The woman's scream stopped, and everyone's thoughts came to a sudden halt.
The several men who were just shouting and cursing fell silent at this moment.
It was no longer a matter of "illegality"; this strange person in front of them really would kill.
After a full minute of silence, the Goat Head slightly nodded, "Very well, nine of you, it seems you have all quieted down."
The crowd's expressions changed, but no one dared to speak, just as he had said, there were indeed now "nine" of them.
Qi Xia extended her trembling hand and removed a piece of powdery yellow substance from her face.
The shattered piece of brain, still warm, was faintly pulsating, but within a few seconds, it deflated like a punctured balloon, losing its vitality.
"Now, allow me to introduce myself..." The Goat Head extended his bloodied finger and pointed at his mask, saying, "I am 'Human Goat,' and you are the 'Participants.'"
The crowd was taken aback for a moment, then looked at each other in confusion—"Human Goat," "Participants"?
"I have gathered you all here to participate in a game, ultimately to create a 'God,'" the Goat Head said in a flat tone.
These two consecutive statements caused the crowd to furrow their brows.
After a few minutes of interaction, the crowd had generally come to understand that the man in front of them was a madman, but this madman claimed he wanted to create a "God"?
"Create... what kind of God?" a robust young man asked nervously.
"A God like 'Nüwa'!" the Goat Head exclaimed, gesturing wildly. He emitted a strong, pungent odor, and his voice carried a hint of ferocity. "How wonderful! You will witness history with us. Once, Nüwa created humanity, but when she repaired the sky, she transformed into a rainbow... We cannot lose Nüwa, so we must create a new Nüwa! A great task awaits the 'God' to accomplish!"
His voice gradually rose in pitch, and he seemed to be filled with a frenzied energy.
"Nüwa..." The robust young man furrowed his brow, feeling that this was far too difficult to accept. After a pause, he asked, "Are you some kind of religion?"
"Religion?" The Goat Head was momentarily taken aback, then turned to the young man and said, "We are far grander than 'religion'; we have a 'world'!"
Upon hearing this, the crowd fell silent once more.
The young man's question was quite pointed; the actions of this Goat Head man were no different from those of a cult, but most cults tend to fabricate a new deity rather than use a heroic figure like Nüwa.
"Since that's the case..." the robust young man continued to ask, "What do you want us to 'participate' in here?"
"I already said, it's just a game," the Goat Head replied without hesitation. "If you win, one of you will become a 'God.'"
"F*ck..." The tattooed man seemed to have calmed down a bit and cursed as he spoke, "Is it the 'Investiture of the Gods'? What if we lose?"
"If you lose..." The Goat Head looked at the blood on his hands and said, somewhat disappointed, "It would be a shame..."
Although he didn't say it outright, everyone understood what he meant.
If they lost, they would die.
There was no option for "leaving alive" among the choices he offered.
They would either become the so-called "God" he spoke of or die here like the young man with his head blown apart.
"If everyone understands... then this 'game' officially begins. This game is called 'Liar,'" the Goat Head said as he slowly took out a stack of paper from his pocket, then casually walked over to each person, placing one sheet down in front of them.
He then pulled out several pens and distributed them to the crowd.
There were quite a few bloodstains on the table, and when each person's white paper fell onto it, it became stained with red. Flipping the paper over and wiping it with their hands, the blood spread like paint, turning 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 aware, among all the storytellers, one person will tell a lie. Once all nine of you have finished your stories, you will begin voting. If all eight of you correctly identify the 'liar,' the liar will be eliminated, and the rest will survive. However, if even one person makes a mistake, the liar will survive, and the rest will be eliminated."
"The liar...?"
The crowd looked slightly confused. Would anyone really lie at this life-and-death moment?
"Wait, can we discuss 'tactics'?" the robust young man suddenly asked.
"Feel free," the Goat Head nodded. "Before the game starts, you have one minute to discuss tactics. Will you use it now... or later?"
"I want to use it now," the robust young man said without hesitation.
"Go ahead,"
the Goat Head replied, stepping back a bit to distance himself from the table.
The robust young man pressed his lips together, then glanced around at the others, trying to avoid looking at the headless corpse sprawled on the table. He began, "I don't know who among you will lie later, but this 'rule' sounds too arbitrary. As long as one person votes incorrectly, we all die. And even if we choose correctly, the liar will still die. It seems that there will be a death no matter what. I've come up with a way for everyone to survive..."
Hearing this, everyone turned their attention to the robust young man.
Could it really be possible for everyone to survive?
"And that is for all of us to tell the truth," the robust young man announced before anyone could fully process his words. "If all nine of us speak the truth and we all write 'No one is lying' on this paper, then we wouldn't be violating the rules, and we could successfully survive."
The man in the white coat lightly tapped his fingers on the table and after a moment, spoke up, "Your plan sounds good, but it has one prerequisite: that 'you are not the liar.' How can we trust you? If you are indeed the liar, then writing 'No one is lying' would only allow you to survive."
"What kind of talk is that?" The robust young man's expression showed slight anger. "If I were the liar, how could I possibly suggest such a thing? I would only need to look out for myself."
The Goat Head waved his hand slightly and said, "The minute is up. Please stop discussing."
The two men huffed in response and fell silent.
"Next, please draw cards," the Goat Head said as he pulled out a small stack of cards from his pants pocket. The cards looked about the size of playing cards, with the words "Nuwa Game" written on the back.
The robust young man was taken aback and asked, "What are these?"
"These are 'identity cards,'" the Goat Head replied with a hearty laugh. "If you draw the 'liar,' you must lie."
The robust young man gritted his teeth in anger. "Are you messing with us?! Why didn't you tell us about this rule in advance?!"
"This is to teach you a lesson," the Goat Head replied with a cold smile. "You asked me if you could discuss tactics before I had finished explaining the rules. It was you who wasted that precious minute, not me for not informing you earlier."
The robust young man's expression darkened, but thinking of the Goat Head's deadly methods, he swallowed his anger.
In just a minute, all nine people drew a card from the Goat Head's hand, but no one dared to flip them over and take a look.
If the card said "liar," it would become a matter of whether they would survive or the others would.
The hands of the four girls trembled slightly, and the men's faces were also not looking good.
What they were drawing was not just "identity," but rather "life and death."
Qi Xia took a deep breath, casually placed her hand over her card, and then slid it in front of her.
She gently flipped it open to take a look.
It clearly read the words "liar."