As soon as Liu Jiayi brought Tang Erda and the others out of the game, she had him call Su Yang to ask about the plane’s situation.

“Communication was lost while it was crossing the sea over Antarctica,” Su Yang said, his voice tense. “Captain, did you... [see] it again?”

He was asking if Tang Erda had, as before, observed this future as a [Prophet].

“...In a way.” Tang Erda rubbed the bridge of his nose, his tone weary. “But this time, by the time I [saw] it, it was already too late. I’m sorry.”

“You don’t need to apologize to us, Captain,” Su Yang said with a bitter laugh. “It was my fault.”

Liu Jiayi jumped up and snatched the phone from Tang Erda, speaking quickly into it.

“Captain Su, there may still be a turning point.”

Su Yang’s voice sharpened instantly. “What do you need me to do?”

Liu Jiayi spoke rapidly. “Help us check whether there’s someone named Du Sanying in Jingcheng. ‘Du’ as in ‘to prevent,’ ‘San’ as in the number three, and ‘Ying’ as in parrot.”

“Got it. That name is very rare. Don’t hang up. I’ll get back to you immediately.”

Then came the sound of Su Yang’s hurried footsteps.

He came back quickly, panting as he said, “There’s no one named Du Sanying in Jingcheng. Do you need me to expand the search area?”

Liu Jiayi frowned.

She realized it then.

That fellow Du Sanying had actually changed his name in the game.

That made things difficult. Trying to find a player in the real world without knowing his real name was no different from searching for a needle in a haystack.

Su Yang understood this as well. Urgency seeped into his voice. “Is there any other distinctive information about this person? We’ll do everything we can to help you.”

The plane over Antarctica could make an emergency landing at any moment. Right now, every second was as precious as five lives.

But unfortunately—

Liu Jiayi pursed her lips and said, “This person does have one distinctive trait.”

Su Yang pressed, “What trait?”

Liu Jiayi said, “He’s extremely lucky.”

————————————

Bai Liu left the Game Pool.

Less than a second after he stood up, still dripping wet, he quickly logged out of the game and met up with Liu Jiayi and the others, who were searching for Du Sanying.

They met at Bai Liu’s house.

Bai Liu looked normal. Aside from a few unpressed wrinkles on his shirt collar and cuffs, he was in the best condition out of all of them.

Bai Liu glanced at Liu Jiayi and said insightfully, “He changed his name, didn’t he? That does make finding him rather troublesome.”

Though he called it troublesome, not the slightest trace of trouble showed on his face. He remained relaxed and composed.

That composure gave Liu Jiayi an indescribable sense of dissonance.

Bai Liu had logged out of the game.

That meant the heart had already been dealt with...

She knew what that heart meant to Bai Liu. His current state of being [relaxed and composed] was abnormal.

But she had no way to ask, because Bai Liu quickly pulled her thoughts back onto the proper track.

Bai Liu looked at Liu Jiayi. “What’s your next step for finding him?”

“Search among people connected to those around us.” Liu Jiayi’s expression was grave. “You said it yourself—according to your understanding of yourself, or rather, [Bai Six], if a character like [Du Sanying] with one-hundred-percent luck existed, you would absolutely never let him go.”

“He’s quite conspicuous, and extremely valuable.”

“Yes.” Bai Liu lifted his eyelids and smiled at Tang Erda. “So, this is where we need Captain Tang to patiently reminisce. In other timelines, was there a cute little ‘lucky star’ like this in the Wandering Circus?”

Tang Erda quickly understood what Bai Liu was trying to do.

His brows furrowed as he sank deep into thought. After a long silence, he slowly spoke.

“In most timelines, the Wandering Circus consists of you and four other people. I rarely saw anyone else besides those four on the League stage or around you.”

“But... if we’re not talking about the Wandering Circus itself, but someone connected to the Wandering Circus’s peripheral staff, then there was indeed one.”

Bai Liu gestured with his eyes for Tang Erda to continue.

Tang Erda had to search his memory with great effort before he could recall that low-profile figure.

“He rarely went onstage, but you... Bai Six, often brought him along. But bringing him...”

—To do what?

In Tang Erda’s memory, the face of the boy who occasionally appeared in the arena, hunching his shoulders as he sat on the bench, had already become completely blurred.

