Chapter 434 Safe House

The flickering flames in the fireplace crackled. Even though it was spring outside, in order to match Xu Zhiyan's daily updated sweater outfit, Bai Jin's dreams still maintained the appearance of a warm winter room.

"Huh? Are you going to be gone for a long time?"

Having just met Yan Chengfan in the morning, Xu Zhiyan learned after nightfall that Bai Jin would be away for a while.

"Yeah." Bai Jin nodded.

Unlike his beloved who always planned things meticulously and clearly, it probably felt that there was nothing to say, so after it responded, the whole room fell into silence.

Seeing Bai Jin silent, Xu Zhiyan took a sip of hot tea, feeling a little dissatisfied.

If Xiao Zhiyan hadn't heard the news this morning, he would probably have to ask Bai Jin why he disappeared. After spending so much time together, he knew Bai Jin too well. Whether it was twenty years later or twenty years ago, perhaps because he was too influenced by the world consciousness, the other party always seemed to be restrained and forbearing, unwilling to reveal too much to others.

However, Xu Zhiyan was not a pushover. Although he already knew why the other party disappeared, he still wanted to hear it from Bai Jin himself.

"Are you worried about something?"

As he spoke, he put down his teacup, stood up, and with one stride of his long legs sat down in front of the low table.

The distance between them suddenly shortened, and their noses were almost touching.

Xu Zhiyan was patient, and his words were rarely gentle. He felt like a psychologist, encouraging and inducing his shy patient to tell the truth about his condition... Of course, it would be better if this guy could be more shy in bed and say less dirty talk.

"Tell me, what are you worried about?" He wanted to know what was on Bai Jin's mind.

Unlike his previous passionate and flamboyant performance, the young man's figure was illuminated by the firelight from the fireplace, as if coated with a layer of golden light, as if he would disappear into the dream in the next second.

Love and panic intertwined.

Bai Jin's breathing became much faster.

Before Xu Zhiyan got an answer, he heard a "pop" sound. The structure of the dream changed, and then the fireplace, low table, sofa, carpet... everything that was originally constructed disappeared.

Darkness came over him, and he was still sitting at the low table, and was caught off guard by the disappearance of his support.

Just when Xu Zhiyan thought he was going to sit down on the ground, a hand pulled him into a warm embrace. He struggled subconsciously but the embrace became tighter and tighter.

"Shh, let me hold you for a while."

Listening to Bai Jin's almost inaudible voice, Xu Zhiyan calmed down.

This time was different from the past. The dream was so dark that he could not see his hand in front of him because the dream owner forced him to turn off the lights. As a human without night vision, he could not even see his own body and could only passively feel the hand holding his waist.

White Ash is the opposite.

It hid in the darkness, its eyes greedily recording everything about the young man in its arms.

It was delighted by the other person's concern, but beneath the joyful love was a sense of panic in its heart when the long-awaited day arrived.

The appearance of Xu Zhiyan gave it a weakness.

Before this, it had never thought about what the 'future' would look like.

Ghosts and gods were born to kill and destroy.

It would be best if it could get everything back successfully, but if not, then taking everything with it to destruction is also a good option for it.

And now it has to consider more.

If an accident happens during the journey, what will happen to its sweetheart?

So when he sensed the power fluctuations of the slice, the first thing Bai Jin thought of was not how to recover the power, but how to hide Xu Zhiyan.

Humans are too fragile. They must live in places with plenty of oxygen, food and water. They are delicate and fragile...

Sweet distress.

Yet it’s impossible to let go.

The time in the darkness was infinitely stretched, and Xu Zhiyan's patience was almost at its limit.

He pushed the hand on his waist away and just as he opened his mouth, a hand suddenly appeared on the back of his head, and the rest of his words were suppressed in his throat by the sudden kiss.

The whole person was wrapped in the hot breath. In his daze, Xu Zhiyan felt a slight pain on his lips. The irresistible kiss was urgent and crazy. He could feel that Bai Jin was a little abnormal today, but he couldn't resist it at all... Soon, he didn't have the energy to ask anymore.

In the darkness of visual loss, the experience of other senses is maximized.

