"The Liar..."
Qi Xia repeated these words to himself a few times. After confirming his identity, he calmly flipped the card face down. Just a minute ago, he had even entertained the thought of "everyone leaving alive".
But things were different now. Although he did not know the eight people before him, this time, they were the only ones who could die.
"If no one has any objections, please remember the rules. In this game, 'there is one and only one Liar'..."
The goat-head man extended a finger and pointed at the curvy girl next to Qi Xia.
"Let's start with you, and go clockwise."
"Ah? Me?"
The girl was taken aback, then immediately pouted. Qi Xia turned his head to look. Starting clockwise from the girl next to him was not very advantageous for him.
He would be the last one to speak. Under conditions of extreme tension and pressure, people usually only remember the first and last speakers. But to raise an objection now would seem too conspicuous.
He could only take it one step at a time. The curvy girl's brow furrowed, her large eyes darting about. Finally, she sighed and said, "Alright...
I'll go first, but I've been bad at telling stories since I was a kid. If it's not good, please don't blame me..." At this moment, no one knew what to say.
They could only listen quietly. The curvy girl extended a slender finger to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear, then began to speak.
"My name is Tian Tian, and I'm a... uh... a 'skilled worker.' We earn money with our abilities, and I don't think it's shameful."
Only then did everyone notice that this girl named Tian Tian was wearing very little, just a dirty, low-cut short skirt that failed to cover what it was supposed to cover. But it seemed she didn't care about this at all.
"Many of my stories aren't very suitable to tell everyone... Anyway, asking me to 'act' is fine, but asking me to 'describe' it, I really don't know where to start. After all, if I had any culture, who would be in my line of work..."
"Anyway, I was working before I came here. But the client I met was a real weirdo... Our shop clearly provides a place for our services, but he insisted on going to his car, saying it would be more exciting... So to make money, I had no choice but to go with him..."
"It was my first time working in a car. I didn't expect a car that looked so high-end to be so cramped inside. It didn't take long before I was covered in sweat. I really don't know what's so 'exciting' about a rotten place like that. During that time, the client's phone kept ringing, but he absolutely refused to answer it. I was getting annoyed to death..."
Tian Tian seemed to want to curse the client a bit more, but her gaze inadvertently swept over the corpse on the table. She shuddered in fright, then took a deep breath and said: "Ai, forget it. I chose this profession, I accept it.
I just never thought an 'earthquake' would suddenly happen. At first, I thought our movements were too big, that's why it was shaking so violently. Who knew it was a real earthquake."
At the mention of the word 'earthquake', everyone's expression shifted slightly, as if they had remembered something.
"Our car was parked in a small alley... right underneath a big billboard... At that time, my head was sticking out of the car, and I saw it perfectly."
Tian Tian pointed above her own head, her voice trembling as she spoke, "For some reason, that huge billboard broke with a 'clang' and fell directly onto the car. Then I lost consciousness..." She let out another long breath and said, "When I woke up, I was here.
I was really scared to death..." Tian Tian put on an aggrieved expression. It was a look that seemed well-practiced, one that would stir a man's heart upon seeing it.
The tattooed man sitting beside her paused for a moment, then said, "Everyone, do we still need to continue?" The man in the white coat was taken aback and looked at the tattooed man, "What do you mean?"
"This 'lady' has already lied. We can just vote directly," the tattooed man said with complete confidence.
"You...! What did you say?!"
Tian Tian was shocked.
"Where did I lie?"
The tattooed man gave Tian Tian a cold look and said, "Your name. You said you're called 'Tian Tian,' but all hostesses use aliases. Aliases like 'Tian Tian,' 'Xiao Fang,' and 'Li Li' are very common.
So you concealed your real name, which means you've already lied." After he said this, Tian Tian's face flushed red.
"You... What nonsense are you spouting? My name is Tian Tian! I haven't used my real name in years!"
After speaking, she looked around at everyone and added, "At my workplace, you can only find me if you ask for 'Tian Tian.' Nobody would know me by my real name!" At this moment, everyone began to ponder, and Qi Xia's expression also grew somewhat grave.
From Tian Tian's words just now, Qi Xia could not detect any sense of falsehood. Her rhythm was steady and her tone was relaxed as she described her story. This way of storytelling, like chatting with a friend, could only prove two things.
One, the story she told was fabricated long ago and she had recounted it to herself many times; or two, she was telling the truth. But now, the tattooed man had provided Qi Xia with another line of thought. That was: "lying about one's name."
Lying about a name did not involve logic or reasonableness. It was difficult for most people to see the flaw. After all, no one present had ever met before.
They could only learn each other's names from what was said. Qi Xia carefully recalled the goat-head man's words. He had said, "Among all the storytellers, one person has lied."
The rule didn't specify that the liar had to lie using a "fake story." A "fake name" would apply just as well. Seeing that she was being suspected, Tian Tian's eyes widened, and she looked extremely nervous.
"If... if you still don't believe me, my real name is Zhang Lijuan... I'm from Shaanxi... You can try calling me by my real name, I won't answer to it. I'll only answer to the name 'Tian Tian'... I... I..."
Hearing this, Qi Xia silently shook his head. This woman was not as clever as he had imagined. In other words, it was impossible for her to have woven this lie in advance, and even less possible for her to have come up with the "name lie" stratagem on the spot.
The goat-head man said, "There is one and only one Liar." That person could only be Qi Xia himself. If the others hadn't noticed the seriousness of this "Tian Tian" issue, then he had found a surefire way to win.
If he were to fabricate a name, "Qi" was not a good surname. While not rare, it wasn't exactly common either. He should avoid using a surname that was so easy to remember.
In other words, everything he said had to be as unnoticeable as possible. So he prepared to call himself "Li Ming." He could tell the rest of his story normally.
That way, even the most formidable person would not be able to see through the flaw. The game was already over.