LIAR GAME

Akiyama-san had concocted a two-part plan to ensure our victory.

*Estimation* Assuming in the next six rounds, Country of Night inspectors call "doubt 100 million" four times and "pass" twice

First, we were to give the Country of Night the lead

Country of Night Third-Country Account

Country of Day Third-Country Account

Country of Day ATM

Country of Night ATM

1.119485 billion

4.22884 billion

1.851675 billion

0 billion

+700 million

+200 million

300 million

600 million

in terms of our third-country balances.

1.819485 billion

3.62884 billion

1.751675 billion

Second, we had to get three Country of Night players to defect

and put money directly into our ATM.

We set about the first part of the plan

and gradually began closing the distance between our third-country accounts.

Country of Night

1.369485 billion yen

Third-Country Accounts

1.801675 billion yen

Country of Day

1.419485 billion yen

1.751675 billion yen

Akiyama-san also successfully recruited the second of the turncoats.

Tip-off

We're almost there!

Hey, careful about standing in front of the window.

Yokoya's watching.

R-Right. Sorry.

The Country of Night's been keeping an eye on us.

The bandana guy told me

about the Country of Night's sophisticated system of control.

System of control?

Yeah, the way Yokoya keeps them under his thumb.

In short, it's a finely tuned application of the carrot and the stick.

In the third round, just before the game began,

Yokoya told them this:

I'll be handling our strategy.

Give me all of your cards.

You'll only carry one when acting as the smuggler.

You're handling everything, Yokoya?

S-So you're keeping all the money for yourself?

I'm not as petty as all that.

I can win this game with ease...

But only if you do exactly as I tell you.

With that said,

I'll be giving out loyalty points over the course of the game.

Loyalty points?

A numerical reflection of your subservience to me.

Each time you follow an order, I give you one point.

If you succeed in smuggling, I give you five points.

If you fail, I take away five points.

Acts of insubordination will cost you ten points.

But sniff out someone else's, and that will earn you ten.

That just about covers it.

At the end of the game, I'll pay you from the prize money based on the point totals.

First place gets 300 million,

second gets 250 million, and so on.

By the way...

Seventh and eighth place get nothing.

You're universally 200 million in debt,

so the only way to save yourselves is to rank highly in my esteem.

If you see anyone acting improperly,

catch them on tape and inform me immediately.

These are voice recorders.

I have one for each of you.

Earnest reporting is your shortcut to victory.

I can't believe he really took all of our cards.

Plus this loyalty point crap?

We have to do what he says.

He's the only one who can wipe our 200-million debt clean.

Hey, you think Yokoya's for real? That he can win with ease?

Nah, he's talking out his ass.

I know what this is.

He's gonna take us out on a limb with him.

If we win, lucky us.

If we lose, it's no skin off his nose.

Nah, he's talking out his ass.

I know what this is.

He's gonna take us out on a limb with him.

If we win, lucky us.

If we lose, it's no skin off his nose.

You stabbed me in the back!

I don't know what you mean.

I've always been a devoted servant of Yokoya-sama.

Yokoya-sama?

Well done. I award you ten points.

You're currently first in the standings.

Thank you, sir.

And it's minus ten points for you.

Dead last in the standings.

You're finished for sure at this rate.

Doubt 100 million.

Brilliant! The Country of Day takes back 100 million!

I'm sorry.

We lost the whole 100 million.

You lose five points, as the system demands.

And as an additional punishment...

Someone hit this idiot five times.

Whoever does it gets ten points.

I'm on it.

People do such interesting things when they're being controlled.

The Country of Night became a total surveillance state.

Nobody could trust anyone else,

which made Yokoya's control over them more and more absolute.

That's awful.

That doesn't make any sense!

Can't the people close to the bottom just band together

and stage a coup d'état or something?

What are you, stupid? Nobody's at the bottom.

He's got them all so freaked out, nobody knows how many points anyone has.

Yokoya can just tell them they're in whatever position he wants.

I'm betting he tells them all "You're in fourth place" or something.

In fourth, one screw-up could land you at the bottom,

but one achievement could put you on top.

Which just further tightens his grip on them, you mean?

Part of the tragedy of the Country of Night

is that they're trapped under Yokoya's heinous control.

But what's even worse...

is that no one on their team can trust each other.

That's why I told Bandana and Long Hair,

"We'll accept all three of you in the Country of Day."

Wait a minute! You can't go and do that.

The reason they're willing to move cash for us is because they each think

that they're the only defector for us, right?

After they move one load of cash, I can come clean with them.

I'll tell them I lied about hiding the 1.9 billion.

By that point, the balances will be competitive again.

So, to save themselves, they'll have no choice but to join us

and move the full 1.9 billion.

True.

Think about it.

The minute I entered the inspection room with Long Hair,

Bandana would be thinking, "Is he telling Long Hair the same thing he told me?"

So it was safer to tell them you'd welcome all three of them from the start.

Correct.

But most of all, telling them that gives them all some common ground.

For the first time, amid the paranoia and terror of the Country of Night,

a bond will have formed.

Bonds are what empower people to break free from control.

That's what I think, at least.

I found myself dearly wanting

to crush the Country of Night's system.

The difference between our accounts is less than 200 million now.

Third-Country Account +100 million

Doubt 100 million

100 million

100 million

Third-Country Account +50 million

Empty

Doubt 100 million

Third-Country Account -50 million

Current Status

Third-Country Accounts

Night

Night

Day

Day

1.569485 billion

1.701675 billion

3.928840 billion

Which means...

If they call doubt of 100 million next time,

we can turn things around on our next inspector turn!

Yes!

Yeah!

That's the first hurdle cleared!

We can just focus on the Country of Night defectors.

Except then...

Doubt 99.99 million.

What did he just say?

And what's in the case?!

It's 100 million!

The doubt fails!

That's 149.995 million into the Country of Day's third-country account!

That's not good.

Yokoya's out to ruin our plan.

Third-Country Accounts

Night

Night

Day

Day

1.519490 billion

1.851670 billion

3.828840 billion

Wow. The gap's widened quite a bit again.

Have they realized what we're doing?

Akiyama's bluff was pretty outlandish.

It seems unlikely he's read that far ahead.

But on the previous turn,

I think he realized we were trying to lose in terms of third-country accounts.

Upon that realization, his thought process would be...

"Why is the Country of Day trying to lose?"