The two followed the direction in which the branch had been pulled. "Do you think... the werewolves know who their teammates are?" Ye Chu asked, using a stick to sift through the fallen leaves on the ground, hoping to find clues the other players might have left behind.
Su Fengzi pressed his lips together and thought for a moment. "I'd lean toward yes. And the rules must limit them to killing one person per night, or it'd be too hard for the good team."
Ye Chu watched his expression as he spoke, but found no cracks.
Before Ye Chu could finish thinking it through, the white interface appeared again:
[Player Eight will die tonight. You have one antidote. Would you like to use it?]
The werewolves acted that fast?
Player Eight? Ye Chu thought back. That seemed to be the high school boy with the Wolf Cut hairstyle. After considering it for a few seconds, he said, "Yes."
These players were probably all playing this game for the first time. With their lives on the line, surely no one would choose to have the wolves attack themselves on the first night just to draw out the witch's antidote.
After all, if the witch chose not to save them, they would die.
[You have one poison. Would you like to use it?]
Ye Chu tried to work out what triggered the white interface. Perhaps encountering a player automatically brought up the poison prompt, while a player being killed brought up the antidote prompt, with the poison prompt following afterward.
Since he had barely met any of the players yet, Ye Chu chose no, just as before.
Seeing Ye Chu suddenly stop, Su Fengzi stopped too. "What's wrong?"
Ye Chu shook his head. "Nothing."
Before the two could meet up with the player who had left the clue, thick fog suddenly spread through the forest. That foul smell returned, and the system's icy voice sounded in their ears: [Day has broken.]
When Ye Chu opened his eyes again, he was back in the cabin. All nine players sat in their assigned seats, their faces displaying a remarkable range of expressions.
[Last night was peaceful. No one was eliminated.]
Many of them looked relieved. Ye Chu glanced at Player Eight, whom he had saved last night. Was he imagining things? Why did this kid look so happy?
[Live-action Werewolf uses no sheriff badge. The system will now randomly select the first player to speak.]
The enormous spotlight began to rotate. With a click, its beam landed on Player One, Su Fengzi.
[Player One, please begin speaking.]
Su Fengzi cleared his throat. "I'm Player One, the only real seer here."
Ye Chu remained expressionless. Player One had already claimed that role to him earlier. The others merely widened their eyes a little, except for Player Eight, who, for some reason, couldn't hold back a laugh.
His laughter made the atmosphere even stranger.
"What are you laughing at, kid? Have you watched my livestreams?"
Everyone turned to look at Player Eight. The rules forbade anyone from speaking outside their turn, so Pei Yanchuan could only nod to confirm that Su Fengzi was right.
"I've played Werewolf before, and I have a fair amount of experience. In live-action Werewolf, the first requirement for a wolf to kill someone should be encountering them. I followed Seven the entire night yesterday and hardly acted alone, so I'm less likely to be a wolf. I also checked Seven. Seven is confirmed good..." Seeing a few faces go blank at the jargon, he paused to substitute simpler terms. "In other words, he's on the good team. That also explains why I found Seven right at the start and followed him. Why did I check Seven?"
Su Fengzi paused for a few seconds and looked at Player Seven, Ye Chu. "Because he's a top student at Peking University. In an unfamiliar environment, people instinctively pay attention to the strongest person. That was my reasoning for checking him. Someone else might claim seer later. That's fine. Treat every counterclaim as a confirmed wolf. Pass."
There was nothing substantially wrong with that speech. His reasoning was simple, and he had made only two points: one, he was the seer; two, Ye Chu was good.
Player Two, Wu You, still had tears brimming in her beautiful, wide eyes, but her voice was perfectly calm. "First, I agree with One that a wolf needs to encounter someone to kill them. But One, how can you guarantee that you and Seven aren't both wolves? Second..." Wu You looked at Su Fengzi. Tears still clung to her face, yet her smile was radiant, leaving him thoroughly bewildered.
