Chapter 68 - 64: The Real Liar

Chapter 68: Chapter 64: The Real Liar

Showdown?

Everyone was startled.

Even the owner of the Treasure House couldn’t help but remind them, "Revealing your identities is a matter of life and death. You must act with caution."

The group, already wavering, grew even more hesitant.

"Hesitate, my ass."

Xie Shaokun’s mind was a complete muddle. He was thoroughly confused and couldn’t be bothered to think it through. Deciding to put his faith in Yu, he decisively flipped over his own identity card. "I’m a Liar!"

Liar!

The single large word on the front of his identity card was extremely eye-catching.

Zhao Xianghe, the Dingding Girl, and Little Nannan all stared wide-eyed.

SLAP!

Xie Shaokun moved quickly. He snatched Zhao Xianghe’s identity card, flipped it over for him, and slapped it onto the table.

"You... stop!"

Zhao Xianghe tried to stop him, but it was too late.

"Haha."

"You’re a Liar too."

"Yu was right after all."

Instead of being alarmed, Xie Shaokun was thrilled.

Since Yu’s guess was correct, she must have a way to lead him to victory.

A sense of calm washed over him.

"I can’t flip my own identity card. Can you help me, big sister?"

Little Nannan looked at the Dingding Girl.

The Dingding Girl was pulled from her thoughts. She nodded and said, "Alright, I’ll give it a try."

Little Nannan’s identity card was flipped over.

Liar!

The Dingding Girl also flipped over her own identity card.

Liar!

Xia Yu flipped over her own identity card.

Liar!

"See? Yu was right! We’re all Liars."

Xie Shaokun asked eagerly, "Yu, what do we do now?"

SNAP.

All eyes turned to Xia Yu.

"From here on, it’s all up to you."

"Find the real Liar."

"I can only follow the majority’s choice. As long as the majority chooses correctly, I’ll survive."

Xia Yu said.

"This..."

Xie Shaokun scratched his head. "We’re all Liars, which is the same as none of us being the Liar. How are we supposed to find the real one?"

Xia Yu dropped a bombshell. "There’s one more person with an identity card."

Huh?

Xie Shaokun and the others were stunned.

They exchanged glances. Could someone among them be hiding another identity card?

Or perhaps...

"Could the owner of the Treasure House also have an identity card?"

The Dingding Girl realized something and gasped in horror, "He’s the real Liar?"

’Could it really be him?’

’No way!’

’This has to be a joke.’

The others found it hard to believe.

"Once a choice is made, it cannot be changed. That is the rule."

The owner of the Treasure House reminded them again, "This is a matter of life and death. Please, be careful."

The group wavered once more.

The mist had already enveloped half of the third floor.

"Little Nannan."

Xia Yu had completely lost hope in Xie Shaokun, placing her hopes in Little Nannan instead. "Calm down, and think carefully about every word I’ve said."

This was also a kind of test for Little Nannan.

She wanted to see how the little girl would handle it.

Hearing this, Little Nannan seemed to find her courage. Her trembling subsided, and she grew calm. She recalled the questions Sister Xia Yu had specifically asked the owner of the Treasure House, her expression becoming thoughtful.

’The big sister wouldn’t do something for no reason.’

’The fact that the owner of the Treasure House survived is suspicious enough!’

’Becoming part of the rules might be how he survived.’

’But he used the rules to try to kill us before, to stop us from reaching the third floor. He must be trying to use the rules of this game to kill us now, too!’

’He’s the real enemy!’

As her analysis continued, her voice grew louder. "And just now, the big sister mentioned all of us, but she left out the owner of the Treasure House. It must be because she thinks he’s the real Liar but is restricted by the rules and can’t point him out."

"I trust the big sister."

"I choose him!"

Little Nannan pointed unwaveringly at the owner of the Treasure House, who stood diagonally behind her.

"Challenging the rules themselves... You’re a courageous little girl."

The owner of the Treasure House said in a sinister tone.

"Are you getting nervous, mister?"

Little Nannan asked, her voice small.

"You..."

The owner of the Treasure House was taken aback. He clearly hadn’t expected the little girl to be so clever.

’Did Yu really hint at all that?’

’How did I not see it?’

Hearing Little Nannan’s analysis, it was as if everything clicked into place for Xie Shaokun. He pointed directly at the owner of the Treasure House. "If Yu says you’re the real Liar, then you must be! I choose you too!"

Zhao Xianghe’s face was a mask of utter despair.

At this point, anyone could see that the owner of the Treasure House was the real Liar, but he had already made the wrong choice.

’I’m a dead man!’

All the fight had gone out of him. Despair and fear left him speechless.

The Dingding Girl was just about to make a move.

The owner of the Treasure House spoke again, his voice clearly laced with anxiety. "Xie Xiaolei, if you let me live, I can grant your request."

Everyone was stunned.

"You know each other?"

Xie Shaokun asked.

