Tang Erda pointed at his forehead with his index finger with a serious expression and gestured to Bai Liu to think of a solution quickly.
Alex, who was staring at Tang Erda, sneered: "Is he saying that there is something wrong with his brain by making this gesture?"
Bai Liu: “…”
Such strong hostility.
Bai Liu approached Tang Erda when Alex went up to greet Guy who jumped down from the platform.
He looked around: "Where's Jiayi?"
Tang Er rubbed his brows in pain and said, "This is a battlefield. Jiayi is not allowed to go to the front line. After she was found, she was taken away by the Red Cross here. She is not allowed to come here at all."
"But everyone should be safe." Tang Erda assured calmly, "I followed her and searched the Red Cross map. There are no high-damage NPCs and monsters there. But she needs to think of a way to join us."
Bai Liu nodded: "Just give it to her."
"I also think that Liu Jiayi has always been very opinionated, and the rules here can't stop her." Tang Erda then looked at Hei Tao who was standing next to Bai Liu.
Out of complete trust in the strategist, Tang Er did not question Bai Liu's decision to bring Hei Tao here at first, and he did not even avoid Hei Tao to report information to Bai Liu.
The moment Bai Liu brought Hei Tao over, Tang Erda understood that at least in this game, Hei Tao was on the same side as them, otherwise Bai Liu would not have brought him in front of him so openly.
As for how Bai Liu did it, it was not his turn as a main attacker to question.
Tang Erda's scrutinizing eyes flashed across Heitao, and then immediately returned to Bai Liu's face: "What's the matter with the main mission? Why was I excluded without doing anything?"
After Bai Liu explained to Tang Erda, Tang Erda couldn't help but glance at Heitao who was standing aside with no emotion on his face. His tone became subtle: "You said that you pretended to be a couple with Heitao to get the NPC named Alex to accept you?"
"Yes." Bai Liu looked very calm, "Guy is very friendly to most male players, and this will cause Alex to have a jealous reaction."
Bai Liu scanned Tang Erda from head to toe, then fixed his eyes on his chest, which was tightly wrapped in a military uniform, and his strong arms revealed by his rolled-up sleeves. He said with a smile, "——Especially someone like you."
Tang Er felt uncomfortable all over. He covered his exposed arms with a tense look and buttoned up his military uniform to the first button: "...Does it look better this way?"
"Hmm..." Bai Liu's eyes fell on Tang Erda's Adam's apple that was rolling up and down due to nervousness, and his shoulders and chest that were more eye-catching after all the buttons were fastened. He answered honestly, "It looks even more wrong."
Tang Er was speechless, and he unbuttoned his clothes in silence.
"But we can't change our appearance in the pool, and I don't have any props to change my appearance." Tang Er frowned, "How can I reduce Alex's hostility towards me?"
"The fastest way is to find one for yourself..." Bai Liu looked meaningfully at Hei Tao next to him.
Tang Erda slowly shifted his gaze to Hei Tao, and the two looked at each other in silence for a while.
Spade: “?”
Heitao reacted for a while, and he thought he understood Bai Liu's meaning, and then he righteously rejected Tang Erda: "No, you can't look for me, I have Bai Liu."
"We have a very special gay relationship, one-on-one, and there can't be a third person."
When conducting health and hygiene education, Nishen had taught Hei Tao very seriously that the two people in this special relationship are one-to-one, and they must be loyal to each other and must not have any two minds.
Bai Liu took a deep breath, raised his hand and turned his face away.
Tang Erda: "..."
Bai Liu, if you turn your head I can see you are trying not to laugh.
"You can't just let me find an NPC to pretend to be me, right?" Tang Erda was helpless and amused. "I can't make the other party cooperate with me either. How about I tell Alex that I have a date back home?"
Bai Liu shook his head and smiled, "He won't believe it. Even if he does, your character is too ordinary and his favorability towards you won't improve."
Tang Er frowned: "What should I do? If Alex's favorability remains so low, even if I join the assault team, I won't be able to enter his main mission."
Bai Liu stroked his chin, and scanned Tang Erda thoughtfully, then smiled: "I have a way to make Alex's favorability towards you max out."
"It's just that his favorability towards me might decrease a little. Let's take a gamble."
Tang Er asked: "What can we do?"
When Alex and Guy found Bai Liu in the crowd, he was hanging out with Tang Er, seemingly talking about something.
Although Tang Erda looked calm, his ears and face were red. It was obvious that he was repulsed and ashamed of Bai Liu's action. But for some reason, this man who looked like he could easily push Bai Liu away did not push him away.
Bai Liu, on the other hand, looked very familiar with the situation. When he saw Alex and the others coming, he naturally let go of Tang Erda's shoulders, waved and greeted them with a smile.
Alex wanted to frown when he saw Tang Erda, but the subtle atmosphere between Tang Erda and Bai Liu made him feel... something was wrong.
It was as if his hostility was directed at the wrong person, a very strange sense of discord.
On the way back to town to rest, this sense of disharmony became even stronger.
Bai Liu, Hei Tao and Tang Erda were the three new recruits who signed up today. They needed to be assigned tents and accommodation, as well as two large packages. As a veteran, Guy volunteered to take over the task of settling the three of them and was now leading them to the town.
These three recruits will most likely take part in assault missions and will go directly to the battlefield after a day of rest. As a consolation for these recruits who are likely to be sacrificed, these three people are living in a town with relatively good conditions today. The packages distributed to them are also rich in supplies, and they are heavy in their hands.
