Kaidan Game Train: Abide Rule or Die!

The sound of something crashing came from the room with the Fluorescent Powder. Not sure if she had damaged any puppet decorations, but a scent of blood silently wafted from the room opposite—someone had been killed.

As Xu Huo stepped out of the Girl in the painting’s room, the door of the opposite room also opened. A man in a long coat, splattered with fresh blood, removed his gloves as he walked out. The two met eyes, and the long-coated man nodded slightly in greeting.

Xu Huo said nothing and returned to his own room.

Nothing more happened the rest of that night. The next morning, as he left his room, a sweet-looking girl was leaning against the doorway waiting for him. She smiled and said, "Oh my, I heard everything you discussed last night."

Once reaching the level of a Rank-B player, it’s not surprising to have some props that can evade the effects of the Muffler Artefact.

"Any questions?" Xu Huo raised an eyebrow.

"I’m not here to threaten you," the sweet girl continued. "We can cooperate, even against the castle owner."

Xu Huo steadily gazed at her.

The sweet girl just smiled and said, "I don’t believe you haven’t considered taking out the Puppet Maker."

Xu Huo started walking toward the dining room. "Not to mention how difficult it is to kill him, even if you manage to do it, how will you clear the game?"

The sweet girl nonchalantly said, "I don’t believe the reward for clearing a Rank-B instance can compare to killing a Rank-B Copy boss."

"You also know the rewards aren’t equivalent, so of course, the difficulty isn’t either," Xu Huo said.

The sweet girl, as if not hearing him, quickened her pace and walked ahead of him. "Think about it, you won’t lose out by cooperating with me."

She entered the dining room ahead of him, with Xu Huo trailing two steps behind.

Most players had already entered the dining room before him. Zuo Yu, who arrived first, discovered the first puppet, a man with a scar on his forehead, similar to yesterday’s first puppet, was also missing its head.

It was confirmed from the three deaths yesterday that whether the puppet was in one’s own hands, hidden in the luggage compartment, or with the castle owner, it didn’t affect the deceased.

The scarred man picked up his puppet, glanced around at the others, and asked, "Who wants this puppet?"

Taking the puppet could mean becoming the next target. Although it was already the second day of the instance, the players didn’t have specific leads from the three victims yesterday and didn’t dare to take that risk.

In truth, the scarred man wasn’t actually intending to give away the puppet. He simply sat down at the first spot on the right of the dining table, placing the headless puppet in front of him, staring at it intently.

After breakfast, some players went to the Display Room and found that no new puppets had been added.

"The two puppets the castle owner recovered yesterday haven’t been placed here yet," which confused the players a bit. The puppets displayed in the room should have belonged to players who died in the instance. Logically, the corresponding puppets of those who died yesterday should be placed here as well. Otherwise, where did all these puppets come from in the display cabinet?

"Could it be that damaged puppets cannot be repaired?" someone suggested.

Yesterday, some thought that the instance’s task was to get their corresponding puppet, but if incomplete puppets won’t appear in the display cabinet, it means they won’t become the castle owner’s "Satisfied Puppet" either. Does this imply that if a puppet appears incomplete at first, it can never be repaired to become a "Satisfied Puppet"? If so, staying in the instance for half a month or a full month might still not yield a second batch of "Satisfied Puppets"!

Getting one’s corresponding puppet is almost impossible, so should they grab others’?

"What’s the difference between grabbing and directly stealing puppets from the display cabinet?" the long-coated man added.

He had a point. If possible, wouldn’t stealing a puppet mean an easy clearance of the game?

"I wonder who today’s second puppet will be?" the sweet girl murmured.

Everyone knew what happened in the rooms last night. The most likely candidates were the Girl in the painting, the Fluorescent Powder who damaged the puppet decoration, the murderous long-coated man, and Xu Huo.

Even though Xu Huo didn’t directly damage anything in the castle, it was his conflict with the Fluorescent Powder that caused her to damage the puppet. It’s uncertain if the castle owner would take that into account.

The group returned to the dining room, and some players began questioning the scarred man about what he had done the past two days.

The scarred man wasn’t as easygoing as the Girl in the painting. Regardless of who asked, he only replied, "Aside from tableware, food, beds, and the bathroom, I haven’t touched anything else."

Someone quick-witted immediately pointed out his errors, like the chair and doorknob, which he absolutely couldn’t have avoided touching, and thus couldn’t be excluded from "anything else."

In another situation, a scuffle might have broken out, but at this moment, the scarred man wasn’t inclined to argue, only staring at his puppet.

Soon the second puppet appeared, found in the Fluorescent Powder’s room—her puppet.

Her puppet was missing both legs.

The Fluorescent Powder shot a venomous glare straight at Xu Huo.

Xu Huo smiled faintly and, avoiding others, whispered something to her.

The Fluorescent Powder’s expression froze, then she asked him, "Are you confident?"

"It’s worth a try," Xu Huo replied. "After all, you have no other alternative."

The Fluorescent Powder, extremely angry yet laughing, gritted her teeth and said, "Fine, if I manage to get through this level, I’ll be sure to thank you!"

"You’re welcome," Xu Huo replied, turning away to leave. 𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

Not long after, today’s third puppet appeared. Unexpectedly, this time the puppet was complete, yet it wasn’t one of the people with the highest probability, but instead belonged to a player named Zuo Yu.

The puppet appeared in the hallway leading from the dining room to the Display Room, so it was immediately discovered by the few players remaining in the dining room. Right away, several people rushed to grab it—after all, a complete puppet has the highest probability of becoming a "Satisfied Puppet." Whether they wanted to achieve clearance or prevent others from clearing, everyone wanted to snatch this puppet!

But just as the effects of various props fell on the puppet, a small portal appeared on the ground. The puppet directly fell through, only to land in Xu Huo’s hand as he flashed into the dining room the next second.

When Zuo Yu hurriedly arrived and saw this, his eyes widened, and he said, "Don’t rush, don’t rush. I can trade props or anything else I have for it. Whatever you want, don’t damage the puppet!"

Damaging the puppet would mean Xu Huo might only receive an incomplete puppet corresponding to him the next day, with an uncertain fate!

The long-coated man and sweet girl also entered the dining room. Seeing the puppet in Xu Huo’s hand, they all paused and then their expressions darkened.

However, Xu Huo merely glanced at the puppet, walked over to Zuo Yu, and handed it back to him. "The puppet is well-made."

Zuo Yu, bewildered and hesitant, extended his hand. Only when he was sure Xu Huo truly intended to give the puppet did he seize it, grateful beyond words. "Thank you so much."

Xu Huo turned to survey the varied expressions of those inside the dining room, adding, "Keep it safe."