Die, Replay, Repeat

Chapter 72: Hell of Hair

"Can I ask if your natural hair color is black or white?" Fang Xiu asked coolly, eyes fixed on the old man's head of dark hair.

The old man seemed truly surprised, "I've had white hair for the last decade."

Fang Xiu burst into laughter then. A grin spread across his pale, calm face, showing off his bright teeth as he slowly said, "Ever been dead before?"

The old man was shocked, then angrily said, "What kind of nonsense is that! You"

"Stop!" Shen Lingxue's shout of warning rang out from not too far away.

A flash of silver zipped through the air, and the sharp scalpel cut the old man's throat.

The old man's eyes popped wide open, his body trembling, his expression one of pure shock.

Zhao Hao and Liu Shuai were completely taken aback. Just like when he had killed that couple, and now the old man, Fang Xiu seemed like a ruthless devil, quick to kill over any disagreement.

Shen Lingxue stormed over, clearly furious, as she blasted Fang Xiu, "What are you doing! You just killed a regular guy! You"

She didn't get to finish. Fang Xiu interrupted her, "He's no regular guy."

Fang Xiu gestured to the old man's neck, and Shen Lingxue's eyes followed, and she froze.

Instead of blood, black hair spilled out from the cut on the old man's throat!

"Hair?!" she blurted out.

Just then, the atmosphere got heavy, and the whole village drowned in a terrifying silence.

It was as if someone hit the mute button. Everything went dead quiet.

Villagers on the street just stopped, frozen like statues.

"Everyone, watch out!" Shen Lingxue immediately knew something was off, urgently signaling them all to stay alert.

But the old man Fang Xiu had just cut was lifting his head, his eyes void of life, making unearthly noises, as the chopped hair at his neck started to reconnect.

Fang Xiu made another quick cut at the neck, stopping the healing and the transformation, disrupting the dark magic.

The head came off this time, the neck ending in a stubble of black hair.

This time, the hair stopped growing. Fang Xiu had used his pain-inflicting power, and under its effect, the hair didn't just stop; it began dying off.

But Fang Xiu wasn't relieved. After all, the village was full of people.

There were at least a hundred folks in Blackwater Village, and right now, the ones nearby were already closing in.

And from every direction, more villagers kept coming.

Right now, the villagers didnt look simple or kind; instead, their faces were filled with an eerie chill. The shiny black hair on their heads started growing out of control, twisting like thin, dark snakes.

Even Shen Lingxue, a seasoned psychic, couldn't hide her despair when she saw the sheer number of villagers.

"Shoot! All these villagers are Specter Slaves! The info we got was off. A Specter that can handle this many Specter Slaves isn't just a D; it's got to be at least C+, maybe even B!" Overwhelmed, Shen Lingxue let slip the harsh truth.

But Fang Xiu wasn't bothered about the grades, as he had just solved a mystery: why there hadn't been a single Specter he could detect in Blackwater.

The whole village was devoid of life!

Those Specters, no matter what shape they took, were all after one thing: people. They hung around where there were people to be found.

Blackwater Village was isolated in the mountains and sparsely populated. Now, with every villager turned into a Specter Slave, it meant for miles around, there wasn't a soul alive. Naturally, that meant no Specters hung around this place because there weren't any resources available for them anymore.

That was why there was no Specter Zone in Blackwater Village and no Specters to be found.

Suddenly, the villagers let out a wave of otherworldly roars and surged toward them like a horde of zombies.

Shen Lingxue looked serious. Biting down on her lip, she said, "We can't take them straight on. I'm going to burn a path for us soon. Stick close behind me to break out. Fang Xiu, I'm guessing the scalpel you've got is a Specter Gadget, right? That blade's really sharp, and it can slice through hair. These hairs are tough; my fire takes a good few seconds to burn them up. Right now, you and I are the only ones who can fight these Specter Slaves. I'll lead, and you handle any stragglers. Liu Shuai, Zhao Hao, you two follow Fang Xiu, get moving!"

With that, Shen Lingxue launched two fireballs into the crowd.

BOOM! BOOM!

The fireballs hit, scattering the villagers in their path, some catching fire and burning intensely.

They had a momentary opening, and the group pushed toward it, but they barely moved before the villagers swarmed in again.

BOOM! BOOM!

Shen Lingxue didn't stop, hurling fire at any villager that got close. Despite her incredible power, she could only take out a few at a time, and this intense fighting was draining her energy fast.

Zhao Hao and Liu Shuai were scared, but they pulled out their guns and kept firing at the approaching villagers.

Unfortunately, the handguns didn't do much against the Specter Slaves. Even a bullet hole would close up with hair in moments, leaving them undamaged, only slowing them down for a short time.

They had only gotten a few feet back when more and more villagers closed in on them.

Worse yet, Shen Lingxue was almost out of Spiritual Energy. The fireballs she created got smaller, her skin turned paler, and despair started to show in her eyes.

Just then, a scream cut through the chaos.

It was Zhao Hao.

Hair, as if alive, crept on him and wrapped around Zhao Hao's throat.

The hair tightened suddenly, choking him with such strength he was yanked down and pulled toward the mass of villagers.

Zhao Hao grabbed at the tightening hair at his neck, his eyes wide, his face going red.

"Xiu, save"

With a quick flash of silver, the hair around Zhao Hao's neck was cut through.

"Whoa!" Zhao Hao sucked in the air, narrowly escaping death.

But they weren't safe yet. In the next second, more hair rose up, aiming at Zhao Hao like blades, forming a huge net that swallowed him whole in seconds.

Fang Xiu kept slicing with his scalpel, but it was too small, and there was too much hair. Cutting strand by strand, he couldn't keep up not even a full-time hairdresser could handle this much hair in days.

And that was when they lost Zhao Hao."