Chapter 97: The Human Sheep's Instruction
"But here…"
Qi Xia wanted to ask something more, but the Human Sheep suddenly placed a hand on his shoulder.
He shuddered and swallowed the words that had been on the tip of his tongue.
Last time, the Human Sheep had never touched Qi Xia.
What did this hand mean?
Qi Xia only felt a slight pressure from the hand, as if hinting at something.
He looked up at the Human Sheep, only to find that the other wasn't looking at him.
"Now I will explain the rules of the game," the Human Sheep said, leaving Qi Xia's side. "Next, I want each of you to tell the last story that happened to you before you came here. But pay attention: among all the storytellers, one person is lying. When everyone has finished telling their stories…"
Exactly the same rules as last time.
Among all the participants, there was one and only one "liar," and everyone needed to vote to select that person.
This game had nearly killed the group when they first arrived here.
The Human Sheep handed the white paper in his hand to the nine people seated around.
Qi Xia took the paper, and a faint glimmer of insight flashed through his mind.
It was as if another sense of dissonance suddenly surfaced in his heart.
Right…
Shouldn't someone be asking the Human Sheep, "Can we discuss strategies?"
But why wasn't that person speaking?
Qi Xia's pupils suddenly dilated slightly.
Yes, it was him!
In this iteration, he had become unusually taciturn.
Every time Qi Xia had felt something off before, it was because this person hadn't spoken when he should have.
All the questions he used to ask—this time, he hadn't asked a single one.
Why did he have no questions now?
Qi Xia knew there was only one answer: that person no longer needed to ask those questions.
He, too, retained memories of the "previous time"!
Qi Xia turned his head and stared at the sturdy man with a puzzled expression.
Officer Li!
Officer Li sat with a stern expression, tapping his fingers on the table, as if indifferent to everything.
"Since there are no questions, I'll now hand out the 'identity cards,'" the Human Sheep said, pulling a stack of poker-sized cards from his pocket and walking over to each person.
"Let me state in advance: if you draw the 'liar,' you must lie."
Everyone received their cards from the Human Sheep, their expressions grim.
During this time, Qi Xia deliberately glanced at Officer Li.
Yes, he had changed.
He hadn't even bothered to urgently check his own identity.
Qi Xia also covered his "identity card" with his palm, his mind racing through something.
The situation was tricky now.
If he recklessly told everyone that this was the "second time," no one would believe him, and he would instantly become the target of suspicion.
After all, not everyone among the nine had exceptional intelligence. If someone steered the momentum against him, the chances of Qi Xia being voted out were very high.
So this wasn't the best place to reveal his identity.
To avoid arousing anyone's suspicion, Qi Xia had to lead everyone through this ordeal just as he had before.
He lifted his head and examined the walls and floor around him. Like last time, they were neatly divided into many squares by lines.
The game venue hadn't changed. The game rules hadn't changed.
"Um… let me say a few words," Doctor Zhao began, without asking for permission from the Human Sheep.
Everyone turned to look at him with suspicion.
"We're all meeting for the first time. I don't know who any of you are, but I suggest the 'liar' step forward on their own," Doctor Zhao said solemnly. "Forcing the remaining eight of us to scheme against each other just for one person's sake—that's too cruel."
"Yeah!" Xiao Ran suddenly chimed in. "If any of you drew the 'liar,' just admit it. Why drag so many people into risking their lives with you?"
Qi Xia gave a bitter smile and shook his head helplessly.
The mindset of these two was vastly different from Officer Li's.
They clearly held the "liar" card in their hands, yet they suddenly stood on a moral high ground to speak.
They weren't trying to make the "liar" come forward—they were eager to send a false signal: they were not the "liar."
After all, in normal thinking, a "liar" wouldn't encourage the "liar" to step up.
In contrast, Officer Li's earlier statement had been about uniting everyone and not lying.
Qi Xia thought no one in the room would pay attention to those two, but to his surprise, Qiao Jiajin, sitting not far away, looked hesitant.
He picked up his card and stared at it for a long time, as if struggling to make a decision.
Qi Xia was stunned. He sensed something was wrong.
That's right. Qiao Jiajin was that kind of person.
He was too naive.
He would be swayed by those two.
He didn't know that everyone's card was the "liar." He only thought that to uphold righteousness, he shouldn't drag everyone down, so he might reveal his identity right now.
Qiao Jiajin let out a long sigh, and just as he was about to speak, Qi Xia quickly interrupted and asked the Human Sheep, "Hey, let's get to the stories. Who starts?"
Qiao Jiajin was startled. The words died on his lips, and he began to hesitate again.
Humans are like that—if a decision made after long deliberation is suddenly interrupted, they have to start the process all over again.
"Since there are no objections, this game officially begins. You will speak first," the Human Sheep said, pointing at Tiantian.
"Huh? Me?" Tiantian pouted, then slowly began her story. "Okay, okay. My name is Tiantian. I'm a… 'technical worker'…"
Tiantian's entire story was no different from before. If Qi Xia remembered correctly, it was verbatim.
After she finished, Qiao Jiajin naturally raised his doubts.
He accused "Tiantian" of using a fake name, which should count as lying, and the two even had a heated argument over it.
Then, one by one, everyone began telling their stories.
Forced to do the same, Qi Xia had no choice but to pretend to listen intently, even though he had already heard these stories once.
While listening, Qi Xia glanced at the "identity card" in front of him. On the back, it read "Nuwa Game."
He suddenly realized he hadn't looked at his own identity since earlier. If anyone noticed that, they might target him.
With that thought, Qi Xia expressionlessly flipped over the identity card and gave it a quick scan.
Seeing the words on the card, he was slightly startled and brought the card closer to his eyes.
The next second, he felt a shudder run through him, and he froze completely.
The card didn't say "liar" at all. Instead, it bore a bizarre sentence—
「Don't tell anyone that you still remember.」
"What?"
Qi Xia read the sentence several times seriously, then looked up at the Human Sheep. But the Human Sheep paid him no attention.
"Don't tell anyone that I still remember…"
Qi Xia lowered his head and rubbed his eyes. The words on the card had quietly changed again.
It now read: 「Liar.」