“Liar…”
Qi Xia silently repeated the words in his mind, confirming his role before calmly placing the card facedown.
Just a minute ago, he had entertained the thought of “everyone leaving alive.”
But now, things were different.
Though he didn’t know the eight people before him, this time, they would have to die.
“If no one has objections, please remember the rules—there is one and only one liar in this game…” The goat-headed figure pointed to the sexy girl to Qi Xia’s left. “Starting with you, we’ll proceed clockwise.”
“Huh? Me?” The girl froze, then pouted.
Qi Xia glanced at her. If the storytelling began with the girl to his left and proceeded clockwise, it wasn’t ideal for him.
He would be the last to speak.
Under extreme tension and pressure, people usually only remember the first and last speakers.
But raising an objection now would seem too erratic. He’d have to play it by ear.
The sexy girl furrowed her brows, her large eyes darting around, before finally sighing. “Fine… I’ll go first. But I’ve never been good at storytelling, so don’t blame me if it’s not great…”
The others remained silent, simply listening.
The girl tucked a stray lock of hair behind her ear with slender fingers and said,
“My name is Tiantian. I’m… uh… a ‘technical worker.’ We earn our keep with our skills, and I’m not ashamed of it.”
Only then did the group notice how little she was wearing—just a grimy, low-cut minidress that left little to the imagination.
But she didn’t seem bothered.
“Most of my stories aren’t fit for sharing… Anyway, you can call me for ‘action,’ but asking me to ‘describe’ is hard. If I were educated, I wouldn’t be doing this job…”
“Before I came here, I was working. But this client was really weird… Our shop provides a service area, but he insisted on doing it in his car, saying it’d be more exciting… So, for the money, I went along…”
“It was my first time working in a car. The car looked high-end, but it was so cramped. Before long, I was drenched in sweat. I don’t see what’s so ‘exciting’ about a place like that. The whole time, his phone kept ringing, but he refused to answer. It drove me insane…”
Tiantian seemed ready to curse the client further, but her gaze accidentally landed on the corpse on the table. She shuddered, took a deep breath, and continued.
“Ah, whatever. I chose this line of work—I accept it. But I never expected an ‘earthquake.’ At first, I thought we were just shaking the car too much. Turns out it was real.”
At the mention of “earthquake,” everyone’s expressions shifted slightly, as if recalling something.
“Our car was parked in an alley… with a huge billboard right above it… My head was sticking out, and I saw it.” Tiantian gestured above her head, her voice trembling. “That massive billboard suddenly snapped with a loud crash and landed right on the car. Then… I blacked out.”
She exhaled sharply. “When I woke up, I was here. I was terrified…”
Tiantian put on a pitiful expression—one that seemed practiced, designed to tug at men’s heartstrings.
The tattooed man beside her frowned. “Do we even need to keep going?”
The man in the white coat blinked. “What do you mean?”
“This ‘working girl’ is already lying. We can just vote now,” the tattooed man declared confidently.
“Wh-what?!” Tiantian gasped. “Where did I lie?”
The tattooed man gave her a cold look. “Your name. You said you’re called ‘Tiantian,’ but all hostesses use stage names. Names like ‘Tiantian,’ ‘Xiaofang,’ or ‘Lili’ are common. Hiding your real name means you’ve already lied.”
Tiantian’s face flushed red.
“Y-you’re talking nonsense! My name *is* Tiantian! I haven’t used my real name in years!” She scanned the group and added, “At my workplace, only ‘Tiantian’ gets you to me. No one even knows my real name!”
The others fell into thought, and Qi Xia’s expression grew serious.
From Tiantian’s story, Qi Xia hadn’t sensed any deception. Her pacing was steady, her tone natural—like chatting with a friend.
This could mean one of two things: either she had rehearsed the story countless times, or she was telling the truth.
But the tattooed man had introduced a new angle—lying about her name.
A name-based lie didn’t require logical consistency, making it hard to detect.
After all, none of them had met before. Names were whatever the speaker claimed.
Qi Xia recalled the goat-headed figure’s words: “Among all storytellers, one is lying.” The rule didn’t specify that the lie had to be in the story—a fake name also counted.
Under scrutiny, Tiantian’s eyes widened in panic. “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 respond! Only ‘Tiantian’ works. I—I—”
Hearing this, Qi Xia shook his head imperceptibly.
This woman wasn’t as clever as he’d thought.
She couldn’t have fabricated this lie in advance, nor could she have improvised the “name deception” tactic on the spot.
The goat-headed figure had said there was “one and only one liar.” That meant it had to be Qi Xia himself.
If no one else noticed the issue with “Tiantian,” he had found a surefire way to win.
If he were to fabricate a name, “Qi” wasn’t ideal—it was uncommon enough to stand out. He needed something forgettable.
In short, everything he said had to avoid drawing attention.
So he decided to call himself “Li Ming.”
The rest of his story could be truthful. Even the sharpest observer wouldn’t spot the flaw.
The game was as good as over.
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