I'm being held captive by a monster

Chapter 271 Why?
"Xu Zhe, can you prove that this secret room is related to Lin Xing'an?"

Zhang Guang asked quietly.

"can!"

Xu Zhe said fiercely!

"I found out about this location by monitoring Lin Xing'an!"

"Minister, all my surveillance, all my violations..."

"I allowed the epidemic to spread, I concealed it from you, everything I did was..."

Xu Zhe didn't finish speaking!

Zhang Guang suddenly raised his hand, grabbed his neck, and lifted Xu Zhe up with one arm!

The scorching palm made Xu Zhe's neck skin feel as if it had been touched by a red-hot iron, producing a sizzling sound!
Puffs of white smoke, carrying the aroma of roasting meat, rose into the air!

"cough……"

Suffocation! Excruciating pain!
The color drained from Xu Zhe's face instantly!
My vision blurred, and I instinctively grabbed Zhang Guang's hand!
Its teeth suddenly became sharp, and its ears transformed into the fluffy black ears of a bat.

Its wings suddenly burst open behind it!

Unfortunately, Zhang Guang's ghost domain had already occupied the entire area!

No matter how much Xu Zhe struggled, he couldn't break free from Zhang Guang's grasp even an inch!

This only made Zhang Guang hold on tighter and tighter!
The tighter they grip, the more they tighten!

But what terrified Xu Zhe the most was...

Within Zhang Guang's ghostly domain, two streams of heat were attacking his ears!

sound……

It's fading from his ears!

Zhang Guang really wanted to kill me!

Xu Zhe's mouth was wide open, but the tiny sound squeezed out from the gap was like water from a cup being poured onto a wildfire in Zhang Guang's ghostly realm.

"Why... why..."

Xu Zhe looked at Zhang Guang.

His eyes were filled with confusion, resentment, shock, fear, and despair...

But Zhang Guang didn't say a word.

He simply grabbed Xu Zhe's neck, and no matter how much Xu Zhe bit and struggled, he didn't budge!
Meanwhile, the scorching heat within the Ghost Realm continued to intensify!

Xu Zhe felt as if he were inside a giant iron pot engulfed in raging flames!
"Oh!"

"Ah ah ah ah ah!"

The temperature has exceeded a certain threshold!
Xu Zhe's bloodshot eyes suddenly exploded!

The blood evaporated and disappeared as it splattered in mid-air!

"Gululu..."

A sound of something boiling came from Xu Zhe's mind!
The heat surged from both inside and outside, attacking Xu Zhe's ears and burning his skin!

Each deep breath felt like swallowing a fiery liquor!
The sound, carrying Xu Zhe's life, is rapidly fading away...

Why……

What went wrong...?

how so……

Two lines of chilling tears of blood, mixed with thick white fluid, flowed from Xu Zhe's empty eye sockets where no eyeballs had been removed!

I've already found this far...

I've already exposed Lin Xing'an...

The irrefutable evidence is already laid out on these shelves...

Why did the minister want to kill me...?

why why why!
Beneath the burning pain lay Xu Zhe's intense resentment!
He was unwilling to die just because he had gone through so much trouble to find something to hold against Lin Xing'an!

He was unwilling to die without any ability to resist!

He was unwilling to accept that Lin Xing'an was currently in Nancheng, being all lovey-dovey with his only daughter!
Why...

This unwillingness kept Xu Zhe hanging on by a thread!

Even if he were breathing flames, he would have to keep his mouth wide open and make the slightest sound!
Zhang Guang would never kill me just to help Lin Xing'an cover it up!
Collecting obscene materials is strictly prohibited!
Zhang Guang's goal has always been to become a committee member!
His high regard for and appreciation of Lin Xing'an were all for the purpose of achieving this one goal!
Even if this place has nothing to do with Lin Xing'an, even if just one bottle leaks out, it would be fatal for Zhang Guang, the current minister!
Not to mention killing me to protect Lin Xing'an!
and so……

Why did he kill me?

He doesn't trust me?
Does he think I'll expose this?

No, no, where did I go wrong...?

Xu Zhe's skin was burning, and his flesh was melting.

He looked like a wax figure that was dripping.

If he doesn't trust me, he can simply destroy this place...

Moreover, this place is clearly inhabited by humans and animals; it's clearly Lin Xing'an's stronghold...

Collecting so much darkness...

Xu Zhe seemed to have thought of something!

His body suddenly trembled violently!
His mouth suddenly opened wide!
The ability to collect so much gloom must be possessed by both humans and animals... Zhang Guang also possesses it!
This place is not fit for humans or animals!

