novelraw Chapter 49 : Delay
Chapter 49 : Delay
Chapter 49: Delay
When people were consumed by fear, they were capable of doing anything—let alone now, when the situation had already reached the brink of life and death.
It was not unreasonable for these few people to suspect Yu Zhe.
But if they condemned him as an Evil Spirit Follower solely based on his earlier actions, and even wanted to force a confession out of him, then they had truly lost all reason.
The quarrel drew more and more attention.
At this time, Lu Feng and Lin You arrived at the scene and stopped the few who were about to attack Yu Zhe.
“You guys, what are you doing?”
The people surrounding Yu Zhe froze at the sound of Lu Feng’s voice.
Because of Lu Feng’s earlier moves, many people already held a high degree of trust in his identity.
It was precisely for this reason that Lu Feng’s words carried weight at this moment.
He walked up to them, frowning as he looked at them.
“I heard your conversation just now.
You’re going to condemn him as an Evil Spirit Follower on such inexplicable grounds?”
“You saw how he acted at that time too, didn’t you, Lu Feng? The one who shouted the loudest for you to reveal information was him. Isn’t that exactly helping the Evil Spirit Followers to win?”
Among the three surrounding Yu Zhe, a boy named Li Weiren fiercely refuted Lu Feng.
To be honest, Lu Feng felt there was nothing wrong with what he said.
After all, Yu Zhe’s behavior really did invite suspicion.
To put it in terms of Werewolf, when no one could prove their own identity, the person whose speech was poor and whose logic was full of holes would inevitably become the target of everyone’s attack—the so-called “bad identity.”
Lu Feng’s own actions, if placed in Werewolf, would be equivalent to “establishing his identity,” thereby raising the credibility of his words.
But this game was not Werewolf.
To judge someone’s identity so rashly was undoubtedly accelerating death.
“You’re right. His actions do indeed make him very suspicious.”
Hearing Li Weiren’s words, Lu Feng nodded in agreement.
Seeing even Lu Feng agree with the reasoning, Yu Zhe’s face—which was already unpleasant—turned even paler.
He was just about to argue again when Lu Feng suddenly shifted his tone and continued,
“But in comparison, isn’t Zhang Yifeng, the one who started it all, even more suspicious? Why aren’t you going after him instead?”
This made the people present fall silent.
Their eyes darted evasively, as if feeling guilty.
“Isn’t it because… you all think Yu Zhe is easier to bully?”
Lu Feng mercilessly exposed the thought in their hearts.
With Zhang Yifeng’s large and muscular build, if he were pushed too far, it would probably take five or six people to subdue him.
By contrast, the thin and weak Yu Zhe was clearly much easier to bully.
And since he also looked suspicious enough, he became the perfect target for “priority handling.”
“B-but the Evil Spirit Followers are about to win! If we don’t root them out soon…”
“Then let me ask you—what if the person you think is an Evil Spirit Follower actually isn’t? What happens then?”
“……”
“With the way things are now, do you really think you can find all five Evil Spirit Followers?”
“……”
“Even if you do find all the Evil Spirit Followers, can you still fulfill the first Victory Condition?”
“……”
The three consecutive questions left the three before him speechless.
“So, what you mean is… we really can only sit and wait for death…?”
Li Weiren’s expression showed despair.
He looked at Lu Feng with a pale face and asked.
“No.
On the contrary—”
Lu Feng shook his head.
“I’ve already found the answer to the first Victory Condition.
As for the five Evil Spirit Followers… I already have some clues, but I still need a bit more time.”
His words shocked everyone present.
Even Lin You looked at him in disbelief.
“Feng Feng, you—”
Lu Feng stopped Lin You with a shake of his head and then said,
“So right now, we’re not waiting for death. And you must stop doing things that only benefit the Evil Spirit Followers… do you understand what I mean?”
The three, recovering from their shock, nodded hurriedly.
When they looked at Lu Feng again, their eyes were as if gazing at a savior.
“No, no, we won’t do that again!”
“Good luck, Lu Feng—we’re all counting on you!”
“Please, Lu Feng… you must lead us to victory!”
