Chapter 261: The Disobedient Knight
The moment Song Weiyang spoke, the situation flipped completely.
Now the odds that No. 8 Shen Yu had drawn two Wolf Checks had just gotten a lot higher.
The foot Ji Ning had tentatively stretched out to Pick a Side with Shen Yu crept right back.
Because she remembered the look Song Weiyang gave her after daybreak, a look that very clearly said "regret." Ji Ning had a feeling he really had opened his eyes that night.
Looking at it now, it was probably that Song Weiyang wanted to check her, then figured it couldn't possibly land on her and changed the check, choosing No. 8 to his left—only to end up with that "if only I'd known" regret when the No. 6 seat turned out to be exactly her.
Shen Yu had the move strength, Song Weiyang had the out-of-game tell, and Ji Ning was deeply torn.
So when it was her turn to speak, she could only think and speak slowly at the same time: "I feel like…"
Because Shen Yu and Song Weiyang were Counterclaiming Seer, Ji Ning's Pick a Side speech was under the sustained, eye-contact scrutiny of both of them.
Being stared at by them was way too much pressure. She had no choice but to look at no one, stare at the table, and empty her mind so she could settle down to think. "I feel like judging from No. 9's reaction to No. 8 and No. 8's comments on No. 9, the likelihood of 8 and 9 being on the same side is pretty low. No. 9 and No. 7 are definitely not on the same side either—otherwise what No. 8 gave No. 9 wouldn't be Gold Water but a Wolf Check. Are 7 and 8 on the same side? That possibility is there. For example, No. 8 is purely power-playing for move strength, No. 7 sees that No. 9 hasn't let go, so he gets up to back-jump No. 8's Claim Out and throws a Wolf Check at a teammate who's about to Self-Destruct.
Let's wait and see whether No. 9 lets go or not. If No. 9 doesn't let go, I think the third scenario is very likely. If he does let go, No. 8's move strength is higher than No. 7's. Both of their Badge Streams are exactly the same, so they're pretty hard to tell apart."
With the early part so chaotic, everyone speaking after Ji Ning each gave their own take—all kinds of opinions came out. Someone even said Ji Ning was wrong and that No. 8 and No. 9 were most likely a double-wolf setup.
Ji Ning listened to everyone's speeches while thinking over her own.
Because her underlying role was the Knight, she needed to come out in an early round to win the Town Faction some perspective, so her thinking had to go deeper than an ordinary player's.
In a board with a Wolf Beauty, the Wolf Beauty isn't afraid of taking the Witch's poison—taking the poison still lets her drag her charm target out with her. The only true counter is the Knight role. Staked dead by the Knight, the Wolf Beauty's charm becomes invalid, so she can't take anyone with her.
Ji Ning's ambitions for this Knight role were huge. She didn't just want to stake the right Werewolf; she wanted to stake the Wolf Beauty in one shot.
Although in Ji Ning's speech she leaned slightly more toward Shen Yu, in her heart she actually wanted to believe Song Weiyang more.
Besides that bit of out-of-game reasoning, there was also her natural goodwill toward Song Weiyang.
In every past Werewolf game where she'd run into Song Weiyang, when he drew a Town role his speeches were open and candid, and when he drew a Werewolf his speeches were shrewd and deep—actually, to Ji Ning the difference was fairly obvious, and pretty easy to tell apart.
Today the impression Song Weiyang gave her was that he'd drawn Seer again, not like a Hard Claiming wolf at all.
In that case… the only thing left for Ji Ning to figure out was whether Shen Yu was the Wolf Beauty.
In that Werewolf game during "Heart-Stopping Carriage," Ji Ning had once drawn the Wolf Beauty. At the time she'd received a Wolf Check; after some careful deliberation she'd ultimately decided to Claim Out Witch.
Clearly, a Wolf Beauty receiving a Wolf Check and claiming Witch is a commonly seen play.
This time Shen Yu received a Wolf Check and Claimed Out Seer instead—on the surface it seems like he wouldn't be the Wolf Beauty.
But Werewolf Game, with its thousand-layer pancakes and spy-versus-spy mind games, the smarter the player the more they like playing reverse-logic.
Moreover, because the Wolf Check was thrown at him from the very first seat, the possibility of a role-fishing bluff existed, so for Shen Yu to go with option one—power-play for move strength—and also option two—play reverse-logic—was entirely possible.
Hypothetically, if he'd claimed Witch instead, that might actually have aroused the Town's suspicion.
Also, there was one more thing. Ji Ning noticed Shen Yu's reaction upon seeing her after daybreak—she wasn't sure quite how to describe it, but some inexplicable part of her just felt that he, too, had seen her during the night.
Especially when compared to Song Weiyang.
The Werewolves open their eyes at night, but they don't get to see the people. Only the Wolf Beauty can see the face of the one she charms.
The speeches On the Sheriff Ballot wrapped up very quickly. No. 9 also chose to let go and Withdraw Claim.
In the end, in the Sheriff election, Shen Yu beat Song Weiyang 3 votes to 1 and took the Sheriff Badge.
Shen Yu chose reverse speech order and made Song Weiyang go first.
Song Weiyang said: "Not getting the Sheriff Badge is within my expectations. Even though on a Knight board most Werewolves choose to go Deep Cover, because No. 8 power-played his way into this kind of move strength, any Werewolf with half a brain will choose to charge. I'm calling the Wolf Pool at 4, 5, 8, 10, 12, with 4 of those 5 being wolves. I suggest the Knight listen all the way around before striking, and also don't strike this No. 8. He's probably not the Wolf Beauty card. Leave him for the Witch to poison. The Witch and Guard should hide if they can—if two Power Role cards reveal themselves, I'm afraid the Wolf Beauty will chain-kill into a faction wipe."
Song Weiyang told the Knight not to rush into striking anyone, which only made Ji Ning feel even more that this was exactly Shen Yu's cleverness at work—getting the real Seer to pick him out of the must-stake list.
So when it was Ji Ning's turn to speak, she balled her hands into fists, drew a deep breath, and said: "Wolf Beauty, you can't hide! I'm activating my skill to take Player No. 8 out."
The Knight skill's visual effect pointed at Shen Yu. Once activated, a female voice announced that Player No. 8 was eliminated, and the game entered nightfall.
The Lesser Wolves on the board panicked.
Before Shen Yu was eliminated, the very last look he gave was aimed solely at Ji Ning—as if being found out as the Wolf Beauty pleased him even more than staying hidden would have.
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