Chapter 27: One Shot, Game Over

[Player 4 chooses to activate their skill, firing a shot to take out Player 5.]

"???"

Player 5, Flat-top, had been thinking about self-destructing to concede. Instead, Player 4 raised a shotgun and shot him dead on the spot!

He was completely dumbfounded. Wasn't Player 4 supposed to be the Guard or the Witch? And wasn't Player 7 supposed to be the Hunter? He was a Hunter confirmed by a gold-water role! What the hell!

[Game Over]
[Good Faction Wins]

The Judge's voice echoed. Not only were the players on the field stunned, but the audience outside erupted as if a pot of boiling oil had been overturned.

"This is absolutely absurd! How did I miss this? If Player 7 claimed to be the Hunter, why is Player 4 the actual Hunter? Did Player 7 figure out back then that Player 6 wasn't the Hunter but a Wolf? Is that why they decisively jumped out as a Hunter to force Player 6 to self-destruct right there?"

"Player 7 is way too beastly, right? So the player they poisoned, Player 3, really was the Wolf Gunner? And Player 1 really did commit suicide; it wasn't to fake being the Witch to make the wolves think the Witch was gone? Otherwise, with only five people dead, the game couldn't have ended like this!"

"This game is too bizarre! I don't get it, Judge, hurry up with the review! Review, review, review!"

Amidst the uproar, the audience suddenly began to chant.

"Review!"
"Review!"
"Review!"

The commentator, Xiao Ming, was also taken aback, but seeing the high spirits of the audience, he didn't have time to dwell on his surprise. He grabbed the microphone and began to soothe the crowd's excitement.

"The direction of this game is truly incredible. Only five people were eliminated, yet the Good Faction has secured victory? Let's listen to the Judge's review to see exactly what happened!"

The massive cube in the center of the arena began to display the roles of the players for the audience.

[The Wolves in this game were Players 1, 3, 5, and 6.]
[Player 3 was the Wolf King.]
[On the first night, the Wolves chose to have Player 1 commit suicide.]
[Player 7, the Witch, did not use the healing potion but chose to poison Player 3.]
[Player 10, the Seer, verified Player 11 as a gold-water role.]
[Player 8, the Guard, performed a null-guard.]

[During the day, Wolf King Player 3 failed the Sheriff election, and Wolves 1 and 3 were eliminated.]
[The Seer chose to focus the vote on Player 9, a villager.]
[At night, Player 8 chose to guard Player 10.]
[Players 5 and 6 chose to attack Player 11, but Player 7, the Witch, used the healing potion, resulting in a peaceful night.]
[Player 10, the Seer, verified Player 7 as a gold-water role.]
[During the day, Player 6 jumped as the Hunter, but Player 7 read their role and forced a self-destruct by claiming to be the Hunter while already having a gold-water status.]
[At night, the only remaining wolf, Player 5, chose to attack Hunter Player 4 and was eliminated by the hunt during the day.]
[Game Over, Good Faction Wins.]

After seeing the simple review on the big screen, the audience gasped again.

"Players 1 and 3 really were all wolves! Player 7 is too amazing; they're practically a god! That was such a bold move!"

"Yeah, when Player 6 jumped up to steal the Hunter role from Player 4, Player 4 must have been regretting not jumping out earlier."

"Hahaha! Exactly! I can imagine how Player 4 felt, but luckily Player 7 just exposed Player 6! And look at them—Player 7 jumped as the Hunter using a gold-water claim, but they weren't the Hunter! 'Hey, I'm actually the Witch, are you mad?'"

"But Player 6's self-destruct was too impulsive, right? Couldn't they have waited a bit longer? What if Player 7 was just bluffing? They got exposed instantly, tsk tsk!"

"When Player 7 stood up and asked, 'You're the Hunter, then what am I?'—the reaction was so genuine. I don't think Player 6 had much of a choice; it was all Player 7 being too cunning!"

"They didn't even save anyone, just opened with a poison that happened to hit the Wolf Gunner. I don't know whether to call Wang Changsheng a genius or Kuang Li unlucky—I'm dying of laughter! Why provoke the Witch before the game even starts? One bottle of poison and you're dead, can't even get a shot off. How does that feel?"

The audience was abuzz with discussion. In the team rooms, the coaches and players wore various expressions.

Wang Changsheng's "Witch" coach, Huang Manmiao, had eyes so bright one might suspect there were thousand-watt light bulbs inside. She was trembling with excitement; her hot, slender, and tall figure, paired with vibrant red lips and pearly white teeth, would surely leave anyone who saw her in a daze. Her chest, proud and prominent, rose and fell, drawing everyone's gaze.

"Hahahaha! I knew Changsheng could do it! He truly is someone I personally selected! We’ve finally advanced to the Top 24!"

It wasn't just her. Her teammates behind her were equally ecstatic. Their team's ace players had been poached one after another, and they hadn't advanced in a long, long time, always stopping at the Top 48. This time, all thanks to a substitute player, they had stepped over the head of the "Spear Like a Dragon" team to reach the Top 24! If they won one more match, they could enter the true National Finals! And if they could secure a decent ranking there, they would be eligible for the World Championship! They hadn't even seen the shadow of the World Championship in years!

Wang Changsheng's close friend, "Little Curly," was howling with excitement. "As expected of my Brother Wang! Too strong, too strong!"

——————

In the "Spear Like a Dragon" team room, unlike the team that had just conceded, there was dead silence. Everyone was quiet, their faces as dark as coal.

Their team had made it to the World Championship last year! Although they hadn't performed well this year and were lagging in the national rankings, they could still potentially squeeze into the World Championship if they played steadily.

But now, reality had slapped them hard in the face! A team besieged by capital, with its ace players poached, leaving behind only mediocre or unknown individuals—this team, whose bleak future seemed already written, had actually overtaken them today! And in the most critical match, the one who defeated them was a substitute!!!

This was absolutely beyond the pale!

"Brother Chen... it was just that kid's luck this time. He must have figured that since they weren't going to advance anyway, he'd drag us down with him to cost us more points, which is why he managed to blind-poison Brother Kuang Li," a player said cautiously, trying to comfort the coach.

Chen Gang slammed the table. "Do you think I don't know that?! I don't need you to teach me!"

The player shrank back in fear, retreating several steps to huddle with a friend, not daring to speak again.