The end of ten days

Chapter 6 The Police Officer

“You brat, stop trying to sow discord,” Officer Li glared at Qiao Jiajin and said sternly. “You’re a loan shark, and I’m a police officer. Who do you think people will believe?”

Qi Xia watched the argument unfolding around him. He was fairly certain that Officer Li was telling the truth—he really was a detective.

But he was heading in the wrong direction.

Maybe it was his professional instinct, or maybe it was his sense of justice, but he was still trying to organize everyone in an orderly fashion.

The halftime break was already halfway over, and the room gradually fell into silence.

Qi Xia had already repeated to himself countless times in his mind, “My name is Li Ming.” He had repeated it so much that even he was starting to get irritated.

After all, he had been sitting next to a corpse with a shattered skull the entire time, making it impossible to stay calm.

Blood dripped from the table onto the floor, drop by drop. The group had been sharing a room with this corpse for nearly an hour now, and a strange stench was beginning to spread.

Qi Xia glanced absentmindedly at the body beside him. His pants were already filthy.

When a person dies, their muscles lose control in a short period, leading to involuntary bodily functions.

Before the stench of decomposition set in, an awful smell had already begun to permeate the room.

Qi Xia and another woman sat on either side of the corpse. The woman seemed particularly uncomfortable with the odor, covering her nose and mouth with her hand the entire time.

Ten more minutes passed before the goat-headed figure finally spoke: “The twenty-minute halftime break is over. The game resumes now.”

The young man named Han Yimo steadied himself, took a deep breath, and began to speak:

“My name is Han Yimo. I’m an online novel author.”

“Before coming here, I was in my rented apartment, writing the final chapter of my novel. Since my story features over a hundred characters, and most of them needed to appear in the finale, I was completely focused on my writing. I didn’t hear anything happening outside at all.”

“In fact… I don’t even know when the earthquake happened or when I lost consciousness…”

Han Yimo’s story was different from everyone else’s. His experience seemed completely independent, and he had stopped after just a few sentences.

“That’s it?” the burly man asked, slightly taken aback. “You just say ‘I don’t know’ and that’s the end of it?”

“Because I can’t lie, I don’t need to make up a story just to match everyone else’s.” Han Yimo’s voice wasn’t loud, but it carried an inexplicable sense of conviction.

“Fine… next person then.” Officer Li still looked doubtful, then turned and said, “It’s that lady’s turn now.”

“Hey, cop,” Qiao Jiajin sneered. “We’re all participants here, so stop acting like you’re our leader.”

“Somebody has to take charge,” Officer Li countered. “Like I said, there’s only one liar among us. The other eight need to work together.”

“Yeah? And why does that have to be you?” Qiao Jiajin clearly wasn’t taking Officer Li’s words seriously. “Out there, maybe I’d be afraid of you. But in here, who’s to say you’re not the liar?”

“Enough, you two,” the cold-looking woman interrupted.

From the beginning, she had been the one to question the goat-headed figure about keeping them imprisoned for twenty-four hours. She seemed logical and extremely composed.

Seeing that the two men had calmed down, she continued, “In this so-called ‘game,’ no matter who wins in the end, the rest of us could be seen as accomplices to murder. After all, we’re the ones collectively voting to have someone executed. That’s what you should be thinking about.”

Qi Xia’s expression flickered slightly at her words.

If he really did leave this room alive, then that meant he had effectively “killed” the other eight people.

But what choice did he have?

The card in front of him was a genuine Liar card. Who in their right mind would willingly sacrifice themselves so that the others could live?

“My name is Zhang Chenze. I’m a lawyer.” The cold woman crossed her arms and spoke expressionlessly. “It’s unfortunate to meet all of you in such a bizarre place. Otherwise, I’d be handing out my business card right now.”

No one really understood her attempt at humor, but she didn’t seem to care.

“Before coming here, I was organizing case files for an upcoming trial. My client was scammed out of two million yuan—a huge amount, and a serious offense.”

At the mention of “two million,” most people’s expressions remained unchanged, but Qiao Jiajin visibly flinched and asked, “Two million?”

“That’s right. Two million. They say lawyers are impartial, but we still have personal sympathies. This man borrowed from illegal lenders just to provide for his family—it’s heartbreaking. But the loan shark case is a separate matter and has nothing to do with me.”

“When the earthquake hit, I was driving to meet my client. I was on Qingyang Avenue, had just passed Du Fu Thatched Cottage, and was approaching Wuhou Shrine. I remember… I wasn’t driving fast, about 40 km/h. Then, suddenly, I saw the ground ahead split open.”

“I hit the brakes immediately and stopped just in time, but the cars behind me weren’t so lucky. There was a chain-reaction crash.”

“I heard several loud bangs as my car got pushed into the fissure. Then, I blacked out and woke up here.”

Another story ended. Only three people remained.

“Wuhou Shrine…” Dr. Zhao murmured. “You mean the one in Chengdu?”

“Yes. I work in Chengdu.”

So the earthquake had affected the entire country.

Piecing together who was lying based on these scattered, unfamiliar stories was proving to be incredibly difficult.

“Guess it’s my turn,” Officer Li glanced at the others. “I already said my name. I’m Li Shangwu, a criminal detective from Inner Mongolia.”

“Before I came here, I was tracking a fraud suspect. Based on solid intel, we had pinpointed his exact location.”

“This suspect had scammed a massive amount—two million yuan. It was our city’s first major fraud case of the year.”

“My partner and I had been staking out his hideout from our car for three days, just waiting for him to show up.”

“But this guy was even sharper than we expected. It was like he sensed something. He never once appeared.”

“We had been living in that car for three days—eating, drinking, even relieving ourselves there. Our nerves were shot.”

“But you know what’s worse than not having food or water for a grown man?”

“Running out of cigarettes.”

“Neither of us had a single one left. Technically, we weren’t allowed to leave, but the withdrawal was hell.”

“So, I told my partner to run and buy some while I kept watch.”

“But just minutes after he left, the ground started shaking violently. I tried to get out of the car to see what was happening—when suddenly, someone looped a thin wire around my neck from behind.”

“Even though I’m trained in close combat, it’s nearly impossible to fight back when you’re being strangled from the back seat. I couldn’t even touch the guy, let alone remove the wire.”

At that moment, everyone looked at Officer Li’s neck. There was indeed a red mark there.

“So, I immediately reclined the seat to relieve the pressure, but I still couldn’t turn around—my legs were stuck under the steering wheel.”

“Then, before I could react, something heavy smashed into my head.”

“And that’s the last thing I remember.”

The room fell silent.

Unlike everyone else, who had been knocked out by accidents, Officer Li had been attacked.

If they had to pick the most suspicious person among them…

Wasn’t it him?