suspenseful reincarnation

Technical lying

Liar...

Enzo silently repeated the word in his mind, confirming his role. Once certain, he calmly placed the card face down again. Just a minute ago, he had entertained the thought of everyone leaving this place alive.

But now, things are different.

Although he didn't know any of the eight people around him, this time, it was clear: they had to die.

"If no one has any objections, please remember the rule: there is exactly one liar among us," the goat-headed figure pointed to the attractive girl to Enzo's left. "Let's start with you and go clockwise."

"Me?" The girl was taken aback and then pouted.

Enzo turned his head. Starting the story-telling from the girl on his left, moving clockwise, put him at a disadvantage. He would be the last to speak. Under such intense and oppressive circumstances, people usually remember the first and last speakers the most. Raising an objection now would be too conspicuous; he would have to play it by ear.

The attractive girl frowned, her big eyes darting around nervously. She finally sighed and said, "Alright... I'll start. But I've never been good at telling stories, so please don't blame me if it's not good..."

The others had nothing to say and could only listen in silence.

The girl tucked a strand of hair behind her ear with her delicate fingers and began, "My name is Lucy. I'm a... uh... 'technical worker.' We earn our living with our skills, and I don't see any shame in that."

It was then that everyone noticed this girl, who called herself Sweet, was barely dressed. She wore a dirty, low-cut, short skirt that barely covered her.

But she didn’t seem to care.

"I don't have many stories that are suitable to share... just call me 'action,' not 'description,' because I don't know how to start. After all, who with a bit of culture would do my job..."

"Anyway, I was working just before coming here. The client I met was really odd... Our place has rooms, but he insisted on going to his car, saying it would be more exciting. So, to make money, I went with him..."

"It was my first time working in a car. Though it looked high-end, it was really cramped. Before long, I was sweating all over. I couldn’t understand what was so 'exciting' about that cramped space. His phone kept ringing, and he wouldn't pick up. It was driving me crazy..."

Lucy seemed ready to rant about the client, but then she glanced at the dead body on the table, shivered, and took a deep breath.

"Anyway, I chose this job, so I accepted it. But I never expected an 'earthquake.' At first, I thought our movements were too vigorous, causing the shaking. But then I realized it was a real earthquake."

At the mention of "earthquake," everyone’s expression shifted, as if recalling something.

"Our car was parked in an alley... right under a big billboard... I took my head out of the car and saw it. The huge billboard, for some reason, snapped and fell right onto the car with a crash. I lost consciousness..."

She exhaled deeply. "When I woke up, I was here. It scared me to death..."

Lucy put on a pitiful expression, clearly practiced eliciting sympathy from men.

The tattooed man next to her hesitated and then said, "Do we need to continue?"

The man in the white coat looked at him, confused. "What do you mean?"

"This 'lady' has already lied. We can just vote now," the tattooed man said confidently.

"What? What did I lie about?" Lucy was startled.

The tattooed man gave Lucy a cold look. "Your name. You said you're 'Lucy,' but all escorts use fake names like Sweet or Rose. By hiding your real name, you've already lied."

Lucy turned red. "You're talking nonsense! My name is Lucy! I haven’t used my real name in years!" She looked around at everyone and added, "At my workplace, people can only find me if they call me 'Lucy.' No one knows my real name!"

Everyone fell into deep thought, and Enzo's expression grew serious. From Lucy's story, he hadn't detected any sign of lying. Her storytelling was steady and smooth, like chatting with friends, which indicated either she had rehearsed this story many times, or she was telling the truth.

But the tattooed man introduced another angle: lying about her name.

Lying about a name doesn't require logic or coherence, making it hard to detect. After all, no one here knew each other, and names were only known through self-introduction.

Enzo recalled the goat-headed figure's words: "Among all the storytellers, one person is lying." This rule didn’t specify that the liar had to tell a false story; a false name would suffice.

Lucy, seeing she was suspected, looked nervous. "If you don't believe me, my real name is Lucy Smith... I'm from Los Angeles... You can try calling me by my real name. I won’t respond to it; I will only respond to 'Lucy'... I..."

Hearing this, Enzo shook his head. This woman wasn’t as clever as he thought. She couldn’t have premeditated this lie or come up with the idea of lying about her name on the spot.

The goat-headed figure said, "There is exactly one liar," so that person could only be Enzo himself.

If others didn't realize the significance of Lucy's name, Enzo had found a foolproof strategy. To fabricate a name, "Enzo" wasn't a good choice; it was uncommon and memorable. He needed something inconspicuous.

So, he decided to call himself "Steve Smith."

The rest of his story could be normal. Even the sharpest person wouldn’t see through it.

The game was almost over.