Chapter 159: A Gathering of Elites

'There are still a few details to handle.'

Zhou Chen closed his eyes in deep thought.

About twenty minutes later, he slowly opened his eyes and took a deep breath. Just as he was about to stand up, he noticed the Energetic Young Guy among Chen Ran's teammates—the one who rarely lied—spring to his feet with an angry expression.

Cao Xiu scanned the crowd and declared in a low voice, "I know what you all are waiting for. If Company No. 6 drives the stock price down to eight later, I hope you all can establish a Future Lie."

"After my company expands production next time, if we issue additional shares, you must immediately purchase around five hundred thousand worth of stock. There are eight of you, making exactly four million, which should be enough to cover the raw materials, employee wages, and equipment maintenance costs following the expansion."

"After all, Company No. 6 is highly likely to be the first among these companies to undergo a large-scale production expansion. Without the binding constraint of a Future Lie, there is a high probability that you wouldn't buy the newly issued shares of Company No. 6."

No one was surprised by his demand. A share price of eight did not include the initial production costs that would follow the expansion.

Company No. 6 had no funds on its books. If no one bought the newly issued shares...

Company No. 6 would go bankrupt in an instant!

Whoever answered first was likely representing Company No. 5 or Company No. 8, so the others felt no need to hurry.

"Sure!"

Zhou Chen's indifferent voice rang out. He immediately swept his gaze over the eyes turning his way, a cold sneer curving his lips. "When it comes to available funds on the books, Company No. 8 should be the wealthiest. Even I have agreed, so do you guys still want to refuse? Are you trying to get into a war of attrition with Company No. 6?"

Li Zhitong furrowed his brows.

'Judging by their conversation, that Energetic Young Guy should be Company No. 6, and Zhou Chen is highly likely Company No. 8...'

'In that case, who is Company No. 5?'

"Sure!"

Zhang Meili echoed the agreement, prompting Qiu Yinong to cast a profound glance at her.

'As it stands right now, the legal representative of Company No. 6 is Cao Xiu, Company No. 8 is Zhou Chen, and Zhang Meili is Company No. 5...'

'However!'

'Apart from Chen Ran and myself, all the surviving players are top-tier Two-Star or Three-Star Players. Without conclusive evidence, I cannot jump to any premature conclusions.'

'I have to think about this in reverse.'

'Namely: Cao Xiu is not the legal representative of Company No. 6, Zhou Chen is not the legal representative of Company No. 8, and Zhang Meili is not the legal representative of Company No. 5.'

'They are bluffing!'

'Thinking carefully about Cao Xiu's words, he only used the word "my" when talking about buying stocks. In other words, the Future Lie is: after Cao Xiu's company expands production next, you all must buy the stocks of Cao Xiu's company.'

'This Future Lie is hidden very cleverly. As long as someone replies "sure", the Future Lie is established.'

'But that is exactly where the problem lies. His words easily create a false impression, making people assume he is the legal representative of Company No. 6. If we only buy the stock of Company No. 6, that means we will have violated the Future Lie...'

'For Cao Xiu, this Lie-Judgment is advantageous regardless of whether he advances or retreats. If someone sees through it, it merely means the Lie-Judgment failed—he loses nothing.'

'But if the Lie-Judgment succeeds, he might just trap and kill a player or two.'

'That is not all. It is highly likely that someone noticed Cao Xiu attempting a Lie-Judgment but chose not to expose him, opting instead to play along with his performance.'

'Take Zhou Chen and Zhang Meili, for example. Both of them said "sure". They might have fallen for Cao Xiu's trap, or they could be...'

'Playing along with his performance!'

'If they are playing along, that means these two will purchase around five hundred thousand worth of stock from Cao Xiu's company after his next production expansion.'

'However, I find it strange. How do they know which number Cao Xiu's company is?'

'I simply cannot deduce which company belongs to Cao Xiu...'

'Under normal circumstances, when faced with an unsolvable deduction, players will reflect on whether their reasoning was flawed to begin with.'

