Chapter 115: Three Versions (2)

The three of them originally thought the women would use the darkness to swap clothes, tricking them into misidentifying them and hastily initiating a Judgment, thus coaxing out a lie.

Unexpectedly, the female police officer turned around on her own and narrated the second version of the story.

The fat otaku fell deep into thought.

'When she woke up in the police car, she saw two pale red cars parked in front.'

'The first one was hers.'

'The second one belonged to either Chen Ran or Lin Jiabei.'

'The fact that Chen Ran dared to go downstairs to initiate a Judgment means he knew he drove a pale red car. Furthermore, when he got out and left, there were no other cars around. Only under these circumstances would Chen Ran erroneously conclude that Lin Jiabei was claiming his car as her own—after she stated she drove a pale red car, and the middle-aged man claimed a white car hit the police cruiser. Therefore, Chen Ran deduced that Lin Jiabei was lying.'

'As a result, Chen Ran was the first to arrive at the muddy ground, and his car was the only one around.'

'Chen Ran is not a police officer.'

'They would be lying!'

Coming to this realization, the fat otaku stood up, left Room 207, and headed for Room 208.

He had a feeling that Lin Jiabei was in Room 208, and that she would recount a third version of the story.

'If Lin Jiabei definitively claims that Chen Ran is a police officer in her third version of the story, I can immediately conclude she is lying.'

'The logic of this Deceiver's Tongue has always revolved around whether Lin Jiabei or the female officer is the real police officer; it has nothing to do with Chen Ran. As long as she lies about Chen Ran's identity, I can directly initiate a Judgment.'

'Perhaps this was the female police officer's true objective in telling the second version of the story.'

Seeing this, the Little Girl and the Old Man followed the fat otaku out of Room 207.

The three of them arrived at Room 208.

It was still pitch black inside. A figure stood faintly silhouetted in front of the window. They shined the flashlight over.

The person was wearing a police uniform.

She slowly turned her head. It was Lin Jiabei. She approached the entrance and shut the door.

"You guys definitely wouldn't fall for such a clumsy trap. I assume the female officer in Room 207 also turned around on her own?"

"She must have told you another version of the story, right? And she most likely used an Avoidance of Lying tactic beforehand."

"I'm different. I don't need to use an Avoidance of Lying tactic beforehand. Are you ready? I'm going to start telling the third version."

Lin Jiabei was extremely direct, forcing the three of them to swallow back the words they had prepared.

"I drove a pale red car. There was already a pale red car parked in front of the muddy ground, so I walked the rest of the way to the small hotel."

"After taking a shower, I recalled that the pale red car by the muddy ground looked exactly like the one I drove. I acutely sensed that someone might try to make an issue out of the cars. Therefore, I deliberately left my Gun in the room."

"When I was on the first floor and heard the middle-aged police officer say they were hit by a white car, I immediately knew he was lying."

"Perhaps... you might find it strange. Why would I leave my Gun in the room in advance, and why didn't I go upstairs to retrieve it to pass Judgment on the lying middle-aged officer?"

"You might also be wondering why Chen Ran, who had also just finished showering, didn't bring a Gun either."

"If I had brought my Gun, would the middle-aged officer still have told the first version of the story? He absolutely wouldn't have dared to lie."

"By the same logic, Chen Ran didn't bring his Gun because, while in his room, he noticed someone else had arrived at the small hotel. He deduced that the newcomer—me—had most likely also passed by that muddy ground. Believing there was room for manipulation, he chose not to bring his Gun."

"Thus, when the middle-aged officer saw that neither Chen Ran nor I had a Gun, he began to tell the first version of the story."

"However, if you reason through it carefully, you will discover a severe logical loophole in all of this."

"At that time, the six of us were sitting on the sofa on the first floor. The middle-aged officer deduced that we had just arrived at the small hotel solely based on the fact that Chen Ran and I had both showered. Don't you think that judgment was far too rash?"

"What if we just decided to take a shower on a whim? What if our two cars arrived at the muddy ground at the exact same time? By lying, wouldn't he just be courting death?"

"I am almost certain that someone must have told him the exact times Chen Ran and I arrived at the small hotel." At this point, Lin Jiabei glanced at the Old Man. "When the two officers arrived at the small hotel, it was you who helped the middle-aged officer settle the female officer in, wasn't it? That means only the three of you were on the second floor at the time. It's highly likely that you disclosed the times of our arrivals to the middle-aged officer."

The Old Man smiled but said nothing.

"If the Old Man told him, then the middle-aged officer's logic makes perfect sense."

"He was certain that Chen Ran and I were the owners of those two cars. Seeing that neither of us brought a Gun, he began to lie."

"Why would he lie?"

"The reason is simple. The lie he told would absolutely deceive the first car owner—Chen Ran. After all, when Chen Ran arrived at the muddy ground, his pale red car was the only one there."

"When I stated that I drove a pale red car, Chen Ran would assume I was lying. After all, he could never have imagined that my car was the exact same color as his."

"At the same time, the middle-aged officer could logically restrain me, preventing me from returning to my room to grab my Gun and pass Judgment on him."

"Consequently, Chen Ran came downstairs in the middle of the night, intending to pass Judgment on me while I was handcuffed to the handrail."

"Chen Ran's thought process was simple. I was handcuffed to the handrail and didn't have a Gun. Even if his Judgment failed, I couldn't cast Judgment on him without a Gun."

Lin Jiabei showed her right hand. There were severe strangulation marks on it, and a large lump bulged on the back of her hand. It was almost certain that the back of her hand was fractured.

"Unfortunately for him, I predicted his actions and broke free from the Handcuffs ahead of time."

"After breaking out of the Handcuffs, I climbed back into my room to retrieve my Pistol. I didn't rush to pass Judgment on the middle-aged officer because I knew that once he realized I had escaped, he would be extremely anxious and set up a trap to kill me."

"At that time, I thought of the female officer. She didn't have a Gun on her when she entered the small hotel, so she would most likely go back to get it. Therefore, I slipped into her room. Sure enough, I didn't see her inside, I only saw..."

"A police uniform."

"I understood right away. The female officer wanted me to disguise myself as her and lie on the bed. I gladly accepted this plan."

"When you guys handcuffed the fat otaku to the first-floor handrail, I noticed movement outside the window. I knew the female officer had returned, so I immediately took off the police uniform and sneaked back to my own room to ponder the entire sequence of events."

"Finally, when I heard something shatter on the second floor, I knew the female officer was signaling you to come upstairs, while simultaneously alerting me that it was time to set a trap for you."

After listening to Lin Jiabei's narration, the three of them felt their heads spinning, all because...

In Lin Jiabei's version, there was absolutely no Deceiver's Tongue. Furthermore, she deliberately omitted the process of how she and the female officer swapped clothes.

Three versions.

One was the lie woven by the middle-aged officer. This version contained no Deceiver's Tongue, and it had already been Confirmed that the middle-aged officer was lying.

One belonged to the female officer. A Deceiver's Tongue existed in her version, making it the most mind-bending of the three. If it were true, then the Deceiver's Tongue was active, and if the trio wasn't perfectly careful, they would be tricked into telling a lie.

And one was Lin Jiabei's version. This version was completely unremarkable and lacked any Deceiver's Tongue, yet it aligned almost perfectly with the sequence of events the three of them had initially deduced.

So then...

Which version was actually the truth?