Liu Zheng descended into the basement.
It was pitch black below, but the air wasn't particularly stale, suggesting there must be a ventilation opening somewhere.
He took out the matches he found in the kitchen and lit three at once.
The brightness from the matches naturally wasn't enough to illuminate the entire basement, but it allowed him to discover candle holders embedded in the walls.
After lighting the candles, Liu Zheng could finally barely make out the scene in the basement.
The basement's area was roughly the same size as the kitchen, but the ceiling height was much lower.
Liu Zheng's current body was only about 1.6 meters tall, yet he still had to stoop.
In the southeast corner sat a chicken coop made of dry grass.
Next to the coop was a wooden feeding trough that should have contained insects.
Apart from these, the basement also stored some long-lasting food like wheat, potatoes, and sweet potatoes.Even if the rooster finished all the insects, it could actually survive for quite a long time.
This guy ran out purely because it couldn't hold back anymore or was greedy for food.
Liu Zheng glanced at the rooster, and Qin Shi Huang returned an innocent look.
He searched around the basement for a while but didn't find anything particularly useful.
So, he turned his attention to the chicken coop.
"What are you going to do?"
When it concerned its own nest, the rooster became alert.
"Don't worry, I'm not stealing it."
Liu Zheng walked to the side of the chicken coop and reached inside to feel around.
Sure enough, he found a letter underneath.
The letter had many black stains and only some content could be barely deciphered.
"The priest has come, everyone is sick."
"I don't trust him, but they don't believe me."
"Little Red Riding Hood went to the forest, she's in great danger."
"I should go, they're calling me."
"Please protect my chicken, it's my only family and friend."
"Don't come looking for me."
"Bring my chicken to the forest, it will find me."
Liu Zheng looked at the letter and fell into thought.
The content was brief, but it contained substantial information.
First, the priest was clearly a crucial character.
He might even be the source of all events in Werewolf Village.
Second, Little Red Riding Hood and the carpenter likely had a close relationship.
The carpenter going to the forest might be to search for her.
However, the phrase "she's in great danger" was somewhat ambiguous.
Did it mean Little Red Riding Hood's situation was dangerous, or that Little Red Riding Hood herself was dangerous?
Finally, the three sentences at the end were also contradictory.
The first two instructed someone to protect the chicken and not come to the forest to find him.
The last sentence then told someone to bring the chicken to the forest to find him.
Was that final sentence even written by the carpenter?
If not, why was the handwriting identical?
Liu Zheng dealt with signatures year-round, and ordinary forgeries couldn't fool his eyes.
"Huh? Wait."
He suddenly thought of another issue.
Didn't the rooster say the carpenter was illiterate? Then how could the carpenter have written a letter?
Was the rooster lying, or was the carpenter lying?
Or, was this letter not written by the carpenter at all?
The mysteries this letter brought him were even more numerous than the lines of text itself.
"Cock-a-doodle-doo!"
At that moment, the rooster suddenly crowed.
It pulled its head out from the sack filled with wheat and then settled back onto the chicken coop.
Next, the rooster closed its eyes.
Liu Zheng initially thought it was going to sleep, but its whole body was tense, which didn't seem quite right.
"You're not having food poisoning, are you?"
He tentatively asked.
The rooster was key to solving the puzzle; if it died, things would become difficult.
It opened its eyes and gave Liu Zheng a disdainful look.
"I'm incubating an egg."
"Huh? Aren't you a rooster?"
He said in shock.
"A rooster can already talk, what's strange about laying an egg?"
"Well, I guess that makes sense."
Liu Zheng put away his astonished expression.
Under his watchful gaze, the rooster, after a period of strenuous effort, finally laid an egg about half the size of a fist.
"Take it."
It said.
"Um, actually I'm not hungry yet."
Liu Zheng said.
If it were an ordinary chicken egg, he might have taken it without hesitation.
But an egg laid by a talking rooster felt uncomfortably hot to handle.
What if it exploded?
"My master said that if someone saved me, I should lay an egg to repay them."
"This isn't a real egg either, you'll understand when you open it."
The rooster said.
Since it said so, Liu Zheng picked up the egg.
He tried shaking it; there was no sound of egg liquid sloshing inside, and it was much lighter than a normal egg, as if it were only an eggshell.
He gently cracked the shell open; inside was a glowing card.
On the card, a skinny witch was heavily surrounded by werewolves.
She held a potion emitting red light in her hand, her gaze resolute.
"Congratulations Player 8 for obtaining the Divine Favor Card: Unstable Compound."
"Effect: After the witch is killed by a werewolf at night, she will randomly kill one werewolf. Can be used simultaneously with poison."
What a great item.
Liu Zheng's eyes lit up.
It was equivalent to him having an additional Hunter role, and much more powerful than the Hunter's skill.
After all, when a Hunter shoots, they might not necessarily hit a werewolf.
Now the Good Faction essentially has an extra turn compared to the werewolves, greatly increasing their chances of winning.
"Announcement: The Witch has obtained the Divine Favor Card 'Unstable Compound'."
"Effect: After the witch is killed by a werewolf at night, she will randomly kill one werewolf. Can be used simultaneously with poison."
Before Liu Zheng could rejoice for long, the Moderator's voice sounded again.
This time, all players heard it.
"Dammit."
Liu Zheng thought he could secretly trick the werewolves, but he didn't expect the Moderator to expose him directly.
But thinking about it, it made sense. If the werewolves didn't even know this information, they would be at too great a disadvantage.
Then, upon further reflection, being exposed might actually be good for him.
This way, even if the werewolves guess he's the witch, they wouldn't dare kill him, and he'd likely survive until the end.
"Night falls, please close your eyes."
The Moderator's voice sounded once more.
This time, Liu Zheng's vision wasn't taken away, but outside the window instantly turned to night.
The bloody moonlight shone down again, and the howls of werewolves rose one after another.
He tentatively pulled on the wooden door; sure enough, it couldn't be opened.
The werewolf howls grew closer.
Four ferocious-looking werewolves ran wildly through the village, emitting arrogant laughter like that of the Grim Reaper.
Suddenly, one werewolf pounced right up to Liu Zheng's window.
Its glowing green pupils stared intently at him, its nostrils flaring slightly, thick drool dripping from the corner of its mouth.
Liu Zheng didn't know what this meant. Did it mean this werewolf voted to kill him?
The werewolf stood for a few seconds, then left the window and returned to the pack.
Soon, the howling gradually ceased, and the village returned to silence.
"Witch, please open your eyes. You have one bottle of poison. Will you use it?"
The Moderator's voice rang out.
The time for choice had come.
Liu Zheng no longer had the antidote; he didn't know if the werewolves were killing him tonight.
If he didn't use it, he might waste a turn for the Good Faction.
If he poisoned the wrong person, the significant advantage gained from the Divine Favor Card would be neutralized.
The speeches of Player 10, Player 11, Player 12, Player 9, and Player 3 replayed rapidly in his mind.
Finally, just before the Moderator's countdown ended, he made his decision.