13 One: II

Information filled Bai Mo's mind once he gained consciousness. His head pounded in pain as the details of the story filled his mind. He grasped his head and a gasp left his lips.

Xue Bolin was the name of the body he was in. A young boy at the age of eighteen. He was the fourth child of the Xue family and the older brother of this world's protagonist. He was a typical side character in a story. Rude, arrogant, ignorant, and spoiled. A character that plays the fool. He played the part of bringing the protagonist down only for them to rise up even higher. The sacrificial play piece to the plot. Cannon Fodder to be precise.

The information came onto Bai Mo too quickly. It mingled with his own memories and brought pain to his head. He tried to calm himself and remember why he was here.

He remembered falling from the top of the hospital roof. The feeling of the wind rushing past him and the smile on Protagonist #934's face.

A feeling of annoyance filled him at the thought of that man.

"That dumb guy. Foolish idiot." He mumbled out loud. There was no reason to call the protagonist so. Actually, Bai Mo felt a strange sense of respect towards the man. The guy was able to do something that he wasn't, which was going against the system. That was why Bai Mo hesitated in killing the man, why that job felt so different. From the beginning, the idea of killing the man never made sense to him. This, in turn, confused him. He thought that it was a pity that a man who tried so hard was going to die, even after all of their hard work. He related with the man too much for it to not mean anything to him.

The pain faded from his head and he took in his surroundings. His body felt hot and he was drenched in sweat. A wet towel laid on his lap, he assumed that this body must currently be sick with a fever.

[I don't know if now's the right time to speak, but, you know I can hear you.] A voice entered through his brain. Entering not through his ears, but directly into his head. It was different from how System 278 had entered his head all those times before. This time, Bai Mo could feel that the voice was directly into his head, there was no invasion like there would be with System 278, but instead, the voice was living in his head. [Of course, there's no way you're talking about me, right?] A familiar laugh entered his brain as the protagonist in his head laughed at him. That feeling of annoyance grew.

"You..." He held onto the cold rag, the pressure from his fingers made droplets of water flow down his hand. "You got into my head." He was thankful that it was successful, although he would never say that aloud. He didn't know what he would do if this didn't work. Maybe he would run? Maybe if he was able to channel his mysterious powers then he could kill all of the systems in his way. It was an option that Bai Mo seriously considered.

[Yeah, and you better be thankful I have! Or else your soul would be halfway towards heaven. Or in your case, properly hell.] Bai Mo thought that it was a weird feeling of having someone in his head. He could feel a pulse from the man in his head, it created a similar feeling to a headache. Every time that Boss Lu got too loud or felt something strong, a pulse would pound harder into his head. Almost like a symbol of life. He thought that it was ironic seeing that the protagonist was never able to actually 'live' in the first place, after all, he was never human.

'You're no better.' A different voice entered his mind. But it was nothing but his own. He thought of before, when the surge of power ran through his veins and out through his fingers. The same sense of ironic life that he felt as he destroyed System 347 that he's feeling in his head currently. The satisfying feeling of watching the strength of that system drain because of him.

Perhaps he wasn't human either.

Bai Mo pressed the rag against his forehead in an attempt to cool himself off. "That's not what I meant. Why are you not in a human form, or like in an orb?" He questioned. He didn't feel comfortable with the feeling of the protagonist being connected to his head. It brought those dangerous feelings from before back to him. And he didn't feel like killing the guy just yet.

[I'm not an actual system, so I don't have a form like that. Or at least I don't think so, maybe, I don't know. I have no idea what I'm doing.] Boss Lu chuckled. Although Bai Mo couldn't actually see him, the sight from the rooftop came back to mind. The way that he awkwardly scared at his neck in an attempt to break the ice. He thought that it was a strange kind of pathetic, he didn't know how to comprehend the feeling.

Bai Mo let out a sigh, "That's expected."

[Oi, what's that supposed to mean?] Boss Lu said to his new host. But when he wasn't given an answer and Bai Mo stayed silent, he continued to speak random complaints and insults into his head.

Bai Mo ignored the voice in his head and removed the blanket from his body. His legs felt heavy as he dragged them out from the bed and leveled them with the floor. He stood up, only to steady himself with the bedside drawer because of his unsteady legs. "Aren't system's supposed to be helpful? Why are you just talking?" He spoke in a bitter tone.

[Haaa? What do you want me to do? As you can't see, I don't have any arms.] Again, another pulse ran through his head.

Bai Mo pressed the rag harder to his head in hopes of it getting rid of his migraine.

[Now hurry! Hurry! Let's speedrun through this!]

'Ah, there it was again.' Bai Mo thought with a dull face. The thought of canceling this weird partnership crossed his mind.

The crack of the door sounded throughout the room as a voice called out, "Young Master Bolin!" An old woman exclaimed. "What are you doing standing up?!" An elder maid rushed into the room with several lower maids trailing behind her. "Quick! Lay back down, are you trying to injure yourself? What if you fell down?" She pushed Bai Mo down and sat his bottom back onto the bed. A dangerous glint flinted through Bai Mo's eye's as her hand came in contact with his shoulder but disappeared when the woman looked him in the eye.

