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 trembled all over and swallowed the words 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 the hand exert a slight pressure, as if hinting at something to him.
He looked up at the Human Sheep, but found the other wasn't looking at him.
"Now I will introduce the rules of the game." The Human Sheep left Qi Xia's side and spoke. "Next, I want each of you to tell a story about the last thing that happened before you came here. But pay attention—among all the storytellers, one person is lying. When everyone has finished telling their stories…"
The exact same rule as last time.
Among all the people, there was one and only one "Liar," and everyone needed to vote to select him.
This game had nearly killed those who first entered this place.
The Human Sheep handed the white paper to the nine people seated.
Qi Xia held the paper, a faint glimmer of light flashing through his mind.
It felt as if another sense of incongruity suddenly surfaced in his heart.
Right…
Shouldn't someone be asking the Human Sheep at this moment, "Can we discuss tactics?"
But why wasn't that person speaking?
Qi Xia's pupils suddenly dilated a little.
That's it—it was him!
In this experience, he had suddenly become taciturn.
Every previous time Qi Xia felt incongruous, it was because this person had failed to speak when he should have.
All the questions he used to ask—not one was asked this time.
Why didn't he have any questions anymore?
Qi Xia knew there was only one answer: that person no longer needed to ask those questions.
He also had memories of the "last time"!
Qi Xia turned his head and stared with a puzzled expression at the burly man.
Officer Li!
Officer Li's face was stern as he tapped the table with his fingers, seeming indifferent to everything.
"Since you have no further questions, I will now distribute the 'Identity Cards.'" The Human Sheep pulled a stack of poker-sized cards from his pocket and walked 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, and none of them looked particularly pleased.
Qi Xia, meanwhile, kept glancing at Officer Li, deliberately or not.
Yes, he had changed.
He hadn't even bothered to check his own identity in a hurry.
Qi Xia also covered his "Identity Card" with his palm, his mind racing.
The situation was tricky now.
If he rashly told everyone that this was the "second time," no one would likely believe him, and he would instantly become a target for everyone.
After all, not every one of the nine people possessed extraordinary intelligence. If someone led the rhythm astray, the chance of Qi Xia being voted out was 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 these trials just like before.
He looked up at the walls and floor, which, as last time, were neatly divided into many squares by lines.
The venue hadn't changed. The rules hadn't changed.
"Um… let me say a few words." Dr. Zhao didn’t ask the Human Sheep for permission and spoke up on his own.
Everyone turned to look at him with suspicion.
"We're all meeting for the first time, and I don't know who you are, but I suggest the 'Liar' come forward on his own," Dr. Zhao said seriously. "It's too cruel for the remaining eight people to be pitted against each other just because of one person."
"Yeah!" Xiao Ran suddenly chimed in. "If any of you drew the 'Liar,' just admit it directly. Why drag so many people into risking their lives with you?"
Qi Xia gave a bitter smile and shook his head helplessly.
These two had a very different perspective from Officer Li.
The cards in their hands were clearly "Liar," yet they immediately stood on a moral high ground to speak.
They weren't doing this to make the "Liar" come out; rather, they were eager to send a wrong message to everyone—that they were not the "Liar."
After all, in a normal person's thinking, a "Liar" wouldn't call for the "Liar" to step forward.
In contrast, Officer Li’s speech from the very beginning had been about everyone uniting and not lying.
Qi Xia thought the people present would never pay attention to those two, but to his surprise, Qiao Jiajin, who wasn't far away, looked hesitant.
He picked up his card and stared at it for a long time, as if making some kind of decision.
Qi Xia was taken aback and instantly felt something was off.
That's right, Qiao Jiajin was that kind of person.
He was too naive.
He would be fooled by those two.
He didn't know that everyone’s hand was a "Liar"; he only knew that, to follow his sense of justice, he didn’t need to burden everyone, so he might expose himself at this moment.
Just as Qiao Jiajin took a deep breath and was about to speak, Qi Xia quickly cut in and asked the Human Sheep, "Hey, let's start the stories quickly. Who goes first?"
Qiao Jiajin was startled, and the words on his lips didn’t come out. He fell back into hesitation.
Humans are such creatures: if a long-determined resolve is suddenly interrupted, they have to make that resolve all over again.
"Since no one has any objections, this game officially begins. You will tell your story first." The Human Sheep pointed at Tiantian.
"Ah? Me?" Tiantian pouted, then slowly began her story. "O-okay. My name is Tiantian. I'm a… 'technical worker'…"
Tiantian’s entire narration was no different from before. If Qi Xia remembered correctly, it wasn’t even a single word off.
After she finished, Qiao Jiajin naturally raised a question.
He accused "Tiantian" of being a fake name and that it should be considered a lie. The two even had a big argument over it.
Next, everyone told their stories one by one.
Forced into a corner, Qi Xia could only pretend to listen carefully, 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 were the words "Nüwa Game."
He suddenly realized he hadn't looked at his own identity since just now. If someone noticed that, they might point fingers at him.
With that thought, Qi Xia expressionlessly flipped the card over and gave it a quick scan.
Seeing the words on the card, he paused slightly, then brought the card closer to his eyes.
The next second, he felt a jolt run through his body, and he was frozen.
The card didn’t have the words "Liar" written on it at all. Instead, there was a strange sentence—
"Don't tell anyone that you still remember."
"What?"
Qi Xia read the sentence several times carefully, 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 had become "Liar."