Chapter 7: Winning Chance

"Strip, you're lying," Qiao Jiajin said coldly.

"Hmph, I knew you'd say that, but what evidence do you have to prove I'm lying? Is it just because someone attacked me?"

"Of course not." Qiao Jiajin smiled slightly. "Although I don't know the reason, everyone's stories so far have some connections, with many shared characters. If we set aside the geographical locations, all the accounts make sense."

"So what?"

"That's the problem." Qiao Jiajin pointed at Attorney Zhang Chenze. "In your story and the attorney's, there's a common figure—the 'scammer who defrauded two million'—but your stories contradict each other, which means one of you is lying."

Officer Li paused for a moment and asked, "Where's the contradiction?"

Qiao Jiajin shook his head and looked at Officer Li. "Attorney Zhang is already preparing for trial, which means in her story, the 'suspect has been caught.' But in your story, you're still staking out, meaning the 'suspect hasn't been apprehended yet.' Isn't that a contradiction?"

Officer Li thought for a moment and said, "You make a valid point, but I think you've been influenced by this 'game.' First, you need to understand a key premise: all the people who told stories before are in different cities from each other. In other words, even if our experiences are similar, they can't be the same event. Since they're different events, they naturally have different outcomes."

Qi Xia quietly watched the two arguing and didn't interrupt.

Yes, let them argue. The more heated, the better.

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

After all, the rules are absolute: if anyone besides the liar votes wrong, everyone else pays the price.

Although Officer Li had provided an explanation, Qiao Jiajin's words still lingered in everyone's minds.

This was the first time they'd noticed conflicting plots in two people's stories.

Qi Xia couldn't help but think more highly of this thug named Qiao Jiajin.

He might look carefree and unrestrained, but he was smarter than expected.

"Um... it's my turn..." a young woman said.

Everyone pulled their thoughts together and looked at her.

This girl had let out a piercing scream when the first person died.

Now, she seemed calmer, though her eyes avoided looking around her.

"Hello, everyone. My name is Lin Geng, and I'm a psychological counselor."

Qi Xia paused slightly, as the name "Lin Geng" was quite interesting.

In ancient times before the Tang Dynasty, "Lin Geng" referred to "apple."

The two characters were poetic and memorable.

Perhaps Miss Lin's parents wanted their daughter to have a unique name, but it might end up being her downfall here.

Among those present were writers, teachers, attorneys, doctors, and police officers, any of whom might know what "Lin Geng" meant.

As long as the name lingered in their minds, Lin Geng's story would be even more unforgettable.

Seeing no reaction from the group, Lin Geng covered her mouth and nose with her hand and continued, "I'm from Ningxia. Before coming here, I was waiting for a client, who was a preschool teacher."

The group glanced at the preschool teacher named Xiao Ran without much surprise; this story had connections again.

"According to her, the preschool teaching profession is tough these days. You can't hit the children or scold them. Parents treat teachers like nannies, and kids treat them like servants. Every classroom has 'monitoring,' and parents watch in real time. If your tone gets a bit stern, parents call the principal right away."

"But isn't sending kids to preschool about helping them build their values?"

"If teachers can't discipline them firmly, how will the children learn from their mistakes?"

"She said she's been in a state of confusion and suppression for a long time."

"So, I prepared a treatment plan for her that would take about a month."

"But for some reason, that client never showed up, so I just waited in my office."

"The earthquake hit, and I had no chance to escape. My office is on the twenty-sixth floor, after all."

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

"I never knew Ningxia could have earthquakes, but I experienced it this time."

"Then, I vaguely remember the ceiling collapsing, and everything went black—I don't remember anything after that."

After hearing Lin Geng's story, everyone seemed to think of something.

Qiao Jiajin was the first to speak. "I have two questions."

"Go ahead," Lin Geng said, still covering her mouth and nose.

"You mentioned every classroom has 'monitoring'—what do you mean by that?"

The group hadn't expected Qiao Jiajin to focus on that, but as a psychological counselor, Lin Geng patiently explained, "I think the 'monitoring' is installed so parents can see what's happening in the classroom from anywhere."

"Oh, so it's 'closed-circuit television'... Must be some fancy preschool..." Qiao Jiajin muttered to himself, then asked, "And the preschool teacher you were meeting—is that the one next to us, Xiao Ran?"

"I don't know," Lin Geng shook her head. "I only added her on Weixin; we were going to discuss the details in person."

"Weixin?" Qiao Jiajin paused, seeming confused.

Officer Li interrupted them and said, "Thug, you're at it again. Xiao Ran is in Yunnan, and this Lin Geng is in Ningxia—who would travel that far for a psychological counselor?"

Qiao Jiajin didn't back down. "I'm just pointing out the doubts. This is the first time someone's story mentioned other participants."

Doctor Zhao felt Qiao Jiajin had a point and nodded along, asking, "Xiao Ran, is the reason you went to a psychological counselor the same as what Lin Geng described?"

"Um..." Xiao Ran hesitated timidly and said, "Not exactly... I was dealing with long-term accusations from a parent, so I felt depressed..."

"That proves it's just a coincidence," Doctor Zhao nodded. "After all, these are events from two different regions; there's no need to force a connection."

Everyone fell silent for a moment, but Attorney Zhang Chenze suddenly spoke up. "Miss Lin, half of your story is about that 'preschool teacher.' Isn't that against the rules?"

"Ah?" Lin Geng was slightly stunned. "I mentioned the preschool teacher to help you all understand my work better..."

"Don't misunderstand; I don't mean anything by it," Zhang Chenze smiled. "What I'm saying is, if that preschool teacher's experience is made up, it would differ from Xiao Ran's story and prove you're lying."

"You...!" Lin Geng hadn't expected the woman in front of her to be so aggressive and could only defend herself. "Zhao Doctor and Officer Li just said our provinces are different, so it's all coincidence!"

"Coincidence, is it?" Zhang Chenze crossed her arms and continued, "Think about it carefully. Why were exactly we nine people brought together here? Don't forget, we're nine strangers. To spot flaws in each other's stories, we need some clues. And that 'clue' is that all our stories are connected. After listening to everyone's tales, I feel we were deliberately selected. That way, we can find the flaws and identify the liar; otherwise, the game would be ridiculous because the 'liar' would have too much of an advantage."