I'm being held captive by a monster

Chapter 278 The Gluttonous Ghost Lin Xing'an

"Lin Xing'an, your mother looks so young, just like your sister."

"And she's so gentle, the gentlest human I've ever met."

“My friends’ mothers would call them home for dinner at a certain time, and they were very strict.”

After entering the river of time, Si Que reflected on Yu Yu's feelings and said.

He couldn't help but let out a silly giggle.

Like a puppy that's been amused and spurred on by its owner.

"Yes, she is really gentle."

"But... she's a gluttonous ghost."

Lin Xing'an lowered his eyes and said.

"...What? She's a gluttonous ghost?!"

"What?! What?! What?! You're kidding me?!"

Si Que's eyes widened in surprise, and he became so astonished that he couldn't speak coherently!

"...Yeah, just kidding."

Lin Xing'an didn't want to explain, he just smiled and nodded.

"Phew! You scared me! How could such a good person be a glutton..."

Si Que finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Lin Xing'an also first tested his own physical strength.

Just like last time, he simply remained in the river of time without expending any energy.

Therefore, time should also be passing normally outside.

After he began to move normally against the current through these silver threads, his physical strength was consumed normally.

The footage was also a replay of what he had just experienced.

It's not much different from before.

"So simply staying in the river of time is like staying in a safe house."

"This feels like a nerf..."

Although it does not require physical exertion.

But with time stopping outside gone, it feels like the operability has been greatly reduced...

"We'll study this further when we don't include Si Que later."

Lin Xing'an looked at Si Que, who was rambling on about the timeline.

He clapped his hands two minutes after feeding Si Que.

"Come on! Magpie, try using your ability again."

"I never expected you to be so capable and brave."

Lin Xing'an coaxed her.

Si Que indeed seemed quite pleased and raised her little head high!

"Of course!"

She rubbed her nose.

Flames flickered in his eyes.

Following her finger, the flames climbed back up the silver threads in front of him.

Before long, the silver threads transformed into a curtain of fire.

"……Eh?"

This time, however, Si Que froze on the spot.

"This...how come it's different from before?"

She rubbed her eyes and looked at the scene in the flames.

"...It's different now."

"So the IF lines are generated randomly...?"

Lin Xing'an pursed his lips slightly.

The scene in the flames showed him... sitting in Xu Zhe's office, in the position of the head of the action department, discussing something with Zhang Guang.

Although it was already past midnight, the two seemed to be having a heated discussion.

The scene doesn't look like an outbreak.

However... it's relatively commonplace.

But Lin Xing'an's brows were furrowed.

Because in the footage, his own state looked very strange!

There was a feeling that he was filled with hatred and ferocity...

Deep within his eyes, Lin Xing'an could also sense a kind of numbness and madness.

"What happened to make me like this..."

Lin Xing'an took a deep breath, feeling a little uneasy.

In this state, he absolutely cannot accomplish the mission of saving humanity.

“Zhang Guang is still alive, and I am… the head of the action department? Then the only possibility is that Xu Zhe is gone.”

"Could it be..."

"Did I fail to stop Taoyuan from notifying Xinxin last time? Or did I fail to stop her, resulting in everyone, including Xu Zhe, being killed by Xinxin?"

Lin Xing'an looked at his reflection in the image and silently analyzed it in his mind.

"Si Que, try again and see if the image changes."

After watching for a while, he spoke while keeping his distance from Si Que.

Although at present, these IF lines do not seem to have any substantial effect.

But it satisfied Lin Xing'an's curiosity.

Although he wouldn't regret it, he was also curious what would have happened if he had made other choices, or if things hadn't turned out the way he expected...

What might happen?

"Lin Xing'an, what's going on with these images?"

As Si Que absorbed and released the flames again, the inverted scene indeed changed once more.

Si Que couldn't help but ask again.

"It's like... some scenes from a parallel world, where... the scenes are all fake, they didn't happen."

"Si Que, you should only use this ability when I'm around, otherwise it will be extremely dangerous."

"We'll work together to develop this ability of yours over the next few days."

"Once you're proficient, we'll kill the taboo ghost together, and saving your parents will definitely be no problem!"

