Chapter 114

Chapter 114: Chapter 112: "Eliminated by ReferendumAfter the voting ended, Su Ming’an waited in the white space for a while, and after some time, a force teleported him back.

He opened his eyes and saw that he still sat in the seat of Number One, the other Players had also returned, but now, what was different was that a voting panel had appeared on the mahogany long table.

"What... what?" Andre’s hands braced against the tabletop, still somewhat in disbelief, "Wait, wait a minute, I’m not a Werewolf! My identity is just an ordinary good person! I really am just an ordinary good person!"

Several Players were looking down, Lin Jiang even bowed his head further, as if he was afraid to meet his eyes.

"I, I just claimed to be the Guard just to survive, I just wanted to live, I really am not a Werewolf..."

When a Player was giving their last words, the other Players were not allowed to speak, so in the vast square, only Andre’s voice was like a near-shriek.

In fact, up until now, Andre had not yet experienced death.

Because of his strong Combat Power and his willingness to charge into battle, he had always thrived in the World Games. Although he was just an ordinary fitness coach before the game started, his passion for wilderness survival had kept him alive.

But now... truly faced with death, even if it wasn’t real death, he was afraid.

The gallows still retained the darkened blood, and the Townfolk’s corpse had just been dragged away. The struggling and fallen shoes were still there, lonely.

"Wait a minute, did something go wrong, how come all of a sudden..."

He still wanted to say something, but the Mayor’s ghostly figure gradually appeared in front of the twelve again.

"You still have forty seconds of last words left, outsider Traveler," the Mayor said smilingly at him, "Please say something useful for your Brethren."

"Damn it!" Andre gritted his teeth, "What are you laughing about, you old geezer. Do you think you’re so grand? Making us kill each other to bring light to your town? Why should we have to do this?"

"This is all by the Deity’s will..." The Mayor shook his head, "I can’t do anything about it... but I admire your sacrifice, no matter what your identity is, Number Eight Traveler."

"—!" Andre clenched his fist, "To think it was some kind of game, it’s actually this kind of boring play-pretend of discussions, so boring! You guys, just play by yourselves, being played to death by that Su Ming’an and Lv Shu and not even knowing! If I were a Werewolf, I wish my whole family would die—!"

"You paste a face, paste, try it, pasted all over gone?" Su Ming’an glanced at him.

"Outsider Traveler, please do not speak when someone else is giving their last words," the Mayor said to him, "But our relationship is not bad, I can forgive you this once."

Su Ming’an smiled faintly and turned his head away.

And just then, the 90 seconds for the last words ended.

Instantly, Andre found that he couldn’t make a sound even when he opened his mouth. The next moment, a force pulled at his body, yanking him violently from his seat, pulling him toward the central gallows.

He seemed to want to scream, to shout, but he couldn’t utter a sound. He seemed to want to break free from the force binding him, but it was no use; his burly body still headed towards the gallows in an unstoppable momentum.

In the end, he barely turned his neck to look back.

On the blood-stained gallows, a rough noose was slowly being placed around his neck.

The fear in his eyes was obvious, as blood vessels rapidly spread, and he quickly discovered there was a stool beneath his feet, on it sat a blood-stained shoe.

The Townfolk seemed to emerge from nowhere, bowing their heads, chanting in an incomprehensible language, hands clasped as if in prayer.

The Mayor, with an extremely sorrowful expression, slowly approached him, and then, the dragon head cane slowly rested on the corner of the stool.

"...You have been exiled, poor traveler," the Mayor sighed softly, his hand’s movement showing no hesitation whatsoever.

"Clang."

The stool was knocked away with a strike of the cane, creating a resonant sound in the square.

A few Players who could hardly bear it closed their eyes.

The rope made a grating sound of tension, and the next moment, as Andre was hoisted onto the gallows, the falling force was suddenly checked by the rope, abruptly snapping his neck!

His neck was suddenly constricted by the coarse hemp rope, and his body quickly lost its strength, dangling and struggling unconsciously on the loop of rope, like a fish out of water.

But soon, his figure became completely still, as the slowly spreading daylight cast over his somewhat dark silhouette, the whole person dangling, like a dead crow hanging on the gibbet.

The warm spring breeze gently brushed the gradually calming ropes.

"Ahhhh—!" Lin Jiang clutched her head and fell directly onto the table, frightened into unconsciousness.

The other Players finally realized they could leave their seats. They stood up, shifting their gaze and stretching their bodies as if they had been sitting for too long.

Su Ming’an’s live-streaming bullet comments had exploded.

In fact, since he claimed he was the Witch, and said Lv Shu was the Prophet, the comments had already become a mess:

Su Ming’an left his seat, not even glancing at the hanged Andre, he heard the system prompt:

And the moment the system prompt allowed for free movement, a somewhat familiar fluctuation unfolded in an instant.

...Time Domain.

Su Ming’an had long anticipated that this person would make a move, and it was highly likely at this time.

He looked towards the other side.

Edward was walking over from his seat, surrounded by other top players; their movements all froze at the instant the azure domain expanded.

And as the azure domain spread, only Su Ming’an and him were left.

"...You really don’t have a brain, do you, Edward," Su Ming’an said.

