At this point, the tattooed man raised his hand and looked at the goat-headed man. "Hey, referee, what about someone using an alias? Does that count as lying?"
The goat-headed man neither nodded nor shook his head, only saying flatly, "I won't interfere in the process anymore. Just write down names based on your own judgment. Remember: 'the rules are absolute.' Finally, I will personally 'sanction' the losers."
The word "sanction" landed heavily, making everyone shiver.
"See! That means I didn't lie!" Tiantian shouted anxiously. "If I had lied, I'd be dead now, right? Even if it's an alias, my alias really is Tiantian!"
No one answered her. This was a life-or-death moment, and no疑点 (doubt) could be overlooked.
"Then it's my turn," the tattooed man sneered, looking reluctant. "If her story isn't a lie, mine definitely isn't either."
"I'm Qiao Jiajing, live in Guangdong, no fixed job. Before coming here, I was collecting debts."
Qiao Jiajing's Mandarin was poor, so everyone had to listen carefully.
"People nowadays are funny—they promise anything when borrowing money, but cry poor when it's time to repay. They call us debt collectors devils, heartless."
"But that jerk should think differently: when he was most helpless and needed money, I helped. When no institution would lend to him, I did. To him, I wasn't a devil but a savior."
"But how did he treat his savior? He went around crying poor, saying he lost two million to scams, then scolded us for being heartless, trying to use neighbors' sympathy. But we signed a contract; he knew the interest clearly. If he can't repay, is that our problem?"
"Last night, I decided to teach him a lesson. I took him to a rooftop, but then an earthquake hit. I didn't want to kill him, but the jerk pulled a knife to stab me during the chaos!"
"In the mess, he pushed me off the rooftop. I hit a billboard. The rest... I can't remember."
Everyone frowned at his story. Tiantian suddenly laughed angrily. "See! That's why you framed me! You're the liar!"
"What? Why say I'm lying?" Qiao Jiajing snapped.
"I'm in Shaanxi, you're in Guangdong!" Tiantian pointed at him. "Your story is copied from mine! I had an earthquake, you had an earthquake. I got hit by a billboard, you hit a billboard! What else is that but lying?"
"Who cares where you are? I really had an earthquake," the tattooed man glared. "Hiding it would be lying! And billboards—there's more than one in the world, right?"
"You're definitely lying!" Tiantian shouted. "Your job is for crooks, so lying is no surprise."
"Huh, your job is any better?"
Qi Xia watched them argue. Something felt off—not about who was lying, but because he'd also experienced an earthquake. He was neither in Shaanxi nor Guangdong, but in Shandong. Could such a widespread earthquake exist, spanning half the country and three provinces? If they were all telling the truth, it would be an unprecedented disaster.
"Stop arguing. Let's finish quickly," the burly man across the table interrupted, looking at the next woman. "Your turn. If we need to judge lies, better wait till everyone speaks."
Both snorted and fell silent. The woman beside Qiao Jiajing nodded timidly. "Um... I'm Xiao Ran, a kindergarten teacher."
Xiao Ran seemed terrified, her voice tiny and trembling.
"Before coming here, I was waiting with a child for his parent. The mom usually picked him up, but she got seriously ill—something in her brain, needed surgery—so the dad took over recently, but he often forgot..."
"It was past 6 PM yesterday, long after my shift, but the dad wouldn't answer calls. I didn't know their address, so I couldn't take the kid home. We just waited at the intersection."
"I actually had plans... I'd made an appointment with a psychologist. I don't like my job and wanted help. But waiting for hours messed up my evening."
"While I was distracted, the ground suddenly shook. I was terrified... It took seconds to realize it was an earthquake. It didn't jump; it swayed side to side, like standing on a table someone kept shaking."
"I hugged the child first, but didn't know what to do. I saw the Three Pagodas of Chongsheng Temple crack in the distance... Luckily we were on open ground."
"Then a car out of control rushed toward us. I tried to run with the child, but the shaking made me fall with every step. When I hit my head, I blacked out. When I woke up, I was here."
Her story was unremarkable, but one detail struck Qi Xia: the "Three Pagodas of Chongsheng Temple," located in Dali, Yunnan.
Qi Xia gently touched the card on the table, still covering the word "Liar." Could there be multiple liars? If "the rules are absolute," the goat-headed man's words—"one and only one liar"—must hold. Since he'd drawn "Liar," others couldn't be liars; only he was.
So they were all telling the truth. But their stories, spanning three provinces, connected too neatly—not just the earthquake, but their narratives. Wasn't that strange?
Everyone's gaze turned to the next person: the middle-aged man in a white coat.