The teardrop mole that had been disliked in his memory was soaked with tears again, and his knees were bent to his chest. In his confused consciousness, Xu Zhiyan felt a sudden sharp pain in his ankle, as if he had been bitten hard. He gasped in pain, his whole body tensed up, and he wanted to curse.

However, the unusual tension did not stop Bai Jin from taking action.

His actions only resulted in the man's more hoarse and restrained sighs and more uncontrolled collisions...

It was not until dawn that Xu Zhiyan finally got a chance to catch his breath. Unfortunately, he still couldn't see anything. Before he could fully wake up, he felt someone stroking the area on his ankle that seemed to have been bitten.

Bai Jin explained in a low voice: "If something unexpected happens, I will follow the mark to find you. It doesn't matter if... I look a little strange at that time."

"?"

Xu Zhiyan wanted to curse a few times to vent his anger, but when he heard these words suddenly, he didn't know whether to curse first or ask first.

But Bai Jin had a very good grasp of timing. Before Xu Zhiyan could even take a look at the mark on his ankle, the entire dream began to collapse and shatter.

When he came to his senses, the ceiling was right in front of him.

[Hello, host! Did you sleep well last night?] The enthusiasm system cuts in seamlessly, with a vigorous and positive atmosphere of silly and sweet, which is quite healing.

"Not very good. My brain is almost broken into pieces."

Having stayed in the memory for too long, Xu Zhiyan did not hide anything from the system and became more and more bold in his words. They were all his own people, so it was enough for him not to feel embarrassed.

As an AI, the system thought for a while before coming to its senses.

[Ah? Oh! Oh! Hiss… I’m just a pure little system, it’s embarrassing to tell me this!]

However, Xu Zhiyan’s point was not this. He sighed in confusion.

"White Ember left a mark on me. It said it would find me if anything happened. The bastard ran away after saying that."

Only then did he realize that the mark had actually been completed long ago. The reason why that bastard Bai Jin chose that time to mark him was just because he didn't want him to ask more questions. He didn't understand why the other party was unwilling to speak.

The system gives a different interpretation of this.

[Because it’s dangerous.]

It should speak.

[Host, don’t you realize that? In fact, you are very similar to Mr. Ghost in this respect.]

Accustomed to hiding everything, especially from important people.

[For example, didn’t the host not tell Jiang’s mother a word about the mimic? Why? Is it because the relationship is not good enough? Of course not! Because the host knows that this matter is very dangerous, so he is unwilling to tell them...] It acted as a supporting role for itself, and Baba spoke very fluently.

A bystander sees things more clearly; the system's words fell like thunder.

Xu Zhiyan was stunned.

"……Danger."

He chewed on these two words over and over again.

Yes, recycling slices is indeed dangerous. Although theoretically, recycling other slices by the heart should be foolproof, since the main system wants to use Bai Jin, it will definitely not remove all the seals on it. Bai Jin needs to enter the game many times, and it cannot be exposed too quickly...

'We'll find it by following the mark.'

'It will look a little strange then.'

'It doesn't matter……'

After breaking down the sentence and interpreting it, Xu Zhiyan instantly understood the other party's metaphor.

Entering the heart of the instance with shackles on may result in loss, but fusion is never a life-and-death matter.

Even if the slices of other parts are too strong and the heart loses and becomes the one to be fused, the love for him will not disappear, so the other party will mark him before leaving, to ensure that no matter which part dominates Bai Jin who comes out of the copy, he will definitely be able to find him...

So it says, never mind.

Even if it was other slices that returned to the present world, it didn’t matter to Xu Zhiyan.

For the next whole week, not only was there no news from Bai Jin, but even Xu Yan had no news.

At this time, the mimics' base camp is still inside the shell. Although Xu's house is very important, not many mimics will come here on weekdays. However, Xu Yan is not a talkative person. For Xiao Zhiyan, it doesn't matter whether he is there or not.

The child would eat and read as usual every day, and in the evening he would take a coin from the coin jar on the bookshelf.

The accident happened half a month later.

It was still early in the morning. As soon as Xiao Zhiyan got up, he noticed something was wrong around him - there were fewer people in the yard, and there were a few new faces.

