Chapter 15: Infernal Affairs

"Pfft—Police Left, your turn to speak."
Chen Fan choked on his water. Luckily, it didn’t spill much, just dampening his clothes and leaving him a bit disheveled. He’d gotten a little too excited about picking up the police badge—caught it with his right hand, while his left hand unconsciously gripped his water cup, sending a mouthful of cologne-flavored water down his throat.

On the field, only his teammate in seat 7 remained, but Chen Fan didn’t feel the slightest bit sad. In fact, he was a little thrilled. With this guy gone, no one would be able to sway his decisions about who to eliminate next.

"Player 1, your statement. Yesterday, Player 1 followed Player 3 and voted for Player 4. I didn’t expect Player 9 to be the Hunter. As for Player 5, who wore the Witch’s role before, but claimed to be a villager after the badge was lost—there might be something off there. I’ll wait and see if anyone in the later positions claims to be the Witch. I’ll pay special attention to what Player 5 says."

Chen Fan wasn’t worried about suspicion falling on him. After all, Zhou Ji was the Witch. So long as Zhou gave him some protection during statements, Chen Fan was guaranteed a spot in the finals.

As for who to scapegoat, with two power roles and two wolves down, today he could just pick someone among the weaker civilian statements. By the next day, Chen Fan could openly betray his teammates.

"Player 2’s statement: On the first day, I sided with Player 4. I think the way Player 3 gave away the police badge was suspicious—there’s a chance the current police chief is a wolf, though it could also be a ploy to frame Player 12. I’ll listen to everyone’s statements and see how the chief allocates the votes."

Zhou Ji grinned and said, "Player 5 is the Witch, but both potions are used. I poisoned Player 3, since I thought he was likely a wolf. As for Player 12, let’s not assume he self-harmed; I’ll protect him for two rounds. The first two speakers seem fairly genuine, so the remaining two wolves should be among Players 7, 8, 10, and 11. Chief, decide your vote accordingly."

Player 7, as a wolf trying to stir the pot, had a reputation that couldn’t be cleaned. Chen Fan didn’t intend to save him either. If the others started piling on, Chen Fan would quickly abandon him.

"Player 7, as a villager, after seeing my card, I noticed that yesterday, Players 1, 8, 10, 11, and 12 sided with Player 3. However, Player 12 voted for Player 4 during the badge election, but then sided with Player 3 during exile. That inconsistency looks very wolfish to me."

"Oh? Is this guy trying to trade blows to clear his status? Not sure there’s any need for that now," Chen Fan mused—it was time to sell out his teammate.

"Player 8’s statement: I noticed that Player 7 was aggressively pushing for Player 3 on the first day. In my eyes, that’s a classic aggressive wolf move. I think we can put Player 12 aside for now, regardless of whether he’s a wolf chief—let’s respect the badge. I hope the chief allocates the votes wisely."

After hearing the statements from Players 10 and 11, no one claimed Cupid this round. The situation was still too murky; revealing themselves now would make them easy targets for the wolves.

"Player 8 just gave me a hand—he’s probably Cupid, and he knows I’m linked with the Witch. He just doesn’t realize I’m a wolf; that must be it," Chen Fan thought.

When it was Chen Fan’s turn, he didn’t hesitate to betray his teammate. "Chief’s statement: Cupid, stay hidden. There’s still hope if we play it straight—just don’t vote out the lovers. Player 7’s actions on the first day were blatantly wolfish, and now he wants to frame me. I have a civilian or higher role. Whether you believe it is up to your knife tonight; today we vote out Player 7."

His wolf teammate was promptly voted out. Chen Fan, now the sole remaining wolf, was pulling all the strings from the shadows. Tonight, he would make his kill; with just three people left to tie the vote during the day, victory was in the bag.

"Werewolves, open your eyes."
Chen Fan looked around cautiously, afraid he’d target Cupid by mistake, so he quietly went for the idle Player 11.

"Dawn. Player 11 died last night. Chief, please choose the speaking order."
"In order."
"Player 1’s statement: The kill was odd. Cupid should reveal themselves and announce the lovers. The lovers must still be in play, and I suspect it’s a human-wolf pair. Player 5, the Witch, is among the lovers."

Player 2 counted the survivors—only six remained, and his heart sank. He simply passed.

Zhou Ji exchanged a glance with Player 8. "Player 8, you must be Cupid. This round, let’s vote out Player 1. With a tied vote, we win."

Player 8 squinted. "It wasn’t until I saw the kill this morning that I realized it was a human-wolf lover situation. Since Player 5 wasn’t killed, Player 12 must be the wolf. But with 3.5 votes, we can vote out whoever we want."

Player 10, thoroughly confused, looked at the three plotting together and simply conceded. "I give up. There’s no way to win."

"Surrender, hand over your cards," Players 1 and 2 surrendered their villager cards as well.

"Game over. The lovers’ faction wins."

Chen Fan threw his head back. "Well done, Zhou Ji, that was flawless."

Zhou Ji laughed. "We owe it to Player 9, the Hunter. He wore my costume and somehow guessed the right kill. I’d intentionally claimed a fake silver to dodge the knife, but if he’s so eager to take it, let him die for me. I only figured out you were the wolf on the second day, when I saw Player 8 giving you a hand."

"Pity my teammates tried to coordinate with me, but I was never really on their side," Chen Fan burst out laughing, raising his water cup—realizing it was in his left hand, he quickly switched to his right.

"Nice memory—staying under the badge was smart. I was afraid you’d get targeted if you were in the spotlight. You didn’t drag me down," Zhou Ji praised.

"Tch, if it weren’t for the lovers’ chain, I’d have knifed you for being so arrogant. The others wanted to kill you the first day, but I single-handedly redirected the knife," Chen Fan replied.

Chen Fan launched into an animated retelling of his heroic exploits on the first night, when he, a lone wolf, managed to save his lover from the slaughter planned by his teammates.

"Alright, alright, enough with the creation myths. Are you telling legends now?" Zhou Ji couldn’t be bothered to analyze further—ranking up was more important.

The game used a promotion-and-relegation system. Since Chen Fan was on the winning side, he didn’t have to queue up for the next round. If he kept winning, he could spend the entire day at the table.

...

"Last night, Players 5 and 12 died."

"Ah, the winning streak ends."

"That’s what you get for blind-poisoning on the first day—you ended up killing Cupid," Chen Fan complained. This round, he and Zhou Ji were lovers again, but Zhou Ji got killed at night, so Chen Fan followed him out in a lovers’ suicide.

Zhou Ji shrugged. "Probability is unpredictable. I wanted to try a double-kill to mess up the chain, but who knew I’d get knifed at night?"

"Nothing I could do—this time I was a villager and couldn’t help redirect the knife," Chen Fan said helplessly. His luck was abysmal: after drawing wolf the first round, he’d gotten villager four times in a row, coasting to nearly effortless victories every time.

At the self-service query machine, Zhou Ji checked his ranking and remarked, "Finally, I can return to the VR arena. This time, I’d better win a few more chips."

Compared to others whose ranks were skyrocketing, Chen Fan checked his own. His win rate had barely passed ten percent, but it was hanging by a thread—one loss and he’d fall below again. He sighed, "When will I ever break into the top ten percent on merit?"

"There’s a Werewolf King Tournament in October. If you win, you’re guaranteed a top ten percent spot. But with your skill, you’d be lucky to survive three rounds," Zhou Ji said, stretching his stiff muscles after a day of sitting.

"Werewolf King Tournament? That might just be my chance," Chen Fan thought, quietly memorizing the name.