The unexpected encounter with an old acquaintance stirred up a wave of indescribable excitement in my heart. In the first mission, Chu Hao Cheng and I had only briefly gotten to know each other before parting ways. I never could have imagined that the wheel of destiny would once again bring the two of us back to the same battlefront in this life-or-death mission.
My thoughts were instantly cut short when the Game Master gave a slight wave of his hand. From midair, a wooden box covered in sharp, blood-dripping fangs crashed heavily down onto the round table. Right next to that bizarre box lay a stack of paper cut into rectangular slots along with 10 ink pens. He spoke in a cold voice:
-"Tomorrow morning, the voting period will officially begin. Each of you must take a piece of paper and a pen, clearly write down the name of the person you suspect the most, and drop it into this box. You are absolutely not allowed to write on behalf of others, and letting it be a blank sheet is out of the question."
Sitting at Seat Number 6, the girl with vibrant red hair named Yun Xiao Yao immediately spoke up to question him:
-"How much time will we have to discuss before voting?"
The Game Master leaned down slightly to look at her, letting out a mocking, scoffing laugh:
-"When the time comes, I will naturally tell you. There is too much information right now; if I tell you too early, a bunch of useless trash like you won't even remember it all anyway."
Zhou Jing Nian, the man sitting at Seat Number 2, continued to probe deeper:
-"If blank sheets are not allowed, does that mean we are forced to vote to kill someone?"
-"I already said I'll tell you when the time comes, yet you keep asking in such a rush, ruining all my entertainment." - The Game Master clicked his tongue in distaste, but then he shrugged and changed his mind: "Oh well, fine, I will indulge you with an answer just this once today: Killing is not mandatory. If you don't want to vote for anyone, you can write the two words 'Peaceful Night' on the paper. At the end of the meeting, the total number of votes for each person will be publicly announced, but the identity of the accuser will forever remain a secret."
The Game Master leisurely leaned his back against the charred tree branch, looking extremely relaxed and fulfilled:
-"The most enjoyable time of the day has arrived! It's dark now, everyone please head toward the tent numbered corresponding to your position and go to sleep."
-"Can we share a tent and sleep together?" - Zhou Jing Nian, the person at Seat Number 2, voiced his question once more.
-"Well, well, you again? You seem to have quite a lot of questions, don't you?" - The Game Master tilted his head slightly, letting out a mysterious laugh: "You and that number 8 over there knew each other beforehand, didn't you?"
Zhou Jing Nian paused for a brief moment at his counter-question, then lowered his voice:
-"You guessed it?"
-"No, it's just that the two of you made it way too obvious." - The Game Master shrugged, speaking in a sarcastic, mocking tone: "The answer is, of course, NO. Every man for himself, mind your own business. You are required to go back to your own tent to sleep, and under no circumstances are two or more people allowed in one tent. Aren't you afraid that the person lying right next to you might turn into a Werewolf in the middle of the night? Besides, if you sleep together, what secrets would be left? If everyone's roles are exposed, this game won't be fun anymore."
At this point, all the players had also started to get up, silently walking toward their respective tents. As everyone brushed past the base of the tree where the Game Master was perched, he let out another eerie laugh:
-"Ah, one more thing! Walking out of your tent in the dead of night is strictly forbidden. Even poking your head out to look around is not allowed, you can only stay quietly inside your tent. Understood?"
Walking right beside me, Chu Hao Cheng clicked his tongue slightly, his face showing clear annoyance:
-"Can't this Game Master guy laugh a bit less? His laughter sounds really piercing and irritating."
-"Shh, keep your voice down!" - I quickly nudged him with my elbow to warn him - "Zhou Jing Nian and Guang Jun Ning clearly didn't show anything on the outside, yet that Game Master still saw right through them and knew they were acquaintances. If you speak so loudly, it would be a miracle if he didn't hear you!"
-"Sorry about that, I was just a bit annoyed by his attitude." - Chu Hao Cheng scratched his head, replying in a lowered tone.
Right at this moment, Yashu lightly tugged at my sleeve from behind, whispering curiously:
-"Hey, did you two know each other from before?"
-"That's right, he can be considered a teammate who went through life and death with me in my first mission."
-"How interesting! So from now on, our duo's team has a muscular guy to back us up." - Her joy showed on her face, but then she immediately lowered her voice to a very faint whisper, acting secretively: "I have some extremely important matters to discuss with you, Zhao Tianxia."
-"Keep it brief."
-"The man who died first at seat number 1... I feel like there's something wrong with him, and it's quite a big problem too."
-"I think exactly the same as you do." - I nodded slightly in agreement: "Alright, let's discuss the details tomorrow. For now, everyone needs to head back to their own tent to sleep."
-"Okay, I hope all three of us survive safely."
With that, the three of us separated to return to our own areas. I quickly found the tent marked with number 9, corresponding to my seat position, swiftly zipped it open, and stepped inside. But the moment I set foot in the tent, I immediately realized a highly concerning issue. These tents looked close to one another from a distance, but in reality, the actual distance between them was stretched quite far apart. With this gap, if anyone unfortunately met with danger or was attacked inside, their cries for help would basically be swallowed by the night, completely unheard by anyone else.
This meant that even if you were lucky enough to discover the Werewolf's true identity right before being torn apart, you could absolutely never scream out to let the others know. The rules of this life-or-death game were truly insidious to the very core.