"You were very quick to accept the idea of ​​playing in the league with us." Bai Liu looked at Tang Erda thoughtfully, "Did I recruit you in other timelines?"

Tang Erda, who was squatting on the ground searching for the skull of the dead monster, suddenly stiffened. He seemed to remember something extremely unpleasant, and his eyes became fierce again.

"Yeah." He exhaled with a hint of sarcasm, "but not in the gentle way you are doing now."

Gentle?

Bai Liu didn't think that the way he approached Tang Erda was gentle.

He seized Tang Erda's weakness and almost completely penetrated Tang Erda's physical and psychological defenses. When Tang Erda's rationality was very weak, his words seductively reshaped his views and opinions on himself.

Bai Liu also took advantage of Tang Erda's empathy as a just public official and let him witness his own similar painful experiences, causing this essentially kind-hearted captain to develop a psychological dependence on Bai Liu and a sense of belonging to the group.

People are products of groups and environments. Being alone all the time will drive people crazy. It is the instinct of normal people with social awareness to tend to familiar groups that can accept themselves.

As a captain who has been suspected, rejected, and even isolated by his original group, the Bureau of Heresy, Tang Erda has indeed become homeless.

Tang Erda is also unable to approach other normal people like him and establish stable group social relationships, because his sense of morality does not allow him to spread the misfortune called "game" to other innocent people.

If he chooses to establish connections with people in the game, such as the major game guilds, they simply use and flatter Tang Erda, and cannot empathize with someone like Tang Erda who has a certain idealistic color. Therefore, Tang Erda can only accept that he is employed by these people, rather than forming a fixed group to create an emotional connection.

In the long, boundless dark time, Tang Erda was forced to wander alone.

He needs group connection.

In this situation, Tang Erda would not feel guilty about approaching the Wandering Circus, nor would he be held responsible for it. In fact, they even had a certain degree of mutual understanding in their long-term hostility. From Bai Liu's cold thinking, which did not include any consideration for Tang Erda's personal feelings,

——He felt that the wandering circus was really a good group choice for Tang Erda.

The problem lies in how to transform Tang Erda's hatred for the wandering circus into empathy - Bai Liu chooses the angle of "same kind" to approach.

【It turns out there are people in this world who are suffering and lonely just like me. We can understand and accept each other.】

[We are all the same kind of people who have been toyed with by fate, abandoned, and continue to wander. ]

This kind of awareness can be said to be a life-saving straw for normal people who have been wandering alone in all timelines for a long time and are about to collapse.

The whole transformation process was by no means smooth for Tang Erda. It could be said that he was in a desperate situation in order to survive.

But Tang Erda actually thought this was gentle? This really aroused Bai Liu's interest.

In order not to attract attention, Tang Er's small TV had been muted all the time. That is, the content of the conversation between Bai Liu and him would be muted. That was why Bai Liu had talked to him so openly and directly before, without any scruples.

Bai Liu squatted down and began to look for Tavel in the monster corpse that was shot to pieces by Tang Erda. While looking, he pretended to casually ask: "Can I ask how Bai Liu in other timelines treated you?"

Then Bai Liu quickly added apologetically: "Of course, if you are sad, you don't have to say it - I am sorry that you have experienced this because of me."

Tang Er paused for a moment, then continued: "You don't have to apologize, those things have nothing to do with you."

"In that timeline, Xiao Chou's growth did not meet your and Bai Liu's expectations, and Bai Liu wanted to find an output rotation for the league." Tang Er paused, "Then Bai Liu saw my little TV and took a liking to me at first sight... In short, he used many methods to try to trick me, but my hostile attitude was very tough."

Tang Erda took a deep breath and said, "You had a prop in your hands at that time. Bai Liu used this prop to trick me and then found me... The most important person was Su Yang."

"Bai Liu originally wanted to use Su Yang to get me into the team, but...Bai Liu's act of abandoning Xiao Chou angered Xiao Chou. Xiao Chou hated me very much. He felt that it was because of me that Bai Liu gave up on him."

"When Su Yang was away on a field trip, Bai Liu ordered the kidnapping of Su Yang and used Su Yang as a bargaining chip to negotiate with me again, but I still did not agree - Su Yang would not allow me to join such an organization just because he agreed."

"But after two rounds of negotiations, Bai Liu lost his patience and simply gave up on letting me join the team. He felt that it was too cost-effective to continue to waste time with me, so he turned to look for other players."

Tang Er closed his eyes: "——Bai Liu threw the useless Su Yang to Xiao Chou."

