"You are very quick to accept that you will play in the league with us." Bai Liu looked thoughtfully at Tang Erda. "Have I recruited you in other timelines?"
Tang Erda, who was crouching down and searching inside the body of the dead monster, abruptly froze as if remembering something extremely unpleasant. His eyes became fierce again.
"Yes." He exhaled and slightly sneered. "However, it wasn't in the gentle way you're using now."
Gentle?
Bai Liu didn't feel that his method of recruiting Tang Erda was gentle.
He had exploited Tang Erda's weaknesses, almost completely penetrating both his physical and psychological defenses. During the time when Tang Erda's sanity was fragile, he used verbal inducements to reshape Tang Erda's views and opinions about him.
Bai Liu also took advantage of Tang Erda's empathy as a righteous public official, letting him witness his own similar pain and history. This caused the captain, still inherently kind, to become psychologically dependent on Bai Liu and to develop a sense of belonging within the group.
People are products of their groups and environments. Being alone constantly could drive a person to madness. It is instinctual for a socially conscious individual to gravitate toward a familiar group that accepts them.
Tang Erda was a captain suspected and rejected by his original group, the Dangerous Heretics Bureau. He was even isolated—he was, in a sense, homeless.
Tang Erda also couldn't get close to normal people to establish stable social relationships because his sense of morality wouldn't allow him to spread the misfortune of the "game" to innocent people.
If he chose to establish contact with players in the game, such as major guilds, those who merely wanted to use or please Tang Erda couldn't empathize with his idealistic nature. This was why Tang Erda could only accept the employment of these people instead of forming a fixed group with genuine emotional connections.
In the long darkness of time, Tang Erda was forced to wander alone.
He needed a group connection.
In this case, Tang Erda's approaching them wouldn't produce guilt or responsibility. In addition, there was a degree of mutual understanding with the Wandering Circus due to long-term hostility. Bai Liu's cold, calculated thought, without any consideration for Tang Erda's feelings, was:
He felt that the Wandering Circus was a really good group choice for Tang Erda.
The problem was how to transform Tang Erda's hatred for the Wandering Circus into empathy. Bai Liu eventually chose to approach it from the angle of similarity:
[There is someone in this world who is as miserable and lonely as you are. We can understand each other and accept each other.]
[We have been abandoned after fate played with us and are constantly wandering.]
This type of awareness could be called a life-saving straw for a normal person who had wandered alone in all timelines for so long and was almost unable to hold on.
The whole transformation process wasn't gentle for Tang Erda at all. It was basically letting him die and then be reborn.
Yet Tang Erda actually felt this was gentle? This made Bai Liu a little intrigued.
To avoid attracting attention, Tang Erda's small TV had always used the full-mute paid service. In other words, the content of his conversation with Bai Liu would remain silent. This was why Bai Liu could speak to him so openly and directly without any scruples.
Bai Liu crouched down and began searching for Tawil in the corpse of the monster that Tang Erda's gun had torn apart. He pretended to mention it casually as he searched. "Can I ask what Bai Liu (6) in the other timelines did to you?"
Then Bai Liu quickly added, apologetically, "Of course, if I'm bringing up a sad topic, you don't need to say anything. I'm sorry you went through this because of me."
Tang Erda's hands paused for a moment before resuming their search. "You don't need to apologize. Those things have nothing to do with you."
"In that timeline, the clown's growth didn't meet Bai Liu (6)'s expectations. Bai Liu (6) wanted to find an output to rotate in the league." Tang Erda paused. "Then Bai Liu (6) saw my small TV and took a fancy to me. He tried hard to win me over, but my hostile attitude was very tough."
Tang Erda took a deep breath. "At that time, you had an item in your hand, and Bai Liu (6) used it to deceive me. Then he found out… the most important person to me is Su Yang."
"Bai Liu (6) originally wanted to use Su Yang to make me join the team, but… Bai Liu (6)'s act of giving up on the clown angered him. He hated me very much and felt it was my fault that Bai Liu (6) would give up on him."
"Su Yang went out on fieldwork, and Bai Liu (6) ordered for Su Yang to be kidnapped to use as leverage to negotiate with me. However, I still didn't agree. Su Yang wouldn't allow me to join such an organization."
"After two rounds of negotiations, Bai Liu (6) lost patience and simply gave up on making me join the team. He felt the cost-effectiveness was too low and turned to find other players."
