Chapter 7: Winning Odds
"Cops, you're lying." Jia Jiajin said coldly.
"Hmph, I knew you'd say that. But what proof do you have that I'm lying? Just because someone attacked me?"
"Of course not." Jia Jiajin smiled slightly. "I don't know the reason, but the stories everyone told earlier were more or less connected. Many characters appeared in multiple stories. If we ignore geographical locations, everyone's accounts are reasonable."
"So what?"
"That's exactly the problem." Jia Jiajin pointed at the lawyer, Zhang Chenze. "Your story and the lawyer's story share a common character—'the swindler who cheated someone out of two million.' But your stories contradict each other, which means one of you is lying."
Officer Li paused and asked, "Where's the contradiction?"
Jia Jiajin shook his head and looked at Officer Li. "Lawyer Zhang is already preparing for court. That means in her story, 'the suspect has been caught.' But you're still staking out the place, which means in your story, 'the suspect hasn't been caught yet.' Isn't that a contradiction?"
Officer Li pondered for a moment before speaking. "I have to admit, your argument has some merit. But I think you've been influenced by this 'game.' First, you need to understand a major premise: none of the previous storytellers were in the same city as the others. In other words, even if our experiences are similar, they can't possibly be the same event. Since they're different events, naturally they'd have different outcomes."
Qi Xia watched the two arguing silently, not intervening.
Yes, argue. Argue as fiercely as possible.
As long as either of them cast a vote against the other, the liar would win.
After all, the rules were absolute. If anyone other than the liar voted wrong, everyone else would die along with them.
Although Officer Li had given his explanation, Jia Jiajin's words still left an impression on everyone.
After all, this was the first time they had discovered contradictory plots in two stories.
Qi Xia couldn't help but look at this gangster named Jia Jiajin with newfound respect.
He might seem reckless and uninhibited, but he was smarter than expected.
"Well... it's my turn..." a girl spoke up.
Everyone snapped out of their thoughts and looked at her.
This girl had let out a sharp scream when the person died earlier.
Now she seemed to have calmed down, though she still didn't dare look at anyone beside her.
"Hello everyone, my name is Lin Qin, and I'm a psychological counselor."
Qi Xia paused slightly, because the name "Lin Qin" was quite interesting.
Before the Tang Dynasty, "Lin Qin" meant "apple."
These two characters were poetic and memorable.
Perhaps Miss Lin's parents wanted to give their daughter a unique name, but this name would likely get her killed here.
Among the people present were a writer, a teacher, a lawyer, a doctor, and a police officer. Any of them might know the meaning of "Lin Qin."
If they turned that name over in their minds a few times, the story Lin Qin told would stick.
Seeing that everyone had no reaction, Lin Qin covered her mouth and nose with her hands and continued, "I'm from Ningxia. Before I came here, I was waiting for a client. She was a kindergarten teacher."
Everyone glanced at the kindergarten teacher named Xiao Ran without much surprise. Another connected story.
"According to her, being a kindergarten teacher these days is very difficult. You can't hit the children, you can't scold them. Parents treat teachers like nannies, and children treat teachers like maids. Every classroom has surveillance cameras. Parents monitor in real time. If your tone is even slightly strict, a parent will immediately call the principal."
"But isn't sending children to kindergarten supposed to help them build their values?"
"If teachers can't discipline them firmly, how will the children recognize their mistakes?"
"She felt that for a long time, she had been in a state of confusion and depression."
"So I prepared a treatment plan for her that would take about a month."
"But for some reason, that client never showed up for her appointment. I kept waiting in my office."
"When the earthquake hit, I had no chance to escape. After all, my office was on the 26th floor."
"The higher the floor, the stronger the tremors. I felt the entire building shaking."
"I never knew Ningxia had earthquakes before. This time, I felt it."
"Later, I vaguely remember the ceiling collapsing. My vision went dark, and I didn't know anything else."
After listening to Lin Qin's story, everyone seemed to think of something.
Jia Jiajin spoke first. "I have two questions."
"Go ahead." Lin Qin said, still covering her mouth and nose.
"You said every classroom has 'surveillance cameras.' What does that mean?"
No one expected Jia Jiajin to focus on that point. But Lin Qin, true to her profession as a psychological counselor, answered patiently, "I think the 'surveillance cameras' are installed so that parents can see what's happening in the classroom from anywhere."
"So it's a 'closed-circuit television'... a fancy kindergarten, huh..." Jia Jiajin muttered to himself, then asked another question, "Was the kindergarten teacher you were meeting that Xiao Ran over there?"
"I don't know." Lin Qin shook her head. "I only added that person on WeChat. We were going to discuss the details when we met."
"WeChat?" Jia Jiajin was momentarily confused, as if he didn't understand.
Officer Li interrupted the two. "Scum, here you go again. Xiao Ran is in Yunnan, and this Lin Qin is in Ningxia. Who would travel such a long distance just to see a psychological counselor?"
Jia Jiajin shot back without backing down. "I just find it suspicious. This is the first time someone's story mentioned another participant."
Dr. Zhao felt Jia Jiajin had a point this time. He nodded and asked, "Xiao Ran, was your reason for seeing a psychological counselor similar to what Lin Qin described?"
"Um..." Xiao Ran hesitated timidly. "Not exactly... I was depressed because a parent kept criticizing me..."
"Then it's just a coincidence." Dr. Zhao nodded. "After all, these are two different regions. There's no need to force a connection."
Everyone fell silent for a moment, but then Lawyer Zhang suddenly spoke up. "Miss Lin, half of the story you told was about that 'kindergarten teacher.' Isn't that against the rules?"
"Huh?" Lin Qin was taken aback. "I mentioned that teacher so you could better understand my work..."
"Don't misunderstand. I didn't mean anything by it." Zhang Chenze smiled. "What I'm saying is, if that teacher's experience was fabricated by you, it would naturally conflict with Xiao Ran's story, which would prove you're lying."
"You...!" Lin Qin hadn't expected this woman to be so aggressive. She could only defend herself, "Doctor Zhao and Officer Li already said we're from different provinces. It's just a coincidence!"
"Coincidence, is it?" Zhang Chenze crossed her arms and continued, "Think about it. Why were we nine people chosen to gather here? Don't forget, we're nine strangers. If we're supposed to find flaws in each other's stories, we need some clues. And that 'clue' is that all our stories are connected. After hearing everyone's story, I feel like we were specifically selected. That way, we can find the contradictions and identify the liar. Otherwise, this game would be too absurd, because the 'liar's' winning odds would be way too high."