Chapter 9

When everyone saw these three words, their faces showed a mix of shock.

"I drew the 'Liar'," Qi Xia said slowly. "But it doesn't matter whether this card is revealed or not, because it's not important at all."

He picked up the card and casually threw it in the center of the table.

"If I'm not mistaken, everyone in your hands has the 'Liar' card."

After hearing this, no one moved. After a while, Officer Li asked, "So... you mean everyone was lying just now?"

"That's right," Qi Xia nodded. "You are all smarter than I thought. You all added a small lie to your stories, making them completely plausible without affecting the plot's logic."

Officer Li thought for a moment, as if he had realized something.

"If what you say is true..." Officer Li sighed deeply, "the problem becomes even more complicated."

Everyone looked at Officer Li, puzzled.

Officer Li continued, "According to the rules, only if all of us choose the Liar can we all survive, but in that case, 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 'winning game' where only the person voted for will die?"

"Exactly," Officer Li nodded. "The best strategy now is to concentrate all the votes on one person, minimizing the loss, after all, the rest of us can survive..."

His words once again plunged the atmosphere into a deep depression, while the Goat Head remained motionless.

In other words... they were just voting to let one person die?

Qi Xia sighed helplessly and said to Officer Li, "Officer, do you enjoy interrupting others?"

"What do you mean?" Officer Li frowned, "I was just trying to help you strategize."

"I don't need your help," Qi Xia said without hesitation. "Your idea will kill everyone."

"What?" Officer Li was taken aback. "Why would I kill everyone? Isn't what I said correct? If everyone is lying, wouldn't any vote be valid?"

"Officer Li, the Goat Head said, 'The rules are absolute,' and 'There is and can only be one Liar.' Do you remember that?"

"This..." Officer Li pondered for a moment, recalling that the Goat Head had indeed said those two things.

"Let me clarify the situation for everyone," Qi Xia said coldly. "In this game, it seems the 'Liar' has a great advantage because everyone feels they are winning. But if we vote randomly, we will all end up dead."

Qiao Jiajin, sitting next to Qi Xia, stroked his tattooed arm and muttered to himself, "Because we are breaking the 'rules'..."

"Yes," Qi Xia nodded. "But the interesting part of this game is that we can't determine if the others are lying. As Lawyer Zhang said, we can only judge by the contradictions in our stories. But we are not from the same area, so even if the events are contradictory, we can't be 100% sure they are lying."

Qi Xia looked at the deep in thought group and continued, "The 'Organizer' deliberately chose the nine of us to sit here, with a specific purpose: to make us find the flaws in seemingly interconnected stories."

"But is that really correct? How can we be sure that the others are definitely lying?" Qi Xia laughed coldly. "In this game, the only 'Liar' we can confirm with 100% certainty from the known clues is this one person. What he said is completely different from our current situation."

Qi Xia took a pen and wrote "Human Goat" on a piece of paper.

"I was curious before why the Goat Head introduced such a strange name, 'Human Goat,' at the beginning. It seemed unnecessary. Now, I realize it's part of the game."

Everyone slowly turned to look at the "Human Goat," who still showed no reaction.

Officer Li was taken aback and then shook his head, "Liar, I have a question. The Goat Head said the rule is 'Among all the storytellers, there is and can only be one Liar,' but he didn't tell a story."

"Didn't he?" Qi Xia shrugged. "I remember the Goat Head clearly said he gathered us here to create a 'god.' Isn't that an incredible story?"

Officer Li lowered his head silently, finding Qi Xia's words very reasonable but feeling something was off.

"But..." Doctor Zhao spoke up, "All your assumptions are based on the premise that 'everyone is a liar.' Why do you assume we are lying? What if we flip the cards and only you are the 'Liar'?"

"You couldn't have told the truth," Qi Xia laughed bitterly, his expression somewhat desperate. "I spent some time verifying this issue. I not only know that you are all lying but also where you lied."

He pushed his draft paper forward and looked at Tian Tian: "Tian Tian, when you were 'working' in the car, did the GG brand really hit the car and knock you unconscious?"

Tian Tian pursed her lips, not daring to speak.

"Qiao Jiajin, did you really just 'lose consciousness' after falling from such a height onto the GG brand?"

Qiao Jiajin remained silent.

"Teacher Xiao Ran, did you really manage to avoid the speeding car with that child?"

Xiao Ran's eyes darted away.

"Doctor Zhao, operating rooms are built much more sturdily to maintain stability. Did the ceiling really collapse, and were you just knocked out?"

Doctor Zhao turned his head away.

"Han Yimo, you said you had no idea what happened, but when you are focused on writing, you are most afraid of being disturbed. Don't you know how you got here?"

Han Yimo sighed softly.

"Lawyer Zhang, how deep was the crack your car fell into?"

Lawyer Zhang crossed his arms, expressionless.

"Officer Li, what brand of car were you driving? Could it instantly recline the seat to 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 studio was on a high floor. If a high floor collapses, the entire building would be gone, right?"

Lin Qin bowed her head deeply.

Seeing everyone's expressions, Qi Xia clenched his teeth and said,

"Everyone, admit it. Including me, we are all already dead."