I'm being held captive by a monster

Chapter 273 Your significance far exceeds your imagination

Half past eleven in the evening.

Xu Ye was already fast asleep in her arms.

Lin Xing'an cautiously probed the surroundings again using his cryptic means.

Only after confirming that the Mirror Ghost was gone did he quietly sit up from the bed.

Tiny specks of gloom gathered one by one in the darkness.

In the blink of an eye, Lin Xing'an's image appeared in the same spot on the bed.

After being put in the care of someone else, it's like they're fast asleep.

"..."

After confirming that there were no flaws, Lin Xing'an quietly left the bedroom.

He picked up the photo album from thirty or forty years ago that Uncle He had given him, as well as the warm little jar filled with sunlight.

Then he left home silently.

In the emergency exit, Lin Xing'an didn't go to the convenience store to find Yunxia, ​​but instead manipulated Yin Hui.

He subtly told Yunxia that he would meet her at home.

"Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!!!"

But before Lin Xing'an could recover his gloomy expression, his face changed.

The river of time suddenly trembled.

Having slept for over fifty hours, Si Que rubbed his eyes, wiped the drool from his mouth, and rolled from left to right, from top to bottom, yelling loudly.

A simple stretch makes such a commotion that it sounds like an earthquake!
Even though Lin Xing'an is in relatively good condition now, he almost couldn't suppress the river of time.

"...They really know how to pick their time to wake up..."

Lin Xing'an silently muttered a complaint.

If Xu Zhe were still alive, he would probably have overheard this...

Thankfully, Xu Zhe has now logged off.

"Tsk..."

After hesitating for a moment, Lin Xing'an simply entered the River of Time.

"Si Que."

He looked at Si Que, who was smacking his lips, sitting on the countless silver-white threads, his fiery red hair extremely messy like a bird's nest.

"Uh...you are..."

Hearing the noise, Si Que also turned to look at Lin Xing'an.

The orange-red flames in his eyes flickered erratically, and he looked completely lost.

"Oh! You're that human!"

After watching for a full minute, she finally nodded in realization!
The flames in his pupils suddenly shot up!

"Uh... but what's your name again?"

She scratched her head and rubbed her mouth.

"...Lin Xing'an."

Lin Xing'an sighed speechlessly.

"Si Que, stay here a little longer, I have to go take care of something now."

"Once this matter is settled, I will find you a suitable place to leave immediately."

He patiently waited for Si Que's brain to reboot before speaking.

What do you need me to do?

Si Que smacked his lips and asked directly.

"...to see someone."

"Who?"

"...My mother."

"Huh? Oh my god! You have a mother?"

Si Que was stunned for a moment, then opened his mouth in surprise.

"..."

Lin Xing'an gave a wry smile, as if he wanted to say something but hesitated.

But when he thought that it was Si Que who asked the question, he felt a sense of relief.

"Then take me with you, we're buddies!"

"When I wake up, I just want to move around!"

"It's so incredibly boring here!"

Seeing that Lin Xing'an remained silent, Si Que straightened his chest and spoke.

The two flames in his eyes had transformed from small flames when he first woke up into a raging inferno!
She seemed poised to cause a scene in the River of Time if Lin Xing'an disagreed.

"Si Que, it's still not safe outside..."

Lin Xing'an sighed and said.

Although the Mirror Ghost no longer monitors him.

However, because he caused a huge disturbance by controlling Yin Hui remotely, the entire South City is currently under martial law.

"Ugh... Damn it! Heavens and earth! Am I really going to die of boredom like this?!"

"Ahhhh!"

Si Que's expression fell, and he lay down on the ground.

It was wailing in pain.

Its limbs swayed back and forth like an overturned turtle.

And Lin Xing'an's timeline was shaken once again!

"Don't pull this stunt."

Lin Xing'an quickly helped Si Que up.

"Then can you let me out?"

"...Sigh, fine then."

Lin Xing'an nodded after a moment of contemplation.

After all, the child is getting restless staying here all the time...

Moreover, Si Que came from the cruise ship in Uncle He's basement.

Yu Yu seemed to know the origins of that cruise ship.

But most importantly, the fluctuations in the River of Time just now, following Si Que's seemingly cheating actions, were... somewhat eerie.

If a situation like last time, where one "steps into the air" happens again... that would be too troublesome.

"Yahoo! Oh oh oh! La la la! Ah ah ah!"

Upon hearing that Lin Xing'an had actually agreed, Si Que jumped for joy!

He started shouting and yelling wildly!
I don't know why I'm so happy.

