Chapter 75: The Big Star's Gold Water
While everyone was gawking at the very-much-alive Sheng Churan, a female voice broadcast the prompt to run for Sheriff.
Ji Ning didn't run for Sheriff; afraid of exposing her role, she chose to stay off the ballot and just vote, pretending to be a Villager card with no skill.
The players on the Sheriff ballot, in ascending order, were: No. 1, No. 4, No. 8, No. 10, No. 12.
Speeches began at random, starting with No. 10.
No. 10 was a girl with delicate features, and her voice shook a little as she spoke: "No. 11 is Town. I'm the Seer. There are only five people on the ballot, so I'm double-pressing No. 2 and No. 7 off the ballot. I hope everyone can vote for me. I watched No. 2 and No. 7's reactions and suspect there's something off with their identities, that's why I left this Badge Stream. I hope the Town players on the ballot won't cause trouble or bluff about their roles, and the Town players off the ballot, please vote for me."
After No. 10 was No. 12, a male player who said he wanted to hear more from those behind him.
No. 1, a female player, spoke: "I feel like No. 10's perspective is too narrow. She checked No. 11 as Gold, but didn't even discuss No. 12 or No. 9. Especially since No. 12 is also on the ballot—No. 10 doesn't pressure No. 12, and No. 12 doesn't pressure No. 10. It's all way too harmonious and friendly. Although the girl at No. 10 sounds very sincere, she seems a little too nervous. Is it really necessary to be this nervous holding a Seer card?"
Then, it was No. 4 Sheng Churan's turn to speak.
"My card is Seer. Checked No. 6, Gold Water."
The moment his voice came out, it was like fresh rain on empty mountains, the tinkling of spring water—pure and gentle, so pleasant to the ear that it seemed to elevate the entire space to a higher class.
Ji Ning shook her head, struggling not to be bewitched by his voice, and focused carefully on the content.
"I like skipping a spot to check people, because there's a high probability of finding a wolf that way. This round I got Gold Water, no big problem. My Badge Stream is 11 then 3, also a double-press off the ballot. I can't let go of No. 10's Gold Water. No. 12 said he wanted to hear more—is that because he thinks No. 10 isn't convincing? Or does he have his own insider perspective? No. 1 pressured No. 10 early, so they're not on the same side. I'll clear her for now. No. 5 is in a sandwiched position; I'll watch her vote and listen to her speech later. The off-ballot players I haven't called out—No. 2, No. 7, No. 9—vote properly. I'll repeat: I'm the Seer, No. 6 is Gold Water, Badge Stream is 11 then 3. I'm done."
Ji Ning had received Gold Water again—and it was Gold Water delivered by a calm, collected, watertight Seer. If the Seer weren't Sheng Churan, she probably would have stubbornly refused to drink this bowl of Gold Water already.
Ji Ning was on guard against Sheng Churan. His appearance was peerless, his bearing noble, his entire being so steeped in acting skills that even his eyelashes could perform.
She had to stay alert; a single moment of carelessness and she'd fall right in.
Looking at Sheng Churan, then looking at the girl at No. 10, Ji Ning felt No. 10 didn't even have a twenty percent chance of winning.
Ji Ning hesitated slightly. Theoretically, she should believe Sheng Churan. But she felt No. 10's nervousness wasn't born of panic—it wasn't the nervousness of a wolf making a Hard Claim, but more like the nervousness of someone with social anxiety forced to become the center of attention and speak.
That was an innate trait that timid people could never erase.
…So who exactly should she believe?
It was the turn of the last person on the Sheriff ballot, No. 8, to speak. He commented that in terms of both speech manner and logic, No. 4 was superior to No. 10, but he still wanted to watch for a bit longer—after all, No. 10 was a girl.
The Sheriff ballot speeches concluded. The final vote for Sheriff was:
Votes for No. 10: No. 6, No. 7.
Votes for No. 4: No. 2, No. 3, No. 5, No. 9, No. 11.
The result could only be described as completely one-sided.
Sheng Churan glanced at Ji Ning, seemingly not expecting her to turn against him and cast her vote for his rival.
But even if Gold Water turned against him and flipped the vote, the Seer had absolutely no recourse. Sheng Churan still chose reverse-order speeches, leaving the final Vote Consolidation spot to Ji Ning's side.
Because the vote disparity was so huge, with many people firmly standing with Sheng Churan, and no one Self-Destructed. So during the first round of speeches, the female Player No. 3 and the male Player No. 8 both stepped back and chose to believe No. 10.
But compared to Sheng Churan's massive team, it was still far from enough.
Excluding Ji Ning, who hadn't spoken yet, No. 10's team had four people, while Sheng Churan's team had seven people plus the Sheriff Badge. The final result would most likely be No. 10 getting voted out by the town.
The speaking turn was about to come to No. 6, Ji Ning.
Ji Ning looked around the field once more, sorting through her thoughts again.
Assuming a White Wolf King board, the White Wolf King would definitely Run for Sheriff to contest the badge. If No. 10 were a wolf making a Hard Claim and didn't win the Sheriff Badge, she would either have to Self-Destruct and take the Seer with her, or stay quiet to try and bait a Power Role or trick the Knight into striking. The action should have happened by the time it reached No. 5's position.
Yet No. 10 was not only still speaking earnestly, her expression was growing more and more anxious, clearly terrified of being eliminated. She didn't look like a White Wolf King trying to sniff out Power Roles.
Moreover, Ji Ning had also made a small observation.
When the black fog first dissipated, two people's reactions to Sheng Churan had been rather subdued.
Not the indifferent kind of subdued, but the kind of subdued that came from prior acclimation. They were No. 1 and No. 5. Although they had put on expressions of surprise, the look in their eyes gave them away.
Ji Ning felt that they had met with Sheng Churan during the night.
That was why Sheng Churan had skipped over No. 5's position to give Ji Ning Gold Water: first, to reduce the focus on No. 5, and second, to let his wolf companions handle the Vote Consolidation. It was absolutely not, as he claimed, because skipping a position made it easier to find a wolf.
"The Knight uses her skill. I want to take out Player No. 4." Ji Ning declared resolutely, flipping her card to activate her Power Role skill.
Everyone's eyes turned to Ji Ning, their expressions varied.
Sheng Churan, the one she was about to strike, also looked at her, a flicker of intrigue passing through his beautiful peach-blossom eyes.
【Knight uses her skill to take out No. 4. No. 4 is a Werewolf, eliminated with no final words.】
【Night falls. Close your eyes.】
Get instant access to all chapters now.
Post a Comment