While the entire voting table was in a noisy discussion, gradually reaching a consensus to unanimously vote for the Game Master, my heart was burning with anxiety. Able to delay no longer, I hurriedly interrupted, cutting off their train of thought:
"Wait!"
The remaining six players froze all at once, their tired, suspicious faces turning sharp toward me.
"Is something wrong?" Yun Xiao Yao raised her eyebrows and asked, her eyes filled with scrutiny.
Being locked under so many pairs of eyes at once, I suddenly felt an invisible pressure weighing on my shoulders. Embarrassment and tension made me pause for a few seconds, my throat choked dry. I took a deep breath to regain my composure, then spoke firmly:
"I have a completely different deduction. That devious Game Master might be laying a trap for all of us. He's intentionally acting suspicious to incite us to vote for him, aiming to make us waste a vote in vain and suffer death for another night."
Mo Feng Yan, who was sitting cross-legged, suddenly let out a faint smirk, crossing his arms over his chest in sheer amusement:
"Oh? I'm starting to find you interesting. Go on, let's hear it."
I cleared my throat, trying to keep my tone of voice clear and decisive:
"I think I know who the real Werewolf is. He isn't the Game Master, nor is he any of the six people sitting here, and he's certainly not those hunting dogs of his. Saying this might sound extremely crazy and absurd... but I think the perpetrator is Chair No. 1."
As soon as the words left my mouth, little Guo Xie Ruo, who was sitting in Chair No. 4, suddenly burst into a giggle, breaking the tense atmosphere:
"Are you joking? Chair No. 1? The player in that position was already voted to be hanged by us yesterday, wasn't he?"
I looked straight into her eyes, slowly shook my head, and explained with firm certainty:
"I don't mean the player who used to sit in that spot. I mean precisely that inanimate wooden chair right over there. The Werewolf... is Chair No. 1!"
My words were like a bucket of ice water poured directly onto the crowd. The entire voting table suddenly fell into dead silence. Not a single whisper, not a tiny movement; all that remained was the sound of the wind howling through the tent gaps and wide-open, staring eyes.
"Pfft!"
Zhou Jing Nian suddenly let out a mocking laugh, shattering the thick atmosphere. He crossed his arms over his chest, looking at me as if looking at a mental patient:
"Saying this might sound a bit offensive, but are you actually sane? Suspecting a chair?"
Doubt began to spread. I looked to my side; even Yashu was directing an astonished and somewhat dubious gaze toward me. Realizing that if I didn't produce evidence, everyone would immediately dismiss this hypothesis, I clenched my fists tightly and began to explain in detail:
"Everyone, don't dismiss it just yet. It sounds ridiculous and crazy, but please listen to my detailed explanation. The reason I dare assert this is that this morning, when checking Chu Hao Cheng's corpse, I discovered he used his last bit of remaining strength to leave us a hand signal along with a letter 'C' hidden under his stomach."
I paused for a moment, swallowed hard, and continued in an apologetic tone:
"The signal of five fingers spread open that the three of us secretly agreed upon last night means: The Wolf is absolutely not the Game Master; we must broaden our scope of suspicion to other targets. I apologize for hiding this from everyone until now... for keeping quiet about such a life-or-death matter."
The atmosphere dropped low once again. A few players began to bustle, intending to speak up and criticize me for hiding clues. However, before they could escalate things, Mo Feng Yan tapped his fingers on the table, his cold demeanor suppressing the crowd. He looked at me and ordered in a deep voice:
"Alright, we'll deal with that later. Continue."
Paved the way by Mo Feng Yan, I hesitated no further and continued, my firm voice echoing throughout the space:
"Does everyone remember the first day, when we had just set foot here, what the Game Master did after executing Chen Ying Ke? That's right, he announced that he would pin Player No. 1's card firmly to that chair. On the surface, that action seemed very ordinary, just a way of clearing away the surplus card. But if viewed from the perspective that Chair No. 1 itself is the Wolf, pinning the card firmly to the chair was actually a secret form of bestowing a role by the Game Master! And co-incidentally, that extra card happened to be the Werewolf. Thus, that inanimate Chair No. 1 officially replaced Chen Ying Ke to take on this cruel identity. That is also why yesterday, even though we voted for Chen Ying Ke, the system still judged it as Wrong!"
I swallowed hard, my throat parched, but my gaze remained resolute as I scanned every face turning pale around the round table, delivering the final critical blow:
"Not only that, the core rule of the game stated very clearly: 'The Wolf was never an outsider; he is one of the names that sat at this round table.' The phrase 'The name' is the system's deadly wordplay! Isn't 'Chair No. 1' a proper noun, a specific 'name'? And hasn't it been sitting grandly around this round table from the first day until now? The game rules never contained a single clause stipulating that the Werewolf must be a flesh-and-blood human!"
The remaining five players dropped their jaws in shock, frozen before my overly flawless reasoning. Only Mo Feng Yan let out a faint smile, his eyes looking at me with admiration and praise. I wasn't sure what this eccentric guy was thinking in his head either, but the current hang-by-a-thread situation didn't allow me to care much.
Noticing that the crowd's mindset was completely convinced, I went with the flow and conclusively wrapped it up:
"So, for this turn, let's unanimously vote for Chair No. 1!"
With those words, I was the first to pick up the pen, writing the words "Chair No. 1" straight onto my ballot before dropping it into the box. My pioneering action served as a flame instilling decisiveness into the others. One person, two people, then three, four, five, six... sequentially, everyone stepped forward, betting their lives on this crazy yet well-grounded choice.
When the final ballot fell into the box, the surrounding space suddenly froze solid. All of us held our breath, our chests tightening, our stubborn jaws clenched to await the final verdict from death itself.
Clap! Clap! Clap!
The crisp, slow applause of the Game Master unexpectedly echoed from behind the mist, shattering the haunting quiet. That sound rang out like a bell of salvation, causing the entire weight pressing heavily on our shoulders for the past few days to be lifted instantly:
"CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL PLAYERS FOR SUCCESSFULLY OVERCOMING MY GAME!"
Rumble!!! Rumble!!!
The ground shook violently beneath our feet. From above the gloomy cloud layer, a massive, ancient, and colossal stone door suddenly plummeted straight down, embedding itself firmly into the ground right beside the blood-stained round table. Amidst the swirling dust and dirt, the Game Master's voice echoed one last time, full of excitement:
"THIS IS THE WAY BACK TO THE WORLD WHERE DEMONS LIVE! THANK YOU FOR PARTICIPATING IN TONIGHT'S GAME!"