Gao Yang jerked awake. He hadn’t yet pieced together what had happened before he sat up on reflex, getting ready for a fight with energy concentrated in his hands.
He only relaxed after he confirmed that there was no danger, two seconds later.
He found himself in a small space less than ten square meters big. The dim room was blocked by sturdy, dark-gray stone walls.
He was sitting on a hard single bed with metal frames and thin planks of wood. The bed sheet was plain, and the blanket a patchwork of fabrics.
In the corner across from him, he saw a crude, dirty wash basin and toilet, the years of unuse apparent. From above came a cool blue light. Gao Yang looked up to see a small skylight. It was unclear what was on the other side, the scenery seemingly obscured by white fog.
Gao Yang looked to the left and was a little surprised to find a metal grid door rather than a wall. Only then did Gao Yang realize that this was a single prison cell.
He looked down to find himself dressed in inmate uniforms of black and white stripes. He was barefooted, and around his ankles were a pair of thick, heavy black shackles.
Gao Yang stood up. The shackles clinked, the sound bright.
He accessed his system immediately.
There was no notification, and his Luck points didn’t spike. There was no immediate danger.
Clang!
Suddenly, a short and heavy sound came from outside his cell. Gao Yang went up to the metal door and looked out.
There was a main hall of more than a hundred square meters in size, at the center of which was a large circular stone table and thirteen high-back stone chairs with antique design. Before each of the stone chairs was a bronze candle stand, the candles lit to form a circle of thirteen weak, warm blooms of candlelight, illuminating the space so that the outlines of things could be made out.
The circular main hall was surrounded by standalone single cells, the cell Gao Yang occupied being one of them.
The earlier noise came from the single cell right across from Gao Yang’s, and it was likewise occupied.
“Green Tea!” Gao Yang’s hoarse voice echoed in the empty prison hall.
Hearing his voice, Green Tea shot to his feet and went up to the metal door, holding onto the metal bars. “Elder Seven Shadow! Glad to know you’re here! I thought I was on my own.”
He balled his right hand into fist and lifted his foot, punching the shackle on his left ankle.
Clang!
Another ringing noise rang in the prison hall.
Green Tea asked in confusion, “What is going on? Is my One-inch Punch not working?”
“These aren’t regular shackles,” said Vermilion Bird. “Stop wasting your energy.”
Gao Yang looked to the left from the door. As expected, Vermilion Bird had changed into black and white uniform as well, standing at the door of her cell.
“So everyone's here!” Wu Dahai said. “Good. I thought I was alone.”
Clink, clink. Clink.
Then noises came from another single cell, accompanied by sputters of sparks.
It was Qing Ling. Holding her Tang Dao with both hands, she slashed at the shackles on her ankles as hard as possible, but to no avail.
“Is this the restraint inflicted by the Rune Cave?” Chen Ying asked. She had never entered a Rune Cave, but she had heard quite a lot about them.
“Rune Caves differ in rules,” Gao Yang raised his voice to say. “Some allow the use of Talents, others don’t.”
Vermilion Bird concluded, “It seems that in this Rune Cave, we won’t be able to challenge its rules even though we can use our Talents.”
“Yeah, we’re as good as useless,” Wu Dahai said, dejected.
“But why?” Scarlet Fox’s thin voice was confused.
“Why else? Because it’s the rules of the game.”
The one who answered was X. He sat cross-legged at the door of his cell with his head cocked. “Remember, my friends, that we’ve entered a game.”
“You sure are calm.” White Rabbit sat with her back pressed against the metal door. “Aren’t you worried that Sir Zuo is going to harm us?”
“I don’t know if he’ll do you harm.” X smiled carelessly. “But if he wants to hurt me, he would’ve done it already.”
“What now? Do we just wait?” Green Tea was getting agitated.
“Are you there, Sir Zuo?” Gripping the metal bars of the door with both hands, Can shouted at the prison hall, attracting the eyes of everyone else.
Embarrassed, Can said in a smaller voice, “I, I just feel like that if we’re playing a game, we should be told the rules first, right?”
“Haha.”
Sir Zuo’s laughter came from all directions like surround sound. “This is a game of Werewolf.”
Werewolf?!
Gao Yang’s breath hitched. He had expected the game to involve enemies and challenges, but he didn’t expect them to be pitted against each other!
Fuck!
Fuck, fuck, fuck!
Is Sir Zuo really an observer? Isn’t this how a shadowstalker should act?
“Do we die in real life if we die in the game, Sir Zuo?” Vermilion Bird was the first to ask the most important question everyone wanted to know.
“The game is on. The contract is made. There is no end until there are victors.” Sir Zuo repeated what he had said.
Everyone was holding their breath.
