Chapter 98 Inevitable
In his confusion, Qi Xia looked up and found that the storyteller had become Officer Li.
"My name is Li Shangwu. I'm a criminal police officer from Inner Mongolia," he said calmly. "Before arriving here, I was conducting a stakeout on a swindler."
"But I messed up; when he finally made his appearance, we ended up fighting during an earthquake."
"I was knocked unconscious and ended up here."
What once was a lengthy narrative was now condensed into just three sentences. Though everyone recounted similar tales, Officer Li, at that moment, displayed remarkably unusual behavior.
Fortunately, only Qi Xia remembered the events of the past.
"Criminal police officer?" Xiao Ran exclaimed. "You’re a policeman, so why aren’t you thinking of a way to get us out of here?"
"Because I…" Officer Li hesitated slightly. "To be honest, I'm unsure how to lead everyone out. If such an opportunity arises, I will certainly do my utmost."
"That's not the same..." Officer Li shook his head. "My options are extremely limited right now; all I can do is strive to preserve everyone’s lives..."
Xiao Ran grew increasingly agitated, pointing at Mortal Goat beside them. "Isn’t this the {murderer}? Just arrest him already!!"
"Enough." Qi Xia could no longer watch the argument unfold and interrupted, "All you are doing is causing a racket—do you know how annoying it is?"
Qiao Jiajin nodded in agreement. "Isn’t copper human too? None of us can move now; our life and death is in the hands of that goat. What do you expect copper to do?"
"You two…!" Xiao Ran was about to say more when she caught the coldness in Qi Xia's eyes and the formidable muscles of Qiao Jiajin's tattooed arms. She instantly recognized that these two were far from benign. It dawned on her that a person with such a gaze was not comparable to a police officer. She could freely shout at the police, who would never respond disrespectfully, but these two men were another matter entirely.
"I... I was just caught up in fear," Xiao Ran admitted, looking pitiful as she shook her head. "Sigh, maybe I've relied too heavily on the police."
"With peculiar words and actions, harassing the good while avoiding the wicked," Qi Xia scoffed. "Might you be creating conflict because you’re the {liar}?"
"How is that possible?!" Xiao Ran cried out, "How can I be the {liar}? Stop slandering me!"
"Oh?" Qi Xia nodded. "Since you’re not the {liar}, what does your card say?"
"It’s…" Just as the words were about to leave Xiao Ran's lips, she fell silent. Mortal Goat hadn’t mentioned what identities were besides {liar}. He only stated that {whoever draws the liar card must lie}. To clear her name, she would need to publicly reveal her identity. But what could the other identity be?
Or was it a blank card?
Xiao Ran felt a shiver run through her body, engulfed by an overwhelming sense of fear. The young man before her was exceedingly clever, effortlessly cornering her with a single question.
She noticed a few others beginning to pay attention to her, their expressions tinged with confusion. If they started to suspect her as the {liar}, the situation would quickly spiral out of control.
According to the established rules, there was {only one liar} among them, and each person believed that the role belonged solely to themselves. Thus, theoretically, there could be no other liars. Yet here they found themselves in a perplexing dilemma, grappling with the unsettling possibility of {multiple liars} existing.
"W—Why should I tell you?" Faced with the impending trouble, Xiao Ran decided to deflect, saying, "What if you're the {liar} just fishing for information?"
Qi Xia nodded, his expression contemplative. "You raise a valid point. In that case, let’s make a wager."
"Yes. I’ll count down: {three, two, one}, and we both announce the words on our identity cards simultaneously. The others here can then judge whose identity is fabricated." Qi Xia resolved to set things straight with Xiao Ran, believing it unnecessary to allow a source of chaos to remain.
"Uh…" Xiao Ran hesitated, visibly caught off guard.
Inwardly, Qi Xia smirked. If this truly was a game with {only one liar}, Xiao Ran was destined to fail. None of those present knew the name of the ‘other’ identity; as soon as Qi Xia confidently declared it, victory would already be his.
With an impassive expression, Qi Xia continued his countdown. Just as he was about to utter {one}, Doctor Zhao suddenly interjected, aiming to diffuse the tension. "Okay, okay. Xiōng dì, let’s not make things difficult for the fairer sex…"
Qi Xia turned to regard him.
"Neither of you seem like the {liar}. If we’re going to vote, let’s wait until everyone has shared their stories first," Doctor Zhao suggested, offering a conciliatory smile.
Qi Xia certainly couldn’t condemn Xiao Ran as the {liar} at that moment; the truth remained to be uncovered. Furthermore, the upcoming {Bamboo Shoots After Rain} game required the cooperation of all nine participants, so Xiao Ran's elimination could not happen just yet.
Thus, he agreed to Doctor Zhao's request. "Alright," Qi Xia nodded. "As long as that woman stops pointing fingers at others, I have no objections."
"I’m not pointing fingers…" Xiao Ran said, pouting her lips in a way that made her seem endearing, "I’m just very scared."
"Don’t worry, I believe you," Doctor Zhao replied with a smile.
Following Officer Li's narration, Lin Qin began her own. She recounted her experience of facing an earthquake on the twenty-sixth floor.
Finally, it was Qi Xia's turn, and he shared his story in full. Upon concluding, he found himself reflecting on the peculiar nature of {time}. Although he knew everything that had happened before, recounting the story a second time revealed notable differences from the first. This included variations in grammar, phrasing, and narrative order.
In contrast, the others—except for Officer Li—recited their tales word for word, despite having no knowledge of the previous occurrences. This raised questions: Who was right, and who was wrong?
After Qi Xia finished his story, Mortal Goat announced a twenty-minute, free discussion period. Qi Xia asked for another blank sheet of paper and meticulously transcribed the formula he had written before, verbatim.
What transpired next seemed almost inevitable. Qi Xia led the group in directing their suspicions toward {Mortal Goat}, who, under the astonished gazes of the crowd, once again shot himself.