I'm being held captive by a monster

Chapter 257 No need to change, let nature take its course, adapt to changing circumstances
"Daddy! Waaaaah, you're finally awake!"

The moment Lin Xing'an was transported back to reality from the river of time, he felt a cramping pain all over his body!
"hiss!"

He gritted his teeth, and a fine layer of cold sweat appeared on his forehead.

After a long while, the darkness before Lin Xing'an's eyes gradually faded.

He turned his head and saw that he had an injection in his right arm with several tubes inserted.

And nestled against her chest was a tiny, soft girl.

Her big, icy blue eyes were filled with tears, and her chubby little face looked at him with a wronged expression.

There was also a dark bluish-black mark under his eyes, which was clearly due to lack of rest.

Xu Ye...

The girl's eyes immediately reminded Lin Xing'an of Xu Ye.

That deep blue color, seemingly imbued with ice crystals, was exactly the same as Xu Ye's, almost like a copy and paste...

"Dad, I thought you wouldn't wake up, sob sob sob!"

Seeing that Lin Xing'an's eyes seemed to have finally regained their color, the girl who was lying on his chest finally couldn't help but burst into tears.

"It's okay..."

Despite feeling unwell and exhausted, Lin Xing'an reached out and rubbed her head.

Then he gritted his teeth and forced himself to clear his head, trying to gather the gloom within him.

Unfortunately, although he could barely sense the gloom scattered around him, Lin Xing'an was too badly injured to establish any connection with it.

"call……"

After taking a few deep breaths, Lin Xing'an looked around at his surroundings.

The hospital room was a single room, about 40 square meters.

The time is 3:30 in the afternoon.

Apart from that, there was nothing else of any usefulness in the room.

There was nothing written on the IV drip in my right arm.

He looked out the window again.

However, perhaps due to the perspective, Lin Xing'an could only see the courtyard inside this large hospital.

"husband!"

Before he could think, a series of footsteps came from outside the ward, and the door was suddenly pushed open!

With a worried expression, Xu Ye jogged to his bedside and took his hand.

Lin Xing'an's heart sank.

Because Xu Ye's legs have healed and he no longer needs a wheelchair, this is a completely healthy Xu Ye.

But most importantly, this Xu Ye's temperament is completely different from the Xu Ye that Lin Xing'an remembers at this moment.

When Xu Ye came in, what Lin Xing'an noticed first was not her recovered legs.

Rather, it's the overwhelming confidence and capable demeanor emanating from her...

He gives people a sense of security, as if everything can be easily solved by Xu Ye...

This kind of temperament cannot be cultivated overnight, nor can it be faked...

What exactly is going on...?

Lin Xing'an felt as if his mind was a complete mess!
"Youyou, when did Daddy wake up?"

Xu Ye knelt on the ground and wiped away the girl's tears.

"Just now..."

Lin You said, sobbing.

"Youyou, Daddy is still feeling a bit unwell. Don't make Daddy feel suffocated."

Looking at Lin Xing'an's pale face, Xu Ye felt a pang of heartache once again.

"it is good."

Lin You nodded obediently and stood up beside the bed.

"Xiaoye, where am I...?"

Lin Xing'an took a deep breath, his voice extremely hoarse.

"...Tiangong Hospital, don't worry, everything is fine now, it's all over."

"They're all dead, not a single one was left alive."

Lin Xing'an's way of addressing her surprised Xu Ye.

But she still held Lin Xing'an's hand tightly and placed it on her face.

There was a hint of ruthlessness in his voice.

"..."

Lin Xing'an nodded silently.

Tiangong Hospital...

Where the hell am I?!

There is no such place in either the north or south of the city.

Moreover, the greenery and scenery outside, in this style, seem neither like the northern part of the city nor the southern part...

And what did Xu Ye mention...?
For a moment, a series of questions made Lin Xing'an's temples throb!
My mind is a complete mess.

"Honey, I'm sorry."

Xu Ye rubbed her face against Lin Xing'an's hand and suddenly whispered.

"...It's okay, Xiaoye."

Lin Xing'an said with a smile.

Then he took the initiative to rub Lin You's little face.

"I want to rest some more."

A look of pain crossed his face, and he coughed a few times before speaking.

Seeing this, Xu Ye touched Lin Xing'an's forehead again.

"Honey, you get some rest. I'm here for you. We'll always be here for you."

She hugged Lin Xing'an and whispered against his chest.

Then he pulled Lin You up, saying, "Let's go, Youyou, let Daddy rest for a while."

She took Lin You and left the ward.

"call……"

Watching the two leave, Lin Xing'an closed his eyes.

