Only an hour had passed, but Fang Xiu felt like it had been forever. He was sprawled out on his bed, eyes empty, staring at the ceiling as if all his energy had been drained.
He had felt like he was at his end so many times, tormented by the Specter, and felt like giving up. But every time, he managed to hang on.
What kept him going was pure anger and the strong urge to get even. He wanted to make those who hurt him pay, especially his "wife" and all the Specters around him.
Making every single Specter feel as tormented as he did became his main goal. His name, Fang Xiu, means "until the end," and he intended to live up to it.
But now, the Specter seemed to have vanished. He felt as though all his strong feelings had nowhere to go, and everything seemed pointless.
He just lay there, thinking all night long.
The next morning, Zhao Hao's call snapped him back to his senses.
"Xiu! Quick, look at the news!" Zhao Hao sounded super worried.
But Fang Xiu was silent.
"Listen, man, the news said Willow Hill was on fire!"
At the mention of Willow Hill, Fang Xiu's spirit seemed to have bounced back. He grabbed his phone to see what had happened.
The first news he read shocked him.
"Yesterday at 7:49 pm, a big fire broke out at the Willow Hill sales office in the Greenvine City's Development Zone. It covered a huge area, about 1,000 square meters. Luckily, the firefighters had arrived quickly, and by 10 pm, the fire was safely extinguished. Sadly, 11 people didn't make it. Here are their names …"
'Wait a minute. Willow Hill was on fire at 7:49 pm?—That didn't make sense!'
Fang Xiu remembered being in the Specter Zone at that exact time because he kept looking at his phone. Plus, he left Willow Hill around 9 pm and didn't see any fire.
He scanned the list of names, and his heart skipped a beat. His own name was there, along with Zhao Hao, Wang Ziteng, Wu Dahai, and the others.
Zhao Hao's voice on the other end was getting frantic.
"Xiu, did you see? Our names are there! Does this mean ... Are we dead now?"
Fang Xiu didn't answer, but there was a spark in his eyes now.
"Xiu? Hello? Can you hear me?"
All of a sudden, Fang Xiu started chuckling, then laughing harder, "This is just wild! I knew something was up. It's like a game of hide and seek."
"Xiu? Dude, what are you on about? You're freaking me out!"
CLICK!
Fang Xiu ended the call. Seeing his name on that list gave him a weird sort of energy. It seemed that the Specter's torment was still ongoing. And he was more than ready for whatever came next.
DING!
He received a notification from WeChat. It was from his work chat group.
Wu Dahai had messaged Fang Xiu.
"Fang Xiu, why aren't you at work?"
"Why aren't you at work?"
"Why aren't you at work?"
The same message kept pouring in, over and over.
Seeing this creepy, repetitive texting, Fang Xiu smirked.
'Is the supposedly deceased Wu Dahai really asking me to come in? Funny, really funny. Why would the dead care about work? But it seems even as a Specter, Wu Dahai is still all about business.'
For the first time ever, Fang Xiu actually felt a bit excited about heading to work. But he didn't type anything back just yet; he wanted to see what other weird stuff might come from Wu Dahai.
His phone kept buzzing with more and more messages.
Suddenly, there it was—a line of bright red text.
"Ignoring me? You think I won't know where you are?"
The letters, as red as fresh blood, covered his entire phone screen.
Then, the red text started to change, moving and pooling together, forming a puddle of virtual blood on his phone.
SPLASH! SPLASH!
The liquid began to bubble, and slowly, an eye rose from it, attached to a tangle of blood-red veins. It was pushing out from the screen.
The creepy eye fixed its gaze on Fang Xiu.
"Fang Xiu, I'm watching!"
It was Wu Dahai's voice, but so ghostly.
Most people would have freaked out. But Fang Xiu was indifferent as he said, "Hey, when am I getting my commission?"
The eyeball looked surprised, obviously not expecting such a relaxed reaction.
"Come to work, and you'll get it," it answered.
"Cool." Without a second thought, Fang Xiu snatched the eyeball, pulling it off the screen. He was treating it like it was a pesky sticker. "Hey, this is my only phone. Mind not making a mess?"
The eyeball made a weird squealing noise and vanished, as though it had never been there.
Opening his hand, Fang Xiu's hand was clean. No eye, no blood. There was no trace of the Specter.
'Was all of that just in my head? Guess I should see what's up at work.'
So, Fang Xiu made his way back to Willow Hill. When he got there, he couldn't believe his eyes. The entire sales office was burned to a crisp, the aftermath of a big fire, with warning tape everywhere.
Fang Xiu confidently walked past the warning tape into the office. As he entered, the office transformed magically before his eyes.
Suddenly, it felt like he was back in the familiar office. Golden trims adorned the walls, the floor was shiny marble, and a grand chandelier dangled above.
Surprisingly, Li Feifei was there. The person he thought was long gone. She was dressed smartly and chatting with coworkers.
Upon spotting Fang Xiu, they even waved at him.
Li Feifei teased, "Look who it is! Fang Xiu's early for once."
Walking up to her, Fang Xiu pinched Li Feifei's arm. It felt real. She was warm and alive.
"Is this for real?" Li Feifei yelped and slapped Fang Xiu's hand away, scolding him.
Ignoring her comments, Fang Xiu headed to the second floor. Reaching the top, he ran into Zhao Hao.
"Xiu, did you get called into work too?"
"Nope. Just felt like coming. Seen Wu Dahai?"
Zhao Hao hesitated, then he answered, "He's in his office."
Fang Xiu nodded and went to find him. As he walked, he saw all his colleagues, even those he remembered being gone, working or chatting like normal.
Just as he was about to knock on Wu Dahai's door, the man himself stormed out.
Upon seeing Fang Xiu, Wu Dahai began ranting, "Fang Xiu! Why are you late? I messaged you multiple times! Do you even know—"
"When am I getting paid?" Fang Xiu interrupted coolly.
Wu Dahai scoffed, "Paid? You've got some nerve asking for that with your behavior!"
"You're still so annoying, even when you're dead," Fang Xiu retorted.
"What was that?! Who are you calling dead?! You should watch your mouth. Unlike you, I'm—" Wu Dahai, face red with anger, pointed his finger inches from Fang Xiu's face.
Everyone in the office stopped to watch the commotion.
Suddenly, there was a swift motion.
Silence settled in.
To everyone's shock, a shiny surgical knife was now embedded deep into Wu Dahai's throat.
Holding that knife was Fang Xiu.
Looking directly into Wu Dahai's stunned eyes, Fang Xiu whispered, "Who's dead now?"