The light fell on Number Eight. Pei Yanchuan blinked, his expression calm, still toying with his number card.
"Player Eight speaking." He sounded relaxed, as though this were a game of Werewolf with friends rather than a horror game. "Why did I laugh when Brother Fengzi said he was the only real seer here? I've watched him stream Werewolf before. He plays dirty."
The moment Pei Yanchuan spoke, the atmosphere in the room eased considerably. Unlike the other players, he didn't simply refer to people by their numbers. Calling Su Fengzi by name with such familiarity instantly made everyone feel a little closer.
"But this is a game where people actually die..."
Su Fengzi nodded repeatedly, looking utterly convinced. Yes, exactly. Nobody would deliberately play dirty and get themselves killed in a deadly game.
"So I'm reserving judgment on Brother Fengzi for now." Pei Yanchuan finished his sentence, and Ye Chu couldn't stop the corners of his mouth from lifting, clearly enjoying the show.
Su Fengzi's eyes widened in disbelief.
[LOL hahahaha, not even life and death can make him trust Number One.]
[Isn't Number One a horror streamer? What if he just loves the thrill?]
[Why does the whole atmosphere change whenever Xiao Pei speaks? Hahaha, give me back my tense horror atmosphere!]
Pei Yanchuan continued, "Ye Chu considered both possibilities earlier, but there were a few things I didn't understand. If Brother Fengzi is a wolf, why did you decide there must be one wolf between Eight and Nine instead of suspecting the confirmed wolf identified by Two? Did you lower your guard because he made an emotional appeal outside the game? Come on, everyone, don't treat this like ordinary Werewolf. People really will die. This could be exactly the strategy the wolves are using: exploiting genuine emotions to earn trust. It's dirty, but effective."
"And Ye Chu cast suspicion on practically everyone, but barely discussed Six. Why is that? Because he hasn't said much and doesn't stand out? What if Six is a timid little wolf who's decided to keep his head down?"
[How does Eight manage to be confusing and convincing at the same time? It feels so weird, but I think he's right.]
[Eight seems so reckless hahaha. Is this what a rebellious high schooler looks like? Hahaha.]
[Sure enough, young people never take the conventional route. Those young brains really work.]
"We have too few clues right now. I suggest keeping both seers for the time being. Without a sheriff's badge succession system, if the real seer goes out in the first round, the good team will have a much harder time later. A mix of true and false clues is better than none. As for voting, I'll vote for Three this round. Unless it's a strategy, he feels like a wolf who's terrified of being voted out and keeps desperately insisting he's good. Yeah, that's about it. Pass."
Ye Chu nodded thoughtfully. Pei Yanchuan was right. He really had treated this like an ordinary game of Werewolf and overlooked some possibilities. He looked at the number card in his hand, weighing whom to vote for.
It was the final player's turn. Player Nine, Lu Rui, began speaking at an unhurried pace. "Nine. Villager or better. I back Two and suspect One. Like Eight, I think Three is a wolf. He got worked up after Two checked him. Right now, Seven looks the most convincingly good to me."
Ye Chu raised an eyebrow. Nine suspected One, yet accepted the player One had cleared.
"Seven's reasoning was focused on narrowing down the wolves, and his speech sounded open and honest. I think One cleared Seven to win his trust and solidify his claim as seer. But Eight's outside information says One has played dirty before. Players like that usually claim someone is a wolf when they fake being the seer, so the fact that One cleared someone makes me hesitate. That's why I also lean toward keeping both One and Two for another round. I'm voting Three."
Number Three's face turned deathly pale. He looked as though he wanted to stand up and argue, but players couldn't speak outside their turns. No matter how badly he wanted to, he couldn't get a word out.
[The first round of speeches has concluded. Please cast your votes through the interface before the countdown ends.]
As soon as the announcement ended, the white interface reappeared before Ye Chu, displaying nine red buttons numbered one through nine.
