The chaos went on for a long time before the villagers finally subdued the rampaging Breil.

Though he had shown the signs of a werewolf, he had not fully transformed — he was hovering at the edge of frenzy, entirely consumed by rage, howling without stop.

Bai Youwei followed the crowd as Breil was bound together with the werewolf’s body and dragged, bloodied, all the way to the plaza —

The villagers hoisted both of them up against the stone pillars, winding iron chains round and round, piling layer upon layer of firewood.

The village chief took fire from the coal brazier and lit the pyre without a moment’s hesitation.

The instant the flames leapt up, Bai Youwei immediately shut her eyes, unwilling to witness the horrific sight.

She turned and walked away. Breil’s screams echoed in her ears. He raged and cursed, his voice raw and breaking:

“We will win! We will definitely win!… When that day comes, we’ll all be brought back to life! We cannot be killed! We will never die! AAAAHHH!!!…”

His final words dissolved into complete hoarseness at the last — whether pushed there by pure madness or pure agony, there was no way to tell.

The roaring flames swallowed both figures.

Bai Youwei walked back with her head bowed and came face to face with Hans. Her footsteps stopped.

“We will win,” Hans said abruptly.

He stood in front of Bai Youwei, his tall frame like a cold, hard wall, his gaze equally cold, watching her with an expressionless face.

Bai Youwei was silent for a moment. “Yes,” she said quietly, “you will win. No matter how many people die, as long as someone wins in the end and the world is restored to what it was — that is a victory for all of humanity. That’s what you’re trying to say, isn’t it?”

Hans stared at her, his eyes darkening.

Bai Youwei gave a small smile, stepped to the side to pass him, and as she brushed past his shoulder, said lightly:

“In that case — why don’t you die? If I win, it’s equally a victory for all of humanity.”

Hans’s temple gave a violent twitch. His back molars clamped together.

“It’s nothing but fear of death,” Bai Youwei scoffed, not giving him another glance as she walked steadily away.

Hans stood rooted to the spot, like a statue, watching the human shapes within the fire slowly twist and char beyond recognition. He did not move…

—

Bai Youwei had been bold with her parting words. Inside, however, her heart had long since clenched into a tight knot.

Her pace grew faster. Faster and faster still. Until she was running — sprinting toward Shen Mo’s house.

She had realized she had made a grave mistake.

A terrible, terrible mistake — and yet one so simple.

The way to play this game was not to find a method to avoid being attacked by werewolves. The real objective was to find a way to become a werewolf yourself, as quickly as possible.

How had she been led astray?

Because when entering the game, the Inspector had said: *Once players enter the village, they become members of Werewolf Village. You need to find the wolf-proofing method promptly, to avoid being attacked in the night.*

Those words had caused her to instinctively cast herself in the role of a villager, placing the werewolves on the opposite side. But in truth, the roles of werewolf and villager were interchangeable.

Hans had grasped this first. He had stolen the monkshood from the windowsill, causing Molin to transform into a werewolf ahead of everyone else.

That was why last night’s werewolf had gone for her. When it couldn’t find her, it attacked Shen Mo instead — doing everything it could to eliminate the rival king and his followers.

Bai Youwei’s mind was in turmoil as she rushed onward.

She should not have made this kind of mistake. But it was still not too late — she could still turn things around. As long as she…

A thought flashed through her mind and she stopped in her tracks.

She stared at the house not far ahead of her. Bai Youwei began to hesitate, turning the matter over and over in her mind…

Finally, she turned around and ran off in a different direction.

This was something she perhaps should not let Shen Mo know about…

—