Chapter 317: The Game Pool

Inside the warehouse.

Muke, on his knees, curled up in a ball with his head in his hands, his eyes darting to himself in disbelief, "Forget, forget, forget all of it!"

Muke is surrounded by a dozen used water pens and a lot of scraps of paper filled with writing.

The handwriting on these scraps of paper, which at first was perfectly regular and fluent, became disorganised, as if the person who wrote them was at first barely able to maintain mental clarity, and then lost his or her mind and could only draw haphazardly.

On the front of each sheet are oddly shaped forms, and on the back are hysterical drawings of twisted clown masks.

These tables are comparative tables, the contents of which are very strange.

What is meant by a comparative table? It is a table that compares two things that look similar, for example a banana and a plantain, or a kiwi fruit and a kiwi fruit.

Muke wrote these comparative tables, comparing not things, but two people.

He is comparing the difference between [Bai Liu] and [Bai six].

Muke's comparison table is very detailed, from appearance, biography and origin, he writes like a chronicle of what happened to Bai Liu and Bai six, and then compares and contrasts them.

Muke murmurs, "It's not the same, Bai Liu and Bai six are not the same."

" Bai Liu saved me ......" Muke scratched his hair, his eyes glazed over, "but Bai six saved me too."

" Bai Liu is just an ordinary employee who used to be bullied by me, he won't do as much to hurt people as Bai six ......"

Muke's mind keeps flashing back to various details and memories.

Bai Liu smiles as he manipulates Zhang Gui into dying, tricking Mu Sicheng's soul at the most critical moment of the game, using Liu Jiayi's weakness to get her to join the team, embracing a bruised and dazed Tang Erda without a trace of emotion in his eyes, and whispering softly [I'm sorry for everything that happened to you].

[Give me your soul and let me atone for those Bai six.

Bai Liu lifted his chin emotionlessly, looked down at Muke and whispered.

[If you stay this useless, I'll abandon you.]

I don't want worthless followers, Muke.

Bai Liu is capable of doing things that hurt people, and he doesn't do them at first just because he's an ordinary guy stuck in an ordinary job with no status or power.

But if Bai Liu and Bai six are given the same status, position, capital and ability ......

Muke bowed up in pain and gasped, "...... What's the difference between them anyway?!"

Daniel's memory of a languidly smiling Bai six and Muke's memory of a loosely smiling Bai Liu's face gradually merge.

No way!!!

Muke's heart beats twice as he chokes and coughs.

The Joker's fervent belief in Bai six, even if only in memory, drove Muke mad.

Muke's memories are dulled by the onslaught of Joker's wildly colorful memories, and Muke gradually forgets his parents, his school, the people he has crossed paths with since childhood, and everything is twisted into Daniel's memory.

Muke feels like he is being consumed by Daniel's memories.

His parents turn into Daniel's condescending, indifferent father, the school becomes a vast, giant shooting gallery, and the people he has socialised with change from his hypocritical, polite peers at the mall to those of the enemy party who beat him up.

Muke feels that his presence is being squeezed out of Daniel little by little.

Memory gradually turns Muke into another Daniel, and the only thing that survives in Muke's memory that is his own is Bai Liu.

If Bai Liu is Bai six, what's the difference between Muke and Joker, who have the same memories?

Muke's heart was pounding so hard that he covered his arrhythmia and opened his mouth wide to gasp for breath, his lips sauced as a sensation close to cramps forced Muke to come to his senses again.

He scrambled around looking at the tables on the floor, trying to find the difference between Bai Liu and Bai six.

"It's not the same, it's not the same at all." Muke took a deep breath, his eyes reddening as he convinced himself, " Bai Liu, Bai Liu has short hair, Bai six has long hair, they are different from the outside."

" Muke ." Bai Liu at the door knocked again, his tone still calm, but his tone changed from a discussion the first time to a direct order, "Don't make me say it a third time, open the door."

