Upon seeing these three words, the expressions of everyone changed, showing a mix of astonishment."I drew the 'liar'," Qi Xia said slowly, "but whether I reveal this card or not doesn't matter, because it's completely irrelevant."He picked up the card and casually tossed it onto the table's center."If I'm not mistaken, each of you has a 'liar' card in your hands."After hearing this, no one moved. It took a while before Officer Li spoke up, asking, "So... are you saying that everyone lied just now?""Exactly," Qi Xia nodded. "You all are smarter than I imagined. Each of you added a small lie to your story, allowing it to be completely plausible within the storyline logic."Officer Li pondered for a moment, seemingly realizing something."If what you're saying is true..." Officer Li sighed deeply, "then the problem becomes even more tricky."The others looked at Officer Li, puzzled.Officer Li continued, "According to the rules, only if we all vote for the liar can we all survive, but then the liar loses. So, we..."Doctor Zhao was the first to understand Officer Li's meaning. "You mean... we can vote randomly because everyone is lying, turning this into a 'guaranteed win' game, and only the voted person dies?""Exactly," Officer Li nodded. "Now, the optimal solution is to concentrate all the votes on one person, minimizing losses. After all, the remaining people can survive..."His words suppressed the atmosphere to its extreme, while the Goat Head remained motionless.So... they were just voting to send one person to die?Qi Xia sighed helplessly, looking at Officer Li. "Officer, is interrupting others your hobby? Does it make you feel accomplished?""What kind of talk is that?" Officer Li frowned in response. "Aren't I giving you advice?""I don't need your help," Qi Xia said without hesitation. "Your ideas will kill everyone.""What?" Officer Li was taken aback. "How would my ideas kill everyone? Am I not right? If everyone is lying, then any vote would be valid, right?""Officer Li, the Goat Head said, 'the rules are absolute,' 'there is only one liar,'" Qi Xia reminded him. "Do you remember?""Well..." Officer Li hesitated for a moment, recalling that the Goat Head did indeed say those two sentences."I'll organize our thoughts for you now," Qi Xia said coldly. "In this game, it seems like the 'liar' has a significant advantage because everyone feels they're winning, but if we vote randomly, we'll all end up losing."Next to Qi Xia, Qiao Jiajin rubbed his tattooed arm and murmured to himself, "Because we're breaking the 'rules'...""Yes," Qi Xia nodded. "But the interesting thing about this game is that we can't determine for sure whether someone is lying. As Lawyer Zhang said, we can only rely on whether our experiences are contradictory to deduce, but we're not even from the same area. Even if things seem contradictory, there's no way to prove with 100% certainty that someone is lying."Qi Xia glanced at the pensive crowd before continuing, "The 'host' deliberately gathered us nine here, undoubtedly with a purpose, which is to let us find flaws in what seem to be interconnected stories.""But is that the right thing to do? What assurance do we have that the other person must be lying?" Qi Xia sneered, "In this game, the only 'liar' we can be 100% certain of from the known clues is this one person. What he said is completely different from our current situation."Qi Xia took the pen and wrote down the words "human goat" on the paper."I was curious before, why did the Goat Head introduce us to such a strange name at the beginning? It seemed unnecessary. Now, I think it's part of the game."The crowd glanced at "human goat," but he remained motionless.Officer Li was puzzled for a moment, then shook his head. "Swindler, I have a question. The Goat Head said the rules were 'there is only one liar among all the storytellers,' but he didn't tell a story, did he?""Didn't he?" Qi Xia shrugged noncommittally. "I remember clearly that the Goat Head said he gathered us here to create a 'god.' Isn't that a bizarre story?"Officer Li lowered his head silently, feeling that Qi Xia's words made a lot of sense, but there was something peculiar about it."But..." Dr. Zhao spoke up, "all your assumptions are based on the premise that 'everyone is a liar,' but how can you be certain that we are all liars? What if we flip over the cards and only you are the 'liar'?""You couldn't have told the truth," Qi Xia said with a bitter smile, his expression somewhat despairing. "I've spent some time verifying this issue. Not only do I know that you are all lying, but I also know where you lied."He pushed his draft paper forward and then looked at Sweetie beside him. "Sweetie, were you really 'working' in the car, leaning outside, and did the fallen billboard truly hit the car, causing you to lose consciousness?"Sweetie pursed her lips, unable to speak."Jiajin, did you really just 'lose consciousness' after falling from such a height onto the billboard?" Jiajin remained silent."Teacher Xiao Ran, did you and the child really manage to avoid the speeding car?" Xiao Ran's eyes dodged for a moment."Doctor Zhao, most neurosurgery rooms are built underground for environmental stability. You mentioned the 'ceiling' collapsing. What does it mean for the ceiling of the basement to collapse?" Doctor Zhao turned his head away."Han Yimo, you said you had no idea what happened, but when you're focused on writing, you hate being disturbed. Don't you know how you got here?" Han Yimo sighed softly."Lawyer Zhang, your car was driven into a crack. How deep was that crack?" Lawyer Zhang crossed his arms, expressionless."Officer Li, what brand of car do you drive? Can it instantly recline the seats and break free from the restraints behind?" Officer Li touched the red mark on his neck, hesitating to speak."Lin Qing, your ceiling collapsed too, but you said your studio is located on a high floor. Once the upper floor starts collapsing, wouldn't the entire building cease to exist?" Lin Qing lowered her head deeply.Seeing the expressions of the crowd, Qi Xia gritted his teeth and said, "Admit it, everyone, including me, we're all dead."
YOU ARE READING
十天的毁灭
Paranormal"When I thought it was just an ordinary day, I found myself trapped in the land of doom. When I thought all I needed was to keep participating in the death games to escape, I realized that people began to help me."
