Officer Li

Biodata

Background / History

Li worked as a criminal investigator in Inner Mongolia. According to his account in the “Liar” game, he and a colleague spent three days watching the residence of a suspect accused of defrauding someone of two million yuan. When they ran out of cigarettes, Li sent his colleague to buy more despite regulations requiring them to remain at their post 6.

An earthquake began while Li was alone in the car. Someone in the back seat tightened a thin cord around his neck. Li reclined his seat to regain enough space to breathe, but his legs were trapped beneath the steering wheel, preventing him from turning toward the attacker. A blow to his head then rendered him unconscious 6.

His account distinguished him from participants who described accidental injuries. Qi Xia later argued that all the participants were already dead, but their continued pain, breathing, and other bodily functions left that conclusion unresolved 6 9 10.

Appearance

• Build: Large, muscular, and strongly built 5 6 25.
• Distinguishing mark: A visible red mark around his neck supports his account of being strangled with a cord 6.

Personality

Li instinctively tries to impose order during emergencies. He urges the eight supposedly truthful participants to cooperate against the Liar and treats his police background as a reason to trust his leadership. This can become overbearing: he explicitly contrasts his standing as a police officer with Qiao Jiajin’s occupation as a moneylender, provoking resistance rather than unity 5 6.

His concern for others is demonstrated through practical risks. He supports the wounded Han Yimo during multiple trials and chooses to remain at the Convenience Store because the injured and physically vulnerable survivors would be unsafe without him 14 15 18 25.

Li values morale, sometimes harshly. When Doctor Zhao breaks down, he grabs him by the collar and rebukes him for weakening the group’s resolve. His insistence that survival preserves hope contrasts with his later skepticism about collecting 3,600 Dao: he considers the deadline, the danger of repeated games, and the possibility that Human Dragon’s promises are false 16 24.

He can also acknowledge another person’s contribution despite distrust. During the dispute over Dao, he rejects Xiao Ran’s demand for a share and argues that she should be grateful to Qi Xia for saving her life 28.

Abilities & Skills

Criminal Investigation and Questioning

Li uses questioning and appeals to cooperation to obtain information from guarded participants 5.

• Pressures Doctor Zhao to reveal his hometown by explaining how secrecy increases suspicion 5.
• Counters Qiao Jiajin’s accusation by pointing out that similar fraud cases in different cities need not concern the same incident 7.
• Attempts to preserve the scene of Han Yimo’s death before Qi Xia removes the Seven Black Sword 27.
• Acknowledges the limitations of conventional criminal investigation in their strange surroundings and asks Qi Xia for help interpreting the evidence 29.

Physical Strength and Close-Quarters Training

Li describes himself and his colleague as skilled in close-quarters combat. His strength is repeatedly used to support injured companions 6 14 18.

• Holds up part of Han Yimo’s shield after Han is struck by a harpoon 14.
• Helps Qiao Jiajin keep Han from falling after the floor collapses 18.
• Holds Han still during surgery without anesthetic 23.
• His training does not prevent the car ambush: the attacker’s position and the steering wheel severely restrict his movement 6.

Weapons Handling and Improvisation

Li recognizes weapon-related hazards and uses available objects as tools 10 13 15.

• Expertly checks Human Sheep’s pistol, discovering that its only round has been fired 10.
• Recognizes the separated tabletop pieces as shields after noticing their handles 13.
• Uses a harpoon’s small sharpened edge to cut Han Yimo’s rope, repeatedly striking the same notch despite the shrinking space and intense pressure 15.

Crisis Leadership

Li keeps the group focused on immediate survival, though his interpretations of the games are not always correct 9 16.

• Discovers the engraved warning on a retained harpoon and directs preparations for the next attack 16.
• Initially recommends sheltering against the walls; he later follows Qi Xia to the center after Lin Qin vouches for him 16 17.
• Proposes concentrating votes on one participant when everyone appears to have lied. Qi Xia rejects this because it overlooks the rule that there is only one Liar 9.
• Stops Qiao Jiajin from attacking Human Snake, warning that the masked attendants may possess the same lethal strength as Human Sheep 19.

