Chapter 4: Step Aside When It's Time

Player 11, Helen Hu, had played many rounds of Deception before. He enjoyed buying special roles on his phone and was familiar with various tricks of the wolf team. He knew that it was he who had saved Kai Gu last night—a player who happened to be one of those who went on stage, happened to be a seer, and happened to have checked and accused another seer. Was it truly as those who spoke earlier said? Setting everything else aside, why did Player 1 have such a conveniently timed and precise inspection of Player 6? The whole situation felt a bit too coincidental.

Helen Hu reviewed the logic in his mind. As an open-eyed player, his perspective was broader than that of the ordinary villagers at the table.

“Let me say this first: last night, I protected Player 1, who you all recognize as the seer. But today, I won’t side with Player 1. With no defender, the margin for error for the good team is very low. If the true seer is eliminated, it’s basically game over. No one stood for Player 6 in that first round, which makes me uneasy. Sorry for the long speech—good players, bear with me and listen carefully.”

Helen Hu took a sip of water, cleared his throat, and continued, “Initially, I suspected that Players 9 and 1 might both be wolves. With so few people standing up, each could give a check result on someone at the end, reducing the impact if the true seer revealed themselves. Then one could withdraw, solidifying the act of faking an identity. But now Player 9 is claiming to be a villager or better. I don’t believe all the good people would accept Player 1 as the seer. If anyone with a gun reveals after this, I’ll vote out Player 9. As for the poison, I’ll hold off for now.”

Player 12, Chen Fan, was the last wolf teammate and certainly not a gun-holder. After listening to the witch’s speech, Chen Fan pinned his hopes for survival on Player 12. If his teammate would claim to be the gun-holder, perhaps Player 9 could help him survive another round.

Player 12 scratched his head and shrugged. “Just an ordinary villager, not the gun-holder. Since we’re at the tail end, the police should definitely eliminate Player 6. I’ll share my thoughts: Player 9 seems too desperate to survive, probably trying to claim a role. Player 10 is too inactive to define. The rest are just following the crowd. I’ll keep my vote to see the patterns.”

Those words from his teammate sounded like a death sentence. Chen Fan had no hope of surviving the first round.

Police Chief Kai Gu looked at him as though paying final respects. “There are too many hidden wolves on the field. Now Player 11 is clearly the witch, Player 7 is a potential idiot, and Player 9’s identity is unclear. I’ll adjust my badge order: I’ll check Player 9 next. Player 2 sounded pretty good, so I’ll leave them for a night. If I die and Player 9 is good, pass the badge to Player 9; otherwise, give it to Player 11. Today, everyone votes for Player 6.”

“All players have spoken. Chief, please assign the vote.”

Kai Gu replied confidently, “Chief’s vote goes to Player 6.”

“All players prepare to vote. Three, two, one…”

Chen Fan, knowing his elimination was certain, still cast a lone vote for Player 1, playing his part to the end.

“Players 11 and 12 abstained. Player 6 voted for Player 1. Player 4 voted for Player 7. All other players voted for Player 6. Player 6 is eliminated. Please give your final words.”

Chen Fan thought for a moment about how a real seer would react to being voted out. He mimicked the tone: “Hunter, stay hidden. The true seer is gone. The enemies are strong. Good luck, villagers.”

He took off his headset, grabbed the half-empty lemon soda, and left the venue.

“So annoying, dead on the first day. That seer’s check was spot-on. When will I ever learn to speak with the presence of someone like Kai Gu? Maybe next time I try to jump as seer, I’ll face a weaker opponent. But at least I didn’t blow myself up this time—that’s progress.”

Chen Fan sat in the observation room, watching his teammates perform enthusiastically on the monitor, and downed a big gulp of cola.

“Well, if it isn’t Chen Fan. What, no more salty soda? You were doing well as a deep-sea fish—why come ashore to be a grilled salted fish?” Zhou Ji, lounging in another chair, had been in the morgue for quite some time. Spotting Chen Fan, he slid a few seats closer, eager to tease him.

“How long have you been dead?” Chen Fan couldn’t be bothered to argue—after all, with a hundred games and zero wins, he had no defense no matter what was said.

Zhou Ji glanced at the monitor and calculated, “Two nights, I think. I was playing the thief setup—pretty brain-burning. I finally managed to bury the seer and get the wolf, but at night I attacked the witch and got hit by a blind poison. Isn’t that maddening?”

“Oh, I see.”

Chen Fan didn’t feel like chatting. He wasn’t even adept at the standard seer-witch-hunter setup, let alone the advanced thief or Cupid variants, where he was completely lost.

“Hey, want to team up next round? I’m looking forward to crushing you, you know. You cost me half my assets—originally, I could’ve played VR Werewolf all the way to National Day, but now, thanks to you, I’ve lost even my trial qualification.” Zhou Ji grumbled, clearly harboring a lot of resentment.

Chen Fan rolled his eyes. “How’s that my fault? Next time, I hope you draw a special role and lead the team. I’m counting on riding your coattails to an easy win.”

Zhou Ji bristled and began dredging up old grievances. “Oh please, did you forget already? Last time, I was the defender and you completely misread the situation, voting me out alongside a fake seer. His logic for defending was terrible—who ever defends someone in an outside position on the first day?”

Chen Fan protested, “Everyone has their own logic. I just go with my own reasoning. Isn’t there a saying, ‘Where the heart goes, the path follows’?”

Zhou Ji scoffed, “No wonder—you’re like a deep-water fish swimming in the vast ocean, always analyzing some crazy setups, refusing to trust basic logic, and you’re never right. If I’m a wolf next round, I’ll keep you alive, since your reputation as the ‘Fifth Wolf’ is unmatched. If we’re on the same side, I’ll just attack you automatically. Can’t go wrong with that.”

He added, “I really should suggest to the club that after every game, we not only pick an MVP but also vote for the ‘Biggest Fish.’ I guarantee, Chen Fan, you’d be our resident blue whale.”

Chen Fan immediately objected, “Worn-out strategies are for uncreative players. You need some innovation. I’m a thinking blue whale. When you all understand my logic, I’ll surface at last. Foolish humans, always so self-assured.”

“If I were a wolf, I’d never do something as stupid as attacking myself two nights in a row. Maybe that player had a persecution complex. Anyway, let’s see you break your losing streak first. You’ve been playing two and a half months and haven’t won a single game. By sheer luck, you should have stumbled into a win by now.” Zhou Ji resumed analyzing yesterday’s game and shot back.

The two began bickering again. Just then, Chen Fan noticed his teammates on the monitor erupting in celebration. He pointed at the screen. “Wait, didn’t we just win?”

“Well, well, the blue whale finally spouted. Let’s see if your luck holds next game.” Zhou Ji sneered—their lucky break had come just in time.

Chen Fan never expected that his first victory would rely entirely on his teammates.