Game Begins

This Awakened Game is actually a logic game that combines speaking, listening, and reasoning, similar to games on Earth like "Undercover," "Close Your Eyes When It's Close Your Eyes in the Dark," and "Werewolf Kill." It seems that the Spirit Realm Plane indeed modeled after Earth.

Bai Xiaowen continued to examine the rules closely and discovered that this game was more like Werewolf Kill.

First, let's talk about the number of participants. There were twelve people in total, including four priests, four ordinary believers, and four Profaner, the devil.

Let's start with the Blasphemer Faction.

The four demons of the Blasphemer Faction consist of three "Demon Minions" and one "Archdemon." Both minions and the Archdemon can conspire at night and kill a squad member. During the day, they can choose to self-destruct (literally), ending the day and ushering in the next night phase of the game.

The difference is that when a self-destructing minion dies, it only causes night to fall, without any other special functions. However, the self-destructing "Archdemon," upon death and while plunging the game into night, can also choose any team member to kill!

Now let's talk about the Guardian Faction.

The Guardian Faction has a large number of members, eight in total, but these eight members do not know each other's identities and are relatively weaker due to information asymmetry.

Four of them were ordinary believers with no special abilities; they could only vote during the daytime to choose the devil they believed in to be eliminated.

Four Dragon Priest possess Great Dragon Relics, each with unique abilities that can help the Guardian Faction fight against the Profaner.

The "Prophet" possesses the "Dragon's Eye," which allows him to see the faction of one surviving member each night.

The "Witch" possesses the "Dragon's Heart" and is the most powerful priestess. She can pray to the Dragon's Heart to resurrect those attacked by demons during the night, or to curse a surviving member. It should be noted that she can only pray once per night (either resurrection or curse, and cannot do both at the same time), and each ability can only be used once; once used, it is gone.

Furthermore, if a witch is chosen by the devil to be killed that night, she cannot resurrect herself, but she can still use her curse abilities.

The "Hunter" wields the "Dragon's Fang," an ability that can only be activated upon death, firing Dragon-Fang Arrow Dragon-Fang Arrow kill a surviving member. However, the archer is the sole exception if he is killed by a witch's curse.

The "Guardian" possesses "Dragon's Scale" and can protect one surviving member (including themselves) during the night. If the Profaner choose the target protected by the Guardian as their attack target, the target will not die. However, the Guardian cannot protect the same target for two consecutive nights.

Another point to note is that if the Profaner choose the target the guardian is protecting as their attack target, and the witch chooses to resurrect that target, that member will still die. This is the "joint guardian/rescue" phenomenon, also known as "collision," that is common in Werewolf Kill...

These are the two main camps.

To reiterate, the Guardian Faction must ensure the survival of at least one priest and one ordinary believer before the Holy Ritual can be performed. Only after this condition is met with a vote to eliminate all Profaner will victory be achieved.

Relatively speaking, the Blasphemer Faction wins if they wipe out either the priests or the ordinary believers.

Bai Xiaowen continued to review the rules, the pressure in her heart growing heavier and heavier.

It may seem like a game, but when it involves life and death, it ceases to be a game.

Whether attacked at night or killed by votes during the day, participants will die. Only when their faction wins will the dead be resurrected, and the "Soul-Body Separation" state will end, with the soul returning to the body. It's worth mentioning that the coffin standing behind each person actually contains their own physical body!

If one's faction fails, not only is there no chance of resurrection, but the souls and consciousness of the surviving losers will also be erased. As for their physical bodies, they will board the Naglfar and become undead sailors, controlled by the master of the Shadow Labyrinth —the master of this mysterious voice—traversing between the realms of the living and the dead forever. This is far more painful than actual death.

In his university days in another timeline, Bai Xiaowen had played Werewolf Kill, so he could easily pick up this "Awakened Game." What he was more worried about was Li Shuyi.

What if the two people are on opposing sides?

Bai Xiaowen thought about it carefully and realized that if they were on opposing sides, it wouldn't be bad at all—it would ensure that at least one person would win and survive. Then, the winner would have one more chance to use the Wishing Pool and choose to wish for the resurrection of another person. Of course, the premise was that the owner of this mysterious voice kept his word.

