With a serious expression, Tang Erda tapped his forehead with his index finger, signaling to Bai Liu to think of a solution quickly.
Alex, staring at Tang Erda, sneered. "Is he making that gesture to say there's something wrong with his head?"
Bai Liu: "…"
So much hostility.
Bai Liu approached Tang Erda as Alex moved forward to meet Guy, who had just jumped down from the high platform.
He looked around. "Where's Jiayi?"
Tang Erda rubbed his brow as if in pain. "This is a battlefield. Jiayi isn't allowed on the front line. After she was discovered, the Red Cross took her away, and she can't come over at all."
"But she should be safe," Tang Erda reassured. "I followed her and checked the Red Cross map. There are no highly lethal NPCs or monsters there. She just needs to come up with a new plan before rejoining us."
Bai Liu nodded. "Let's leave this to her."
"I've always found Liu Jiayi very creative. The rules here can't stop her." Tang Erda then glanced at Spades, who was standing beside Bai Liu.
Out of complete trust in the tactician, Tang Erda hadn't questioned Bai Liu's decision to bring Spades along at the start, nor had he avoided Spades while reporting information.
The moment Bai Liu brought Spades over, Tang Erda understood: in this game, at least, Spades was on their side. Otherwise, Bai Liu wouldn't have been so open.
As for why Bai Liu did it, that wasn't Tang Erda's role to question.
His scrutinizing eyes flicked across Spades, then returned to Bai Liu. "What's going on with the main mission? Why was I excluded without doing anything?"
After Bai Liu explained everything, Tang Erda glanced at Spades, who stood impassively, and his tone softened slightly. "You said you got the Alex NPC to accept you by pretending to be a couple with Spades?"
"Yes," Bai Liu said calmly. "Guy is friendly to most male players, which makes Alex jealous."
Bai Liu's gaze swept Tang Erda, then lingered on his chest, tightly wrapped in his military uniform, sleeves rolled up to reveal strong forearms. He smiled. "—Especially if you look like this."
Tang Erda tensed, covering his exposed arms and buttoning the top button. "…Better like this?"
Bai Liu's eyes followed the movement of his Adam's apple and the more pronounced shoulders and chest. "Nope. Looks even worse."
Tang Erda, at a loss for words, silently undid the top button.
"But in the game pool, we can't change appearance data, and I don't have props here," Tang Erda frowned. "How can I make Alex less hostile?"
"The quickest way is to find one for yourself…" Bai Liu's eyes flicked meaningfully to Spades.
Tang Erda's gaze shifted slowly to Spades. The two stared wordlessly for a moment.
Spades: "?"
He seemed to understand Bai Liu's meaning, then shook his head righteously. "No, you can't be with me. I have Bai Liu."
"We have a very special male-to-male relationship, one-to-one. There can be no third party."
During his physical hygiene education, the Reverse God had once sternly taught Spades that two people in a special relationship are devoted exclusively to each other.
Bai Liu sighed, raising his hands and looking away.
Tang Erda: "…"
Even with his head turned, Bai Liu could see him suppressing a smile.
"You're not letting me just find an NPC to pretend to be my partner, are you?" Tang Erda sounded helpless and amused. "I can't get a stranger to cooperate, so why not tell Alex I have a partner back home?"
Bai Liu shook his head, smiling. "He won't believe it. Even if he did, your character is too ordinary. His favorability won't go back up."
Tang Erda frowned. "Then what do we do? If Alex's favorability stays low, even if I join the first commando team, I won't be able to enter the main mission."
Bai Liu touched his chin, glanced thoughtfully at Tang Erda, then smiled. "I have a way to make Alex's favorability reach the maximum."
Tang Erda asked, "What can we do?"
When Alex and Guy found Bai Liu in the crowd, he was mingling with Tang Erda, shoulder to shoulder, discussing something quietly.
Although Tang Erda appeared calm, his ears and face were red. It was obvious he felt a mix of embarrassment and irritation, but for some reason, he didn't push Bai Liu away.
Bai Liu, meanwhile, looked completely at ease. Seeing Alex and the others approach, he released Tang Erda's shoulders, waved, and smiled.
Alex tensed, about to frown at Tang Erda, but the subtle dynamic between Tang Erda and Bai Liu made him feel… something was off.
It was as if his hostility was misdirected — a strange sense of dissonance.
On the way back to town, that dissonance only grew.
Bai Liu, Spades, and Tang Erda had all signed up that day and needed tents, shelters, and to carry two large packages each. Guy, as a veteran, volunteered to handle their accommodations and led them into town.
These recruits were likely to participate in the assault mission, heading straight to the battlefield after a day's rest. To appease them, their conditions were relatively good, and their packages were plentiful and heavy.
