The next day, Eve saw another Werewolf game sign-up initiated by Evelyn in the group chat—8 p.m. that night. Everyone who'd played with them before signed up right away. Eve had no evening classes, and she was eager to keep playing with Evelyn, so she added her name to the list without hesitation.
Promptly at 8 o'clock, Eve arrived at Siyun and made her way to their usual spot with ease. Evelyn spotted her instantly and greeted her warmly. Eve felt like they were already quite close now, so she smiled and waved back enthusiastically.
She still hesitated to sit right next to Evelyn, though, so she found Blanche—the girl who'd stayed silent during the nomination phase in their previous game—and took a seat beside her. Before long, all thirteen players had gathered. The seating order was different again this time: Player 1 was Evelyn, Player 2 was Cornell, Player 3 was Dennis, Player 4 was Phyllis, Player 5 was Wendy, Player 6 was Blanche, Player 7 was Eve herself, Player 8 was Harold, Player 9 was Lionel, Player 10 was Valerie, Player 11 was Moore, Player 12 was Gale, and Player 13 was Abner.
Evelyn skipped the rule explanation entirely—they were playing the Mechanical Wolf, Medium, and Half-Breed variant again today. After shuffling the role cards, she began dealing them out one by one. When Eve received her card, she glanced at it—she'd been assigned the Half-Breed once more. Not picking Evelyn as my role model this time, she told herself. I'll choose someone who looks like a wolf instead. She turned to look at Harold on her left, who was wearing a gloomy frown. Eve instantly recalled how he'd been voted out on the first day as the Mechanical Wolf yesterday, and she made up her mind—this suspicious-looking player would be her role model.
Once everyone had received and checked their cards, the game was ready to begin.
"Night falls—please close your eyes."
Eve shut her eyes obediently.
"Half-Breed, please open your eyes and choose your role model for this game."
Eve held up eight fingers, indicating she'd chosen Harold as her role model.
Next, the players in other roles took turns opening their eyes to perform their abilities, followed by the process of closing eyes to prepare for the nomination phase. As the Half-Breed, Eve naturally stayed off the ballot and waited to cast her vote later.
"Daybreak! Based on the random number 8, Player 8 will start the speeches in sequence."
"Pass!" Player 8 said flatly. Eve recognized this as a tactic to pressure the players speaking after him, but she couldn't help wondering—how was she supposed to tell if her role model was a good person or a wolf from just a single "pass"? He'd claimed to be the Seer during the nomination phase yesterday and gotten voted out immediately; now he didn't dare say a word. Was he afraid of exposing himself as a wolf again? Eve mused.
Player 9 claimed, "I've checked Player 10—she's a wolf. My badge flow will be Player 4, who's off the ballot." Eve thought that leaving only one badge flow target didn't sound like the real Seer, but accusing an off-ballot player carried significant weight. She'd wait to hear the counterclaim before making up her mind.
Player 11 suddenly announced, "I'm the Witch, and I was attacked last night. I blindly poisoned Player 13 in return." Eve wasn't sure if he was telling the truth—if Player 13 was a minor wolf who'd blown himself up to cancel the poison, the good team would fall behind on rounds in an instant.
Player 13 retorted, "Too bad I'm the Mechanical Wolf and can't blow myself up to cancel the poison." He quickly backtracked, though, adding, "Actually, you must have poisoned Player 3, not me. He looked like he was about to claim a role—hope you didn't accidentally poison the real Seer!" Eve was completely confused—she had no idea how he'd come up with such a random speech.
Then it was Player 1, Evelyn's turn to speak. She said firmly, "Player 13 is obviously the Mechanical Wolf putting on an act. I suspect Player 2, one of the two players who haven't spoken yet, is going to counterclaim Player 9." Eve was curious—were they on the same team this time?
Player 2 wasted no time counterclaiming, "I've checked Player 1—she's a wolf. Player 9 is the fake Seer. My first badge flow will be Player 8, who stayed silent during the nomination phase, and my second badge flow will be Player 10, the reverse gold from the fake Seer, who's off the ballot." Accusing a player without any prior build-up carried immense weight. Eve felt she couldn't tell who to side with just yet, so she decided to wait and see which side Player 3 would take.
