Hide and Seek: The Mad Girl Sees All novel Chapter 167

Chapter 167

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The darkness answers your call. Offer a sacrifice, speak your desire, and I shall grant it,” the voice echoed.

Lina felt a jolt in her chest as the raspy voice whispered in her ear. Without thinking, she blurted out, “I wish for Pumpkin Pie to be served in the cafeteria at lunch today.”

Everyone in the Southern Reach Strategic Command Center and the Draconia Strategic Command conference room stared at her.

After making her wish, the voice in her ear vanished. She waited a few seconds, then a few more.

Nothing happened.

Lina’s heart tightened. ‘What’s going on?’

‘Did it fail?’

‘Does the demon not care about Pumpkin Pie?’

‘Or did I do it wrong?’

She reached up to take off the Sacrifice Mask, but just as her fingers brushed its edge, that low, raspy voice echoed again.

“Granted,” the voice said.

Lina’s hand froze.

“A sacrifice of Iml of blood is required. Do you agree?” the voice asked.

Lína’s eyes lit up. ‘I ml? That’s just a tiny drop of blood, right?’

She immediately said, “I agree! I’ll sacrifice!”

Everyone watching the video feed couldn’t hear what the Sacrifice Mask said, but they all heard Lina loud and clear.

Lil Lily exclaimed. “There’s a response!”

The voice in Lina’s ear spoke again, “The pact is sealed.”

The next moment, the inside of the Sacrifice Mask pressed against the bridge of her nose, and she felt a sudden, needle-like sting.

Soon, Lina smelled a hint of blood.

Lina breathed a sigh of relief. ‘Guess that means it worked?’

“Are you still there?” Lina asked.

Lina tried asking again, “Can I make another wish?”

But there was no response.

She waited another ten seconds, but the Sacrifice Mask stayed silent.

In the Southern Reach Strategic Command Center, a staff member whispered, “The mask has gone dark.”

On the Draconia side, Garrett immediately zoomed in on the screen.

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On the screen, the patterns on the Sacrifice Mask, which had been swirling just moments ago, faded away and settled back into the mask, making it look just like it did at the very beginning.

Lina asked again, “Are you still there?”

Still no response. With a bit of uncertainty, she took off the Sacrifice Mask.

As soon as the mask left her face, Southern Reach commander Yelena rushed over.

“Lina, how are you feeling?” Yelena asked.

“Are you dizzy?” Yelena asked.

“What did it take from you?” Yelena asked.

Lina shook her head and set the mask down on the table. “I’m fine.”

Yelena grabbed her shoulders and checked her face, spotting a tiny red dot on the bridge of her nose.

Lina recounted everything she’d just heard.

“I wished for Pumpkin Pie,” Lina said.

“It went quiet for a bit, then agreed,” Lina continued.

“The sacrifice was Iml of blood,” Lina added.

“After I agreed, the mask pricked me,” Lina said.

“I asked if I could make another wish, but it just ignored me,” Lina finished.

Lyra tapped the mask on the screen. “Can you only make one wish a day?”

Lina shook her head. “I don’t know. The item doesn’t mention anything about that, but after the pact was made, the mask just ignored me.”

Lana turned to Yelena. “Commander Yelena, can you verify the cafeteria menu?”

Yelena responded quickly, “Check the lunch menu.”

A Southern Reach staff member immediately pulled up the base’s internal system and displayed it on the side screen.

A few seconds later, the system interface popped up.

Today’s lunch menu:

Entrees: Mashed potatoes, rye bread.

Soup: Vegetable soup.

Meat: Stewed chicken.

Dessert: Pumpkin Pie.

Yelena stared at the screen. “Did we have Pumpkin Pie on the menu before?”

The logistics officer stepped forward. “No.”

His voice was tight. “We didn’t have any pumpkin today. The cafeteria menu rotates weekly, and this week’s menu was

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already finalized on Monday.”

Lana looked up. “Check when the menu was last updated.”

On the Draconia side, Garrett was quickly logging everything on his end, fingers flying across the keyboard.

The Southern Reach tech specialist opened up the backend, tapped away, then reported, “Commander, there’s no record of any changes.”

“No record?! The wish just quietly changed the info, and not a single trace was left behind?” Yelena said, her voice full of disbelief.

Everyone went quiet. Not a single person spoke up.

Lina’s face turned pale. “Did I just get myself into trouble?”

Lyra waved her hand. “No, you just wished for a Pumpkin Pie.”

“If anything goes wrong, the Pumpkin Pie’s the one that’ll take the blame,” Lyra added.

Lil Lily nodded hard. “Exactly! If there’s trouble, it’s gotta be the Pumpkin Pie!”

Lana shot them a look. “Don’t just try to make her feel better.”

Lana rubbed her temples and turned to Yelena. “We need to check Lina’s vitals. Even if the price was just Iml of blood, who knows if the blood that thing behind the mask wants is the same as regular blood.

Yelena nodded. “It’s already been arranged. She’ll get a full physical after the meeting.”

Lyra thought for a moment. “Lina, you said the pact only took effect after you agreed?”

“Yeah, Lina replied.

Lyra sat up straighter. “So, it asked if you agreed, and only after you said yes did it prick you?”

Lina nodded. “Yeah, it told me it needed Iml of blood as a sacrifice, then asked if I was okay with that.”

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