That was as good as a silent confirmation!
It seemed that this wasn’t a simple game of Werewolf, but a game where they had to risk their lives!
“I’m not playing!” Wu Dahai was clearly someone who had played the game. He lost his calm and shook the metal door in agitation. “I regret it! I’m not playing! Let me out! I’m going back!”
Sir Zuo didn’t say anything.
Wu Dahai continued to curse for the next thirty seconds.
Having had enough, X said, “Stop it already. It’s just a game.”
“Just a game?” Wu Dahai shot back angrily, his usually hidden intelligence showing. “Do you think the old bag got so bored that he gathered all of us here for a simple game?”
X shrugged and didn’t say anything. The debut release occurred at N-ov3l=B(j)n.
“I get it now!” Wu Dahai spat out words without thinking them through. He pointed an accusing finger at X. “You must be in cahoots with the old man! You lured us into the Rune Cave to get us killed!”
“You willingly followed me here. I’ve never forced you.” X snorted. “Isn’t it too late to blame me?”
“I don’t fucking care...”
“Electric Mouse!” White Rabbit interjected. “Stop it. Calm down.”
“Calm down? How am I supposed to calm down?!”
Wu Dahai’s face twisted with emotions. He looked ready to burst into tears. “It’s Werewolf! Among the thirteen of us, one will be the moderator, and of the other twelve, four will be werewolves!”
“Be honest, will the four werewolves voluntarily kill themselves? They’d have to be saints!”
“The werewolves have to kill one side to win, either going after the four villagers or the four with special roles. Then let me ask you this, will either group be willing to sacrifice themselves?”
“Do you get it now? Among the thirteen of us, at least four have to die for the game to end!”
“And that’s the best-case scenario. Who would welcome death? Would you? ...I sure don’t. I’ll never kill myself. Then the werewolves and the good side will surely be at each other’s neck! No matter who ends up winning, at least half of us will be dead. There may even be only three or four survivors in the end!”
Wu Dahai had never spoken so much in one breath. At the end, his eyes were red, and his expression despairing.
“Fuck!”
Wu Dahai kicked the metal door hard.
No one said anything in response. Wu Dahai’s words felt like a stab in the heart with a sharp dagger.
Silence.
Unease and fear quietly spread in the strange silence in the prison.
Even X, who had started out the most relaxed, stopped talking. He pulled a long face, seemingly deep in thought.
Gao Yang jerked awake. He hadn’t yet pieced together what had happened before he sat up on reflex, getting ready for a fight with energy concentrated in his hands.
He only relaxed after he confirmed that there was no danger, two seconds later.
He found himself in a small space less than ten square meters big. The dim room was blocked by sturdy, dark-gray stone walls.
He was sitting on a hard single bed with metal frames and thin planks of wood. The bed sheet was plain, and the blanket a patchwork of fabrics.
In the corner across from him, he saw a crude, dirty wash basin and toilet, the years of unuse apparent. From above came a cool blue light. Gao Yang looked up to see a small skylight. It was unclear what was on the other side, the scenery seemingly obscured by white fog.
Gao Yang looked to the left and was a little surprised to find a metal grid door rather than a wall. Only then did Gao Yang realize that this was a single prison cell.
He looked down to find himself dressed in inmate uniforms of black and white stripes. He was barefooted, and around his ankles were a pair of thick, heavy black shackles.
Gao Yang stood up. The shackles clinked, the sound bright.
He accessed his system immediately.
There was no notification, and his Luck points didn’t spike. There was no immediate danger.
Clang!
Suddenly, a short and heavy sound came from outside his cell. Gao Yang went up to the metal door and looked out.
There was a main hall of more than a hundred square meters in size, at the center of which was a large circular stone table and thirteen high-back stone chairs with antique design. Before each of the stone chairs was a bronze candle stand, the candles lit to form a circle of thirteen weak, warm blooms of candlelight, illuminating the space so that the outlines of things could be made out.
The circular main hall was surrounded by standalone single cells, the cell Gao Yang occupied being one of them.
The earlier noise came from the single cell right across from Gao Yang’s, and it was likewise occupied.
“Green Tea!” Gao Yang’s hoarse voice echoed in the empty prison hall.
Hearing his voice, Green Tea shot to his feet and went up to the metal door, holding onto the metal bars. “Elder Seven Shadow! Glad to know you’re here! I thought I was on my own.”
He balled his right hand into fist and lifted his foot, punching the shackle on his left ankle.
Clang!
Another ringing noise rang in the prison hall.
Green Tea asked in confusion, “What is going on? Is my One-inch Punch not working?”
“These aren’t regular shackles,” said Vermilion Bird. “Stop wasting your energy.”
