Chapter 120: Fine Weather for Deception

Looking at the entire Instance, whether it was tossing a Coin or Drawing Lots, whoever proposed the plan was always scheming for their own benefit.

It was just like those live-stream salespeople who constantly claimed to be securing the best deals for their loyal fans, when in reality, the fans were always the ones getting fleeced.

The Old Man's intention was very simple.

Once the plan was approved, the primary personalities certainly would not dare to look.

This was because if a primary personality peeked at the contents on the ID Card, the Deceiver's Tongue would be broken.

Previously, the secondary personality had stated that they were not the primary personality of Chen Ran or Lin Jiabei, which was not a lie at all.

With two primary personalities caught in a lie while the secondary personality remained truthful, the resulting situation was easy to imagine.

Therefore, only the secondary personality would dare to check the information on the ID Card.

The reason for this was equally simple.

At that point, a gunfight would erupt.

However, there was a nuanced difference here. Chen Ran and Lin Jiabei were locked in a fight to the death. They definitely would not target the secondary personality first. After all, the moment the last secondary personality was killed, the Escape Room Game would end, and both of them would clear the stage.

It was difficult to determine who would emerge victorious, but neither could afford to lose—and neither dared to.

If the real Lin Jiabei lost, the Dice from Fishing in Murky Waters would fail to roll a six. Her consciousness would return to her body, and having lost all her Poker Chips on the table, her death would be certain.

If Chen Ran lost, he would face the exact same fatal outcome.

As a result, the two primary personalities would first engage in a shootout between themselves. Only the survivor would then face off against the secondary personality in a final duel.

Originally, the secondary personality would have had to deal with two primary personalities. Now, thanks to their Infighting, the secondary personality only needed to eliminate one.

Thus, it was an absolute certainty that the secondary personality would check the information on the ID Card.

Which brought up the real question.

What exactly was the benefit the Old Man had schemed for himself?

The answer lay within the Instance. The Old Man who had been tortured to death in the Instance had been a navy officer in life.

This meant that Lin Jiabei's primary personality was highly likely to be an expert in firefights. At the very least, she had clawed her way up to become a Two-Star Player in Hell; her marksmanship was naturally superior to that of a Newbie like Chen Ran.

From this, a simple deduction could be made: the Old Man was actually Lin Jiabei's primary personality!

Every single one of the eight people in The Small Hotel had been wearing a disguise, but only the Old Man had been constantly smoking, deliberately leading others to associate him with Chen Ran, who shared that habit.

This only proved one thing: the smoking was a calculated facade. The Old Man was Lin Jiabei's true primary personality.

...

"I agree, but I must add a condition. As long as all three of us are alive, no one is allowed to fire their weapon."

Lin Jiabei declared.

Hearing this, the Old Man fell into deep thought.

'Previously, even though I stated in the female officer's room that I wasn't the primary personality, the door was closed. Lin Jiabei couldn't have heard me.'

'Just now, only the fat otaku and Lin Jiabei stated, "I am not the primary personality of Chen Ran or Lin Jiabei." I never said that.'

'Lin Jiabei must think the advantage I secured for myself relies on twisting those very words.'

'That's exactly why she proposed that none of us could fire while all three of us remain alive.'

'This way, regardless of what was said before, the moment I pull the trigger, the Future Lie officially becomes a lie.'

"Acceptable," the Old Man nodded.

The overweight otaku stiffened for a moment before his expression twisted into an incredibly ugly grimace.

"It's fine if you don't agree. We can just keep stalling," the Old Man added, driving the point home. "With the Escape Room Game reaching this stage and the three of us still alive, you can imagine how impossibly difficult it will be to trick each other into telling a lie..."

The overweight otaku was rendered speechless: "..."

'Ahem, I take back what I thought earlier: I really do despise gambling addicts.'

'Actually, taking a gamble might not be so bad. This guy has old bones. If I just sprint a few hundred meters ahead and kite him, maybe...'

'At the very least, I've got plenty of body fat. Taking a bullet or two shouldn't kill me, right?'

