Chapter 161: Is it Company No. 7 or No. 9?

Every player present agreed to this round's Future Lie. Refusing meant entering a war of attrition with the two wealthiest companies.

They had no choice.

[Stock Market]: Please note, due to massive layoffs by Company No. 6, the stock price has fallen.

[Stock Market]: Please note, due to a massive stock sell-off by Company No. 6, the stock price has fallen.

Company No. 6's stock suddenly plummeted from fifteen dollars a share down to eight dollars. The moment it hit eight dollars, fifty-one percent of its shares were instantly snapped up.

Shareholding Distribution:

Legal Representative: 49%

No. 8: 12%

No. 5 (One): 8%

No. 9: 6%

No. 3: 5%

No. 1: 5%

No. 2: 4%

No. 4: 4%

When they saw the shareholding distribution, everyone's eyelids twitched. There really were two Company No. 5s.

This indicated that their previous deductions were highly likely flawed.

The legal representative of the second Company No. 5 was most likely the wealthy NPC who had intercepted the heart.

The goal wasn't just to avoid being eliminated first, but to bankrupt the Company No. 5 controlled by the wealthy man.

In other words.

The clearance condition for the second Secret Room was: Kill the wealthy man in the plot who intercepted the heart.

How could they kill him?

The subway staff must fiercely hate the wealthy man for using his money to snatch the Child's heart. Therefore, bankrupting the non-player-controlled Company No. 5 would very likely clear the trial.

But that was not the main point.

The crux of the issue was: what if the wealthy man's Company No. 5 chose to engage in a war of attrition?

Zhang Meili found herself in an even more dangerous situation. Deep down, she felt that the other eight players all wanted her dead.

After all, to bankrupt the wealthy man, both Company No. 5s would be focus-fired.

'This is a dead end...'

'Where is the breaking point?'

'Right now, it's certain that Zhou Chen is Company No. 6. The rest are unknown.'

'To break this deadlock, I first need to deduce the name of Cao Xiu's company.'

'Letters from Two Places.'

'Why did Diwu Zeyi and Long Hui present two different versions?'

'If I can figure out their motives, it might just be the key.'

'On the surface, both of them deliberately guided the poem corresponding to "After parting" toward the number "ten" found in "Ten miles of pavilions" and "Leaning on ten railings".'

'Simply put, they are throwing smoke bombs to confuse us.'

'But the reality is, since Diwu Zeyi already mentioned "Ten miles of pavilions", there was no need for Long Hui to bring up "Leaning on ten railings".'

'So, why did Long Hui state a second version? What was the point?'

'He was warning Li Zhitong!'

'But the problem is, if he warned Li Zhitong, wasn't he afraid others would deduce the name of Cao Xiu's company based on his words too?'

'Wait!'

'His skill...'

'Forced speech.'

'There are nine of us now. If we pair up to converse and evade Silent Seal, then Diwu Zeyi will very likely die.'

'Therefore, for Long Hui to eliminate a competitor like Diwu Zeyi is simple. As long as he activates his skill, it is practically impossible for Diwu Zeyi to survive.'

'After all, I have Cao Xiu, Long Hui has Li Zhitong, Chen Ran has Qiu Yinong, and Dorje has Zhou Chen. We can all evade the effects of Silent Seal through mutual conversation.'

'Only Diwu Zeyi is left out!'

'Because of this, as long as the number of surviving players is odd, if Long Hui uses his skill, the odd one out is doomed to die.'

'What a disgusting skill.'

'However, Diwu Zeyi's skill just happens to counter Long Hui's skill. Ugh, actually, countering it might be useless. If no one talks to him, his Common Sense will still be erased. Of course, he could choose to deduce the plot to avoid the skill's effects, but let's not forget there's also Dorje watching like a hawk. Turned Upside Down seems to heavily counter Diwu Zeyi's skill.'

'Therefore, Long Hui isn't afraid at all that we might deduce Cao Xiu's company name from his words. As long as he protects Li Zhitong and uses his skill when the player count is odd, he becomes an unsolvable existence...'

'Of course, this assumes Chen Ran doesn't use his skill. But analyzing it from Chen Ran's perspective, observing three Three-Star Players caught in Infighting...'

'He would be more than happy to see it!'

'So, looking back and analyzing Diwu Zeyi's words, he deliberately directed the poem corresponding to "After parting" toward "Ten miles of pavilions" because he wants to screw someone over.'

'After all, he's in extreme danger right now. Before deducing everyone's company, even if someone violates a Future Lie, he won't know who to hit with Judgment, meaning he can't thin the herd.'

'The best method is to trick one person to death, making the total player count an even number. That way, he no longer needs to fear Long Hui's skill.'

'Meanwhile, what Long Hui must do is keep Li Zhitong alive while maintaining an odd player count. By coordinating his skill use with Dorje, he can trap and kill Diwu Zeyi.'

'Thus, as long as Long Hui has deduced the name of Cao Xiu's company, he would definitely hide it within the words he just spoke.'

'They both barely spoke, yet the amount of information hidden within their words is staggeringly terrifying.'

Zhang Meili rubbed her temples. Next, she had to analyze Dorje's words.

Like Long Hui, Dorje's words seemed like utter nonsense on the surface, but they concealed one crucial piece of information...

'Splitting!'

'This proves that the two different versions given by Diwu Zeyi and Long Hui are both actually content from "Letters from Two Places".'

'It's common knowledge that poems generally follow a fixed format.'

'In both versions, every line of the poem contains a number, from one to ten.'

'Is it in sequential order?'

'It's either forward or reverse.'

'If it's in forward order and Zhou Chen is Company No. 6, then Cao Xiu would be Company No. 7.'

'If it's reversed, and Zhou Chen is Company No. 6, then Cao Xiu would be Company No. 5. But the problem is that I am Company No. 5. Therefore, Cao Xiu is highly likely Company No. 9. "Reversed" means the number is physically flipped upside down.'

'So, Cao Xiu's company...'

'Is either Company No. 7!'

'Or Company No. 9!'

'Sigh.'

'From the perspective of human nature and the overarching scheme, this is as far as I can deduce.'

'In the end, I'm suffering from a lack of knowledge reserves.'

'From Cao Xiu's perspective, he knows Diwu Zeyi is currently in a very dangerous situation. So, he set up this trap to kill me, extending an olive branch to Diwu Zeyi in search of protection.'

'Chen Ran and Qiu Yinong are two people just sitting back to enjoy the show.'

'All of this is useless information. I can only deduce that Cao Xiu's company is either No. 7 or No. 9.'

'I have to assume the worst-case scenario when analyzing this setup: if I can deduce this possibility, whoever knows the answer can also deduce this possibility from the same angle.'

'Therefore, the worst-case scenario is this: both Company No. 7 and Company No. 9 expand production simultaneously. Since we are bound by Cao Xiu's Future Lie—"immediately purchase 500,000 credits worth of stock in his company"—those who know the answer will buy stock in both companies, making it impossible for me to determine which one belongs to Cao Xiu.'

'Furthermore, without being a shareholder, it's impossible to check a company's shareholding distribution.'

'I only have one choice: gamble!'

'A fifty percent chance of survival.'

At this thought, Zhang Meili couldn't help but touch the Liar-Slayer at her waist.

'As expected, staying in place means waiting for death. If I hadn't been stuck at the Two-Star rank for so long, perhaps...'

'I would have grown into a high-star player. By then, these eight people would be nothing but ants in my eyes.'