The village chief lived at the far eastern edge of the village, in the largest and most impressive house.

Though time was pressing, Bai Youwei didn’t go there immediately. She went to find Shen Mo first.

Shen Mo’s injuries had yet to recover.

Whether it was due to the game rules halving their physical capabilities, his body’s natural healing ability had been drastically diminished. Even the mud had only healed the superficial wounds — his bones and internal organs remained extremely weak.

Shen Mo leaned against the wall, his expression indifferent, showing no trace of pain. Yet Bai Youwei felt a pang of heartache at the sight of him.

“Rest for a few hours and you’ll feel better. Don’t worry too much,” Shen Mo said, watching Bai Youwei calmly. “How did things go with Hans? He lost two subjects in one go — can he still play the game?”

“He can.” Bai Youwei pursed her lips. “He’s insufferably arrogant. He watched his companions burn to death right in front of him and still had the nerve to boast in my face, swearing he’ll win.”

“Did he find that herb?” Shen Mo looked puzzled. “Even if wolfsbane can turn someone into a werewolf, he’s being reckless. No one can guarantee a person will retain their sanity after the transformation. He’s gambling with his companions’ lives.”

“His subjects seem quite willing to die for him.” Bai Youwei sighed. “The man is a first-rate brainwasher.”

Shen Mo smiled slightly at that. “Not necessarily. It’s not that his brainwashing is so impressive — it’s simply that in times of chaos, you tend to encounter two kinds of people most often. Those who trust no one, and those who are fragile and lost, who, once given direction, will follow without question.”

Bai Youwei pondered this. “Hmm… it does seem like every ideology in the world spreads from an era of turmoil.”

Shen Mo asked her, “Have you figured out how to deal with him?”

Bai Youwei startled slightly, then quickly refocused. “…I got a new lead from a villager. The village chief has something that counters werewolves at his home. He’s still at the square right now, but he’ll be heading back soon. I don’t have much time — I need you to draw him away.”

Shen Mo nodded. “I’ll go find him shortly and use healing my injuries as a pretext to stall him.”

Bai Youwei glanced at the sky and rose. “I need to get going.”

She thought for a moment, then rummaged through her bag and produced a prop — a paper bell. She split it in two, giving half to Shen Mo and keeping half for herself.

“If the village chief is about to head home, shake this bell. No one else can hear it — only I will.”

“Be careful,” Shen Mo told her.

Bai Youwei shouldered her bag and hurried off.

She was afraid if she stayed to say a few more words, she’d give herself away.

—

Most of the villagers had been drawn to the square, so Bai Youwei encountered almost no one along the way. She reached the village chief’s home without difficulty.

The village chief’s wife was at home. Seeing Bai Youwei, she warmly poured a pot of tea, said that the chief had gone out and asked her to wait a moment, then went about her housework without further concern.

Bai Youwei sat in a chair, holding her teacup and quietly surveying the surroundings. The interior furnishings appeared perfectly ordinary — nothing to suggest anything was amiss.

If that were the case, why had the little girl told her to come to the village chief’s house?

Bai Youwei glanced at the woman bustling about in the kitchen, set her teacup gently on the table, then slipped nimbly into the village chief’s study, intending to search more carefully.

The study had few books but plenty of odds and ends — it was practically half a storage room.

Bai Youwei took the books from the shelf one by one, looking through them, searching for any clue.

By chance, she touched one book that seemed strangely fixed to the shelf — she couldn’t pull it down.

Bai Youwei’s heart leaped with surprise. She knew this had to be some kind of mechanism. She tried pushing and turning the book, and sure enough, the mechanism triggered. The bookshelf slowly slid aside, revealing the upper portion of a staircase leading down to a basement.

Bai Youwei took a deep breath.

She hadn’t imagined that the comical-looking village chief would have a place like this hidden in his home.

—