Ten Day Ultimatum

‘{Liar}...’ Qi Xia repeated the word in his mind over and over. After confirming his identity, he set the card facedown on the table, calm and composed.
Just a minute ago, he had still entertained the fantasy of {everyone making it out alive}. But that possibility had collapsed. He didn’t know the eight people in front of him, but they were the ones who had to die.

"If there are no objections, then remember—{there is only one liar in this game}..." The goat-headed figure pointed at the sultry girl seated to Qi Xia's left. "Starting clockwise, you go first."
"Huh? Me?" The girl blinked, caught off guard, then pouted.
Qi Xia frowned. Clockwise, starting with the girl to his left—
That meant he’d go last.

And in high-stakes games like this, people remember only the first and the last speaker. But questioning the order would only attract suspicion. He'd have to move carefully—one step at a time.
As that thought sank in, he watched the girl frown, her wide eyes flicking around before she sighed.
"Fine... I’ll go first. But I’ve never been a great storyteller, so don’t blame me if it sucks..."
No one said a word. Everyone just listened.

The girl reached up with slender fingers and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.
"I’m Tian Tian (甜甜), and I’m a... uh... {skilled worker}. I make money with my own hands, so I don’t see why I should be ashamed."
Only then did the group seem to register her barely-there outfit—
A dust-covered minidress, neckline plunging deep. She didn’t seem to give a damn.
"Most of what happened ain’t fit to talk about... Let’s just say I’m in {action}. Even if you asked, I couldn’t give a proper {description} of my job. I mean, who the hell would choose this work if they had even a shred of dignity..."

"I was on the job when I got dragged here. That client was weird. Our place had a whole setup, but he insisted on doing it in his car—said it’d be more exciting. I needed the cash, so I went along..."
"First time working in a car. Thought that expensive ride would be spacious, but nope—tight as hell. I was soaked in sweat in no time. Still don’t get what’s so {exciting} about getting squeezed into that dump. Meanwhile, his phone kept blowing up and he just ignored it. Pissed me off..."
She looked like she was about to start ranting about the guy when her eyes landed on the corpse sprawled across the table. Her face twitched. She recoiled, then took a breath, steadying herself.

"Whatever. I chose this life. I didn’t expect a goddamn {earthquake} though. Thought the car was shaking 'cause we were too rough at first—but turns out it was the real deal."
At the word {earthquake}, something flickered in the others’ eyes—like a switch had flipped in their heads.
"Our car was parked in an alley, under a huge billboard... My head was sticking out the window, so I saw it." She pointed above her. Her voice trembled.
"I don’t know how it happened, but after a loud clang, that thing snapped clean off and crashed down on the car. Then everything went «N.o.v.e.l.i.g.h.t» black..."

She let out another long breath.
"When I came to, I was here. Scared the hell out of me..."
Her voice was pitiful, her expression aggrieved—but with a practiced charm, the kind that could pull a man in.
The guy with the sleeve tattoo blinked, then spoke.
"Do we even need to keep going?"

The man in the white coat turned, surprised. "What do you mean?"
"This {young lady} is already lying. We just need to vote her out." His voice was cold.
"You—! What are you talking about?" Tian Tian snapped. "Where did I lie?!"
The tattooed man locked eyes with her.
"Your name. You said it’s {Tian Tian}. But all hostesses use fake names. Tian Tian, Xiao Fang, Li Li—they’re all common aliases. You’re hiding your real name. That’s a lie."

Her face flushed red.
"You—What the hell are you saying? That really is my name! I haven’t used my birth name in years!" She glanced around, a bit desperate.
"People only know me by {Tian Tian} at the club. No one even knows my real name!"
Silence followed.
Everyone fell into thought. Qi Xia’s face darkened slightly.

He hadn’t caught any lies in her words. Her tone was casual, her pacing natural. It was like chatting with friends—meaning one of two things: she either rehearsed the story in advance, or she was telling the truth.
But now the tattooed guy had introduced a new angle.
{Pseudonyms}.

Using a fake name was clever. You didn’t need to make up a story—you just twisted one detail. Hard to catch. Nearly impossible to disprove.
No one here knew each other. Everything came down to what they said.
Qi Xia mentally replayed the goat-headed figure’s rules: {among all the storytellers, one person will not be telling the truth}.
Not a false story.
Just not the truth.

So maybe the {Liar} didn’t even have to make up a full lie. Just drop a fake name, and that was enough.
Tian Tian’s eyes widened as she noticed the stares. She got nervous.
"If—If you still don’t believe me, my real name is Zhang Lijuan ... I’m from Shaanxi... You can try calling me by it. I won’t respond. I only go by {Tian Tian}... I—I—"
Qi Xia shook his head internally.

She wasn’t as sharp as he thought.
She couldn’t have thought this up on the spot, much less pre-planned the pseudonym trick.
And if the goat-headed figure was right—that {there is only one liar}—then it had to be Qi Xia himself.

If no one else noticed what just happened, he had found a surefire path to win.
He couldn’t use Qi as a fake last name. Not too rare, but not exactly forgettable either. Best to pick something totally ordinary.
He’d use the name {Li Ming }.

Then he'd weave a story so dull, so normal, that no one would think twice.
The game was already nearing its end.