No strange things are allowed to evolve!

"it is good!"

Smiling, the man walked out of the village entrance, just like Jiang Shu.

The giant centipede arrived as expected.

The man died.

The smiles on everyone's faces were still frozen, and then they stared in disbelief.

From afar, after watching the man being devoured by the centipede, Jiang Shu stroked her chin and looked at the notification—

[Level 1: Your lies are more persuasive and can slightly influence reality; the more people who believe them, the greater the influence.]

"Sure enough, there is no clear evidence to prove that one can safely leave the village at the first rank. So why did the village chief have to self-destruct first? In the end, it was all a lie. If you want to influence that centipede, you have to make everyone believe that the power of lies is enough to leave the village."

Upon hearing this, Strawberry Milkshake looked at Jiang Shu with horror in her eyes.

She opened her mouth, as if to say something.

suddenly.

"Huh?" Jiang Shu said in surprise, "I'll reach the second level as soon as he dies."

Chapter Ninety-Six: Where Did This Dung Come From?

Jiang Shu didn't really feel anything about the fact that other evolved beings were killed in this incubator.

Firstly, those who have reached the first level are mostly people who are involved in the scam with him. Regardless of whether they were misled, Jiang Shu did not force them in their final choice.

They could have been like those evolved beings who believed in such a thing but still didn't line up, and nothing would have happened. Unfortunately, they all chose to oppress a fool for the power of lies.

Jiang Shu may not be a good person, but he has a principle of "not bullying three types of people": the elderly, children, and the disabled. He tries his best not to provoke them.

Therefore, in this respect, Jiang Shu has occupied the moral high ground, and it is indeed difficult for him to feel any psychological burden when he plays tricks on them.

Secondly, it's because this hatchery is quite different from the previous ones.

Although Strawberry Milkshake didn't explicitly say so, Jiang Shu wasn't stupid. Since he was brought in by the other party, and the other party knew so much about the personnel configuration without knowing anything about this incubator, then even if the others weren't rebels, they must have close ties with the rebels.

In other words, even if everyone else is considered a rebel, it is not an extreme view.

So reducing their numbers isn't necessarily a bad thing; in fact, wiping them out in a speedrun at the very beginning would be even better.

However, Jiang Shu wasn't a hypocrite. Although he didn't want to die, everyone in the hatchery relied on their own abilities. If you got tricked to death, don't blame me. But if I was outmatched and died at your hands, I wouldn't hold it against you.

Of course, this is on the premise that you can do it.

"So...that's why you were in such a hurry to be the first to leave the village?"

Strawberry Milkshake stared at Jiang Shu in shock, only then realizing what was happening:

"Because if someone gets there before you, and doesn't announce it beforehand like the previous village chief did, they'll die in the centipede's mouth, and then everyone will realize that a level one 'Mouth of God' isn't enough to get us out of the village safely?"

“Hmm.” Jiang Shu nodded. “However, this is based on the premise that the ‘Mouth of God’ is indeed effective. If my words just now didn’t convince them so easily that I was resorting to this desperate measure, then I would think that the ‘Mouth of God’ is also a scam, and then I would hide and play dead, and think of other ways later.”

"But haven't you considered the possibility that a first-tier level wouldn't be enough to affect that centipede?" Strawberry Milkshake asked, puzzled.

Jiang Shu glanced at her.

This is, of course, because my skills and items were not disabled.

With the [Pocket Watch of the Dead], one second is enough for me to retreat back to the village. Even if time is a bit tight, you can still draw fire for me, right?

Jiang Shu wanted to get rid of the strawberry milkshake, which was not wrong, but he could not take action directly. The other party was also a ruthless person with a disaster-level skill. Who knew if she really came in with the intention of dying with him in this hatchery? Who knew if she had any hidden tricks?

Jiang Shu wouldn't act without being sure, so if he's going to do it, he'll make it an accident, aiming for a beautiful, accidental smuggling of something without any causal connection.

So, he even tricked the strawberry milkshake along with it.

Unfortunately, they passed through very smoothly and didn't manage to find out anything.

Thinking this, Jiang Shu said, "It's true that if we fail, we can think of other ways, but there's really no other way. If the first person to leave the village succeeds, then everyone can leave together. But if we fail, or like now, only I succeed, then it will be difficult for the people who follow."

Besides, I've already fooled those guys thoroughly. Trying to extract more power of lies from them would probably only result in being fooled to death, just like that guy before. In my opinion, Tier 1 is already the limit one can reach in the beginner village, so I have no choice but to take a gamble.”

After listening to Jiang Shu's recounting, Strawberry Milkshake suddenly felt that everything made sense and was logical.

The surprise on her face gradually subsided, and then turned into appreciation.

Having this kind of insight...

I knew my gamble paid off. I told you my judgment wouldn't be wrong. It wasn't just luck that you helped my brother conquer the Cataclysmic Hatchery; it was truly remarkable.

Just then.

"fraud!!"

After thinking it over, the villagers finally realized what was going on.

Although not as insightful as Jiang Shuxiang's analysis of the strawberry milkshake, most people eventually realized something was off.

Then, they roared angrily at Jiang Shu.

From a distance, Jiang Shu shouted back to them.

"You're crazy! This is clearly the hatchery mechanic; that's how this game is supposed to be played!"

Everyone was stunned for a moment, then flew into a rage.

