The Only Path to Victory!

Liam had never trusted Emmy from the very beginning of forming the team, throughout the entire process.

As he had just said, Emmy's "acting skills" were truly terrible.

The "innocence," "timidity," and "vivacity" she displayed when alone with him all bore strong traces of performance.

This kind of amateurish, clumsy performance was something Liam could see through at a glance.

Therefore, Emmy was highly suspicious—after all, her "performance" was concealing something.

But Emmy was not the only suspicious one!

From the first day of grouping, there were far too many suspicious people in this game.

Drake, who was eager to have everyone pair up in twos, and the remaining six who did not oppose the proposal at all.

Next was Jack Danny, who inexplicably deviated from his "assigned area" during tasks, and Maive and Rolly, who suddenly changed their attitudes and tightly banded together...

Most importantly, there was last night when, after he proposed not reporting the "inspection results", everyone instantly accepted it as a matter of course...

Though Liam's explanation sounded "reasonable" at the time, he knew it was fallacy-filled reasoning that couldn't withstand any scrutiny.

Aren't they afraid that this detective might fail to report inspection results and get eliminated directly today?!

What's more crucial is that when Liam later proposed abstaining from voting, everyone readily agreed again...

They didn't even compare their itineraries for today—as if maintaining some unspoken agreement to avoid mentioning it.

At that moment, a crazy idea suddenly emerged in Liam's mind.

"Could they all be Werewolves?"

If he assumed they were all Werewolves, their behaviors suddenly made perfect sense.

They all looked forward to acting separately and planned to muddy the waters without reporting any information during meetings.

But Liam's first reaction was "That's impossible, the game rules are foolproof".

The moment this thought emerged, Liam suddenly realized something with a horrifying chill.

From beginning to end, there was no game rule stating "the werewolf faction only has two members".

The so-called "game rules" were all conclusions they had deduced and summarized during gameplay.

He immediately recalled various details throughout the castle——Liam's elective course "Stage Design" had ranked first in his major, making him particularly sensitive to these "environmental details".

The ubiquitous wolf motifs on candlesticks and hanging paintings throughout this castle.

The human-like severed limbs in the kitchen, and the human-head-shaped "offering" on the altar.

Moreover——all the human "supplies" were piled in areas that incongruously resembled temporary storage added later to this castle.

Combined with the human warnings from that initial "letter", Liam suddenly recognized a flawed assumption.

All seven participants had taken it for granted that the "werewolves" were outsiders.

But...

Was the owner of this ancient castle human?

Liam shifted into the perspective of a "set designer"—if he were to build such a castle as a stage set, then those living inside…

…could never be human.

So, if he followed this line of thought—the blood-written words they saw earlier on the wall: "There are two outsiders among you."—did it refer to the werewolves…

Or to the humans?!

And then there was the title of this game session they saw even earlier, before entering the game:

"Who Are the Outsiders?"

It was almost like…

a hint.

And now, through "Emmy's" reaction, Liam finally confirmed his suspicion was spot-on.

"In this game, the humans are the outsiders!"

"So there are five werewolves and two humans—the rule that werewolves don't know each other's identities wasn't arbitrary; it was essential for the game to function!"

"Whether human or werewolf, whichever side realizes the true meaning of 'outsiders' first will gain a massive advantage!"

Liam let out a breath, a smile appearing on his face.

Now, he already possessed a tremendous "advantage" in this game!

"Hey... Detective, why are you still able to smile?"

However, Emmy's next words pulled Liam back to reality.

The girl standing before him held a dagger below the third step of the stairs, gazing at Liam with a smiling expression.

Even though he had learned the most crucial "truth" of this game, the immediate danger remained!

Nevertheless, though Emmy had brandished a dagger, she still had not attacked.

This was also within Liam's expectations.

Therefore, looking at Emmy, he declared confidently: "It's naturally because I've already fully identified the two werewolves—and this morning, I activated my ability again, discovering who your other werewolf teammate is."

"Even if you kill me, I've already learned the 'truth.' In a sense, I've already won."

The reason Emmy hesitated to attack was something Liam understood clearly.

She truly still didn't know who her other wolf teammate was.

Since everyone appeared suspiciously like werewolves, Emmy must have been thoroughly confused!

She must want to use Liam's "ability" to identify the other wolf – at least eliminating one possibility!

Thus, Liam's words hit the mark with Emmy.

The long-maintained "self-important detective" persona had finally proven useful.

Sure enough, upon hearing this, a faint smile curled at the corner of Emmy's lips.

"Is that so, Detective... But how did you deduce my other teammate? I'm completely clueless myself."

She was trying to fish for information from Liam, the "self-important detective"!

Unfortunately for her, Liam's persona was entirely an act.

Moreover, his acting skills were far superior to Emmy's.

Looking at the curious and agitated Emmy, Liam spoke softly: "Simple. Your teammate, though well-disguised, he..."

Mid-sentence, Liam suddenly turned and bolted upstairs!

Emmy reacted swiftly—barely a second of shock before charging after Liam.

She had been prepared for Liam to flee from the start!

"Don't let him escape!"

She thought fiercely.

After all, if Liam exposed her identity... it would be game over!

Even if she killed Liam, the remaining "four humans" would still vote her out!

With Liam's "corpse" as evidence, humans could convene an emergency meeting immediately—no need to wait until 7 PM!

But Emmy didn't realize:

Liam had never planned to flee!

After just two steps up the stairs, he spun around and delivered a flying kick to Emmy's abdomen!

"Thud!"

Emmy, who had been running at full speed, instantly lost her balance and was kicked down the stairs!

"Ouch!"

Emmy let out a pained cry, though she consciously adjusted her landing posture...

But the seven or eight steps' height difference still left her with searing pain in her back and buttocks, her vision momentarily darkening.

She struggled to get up, but a sudden sharp pain shot through her right hand.

"Crack!"

"Ah—"

Amidst the crisp sound of shattering bones, Emmy screamed and dropped her dagger.

Then her scream abruptly ceased—the dagger had pierced her chest.

She looked down at the blood gushing from the wound, staining her white lab coat crimson.

Her body instantly lost all strength.

Emmy, with her intact left hand, used her last ounce of strength to desperately clutch Liam's left wrist holding the dagger, her eyes filled with unwillingness.

Liam watched as Emmy's life force slowly faded before him, trembling uncontrollably as he whispered:

"Sorry."

"This was the only way I could think to win..."