Twelve people participated in this round of Werewolf Kill.

Ji Bohan brought a deck of Werewolf Kill cards. He displayed the cards and explained the game rules to everyone.

Ji Bohan said that Werewolf Kill is a turn-based game, with each round divided into “day” and “night.” Each player must speak during the day, using language to describe their identity. Then, through voting, everyone would eliminate the most suspicious player.

Based on the cards drawn, players would be divided into two camps—the good people camp and the werewolf camp.

The good people camp had eight people—four villagers and four special roles. The special roles included one witch, one guard, one seer, and one hunter.

In the good people camp, villagers had no special abilities. The witch could save one player or kill one player. The guard could protect a player from being killed each night. The hunter could shoot another player after his death. And the seer could check the true identity of a player each night.

In opposition, the werewolf camp included three ordinary wolves and one wolf king. They could kill anyone at night. The wolf king could even bite any player before committing suicide.

“How is the winner determined?” Jiang Yubai raised his hand to ask.

Ji Bohan solemnly said, “If all four villagers die, or all four special roles die, the werewolves win. If all werewolves die, the good people win.”

“I understand!” Lin Zhixia was the first to respond.

Ji Bohan asked again, “Seniors, do you understand?”

Yang Shuwen was completely confused.

Just as Yang Shuwen was about to say he didn’t understand, Tan Qianche let out a hearty laugh: “Such simple rules, we couldn’t possibly not understand, right, Yang Shuwen?”

Yang Shuwen awkwardly responded, “Haha, yes.”

“Great!” Lin Zhixia clapped her hands, “Let’s draw cards quickly.”

Ji Bohan found their class monitor to serve as the referee for this game. The monitor took on the referee’s responsibilities. He randomly distributed twelve cards to the many players and labeled each person with a number tag.

The twelve players sat around the stove. The flames in the furnace crackled loudly, occasionally sending out sparks, dispelling the chill of late autumn.

The monitor clutched a skewer of lamb and paced back and forth: “Night has fallen, it’s the first night, good people, please close your eyes. Guard, who do you want to protect tonight? Good, I know, guard, please close your eyes… Werewolves can open their eyes. Who do you want to kill?”

After the monitor finished speaking, Lin Zhixia and Jiang Yubai opened their eyes simultaneously.

Lin Zhixia and Jiang Yubai’s seats were right next to each other. They confirmed each other as allies, then scanned around and discovered that Lin Zhixia’s roommate Feng Yuan was the wolf king, while Yang Shuwen was another wolf.

The moment Jiang Yubai saw Yang Shuwen, he felt this game would be extremely difficult. Because Yang Shuwen’s gaze was blank and innocent, full of the uncertainty of committing evil for the first time.

Yang Shuwen pursed his lips and raised his hand to point at Tan Qianche.

He wanted to kill Tan Qianche.

The reason was simple—Tan Qianche was very smart. If he remained in the good people camp, leaving him alive would cause endless trouble.

Lin Zhixia nodded, indicating agreement.

Tan Qianche unfortunately became a live target. On the first night of the game, he was bitten to death by the fierce wolf pack.

The monitor witnessed Tan Qianche’s demise. He silently sighed to himself, then said, “The night isn’t over yet, werewolves, please close your eyes, seer, please open your eyes.”

Yuan Wei was Lin Zhixia’s roommate and the holder of the “seer” card. Hearing the monitor’s voice, she immediately opened her eyes wide, sweeping a suspicious gaze over the other players. She checked Ji Bohan’s identity, and the monitor made a gesture to her, confirming that Ji Bohan belonged to the good people camp.

Among the twelve players present, Ji Bohan had the most game experience. With Ji Bohan and Yuan Wei united, Yuan Wei felt certain of victory. She displayed a confident smile.

The monitor continued to host: “Seer, please close your eyes, witch, please open your eyes. Someone died last night, witch, you one opportunity to save someone, and one opportunity to kill someone.”

Ji Bohan’s girlfriend happened to draw the witch card. She nodded once and immediately saved Tan Qianche.