It's Zhang Guang's!

This is Zhang Guang's secret!
Lin Xing'an's extra abilities were brought to him by Zhang Guang to be absorbed!

No wonder Lin Xing'an said Zhang Hang's abilities had mutated after the attack, while Zhang Guang showed no signs of it...

No wonder Zhang Guang's anger subsided immediately after I mentioned this place...

No wonder Zhang Guang wasn't surprised at all after seeing so much gloom...

but……

Since this place is Zhang Guang's secret.

How did I learn about this place from the human and animal organization through an undercover operation...?

Because of Lin Xing'an...

Xu Zhe's body trembled uncontrollably!

Suddenly, he understood everything!

As if he had already noticed that he had planted a bugging device, Lin Xing'an had already noticed Mirror Ghost's surveillance when he arrived in Nancheng!
Lin Xing'an's ability to control water wasn't exposed because he let his guard down...

He did it on purpose...

He deliberately exposed himself to the mirror ghost so that the mirror ghost would tell me...

And then there was Zhang Hang's incident...

He clearly didn't need to break those two arrows...

Lin Xing'an did it on purpose!

He knows I'm doubting him, and he's guiding my doubts in the direction they're going!

He was guiding me to investigate in a more sinister direction; he was guiding me to uncover Zhang Guang's secret!
He was indeed connected to the human-animal organization...

He instructed the animal control organization to let me discover this place...

He's using someone else to do his dirty work!
Isn't Lin Xing'an afraid that I'll tell Zhang Guang that I only found out about this place from the human and animal organization?!

Once I said that, Zhang Guang would completely doubt Lin Xing'an!

At the very least, there will be an investigation!
but……

However, in order to kill Lin Xing'an and to definitively establish the connection between this place and Lin Xing'an, he insisted that he discovered it while monitoring Lin Xing'an...

From the empty void of Xu Zhe's missing eyeballs, boundless hatred erupted!
Was this also within Lin Xing'an's expectations?!
Did he really expect me to say that?!

Only now did Xu Zhe realize that he had missed the chance to kill Lin Xing'an!

“Lin... Xing... An…”

Boiling blood gushed continuously from his mouth!

The shrill, hoarse voice seemed to come from the deepest purgatory!

Zhang Guangze frowned deeply.

Xu Zhe's behavior before his death was somewhat unexpected.

It doesn't seem like a survival instinct born out of fear of death.

It seems more like it was born from hatred...

"minister!"

Xu Zhe suddenly lowered his head.

The head, having lost its eyes, seemed to flicker with the ghostly flames of a soul, staring intently at Zhang Guang, causing Zhang Guang's heart to tremble inexplicably!
"Lin Xing'an! He will definitely find a way to return to Beicheng!"

"The one who will find the Sixteenth Month in the end will definitely be Lin Xing'an!"

"Lin Xing'an must become a candidate for committee member!"

"Lin Xing'an is nothing but a beast!!!"

A blood-spitting, shrill sound was forced out of Xu Zhe's almost melted throat!

His tongue has turned into flames!
Blood-stained sparks shot into the air, making a hissing sound!

"Aaaaaah!!!" A desperate and painful wail!
The countless shadowy and distorted shapes within the glass bottle!

Xu Zhe's body finally melted completely into Zhang Guang's ghost realm.

In the secret room, only his last voice remained, still echoing.

"..."

Xu Zhe's last words and his expression made Zhang Guang's face unusually serious.

Is there really something wrong with Lin Xing'an...?

His brows were furrowed.

"Buzz!"

But before he could calm down, his phone rang again.

It's ginger.

"Sister Jiang."

Zhang Guang quickly withdrew his ghost domain and cleared his throat.

Where are the owners of the three animals that were the first to be infected?

"The shrine just gave me a reply, telling you to send the person over there as soon as possible."

Jiang Rong heard the sound of a car horn coming from her direction.

Zhang Guangze was stunned for a moment.

"The person is currently in isolation in the basement of the medical ward of the siege unit, and is under daily observation."

He quickly used his abilities to clean up the traces of Xu Zhe's death.

Within seconds, Xu Zhe's remaining body turned into a wisp of dust and dissipated.

Zhang Guang did not collect his gloom either, but let it dissipate.

"I'll be at the department in half an hour. Zhang Guang, you haven't been infected, have you?"

"I do not."

Zhang Guang glanced at the time, then hesitated for a moment, "Sister Jiang, I think we should move or completely destroy the Yin Hui we've stored."

He looked at the shelves, his expression somewhat obscure.

"...It's your decision. See you in the department later."

