Chapter 54: Hehe, Didn't Expect That, You're Not Dead!

The moment Number 9 discovered that Number 12 had chosen not to enter the sheriff race, he instantly realized that once the sheriff badge phase concluded, he would be blasted to death and eliminated.

Since he was facing certain death either way, he might as well pull off some wild moves he would never normally attempt!

Besides, he was an early-position player, and no Seer had claimed yet. Why not make a wild claim himself and hand Number 12 a guilty result?

The entire thought process took only a fraction of a second. When his turn to speak arrived, Number 9 almost immediately formulated his strategy.

"Number 9 speaking, Number 12 is a guilty check. For my sheriff badge flows, let's check five and six, double-pressing the bottom of the line. I am the Seer."

As Number 9's words fell, it wasn't just the wolf pack that heightened their vigilance; even Number 1, the actual Seer, grew tense.

Both sides began listening intently to Number 9's speech.

One side genuinely received a guilty check and assumed Number 9 was the Seer, while the other mistook him for a wolf trying a bluff-jump, sharpening their focus in an attempt to find flaws in his logic or phrasing.

Number 9 continued to speak with effortless fluency.

"The check is out, now let me share my train of thought. First of all, when drawing my card, I felt Number 12's aura looked pretty good, so I intended to check him for a gold status. After all, this is a Soul Merchant setup, and finding a gold status on night one is far more valuable than stumbling upon a wolf, so I went to touch him during the night. Never expected to flip a guilty check instead."

Number 9 sighed. "Number 12 truly lives up to his reputation as a top-tier player. Nightfall's strength is formidable indeed—drawing a wolf card and yet acting entirely like a plain villager."

"As for the sheriff badge flows, there aren't actually too many people running for sheriff this game, and everyone's speeches can be heard, so I'll go check the bottom of the line."

"Furthermore, as an early-position Seer, leaving my flows on the upper line isn't quite appropriate. As for the first two cards, they seem to have conflicting viewpoints, so they can sort themselves out below. My badge flows will double-press the bottom line for now, though I might change my mind after hearing everyone's speeches."

"I am the Seer. With so many people below the line, I hope you'll vote for me. I need the badge. Pass."

Number 9's speech was mediocre at best, yet it managed to make everyone except Number 7 fall into deep thought.

[Player Number 10, please speak.]

It was the Witch's turn. He remained silent for a moment, various pieces of information already churning in his mind.

First of all, as a Witch who had been attacked at night and had not used his poison, he harbored strong doubts about Number 9's sudden Seer claim.

He had originally considered claiming Seer himself to test identities, but seeing Number 9 step forward, he reined himself in.

There were definitely wolves in the late positions. If he also claimed, it would give the wolf pack far too much information, and the subsequent wolf's speech would undoubtedly become much more cautious.

For now, keeping his identity hidden and analyzing the late-position roles carefully during his last words would be the optimal course of action.

"I don't think Number 9 looks much like a Seer. For one thing, his perspective is completely skewed. His badge flows are five and six—isn't that pure nonsense? Shouldn't your primary perspective involve players like Number 4, Number 7, and myself, Number 10?"

"Number 4, who spoke earlier, pointed out that I, Number 10, am either a wolf or a god, but I am merely a villager. He misread my identity and left me out of Number 9's field of vision. Number 7 trampled Number 4, which implicitly protected me, Number 10. Those two are on opposing sides, and it's quite possible that I share a team with Number 7."

"Yet you chose to check neither of us, opting instead to double-press the bottom line even after handing out a guilty check down there? Therefore, I don't believe you are the Seer."

At this point, his tone abruptly shifted.

"However, I don't think you look like a wolf either, because if you were a werewolf staging a bluff-jump, it would be the result of careful calculation, not such elementary mistakes. So I suspect you might be testing identities."

"In this setup, who would test identities?"

"First, you are the Soul Merchant, and you chose Number 12 to be your dual-soul partner. When you found him lingering at the bottom of the line, realizing you would be blasted to death by daytime, you simply handed him a guilty check to stir things up."

"Second, you are the Witch who got attacked and accidentally poisoned Number 12 to death, so you threw him a guilty check to test his resilience and force out more perspectives, helping you figure out whether you poisoned the right person."

"Your identity realistically falls into only these two categories. A Seer is impossible, and you don't resemble a werewolf. That's my perspective. I am a plain villager; Number 4 called me either a wolf or a god—whether he misread me or not, let's listen further down the line."

Number 10, the Witch, chose to pass the microphone.

He genuinely believed Number 9 might be the Soul Merchant, only to get blasted to death and resort to a desperate jump.

This realization filled him with a surge of regret.

"I should have fired my poison! Losing two gods in one go—how is anyone supposed to play this!"

Meanwhile, the wolf pack was also in a miserable state of mind.

From their perspective, their teammate had been dealt a genuine guilty check.

Number 9 was either the true Seer, or a Witch/Soul Merchant testing identities.

Yet Number 10, whom they had supposedly eliminated in the night kill, had stood up and claimed plain villager?

If Number 10 wasn't the Witch, the wolf faction was about to fall behind in tempo!

[Player Number 1, please speak.]

Finally, it was Number 1 the Seer's turn, and he immediately charged up his energy.

"I am the Seer—"

"Self-destruct!"

Just as Number 1 was about to reveal his inspection results, Number 12 chose to self-destruct.

Though Number 1's inspection was right on the tip of his tongue, the system forcefully muted him.

He froze in his seat, completely dumbfounded.

A giant question mark seemed to hover above his head.

Meanwhile, Number 12 maintained a calm expression. Faced with the astonished gazes cast upon him from all around, he remained completely unshaken.

His decision to self-destruct was not made blindly.

First, Number 9 had indeed landed a correct guilty check.

However, if Number 10 was the player they had mistakenly killed, and the Witch was still in play, Number 9 could only be the Seer or the Soul Merchant.

Yet Number 1, a player outside their wolf pack, had also claimed Seer.

Good guys never engaged in dual-claims against each other.

Therefore, listening to Number 9's speech, it was highly probable that he was a Soul Merchant testing identities.

And he himself was the dual-soul partner Number 9 had chosen, yet Number 9 discovered he was at the bottom of the line and hadn't received the skill at all.

Realizing he would be blasted to death during the day, Number 9 had chosen to test his identity to force out more perspectives and information.

Rather than letting that happen, he might as well self-destruct on the spot, preventing Number 1 from exposing anyone's identity.

Under these circumstances, the wolf pack could no longer afford to jump.

Three wolves against three gods.

At this point, it was all down to hand-to-hand combat!

[Player Number 12 has chosen to self-destruct.]

[Last night, Player Number 9 died.]

The moment the death notification flashed across the screen.

Number 1 was stunned. Wasn't Number 9 a wolf trying to bluff-jump against him?

The wolf pack gritted their teeth. Did they really kill the wrong person...

Number 9 sighed. As expected, that guy Number 12 was a wolf cub.

Number 10 widened his eyes.

Holy crap! I'm not dead?!

If anyone in the entire room was in a wonderful mood right at that second, aside from Number 10 himself, it was Wang Changsheng.

Watching Number 10's expression of utter shock, Wang Changsheng felt immensely gratified.

Heh, didn't expect that, did you?

You're still alive!