The monitor raised the lamb skewer. While chewing the delicious lamb, he announced loudly: “Day has broken, no one died last night, now we begin the sheriff election. When all players vote to kill someone, ordinary players’ votes count as 1, the sheriff’s vote counts as 1.5… Does anyone want to run for sheriff?”

Ji Bohan, Ji Bohan’s girlfriend, Tan Qianche, Jiang Yubai, Feng Yuan, Yuan Wei, and others all raised their hands.

Lin Zhixia sat quietly in her chair, happily eating grilled chicken wings. She looked up slightly, meeting Ji Bohan’s scrutinizing gaze. She blinked once, appearing clueless and harmless.

According to the number tag order, Ji Bohan was the first speaker.

Ji Bohan frowned and said seriously, “I am the seer. Last night, I checked Lin Zhixia, and she is a wolf. Tonight I’ll check players seven and eight. If player seven is a good person, the sheriff position goes to him.”

Player seven was Senior Yang Shuwen.

Lin Zhixia was directly accused of being a werewolf by Ji Bohan, and Yang Shuwen was also placed on the suspect list.

Lin Zhixia’s mental alarm bells rang loudly, and she couldn’t help thinking: Ji Bohan is indeed an experienced player. How did he see through my disguise? Did my facial expressions betray me?

Despite having many calculations, Lin Zhixia didn’t stop eating her chicken leg. The grilled chicken leg was too delicious, reminding her of her mother’s braised chicken legs. She bit off a small piece of chicken, seemingly unaffected by Ji Bohan.

Next, it was Tan Qianche’s turn to speak.

Tan Qianche pondered briefly and said: “I’m a novice, playing this game for the first time. From a Nash equilibrium perspective, a wolf running for sheriff yields greater benefits. The wolf pack wants to elect their accomplice as sheriff. If Lin Zhixia is a wolf, why didn’t she join the sheriff election? Isn’t Lin Zhixia good at mathematics and eloquence? If she participated in the election, she’d have a better chance of winning.”

The more Tan Qianche analyzed, the more reasonable his words seemed.

To protect the real seer, Tan Qianche also told a lie: “Everyone, I am the seer. Last night I checked number ten, number ten is a good person, possibly the witch… Oh right, someone died last night, the dead person was probably a werewolf. The werewolf committed suicide at the start, making it so the witch can’t save anyone anymore. Werewolves, your move is too sinister.”

At this point, Feng Yuan’s mouth twitched.

Tan Qianche’s senses were extremely acute. He captured Feng Yuan’s facial expression change. He immediately said, “Feng Yuan, your face moved, are you nervous? I suspect you’re a wolf. You’re a mathematics student, you’ve studied game theory, and you know that having a sheriff from the wolf pack increases your chances of winning. You’re running for sheriff, that’s too suspicious. I suggest everyone votes you out in the first round, forcing you to exit the game.”

Feng Yuan’s breathing almost stopped.

She hadn’t expected Tan Qianche’s insight to be so sharp.

She, as a wolf, might not survive the first round.

Tan Qianche finished speaking. He curved his lips in a smile, full of confidence.

At this moment, Jiang Yubai put on a fair and just appearance, and speculated in a steady tone: “Player number one, Ji Bohan, is not the seer. Ji Bohan mentioned he has played Werewolf Kill many times. He also said that when a seer checks someone, they should provide reasons. Just now, you all heard, Ji Bohan only said two sentences, and his suspects didn’t even participate in the sheriff election…”

Jiang Yubai’s attack was aimed directly at Ji Bohan.

Ji Bohan remained unchanged in the face of danger, quietly leaning against the chair back.

Jiang Yubai looked at Ji Bohan and said with exceptional composure: “You don’t give reasons but determine that number seven can take over for you, and that number four is a wolf. Were you chosen by the wolf pack to be sheriff? The wolf pack can tell who is good and who is bad. I suggest the real seer checks your identity tonight.”

Afterward, Jiang Yubai also analyzed Tan Qianche’s statements. He indicated that both Tan Qianche and Feng Yuan’s positions were worth doubting. Finally, he claimed to be a hunter. If the seer didn’t check Ji Bohan, Jiang Yubai would take Ji Bohan with him after death.

