Chapter 222: Pufferfish's Fury
Finally, it was time for No. 11 to speak—the player who had become the center of attention from the very first speech on the Sheriff ballot and had been called out by the entire room.
It was as if he had been holding back a torrent of words. He spoke rapidly: "I'm Town, the Alpaca. No. 12 is a werewolf Hard Claim. No. 1 is right, the later-claiming No. 4 is the real Bear. How is No. 9 reasoning this? How could 12 and 1 be aligned? This 12 is clearly trying to dirty two cards. If 12 and 1 were a wolf pair, wouldn't it be better for 12 to claim Fox Cub and 1 to claim Bear? Doing it this way drags down No. 1's credibility. Not a good play.
And I don't know why No. 4 thinks No. 3 is Town. No. 3 could easily be a wolf-on-wolf setup to build his own identity so you, No. 4, would clear him. Because he has the vision to see where the real Bear is active, he already figured out you, 4, are the Bear. Of course, No. 5 is also a wolf based on listening. His status is lower than 3's. My logic is: 1 is the real Fox Cub, 4 is the real Bear. No. 9 got up and forcefully attacked 1 to steal the Sheriff Badge, and even said he wouldn't mutually verify with 1. Then how are the other vanilla players supposed to tell which of you is real? I'm done. I want to vote out 12."
After No. 11 finished speaking, it was time to vote for Sheriff.
There were still quite a few people with their hands raised on the ballot, but the choice was only between the two Fox Cub claimants.
No. 10 voted for No. 9. No. 7 voted for No. 1. Jiang Ting and Qin Yanshu had to give another round of speeches for the PK.
Jiang Ting spoke first: "I originally didn't believe this 12. No. 9's ghost story of a speech changed my mind. From your perspective, I'm the werewolf counterclaiming you. Why would 12 be a fake Bear and 4 the real Bear? Shouldn't you think the Bear roared because I'm next to 12? So I'm going to side back with 12.
I'm reasoning 4, 9, and 11 are aligned.
Because 11 is afraid of being checked by me, he believes 1, believes 4, and wants to vote out 12, the real Bear. Then they'd kill one from 3 or 5 to create the illusion that 4 is the Bear. If 11 isn't banished this round, I'll check 11 tonight. He's most likely a Wolf Beauty card. That's all. I'm the Fox Cub. Town players who understand, vote for me."
Qin Yanshu was not to be outdone: "No. 1 got up and attacked 12, the Power Role who claimed Bear in the front position on the ballot, saying he had a strong kill intent. He was signaling the Bear card claiming later to build a mutual identity with No. 12. Now his speech and side-picking have shifted, all to frame three Town cards. The moment No. 1 gave this speech, it's already confirmed that 1 and 12 are aligned. 11 is giving them a Town pit to push. One wolf between 3 and 5. The last wolf is this No. 7 off the ballot. I'll check 7 tonight."
When a PK speech vote happens on the ballot, the second round of voting involves everyone except the speakers.
That meant the remaining ten people had to vote for either Jiang Ting or Qin Yanshu.
For those without vision, this vote was incredibly difficult to cast. Ji Ning was the prime example.
She felt Jiang Ting's words made sense, but Qin Yanshu's also made sense. And the two players who received the Bear's Wolf Check, No. 5 and No. 11, both gave poor speeches, each only acknowledging one side's logic.
If 11 had attacked Jiang Ting as a fake Fox Cub, or if 5 had first attacked 3 before picking a side, they would have seemed much more Town-aligned.
As Ji Ning was silently pondering this, she felt two penetrating gazes converge on her.
She looked up. Jiang Ting and Qin Yanshu were both staring at her intently, waiting for her vote.
Ji Ning: …
May I ask if it's too late to quit the game now?
After much deliberation, Ji Ning ultimately cast her vote for Jiang Ting. Because in terms of conviction, Xing Ye and Jiang Ting's conviction was higher than Sheng Churan and Qin Yanshu's.
Moreover, Xing Ye was also looking at her. His gaze was very open, without a shred of guilt for deceiving her. Ji Ning wanted to believe him.
In the end, those who voted for Jiang Ting were No. 2, No. 5, No. 6, No. 8, and No. 12.
Those who voted for Qin Yanshu were No. 3, No. 4, No. 7, No. 10, and No. 11.
The vote was 5 to 5. The Sheriff Badge sadly slipped away.
【No Sheriff Badge. Speeches will begin in reverse order starting randomly from No. 5. Player No. 4, please prepare.】
Hearing this order, Ji Ning's entire scalp went numb. Why was she the last one to speak and consolidate the vote?!