The others watching also cast eager gazes at him, their heavy eyes full of longing for survival.
But among all those gazes, one stood out sharply—
Dong Ningning’s face was dark as she looked at Lu Feng with icy eyes.
The next moment, however, she returned to normal, turned her head, and walked away expressionlessly.
…
When the two returned to Lu Feng’s room, Lin You hurriedly asked,
“Feng Feng, I know you wanted to steady everyone’s nerves, but to tell such a huge lie outright, isn’t that a bit too…”
“Then you tell me, what else could I have done…”
Lu Feng couldn’t help but let out a bitter smile.
“Actually, it wasn’t a complete lie.
I only exaggerated the information I already had…”
“But if you said that in front of so many people, and the Evil Spirit Followers find out, won’t they—”
“Target me, right—”
Lu Feng sighed.
“I don’t need you to tell me that, I already know… In fact, the reason I said it in front of so many people was precisely to make them come after me.”
“Ah!? Why would you do that?” Lin You stared at him in shock.
But Lu Feng just shook his head slightly.
“With the game at this stage, ordinary ways of thinking are useless… What we’re missing now is some of the most crucial information.
And the only way to obtain that might just be through the Evil Spirit Followers…”
“But that’s… basically the same as gambling your life!”
“Heh… isn’t this entire game gambling with our lives?”
Lu Feng lowered his head and let out a hoarse laugh.
…
After Lin You left, Lu Feng could no longer endure his exhaustion and collapsed onto the bed, falling into a deep sleep.
When he woke, six hours had already passed.
It was now five in the afternoon.
After rejoining everyone and analyzing the current situation, they still gained nothing.
After dinner, Lu Feng told everyone to rest, then returned alone to his room, staring at the densely written notebook as he fell into thought.
Soon, night once again descended.
Thick darkness enveloped the old mansion, making everything within seem eerie and sinister.
Frustrated at his lack of progress, Lu Feng closed the notebook and left his room, deciding to take a walk in the mansion’s front garden.
Tonight, the sky above the mansion was exceptionally clear.
He could even see the moon, which had not been visible for a long time.
The faint moonlight spilled into the garden, vaguely outlining the wild shadows of the overgrown plants—like countless ghosts baring their fangs and claws.
Lu Feng walked silently among them, letting the plants brush against his feet as he unconsciously sank into deep thought—
Recalling what Liuli had said yesterday, “Don’t trust your first feeling,” he faintly sensed something amiss.
The first feeling… his own “first feeling.” What exactly had it been?
Lu Feng frowned as he pondered—
Why did Liuli, clearly knowing something, always speak in riddles?
What else was she hiding?
And this game… how could one truly achieve victory?
He walked and thought at the same time.
When he reached the edge, he gazed past the mansion’s iron fence at the fog beyond—thick and everlasting.
Lu Feng stood there dazed for a while, then finally let out a heavy sigh in his heart and turned to return to his room.
But just as he took a single step, a sudden wave of bone-chilling coldness spread through his body, forcing him to freeze.
Startled, he lifted his head—and there, not far in front of him, he saw that pale figure bathed in moonlight, yet casting no shadow.
At that moment, Lu Feng instantly understood what Liuli’s words, “Don’t trust your first feeling,” had truly meant—
He had thought at first that after an Evil Spirit attacked, the game’s rules would restrict it from attacking him again, giving him a period of absolute safety.
But he had been completely wrong.
As the Evil Spirit’s dry, pale figure lunged toward him, Lu Feng realized—
The first hint’s so-called “delay” did not mean the Evil Spirit abandoned the attack.
It only meant the attack was “delayed.”
That was the trap hidden in the rule—
It “delayed” the Evil Spirit’s “first” attack.
And when the Evil Spirit struck again, it was only the continuation of that “first” attack, not a “second” one.
Thus, the third hint—“The Evil Spirit will not attack the same player twice in a row”—did not apply.
Because in the rule’s logic, this did not count as a “second” time.
Lu Feng had been completely deceived by the rules.
As the Evil Spirit’s ghastly laughter echoed in his ears, it was as if he saw Death itself smiling at him.