Exit

A cold, slick sensation washed over him.

Fang Xiu went through his previous ordeal again, making exactly the same choices as before.

Kill Wang Ziteng and Wu Dahai, awaken his spirituality, seize the Scalpel.

There was no way he would give up the Scalpel. A blade that could cut through countless Ghosts, paired with his pain ability, meant a one-hit kill!

The Scalpel pierced their defenses, and his pain ability killed them. A perfect match!

Even if it enraged the Female Physician and broke her killing rules, it was worth it.

This time, however, he chose to escape through the northern door.

To the north was an elevator, and it still worked. But it started too slowly. Just as its doors were about to close, a large, pale hand reached inside. Fang Xiu, dead!

South!

To the south was an operating room in utter disarray. Various medical instruments had been crushed to pieces by tremendous force, and dark bloodstains covered everything.

And it was a dead end!

Fang Xiu, dead!

Finally, only the eastern door remained.

If there was no way out through that door either, Fang Xiu would have to give up the Scalpel he had obtained.

Fortunately, the east really did offer a way out!

There was a long corridor, with the Public Restroom on one side. Farther ahead, it branched into three paths: left, right, and straight.

The moment he saw the restroom, Fang Xiu recalled his earlier walk through the Mental Hospital.

He remembered it so clearly because this was the only restroom he had seen in the Mental Hospital. Back then, he had passed the restroom and gone left, where he had seen a sign.

It read [Exit]!

Just like shopping malls, schools, and hospitals, this place had an emergency exit route marked with a sign.

Although he had no idea whether the Mental Hospital's Exit was safe, his only choice now was to try!

He ran toward the Exit with all his strength, but he only made it as far as the Public Restroom before the Female Physician caught up and killed him.

Was giving up the Scalpel really his only option?

Fang Xiu quickly dismissed that thought.

Although the Female Physician was far faster than him, he could use repeated death rollbacks to predict the trajectories of her attacks.

Used properly, death rollback was, in a sense, equivalent to seeing the future!

The ninth death rollback.

"Go east!"

In the hall, Fang Xiu did not hesitate for even a moment. He led Zhao Hao straight through the eastern door.

The two coworkers hiding behind the stone pillar were no fools either. They hurried out and followed them through the eastern door.

After they entered the eastern door, an inhuman roar rang out, and the ceiling shook violently.

"Aah!" ×3!

Amid the screams of Zhao Hao and the other two, the Female Physician appeared on the ceiling.

The three were so terrified they nearly wet themselves. They shoved and ran for their lives, each desperate not to be the last one.

But the Female Physician passed straight over their heads and lunged at Fang Xiu.

Fang Xiu was running without looking back.

Zhao Hao instantly panicked. "Xiu, quick-"

Before he could finish, he froze. In the next instant, he witnessed an astonishing feat.

It was as though Fang Xiu had eyes in the back of his head. From the ceiling, the Female Physician thrust out her large hand and viciously clawed at his skull.

As if he had foreseen it, Fang Xiu tilted his head slightly, and the pale, ghostly hand narrowly grazed past his scalp.

When that strike missed, the Female Physician immediately swept her hand back for another grab, stirring a vicious rush of wind.

But Fang Xiu ducked and dodged again.

Then came the third strike, the fourth, and the fifth.

The Female Physician's hand became almost a blur as she attacked relentlessly, yet Fang Xiu calmly evaded every strike by the narrowest of margins.

Finally, the Female Physician grew furious. Her entire body launched itself off the ceiling, like an enormous humanoid spider.

Yet just before she lunged, Fang Xiu stumbled as though something had tripped him, pitching sharply forward.

The forward momentum increased his speed slightly, but he was completely off balance, as though he would fall at any moment.

And then he really did fall.

Even after falling, he kept moving, rolling toward the passage on the left.

Bang!

A deep crater appeared where he had just fallen. The Female Physician had smashed into the floor.

Her pounce had missed. More furious than ever, she chased him into the passage on the left.

Zhao Hao and the other two were dumbstruck. The dazzling sequence had happened so fast their eyes could barely keep up, yet Fang Xiu had effortlessly dodged several attacks.

Was this what a Spirit Tamer could do?

Admiration and longing mingled in Zhao Hao's heart. Who did not dream of transcending the ordinary?

But what Zhao Hao did not know was that this was not a Spirit Tamer's power, nor was Fang Xiu handling it as easily as he imagined.

Only after dying nine times had he managed this astonishing feat.

In the left passage, Fang Xiu finally saw the Exit sign glowing a soft green.

This was the first time he had seen the sign in nine death rollbacks.

He did not know how to dodge whatever came next. He expected to die a few more times.

But just then, something bizarre happened.

The Female Physician had just entered the left passage when she saw the sign and suddenly let out a piercing shriek.

Her voice trembled with terror and fear.

After shrieking, the Female Physician abruptly turned around and fled like a ghostly shadow.

Fang Xiu immediately stopped, his brows knitting slightly.

The Female Physician's retreat brought him no joy whatsoever. Instead, his expression grew even graver.

Why had she fled at the sight of the sign?

It could only mean that something hidden here frightened even the Female Physician.

Fang Xiu frowned at the sign. Behind it was a passage so dim that the sign provided its only illumination.

Still, he could just make out an iron door at the end.

By any normal logic, a way out lay beyond that door.

Just then, Zhao Hao and the others ran over.

"Xiu, are you all right? Why did that Ghost run away?" Zhao Hao asked, concern written across his face.

Fang Xiu shook his head, indicating that he was fine.

The other two, however, looked delighted.

"This is the Exit!"

"The way out must be here!"

They wanted to leave immediately, but they were no fools. Since Fang Xiu was not moving, they would not stupidly scout ahead themselves.

"Fang Xiu, why did you stop? Is something wrong with this route?"

"We'll rest a while before moving on."

With that, Fang Xiu sat down right where he was and closed his eyes to rest.

He was waiting for his spirituality to recover.

The Female Physician had been scared into fleeing, and he could not even defeat her. He had to wait for his spirituality to recover before investigating.

Zhao Hao looked at Fang Xiu resting with his eyes closed, then exchanged glances with the others.

They felt helpless, but there was nothing they could do except rest.

They really did need a break. Only a few dozen minutes had passed since the ghost domain appeared, but they had spent almost all that time running at full speed, their hearts pounding with terror.

As office workers, they had long since pushed their stamina far beyond its limits. Now that they had suddenly stopped to rest, they felt faintly dizzy, with waves of weakness washing over them.

Half an hour later, Fang Xiu suddenly opened his eyes and sat bolt upright.

The sudden movement startled all three of them.