The woman's scream abruptly ceased, and everyone's thoughts ground to a halt.
The men who had been shouting and cursing just moments ago fell silent.
At this point, the issue was no longer about "breaking the law"—the strange man in front of them was actually capable of murder.
A full minute passed in complete silence before the goat-headed figure nodded slightly. "Very good, nine participants. It seems you've all quieted down."
The room grew tense, with everyone's faces changing color, but none of them dared to speak. As he said, it was now truly "nine participants."
Qi Xia, trembling slightly, reached up and gently removed something yellowish-pink from his face.
The fragment of the shattered skull still held warmth, and there was a faint pulse in it. But in just a few seconds, it deflated like a popped balloon, lifeless.
"Now, allow me to introduce myself..." The goat-headed figure extended his bloody finger, pointing at his mask. "I am 'The Man-Goat,' and you are all 'participants.'"
Everyone froze in confusion. "Man-Goat"? "Participants"?
"I've gathered you all here to participate in a game, to ultimately create a 'god.'" The goat-headed figure spoke in a flat tone.
His words made the group frown in disbelief. After spending these few minutes with him, it was clear that the man before them was insane, but to claim he was going to create a "god"?
"Create... what god?" The muscular young man asked, clearly uneasy.
"A god like 'Nuwa'!" The goat-headed figure exclaimed, his voice growing more manic as he danced around, the foul smell of goat lingering around him. "How beautiful! You will witness history with me. Nuwa created humanity, but when she repaired the sky, she turned into a rainbow... We cannot lose Nuwa, so we must create a new one! A great task awaits this 'god'!"
His voice rose, his energy seeming almost frenzied.
"Nuwa..." The muscular man frowned deeply. It was hard to accept such an idea. After a pause, he asked, "Are you part of some religion?"
"Religion?" The goat-headed figure blinked, glancing at the young man. "We are far grander than 'religion.' We have a 'world'!"
After hearing that, the room fell silent again.
The young man's question had clearly hit a nerve. What the goat-headed man was doing resembled a cult, but most cults create new gods, not someone like Nuwa, a legendary hero.
"Then..." The muscular man continued, his voice steady, "What exactly do you want us to 'participate' in?"
"I told you, it's just a game," the goat-headed figure answered without hesitation. "If you win, one of you will become a 'god.'"
"F**k..." The tattooed man seemed to calm down a bit, cursing as he spoke. "The 'Investiture of the Gods,' right? What happens if we lose?"
"If you lose..." The goat-headed figure glanced at the bloodstains on his hand, a trace of disappointment in his voice. "It's a pity..."
Though he didn't say it outright, everyone understood the implication.
If they lost, they would die.
There was no option to simply "survive."
They either became his so-called "gods," or they ended up like the young man with his head crushed.
"If everyone understands..." The goat-headed figure smiled faintly. "Then the 'game' begins. This game is called 'The Liar.'"
He slowly pulled a stack of paper from his coat, casually walking to each person's side and placing a sheet in front of them.
Then, he took out several pens and handed them around.
The table was already stained with blood, and as each person's sheet landed on the table, it absorbed some of the red. When they flipped the paper over and wiped their hands, the blood smeared like paint, turning the paper an even darker red.
"Next, I want each of you to tell the last story of what happened before you ended up here," the goat-headed figure continued. "But be careful, among all the storytellers, one person is lying. Once all nine have told their stories, you will vote. If all nine choose the 'liar,' the liar is out, and the others survive. If even one person votes wrong, the liar survives, and everyone else is out."
"The liar...?"
The group was slightly confused. Would anyone really lie in such a life-or-death situation?
"Wait a minute, can we discuss 'strategy'?" The muscular man suddenly asked.
"Go ahead," the goat-headed figure nodded. "Before the game starts, you have one minute to strategize. Would you like to do that now, or later?"
"I'll do it now," the muscular man said without hesitation.
"Please, go ahead."
The goat-headed figure stepped back, distancing himself from the table.
The muscular man pressed his lips together, then scanned the room. He carefully avoided looking at the corpse with its smashed head on the table and said, "I don't know who will lie, but this 'rule' sounds too arbitrary. If even one person votes wrongly, we all die. And even if we vote correctly, the liar still dies. This means there will be a death no matter what. So, I've come up with a plan where everyone can survive..."
Everyone turned their gaze toward him. Could they really all survive?
"The solution is simple," the muscular man continued confidently. "We all tell the truth. All nine of us will tell the truth, and in the end, we'll all write 'No one lied' on this paper. That way, we won't violate the rules, and we can all survive."
The man in the white lab coat tapped his fingers on the table thoughtfully, then spoke. "Your plan is good, but it has one condition: that 'you are not the liar.' But how can we trust you? If you are the liar, and we all write 'No one lied,' only you will survive."
"What kind of nonsense is that?" The muscular man's face flushed with anger. "If I were the liar, why would I suggest such a plan? I'd only need to save myself!"
The goat-headed figure raised his hand slightly, silencing them. "One minute is up. Please stop discussing."
Both men snorted but fell silent.
"Now, let's draw cards," the goat-headed figure said, pulling out a small stack of cards from his pocket. The cards were the size of playing cards, with the words "Nuwa Game" written on the back.
The muscular man froze. "What is this?"
"These are 'identity cards,'" the goat-headed figure laughed. "If you draw 'the liar,' you must lie."
The muscular man clenched his teeth. "Are you messing with us?! Why didn't you say this earlier?!"
"This is to teach you a lesson," the goat-headed figure sneered. "You asked if you could discuss strategy before I finished explaining the rules. You wasted your valuable minute, not me."
The muscular man's expression soured, but after recalling how the goat-headed figure had killed, he swallowed his anger.
A minute passed, and all nine participants drew a card. But no one dared flip it over.
If the card said "the liar," it would become a question of whether they survived or someone else did.
The four women's hands trembled, and the men's faces weren't much better.
This wasn't a matter of "identity"; this was a matter of life and death.
Qi Xia took a deep breath, casually pulling his card from the pile and bringing it up to his face.
He flipped it over, revealing the words "Liar."