Muke's shoulders shuddered as he subconsciously obeyed Bai Liu's command, stumbled to his feet and opened the door.

Outside the door long-haired Bai Liu looked at Muke with no expression on his face: "Do you still know me?"

Muke stares almost dumbfounded at Bai Liu's long hair, his hand shaking uncontrollably as he opens the door.

For a moment, all the memories that could not be forgotten were confused together.

Slowly Muke dropped to his knees, covering his contorted and grimy face, the pain from the rapid beating of his heart forcing Muke to bend over and gasp for air, breathing heavily to the point of dry heaves.

Bai Liu gave Muke, cowering on the floor, a calm glance and walked into the warehouse, then closed the door behind him before crouching down on one knee and picking up a few scraps of paper from the floor and looking down at them.

"So trying to distinguish between me and Bai six ah." Bai Liu lowered his eyes, "...... It's come to this, the rest of the memory has been swallowed up, I guess, leaving only my existence."

Bai Liu sat down on one of the abandoned steps in the warehouse and, with his hands clasped in front of him, leaned forward to pick up Muke, who had fallen to the ground.

Muke looked up at Bai Liu in a trance and couldn't help the clownish, maniacal grin on his face, his expression twitching like a spasm, but the next moment Muke himself raised his hand in panic and covered it with a sob in his voice: "Don't look at me like this! That's not me!"

"Is it because you have such a good memory that you have no way of forgetting the memories that have been instilled in you?" Bai Liu was not affected by Muke's emotions and asked in a calm tone.

Muke bowed his head like a child who had done something wrong: "Yes."

Bai Liu lowered his eyes, "I can indeed find a way to erase this memory for you, but if it's just erased, you'll be scared when you meet the Joker again, right?"

"After all, even if you erase it, you have been overcome by his memory, you have escaped him."

Muke's shoulders trembled and he bit his lower lip without speaking.

"Why is it that the memory of the Joker consumes it?" Bai Liu asks, " Doesn't Muke have a meaning to his existence?"

Muke remains silent.

Bai Liu continued, "It's hard to be erased by the presence of another human being when one has a meaning to one's existence, knows what one is for, knows why one lives."

"No matter how strongly that person's presence affects you and how similar it seems to you, he is not the same person as you."

Bai Liu handed the hanging Muke the scraps of paper filled with comparison tables and spoke flatly, "It's like me and Bai six."

Muke looked up in dismay.

Bai Liu looks at Muke: "Doesn't Muke have a meaning to his existence? Friends, family, loved ones, career, material things?"

Muke hesitates for a long time, slowly slumps his shoulders, less tense, and narrates in a fascinated way.

"I didn't have many friends growing up because of my illness, they were all afraid of hurting me and it was a dangerous thing to make friends with me, my parents were always very good to me and did their best to save me and do everything I needed, but because the doctors said early on that I would probably not live long... ..."

Muke was quiet for a moment and said, "So they looked at me as if they were waiting for me to die."

"I haven't liked anyone either, it feels like they could live a long time and it would be two worlds away from me."

Muke clenched his fist slowly: "...... was so jealous of these, healthy people who could live a long time that there was no way to like them."

"Material things and careers ......" Muke paused, "People are good to people who are dying, so they have long given to me without stint."

Muke was quiet for a long, long time, tears rolled down from his reddened eyes, he raised his hand to wipe them away and suddenly burst into tears and laughter.

"...... People who have foreseen their own death from birth seem to have no point in existing."

Bai Liu leaned back on the steps, dragging his jaw and half-closing his eyes, "If you compare it to a stock, because it will die soon, no one wants to invest their feelings in a stock like you that is destined to lose money."

"You were a worthless short stock, and in this case you met me who was willing to believe and invest in you, so you clutched me like the last straw, and by my affirmation of your existence, you got your emotions back in me and sought the value of your own existence."