Jiang Yubai was logical and orderly.

He also distanced himself from Feng Yuan.

Ji Bohan’s girlfriend, however, believed that neither Jiang Yubai nor Tan Qianche was good.

Ji Bohan’s girlfriend’s first words were: “Jiang Yubai’s logic is too smooth, why are both Tan Qianche and Jiang Yubai targeting Ji Bohan?” She paused in her speech, then said: “I am the seer. Someone died last night…” She instinctively glanced at Tan Qianche.

Lin Zhixia noticed her gaze.

Lin Zhixia finished her chicken wings and took a napkin to wipe her hands. While she was wiping her hands, Feng Yuan also made a declaration. Feng Yuan’s performance was standard, neither like a good person nor like a werewolf.

After Feng Yuan, Yuan Wei, as the last player running for sheriff, eloquently stated: “Ji Bohan is good, his girlfriend is also good. I’m not lying to you, I am the seer, I checked Ji Bohan last night…”

Yuan Wei said many things. She believed that Tan Qianche and Feng Yuan were most suspicious of collusion. She also suspected that the person who died and came back to life last night was Tan Qianche. Tan Qianche and Feng Yuan were likely ordinary wolves. Tan Qianche claimed to be the seer, sacrificing a wolf teammate to solidify his fake identity.

Yuan Wei repeatedly emphasized that tonight, the guard must protect her, and she would check Tan Qianche.

After this round of elections, everyone voted.

Contrary to Yuan Wei’s expectations, Tan Qianche was elected with high votes, becoming the sheriff.

Yuan Wei was completely bewildered.

Feng Yuan, however, revealed a joyful smile.

Then, without hesitation, Feng Yuan self-destructed on the spot: “I am the wolf king! I will commit suicide, and I will take her with me!”

Feng Yuan extended her index finger, pointing at Ji Bohan’s girlfriend.

The wolf king’s self-destruction meant automatic withdrawal from the game.

Before withdrawing, the wolf king could bite any player to death.

Ji Bohan’s girlfriend was forced to exit.

The good people camp unfortunately lost a witch.

Feng Yuan chose to leave the game by self-destructing without consulting any of her wolf teammates. She killed the witch, which meant her three wolf teammates must quickly find the real seer, hunter, and guard.

The situation on the field became tense, and the monitor spoke in a deep voice: “The sheriff election is over, the second night has arrived.”

In this round of the killing game, Lin Zhixia, as a member of the werewolf camp, unhesitatingly took the lead in pointing to Yuan Wei.

Yang Shuwen wanted to stop Lin Zhixia. He shook his head vigorously, silently gesturing—tonight, Yuan Wei would be protected by the guard, who could make a player immune to killing, so the werewolves couldn’t bite Yuan Wei to death.

Jiang Yubai showed slight hesitation. He clenched his left hand, not expressing an opinion.

The monitor urged: “You have ten seconds left to discuss.”

Lin Zhixia grabbed Jiang Yubai’s wrist. She looked into his eyes for three seconds, and he followed her advice. With only three members left in the wolf team, Lin Zhixia and Jiang Yubai reached a consensus. Yang Shuwen’s objection was ineffective, and the wolf pack began attacking Yuan Wei.

On this night in the game, the cold and suspicious guard chose to protect himself.

In the cold autumn wind, the monitor announced with a slight sigh: “Alas, Yuan Wei is gone.”

Yuan Wei was even more bewildered.

Yuan Wei stood up in a daze, slowly retreating.

She was forced to exit the game.

Her gaze swept over everyone present, finally converging on Lin Zhixia. Lin Zhixia stared at her steadily, not like a vicious wolf, but more like a wolf cub.

*

A new round of speeches began.

Player number one, Ji Bohan, once again pointed out that Lin Zhixia must be a wolf!

Ji Bohan’s girlfriend had just been taken away by the wolf king, and Ji Bohan was somewhat emotional. He seemed to be completely immersed in the game scenario; he wanted to eliminate the remaining evil wolves to avenge his innocent girlfriend.