"I'm fine, Aunty Dai. I feel a lot better than this morning." He said. He lowered the rag from his head and looked back into the older woman's eyes. Perhaps it was because he was in a different body but Boss Lu thought that he wasn't sure whether he would be able to recognize Bai Mo purely based on those eyes. They were so different from what he knew. So clear, yet arrogant. They held a certain softness towards the elderly woman but still knew that they were above her in status. Usually, his gaze was close to being annoyed or angry. And in some cases, murderous. So the change surprised Boss Lu.

[Wow. Such a good actor. I never thought you had it in you.] He sarcastically said to Bai Mo's mind. To which Bai Mo only responded with an eyebrow twitch.

"I don't believe it." The woman stubbornly said. She pushed Bai Mo onto his back and covered him back up with blankets. She nabbed the wet towel out of Bai Mo's hands and held her hand out towards one of the lower maids behind her and the lower maid placed a convenient wet rag onto her hand. "How would your father react if you had gotten hurt under my watch? No, no, no." She dramatically shook her head. "No way am I dealing with that. I'm already so old, do you want to stress me out even more?"

Bai Mo was left in a situation where he couldn't refuse.

"Now~ Now~ Let's not get angry~," She said to console the man laying in front of her like he was a child refusing to go to bed. She poked at his face and evened his eyebrows. "We can't have your young and handsome face end up looking like mine, isn't that right?" She straightened herself and tucked Bai Mo, the grown man, into bed.

Aunty Dai, along with the following maids, exited the room. The elderly woman looked back towards 'Xue Bolin' and said, "Now lay in bed like a good boy, I'll get someone to send some porridge over." And then she closed the door.

It was silent in the room before Boss Lu spoke. [What a nice elderly woman... a little too nice though...]

Bai Mo took the rag off his forehead and wiped it over his face in an attempt to clean it. "Too touchy." The rag came off his face to reveal his annoyed expression. Or perhaps it was disgust. Or maybe even hatred. Boss Lu couldn't tell.

A laugh resounded through Bai Mo's mind as he narrowed his eyes. "What are you laughing at?" Bai Mo felt the pulse become more violent after he asked that question. It was sudden and quick. The pain only lasted for a second before it disappeared like it was never there.

[Haha, it's nothing~ it's nothing~] The pulse went back to normal. [It's just that your wet face looks funny.] The new rag that was given to him had been a little too saturated. It dripped down his face and gathered around his eyes. His now wet hair matted to his forehead and streamed down his temple and passed his cheeks before disappearing down the side of his neck.

"You..." Bai Mo gritted out. He sat up and rustled a hand through his hair in an attempt to dry it. He breathed out a sigh and said, "Whatever you damn pro-," He paused as he thought for a second but Boss Lu caught onto what he was about to say. [Hey! Hey! You can't call me that anymore. It's not valid!]

Bai Mo gave another frown. "What do I call you then?"

[E-eh? You mean a name?] He stuttered.

"What else would I mean, you said that I shouldn't call you a protagonist anymore. So I have to call you something?" Bai Mo explained as he leaned his head onto the pillow and relaxed.

[Well I don't have a specified name...] Bai Mo felt the pulse intensify for a moment. [I used to go by too many names, they all don't really mean anything to me.] Going through world after world, those names stopped having meaning a long time ago. He doubted he could name off ten of them right now.

"Then I'll just give you one." Bai Mo announced.

[Hah?]

"Do you have a problem?"

Of course he did, but Boss Lu didn't say anything.

"What were you called in the world before this?" Bai Mo asked.

[Oh, uh, I was called Lu Jiang.] It was a name his mother had given him. He wondered what she was doing at the moment. Boss Lu stopped his thinking before he started thinking about how the whole world was going after the two of them had left.

Bai Mo only hummed in response and didn't reply. He closed his eyes in thought. Boss Lu thought that he wouldn't speak anymore until a small sound came out of his mouth. "Mao."

[Huh? What?]

Bai Mo opened his eyes back up and stared at the intricate ceiling. "I'll call you Lu Mao."

[Ooh. I see why you chose Lu. But why Mao?]

Instead of explaining, Boss Lu, or now Lu Mao, watched Bai Mo's mood worsen. His eyebrows wrinkled and his eyes became slits. His lips pursed slightly as his expression came all together. Boss Lu wondered what he was thinking to make his mood switch so easily. "Mao as in a cat."

[...]

"..."

[Ah. Why a cat?] Is a cat why he was angry? Does he not like cats?

Somehow, Bai Mo's expression got worse. And a familiar death aura emitted from him. Lu Mao instinctively decided to forget finding an answer.

Unbeknownst to him, Bai Mo was thinking of nobody else but Lu Mao. That dumb Cheshire-like smile and annoying laugh he constantly did. The name fits perfectly, but at what cost?

Interrupting the awkward atmosphere, the door once again creaked open and a young man peeked in. "Ah! Third brother! You really are awake, thank goodness..." The boy, no older than a teenager, walked through the door to reveal himself.

And the sight of him only annoyed Bai Mo even more.