Alex calmly pulled the enthusiastic Guy back slowly, letting Bai Liu and the other three people line up in front, and then whispered to Guy: "Do you think there is something wrong with these three people?"
"There's something wrong." Guy didn't feel anything at all. He smiled and said, "Bai Liu and Hei Tao are a couple. Tang Erda and Bai Liu are good friends who have known each other for a long time. They are both good guys."
Alex's eyebrows twitched. He pointed at Bai Liu, who was walking in the middle with empty hands, and said unhappily, "Didn't you notice that Tang Erda was the one who helped carry Bai Liu's package? Would a normal couple let an outsider friend help their lover carry things?"
Hei Tao walked beside Bai Liu, carrying his two packages in one hand. He didn't seem to notice that Bai Liu's packages had been taken over by Tang Erda. He also didn't seem to have the consciousness of helping Bai Liu carry the packages.
Tang Erda was walking on the other side, carrying his and Bai Liu's four packages. He would look at Bai Liu from time to time, as if waiting for instructions - as if Bai Liu's status was higher than his.
This was a habit Tang Er had developed as a main attacker to protect tacticians - picking up unknown packages and paying attention to the tacticians' locations.
But in Alex's eyes, this seemed to have another meaning.
"Is Tang Erda... secretly in love with Bai Liu?" Alex muttered to himself.
Guy next to him gasped and raised his voice: "You said Tang Erda wanted to interfere in the love between Heitao and Bailiu?!"
Alex covered Guy's mouth in anger and said, "It hasn't come to that yet. Keep your voice down! What if Spade hears us?"
Tang Erda, who was standing next to him, approached Bai Liu in the middle while holding back his shame: "Alex's favorability has improved. I really need to talk to him..."
"Yes." Bai Liu lazily glanced at his system panel. "Alex's favorability has dropped, but it's still within the range."
Spade, who was standing next to him, looked at the two Bai Liu packages in Tang Er's hands, pursed his lips, said nothing, and moved his fingers restlessly.
——According to his status, he should be the one to pick up this package...
But Bai Liu took the initiative to beat Tang Er.
They walked to the dormitory building for the new recruits and some requisitioned hotels in the town. The three of them were assigned different dormitories. When it was time to part ways, Tang Erda was about to hand the package to Bai Liu, but Heitao suddenly reached out and took it.
"I'll help him deliver it." Spade said lightly.
Tang Erda was startled and looked at Bai Liu inquiringly. When he saw Bai Liu nodding with a smile behind Heitao, he let go of his hand and said politely, "Excuse me."
Spade paused: "Oh."
Then he turned his head to look at Bai Liu, pointed at Tang Erda as if complaining, and said indifferently: "He said you are in trouble, Bai Liu, don't mention it to him next time."
Tang Erda: "..."
Bai Liu: “…”
After Hei Tao finished his complaint, he took the package with no emotion on his face, weighed it, said it was light, no trouble, then turned around, took Bai Liu's hand and left.
Tang Erda, who stayed behind, felt inexplicably as if he was being challenged by Hei Tao.
Under Alex's arrangement, Guy went to show the couple Hei Tao and Bai Liu the way to their residence, and he came to lead the way for Tang Erda, who looked unruly from his figure.
But when it was Alex's turn to lead the way, he felt very nervous.
Because Tang Erda behind him had been staring at him with a tense, strange, and hesitant look.
The closer they got to the door of the residence, the deeper and hotter Tang Erda's eyes became. Alex almost wanted to run away because of being stared at.
When they reached the door, Alex put down his things, turned around and was about to leave, but Tang Er quickly grabbed his wrist and then began to stare at Alex with a look that seemed to want to say something but couldn't.
"I..." Tang Erda almost forced himself to say those words, but the more he forced himself, the harder it was for him to say. He almost fainted on the spot, "I..."
Alex frantically pulled his hand back: "——If you have anything to say, go and talk to Bai Liu! I'm not the one you like!"
Tang Erda took a deep breath and said, "But he and I can't do that."
Alex couldn't pull back, and began to try to shake off Tang Erda's hand: "It's impossible for you and him, and it's impossible for me too! I have a partner too!"
He said in a vigilant tone: "You can't go after Bai Liu or Guy! They both have lovers!"
"No, I can't possibly have any plans against them..." Tang Er closed his eyes, his face flushed, and he almost uttered these words through his teeth, "...I, I'm the same as them."
Alex was confused: “??? What do you mean you are the same as them? What can be the same between you and them…”
Halfway through his speech, Alex paused oddly as he recalled Tang Erda's inexplicable shyness and submissive behavior in front of Bai Liu.
After an unknown amount of time, Alex, with a blank expression, looked up at the 1.92-meter-tall Tang Erda and spoke tremblingly: "...You are the one below too?!"
Tang Er's eyelids trembled and his whole body turned red. He nodded with great difficulty.
"You wouldn't..." Alex's pupils continued to tremble, "You originally had a crush on Bai Liu, but because you and Bai Liu are both below, you can only be friends with him?"
Tang Er pursed his lips, turned his face away and said nothing.
This confirmed Alex's thoughts. As a 1, he simply couldn't help but have a crush on this 0 who followed him to the battlefield obsessively and even felt a little pity for the 1.92-meter-tall 0.
He patted Tang Erda's arm. The figure that originally made him hostile now only made him sigh and pity. Alex comforted him: "Hey, be happy, brother, there will always be someone here who can sleep with you."
Tang Erda: "..."