After hearing Lin Jie's words, the others froze for a moment, then nodded in sudden understanding.
Once Director Zheng understood Lin Jie's intention, he murmured, "That's ruthless!"
The man in the suit also murmured his admiration. "No wonder I, Zhou Lan, with all my lifetime of brilliance, actually fell into his hands while I was alive."
"To think he came up with such a vicious scheme to turn the werewolves against each other!"
Lin Jie's words had undoubtedly trapped the two werewolves in a "prisoner's dilemma."
Perhaps both werewolves were thinking that even if they did not expose their teammate, the other would.
So they might as well expose their teammate first and fight for a chance at leniency.
Apart from the two werewolves, whose faces were clouded with worry, everyone clicked their tongues in admiration.
"That's incredible!"
"Now we're going to catch three wolves on the very first day!"
"We'll be resurrected soon!"
"Lin Jie is absolutely ruthless! Making the werewolves compete to expose their teammate-what a badass strategy!"
Excitement filled the room.
Yet Lin Jie's expression grew increasingly grave.
Why?
Why?
Why was everyone so happy?
Wasn't there a werewolf among them who was about to be exposed?
Was that person not afraid at all?
Did that person trust their two exposed teammates that much?
Lin Jie's gaze swept over the two exposed werewolves.
The two looked at each other, both seeming on the verge of speaking.
Finally, Li Xin could no longer withstand the pressure and spoke.
Everyone leaned forward, looking at her expectantly.
But what she said was not what they wanted to hear.
Though Li Xin had spoken, her tone remained unchanged. "How many more times do you want me to say it?"
"I'm not a werewolf! I am the seer!"
Everyone leaned back in disappointment.
What the hell? Still refusing to admit it?
Lin Jie also looked at her in bewilderment, but she did not even glance at him.
She merely repeated over and over, "I'm not a werewolf, I'm not a werewolf..."
And so Lin Jie could not help seeing Li Xin in a new light.
Her frivolous manner earlier had given Lin Jie the initial impression that she was not a serious person.
But he had never expected her to be so principled at this moment of life and death.
She would rather die than betray her final teammate, and even though no one believed her, she was still diligently playing the seer.
But foolish persistence would not lead to a good end.
Even if you won't talk, someone else will.
Lin Jie looked toward the chubby young man.
Sure enough, after a long silence, the chubby young man spoke.
"I'm sorry. I lied."
"I'm not the seer. But-"
"I'm not a werewolf either!"
What? Everyone stared at him in disbelief.
"I know what I'm saying is hard to believe, but I promise that everything I'm about to say is true!"
"I'm an ordinary villager!"
"I was only pretending to be the seer!"
Yet no one believed him.
Director Zheng spoke bluntly. "What nonsense are you talking about? If you're a villager, why would you pretend to be the seer?"
The chubby young man looked desperate.
"I know you all suspect me, but please listen carefully!"
"In real life, I'm an expert at Werewolf. In this game, I almost never get anyone's role wrong!"
"Because I have a very strange ability!"
"I can tell through intuition whether someone is good or bad! My intuition is never wrong!"
"When Li Xin claimed seer, even though what she said had no logic and was full of holes, somehow-"
"My intuition told me she wasn't a werewolf!"
"So no matter how many holes there were in her words, I would believe she was the seer!"
"Then Lin Jie suddenly stepped forward, mercilessly picked apart her flaws, and accused her of being a werewolf."
"At that moment, my intuition told me again that Lin Jie wasn't good!"
"So no matter how airtight or logical Lin Jie's words were, I would think he was a confirmed wolf!"
"I'll say it again: my intuition is never wrong!"
"I couldn't just watch the person I believed was the seer get attacked by everyone while a werewolf got praised by everyone."
"So I resolutely stepped forward, pretended to be the seer, and accused Lin Jie of being a werewolf!"
"But I never expected to still make a mistake in my speech."
"But I promise you all, everything I just said is true!"
"I'm not the seer. I'm just a villager!"
"I swear on my entire family's lives!"
The chubby young man's speech was a departure from his usual composed manner. He stumbled over his words a little, but that only made his genuine feelings show through.
Still, no one believed him.
"Who are you trying to fool? Intuition, my ass!" Chen Li disdainfully gave the chubby young man the middle finger.
"That's way too far-fetched."
"A werewolf's mouth is full of lies."
"Li Xin's speech gave her away so badly, and you could still believe she was the seer?"
"What villager would fake-claim seer? Vote him out."
Director Zheng cleared his throat twice.
"Everyone, quiet down and let me say a few words."
"The current situation is that Li Xin insists she's the seer."
"Zhu Lun insists he's a villager."
"I'm moved by their dedication to acting. But in a life-and-death game, rules are rules."
He turned toward the chubby young man.
"Since you, Zhu Lun, insist that Li Xin is the seer and you're a villager..."
"Then could I ask you to be eliminated for the sake of your seer?"
"Sorry, but the story you made up is simply too bizarre. We won't believe it."
"Witch, please poison player number two, Li Xin, tonight."
"And today, everyone, please execute number five, Zhu Lun."
With that, he raised his arm and held up five fingers.
The others had no objections either, and one after another raised their hands to indicate the number five.
"Everything I said is true! Intuition, werewolves... you, why won't you believe me!"
Zhu Lun was already incoherent, frantic with desperation.
Despite himself, tears and snot streamed down his face.
"Please, please, give me another chance! Don't vote for me!"
He knelt on the floor and kowtowed incessantly.
Thud, thud, thud...
In moments, blood had begun seeping from his forehead, yet the chubby young man still did not stop.
Unable to bear watching, everyone covered their eyes, but their outstretched hand signals remained unchanged.
Apart from Zhu Lun, who was kowtowing, and Li Xin, whose gaze was vacant, almost everyone had cast their vote.
Only Lin Jie had not moved.
Because he felt that the chubby young man had told the truth in his final speech.
He believed what the chubby young man had said about intuition.
Because Lin Jie had experienced it himself. Sometimes an inexplicable intuition could point to the truth.
It seemed mystical, yet it was very useful.
Just as now, Lin Jie, too, suddenly had a strange intuition.
His intuition told him that everything the chubby young man had said was true.
His intuition told him that the chubby young man was merely a villager.
He hesitated and, in the end, could not raise his hand.
"Time's up," God said slowly.
"Today's execution will now begin."