A few seconds after the darkness descended, thirteen weak glows bloomed on the stone table at each seat.
Gao Yang looked down to find a glowing card. When he picked his up, the others had done the same as well. The faint glow dispersed the darkness slightly, lighting each of their faces.
They looked like ghosts awash in shadow.
“Remember your role.” Sir Zuo’s omnipresent voice spread like water in the dark.
Gao Yang took a deep breath and checked his card. The drawing was of an unassuming man dressed in simple clothes. Villager.
Gao Yang was disappointed. I’ve pushed my Luck beyond 500, but this is what I get? The villager card without any information? Is this supposed to be a good draw?
In his moment of distraction, the card in his hand dissolved into glowing particles before vanishing into the darkness.
Then all the candles on the stone table lit up again, and the prison hall recovered the same degree of brightness where the players were able to make out each other’s faces clearly.
Gao Yang scanned the table and observed the minute changes to everyone’s expression. If he had to put it into words, he would call the emotions putting a frown on everyone’s face alarm and wariness.
The thirteen of them had never been a united front to start with. Each belonging to a different organization, they only came together temporarily for a common mission.
And now, they were forced to participate in a game of mutual suspicion and destruction.
The moment they were assigned their roles, their positions changed. Even those they had trusted before would become enemies who could kill them.
One had to question and suspect everyone in order to live. One mistake could turn out to be fatal.
In the truest sense, hell was other people.
Perhaps what Sir Zuo, the observer, was looking to observe was the way human nature operated in extreme situations.
After a moment of collective silence, Sir Zuo spoke up. “Let us begin, moderator.”
Chen Ying slowly rose to her feet, her eyes flickering. “I got the moderator card.”
“Fuck! Why wasn’t it me?”
Wu Dahai didn’t even bother to hide his jealousy. In fact, he wasn’t the only one shooting Chen Ying pointed looks.
After all, the moderator was effectively invincible. No matter how the game went, the moderator would stay on the sideline, safe from any danger.
Chen Ying was conflicted. On one hand, she was relieved to have been exempt from the game; on the other hand, she felt guilty.
Moreover, she would be forced to witness her companions go after each other with lies and cheats from start to finish, which was a form of torture in itself.
“What do I do?” Chen Ying asked. “Do I just call the arrival of the night?”
“Explain the rules of the game,” Sir Zuo said, his voice still occupying the entire space.
Chen Ying nodded and calmed herself, speaking in a neutral tone like a referee would. “There must be some among us who haven’t played the game Werewolf. I’ll explain the rules. It’s of the utmost importance, so please listen.”
“In the game, there are two teams—the good team, consisting of the four special roles and the villagers, and the bad team, consisting of the four werewolves.”
“I’ll start with the werewolves. Every night, the wolves are allowed to kill a person of their choice, including one of their own. And among the four of them, there is one white alpha. Not only is the alpha allowed to kill someone at night, they may also choose to expose themselves during the day in order to kill one player at the cost of their life.”
Chen Ying paused to give the newbies some time to digest the information.
“Now, I’ll go into the special roles. First, there’s the seer. Every night, the seer is allowed to confirm the identity of one player to find out if the player is a werewolf or a member of the good teams. However, the specific role of the player will remain unknown.”
“Then there’s the witch. The witch has a healing potion and a death potion. The healing potion allows the witch to save someone who dies during the night, while the death potion allows them to poison anyone of their choice.”
“Hunter can shoot before their death to take someone with them. However, they cannot do so if they are poisoned by the witch.”
“Finally, there’s the guard. Each night, the guard may choose to protect someone, including themselves. Whoever is protected won’t die even if they are chosen as the werewolves’ target. However, they will still die to the witch’s death potion should the witch choose to kill them. Additionally, if the witch uses a healing potion on the player the guard chooses to protect, the player will die instead.”
Chen Ying paused and looked around. “Any question?”
Since no one posed any question, she said after a pause, “The third group is the villagers. They cannot do anything. When the night comes, they close their eyes. When the day comes, they vote for the players they believe to be werewolves to eliminate them.”
“Ah, there’s also the last words. During the first night, players who die because of whatever reason may leave their last words. On subsequent nights, the players who die cannot leave their last words, but can reveal their roles.”
“And those who have been eliminated during the day are allowed to leave their last words, but not reveal their roles.”
“Wait,” Vermilion Bird piped up. “When I played, I remember the rule goes that no matter if it's the day or the night, the dead aren’t allowed to reveal their roles.” The debut release occurred at N-ov3l=B(j)n.
“Yes, that is one version.” Chen Ying made the decision for a reason: if it was impossible to avoid killing each other, it was her hope that the good team would win; best-case scenario, they would only need the four werewolves dead.
