Deceitful Game

Chapter 4 I Have a Sure-Win Strategy

The atmosphere at the table changed instantly after Mingpo said that!

No one questioned Mingpo's words, not even the old man "Bear" himself remained silent.

But suddenly, as if they had thought of something, people looked at each other with some unease.

"Or rather..."

Mingpo said leisurely, "I don't think anyone here is very clean."

"--nonsense!"

Suddenly enraged, the "dog" abruptly stood up as if to beat Mingpo: "I've never killed anyone!"

His tall and muscular body was extremely imposing just by standing up.

He is at least 1.95 meters tall, and the bulging muscles in his arms can even stretch the cuffs of his short-sleeved shirts tightly.

When he stood up, the huge shadow he cast made Lin Ya shrink back in fright.

"It doesn't necessarily mean he killed anyone."

Mingpo simply smiled and said, "It could be some other mistake..."

"But I think... at the very least, we must use the power of time to change the past and make up for the huge mistakes."

After he finished speaking, the atmosphere at the round table became even more somber and deathly silent.

Even the "dog" that stood up only clenched its fists and remained silent for a while before slowly sitting down again.

The "penguin" at the eight o'clock position looked at Mingbo in astonishment.

—How could he have guessed this far?!

The only one who has told the story so far is "Bear," and only a few people have participated in the discussion. I haven't even said a word yet!

Is this mind reading?

Or is it some kind of superpower?

In an instant, the penguins' fear of the "wolf" turned into terror.

"I thought you were going to get up and beat me up."

Mingpo looked at the "dog" and sneered, "I'd really like to see if you get crushed to death after you leave your seat. Of course, you can try it too... maybe you'll only be truly executed when you're confirmed to be about to disrupt the game?"

As he said this, "Dog's" expression suddenly changed.

Even through the mask, you could see the fear and lingering dread in his eyes.

Because he had a compelling reason to acquire the "bargaining chips" and had no intention of escaping... and because he was used to using violence and didn't think there was anything wrong with it.

Therefore, he was completely unaware that his actions might violate the rules.

"You little brat..."

The dog's gaze turned vicious: "So bold, huh? Soon it'll be your turn..."

The fox frowned, glanced at Mingpo, then at the dog that clearly had violent tendencies, but ultimately remained silent.

He realized something—Mumper was trying to provoke the dog, perhaps not just to test whether he would be "punished." Because if he really wanted to do that, he should have continued to provoke the dog until he actually did something outrageous…it was impossible for him to just say what he was thinking directly.

Wouldn't that make the dog afraid to move?

However, the "dog" exhibits clear aggression, making it an uncontrollable force in this game. Since there's a way to eliminate it directly from the sidelines, why...?

...Unless, "Wolf" is actually unsure whether violence will be punished!

Because the host said, "There are no extra rules for this game."

In other words... if violence works, it might be possible to prevent others from voting!

The Empty City Stratagem... is that right?

Mingpo, however, didn't even bother to glance at the dog when he heard its harsh words.

He looked at the old man, "Bear," and continued, "I think the reason the old man told this ambiguous story... was to seize the 'right to interpret the scriptures.'"

The so-called "right to interpret scriptures" can be understood as the "right of final interpretation".

Because the actual content of any scripture, doctrine, or even document or legal code is already fixed when it is published and discovered.

However, something that is already fixed can have many different interpretations, and even the same sentence can have completely different meanings.

"The ambiguous story told by 'The Bear'..."

Mingbo said slowly, "It's so that we can interpret it in different ways."

"That's why he asked the host that question!"

"Raccoon" suddenly realized.

【—Am I required to answer?】

The question the bear asked was actually an attempt to determine whether "I can lie."

Of course you can—because the rules are very clear: "tell your own topic," not "your own story," and certainly not "a true story"!

In other words, this story could be true or it could be false.

That bear could be a person, the bear killer; the bear could also be a real bear, or even the bear could be him, this "bear"!

"So...which version of the story will he ultimately choose?"

The rabbit turned to Mingpo and asked.

"It depends."

Mingpo leaned back slightly: "He wants to hear the discussion first, to see... how we uncontrollable people with our own ideas will choose, and what our thoughts are."

"—Then, just as time was about to run out, he would present a customized version of the story, negating our viewpoint and trying to make us the 'minority'."

"How is this possible?"

Sparrow said in disbelief.

She could hardly believe it—how could this seemingly gentle and easy-going old man have such a meticulous mind?

By using lies to selectively exclude innocent people...

This is outright murder!

"You old geezer!"

Upon hearing Mingpo's words, the dog immediately raised its head and fiercely scolded the bear beside it, "If you're so disobedient, I'll kill you!"

Even though he was shouting like that, he never left his seat and actually used violence against the silent old man who was right next to him.

—Clearly, Mingpo's words had really frightened him, making him afraid to leave his seat.

However, at this moment, "Dog" suddenly spoke up and revealed a ruthless plan.

This was precisely the plan he had been pondering for a long time:

"This old man is untrustworthy; he's too cunning! If we all want to live, we have to kill him!"