Tang Erda closed his eyes. "…Bai Liu (6) threw the useless Su Yang to the clown."
"You saw what happened next in the mirror."
Bai Liu remained politely silent for a moment. Then he reached out to pat Tang Erda's shoulder in comfort. He felt that Captain Tang needed encouragement from a normal person at this moment.
Tang Erda abruptly opened his eyes. He seemed still immersed in an emotion he hadn't fully come out of. His pupils contracted sharply.
Just before Bai Liu's hand touched his shoulder, Tang Erda struck it away with an almost vicious expression and hoarsely issued a low, threatening roar. "Don't touch me!"
For a moment, Bai Liu felt as if he were seeing a wolf bent over, teeth bared, about to bite his neck and tear it apart.
Tang Erda's chest rose and fell violently. He remained quiet before gradually calming his breathing. Then he opened his mouth as if he wanted to say something. Based on the shape of his mouth, Bai Liu guessed it was an apology.
Yet, in the end, Tang Erda didn't say a word. He turned his head away and looked down, continuing to search the corpse for the head that Bai Liu had asked him to find.
It was a very severe case of post-traumatic stress disorder.
Bai Liu made a simple judgment in his heart. After obtaining the information he wanted, he withdrew his hand. He wasn't embarrassed at all, but instead thoughtfully changed the subject.
"Captain Tang, in the battle just now, you could see Tawil's head without the scope. Why give me the scope?"
Tang Erda was silent for a while but still replied. "The field of view for attacking is different from the field of view for finding things. I don't pay attention to the rolling heads inside when using the skill gun to attack objects quickly."
"At this time, I need someone else to help me locate it." Tang Erda paused for another second or two. "That head to you is just like Su Yang to me. It was much safer for you to use the scope, and it wouldn't hurt."
Bai Liu smiled. "Yes, he is very important to me. I am very grateful to you for thinking of me, Captain Tang."
"…Just now…" Tang Erda clenched his fists tightly at Bai Liu's words of thanks. His Adam's apple moved up and down as he exhaled a breath of hot air. "…I'm sorry."
It was an apology for what he had done to Bai Liu just now.
"It's fine." Bai Liu calmly accepted it before raising his hand.
This time, Bai Liu's hand finally landed on Tang Erda's overly tense shoulder. He smiled lightly. "I can understand Captain Tang's feelings. You became angry because an important person to you was hurt. It isn't your fault. I would feel the same."
Tang Erda's back, which had been as straight as a steel plate, involuntarily softened after Bai Liu's hand patted him. He felt inexplicably relieved.
Bai Liu turned around and continued rummaging through the corpse. Tang Erda stared at Bai Liu's side profile in a trance.
—Bai Liu said he could understand Tang Erda's feelings.Bai Liu (6)… would he be angry…
Tang Erda had played in so many timelines, and he had never seen Bai Liu (6) angry. This person always kept his sanity and had no weaknesses. This was why he was so invincible.
Yet just now, Bai Liu's attention was focused only on finding Tawil's head. He hadn't paid attention to his surroundings at all and had almost been eaten by a monster.
Before that, this guy had run over with a smile, waved at him, and called him Captain Tang. Tang Erda recalled Bai Liu's smile and felt a bit of the mischievous joy of a child bringing back someone stronger to take revenge on the villain who had bullied someone important to him.
Tang Erda stared blankly at Bai Liu rummaging through the corpse. Bai Liu's face was dirty and bloody, but he didn't care at all.
This was a Bai Liu with feelings and weaknesses, not a complete monster.
He wasn't Bai Liu (6).
"Found it!" Bai Liu gently pushed aside the messy skull and found the sleeping head beneath the bones and roses.
Bai Liu's breathing began to lighten. He knelt on the ground and leaned forward. He very lightly picked up the head and placed it on his knees. Rose debris hung from his eyelashes, and mud covered his chin and nose as he bent slightly in an arc to protect the precious head in his arms.
"I found you." Bai Liu's eyes curved, and his head lowered toward the head. He revealed a completely unconcealed, pure, and happy smile.
Tang Erda almost thought he was crazy when he saw such a smile on Bai Liu's face.
It was just that this smile was too contagious. Tang Erda stared for a while and couldn't help relaxing. He leaned back on the pile of bones and looked up wearily at the dull, gray sky of the inner world. He snorted and said to himself, "It is great that you found him."
"You found him intact."