Chapter 2: Lying

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

The men who had been shouting and cursing moments before also fell silent.

This was no longer just a matter of "breaking the law"; this strange person in front of them was actually going to kill someone.

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 expression changed, but no one dared to speak. Just as he had said, there were now truly "nine" people.

Qi Xia extended a trembling hand and removed a piece of yellowish-pink material from his face.

The shattered piece of brain still had body temperature and was faintly pulsing, but after a few seconds, it lost its vitality like a deflated balloon.

"Now, allow me to introduce myself..." The Goat-Head pointed a bloodied finger at his mask and said, "I am 'Ren Yang,' and you are 'Participants.'"

Everyone was stunned after hearing this, then somewhat confused. "Ren Yang," "Participants"?

"Gathering you here now is to participate in a game, ultimately to create a 'God,'" the Goat-Head said in a calm tone.

These two consecutive sentences caused everyone to frown.

After spending a few minutes with him, everyone had a rough understanding that the man in front of them was crazy, but this madman said he wanted to create a "God"?

"Create... what God?" The muscular young man asked somewhat nervously.

"A God like 'Nuwa'!" The Goat-Head said, gesticulating wildly. He reeked of a goaty smell, and his voice was grim. "How wonderful! You will witness history with us. Nuwa once created humanity but turned into a rainbow when mending the sky... We cannot lose Nuwa, so we must create a Nuwa! There is a great task waiting for the 'God' to perform!"

His voice gradually rose, as if he had been injected with adrenaline.

"Nuwa..." The muscular young man furrowed his brow, feeling that this matter was simply too difficult to accept. He paused, then asked, "Are you some kind of religion?"

"Religion?" The Goat-Head was slightly taken aback, then turned to the young man and said, "We are far more grand than 'religion.' We have a 'world'!"

After hearing this, everyone fell silent again.

The muscular man's question was very targeted. The actions of this Goat-Head were no different from a cult, but most cults tend to invent a new god rather than use a heroic figure like Nuwa.

"In that case..." The muscular man continued to ask, "What do you want us to 'participate' in here?"

"I told you, it's just a game," the Goat-Head replied without hesitation. "If you win, one of you will become the 'God.'"

"Damn it..." The man with the floral arm tattoo seemed to have calmed down. He cursed under his breath and said, "Fengshen Bang, is it? What if we don't win?"

"If you don't win..." The Goat-Head looked at the bloodstains on his hands and said with some disappointment, "It would be a great pity if you don't win..."

Although he didn't say it directly, everyone understood what he meant.

If you don't win, you die.

Among the options he provided, "leaving alive" was not one of them.

You either become his so-called "God," or you die here like the young man whose head was blown open.

"If everyone understands... then this 'game' officially begins. This game is called 'The Liar'." The Goat-Head slowly pulled a stack of papers from his pocket, then casually walked over to each person and placed one down.

He then took out a few pens and distributed them to everyone.

There were quite a few bloodstains on the table. When each person's white paper landed on the table, it was stained with red. When they flipped the paper over and wiped it with their hand, the blood red spread out like paint, making the white paper even redder.

"Next, I want each of you to tell a story about the last thing that happened before you came here," the Goat-Head continued. "But be careful, among all the storytellers, one person has told a lie. After all nine of you have finished your stories, you will begin to vote. If all eight people correctly choose the 'Liar,' the Liar is eliminated, and everyone else survives. If one person chooses incorrectly, the Liar survives, and everyone else is eliminated."

"The Liar...?"

Everyone was slightly confused. Would anyone really lie at this critical juncture?

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

"As you wish." The Goat-Head nodded. "Before the game begins, you have one minute to discuss strategy among yourselves. Do you want to use it now... or later?"

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

"Please do."

The Goat-Head stepped back, moving away from the table.

The muscular man pursed his lips, then looked around at everyone, trying his best to avoid looking at the headless corpse lying on the table. He said, "I don't know who among you is going to lie later, but this 'rule' sounds too arbitrary. If even one person votes incorrectly, we will all die. And even if we vote correctly, the Liar will die. It seems that no matter what, there will be deaths. I have thought of a way for everyone to survive..."

Upon hearing this, everyone looked at the muscular man.

Could such a thing be done, allowing everyone to survive?

"That is, none of us lie." The muscular man announced the answer before everyone could fully understand. "All nine of us tell the truth, and finally write 'No one is lying' on this paper. This way, we won't violate the rules, and we can all survive."

The person in the white coat lightly tapped the table with his fingers, then said after a moment, "Your plan is very good, but there's a prerequisite: that 'you yourself are not the Liar.' But how can we trust you? If you are the Liar, and we all write 'No one is lying,' then only you will survive in the end."

"What kind of talk is that?" The muscular man's face showed a hint of anger. "If I were the Liar, how could I propose this suggestion? I would just need to save myself."

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

The two men both snorted coldly and stopped speaking.

"Now, please draw a card." The Goat-Head pulled out a small stack of cards from his pants pocket. The cards looked about the size of poker cards, and the words "Nuwa Game" were written on the back.

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

"These are 'identity cards'," the Goat-Head said, laughing. "If you draw 'The Liar,' you must lie."

The muscular man gritted his teeth fiercely: "Are you messing with us?! Why didn't you say there was such a rule beforehand?!"

"This is to teach you a lesson." The Goat-Head sneered. "I hadn't finished explaining the rules, and you asked me if you could discuss strategy. You wasted a precious minute, not I not saying it beforehand."

The muscular man's face was somewhat grim, but thinking of the Goat-Head's method of killing, he swallowed his anger.

Within a minute, all nine people had drawn a card from the Goat-Head's hand, but no one dared to open it and look.

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

The hands of the four girls were slightly trembling, and the men's faces were not looking good either.

What they had drawn was not an "identity," but "life and death."

Qi Xia took a deep breath, casually held his card with his hand, and moved it in front of his eyes.

He gently flipped it over.

The words "The Liar" were clearly written on it.