When he finished breakfast and walked towards the study, he saw a blonde girl in a dress walking along the other road.

It was Wang Ying. She looked not much different from what Xu Zhiyan remembered, except that the bloodstains on her skirt were particularly eye-catching. Even little Zhiyan couldn't help but stop and stare at her with wide eyes.

[What is he thinking about?]

The system is curious.

"I'm wondering if Xu Yan is dead."

Xu Zhiyan gave the answer in one second.

The system gave a high evaluation to this, but unfortunately, not long after, Xu Yan's figure appeared from a distance.

[Alas... not dead.]

"Well, it looks like that."

The system and Xu Zhiyan were very disappointed. Even little Zhiyan, who had just been staring at the bloodstain, sighed, obviously disappointed as well.

However, today Xu Yan was wearing a black shirt, which was unusual for him. As he got closer, one could see that a lot of blood was seeping from his chest, even soaking his clothes. A strong smell of blood permeated his body. He must have been seriously injured, and gauze could be vaguely seen wrapped around his collar.

"Injuried?"

Xu Zhiyan was very surprised.

Putting aside the mimic's inherent repair ability, normally, players who leave the shell will repair their bodies in the lounge. How is it possible that they would come back from a dungeon with injuries?

Xiao Zhiyan was very happy and took the initiative to say hello when he saw her.

"Mr. Xu, good morning. You look injured. Are you going to die?" It would be the best if he died.

The question was too direct, so Xu Yan was stunned for a moment, but instead of getting angry, he started to laugh, "Good morning, I'm sorry to disappoint the kid, he won't die for a while."

After saying this, he winked at the men following behind him, and said in a cold tone again, "It will be a bit chaotic recently, so let him move to a more secluded yard for the next few days."

In a word, Xiao Zhiyan is moving again.

The men worked quickly, and after lunch, the tall man in black was in charge of cleaning up everything.

Before leaving, Xiao Zhiyan took his short legs and went to Xu Yan's study with his bodyguards to take away three boxes of coins specially prepared for him, saying that he was worried that he would not be able to come back in the near future, so he took them away early.

This time the courtyard is quite remote.

On the way from the main courtyard, they encountered a group of hurried men in black.

Unlike Xiao Zhiyan who seemed to be living a peaceful life, this group of people looked terrified, with bloodshot eyes and wounds and blood all over their bodies. The blood flowing from the wounds of some of them did not turn dark red after drying, but turned into a transparent water color.

What is even more eye-catching is the trailer in their hands.

There were quite a few bags piled on the trailer. Some transparent water stains were flowing out along the edges of the bags, mixed with blood, with a bloody and corrupt smell that made people's noses wrinkle when they smelled it, and it was easy to associate it with death.

Xiao Zhiyan wanted to go forward but was stopped by the tall bodyguard.

He didn't make a scene, but just stood quietly to the side, watching the group of people evacuate with great interest.

After the crowd that suddenly appeared had all left, he tugged at the sleeve of the tall bodyguard next to him, signaling him to leave quickly. The tall bodyguard had no objection, as it was just a small episode for him.

Xiao Zhiyan did not speak again along the way until he arrived at his new residence. He looked at the tall bodyguard's back, sat on a stool with his feet up, slowly picked up the leaves stuck to the soles of his shoes with his fingertips, and asked innocently: "Uncle, are you afraid too?"

It was an emerald green fan-shaped leaf.

There was dust and blood on it, as well as some transparent mucus that had just flowed on it.

The bodyguard turned his head suddenly and stared at the leaf. His chest heaved violently and his breathing became extremely rapid, as if he had thought of something because of the mark on the leaf.

But he remembered his identity, and even though he felt fear, he still held back his emotions and did not explode.

Xiao Zhiyan chuckled when he saw this.

He threw the leaves into the trash can, jumped off the stool, and walked towards the sink, as if the question just now was just a casual one.

Very interesting discovery.

For the first time, he saw fear in this group of people who seemed to have no emotions.

At night, Xiao Zhiyan dipped his fingers in water and drew the general composition of Xu's house on the bathroom floor, marking it with the fan-shaped ginkgo leaves.