Without a Sheriff, everyone's first-round speeches became even more desperate. The room had clearly split into two factions. Within their own factions, they were exceptionally united, protecting and supporting each other. But when facing outsiders, they went straight for the kill, leaving no room for error.
The only anomaly was Yan Qiao. He dared to step on anyone. Even though he stood in Qin Yanshu's faction, he still had to clash with Song Weiyang, who had also turned back to stand in Qin Yanshu's faction.
Yan Qiao's exact words were: "No. 9, don't be fooled by No. 7. He deliberately voted for your wolf teammate when you said you wouldn't give him your vote as a wolf. Then he voted back to your side in the second round. You're not actually going to think he's so blatantly wolfy that he can't be a wolf, are you? Don't be naive. Just check him tonight and vote him out during the day. Don't change your investigation target."
As soon as these words were spoken, not only did Song Weiyang's face darken, but Qin Yanshu also looked baffled.
After seeing Song Weiyang change his vote, Qin Yanshu had indeed considered changing his investigation target. He never expected Yan Qiao to guess it.
Following that, No. 2's speech also drew a wave of death glares: "If you can't tell the two Bears and the two Fox Cubs apart, then just vote from an outside position. Don't you all think No. 6's speech was very passive?"
Before he could finish, six pairs of eyes locked onto him simultaneously, as if they wanted to devour him.
No. 2 felt that if he said any more, he'd be eliminated before No. 6. He swallowed hard and forcibly changed the content of his speech.
Livestream comments:
"Bold No. 2! How dare you suggest voting out their wife in front of a bunch of possessive masters!"
"No. 2's approach is wild. Can't solve the problem? Just solve the person creating the problem."
A full round of speeches passed. Aside from Song Weiyang and No. 8 switching factions, everyone else's speeches and side-picking didn't change much.
Ji Ning was so stressed she was about to overheat. These people were saying everything—some said to vote from the Bears, some said from the Fox Cubs, some said from No. 11 and No. 5.
She also wanted to echo No. 2's words and say, "How about you just vote me out first."
When she raised her gaze, Ji Ning saw Yan Qiao and Xing Ye staring at each other. The undercurrent of tension crackled with sparks. Her heartbeat nearly flatlined.
Yan Qiao could provoke anyone, but getting jealous with Xing Ye would really be the death of her.
"How about we vote out No. 3 first? You two Bears can look at the death situation. The two Fox Cubs can still investigate according to your planned investigation streams. I think No. 3 looks quite wolf-like too, looking everywhere for a push target." Ji Ning quickly finished this speech and ended her turn.
Yan Qiao turned his head back to look at her. He actually curled his lips into a smile, not angry at all.
The final banishment vote results:
Those who voted for No. 3: No. 1, No. 4, No. 6, No. 7, No. 12.
Those who voted for No. 12: No. 3, No. 11.
Those who voted for No. 4: No. 2, No. 5.
Those who voted for No. 5: No. 10.
Those who voted for No. 11: No. 8.
Those who voted for No. 12: No. 9.
【Player No. 3, flips card: Pufferfish. Activates skill "Pufferfish's Fury," taking Player No. 1, No. 4, No. 6, No. 7, and No. 12 with them.】
The remaining Town players in the room were dumbfounded. The werewolves were even more dumbfounded.
The sole remaining Lesser Wolf, No. 5, was baffled. He didn't understand why, against their agreed-upon format, the two big shots who had jumped out to carry the game as Power Roles—No. 1 and No. 12—and their wolf teammate No. 7, who had been building a perfect identity, had all gone to cast a vote for No. 3.
And No. 9, the real Fox Cub, had even changed his investigation to check him. Didn't that mean the Wolf Team might as well just surrender?
Ji Ning was also very surprised.
She felt that, given the men's skill levels, they shouldn't have all voted for Yan Qiao. It seemed more like they had another purpose.
Livestream comments:
"Knowing perfectly well Yan was a Pufferfish, they still cast their votes."
"If you want to find the highlight reel, you gotta watch our little King Yama."
"The veterans are basically using public duty for private revenge."
"They also wanted to let the Town win, right? Ning-Ning lost the last few instances, so she has no advantage entering the game."
"Lao Qin: I wanted to give Yan Qiao a point vote too, but for my wife's sake, I had to stay and kill wolves."
"Just look at Lao Qin's grave expression to know how hard he's holding back, hahahaha."
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