With enemies hot on his tail and confronting him in front, the Werewolf fell into utter despair, desperately slashing his knife toward Mu You in trembling hands, attempting to keep him at bay.
However, his fear muddled movements lacked all discipline, every stab miss the mark.
Without even needing to dodge, Mu You breezed right in. He raised his Bone-Breaking Knife, severing both of the werewolf’s legs in a single blow.
With a miserable howl, the Werewolf collapsed onto the ground, incapable of escaping yet again.
He lay there, shivering, his face ghastly pale as he watched the man approaching him with a knife, unable to muster the will to resist.
Seeing the Werewolf’s pitiful state, Mu You didn’t rush to act. He waited until the Bone-Breaking Knife had cooled down, then restrained his hands. He slid the knife across, severing the tendons in his hands, completely snuffing out his ability to resist.
"Move aside, let me!"
Lu Yao, having bypassed the ice wall, trotted over from afar. Wand in hand, she came to the Werewolf and proceeded to cast the Heart-Piercing Curse
Mu You promptly stopped her.
"Huh? We’re not killing him?" Lu Yao was puzzled.
Mu You shook his head, knocking the Werewolf out with the back of his knife. He then retrieved a rope from his backpack, binding the Werewolf up, tightly like a dumpling.
He now held the Werewolf under his control, and crucially, the Werewolf had completely lost his Battle Intention. Hence, there was no urgency to act.
Because the reality of killing him would only net them a small amount of spoils, the majority would be taken by the game’s system. Given their current state, they could devise a plan to locate the Werewolf in the game and acquire all his belongings.
"Let’s get going. Let’s find a secluded place," Mu You scanned the surroundings.
The fight they had just been in hadn’t exactly been quiet. People might come to investigate soon, so they had to leave quickly.
Lu Yao nodded and took the lead. Mu You, dragging the unconscious Werewolf, followed her into a nearby uninhabited unfinished building.
Tossing the Werewolf onto the cement floor, Mu You pulled out his phone and launched the game.
In the game, he was back in the village.
Mu You swiftly maneuvered his character, following the path he remembered to the village chief’s house.
"Have you figured out how to find the Werewolf?" Lu Yao asked, her curiosity piqued.
They all knew the Werewolf had an alternate identity as a villager, but they had yet to confirm who it was. The Werewolf was cautious, never revealing himself with his alternate identity.
"Yes, but it wasn’t me who discovered it. It was one of my staff," Mu You took a deep breath. The ’staff’ he meant was Lin Xue.
Lin Xue had explained to him a method to reveal the Werewolf when they had discussed the game: all you had to do was sneak a peek while the Werewolf was operating at night, and you’d know who the Werewolf was!
Although it sounded ridiculous, it was a feasible method for players.
For instance, now the Werewolf had acted, and was right under their noses. Henceforth, it was certain that the Werewolf could not log into the game.
The next step was simple. From the pool of 42 suspects, minus him and Lu Yao, if any of the 40 villagers could not move, they were the Werewolf!
Mu You moved his character into the village chief’s house and clicked on the ’Bloodstained Badge’ from the panel.
[You have handed over the Bloodstained Badge to the village chief, requesting his help in assembling all villagers!]
[Upon receiving the Badge, the village chief has no choice but to comply. He brings you to the village square and rings the gathering bell.]
[The compelling bell toll reverberates throughout the village, waking all villagers from their dreams and prompting them to assemble in the square.]
[The carpenter has arrived at the square...]
[The collector has arrived at the square...]
[The village chef has arrived at the square...]
One after another, NPC notifications cropped up, including several players with NPC avatars. Upon receiving the in-game notification, they too rushed to join the commotion in the square.
Mu You took out a notebook and started ticking off the names of the 40 villagers he had listed down.
Half an hour later, the notifications of villagers’ arrivals ceased, signifying that everyone who was supposed to be there was there.
However, to Mu You’s surprise, all 40 villagers listed in his notebook were marked off.
Lu Yao, too, wore a startled expression.
She had just realized the ingenious method Mu You had explained and couldn’t help but admit that it was indeed a clever plan.
She had thought that they would definitely be able to identify the Werewolf this time, but to her surprise, after checking all the villagers, they had cleared all suspects...
"All villagers have arrived, could it be that the Werewolf’s actual identity is not in the village?" Lu Yao was perplexed.
Mu You, hearing her question, suddenly realized something.
"Not everyone is here, one villager didn’t arrive!" claimed Mu You.
"Who?" Lu Yao was baffled.
"A villager who cannot move!"
"Unable to move... you mean?" Lu Yao took a moment to understand, then quickly glanced at the Werewolf in the distance: "Holy shit, could it be that you’re the Scarecrow?"
The Werewolf was now conscious, but only scoffed in disdain upon hearing their conversation, seemingly unbothered.
However, Mu You noticed a flicker of panic in the Werewolf’s eyes when Lu Yao mentioned the Scarecrow.