Chapter 7: discrepancies

"The cop, you're lying," Jessy said coldly.

"Hmph, I knew you would say that, but what evidence do you have to prove that I'm lying? Just because someone attacked me?" 

"Of course not," Jessy smiled faintly. "Although we don't know the reason, all the stories told earlier are more or less connected. Many of these stories share common characters. If we set aside geographical locations, everyone's account is reasonable."

"So what?" 

"The problem lies here." Jessy pointed to the lawyer, Hedda. "You and the lawyer's stories have a common character, the 'scammer who swindled two million dollars.' However, your stories contradict each other, which indicates that one of you is lying."

Brown paused for a moment and asked, "Where is the contradiction?"

Jessy shook her head and looked at Brown. "Lawyer Piotrowski is already preparing for a trial, which means in her story, the 'suspect has been apprehended.' However, in your story, you're still on stakeout, indicating that in your story, the 'suspect is still at large.' Isn't that a contradiction?"

Brown pondered for a moment and said, "I have to admit, you have a point, but I think you've been influenced by this 'game.' First, you need to understand a major premise: all the storytellers were not in the same city as the others. In other words, even if our experiences are similar, what we're talking about can't possibly be the same thing. Since they are different incidents, naturally there will be different outcomes."

Lucas watched the two arguing quietly, choosing not to intervene.

Yes, argue, the fiercer the better.

As long as one of them votes for the other, the liar wins.

After all, the rules are absolute. Except for the liar, if anyone casts the wrong vote, they will all be doomed.

Although Officer Brown had provided an explanation, Jessy's words still lingered in the minds of the people. After all, it was the first time everyone had discovered conflicting plotlines in two people's stories. 

Lucas couldn't help but look at this troublemaker named Jessy with a bit more respect. 

Despite appearing rebellious, he was smarter than Lucas had imagined.

"Um... it's my turn," a girl spoke up.

Everyone turned their attention to her, finally snapping out of their thoughts. 

This girl had screamed loudly when the first person died, but now she seemed calmer, though she avoided looking around.

"Hello, everyone. My name is Apple Rojek, and I'm a psychologist."

Lucas paused slightly, intrigued by the name "Apple." 

It was an interesting choice, as it could refer to the fruit "apple" or to something precious. The name carried a double meaning that left an impression. Perhaps Miss Rojek's parents wanted their daughter to have a simple, memorable, and beloved name, but in this situation, it could be detrimental to her.

Among those present were writers, teachers, lawyers, doctors, and police officers, any of whom might understand the significance of the name "Apple." 

Simply by letting the name linger in their minds, Apple's story would leave a lasting impression.

Seeing that the others had no immediate reaction, Apple continued, covering her mouth and nose with her hand.

"I'm from Iowa. Before coming here, I was waiting for a client, who happens to be a preschool teacher."

The crowd glanced normally at the preschool teacher named Dulcie, seeing another connection in this story.

"According to her, it's tough being a preschool teacher these days. You can't scold or discipline the kids. Parents treat teachers like nannies, and the kids treat them like servants. Every classroom is equipped with surveillance cameras, and parents monitor in real-time. If your tone is a bit stern, the parents will call the principal immediately."

"But aren't parents sending their children to preschool to develop their worldview?"

"If teachers can't use firm discipline, how will children learn from their mistakes?"

"She feels lost and oppressed from long-term stress."

"So, I prepared a treatment plan for her, about a month or so."

"But for some reason, the client never showed up for the appointment, and I kept waiting in the studio."

"When the earthquake hit, I didn't even have a chance to escape. My studio is on the twenty-seventh floor."

"The higher the floor, the stronger the shaking. I felt the whole building swaying."

"I never knew Iowa could have earthquakes until this time. It was a new experience for me."

"Later, I vaguely remember the ceiling collapsing. Then everything went black, and I didn't know anything."

After listening to Apple's story, the group seemed to recall something. 

Jessy spoke up first.

"I have two questions."

"Go ahead," Apple said, covering her mouth and nose.

"You mentioned that every classroom is equipped with 'surveillance.' What does that mean?"

The crowd was surprised that Jessy's focus was on this point, but Apple, being a psychologist, patiently explained, "I believe the 'surveillance' is installed so that parents can view the classroom from anywhere."

"Ah, closed-circuit television... Is this some kind of elite kindergarten?" Jessy muttered to himself before asking, "So, the preschool teacher you scheduled a meeting with is this Dulcie here?"

"I don't know," Apple shook her head. "We only exchanged WhatsApp contacts, and we planned to discuss further when we met."

"WhatsApp?" Jessy seemed puzzled.

Brown interrupted them, saying, "Hooligan, here you go again. Dulcie is in California, and this Apple is in Iowa. Who would cross such a vast distance to see a psychologist?"

Jessy persisted, "I just think there are suspicious points. This is the first time someone's story has mentioned other participants."

Dr. Escano thought Jessy had a point this time and nodded, asking, "Dulcie, is your reason for seeking a psychologist the same as what Apple described?"

"Well..." Dulcie hesitated shyly, then said, "Not exactly... I was feeling depressed due to constant accusations from a parent..."

"That just proves it's a coincidence," Dr. Escano nodded. "After all, these are two different incidents from different regions, and we don't need to force a connection."

There was a moment of silence until Attorney Piotrowski suddenly spoke up, "Miss Rojek, half of the story you told is about that 'preschool teacher.' Isn't that against the rules?"

"Huh?" Apple was taken aback. "I talked about the preschool teacher to help you understand my work better..."

"Don't get me wrong, I'm not implying anything else," Hedda smiled. "What I mean is, if the preschool teacher's experience you mentioned was made up, it would naturally deviate from Dulcie's story, proving you lied."

"You...!" Apple didn't expect the woman in front of her to be so assertive and could only defend herself, "Dr. Escano and Officer Brown just said our states are different; it's all just a coincidence!"

"A coincidence, is it?" Hedda folded her arms and continued, "Think about it carefully. Why did they choose just the nine of us to gather here? Remember, we are nine strangers. If we're supposed to detect inconsistencies in each other's stories, we need some clues. And the clue is that all our stories are interconnected. After hearing everyone's stories, I feel like we were deliberately chosen. That way, we can smoothly find discrepancies in each other's stories and identify the liar. Otherwise, this game would be too absurd because the liar would have too much advantage."