Chapter 9: The Unacceptable Truth
1160 Words
Everyone was taken aback upon seeing those three words.
“I drew the ‘Liar’ card,” Zachary said slowly. “But whether this card is revealed or not doesn’t matter because it’s irrelevant.”
He picked up the card and casually tossed it onto the table.
“If I’m not mistaken, every one of you holds the ‘Liar’ card.”
The crowd remained still after hearing this. After a moment, Officer Li asked, “So… are you saying everyone just lied?”
“Exactly,” Zachary nodded. “You all are smarter than I expected. Each of you has incorporated a small lie into your stories, allowing them to make sense without affecting the narrative logic.”
Officer Li pondered this for a moment, as if he had also realized something.
“If what you’re saying is true…” Officer Li sighed deeply, “the problem becomes even more complicated.”
Everyone turned to Officer Li, confused.
Officer Li continued, “According to the rules, only if we all identify the Liar can we survive together. But if that’s the case, then the Liar loses. So we…”
Dr. Zhao was the first to understand what Officer Li meant. “Are you saying… we can vote freely because everyone is lying? This becomes a ‘foolproof game’ where only the person voted for will die?”
“Exactly,” Officer Li nodded. “The optimal strategy now is to concentrate all votes on one person, minimizing losses. After all, the remaining people will survive…”
His statement brought an oppressive atmosphere back into the room, while the Goat Mask remained motionless.
So they were merely voting to send one person to their death?
Zachary sighed helplessly and said to Officer Li, “Officer, is it your hobby to interrupt others? Does it give you a sense of accomplishment?”
“What do you mean?” Officer Li frowned and replied. “I’m just trying to help you strategize!”
“I don’t need your help,” Zachary retorted without hesitation. “Your ideas could kill everyone.”
“What?” Officer Li was taken aback. “How could I be a threat? Isn’t it true that if everyone is lying, then any vote can be valid?”
“Officer Li, the Goat Mask said, ‘The rules are absolute,’ and ‘There is only one Liar.’ Do you remember that?”
“This…” Officer Li pondered for a moment, recalling that the Goat Mask had indeed said those two things.
“Let me clarify the situation for everyone,” Zachary said coldly. “In this game, it seems that the Liar has a high chance of winning because everyone feels they are winning, but if we vote indiscriminately, the ones who die will be all of us.”
Jason, sitting next to Zachary, stroked his tattooed arm and murmured, “Because we would be breaking the ‘rules’…”
“Yes,” Zachary nodded. “But the interesting part of this game is that we cannot determine if someone is lying. As Lawyer Zhang said, we can only infer from our respective experiences whether they contradict each other. Yet we aren’t from the same region, so even if events seem contradictory, there’s no absolute certainty to prove someone is lying.”
Zachary looked at the crowd, who were deep in thought, and continued, “The ‘organizer’ specifically chose the nine of us to sit here for a reason: to let us mistakenly find flaws in seemingly interconnected stories.”
“But is that really right? How can we be sure that the others are definitely lying?” Zachary laughed coldly. “In this game, the only person we can confirm as the Liar from known clues is just one. His words are completely different from our current situation.”
Zachary took a pen and quickly wrote the words “Goat Man” on the paper.
“I’ve been curious about why the Goat Mask introduced us to the strange name ‘Goat Man’ at the start. It seemed superfluous. Now I realize this is part of the game.”
Everyone slowly turned to look at the “Goat Man,” who remained unmoved.
Officer Li was taken aback and shook his head. “Con artist, I have a question. The Goat Mask said the rule is that ‘among the storytellers, there is only one Liar,’ but he didn’t tell a story.”
“Didn’t he?” Zachary shrugged indifferently. “I clearly remember the Goat Mask saying he gathered us here to create a ‘God.’ Isn’t that a bizarre story?”
Officer Li lowered his head in silence. He felt Zachary's words made a lot of sense, but something still felt off.
“However…” Dr. Zhao interjected, “all your assumptions are based on the premise that ‘everyone is a Liar.’ But why do you assume we are all liars? What if we open the cards and you are the only Liar?”
“You all can’t be telling the truth.” Zachary forced a smile, his expression slightly desperate. “I’ve spent some time verifying this. I know for a fact that you’re all lying and where you’ve lied.”
He pushed his draft paper forward, then looked at Sweet. “Sweet, you said you were ‘working’ in the car, with your head sticking out. Did the falling billboard really hit the car, making you lose consciousness?”
Sweet pressed her lips together, unable to respond.
“Jason, you fell from such a high place onto the billboard and just ‘lost consciousness’?”
Jason remained silent.
“Teacher Xiao Ran, you carried the child. Did you really avoid that out-of-control car?”
Xiao Ran's gaze flickered.
“Dr. Zhao, operating rooms are built to be more stable than ordinary rooms, yet you said the ceiling collapsed. Were you really just knocked unconscious?”
Dr. Zhao turned his head away.
“Han Yimo, you claimed you were completely unaware of what happened. But when you’re focused on writing, the worst thing is being disturbed. Didn’t you know how you ended up here?”
Han Yimo let out a soft sigh.
“Lawyer Zhang, your car was crashed into a fissure. How deep was that fissure?”
Zhang Chenzhe crossed her arms, her expression unchanged.
“Officer Li, what brand of car were you driving that could 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 Qing, your ceiling also collapsed, but you said your studio is on a high floor. Once a high floor starts to collapse, wouldn’t the whole building be gone?”
Lin Qing bowed her head deeply.
Seeing the expressions of the crowd, Zachary tapped the table.
“Everyone, admit it: including myself, we are all already dead.”
- Writer
