"Go."
Fang Xiu uttered a single word, and immediately proceeded towards the safety passage.
His spiritual energy was only one percent, but it recovered swiftly.
Since he had regained it, there was no reason to hesitate any longer.
He walked slowly, vigilantly scanning his surroundings, constantly attuned to every detail, ensuring he could react instantly should any unexpected danger arise.
Soon, he passed the sign, and nothing unusual occurred.
He continued forward, the door drawing nearer, with Zhao Hao and the others closely following. No one encountered danger.
Yet, the more things seemed calm, the more uneasy Fang Xiu felt. How could there be no danger here, after all? A place that could frighten the female doctor—how could it be safe?
At last, he reached the door, and still, nothing had happened.
Could it be... that the true danger lay behind the door?
Bang!
He pushed open the massive door, revealing an expanse of impenetrable darkness, not a sliver of light to be seen, like a black hole.
"Brother Xiu, is this really the way? Could there be danger inside?" Zhao Hao asked anxiously.
"Even if there's danger, we must proceed," Fang Xiu replied calmly, then stepped into the darkness. The shadows seemed to devour him slowly, as if an abyss were swallowing his form.
Darkness.
A darkness so thick that even his outstretched hand could not see. In here, there was nothing to be seen, and most bizarrely, not even sound could penetrate—complete, suffocating silence.
No footsteps, no voices of Zhao Hao or the others—Fang Xiu couldn't even tell if they had kept up.
He tried to speak, but though his vocal cords vibrated, no sound emerged.
Attempting to turn around, he found the door had already disappeared. Around him was only blackness; his hand waved through it but encountered nothing solid, not even the others.
At this point, he could only continue forward.
A minute passed, then two, and after ten minutes of walking, the darkness remained unbroken, as if the road had no end.
This solitary blackness would drive most to madness, but it had no effect on Fang Xiu.
For his heart was darker than this road.
Just as he believed he would be trapped in the blackness forever, a faint light suddenly appeared before him.
The light grew brighter, the darkness receding wildly.
Surroundings materialized like waves crashing ashore.
Fang Xiu stood frozen.
Because... he was out.
Yes, he had left the mental hospital.
Once the darkness lifted, he realized he was standing in the middle of a street, flanked by rows of bright streetlights and beautifully designed greenery.
This was the avenue leading to Bai Liu Academy, a path he had walked before.
He turned to look behind him and saw Zhao Hao and the others, their faces lit with surprise, along with Bai Liu Academy in the distance.
He had truly... escaped?
"Wonderful, Brother Xiu! We've made it out of the bizarre domain!" Zhao Hao shouted excitedly.
The other two shared the same expression, their faces filled with the joy of survival.
"Quick, let's leave this strange place!" they urged.
The two were eager to depart, without a second thought, running off without hesitation.
"Brother Xiu, we should leave too. What if the strange entities come after us?" Zhao Hao suggested.
But Fang Xiu remained silent, his gaze fixed on Bai Liu Academy, his brow furrowing tighter.
Why was Qing Shan Mental Hospital gone?
When he couldn't see it earlier, it was because he was inside, but now that he had escaped, he should have been able to see the hospital.
But it was gone, replaced by Bai Liu Academy.
And why had their escape been so smooth, without encountering any danger?
The female doctor had fled after just a glance at the sign.
They had avoided any harm.
Could it be... that the female doctor was restricted from leaving the mental hospital? Was that why she ran when she saw the exit?
Confused, he could only follow Zhao Hao's persistent urging to leave.
But as they continued, Fang Xiu suddenly realized something even more shocking.
The anomalies... were gone!
The bizarre entities that once filled the streets, even the indescribable ones in the sky, had completely disappeared!
What was happening?!
Fang Xiu's mind unraveled in that moment. He could accept escaping for no reason, and he could accept the disappearance of the mental hospital, but he couldn't accept the vanishing of the anomalies.
Because now, he could no longer take his revenge.
The anomalies could not leave! They must die!
At that moment, Fang Xiu ran home as though crazed. Zhao Hao couldn't keep up, soon falling behind.
As he ran, he muttered frantically, "No, no, no! You can't disappear! You can't disappear! At least... at least my wife can't disappear!"
"Wife! Wife!! You can't vanish, you must wait for me at home!!"
After running for some distance, he finally spotted a taxi and rushed in, urging the driver to head straight for his apartment.
After a long time, the taxi arrived at the entrance of his residential complex.
"We're here, it's... hey! Hey! Don't run off! You haven't paid!" the driver called, but Fang Xiu had already dashed out of the car like a leopard, disappearing into the night.
The driver stared, dumbfounded—Fang Xiu's speed was beyond belief, vanishing in the blink of an eye.
He didn't dare approach for the fare. Considering the man's otherworldly speed and erratic behavior in the car, he simply couldn't bring himself to do so.
That man wasn't normal!
Who would tremble in the car, muttering, "Wife, wife, you can't leave, you can't leave," with bloodshot eyes?
"Sigh, maybe his wife ran off with someone... poor guy," the driver sighed before driving away.
...
Fang Xiu ran through the complex, just as he had seen outside—no anomalies, making his mental state increasingly unstable.
Bang!
He burst through his door, frantically searching.
"Wife! Where are you? Come out!" he screamed.
Living room, bedroom, bathroom...
Nothing. Nothing. Nothing!
"Wife, I can see you, come out!" His eyes were bloodshot as he yelled.
But the beautiful, gentle wife never appeared again.
"No!!!"
Fang Xiu's mental state shattered. He screamed as if on the brink of collapse.
"You can't disappear! Anyone else can vanish, but not you... not you! Wife, how could I live without you?!"
"Wife, you killed me eighteen times! You can't disappear, how can I repay you for all those deaths?"