Ji Bohan said that Tan Qianche, Jiang Yubai, and Lin Zhixia were the three remaining wolves!

Tan Qianche certainly disagreed. His identity was so clean, so pure, just like himself at eighteen. How could he allow Ji Bohan to slander him?

Tan Qianche coughed once, his expression steady: “Ji Bohan, you only state conclusions without explaining the process. If you wrote experiment reports like this, you’d score zero. I reasonably suspect you’re a wolf. Jiang Yubai is also suspicious, right? He competed for the sheriff position and mutually accused you. Either you two are both wolves, or there’s a wolf between you.”

Tan Qianche and Ji Bohan were irreconcilable. His gaze was as hot as fire, locked onto Ji Bohan. The female classmates near Ji Bohan blushed, but Ji Bohan bristled like a hedgehog, all his hair standing on end.

The flames in the furnace danced in a bewitching form, like countless pairs of crimson wolf eyes.

The monitor shuddered and stopped them: “Don’t stare at people, don’t stare at people.”

The monitor maintained order, allowing each player to speak. When it was Jiang Yubai’s turn, Jiang Yubai still pretended to be a good person. He even slightly imagined in his mind, if he were truly a good person and Lin Zhixia was a werewolf, what decision would he make?

In other words, if Lin Zhixia and Jiang Yubai had different positions, how should Jiang Yubai respond?

Werewolf Kill was just a game.

Yet Jiang Yubai stepped beyond the constraints of the game. He thought about how he and Lin Zhixia had spent years together, and Lin Zhixia had never had any disagreement with him on matters of principle.

If they had disagreements in the future, Jiang Yubai would first consider Lin Zhixia’s perspective, drawing out her true thoughts. After all, she couldn’t forget sad memories, and he couldn’t let Lin Zhixia develop negative emotions because of him.

But was this level of concern beyond the scope of friendship?

Jiang Yubai sorted out his thoughts, trying to protect Lin Zhixia as much as possible: “Lin Zhixia hasn’t said a word until now, didn’t participate in the sheriff election, and hasn’t done anything except eat chicken legs. I do suspect her and would like to hear her statement.”

Lin Zhixia held a chicken leg skewer and suddenly felt a bit embarrassed. She held the plate in her left hand and tightly gripped the bamboo skewer in her right.

However, most players pointed their attacks at Lin Zhixia. They all knew Lin Zhixia was incredibly smart, and if she were a wolf, the good people camp would eventually be doomed.

Everyone had originally decided to vote for Lin Zhixia this round, forcing her to exit the game.

Lin Zhixia defended herself: “So many people suspect me, I can only tell the truth. My identity is the witch. On the first night, those werewolves killed Ji Bohan, and I saved him. Listen to me, is my inference correct? The werewolves killed Ji Bohan first, possibly because Ji Bohan explained the game rules, had played hundreds of rounds of Werewolf Kill, and had become an advanced player. Tan Qianche said that Ji Bohan might be a wolf; he committed suicide, tricked me into saving him, and gained my trust… Tan Qianche makes sense…”

At this point, Lin Zhixia paused briefly, then said: “Ji Bohan, you always treat me as a wolf, is it because I often look at you? You’re the person I saved, I can’t help but observe whether you’re good or bad. There’s another possibility: you know I’m good, so you’re framing me. Last night, Yuan Wei was killed by the werewolves. I thought the guard would protect Yuan Wei… Yuan Wei must be good, otherwise she wouldn’t have been killed by the wolf pack. But she might not be the seer. Feng Yuan’s self-destruction earlier was also strange. Have you thought about it? When Feng Yuan self-destructed, she took a good person with her. What identity was that good person exactly? Was it the seer?”

Lin Zhixia appealed to emotion and reason, her words sincere, and she was prepared to die tonight.

She said she was the witch, still had a bottle of poison, and hoped everyone would let her use it fully, at least killing one wolf; otherwise, her poison would be wasted.

