Hide and Seek: The Mad Girl Sees All novel Chapter 33

Chapter 33

TITA

In the cafeteria, when the roast pork arrived, Lyra’s smile was sweeter than any lollipop.

She speared a piece, popped it in her mouth, chewed twice, and melted into the back of her chair. “Sooo good.”

Zoe sat across from her, watching her shovel bite after bite into her mouth. The fork never stopped.

It wasn’t until her second helping of mashed potatoes that Lyra finally slowed down, dragging a rib through the sauce a the bottom of the plate before lifting it to her lips.

Lyra said, “Zoe.”

“Hmm?”

“Why aren’t you eating?”

“I already did.”

“The same thing as me?”

“Not the same.”

“Then what’d you have?”

Zoe thought back to the flavor of the nutrient goo. “Pea soup, today.”

“Huh?”

“Pea soup is easy on the stomach. Mine’s been upset lately.”

“Ohhh. Then once you’re better, you have to try this. It’s super good!”

“Okay.”

Zoe smiled. That day would come. In Lyra, she saw endless possibilities.

Ten o’clock the next morning. Command center. Lyra pushed through the door with a lollipop in her mouth, her hair pulled into a sloppy ponytail and a custom military uniform on her shoulders, the fabric soft and easy to move in.

A dozen people sat around the conference room. Lana took the head seat, Garrett on her right, the chair to her left empty, the rest filled by department heads.

Lyra dropped into the empty chair beside Lana. “We starting yet?”

“Waiting on you.” Lana glanced at her. “Eat enough?”

“Mm-hm.”

“Sleep okay?”

“Mm-hm.”

“Then let’s start.”

Lana lifted a hand. Garrett stood and switched on the projector.

15:03

Tue, Jun

KYKA

B

Chapter 33

This round’s data first. A string of numbers flashed across the screen.

“Mission Tranquil Garden. Eighty players entered. Twelve survived. Fifteen percent survival rate

“Our player. Lyra Vance, received the S-rank reward ‘Randomly Clear One District of Wraiths. The reward has been actualized.”

“Confirmed cleared district-Northhaven.”

Lyra kept sucking on her lollipop. No reaction.

“Northhaven previously held B-rank Wraith density. It’s now at zero, and civilians are being moved back in.”

Ms. Reed nodded. “Good news.”

Garrett tapped the screen. The display switched to a timeline. “Here’s the important part.”

“The system announcement says the next round opens in three days-not the usual twenty-four-hour interval.

Two seconds of silence.

One of the tech analysts spoke up first. “We ran the model. The first forty-five rounds were all twenty-four-hour intervals. Round forty-six suddenly stretches to three days. Two possibilities.”

He pushed up his glasses. “One: the game is giving players recovery time.”

“And the second?” Lana asked.

“Mission upgrade.”

Ms. Reed frowned. “Be more specific.”

“First, based on our existing models, the game throttles the survival rate. This round, Ms. Vance’s damage to the Wraiths indirectly saved several players, and the survival rate jumped significantly.”

“Second, her compass disrupted the Wraiths’ movement. The game may run an audit and respond. The three-day gap could be the system reviewing the anomaly and re-tuning the difficulty curve.”

Another analyst added, “We also can’t rule out the mission format itself changing-new rules, more Hunters, or a more complex mission map.”

Lana looked at Lyra. “Lyra, what do you think?”

Lyra pulled the lollipop from her mouth. “I think the Wraiths might change. Round one was sight. Round two was hearing. Round three, maybe all five senses.”

No one spoke.

Lana tapped the table. “Either way, prep for the worst case, Garrett, bump the contingency plan up a level.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“Next item.”

A man in a dark jacket stood. Lyra hadn’t seen him before. Lana introduced him. “Foreign Affairs Liaison, Marcus Quinn.”

Marcus cleared his throat and pulled up a new slide.

“After this round ended, several nations sent contact requests. Let me break them down by category.”

24

30

m

O

15:04 Tue, Jun 30

Chapter 33

“First, Southern Reach.

Southern Reach’s flag and a document screenshot appeared on screen.

B

“Their foreign ministry sent us a formal letter last night. Citing the long-standing friendship between Draconia and Southern Reach, and the fact that our player Lyra Vance repeatedly aided their player Lina across two rounds, Southern Reach offers half of their last two rounds’ rewards to Draconia.”

He flipped the page. “They also pledge half of every future round’s reward to Draconia, going forward.”

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