Chapter 9: The Unacceptable Truth
1098 Words
After seeing those three words, everyone’s expression turned to one of shock.
"I drew the 'Liar' card," Qi Xia said slowly. "But whether this card is flipped or not doesn’t matter because it’s irrelevant."
He picked up the card and casually tossed it in the center of the table.
"If I’m not wrong, every one of you here holds a 'Liar' card."
No one moved after hearing this. After a while, Officer Li spoke up and asked, "So… are you saying that everyone lied in their stories?"
"That’s right." Qi Xia nodded. "You all are smarter than I thought. In each of your stories, you’ve included a small lie, making the story logically sound without affecting the plot."
Officer Li thought for a moment, as if something had occurred to him.
"If you’re right…" Officer Li sighed deeply, "Then the problem just got more complicated."
Everyone turned to look at Officer Li, not fully understanding.
Officer Li continued, "According to the rules, only if we all choose the liar will we survive. But if that’s the case, the liar loses. So we…"
Doctor Zhao was the first to understand what Officer Li meant: "You’re saying… we can vote freely, because everyone is lying, and this becomes a 'guaranteed win game,' where only the person voted for dies?"
"Exactly." Officer Li nodded. "The optimal solution now is to concentrate all the votes on one person. This minimizes the loss, because the rest of us will survive…"
His words once again suppressed the mood of the group, but the goat-head man remained motionless.
So, are they just voting for one person to die?
Qi Xia sighed helplessly and looked at Officer Li. "Officer, is interrupting others a hobby of yours? Does it give you a sense of accomplishment?"
"What do you mean by that?" Officer Li frowned and replied, "Aren’t I helping you come up with a plan?"
"I don’t need your help," Qi Xia said without thinking. "Your plan will get everyone killed."
"What?" Officer Li was stunned. "Why would I get everyone killed? Isn’t what I’m saying right? If everyone is lying, then any vote can be valid?"
"Officer Li, remember what the goat-head man said, 'The rules are absolute,' and 'There is exactly one liar,' do you remember?"
"This..." Officer Li pondered for a moment, recalling that the goat-head man had indeed said those two things.
"I’ll help everyone clear up the confusion," Qi Xia said coldly. "In this game, it seems like the liar has a very high chance of winning because everyone feels like they’re going to win. But if we vote freely, in the end, all of us will die."
Qiao Jiajin, sitting next to Qi Xia, stroked his tattooed arm and muttered to himself, "Because we broke the 'rules'..."
"Yes," Qi Xia nodded. "But the interesting part of this game is that we can’t deduce whether someone is lying. As Lawyer Zhang said, we can only deduce from whether the stories contradict each other, but we’re not from the same region. Even if things seem contradictory, we have no way to prove someone’s lying with 100% certainty."
Qi Xia looked around at the deep in thought crowd and continued, "The 'host' specifically chose us nine to sit here for a reason: to let us pick out what we think are flaws from these seemingly interconnected stories."
"But is that really right? What’s the guarantee that we’ll know for sure if someone is lying?" Qi Xia sneered. "In this game, the only person we can be 100% sure is the 'liar' is this one person. What he said is completely different from our current situation."
Qi Xia grabbed a pen and quickly wrote "Human Goat" on the paper.
"I’ve always wondered why the goat-head man introduced 'Human Goat' in the beginning. It seemed like an unnecessary move. Now I realize this is part of the game."
Everyone slowly turned their gaze to "Human Goat," but he still hadn’t moved.
Officer Li was stunned for a moment, then shook his head. "Liar, I have a question. The goat-head man said the rule was 'there is exactly one liar among the storytellers,' but he didn’t tell a story himself."
"Didn’t he?" Qi Xia shrugged nonchalantly. "I clearly remember the goat-head man saying that he gathered us here to create a 'god.' Isn’t that an unbelievable story?"
Officer Li lowered his head silently. He felt that Qi Xia’s words made sense, but something still felt off.
"But…" Doctor Zhao spoke up. "All your assumptions are based on the premise that 'everyone is lying,' but why are you so sure we are the liars? What if, when we flip over the cards, you’re the only one who is the 'liar'?"
"You can’t be telling the truth." Qi Xia chuckled bitterly, his expression somewhat desperate. "I’ve spent time verifying this. I not only know that you’re all lying, but I also know exactly where you’re lying."
He pushed his draft paper forward and looked at Tian Tian. "Tian Tian, when you were 'working' in the car and stuck your head out, did the falling billboard really hit the car and cause you to lose consciousness?"
Tian Tian bit her lip, not daring to speak.
"Qiao Jiajin, when you fell from such a high place and hit the billboard, did you really just 'lose consciousness'?"
Qiao Jiajin remained silent.
"Teacher Xiao Ran, when you were with that child, did you really avoid the speeding car?"
Xiao Ran’s gaze flickered.
"Doctor Zhao, surgery rooms are built to be much sturdier than regular rooms to maintain stability, but you said the ceiling collapsed. Were you really just knocked out?"
Doctor Zhao turned his head away.
"Han Yimo, you said you had no idea what happened, but when you’re focused on writing, the last thing you want is a distraction. Don’t tell me you didn’t notice how you got here?"
Han Yimo sighed softly.
"Lawyer Zhang, your car was pushed into a c***k. How deep was that c***k?"
Lawyer Zhang crossed his arms, his face expressionless.
"Officer Li, what kind of car do you drive? Can it instantly recline the seats and free you from the person behind you?"
Officer Li touched the red mark on his neck, hesitating to speak.
"Lin Qin, your ceiling also collapsed, but you said your office was on a high floor. When the top floors collapse, the entire building should fall, right?"
Lin Qin lowered her head deeply.
Seeing everyone’s expressions, Qi Xia knocked on the table and said,"Everyone, admit it. Including me, we’ve all been dead."
- Writer