"But Si Que, you have to promise me first that you won't be too unruly outside, and you won't shout or yell."

"It's already past midnight. Listen to my instructions and don't attract any gluttonous ghosts."

Lin Xing'an emphasized this seriously.

"Okay, okay, I'll be good!"

Si Que nodded repeatedly, as if pounding garlic.

"Row."

Seeing this, Lin Xing'an didn't say anything more.

He pulled Si Que up, and the two of them walked out of the river of time together.

"Shh!"

Once outside, even though it was just a corridor, Si Que's eyes widened in surprise!
A small flame suddenly ignited in his eyes!

Fortunately, Lin Xing'an reacted quickly and grabbed her, covering her mouth tightly!

This caused Si Que's little face to puff up instantly, turning bright red.

He swallowed the words back down!
"Shh! Don't make a sound! If you do make a sound, keep it so that only the two of us can hear it, understand?"

"Mmm! Hmm hmm hmm!"

Si Que rolled her eyes and nodded reluctantly.

"Phew! Why so nervous! The gluttonous ghost is coming, I'll just... Hmph!"

She swung her fists twice.

Then, with his head held high and a proud expression, he rubbed his nose.

"..."

Lin Xing'an, feeling exhausted, washed his hands with the water.

I covered Si Que's mouth just now, and got my hand covered in his saliva.

"Slow down, do you know which way to go?"

As soon as Si Que stepped out of the building, she was like a bird released from its cage.

If she really had wings, she'd probably be flying in the sky by now!

"Wow, Lin Xing'an! The soil in the panfang is black too!"

"Wow! These flowers smell amazing! And this grass! It smells just like it! It's real grass!"

Si Que grabbed a handful of grass and put it in his mouth to taste it.

Then his eyes lit up and he gave a thumbs up!
"And this huge moon! The clouds in the sky! And the stars! It's so realistic!"

"This is practically no different from the outside!"

"That damned ghost, it's wasting all its energy on this!"

Si Que tilted his head back, lowered his voice, but couldn't suppress his excitement as he shouted.

Lin Xing'an then realized that this seemed to be Si Que's first time being "free".

After all, she was put into that coffin and then inexplicably sent to the sacrificial room.

He lay in the coffin for an unknown amount of time before Lin Xing'an discovered him.

After its discovery, it remained lost in the flow of time...

I'm so frustrated!

"Wow! Cute little creatures in the dish room!"

"This way, don't run around."

Lin Xing'an waved to Si Que, who was chasing after a butterfly.

He had already shrouded himself and Si Que in a layer of gloom.

Under the cover of night, it was as if they were wearing an invisibility cloak. Lin Xing'an also kept watch in the shadows within a radius of several hundred meters.

So as long as you don't make too much noise, the ordinary patrolling gluttons won't notice.

"Lin Xing'an, let me tell you, this place really looks exactly the same as the outside!"

"No wonder you humans react this way after being captured."

"So it wasn't because you guys were stupid, it was because the scene was too realistic."

Si Que looked left and right, sighing as he followed Lin Xing'an.

Lin Xing'an remained silent, only frowning and cautiously sensing his surroundings.

"Something feels off..."

There were indeed scattered gluttonous ghosts patrolling around.

That's exactly what the nights are like in the southern part of the city.

But I don't know why...

Lin Xing'an had a vague, indescribable, strange feeling...

It was as if someone was watching him all the time...

But Xu Zhe is clearly dead now...

"Am I too nervous...?"

Lin Xing'an placed his hand on his heart.

"Si Que, shh, come this way."

Just to be on the safe side, he pulled Si Que over.

Instead of following the planned route, they ended up on a side path.

Using the time spent taking the long detour, he quietly established connections with all the gloom around him.

I checked out my home first.

Xu Ye was fast asleep, showing no signs of anything amiss.

I also checked out Yunxia's convenience store.

Today, a stranger is on duty; Yunxia has already left.

Searching along the surrounding roads, Lin Xing'an found Yunxia in less than a minute.

There was nothing unusual about her surroundings either.

"..."

Lin Xing'an then used the cryptic method to investigate his former home.

Fang Ying and Lin Xing'an were sleeping on the floor, just like the last time they met.

At this hour, I'm writing in my diary in bed.

"Lin Xing'an, what's wrong?"

Si Que picked his nose, looked up at Lin Xing'an, blinked, and asked.

Lin Xing'an seemed to have thought of something, squinted at Si Que, and fell silent.

Si Que was so important, yet he was put into the committee's coffin...

