(Which corresponded to Chapter 171.)

Time rewound to the very beginning.

In the sole timeline, when Li Zhitong chose the second option and asked, "Tell me, what do you want me to do?"

Everyone looked toward Chen Ran. With a cigarette dangling from his lips, he leisurely swept his gaze across the group and smiled.

"Let us establish a Future Lie: If Qiu Yinong provides us with a lie, we cannot subject her to Judgment as long as the number of players present equals six," he declared.

Hearing this, the other four froze in surprise.

Wasn't this Future Lie a bit too...

Arbitrary?

Unable to subject Qiu Yinong to Judgment while six players were present...

Didn't that mean they could enact Judgment on her the moment even a single person died later?

This Future Lie was designed to force them into a temporary alliance to eliminate Li Zhitong first.

Li Zhitong also clearly understood Chen Ran's motives. But from another perspective, if Chen Ran was the one who died, Qiu Yinong's life would effectively be in her hands.

Thus, she agreed. "Fine, but I have a condition. If the three Three-Star Players want to engage me in a Lie-Judgment, they can only use their Skills."

This proposal was perfectly timed. It not only bought her enough breathing room to survive but also ensured that as long as Chen Ran died, she would be able to easily crush...

Qiu Yinong!

After all, the group's Skills were basically all area-of-effect abilities. For the Three-Star Players to force a lie out of Li Zhitong using only their Skills would be as difficult as ascending to the heavens, especially since all six of their Skills had already been deduced.

The other five had no objections. They all agreed and voiced the Future Lie.

Checking the time, they realized there was still some time left before Chen Ran's Eternal Kingdom ended...

About four minutes.

Upon seeing this timeframe, the pupils of the three Three-Star Players slightly contracted, but they quickly hid their reactions and returned to normal.

Next, they borrowed funds from one another to expand their respective companies' production.

After pondering for a moment, as if sensing something, all six simultaneously glanced at their watches. The Eternal Kingdom had ended.

Qiu Yinong brushed back her beautiful hair, giving the group absolutely no time to react.

"I lied."

"Liar-Slayer: Wheel of Time!"

The moment she called out her Skill, the three Three-Star Players and Li Zhitong all froze, their expressions instantly turning dark.

However, hindered by the Future Lie they had just established, they did not dare enact Judgment on Qiu Yinong.

Simply because...

"I lied" was both the activation phrase for Qiu Yinong's Skill and the lie she provided.

Therefore, the Future Lie took effect: as long as there were six people present, Qiu Yinong could not be subjected to Judgment.

...

Time rewound to five minutes earlier.

This was the first timeline in Li Zhitong's deduction, though in reality, it was the second timeline...

(Which corresponded to Chapter 171.)

When Li Zhitong chose the second option and said, "Tell me, what do you want me to do?"

Chen Ran proposed:

Future Lie: Qiu Yinong would provide a lie, and the others could not enact Judgment on the lie she just provided. Meanwhile, everyone would have one minute to use their Skills. After that minute passed, aside from Qiu Yinong, the other five could not touch their respective Liar-Slayers.

"The other five cannot touch their respective Liar-Slayers?"

This clause made the four of them frown. Didn't this mean they could not enact Judgment on any liars, and only Qiu Yinong would have that right?

The three Three-Star Players seemed to realize something. They quickly checked their watches, their complexions turning rather ugly.

The time remaining until the Eternal Kingdom ended was...

About four minutes!

They instantly figured it out. This was time fabricated by Qiu Yinong's Wheel of Time.

After all, Chen Ran and Qiu Yinong had already used this exact trick on the subway.

The moment Eternal Kingdom ended, Qiu Yinong used the Wheel of Time, creating the illusion that the Eternal Kingdom was still active.

But right here.

Chen Ran was exploiting this time discrepancy to constantly modify the contents of the Future Lie...

To achieve a certain goal.

What was that goal?

The Three-Star Players naturally knew the answer. The instant Chen Ran used Eternal Kingdom, Qiu Yinong had become a liar.

Since this was time fabricated by Qiu Yinong, it meant that in the normal timeline, Chen Ran had likely already used a Skill combo to help Qiu Yinong circumvent the lie.

The three of them shot Chen Ran a profound look before nodding in agreement.

The underlying logic was quite simple, centering entirely around Diwu Zeyi.

His Skill was absolutely freakish. It could weaken the Skills of other players while simultaneously taking control of them.

Long Hui and Dorje were incredibly confident in their own intellects. They would never trigger the Silent Seal and lose their Common Sense.

Therefore, Diwu Zeyi would highly likely use Silent Seal to continuously strip Chen Ran or Li Zhitong of their Common Sense.

Thereby forcing Chen Ran to use the Eternal Kingdom Skill to dismantle the other Skills.

As long as Chen Ran touched his gun, he would violate this Future Lie, making him vulnerable to Judgment.

Therefore, within the parameters of this Future Lie, Chen Ran was basically facing certain death.

