The next moment, the female corpse managed to grab Fang Xiu's neck. Her grip was as cold and unyielding as iron. The sensation of piercing pain and suffocation hit him. Far from halting him, however, it only inflamed his grim and terrifying expression even further.

SWISH!

Fang Xiu swung the scalpel in his hand fiercely, the sharp blade cutting down from the forehead of the female corpse, slicing effortlessly and continuing its downward path. The forehead, between the brows, the nose bone, and the mouthall these areas instantly split open, forming a wound several centimeters deep.

Fang Xiu even saw the rotten brain and white bones within the wound. With just that one strike, amplified by his pain-inflicting abilities, the female corpse couldn't even muster a scream. Her whole body convulsed as if electrocuted.

Her hands, which had been choking Fang Xiu's neck, instinctively released their grip.

Seeing the corpse in agony only fueled Fang Xiu's excitement. Without giving her any time to recover, he slashed againthis time, a horizontal cut.

This second cut intersected with the first, forming a cross on the corpse's face. If you've ever sliced a watermelon, you know that after you make a horizontal and a vertical cut, the flesh will open up like a blooming flower. That was exactly what happened to the corpse's head at that moment.

Concerned for her 'well-being,' Fang Xiu intentionally refrained from using his full pain-inflicting abilities; he wanted her to suffer slowly. But the moment the second cut was made, the convulsing body of the corpse froze, seemingly becoming just a lifeless corpse.

Fang Xiu almost couldn't believe that the Specter was this fragile.

Before he could even react, the corpse's hair sprang to life, detaching from her head and forming into a floating black ball that whooshed away at an incredible speed, disappearing from sight in the blink of an eye.

Seeing this, a cold flash burst in Fang Xiu's eyes. He realized that the body was not the real Specter; it was the hair.

He wanted to give chase, but he was at his limit. The suffocating feeling was becoming increasingly unbearable, and the dizziness clouded his mind. Reluctantly, he resurfaced.

SPLASH!

Fang Xiu burst out of the water.

Shen Lingxue and the others anxiously looked over. They were relieved to see Fang Xiu, but their faces filled with concern at the sight of the dark red handprint on his neck.

"Xiu, are you alright? What about the Specter? Zhao Hao asked urgently.

Fang Xiu didn't answer right away but took several deep breaths to regain his composure. "It got away. The real body of this Specter seems to be her hair."

"Hair?"

"Let's not talk about this now. While the Specter has fled, let's see if we can make it to shore!" Shen Lingxue said urgently.

Everyone nodded and swam toward the shore.

This time, the shore didn't retreat as before; it stayed in place.

Soon, Fang Xiu and the others managed to drag Liu Shuai, who was like a dead fish, ashore. After reaching the land, they didn't stop to rest but ran quite a distance away. Only after they were far from the water's edge did they take a moment to catch their breaths.

"Save him first!" Shen Lingxue ordered, immediately beginning to perform chest compressions on Liu Shuai. She didn't stop until Liu Shuai spat out several mouthfuls of ice-cold river water.

However, Liu Shuai still hadn't regained consciousness, and his face was as pale as a sheet.

"We need to give Liu Shuai a mouth-to-mouth. Who's going to do it?" Shen Lingxue's eyes shifted between Fang Xiu and Zhao Hao.

Fang Xiu remained expressionless, while Zhao Hao looked visibly horrified. He glanced at Liu Shuai's chubby lips and felt that eating feces might be a better option.

"Why don't you do it?" Zhao Hao retorted.

Shen Lingxue sneered, "Ever heard of the concept that men and women should not even touch hands when giving or receiving things? Why should I be the one to do it when there are two grown men here?"

"So it's fine if it's guy-to-guy?" Zhao Hao shook his head vehemently, every hair on his body bristling with refusal.

At this moment, Fang Xiu started walking toward Liu Shuai.

A strange look crossed Shen Lingxue's eyes, and Zhao Hao looked even more horrified. He wanted to say something but held back, fearing that Fang Xiu would ask him to step in.

Just as everyone thought Fang Xiu was about to administer mouth-to-mouth...

SMACK!

Fang Xiu delivered a resounding slap across Liu Shuai's face.

Liu Shuai let out a miserable scream and abruptly sat up.

"Ow, who hit me?"

"He's awake now?" Zhao Hao was dumbstruck.

Shen Lingxue's expression turned unpleasant, and she glared menacingly at Liu Shuai, "Were you pretending to be unconscious?"

Liu Shuai immediately cried foul, "Pretending? What are you talking about? I genuinely passed out."