12: Chapter 12 The Fangs of Logic and the Choice of Dawn

Iron Fist's burly corpse gradually grew cold, blood winding across the stone slabs like a stream of despair. The Iron-Feathered Black Eagle spirit on his shoulder did not immediately dissipate with its Host's death.

It let out a shrill, mournful cry that sounded less like a living thing and more like the ear-piercing screech of tearing metal. It gently pecked at Iron Fist's stiffened cheek with its beak, trying to wake the partner who had fought by its side, but received no response. The sharp light in its eyes quickly dimmed, replaced by an unspeakable, almost tangible sorrow. Its iron-cast feathers lost their luster and began to turn into fine black light particles from the edges, drifting upward like reverse-flowing black snowflakes. It cast one last look at this world that had taken its Host, then gazed deeply at everyone present, as if to carve these faces into the depths of its Soul. Then, its entire body completely disintegrated, turning into a wisp of black smoke that merged into the thick surrounding mist, leaving no trace.

A warrior, along with his loyal companion, had vanished silently just like that. A heavy sorrow weighed on everyone's hearts, but more than that, there was a bone-chilling coldness and mutual wariness.

Zhang Hao silently put away the second [conversion card]; he now had two in his hand. Iron Fist's death, the Manager's suspicious behavior, the source of the second card... countless pieces of information collided and connected wildly in his mind. The [Logical Connection] Talent operated at an unprecedented power, cold and efficient.

He didn't look at the arguing Manager and Bing Li, nor did he pay attention to the shivering Scholar and the still-silent Shadow. His gaze was like a searchlight, slowly scanning the scene—the direction of the werewolf attack, the position where Iron Fist fell, where everyone was standing at the time, and... the corpse of the first Native Werewolf that was slowly dissipating.

"Silver Star, perform a retrospective analysis of the first werewolf attack. Simulate the precise angle and force of the Scholar 'accidentally' bumping into Bing Li, as well as the relative positions and possible behavioral interference of everyone at that time, including the deceased Iron Fist."

"Retrieving data... establishing dynamic model... analysis complete. The model shows that the Scholar's trajectory of losing balance had an 82.7% probability of being indirectly influenced by a minute force from his right rear. The direction of the force points to... deceased individual: Iron Fist, and adjacent unit: Manager."

A cold light flashed in Zhang Hao's eyes. As expected!

He no longer hesitated and spun around abruptly, his gaze like a knife piercing straight toward the professional woman who was still defending herself.

"Manager, there's no need to act anymore." Zhang Hao's voice was terrifyingly calm, yet carried an unquestionable power. "During the first werewolf attack, you secretly pushed the Scholar, attempting to kill someone with a borrowed knife—the target was likely Bing Li, who was the greatest threat at the time. After that failed, during this most recent attack, you directly 'created an accident' and pushed Iron Fist into the werewolf's claws! Because Iron Fist had the strongest combat power and posed the greatest threat to you, and he might have already noticed your abnormality!"

"You're talking nonsense!" The Manager's face changed drastically, and her Microphone Spirit emitted a piercing static noise.

"Nonsense?" Zhang Hao took a step forward, his Logic clear, his speech fast and steady. "The first time, the force source analysis pointed between you and Iron Fist, but Iron Fist is dead and cannot testify, and your position happened to fit. The second time, the look Iron Fist gave you before he died is the best evidence! More importantly..."

He suddenly pointed at the corpse of the first werewolf, which was about to completely vanish. "Silver Star, energy residue analysis. Focus on scanning the matching degree between the werewolf's claw residue and the energy contamination on the body surfaces of everyone present!"

"Data stream in Silver Star's eyes poured down like a waterfall: "Scanning complete! Target 'Manager', faint contamination highly matching Native Werewolf claw energy residue detected on the inside of the left cuff! Similar energy residue found in the gaps of the Microphone Spirit's base, presumed to be caused by close contact or parrying!"

"You have the aura of a werewolf on you!" Zhang Hao said sharply. "It wasn't picked up during the fight just now; you already had extremely close contact with a werewolf during the first attack! You are one of the werewolves!"

The evidence was as solid as a mountain! Everyone was stunned, looking at the Manager in disbelief.

The panic on the Manager's face vanished instantly, replaced by a cold and sinister expression after being exposed. "Heh... hehe... I didn't expect you to see through it." She stopped pretending, her eyes turning fierce. "That's right, I am a werewolf. But do you think it ends here?"

Her gaze swept over everyone with a hint of mockery.