"We do."

The owner of the Treasure House volunteered, "Her name is Xie Xiaolei. She also has another identity: my little mistress. When the mist appeared, she came looking for money and asked me to ruin her uncle’s entire family."

This...

The expressions on everyone’s faces changed drastically.

Even Xia Yu found her brow furrowing.

Xie Shaokun’s eyes widened. He slapped his forehead, overcome with regret. A piece of information he’d previously dismissed had now become the pivotal factor of the entire situation.

"You’re still alive? The people who turned into monsters didn’t eat you?"

Xie Xiaolei dropped the pretense and asked.

When the mist descended and people started turning into monsters, she had managed to escape in time. The owner of the Treasure House, however, was too fat and slow, and had been stranded on the third floor.

She had thought he was dead.

She never expected him to survive.

"I’m not dead."

The owner of the Treasure House said, "To stay alive, I compromised. I became a part of the rules. So, while I have to follow them, I also control certain privileges."

"For example, in the first round, I could prevent one person from revealing their card. In this second round, I can make one person forfeit their choice, forcing them to automatically follow the majority."

"Just save me, and I can guarantee your survival. I’ll also grant your previous request and give you a million. No, five million! We’ll utterly destroy your uncle’s family!"

At this, Xie Shaokun’s expression grew anxious.

"Don’t listen to him."

He hurriedly tried to persuade her. "Men’s promises are lies meant to trick you. He’s already deceived you, body and heart. Haven’t you learned your lesson?"

Xie Xiaolei shook her head and said, "I was willing to be his mistress because I love him. So there was no deception, of body or heart. It was all my choice."

Xie Shaokun was at a loss for words.

’What a twisted kind of love. I don’t get it.’

"Xiao Lei, thank you for your love."

"I did say some things that hurt you, but those were just things I said in anger. I still love you."

The owner of the Treasure House said quickly.

"What do I need to do?"

Xie Xiaolei asked.

Xie Shaokun and Little Nannan looked on anxiously, completely helpless.

Xia Yu said nothing.

Zhao Xianghe stared blankly at the scene. Witnessing such a shocking turn of events, he felt more like a clown than ever.

"You don’t need to do anything."

"Just don’t make a choice. If you stall, I’ll survive."

The owner of the Treasure House’s voice was tinged with glee.

"He’s lying to you."

Xia Yu’s voice rang out.

"Shut your mouth."

The owner of the Treasure House panicked instantly. "Say one more word, and I swear I’ll kill you, even if it’s the last thing I do."

Unfortunately for him, this didn’t scare Xia Yu in the slightest.

She continued, "If I’m not mistaken, he’s waiting for a rule-based resource to form. That resource would help him break free from the rules’ constraints and become human again."

"A true human."

"He doesn’t care whether you live or die."

Xia Yu was saying this deliberately. She wanted to steer the conversation toward the rule-based resource, to make the owner of the Treasure House reveal its existence. Only then could she make a move to seize it.

’Otherwise, how could I snatch it if I didn’t even know where it was?’

"You know about that?"

The owner of the Treasure House was stunned.

He never imagined Xia Yu knew so much.

’Can this woman actually see the future?’

"Rule-based resource?"

Xie Xiaolei asked, thoroughly confused. "What’s that?"

Xia Yu explained calmly, "A rule-based resource is a resource created by the rules."

Xie Xiaolei asked, "So all these bizarre things we’ve been through... are they all just part of the rules’ design?"

Xia Yu replied, "That’s right."

Hearing this, Xie Xiaolei smiled.

"I get it now. It’s a lot like one of those ’rules of horror’ stories."

"Thanks for the heads-up, sister. I was almost fooled by this selfish bastard."

She said.

Xia Yu’s brow furrowed.

’This Xie Xiaolei is greedy. And she acts without the reservations a normal person would have.’

’She’s going to be difficult to control.’

The next moment.

"You know so much, sister. I bet you want this rule-based resource too, don’t you?"

Xie Xiaolei retorted.

Xia Yu didn’t speak.

"You’re not saying anything, sister. I’ll take that as a yes."

Xie Xiaolei’s smile widened. She looked between the owner of the Treasure House and Xia Yu. "Let me break it down. From the very beginning, you two have been the players in this game, both after that rule-based resource. But now you’re at a stalemate."

"The choice now rests in my hands—the hands of a pawn that’s already crossed the river. I’m the one who decides which of you lives and which of you dies."

"Right?"

Xia Yu and the owner of the Treasure House fell silent.

Neither of them had expected things to turn out like this.

"I’m not a complicated person. I like straightforward transactions with a clear price. Whichever one of you offers the better chips, that’s whose side I’ll be on."

Xie Xiaolei was relishing this feeling. "Don’t be stingy now. After all..."

"You can only have it all if you’re alive."

"Once you’re dead, you have nothing."

GIGGLE.

Her laugh, like the chiming of silver bells, echoed out.