Chapter 467: Abnormal Termination Agreement

The battle with the Watchdog is over; next, the Puppeteer, this final boss, should appear, right?

Cheng Shuili's gaze swept over the Gray Puppets wrapping up, then she lifted her eyes to the stage.

Qing Qing followed her gaze toward the stage.

After looking for a while, she didn't understand, and finally asked, "What is there?"

"None."

Cheng Shuili was honest, not telling a single lie.

Qing Qing was even more puzzled: "Then what are you looking at?"

Cheng Shuili's unfocused gaze fell on the empty center of the stage; the spotlight had somehow been aimed at the vacant middle of the stage, as if shining on an actor they couldn't see.

"I'm waiting," she said softly, her voice revealing little emotion.

"Waiting for what? Waiting for the Puppeteer to jump out? Or waiting for this Blood Ring to give us a surprise?"

"Waiting for a change."

Cheng Shuili rarely explained again.

She withdrew her gaze and turned toward the puppets behind her that had just finished battle, now quietly cleaning up the aftermath.

Qing Qing followed her gaze and finally understood what Wu Ya was saying.

"The Watchdog is dead. Now, to stop us, only the Puppeteer appearing in person will do." She turned her head to look at Wu Ya standing beside her, "Do you think the Puppeteer will come out?"

That question was odd; Cheng Shuili raised her brows slightly, thought for a moment, then understood what she meant.

"You think…… the Puppeteer won't come out?"

She glanced at Qing Qing, who was intently watching the Gray Puppets cleaning the battlefield, as if watching a good show.

Cheng Shuili pressed: "Why?"

Qing Qing furrowed her brows slightly, and after a while said, "I don't know either. When I said that just now, I wasn't thinking anything; it was just an instinctive feeling."

Cheng Shuili remained silent.

"Besides… don't you think the Puppeteer is a rather unsavory character?"

"Wuya Lao Da, you've surely encountered many Instance bosses; have you seen one like her?"

"She only judges the certain; for the uncertain, she doesn't even ask a question."

After saying that, she muttered quietly:

"Isn't this her territory? Why is she so timid?"

"If it were me, I would have already, when Wuya Lao Da summoned these Gray Puppets to surround that disobedient guy…"

Qing Qing lowered her voice, her eyes flicking to the pile of Gray Puppet remains:

"She should have been furious enough to jump out and directly clean up all of us troublemakers."

"After all, that's the aura an Instance boss should have."

She shrugged and continued: "But what about her? Her subordinates were turned by us, the Watchdog was beaten to death by us, and we loopholed the Blood Ring's rules…"

"She hasn't moved at all. Either she doesn't care about these things, or…"

Qing Qing paused, a flash of sharp light in her eyes: "Either she can't come out, or she simply dares not to."

Cheng Shuili took up the thread, her gaze returning to the stage center bathed in spotlight: "Perhaps she cannot easily appear on stage, and can only maintain this play through the puppets she has authorized."

"But now, having eliminated the enforcers, this stage has become, for her, the most dangerous place."

"Then…" Qing Qing glanced at Cheng Shuili's expression, probing: "Can we end the Instance?"

As her words fell, a selection page truly popped up before every surviving player.

It was a semi-transparent interface floating in the air, its frame a dark red twisted thorn pattern, clearly emanating an ominous glow.

At the top were six capital letters—【Abnormal Termination Agreement】

Cheng Shuili continued reading downward:

The Juchang main storyline has severely deviated from expectations; the performance cannot continue. The following options are offered to all surviving participants:

Option One: Emergency Exit. Immediately forced teleportation out of the current Juchang Instance. Penalty: For not completing the main quest, rewards reduced by 80%.

Option Two: Seek the Truth. Remain in the current area and uncover the truth behind the Juchang's operation. Reward: Unknown.

Please make your choice within ten seconds.

Countdown begins: 10…9…8…

The cold counting sound echoed in everyone's mind.

"I choose One! I choose One!!"

The obedient boy almost screamed the moment the interface appeared, tears and snot streaming as he jabbed at the panel before him.

"As long as I can leave this damned place, I'm willing to do anything!"

The short-haired girl stared fixedly at the interface, her fingers trembling, yet she did not choose immediately.

She glanced at Cheng Shuili, then at the scarlet Blood Ring, her eyes conflicted.

Qing Qing also froze, looking at Cheng Shuili: "Wuya Lao Da, this…"

Cheng Shuili looked at the interface before her, her face showing no surprise, but rather as if confirming something.

"As expected," she said softly, with a hint of mockery, "She's panicked."

The countdown continued: 7…6…5…

"She doesn't dare come out, wanting to use this method to drive us away." Cheng Shuili spoke rapidly, "If we choose Emergency Exit, this play will truly end early. For her, though embarrassing, at least she avoids the risk of direct confrontation with us and keeps her secret hidden behind the scenes."

4…3…

"Now…"

Cheng Shuili finally took a breath, smiled at Qing Qing, and said, "Choose for yourself."

The agreement seemed to be a vote; once the countdown ended, the results appeared immediately: three to one.

Three people chose option two, one person chose option one!

The floating interface flickered twice, the dark red thorned border suddenly tightened, then exploded like shattered glass, dissipating in the air.

"No!!!"

The obedient man let out a despairing wail, his whole body going limp on the ground, as if all his bones had been pulled out.

He looked at Cheng Shuili, Qing Qing's a kiss, and the short-haired girl who had gritted her teeth and chosen to stay at the last moment, his eyes filled with incomprehension and resentment.

"Why... why not leave... stay here to wait for death?!"

"Staying behind is the only way to possibly not die."

The short-haired woman's voice was hoarse; she wiped her face, forcing herself to calm down, but her slightly trembling fingers revealed her fear: "Following her, there might still be a slim chance of survival."

She looked toward Cheng Shuili.

Qing Qing's a kiss said nothing, merely gripping the dagger tightly, she stood beside Cheng Shuili, expressing her stance through action.

Cheng Shuili seemed indifferent to all of this.

Her gaze shifted away from the collapsing obedient man and once again turned to the center of the stage.

There, changes had already begun.

The spotlight suddenly went out, and Cheng Shuili's surroundings fell into darkness once more.

She could feel that this was not an ordinary extinguishing of the light; the surrounding environment seemed soaked in thick ink, making one constantly worry what might emerge from the darkness.