But all they could do was jump up and down in frustration.

"Let's go. They no longer believe that a first-level cultivator can pass through unimpeded. We don't even know if those centipedes are only at the village entrance. We need to hurry and leave."

Jiang Shu turned to leave, and intentionally or unintentionally added:

"These people are probably going to have a hard time getting out. If they don't have some clever tricks that I can't even think of right now, they might all die inside."

To Jiang Shu's surprise, Strawberry Milkshake simply nodded and replied, "Then let's go quickly," without saying anything else.

Don't you care whether they live or die...?

Jiang Shu glanced at her subtly, seemingly lost in thought.

Following the road leading down from the village entrance, the two soon arrived at the mountainside.

Just then, Strawberry Milkshake suddenly remembered something.

"By the way, you just said that your current rank is second-tier. How is that different from first-tier?"

"In terms of the effect of lies, it is only slightly enhanced, and there is no clear data to refer to exactly how much it is enhanced."

Jiang Shu paused for a moment: "However, this does present a more interesting way to acquire the power of lies."

"what?"

Jiang Shu did not answer, but simply picked up a stone from the ground.

Then he said to the stone, "I'm going to throw you ten meters away now."

After saying that, he let go of the stone and let it fall freely to his feet.

At the same time, an extremely faint power of lies entered Jiang Shu's body.

"This is..." Strawberry Milkshake paused, stunned. "You can even fool people with stones?"

"Yes."

Jiang Shu nodded:

"After reaching the second level, one can obtain the power of lies by using inanimate objects. However, compared to deceiving others, the power of lies obtained in this way is extremely small, barely better than nothing."

However, this also means that second-tier and higher-level Liar Poets can improve their lying power without interacting with people, which somewhat compensates for the problem of the "Mouth of God" not being able to improve its rank in secluded places.

Since inanimate objects have no emotions, even if they are deceived, it will not cause any serious or bad consequences. Therefore, even if one can obtain the power of lies through this, the quantity is extremely small.

The quantity was so small that Jiang Shu felt it was being treated perfunctorily.

It's like a game's game designers seemingly creating a relaxed and casual leveling path so that even casual players can have a gaming experience. But once you try it, you'll find that it's just a scam designed to boost daily active users. Instead of painstakingly signing in every day to collect that pitiful daily allowance, it's more worthwhile to occasionally pull off a serious heist.

At least an aggressive player like Jiang Shu doesn't need to receive this kind of welfare.

However, the strawberry milkshake looks quite interesting.

"This sounds perfect for me. I'm not a big fan of using my brain; I prefer to crush everything with sheer force. To be honest, this hatchery isn't for me. Looks like I need to find a way to level up to the second tier as soon as possible."

Hearing her words, Jiang Shu remained calm, but was somewhat puzzled.

Um...

Another root of courage?

Why are most of the people I associate with courageous and spiritually gifted?

Is the Love and Desire Spiritual Root some kind of courage Spiritual Root trap?

As they pondered what went wrong, the two arrived at the foot of the mountain, where the road leading down from the village entrance had come to an end.

At the end is a fork in the road.

Seeing this, Jiang Shu fell into deep thought.

Upon closer reflection, he realized he had no idea which direction Lie Town was actually in.

Looking at the strawberry milkshake, I was equally confused.

In general, in this situation...

Eh!

Sure enough!

About twenty meters to the right of the fork in the road, an old man dressed in a black robe was sitting on a rock with his head bowed, looking as if he were asleep.

Jiang Shu carefully moved closer.

Just as Jiang Shu stepped into a certain area, the old man suddenly raised his head, his eyes flashing with an eerie light:

"Oh? A winner has emerged so quickly?"

Jiang Shu was taken aback.

Huh? Isn't this the village chief?

Strawberry Milkshake noticed this as well, and she immediately pulled Jiang Shu back, keeping the two of them at a distance from him.

As Jiang Shu left that area...

The village chief gave a sinister smile, then lowered his head again.

Jiang Shu and Strawberry Milkshake frowned.

After waiting a moment and finding that the village chief had no further reaction,

Jiang Shu tentatively approached him again.

The village chief looked up: "Oh? A winner has emerged so quickly?"

Jiang Shu stepped back.

The village chief lowered his head.

Jiang Shu moved forward.

"Oh? A winner has emerged so quickly?"

Jiang Shu stepped back, and the village chief bowed his head.

Jiang Shu said angrily, "Isn't this pure garbage?"

Strawberry Milkshake: "......"

Chapter Ninety-Seven: The Poet of Lies Has Arrived

Thinking about it carefully, it seems that the village chief never communicated with any of the evolved beings from the very beginning.

From the moment he appeared, he began to read aloud the worldview of "Liestown" and everyone's main objective.

When the first victim appeared, he gave an acceptance speech with the core theme of "Farewell to the Cage," and then ran away from the newbie village.

During this process, he did not exhibit any interactive features.

Therefore, it makes perfect sense to treat the village chief's first speech as the opening animation and the second speech as the defeat CG.

However, considering some previously discovered inconsistencies, such as why the centipede only moves around the village, and the extremely low-return upgrade method of obtaining the power of lies through inanimate objects.

Jiang Shu felt that this hatchery was completely different from the hatcheries she had previously visited, and the signs of human intervention seemed a bit too heavy.

This made him somewhat worried.