Ten Days End Revised Edition

Chapter 7: Winning Chances

"You’re lying, officer," Qiao Jiajin said coldly.

"Hmph, I knew you would say that, but what evidence do you have to prove I’m lying? Just because someone attacked me?"

"Of course not," Qiao Jiajin smiled faintly. "Although I’m not sure why, all the stories told by everyone so far are, more or less, connected. There are many common characters among them, and if you disregard the geographical locations, the stories are all reasonable."

"So what?"

"The problem lies here." Qiao Jiajin pointed at Lawyer Zhang Chenze, "In your and the lawyer's stories, there is one common character—the 'fraud who scammed two million yuan.' But your stories contradict each other, which means one of you is lying."

Officer Li paused and asked, "Where’s the contradiction?"

Qiao Jiajin shook his head and looked at Officer Li. "Lawyer Zhang was already preparing for the trial, which means in her story, the 'suspect' has already been caught. But in your story, you’re still on surveillance duty, which means in your story, the 'suspect' hasn’t been caught yet. Isn’t that a contradiction?"

Officer Li thought for a moment, then said, "I have to admit, you make a valid point, but I think you’ve been influenced by this 'game.' First, you need to understand a major premise: all the storytellers before were not in the same city as the others. In other words, no matter how similar our experiences are, they can’t possibly be the same event. Since they’re different events, naturally, the outcomes will be different."

Qi Xia silently watched the ongoing debate between the two, not interrupting.Yes, let them argue, the more intensely, the better.As long as one of them votes for the other, the liar will win.After all, the rules are absolute. If anyone besides the liar votes wrong, everyone else will perish.

Although Officer Li had provided an explanation, Qiao Jiajin’s words were still lingering in everyone’s minds.This was the first time they had noticed a contradiction between two stories.Qi Xia couldn’t help but think more highly of the thug named Qiao Jiajin.Although he seemed carefree and reckless, he was smarter than expected.

"Well... it’s my turn..." A girl spoke up.

Everyone shifted their attention to her.

This girl had let out a loud scream when the first body appeared.Now, she seemed to have calmed down, though her gaze was fixed firmly away from the body beside her.

"Hello everyone, my name is Lin Qin, and I’m a psychological counselor."

Qi Xia paused slightly, as the name "Lin Qin" was quite interesting.Before the Tang Dynasty, "Lin Qin" meant "apple."These characters carried a poetic resonance and were memorable.Perhaps Miss Lin’s parents wanted to give her a unique name, but it was clear this name would lead to her demise here.

Among the people present, there were writers, teachers, lawyers, doctors, and police officers. They might all know what "Lin Qin" means.Once that meaning was recognized, Lin Qin’s story would be unforgettable.

Lin Qin noticed everyone’s lack of reaction and then covered her nose and mouth with her hand and continued, "I’m from Ningxia. Before coming here, I was waiting for a client who’s a preschool teacher."

Everyone exchanged looks, realizing there was a connection to the previous story."They told me that the preschool teacher industry is tough nowadays. You can’t hit or scold the children. Parents treat preschool teachers like nannies, and the children treat them like servants. Every classroom has cameras, and parents can monitor in real-time. If you use a slightly harsher tone, the parents will immediately call the principal."

"But aren’t parents sending their children to school to help them develop proper values?""If teachers can’t discipline the children, how will the kids learn right from wrong?"

"She said she had been in a constant state of confusion and suppression."

"So, I prepared a treatment plan for her for about a month."

"But for some reason, the client never showed up for our appointments, and I kept waiting in my office."

"When the earthquake hit, I had no chance to escape. After all, my office is on the 26th floor."

"The higher the floor, the more intense the shaking. I felt the whole building swaying."

"I never knew there were earthquakes in Ningxia, but this time, I experienced it."

"Then, I vaguely remember the ceiling collapsing, and everything went black. I lost consciousness and ended up here."

After hearing Lin Qin’s story, everyone seemed to recall something.

Qiao Jiajin spoke up first. "I have two questions."

"Go ahead," Lin Qin responded, covering her nose and mouth.

"You mentioned that every classroom has 'cameras.' What do you mean by that?"

No one expected Qiao Jiajin to focus on this detail, but Lin Qin, as a counselor, patiently explained, "I think the reason they have 'cameras' is so that parents can watch what’s happening in the classroom from anywhere."

"Ah, so it’s 'closed-circuit television'... Is it a private preschool?" Qiao Jiajin muttered to himself, then asked, "So, the preschool teacher you met, is she this Xiao Ran next to us?"

"I don’t know," Lin Qin shook her head. "I only added her on WeChat. We were supposed to meet and discuss things."

"WeChat?" Qiao Jiajin was taken aback, as if he didn’t understand.

Officer Li interrupted them, saying, "Thug, you’re at it again. Xiao Ran is from Yunnan, and this Lin Qin is from Ningxia. Who would travel such a long distance to see a psychological counselor?"

Qiao Jiajin wasn’t backing down. "I just find it suspicious. This is the first time someone has mentioned another participant’s story."

Doctor Zhao, this time, thought Qiao Jiajin made sense. He nodded and asked, "Xiao Ran, was your reason for seeing a counselor the same as what Lin Qin described?"

"Well..." Xiao Ran hesitated, then said, "It’s not quite the same... I was depressed because a parent kept blaming me..."

"That just proves it’s a coincidence," Doctor Zhao nodded. "After all, it’s about two different regions, so there’s no need to force a connection."

Everyone fell silent, but Lawyer Zhang Chenze suddenly spoke up. "Ms. Lin, half of your story is the preschool teacher’s story. Doesn’t that break the rules?"

"Huh?" Lin Qin was momentarily stunned. "I told her story to help you better understand my work..."

"Don’t misunderstand, I don’t mean anything bad," Zhang Chenze smiled. "What I’m saying is, if that preschool teacher’s experience was made up by you, it will naturally differ from Xiao Ran’s story, and that proves you’re lying."

"You...!" Lin Qin didn’t expect the woman in front of her to be so aggressive. She could only argue, "Dr. Zhao and Officer Li both said we’re from different provinces; this is just a coincidence!"

"A coincidence, huh?" Zhang Chenze crossed her arms and continued, "Think about it carefully, why did they choose us nine people to gather here? Don’t forget, we are nine strangers. If we’re supposed to detect flaws in each other’s stories, we need a clue. And that clue is that all our stories are connected. After hearing each person’s story, I feel like we were specifically selected for this purpose. This way, we can find the discrepancies in their stories and identify the liar. Otherwise, this game would be too absurd, because the liar’s chances of winning would be too high."