Chapter 182: Mind Battle (2)

The floor beneath Li Zhitong vanished.

Just as the three were about to withdraw their skills, they heard Chen Ran say flatly, "I have a question regarding the judgment of an Unknown Lie. For example, if my name is not Chen Ran, but I say my name is Chen Ran, and you guys also follow suit and call me Chen Ran, in this hypothetical scenario, who is lying and who isn't?"

The eyelids of the three twitched. Dorje gave Chen Ran a deep look, his brows tightly furrowed.

'Unknown Lie...'

'This is a minefield that even high-star players don't dare to touch lightly, simply because it very likely involves Deceiver's Tongue through language.'

'Simply put, your name isn't Chen Ran, but you say your name is Chen Ran in the instance, and one of us calls you Chen Ran. Then both you and the person who called you Chen Ran are liars.'

'However!'

'If the other nineteen players also call you Chen Ran, a linguistic Deceiver's Tongue is formed.'

'Then, within the Deceiver's Tongue, none of the twenty of us are liars.'

'A linguistic Deceiver's Tongue involves many pitfalls, from its design, process, and formation, to its breaking.'

'Therefore, Unknown Lying has always been a forbidden zone that high-star players don't dare to touch.'

'Even high-star Ghost Whisperers, when creating a linguistic Deceiver's Tongue, can get themselves trapped if they aren't careful.'

'Why would Chen Ran ask this?'

'Unknown Lie...'

'It seems Qiu Yinong wasn't involved in the Future Lie just now.'

'In other words, he wants to ask about the judgment of an Unknown Lie, and then have Qiu Yinong use the Wheel of Time to reset time, using the Unknown Lie to coax our lies out.'

'Of course, this is the first layer.'

'With Chen Ran's intelligence, I don't believe he can't deduce the judgment of an Unknown Lie.'

'So, this timeline is highly likely one created by Qiu Yinong... the fourth or an even higher number timeline.'

'The reason he asked this is to make us deduce the first layer.'

'This is the second layer.'

'Chen Ran's words are too straightforward and obvious, as if he's afraid we won't be able to deduce the second layer.'

'So, the current timeline is highly likely still the third timeline...'

'Huh?'

'Why are there two processes?'

'One: This is the Nth timeline.'

'Two: This is the third timeline.'

'It's equivalent to Chen Ran's inquiry actually tossing out a result, letting us deduce the process from the result. Logically speaking, we should be able to deduce one process.'

'But he set a trap in his question, making us deduce two processes.'

'It's like 1+1=2, this should be the process we deduce, but now...'

'1+1=2.'

'3-1=2.'

'Using a process to deduce a result will only yield one answer; but using a result to deduce a process yields countless processes.'

'In this current situation, the best approach is to not speak. If we can just hold out for five minutes until our memories return, we can evade Chen Ran's setup.'

'But the problem is, Long Hui's [Silent Seal] is enhanced by [Emperor Emerges from the Three Rivers]. We must speak within three minutes.'

'If Long Hui doesn't withdraw his skill, then Chen Ran's setup can probably be implemented.'

'This is because there's Qiu Yinong in this. Inside the Wheel of Time...'

'She won't lose her memory!'

'She can construct an Unknown Lie.'

'Simply put, if Long Hui doesn't withdraw his skill, out of the three of us—me, Long Hui, and Diwu Zeyi—one of us will definitely be singled out.'

'The person who is singled out can only deduce the secret room to evade the [Silent Seal].'

'If this were the third timeline, it would be easy to handle; just pick some secret room deductions that Li Zhitong hasn't mentioned before.'

'If this is the Nth timeline, then it's troublesome. Whatever the singled-out person wants to say, and when they want to say it, Qiu Yinong will know clearly. If she continuously preempts that person by stating the secret room deduction first...'

'What you want to say is said by Qiu Yinong first. If you state the same deduction again, it turns into repeating Qiu Yinong's words.'

'Then, the person who is singled out will never be able to evade the [Silent Seal].'

'However, did Chen Ran forget? During the Future Lie just now, the supplementary agreement between the three of us was: we talk to each other to evade Long Hui's [Silent Seal].'

'Singled out? It's impossible for anyone to be singled out.'

'This conclusion...'

'Can exactly overturn the conclusion that: this is the Nth timeline.'

'But, going back to the previous reason, this loophole is too obvious. Even if you pulled a random Newbie from the Novice Instance, they would notice the supplementary agreement the three of us had earlier.'

'Since Chen Ran knows this as well, why would he set up such a clumsy trap?'

'Wait!'

'If we reason based on the third timeline, Chen Ran wants to ask about the judgment standards for an Unknown Lie, but why would we tell him?'

It wasn't just Dorje; Diwu Zeyi and Long Hui also had solemn expressions. They discovered that each deduction had two possibilities, and these two possibilities pointed to four deductions.

One begets two, two begets four.

One: Chen Ran lays out Face-up Cards for the Unknown Lie.

Two: It is the third timeline, or the Nth timeline.

Four:

1: There is no Nth timeline.

2: There is an Nth timeline.

3: It is the third timeline.

4: It is not the third timeline.

Thinking up to this point, the three exchanged glances and were just about to withdraw their skills when...

Chen Ran said flatly, "I know you guys will highly likely target me next. After all, most of the people are dead."

"There are no good people in Hell, and I am not a good person either. Since you want to kill me, I'll strike first to gain the upper hand." (Turned Upside Down)

"There are no good people in Hell, and I am not a good person either. Since you want to kill me, I'll strike first to gain the upper hand." (Turned Upside Down)

Seeing that Chen Ran still wanted to speak, Dorje seized the opportunity to interject and ask, "Saying that, shouldn't you also consider what kind of puzzle-solving would be involved if you turned into an instance?"

Hearing this, Chen Ran touched his chin. "Speaking of which, if I were to turn into an instance, it would only be One-Star. It would be very hard for you guys to match into it. Doesn't that mean getting revenge will be very difficult?"

"Let me think. The evil deeds I committed while alive seem to be somewhat serious, with several lives ending by my hands alone. Do you guys think the instance after my death will turn into something involving criminal investigation and puzzle-solving?" (Turned Upside Down)

Long Hui chuckled lightly, "In other words, you have a premonition that it will be very hard for you to make it out of this instance alive?"

"Yeah, I just arrived in Hell, and there are many things I don't quite understand. For example, instance bosses—how do they usually live when no players have entered the instance? What do they eat and drink?"

Dorje sneered, "Trying to use an Unknown Lie again? You want to know? Once you die and turn into an instance, won't it become clear?"

"True..."

Seeing that everyone still wanted to chat, Qiu Yinong abruptly said, "How much longer are you going to chat?"

The four helplessly shrugged. Diwu Zeyi, Dorje, and Long Hui took out their Liar-Slayers, preparing to withdraw their respective skills.

Only to find Qiu Yinong raising her gun to her head.

"Liar-Slayer: Wheel of Time."