It was a little strange. Bai Six never kept useless people around, yet Tang Erda had no deep impression of this boy—because Bai Six had never let him play in a match.

It was as if Bai Six had been deliberately protecting him...

But if a reserve member’s value wasn’t shown on the field, then where was it shown?

Why did Bai Six bring him to every match...

Tang Erda suddenly froze.

He remembered a very brief fragment.

That boy had stood timidly in front of Bai Six, helping him draw the opposing team’s card from the box.

Drawing opponent cards was an extremely important part of the League.

The League was divided into three stages: pre-season, mid-season, and post-season.

The pre-season was a melee, also known as the Newcomer Tournament.

This part of the competition included old teams that had failed to rank in the top thirty-two the previous year, as well as new teams signing up for the first time.

In the end, only two teams would stand out. But these two teams would directly earn a spot in the post-season Challenge Round.

The mid-season was also called the Star Tournament.

The teams here were those that had ranked in the top thirty-two the previous year. They were highly capable, powerful, and most of them had star members. This was the round where spectators were most concentrated.

These teams would go through several rounds of back-and-forth matches. In the end, the eight teams with the highest total points would enter the post-season.

The post-season was divided into the Challenge Round and the Regular Finals.

In the Challenge Round, the two rising star teams from the pre-season would randomly challenge two of the eight post-season teams. If they won, they replaced their opponents in the finals.

If they lost, their journey ended there.

The Regular Finals consisted of the final eight teams in a single-elimination bracket. Win and advance. Lose and be eliminated.

There was no room for error, which made it the most thrilling part of the League for both the players and the gamblers in the audience.

Usually, by this stage, all the spectators had practically gone mad. It was common for fights to break out inside the game after a match ended.

Drawing cards was a crucial component of both the pre-season and the post-season Challenge Round.

Because in these two relatively random stages, teams relied on drawing cards from a box to randomly determine their opponents.

If you were lucky and drew an opponent in poor condition, with weak ability, or whose skills were countered by yours, that was an extraordinarily fortunate thing.

And this kind of luck frequently appeared for Bai Six.

But that guy was a player with a luck value of 0!

Tang Erda’s account corroborated Bai Liu’s guess.

Since Du Sanying had appeared around Bai Six in other timelines, he should have some kind of intersection with Bai Liu in this timeline as well.

After all, the person—or rather, the god—who wanted to turn him from Bai Liu back into Bai Six would not give up on modifying any point of difference between them.

That god had previously sent Du Sanying to him in a simple and direct manner, but Bai Liu had not managed to take control of Du Sanying, likely because of the boy’s special nature.

With one-hundred-percent luck, it was simply too easy for this fellow to avoid an unlucky person like Bai Liu.

However, since that was the case, [God] would certainly place Du Sanying somewhere within Bai Liu’s reach, making it convenient for Bai Liu to [pick up and use] this reserve member that God had prepared for him long ago.

For many years, because of work and other reasons, Bai Liu had lived a rather drifting life. He had changed rented apartments several times; one could say he had no fixed abode.

Only one place was relatively fixed for him.

But that place had already been torn down and rebuilt.

Bai Liu narrowed his eyes. “Have Su Yang check the patients, caregivers, and doctors in the nursing home built after my original welfare home was demolished.”

Tang Erda dialed the number. On the other end, Su Yang asked, “What characteristics should I look for?”

Bai Liu said, “Someone who is very lucky himself, but everyone around him is exceptionally unlucky.”

————————

The Divine Temple.

The hooded man opposite the Prophet yawned out of boredom. He propped his chin on one hand and looked at the Werewolf card on the table, shaking his head with a touch of regret.

“—What a pity. I thought I would get to see Bai Liu personally corrode that heart.”

“After all, it was a metamorphosis game I prepared for him with great care.”

The Prophet said, “Bai Liu would not do that.”

The man lifted his eyes with interest and looked at the Prophet. “But my goal was still achieved.”

“You see, Bai Liu no longer rejects water. He’ll even take the initiative to dive into it and use that advantage to obstruct his opponents. He won’t linger too long over a vanished heart, and he’ll even—”

The Prophet interrupted him sharply. “That is not his true heart!”

The man unhurriedly finished the second half of his sentence.

“—even take the initiative to use the [Lucky Star] I prepared for him.”

