Chapter 157: As Strong as a Nightmare

Chen Fan was just a hair away from twenty to thirty thousand, falling short by a decimal point courtesy of a capricious destiny.
"Did you receive the money on your phone?" Li Shizhen was still busy, so he sent Shi Lezhi over to handle the aftermath.
"Uh... received it." Chen Fan replied listlessly. Three hundred yuan had been credited, failing to stir even the slightest ripple of excitement.
Shi Lezhi pulled two dining vouchers from his pocket and said, "Here are two dining vouchers for an upscale Western restaurant. This is also a token of appreciation from our Manager Li, so please make sure to accept them."
"Many thanks." Chen Fan reached out blankly, took them without even sparing a glance, and shoved them straight into his pants pocket.
"As for the internship certificate you need, just bring it over for a stamp once you have your materials ready. Do you know the group's address?"
"I know," Chen Fan said slowly.
"Thank you for your hard work today. I truly appreciate your help." Shi Lezhi bowed slightly, expressing his utmost respect.
Chen Fan nodded stiffly, then turned and walked away.
"Sigh, twenty to thirty thousand... just how much money is that?" Chen Fan gestured with his hands. If it were all stacked up like bricks, it would probably be about the thickness of three construction bricks.
"Why on earth couldn't I just keep this mouth of mine shut?" Chen Fan sighed, slapped himself twice lightly across the face, and continued walking down the street against the evening wind.
Yet, Chen Fan quickly brushed it off. "It's not a total loss; at least I earned two dining vouchers. It's just that I'll have to buy this outfit all over again."
[Hello, your semifinal match will officially begin tomorrow morning at 9:00 at the Yuanyu University Town Sports Center. Please choose your own mode of transportation and arrive early to avoid missing the match. We wish you excellent results.]
"Another morning match. Every single time it's in broad daylight—won't they even let a guy sleep in?" Chen Fan yawned as a wave of fatigue washed over his consciousness, intertwining with his hunger.
Carrying his late-night snack back to the dormitory, Xu Changhui asked curiously, "Brother Fan, where did you go? Why are you dressed in a formal suit?"
"I went to visit the Yuanyu Exhibition, so naturally I had to dress a bit more formally. Where did the two of you run off to today?" Chen Fan asked while eating the fried rice noodles bought at the school gate, browsing the semifinal match notifications on his phone at the same time.
"Just walked around here and there, and even went over to the sports center," Xu Changhui smiled, turning his gaze back to his computer screen.
"The sports center..." Chen Fan took a huge mouthful, stuffing his cheeks, and managed to squeeze out through a gap: "How far is it from here to the sports center?"
"About an hour, I guess. Are you going tomorrow too?"
"Yeah, the Werewolf game is being held there tomorrow." Chen Fan calculated again. Factoring in waiting for transport and time lost looking around, he would have to leave by seven-thirty at the latest not to be rushed.