He initially intended to pull out the IV drip, but after hesitating for a moment, he obediently lay down.

After shaking his head, Lin Xing'an calmed down and began to think, rubbing his temples.

A moment later, he let out a soft breath.

"I am..."

"Have we traveled to the future through the river of time...?"

Although it is unreasonable.

But after much deliberation, Lin Xing'an had no other explanation.

"It must be because of Si Que."

"She is the only variable when I use my abilities..."

but……

How on earth did that...?

Lin Xing'an frowned, recalling scenes from the long river of time.

He was clearly rewinding the footage while looking at the images of those thin silver lines.

The timing of the card should be exactly the time when he and He Bogang boarded that cruise ship.

but……

It was as if he had stepped out of the river of time and accidentally lost his footing...

How did I suddenly travel to the future?

Moreover, the ability [Death Rewind] is called "rewind" because it can only go back to the past.

Even if this ability undergoes a qualitative change, it will at least have to wait until Lin Xing'an reaches Grade A, right?

"Wouldn't traveling to the future this way cause time paradoxes or something like that...?"

"That child just now, he must have been at least four or five years old..."

Lin Xing'an closed his eyes.

As his strength returned, his mind began to work faster.

If a gluttonous ghost wants to get pregnant, it must ask its mother to grant it a child when she descends upon the henhouse.

His and Xu Ye's child is already four or five years old, which means he has traveled through at least six or seven years into the future.

Because Lin Xing'an's current situation is at least a year away from his mother's arrival, and considering Xu Ye's pregnancy time...

Six or seven years, about right.

"No, not necessarily..."

Lin Xing'an pursed his lips.

If it was only six or seven years, it proves that Lin Xing'an's first-stage goal of infiltration—"finding the sacrificer"—failed.

The purpose of this action was to imprison the sacrificer and prevent them from calling upon their mother.

If the operation succeeds, it means the mother will be unable to descend into the henhouse.

Xu Ye and he could never have a child...

Thinking of this, Lin Xing'an's heart sank...

"And Xu Ye is still alive..."

"Given Xu Ye's physical condition, if she were infected with the [Plague] of the sixteenth month, she would most likely not survive more than thirty days..."

"So... the epidemic in June was resolved in just thirty days?"

Lin Xing'an gritted his teeth.

According to his plan, it should have dragged on for at least fifty days...

Even fifty days is a bit short; it's simply not enough to kill many high-ranking officials...

"What exactly happened during this time..."

"Have all our plans failed...?"

"The most important thing is..." "Can I still go back now?"

Lin Xing'an sat up, leaned against the pillows, and took deep breaths, trying his best to adjust his physical strength and condition.

"It's too empty..."

He can still feel the passage of time.

But now, his stamina bar is almost empty, and even after waking up, he has only recovered less than 20%.

This kind of summoning takes a long time, which is a waste of stamina and increases the risk.

What worries Lin Xing'an even more is that even if he summons the River of Time at full strength...

Is it really possible to go back six or seven years in reverse?
Keep in mind that back then, his maximum capacity for going against the current was only one hundred hours...

What if he goes back at the wrong time? What if he inadvertently changes some important timeline...?

"hiss……"

Lin Xing'an felt increasingly troubled and overwhelmed by the situation.

He used his abilities with extreme caution, partly because he was in the stronghold of the Gluttonous Ghost and had to be constantly wary of Xu Zhe, and partly to prevent the creation of a "paradox".

After all, Lin Xing'an still vividly remembered the scene of that clone ghost being directly erased by time.

"If we can't go back..."

Lin Xing'an rubbed his temples, his face serious.

"An'an."

Suddenly, a series of knocks came from outside the door.

This title surprised Lin Xing'an.

Only close relatives who know him very well would call him that.

But Lin Xing'an had absolutely no recollection of that voice.

"Enter."

After adjusting his expression, Lin Xing'an also spoke.

But when he saw who came in, he paused, and his brows furrowed instantly.

How could it be her...?

"An'an, how are you?"

Mai Lingbu moved a stool and sat down naturally beside Lin Xing'an's bed, asking with concern.

"..."

Lin Xing'an was at a loss for words.

His mind was completely blank!
Despite the complete change in hairstyle and everything else, Lin Xing'an could still recognize that this was Mai Lingbu or Mai Yuran.

but……

Whoever these two people are, why are they being so friendly to Lin Xing'an?

What is their relationship?
Even more strangely, Lin Xing'an felt a sense of familiarity when he looked at Mai Lingbu in front of him...

It's mainly about the... aura/temperament that Mai Lingbu possesses?
"understood."

