Inconvenient Truth

Everyone's expression changed slightly after seeing these three characters.

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

He picked up the card and casually tossed it onto the center of the table.

"If I'm not mistaken, everyone here has a card that says 'The Liar' as well."

After hearing this, no one moved for a while. Then, Officer Li asked, "So... you're saying everyone has been lying just now?"

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

Officer Li pondered for a moment, as if he had thought of something as well.

"If what you're saying is correct..." Officer Li sighed meaningfully, "The problem becomes even more difficult."

Everyone looked at Officer Li, puzzled.

Officer Li continued, "According to the rules, only if we all choose the liar can we all survive together. But in doing so, the liar loses. So we..."

Dr. Zhao was the first to understand what Officer Li meant: "You mean... we can vote arbitrarily because everyone is lying, turning this into a 'sure-win game,' where only the person who gets voted has to die?"

"That's right." Officer Li nodded, "Now, the best solution would be to concentrate all the votes on one person, to minimize the loss, after all, the rest can survive..."

His words once again brought the atmosphere to a tense silence, while the goat-headed man remained motionless.

So, they were just voting for one person to die?

Qi Xia sighed helplessly and looked at Officer Li, saying, "Officer, is interrupting people's speeches your hobby? Does it give you a sense of achievement?"

"What are you talking about?" Officer Li frowned and replied, "Wasn't I trying to help you come up with a plan?"

"I don't need your help." Qi Xia said without hesitation, "Your idea will get us all killed."

"What?" Officer Li was taken aback, "Why would I get everyone killed? Am I wrong? If everyone is lying, wouldn't any vote be valid?"

"Officer Li, the goat-headed man said, 'The rules are absolute,' 'There is and can only be one liar,' do you remember?"

"Ah..." Officer Li pondered for a moment, recalling that the goat-headed man indeed said those two things.

"Let me organize the thoughts for everyone now." Qi Xia said coldly, "In this game, it seems that the 'Liar' has a high chance of winning because everyone feels like they are going to win. But if we vote arbitrarily, all of us will end up dead."

Qiao Jia Jin, sitting next to Qi Xia, touched his tattooed arm and muttered to himself, "Because we have broken the 'rules'..."

"Yes," Qi Xia nodded, "But the interesting part of this game is that we can't really deduce if someone is lying. As Lawyer Zhang said, we can only infer based on whether our experiences contradict each other. But we are not from the same region, and even if the events are contradictory, we can't be 100% sure that the other person is lying."

Qi Xia looked at the people who were lost in thought and then said, "The 'organizer' deliberately chose us nine to sit here, and there must be a reason for that. It is to make us think we can find flaws in the seemingly interconnected stories."

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

Qi Xia took the pen and quickly wrote down the word 'Goat-Man' on the paper.

"I was curious before, why the goat-headed man introduced such a strange name as 'Goat-Man' at the beginning, which seemed quite unnecessary. Now it seems, this is also part of the game."

Everyone slowly turned their heads to look at 'Goat-Man,' who still didn't move.

Officer Li was taken aback for a moment, then shook his head, "You're a liar. I have a question. The goat-headed man 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 noncommittally, "I clearly remember the goat-headed man saying that he gathered us here to create a 'god.' Isn't that a bizarre story?"

Officer Li silently lowered his head. He felt that what Qi Xia said made a lot of sense, but something still felt off.

"But..." Dr. Zhao spoke up, "All your assumptions are based on the premise that 'everyone is a liar.' But why are you so certain that we are liars? What if we turn over the cards and only you are the 'liar'?"

"It's impossible for you to have told the truth," Qi Xia said with a bitter smile, his expression somewhat desperate. "I also took some time to verify this issue. I not only know that you are all lying, but I also know where you lied."

He pushed his draft paper forward and then looked at Tiantian beside him, "Tiantian, when you were 'working' in the car with your head outside, did the falling billboard really hit the car and make you lose consciousness?"

Tiantian pursed her lips, not daring to speak.

"Qiao Jia Jin, when you fell from such a high place onto the billboard, did you really just 'lose consciousness'?"

Qiao Jia Jin was silent.

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

Xiao Ran's eyes dodged for a moment.

"Dr. Zhao, operating rooms are built much more sturdily than regular rooms to maintain stability, but you said the operating room's ceiling collapsed. Were you really just knocked unconscious?"

Dr. Zhao turned his head to the side.

"Han Yimo, you said you have no idea what happened. But when you're deeply engrossed in writing, you're most afraid of being disturbed. Don't you know how you came to be here?"

Han Yimo let out a slight sigh.

"Lawyer Zhang, your car was knocked into a crack. How deep was that crack?"

Lawyer Zhang, with her arms crossed and an expressionless face, remained silent.

"Officer Li, what brand of car were you driving? Was it able to instantly recline the seat to break free from the person behind you?"

Officer Li touched the red mark on his neck and hesitated to speak.

"Lin Go, the ceiling in your place also collapsed, but you said your studio is located on a high floor. Once the high floors start to collapse, wouldn't the entire building be at risk?"

Lin Go bowed her head deeply.

Seeing the expressions of everyone, Qi Xia knocked on the table and said:

"Everyone, admit it, including myself, we are all dead."