...Undeniably, Edward had indeed been successfully molded by those people.

At the end of the First and Second Worlds, there were many players on the leaderboard who had real talent. But as the original groups gradually united and Zhai Xing’s original power began to consolidate...

...Edward, a man-made "top-ranked player," started to emerge.

People realized that once the year-long World Game ended, Zhai Xing’s landscape would undergo significant changes, and some of the original statuses and wealth would gradually lose their value.

But in terms of current combat power, it was still limited to the degree of individual strength, nowhere near the level of withstanding bullets and nuclear bombs.

...This meant that people still had confidence in the original powers of Zhai Xing.

After experiencing some initial chaos, once they regrouped in the Main God World, the corporations could choose those who had been lucky enough not to fail and who had been under their control to assemble resources and strengthen the strong.

Instead of raising their heads to face the seemingly invincible organizers, it was better to seize this opportunity to make a big score, to grasp the timing, and to re-rank the powers on Zhai Xing entirely.

...Edward was such a product.

As a young man in his twenties, he was not absurdly strong.

But behind those players on the leaderboard... stood many behind the scenes.

Although there were still worries about players getting out of control, and reality was still full of variables...

But undeniably, it seemed successful for now.

Edward’s desire for the position of "Number One Player" seemed to far exceed his consideration of the bigger picture.

He was dazzled by words, halos, and flowers, thinking himself noble-born, with a following attracted by his power.

...But he hadn’t snapped out of the sudden changes in the world.

The pursuit of ultimate strength by young men was a good catalyst leading him to believe in his justice and righteousness, yet gradually falling into decay.

In both Zhai Xing and the World Game, he was just a puppet in some people’s hands.

"I should have advised you earlier," Su Ming’an said.

Back in the Third World notebook, he had tried to persuade him with words... but it was clear they hadn’t realized this, and instead thought it was a declaration of war.

A person whose head was filled with only "ultimate strength," without regard for the big picture, became the sharpest knife.

So now... he didn’t want to back down just because the other party had a Perfect Pass.

...The other side was worthless.

"Nonsense," Edward didn’t want to talk more with this strange person and stepped onto the mahogany table before charging at him.

The live broadcast room was filled with scrolling comments. Su Ming’an noticed that many people were still sending messages.

That meant Edward’s time stop wasn’t a true time stop, unable to affect the Main God Space; it was likely just an isolating domain where, within a certain range, time for the two of them was slowed down.

This meant... the other party wasn’t invincible.

"Did you forget? I still have a bottle of poison in my hand," Su Ming’an didn’t move but looked up at him.

"Are you the Witch?" Edward pointed his sword at him, his expression skeptical.

"At least you shouldn’t be the Werewolf," Su Ming’an said, "Edward, I know you really want to defeat me, but will a blind attack without considering the camp’s overall situation truly help you rise to power—Hunter."

Edward’s expression momentarily froze.

Although he wasn’t foolish enough to blurt out, "How do you know I’m the Hunter?" the shock of his identity being suddenly exposed still surged within him in an instant.

...Players were only supposed to know their own identities.

But the other party...

"No one performed a counterpart prophecy with you, which should have been clear enough. You know you’re a fake seer, and I’m the real Witch, Lv Shu was the target on the first night, he’s the real Seer," Su Ming’an said, "Even if you kill me here, my clone will still act at night, poisoning you, with Lv Shu targeted again—do you really have the confidence to achieve the ultimate victory for the good faction?"

The hand Edward held his sword with tightened slightly.

A smile appeared on his face, one that carried a tinge of indescribable mockery, "Do you think you can disregard the bigger picture and poison me?"

He admitted he was the Hunter, although he didn’t know how the other party guessed his identity.

Edward knew that Su Ming’an was someone extremely obsessed with overall victory, so he could use this to threaten, exchanging the larger victory for a small benefit... He had never considered the possibility that one day Su Ming’an would destroy the bigger picture for the sake of pure revenge.

...It was because of the other’s tolerance that he was fearless.

Edward knew that simply overpowering and killing his opponent wouldn’t allow him to fully assume the title of "Number One Player," so he needed to eliminate this unstable factor first—after all, Su Ming’an had a knack for finding clues.

He needed to remove the possibility of this person completing the game before him, and then lead the faction to victory with his own strength alone.

...Because Edward was a newcomer.

So he had to prove—that in this world’s game, it could be done without Su Ming’an.

"Who knows," Su Ming’an said in a tone nearly jesting, "Don’t push me, or I might ’turn dark’ too—especially for a player like you who is of little value."

The barrage at this moment was both worried and amused:

"I’ll kill you first, then go find your clone," Edward spoke indifferently, "You can’t fool me, you’re not the real Witch, Lv Shu, this dead loyal dog, insisted on following you, becoming a Witch who’s lost his senses, I have nothing to say."

"First kill me, then Lv Shu?" Su Ming’an nodded, "Good, congratulations Edward. As a player of the good faction, you’re set to take down two clerics of the good faction in a row. I’d be willing to call you the fifth Werewolf."

Edward didn’t want to waste any more words, this person was truly eloquent.

However, just before he swung his sword, he heard the other party say:

"If that’s the case, then I’ll give it my all."