Xu's house is very large, covers a large area, and has a wide variety of plants planted in it.

There are five places marked with ginkgo trees, but only from the fan-shaped marked point at the deepest part of Xu's house will you meet people who are moving to remote courtyards when you leave. Fortunately, this place is not far from Xiao Zhiyan's current residence.

After the child squatting on the floor finished drawing, he probably had an idea in his mind and quickly washed it off with water.

The system that was watching the whole process was praising its young host. Suddenly, it saw that the child seemed to have thought of something and started moving again.

He wiped the water stains with a towel and started writing on the floor again with water.

Is that you?

【My future self.】

This one sentence confused the system.

But Xiao Zhiyan didn't know that he was still writing.

[I felt it that day, you were there, right? 】

This time he waited for a long time but there was no fluctuation in his emotions. However, he clearly remembered that when he was about to collapse because of the chef and was about to give up, an inexplicable power appeared in his heart. He couldn't describe what it felt like, but when he felt it, he found that his heart didn't seem to be so painful anymore.

Thinking of this, the child wrote seriously.

So I can survive, right?

The water washed away the handwriting. After Xiao Zhiyan finished writing, he did not wait for an answer. He stared at the ground for a while, and when he saw no response, he went to bed.

[Ah, so cute! So the host can influence the little host, right?]

"...Even if I come back, I'm not an invisible person. How can I respond by writing?" Xu Zhiyan couldn't help but complain.

[Host! I hope you understand the age of the little baby! ]

[Although he can think of drawing maps and intimidating bodyguards, he is still a baby at heart! He is only six years old! What does he need a bicycle for!]

It has to be said that the system has been completely charmed by the young host and won't tolerate any criticism.

[Also! Don’t you think it’s cute when the little darling writes?]

In fact, it's not just about writing. Whenever it sees the little host, it will think the other person is cute. Even when it holds a teacup and pouts to cool it down, the system will be so cute that it will scream like a chicken.

"?"

Xu Zhiyan was speechless for a while.

Help, can anyone tell him how thick the system's filter is?

It's a nice night.

Before going to bed, Xiao Zhiyan sat in front of the new window, seemingly planning something.

Xu Zhiyan was a little nervous instead.

Today has suddenly become so chaotic, something big must have happened. Apart from Bai Jin coming out of the dungeon, he couldn't think of anything else that would cause such a big commotion.

What exactly happened?

Not only the game, but also the imprisoned heart beside the ginkgo tree in Xu's house...

There is too little information available now.

Finally, Xiao Zhiyan seemed to have an idea. He looked in a certain direction with a firm gaze again and again before returning to bed and choosing to sleep.

Xu Zhiyan, with trepidation, also entered a dream that he hadn't entered for more than half a month.

…

The touch under his feet was very familiar, it was a soft, shaggy carpet. When he regained his vision and saw the burning fireplace and the warm and familiar low table, Xu Zhiyan's heart fell into his stomach.

Great, everything looks ok.

If the slices can be recovered successfully, the heart will gradually become stronger, and when all the slices have been recovered, it will be time to leave.

“Pah…”

Suddenly, a strange sound came to my ears.

Before Xu Zhiyan turned around, he felt something entangled around his body. He didn't have time to lower his head, and could only see with his peripheral vision that what was entangled around him was a solid black tentacle-like thing. From the faint power fluctuations transmitted from it, it was not difficult to judge that it was Bai Jin.

...Did the heart fail?

His breathing became heavy for a moment, but then he relaxed.

It doesn’t matter, even if the heart fails and is fused with other slices, there is only one ghost, and it and Him will eventually become one person.

"White ember?"

Xu Zhiyan spoke tentatively.

Perhaps his calling worked, and the things that were wrapped around his body faded away, but what followed was a hot chest and familiar breath coming from behind.

"Hush, I don't have much time."

Bai Jin's familiar voice was unusually low and hoarse, and he spoke with heavy breathing, as if he was enduring something. The sound of iron chains colliding could be faintly heard in the void.

Xu Zhiyan was shocked and wanted to ask something, but his mouth was covered.

"Listen to me."

"Everything went smoothly in the copy."

