"The Liar..."
Elliot Hayes silently repeated the words in his mind a few times, confirming his own identity, before calmly hiding the card.
Just a minute ago, he had entertained the thought of *"everyone leaving alive"*.
But not anymore.
Although he didn't know the eight people around him, this time, the ones who would die could only be them.
"If no one objects, please remember the rule: there is *only one liar* in this game..." Basic Gemini stretched out his finger and pointed to the sexy girl on Elliot Hayes' left. "You start, and then we'll go clockwise."
"Ah? Me?" The girl blinked in surprise, then pouted.
Elliot Hayes glanced over. Starting from the girl to his left and continuing clockwise, the order of storytellers wasn't in his favor.
He would be the last one to tell his story.
In tense, oppressive situations, people usually only remember the first and the last storyteller.
But raising doubts right now might seem out of place, so he could only play it step by step.
The sexy girl furrowed her brows, her big eyes darting around, and after a deep sigh, she said, "Alright… I'll go first, but I'm not good at telling stories, so don't blame me if it's bad..."
Everyone fell silent, unsure of what to say, and simply waited for her to continue.
The girl tucked a strand of hair behind her ear with a delicate finger, then spoke:
"My name is Sasha Venus, and I'm a sex worker."
At that moment, everyone noticed that Sasha Venus was barely dressed—she wore a dirty, low-cut short skirt, barely covering what needed to be covered.
But she didn't seem to care about that.
"Most of my stories are too inappropriate to share... Anyway, you can call me 'bedtime,' but 'describe'... I don't know how to start, really. After all, if I had a bit of culture, why would I do this job?"
"Anyway, I was working when I came here. The client I had was so weird... We have a service area at the place, but he insisted on going to his car. He said it would be more exciting... So, to make money, I had no choice but to follow him."
"This was my first time working in a car, and I didn't expect it to be so cramped, even though it looked like a high-end car. I was sweating like crazy in no time. I really don't understand what was 'exciting' about this place. During the whole thing, his phone kept ringing, but he refused to answer it. I was so annoyed..."
Sasha Venus seemed ready to complain more about the client, but when her eyes accidentally landed on the dead body on the table, she froze and let out a sharp gasp, then quickly exhaled and said:
"Ugh, whatever, I accepted this line of work. I just didn't expect a 'earthquake' to happen... At first, I thought we were shaking the car too much, but then I realized it really was an earthquake."
When she mentioned "earthquake," everyone's expression shifted slightly, as if they recalled something.
"Our car was parked in an alley... right below a big billboard. At that moment, my head was out of the car, and I saw it." Sasha Venus pointed to her head, her voice trembling. "The huge billboard... for some reason, it just... *clang*... fell right onto the car. I lost consciousness right then..."
She sighed deeply and added, "When I woke up, I was here. I was so scared..."
Sasha Venus put on an expression of pure innocence, one that seemed practiced, making the men around her feel a little weak in the knees.
The man next to her, with tattoos all over his body, blinked and then asked, "Do we need to keep going, everyone?"
The middle-aged doctor looked at him, confused. "What do you mean?"
"This *lady* is lying. We should just vote now," the tattooed man said confidently.
"You... What?!" Sasha Venus jumped up, shocked. "Where am I lying?"
The tattooed man looked at her coldly and said, "Your name. You said your name is *Sasha Venus*. Prostitutes often use aliases, like 'Sasha Venus,' 'Lola Noir,' 'Mia Fox,' so by hiding your real name, you're already lying."
As soon as he said this, Sasha Venus' face turned red with embarrassment.
"What... What are you talking about? My name is *Sasha Venus*! I haven't used my real name for years!" She looked around at everyone, then added, "At my workplace, if you call me 'Sasha Venus,' you'll find me. No one would even recognize my real name!"
Everyone fell silent, thinking over what had been said, while Elliot Hayes' face grew more serious.
From the way Sasha Venus had spoken, Elliot Hayes hadn't detected any sense of lying—her storytelling had been steady, calm, and natural.
This kind of casual storytelling, like chatting with friends, could lead to two conclusions: either she had told this story so many times she had it memorized, or she was telling the truth.
But now, the tattooed man had given Elliot Hayes another angle to consider.
That angle was "name lying."
Lying about one's name didn't require logic or coherence; it was something most people wouldn't immediately spot.
After all, no one here knew each other, and names were only known through what others told them.
Elliot Hayes then thought back to Basic Gemini's words. He had said, "Among all the storytellers, one is lying." The rule hadn't specified that the liar had to tell a "false story"—"false names" could work just as well.
Sasha Venus, seeing herself under suspicion, widened her eyes, clearly nervous. "If you don't believe me, my real name is *Isabella Rose*... I'm from Reno… You can call me by my real name, but I won't answer. I only respond to 'Sasha Venus'... I... I..."
Hearing this, Elliot Hayes silently shook his head.
This woman wasn't as clever as he had thought.
Which meant she couldn't have crafted this lie in advance, and she certainly couldn't have come up with the "name lie" strategy on the spot.
Basic Gemini said, "There is only one liar," and that meant the liar could only be Elliot Hayes himself.
If no one else noticed the gravity of Sasha Venus' name issue, then he had found a surefire way to win.
When making up a name, "Hayes" was not a great choice. While it wasn't rare, it wasn't exactly common either, and it could easily be remembered.
In other words, he needed to make sure everything he said was as unremarkable as possible.
So, he decided to introduce himself as *James Miller*.
From there, he could continue telling his story, and no one would find any fault with it.