Ye Chu considered for a moment, then pressed a button.
[The voting results will now be announced. Players 1, 3, 4, and 6 voted for Player 2. Players 2, 5, 7, 8, and 9 voted for Player 3.] [Player 3 has been eliminated. Immediate execution.]
The middle-aged man sprang to his feet and stumbled toward the door. "What kind of bullshit game is this? I quit! I want to go home! Let me go home! Let me out!!"
He pounded frantically on the wooden door. It creaked and groaned, looking as though a breeze could knock it over, yet proved unexpectedly sturdy. No matter how hard he hit it, nothing happened.
"Aah-!"
The man suddenly clamped both hands around his own throat. His neck flushed red, but his grip only tightened, veins bulging.
Slowly, his eyes rolled back and foam spilled from his mouth. Faint, broken sounds escaped his throat. With a thud, he toppled stiffly to the floor and stopped struggling.
The room fell silent. Some covered their mouths to keep from screaming, some shed streams of tears, and others remained expressionless.
[The game continues. Darkness has fallen. Please close your eyes.]
The lights dimmed, and the foul smell filled the room again.
Couldn't they use a different-smelling knockout gas? Ye Chu grumbled inwardly.
When he opened his eyes again, he was back in that eerie forest. Having learned from last time, he first found a stick on the ground to use as a weapon.
Looking at the vast stretches of strange trees before him, he wondered whether he should leave clues by breaking branches, as that other person had.
As he considered it, Ye Chu heard rustling footsteps behind him. Just like last time, he spun around without a word, the stick flying from his hand. It hit the ground with a clatter.
Pei Yanchuan stared wide-eyed at the stick. A little closer-just a little closer, and that thing would have hit him in the head.
[LOL hahahaha, here we go again!]
[Pei Xiaohu: How is someone even more reckless than me?]
[Player Seven is seriously cautious hahahaha.]
"Ye Chu, you scared me." Having recovered his composure, Pei Yanchuan smiled and blinked his round eyes, looking both aggrieved and innocent.
Ye Chu picked up the stick. "Why didn't you say something?"
[You have one dose of poison. Would you like to use it?]
Ye Chu looked at the boy he had saved just last night and selected no.
"I couldn't see who it was. What if you were someone bad? I needed to be ready to turn around and run." He grinned, revealing a Little Tiger Tooth.
Ye Chu's gaze lingered on his face for a few seconds before shifting away. "Aren't you afraid I'm a wolf?"
"Nope. I know you're good." Pei Yanchuan quickened his steps to catch up with Ye Chu. "Besides, so what if you are a werewolf? The worst that can happen is I die. Do you really want to win that badly?"
Ye Chu couldn't help glancing at the boy beside him again. He was only eighteen. Why was he so casual about dying? "It's not that I want to win. I don't want to die." A moment later, he asked, "Why do you think I'm good?"
Pei Yanchuan beamed. "Instinct."
Ye Chu: "..."
He had been unlucky since childhood. Getting into Peking University had been entirely down to his ability. He didn't put much faith in things like instinct.
When he said nothing, Pei Yanchuan continued, "According to what the system said at the beginning, whoever survives this game will have to go through more instances afterward. We'll only return to the real world once we clear them all."
"Right." As Ye Chu listened, he studied the trees ahead, trying to find clues left by other people.
"So everyone who stays has to be smart."
Ye Chu's hand stilled around a branch. He met Pei Yanchuan's eyes. "What do you mean?"
Yet the boy before him smiled with perfect innocence. "Nothing."
Still dubious, Ye Chu looked away. There were more instances to come. Everyone who stayed had to be smart. Clear them all... He watched the boy's retreating back. Perhaps this eighteen-year-old high schooler wasn't as simple as he had imagined.
Ye Chu even began to suspect that he had voted Three out purely because Three "wasn't smart," with no regard for Werewolf at all.
What a... little lunatic.
Before you continue