If they're on the same side, then there's a risk; if their side loses, both of them will die.

Although Bai Xiaowen was very confident in herself, this kind of game involving logical reasoning and public voting, to be honest, has an element of luck and also depends a lot on teammates... Anyone who has played Werewolf Kill knows that there is a type of teammate called a "pig teammate"—they drag down the werewolf team when they are werewolves, and become the fifth werewolf when they are villagers. If you encounter such a teammate, even Zhuge Liang would be driven crazy again.

The other ten people at the round table were probably all natives of the Spirit Realm... Bai Xiaowen had no idea how good they were at Werewolf Kill games, or rather, Awakened Game. Fortunately, he had just heard that these people were contestants who had emerged victorious from numerous rounds of elimination, so they shouldn't be too foolish... right?

"Before that, I will routinely announce the taboo of this game, namely the ' Erasure Laws '."

The twelve people around the round table all listened attentively.

"Erasure Laws Number One: Kill those who speak out of turn. At the round table, during each participant's turn to speak, no one else may interrupt; otherwise, they will be eliminated immediately."

"Erasure Laws, Number Two: Kill Those Who Whisper. At the round table, all speeches must be heard by the other eleven members. Anyone who secretly communicates in any way or reveals their identity will be eliminated immediately."

"The third Erasure Laws: those who speak falsely will be killed. At the round table, I am order, I am truth. Those who slander or defame me will be obliterated."

The three instances of "direct annihilation" sent chills down one's spine. Bai Xiaowen secretly curled his lip; wasn't this just God's decision to kill (DQ)? Hear about it.

Bai Xiaowen had no doubt that the owner of this powerful voice had the power to control the life and death of the twelve people (that is, the twelve souls) present, and he would not attempt to challenge the other party's authority. The most important thing now was to win this game so that his soul could return to his body.

Bai Xiaowen checked the Team Channel, which, like the attribute panel, was grayed out. This meant that, in his Soul-Body Separation state, he couldn't communicate with Li Shuyi through the Elite Tier team's Team Channel.

"The game is about to begin. Lift your cloaks... Remember, from the moment you lift your cloaks, you can observe the other participants, and you will also be observed by them."

The twelve people at the round table all lifted their cloaks.

Bai Xiaowen was slightly surprised when he saw the person at seat number six of the round table. He quickly recognized that this number six was Ahan, the sheriff of Hodge Town. Behind him, on the coffin, was a relief of a snake.

"Ahan ... should be in Hodge Town, handling the follow-up to the missing persons case! Why is he here? He wasn't on the same ship as us," a series of questions flashed through Bai Xiaowen's mind. "Could it be... that I was unconscious for a long time while my Soul-Body Separation? Did Ahan take the next ship and come here?"

Now is not the time to think about these issues.

Bai Xiaowen put aside her questions about Ahan and turned her attention to Li Shuyi.

"I hope Shu Yi and I can have a better understanding and not reveal our close relationship. If people guess about my relationship with Shu Yi, it will inevitably lead to unnecessary speculation and give them ammunition to attack us."

Bai Xiaowen deliberately delayed for a second, and only slowly lifted his cloak after most people had taken it off.

Sure enough, sitting in position number 1, in front of the rat-carved coffin, was Li Shuyi. However, she merely glanced around the room and didn't show any particular expression towards Bai Xiaowen.

Bai Xiaowen secretly praised Li Shuyi for her intelligence, as she had also thought of this point.

"Hmm?" At position number 6, in front of the serpentine relief coffin, Ahan's eyes widened in surprise upon seeing Bai Xiaowen. Although it was only for a moment, this scene was also witnessed by the others.

At position 11, a beautiful woman with long flaxen hair chuckled softly, "You two know each other? Interesting."

Ahan realized what was happening, glanced at the beautiful woman with long flaxen hair, and offered no explanation.

"Now, begin assigning identities. From this moment on, the elimination rule officially takes effect."

From the beam of light at the center of the round table, the mysterious voice rang out once more.

The atmosphere around the round table, filled with twelve people, became extremely quiet. However, everyone was subtly observing the expressions of others—the subtle Transformation in expression during the assignment of roles could easily reveal information.

