Chapter 2059: Assisting a Rule Violation
This was a closed-field instance. The castle owner had set the rules, so the key was to pay attention to specific details. The servants were not real people; they were the hands, feet, lips, and tongues of the Puppet Maker. If "violating the rules" and "punishment" both required being "seen," then being "seen" by a servant was equivalent to being "seen" by the Puppet Maker.
It was unknown whether the middle-aged man and the other two had secretly done something last night that other players hadn't—but this also wasn't absolutely representative, because making only three puppets a day didn't mean only three people could be selected on the first day. Perhaps some were scheduled for the second day.
The 25th person hadn't sat in the chair prepared by the servants, which might have been the main reason he became the first puppet. Of course, he was also the first to die, just not at the hands of the Puppet Maker.
Although the Painting Woman had finished her work and gone out, even destroying the black cat painting, she wasn't a Ticket Player. To the existing Ticket Players, whether the extra person was doing the instance or had been accidentally swept in didn't matter at all. Her greatest value was testing whether going out at night or even destroying the painting could be suspected of violating the instance rules.
However, for Xu Huo, the Painting Woman's actions had little reference value. The castle owner must have known there was an extra person in the instance, but whether he could identify her as an item was uncertain. It was even possible that, due to instance rule restrictions, he simply couldn't make her puppet.
It was also unknown whether the three players who died last night had done anything else.
"Knock, knock, knock." Someone lightly tapped on the Painting Woman's door. Xu Huo's attention returned to the guest room side.
The knocker was Fluorescent Pink. The Painting Woman waited a moment before opening the door. Fluorescent Pink, with a mix of fawning and fear, said, "Sister, the person next door to me is really fierce. I'm afraid he'll come kill me in the middle of the night. Can I stay with you?"
The Painting Woman hesitated slightly. Fluorescent Pink immediately produced a large bag of local specialties. "Can this be my rent?"
The Painting Woman was quite willing to try new things, so she cheerfully invited her in.
Not long after, Xu Huo also left his room and knocked on the Painting Woman's door.
The Painting Woman recognized his footsteps. She came quickly this time and handed the snacks in her hand to him.
"I don't eat, thank you." Xu Huo gestured with his chin toward the room. "Can we talk inside?"
The Painting Woman immediately made room for him.
After closing the door, Xu Huo asked about the details of her going out last night—how long the High Ponytail and the middle-aged man had stayed in the display room, where the middle-aged man was during that time, whether there was anything else near where the 25th player was killed by the black cat, and whether she had noticed any servants throughout the process.
The Painting Woman thought back seriously, then said, "I didn't see any servants. I went looking for food but couldn't find any. I was hoping they could help me."
Xu Huo asked a few more questions. The content the Painting Woman described wasn't much different from what she had told the other players during the day. Some details she had already answered under the Long Coat Man's questioning.
Both the middle-aged man and the 25th player had fought the black cat. Only the High Ponytail had come out of the display room and dodged the black cat's attack, essentially avoiding any conflict with things in the castle from start to finish.
Player 25 had died last night, yet the Puppet Maker still made his puppet. Did this mean that even if a player died for other reasons, the planned puppet-making wouldn't change?
The instance introduction gave too few conditions. Every detail could have multiple possibilities, and the players had gathered little information on their own. Blind attempts carried too high a risk.
However, three pieces of information were certain.
First, the Puppet Maker's "punishment" generally occurred when both parties were present.
Second, the player puppets made by the Puppet Maker were not always held by him personally.
Third, player puppets could be recovered.
Each of these three pieces of information also contained a question.
First: If "punishment" required both parties to be present, did the player "violate the rules" during the process of being "seen" by the Puppet Maker?
Second: The incomplete puppets were all found elsewhere. Did this represent a kind of notification? Did the missing parts have other meanings?
Third: If a puppet returned to the Puppet Maker's hands, would it be repaired and brought out again? If so, would a repaired puppet count as a "satisfactory puppet"?
As for the Puppet Maker's process of selecting targets, it was too subjective. Without more evidence to support it, it was impossible to deduce or judge. They would have to wait until tomorrow to see.
"You two know each other," Fluorescent Pink observed, watching the interaction between the Painting Woman and Xu Huo, before speaking.
The Painting Woman waved her hand with exaggerated acting, indicating she absolutely didn't know Xu Huo.
But Xu Huo glanced at Fluorescent Pink. "Go back to your room."
This was a warning.
Fluorescent Pink gave a light laugh. "If I don't go, will you kill me? Aren't you afraid your puppet will appear tomorrow?"
Xu Huo replied calmly, "Player 25 died at the hands of the black cat, and his puppet still appeared. This suggests there's a certain chance the castle owner doesn't care whether a player is dead or how they died."
Fluorescent Pink's smile vanished, but she turned to the Painting Woman. "Sister, look how fierce he is."
However, the Painting Woman was no longer as easygoing. She ignored her completely and instead asked Xu Huo, "Kill her?"
Xu Huo didn't answer, his gaze fixed on Fluorescent Pink.
Fluorescent Pink finally understood the situation. She sneered and said, "I thought I could fool the fools, but I didn't expect you two had already teamed up. It seems... one of you must be a Non-Ticket Player?"
A Non-Ticket Player counted as the 25th person, essentially taking up a Ticket Player's slot. For the others to see their own puppets within seven days, because of her addition, they would have to eliminate one more person.
"I get it. She's threatening us." The Painting Woman looked left and right, then raised her communicator.
"Threatening?" Xu Huo stood up with a smile. "If her puppet appears tomorrow, that would be called a threat."
Even if the Painting Woman violated the rules, her puppet wouldn't appear, indicating the instance had restrictions on that. Since she wasn't occupying a puppet slot, and there was no conflict of interest, the threat naturally didn't exist.
"Besides, how can you be sure the Non-Ticket Player is among us?" Xu Huo opened the door and tilted his head slightly toward her. "Maybe you're the Non-Ticket Player."
Fluorescent Pink didn't understand his meaning, but just as she was about to step out, the floor suddenly gave way beneath her. She quickly adjusted her stance and used an item to protect herself, but she hadn't expected Xu Huo wasn't trying to kill her—he was sending her back to her own room. And the place she crashed into happened to be the puppet ornament in that room!