Chapter 124: Truth is in Chen Ran's Hands

"Your Eternal Kingdom forbids players from using skills for one hour."

"If I use the Wheel of Time right at the exact moment that hour ends."

"What do you think will happen?"

"There are two possibilities. First, my Wheel of Time resets time back to the last five minutes of the skill-ban duration."

"That means within my Wheel of Time, both your skill's effect and mine will end simultaneously. But that's not the main point!"

"The point is, if I use the Wheel of Time one minute after the Eternal Kingdom's ban duration ends, time will reset to the last four minutes of the Eternal Kingdom, while my skill still has five minutes before it concludes."

"In other words, after the effect of Eternal Kingdom ends, but before the effect of my Wheel of Time finishes, I will have a one-minute window to use the Wheel of Time again."

"An infinite loop. In the endless time that follows, no one will be able to use any skills."

"To put it another way, we can completely ignore the players' skills and use this infinite time to trick them into telling a lie."

Chen Ran carefully pondered her words. If the first scenario she described was true...

It would be equivalent to artificially extending the ban duration of the Eternal Kingdom.

At the same time, trapped in an infinite Time Loop, Qiu Yinong could deduce the answer to the Secret Room or deceive players into lying without any skill interference.

For example, during each Time Loop, she could extract tiny bits of information from a player. As these fragments accumulated over endless cycles, she would gain complete control over all of their information.

Then, she could use that information to trap them in a lie.

Imagine it: what would you do if someone suddenly recited everything there was to know about you?

However...

He felt that the first scenario was highly unlikely to materialize. He believed the ban duration of his Eternal Kingdom was absolute and could not be extended by any skill.

Noticing his skepticism, Qiu Yinong continued, "The second possibility is that the Eternal Kingdom's ban duration is absolute and supreme, which would mean..."

"If I use the Wheel of Time right as the Eternal Kingdom ends, returning to its final five minutes, it would merely reset time without carrying over the effects of the Eternal Kingdom."

"That would be even better!"

"Before using the Eternal Kingdom, you'd better inform the other players about its effect of forbidding skill usage for an hour."

"Since time-based skills exist in Hell, if the players don't immediately realize one of us possesses such a skill, they might find they can use their skills before the hour is up. They would assume you lied and attempt to cast Judgment on you, leading to a failed Judgment on their end."

Both possibilities, just as Qiu Yinong had said, formed a perfect match.

With this in mind, Chen Ran did not hesitate.

"I lied."

"Liar-Slayer: Eternal Kingdom!"

When the light returned, both of them simultaneously checked their watches to note the time.

They only needed to wait for the Eternal Kingdom to end to verify which scenario was correct.

But they did not sit idle, choosing instead to continue analyzing the entire Instance.

"Lin Jiabei and Lin Jiabao are clearly only two people, yet they can use three, perhaps even four skills."

"Do you think it's possible that players in the 18th Level exploit split personalities to farm skills? Ten personalities swapping back and forth might yield dozens, if not hundreds, of skills."

"Yes," Qiu Yinong nodded. "We definitely need to watch out for that. If someone claims to have only one skill but then uses several, we can't easily judge them for lying."

The two of them discussed many things.

For example, the last rule in the Common Sense Booklet was blank. They suspected that in the 18th Level, apart from Liar-Slayers and Ghost Whisperers, a third faction existed...

Death-Speakers.

By sacrificing their own lives, they could fill in the final blank rule in the Booklet. Any player who then obtained the Booklet could use that Common Sense to trap others in lies within the 18th Level.

However, there were no good people in Hell. Very few would willingly sacrifice themselves for the sake of others, meaning Death-Speakers were likely exceedingly rare, perhaps even numbering in the single digits...

Furthermore, any newly added Common Sense had to follow the underlying logic of the 18th Level. It was impossible to write something like 'Everyone can lie freely' in the blank space.

Therefore, as long as one's actions did not violate the foundational logic of the 18th Level, they would not be obliterated by the Common Sense left behind by a Death-Speaker.

"I feel there's something wrong with the leader of the Liar-Slayer Alliance. Something very wrong." Since this Secret Room was an independent space within the Instance, Chen Ran naturally took the opportunity to voice all the doubts he dared not speak of in the 18th Level.

"Yeah. They have lived for hundreds of years, so how are they only at ten stars?"

Chen Ran mused, "There could be many factors at play here."

"First, not having enough Points to upgrade their Liar-Slayer to level 11."

"Second, intentionally capping themselves at ten stars to prevent other players from entering an eleven-star Instance, thereby maintaining their rule."

"Third, an eleven-star Instance might involve a secret that the leader doesn't want exposed to the public."

"Fourth, special conditions might need to be met to unlock an eleven-star Instance."

"Fifth, the fact that the leader has lived for hundreds of years suggests there's something shady about their skill. This is the most terrifying possibility."

"Think about it. Going hundreds of years without a single mistake in an Instance means the leader must absolutely crush their opponents, either through overwhelming intelligence or overwhelming force."

Qiu Yinong was startled. "Are you saying that the leader's skill might have the effect of ignoring the protection of the Liar-Slayer?"

The fundamental reason why force could not be used in an Instance was the protection provided by the Liar-Slayer.

If someone's skill allowed them to bypass the Liar-Slayer's protection, then...

Of course, this was just their speculation. Discussing it now was meant to keep them vigilant, so that if they ever encountered the leader in the alliance building in the future, they would know how to defend themselves.

And so, time quietly slipped away as they analyzed and chatted.

The two checked their watches. Exactly one hour had passed since Chen Ran activated the Eternal Kingdom.

Without a second thought, Qiu Yinong raised her gun at the ceiling. "I lied."

"Liar-Slayer: Wheel of Time."

When the light returned, Qiu Yinong waited another two minutes before using her skill again.

She discovered...

That she could use her skill!

This meant that the Wheel of Time could not extend the Eternal Kingdom's ban duration.

The second scenario was correct!

As the Wheel of Time concluded, both of them understood the effects of their combined skills and exchanged a profound glance. Actually...

In the first scenario, if the Wheel of Time could extend the duration of the Eternal Kingdom, it would indicate that the Wheel of Time had a higher priority, marking it as a True-Self Tier Skill.

In the second scenario, if the Eternal Kingdom remained unaffected by the Wheel of Time, it proved that the Eternal Kingdom possessed supreme authority and its effects could not be swayed by any other skill—meaning it was a True-Self Skill.

The answer was already clear. The Eternal Kingdom was the true True-Self Tier Skill.

The two of them sat in stunned silence for a long moment.

Qiu Yinong sighed. "Logically speaking, a True-Self Tier Skill should be an absolute, overwhelming advantage in Hell, but the Eternal Kingdom..."

"It is incredibly strong, no doubt about it. Every skill in Hell must bow before the Eternal Kingdom. But at the same time, it feels a bit lacking. Even though it's a True-Self Tier Skill, it still forces you into a battle of wits against your opponents."

Chen Ran was speechless.

He felt it was highly necessary to give her a preemptive warning. "You can't look at it that way. If I use the Eternal Kingdom in the 18th Level, guess what would happen?"

"Therefore, my skill must never be exposed. I can't leave anyone alive in any Instance, otherwise, the trouble would be astronomical."

Hearing this, a sudden chill gripped Qiu Yinong's heart, and a tingling numbness washed over her scalp.

'Someone once said that truth only exists within the range of a cannon.'

'So it turns out...'

'Truth is in Chen Ran's hands.'