Another Murder

"This is tough..."

Looking at the list and map in his hands, Mu You leaned back in his chair and rubbed his brow with a sigh.

"What's troubling you?" a gentle voice asked just then.

Mu You opened his eyes and looked over.

It was six in the evening, nearly closing time. There were no customers left in the shop, and Xiao Ya had gotten so bored that she had gone out for a stroll. Only he and Lin Xue remained inside.

Lin Xue sat on a wooden chair by the window, bathed in the evening sunlight, quietly leafing through a medical book resting on her lap.

An idea struck Mu You. "Xue, have you ever played Werewolf?"

"No."

Lin Xue looked up at him and adjusted her glasses. "But I've watched some videos, so I know the rules."

"Then tell me, in a game of Werewolf with neither a witch nor a seer, how could the good team find the werewolves?" Mu You decided to put the question to Lin Xue, curious to hear how this brilliant straight-A student would answer.

"No witch and no seer..."

Lin Xue repeated the question with some puzzlement, then lowered her head and pondered for a moment before shaking it. "Under the normal rules, I'm afraid there would be no solution."

"Oh?"

"Werewolf is fundamentally a game of asymmetric information. A game like that needs an initial clue to get the logical deductions started, and the witch's and seer's abilities are the good team's only two sources of information. Without those two roles, the entire game loses its logical starting point. Everyone can simply say, 'I'm good,' and pass, leaving the game reduced to blind accusations. As long as the werewolves don't make any mistakes, the good team is certain to lose." Lin Xue delivered her explanation in her usual calm tone.

"..."

Mu You was stunned. He had only asked casually, never expecting such a professional analysis from Lin Xue.

But... that doesn't help!

After all that analysis, the conclusion was still that there was no solution. It solved nothing and merely made him realize how dire his current situation was.

"So I can only give up..."

Mu You shook his head with a bitter smile. It seemed the game had reached a stalemate. His only option was to find a way to confront the Werewolf in the real world, but that would make things far more dangerous...

"No," Lin Xue suddenly added.

"Hm?"

"If the good team only wants to win, there are actually still two ways," Lin Xue said.

"Huh?"

Mu You was thoroughly surprised. Lin Xue had a way to solve an unsolvable problem? Two ways, even?

"What are they?"

"First, if the good team has at least two skilled debaters who play Werewolf, they can coordinate their arguments to lead the werewolves into exposing themselves through contradictions," Lin Xue said.

"I see..."

Mu You soon frowned, then shook his head again. That method would not work for him. The game offered players no way to communicate at all. Even talking to other NPCs was a struggle, so how could he talk the Werewolf into exposing himself?

"What's the second way, then?"

"The second is even simpler. When the werewolves act at night, the good team can open their eyes and sneak a peek. Whoever hasn't closed their eyes is a werewolf..." Lin Xue said.

"So, cheating..."

Mu You did not know whether to laugh or cry. He had never expected the normally serious Lin Xue to offer such a "humorous" answer.

"Forget it. I'll stop thinking about it. That Werewolf in the game can't do anything to me for now anyway..."

Mu You stretched, deciding not to waste any more energy on an unsolvable problem.

"Whee-oo, whee-oo..."

Just then, sirens suddenly blared outside.

Mu You instinctively stood and glanced out, seeing police cars racing down the street one after another. At least seven or eight passed by.

"What happened?"

Puzzled, Mu You was about to head outside to see what was going on.

"Drinks are here! Who wants one?"

Xiao Ya suddenly pushed the door open, carrying a bag of chilled drinks. Even as she called out, she had already handed each of them a bottle.

"Thank you." Lin Xue accepted her drink with a polite smile.

"Thanks... Xiao Ya, what happened outside?" Mu You hurriedly asked.

"Oh, I was just about to tell you! I heard there was a murder in that residential area over there. Loads of police showed up. Scary!" Xiao Ya said, still shaken.

"A murder?" Mu You was startled.

Lin Xue also looked up in surprise.

"Yeah, everyone in the homeowners' group chat is talking about it. It happened in Building 39 of the Rainbow Bay Residential Area, not far from my home. All the residents in that building were so scared they ran outside. The police have cordoned off the floor and put up lots of seals. They should be investigating inside right now," Xiao Ya said.

Mu You's expression immediately grew grave. He had suddenly remembered the two player murders from three months ago.

Could this one also be...

"Right, who died?" Mu You quickly asked.

"Huh?"

Xiao Ya paused. She really had not paid attention to that, so she hurriedly opened her phone and scrolled through the WeChat group.

"Oh, the victim seems to have been a young woman living alone. She'd been dead for almost a day before anyone found her. Poor thing..."

"A young woman? Are you sure?"

"Yes, definitely. That's what everyone in the group says. Look." Xiao Ya quickly held up her phone to show Mu You.

Mu You took the phone and scrolled through the chat history.

According to several homeowners in the group who claimed to know what had happened, the victim was a woman in her twenties, an office worker who lived alone. Apparently, she had been killed the night before, but no one had heard any screams. It was not until someone discovered blood during the day that the police were called.

Could it be that "little girl" player? Did the Werewolf find her too and kill her in her home? The possibility immediately occurred to Mu You.

Unfortunately, the information in the WeChat group was a jumble. Those supposedly "informed" homeowners were vague about the scene, and none of them mentioned how the victim had died. He could not even determine whether the Werewolf was responsible.

Looks like I'll have to go take a look myself... Mu You thought.

Clearly, he would have to wait for the police report to learn the specifics of the case. However, if the Werewolf really was involved, the police might not release the details at all.

He could only investigate on his own...

With that in mind, Mu You wasted no time. He immediately went upstairs to gather his things, stuffed all the equipment he might need into his backpack, zipped it up, and headed back down.

"Boss, are you going out again?" Xiao Ya asked when she saw his gear.

"Yeah, I have something to take care of. Oh, there aren't many customers today, so you two can clock off early too... Just remember to lock up." Leaving them with those words, Mu You hurried out the door.

"Oh..."

Xiao Ya went to the doorway and watched Mu You's figure disappear in an instant, still a little bewildered. "Why's he in such a hurry?"

Lin Xue quietly walked over to stand beside Xiao Ya and glanced at the street outside. After a moment's thought, she suddenly asked, "Has your boss... been acting strangely lately?"