Chapter 202: Thoroughly Suppressed
Lucky One?
Ji Ning felt the restraints on her body vanish. She tried opening her eyes, and she really could move during the night.
"I want to investigate Player No. 12." Without overthinking it, she reported Xing Ye's number.
However, this time the No. 12 seat was not occupied by Xing Ye, but by a girl, whose role was Town.
After receiving the investigation result, Ji Ning pondered for a while as she waited for daybreak.
Drawing the Lucky One role in this board setup, her Town credibility should be rock-solid, right?
After all, a werewolf would hard-claim Seer, but they wouldn't easily claim Lucky One. Because the latter would also require a wolf teammate to step forward and claim Miracle Merchant, making the risk far too great.
After daybreak, although there was only one person Ji Ning was familiar with at the table—Song Weiyang in seat No. 7—there were a few other recognizable faces.
Some she had encountered in previous instances, and others were top-ranked experts she had seen on the leaderboards.
That top expert, ranked 8th on the Popularity Leaderboard and within the top fifty on the Points Leaderboard, was the young man in seat No. 3 who drew the most attention from the entire table.
He had jet-black hair and ink-dark pupils, with red lips and white teeth. His eyelashes were long and curled, and his features were exquisitely refined. Every arch of his brow and lift of his gaze was eye-catching, yet his entire being exuded a gloomy aura that made people afraid to approach.
Because Ji Ning had browsed the leaderboards quite often, she had an impression of him. His name seemed to be… Yan Qiao?
Ji Ning turned her head to look at Song Weiyang, only to find that the look he was directing at Yan Qiao was extremely unfriendly. It was a degree of hostility that wouldn't exist between strangers.
Could it be that her little brother had some bad blood with him? She speculated to herself.
【The Sheriff election now begins. Players, press the button on the election device in front of you. Red for not running, green for running.】
Since she had already become the Lucky One and had even conducted an investigation, Ji Ning naturally had no reason to hide off the Sheriff ballot. She pressed the green button.
This time, the players running for Sheriff, in ascending order of their numbers, were No. 1, No. 3, No. 4, No. 6, No. 7, No. 9, and No. 11—eight people in total.
Only four remained off the Sheriff ballot: No. 2, No. 5, No. 8, and No. 10.
The first to speak was Player No. 12.
"I am the Witch. No. 1 is Silver Water. There are a lot of people on the Sheriff ballot; I feel like there must be multiple wolves here. If my judgment is accurate, I'll use my poison tonight."
Hearing the first sentence of No. 12's speech, Ji Ning's heart sank more than halfway.
Of course! She had finally drawn an investigation skill as a Town player, only to investigate the very first person who claimed Witch.
Unless, by an extremely slim probability, someone counterclaimed No. 12, Ji Ning could then vouch for No. 12. Otherwise, this investigation of hers was essentially wasted.
Next, it was the turn of No. 1, who had received No. 12's Silver Water, to speak.
"I am the Seer. No. 3 is a Wolf Check. My Badge Stream is first 8, then 11. I am aggressively demanding the Sheriff Badge. Anyone off the Sheriff ballot who doesn't vote for me, I'll be keeping an eye on for investigation later. Based on meta-game experience, this No. 3 will most likely counterclaim me. I have no team and no Gold Water card. The Witch who saved me is also on the Sheriff ballot. I feel like this Sheriff Badge is in a bit of danger. However, being able to ferret out No. 3 is already worth it. If any of the four cards off the Sheriff ballot are Town, give the Sheriff Badge to me. I'll say it again: No. 1 is the Seer, No. 3 is a Wolf Check."
Listening to No. 1, Ji Ning sensed that he seemed very wary of No. 3, Yan Qiao.
Her gaze shifted to seat No. 3, and she noticed that Yan Qiao had no reaction whatsoever to receiving a Wolf Check, as if the person who got the Wolf Check wasn't him at all.
Ji Ning felt she couldn't read anything just by looking at him, but No. 1's demeanor and tone sounded quite genuine.
Now, the entire table's attention was openly focused on No. 3.
He appeared completely composed, even smiling with ease. Staring directly at No. 1, his cool yet melodious voice slowly spoke: "You fought accurately, but let me tell you something very unfortunate. I am the Lucky Seer (Seer + Lucky One). No. 6 and No. 4 are both Wolf Checks. My Badge Stream is 2, 5, 8, with a follow-up investigation on 10 depending on their vote. Three presses off the Sheriff ballot. Three wolves have emerged on the Sheriff ballot, so I'll ignore them for now.
Why No. 1 was able to fight so accurately, I think you can already tell from the positions of my double Wolf Checks.
My first investigation was on 6 because I habitually play the 3, 6, 9, 12 four-corner formation. With No. 6 as a Wolf Check, the remaining No. 9 can be temporarily set aside for one round. I investigated 4 hoping for a Gold Water to consolidate the vote, but it turned out to be another pleasant surprise. Very good, three wolves have been found. No. 1 is a self-killing wolf jumping Seer. I don't know if the Witch has any guard against this move of his, but I advise you to think it over carefully. And I believe that with this kind of formation being played, No. 1 is unlikely to be the Wolf King.
Now, doesn't the Wolf Team have to jump out with a Miracle Merchant-Lucky One pair to give No. 1 some momentum? Otherwise, you're just giving yourselves away for free. No. 4, take the mic."
