Chapter 52: The Battle of Reasoning

Outside, the sky had yet to darken, but inside, the room was already filled with the warm glow of candles. Twelve people sat around a circular rosewood table, each seat marked by a conspicuous wooden number plate.

Chen Fan glanced around. Everyone’s attire was much the same, except for his own, which was tattered and worn, as if bearing the scars of a long and storied past.

A narrator’s voice, resonant and three-dimensional, drifted through the air. The accent bore some resemblance to that of the Elder. During the "police up" phase, Chen Fan, holding the fool’s card, dutifully raised his hand as always.

The lineup this time was mostly familiar faces: aside from Chen Fan himself, there was Li Peijun in seat seven, Gu Kai in seat nine, Xiao Yuhe in seat ten, and a bespectacled, scholarly man of unknown name in seat twelve.

"Let’s start with seat six," the narrator intoned.

Chen Fan blinked, clearly unprepared. As the fool, he had received no information during the night. He pressed his hand to the edge of the table and, nerves evident in his voice, said, "I’m the first to speak. I’m a good guy. Everyone up for police is someone I know, so it’s easier to read identities. I suggest the seer checks the people who stayed down. That’s all."

There’s a certain advantage to playing among acquaintances. Familiarity with each other’s habits and speaking styles made it easier to discern roles even as they changed from game to game. Of course, there were still high-level players like Gu Kai who could exploit this knowledge to deceive others. So, Chen Fan dared not draw conclusions too hastily, using it only as a reference.

Li Peijun shot Chen Fan a glance, his brow twitching slightly, as if signaling something. Unhurried, he pulled a bronze mirror from his sleeve and began toying with it on the table—a familiar, languid gesture from memory.

"Seat seven speaking. I’m the only seer at the table. Last night I checked seat eight. Eight is a good guy. Since you’re up for police, I’m not afraid you’ll turn on me and take the badge, because I am the real seer. I demand the badge."

Gu Kai didn’t rush to speak. He looked at seats ten and twelve, then turned to address everyone. "I’ve played with seat seven before. Whether he’s wolf or villager, his style is always laid-back and improvisational. I’m a good guy. I’ll hold off on trusting that gold-water claim for now, see if anyone else jumps for seer, then compare."

When the turn came to Xiao Yuhe at seat ten, she gracefully tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "Seat ten, hunter card. I think seat seven’s speech was weak—what kind of seer acts like that? Didn't even give a badge order. To me, seat twelve is the real seer. I’m keen to hear what you have to say, twelve."

Twelve’s face lit up, a thoughtful smile curling his lips as he pushed up his signature black-framed glasses. In a low voice, he declared, "Seat twelve, seer. Last night I checked seat eleven, a good guy down below. Badge order: first one, then two—sequential checks. This round, let’s take out seat seven, the fake seer."

It was yet another typical double-seer start. Chen Fan was hardly surprised. With a board of seer, witch, hunter, and fool and no guard, the first day’s mislynch often spelled defeat, especially in a lobby half-filled with newbies—easy prey for the wolves to lead astray.

Though the focus was on fun over victory, Chen Fan still wanted to win. He began to hope that master player Gu Kai was on his side this round.

"Seats seven and twelve are tied. Seven speaks first," the narrator announced.

Chen Fan glanced at the votes: seat two and eleven had voted for twelve; seats three and five for seven.

Li Peijun, looking a little disgruntled, pocketed his bronze mirror and assumed a slightly more serious demeanor. "Don’t keep attacking my tone. You said I didn’t give a badge order? I did, checking down below, first seat two, then one. Seat two, you just voted for twelve—I want to see what you are."

Seat twelve’s lips curled knowingly. "The situation’s clear. Seats three, five, and seven are the three wolves, all barefaced. I’ll define seat nine’s identity next. If he’s double gold, then the wolves are among one, four, six, eight, and ten."

On the second vote, Chen Fan still couldn’t make sense of things. Though Xiao Yuhe had claimed hunter and sided with twelve, something about it felt off. He recalled his father’s earnest advice: "Never trust a pretty girl’s words." Deciding to play it safe, Chen Fan withheld his vote.

Still a tie—three to three. This time, Gu Kai was randomly selected by the system to speak first.

"Seat nine speaking. Here’s why I sided with seven: because I am the real hunter. This round, you can vote me or ten off first, and leave the seers for another round. I think seven is more likely the true seer because if he were fake, he’d be wary of giving me, seat eight, a gold-water check in case I was the real seer. That’s a big risk, so I believe him."

Xiao Yuhe at seat ten was not to be outdone. "Let me explain why seat nine is now fake-claiming hunter. The wolf team’s formation is already blown open: seats three, five, seven, nine—all four wolves are exposed. As long as the witch isn’t killed the first night, this is a guaranteed win. I don’t mind if you pick between me and nine this round. Trust me, vote nine. Trust him, vote me. There’s enough rounds. Witch, remember to poison tonight and chase the kill."

The two seers had become mere supporting roles; now, all attention was on whether seat nine or ten was the true hunter. Chen Fan barely listened to other speeches, his mind tangled in logic.

"Should I trust that Gu Kai is truly the hunter, or believe Xiao Yuhe? Either of them could be lying to me. Ugh, what a dilemma." Chen Fan scratched his head till it hurt, still no closer to clarity.

That’s the allure of Werewolf: both sides can sound perfectly logical; it all comes down to whom you choose to believe.

Chen Fan thought, if I’m going to be fooled, I’d rather it be by a pretty girl than a master player—at least it feels better.

On the final vote, Chen Fan cast his ballot for seat twelve. In the end, twelve won the badge by a narrow 6:5 margin, becoming the sheriff.

"Xiao Yuhe, I trust you. Don’t let me down," Chen Fan silently prayed.

"Last night, player six died. Player six, please deliver your last words."

Chen Fan sat stunned, glancing at his number card left and right before realizing he was the one who’d died—fake blood pooling across his chest.

"Wow, this is a bit much. I can almost see my poor little heart thumping inside." Wiping the blood from his lips, Chen Fan gave his last words: "I’m the fool—no, the holy fool. Starting the game with a god card dead is tough luck. I’ve done all I can. Today, pick between nine and ten; my money’s on twelve being the real seer. Goodbye, everyone."

As the last drop of blood dried, Chen Fan’s form dissolved into nothingness, drifting ethereally around the room as he entered observer mode for the rest of the game.

...

"Game over. The werewolf team wins."

"My god, what a play," Chen Fan exclaimed in amazement.

P.S. There’s a discussion about plot weighting—interested readers are welcome to share their thoughts in the discussion section.