Fang Xiu yanked out the knife, and like a wild squirt gun, blood shot out of Wu Dahai's neck, painting the wall red.
THUD!
Wu Dahai, with his big and sturdy body, had collapsed to the floor.
Everyone around just … stopped. Their faces paled as they froze to the spot. It was as if they had seen a ghost.
Zhao Hao was no different.
But then, something creepy started. They began twisting and turning like their bodies weren't theirs anymore. Their necks and backs bent in ways they shouldn't.
They looked like balloons ready to pop.
"They're changing?" Fang Xiu whispered to himself. "Guess I have to stop it."
He wasn't about to just stand there like in a movie, watching it all happen.
Having recovered all his energy, Fang Xiu darted forward as quickly as a cat.
One move, two moves, three moves.
Bright streaks lit up the space.
When he paused, Fang Xiu found himself on the opposite side of the room.
In that split second, he had zoomed past everyone, making a mark on each of their necks.
SLASH! SLASH!
Almost all at once, blood spurted out, looking like dark red flowers opening up.
THUD! THUD! THUD!
The sound of bodies dropping echoed in the room.
Then, Fang Xiu heard a weird rustling noise.
"The doctor, right? Been expecting you." As Fang Xiu turned, the "doctor" was there. Long arms drooping from above, messy black hair flowing down, mouth dripping, and creepy eyes locked onto Fang Xiu.
Suddenly, the "doctor" jumped at Fang Xiu.
But Fang Xiu didn't move. He just waited.
The "doctor's" pale hand went straight for his neck.
But unexpectedly, her hand just … went through him. Like Fang Xiu was made of smoke.
"You done playing? Show yourself," Fang Xiu said, eyes darting around.
Just like that, the "doctor" was gone. The bodies, too. And the whole room seemed to crack and break, like a mirror.
Behind all that, surprisingly, was the way out of Green Mountain Mental Hospital.
A big "EXIT" sign shone brightly.
Next to Fang Xiu, Zhao Hao and two others were sprawled out. Their faces showed pure fear, covered in a jumbled mess of cuts. They weren't moving.
Fang Xiu pushed himself up, brushing off the dust. The inky blackness ahead was broken by a pair of glowing red eyes, hovering like eerie lanterns amidst a swirl of dark mist.
"A dream, right? That's your trick," Fang Xiu remarked coolly.
The shadowy haze rippled as a harsh, whispery voice shot back, "How did you figure it out?"
"Your dream felt real. You get humans. But you messed up with the fake chest," Fang Xiu pointed out.
"The fake chest?" The red eyes blinked with a hint of confusion.
"Why don't you seem scared?" the voice growled.
Fang Xiu chuckled. "Your trick is feeding off fear, right? People get more scared in the dream, and that's how they die faster? Smart. No wonder there's a death list, and the dead are revived to come to work. To be honest, I was quite pleased to encounter a new specter like you. But creating a dream with no specters? Seriously? That's just too stupid."
The haunting eyes, framed by the murky mist, didn't answer. They just kept staring at Fang Xiu, as if trying to memorize his face. Then, without warning, they dimmed and disappeared.
Fang Xiu glanced around, noting Zhao Hao and the others, still and lifeless. He pieced things together in his mind.
This ghost had the power to twist dreams. It must have chased away the "doctor." If his theory was right, the "doctor" was probably the least powerful ghost at the Green Mountain Mental Hospital.
The way she became a ghost was different. While most were transformed from people due to weird experiments, the "doctor" was turned by a contaminated knife. That made her different from the get-go.
She didn't have any special tricks up her sleeve, except for those freakishly long legs.
Different causes meant different powers. And the "doctor" was easy to scare off when faced with a real, powerful Specter.
This dream-weaver Specter probably had snuck out of a patient room, making everyone drift off to sleep. In the dream world, it filled their minds with terror. And the more scared they got, the faster they died in the dream.
But this Specter didn't expect someone like Fang Xiu to appear. He wasn't scared of Specters; actually, he was more afraid that he wouldn't see any Specters.
To try and scare him, the Specter set up a bunch of scary scenes. But it only fired up Fang Xiu's will to keep going. Plus, the Specter's cluelessness about Li Feifei's fake chest gave Fang Xiu the edge to see through its tricks. But the biggest reason it failed?—Fang Xiu just wasn't scared.
He went over to Zhao Hao, who looked like he had strangled himself. His hands were wrapped tight around his neck, his face dark blue. Fang Xiu checked and found no heartbeat. It was impossible for an ordinary person to do that to themselves. But Specters were anything but ordinary.
Suddenly, Fang Xiu tightened his hold on the scalpel and stabbed himself in the neck. Blood gushed out, and he felt his mind going hazy, getting swallowed by darkness.
By the "EXIT" sign...
"This must be the way out!"
"We can leave through here!"
Fang Xiu's coworkers shouted, their faces lit up with hope. Zhao Hao looked just as relieved.
Fang Xiu decided not to take a break this time. He figured the Specter's trick was messing with dreams, so it was best to stay awake. The last time they took a break, they accidentally fell asleep. No more of that. They had to keep moving.
"Come on," Fang Xiu said, sounding as calm as ever, heading for the emergency exit. Zhao Hao and the rest followed.
CREAK!
They pushed through the exit door and stepped into the pitch-black darkness. But after walking for a while, they finally came out, finding themselves near Willow Hill.
Fang Xiu stared at the empty street and the cloudless sky. He grabbed the scalpel again, aiming it at his neck.