The three Three-Star Players agreed. Just as Li Zhitong opened her mouth to speak, a sharp glare from Long Hui forced the words back down her throat.

Li Zhitong pondered for a moment before nodding, also agreeing to this Future Lie.

Next...

The six of them borrowed funds from each other, allowing their respective companies to expand production.

Then came those two lines from Qiu Yinong.

"Sigh, in this round of gambling, there's no room for me to show off again."

"I lied."

"Sigh, in this round of gambling, there's no room for me to show off again."

"I lied."

The instant those words were spoken, the three Three-Star Players and Li Zhitong immediately activated their Skills.

When the light returned.

Qiu Yinong looked at them. "I have a supplementary clause for the Future Lie we just made."

"Which is?" Long Hui frowned.

"It's very simple. Before anyone lies from this point onward, none of you are allowed to touch your respective Liar-Slayers."

Because of the effects of Turned Upside Down, there was a chance someone might not receive the information conveyed in her sentence.

In truth, this supplementary clause was aimed squarely at Li Zhitong. After all, among the five of them, only Li Zhitong harbored killing intent toward her. If Li Zhitong was tricked into telling a lie later on, she would inevitably try to drag Qiu Yinong down with her by enacting Judgment.

The four pondered briefly before agreeing. This supplementary clause was highly beneficial to Qiu Yinong.

The three Three-Star Players naturally agreed, as they did not want Qiu Yinong to die. Li Zhitong knew that with the Three-Star Players present, it would be impossible to let Qiu Yinong perish, so she had no choice but to agree as well.

The moment they finished acknowledging the supplementary clause, Qiu Yinong acted without hesitation...

Activating the Wheel of Time once more.

...

Time transitioned to the third timeline, which was the timeline Li Zhitong had deduced.

Future Lie:

Qiu Yinong would provide a lie. After she spoke it, the others could not enact Judgment on any lie she had previously told. Meanwhile, everyone would have one minute to use their Skills. After that minute, aside from Qiu Yinong, the remaining five could not touch their respective Liar-Slayers, unless someone told a lie after that one-minute mark.

This was the complete Future Lie.

The three Three-Star Players glanced at their watches, well aware that this was fabricated time.

Listening to Chen Ran's proposal, they analyzed it line by line to ensure it was whole and completely devoid of loopholes.

They understood that this was Chen Ran's setup, a trap designed to lead Li Zhitong to her death.

The three naturally agreed, but Li Zhitong hesitated. Seeing this, Long Hui urged her on.

"Hurry up."

Li Zhitong sensed something fishy, but this Future Lie was undeniably flawless.

She also nodded in agreement.

With this, Chen Ran had utilized three Future Lies to place Qiu Yinong in an invincible position.

Future Lie 1: While six people were present, none of them could enact Judgment on Qiu Yinong, ensuring she would remain safe during the second timeline.

Future Lie 2: By adding the supplementary clause, it became the most perfect version, cleverly utilizing Turned Upside Down to prevent Li Zhitong from fully receiving the clause's information.

Future Lie 3: "Cannot enact Judgment on the lie Qiu Yinong previously told"—this was a trap designed to bait Li Zhitong into enacting Judgment on Qiu Yinong.

What was the point of doing all this?

Simply because...

Once the Wheel of Time ended, everyone would recall the memories they had temporarily lost.

And what consequences would that bring?

They would remember the three Future Lies they had previously established. Although the first two timelines had vanished, meaning Future Lies 1 and 2 could no longer restrict them...

But one must not forget that Chen Ran's Eternal Kingdom could completely nullify the Wheel of Time.

The moment the time manipulation was broken, the three vanished timelines would overlay onto reality, forcing them to obey all three Future Lies.

Future Lie 1: While six people were present, they could not enact Judgment on Qiu Yinong.

Future Lie 2: "Before anyone lies from this point onward, none of you are allowed to touch your respective Liar-Slayers."

This condition was absolutely lethal. After all, they had already touched their Liar-Slayers to use their Skills in the third timeline.

Future Lie 3: This was spoken purely to set a trap for Li Zhitong; it held no real meaning here.

So, here came the problem.

If Qiu Yinong used the Wheel of Time a third time, wiping everyone's memories and sending time back five minutes...

And Chen Ran immediately activated his Eternal Kingdom.

What would happen?

Diwu Zeyi would have violated Future Lie 2.

Long Hui would have violated Future Lie 2.

Dorje would have violated Future Lie 2.

Li Zhitong would have violated Future Lie 2.

Chen Ran would have violated Future Lie 2.

Qiu Yinong would have violated Future Lie 2.

In other words, all six of them would have violated the Future Lie, which would instantly turn the situation into a chaotic shootout.

The overwhelming advantage of the Three-Star Players...

Would be wiped out completely!

Therefore, if they wanted to escape this predicament, they absolutely had to prevent Chen Ran and Qiu Yinong from using their Skill combo again. And so, what came next...

Was negotiating terms!