I'm being held captive by a monster

Chapter 116: Speculations about Everything
"On the 24th, the Tao Ghost's ritual was definitely related to that coffin and that light gate."

"The light gate can only be opened with blood. Inside the gate is another world..."

"Sacrifice, mother..."

Lin Xing'an recalled everything that happened in the villa and murmured.

"Sacrifices, sacrifices are used for sacrifices..."

"A sacrifice to... 'Mother'?"

He was silent for a moment.

Suddenly, a reasonable guess came to my mind...

"The gluttonous ghosts' actions at Puguang Mountain were to open that gate of light. Behind the gate of light was what they called 'Mother.'"

"And we are the sacrifices offered by the gluttonous ghost to 'Mother'?"

"'Mother'... could it be... for reproduction?"

"Do gluttonous ghosts reproduce through this kind of sacrifice? After all, they can't get pregnant, and the word 'mother' is definitely not a random term..."

This seems to make some sense, but there are also many irrational aspects...

For example, if humans are the sacrifices that the gluttonous ghosts offer to their "mother," and the gluttonous ghosts must obey the rules and kill humans in that way, then the number of humans is too small...

What if humans really become extinct, and the gluttons have no "sacrifice" to offer to their mothers? Will they stop reproducing themselves?
Lin Xing'an rubbed his chin, and the gloom around him remained still in the air like a cloud as he thought.

"Besides, what's the difference between the coffin in Puguang Mountain and the coffin in Villa No. 6?"

"...Could it be that the person summoned is different?"

"Villa No. 6 summoned the angel, and Puguang Mountain summoned the gluttonous ghost's 'mother'?"

"Then what is the relationship between this angel and 'Mother'..."

Lin Xing'an suddenly thought of what the angel said when she refused to answer when he raised the question - "Because we are related by blood, I must obey her."

"Could the 'she' the angel is referring to be the 'mother' the glutton is referring to?"

"If that's the case, then the relationship between angels and mothers isn't equal. Mothers are clearly more advanced than angels..."

"And angels seem to be more advanced than gluttons..."

"The Taogui calls himself a 'god,' but if you look at it this way, he's just the lowest of the low."

Lin Xing'an felt a faint sense of irony.

If we follow the analogy of the "chicken metaphor" he'd heard from both the glutton and the angel...

Then the world is a "chicken farm".

Humans are the "chickens".

Is the glutton...a breeder or something?
When the chicks grow to a certain size, the gluttonous ghost will sacrifice them to the "mother".

So the mother is the "customer" who buys the chicks?
Behind the light gate is the world where the "customers" live?

That angel... is a waiter serving customers?

……is that so?
"What does Taoyuan Village represent? What's its connection to the sacrificial ceremony at Puguang Mountain..."

Lin Xing'an still frowned, somewhat confused.

After all, it was the snow in Nancheng in February that attracted the attention of humans to Puguang Mountain.

The legendary snow from Taoyuan Village...

If behind that door of light is the world of eaters like "Mother".

Where is the chicks’ real home, “Taoyuan Village”?

……

"Huh... Let's think about how to save Teacher Orange and my aunt first."

After thinking for a while, Lin Xing'an still had no idea and shook his head.

"If my guess is roughly correct..."

"Then after we return, we must first stop Teacher Orange and the others from going to Puguang Mountain."

"but……"

Now recalling the angel's words, she meant that as long as one is a sacrifice, as long as one has the "mark" of the sacrifice, he will die no matter where he is.

But how to die...

Could it be that after the gluttonous ghost ritual began, everyone in the void... no matter where they were, suddenly died?
Is this reasonable?

Lin Xing'an couldn't imagine the scene...

"However, if this is the case, you must 'remove the brand of the sacrifice' if you want to survive."

"So, we must first understand how this brand was 'branded'."

The darkness in his hand transformed into the appearance of the angel.

The angel's attitude towards Lin Xing'an was obviously a little perfunctory at first.

Because she subconsciously and subjectively believed that Lin Xing'an was a sacrifice.

A sacrifice that will surely die in a week.

"...Why does she subconsciously feel this way? Because I'm human? All humans are sacrifices?"

"But why am I not?"

"Compared to my aunt, Teacher Orange, and the others, is there anything special about me..."

Suddenly, Lin Xing'an seemed to have thought of something and his breath stopped.

“…I didn’t have the Utopia dream, the Utopia dream that everyone dreams of…” “My Utopia dream was stopped by Yu Yu…”

"She's protecting me..."

"And even if she didn't stop me, my dreams seem to be different from other people's dreams..."

Lin Xing'an stood up from the bar and paced around the living room.

"So if the Utopia Dream is the 'brand of the sacrifice'..."

"Hiss... Doesn't that mean that almost all humans who have awakened and killed a gluttonous ghost are sacrifices?"

"They would sacrifice almost all of them to their mother at once. Wouldn't that mean humanity would be wiped out all at once?"

Lin Xing'an's voice suddenly paused and his expression changed.

Because he suddenly remembered the words of the angel before the "chicken metaphor" - the purpose of a farm is to fatten up livestock, kill them, and then continue to raise a new batch of livestock...

"And then continue to breed a new batch..."

"A new batch..."

These short sentences, these four short words, at this moment, made Lin Xing'an think deeply about it...

How did humans come to this world?
He actually didn't dare to think about it anymore...

"Phew! No, we can't delay any longer!"

Lin Xing'an went to the bathroom to wash his face.

His identity, why did that angel look almost identical to Yu Shi, and why were the hallucinating ghosts in Villa No. 6 so murky...

There are still so many questions from that night...

But Lin Xing'an no longer had time to analyze them one by one.

He put all those minor questions behind him.

"After you successfully return, you must immediately stop Teacher Orange from going to Puguang Mountain."

"Then, have Mr. Orange delete the memory of 'Taoyuan Dream'."

"If that doesn't work... at least find out how everyone died and what the gluttonous ghost is doing in Puguang Temple."

"For the rest, we can only adapt to the situation..."

Lin Xing'an went over the plan again based on his own reasonable guesses.

"Very good, next..."

He glanced at the time.

January 5 at 27:5 pm.

A gloomy atmosphere quietly emerged from Lin Xing'an's body.

It was the first time that Lin Xing'an took the initiative to try to roll back the game, and he was still a little nervous.

He closed his eyes and calmed himself down.

"……Um?"

But just when Lin Xing'an was about to die, he heard the sound of waves...

wrong……

Not a wave...

The sound, like the endless rushing of the Yangtze River, was getting closer and louder!

Lin Xing'an quietly opened his eyes.

Before his eyes, the long river of time composed of countless silver threads seemed to appear out of thin air!

It lies across the small coffee shop!

But it doesn't seem to be on the same level as the surrounding area.

The long river roared continuously, as if inviting Lin Xing'an.

The gloom surrounding Lin Xing'an suddenly dissipated.

He took a step forward and stepped into the long river.

"Is this the improvement in the ability to rewind?"

"As long as I have the determination to die, can I actively control the rollback?"

Lin Xing'an frowned and raised his hand.

Threads of silver timelines passed through his fingers.

"Good boy~"

Yu Yu's gentle voice suddenly came.

"Dear baby, don't go, okay?"

"Just let it all end like this, isn't it good?"

Amidst countless silver threads, Lin Xing'an turned around and looked at the Bluetooth speaker that was flashing blue light.

"You are not her."

He said calmly.

Then, he strode forward against the flow of time.

(End of this chapter)