He smiled. “What a wonderful metamorphosis. In Bai Liu’s eyes, he has already stopped treating the people around him as human. His emotions are being stripped away with the death of that heart. His body is mutating along with those corpse fragments. And in his eyes, only the League and the ultimate desire for money remain.”

“How beautiful.”

“He is only one victory away from becoming Bai Six.”

“Although the process was somewhat different from what I envisioned. I originally intended to use Xie Ta’s death when he was fourteen to strip away his only emotion, but unfortunately...”

The man lowered his eyes and traced the red eye of the Werewolf card with his index finger.

“—But no matter. He will soon become the version I want.”

The Prophet’s petrification had already reached his waist. His chest rose and fell weakly.

“What you are doing is not the work of God.”

The man laughed. “Exactly. Because I am an Evil God.”

“Toying with humans, gaining profit, enslaving them—these are my favorite things to do.”

“For example, this Idiot card.”

The man casually tossed out a card.

“I don’t particularly like this kind of ‘good person’ card that even a werewolf leading the rhythm can’t kill, but this card is indeed very interesting and valuable. It’s suitable for Bai Six’s team.”

The card the man tossed onto the table depicted a boy in a hospital gown, timidly shrinking back as if afraid of someone.

He had a few small freckles across his cheeks and the bridge of his nose, and a pair of plain square-framed glasses rested on his face.

The man looked down at the card, hands folded together.

“An idiot with a luck value of one hundred percent. A nice setting. Every Bai Six in every timeline likes him. I believe the Bai Six of this timeline will like him too.”

The Prophet said hoarsely, “Because he saved Bai Six.”

“Saved?” The man laughed, shaking his head slightly. “I prefer to call that process an arrangement of fate.”

He casually tapped a few fingers on the Idiot card, his gaze wandering.

“Back then, during a conflict with the Dangerous Heretic Management Bureau in reality, a crazed hunter used a specific skill weapon. A suicide-style attack struck Bai Six, leaving him heavily injured.”

“The accidentally injured leader of the Wandering Circus unfortunately hid at the center of a car accident scene.”

“And at the center of that car accident, the only survivor was this lucky star, Du Sanying.”

“He was too lucky, lucky enough to survive a car crash where everyone else died on the spot.”

The man folded his fingers casually.

“But his luck must be highlighted through the misfortune of others. It must draw misfortune toward those around him.”

The man looked up and smiled at the Prophet.

“Because God is fair. Misfortune and luck must be conserved.”

The Prophet’s voice was incredibly hoarse. “...Du Sanying’s father, mother, younger sister, older brother, and older sister all died in that car accident.”

“That was a family trip to celebrate him finishing the National College Entrance Exam. But you made them all die. You made them die right in front of Du Sanying. And you even let a child who was only in his teens know that these people died because of his luck.”

The man spread his hands. “People should always realize what a high price they pay for their luck. Otherwise, they won’t cherish it.”

“This is luck bestowed by God.” He smiled faintly. “—The price I collect will only be higher.”

The Prophet stared straight at the man. “But he already paid it. You had him save the injured Bai Six. Isn’t that enough to pay the price you wanted?”

“No, no, no.” The man shook his head slightly, his eyes full of laughter. “It wasn’t me who made him save him.”

“It was Du Sanying who took the initiative to save him.”

“Throughout Du Sanying’s life, the people around him have always been paying the price for his luck. He seemed to live an incredibly lucky and smooth life, with a harmonious family and kind siblings.”

“But Du Sanying could not stop the unfortunate fate of anyone connected to him—even though that misfortune was caused by him.”

The Prophet said coldly, “It was caused by you.”

“You could say that too.” The man looked up, half-smiling.

“—And Bai Six, this person with a luck value of 0, is the only person whose misfortune is not caused by Du Sanying.”

“Bai Six’s misfortune is innate and has nothing to do with Du Sanying. Instead, Du Sanying’s existence brings him luck. Therefore, Bai Six is the only person in this world for whom Du Sanying can use his own luck to prevent misfortune.”

The hooded man smiled.

“—So Du Sanying will definitely risk his life to help Bai Liu, to save Bai Liu, and he will become the most obedient pawn and puppet under him without Bai Liu even needing a soul trade.”

