Chapter 5 – How dare he open with poison without saving anyone?!
(TL/N: Italics are for speakers not in the game, like Commentators and Spectators.)
'Why him? I wanted to watch the curvy big sister from Lang Huahua Team!'
'Exactly, what's so interesting about a rookie sub? From his POV this game is going to be pure frustration.'
'And he drew the Witch card—don't tell me he's about to poison the Seer.'
'Just don't poison the Guard and we're good.'
The whole audience, forced to spectate from Player 7's view, erupted in chatter again.
Inside the Hand Over Thoughts Team room, Huang Manmiao's expression was complicated.
Knowing her teammate's identity had cleared her vision in an instant.
Yet precisely because of that, her heart tangled even more.
He's not really going to poison the Guard, is he…? Let's hope he stays hidden; skipping a night of poison is fine.
Huang Manmiao sighed softly, then finally shook her head.
'Whatever happens, it's all on you now!'
The teammates behind her exchanged glances, feeling the helplessness of handing their fate to a nobody.
But things had come to this; they could only trust Wang Changsheng.
Or rather, pray that luck was on his side and the poison would land on a wolf—at least that would earn them some points.
[Seer, please open your eyes.]
'Please confirm your hidden role and choose the player you wish to inspect.'
At this moment, inside the virtual game space—
after the Guard and the Werewolves had opened their eyes—
Wang Changsheng, peering through the slit in his helmet, saw Player 10 open his eyes on Seer night.
Once the mask vanished from Player 10's face, he swept his gaze around and finally settled on Player 11 beside him.
'Old Chu's tells are as steady as ever… can't read a thing.'
Player 10 frowned, stroking his Big Beard; after much thought he decided to flip Player 11's hidden card outright.
After all, Player 11's team was a long-established powerhouse.
His skill ranked high within the squad, and even listening to his speech gave little clue to his alignment.
So Player 10 didn't want to risk it—if he uncovered a Confirmed Kill he'd shoot to kill; if it was Golden Water, he could still use him to help logic things out.
Besides, Player 11 sat right next to him and could serve as a final vote.
After a moment's deliberation, Player 10 gave the Judge at the center of the table a thumbs-down.
The next instant, two words appeared on the central screen.
[Golden Water] (Good Guy)
'Haha!'
Player 10 grinned, gave a slight nod, and his mask reappeared.
[Witch, please open your eyes.]
'Player X fell tonight; will you use the antidote, will you use the poison?'
The mask vanished from Wang Changsheng's face.
He saw Player 1's avatar on the table screen, stamped with a wolf-claw mark.
It meant Player 1 had been knifed.
Wang Changsheng pretended to ponder, then directly signaled the Judge that he would poison Player 3.
Whether it was his imagination or not, he even felt the screen stutter for a split second.
Next came the Judge's confirmation.
'You are targeting him—do you confirm?'
Wang Changsheng nodded decisively.
Then he simply closed his eyes.
His mask re-formed over his face.
The table screen hesitated once more.
Only then did the announcement continue.
[Dawn has broken.]
Unlike the calm night inside the virtual space,
outside the arena
there was a cacophony of shock and uproar.
'My god! Player 7, Changsheng from Team Hand Over Thoughts, drew the Witch and didn't save anyone on the first night—he opened with poison! How dare he!'
Commentator Xiao Ming's eyes bulged.
He wasn't alone; the entire audience exploded, unable to fathom Wang Changsheng's play.
'From his seat, isn't he terrified the wolves might have sliced a Good Guy? And even if he skips the save, to poison on Day 1—this guy must have Absolute confidence in his reads!'
Commentator Xiao Han's voice was loud and excited, voicing everyone's doubts and offering the most likely answer.
'I think so too—this guy Changsheng must have read those two as wolves; that's why he let one die and poisoned the other.'
'Hey, I bet you're overthinking it. How good can a bench player be? I was reading them during the card flip and didn't sense a thing.'
'Exactly. I say he's doing it on purpose. Don't forget Player 3 is from Gun Shoots Like Dragon Team—they've always been at odds with Hand Over Thoughts.'
'Well… that makes some sense, but isn't he scared of poisoning the Hunter or the Guard and losing massive points?'
'Who cares? He drew the Witch; even if he can't win, he'll make Player 3 feel sick! Haha, this round's gonna be fun!'
'If you put it that way—haha! I can already picture how black the Gun Shoots Like Dragon coach's face is gonna be.'
'I'm more curious what expression the Hand Over Thoughts Witch Coach is wearing right now—those sisters are seriously stacked…'
The arena was packed to the rafters.
Everyone shouted and argued at the giant central screen.
In fact, the crowd had guessed correctly.
Inside the team room,
Huang Manmiao stared at the screen, momentarily stunned.
The teammates behind her were equally slack-jawed.
'Th-this kid… way too reckless!' Curly Hair winced.
He'd had high hopes for Wang Changsheng's debut.
Why pull this crazy stunt—suicide bombing?
'Worthy of my Brother Wang, a real man! Thinks he can't win, so drags that moron from the other team down with him to avenge Sister Huang?' Curly Hair snapped out of shock and started reading the intention.
Meanwhile, in the Gun Shoots Like Dragon Team room,
Chen Gang detonated like a powder keg the instant he saw Wang Changsheng's move.
'The hell is that dog doing?! Who plays like this?!'
The players behind Chen Gang were equally outraged.
'Hand Over Thoughts will do anything to troll. We should report them to the Oversight Committee and strip them of tournament rights for the next ten years!'
Their investor, the stubbly Little Mountain, sat on the sofa, brows locked tight,
obviously disgusted by Wang Changsheng's stunt as well.
Only the newly-recruited Wei Gou stayed calm.
'Relax. As long as Player 3, Furious, is in the same faction, our team will make the top twenty-four, win or lose.'
'Right, only four wolves; can Furious's luck be so bad he draws one?'
Hearing Wei Gou's words, Coach Chen Gang nodded.
He refused to believe Wang Changsheng's luck could be that good—or their own luck that bad