Chapter 463: No One Dies

Even after being kicked, the gray puppet did not avert its gaze.

Those hollow eyes were fixed on Cheng Shuili, unmoving, as if obsessively seeking an answer.

This appearance was too incongruous, as if it were a moral, reasonable human.

Compared to it, Cheng Shuili seemed like a cold-hearted, nepotistic character who helps kin regardless of right or wrong.

Cheng Shuili met that gaze, her thoughts racing.

The puppet's logic was clear: her "boss" was on their side, while the other players were outsiders or actors to be executed.

So…

Cheng Shuili showed her first puzzled expression since entering the instance.

She knew she was not part of the performance in the earlier acts, and this act…

Cheng Shuili now really felt uncertain—was she truly listed among the cast of this act?

Once that thought arose, it kept rising in her mind like a hot-air balloon.

If she were not an actor in this act, then it would make sense for the gray puppet to regard her as one of its own.

She might not even be on the execution list; she could be a true overseer on the same side as it, not an actor.

Even… the gray puppet, the executioner, would have to follow her arrangements.

Countless possibilities collided in her mind, but that just-right hint of doubt on Cheng Shuili's face lingered only the briefest moment.

She could not let anyone, especially that gray puppet with a semblance of judgment, see her inner uncertainty.

She quickly composed her expression, resuming a cool, slightly scrutinizing demeanor, as if her earlier doubt had merely been contemplation of the stalemate.

The urgent task was to dispel the gray puppet's doubts about her identity.

Cheng Shuili met that hollow "gaze" without retreating or explaining, instead slightly lifting her chin, showing a mix of impatience and authority.

"Your question itself is problematic." She spoke, her voice full of confidence: "Outsiders? Who told you they are outsiders?"

The gray puppet stood stiff and motionless, giving no reply, but its slightly tilted head seemed to indicate it was still listening—or thinking.

Cheng Shuili stepped forward slowly, her gaze sweeping over the older man, the short-haired woman, and the obedient man; her look was not that of fellow players in peril, but more like inspecting a batch… of goods to be processed.

"They are actors, part of this performance."

She continued, her tone flat as stating a simple fact: "My duty is to ensure the performance proceeds according to the set rules. And you are one of the tools that enforce the rules. A tool need not understand why; it only needs to judge whether it matches the order and, if so, carry it out."

This explanation sounded like a justification, but in fact it was forcibly reshaping the gray puppet's cognitive framework.

Put more familiarly, it's PUA!

Cheng Shuili didn't care what the gray puppet had just thought, nor what its doubts were; she gave no explanation, nor tried to understand her subordinate—her words only emphasized one point:

The gray puppet has only the right to act on orders, not the right to question them!

In any other instance, Cheng Shuili's approach would be utterly useless, but this instance granted her the authority to become the puppet boss by bluffing, so it should also grant her the authority to dispel the puppet's doubts by bluffing.

She used her status and a stern posture to forcibly cover up the strangeness the puppet had noticed.

This method was exactly the sort Cheng Shuili despised most in her previous life.

She reflected ruefully that people indeed become what they hate most, yet her expression remained unchanged as she locked eyes with the gray puppet, continuing to apply pressure.

The gray puppet remained silent, its hollow eyes fixed on Cheng Shuili.

The crack on its wrist stood out starkly in the theater's dim light, silently reminding everyone of what had just happened, and reminding the gray puppet that its own boss had indeed aided the "outsiders" against it.

Time ticked by second by second; perhaps because no one died this round, the countdown did not reset, a few zeros hanging over everyone's heads, exerting relentless pressure.

Just as the air grew taut to the point of snapping, the gray puppet's dry joints emitted an extremely faint "click."

Its head gradually straightened.

Although the movement was stiff, this subtle adjustment clearly signified something.

Under the gaze of several people, its hoarse voice sounded again.

This time, free of prior confusion, it merely acknowledged Cheng Shuili: "Return… return to boss… listen… obey orders!"

This argument seemed to overwrite the fact of no deaths, the number at 【00:00:00】 jumped, and the countdown began anew.

This meant the previous round had indeed been survived.

Moreover… truly no one died!

This result left the short-haired woman and the other two hardly able to believe their eyes.

They had actually been preserved through a round under the lethal rules!

The older man, moreover, collapsed on the ground, panting heavily, the joy of survival mingling with deeper fear, making his whole body tremble like chaff in a sieve.

Even Qing Qing's kiss eased her breath, but the vigilance in her eyes did not lessen.

She looked at Cheng Shuili, lowering her voice: "It seems we made it… but can this really work?"

Cheng Shuili understood what she was asking.

They had indeed survived a round this way, and perhaps could use this method for countless rounds, but the rules clearly state: only one person can prevail in this act, and the instance ends only after that victory.

In other words, no matter how many rounds they survive safely, if the death toll does not meet the quota, the instance will never end.

And what they face is not just the theater's rounds of death, but also the gray puppet, and the puppeteers who have taken the stage yet never performed.

The longer time drags on, the greater the variables; all their struggles seem destined to become conflict and suspense that make this final act more compelling.

"Wuya Lao Da, we can't just go with the flow." Qing Qing tossed the dagger she'd been playing with in her hand, caught it steadily, and said, "If we don't break this deadlock, we'll just keep wasting time."

Cheng Shuili naturally understood this as well, she furrowed her brow but said nothing.

However, before worrying about that, there was another matter she needed to verify: what exactly her current identity was.

Cheng Shuili lifted her eyes to look at the blood-red circle on the floor…

This is the best verification method, though doing so is truly risky.

Before the countdown ends, she absolutely cannot determine whether she counts as this round's chosen sacrifice.

But if she waits until the countdown ends…

Cheng Shuili's gaze flicked to the sturdy male corpse lying quietly nearby.