Die, Replay, Repeat

Chapter 8: Time Mix-Up? Mixed-Up Worlds?

Fang Xiu couldn't help but glance back at the spot where the doorway to the mental hospital used to be. Shockingly, it was no longer there.

Instead, he saw a wall.

He took a step back and scanned his surroundings, utterly stunned.

*'Where has the mental hospital gone?'*

His view was now filled with the sight of the stunning and fancy Willow Hill.

Bewildered, Fang Xiu blinked and took another look. The mental hospital had reappeared! But now, the security guard, Zhao, was nowhere to be seen.

*'What in the world is going on?'*

His gaze locked onto the Green Mountain Mental Hospital.

Suddenly, just like something out of a movie, Willow Hill began to flicker in and out of existence. At first, it took on a spectral form, but it gradually solidified, and its colors became more intense.

Then, by some weird twist, the Green Mountain Mental Hospital was still there!

Both buildings seemed to have merged together.

*'Is this a time mix-up? A space mix-up?'*

Fang Xiu's eyes danced, the mental hospital and Willow Hill blending and duplicating before his gaze.

He moved to another spot and tried to touch the hospital wall. His hand sailed right through, stopping only when it met the wall of Willow Hill.

He immediately figured it out. This mental hospital must be like the other Specters he'd encounteredillusions that could only be seen and touched under special conditions.

Willow Hill was still there, while the mental hospital seemed to overlay it like a 3D image.

The thought of finding Wu Dahai slipped from Fang Xiu's mind. He needed to solve the puzzle that was this mental hospital.

'_Why is everything else a walking Specter, but this place a strange building illusion?'_

"Hey, Fang Xiu," Zhao's voice came from behind him. "Why did you stop talking and just walk off?"

But Fang Xiu ignored him; his sole attention was now on the mental hospital.

He moved slowly. With the two buildings merged together, it was difficult to discern what was fake and what was real. He didn't want to walk into a wall.

At that moment, Fang Xiu was standing near the garden area of Willow Hill, yet what he saw was the decayed wall of a hospital room. Without hesitation, he walked through the room's wall as if it were air.

The scene changed before his eyes. Now, he stood in a dimly lit hallway lined with benches, the walls stained with dried, dark red blooda sight straight out of a horror movie.

It felt like he had walked into a hospital from long ago. The walls were grimy, and the floors were made of dull gray concrete instead of the usual marble.

Fang Xiu didn't take the usual paths, instead moving through the walls to explore the surroundings. It looked like something terrible had happened in this mental hospital. There was blood everywhere, even bits of rotten flesh.

He moved through the main hall, dining room, bathroom, and activity roomall empty. But upon reaching a certain patient's room, he froze, completely drawn in.

This room was unique. Its door, a deep, dark red, resembled dried blood. It looked like a gaping, monstrous mouth from a distance, enough to send chills down one's spine. Inscribed on the door was a number.

_'Room 104?'_

Curious, Fang Xiu stepped forward, passing right through the door and into the room.

Inside was rather ordinary, with only a run-down bed. Huddled in the corner of the bed was a little girl dressed in a hospital gown. Her face was buried deep between her knees, with her arms wrapped around her legs. A worn flower bracelet hung loosely around her pale wrist.

Fang Xiu didn't look at her directly, pretending not to see her, but he observed her from the corner of his eye. He wasn't nave enough to believe there were living humans in this specter-filled mental hospital, even if they looked human.

The girl seemed to sense Fang Xiu's presence and abruptly raised her head. Fang Xiu averted his gaze immediatelythe girl had no facial features.

He walked straight ahead while the girl's featureless face followed his movement until he left Room 104.

After room 104, Fang Xiu passed many more rooms, each with its number. He went into each one, encountering various specters. Most were vicious and bloodthirsty, and they lunged at the sight of a living person. Unfazed, Fang Xiu faxed each attack without batting an eye.

By his count, there were dozens of similar rooms, indicating that the mental hospital housed at least dozens of specters.

The building must be hiding a big secret.

As he walked, he suddenly came to a halt. He shockingly found that the doors of rooms 162, 169, and 177 were open, and the rooms were completely empty.

_'Have the specters escaped?'_

He pressed on, venturing deeper, only to find a real villa blocking his path. He had no keys, so he had to find another way.

After taking a detour, he found himself inside a doctor's office within the mental hospital. The room had a desk with a scattered stethoscope and blood-stained case reports.

Fang Xiu moved closer to read the case reports, and his eyes narrowed. One of the reports covered in blood had a few lines visible.

It read, "Experiment 128, Specter Transformation Level: 2164. Transformation failed."

_'Transform into a specter?! Specters were transformed from people? Are the Specters in those rooms once human?'_

Fang Xiu was seized by shock. He wanted to keep reading, but in the next moment, he paused. Everything around him was illusory, like a holographic image. He couldn't physically pick up the case reports to read further.

"Darn it!"

The secret seemed so close, yet out of reach, fueling his frustration.

Suddenly, several thin strands of black hair drifted into Fang Xiu's view. They floated down from the air, their source a mystery. But he wasn't about to foolishly look up. He acted like he was just wandering around, subtly moving away while watching discreetly from the corner of his eye.

He saw a "pretty" doctor in a white coat, her limbs stretched out like a spider, hiding on the ceiling. Her face was Specterly pale, her eye sockets were pitch black with creepy patterns, and her eyes were all white, devoid of pupils. Her hair, over a yard long, hung down from the ceiling, and she held a shiny scalpel in her hand.

_'A doctor?'_

Fang Xiu was a little surprised.

_'Did she write these case reports? Could she have been a human once?'_

Different guesses raced through his head, but he couldn't find any answers, and the Specters surely wouldn't answer his questions. Fang Xiu could only keep going. If there were clues in the doctor's office, then there must be more in the mental hospital.

Including the Director's office!

That must be the heart of the mental hospital, likely holding all its secrets. Fang Xiu kept weaving through the mental hospital, hunting for the Director's office. Soon, he found an administrative area. Based on standard hospital design, he deduced the Director's office should be in this area.

Drawing closer, he realized that its real-world location was none other than the sales office of Willow Hill, the place where he worked. "