Part 7: Truth or False

[BGM: Rooster Style]


Rooster and Snake had beat me there.

Hey, Mouse, you're back!

Rooster was just sitting at a random table, clearly waiting for the others. Snake, on the other hand, was standing over a chessboard with equal parts amusement and concern.

So this is how it is, huh? No point stopping now...

What are you talking about, Snake?

Pay me no mind.



Without another word, he simply moved a white piece and walked over to a table to sit down. I was curious what he was thinking about, but my brief time with Snake had made it clear he would share when he was willing, and no sooner.

It wasn't long before the others came back. Many of them were in low spirits.

I couldn't find anything.

Me neither! Are we doomed? Is this it?!

I thought I'd at least be able to find one.

Have no fear, citizens, for Team Rooster has secured a Minor Trinket.

You guys did?



Hell yeah, that's what I'm talking about!

Huh. Looks like I wasn't the only one to find one of those things.

Dog, did you find a Minor Trinket too?

Yup. Wasn't that hard. Just had to solve a simple problem.

Nice work everyone! We're well on pace to getting out of here.

Ox cleared his throat.



Yes, yes, we are certainly performing adequately. However, we can talk more about that after these results.

Not that I have reason to doubt you all, but I would just feel safer seeing everyone has stuck to the plan.

Of course everyone just ran. ...right?

[BGM: Silence]
Round 2 has ended. Now, let us see how the race has progressed.

For these sections, in the interest of space, I won't show screenshots for rounds where everyone just Runs and remains evenly matched

The Rat has RUN one space.

The Ox has RUN one space.

The Tiger has RUN one space.

The Bunny has RUN one space.

The Dragon has RUN one space.

The Snake has RUN one space.

The Horse has RUN one space.

The Sheep has RUN one space.

The Monkey has RUN one space.

The Rooster has RUN one space.

The Dog has RUN one space.

The Pig has RUN one space.

[BGM: Stripes]


Again, I breathed a sigh of relief. Everything was going fine. Things would be fine. We'd all play nice, stick to the script, and get out alive together.

I'm just going to start talking now before we get swept up into casual conversation. Yes, things are good now, but that's all the more reason we should immediately continue our search.

As we've recently learned, Brian isn't interested in us playing hide-and-seek as much as he is having us play his little games. Keep that in mind as you search. Obviously, try to be thorough, but keep in mind that if a room doesn't show any signs that there's something there, there probably isn't anything there.

Now, how are we splitting up?

The group started chatting and splitting up amongst themselves. I still wasn't feeling totally safe at this school, so I didn't want to be alone. I decided joining one of the pairs would be the best choice.

This is another choice that helps determine what route we end up on, so once more, we'll be going with the choice that matches the route that won the vote. Therefore...



I decided Bunny and Dog seemed like the safest people to explore with.

Awesome! The more the merrier.

So you're tagging along? Neat.

The two both seemed to know what they were doing. Hopefully we'd be able to efficiently work together.

Let's not waste any time, then. These Minor Trinkets aren't going to find themselves!

Everyone, same deal as last time. Before the end of the round, remember to input a move and meet back up here.

Thanks for the reminder, Ox! We'll be sure to listen. Now come on, team, let's get to looking.



The group split off, and the three of us began wandering the school.

So, where do we want to look?

Wherever you want.

Well, I asked you first.

Nice memory.

Okay, uh, what about you, Mouse? You have any ideas?

Not in particular. Do you?



I mean, if no one else has a preference, I think it might be nice to poke around the third floor.

Alright, then let's go there.

Kay.

Cool.

Without much resistance, we made our way to the third floor. Once there, we tried looking for a good room to check. ...Except Dog didn't look like he was looking too hard. I saw Dog singing absentmindedly to himself.



You have so many relationships in this life. Only one or two will last. You go through all the pain and strife, then you turn your back and they're gone so fast. Oh, yeah.

Uh, Dog?

Oh, so hold on the ones who really care, in the end they'll be the only ones there. And when you get old and start losing your hair, can you tell me who will still care?

The hell kind of songs did he listen to?

These kind, Mouse.

Hey guys, I think there's something in here?

...

[BGM: Dog Days]


Bunny called over to me and Dog and pointed us to what appeared to be an open-aired forum. I walked in and, sure enough, I saw a safe sitting on the desk.

Huh. Guess Brian didn't feel too much like hiding this one, huh?

Something tells me finding this safe's not going to be the hard part.

Yeah, you're almost certainly right.

Ugh. Let's get this over with.

Dog walked over to the safe and read the note tamped to the top of it.



'I can't stand liars! Please find my deceitful students.' That's all it says.

Huh. I wonder what that could mean?

I get the sinking feeling this is going to be some sort of puzzle.

Unfortunately, I agree with you.

Hey, over on the backs of these chairs, there are little sheets of paper. They've got little statements and two-digit numbers above them.

I'm starting to see the picture here.

The safe's a four-digit combination, so we're probably looking for two untruthful statements. How many chairs are there?

...A lot.

Great.



Well, no time like the present, right guys?

