Chapter 10 Over At Last?
The silence stretched on for several minutes as everyone struggled to process this astonishing revelation. Finally, Police Officer Li broke the stillness by revealing his identity card. As expected, it bore the word {Liar}.
One by one, everyone else turned over their cards, and each one displayed the same word: {Liar}.
"You are incredible..." Lawyer Zhang cast an approving look at Qi Xia. "But how did you figure out that we are all dead?"
Qi Xia pointed to his scratch paper and explained, "It wasn't a difficult conclusion to reach. I kept pondering why the room is sealed, why there are lines drawn on the walls and floors, why there's a clock in the center of the table, and why the goat-headed figure enforced an {intermission}."
"A normal person's air consumption is 0.007 cubic meters per minute, which amounts to 0.42 cubic meters per hour. With ten people in this room, the total air consumption per hour is 4.2 cubic meters."
"According to the goat-headed figure, we slept in this room for 12 hours and played games for nearly an hour. Multiplying 4.2 cubic meters by thirteen, we get the {54.6} cubic meters." Qi Xia circled {54.6} on the scratch paper with a pen and said, "This is the amount of air, in cubic meters, we should have consumed." He looked around the room as he continued, "But how many cubic meters does this room contain?"
Everyone followed his gaze.
"The organizers left us clues," Qi Xia continued, pointing to the markings on the wall. "They drew lines dividing the walls and floor into many squares, each approximately 1 meter in length."
"How can a 48-cubic-meter room accommodate 54.6 cubic meters of air?" Qi Xia furrowed his brow, his expression darkening. "After all this time, the air should be thinning, but none of us seem to be struggling to breathe..."
Doctor Zhao pondered for a moment, then took Qi Xia's scratch paper, pointing to {49.14} on it. "What does this number mean?" he asked.
Qi Xia looked at Doctor Zhao with a very serious expression and replied, "This number represents the amount of air needed for {nine people}."
"Nine people?" Doctor Zhao was momentarily stunned. After all, there were clearly ten people in this room, why did he count for {nine people}?
"I made a bold assumption," Qi Xia said expressionlessly. "What if that Goat Head wasn't human? Even then, we wouldn't have enough air."
"What kind of madman are you?" Doctor Zhao muttered to himself, hesitatingly. "You actually made such a bizarre assumption?"
"Is it difficult to understand?" Qi Xia gestured towards the headless corpse on his right. "Doctor Zhao, with your expertise in anatomy, you should know about the strength of the human skull. Can anyone typically crush a skull with just one hand?"
Doctor Zhao remained silent, fully aware that such an act was entirely implausible. Needless to say, even single-handedly crushing a rabbit's skull on a table was no easy feat.
Qi Xia withdrew his gaze from the corpse and turned to the collective once more, and spoke, "Time is running out. I've already written down my vote, and now it's up to all of you. But remember, if anyone's answer differs from mine, everyone here will face {punishment}."
Everyone appeared frightened. They were now deliberating on voting out a monster who had demonstrated the capability to kill at will. The question lingered: Would he acquiesce?
Qiao Jiajin glanced at the goat-headed figure with his peripheral vision, noting that the latter remained motionless. Despite the inscrutable gaze from behind the goat mask, Qiao Jiajin felt a sense of urgency. "Hahm-ga-caan, it’s now or never!" He seized the pen and boldly inscribed the word {Mortal Goat} on his paper.
Everyone hesitated briefly before committing their answers to paper.
Qi Xia surveyed the room and observed that they had all written {Mortal Goat}.
As the clock struck 1 o'clock, signaling the game's conclusion, tension filled the air. The goat-headed figure slowly advanced, addressing the group, "Congratulations, everyone. You've successfully navigated the {Liar} game. Now, it's time to administer the {punishment} to the loser."
Before anyone could react, the figure retrieved a pistol from his pocket, aimed it at his own heart, and pulled the trigger. An ear-splitting noise echoed through the confined space, leaving everyone stunned in its wake. The sound reverberated in the confined space, causing a ringing in everyone's ears.
The goat-headed figure clutched his chest and began to scream. The piercing scream soon drowned out the echoes of the gunshot, its relentless intensity causing everyone to inwardly tremble. The goat-headed figure also vomited blood as he screamed. It took more than a minute for the loud gurgling to quiet down, eventually turning into painful groans.
"What... the..." Qiao Jiajin stared at the figure in disbelief. "Is he serious?"
After a few more minutes, even the muffled groans ceased.
At that moment, everyone realized they could move their legs again.
Doctor Zhao was the first to stand up. He walked over to the goat-headed figure, felt the artery in his neck, and confirmed it had stopped beating. "Hey!" Doctor Zhao shouted at the lifeless figure. "The game is over. How do we get out?!"
But the silent corpse couldn't provide Doctor Zhao with any answers. The others slowly stood up as well. Nothing had changed in the room, except for the addition of the lifeless body.
"How strange... Are we really all dead?" Tian Tian seemed to still be grappling with this question. She extended her slender palm and slapped herself hard.
"Oww!" Tian Tian exclaimed. "It still hurts... Why can I still feel pain even though I’m dead?"
Qiao Jiajin shook his head helplessly. "So what, have you died before?"
"I..." Tian Tian was momentarily stunned. "No, I don’t think so..."
"So, who knows what happens after death? Maybe this is hell," Qiao Jiajin suggested, glancing at the two corpses in the room and feeling increasingly uncomfortable. "Not only can I feel pain, but I can also still smell the foul stench."
"So what are we? Souls?" Writer Han Yimo asked.
After hearing this, Doctor Zhao checked his own body. His heartbeat, body temperature, and pulse were all normal. He was breathing as usual, but it seemed oxygen was no longer necessary. It seemed that death was truly a mysterious phenomenon that couldn't be explained by any common medical knowledge.
"No matter who or what we are now, I don't want to be trapped in this small room forever," Police Officer Li said. "Let's find a way out." He walked over to the goat-headed figure and picked up the gun that had fallen from his hand. This action startled everyone, causing them to instinctively distance themselves from him.
Police Officer Li skillfully pulled open the gun barrel, inspected it, and then ejected the magazine. He discovered that the gun only contained one bullet and was now empty. This revelation brought both relief and concern. The upside was that they no longer had to worry about someone using the gun to harm others. However, the downside was that they were now defenseless against any other potential dangers they might encounter.
Qiao Jiajin, displaying remarkable courage, extended his hands and carefully removed the goat-headed figure's mask. Underneath, he discovered a man with a face completely decayed and rotten. His eyes were rolled upward, devoid of any sign of life.
"What a frightening visage..." Lawyer Zhang remarked from the side.