Die, Replay, Repeat

Ch. 184 - The Mask

Yang Ming and the others became nervous when they saw this scene. They all got into fighting stances, ready to battle the final boss.

Fang Xiu slowly returned to his original appearance, but it didn't help. No one believed him. They thought this was the real fake.

"The guarding Specter has been tricked by me. Open the door."

No one dared to move. They kept staring at Fang Xiu nervously.

"Are you Zhou Qingfeng or Fang Xiu?" Ma Xingbang asked nervously.

Facing everyone's distrustful looks, Fang Xiu did not explain because explanations were useless，as the real Zhou Qingfeng wouldn't explain, and he himself wouldn't either.

"Don't ask such stupid questions."

"What do you mean by stupid questions? Aren't you going to explain?" Ma Xingbang asked quietly. Since he suspected Fang Xiu might be Zhou Qingfeng, he didn't dare to speak loudly anymore.

"Does it matter?" Fang Xiu asked back.

"Of course, it matters!" Ma Xingbang seemed a bit excited.

Fang Xiu shook his head. "Actually, it doesn't matter for the result. Suppose I am Zhou Qingfeng. If I tell you to open the door, would you not open it?"

Everyone's faces looked a bit grim. They didn't speak, but they basically agreed. Facing such a mysterious existence as Zhou Qingfeng, they certainly couldn't win in a fight. So if they were asked to open the door, they would have to open it.

"If I am Fang Xiu and I tell you to open the door, would you not open it?"

These two questions stumped everyone, because Fang Xiu was telling the truth. No matter who he was, the request to open the door would not be refused.

"So, no matter who I am, the result is the same. Open the door."

Yang Ming hesitated for a long time and finally asked, "Are you really Xiu?"

Fang Xiu nodded.

"I don't believe you, unless you give me back the 2000 spiritual coins you snatched from me. Then I will believe you."

SWOOSH!

Fang Xiu's right hand naturally dropped, and a scalpel gleaming with a cold light appeared in his hand.

Yang Ming quickly gave a sheepish smile. "Just joking, just joking, don't get impulsive."

Then, he hurriedly used a bronze key to open the bronze door.

Everyone walked out and saw a gloomy corridor with candle flames on both sides.

Yang Ming quickly turned around to close the bronze door.

"No need to close the door," Fang Xiu said calmly.

"How can we not close it? What if that Kangkang kid finds out he was tricked and comes back?"

"He won't come back."

Fang Xiu was very certain. It was impossible to provoke Taotie and come back alive.

"Why won't he come back?" Yang Ming asked in surprise.

"I have seen the future."

This one sentence stopped all questions.

"Now I can be sure you are the real Xiu. That indifferent look, calm posture, and confident tone... ordinary people really can't imitate it."

Fang Xiu ignored Yang Ming's flattery and walked into the corridor. The corridor was long, and everyone walked slowly. They were afraid of encountering traps at the last moment.

As time passed, their initial shock faded, and their smart minds began to realize that the person before them could only be Fang Xiu, not Zhou Qingfeng. If Fang Xiu were Zhou Qingfeng in disguise, he wouldn't need to keep pretending.

However, Ma Xingbang was thinking that even if Fang Xiu wasn't Zhou Qingfeng, he must be connected to him. Otherwise, how would Fang Xiu know what Zhou Qingfeng looked like and know so much about him?

Ma Xingbang's eyes flashed as he suddenly asked, "Fang Xiu, how do you know what Zhou Qingfeng's look and other stuff? Don't use foresight as an excuse. What you told Kangkang earlier was about the past, not the future."

"Are you starting to get arrogant because you think I'm not Zhou Qingfeng?"

"Don't change the subject. I seriously doubt your identity. Your foresight seemed too convenient when you explain things. Everyone knows that the stronger the ability, the greater the cost to use it. You're just a second-tier psychic. But look at how many things you've predicted. Is that something a second-tier psychic can do?"

"Just because you can't do it doesn't mean others can't."

"Hmph, if I'm not mistaken, you don't have the ability to foresee the future. Instead, you have a Specter Gadget that can. That's why I can't plagiarize your ability. That would also explain why you can use the foresight ability multiple times. Specter Gadgets usually corrupt the mind with frequent use, but you don't seem to fear that. That must be related to the Specter power within you." Ma Xingbang looked as if he had seen through everything.