If the four werewolves ended up winning, they couldn’t have killed only one group without losing any fellow werewolves. Then, at the end of the game, they would have lost many more.
Allowing those who died during the night to reveal their roles would make it much easier for the good side to find the werewolves, increasing their chance of winning.
“Sir Zuo,” Chen Ying said to the air. “Which version of the rules are we playing with?”
“It is at the discretion of the moderator.”
“Then we will go with what I said.” Chen Ying hardened herself. I’m sorry, whoever gets the four werewolf cards. Hate me if you will.
She continued, “After the first night, you may run for sheriff. I’ll explain further when you reach that point of the game. Makes it easier for those who haven’t played to keep up.”
She thought for a moment. This should be enough for now. She turned to the others. “Any question?”
No one said anything.
Ten seconds later, Sir Zuo said, “Please return to your cell, everyone. Moderator, please stay.”
They didn’t immediately move, but instead exchanged a look with each other.
Even at this point, they held onto the slim hope that they didn’t have to play the game, that there was some way to turn things around, such as finding Sir Zuo and killing him together before getting out of here with the Rune Circuit, that one of them might find out that their Talent could counter Sir Zuo’s strange power and get them out of here.
However, none of the above happened during the long minute.
They didn’t dare drag things on further. There was a limit to Sir Zuo’s tolerance. If they didn’t play along, they would be eliminated.
Finally, Qing Ling stood up and walked into her cell in big strides.
Clang.
The cell door shut automatically, trapping her inside.
Qing Ling sat down on the single bed with her Tang Dao placed by her. She closed her eyes and rested.
Teacher War Tiger had taught her that even when facing pure despair, she must do her best to remain calm and preserve strength. She could never go wrong with doing that.
“Fuck it!” Wu Dahai was the second to stand up. He looked over at the others. “There’s no bad blood between us, and none of us want this to happen! But I’m not dying here. I won’t show any mercy!”
He entered the cell next to Qing Ling’s.
Clang.
A few seconds later, his cell door closed too.
X was the third to rise to his feet. He stretched with his usual careless smile. “I know you all must hate my guts and want nothing but to kill me.”
Vermilion Bird spat, “I would’ve killed you if that’d get us out of here.”
“Ha.” X turned around to enter his cell, waving his hand. “Face the music, people. How does the saying go again? Life is like getting whipped. If you can’t fight it, enjoy it.”
White Tiger, who had been silent throughout, rose and sighed. He had tried his Talent many times, but none of his attempts worked.
“We can only play along.”
“Even if we survive this, we’re likely to die in the Crimson Tide.” White Rabbit stood up. “Doesn’t that make the situation easier to swallow?”
Vermilion Bird swore under her breath before making it to her cell.
Finally, the others stopped hesitating and entered their respective cell, accepting the cruel reality.
The metal doors shut one after another. The game was officially a go.
As soon as Gao Yang sat down on the cold, hard bed, he heard Chen Ying’s neutral yet somewhat grave voice.
“Night has fallen...please close your eyes.”
Suddenly, a gray fog permeated the whole space, so thick that it obscured everything within the area. The fog shifted and flowed, as if countless fish were swimming amid it, serving as an effective cover.
“Guard, open your eyes.”
Click.
A metal door opened.
Gao Yang tried to determine the general direction of the guard based on the sound of the door opening, but it was impossible. Just like Sir Zuo’s voice, the sound came from everywhere.
“Guard, point out the one you wish to protect,” said Chen Ying.
Thirty seconds passed.
“Understood. Please return, guard.”
Another thirty seconds.
“Please open your eyes, werewolves.”
Clack, clack.
One after another, the doors opened. Again, the sounds seemed to come from all directions, giving no clue as to who the werewolves were.
Chen Ying spoke up again, this time, her calmness seemed a little forced. “Werewolves, please confirm your companions.”
Gao Yang thought, That means there is someone Chen Ying doesn’t wish to be werewolves among them, which would be Green Tea or Joker, her companions. That’s why she lost control of her emotions for a moment and had to tamp it down.
He speculated as he walked up to the door, trying to make out the four werewolves amid the fog. And he did see the blurry silhouettes near the roundtable.
However, the figures shifted like fire, changing in height and width without showing any consistent characteristics.
The four seemed to be conversing, but all Gao Yang could hear was a rumble.
Evidently, the mysterious gray fog had ‘encoded’ their identities, making it impossible for them to identify the werewolves based on information outside the game.
That was to be expected. Gao Yang stopped wasting time and returned to his bed.
After about a minute, the four werewolves had finished their discussion.
“Werewolves...”
There was a prolonged pause. Then Chen Ying announced with some difficulty, “Please pick your target.”
