The woman’s scream faded, and the room fell silent.Even the men who’d been shouting moments ago now cmmed up.This wasn’t about legality anymore—the goat-masked man had just killed.A minute passed.“Good. Nine of you seem to have quieted down nicely.” The Man-Goat nodded, his voice dripping with satisfaction.All eyes darted to the blood-smeared table. Qi Xia gingerly peeled a pinkish chunk of brain matter from his cheek—it still pulsed faintly, then went still like a defted balloon.“Now, introductions.” The Man-Goat held up a blood-slicked finger toward his mask. “I am Man-Goat. You are participants.”A murmur of confusion rippled through the group.“Your purpose here is to py a game,” he continued, “one that will create a god.”“A god?” The burly man’s voice cracked.“Like Nuwa!” The Man-Goat’s grin widened, his breath reeking of decay. “The goddess who forged humanity! We’ll recreate her! A greater task awaits our new deity!”His voice crescendoed, manic and fervent.“Nuwa…?” The burly man frowned. “Are you a cult?”“Cult?” The Man-Goat snorted. “We have a world. A new world.”Another silence.“The game,” the burly man pressed. “What must we do?”“A simple one.” The Man-Goat shrugged. “The winner becomes the god.”“Gods be damned—” The tattooed man swore. “What if we lose?”The Man-Goat’s gaze lingered on the blood on his hands. “Then… pity.”The unspoken threat hung in the air.“Let us begin.” He tossed a stack of paper onto the table. Each sheet nded with a spt, staining red from the blood pooling beneath. “Write a story—your st memory before arriving here. One of you will lie. After all speak, you vote. If eight correctly identify the liar, they die. If even one of you fails… the liar lives. The rest die.”“Liar…?”The burly man raised his hand. “Can we discuss a strategy first?”“Certainly.” The Man-Goat stepped back. “One minute. Now or ter?”“Now!”The burly man turned to the group. “Here’s the pn: No one lies. We all tell the truth. Then vote ‘no liar.’ We all survive.”The b-coated man tapped the table. “But how do we trust you? If you’re the liar, you’ll outlive us all.”The Man-Goat snapped his fingers. “Time’s up.”“Bastard—” The burly man clenched his jaw.“Now, draw a card.” The Man-Goat tossed a deck onto the table. Each card bore the words Nuwa’s Game.“What’s this?!”“Your role.” The Man-Goat ughed. “Draw the ‘Liar’ card? You must lie.”“You son of a—!” The burly man lunged forward, then froze.“Rules are rules,” the Man-Goat purred. “You wasted a minute arguing. Now… draw.”Hands trembled. No one dared gnce at their card.Life or death.Qi Xia took a deep breath, flipped his card.Liar.