The game was almost over.**"The Liar..."**
Elliot Hayes silently repeated the words in his mind a few times, confirming his own identity, before calmly hiding the card.
Just a minute ago, he had entertained the thought of *"everyone leaving alive"*.
But not anymore.
Although he didn't know the eight people around him, this time, the ones who would die could only be them.
"If no one objects, please remember the rule: there is *only one liar* in this game..." Basic Gemini stretched out his finger and pointed to the sexy girl on Elliot Hayes' left. "You start, and then we'll go clockwise."
"Ah? Me?" The girl blinked in surprise, then pouted.
Elliot Hayes glanced over. Starting from the girl to his left and continuing clockwise, the order of storytellers wasn't in his favor.
He would be the last one to tell his story.
In tense, oppressive situations, people usually only remember the first and the last storyteller.
But raising doubts right now might seem out of place, so he could only play it step by step.
The sexy girl furrowed her brows, her big eyes darting around, and after a deep sigh, she said, "Alright… I'll go first, but I'm not good at telling stories, so don't blame me if it's bad..."
Everyone fell silent, unsure of what to say, and simply waited for her to continue.
The girl tucked a strand of hair behind her ear with a delicate finger, then spoke:
"My name is Sasha Venus, and I'm a sex worker."
At that moment, everyone noticed that Sasha Venus was barely dressed—she wore a dirty, low-cut short skirt, barely covering what needed to be covered.
But she didn't seem to care about that.
"Most of my stories are too inappropriate to share... Anyway, you can call me 'bedtime,' but 'describe'... I don't know how to start, really. After all, if I had a bit of culture, why would I do this job?"
"Anyway, I was working when I came here. The client I had was so weird... We have a service area at the place, but he insisted on going to his car. He said it would be more exciting... So, to make money, I had no choice but to follow him."
"This was my first time working in a car, and I didn't expect it to be so cramped, even though it looked like a high-end car. I was sweating like crazy in no time. I really don't understand what was 'exciting' about this place. During the whole thing, his phone kept ringing, but he refused to answer it. I was so annoyed..."
Sasha Venus seemed ready to complain more about the client, but when her eyes accidentally landed on the dead body on the table, she froze and let out a sharp gasp, then quickly exhaled and said:
"Ugh, whatever, I accepted this line of work. I just didn't expect a 'earthquake' to happen... At first, I thought we were shaking the car too much, but then I realized it really was an earthquake."
When she mentioned "earthquake," everyone's expression shifted slightly, as if they recalled something.
"Our car was parked in an alley... right below a big billboard. At that moment, my head was out of the car, and I saw it." Sasha Venus pointed to her head, her voice trembling. "The huge billboard... for some reason, it just... *clang*... fell right onto the car. I lost consciousness right then..."
She sighed deeply and added, "When I woke up, I was here. I was so scared..."
Sasha Venus put on an expression of pure innocence, one that seemed practiced, making the men around her feel a little weak in the knees.
The man next to her, with tattoos all over his body, blinked and then asked, "Do we need to keep going, everyone?"
The middle-aged doctor looked at him, confused. "What do you mean?"
"This *lady* is lying. We should just vote now," the tattooed man said confidently.
"You... What?!" Sasha Venus jumped up, shocked. "Where am I lying?"
The tattooed man looked at her coldly and said, "Your name. You said your name is *Sasha Venus*. Prostitutes often use aliases, like 'Sasha Venus,' 'Lola Noir,' 'Mia Fox,' so by hiding your real name, you're already lying."
As soon as he said this, Sasha Venus' face turned red with embarrassment.
"What... What are you talking about? My name is *Sasha Venus*! I haven't used my real name for years!" She looked around at everyone, then added, "At my workplace, if you call me 'Sasha Venus,' you'll find me. No one would even recognize my real name!"
Everyone fell silent, thinking over what had been said, while Elliot Hayes' face grew more serious.
From the way Sasha Venus had spoken, Elliot Hayes hadn't detected any sense of lying—her storytelling had been steady, calm, and natural.
This kind of casual storytelling, like chatting with friends, could lead to two conclusions: either she had told this story so many times she had it memorized, or she was telling the truth.
But now, the tattooed man had given Elliot Hayes another angle to consider.
That angle was "name lying."
Lying about one's name didn't require logic or coherence; it was something most people wouldn't immediately spot.
After all, no one here knew each other, and names were only known through what others told them.
Elliot Hayes then thought back to Basic Gemini's words. He had said, "Among all the storytellers, one is lying." The rule hadn't specified that the liar had to tell a "false story"—"false names" could work just as well.
Sasha Venus, seeing herself under suspicion, widened her eyes, clearly nervous. "If you don't believe me, my real name is *Isabella Rose*... I'm from Reno… You can call me by my real name, but I won't answer. I only respond to 'Sasha Venus'... I... I..."
Hearing this, Elliot Hayes silently shook his head.
This woman wasn't as clever as he had thought.
Which meant she couldn't have crafted this lie in advance, and she certainly couldn't have come up with the "name lie" strategy on the spot.
Basic Gemini said, "There is only one liar," and that meant the liar could only be Elliot Hayes himself.
If no one else noticed the gravity of Sasha Venus' name issue, then he had found a surefire way to win.
When making up a name, "Hayes" was not a great choice. While it wasn't rare, it wasn't exactly common either, and it could easily be remembered.
In other words, he needed to make sure everything he said was as unremarkable as possible.
So, he decided to introduce himself as *James Miller*.
From there, he could continue telling his story, and no one would find any fault with it.
The game was almost over.