A few seconds after the darkness descended, thirteen weak glows bloomed on the stone table at each seat.
Gao Yang looked down to find a glowing card. When he picked his up, the others had done the same as well. The faint glow dispersed the darkness slightly, lighting each of their faces.
They looked like ghosts awash in shadow.
“Remember your role.” Sir Zuo’s omnipresent voice spread like water in the dark.
Gao Yang took a deep breath and checked his card. The drawing was of an unassuming man dressed in simple clothes. Villager.
Gao Yang was disappointed. I’ve pushed my Luck beyond 500, but this is what I get? The villager card without any information? Is this supposed to be a good draw?
In his moment of distraction, the card in his hand dissolved into glowing particles before vanishing into the darkness.
Then all the candles on the stone table lit up again, and the prison hall recovered the same degree of brightness where the players were able to make out each other’s faces clearly.
Gao Yang scanned the table and observed the minute changes to everyone’s expression. If he had to put it into words, he would call the emotions putting a frown on everyone’s face alarm and wariness.
The thirteen of them had never been a united front to start with. Each belonging to a different organization, they only came together temporarily for a common mission.
And now, they were forced to participate in a game of mutual suspicion and destruction.
The moment they were assigned their roles, their positions changed. Even those they had trusted before would become enemies who could kill them.
One had to question and suspect everyone in order to live. One mistake could turn out to be fatal.
In the truest sense, hell was other people.
Perhaps what Sir Zuo, the observer, was looking to observe was the way human nature operated in extreme situations.
After a moment of collective silence, Sir Zuo spoke up. “Let us begin, moderator.”
Chen Ying slowly rose to her feet, her eyes flickering. “I got the moderator card.”
“Fuck! Why wasn’t it me?”
Wu Dahai didn’t even bother to hide his jealousy. In fact, he wasn’t the only one shooting Chen Ying pointed looks.
After all, the moderator was effectively invincible. No matter how the game went, the moderator would stay on the sideline, safe from any danger.
Chen Ying was conflicted. On one hand, she was relieved to have been exempt from the game; on the other hand, she felt guilty.
Moreover, she would be forced to witness her companions go after each other with lies and cheats from start to finish, which was a form of torture in itself.
“What do I do?” Chen Ying asked. “Do I just call the arrival of the night?”
“Explain the rules of the game,” Sir Zuo said, his voice still occupying the entire space.
Chen Ying nodded and calmed herself, speaking in a neutral tone like a referee would. “There must be some among us who haven’t played the game Werewolf. I’ll explain the rules. It’s of the utmost importance, so please listen.”
“In the game, there are two teams—the good team, consisting of the four special roles and the villagers, and the bad team, consisting of the four werewolves.”
“I’ll start with the werewolves. Every night, the wolves are allowed to kill a person of their choice, including one of their own. And among the four of them, there is one white alpha. Not only is the alpha allowed to kill someone at night, they may also choose to expose themselves during the day in order to kill one player at the cost of their life.”
Chen Ying paused to give the newbies some time to digest the information.
“Now, I’ll go into the special roles. First, there’s the seer. Every night, the seer is allowed to confirm the identity of one player to find out if the player is a werewolf or a member of the good teams. However, the specific role of the player will remain unknown.”
“Then there’s the witch. The witch has a healing potion and a death potion. The healing potion allows the witch to save someone who dies during the night, while the death potion allows them to poison anyone of their choice.”
“Hunter can shoot before their death to take someone with them. However, they cannot do so if they are poisoned by the witch.”
“Finally, there’s the guard. Each night, the guard may choose to protect someone, including themselves. Whoever is protected won’t die even if they are chosen as the werewolves’ target. However, they will still die to the witch’s death potion should the witch choose to kill them. Additionally, if the witch uses a healing potion on the player the guard chooses to protect, the player will die instead.”
Chen Ying paused and looked around. “Any question?”
Since no one posed any question, she said after a pause, “The third group is the villagers. They cannot do anything. When the night comes, they close their eyes. When the day comes, they vote for the players they believe to be werewolves to eliminate them.”
“Ah, there’s also the last words. During the first night, players who die because of whatever reason may leave their last words. On subsequent nights, the players who die cannot leave their last words, but can reveal their roles.”
“And those who have been eliminated during the day are allowed to leave their last words, but not reveal their roles.”
“Wait,” Vermilion Bird piped up. “When I played, I remember the rule goes that no matter if it's the day or the night, the dead aren’t allowed to reveal their roles.” The debut release occurred at N-ov3l=B(j)n.
“Yes, that is one version.” Chen Ying made the decision for a reason: if it was impossible to avoid killing each other, it was her hope that the good team would win; best-case scenario, they would only need the four werewolves dead.