'Conclusion: Cao Xiu is Company No. 6, Zhou Chen is Company No. 8, and Zhang Meili is Company No. 5!'

'Whether I deduce things or not, the result remains the same...'

Qiu Yinong frowned as she looked at Cao Xiu, wondering inwardly just where Mei Zhixu had found such a monster.

Seeing that the crowd was still silent and lost in thought, Zhang Meili spoke up: "I imagine you all have figured it out by now. Since that is the case, I have nothing left to hide."

"My company is..."

"Company No. 5!"

As soon as these words were spoken, everyone cast astonished glances at the forty-something Zhang Meili.

'She did not use Avoidance of Lying!!'

'Does she not know what exposing her company's name entails?'

"Are you all wondering if I am afraid of being targeted after exposing my company's name?"

"I really am not."

"Just now, Company No. 5 spent three million buying the stocks of Company No. 8."

"I still have 5.12 million in funds left on my books. I can entirely afford to wait for Company No. 8 to expand production first. It won't be too late to expand my own production after that."

Zhang Meili's meaning was crystal clear. Previously, at twelve per share, Company No. 5 bought 250,000 shares of Company No. 8, adding to the previous 40,000 shares.

That meant Company No. 5 held a twenty-nine percent stake in Company No. 8. When Company No. 8 expanded production and its stock price surged, she would dump those shares and use the proceeds to expand her own production.

Simply put: in this round of financing, there was no way they could play her to death!

Li Zhitong's pupils shrank violently.

'Something is wrong!'

'Even on the books of my own company, there are nearly five million in funds.'

'Company No. 5 just dumped forty-nine percent of its shares and then bought a twenty-five percent stake in Company No. 8. Since both transactions were at twelve per share...'

'Company No. 5 just dumped forty-nine percent of its shares and then bought a twenty-five percent stake in Company No. 8. Since both transactions were at twelve per share...'

'That is equivalent to Company No. 5 having only sold twenty-four percent of its stock.'

'Moreover, Company No. 5 also holds a five percent stake in Company No. 6.'

'Initial accumulation plus the funds gained from selling twenty-four percent of its stock, plus a five percent dividend...'

'Logically, the funds on Company No. 5's books should be overflowing with wealth.'

'How could it be about the same as mine?'

'She is lying!'

At this thought, Li Zhitong reached for the Liar-Slayer at his waist. Just as he was about to draw it...

Long Hui suddenly said,

"With Three-Star Players present, do you really think you would proactively tell a lie?"

Having said that, Long Hui ignored Li Zhitong, who had broken out in a cold sweat from the sudden fright.

He looked at Zhang Meili with a sneer. "You are very smart, but your eagerness for success has caused you to leak some information instead."

Zhang Meili's expression remained completely unchanged.

'This is troublesome. If they were ordinary Three-Star Players, I am confident I could coax out a lie.'

'But the three present here are all top-tier Three-Star Players who have successfully severed a complete corpse.'

'Trying to Steal a Chicken Only to Lose One's Rice!'

'Moving forward, it all depends on how many people Cao Xiu's layout can deceive...'

...

Chen Ran lit up a Cigarette and began to digest the information embedded in their words.

'First of all, Cao Xiu is definitely not the legal representative of Company No. 6. I am Company No. 8, which means Zhou Chen cannot possibly be Company No. 8.'

'Zhou Chen facilitated Cao Xiu's Lie-Judgment, which proves that he is the legal representative of Company No. 6.'

'Zhang Meili used a definitive tone to declare that she herself was Company No. 5.'

'But I can also be certain that the available funds of Company No. 5...'

'Are absolutely above eight million!'

'Yet Zhang Meili claimed it was 5.12 million.'

'If she was not lying, then there is only one possibility...'

'There are two Company No. 5s!'

"Hey, hey, hey, just how much longer are you guys going to think about it? Can you just tell me straight up if the proposal I mentioned earlier works for you or not?" Cao Xiu urged.