Chapter 28: Duped

"Ouch, it hurts... it hurts so much... my back hurts, my arms hurt, my knees hurt, my whole body hurts." In his sleep, Chen Fan felt as if he were lying on a bed of nails. As soon as the guard's ability failed, the pain from yesterday returned as expected, sharp and piercing.

"Damn it, Chen Fan, what the hell are you doing? It's the middle of the night, can't you keep quiet?" Wei Youlong angrily pulled back the bed curtain, and under the dim moonlight, Chen Fan could faintly see that his companion had a facial mask on.

"This guy really takes care of himself, better than a girl." Chen Fan silently grumbled, rubbed his back, and whispered, "Sorry, I just bumped into a metal rod and couldn't help but yell."

"Really, I'm at a loss for you." Wei Youlong dropped the curtain; it seemed the matter was resolved.

Across the room, Xu Changhui quietly muttered, "Brother Fan, why is your bed glowing again?"

"It's just my phone lighting up, but it almost blinded me," Chen Fan responded with a silent gesture, fearing that any loud noise would stir this troublemaker again.

"Your phone is quite special; that light flickers," Xu Changhui didn’t ask further and turned over to sleep.

Chen Fan glanced at the card in the corner and sighed, "They can still see it even thrown in this wretched place. I just hope the bed curtain arrives soon; otherwise, I’ll really be in trouble. I can’t just hide in the bathroom when my identity changes, can I?"

To maintain his unique sense of mystery, Chen Fan did not rush to check what his identity was for the day. After applying some balm, he simply lay down to sleep.

...

"Hey, why can't I sleep again..." Chen Fan opened his eyes for the thirty-seventh time, glancing at the ceiling; it should still be dark outside.

"Isn't there only one werewolf card? Could it be that in a game for twelve people, there are four werewolf cards?"

If Chen Fan’s guess was right, that would be troublesome. During holidays, he could catch up on sleep after staying up late, but military training wasn't a place for napping.

After flipping around, he finally breathed a sigh of relief when he confirmed there was only one werewolf card...

Today, Chen Fan was the White Wolf King...

"Hahaha..."

Chen Fan couldn't laugh, staring at the blank White Wolf King card, feeling a mix of anger and amusement, unsure of what to say or to whom. Fate is a trickster.

As an advanced werewolf card in the game, the White Wolf King could act with werewolves at night and could self-destruct during the day to take out a player. The werewolf card system naturally endowed the White Wolf King with corresponding abilities; whatever the werewolves had, the White Wolf King possessed as well.

But Chen Fan still didn't know what additional skills the White Wolf King had. He just hoped it wasn't the hunter's fancy revolver. Right now, he simply wanted to sleep.

...

"Hey, bro, time to get up."

Chen Fan felt someone shaking his bed, and it wasn't until sunlight flooded the dorm that the rush of energy in his body subsided. He had only been asleep for two hours.

"I'm not going for a morning run; you go by yourself. I want to sleep a bit longer." Chen Fan didn’t open his eyes and couldn't be bothered to respond, thinking Wei Youlong was just being perfunctory before going back to sleep.

Lai Guangyi shook him even harder. "What morning run? Brother Fan, it’s already seven-thirty! Training starts at eight; are you going to skip breakfast?"

"What? Why didn't my alarm go off?" Chen Fan forced his eyes open, preparing to get up and wash up; if he moved quickly, he might still grab something to eat.

"Ouch, it hurts!"

As soon as he straightened up, Chen Fan fell back down; it felt as if a heavy stone was pressing on his chest, making it hard to breathe.

"Brother Fan, what's wrong? Did you break your body from working out? Do you want me to ask for a sick leave for you?" Lai Guangyi, standing on tiptoe under the bed, couldn't see what was happening above, so he asked with concern.

"I didn’t rest well last night; you go ahead. I’ll be fine," Chen Fan shook his head to clear his mind.

Lai Guangyi waved and said, "Oh, then I’m off."

"Okay."

Chen Fan dragged his weary body, rinsed his eyes with water to remove the bloodshot appearance, and realized he didn’t have time to buy breakfast, so he rushed out towards the training point.

"This student, can you be more alert? In military boxing, you can't lose on the momentum; with your state, it looks like you're sleepwalking. We’re not doing drunken boxing," the instructor scolded Chen Fan while pointing at him.

"Yes, I understand," Chen Fan replied sharply, but as soon as the instructor turned away, his head drooped back onto his shoulder.

Chen Fan's boxing was so weak he couldn't even break a block of tofu; he felt like a child molding clay, unable to muster any strength.

During the break, Chen Fan lay flat on the grass, ignoring the instructor's reprimands as if he hadn’t heard them.

"Old man, I have some optimization suggestions for you. Can we tone down the werewolf card's abilities? Humans are iron, food is steel; a day without sleep is unsettling. I can skip a meal, but I can't skip sleep. I remember there are still demon, succubus, wolf king, and hidden wolf cards; there's no reason I shouldn't sleep that night."

Seeing no response, Chen Fan reached into his left pocket where the elder card was kept.

"This function already exists; it's just that after turning off the werewolf ability, you're no different from an ordinary person," the elder replied.

Chen Fan questioned, "Wait, it can really work that way? Why didn’t you say so earlier?"

"You never asked me. The day you picked up the werewolf card, I saw you enjoying it. You even went out at night to test its abilities, so I didn’t tell you."

"Damn it, I lost a night of sleep for nothing!" Chen Fan cursed at the sky.

The elder suggested, "But if you turn it off now, you can't turn it back on today; your control level is limited, and you can't manage it freely yet."

"Then I should just turn it off tonight before going to bed. I should have woken you up to ask last night." Chen Fan turned on his side, making intimate contact with the ground.

"All the other students are sitting quietly; why are you the only one doing something special, lying on the grass? Is it really that comfortable?"

Chen Fan, not knowing who had asked, stretched and replied, "No matter how comfortable it is, it can't compare to my bed at home. This sun is so glaring; I can hardly sleep without lying on my side."

Feeling a couple of nudges on his spine, Chen Fan turned his head to see a large figure looming over him, a friendly instructor watching him closely.

"Oh dear, instructor, I’m so sleepy I can’t even tell day from night," Chen Fan jumped up, shaking off the grass from his clothes and standing straight.

"Alright, if you can’t wake up, go run a couple of laps, or you can do frog jumps for one round," the instructor pointed to the nearby track where many people were running, all looking exhausted.

"No need, no need! I’m awake now, instructor," Chen Fan shook his head vigorously.

"Get going—finish two laps in three minutes, or else it’s frog jumps. This is an order, not a request." The instructor's tone suddenly became stern, checking his watch and saying, "The time has already started; don't bargain with me."

"Yes," Chen Fan trembled in fright, turning to join the long-distance running group.