If the four werewolves ended up winning, they couldn’t have killed only one group without losing any fellow werewolves. Then, at the end of the game, they would have lost many more.
Allowing those who died during the night to reveal their roles would make it much easier for the good side to find the werewolves, increasing their chance of winning.
“Sir Zuo,” Chen Ying said to the air. “Which version of the rules are we playing with?”
“It is at the discretion of the moderator.”
“Then we will go with what I said.” Chen Ying hardened herself. I’m sorry, whoever gets the four werewolf cards. Hate me if you will.
She continued, “After the first night, you may run for sheriff. I’ll explain further when you reach that point of the game. Makes it easier for those who haven’t played to keep up.”
She thought for a moment. This should be enough for now. She turned to the others. “Any question?”
No one said anything.
Ten seconds later, Sir Zuo said, “Please return to your cell, everyone. Moderator, please stay.”
They didn’t immediately move, but instead exchanged a look with each other.
Even at this point, they held onto the slim hope that they didn’t have to play the game, that there was some way to turn things around, such as finding Sir Zuo and killing him together before getting out of here with the Rune Circuit, that one of them might find out that their Talent could counter Sir Zuo’s strange power and get them out of here.
However, none of the above happened during the long minute.
They didn’t dare drag things on further. There was a limit to Sir Zuo’s tolerance. If they didn’t play along, they would be eliminated.
Finally, Qing Ling stood up and walked into her cell in big strides.
Clang.
The cell door shut automatically, trapping her inside.
Qing Ling sat down on the single bed with her Tang Dao placed by her. She closed her eyes and rested.
Teacher War Tiger had taught her that even when facing pure despair, she must do her best to remain calm and preserve strength. She could never go wrong with doing that.
“Fuck it!” Wu Dahai was the second to stand up. He looked over at the others. “There’s no bad blood between us, and none of us want this to happen! But I’m not dying here. I won’t show any mercy!”
He entered the cell next to Qing Ling’s.
Clang.
A few seconds later, his cell door closed too.
X was the third to rise to his feet. He stretched with his usual careless smile. “I know you all must hate my guts and want nothing but to kill me.”
Vermilion Bird spat, “I would’ve killed you if that’d get us out of here.”
“Ha.” X turned around to enter his cell, waving his hand. “Face the music, people. How does the saying go again? Life is like getting whipped. If you can’t fight it, enjoy it.”
White Tiger, who had been silent throughout, rose and sighed. He had tried his Talent many times, but none of his attempts worked.
“We can only play along.”
“Even if we survive this, we’re likely to die in the Crimson Tide.” White Rabbit stood up. “Doesn’t that make the situation easier to swallow?”
Vermilion Bird swore under her breath before making it to her cell.
Finally, the others stopped hesitating and entered their respective cell, accepting the cruel reality.
The metal doors shut one after another. The game was officially a go.
As soon as Gao Yang sat down on the cold, hard bed, he heard Chen Ying’s neutral yet somewhat grave voice.
“Night has fallen...please close your eyes.”
Suddenly, a gray fog permeated the whole space, so thick that it obscured everything within the area. The fog shifted and flowed, as if countless fish were swimming amid it, serving as an effective cover.
“Guard, open your eyes.”
Click.
A metal door opened.
Gao Yang tried to determine the general direction of the guard based on the sound of the door opening, but it was impossible. Just like Sir Zuo’s voice, the sound came from everywhere.
“Guard, point out the one you wish to protect,” said Chen Ying.
Thirty seconds passed.
“Understood. Please return, guard.”
Another thirty seconds.
“Please open your eyes, werewolves.”
Clack, clack.
One after another, the doors opened. Again, the sounds seemed to come from all directions, giving no clue as to who the werewolves were.
Chen Ying spoke up again, this time, her calmness seemed a little forced. “Werewolves, please confirm your companions.”
Gao Yang thought, That means there is someone Chen Ying doesn’t wish to be werewolves among them, which would be Green Tea or Joker, her companions. That’s why she lost control of her emotions for a moment and had to tamp it down.
He speculated as he walked up to the door, trying to make out the four werewolves amid the fog. And he did see the blurry silhouettes near the roundtable.
However, the figures shifted like fire, changing in height and width without showing any consistent characteristics.
The four seemed to be conversing, but all Gao Yang could hear was a rumble.
Evidently, the mysterious gray fog had ‘encoded’ their identities, making it impossible for them to identify the werewolves based on information outside the game.
That was to be expected. Gao Yang stopped wasting time and returned to his bed.
After about a minute, the four werewolves had finished their discussion.
“Werewolves...”
There was a prolonged pause. Then Chen Ying announced with some difficulty, “Please pick your target.”
