The Truth Bureau
Number Six naturally noticed everyone's attitude. Although he was angry and resentful, he held back.
After all, we still don't understand what's going on in this tower. If we anger the crowd, we'll be the first to be sacrificed.
The group walked inside. The tower was spacious. When they reached the center of the tower, they looked up and saw the staircase winding and spiraling to the top.
The base of the tower is hexagonal, like layers of barriers surrounding them.
"Look, there seem to be words on that wall." It was Mu Chengwen who spoke. Coming from a family of martial arts practitioners, she disliked studying from a young age, so her eyesight was exceptional.
As they got closer, they could see two large characters written on the wall—
betray.
"What does this mean? Are we being forced to betray each other?" Everyone looked around in panic; there was no one else there but them.
"There's no one else here but us, so why should we listen to them?"
With a "click," a square stone slab in the center of the wall popped open, revealing the face of a ferocious monster with blue faces and fangs.
The girls were terrified, their faces turning pale, and screams erupted, "A ghost—!!!"
They randomly turn around and hug the person next to them.
Zhu Qinghe was standing in the middle and was almost buried by them.
Liang Youan on the right hugged her waist, not daring to open her eyes; Bai Qiuru on the left pinched her arm; Chen Fuying and Mu Chengwen behind her both tried to hide beside her, but ended up bumping into each other and almost kissing.
They initially disliked each other, but then other people crowded around them, forcing the two sisters to squeeze together.
The scene was incredibly chaotic.
Zhu Qinghe: "What's there to be afraid of? He's a human, not a ghost!"
Mu Chengwen, being a bit bolder, peeked out from behind her shoulder, not daring to look in her direction at all, and asked into her ear, "How...how did you know?"
"Nonsense, do ghosts have shadows?"
Only then did everyone realize that the person was standing with his back to the sun, and his shadow was clearly projected onto the ground.
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief; thank goodness it wasn't a ghost, they were terrified.
"What are you doing? Why did you suddenly jump out and scare us?" The crowd, having recovered, were furious with the "divine beast."
The Divine Beast King remained silent.
"Why isn't this person talking? Could he be mute?"
Curiosity piqued, Mu Chengwen walked over and reached out to examine the mask on his face. Although she was quick, it was nothing more than a child's play in his eyes.
Mu Chengwen didn't even see his movements clearly before he was swept away by an irresistible force.
He didn't even touch her. By the time Mu Chengwen realized what was happening, Zhu Qinghe had already grabbed his arm.
"Are you alright?" Zhu Qinghe asked.
Mu Chengwen shook his head in a daze; this person must be a master.
Zhu Qinghe: "You're the supervisor for this game, right? Tell me the rules."
The man placed a scroll across the small windowsill, pulled the rope, and the scroll unfolded, revealing the rules of the first level of the game.
"The betrayer lives, the faithful dies. The virtuous live, the wicked die."
"In this game, traitors can only lie, not tell the truth."
"A person who keeps their word can only speak the truth, not lie."
"Each of you will be randomly given a secret note from everyone here. These notes could be important secrets of your best friend, or they could be the stains and deadly secrets of someone you hate."
"The person who is called out must either confess or lie according to their identity."
"But lying isn't something you can just do randomly; it has to be directed at the person mentioned on this secret note."
"Traitors who tell the truth and trustworthy people who lie will be eliminated immediately."
"After each round of secret confessions, choose a secret slip of paper from the traitor's hand and throw it at the protagonist of the event. If the vote is correct, the protagonist is eliminated. If the vote is wrong, everyone except the person who voted will receive a colored ink punishment."
"After receiving three ink penalties in this level, players can choose to quit the game, but they will not be eliminated."
"The secrets of the next round for those who quit will not include you."
"First level of the tower, two people will be eliminated."
After reading the rules, Liang Youan whispered, "The rules of this game seem pretty simple."
Just follow the rules. Those who keep their word should tell the truth, and those who betray should lie. If no one breaks the rules, wouldn't this game go on forever?
"The rules are simple, but those so-called secret notes are probably quite malicious," Chen Fuying sneered.
When you learn someone else’s secret, you should also worry about your own. From this perspective, the best way is to quickly collect three inks to exit the punishment. However, the tower stipulates that you will die after six inks. If you only have three inks in the first level, how can you play the next six levels?
Everyone thought the same thing.
Although everyone present probably had secrets, no one wanted their secrets to be exposed in public.
Moreover, most of these people are outwardly friendly but inwardly hostile, and if things aren't handled well, it could easily lead to a complete breakdown in relations.
What a vicious and cunning set of rules!
Everyone received the secret slips of paper from the "Divine Beast King" and stood in a circle in order. This ensured that no one could see each other's backs, so even if someone lied, everyone would have their eyes closed when receiving the punishment from the colored ink, making it impossible to distinguish between truth and falsehood.
Zhu Qinghe opened the note, and her lips twitched.
—This topic is a bit explosive, what should we do?
"Shall we proceed in order?" someone suggested.
Number 13 unusually raised his hand: "Me, I'll go first."
Under the gaze of everyone, Number Thirteen cleared his throat shyly: "I, I am the Keeper of the Trust, and my secret note is about Number Eleven."
Who wouldn't be curious about the big boss's secrets?
The gossipy gazes of everyone were almost palpable. Zhu Qinghe raised the corners of her mouth, also wanting to know what secrets the Shen family had about her.
Number Thirteen lived up to expectations and continued to reveal: "Number Eleven is in love with Prime Minister Shen's eldest son."