It did not mention the course of the battle, but one can get a glimpse of the specific circumstances from its understated words. Although half of its power was sealed, it did not take the initiative to unlock the remaining general restrictions, but its heart was still stronger than the other slices, and victory seemed to be a matter of course.

"There was a problem with the fusion."

"The world consciousness has left rules on every fragment of power..."

It can deal with outsiders; it has plans in place.

But despite all its calculations, it never expected that the world consciousness would be on guard against it to such a level.

"The cost of the slice fusion is my consciousness."

As long as the fusion is successful, its consciousness will be suppressed and it will completely become a walking corpse. This will ensure that no matter what condition the ghost or god recovers to, it will not be able to enter the real world and can only be left in the copy.

"The Mimics brought me out, but it was no use."

The bloodstains on the skirt, the injured collector, the dead mimic, everything has a source, which shows that the main system has also invested a lot of money. I am afraid that the loss this time is no less than facing the slices of ghosts and gods in the copy.

The mark left on Xu Zhiyan's body was Bai Jin's only remaining consciousness, so he took advantage of the last moment of clarity to keep his last appointment.

Xu Zhiyan wanted to say something, but the other party didn't give him a chance.

He only felt a chill on his wrist, as if something was being transmitted through the skin, and Bai Jin's explanation rang in his ears.

"Of course, these rules are not all bad." It chuckled softly and gently kissed the tip of its sweetheart's ear from behind, with complex emotions in its fragmented words.

"These rules will ensure that you will not be recognized by the Mimic after you leave Xu's house... Let's go, as long as you find an opportunity, you can leave smoothly." Since Xu Zhiyan can enter its dream, it means that the other party's body is nearby, and it is very likely that he is trapped by the Mimic.

The moment Bai Jin realized that the world consciousness was backstabbing him, he hesitated. He subconsciously chose the latter between resistance and compromise. Only in this way could he free up his strength to leave a way out for Xu Zhiyan.

With this rule, even if he goes out with Xu Yan, as long as he leaves the range, the rule will no longer allow the mimic to recognize Xu Zhiyan.

Its voice was filled with twisted pain and deep resentment.

"Don't say anything. I'm afraid if I hear your voice, I'll change my mind and not let you go."

Until this moment, Bai Jin's conflicted heart was in great torment.

After realizing that the rules of world consciousness could not be reversed, it imagined countless times that it would simply seal its remaining consciousness together with its beloved humans in dreams. At that time, time and space would lose their meaning, and its body would not die even if it changed its form. It would be better to let Xu Zhiyan fall into this beautiful dream with it, from which it would never wake up.

What a fascinating decision.

In some senses, this is also immortality.

Perhaps Xu Zhiyan struggled too hard, and it couldn't help but loosen its grip and explained.

"I can kill many mimics, and the main system is also afraid of me, but I cannot control the highest rules of the power source that I share with you. The world consciousness will not let me easily unlock these rules and restrictions. You don't need to think about it anymore." It was worried that Xu Zhiyan would find a way to do this.

Having said that, Bai Jin let go of Xu Zhiyan.

"Leave before I change my mind. Don't let me really trap you in this dream from which you will never wake up."

Xu Zhiyan wanted to say something, but when he turned around, he found that the consciousness in the familiar golden pupils was gradually dissipating, and all that was left was killing and hostility, which was extremely unfamiliar.

There are no gentle confessions or lingering emotions.

No matter how strong Bai Jin's desire was in his heart, in the end, his love for Xu Zhiyan overwhelmed everything.

"Leave and return to your world."

It felt that it should let Xu Zhiyan forget about it.

But it can't say it.

It wanted to kill the person or even bury him next to it, but choosing to let the person go like this was already the limit of its options.

The next second, Bai Jin's figure began to shatter.

Along with the gentle scenes in the dream, everything returned to nothingness.

There was a sudden feeling of weightlessness under my feet.

When Xu Zhiyan came to his senses, Bai Jin had completely disappeared.

He stood alone in the endless darkness, feeling the power faintly flowing in his body, and the mark on his ankle gradually faded, and in the end nothing was left, as if it had never existed at all.