Chapter 150: Somehow Making It Through Christmas Eve Safely

“Between Ghost Cry and Judo, which one has tormented you more?” Chen Fan pondered for a long moment before asking this question.

Gazing at the lifeless eyes the No. 5 Sheriff cast his way, Chen Fan quickly retracted his words. “Ah, forget it. Since you won’t know, I’d better analyze things again.”

“First, in the round where the Sheriff was active, both No. 2 and No. 4 were on the non-Sheriff side. Then, on the first day during the discussion, after No. 12 acknowledged the Witch and took the lead, both of them immediately followed No. 12's lead in targeting No. 11. On the second day…”

As Chen Fan spoke, he found himself growing awkward. These two had been consistent from beginning to end, speaking so little that no flaws could be found, nor did they provide any valuable clues.

Even in the life-or-death PK round, both acknowledged No. 1’s good identity and pushed No. 1 off the PK stage.

“No. 11 was probably eliminated by the wolves. If you all temporarily accept No. 1 as a good player, then there’s no one on the Sheriff side cooperating with No. 9. According to positional logic, Nos. 5, 6, and 7 are three consecutive gods, so the wolves are likely hiding on the wings—probably No. 4. Let’s leave it at that.” After all that talk, Chen Fan finally mentioned something substantial.

No. 5 Ashura sighed helplessly and said, “Then let’s go with No. 4. You big clumsy bear, you’ve been useless from start to finish. I think the Witch and I are on the same page — I’m kind of tempted to vote for you.”

No. 7 Blood Mage smiled at everyone, thinking: You can’t blame the Bear card for being weak; at least it identified two good players, right?

“The Sheriff votes for No. 4.”

Ashura sharpened the Shadowless Sword in his hand. Clearly, his interest in the match had waned. At this point, there was no more logic to extract from the situation.

“Goblin’s Voice-Changing Potion, drink this.” Ashura flicked his cloak and handed a bottle of green liquid to No. 4, Judo.

“Such a twisted sense of humor…” No. 4 frowned, picked up the conical bottle, hesitated a moment, then uncorked and downed it in one gulp.

“*Burp* I want to say, you guys targeted the wrong person. The Guard should protect the civilians tonight.” The goblin, glowing with a forgiving green aura, announced.

“Protect the civilians… I want to, but No. 8 has already been guarded once before, and I can’t distinguish the identities of No. 1 and No. 2. So who exactly am I supposed to guard?” Chen Fan asked, gripping his lightsaber. In the moonlight, the dim blade shimmered with a ghostly purple glow.

“If there are only two wolves left, guarding anyone means losing.” Chen Fan first acknowledged this fact: among the survivors, only one wolf remained.

“Please choose the player you wish to protect.” The system’s prompt sounded.

“Who can I guard? No. 1 or No. 2…” Chen Fan worried about missing the time and completed the pre-guard sword motion.

“Wait, that’s not right. Whether I guard No. 1 or No. 2, this lone wolf can only attack No. 8. What am I thinking…” Suddenly, Chen Fan realized the limitations of the wolf’s attack strategy.

But he couldn’t guard No. 8 tonight.

“That little yapping Chihuahua, I’ll just protect myself.” With five seconds left on the countdown, Chen Fan waved his sword and shouted, “Guard No. 6!”

Time hit zero. Exhausted, Chen Fan collapsed onto the stone floor, clutching his sword handle, complaining, “So annoying. I have to press buttons like in Dance Dance Revolution…”

Today was the final day of the battle, and Chen Fan’s luck was decent; he had survived all three preliminary rounds.

“Last night, on Christmas Eve, please have the strongest player choose the speaking order.”

“No. 2 speaks first,” No. 5 Ashura said lazily.

No. 2 Ghost Cry looked at No. 1 Wanderer and said, “The suspicion is between us two now. So, in my eyes, you must be a wolf.”

Recalling No. 1’s words, No. 2 continued, “During the Sheriff election, you hesitated a long time but declared yourself a civilian or higher. Now, Nos. 8 and 9 are confirmed wolves, and I really don’t know whether No. 11 is civilian or a lazy wolf.”

No. 2 then analyzed the positional logic in detail: “When the bear and the jump were played, No. 7 on the Sheriff side definitely had a wolf teammate backing a bold jump. Nos. 5 and 7 are gods. No. 3 is gone, so the only one left is you, No. 1. You spoke first from the front position, didn’t know the bear’s position behind, so you backed down.”

“Let’s hypothesize: if you, No. 1, were making a bold jump, Nos. 9, 10, and 11 would be your three teammates. Then, no matter where the real bear is—No. 3, 5, or 7—the judge would declare no roar. This would easily place the outer positions as your wolf teammates.”

“Alternatively, if No. 11 was an innocent civilian, your wolf teammates would be Nos. 4, 9, and 10. Then, if Nos. 3, 5, and 11 are bears, they would roar. When No. 7 jumps, it wouldn’t roar. All logical possibilities for the first position jump bear are here. For your wolf team, the overall expected gain is too low, so you ultimately gave up on running for sheriff and chose to let your teammates behind take the lead.”

“You, No. 1, are the last wolf. Once you’re out, the game is over.” No. 2 Ghost Cry’s speech was longer than all his previous days combined.

No. 1 Wanderer couldn’t help but applaud, “You argued so well, it’s really hard for me to counter you as the last wolf. I can only say, if you and No. 4 are both wolves, then your tactics were just too sloppy. On the first day, you let me step on my own teammates instead of trying to get me out.”

“Of course, if you are the last lone wolf, your skills truly deserve a win. No. 8 was probably stabbed last night; if you make a mistake today, you can cut No. 8 again tonight. Victory will ultimately be yours.”

No. 1 confessed, “I was the first to speak on the Sheriff side, claiming civilian or higher. Initially, I wanted to shield the gods, but the wolves didn’t trust me and cut No. 3 instead. What could I do? I was helpless too.”

“This round, I’m definitely voting against No. 2. As for how the other four gods feel, that’s up to them.”

“Go with No. 1, this guy has been talking nonstop,” No. 12 Paladin, seemingly regaining his momentum, puffed up again.

“I misremembered earlier; it was No. 1 who claimed civilian or above on the Sheriff side. No. 3 never revealed any god identity, so if the wolves aren’t targeting No. 1, that’s suspicious, hahaha.”

No. 12 Paladin laid out his wolf trap: “Nos. 1, 4, 9, and 10 are the four wolves. Between No. 1 and No. 9, the Sheriff side decides who will make the bold jump as the bear. No. 4 led the charge in the life-or-death PK round, taking you out and opposing No. 2, letting you survive to the final to fight with your knife skills.”

He then smugly mocked, “If you hadn’t claimed civilian or above, I wouldn’t even remember who said that. You two rarely talk, finally showing a fox’s tail. Vote No. 1, vote No. 1. If we lose, we all take the blame.”

No. 8 Mechanic chimed in excitedly, “I thought I’d have some room to play, but it looks like I can happily slack off again.”

“No. 8, you’re the chosen one. You secured your good identity in the first round and were protected by the Guard. Unlike me, who gets criticized every day for having no abilities. No abilities, do you know that? Men can’t say they can’t do it,” No. 7 Blood Mage envied.

When it was Chen Fan’s turn, he said softly, “Actually... I guarded myself last night…”