Die, Replay, Repeat

Chapter 91: Not Dead Yet?

Yang Kunpeng was visibly shaken as he recounted the harrowing events.

"She just reached out and ripped off one of my team member's face and then fixed it onto her own. The faceless team member suffocated to death since he couldn't breathe without his nose and mouth. She didn't seem to like that face and kept taking more, killing half of my team. The rest of us ran for our lives. She didn't chase us but kept fiddling with the faces she had collected. That little girl must be at least a Class B Specter, maybe even an A. We stood no chance against her."

"While escaping, we encountered another humanoid Specter with its head on backward, growing out of its back. It broke several people's necks effortlessly, and our attacks seemed like mere scratches to it. Then there was a Specter covered in red incense sticks, dark red candles sticking out of its flesh, emitting red smoke. The smoke was alive!"

As he spoke, Yang Kunpeng suddenly vanished right before everyone's eyes, only to reappear a second later, continuing his story, "One of my teammates inhaled that smoke and was in extreme pain."

Then he disappeared and reappeared again, flickering in and out of existence like a glitchy movie.

Bai Qi and Wang Dehai exchanged looks, knowing full well that Yang Kunpeng couldn't control his Spiritual Energy anymore, causing this instability. His ability was invisibility, and now he was unable to control it, hence the intermittent disappearing and reappearing.

"The red smoke was not smoke but tiny red insects. In the end, only three of us survived. Thankfully, we had some escape routes provided by Fang Xiu. At the emergency exit, we saw Nightmare," he said, his flickering becoming more frequent, clearly terrified.

"That Nightmare was no Class C Specter. It was an A! It had no physical form, so no attack could harm it. It was invincible, immortal!"

Fang Xiu, who had previously encountered Nightmare, wasn't surprised. Nightmare was indeed elusive and had no physical form, appearing only as black smoke with a pair of blood-red eyes, so it was possible that it was immune to attacks. However, Fang Xiu was also aware that Nightmare was just hard to kill at most, not immortal.

Fang Xiu might even be able to prove it next time he was at the hospital.

"The line between dreams and reality blurred. Everything felt too real; it wasn't an illusion but another world! Self-harm was useless. Everyone has their own fears; even if you know it's fake, you can't overcome it. Fear can't be conquered!"

Upon hearing this, Wang Dehai and Bai Qi instinctively looked toward Fang Xiu. He had previously categorized the Green Mountain Mental Hospital as Grade C partly because Fang Xiu and Zhao Hao, who were ordinary humans at the time, managed to escape. He had thought that Nightmare wasn't that powerful, assuming that knowing it was fake and having a bit of courage would be enough to handle the situation.

Now, Wang Dehai realized his huge mistake.

It was truly hard for humans to overcome fear. It was not about just shouting and closing your eyes in the face of fear. It required real indifference. Knowing it was fake beforehand wouldn't make any difference.

It was like watching a horror movie; everyone knew it was not real, but it still scared the hell out of most people. Nightmare's ability isn't a horror movie, but a dream so real it's indistinguishable from reality.

Watching Yang Kunpeng's near-breakdown, Fang Xiu suddenly realized something was off. "If you didn't overcome your fear, how did you get out?" he asked.

Yang Kunpeng froze at Fang Xiu's question; his flickering ceased, and his face turned from terror to confusion. "Yeah, how did I get out?" he muttered. "Why could I leave? Wasn't I dead?"

These words sent a chill down Wang Dehai's spine; even Bai Qi frowned and became alert.

Yang Kunpeng then burst into hysterical laughter, "I remember now, I remember everything! You don't have to worry about me mutating anymore because I'm already dead!"

As he laughed maniacally, veins popped on his face, and his skin bulged, forming a massive red tumor. More tumors appeared on his body as the bulging noises grew louder.

Suddenly, Bai Qi opened the iron-barred door and walked in coldly, standing in front of Yang Kunpeng. He slightly moved his right hand...

In the next moment, Yang Kunpeng's head fell to the ground, blood spurting out as the mutation ceased. Fang Xiu's pupils constricted, unable to discern how Bai Qi had moved so quickly, nor even see the weapon he used. The speed was astounding, befitting Greenvine City's top psychic.

Fang Xiu was almost certain that Bai Qi must be at the peak of the second-tier, just a step away from the third-tier. However, unlike Yang Ming, Bai Qi hadn't been as lucky, thus delaying his breakthrough.

"What a heavy loss for the bureau," sighed Wang Dehai, nearly traumatized by the sight of Yang Kunpeng's tragic end. With the increasing number of Specter incidents and the loss of a team, the bureau was facing a severe setback.

"Have someone take care of Yang Kunpeng's body, and as per our compensation policy, provide his family with subsidies and a martyr certificate," Wang Dehai ordered. Then, turning to Fang Xiu and Bai Qi, he suggested, "Let's go to my office to talk."

However, Fang Xiu remained fixated on Yang Kunpeng's corpse. Noticing this, Wang Dehai and Bai Qi stopped. "What's wrong, Fang Xiu?" Wang Dehai asked.

"It doesn't add up," Fang Xiu replied calmly. "He never explained how he escaped from Nightmare. He was so terrified yet managed to survive. There must be something we're missing."

"What could that be?" asked a concerned Wang Dehai.

"It's very likely that Nightmare let him go on purpose."

"Why would Nightmare do that?" Wang Dehai asked, shocked.

Fang Xiu didn't answer; instead, he pulled out the scalpel. Wang Dehai had told Fang Xiu to use it less often due to its side effects. While Fang Xiu wasn't the only one in the bureau with a Specter Gadget, others like Yang Ming, blessed with luck, certainly had his own."