Gao Yang looked to the left from the door. As expected, Vermilion Bird had changed into black and white uniform as well, standing at the door of her cell.
“So everyone's here!” Wu Dahai said. “Good. I thought I was alone.”
Clink, clink. Clink.
Then noises came from another single cell, accompanied by sputters of sparks.
It was Qing Ling. Holding her Tang Dao with both hands, she slashed at the shackles on her ankles as hard as possible, but to no avail.
“Is this the restraint inflicted by the Rune Cave?” Chen Ying asked. She had never entered a Rune Cave, but she had heard quite a lot about them.
“Rune Caves differ in rules,” Gao Yang raised his voice to say. “Some allow the use of Talents, others don’t.”
Vermilion Bird concluded, “It seems that in this Rune Cave, we won’t be able to challenge its rules even though we can use our Talents.”
“Yeah, we’re as good as useless,” Wu Dahai said, dejected.
“But why?” Scarlet Fox’s thin voice was confused.
“Why else? Because it’s the rules of the game.”
The one who answered was X. He sat cross-legged at the door of his cell with his head cocked. “Remember, my friends, that we’ve entered a game.”
“You sure are calm.” White Rabbit sat with her back pressed against the metal door. “Aren’t you worried that Sir Zuo is going to harm us?”
“I don’t know if he’ll do you harm.” X smiled carelessly. “But if he wants to hurt me, he would’ve done it already.”
“What now? Do we just wait?” Green Tea was getting agitated.
“Are you there, Sir Zuo?” Gripping the metal bars of the door with both hands, Can shouted at the prison hall, attracting the eyes of everyone else.
Embarrassed, Can said in a smaller voice, “I, I just feel like that if we’re playing a game, we should be told the rules first, right?”
“Haha.”
Sir Zuo’s laughter came from all directions like surround sound. “This is a game of Werewolf.”
Werewolf?!
Gao Yang’s breath hitched. He had expected the game to involve enemies and challenges, but he didn’t expect them to be pitted against each other!
Fuck!
Fuck, fuck, fuck!
Is Sir Zuo really an observer? Isn’t this how a shadowstalker should act?
“Do we die in real life if we die in the game, Sir Zuo?” Vermilion Bird was the first to ask the most important question everyone wanted to know.
“The game is on. The contract is made. There is no end until there are victors.” Sir Zuo repeated what he had said.
Everyone was holding their breath.
That was as good as a silent confirmation!
It seemed that this wasn’t a simple game of Werewolf, but a game where they had to risk their lives!
“I’m not playing!” Wu Dahai was clearly someone who had played the game. He lost his calm and shook the metal door in agitation. “I regret it! I’m not playing! Let me out! I’m going back!”
Sir Zuo didn’t say anything.
Wu Dahai continued to curse for the next thirty seconds.
Having had enough, X said, “Stop it already. It’s just a game.”
“Just a game?” Wu Dahai shot back angrily, his usually hidden intelligence showing. “Do you think the old bag got so bored that he gathered all of us here for a simple game?”
X shrugged and didn’t say anything. The debut release occurred at N-ov3l=B(j)n.
“I get it now!” Wu Dahai spat out words without thinking them through. He pointed an accusing finger at X. “You must be in cahoots with the old man! You lured us into the Rune Cave to get us killed!”
“You willingly followed me here. I’ve never forced you.” X snorted. “Isn’t it too late to blame me?”
“I don’t fucking care...”
“Electric Mouse!” White Rabbit interjected. “Stop it. Calm down.”
“Calm down? How am I supposed to calm down?!”
Wu Dahai’s face twisted with emotions. He looked ready to burst into tears. “It’s Werewolf! Among the thirteen of us, one will be the moderator, and of the other twelve, four will be werewolves!”
“Be honest, will the four werewolves voluntarily kill themselves? They’d have to be saints!”
“The werewolves have to kill one side to win, either going after the four villagers or the four with special roles. Then let me ask you this, will either group be willing to sacrifice themselves?”
“Do you get it now? Among the thirteen of us, at least four have to die for the game to end!”
“And that’s the best-case scenario. Who would welcome death? Would you? ...I sure don’t. I’ll never kill myself. Then the werewolves and the good side will surely be at each other’s neck! No matter who ends up winning, at least half of us will be dead. There may even be only three or four survivors in the end!”
Wu Dahai had never spoken so much in one breath. At the end, his eyes were red, and his expression despairing.
“Fuck!”
Wu Dahai kicked the metal door hard.
No one said anything in response. Wu Dahai’s words felt like a stab in the heart with a sharp dagger.
Silence.
Unease and fear quietly spread in the strange silence in the prison.
Even X, who had started out the most relaxed, stopped talking. He pulled a long face, seemingly deep in thought.
