It was unwise to talk nonsense in front of a player with an intelligence stat of 91.
Bai Liu paused for less than three seconds before deciding to tell Liu Jiayi the truth about what had happened.
Liu Jiayi: "…"
She sneered. As a teammate who had witnessed Hearts' feelings for Spades—and suffered deeply because of it—she was keenly aware that something about Bai Liu was off.
"So you just married him that easily?" she asked coldly. "That's not your usual style. Do you have feelings for Spades…?"
Bai Liu calmly cut her off and changed the subject. "The war will begin in less than three hours. This is a key plot point. I've already made arrangements with the Reverse God. Tang Erda, who's been reassigned to the Second Assault Team, will join him during the battle and try to minimize casualties on the Reverse God's side."
"On your end, I need you to heal Guy as quickly as possible so he can make it to the battlefield."
Liu Jiayi stared at Bai Liu for a long moment. Then, mercifully, she chose to follow his lead and drop the topic.
She nodded. "Since he's a main storyline NPC, he can't miss critical plot points. Otherwise, the story progression will break. I'll find a way to wake him and at least restore basic mobility."
Bai Liu glanced at Alex, who was leaning against the bed. "I'll take Alex back with me. After that, both sides will start firing indiscriminately. Make sure you stay safe at the Red Cross."
"The Red Cross isn't truly neutral or safe in the eyes of those who don't follow rules," Bai Liu added lightly. "In extreme conflicts, unless there's long-term geographical isolation, there's no such thing as a completely neutral zone. Any area can be dragged in."
Liu Jiayi frowned. "Are you referring to the natives who were about to attack Guy here just now?"
Bai Liu shook his head. "Not only them."
He looked at her calmly. "I mean, everyone who has taken a side in this war."
-----------------
The night was dark.
In the damp, shadowy jungle, armored vehicles at the front rolled forward, crushing vegetation and flattening rough ground to clear a path for the tracked tanks advancing behind them.
Dismantled components of dozens of heavy artillery cannons were secured to the rear tow hooks of the armored vehicles, dragged along for transport. The looming barrels cast eerie silhouettes in the dim light.
The soldiers advanced in silence and strict order, carrying military shovels. From time to time, they cleared away branches and vines tangled around the wheels.
After heavy rain, the jungle floor was thick and sticky underfoot, slowing their pace. But after a year and a half of war, everyone was accustomed to marching through rainforest terrain. No one complained.
Tang Erda wore a steel helmet and stood guard beside the leading armored vehicle, holding his assigned rifle. He deliberately kept his gaze forward, refusing to look at Spades, who had been staring at him expressionlessly for quite some time.
The look in Spades' eyes clearly said: You're hiding something from me.
Tang Erda, however, remained patient and said nothing.
Spades didn't ask any questions. He simply stared. Occasionally, he lifted his gun and adjusted it—sometimes with the muzzle pointed directly at Tang Erda.
Tang Erda: "…"
Wasn't Spades supposed to be in the cleaning team? How had he suddenly been promoted to the Second Assault Team?
The reason traced back to earlier that morning.
Due to the commander's sudden and conflicting orders, the Second Assault Team was understaffed and in disarray when the troops assembled before departure.
When members of the First Commando Team went to retrieve Alex—who had volunteered to join the Second Assault Team—they found his tent empty.
Desertion was punishable by severe military law. But after watching Alex carry back the bodies of fallen comrades to the tent one by one, they couldn't bring themselves to report him.
Alex had experienced two devastating blows overnight. Regardless of his mental state, he was likely injured. Even if he forced himself to stand, he probably wouldn't be able to fight.
In desperation, they grabbed the only person nearby—Spades—who had been sitting motionless, staring at the empty bed across from him.
Originally, Spades had been uncooperative. They tried bluffing him with vague explanations. Someone casually mentioned that Bai Liu was going too.
Spades paused, glanced at the speaker, and followed along without resistance.
But when he arrived, Bai Liu was nowhere to be found.
After searching the area, Spades turned to stare at the soldier who had mentioned Bai Liu. His face was expressionless, his tone calm—but there was something deeply ominous about him.
"Bai Liu isn't here."
The soldier panicked. "Why don't you ask Tang Erda? He's close to Bai Liu. If Bai Liu came here, he'd definitely know where he went."
And so, Spades stared at Tang Erda the entire march. Tang Erda felt as if his back was about to be burned through.
Since Spades didn't know the full situation and kept his lips tightly sealed, Tang Erda had no idea why he was being targeted. He truly couldn't understand the thought process of the league's top player.
It wasn't until a brief rest during the march that Tang Erda glanced at Spades, who was sitting nearby with his head lowered, eating a piece of cake.
After hesitating for a long time, Tang Erda cautiously spoke.
"…Bai Liu isn't with you?"
Spades replied instantly, "You spoke first. You lost."
Tang Erda's mind filled with question marks. "…What?"
Spades cast him a cold glance. "We were competing to see who would speak first. If you spoke first, you lost."
Tang Erda: "…"
He had been holding back deliberately, planning to wait for Spades to speak first so he could gain the initiative.
How had this turned into a contest where whoever spoke first lost?!
Tang Erda couldn't make sense of it, but he forced himself to stay calm and play along.