Ji Ning was under immense pressure now, and not just because she had received a Wolf Check.
It was because her upcoming speech would perfectly follow Yan Qiao's script: receiving a Wolf Check and claiming Lucky One. The fatal problem was that her Gold Water was the Witch.
She finally understood why No. 1 was so wary of Yan Qiao. He was truly terrifying. Not only was his psychological fortitude top-tier, his speech and logic were flawless, his playstyle balanced offense and defense, and he even set traps for others.
Since she started playing Werewolf here, this was the first time Ji Ning had endured such immense pressure.
Her mind raced, frantically organizing her own logical chain for her speech. She didn't even fully catch what No. 4, who had also received a Wolf Check, said.
No. 5 had not run for Sheriff, so after No. 4 finished, it was Ji Ning's turn.
Before she opened her mouth, her gaze met Yan Qiao's directly. Her heart skipped a beat under his beautiful but merciless eyes.
Still, Ji Ning managed to steady herself. Her voice didn't waver in the slightest: "No. 3 is a hard-claiming wolf who received a Wolf Check. I don't know what No. 4 is, but I am Town. Last night, I received an investigation skill gifted by the Miracle Merchant. Due to meta-game reasons, I investigated No. 12. Unfortunately, No. 12 is the Witch, so that investigation was wasted. However, the current situation is quite clear. First, No. 3, who received a Wolf Check and claimed in place, is one wolf. Second, there must be his wolf accomplices in the later positions. Otherwise, no one would be backing up his move to claim Lucky Seer. From No. 3's perspective, he would only do this if he had wolf teammates behind him.
But from my perspective, the real Miracle Merchant might not necessarily be on the Sheriff ballot. So I can't say for sure whether 7, 9, or 11 later on will counterclaim Miracle Merchant."
In truth, Ji Ning had already guessed in her heart that Song Weiyang was the real Miracle Merchant, but she couldn't say it. Otherwise, she would seem even more like a wolf teammate with open eyes.
After a pause, Ji Ning continued: "There's another logic point. No. 4 didn't claim Miracle Merchant. Suppose I am a wolf, and I claim Lucky One. Wouldn't there be a wolf teammate behind me to supplement the Miracle Merchant claim? Then what are we wolves doing here? Just laying all four wolves out on the table for No. 3? Wouldn't the best person to claim Miracle Merchant be No. 4? Or No. 4 claims Lucky One and I claim Merchant, right?"
Ji Ning filled the entire 120-second speech time.
Yan Qiao rested his chin on his hand and watched her, his face still bearing its usual inscrutable, faintly smiling expression.
Livestream comments:
"King Yama Qiao is too terrifying. Ning-Ning, stay away from him."
"Question: Who can tame this demon Yan Qiao? Answer: Ji Ning herself."
"Little Sun is about to die of anger."
After Ji Ning, the speech came to Song Weiyang.
Song Weiyang, who was always good-tempered and had a brilliant smile, was cold-faced the entire time this round, except for a brief smile when looking at Ji Ning. When he spoke, he was even less amiable: "No. 3's dry, in-place claim speech was perfect, very perfect. It's just the same old thing—he loves being overly thorough and brainwashing people. He pre-wrote the script that No. 1 isn't the Wolf King and won't fire a gun upon elimination. He pre-wrote the script that someone behind him would counterclaim Miracle Merchant. He even wants the Witch to abandon the Silver Water.
Originally, I could have easily not jumped out, leaving the wolf claiming Miracle Merchant to be awkwardly alone on the Sheriff ballot. But I can't leave my Lucky One to suffer alone. I am the Miracle Merchant. I gave my skill to No. 6 last night. I won't say much more. My Lucky One spoke extremely well. What she said is what I want to say. If the fools can't accept us and insist on stubbornly siding with the hard-claiming wolf, then let me and No. 6 be eliminated together. Vote me out before you vote out No. 6."
Ji Ning looked at Song Weiyang and smiled at him, both to soothe him and to express her gratitude.
Afterwards, No. 9 on the Sheriff ballot indeed counterclaimed Miracle Merchant, saying that No. 3 was his Lucky One. He named No. 1, No. 4, No. 6, and No. 7 as definite wolves, saying that 6 and 7 were playing mind games. He concluded by saying they should banish 6, poison 1, and then deal with 4 and 7 in order.
In this Werewolf game, both Ji Ning and Song Weiyang's speeches and defenses were actually very strong, but in the end, Yan Qiao still won the Sheriff Badge.
Ultimately, they lost due to a series of unfortunate coincidences. It was too coincidental that the real Seer claimed after receiving Silver Water, making the Witch wary. It was too coincidental that the real Lucky One gave Gold Water to the Witch, making it look like a daytime investigation.
These coincidences led the Witch to abandon the Silver Water and switch sides to the Wolf Team, influencing the Town's judgment. In the end, they couldn't withstand the wolf pack's coordinated maneuvers. The Wolf Team led by No. 3 Yan Qiao—consisting of No. 2, No. 4, and No. 9—won the Werewolf game.
When the game ended, although Ji Ning had lost, her mindset was quite relaxed. Because she had learned a great deal of experience from this round.
In a moment Ji Ning didn't notice, a playful gaze drifted lightly beside her, then shifted onto her, before departing without a trace.
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