"Damn, another high-tier werewolf card added to the deluxe bundle?" Chen Fan swiped the screen with his greasy, thick finger, and an unfamiliar card suddenly appeared before him.
The semifinals were still divided into three rounds. Unlike the preliminary rounds, the good guy faction remained essentially unchanged, while the werewolf faction welcomed new high-tier werewolf cards: the White Wolf King, the Demon, and the Nightmare.
Chen Fan had played the first two cards before, so he wasn't a stranger to them, but as for this Nightmare card, it was rumored to have been updated in the latest National Day version. Chen Fan had originally expected cards like the Succubus or the Wolf Beauty to serve as the template for the semifinals, but he hadn't expected them to choose this newly added card in the end.
The Nightmare was a high-tier werewolf card. Before the wolves' action phase each night, it could choose to instill fear in any single player, causing them to lose all nighttime abilities, though the Nightmare could not terrorize the same player on consecutive nights.
To balance the Nightmare's ability and enhance gameplay, every player would receive a hint after being terrorized: the first time they were terrorized, they would learn whether the source of fear was located on their left or right side, and upon being terrorized a second time, they could precisely pinpoint the Nightmare's exact location.
It was worth noting that if the Nightmare accidentally terrorized a fellow werewolf, the wolf pack would lose their kill capability that night due to an inability to unify their attack target.
The general strategy discussed on the official forum currently held that the Nightmare should not use its fear ability on the first night when it didn't know the positions of its wolf teammates, aiming instead to suppress the seer/god cards to assist teammates in outputting.
[With this card, do the god cards still dare to jump openly? No one will dare claim to be a strong god card in the police badge speech.]
[If you can read the god cards accurately, you can beat the good guys flat down—the opening features 4 wolves against 8 villagers.]
[It seems you can arrange for the wolf pack to jump as the terrorized target, using positional logic to smear people out.]
[The Nightmare is so strong, shouldn't we nerf the Knife Girl instead?]
[Isn't this just Miyamoto's elimination game?]
[Watch blockbuster movies + WeChat luoliao123]
"This god-tier card is truly overpowered. If played aggressively alongside the wolf kill to suppress, it drives the god cards crazy..."
Chen Fan carefully studied the tournament format. The semifinals didn't seem very friendly to the good guy faction; the top-tier setup was merely the standard Seer, Witch, Hunter, and Guard, with no further breakthroughs. On the flip side, the werewolf faction was packed with powerhouse generals.
"I hope I draw a wolf card in the semifinals; my odds of winning will be a bit higher." Chen Fan rubbed his hands together, channeling a bit of celestial fortune for himself.
...
"Fifty, no bargaining," the motorcycle taxi driver said indifferently.
Chen Fan blurted out, "Holy crap, why is it so expensive? Taking the bus from here only costs 3 yuan."
The motorcycle taxi driver pointed backward and said arrogantly, "Then go take the bus. The station is right around the corner. Have a nice walk."

"Forget it, forget it. I'll ride with you, alright?"
Chen Fan stomped his foot in anger and straddled the bike. If he hadn't overslept, couldn't summon a Didi ride around here, and hadn't spotted a single available shared bicycle, Chen Fan genuinely wouldn't have wanted to deal with this black-hearted motorcycle.
"That's more like it, young man. Exams come first, sit tight." The motorcycle driver put on his helmet, kicked down the kickstand, and nimbly started the engine.
"Exam?" Chen Fan didn't dwell on it, assuming there just happened to be some major exam going on during this period and he had been mistaken for a test-taker.
"Take your money."
Upon reaching the destination, Chen Fan reluctantly pulled a fifty-yuan bill from his pocket—one he had broken earlier and never had the chance to use.
"Go on and take your exam." The motorcycle driver took the money, grinning from ear to ear.
The semifinal venue was set on the third floor of the sports center. Finding it wasn't difficult, but the place was a bit small, and the environment couldn't compare to the cozy activity room at Yuanyu University; overall, it fell short by a wide margin.
"Why didn't they hold it in the Yuanyu University activity center? I feel like the venue there was plenty big enough." Chen Fan dodged the leftover renovation debris on the floor and found a barely passable spot to sit down.
"Because the school considered safety factors. After all, with so many outsiders flooding in all at once, nobody can guarantee anything. Besides, the activity room here is temporarily rented, so it's completely normal that the venue and equipment can't compare," said Han Youyi, who had also appeared on the scene, accompanied by Kang Jixuan. "The two of us are also semifinalists who broke out of the Yuanyu University novice village. If you feel the atmosphere here isn't good, I can lead you over there. At least they're all alumni, which might make you feel the warmth of home."
"The novice village with the highest win rate—don't try to fool me..." Chen Fan smiled and politely declined, "Better not. I'm afraid of getting beaten to a pulp and becoming the butt of your jokes. This spot is quite comfortable, so I'll just sit right here."
"By the way, where is your brother, Kang Jixuan?" Chen Fan asked again.
Kang Jixuan smiled and said, "Oh, him? We ended up on opposing sides in the final round of the preliminaries, and in the end, he blew himself up to send me into the semifinals."
"He really is a... good brother." Chen Fan thought about it, but couldn't come up with a better adjective.
"Will all participating contestants please take your seats? The Werewolf King Championship semifinals are about to begin." The person in charge of the activity room patrolled the area, repeating the words as he walked.
Chen Fan took a small sip of Nongfu Spring mineral water, instantly energizing himself. Lacking the cash to buy soda, Chen Fan had no choice but to mentally summon the Witch card to quench his craving. Anyway, it wouldn't affect the game's balance—if he was going to use anything, it might as well be some useful vanilla card.
"Give me a wolf card, and send me into the semifinals."