Chapter 133: The Debut Battle

October 1st marked the first day of the National Day holiday and the opening match of the Werewolf King Tournament.

"Gypsy Woman, no need for the Idiot card," Chen Fan said, having just woken up. His lazy tone carried a hint of casualness as he snapped his fingers with a touch of flair, switching his card identity.

"Hmm? Today is the Werewolf King Tournament. I thought you’d at least wear the Idiot aura to breeze through the rounds, or better yet, switch to the Seer’s intuition or the Hunter’s insight. Why switch to a useless blank slate?" the Elder asked, puzzled. Chen Fan’s strength was plain to see; even with the Idiot aura, there was no guarantee he would make it to the semifinals, let alone without it.

Chen Fan explained, "I just feel that winning by cheating would leave me with a sense of debt. I believe that with my own strength, I can obtain what I deserve."

"What you deserve? Well, there’s no turning back now. If you manage to make it to tomorrow, you can change your mind then."

"I will reach the qualifiers, and my resolve remains unchanged." Chen Fan felt a bit guilty saying this; with a 10% win rate staring him in the face, not even a spine made of alloy steel could keep him feeling confident.

...

Recalling five days ago, Chen Fan had given Wang Kehan a sound beating, which resulted in both of them being hospitalized. The Knight’s "Judgment of Justice" had looked like it was aiming for vital spots, but in reality, it had been carefully measured to avoid serious harm. Coupled with his timely switch to the Idiot card, Wang Kehan had only suffered superficial injuries that would leave no lasting damage.

Whether out of fear or something else, the guy had slipped away in the middle of the night without even checking out of the hospital. He stopped showing up to school altogether, and classmates claimed he had run off to the countryside to dodge debts.

Chen Fan, the aggressor, had been badly hurt and remained unconscious for three days. His psychological evaluation revealed several issues; the attending physician noted that Chen Fan often muttered in his sleep and might be suffering from some mental illness, requiring further observation.

However, Chen Fan insisted he was normal. After a round of philosophical debate, the doctor finally discharged him.

"Anyone capable of untangling such complex logical relationships cannot be mentally unwell—unless, of course, philosophers are inherently insane." The doctor adjusted his black-rimmed glasses, seemingly satisfied with his own conclusion.

Yu Miao had kept his word, covering all their expenses. After being discharged, Chen Fan had intended to pay him back slowly, but upon seeing the long list of hospital bills, he recoiled. Even if he didn't eat or drink, he wouldn't be able to pay it off by the time he graduated.

"Don't worry, you don't have to pay me back. Don't carry such a heavy burden," Yu Miao said with great generosity, and Chen Fan could even hear a hint of Li Peijun’s influence in his tone. "Relax, it’s only three thousand; I was just testing the waters."

Was this the typical way of speaking for such a low-key, wealthy group?

...

After that, communication between Chen Fan and Yu Miao became more frequent, mainly because Chen Fan had dragged Yu Miao into the world of Werewolf. When Chen Fan learned that Yu Miao had also signed up for the Werewolf King Tournament, his face was filled with shock.

However, after learning that Xiao Yuhe’s roommate had also signed up, he felt much better. Upon further inquiry, he discovered that even a novice who rarely played had a 55% win rate, and Chen Fan could only force a bitter smile that screamed, "I'm doing just fine."

"By the way, didn't you say the Gypsy Woman had an extra skill that only activated during a New Moon event? What is it?" Chen Fan changed into clothes suitable for going out, munching on a pineapple bun from the cafeteria as something suddenly occurred to him.

"Oh, that. The extra ability is that she is unaffected by New Moon events. No matter the wind or rain, the Gypsy Woman’s astrology will never falter," the Elder recalled, feigning a sense of gravitas.

"It’s a pity this ability can't be applied to other cards; it feels like a waste on the Gypsy Woman." Chen Fan felt a lingering fear; that night as a Knight had been too chaotic. If he had possessed the Gypsy Woman’s ability, he could have offset all the negative effects directed at him.

"There might be an opportunity for that later," the Elder said, his words pregnant with meaning.

Chen Fan quickly grasped the implication and asked, "Are there card abilities for grafting? Or fusion?"

"I'll tell you when you encounter them. I’m afraid you’ll complain again that I only leave you with trash cards," the Elder chuckled, refusing to elaborate.

Chen Fan frowned, lamenting, "The Idiot card is the one I use the most. I feel like wearing the Idiot aura when I go out is always the right call; even drunk drivers would automatically steer clear of me."

The Elder chimed in, "True. You even mutter about the Idiot card in your sleep—are you afraid that without the aura, you'll be finished? By the way, the fact that you didn't even alert the school administration this time is impressive. And no, that’s not a compliment to you—it’s a compliment to the moon for being so helpful."

Chen Fan ignored him and quickened his pace toward the activity hall. The entrance was already packed with people, and many volunteers were maintaining order.

"Will you make a cameo later?" Chen Fan gazed at the sea of people, as if admiring the vast territory he had conquered.

The Elder shook his head. "I only appear when there are anomalies. I’ve been suffering from insomnia lately, and your irregular schedule has worn me out."

"So even a system can get sleepy? You aren't very smart—I should take you back for some upgrades," Chen Fan teased, stepping onto the stairs.

The Elder yawned and corrected him, "I’m not like those 24-hour grinding machines. I have organic rights; I am a thinking system. It’s just like back in your Industrial Revolution—capitalists loved workers who performed repetitive tasks 24 hours a day. But what did you do? You rose up and fought for decades until you finally secured the eight-hour workday."

"Your history is pretty good. It seems you’ve been adding quite a bit to your database. It would be even better if you were more practical," Chen Fan flattered him. He lined up at the back of the queue, preparing to enter in an orderly fashion. After ruminating on the Elder’s words, a flash of unease crossed his mind.

"What about you guys?"

"Us? I don't think so," the Elder replied in a very relaxed tone.

"You Werewolf Kings, I'm back." Chen Fan opened his arms, silently watching everything, while the little voice inside his mind let out a soul-stirring cry.

The preliminary round was divided into three rounds, each with a different board, and the plot dungeons were randomly drawn. The current VR arena had been updated to the latest version. According to official social media, the programmers, working through the night and dissatisfied with the heavy workload, had protested by eating 23 takeout meals in a row—though fortunately, the matter was resolved satisfactorily.

The competition was divided into eight zones, and Yuanyu University Town was one of them. Due to the excessive number of participants this year, the preliminaries had to be held over two days, and Chen Fan happened to be assigned to the opening session on the first day.

"Heh, does this count as a novice halo?" Chen Fan pointed to the notice board on the competition rules and asked the organizer, Han Youyi.

Han Youyi smiled enigmatically. "On one hand, it’s a matter of network communication. On the other, the organizers considered that university students are the fresh blood of Werewolf, so they wanted to give you some confidence so you wouldn't be bullied into doubting your life by the pros in the very first round."

That was true. The preliminaries would only match players within the same zone, which was a major boon for Chen Fan. After all, they were all peers; the gap shouldn't be too wide, right?

"There are many more people this time. The updated VR glasses have a noise-reduction mode. If you feel it’s too loud outside, you can turn the switch on in the game interface settings," Han Youyi kindly reminded him. Chen Fan nodded, adapting to the new VR glasses in advance.

"Werewolf King Tournament Preliminary, Round 1. 12-player standard board: Seer, Witch, Hunter, Idiot. Sheriff and side-slaughter rules."

The system chimed, and the countdown for the game's start began.

"Loading map..."