Those are some words that you did indeed say in that order.

Let's get searching!

We started looking on the backs of these chairs. However, I quickly noticed something weird.

Am I wrong, or do all of these seem like lies?

You make a good point, Mouse.



They're just trying to say things that sound false but are actually true.

But how does that work? Like, look at this one.

'The devil offered me a deal. He would give me two 100 dollar bills, and then he'd make a statement. If the statement is false, then I'd give him back just one of the 100 dollar bills. If the statement is true, then I'd keep them both. Obviously, I rejected this deal because it's horrible for me.'

That's just not correct, right?

To start off, the devil doesn't exist, so we could say that's a lie from the start.

You don't believe in the devil? Heretic.

I mean, obviously I believe the devil could exist, I don't mean to of-

I don't care.



The statement's obviously not about whether or not the devil is real, it's about whether or not that's a good deal. And it's not.

Why? At worst you get to keep a 100 dollar bill? I mean, I know 'deals with the devil' are always supposed to screw you over, but I don't see how that could be the case here!

You studying to be a lawyer? Boy, do you have a long way to go.

Excuse me?

You will either give me one of those 100 dollar bills or you will give me one million dollars.

Huh?

The devil'd just have to say that. If you give him one of the 100 dollar bills, the statement's true. In that case, giving the 100 dollar bill would be in violation of the contract. After all, if the statement's true, you have to keep both bills.



But if you didn't give him one of those 100 dollar bills, you'd have to give him one of those 100 dollar bills, looping it back around to true.

The only thing you can do without violating the contract is give the devil his one million dollars, or whatever other condition he specified.

Huh, I guess you're right.

Nice sleuthing, Dog!

But hold on, that's just one thing. There's plenty of impossible statements! Like look at this.

'The boys in my school are more likely to get detention for getting caught making trouble from Monday through Thursday than the girls. The boys in my school are more likely to get detention for getting caught making trouble on Friday than the girls. And yet, Monday through Friday, the girls are more likely to get detention for getting caught making trouble than the boys.'

That's a blatant contradiction?

How's it a contradiction?



Uh, if the boys are more likely to get detention for getting caught making trouble on any given day, then how are girls more likely to get detention?

It's just a matter of averages. Let's say that Monday through Thursday, the odds of getting detention when caught are 95 percent for boys and 90 percent for girls. Teachers just don't have time for the kids' shit.

But, on Friday, they're feeling more generous, and the odds decrease to 15 percent for boys and 10 percent for girls.

Now boys, they're rambunctious, and the idea that they're almost out for the week makes them act out. They get caught for trouble a lot on Fridays. Girls, on the other hand, might be more even in their troublemaking, and therefore the majority of the times they're caught ends up in the Monday through Thursday camp.



If that's the case, then statistically speaking, girls are given detention upon being caught more often than the boys, just because the majority of their cases happen in the period where detention is universally more likely.

Simple.

It's not that simple. You're starting to make me feel bad.

Not my intention.

Look, it's the same for all these puzzles. You can't buy in to whatever the student's trying to say. If you look at just the facts written and not the story they're trying to tell, you're a lot less likely to make false assumptions.

For that last riddle, it was never a contradiction. It just gave three facts. It's up for you to figure what those facts could actually mean.



Man, you're really smart, Dog! We're so lucky you decided to join us.

Just drop it already.

What?

If the 'friendly-face' act is this exhausting for me, then it's gotta be a pain for you. So just don't.

What are you talking about?

I know about Bunny from his boss. Chief of Police Bowen.

What? But-

[BGM: Silence]


Dog's ex-police, and he's drinking buddies with his old pal Bowen.

Huh? Ex-police? What's that about?

Just couldn't handle the tough work, seeing all the horrors it brought. So he turned to the bottle. Got to the point where he couldn't keep working on the force.

Instead, he opened a place where he could see worse alcoholics than him and feel better about himself.

Hey now, for all you know I left because I didn't want to be complicit in the shitshow the force has become.

Ha. Do you really expect any of us to buy that when you're still buddy-buddy with Bowen?

Guess you're right.

Complicit?



Long story, not worth the energy.

And I don't know what you think you know about me, Dog, but I doubt you have anything to substantiate the fact that I'm faking anything.

'Course I got nothing substantial. But I know your record. And from what I recall from my time on the force, there aren't any cops like you who are authentically this people pleasing.

Just my two cents.

On account of the fact that no one asked, I'd ask you keep that shit to yourself, unless you've got anything of substance to say.

…

…



Uh, sorry, I think I got a little intense there. I think being trapped here is getting to me. Anyway, let's start working on this safe puzzle! Time's a ticking.

Yeah. Good call.

And just like that, the increasingly tense atmosphere vaporized and we went back to looking for genuine lies. I saw a few more seemingly false statements, figured out they were true, standard stuff.

[BGM: Lucky Foot]


But then I came across a statement that struck me as odd.

'I am blind. However, if you give me any pile of coins and tell me how many are heads up, I can make two piles which have the same number of heads up coins.'

I remembered Dog's advice, and realized something. What is the statement?