The walls crawled with rustling scarlet text, as if vengeful spirits were scrawling their grievances in blood.
All seven players jolted—the timid young woman even let out a shriek, her face ghostly pale.
After a few seconds, the bloody words slowly faded.
"Game instructions."
Lin Yu immediately understood. His gaze swept across the room, noting how the square-jawed man had also regained composure.
Definitely ex-military.
"Stay calm," the square-jawed man said firmly. "This is likely just the game’s rules." He turned to the chubby bespectacled boy. "You mentioned similar stories—any insights?"
"The 'two impostors' thing sounds like a hidden traitor game," the boy stammered. "But the instructions are way too vague..."
Seizing the moment, Lin Yu interjected smoothly: "The envelopes on the table probably hold clues. We should check them together."
Earlier, he’d avoided speaking to evade attention—but now, silence would seem suspicious. He’d already noticed sidelong glances toward him and the fidgety, rat-faced youth.
As if on cue, the group reached for their envelopes.
Lin Yu deliberately slowed his movements, observing the others first.
Some frowned at their letters; others tensed. A few faces flickered with unreadable emotions. None finished reading quickly.
This game won’t be straightforward.
Finally, he unfolded his own letter:
To My Fellow Human,
Whatever brought you here, know this about the castle:
Treasure Chests: Scattered throughout are crates holding useful items—open them.
Except red ones. Those belong to werewolves. Their weapons lie inside, and only wolves can open them.
Daily Tasks: Complete the schedule’s chores daily, or the castle’s traps/poison gas/extreme cold will kill everyone.
Meetings (7 PM Daily):
Vote to banish one person into the wilderness.
The meeting room is sacred—no violence permitted here.
Tied votes? No expulsion.
Dead Bodies: Finding a corpse triggers an emergency meeting—time instantly jumps to 7 PM, and all must convene.
Nighttime (After Meetings): All must sleep in the meeting room until 7 AM. (Again: No attacks possible here.)
Beware:
Werewolves are masters of disguise, indistinguishable from humans.
They hate you.
Even they don’t know each other’s identities.
Survive. Expose them all.
Lin Yu’s fingers tightened around the paper.
"If even one human survives past seven days—regardless of whether the werewolves are found—you may all leave this place!"
The letter's handwriting was frantic, as if scribbled in desperation.
Along with the note, the envelope contained an identity card.
Lin Yu drew his out.
"Your identity: HUMAN."
He kept his expression neutral as he glanced up—but before he could study the others' reactions, a sharp "crackle" erupted from his palm.
Crimson flames burst forth, painless yet startling enough to make him drop the card. Before it could hit the ground, the card, envelope, and letter vanished entirely, consumed by fire without a trace of ash.
Around the table, similar flames flickered and died.
This time, no one screamed.
The weight of the game's stakes had sunk in.
The middle-aged woman with glasses broke the silence first:
"So... thoughts on the letter?"
The chubby boy adjusted his spectacles. "It's basically a deadly version of Werewolf."
Nods all around. Even the oldest among them—the bespectacled woman in her forties—recognized the reference. The party game had been ubiquitous enough.
"Five humans, two werewolves," the boy continued. "Humans must complete tasks, open crates, and survive seven days while rooting out the 'outsiders.' Werewolves hide, find their weapon crates, and... kill."
No one disputed his summary.
The scarred man scratched his head irritably. "Fuckin' convoluted rules. Who'd play this shit voluntarily?"
The rat-faced youth—speaking for the first time—chimed in with forced levity: "Hence the 'dead people only' recruitment policy!"
A few strained chuckles surfaced.
Lin Yu's eyes narrowed at the wiry young man.
This one... is suspicious.
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