Chapter 195: Chapter 183 The Story Ends (It’s Really Over) Chapter 195: Chapter 183 The Story Ends (It’s Really Over) Yes — Andrew was the imagined, fictitious persona.

Let’s start from the beginning again.

A few years ago, during a mission, Sheriff Paine accidentally killed a homeless man, which cost him his job. Consequently, he got divorced, lost his daughter, and became a loner. This series of blows exacerbated his mental symptoms from his youth, leaving him demoralized and turning him into a decadent man who only knew how to drink! Of course, he didn’t want this for himself, so he imagined a man who achieved nothing — Mr. Andrew. He pushed all the facts he couldn’t accept onto this man, and like that, “Sheriff Paine” could go on existing in peace. Therefore, these murders, frame-ups, witnesses, suicides were all just existing in his memories, a prison keeping him from facing reality. That’s why Andrew drank, Sheriff Paine drank, the witness drank, the deceased looked like he drank… Everyone drank. Because from beginning to end, this story is just about a sheriff, drowned in his troubled past, deceiving himself in his bachelor apartment filled with alcohol.

Oh, speaking of which, is that the end? Let’s add another twist… Which one is this now?

Never mind…

Thinking deeper, what if Andrew, Paine, and the witness don’t actually exist??

…

What if all this was just a lingering moment between life and death for the homeless victim?

He died… Those people were just the final flash before his consciousness faded… Speaking of which, I even think that if someone tidied up the victim’s hair and beard, the audience would realize, he looked exactly like Andrew or Sheriff Paine… It’s just a matter of camera angles!

Oh, you want another twist, huh? Alright, this barely shown, full-of-holes story can just keep going on being made up!

Recall why the bar in the story was never given a direct description? Just passed over with blurry visuals and background noise?… Hehe, what if we removed the blurriness from the scene, we might discover, actually, the bar in the story has exactly the same setup as the bar we are sitting in right now!

Yes, this bar where we are sitting now…

This story… where exactly did it begin? From the TV here using emoticons to cue “start”? Or when you and I walked into this bar?

Brainstorming like this can go on endlessly.

Hehehe… Right, maybe there’s no real murderer, no Paine, no victim, no Mr. Andrew, it’s all just a story, within a story inside a story, and in that story are two people, you and me, sitting at the bar counter of this bar, repeatedly savoring a bowl of cunning yet utterly boring turtle soup.

Well… now that I mention it, did you also notice…”

Chen Xiao looked at Yuto, as if recounting a hilarious matter, “Actually, this story is just a shaky framework at best. It randomly inserts a few characters and uses some extremely loose plots. It may seem clever, but in reality, it’s utterly empty. All the content within, it’s you and I who filled it in…

Even more irritating is that the framework of the story is also changing, constantly adjusted based on our guesses, and… even the rules seem to be added on the fly…

As for the chips, they actually are useless, just a limitation.

So all questions must cost chips, meaning any rules that are ambiguous or not yet thought-out, or the plot, can be glossed over with a high price. Like the first question you raised which cost over 300 points.

Because at that time, even it had not figured out where this story was headed.

Right, it’s just playing us two.

Using one person’s guess to drive the plot, then all it has to do is pretend to be regretful and say “Wrong”.

Then another person fills in.

Hehehe.

You’ve heard of those things… psychological suggestions and such… those seemingly profound operations.

Actually, all its tricks are not for suggestion but for deception, only to lead everyone’s thoughts towards a completely unrealistic direction, like that rabbit, looking like a guide but leading us further away from the dream’s exit, eventually altering the pitiful story beyond recognition after all chips are spent.

…

There’s no such thing as truth.

Oh, that’s not right to say, there is a truth, but only, the truth is outside the story.

Chen Xiao babbled on and on, finally stopping… and turned his gaze toward the TV next to the liquor cabinet!

I said… you are far from those 4 annoying guys!

Oh, right, I haven’t asked yet.

All forgotten

So, my question is

Is all this I said… the truth in your words?

…

…

Silence.

“What? Maybe….” Yuto blinked blankly and then suddenly looked at the TV.

But the latter… did not respond or state how much this question was worth in chips.

However… Chen Xiao’s phone still rang.

Since Chen Xiao had just thrown his phone to Yuto, he immediately felt the vibration and looked down.

Indeed, the question had appeared on the screen.

And below, there was a big

“Yes”

Oh, I have to say, this question… is worth “0”!

Yuto was a bit confused, he seemed to hesitate for a moment, then slammed the table.

“What’s going on? Is all this nonsense he said correct?… Didn’t you say that the person who ultimately reveals the true story wins…”

Before the other could finish, Chen Xiao interrupted him

“No no, the rule he said was, you and I narrate the story to each other, and the person who reveals the truth at the end wins!

He never said the truth was related to the story.

Probably this is what it wants to see, seeing how far we can think, how deep we can dig, how bold and how absurd, oh, thinking about it, this feels just like looking for an abnormal item among a bunch of seemingly ordinary stuff.

But speaking of which, your story… really is incredibly boring.”

Chen Xiao said in a half-hearted manner.

Just then

The long-silent TV finally spoke

“Hmm…”