Alex quietly pulled the enthusiastic Guy back, letting Bai Liu and the other two walk ahead. In a low voice, he asked, "Do you feel… something's off about these three?"
"There's nothing wrong," Guy said with a smile. "Bai Liu and Spades are a couple. Tang Erda and Bai Liu are longtime friends. Both are good young men."
Alex's eyebrows twitched. He pointed at Bai Liu, walking in the middle, empty-handed. "Didn't you notice Tang Erda is carrying Bai Liu's packages? Would a normal friend carry a lover's things for them?"
Spades walked beside Bai Liu with two packages in one hand, seemingly oblivious to the fact that Tang Erda was carrying Bai Liu's packages.
Tang Erda carried all four packages on the other side, glancing at Bai Liu as if awaiting instructions — treating Bai Liu as superior.
This habit came from Tang Erda's role as the main attacker, protecting the tactician by carrying unknown packages and tracking their position.
But in Alex's eyes, it looked different.
"Tang Erda… does he have a crush on Bai Liu?" Alex muttered.
Guy gasped. "Are you saying Tang Erda wants to get involved in Spades and Bai Liu's relationship?!"
Alex quickly covered Guy's mouth. "We haven't gone that far yet! Keep your voice down! What if Spades hears?"
Next to them, Tang Erda endured the shame and stayed close to Bai Liu. "Alex's favorability has improved. I really want to tell him…"
"Yes." Bai Liu lazily glanced at his system panel. "Alex's favorability on my side has dropped, but it's still within range."
Spades, looking at the two packages Tang Erda carried that belonged to Bai Liu, pursed his lips and fidgeted silently.
—According to his role, he should be the one carrying the packages…
But Bai Liu had handed them to Tang Erda.
As they walked to the dormitory buildings and requisitioned hotels where recruits were housed, the three of them were assigned separate rooms. When it was time to part ways, Tang Erda moved to hand Bai Liu's package back, but Spades suddenly reached out and took it.
"I'll help him carry it," Spades said calmly.
Tang Erda blinked, glancing at Bai Liu for guidance. Seeing Bai Liu nod with a smile from behind Spades, he let go and said politely, "Thanks… and sorry for the trouble."
Spades paused. "Oh."
Then he turned to Bai Liu, pointed at Tang Erda as if complaining, and said indifferently, "He said you were troublesome, Bai Liu. Don't give it to him to carry next time."
Tang Erda: "…"
Bai Liu: "…"
After finishing his little lecture, Spades took the package without a change in expression, weighed it lightly, and murmured, "It's not troublesome." Then he turned, took Bai Liu's hand, and left.
Tang Erda stayed behind, inexplicably feeling as if Spades had just shown him up.
Alex had been tasked with leading Tang Erda to his assigned residence, while Guy guided Bai Liu and Spades. But as they approached the door, Tang Erda's gaze fixed on Alex — tense, hesitant, and strangely intense.
The closer they got, the deeper Tang Erda's eyes became, and Alex felt almost tempted to run.
At the door, Alex set down his things and turned to leave. Tang Erda quickly grabbed his wrist, holding his gaze with that tight, conflicted expression.
"I…" Tang Erda forced the words, but the harder he tried, the more impossible it felt. His body seemed aflame. "I…"
Alex yanked his hand back. "If you have something to say, tell Bai Liu! I'm not the person you like!"
Tang Erda drew a deep breath. "But… he and I can't do it."
Alex tried to pull free, shaking Tang Erda's hand. "It's impossible for you to be with him, and impossible for you to be with me! I already have a partner!"
He warned firmly, "You can't go after Bai Liu, and you can't go after Guy! They're both taken!"
"No… it's impossible for me to go after them," Tang Erda said through clenched teeth, his face burning red. "…I… I'm the same as them."
Alex froze. "…The same as them? How can you be the same as them?"
Then, thinking of Tang Erda's strange shyness and obedience around Bai Liu, Alex paused, realizing something. After a long moment, he looked up at the 1.92-meter-tall Tang Erda and stammered: "…Are you… the bottom too?!"
Tang Erda's eyelids trembled, his whole body flushed red. He nodded with difficulty.
"You don't…" Alex's pupils flickered. "You originally had a crush on Bai Liu, but because you're both bottoms, you can only be friends?"
Tang Erda pressed his lips together and turned away without answering.
In Alex's eyes, this confirmed his thoughts. As a 1, he couldn't help feeling a twinge of pity for this 0 — a tall, loyal figure who had followed Bai Liu obsessively into battle, only to have his crush go nowhere.
He patted Tang Erda's arm gently. The figure that once provoked hostility now drew only sighs and sympathy.
"Hey," Alex said, softening his voice. "Cheer up, brother. There's always someone out there who can fuck you."
Tang Erda: "…"