Everyone: ? ? ?
No, everyone here is here for the marriage selection banquet. Although none of us have seen this young master Shen before, how come you acted so quickly?
If you two had told us you were a couple earlier, why would we have joined in this fun? Playing this stupid game is exhausting both physically and mentally.
Mu Chengwen and the others knew the inside story and didn't react.
The others were no longer calm and asked one after another, "Number 11, is this for real?"
Zhu Qinghe: "...Uh, guess?"
"Is this fake? Number Thirteen, are you a traitor? You're lying."
“Wait a minute,” someone noticed the key point, “lying can only change the object of the lie, not the event itself.”
"In other words, some of us are indeed a couple with Prime Minister Shen's eldest son, who is also the protagonist of this marriage selection banquet."
The crowd gasped in disbelief. "Yes, that makes sense!"
Zhu Qinghe was completely at her wits' end. Out of the corner of her eye, she sensed something and looked towards the small window. She saw that the "Divine Beast Lord" had his hand half-clenched into a fist and raised. When he saw her, he casually lowered his hand as if nothing had happened and continued to stand like a statue.
Um?
From the very beginning, she felt that this person was inexplicably familiar, which was very strange.
She was still pondering when Mu Chengwen's words pulled her back to reality. She said, "Who cares who she is, let's continue the game."
“I am a traitor. The secret I have is that Number Nine once had a crush on her teacher, but he already had a pregnant wife at home. So Number Nine sent thugs to cause trouble at his wife's shop. During the scuffle, his wife hit the corner of a table and died along with her unborn child.”
The crowd was in an uproar. Number Twelve was a traitor, so the main character in this matter could not be Number Nine, as the other party claimed.
Number Six, who had always disliked them, spoke up upon hearing this: "Perhaps Number Twelve is a trustworthy person. Maybe the one who caused the death of two lives is Number Nine."
"If Number Twelve is a trustworthy person, everything she says should be the truth. Why would she lie and say that she is a traitor?"
"And if she wanted to cover up for Number Nine, since she has already violated the principle of keeping the truth, why not just randomly pin the incident on someone else? Since she has already broken the rules, and the first half of the statement is already a lie, why bother with the second half?" Zhu Qinghe retorted.
Number Six was completely speechless.
Number Two tugged at her arm, meaning that she shouldn't argue with them; she wouldn't gain anything from it.
Zhu Qinghe pondered for a moment as she looked at the note in her hand: "I am a keeper of my word. The secret I hold is number one."
Everyone looked at Chen Fuying excitedly. Here she comes! Chen Fuying's secret is going to be very exciting!
Chen Fuying clenched her fingers, and then heard Zhu Qinghe say slowly, "She was still wetting the bed when she was nine years old."
"..."
"Pfft—hahahahahaha." Someone couldn't help but burst out laughing.
Chen Fuying breathed a sigh of relief, but the next second she almost exploded with anger: "Zhu Qinghe, you—!!!"
"Nonsense!" Her cheeks flushed red.
Mu Chengwen laughed uncontrollably, and even pretended to say, "Alright, alright, everyone, let's give Number One some face."
"Although I stopped wetting the bed when I was three, there are always exceptions—" Her voice held an barely suppressed laugh, and she almost couldn't finish her sentence.
"Keep going, keep going." Liang Youan's eyes were already blazing with anger as he looked at Chen Fuying.
If we don't change the subject soon, they'll probably rush over and tear Qinghe apart.
She has to protect Qinghe.
Number Ten put away her smile: "I am a trustee. The secret I hold is that Number Four was raised as a boy by her family since childhood, so her hobby is dressing up as a boy."
Everyone has their own quirks, and that's nothing unusual.
So everyone just made a few jokes about number four, without causing any ripples.
This is nothing compared to the fact that No. 11 had an affair with the young master of the Shen family, resulting in the death of two lives, and that No. 1 wet the bed at the age of nine.
Liang Youan: "I am a man of my word. The secret I have is that Number Two has an affair with a servant in the manor."
Some people gaped in surprise. Some glanced at Number Two with disdain, while others simply burst into laughter.
Although no one spoke, Number Two could completely sense their unspoken thoughts.
It's utterly disgraceful for a wealthy young lady to be having an affair with a servant.
Wow, now they completely understand how fun this game is.
Being a bystander and witnessing the ugly expressions on the faces of those involved after finally revealing their shameful secrets gives me a perverse sense of satisfaction.
Number Two's mind was buzzing. Without thinking, he rushed towards Liang Youan: "What nonsense are you spouting? I'll tear your mouth apart!"
Liang Youan quickly hid behind Zhu Qinghe and Mu Chengwen. Seeing the target move, Number Two also subconsciously chased after it.
Because of her position, Zhu Qinghe was closer to Number Two. Perhaps out of embarrassment at being exposed, Number Two moved with astonishing speed, and following the momentum, the waving arm rushed towards her.
Before Zhu Qinghe could react, Number Two fell to the ground on his own, and she only felt a gust of wind brush past the tip of her nose.
She rubbed the tip of her nose and looked at the "mythical beast" behind the small window.
The latter remained in a sculpted state, seemingly unaffected by my presence, showing no sign of having made a move.
Tsk.
Little brat, you're quite the show-off.
Zhu Qinghe looked at Number Two, who was sitting on the ground, looking helpless, confused, aggrieved, and ashamed, and reached out her hand: "Get up first, isn't the ground cold?"
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