"Fine. I lost. So why didn't Bai Liu come with you—"
Spades interrupted him firmly. "You just lost."
Tang Erda: "…"
He rubbed his face and took a deep breath. "Okay. I lost. Where is Bai Liu?"
Spades rested his gun against his shoulder. One eye peeked out from beside the barrel as he stared directly at Tang Erda.
"Someone told me he ran off with you while I was sleeping last night."
The soldiers nearby, who had been secretly eavesdropping, collectively gasped in shock.
Tang Erda: "…"
How on earth did you reach that conclusion?!
He pressed a hand to his forehead helplessly. "Bai Liu didn't run off with me. I've been in training since last night. I haven't even seen him."
Spades lowered his eyes and adjusted the gun in his hands. "Then Bai Liu must have run away with Alex. He's been paying close attention to Alex ever since Guy's accident."
"He seems to take an interest in the combat strength of someone who has just lost a partner," Spades continued calmly. "He even hugged Alex. Alex completely accepted Bai Liu's comfort, betrayed his camp, and ran off with him."
Tang Erda, who somehow felt personally implicated: "…"
The soldier drinking water nearby choked violently.
Wait—aren't Alex and Guy a couple?
No one expected Bai Liu, who looked so ordinary and harmless, to be so ruthless behind the scenes—and to actually go after widowers!
Is this some kind of traditional Eastern emperor hobby?!
After a short rest, the team resumed their march.
The soil grew increasingly slippery. Puddles thickened across the ground, and shallow, newly formed streams cut through the terrain. Waterlogged riverbeds made progress difficult.
The heavily armored vehicles and tanks could no longer advance and were ordered to hold position. Soldiers began filling in sections of the nearby riverbed while the Second Assault Team continued forward on foot.
"The rough plan," Tang Erda explained as he walked beside Spades, "is to reach the vicinity of Pluto Lake first. We'll ambush and clear out the ships and firing points on the lake to stop them from spreading into the surrounding rainforest by boat to preserve combat power. We attack from behind, then coordinate with artillery fire from our rear lines."
"Their heavy forces are weaker than ours. This time, the commander has gone all in—thousands of artillery pieces and more than two hundred thousand shells to be fired before ten a.m. They're going to wipe them out completely."
He paused, tasting something metallic in the humid air. His expression turned cold.
"This rainforest will be reduced to ruins and burned to ash. All the resources here will be polluted and destroyed. He has no intention of allowing the surrounding residents to survive by relying on the rainforest. The long-term resource depletion alone will finish the opponent off."
Although this was only a game, Tang Erda instinctively disliked this direction. It reminded him of things he would rather forget.
He couldn't help but comment sarcastically, "The war began as a fight over resources. In the end, they'd rather destroy everything than let the original inhabitants continue to enjoy it."
This reckless destruction of what one couldn't possess reminded Tang Erda of someone very familiar—
Bai Liu (6).
In the early days, that man had acted purely for profit. But later, perhaps because he had gained too much, his endless, black-hole-like hunger for money was satisfied. What followed was a kind of bored indifference.
Bai Liu (6) began pursuing new forms of entertainment.
He became fond of dangerous games that put his own life at risk—chasing victory, collecting soul banknotes, another kind of currency.
Eventually, even victory ceased to satisfy him.
Bai Liu (6) began exposing his own flaws, deliberately creating opponents for himself. He would intentionally—or half-intentionally—allow the people under his control to lose control—
—and then eliminate them.
Tang Erda had been a qualified toy, played with across more than three hundred world lines. He understood better than anyone how terrifying this person truly was.
Mu Sicheng. Liu Jiayi. Joker. Even Mu Ke.
In later world lines, Bai Liu (6) would kill one or two of his own subordinates in nearly every iteration, claiming betrayal or loss of control, claiming they were no longer completely obedient.
But with someone like Bai Liu (6), whether a person betrayed him or not was irrelevant.
It depended entirely on whether Bai Liu (6) was willing to give them the chance to betray him.
Bai Liu (6) was the sole believer acknowledged by the evil god. If he possessed bones, a heart, or anything resembling human structure, they would be rotten and black when unearthed, reeking of the stench of money.
This war—its outbreak and entire progression—felt disturbingly like Bai Liu (6)'s handiwork.
The conflict between the two sides should not have escalated so quickly.
If not for the factory director's sudden death, this dispute—one that had already cost so many lives—might have been resolved more gradually under his leadership. Especially since the director had already achieved considerable progress.
But by cruel coincidence, this key figure died tragically. Every existing conflict tightened into a larger knot. All possibilities for peaceful development were severed.
Tang Erda's emotions fluctuated briefly before he forced them back under control.
They reached the lake, put on diving suits, and began descending into the water.
Before they entered, a seasoned veteran warned them, "Be careful. There are probably giant pythons in this lake. The traditional indigenous tribes here believe in a terrifying cult and like to keep reptiles."
"It's said the factory director was also killed by those natives, following instructions from their evil god."
Tang Erda's pupils contracted sharply. He stepped forward abruptly and grabbed the soldier.
"How did the factory director die?" he demanded.
Startled, the soldier stammered but answered.
"I—I heard it was because the evil god worshiped by those natives issued an oracle."
"—An order to execute the factory director in a brutal manner."