Could there be some kind of "locator" on him/her?
Just like how the gluttonous demon can pinpoint the location of a newly awakened "human-beast"...

“…What’s wrong?”

Si Que rubbed his face.

He asked with an innocent look in his eyes.

"……fine."

Lin Xing'an shook his head after some hesitation.

If they could really pinpoint his location, Si Que would have been arrested long ago...

"Si Que, why don't you go back first and stay a little longer?"

"I feel... something's not quite right."

Although it was highly unlikely, Lin Xing'an still summoned the River of Time.

"Oh, okay, I'll indulge you this once and give you face."

He had assumed Si Que would refuse.

But to everyone's surprise, Si Que simply sighed, waved his hand, and then plunged back into the river of time like a diver.

"I'm hungry too, hehehe, slurp slurp..."

Before the long river was shut down, Lin Xing'an could hear Si Que swallowing saliva all over his ears.

This isn't giving him face at all...

I've slept for so long, I'm really hungry...

"call……"

I don't know if it's psychological.

After Si Que went inside, Lin Xing'an truly felt that the strange feeling of being watched had disappeared...

But after carefully investigating again, he headed back home.

Because we took a detour.

Therefore, Lin Xing'an entered the community from the west gate.

He met Xu Can here when he was six years old, riding his little bicycle.

It's full of memories...

"Ju Zi called me and asked how my task of revealing the address was going."

Below the building, the clouds had been waiting for two minutes.

The two of them got into the elevator together.

"Executed very well."

"Ju Zi also asked me to look for you in the southern part of the city."

Yunxia looked at Lin Xing'an, "She's really worried about you."

"……Ugh."

Lin Xing'an remained silent for a long time.

But he just sighed.

Seeing this, Yunxia didn't say anything more.

"Do you know that Fang Ying has been maintaining this place all along?"

"Fang Dajun's youngest daughter."

After the elevator doors opened, Lin Xing'an asked.

"know."

Yunxia knocked on the door.

The sound consists of two short notes followed by one long note.

"But she has never seen me, and I have never seen her."

A dozen seconds later, Fang Ying, wearing her pajamas, carefully opened the door.

Seeing that Yunxia was wearing clothes and had the logo of a 24-hour convenience store on her head, a smile appeared on her face.

"Please come in, I'll go tidy up."

Fang Ying glanced behind the two of them and gestured for them to proceed.

“When you came to me for Sister Yunxia’s address last time, I knew my mission was almost complete.”

"I didn't expect it to be so fast."

She quickly packed up the makeshift bed next to the bedroom bed and put it into a suitcase.

Then I went to the bathroom to tidy up my toiletries.

In the blink of an eye, the entire house was exactly the same as it had been fifteen years ago.

"Keep it up, everyone!"

Finally, after picking up her little diary, Fang Ying glanced at the house where she had lived for two years but had left no trace.

He didn't show any particular expression on his face, just smiled, and turned to leave.

"Fang Ying, where are you... going?"

Lin Xing'an stopped Fang Ying with a complicated expression.

"I don't know. Maybe we'll stay in the south for a few days first, and then go to the north?"

"In short, we just need to find a place to wait for Mom, Dad, and my sister to finish their mission."

She pursed her lips, thought for a moment, then shook her head and said with a smile.

"Once we're done, this house will be available. You can stay here for now."

“It’s safe here, you’re familiar with the area, and the Gluttons will be searching very frequently during this period.”

"Besides... don't you want to know why Taoyuan asked you to guard this house for two years?"

"Stay and see what the significance of your two years of perseverance is."

Lin Xing'an pulled Fang Ying's suitcase.

He didn't know which of his words touched Fang Ying, but it caused her eyes to instantly redden.

"I……"

"It's alright, you've had a tough time these past two years."

Yunxia, ​​who was standing to the side, also spoke up.

"it is good!"

Fang Ying took a deep breath. "These past two years... haven't been wasted, have they?"

She took a deep breath, her voice trembling slightly.

But then she realized her lapse in composure and quickly waved her hand.

"I just feel... sigh, my parents and sister are all in the North City, facing the gluttonous ghost every day."

"I'm the only one here... Every day is just... sigh, it just feels like..."

"I feel like I'm really useless."

Fang Ying wiped away her tears with a bitter expression.

"Fang Ying".

Lin Xing'an looked into Fang Ying's eyes.

"I can tell you very seriously that what you have done in the past two years is very important."

"Your significance is far beyond your imagination."

(End of this chapter)