In Virtual Reality 89 ☆ The Hydrangea Park (13/33)

The young man surveyed the vast Hydrangea Park, unsure of its precise location. The cobblestone path stretched out before him, shrouded in an impenetrable mist. "Let's head to the front entrance," he said, calmly taking hold of Lone Wolf's shoulder. "There should be signs to guide us, and with a map, we'll find the others more easily."

The wolf emitted an unintelligible sound before accelerating forward, moving so swiftly that it was almost invisible to the human eye.

【Go big brother!】

【Let me show you the speed of a doomsday survival live streamer with this sleek and graceful body!】

【So handsome!】

As rainbow farts filled the barrage area, the passerby who had stumbled upon the livestream fell silent, eventually typing out a hesitant message: 【Don't you guys think something's off?】

Although he wasn't a player from the gaming website, Asmodeus mentioned Excelsior for this game. Asmodeus's fans took notice and began to research the person in question. They pieced together information about Excelsior from forum posts - a calm player with a wicked sense of humour and an expert in gaming.

Glancing back at the screen, the young man's gentle smile nearly blinded him.

Asmodeus's fan: "......"

Could it be a fake identity? There were the same skin users, after all. But who would go to the trouble of impersonating Excelsior? Not to mention, his reputation and skill level were difficult to replicate.

Did he rank on the leaderboard?

Unlikely. However, as Asmodeus's fan contemplated this idea, he glanced at the questions flooding Lone Wolf's live stream.

【Why is it odd to trust one's instincts?】

【Brother Silence is so gentle; we must protect him!】

【Sincere feelings!】

Asmodeus's fan looked around, then gave up, expressionless. Why couldn't he wait a little longer to see Asmodeus instead of coming into this live stream to watch Lone Wolf, who couldn't even find a tree in a forest?

Following the young man's directions, they quickly returned to the park's front gate. Other players who had been here ten minutes ago were nowhere to be seen, and Lone Wolf scanned the area.

"There." The young man on his shoulder pointed with one hand. "The park map is there."

Between two half-person-high green hydrangeas stood a medium-sized panel with a slightly turquoise hue that blended into its surroundings. It would have been easy to miss, had Lone Wolf and his companions not been so focused on their confrontation. Asmodeus, with his attention seemingly drawn to Lone Wolf's striking appearance, failed to notice the crucial information concealed behind the panel. Lone Wolf led him to the panel, and as they approached, a simple park topographic map was revealed before them.

After a brief moment of contemplation, the young man spoke again. "Let's go here." He pointed in the direction he wanted to go, and the live-stream audience quickly understood his intention.

【Go to the broadcasting station? That's really a good place to find people.】

【Thinking of that weird advertisement, "Class X of Year X, XXX, your mother is looking for you~"】

【Broadcast station is great! Let's hurry to the broadcast station!】

【From the looks of it, pairing up Brother Silence and Big Brother Wolf is the pinnacle of intelligence and strength!】

【Wake up, you guys in front! Big Brother Wolf is a civilian; he can't kill anyone!】

At this point, Asmodeus's fan couldn't help but speak up: 【Actually, you can borrow a knife to kill someone.】

【...?】

【????】

【Borrow a knife to kill someone?】

The audience of Lone Wolf's live-streaming room stood in silence, awestruck by the statement. The unsophisticated survivalists possessed an uncanny ability to appraise various creatures in extreme environments and determine the best course of action. With so few players able to survive in the unforgiving landscape of the apocalypse, the viewers were more interested in watching bare-knuckle brawls with grizzly bears than underhanded scheming among players.

Nevertheless, Lone Wolf was attempting a different type of game for the first time. With a bottleneck in his recent fan count, his loyal viewers were eager to see their favourite host climb to greater heights. But it quickly became apparent that they were unfamiliar with the game.

Abruptly, Asmodeus's fan began to feel a twinge of compassion for the group. In Asmodeus's words, the viewers possessed a clear-eyed innocence that bordered on foolishness.

【Civilians and judges can't vote at night, but they can use NPC tasks to allow NPCs to kill people,】 Asmodeus's fan explained. 【It's an unwritten rule.】

The bullet screen was abuzz with 【+1 to Knowledge】. At the same time, Lone Wolf and the young man had already embarked on their journey to the broadcasting station.

**

BGM, a Judge with no information to go on, reluctantly abstained from voting after seeing that others had already done so. But just as he chose to abstain, a matchup between No. 3 and No. 7 appeared in the top left corner of the voting area.

Distressed, BGM exclaimed, "Couldn't they have voted earlier? Now, I can't decide which side to pick."

