Chapter 2

The woman's scream stopped, and everyone's thoughts came to an abrupt halt.

The few men who had been shouting and cursing just moments ago were now silent.

It was no longer a matter of "illegality"; the strange man in front of them was truly capable of killing.

After a full minute of silence, the Goat Head nodded slightly: "Very good, nine of you, it seems you have all calmed down."

Everyone's faces changed, but no one dared to speak, just as he said, there were now really "nine" of them.

Qixia extended her trembling hand and removed a pinkish object from her face.

The piece of shattered brain, still warm, was still faintly pulsating, but after a few seconds, it lost its vitality like a deflated balloon.

"Allow me to introduce myself..." The Goat Head extended his blood-soaked fingers, pointing at his mask, and said, "I am the 'Man-Goat,' and you are the 'Participants.'"

Everyone was taken aback and then somewhat puzzled, "Man-Goat," "Participants"?

"By gathering you here today, it is to participate in a game, ultimately to create a 'God,'" the Goat Head said in a calm tone.

These two consecutive sentences made everyone frown.

After a few minutes of interaction, everyone had a general understanding that the man in front of them was a madman, but this madman claimed he was going to create a "God"?

"Create... what kind of God?" the muscular young man asked nervously.

"A God like 'Nüwa'!" The Goat Head gestured wildly, emitting a pungent odor, his voice filled with savagery, "How wonderful! You will witness history with me, just as Nüwa created humans but turned into a rainbow while mending the sky... We cannot lose Nüwa, so we must create a Nüwa! There is a great mission waiting for the 'God' to accomplish!"

His voice grew increasingly high, as if he had been injected with adrenaline.

"Nüwa..." The muscular young man furrowed his brows, feeling that this was too hard to accept. He paused and then asked, "Are you some kind of religion?"

"Religion?" The Goat Head was slightly taken aback, turning to the young man and saying, "We are much grander than a 'religion,' we have a 'world'!"

After hearing this, everyone fell silent again.

The muscular man's question was very pointed. The actions of this goat-headed man were no different from those of a cult, but most cults tend to fabricate a new god rather than use a heroic figure like Nüwa.

"Since that's the case..." the muscular man continued, "What do you want us to 'participate' in here?"

"I've already said, it's just a game," the Goat Head answered without hesitation, "If you win, one of you will become a 'God.'"

"Damn it..." the tattooed man seemed to have calmed down, and he said with a curse, "A 'God List,' right? What if we don't win?"

"If you don't win..." The Goat Head looked at the blood on his hands, somewhat disappointed, "It would be a great pity if you don't win..."

Although he didn't say it outright, everyone understood his meaning.

If you don't win, you die.

There was no option for "living out" in the choices he gave.

Either become his so-called "God" or die here like the young man whose head had been shattered.

"If everyone understands... then this 'game' officially begins. This game is called 'The Liar.'" The Goat Head slowly pulled out a stack of paper from his pocket and casually walked to each person, placing one sheet.

He then took out several pens and distributed them to everyone.

There were many bloodstains on the table, and when each person's white paper landed, it was stained red. When they flipped the paper and wiped it with their hands, the blood red spread like paint, making the white paper even redder.

"Next, I want each of you

to tell a story about what happened before you came here." The Goat Head continued, "But note that among all the storytellers, one person is lying. After all nine have told their stories, you will start voting. If all eight people select the 'Liar,' the liar is eliminated, and the rest survive. If any one person selects incorrectly, the liar survives, and the rest are eliminated."

"The Liar...?"

Everyone was somewhat puzzled. Would anyone really lie at this critical moment?

"Wait, can we discuss 'strategy'?" the muscular man suddenly asked.

"Sure." The Goat Head nodded, "Before the game starts, you have one minute to discuss strategy. Do you want to use it now... or later?"

"I want to use it now." The muscular man said without hesitation.

"Go ahead."

The Goat Head took a step back, moving away from the table.

The muscular man pursed his lips and then looked around at everyone, trying to avoid the corpse on the table as much as possible. He said, "I don't know who among you will lie, but this 'rule' sounds too arbitrary. If just one person votes incorrectly, we all die. Even if we vote correctly, the liar will die. It seems that no matter what, there will be a death. I have an idea for how we can all survive..."

Everyone looked at the muscular man upon hearing this.

Is it possible for everyone to survive?

"That is for all of us not to lie." The muscular man didn't wait for everyone to think it through and immediately revealed his plan, "All nine of us will tell the truth and write 'No one is lying' on this paper. This way, we won't violate the rules, and we can all survive."

The man in the white coat tapped his fingers on the table and said after a moment, "Your plan is good, but there is one premise: 'You are not the liar.' How can we trust you? If you are the liar, and we all write 'No one is lying,' only you will survive."

"What kind of talk is that?" The muscular man's face turned slightly angry, "If I were the liar, why would I suggest this? I just need to save myself."

The Goat Head waved his hand slightly and said, "The one-minute time is up, please stop talking."

The two men both huffed and fell silent.

"Next, please draw cards." The Goat Head pulled out a small stack of cards from his pocket. The cards were the size of playing cards, with "Nüwa Game" written on the back.

The muscular man was taken aback and asked, "What is this?"

"These are 'identity cards.'" The Goat Head laughed and said, "If you draw 'The Liar,' you must lie."

The muscular man clenched his teeth: "Are you playing with us?! Why didn't you tell us about this rule earlier?!"

"This is to teach you a lesson." The Goat Head sneered, "I hadn't finished explaining the rules when you asked if you could discuss strategy. It was you who wasted the precious minute, not me."

The muscular man's face turned pale, but thinking of the Goat Head's murderous methods, he swallowed his anger.

In a minute, all nine drew a card from the Goat Head, but no one dared to look at it.

If the card said "The Liar," it would become a matter of whether they lived or the others lived.

The four women's hands were trembling slightly, and the men's faces were not good.

This was not a draw for "identity," but for "life and death."

Qixia took a deep breath, casually held her card with her hand, and moved it to her eyes.

She gently flipped it open.

It clearly read "The Liar."