"I'm the only real seer here. I checked Three last night and found a wolf. Three is a confirmed wolf. Why did I check Three? I saw him last night, and he was acting strangely. I didn't expect him to actually turn out to be a wolf. I don't know why One also claimed seer. Maybe he's a villager pretending to have a special role so he won't get voted out. My advice is that One should explain himself clearly next round, or I'll treat him as a confirmed wolf too. Seven was declared good by One, so I have reasonable grounds to suspect Seven is One's wolf teammate. Right now, I'm suspicious of One and Seven. Let's vote Three out this round. Pass."
It was Player Three's turn. The middle-aged man had gone pale after listening to Two. He pointed at Wu You. "I... I'm good! Don't slander me! I'm good!"
His lips trembled, and he grew agitated. "Don't vote for me! I don't want to die!"
[Goddamn, I hate players who use emotional appeals! System, erase him already!] [Player Three is so annoying. Can't he say anything useful?]
Three seemed to be struggling to calm himself down. "I'm backing One. Two is a wolf. I'm good..."
Apparently, the system couldn't bear to listen to Three either. It moved the light straight onto Player Four, Yang Shu, forcibly ending his turn.
Yang Shu looked frightened too, but she was much calmer than Three. Only her hands, resting on the table, trembled slightly.
"I stayed with Five last night. Neither of us had time to kill anyone, and we can vouch for each other." Four swallowed, then stiffened her neck and continued, "One and Two both claimed seer, so one of them should be a wolf. I think Two's speech sounded more genuine than One's. I might back Two. I'll listen to the remaining speeches before deciding anything else. Pass."
Player Five, Xie Fei, spoke next. "Five, villager or better. As Four said, we stayed together all night and can provide alibis for each other. One and Two have competing claims, and Three and Four both back Two... Three's speech sounded very suspicious, but his emotional appeal might actually prove he's genuinely good. That makes Two very likely to be a wolf in my eyes. If no one else claims seer afterward, I'll vote with One. Pass."
[No matter how many rounds of Werewolf I watch, whenever they speak, I just think, yeah, he's right, and he's right too...] [I agree with Five. Three's emotional appeal exposed Two outright.] [Not necessarily. What if that really is his strategy? See season 121 of And Then There Were None: emotional play.]
The spotlight landed on Player Six. After the previous speeches, the players had calmed down considerably. No one was shouting anymore.
"I'm good. My reasoning is basically the same as Five's. I back One and suspect Two... That's all. Pass."
His speech was extremely brief compared with the others. That had its drawbacks, but also its advantages: at least he avoided making more mistakes by saying too much.
[Ah... boring.] [Doesn't he have any thoughts of his own? Three and Six are the two kinds of players I hate most in Werewolf.]
When it was Ye Chu's turn, he gave a light cough. "First, I admit that what One said was true. He spent most of his time with me, but I can't guarantee what he did before he found me."
Su Fengzi immediately clutched his chest, putting on a wounded expression.
Ye Chu ignored him and continued, "One and Two are the real and fake seers. Four backs Two, while Three, Five, and Six back One... Let's examine both possibilities. If One is a wolf, he declared me good to get my vote. Four backs Two, so Four is less likely to be a wolf. I'm mildly suspicious of Three, Five, and Six for backing One, and there's another wolf among Eight and Nine.
"If One is the real seer, Two is a wolf making a false claim. Two wolves claiming the same role offers little benefit, so we'll rule that possibility out for now. That means we can tentatively consider Three good. Four backs Two and could very well be her wolf teammate. There's another wolf among Eight and Nine, who have yet to speak.
"Under either line of reasoning, Eight and Nine are both among my wolf suspects. I hope the next two players give us solid speeches. Pass."
[Whoa, Seven's logic is pretty strong.] [He's playing so aggressively. He's basically cast suspicion on everyone.] [When are they opening individual livestreams? I only want to watch the cute guy in seat Seven!]
Before you continue