[You head towards the Scarecrow.]
[Seeing you approach, the Scarecrow's eyes flickered with greed: "A new watchman! You must need help, right? Don't be shy, just pay me a little life span, and you can ask about anything in this village. I promise not to hold back!"]
The same three options were listed: Random Info, Specific Info, and Leave Quietly.
Mu You selected 'Specific Info' and then typed 'Werewolf' in the text box that popped up beneath.
["Werewolf? You dared to provoke a werewolf? You're in trouble now! Werewolves are incredibly fierce and brutal creatures. Once they've targeted you, your only fate is to be hunted down and killed! Information about werewolves isn't cheap. If you want it, the cost is this much!" The Scarecrow holds up four fingers at you.]
[Do you want to pay forty years of your life span to the Scarecrow to learn about the 'Werewolf'?]
A corner of Mu You's mouth twitched. This Scarecrow was as heartless as ever. It demanded forty years for some measly information, why not just rob people outright?
"Pay."
[You chose to give the greedy Scarecrow forty years of your life span. The Scarecrow was ecstatic, and its opinion of you has changed from 'Fat Sheep' to 'Stupidly Rich Fat Sheep'.]
"Humph."
Mu You thought that the Scarecrow truly deserved to be exploited. At first, he felt a little guilty about getting information for free every day. But now, he felt no guilt at all.
The Scarecrow might see him as a fat sheep, but in Mu You's mind, the Scarecrow was nothing more than an 'Information Extraction Machine'.
[The Scarecrow began recounting information about the Werewolf to you: "Werewolves are half-human and half-wolf creatures, belonging to the Evil Camp. They are fierce, deceitful, and incredibly strong. During the daytime, werewolves can't enter human villages, but they can impersonate humans, blending in society, living and working with regular villagers.
When night falls, werewolves can move freely about within the village, hunting down those they have set their sights on.
Among the entire village, only the witch's poison can deal with a werewolf. Witches are one of the werewolf's mortal enemies. Every year, the number of werewolves poisoned to death by witches could span the whole Star Spirit World, once aligned. If you're being pursued by a werewolf, perhaps you can ask the witch for help."]
"So it's just like a real-life version of the Werewolf game, huh?"
Looking at the information provided by the Scarecrow, Mu You was somewhat annoyed.
Despite all the fanfare, this information basically boiled down to just three points.
1. One of the villagers in this village is impersonated by a werewolf.
2. The werewolf only moves in its true form at night.
3. The werewolf's nemesis is a witch's poison.
Since werewolves can only act at night, theoretically speaking, Mu You would never encounter one if he just played during the day.
Unfortunately, the effect of the Watchman's Pumpkin Lantern only works at night, making things... rather inconvenient.
Thoughts flickered across his mind in the span of a blink. Seeing the five seconds almost up, Mu You decisively pressed the pocket watch.
[Time rewinds, you return to five seconds prior, and your life span is fully restored.]
[The pitiful Scarecrow was still energetically selling its information to you: "Information about werewolves isn't cheap. If you want to know, the minimum cost is this much! Do you want to pay..."]
"No."
The Scarecrow: ???
[You refused to pay with your life span and chose to leave under the Scarecrow's baffled gaze.]
[The Scarecrow waved frantically, trying to call you back, but it was all in vain as you unceremoniously left the village entrance.]
"Not bad. I can shop around the village entrance every day, and even get some free information..."
Mu You was very satisfied with the current layout of the village.
Leaving the village entrance, he opened his status panel to glance at his action points.
[Today's Action Points: 3/5.]
Today, Mu You paid special attention to his action points. The two points he just spent were deducted from the Scarecrow and the Owl Shop.
The process of him leaving from the log cabin and returning to the village entrance, however, didn't consume any action points.
"So, it means that traveling the already explored path doesn't consume action points," Mu You thought.
Given this, it becomes even more essential to explore the map as early as possible!
As long as he can fully explore the entire village map, he can move freely in the future within the village without having to worry about all his action points being consumed in traveling.
Leaving the village entrance, Mu You obtained some information about the werewolf and even held the anti-werewolf special treasure - Poisonous Apple. Now, he rather felt like finding the werewolf for a battle, hoping to revenge on the spot for the one who was killed yesterday.
So, next Mu You began to repeatedly jump between the four already explored locations – 'village entrance', 'log cabin', 'blacksmith's shop', 'dining hall', hoping to encounter the werewolf.
Regrettably, after jumping around for ten minutes, the werewolf still did not appear. Instead, the Pumpkin Lantern gave him a surprise first.
[Pumpkin Lamp Special Effects, triggered!]
While Mu You was making a jump between the village entrance and the blacksmith's shop, a game prompt suddenly popped up.
[The Pumpkin Lantern projects a faint blue light, reflecting some hard-to-spot bloodstains on the snowy road ahead.]
[Judging from the distribution of the bloodstains, a battle might have just taken place! The bloodstains stretch along the snowy path and extend into the darkness far ahead, do you want to follow?]
"Oh ho!"
The newly prompted text energized Mu You.
When he obtained the werewolf information earlier, he was hesitant about whether to play the game at night. Playing at night could trigger the Pumpkin Lantern special effects, but there was also the risk of facing the werewolf.
However, before he could finalize his decision, the Pumpkin Lantern surprisingly triggered an additional event!
Mu You quickly clicked on 'Track'.
[You followed along the bloodstains and arrived at an abandoned stone house.]
[In the dim light of the Pumpkin Lantern, you found a familiar figure curled up under the stone wall, lingering on the verge of death.]
[As you approached to check, you discovered it was the bearded hunter you met the day before last! He was badly bitten by a wild beast, apparently on the brink of death.]
[The hunter recognized you, but he had no strength to speak. As he turned his head, he faintly fainted from the pain. You choose...]
[Take his belongings and leave.]
[Try to revive him.]
[Leave him as he is.]
Mu You was taken back, this scene seemed familiar!
He was the one who saved the hunter before, and again it's him at the brink of death today, what terrible fate, always on the brink of death...
Unfortunately, Mu You did not have a bandage to treat his injuries this time.
Among the three options, Mu You chose the second one.
[You chose to walk up to the hunter, pick up the water jug around his waist, and pour water on his face.]
[The hunter woke in the cold shock, gratefully looking at you, and vaguely told you his story...]
[Turns out, the hunter has been hunting the werewolf in the village recently, constantly outsmarting and battling the werewolf every night.]
[In today's battle, both the hunter and the werewolf were heavily wounded. The hunter was badly injured, but the werewolf was also hit by his hunting rifle and ran away wounded. As long as the bloodstains are followed, the werewolf's whereabouts can be found!]
[Because you saved him the day before yesterday, the hunter confirmed that you were not disguised as a werewolf, and he handed you a blood-stained badge with trembling hands.]
[You have obtained the 'Blood-stained Police Badge'.]
[Blood-stained Police Badge: The badge is a symbol of trust, give the badge to any character in the village, you can ask them to do something within their power for you. (Only applicable within the Serene Village)]