diff --git a/.github/workflows/quality-advisory.yml b/.github/workflows/quality-advisory.yml
index c982483b..9c910783 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/quality-advisory.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/quality-advisory.yml
@@ -321,10 +321,23 @@ jobs:
           tail -c 20000 mutmut-run.txt
           if [ "$MUTMUT_OK" = "1" ]; then
             mutmut results > mutmut-results.txt 2>&1 || true
-            KILLED="$(grep -c ': killed' mutmut-results.txt || true)"
+            # `mutmut results` lists ONLY the mutants worth looking at -- survived / no tests /
+            # timeout / suspicious. Killed mutants are NEVER listed, so `grep -c ': killed'` is
+            # always 0 and a naive table reports "Killed 0" on a perfectly healthy run. Derive it:
+            # the run's final progress line carries the total (`461/461`), and every non-killed
+            # mutant is exactly one line in the results file. Verified against run 30308667584:
+            # 461 total - 374 listed = 87 killed, matching mutmut's own counter.
+            TOTAL="$(tr '\r' '\n' < mutmut-run.txt | grep -oE '[0-9]+/[0-9]+' | tail -1 | cut -d/ -f2)"
+            LISTED="$(grep -cE '^[[:space:]]+\S+: ' mutmut-results.txt || true)"
             SURVIVED="$(grep -c ': survived' mutmut-results.txt || true)"
             NOTESTS="$(grep -c ': no tests' mutmut-results.txt || true)"
-            echo "== killed=$KILLED survived=$SURVIVED no-tests=$NOTESTS =="
+            if [ -n "$TOTAL" ] && [ "$TOTAL" -ge "$LISTED" ] 2>/dev/null; then
+              KILLED=$((TOTAL - LISTED))
+            else
+              # Never invent a number: if the total could not be read, say so rather than print 0.
+              KILLED="?"
+            fi
+            echo "== total=$TOTAL killed=$KILLED survived=$SURVIVED no-tests=$NOTESTS =="
             grep ': survived' mutmut-results.txt || true
             {
               echo "## Mutation testing — \`messagefoundry/parsing/binary.py\`"
diff --git a/docs/quality-gates/HANDOFF-mutation-coverage.md b/docs/quality-gates/HANDOFF-mutation-coverage.md
index 990d9850..84415e77 100644
--- a/docs/quality-gates/HANDOFF-mutation-coverage.md
+++ b/docs/quality-gates/HANDOFF-mutation-coverage.md
@@ -267,6 +267,12 @@ behaviour on fork PRs. The workflow still holds **no write scope on any job**.
   by the scoped test — in 3 seconds.** The step summary now carries that table plus the survivor list, and
   a non-zero `mutmut run` emits a `::warning` instead of passing silently.
 
+  **Confirmed in production** on run `30308667584` (PR #18): 461 mutants, 19 survived, 355 not covered,
+  87 killed — matching the Docker measurement exactly. That run also exposed a reporting bug: `mutmut
+  results` lists ONLY the mutants worth looking at, so `grep -c ': killed'` is always 0 and the summary
+  table reported "Killed 0" on a healthy run. The count is now derived as total-minus-listed
+  (461 − 374 = 87), validated against that run's own artifact.
+
   Three things are load-bearing in the mutmut 3 config, each found by a run that produced nothing:
   `source_paths` must be the **package** (mutmut 3 copies it into `mutants/` and runs pytest there; with a
   single file copied, `conftest.py` cannot import `messagefoundry.config` and every mutant returns "not
diff --git a/tests/test_quality_advisory_invariants.py b/tests/test_quality_advisory_invariants.py
index 2630e66d..3994b599 100644
--- a/tests/test_quality_advisory_invariants.py
+++ b/tests/test_quality_advisory_invariants.py
@@ -284,6 +284,21 @@ def test_mutmut_copies_the_package_not_just_the_mutated_file(code: str) -> None:
     assert "runner=" not in code, "mutmut 3 uses pytest_add_cli_args_test_selection"
 
 
+def test_the_killed_count_is_derived_not_grepped(code: str) -> None:
+    """`mutmut results` lists ONLY the mutants worth looking at (survived / no tests / timeout /
+    suspicious). Killed mutants are never listed, so counting `': killed'` returns 0 on a perfectly
+    healthy run -- which is exactly what shipped in #18: CI reported `killed=0 survived=19` for a run
+    mutmut itself scored at 87 killed. Derive it from total-minus-listed instead.
+
+    Verified against the real artifact from run 30308667584: 461 total - 374 listed = 87, matching
+    mutmut's own counter.
+    """
+    assert "grep -c ': killed'" not in code, (
+        "mutmut never lists killed mutants -- this grep always yields 0"
+    )
+    assert "TOTAL - LISTED" in code, "the killed count must be derived from the run total"
+
+
 def test_mutmut_artifact_includes_hidden_files(workflow: dict) -> None:
     """.mutmut-cache is a dotfile and upload-artifact skips hidden files by default -- without this
     the step logs 'No files were found', uploads nothing, and still reports success."""