Player 3 stated, "I'm leaning toward siding with Player 9." Eve made up her mind—she'd play as if she were a Half-Breed aligned with the wolves for now, and cast her vote for Player 9. If Player 9 was on her team, it would be a bold show of support; if Player 9 was the real Seer, she could pretend to side with the good team, reveal her role later, and frame the good players for elimination.
"Nomination speeches are now concluded. Time for players to withdraw from nomination or declare themselves werewolves. 5, 4, 3, 2, 1. The remaining nominated players are Players 2 and 9. All players not in the nomination phase, please close your eyes and vote for either Player 2 or Player 9 to be the Sheriff. 3, 2, 1—cast your votes."
Eve closed her eyes and cast her vote for Player 9.
"Player 9 is elected Sheriff! Last night was a safe night. Sheriff, please choose the speech order: clockwise from the Sheriff or counterclockwise from the Sheriff. Player 10, you will speak first."
Player 10 said, "I'm a good person. Thanks to Player 9 for accusing me—it helped me figure out who to side with." She refused to reveal her role off the ballot, and Eve thought she sounded more and more like a wolf.
Player 11 echoed Eve's sentiment, saying, "I don't get why Player 10 won't reveal her role after being accused—she definitely looks like a wolf to me." Eve couldn't tell if he was genuinely hunting for wolves or just looking for someone to frame; she couldn't pin down his identity at all.
Player 12 immediately defended Player 13, saying, "The real Mechanical Wolf wouldn't react like that after being suspected of being poisoned. I'm siding with Player 9, so I'm also defending Player 3, who sided with Player 9 during the nomination phase. We vote out Player 10, Player 9's confirmed wolf target, today. I'm at least a Villager or a special role." Eve thought—could he be a minor wolf defending his leader?
Player 13 also sided with Player 9, and he defended Player 3, who'd supported Player 9 during the nomination phase, as well as Player 7, Eve, who'd voted for Player 9 off the ballot. He added, "I might switch sides if Player 2 gives a really good speech off the ballot, because I think Player 1 looks like a wolf too." Eve thought his willingness to consider both sides made him sound like a good person.
Player 1, Evelyn, announced, "I'm the Guardian. I'm defending Player 7, Eve, who voted for Player 9 off the ballot, as well as Player 8, Eve's role model. We vote out Player 10, Player 9's confirmed wolf target, today. Player 13 is probably the Mechanical Wolf who copied Player 2's double-kill ability. I advise Player 9 to investigate both Player 13 and Player 3 next round." Eve was now convinced—Evelyn must be a wolf. Player 13 had said during the nomination phase that Player 3 looked like he was about to claim a role; he hadn't mentioned Player 2 at all. If he'd really copied Player 2's ability, he would have definitely dropped a hint about it. Besides, Player 3 had sided with Player 9 during the nomination phase—it was way too early to start hunting for wolves pretending to side with the good team. Since she's defending both me and Player 8, Player 8 must be her wolf teammate, Eve realized. Which means I'm a Half-Breed aligned with the wolves! Finally, I know which side I'm on, she sighed with relief.
Player 2 argued, "Player 9 and Player 10 are not wolves framing each other. Player 13 and Player 3 are good people being defended by Player 1 to gain trust." He revised his badge flow to Players 8 and 11, adding, "There must be a wolf between Player 4, the first badge flow target of the fake Seer, and Player 7, Eve, who voted for the fake Seer off the ballot." He sounded so convincing that Eve thought he must be the real Seer. Time to team up with my wolf teammates and take him down, she resolved.
Player 3 opened his mouth to speak, "I'm the Guardian—" Before he could finish his sentence, Player 1, Evelyn, suddenly revealed her true identity as a wolf and blew herself up.
"Player 1 has chosen to blow herself up. Night falls—please close your eyes."
Eve closed her eyes obediently.
"Daybreak! Player 13 was eliminated last night and has no right to leave a final speech. Does Player 13 wish to activate any special skills? 5, 4, 3, 2, 1. Sheriff, please choose the speech order: clockwise from the Sheriff or counterclockwise from the Sheriff. Player 10, you will speak first."
Then Player 9 announced, "I choose to blow myself up." Eve thought—Player 4, who received the fake Seer's gold water, has such a questionable identity now.
"Player 9 has chosen to blow herself up. She has torn up the Sheriff's badge. The Sheriff's badge is lost in this game. Night falls—please close your eyes."
Eve closed her eyes once more.