"Yeah, you're right about everything," Fang Xiu said.

"You!" Ma Xingbang didn't expect Fang Xiu to respond like that.

Yang Ming exclaimed, "No way, people still get their minds corrupted by Specter Gadgets these days?"

Ma Xingbang and Bai Qi were speechless. Yang Ming's interruption left Ma Xingbang at a loss for words.

At that moment, a light appeared at the end of the corridor. They walked toward it and entered a very spacious hall.

As soon as they entered, they gasped. In the center of the hall floated thousands of masks, densely packed.

The masks were all different, but they had one thing in common—they looked scary and strange, like the faces of a thousand Specters floating in the air.

"What’s up with these masks? They’re really creepy!" Yang Ming couldn’t help but shiver. He wasn’t scared, but the temperature in the hall was extremely low, as if it was below freezing.

Everyone knew this was because of the Specter power from the masks.

"There's a parchment here!" Bai Qi suddenly pointed to the side.

Everyone quickly walked over and saw the parchment, which read, “My friends, the Genesis is among these masks. Follow your inner feelings to choose. If you choose wrong, there may be some bad consequences, so be careful. Zhou Qingfeng"

"Shit, every time I see this name, I get annoyed. Where did he learn to give gifts like this?" Yang Ming cursed angrily.

To him, Zhou Qingfeng was definitely crazy—if he wanted to give a gift, he should just give it directly. Why all the tricks?

Fang Xiu had some guesses about Zhou Qingfeng’s actions.

The Specter world was invading the human world, which was sure to resist and reject it. So, the purpose of the God's Plan in this world was to save it. But Zhou Qingfeng wanted to destroy the God's Plan, which was not allowed.

To achieve his goal, Zhou Qingfeng set up many obstacles. He made the Genesis mask a reward for the luckiest person, ensuring that only someone blessed by God could get it.

This trip to Green Mountain Mental Hospital was like a secret realm in a fantasy novel. The protagonist went through many dangers and finally gained a great opportunity.

If Zhou Qingfeng forced Yang Ming to wear the mask, it would surely cause unpredictable consequences. It was like in fantasy novels, where even if the villain was much stronger than the protagonist, they couldn't kill the protagonist before they grew stronger.

So, Zhou Qingfeng designed it so that Yang Ming would step into the trap himself. Yang Ming's choice was also God's choice, so Zhou Qingfeng didn't have to worry about being punished.

At this thought, Fang Xiu suddenly had a crazy guess. 'If Zhou Qingfeng is scheming against Yang Ming, could he really destroy God's Plan? Yang Ming may seem silly, but he is part of God's Plan, after all.'

Zhou Qingfeng wanted Yang Ming to become a Specter, but God didn't…

Fang Xiu looked at Yang Ming, who was scratching his head in front of the thousand masks, deep in thought. With him here, he definitely wouldn't let Yang Ming get the Genesis.

So the question was, was he saving Yang Ming, or was this all Yang Ming saving itself? With Fang Xiu just being a pawn in the process?

If it was the latter, then Yang Ming’s ability was truly unimaginable, able to control the fate of others.

After thinking for a moment, Fang Xiu stopped. He knew that when you're weak, thinking too much is useless; when you're strong, you don't need to think at all.

Fang Xiu shifted his gaze to the thousands of masks, his eyes deep and contemplative. He wanted to know just how bad the consequences Zhou Qingfeng mentioned could be if the wrong mask was chosen. If it was something that would kill him instantly, he wondered how many times he would have to die this time.

"Xiu, with so many masks, which one is the real one? Why don’t you predict it for us?" Yang Ming approached with a cheeky smile.

"Zhou Qingfeng already said it: follow your inner feelings. You go ahead and choose."

Fang Xiu planned to let Yang Ming make the choice and then swoop in at the last moment.

Yang Ming scratched his head, "Alright, I'm really going to pick one."

He circled around the masks twice and finally settled on a skull mask. It wasn't that this mask was particularly unique; Yang Ming just thought it looked cool.

Just as Yang Ming was about to grab the skull mask, a figure quickly flashed by and snatched the skull mask.

It was Ma Xingbang.

"I saw it first!" he declared.

TL Notes:

Translator's note: Wow… I think Ma Xingbang's going to get himself killed.

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