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Translator's Note: The last paragraph implies that the protagonist is guessing that most of the Specters are mentally ill patients, so they would be confined in a hospital.
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"What?!"
"Another Specter?!"
"Who's missing now?"
Everyone began to freak out, frantically checking on each other. Soon, someone yelled out, "Jia Liang's gone!"
"Jia Liang! Jia Liang!" A few of his buddies started calling for him, panicking.
"Stop shouting! You want to bring that Specter over here?" Wang Ziteng snapped, losing his cool as more and more people vanished.
Though he was still a bit calmer than the others, all because he'd seen these Specters through his cousin, so he was ready for them.
On top of that, he looked up to his cousin and wanted to be a psychic himself. So, when he entered the Specter Zone, along with being scared, he also felt excited. But, when he was actually facing the Specter, he realized that the first feeling that came from deep inside him was nothing but fear.
"Mr. Wang, what do we do? I don't want to die!" Li Feifei cried, tears running down her face. She grabbed onto Wang Ziteng's sleeve, annoying him.
"Why do you think I know what to do?"
"Two to three minutes." Right then, a calm voice cut through the noise. It was Fang Xiu.
"What two to three minutes?"
"The time between people disappearing is two to three minutes," Fang Xiu explained coolly. "To be more precise, two minutes after women and three after men. Zhao vanished three minutes ago, then Wang Xiaoli disappeared, and two minutes after her, Jia Liang vanished. It looks like this Specter's way of killing is to take someone every two to three minutes."
He added, "If I'm right, three minutes after Jia Liang vanished, someone else will disappear."
"Killing by time? Damn it! How do we avoid that?" Wang Ziteng's eyes were bloodshot. He was about to lose it.
Fang Xiu ignored him and strode into the darkness, leaving the rest of the group scared and anxious.
His best friend, Zhao Hao, was the first to yell, "Fang Xiu, what are you doing? Are you trying to get yourself killed?"
Without turning around, Fang Xiu answered, "I'm obviously trying to find a way out. Should I just stay here and wait to die? There are eight of us left. If one of us keeps disappearing every two to three minutes, we'll all be dead in about twenty. We should at least try to survive."
"Fang Xiu! Stop!" Wang Ziteng shouted furiously. "Didn't I just say no one should go off on their own? Don't you get that if one person breaks the Specter's rule, we could all be in danger? You're just a regular guy. You don't know what a Specter---"
Fang Xiu stopped and spun around. His pale, emotionless face scared everyone. He looked like the dead.
Wang Ziteng was shocked, rendered speechless by Fang Xiu's icy stare.
Then, Fang Xiu's emotionless voice pierced through the silence. "One more word, and you'll be done for before the Specter even gets to you."
Despite their emotionless delivery, Fang Xiu's words carried an eerie, chilling force that was hard to put into words. Hearing him speak, Wang Ziteng felt as though he was on the brink of an abyss, the looming specter of death encroaching upon him.
Staring into Fang Xiu's impassive gaze, Wang Ziteng had a jarring realization. Fang Xiu was deadly serious---one more word, and he would indeed face certain death!
Born into wealth, Wang Ziteng had encountered all types of people, and due to certain circumstances, he'd even locked eyes with murderers. Yet, even the eyes of a murderer couldn't compare to the pressure emanating from Fang Xiu's tranquil gaze.
Wang Ziteng wasn't mistaken. There was a clear difference between the eyes of a murderer and those of someone who had experienced death eighteen times over.
With Wang Ziteng effectively silenced, Fang Xiu turned and vanished into the darkness.
Seeing this, Zhao Hao hesitated, his face alternating between courage and fear. The next moment, he gritted his teeth, glancing at Fang Xiu's retreating figure and the hesitant crowd. Finally, he made his decision and followed Fang Xiu.
"Mr. Wang, what should we do now?" Wu Dahai's voice trembled.
Wang Ziteng's face turned an unhealthy shade of pale, then darkened with anger. Fang Xiu had managed to silence him while present, but now that he was gone, Wang Ziteng's fury began to boil.
"What to do? Let them go and get themselves killed! Two country bumpkins who don't even understand what psychics are dare to defy me?"
"But... I don't think Fang Xiu is the type to seek out death. Maybe we should follow them?"
This comment instantly ignited Wang Zire's rage. "Follow them? Are you fucking kidding me?" he yelled, "I'd rather die or be taken by the Specter---"
His words were abruptly cut off by a bone-chilling scream.
"Ah! Someone's vanished again!!"
A chill coursed through Wang Ziteng's veins. He quickly counted the remaining people---only five, including himself. He immediately changed his stance, "Quick! We need to follow them!"
Meanwhile, Fang Xiu and Zhao Hao, his impromptu sidekick, continued to traverse the dark hallway.
Their flashlights pierced the darkness as they relentlessly moved forward. Despite walking for quite some time, the hallway showed no sign of ending. Usually, after walking for a bit, they would see the stairs leading downward, but today the hallway seemed to stretch on endlessly.
"Xiu, something's not right. Why haven't we reached the stairs yet?" Zhao Hao was shaking. He huddled close behind Fang Xiu like a frightened bird.
"Hush, quiet."
He suddenly came to a stop, his gaze fixated on the end of the hallway.
A faint green light began to glow at the end of the hallway, reminiscent of the luminescence from exit signs in the dark---eerie and unsettling.
Fang Xiu furrowed his brow upon seeing the light. It looked identical to the one in Green Mountain Mental Hospital.
An astonishing hypothesis began to form in his mind, and he quickened his pace toward the glowing light.
Stepping fully into the light, Fang Xiu found himself in a narrow, run-down corridor. Dark stains and dried blood splattered the ceiling and walls, and battered benches were scattered every few meters.
The place looked like a hospital corridor from decades past, with dark and gray walls, and a dull gray cement floor.
It was unmistakable---this was Green Mountain Mental Hospital!
"Xiu! Am I seeing things? Where are we? Shouldn't we be in the office? Why does this place look like a hospital from a horror movie?" Zhao Hao's frightened voice echoed from behind Fang Xiu.
A realization sparked within Fang Xiu's mind.
'Zhao Hao can see the mental hospital too? Could it be...'
Fang Xiu extended his hand, brushing it against the wall. He felt the cold, rugged surface.
His pupils sharply contracted.
It was just as he had suspected! He was indeed in the mental hospital, but this time, it wasn't a mere illusion---it was tangible!
'Could it be that the mental hospital, similar to the walking Specters, had met certain conditions and materialized into reality? And that was the phenomenon known as a Specter Zone?'
Fang Xiu theorized that the mental hospital, which had appeared as a holographic projection before, had now merged with reality. It seemed as though the sales office had been devoured by it, encapsulated within.
No wonder he hadn't been able to observe the mental hospital like before---he was already inside it.