Bai Liu looked at Muke flatly: "And this, you and the clown who lends his affirmation of existence to Bai six are the same, so it is difficult for you to justify yourself and Daniel when you cannot distinguish between me and Bai six, is that right?"

Muke responded hoarsely, "Yes."

"Look up at me, Muke." Bai Liu said in a commanding tone, "Look at me and say what I have in common with Bai six."

Muke subconsciously obeyed Bai Liu's command and looked up at him with a shaky voice: "You all like money."

Bai Liu gave a faint hoot.

"Use everything to achieve your own ends by any means necessary."

"Very good at the game."

"......"

"...... is all about long hair now."

Muke shuddered as he made his statement, his eyes hazy as he felt himself drifting into a muddled mind, unable to tell the difference between the real long-haired Bai Liu in front of him and the Bai six Daniel remembered.

"Long hair?" Bai Liu scans Muke thoughtfully and suddenly smiles, "I remember your skill weapon can be taken out in the central hall."

Muke nodded although he didn't know what Bai Liu was going to do, and took his dagger out of the panel.

"Come here." Bai Liu ordered with downcast eyes.

Muke went over with his dagger.

Bai Liu's face was blank as he quickly took Muke's hand in his left hand, wrapped his right hand around the back of his neck and tied his long hair at the back of his waist, then took Muke's hand and the dagger in his hand and Bai Liu slashed upwards without a pause.

The long hair was cut in unison.

Muke's expression was blank as he gripped the dagger that had cut Bai Liu's long hair.

"Now I don't have long hair." Bai Liu lifted his eyes, stray strands of hair falling over his shoulders, " Muke, remember, if you choose to exist for Bai Liu, then never confuse me with Bai six."

"Because I'm the one who's invested in you with affection and recognition, not Bai six."

Bai Liu says calmly, "I don't like the idea of making my own investments and having other people receive the appreciation for me."

"You are far more worthy of existence than you think you are, Muke ."

Muke fell to his knees as if frozen, holding Bai Liu's severed hair strand in his hands as the memories of Daniel quickly faded in his mind.

...... Bai Liu and Bai six are not the same.

Bai six will abandon worthless believers.

But not Bai Liu.

The true God will give the impotent believer, a whole new value.

Bai Liu stood up with a bow on his brace, a leather strap he had found somewhere in storage and held open with three fingers, his other hand brushing upwards along the skin from the back of his neck, grabbing the loose black strands of hair in three or two strands and tying them in a ponytail, not too high, not too low, with a light look.

Some not-so-old broken hair hung down the sides of his forehead.

Bai Liu pushes open the door to the warehouse and turns his head sideways in the rushing light, his eyes are faint, his hair is backlit against his forehead making it hard to see, and his shirt is covered in blood.

" Muke, get your mental state together and come out for the meeting, the league is about to start."

Muke clenched his teeth as he called out to Bai Liu who was leaving: "...... but I can't completely get rid of the effect Daniel's memories have on me for now! Is that okay?"

He asked in an almost terrified whisper, "Don't ...... have to replace me at league time?"

"Does this influence shake the meaning of your existence for me?" Bai Liu asks.

Muke was stunned and immediately replied, "Absolutely not!"

Bai Liu withdrew his gaze and turned back around, pushing the door open without looking back, "Anything that cannot shake the meaning of your existence will eventually be transformed into the value of your existence, there will just be a precarious process in between."

"Personally, I don't hate the process."

The door was closed and Muke in the warehouse sat quietly, holding the long hair Bai Liu had cut without hesitation, muttering and repeating Bai Liu's words: "...... Anything that cannot shake the meaning of my existence can be transformed into an enhancement of my value ......"

"As long as Daniel's memories can't consume me ......" Muke's pupils trembled as he looked at the long hair he held in his hands, "I can find all the memories of the league inside and come to make myself become stronger!"

Muke covered his long hair over his heart, which was beating wildly to the point of pain, and choked back tears of laughter.