The overweight otaku suddenly felt a surge of misplaced confidence.

"I agree."

The three of them immediately voiced their Future Lies, which naturally included the stipulation that as long as all three were alive, no one could fire their weapon.

With the terms set, they shared a tacit understanding and retreated to their respective rooms.

The Old Man returned to his room, immediately bolted into the bathroom, and began violently dry heaving.

He fished the cigarettes out of his pocket, snapped them in half with gritted teeth, and tossed them onto the floor.

'You like smoking, do you?'

'Did you forget that when I controlled Lin Jiabao's body, I won a shooting championship?'

'Chen Ran! You are dead meat!'

'Since this place turned into an Instance, you're the very first Player to push me to such extremes.'

'I won't let you die a quick death! I'm going to take my time and torture you!'

'And another thing! Once you're dead, Qiu Yinong will be trapped in the Third Secret Room forever. I'll take great pleasure in watching her slowly starve to death.'

The Old Man's face twisted into a vicious sneer.

Stepping out of the bathroom, he sat on the edge of the bed and carefully wiped down his Pistol, keeping a hyper-vigilant watch on any noise coming from the front and back doors.

The way the overweight otaku had sized him up earlier felt off—like he was trying to gauge his stamina. He had a strong suspicion the guy would try to bolt out of the inn ahead of schedule.

Sure enough.

Outside the window, a heavy thud echoed as something hit the ground. The overweight otaku had leaped from the second floor, executing a clumsy forward roll to absorb the impact before sprinting away as fast as his legs could carry him.

He was even smart enough to deliberately avoid the muddy patches.

Seeing this, the Old Man sneered inwardly. He vaulted out the window and immediately gave chase.

One fled, the other pursued.

Up ahead, the overweight otaku realized a terrifying truth: he couldn't actually run that fast either.

Both of them were biding their time.

Waiting for Lin Jiabei, back inside The Small Hotel, to peek at the ID Card on the coffee table.

Since the timing was completely uncertain, both men sprinted with their weapons drawn, fingers tightly curled around their triggers. The instant the Deceiver's Tongue was broken, all three of them would be free to fire at will. By the same logic, the moment the trigger could actually be pulled, it would mean the Deceiver's Tongue had been shattered.

...

At 7:40 AM.

Lin Jiabei leisurely strolled downstairs and approached the coffee table, her eyes locking onto the towel draped over the ID Card.

Caught between checking it and leaving it alone, she decided to walk over to the front desk first to inspect the Business License hanging on the wall.

According to the document, the owner of The Small Hotel was named Wang Jianjun.

If the ID Card also bore the name Wang Jianjun, but the photograph didn't match the Old Man, then the Deceiver's Tongue—the claim that the Old Man was the owner—would be instantly shattered.

Just to be safe, however, she first pushed open the door to the back room behind the counter, finding no sign of the Old Man.

She then headed up to the second floor, methodically checking every single room.

The overweight otaku was nowhere to be found either.

Glancing at her Watch, she noted there were only two minutes left until eight o'clock before returning to the coffee table.

She flipped back the towel and snatched up the ID Card. The moment the clock struck eight, she locked her eyes onto it.

The name printed on the ID Card was:

Wang Jianjun.

It matched the Business License perfectly, yet the face staring back from the photograph was definitively not the Old Man.

And with that, the Deceiver's Tongue was broken.

The overweight otaku had lied!

The Old Man had lied!

By violating the Future Lie, Lin Jiabei had lied as well. All three of them had committed a lie.

The restriction was lifted—they were free to fire!

Casually tossing the ID Card aside, Lin Jiabei snatched a pack of cigarettes from the counter. With practiced ease, she tore open the packaging, flipped the Cigarette Case open with one hand, plucked a Cigarette out with her lips, and lit it.

She took a long, deep drag, a look of absolute bliss washing over her features.

She walked over to the window.

The torrential rain had ceased, and the sky had brightened into a vivid expanse. Along the horizon, the morning sun cast a radiant, crimson glow.

'Such fine weather...'

'Perfect for deception!'