Lin Xing'an first drew a picture of a pie.

Si Que's eyes lit up!
"it is good!"

She nodded heavily.

Lin Xing'an also looked at the scene in front of him.

"Auntie..."

This time, amidst the flames, was his Yu Yu in that coffee shop on the street corner.

Although both of them were behind the counter.

But the relationship seems to have developed cracks, with a clear sense of estrangement that comes from frequent arguments...

The coffee shop was no longer the cozy place Lin Xing'an remembered, with its various photos hanging on the walls.

Lin Xing'an could feel the oppressive atmosphere even just by looking at the images.

"What's going on now...?"

"Was it because I rejected the Peach Blossom Spring plan after I woke up?"

"...Or was it because I...didn't choose to go to Puguang Mountain to save Teacher Ju and the others?"

Lin Xing'an frowned.

If it really is one of these two...

Four years have passed for one, and fifteen years for the other...

Given such a long time ago, are the resulting IF lines still visible?
If the scope is so vast, and each choice in between creates a new "if" statement...

Isn't that a bit too much randomness...?

"Lin Xing'an, do you want to continue?"

Seeing Lin Xing'an's complicated expression.

Si Que's face was also full of pride and smugness!
"Keep going, keep going until you have no more energy."

"You're not going to be unable to perform now, are you?"

Lin Xing'an looked at Si Que.

"Pshaw! I have plenty of energy!"

Si Que stamped his foot, a small flame flickering in his eyes.

He was clearly more skilled at controlling the flames than he had been the previous two times.

And the scene that appeared within the flames this time...

"Teacher Orange..."

Lin Xing'an frowned deeply.

In the picture, he is in a cemetery.

Before me was a blank stele, without any inscriptions.

The only thing that can reveal the identity of the owner of this blank stele is...

It seemed that only a bunch of oranges had been deliberately placed in front of Lin Xing'an. "Something's not right..."

As the footage was played in reverse, Lin Xing'an's Adam's apple bobbed.

This isn't Teacher Orange...

Or rather, this isn't just about Teacher Orange...

The entire cemetery is filled with all of humanity...

"This is... I didn't get the identity of the sacrifice, and I failed to stop my mother from descending upon the chicken coop?"

"Did it cause everyone to die as 'sacrifices'...?"

"But... is this the future or the past?"

"There are still at least six months until the sacrifice..."

Lin Xing'an squinted and looked carefully.

I tried to find some clues in the image that could indicate the time.

Unfortunately, no...

"If this is the same as the previous times, and it's due to a change in certain choices that created a past IF line based on the current point in time..."

"What exactly happened that caused Mother's sacrifice to happen almost six months earlier?"

"But what if the scene being shown now is the future..."

Lin Xing'an recalled the first time he met Si Que, the scene when Si Que emerged from the river of time but stumbled into thin air...

"He can even see the future, just how powerful is Si Que...?"

"Is this something that can be controlled...?"

He looked at Si Que, who looked completely clueless.

Lin Xing'an was about to ask a question, but Si Que's innocent eyes made him stop talking.

This looks like they have absolutely no idea...

Asking is a waste of time...

"Si Que, do you still have the strength?"

"Of course! Lin Xing'an, you look down on me!"

Si Que rubbed his nose.

She absorbed the flames again.

Even after the flames were brought back this time, the small flames in Si Que's eyes were not as intense as they had been the previous times.

It's obvious that it's running out of energy.

"belch."

Si Que burped.

The flames released were also reduced.

"Si Que, it's alright, don't push yourself."

"I wasn't forced!"

Si Que glared at Lin Xing'an.

The flames on the timeline ignited as if fuel had been poured on them!
The reversed image then appeared.

"Is this... a shrine?"

Lin Xing'an narrowed his eyes.

Within the flames was a magnificent building he had never seen before.

As the video is played in reverse.

Lin Xing'an saw an angel with eight wings sitting in mid-air, its back to the screen.

However, the main character of the entire scene, or rather, the main perspective of the scene, is not this angel, but a completely unfamiliar person!
Lin Xing'an's heart skipped a beat!
No matter how the scenes involving Si Que change, he is always the protagonist!
Because this river of time is his ability.

