This speech almost woke everyone up, and it also woke Qi Xia up.
Yes, the odds of winning for the “Liar” were indeed too high.
Qi Xia frowned—why were his chances of winning so great?
Lying to a group of strangers who didn’t know or understand him meant any fabricated lie would be hard to see through.
Could using a fake name really cost eight lives?
Or was it that…
The person who drew the “Liar” card was the chosen one, and this was inherently an unfair game?
“No…” Qi Xia thought to himself. “If simply drawing the card meant survival, why not just write ‘Live’ and ‘Die’ on the cards? That would make it much easier to achieve the goal. Otherwise, what’s the point of this nearly hour-long game?”
A deep sense of dissonance spread through his heart.
Qi Xia kept replaying every word the Goat Head had said.
Could it be…
“Hey, it’s your turn.” Qiao Jiajin reached out and patted Qi Xia.
Only then did he snap out of it and notice everyone staring at him with strange looks.
At this point, there was no time to overthink—hesitating further would only make him seem more suspicious.
He steadied himself and reorganized his thoughts.
The phrase “My name is Li Ming, I’m from Shandong” echoed in his mind…
But there was absolutely no way he could use that answer now. To find the “solution” to this game, he had no choice but to gamble.
Qi Xia opened his eyes and said to the group, “Everyone, my name is Qi Xia, I’m from Shandong, and I’m a professional swindler.”
“A swindler?”
The moment they heard the first sentence, the crowd erupted in shock—after all, the role of a “swindler” had appeared in many of their stories.
This swindler faintly linked their stories together.
The irony was that they now had to judge whether a “swindler” was telling the truth.
“Before coming here, I was trying to launder the two million in my hands.”
“Anyway, after some effort, I ended up with 1.4 million. That was the most cost-effective method I could think of.”
“But on my way back with the money, there was suddenly an earthquake. As I reached the door, I saw my house shaking violently.”
“Logically, you should never enter a building in such a situation—it could collapse at any moment. But I was worried about the person inside, so I rushed in anyway.”
“Sure enough, as soon as I stepped inside, the hallway collapsed, trapping me and knocking me unconscious.”
Qi Xia recounted the story in a calm, matter-of-fact tone, and everyone stared at him warily.
He knew this was a risky move, but it was the only way to test his theory.
If the Goat Head spoke up now, it would mean his guess was almost certainly correct.
Just as Qi Xia expected, the Goat Head slowly stepped forward and announced, “Good, everyone has finished their stories. The next twenty minutes are for free discussion. After that, each of you must write a name on the sheet of paper in front of you.”
“Exactly!” Qi Xia’s eyebrows rose. “There really is a twenty-minute window!”
With that, everything made sense.
The group grew restless—only twenty minutes remained before their fates would be decided.
Qiao Jiajin and Li Shangwu were eager to vote against each other, their hostility likely stemming from their professions.
Dr. Zhao began interrogating the writer Han Yimo, whose story had no connection to anyone else’s.
Lawyer Zhang and Xiao Ran seemed suspicious of Qi Xia, while Lin Qin, Han Yimo, and Tian Tian were still hesitating.
By the surface rules, the “Liar” was already on the verge of winning.
Because the votes wouldn’t be unanimous.
The rules were clear—only if everyone correctly identified the Liar could all eight survive.
Qi Xia didn’t engage in any discussion. He silently closed his eyes.
Countless clues swirled in his mind.
The Goat Head had said, “Among the storytellers, there is one and only one liar.”
The Goat Head had said, “The rules are absolute.”
The Goat Head had said, “You’ve all been asleep for twelve hours.”
Qi Xia opened his eyes. Only one last piece of information was missing to solve this “puzzle.”
But where was it?
Suddenly, a flash of insight struck him.
The crisscrossing lines on the walls and floor jolted him awake. He glanced at the clock on the table—it was almost 1 o’clock.
“So that’s it…” Qi Xia’s eyes widened. “That was close… I’m a swindler, yet I almost fell for your trick.”
The others seemed to notice Qi Xia’s odd behavior, but since the swindler had barely spoken from the start, no one knew what he was thinking.
“Hey, can I have another sheet of paper?” Qi Xia asked the Goat Head.
The Goat Head visibly froze before tentatively replying, “You… want another sheet?”
“Yes.” Qi Xia nodded. “I need a scrap sheet.”
After a long silence, the Goat Head pulled another sheet from his suit pocket and handed it to Qi Xia.
Without hesitation, Qi Xia took it and began calculating.
He counted the large squares on the wall—nine in total—and the squares on the floor and ceiling—sixteen in total.
“If I’m not mistaken…” Qi Xia scribbled quickly. “Each square represents one square meter, meaning we’re in a room three meters high, four meters long, and four meters wide…”
“Four times four times three… forty-eight cubic meters.”
His hand trembled slightly. “Not enough… nowhere near enough…”
The others watched in confusion. This was supposed to be about identifying the liar, yet he was doing math.
He then wrote out several equations, eventually arriving at two numbers: “54.6” and “49.14.”
At the sight of them, Qi Xia’s face turned ashen, as if he was struggling to accept something.
If his guess was correct, the reality was horrifying.
His eyes flickered rapidly, his thoughts already miles away.
The arguments around him gradually quieted.
This man wasn’t participating in any discussions—he was just calculating something. Had he really found the “answer” to this puzzle?
After a long silence, he finally looked up at the group.
His eyes were filled with fear, hesitation, doubt, and confusion.
“Everyone,” Qi Xia cleared his throat and spoke softly, “I didn’t plan on saving you. But if you choose wrong, I’ll die too. I absolutely cannot die here—someone is waiting for me outside. So no matter what, I have to find a way out. That’s why I have to reveal the answer now. Please listen carefully.”
“Hey, ‘answer’? What do you mean?” Qiao Jiajin, standing closest to him, blinked in confusion. “Do you know who the liar is?”
Qi Xia didn’t answer. Instead, he picked up his “identity card” and slowly flipped it over for everyone to see.
“This is the role I drew.”
The words “Liar” stood out starkly on the card.
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