Just then, Zhang Hao spoke again, his voice still calm, but turning in two other directions:

"And you, Scholar. Your fear was acted out very convincingly, but the defensive strength of your 'Knowledge Barrier' ancient book during the first attack was far higher than when you truly faced a life-or-death crisis the second time. This defies common sense. Unless, you didn't need to defend with all your might the first time because you knew the dangerous target wasn't you! Your collision with Bing Li might not have been entirely the Manager's push; you likely played along as well! You were deliberately creating chaos to cover for your companions!"

The Scholar's face turned pale instantly, his lips trembling, but he couldn't make a sound. The light from his ancient book spirit also flickered wildly, as if extremely unstable.

"And you, Shadow." Zhang Hao finally looked at the youth who almost merged with the darkness. "You acted at critical moments twice, seemingly helping us, but the first time you saved Bing Li, you also made the Scholar's actions look more like an accident, indirectly covering for him and the Manager. The second time, when Iron Fist was killed, you were nearby. With your stealth abilities, you had every opportunity to stop it or warn him, but you did nothing. You were using our trust, playing the role of a loner who could be relied upon at key moments to lower suspicion on yourself. Your silence was your best cover."

Shadow slowly raised his head, fully revealing his face for the first time. It was a handsome but expressionless face, his eyes like deep pools, silently acknowledging Zhang Hao's accusation.

Three wolves! The Manager, the Scholar, and Shadow! All of them had been dragged out by Zhang Hao's irrefutable Logic!

The situation became clear instantly, but also reached a point of extreme danger! Three wolves against four Civilians (Zhang Hao, Bing Li, Old Gun, and Rabbit)! Moreover, the werewolf camp had been exposed, and they were likely to act out of desperation!

Sure enough, a murderous light flared in the Manager's eyes, and her body began to show signs of transformation, sharp claws extending from her fingertips. "Since we can't hide anymore, then I'll just kill you all!"

However, Zhang Hao's movements were faster than theirs! He had already anticipated this moment!

He didn't retreat; instead, he lunged forward with a sharp piece of wood he had been tightly clutching (picked up earlier from beside the first werewolf corpse unnoticed). Like a dagger, he stabbed it fiercely toward the throat of the person closest to him who was about to attack—the Manager!

This strike was fast and ruthless, completely catching everyone off guard! Even Silver Star seemed to vibrate slightly; it hadn't expected its Host to be so decisive, or even... to possess such cold killing intent.

"Puchi!"

The ferocity on the Manager's face froze. She looked at Zhang Hao in disbelief, a gurgling sound coming from her throat as her body slumped down. Her Microphone Spirit let out a short, mournful cry and dissipated.

Zhang Hao pulled out the blood-stained wood, his eyes showing no joy of victory, only the calmness of having completed a necessary step. He looked at the remaining two wolves—the Scholar and Shadow.

"Now, choose." He held up the two [conversion cards] in his hand, while simultaneously glancing at Old Gun and Bing Li to signal them to stay alert. "Be 'converted' by me, or end up like her?"

The Scholar was already scared out of his wits and nodded repeatedly. "I'll convert! I'll convert!" Shadow remained silent for a moment before also slowly nodding.

Without hesitation, Zhang Hao immediately used the [conversion cards] on the two of them. A soft light enveloped the Scholar and Shadow, and the cold werewolf aura belonging to them gradually dissipated. Their eyes regained clarity (or remained silent, but the hostility was gone).

The moment the light from the second card faded, Zhang Hao pulled a third card from his pocket like a magic trick—it was the one he had quietly swiped from the Manager! Before anyone could react, he used the final [conversion card] on the Manager's not-yet-cold corpse!

The light flashed, and the Manager's corpse seemed to quiver slightly as the werewolf aura was completely purified.

[Hidden Quest Completed: Dawn of All Villagers]

[Detected that all surviving players (Zhang Hao, Bing Li, Old Gun, Rabbit, Scholar, Shadow) and deceased players (Manager, Iron Fist) have the identity of [Civilian]. Hidden quest achieved!]

[Task settlement in progress... preparing for teleportation...]

Everyone was stunned, including the converted Scholar and Shadow. They looked at Zhang Hao, their eyes filled with shock. This college student, who seemed to specialize in Logic and analysis, had completely overturned their perceptions with the reasoning ability, decisive action, and even that fleeting, unquestionable aggression he showed at the critical moment.

He hadn't just found all the werewolves and resolved the crisis with the minimum cost (only the Manager's death), he had even "converted" the deceased werewolf, achieving a theoretically impossible victory for all Civilians!

The morning light pierced through the thick fog, spilling over the silent town. In the glow of dawn, Zhang Hao slowly stood up straight, watching the white horizon in the east, and let out a long breath. This time, his Logic had not only connected the clues but had also connected a path to survival and... a nearly perfect victory.