The timeline rewinds to everything that happened with Lin Xing'an as the main character!
But now, the main character in this scene is no longer Lin Xing'an...

"Si Que! Quickly recall it!"

After looking for half a second, Lin Xing'an realized what was happening and quickly shouted!

Something is wrong!
After he shouted, Si Que didn't react immediately.

On the contrary, the person in the reversed video who was completely unfamiliar to him seemed to be Lin Xing'an's voice!
The video was clearly playing in reverse, and his movements were also playing in reverse.

But the next second, it was as if it had shaken off the rust on its body!
The person's body stiffened for a moment, and then, with everyone else, everything else, and everything else in the scene playing in reverse, the person broke free from the constraints of time and slowly turned their head around!

"Si Que!"

An intense sense of crisis made Lin Xing'an's heart pound!

He shouted again!

The dark energy in his hand had already solidified, transforming into a defensive stance!
The tension in his mind tightened, locking onto the exact moment just now, ready to forcibly shut down the river of time at any time and leave with Si Que!

"Si Que! Quickly!"

Lin Xing'an's pupils suddenly contracted!
It was only then that he realized that the stranger who turned around was not a complete stranger!
He has a face exactly like Lin Xing'an's!
But...

It is filled with the indifference and evil of a gluttonous ghost that has long disregarded humanity!
This is definitely a gluttonous ghost...

He was born a glutton...

Lin Xing'an's Adam's apple bobbed.

My mind is racing!

In the picture, "his" eyes are like two magnets!
It was as if you could see through countless silver threads, as if you could see through burning flames!

Across time and space, the location was pinpointed to Lin Xing'an!

His pupils contracted to a slit, like the blink of a cold-blooded animal!

A strange smile appeared on his face.

Inside the open lips were two rows of teeth that closed together perfectly, like serrated edges!

I see you.

He looked at Lin Xing'an and suddenly said excitedly!
The gloom gathered in his hand actually transformed into a roaring behemoth that crashed down on Lin Xing'an!
"call!"

next second!
The flames clinging to the silver threads vanished with a roar, their echoes returning to Si Que's eyes.

Before Lin Xing'an's eyes, all that remained was the ceaselessly flowing white river of time.

as well as……

The gloomy spots were like weightless water droplets floating in the air.

This is the sinister image of "Lin Xing'an" from the previous scene...

"Holy crap! Lin Xing'an, what's going on! Is that you?!"

Si Que tossed her red hair, put her hands on her hips, and asked breathlessly.

His face also showed lingering fear!

The sense of oppression from "Lin Xing'an" in that scene was too strong!

It looked like it was about to rush out and devour the two of them!
"do not move!"

Lin Xing'an didn't answer, but stopped Si Que.

His brows were furrowed as he stared at the gloom seeping into the river of time.

Against the silvery-white background, the dark gloom is extremely obvious.

"Is this from that evil version of you?"

Si Que also noticed the gloom.

His eyes widened, and he asked incredulously.

"Yes."

"How is that possible? Didn't you say that everything in the footage was fake and didn't happen?"

"...Yes, how could that be..."

Lin Xing'an also murmured in a low voice.

The dark energy in his hand slowly dispersed, enveloping the floating specks of darkness.

Half a minute later, Lin Xing'an absorbed the gloom.

"call……"

Once he confirmed that nothing unusual had occurred in his life, he breathed a sigh of relief.

Then he let the gloom in his hand disperse again and return to his body.

But his expression remained extremely serious!
Because in the previous scene, besides "him", the angel in the background also broke free from the constraints of being played in reverse and turned around.

Even though it was only half a turn of the head.

But Lin Xing'an still managed to see that face clearly.

It's Yu Yu.

It's that angel Yu Yu...

Compared to when Lin Xing'an first met her at Puguang Mountain fifteen years ago, she has gained another pair of wings!

"Lin Xing'an, should I try again?"

"No, let's stop here for today. You need to recover your strength."

Lin Xing'an pulled Si Que.

I stared at the little flame in her eyes for a while.

He was relieved after confirming that the flames were still burning.

He then closed his eyes, rubbed his temples, and recalled the scene that had just occurred.

He became a gluttonous demon, and Yu Yu possessed eight wings...