Bai Xiaowen remained expressionless, his eyes slightly closed. He silently recited a sentence in his mind:

"Hopefully it's the Blasphemer Faction..."

Although the Blasphemer Faction only has four members, they have the advantage of sharing identities and being able to discuss and plan tactics during the night.

Bai Xiaowen was very confident in his eloquence. As long as it was the Blasphemer Faction, he was confident he could persuade the others to execute his tactics, greatly increasing his chances of victory. As for the Guardian Faction, although there were eight people, their identities were unknown and they did not trust each other. With Bai Xiaowen unable to command the other seven, the chances of encountering incompetent teammates would also increase, adding many uncontrollable factors.

A slightly surreal card image unfolded in Bai Xiaowen's field of vision.

This is a picture of an eye, about the size of a fist, with a vertical pupil, like a snake.

A sense of familiarity quickly welled up in Bai Xiaowen's heart. Wasn't this the special item he had "identified" with the Eye of Evolution, spending 10,000 Psionic Points — the Eye of Amotava?

Beneath the illusory vertical pupil card design, lines of text that only Bai Xiaowen could see unfolded.

"The Awakened Game have officially begun. Your identity is: The Prophet."

"You belong to the Guardian Faction (Priest)."

"Find the Profaner hidden within the 12-person team, eliminate them all, and ensure the Holy Ritual proceeds smoothly!"

Bai Xiaowen breathed a sigh of relief. He wasn't discouraged by not being assigned to the Blasphemer Faction. Getting a priest position in the Guardian Faction, and a relatively crucial one at that, was already quite good for him. Getting an ordinary believer position would have been truly devastating.

The grand voice of the Shadow Labyrinth resounded once more:

"Everyone, please confirm your identity."

"The Awakened Game, Night One Begins."

With that sound, Bai Xiaowen was plunged into darkness. The round table, the hall, and the other eleven people were all shrouded in darkness, without a single sound.

"This... is much more professional than the Werewolf Kill at the board game store..." Bai Xiaowen complained. With the owner of the Shadow Labyrinth as "God," no one could peek or eavesdrop, avoiding many external factors.

After an unknown amount of time, Bai Xiaowen received a hint:

"Prophet, please act. Select a team member to verify and confirm their faction."

Bai Xiaowen answered without hesitation, "Number 1."

First, Bai Xiaowen needs to confirm Li Shuyi's identity.

"Member number 1's faction is..."

The voice of "God" paused for a second, quite shamelessly, before giving the answer, "... The Guardian Faction."

Bai Xiaowen shook his head with a wry smile. From a risk-averse perspective, being on the same side as Li Shuyi, and both in the Guardian Faction, was not good news. However, the fact could not be changed, and Bai Xiaowen could only pull himself together and think about how to lead the team to victory.

After verifying Li Shuyi's identity, Bai Xiaowen's senses were once again obscured by darkness.

After a while, the notification sounded again.

"The first phase of darkness has ended."

"Day One Begins."

Everyone seemed to have returned to the Round Table Hall, immediately observing each other.

Bai Xiaowen had a keen eye for observation. He noticed that the second member to his right, number 10, whose coffin relief depicted a "chicken," appeared somewhat timid. This person's expression was the most obvious. The others either smiled, were expressionless, or were indifferent, each with a different expression.

The prompt message reads, "The election for squad leader is now beginning. The member who is successfully elected as squad leader can not only specify the speaking order (orthodox/reverse order), but also receives 1.5 votes in the execution vote and has the right to tally the votes."

"Those interested in running, please raise your hands."

This team leader is equivalent to the sheriff in Werewolf Kill, and Bai Xiaowen raised her hand without hesitation. What's the difference between a Seer (the Prophet) not leading the team and being Salted Fish?

Clearly, everyone present understood the importance of this leader's position, and seven people raised their hands in unison. To Bai Xiaowen's slight surprise, Li Shuyi also raised her hand.

"Now, we will begin the candidates' speaking session. The speaking order will be sequential, and candidate number 1 will be randomly selected to speak first."

All eyes were on Li Shuyi.

Li Shuyi coughed softly. "My role was the Prophet..."