Die, Replay, Repeat -
Chapter 71: The Best Way To Steer Out Of Abnormality
A few hours later, the bottom of Blackwater River was seen once again.
"Shen Lingxue, hit that puddle," Fang Xiu instructed.
With a skeptical look at Fang Xiu, Shen Lingxue got down to business. Bright flames erupted from her hands, and she shot them right at the puddle. Just like before, the Hair Specter was blown out of the water.
But this time around, Fang Xiu wasn't focused on the Specter. Instead, he was keeping a close eye on the Special Operations Squad.
While Shen Lingxue battled it out with the Specter, the Special Operations Squad sprung into action. Their hands and feet moved in a weird, jerky way, like puppets on strings. But after a quick couple of seconds, their actions suddenly became coordinated.
One by one, they lunged at Fang Xiu and his crew like hungry predators.
"Watch out! We're losing control of ourselves!"
The Special Operations Squad was quick, but Fang Xiu, who was ready for them, was even quicker. Going up against a group of unarmed Special Operations Squad members was no big deal for him.
The scalpel with a creepy cold edge twirled in his hand like a graceful butterfly. He darted through the squad like some kind of shadow.
In an instant, multiple streaks of silver light crisscrossed, drawing fine lines of blood on the legs of several Special Operations Squad members. At first, the lines were barely visible but quickly turned darker and redder, gushing blood. Then, the people with the cuts fell over.
Even after losing the ability to stand, they didn't seem to feel any pain. They kept crawling, trying to attack Fang Xiu and his friends.
"Shen Lingxue, wipe out the Specter now! They're all being manipulated. I've got this," Fang Xiu calmly said, moving through the crowd like a ghost. Each time he showed up, more Special Operations Squad members would drop.
Upon hearing that, Shen Lingxue's eyes lit up with fury, the flames in her hands seeming to burn even hotter. She conjured two bright, blazing fireballs in her hands and lifted them above her head, fusing them into an even bigger fireball.
"Go to hell!"
With a shout from Shen Lingxue, the enormous fireball, looking like a tiny sun, crashed down on the Specter.
KABOOM!
The Hair Specter was swallowed up by the fireball and reduced to ashes.
"It's over." A glimmer of happiness appeared in Shen Lingxue's eyes.
However, Fang Xiu was quick to squash her excitement, "The control hasn't been broken. Either this isn't the thing controlling them, or it's not actually dead."
"What!" Shen Lingxue stared in disbelief, realizing that the Special Operations Squad was still attacking.
Fang Xiu tackled almost the entire squad by himself, while Zhao Hao and Liu Shuai were pursued by just two squad members. Even though Zhao Hao and Liu Shuai had activated their Spiritual Energy, boosting their strength to superhuman levels, they were too kind to hurt their own comrades and were short on battle experience. It left them at a disadvantage against well-armed squad members.
Eventually, Shen Lingxue joined the fight. But instead of using her fire powers, she chose to knock everyone out using just her fists. A few moments later, the entire Special Operations Squad was out cold.
Fang Xiu surveyed the unconscious squad members, lost in his thoughts._ _
_'If it isn't the couple or the Hair Specter pulling the strings, then who was controlling the Special Operations Squad?'_
He had defeated the Specter, but the real truth seemed even more hidden, creating more questions than answers.
While Fang Xiu was deep in thought, Shen Lingxue observed him, visibly puzzled. She suddenly remembered Fang Xiu's earlier command for the Special Operations Squad to disarm themselves.
_'Had he predicted this outcome?'_
Shen Lingxue's mind drifted to his ability to foresee the future. Without his advanced planning, they would have been toast against a fully-armed Special Operations Squad in close quarters. What Shen Lingxue didn't realize was that she had already experienced death once.
"So, Fang Xiu, what’s our next move?" Shen Lingxue broke the silence, clearly acknowledging him as the decision-maker.
"Tie them up for now. We'll discuss it once they come to," Fang Xiu directed. Everyone followed his instructions.
Luckily, the squad had brought ropes, so supplies were plentiful.
About half an hour later, some squad members started coming to their senses.
"What’s happening here?"
"Why are we all tied up?"
"Do you guys remember anything?" Fang Xiu stepped closer to ask.
They all shook their heads, clearly in confusion.
It seemed that they had no idea that the control on them had been lifted. Fang Xiu wondered if it was because the Specter had been taken out, or maybe because the real puppeteer could only sustain the control for a limited period. However, currently, there wasn't enough evidence for Fang Xiu to draw any conclusions.
Another half-hour passed, and by this time, most of the squad members were awake, yet none could remember recent events. Seeing this, Fang Xiu told them to tend to their own injuries and sent them away. For the moment, they were too unreliable; there was no telling when they might flip again.
In the meantime, Shen Lingxue made a phone call to report the incident and asked for a detailed examination of the affected squad members. Once everything was sorted out, Fang Xiu declared, "Let's head back to the village."
"What? We're going back? Didn't we already take care of the Specter?" Liu Shuai blurted out.
"It's not over yet," Fang Xiu said, his voice steady, as he led the group back toward Blackwater Village.
Once inside Blackwater Village, Fang Xiu checked the villagers and their black hair, deep in thought.
Shen Lingxue voiced her concerns, "In theory, if the villagers' weird hair was the work of the Specter, it should have gone back to normal now that we've taken care of it."
"Don't even bring it up; the more I look at these people, the more they creep me out," Zhao Hao said, nervously taking cover behind Liu Shuai.
"Whoa, whoa, don't hide behind me! If you're freaked out, what do you think I am?" Liu Shuai blurted out.
Shen Lingxue shot a disdainful look at both of them. She couldn't fathom how, despite being new psychics like Fang Xiu, their performance was terrible; they were nothing but burdens now. "You two should team up and call yourselves 'Team Scaredy-Cats.'"
Just at that moment, Fang Xiu suddenly asked, "Does the bureau have any effective strategies for handling these kinds of unusual circumstances?"
Shen Lingxue pondered for a second and answered, "First, we could conduct a thorough search of Blackwater for any leads. After that, we could call in the agency. They have experts with specialized tools who can assess the villagers and figure out what's causing these anomalies."
Fang Xiu shook his head, saying, "That'll take too long. The entire process could stretch on for days. And contemporary equipment might not even pick up a Specter's presence. Let's choose my way instead."
As he said this, Fang Xiu began to walk toward an old man.
A feeling of unease suddenly washed over Shen Lingxue. She quickly asked, "What exactly is your way?"
Without breaking his stride, Fang Xiu retorted, "The best way to deal with abnormalities is to kill all the abnormalities until what remains is, in your opinion, normal."
By this point, Fang Xiu had arrived where the old man sat. He was lounging in a homemade rocking chair, basking in the sun and enjoying a smoke from an old pipe. This was the very same elder Fang Xiu had chatted with earlier.
Standing before him, Fang Xiu blocked the sunlight, casting a shadow across the elder. The old man, who had been momentarily resting his eyes, opened them and appeared somewhat puzzled by the young man standing in front of him.
"Young man, what brings you here?"
"Sir, I need to ask you something. I'd appreciate it if you'd be honest with me," Fang Xiu said.
"What would you like to ask? I make it a point never to lie," the old man replied."
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