He shouted, "Listen up, I have a foolproof method!"

Although the "dog" wasn't very smart, he understood how to play the game without any instruction.

That is to band together and exclude others.

"Everyone, choose red with me!"

The dog said firmly, "As long as we all choose the same answer, even if a minority of people disagree, they won't dare to raise their objections because they'll worry about being the 'minority'!"

"If we all choose the same answer, no one except the narrator can die!"

Even if one or two votes are changed, it won't cause any major problems!

People tend to remain silent when faced with the threat of death.

This is not bullying that can be endured through courage and resistance—if you are executed, you die.

Once a person dies, there are no more opportunities!

Forget about getting the chips and reviving... we don't even have this last chance!

The dog slammed its hand on the button in its right hand: "Choose red! Everyone, choose! I'll watch you choose!"

Even in the smallest details, dogs have their own little thoughts.

Why choose red?

Because initially, everyone agreed with the story of the "bear," so they tended to choose blue; but now that it has been revealed that the "bear" is a cunning old man with a deep mind, they will tend to choose the opposite.

Moreover, the dog saw it very clearly—the equally troublesome "wolf" had chosen "blue".

This means that the "wolf" must either obey its own call and modify its own decisions, or directly confront itself.

Contrary to its apparent recklessness, the dog actually had another layer of thought in its mind—

Although people generally dislike violence, his current reluctance to leave his seat indicates a weak ability to pose a threat.

And they don't seem to be very smart at all; they just believe whatever others say.

No matter how you look at it, they are the weaker party in this "game of the brain".

Compared to the seemingly intelligent and equally aggressive "wolf," he was actually the weaker party!

When a group of people mingle together, there will inevitably be more weak than strong, and more fools than wise people. This is because the strong will eliminate the less strong, and the wise will exclude the less wise. Whether through force or intellect, only a small minority will remain… This is the so-called law of the jungle.

But now this game is called "Death of the Minority".

That means this is a game where "the weak punish the strong who don't fit in"!

In the outside world, the strong either possess resources or talent. But here, whether strong or weak, everyone has only "one vote."

—If a wolf really decides to fight himself, he is absolutely confident that he will not lose!

The result was unexpected...

Mingpo lazily raised his right hand: "I think the dog is right."

His unusual words drew everyone's attention.

"For this round... let's choose red."

He casually draped his left arm over the armrest, and under everyone's gaze, he slowly and lightly tapped the button on the right armrest with his raised right hand, making sure everyone could see what was happening.

He just went along with it, openly displaying an attitude that he might change his mind at any moment.

As he spoke, he looked around, shrugged, and said with a hint of helplessness, "Bears only kill people in stories, and those stories might not even be true. But I think... dogs can really kill people."

"After all, we still don't know whether leaving our seats or attacking others will result in execution."

"If killing others is punishable by death, what about tying them up? Or breaking their arms and legs so we can't vote?"

"If we don't vote, are we considered part of the blue team or the red team? Or... would we be considered a true minority?"

"Haha, just kidding. Anyway, the dog and I have already chosen red, you guys can choose whatever you like."

At this point, Mingpo laughed heartily and withdrew his left arm.

He said meaningfully, "Speaking of which... how much time has passed? There's no alarm clock on this table, I don't even know if five minutes have passed yet..."

Before he finished speaking, he saw sparrows hurriedly follow them and take pictures of the red ones.

Lin Ya and Attorney Chen exchanged a glance across Mingpo, as if they had realized something.

The "butterfly" at the nine o'clock position sneered and remained motionless with its arms crossed over its chest.

The dog glanced at her, assuming she had already chosen red—he had been focused on the fox and the wolf, not paying attention to the person on his side. But now, with the tide turning, who would dare to try and stop it?

Xiong watched all of this indifferently, without saying a word. It was impossible to tell what his expression was beneath the mask.

He was unusually calm, as if he were not the one about to be executed.

The others followed Mingpo's posture, placing their left hands on the left armrest and gently tapping the right-hand button.

So, after Mingpo reminded everyone that "time is almost up," everyone had finished voting in less than ten seconds.

Attorney Chen, also known as "Fox," was the last to vote.

His sense of timing was impeccable—he was certain it wasn't time to force a conclusion yet. Therefore, he deliberately refrained from voting in order to control the timing of ending the voting phase.

He looked around and did not choose red.

Instead, he chuckled and confidently snapped a picture of the blue background.

"What are you doing!"

Upon seeing this, the dog immediately slammed its fist on the table and stood up.

He was all bark and no bite, shouting loudly, "Vote for red? You're asking for it!"

At this moment, the host's cold voice rang out, interrupting their argument:

"—Round 1 is over."

In any case, the votes have already been cast.

The dog was very uneasy, but it still stared at the "fox," hoping to hear that he was out of the game...

However, the next moment.

The host's words, however, sent chills down his spine—

The minority groups are: sparrows, dogs, and penguins.

"—Execution is about to be carried out."