Although Lin Xing'an didn't say a word, Mai Lingbu's eyes revealed a knowing look, and he smiled at Lin Xing'an.

"An'an, get some rest."

She took out a small black notebook with a pen clipped to it from her bosom, placed it in Lin Xing'an's hand, and patted it.

Then, without saying anything more, he got up and left.

"..."

But the look in Mai Lingbu's eyes before he left left Lin Xing'an stunned for a long time.

"what's the situation……"

Lin Xing'an shivered.

For some reason, Mai Lingbu's aura, his eyes, and the tone of his voice just now reminded him of... Yu Shi.

But... how is this possible?

This is absurd...

Lin Xing'an was momentarily dazed.

After a long pause, he finally looked at the little black notebook in his hand.

"This……"

Lin Xing'an opened the notebook.

Inside, a Polaroid photo of him and Yu Yu slid out.

That was in the afternoon when Lin Xing'an had just come out of Villa No. 6.

Yu Yu sat in the driver's seat, while the six-year-old boy, exhausted, sat in the passenger seat with his eyes tightly closed.

Yu Yu leaned against him, the light of the setting sun filtering through her fingertips as she made a peace sign.

That day was the last time Lin Xing'an saw Yu Yu.

This small, black notebook, about the size of a palm, is also one of Lin Xing'an's "childhood belongings".

It was left behind by the hanging corpse in that abandoned building the night he left home.

Even now, every page still bears traces of being soaked by heavy rain.

This photo and this notebook were handed over to Taoyuan for safekeeping after Lin Xing'an decided to go undercover.

This is something that relates to Lin Xing'an's secret identity...

How did it end up in...Mailinbu's hands?

And why is she giving it to me now...?

Lin Xing'an's heart started pounding!
These doubts and the feeling of having completely lost control of the situation made him extremely uneasy...

"password……"

On the blank page with the photo, Lin Xing'an saw two horizontal lines.

This is the coded page of the classic mother-child version.

"..."

Lin Xing'an paused for a moment.

He picked up the pen tucked inside the notebook and wrote the words "Don't be afraid" above the two horizontal lines.

As the last stroke was made, the ink on the two characters slowly disappeared as if absorbed by the paper.

Then, a few lines of text slowly appeared on the paper.

Upon seeing the handwriting, Lin Xing'an raised an eyebrow.

This is his own handwriting...

[Your arrival here is not due to a lack of ability; it is Si Que's ability that has caused the River of Time to become disordered.]

Once your strength has recovered to 30%, Si Que will take you back.

The current outcome is the best possible outcome.

No need to overthink it, just let things take their course, be adaptable, and relax.

There were only four lines of text on a small sheet of paper.

"It really is Si Que..."

Lin Xing'an closed his eyes.

Just as he thought, if one travels to the future through the river of time, then the future him will surely know that the past him will come.

For example, if he were to travel back in time, as time passes, at that point in time, he would definitely know that his past self had been there.

Therefore, they would definitely leave a message.

"Reasonable."

These four lines, aside from explaining why Lin Xing'an came here, did not address any of the other questions in Lin Xing'an's mind.

But it relieved Lin Xing'an.

Actually, the saying "the current result is the best result" is enough.

Saying too much or explaining too much will only make Lin Xing'an overthink things.

Making decisions with the predetermined outcome in mind will definitely affect Lin Xing'an's judgment.

If he goes back in time and changes certain actions or decisions, causing changes in the future, the consequences are unpredictable.

Therefore, the best approach is to say nothing.

Like the last sentence.

Go with the flow, adapt to changing circumstances, and the right result will naturally follow.

"Wow..."

The writing on the notebook slowly disappeared, turning back into two horizontal lines.

The sound of the river of time echoed in Lin Xing'an's ears once again.

"elder brother."

Lin Xing'an looked up and saw Si Que, who looked youthful and energetic, standing in the silvery-white light, reaching out her hand to Lin Xing'an.

Her fiery red hair was extremely eye-catching.

"Brother, I was a little disobedient when I was little, so please take good care of me."

She pulled Lin Xing'an into the river of time.

Then he scratched his head, and said somewhat awkwardly and embarrassedly.

"it is good."

Seeing this, Lin Xing'an smiled and nodded.

"Brother, see you later!"

Si Que raised his hand.

The river of time around them surged instantly.

Before Lin Xing'an, a silvery-white vortex slowly appeared.

"Once inside, it will be the time you want."

Si Que said, putting his hands behind his back.

"Okay, take care."

Lin Xing'an nodded.

Without saying much, he stepped into the vortex.

(End of this chapter)