"Liar…"
Qi Xia repeated the two words in his mind several times, confirming his identity. Then, he calmly placed the card face down again.
Just a minute ago, he had entertained the idea that everyone could survive.
But now, things were different.
Although he didn't know the eight people around him, this time, it was going to be them who died.
"If there are no objections, please remember the rule: there is exactly one liar in this game," the goat-headed man said, raising a hand and pointing at the seductive girl to Qi Xia's left. "We'll start with you and proceed clockwise."
"Me?!" The girl was startled and pouted.
Qi Xia glanced to his left. If the storytelling began with the girl and went clockwise, it would put him in the worst position: the last storyteller.
Under extreme tension and pressure, people tend to remember only the first and last speakers.
But raising an objection now would seem too suspicious. He could only take it step by step.
The seductive girl furrowed her brows, her large eyes darting around anxiously before she sighed and said, "Alright… I'll start. But I've never been good at telling stories. If I mess up, don't hold it against me…"
No one responded; they simply listened in silence.
The girl delicately tucked a strand of hair behind her ear with her slender fingers before beginning.
"My name is Tiantian, and I'm… uh… a 'technical worker.' We earn our living with our skills, and I don't feel ashamed of it."
At this, everyone noticed that Tiantian was dressed quite provocatively, wearing only a dirty low-cut dress that barely covered what it was supposed to. However, she seemed completely unbothered by this.
"I've got plenty of stories, but not all of them are fit to share. You can call what I do 'action,' but describing it in detail? I don't even know where to start. Honestly, if I had any culture, would I be doing this kind of work…"
"Anyway, I was at work before I got here. The client I met was so weird. We had rooms available at the shop, but he insisted on doing it in his car, saying it'd be more exciting. To make money, I went along with it…"
"It was my first time working in a car. Even though it looked fancy, it was cramped inside. In no time, I was sweating all over. I don't know what was so 'exciting' about it. Meanwhile, his phone kept ringing nonstop, and he refused to pick it up. It was driving me crazy…"
Tiantian seemed ready to curse the client some more, but her gaze accidentally fell on the corpse sprawled on the table. She shivered and took a deep breath before continuing.
"Anyway, I chose this line of work, so I accept it. What I didn't expect was an earthquake! At first, I thought we were just moving too vigorously, but the shaking got worse. It turned out to be a real earthquake."
At the mention of an earthquake, everyone's expressions shifted slightly as if recalling something.
"Our car was parked in an alleyway… Right above us was a huge billboard. My head was sticking out of the car window at the time, so I saw it clearly." She pointed above her head, her voice trembling. "That massive billboard suddenly broke loose with a crash and fell directly onto the car. I lost consciousness right then."
She exhaled heavily and said, "When I woke up, I was here. I'm still terrified…"
Tiantian wore a pitiful expression, one seemingly designed to evoke sympathy from men.
The tattooed man beside her hesitated for a moment before saying, "So… do we still need to continue telling our stories?"
The man in the white coat was taken aback. "What do you mean?"
"This… 'lady' is already lying. Let's just vote," the tattooed man declared confidently.
"What?!" Tiantian exclaimed, her eyes wide in shock. "What did I lie about?!"
The tattooed man shot her a cold look and said, "Your name. You said your name is 'Tiantian,' but every escort uses a pseudonym—names like 'Tiantian,' 'Xiaofang,' or 'Lili' are all fake. By hiding your real name, you've already lied."
As he finished speaking, Tiantian's face turned red with anger.
"You… you're talking nonsense! My name really is Tiantian! I haven't used my real name in years!" She looked around at the others and added, "At my workplace, they only recognize me as Tiantian. No one knows me by my real name!"
The group fell into contemplative silence, while Qi Xia's expression grew more serious.
From Tiantian's story, Qi Xia couldn't detect any signs of deceit. Her narration was smooth, casual, and relaxed—like chatting with a friend.
This could only mean two possibilities:
1. The story had been fabricated long ago and rehearsed repeatedly, or
2. She was telling the truth.
But now the tattooed man had introduced another angle: "lying about her name."
Name-related lies don't involve logic or plausibility, making them harder to detect. After all, no one here knew each other, so names could only be taken at face value.
Qi Xia recalled the goat-headed man's words: "There is exactly one liar among the storytellers." The rules didn't specify that the liar had to tell a false story—lying about one's name would also qualify.
Tiantian's frantic defense only made her seem less intelligent, which meant she probably hadn't devised this as a strategy. She likely wasn't the liar.
This realization gave Qi Xia an idea: a near-perfect strategy.
If everyone overlooked Tiantian's "name issue," Qi Xia could exploit it.
He decided that when it was his turn, he would introduce himself with a fake name—Li Ming.
The surname "Qi" was too uncommon and memorable, making it unsuitable for deception.
By blending into the background with an ordinary name and telling a believable story, even the most perceptive players wouldn't detect a lie.
This game was as good as won.