"You saw what happened next in the mirror."

Bai Liu remained silent politely for a while, then reached out and prepared to pat Tang Erda on the shoulder to comfort him - he felt that Captain Tang really needed this kind of encouragement from a normal person at this moment.

Tang Erda suddenly opened his eyes. He seemed to be still immersed in some emotion and had not come out of it yet. The pupils in his deep blue eyes shrank and stood upright.

Just before Bai Liu's hand touched his shoulder, Tang Erda slammed Bai Liu's hand away with a vicious expression, and growled threateningly in a hoarse voice: "Don't touch me!"

For a moment, Bai Liu felt as if he saw a wolf baring its fangs and leaning over to bite his throat and tear it apart.

Tang Erda's chest was heaving violently. He paused for a moment before calming his breathing. He opened his mouth as if he wanted to say something. Bai Liu saw from his lip shape that it should be an apology.

But in the end, Tang Erda still didn't say anything. Instead, he turned his head away without saying a word and continued to search for the head that Bai Liu asked him to find among the corpses.

Very severe post-traumatic stress.

Bai Liu made a simple judgment in his heart. After getting the information he wanted, Bai Liu withdrew his hand. He did not feel embarrassed at all. Instead, he changed the topic very considerately and passed the step over:

"Captain Tang, in the fight just now, you could see Tavel's head without aiming the scope, why did you aim the scope for me?"

Tang Er was silent for a while, but still replied to Bai Liu: "The vision of attacking is different from the vision of finding things. When I use the skill gun to quickly attack an object, I will not deliberately pay attention to the rolling head inside."

"At this time, I need someone to help me locate it." Tang Erda paused for another second or two, "That head is to you like Su Yang is to me. It will be much safer to use a scope and won't get hurt."

Bai Liu smiled: "Yes, he is very important to me. Thank you very much for considering me, Captain Tang."

"...Just now..." Tang Erda's palms tightened because of Bai Liu's thanks. He squeezed them hard, his Adam's apple moved up and down, and then he exhaled a breath of hot air, "...I'm sorry."

——This is an apology for hitting Bai Liu just now.

"It's okay." Bai Liu took it calmly and raised his hand.

This time, Bai Liu's hand finally landed on Tang Er's overly tense shoulder. He smiled slightly, "I can understand how Captain Tang feels. It's not your fault that you're angry because someone important was hurt. I would do the same."

Tang Erda's back, which had been as straight as a piece of steel, melted down involuntarily after being patted by Bai Liu's hand - he breathed a sigh of relief for no apparent reason.

Bai Liu turned around and continued to search in the skull. Tang Erda stared at Bai Liu's profile in a trance.

——Bai Liu said he could understand his feelings.

Bai Liu... can actually get angry...

Tang Er has fought in so many timelines, but he has never seen Bai Liu angry. He always remains rational and has no weaknesses, which is why he is so invincible.

But just now - Bai Liu's attention was completely focused on finding Tavel's head, and he didn't pay attention to his surroundings at all, and was almost eaten by the monster.

Before that, this guy ran over, waved and called him Captain Tang. Now Tang Er recalled Bai Liu's smile and felt a little bit of the meanness of a kid who brought more powerful people back to take revenge on the bad guys who bullied someone important to him.

Tang Erda stared blankly at Bai Liu rummaging through the pile of corpses, his face covered in mud and blood, but he didn't care at all.

——This is Bai Liu who has feelings and weaknesses, not a complete monster.

Not Bai Liu.

"Found it!" Bai Liu gently pushed aside a pile of messy skulls and buried a sleeping head under the bones and roses.

Bai Liu's breathing began to become lighter. He knelt on the ground and took a step forward. He very, very gently picked up the head and placed it on his knees. There were scattered rose crumbs hanging on his drooping eyelashes, and there was solidified mud on his chin and nose. He bent his body slightly, forming an extremely precious arc to protect the head in his arms.

"I found you." Bai Liu curled his eyes, lowered his head and put it on his head, revealing a completely unconcealable, very pure, happy smile.

Tang Erda almost thought he was crazy because he saw such a smile on Bai Liu's face.

But that smile was so infectious that Tang Er watched for a while and couldn't help but relax. He opened his arms and leaned back on the pile of bones he had dug out. He looked up at the dull and gloomy sky of the world inside with his head tilted back wearily. He also hummed a light laugh from his nose and said to himself, "It's great that you found him."

"Intact, we found him."