Equipment / Weapons / Items

• Human Sheep’s pistol — Inspected after the host’s suicide; empty and unavailable for defense 10.
• Tabletop shields — Improvised protection during the harpoon attack; later used as anchors through the ceiling openings 13 14 17.
• Harpoon — Used to sever Han Yimo’s rope and examined for the next game’s engraved clue 15 16.
• One Dao — Given to him by Qi Xia to settle the dispute over the opening trials’ rewards. Li accepts it despite saying that he does not intend to enter games 28.

Relationships

• Qi Xia — Initially questions his reasoning and distrusts his identity as a con artist. Later defends his ownership of the Dao, seeks his interpretation of Han Yimo’s death, and offers to exchange information from the Convenience Store 9 17 28 29.
• Qiao Jiajin — Clashes with Li’s attempts to command the participants and accuses him of lying. Despite their hostility, they cooperate to rescue Han Yimo; Li also restrains Qiao from attacking Human Snake 6 7 15 18 19.
• Doctor Zhao — Initially resists Li’s questioning, then relaxes after learning his profession. They cooperate in caring for Han, although Li sharply confronts Zhao’s despair and later doubts his reliability 5 16 23 29.
• Han Yimo — A wounded companion whom Li steadies, frees from a retracting rope, supports above a drop, and restrains during treatment. After Han’s death, Li tries to preserve the scene and understand the sword-related clues 14 15 18 23 27 29.
• Lin Qin — Her professional judgment helps persuade Li to follow Qi Xia during “Death From Above.” She later warns him about the clerk’s strength and the unreliability of his companions 17 29.
• Xiao Ran and Zhang Chenze — Remain with Li at the Convenience Store. He intervenes in the confrontation over Han’s death and rejects Xiao Ran’s demand for Qi Xia’s Dao 25 27 28.

Story Role / Major Arcs

Opening Trials

• “Liar”: Proposes collective survival before the role cards are explained, attempts to organize the participants, and becomes a suspect because of his unusual attack account. He is the first to reveal his card after Qi Xia’s explanation, confirming that it also reads “Liar” 2 6 7 10.
• “Bamboo Shoots After Rain”: Identifies the shields, helps maintain the formation after Han is wounded, and cuts the rope before it can drag Han into the wall 13 14 15.
• “Death From Above”: Finds the warning but initially follows its misleading implication. After joining Qi Xia’s position, he survives the floor collapse and helps support Han 16 17 18.
• “Right and Wrong”: Relies on Qi Xia’s solution to Human Snake’s questioning game. Once lowered to safety, he prevents Qiao from starting a potentially fatal fight 18 19.

Arrival in the Ruined City

• Challenges Human Dragon on why the participants must collect Dao and confronts him over the apparent mass abductions 20 21.
• Helps attempt to pull Qi Xia away from the unusually strong convenience-store clerk and assists with Han’s improvised surgery 22 23.
• Opposes repeated games as an escape strategy, then stays behind to protect the vulnerable members of the group 24 25.

Han Yimo’s Death and the Group’s Separation

• Attempts to preserve the crime scene and defuse accusations against Qi Xia 27.
• Rejects the demand to divide Qi Xia’s Dao and receives one himself 28.
• Chooses the Convenience Store as a base for nearby exploration. Although he recognizes that Qi Xia’s companions may be more dependable in a crisis, he considers their pursuit of Dao too dangerous to follow 29.

Notable Quotes

“I don't have a ‘way.’ All I know is that we have to survive! As long as we're alive, there's hope.” 16

“Since you know you put your life on the line for those ‘Dao,’ you should be all the more grateful to Qi Xia for saving it.” 28