【Wake up; you are on the good side.】

【Wake up; you are on the good side.】

【Wake up, you are... never mind, your heart is as hard as iron.】

He grabbed his long sword and left the correct path, wandering aimlessly down the road. It had been half an hour since the start of the game, and BGM had encountered nothing except for the first public vote. Walking along the stone path, he played some background music out of boredom. He chatted with his viewers during the live broadcast.

"Why am I so unlucky?" he lamented. "It's been over half an hour, and I haven't encountered a single player. I wouldn't mind running into a wolf or two."

【I don't understand BGM's thoughts. Shouldn't a normal player be trying to avoid encountering a knife-wielding werewolf?】

【As for the previous comment, you're talking about normal players. Do you think BGM is a normal player? That's impossible.】

【How about one knife per person?... Wait, I almost forgot that the host isn't a werewolf.】

【See, is the host trying to poison us by making us anticipate encountering a wolf?】

The allure of BGM was potent. With "The Light of Justice Shines on the Earth" playing in the background, the live-stream viewers quickly became lost in the excitement. Some became part of the throng, urging BGM to move faster and venture out to hunt for the Werewolf. They no longer wanted to find their civilian teammates. Now they eagerly rubbed their hands and prepared to track down the werewolves.

Their expectations were high, and as BGM walked down the right path while listening to the light of the right path, they stumbled upon a werewolf. The beast-eared girl held a thick-shell book and stared blankly at the girl knight before her. Both players stood facing each other, still shocked at their chance encounter.

However, the barrage areas on both sides had already gone wild.

On the public screen of Fox Snap, comments like 【Quick, quick, try it out】 and 【What are you waiting for? Just go straight and knife them!】 filled the chat. Meanwhile, on the BGM chat, comments such as 【Hahaha, I met someone! Knife it! Quick knife it!】 and 【Don't be afraid, we are good people,】 and 【Sword, sword, sword, I'll just go straight up with a long sword!】 appeared.

Despite the chaos in the barrage areas, the two players silently faced each other on the serene path.

Fox Snap clutched her thick shell notebook and smiled shyly, planning to proceed with her customary routine. "Hello, my ID is 【Fox Snap】, and my role is 【Judge】..." She meant to regard the girl knight in front of her as a backup option for Asmodeus, letting the girl prove her worth before introducing her to other players.

But, to her surprise, the girl knight strode directly toward her, raising her long sword.

Fox Snap froze, eyes wide in shock.

"Don't run away --" BGM swelled, accompanied by extremely self-righteous fanfare. The knight laughed wickedly while raising her sword high. "So you're a Judge, huh? But the sword is the Judge!!"

Fox Snap's heart raced, and she spun around, fleeing for her life.

【Oh my god, is this our wolf teammate?!】

【It definitely seems like it...wait, why does this wolf teammate sound like a man??】

【Did he use a voice changer?】

【Wake up, guys. This is definitely a guy using female skin, right? It's pretty obvious...】

【What's wrong with using a female skin? Those who use skins of the opposite sex are all just keyboard warriors, right?】

【Are you guys still discussing this? Doesn't anyone notice that the streamer is about to get stabbed by her teammate?】

While it was easy for werewolves to accidentally stab their teammates if they didn't know each other's identities, few werewolves would start attacking their teammates at the start of the game, except for extremely wicked players who enjoyed causing chaos.

The Judge's sword was merely an ornament and useless against the Werewolf, leaving the knight feeling helpless. Despite the epic background music, the situation seemed a dead end. But suddenly, the Judge had an idea.

"If you're not the Judge," BGM's villainous grin widened, "then who are you?"

Fox Snap, relieved that she had not been eliminated, was elated to find that her teammate remained composed. "I have the same identity as you!" she exclaimed.

【Hmm, why does that seem wrong?】

【Wow, she's another Judge, huh?】

【The previous commenter was incorrect. From the perspective of the beast-ear girl, Brother BGM is a werewolf. Therefore, she is a werewolf card.】

BGM: "Oh, so you're a werewolf?"

Fox Snap quickly nodded.

"But how can I be certain that you're a werewolf?" BGM brandished his sword, peering down at her from his towering height. "Perhaps you're just pretending?"

Fox Snap swallowed nervously and stood up, surveying her surroundings to ensure they were alone before whispering, "I am sure. I'll prove it." She released her grip on the book she had clutched tightly to her chest, revealing its thick cover. She declared, "My werewolf skill is to write a number on the book, and I can eliminate a player with that number," she said, "but there are limitations. I can only kill one person per night. So I think we should determine the Judge's number before filling it in, or else we'll be in trouble if we accidentally kill a teammate."

The real Judge nodded in agreement. "Indeed, you're right."