Kaidan Game Train: Abide Rule or Die!

The size of the cat in the painting doesn’t match the wounds on the middle-aged man and the dead player; it can only be a prop.

There is no doubt about this, but more people are pondering another question: is the black cat prop really the girl in the painting’s?

If it is hers, judging by the situation of the three players, the black cat is definitely not weak. A player who owns such a prop wouldn’t be weak either.

If it’s not hers, this suggests that the castle is not perfectly safe if they don’t take the initiative to cause trouble. If paintings can turn into props, who knows what else might?

However, no one dared to question her face-to-face. Only Fluorescent Powder got close to the girl in the painting, "Sis, you’re amazing, even able to defeat a fierce prop beast."

The girl in the painting smiled with a hint of pride but modestly replied through the communicator, "Actually, it’s not that impressive."

"How could it not be? I noticed yesterday that you’re definitely much stronger than me..." Fluorescent Powder said as she began to walk, linking arms with the girl in the painting, leading her to the dining room, "Sis, what would you like to eat? I’ll get it for you."

After they left first, the long-coated man asked High Ponytail and the middle-aged man, "Did you really see a black cat?"

High Ponytail didn’t respond, but when the middle-aged man met the other’s eyes, he hesitated a bit, then described some details, "It was indeed a black cat, and when I returned, I saw that woman had injured the black cat’s front paw." 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

"Thank you." The long-coated man nodded in acknowledgment.

Everyone gradually returned to the dining room, and on the way, High Ponytail whispered, "You’ve got guts."

This was a sarcastic comment about him openly stating the night’s events, effectively clearing the girl in the painting of suspicion.

The middle-aged man glanced at her, "I’ve been entering instances at least ten years earlier than you, and I can spot a tough character right away. I advise you not to mess with that person. Some people seem easygoing but won’t hesitate to kill."

High Ponytail scoffed, "Entered ten years earlier than me and still just a Rank-B player?"

The middle-aged man, good at keeping his composure, didn’t argue with her and entered the dining room first.

The corpse on the table had already been cleared away by the servants, and breakfast was served, but this time nothing was prepared for the Puppet Maker.

"Isn’t the castle owner dining with us?" Xu Huo asked.

"The owner usually only eats with the guests during meals," Number 1 replied.

"Won’t we see the castle owner during the day?" the Curly-haired Girl continued to ask.

"Not necessarily," Number 2 replied, "Sometimes the owner invites guests for private meetings."

Xu Huo was more straightforward, "How can we obtain the doll of the castle owner?"

Others were also concerned about this question, but unfortunately, the four servants didn’t answer, standing as if powered off, until the girl in the painting demanded Number 4 to serve her another bowl of porridge.

Questioning the servants for useful information was something they could do within the safety range, but if they couldn’t get clues from them, they would have to start probing the castle owner.

However, at this moment, the girl in the painting suddenly ducked under the table to pick up a dropped spoon and emerged with a headless doll.

The appearance of the doll sobered up the players immersed in their thoughts. Three people lifted the tablecloth one after another to check, but finding nothing, they shook their heads at the others.

"Why was the doll under the table?" Fluorescent Powder frowned, "Who broke this doll?"

Destroying a doll would certainly offend the castle owner, and the offender would likely be punished. No player would risk doing so without understanding the instance rules. The middle-aged man quickly clarified, "I didn’t notice this doll yesterday."

"I didn’t see it either," High Ponytail said, staring at the girl in the painting.

The girl in the painting, holding the doll and touching her chin with the other hand, clearly hadn’t noticed either.

"This doll must have appeared this morning," the long-coated man pointed remotely at the doll, "Its clothing is similar to the dead player; it’s possibly the first doll made by the castle owner."

The doll, without a head and less than two palms long, bore scratches similar to the deceased player’s state.

"Could the doll correspond to the way the player died?" the Curly-haired Girl asked, "Does the Puppet Maker make the doll first and then the doll is broken after the person dies, or is the doll broken first and then the person dies?"

"Could there be a prop that binds players and dolls together?"

This question hit the heart of everyone’s concern; they feared such a prop might exist.

"A broken doll certainly wouldn’t satisfy the Puppet Maker." Based on the information the servants disclosed yesterday, at least a complete doll was needed.

"Does that mean, as long as the person doesn’t die and the doll isn’t broken, it’s considered a ’satisfied’ doll?" Fluorescent Powder asked.

"What if the doll controls us?" the middle-aged man said, "The doll is under the table, so the body was on the table. The way the body is positioned seems to have some other implication, could it be related to a sacrifice?"

Xu Huo looked at the girl in the painting next to him, who had been deep in thought. She finally raised her head to speak to everyone, "I was the one who moved the body onto the table."

The middle-aged man’s facial muscles twitched a bit.

"Why?" The others didn’t understand.

"I thought it was lonely for him to die alone in the hallway. With more people in the dining room, everyone coming to eat would surely see him," the girl in the painting explained rationally.

"I noticed it yesterday." The sweet-looking girl smiled at her, not finishing her sentence.

Notice what? Notice that the girl in the painting has a peculiar way of thinking. To avoid direct confrontation, they hadn’t questioned her about the bloodstains on her, but they hadn’t expected it to be like this. What is she up to?

"Do you even want to hold a memorial service for the dead?" the Curly-haired Girl remarked sarcastically.

"I just wanted to send him off," the girl in the painting looked at everyone at the table, "Don’t worry, anyone who dies will get this treatment."

"Ha!" The dining room erupted in cold laughter, with several players leaving in disdain.

The remaining people didn’t linger, either, because on the first day there were three dolls. If dolls could control players, then today two players had to worry about their life and death. Moreover, this threat wasn’t limited to the castle owner; whoever broke the doll might be punished, and it didn’t rule out that the represented person wouldn’t be punished—what if the Puppet Maker was just that unreasonable?

And from the girl in the painting holding the doll and no one retrieving it, the doll need not necessarily be in the castle owner’s possession, so no one wanted their doll to be found by someone else.

To find the already appeared and evidently additional doll, Xu Huo had the advantage, quickly searching all accessible areas for the players: the dining room, guest rooms, hallways, the art studio, and the display room. Finally, he found a doll missing its right arm in the corner of the art studio, belonging to High Ponytail.