Hide and Seek: The Mad Girl Sees All novel Chapter 172

Chapter 172

Lyra stared at Toni, her eyes full of admiration. “Kid, that’s a great idea!”

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Toni’s ears flushed bright red under her gaze. She holstered her gun, a smile tugging at her lips before she forced it down

“But…” Lyra hesitated.

“But what?” Toni asked.

“That long-range shot earlier didn’t work,” Toni said, shaking her head. “The Vital Flame stuck to the buller, but it scattered before it even made it six feet. Didn’t even touch the Wraith.”

Toni glanced at the mangled corpse of the Wraith that Clara had dragged back.

“The close-range shot worked because I was right up on it. The Vital Flame didn’t have time to scatter before it hit head-on. Toni explained.

“But long-range was what I wanted from the start. Guess I still haven’t managed to make it work,” she added.

Lyra waved her hand, brushing it off. “It’s no big deal.”

“You’ve opened up a whole new possibility for everyone. Vital Flame can stick to weapons, even bullets, that’s seriously impressive,” she said.

“Besides, you guys just started messing with Vital Flame. Who knows, maybe you’ll nail those long shots too once you get stronger,” Lyra added.

Zoe cut in, “Toni, what you just did means a lot more than you think.”

Toni was stunned for a moment, caught off guard.

“Now that we’ve confirmed Vital Flame can stick to bullets, once the higher-ups hear about it, the research team will definitely jump on it,” Zoe said.

“Weapon upgrades, ammo tweaks, maybe even guns built specifically for Vital Flame, all of that could happen,” she added.

Lyra’s eyes sparkled. “So, flame bullets? Or Vital Flame rounds? Or maybe we could infuse a gun with Vital Flame, pull the trigger, and shoot it straight out?”

Jane drifted over, her voice a little more upbeat than usual. “Any of that could happen.”

“If we let technology and Vital Flame work together, who knows, we might even see weapons capable of wiping out Wraiths on a massive scale,” she said.

“When that day comes, it won’t be just one person burning Wraiths with a single flame. We’ll have whole squads, armed with Vital Flame gear, sweeping through entire zones,” Jane added.

Lyra bounced on the spot, her mind bursting with ideas like fireworks.

“Jane!” Lyra called out.

“Yeah?” Jane replied.

“How about we capture a Wraith and bring it back with us?” Lyra suggested.

She pointed toward the distant ruins. “Let the scientists have a look at it. If they can experiment with a live Wraith, maybe that’ll speed up weapon development!”

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Chapter 172

“No way. Jane shot back without a second thought.

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“Wraiths feed on life force. The outside world hasn’t been invaded yet. If we recklessly bring one out, it’s like letting a rat loose in a grain silo,” she said.

Zoe turned to Lyra. “Lyra, the Sunvale Temporary Base is expanding. Logistics is already building a research center.”

The whole army’s training with Vital Flame. Once the researchers get the hang of it, they can head straight into the Invasion Zone to run experiments,” she added.

“No need to bring Wraiths out. We’ll just have people go in,” Zoe said.

Lyra nodded, thinking to herself, ‘Makes sense. There are plenty of Wraiths inside anyway. If the scientists come in to do their research, at least it won’t mess up the outside world.’

She turned, her gaze sweeping over the four rookies.

Nancy was leaning against a broken wall, the flame on her shoulder barely the size of a pea. Claire and Vivian stood together, both looking pretty worn out. Toni seemed a bit better off, but she was obviously exhausted too.

“How are you four holding up?” Lyra asked.

Nancy spoke up first. “My Vital Flame’s almost spent. The tiny flicker on my shoulder is barely hanging in there, I’m tapped

out.

Claire shook her head. “Same here. I can’t go another round.”

Vivian nodded, backing her up.

Toni hesitated. “I think I can handle one more, but any more and I’m toast.”

Lyra thought for a moment, then turned to the soul squad. “Clara, Ivana.”

The two spirits floated over.

“You two, escort these four out of the Wraith mist zone and make sure they get to the car safely,” Lyra instructed.

“Got it.” They both nodded.

Lyra turned to the four rookies. “That’s it for today. Safety comes first.”

Zoe nodded in agreement and took over. “Once you’re out, don’t wait for us. Just head back to base.”

She looked each of them in the eye. “Everyone needs to write a report: how you felt during your first Wraith kill, what you learned, how you used Vital Flame, and how your energy changed. Be as detailed as possible.”

Her gaze finally settled on Nancy and Toni. “Especially you two.”

“Nancy, write down how you came up with that area-of-effect burn, how much Vital Flame you used, and any changes you felt in your body during the process,” Zoe instructed.

“Toni, explain why your Vital Flame bullets failed at long range but worked up close, and any ideas you have about using Vital Flame with the gun barrel. Write it all down,” she added.

“We’ll need these for a report later, so the more details, the better,” Zoe said.

The four of them answered in unison, “Yes, ma’am!”

The four of them turned and left, with Clara floating on the left and Ivana on the right. The six figures retreated toward the

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Chapter 172

Wraith mist.

Lyra turned, facing the depths of the invasion zone. She drew Wraithslayer from her waist and spun it in her hand.

“Alright, everyone,” she said.

“Let’s hunt!” she added.

The eight spirits took the lead and charged ahead.

The squad sped up, and since the outskirts were pretty thin on Wraiths, they only ran into a few stragglers along the way

One Wraith was crouched behind some rubble, sucking up energy from the ground. It barely had time to lift its head before three spirits rushed in. Jane’s soul power shredded its head, drained its energy, and that was it, dead.

Another Wraith shot out from around a corner, but before it could take two steps, two spirits closed in from both sides, pinned it to the ground, and sucked it dry. It didn’t even get to scream before it was done for.

Lyra followed behind, Wraithslayer slung over her shoulder, walking with a bounce in her step.

The deeper they went, the more Wraiths started popping up, groups of three or five, huddled in half-collapsed buildings. But none of them could handle the squad’s onslaught. Down they went, one after another, dead, dead, dead!

Soon, they reached the spot where they’d pushed forward last time. From a distance, they could see shadows writhing and milling about, the crowd had multiplied several times over compared to before.

The Wraiths spotted them and instantly swarmed, rushing in like a chaotic tidal wave.

Lyra didn’t slow down. She grabbed Wraithslayer off her shoulder, Toni’s earlier move replaying in her mind. ‘If Vital Flame can stick to bullets, what if I try it on Wraithslayer?’ she wondered.

‘Why not give it a shot?’ she thought.

Her palm grew hot, and orange-red flames spread from her hand up the hilt, wrapping the blade in a layer of fire.

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