After a moment of silence, Jiang Rong spoke directly.

"it is good."

After hanging up the phone, Zhang Guang let out a sigh of relief.

Then, as if he had made up his mind, a ruthless glint appeared in his eyes, and he released the Ghost Domain once again!
"Bam! Boom boom boom!"

This time, as the temperature rose, the glass jars shattered and burst open!

The darkness that had been sealed inside for so long was finally released!
In an instant, countless plumes of black smoke billowed up from the entire basement, grinning like vengeful ghosts from hell as they rushed around Zhang Guang!
"..."

But Zhang Guang was completely unaffected!

He just snorted coldly.

His eyes blazed with intense light!

next second!
That gloomy darkness suddenly ignited out of nowhere!

Beneath the raging flames, a piercing sound, like the wailing of a vengeful ghost, echoed!
Those gloomy gatherings and separations are trying to escape.

But no matter how they fly, they can't escape Zhang Guang's ghost domain!
In less than half a minute, the basement was completely empty, as if it had been purified.

Shelves, broken glass, and gloom...

Everything is equal in Zhang Guang's ghost realm.

"call……"

After doing all this, Zhang Guang breathed a sigh of relief.

After taking one last, complicated look around the place, he finally left the basement and closed the door again.

"How could Lin Xing'an have revealed this place to others..."

Even after leaving, Xu Zhe's voice still echoed in Zhang Guang's mind.

He could understand that Lin Xing'an needed to relax and practice his water control skills in Nancheng.

Moreover, this isn't a skill, but a "weapon," as Jiang Rong has already told him.

but……

No matter how unintentional, Lin Xing'an wouldn't reveal the exact location of this basement, would he...?

"Lin Xing'an wouldn't be so careless..."

"Could it be that he really has a problem, and Xu Zhe has found out something about him?"

"Could it be... that he intends to use me as a tool to kill Xu Zhe?"

Zhang Guang squinted.

Despite his previous complete trust in Lin Xing'an.

However, it must be admitted that Xu Zhe's poignant words at the end of his life added a few cracks to this trust.

"Tsk..."

After temporarily putting Lin Xing'an's question aside, Zhang Guang quickly drove back to his department.

"minister."

In the corridor, Bai Yue was disinfecting.

Zhao Wuji also conducted a general check on the situation of all his infected colleagues.

"How to say?"

Zhang Guang took the statistical sheet handed to him by Zhao Wuji.

"Minister, the current total number of infected people in the Coordination Department's containment unit is 207."

"Among them, 74 people have been infected for the longest time, four days, which means they were infected immediately."

"Most of the other symptoms are still very mild, lasting only a day or two."

Zhao Wuji wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and said somewhat seriously.

Don't be fooled by the fact that everyone's infection period is short now; once someone is infected, it's like losing a crucial member of the Sixteen Months search team...

"Sigh, those with mild symptoms, who were originally from the technical department, should be removed first."

"Then have them bring other people to the department to provide online assistance."

"Those with severe symptoms should be placed in centralized quarantine to prevent them from coming into contact with other people."

"By the way, everyone should report on the gluttons they've come into contact with recently, and then... sigh, Zhao Wuji, you know how to handle this, right?"

Zhang Guang waved his hand and glanced at the time again.

Just then, Li Lu called.

"How's it going? Are you done distributing them?"

Zhang Guang answered the call and asked directly.

"The search areas for each group have been divided up."

"The detailed breakdown has been sent to your email address. Please take a look!"

Li Lu spoke in a loud and energetic voice.

His energetic voice made Zhang Guang nod.

"No need to look anymore, Li Lu, just direct everyone to start the search! I trust you!"

"Understood! Thank you for your trust, Minister!"

"Well, let's go!"

Zhang Guang saw outside that Jiang Rong's car had already stopped.

He quickly grabbed a mask and hurried forward to greet her.

"Take me to see those three owners."

Jiang Rong put on her mask and spoke without delay.

"This way."

Zhang Guang quickly led the way.

"Sister Jiang, why did the Divine Palace agree so quickly?"

Once underground, Zhang Guang frowned and asked.

Normally, even if Jiang Rong directly sends a message to the Divine Palace, it would take at least a week to receive a reply.

"Because the shrine needs them, not to develop an antidote."

Jiang Rong looked at the three owners in the glass room.

"...What is the shrine trying to do?"

Zhang Guang was stunned for a moment, and a vague answer inexplicably rose in his mind.

"While preparing for the election, let's also find a way to improve our capabilities."

Jiang Rong gave a vague and irrelevant answer.

(End of this chapter)