“The reason Du Sanying fought so hard to protect the Bai Six he met at the center of the car accident in every world is because, aside from protecting the only person he could protect—Bai Six—he no longer knew the meaning of his own existence.”

The Prophet interrupted him. “That assumes Du Sanying remembers everything that happened to him.”

“He will remember soon.”

The man lowered his gaze to the Idiot card on the table.

“—The fate that belongs to him has arrived.”

————————

In less than five minutes, Su Yang called back. His report came very quickly.

“We should have found the person you’re looking for. His original name was Du Ying. He’s the third child in his family. He has an older brother, an older sister, and a younger sister. His family belongs to an ethnic minority not restricted by family planning, so it’s a large family.”

“His family had always been relatively prosperous, but they were also bizarrely unlucky. For example, Father Du was a lawyer, and he would occasionally encounter very dangerous situations. But as long as Du Ying went to look for him, he would definitely get caught in a large-scale conflict and be injured, while Du Ying himself remained completely unharmed.”

“Du Ying originally loved waiting for his father to get off work. But after he realized he brought trouble with him, he never went again.”

“In elementary school, Du Ying’s class encountered someone seeking revenge on society who launched a random attack. All the children sitting in front of him, behind him, to his left, and to his right were stabbed to death by the criminal. Only Du Ying was perfectly fine.”

“After that, no one dared to be friends with Du Ying. He consciously sat alone in the corner of the classroom beside the trash can, with no one in front of him, behind him, or on either side of him—only the trash can.”

“In middle school, his homeroom teacher was a pedophile. He had been watching Du Ying for a long time and wanted to make a move. But one day, Du Ying’s younger sister volunteered to pick up her older brother from school. The teacher saw her and changed targets.”

Su Yang took a deep breath.

“After being stalked for a while, Du Ying’s younger sister was almost sexually assaulted, but Du Ying discovered it in time.”

“Du Ying had a violent physical confrontation with the teacher and was forced to transfer schools. But after transferring, Du Ying never contacted his family again. He felt there was something wrong with him. Even before transferring, he had moved out to live alone.”

“But his family thought it was all nonsense. They believed Du Ying had saved his younger sister and were unwilling to give up on him. They kept trying to restore contact, and his younger sister often went to find her older brother to comfort him.”

“She felt her older brother was very brave, and that the fault lay with the teacher. She felt her father had already used the law to seek justice for her, so the incident hadn’t truly harmed her. Instead, it had allowed her older brother to avoid a disaster.”

“It was a lucky thing—I found a text message like that, sent from his younger sister to Du Ying.”

“Later, Du Ying gradually came around. In his senior year of high school, he moved back home and decided to study law like Father Du, in order to prevent the unfairness brought about by these misfortunes.”

Su Yang let out a long breath.

“Du Ying performed exceptionally well on the National College Entrance Exam. His score was extremely high, the highest in the city. But his usual grades had only been average, so the whole family was very happy.”

“After he filled out his college applications, the family decided to celebrate for Du Ying and prepared a graduation trip.”

“But their family car was caught in a multi-car pileup on the highway. Aside from Du Ying, who was completely unharmed, no one survived.”

“After that, Du Ying developed a very strange mental illness called Weekly Amnesia. He can only remember things that happened within the past week. He forgot everything before that.”

“A year ago, because his memory declined further and he could no longer maintain a normal life, the doctor recommended hospitalization. Du Ying entered the nursing home and is currently living in Room 906.”

“This is all information from his medical records.”

Bai Liu and Liu Jiayi looked at each other.

That was the nursing home room Bai Liu had stayed in during Love Welfare Home.

It seemed that from back then, the mastermind had already arranged Du Sanying’s position.

—

Author’s Note:

The peerless European God Xiao Du, who will help Bai Liu draw cards, is about to come online.

Xiao Du, nervous social anxiety.jpg: I will draw Bai Liu well!

Bai Liu: Hmm?

Xiao Du, shedding tears and waving his hands: No, no, no, I said it wrong! I meant I will keep a good eye on Bai Liu while drawing! Helping Bai Liu draw cards!

Bai Liu: Oh? Where do you plan to keep me while drawing?

Xiao Du: ......I was wrong, Boss QAQ

P.S. Bai Liu is not Bai Six. His attitude toward Xiao Yingwu is different. Xiao Yingwu will have a good ending.