Moreover, if Feng Yuan’s self-destruction had taken away a seer, and Lin Zhixia, the witch, was also eliminated, the good people camp would suffer heavy losses.

A senior from the quantum computing group impatiently spoke up: “Lin Zhixia still has a bottle of poison. If she’s the witch and has revealed who died, she’ll die tonight. If we kill her now, wouldn’t we waste a quota and a bottle of poison? I think Tan Qianche and Jiang Yubai are the most suspicious! I ask you all: when did Feng Yuan self-destruct? Feng Yuan saw Tan Qianche become sheriff and smiled as she self-destructed! Sacrificing herself for the greater good! This round, let’s kill Tan Qianche!”

Yang Shuwen refuted: “I am the seer. I checked Tan Qianche last night; he’s good, he’s probably trying to shield me. Where’s the guard? Guard, protect me tonight.”

The situation became extremely delicate.

There were still nine players on the field.

The monitor marveled at everyone’s acting skills. He composed himself and said: “Alright, now we start voting. Whoever gets the most votes will be killed!”

After the monitor finished speaking, players extended their fingers, pointing at their most suspicious targets.

Ji Bohan received 1 vote, Tan Qianche received 2 votes, Jiang Yubai received 2 votes, while Yang Shuwen received the most votes with 4.5!

Yang Shuwen was stunned: “Why, why does everyone want to kill me? I don’t look like a wolf at all?”

Tan Qianche coldly said, “Feng Yuan self-destructed after seeing me become sheriff. I, a good person, was implicated by the wolf pack. You suddenly support me, not commenting on others, your suspicion is the greatest.”

Yang Shuwen frowned deeply.

The monitor timely reminded: “Senior Yang, don’t speak anymore, you’re a dead person now.”

Yang Shuwen took a deep breath and silently looked at Tan Qianche. His facial expressions were very rich—confusion, incomprehension, grievance, and the anger of betrayal all flashed across his face.

Tan Qianche was startled, thinking to himself: These evil wolves are so cunning! They’ve completely implicated him!

Tan Qianche misunderstood Yang Shuwen.

The reason Yang Shuwen supported Tan Qianche was simply because Tan Qianche often tirelessly tutored Yang Shuwen academically. Yang Shuwen wanted to repay him, so he helped clear his false charges!

Who would have thought that Tan Qianche would turn around and bite him!

Yang Shuwen felt extremely wronged. He slowly retreated to the wall, sat on a small stool, and silently ate roasted sweet potatoes, like a little wolf abandoned by the wolf king.

Everyone’s gaze converged on Tan Qianche again.

Tan Qianche was beyond explanation.

That night, the wolf pack appeared—this time, the only evil wolves left on the field were Lin Zhixia and Jiang Yubai.

Lin Zhixia extended her finger, making the number “1”.

She wanted to kill Ji Bohan.

Ji Bohan had anticipated this. He revealed his hunter identity and took Lin Zhixia with him on the spot.

Before dying, the hunter could kill one wolf.

Lin Zhixia had to exit the game. She entrusted her hopes of victory to Jiang Yubai.

Jiang Yubai clenched both fists.

But Lin Zhixia pried his fingers open. She extended her fingertip and gently poked his palm.

His heart seemed to soften, turning into a pool of spring water, tinkling and merging into the clear water surface in the distance.

In the subsequent round of competition, despite Tan Qianche’s arguments, more than half the people firmly believed he was a wolf. He was voted out by everyone, and the monitor immediately clapped his hands: “The game is over! The werewolves win a great victory!”

“What?” Several seniors from the quantum computing group were greatly shocked.

Tan Qianche stood up and tossed out a glass cloth. While cleaning his glasses, he calmly said: “I was the guard, everyone, couldn’t you tell I was the guard? Ah… I protected Lin Zhixia on the first night. I was afraid she was too smart and would be killed by werewolves. I was a fool.”

Across from Tan Qianche, Lin Zhixia and Jiang Yubai high-fived with perfect coordination.

Tan Qianche shook his head, accusing: “You two little wolves.”

Lin Zhixia proudly said: “It’s a game, the point is to have fun.”