Hide and Seek: The Mad Girl Sees All novel Chapter 64

Chapter 64

REA

The Draconia live chat exploded in those few seconds.

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The words scrolled so fast that individual characters were impossible to read, but the collective anger was about to burst out of the screen.

[Wait, that’s a little girl, isn’t it?!)

[Did they just pick a kid for this?!]

[Is this some kind of setup? Why is the System messing with us like this?!]

[In all forty-six rounds before this, not a single kid from anywhere in the world got picked!]

[This is a Level 2 mission!]

[Six hours of hiding?!]

[This is basically sending her to her death! The System is seriously messed up!]

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The mission gate had opened, but Lyra just stood there, letting the other players pass by her and head inside.

“Goddess Lyra!”

“Goddess Lyra!”

A crisp voice rang out.

Lyra turned to look and saw a little girl, raising one hand and hopping in the crowd.

When the girl spotted Lyra, her eyes lit up, and she came running over, her little feet pattering on the ground.

“Goddess Lyra!” the girl called out.

“I’m here!” she added.

“I’m here to check in with you!” she said, her voice bubbling with excitement.

Lyra looked down and met a pair of bright, sparkling eyes. A little girl stood in front of her.

Lyra’s hand, which had been gripping her knife, suddenly froze. “Are you a Draconian player? What’s your name?”

The little girl, looking like a bundle of energy, stood up straight with her heels together, raised her small hand to her forehead-fingers slightly splayed-and gave Lyra a crisp salute.

“Lily Sterling, Class 2, Grade 4, Rivergate Elementary!” she announced.

“Reporting for duty, Goddess Lyra!” she added.

Lyra couldn’t help but reach out and pinch Lily’s cheek, amused by how serious she looked. Lily pulled her neck back a bit but didn’t try to dodge.

“How old are you?” Lyra asked, pulling her hand back.

“Ten!” Lily replied, no hint of fear in her voice.

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Lyra perked up. “What were you doing right before you got dragged into the game?”

“I was in class. Lily replied.

Lily took a step closer. “My teacher always tells us, if we ever end up in the game, don’t run around. Just stay where we are and call out for you, Goddess Lyra, so you can find us.”

She patted her chest. “My parents told me, if I ever get picked for the game, no whining or tears-just do whatever Goddess Lyra says!”

She finished and flashed a big grin.

Seeing her cheerful grin, Lyra couldn’t help but ask, “Aren’t you scared?”

Lily’s smile faded a bit, and her voice dropped. “Yeah, I’m scared.”

“But my mom says she’s a LuckyKoi, so as her daughter, I’m bound to be super lucky too!” she added, her voice brightening again.

“And the announcement said, as long as I find you, Goddess Lyra, everything will be fine,” she said, looking up at Lyra with wide, trusting eyes.

She looked up and grabbed Lyra’s sleeve with both hands. “Now that I found you, I’m not scared anymore. Goddess Lyra, you can count on me-I’ll do whatever you say!”

“Alright,” Lyra nodded. “Then we’re a team now. Let’s crush this game together!”

“Yeah!” Lily replied, her eyes shining with excitement.

‘So what if she’s only ten?’ Lyra thought to herself.

Ten-year-olds are always rolling around, climbing all over the place, digging for bird nests, crawling through holes- basically getting into everything.

Kids that age are like hide-and-seek masters. Lyra remembered when she was little, nobody ever found her when they played hide-and-seek with her.

“Lyra!” Lina called out from behind.

Lina barreled through the crowd, knocking two guys out of her way, and made it to Lyra’s side, with Lydia and Sergei right on her heels.

The four of them were back together again.

As soon as Lina steadied herself, she glanced down and spotted Lily. She covered her mouth with both hands, her golden hair a mess.

“Oh my god!” Lina blurted out.

Lina bent down to meet Lily’s eyes. “You’re so little! You’re still a kid, right?”

Lydia crouched down, sizing Lily up. “Did they already finish picking all the adults in Draconia? Are they seriously picking kids now for the game?”

Sergei crossed his arms and shook his head. “Still, they shouldn’t be letting a kid take on a Level 2 game. The System has totally lost it.”

Lily clenched her fists as she listened to their comments. “Don’t underestimate me! All the world’s counting on me and Goddess Lyra!”

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Chapter 64

The three of them turned to Lyra, surprised by what they heard.

Lyra lifted her chin, looking all smug. “We already made a deal-we’re gonna crush this game together!”

Lina thought, “Wait, is this kid secretly a pro or something?”

Lydia thought, ‘Are all Draconians really this crazy?’

Sergei thought, ‘I can see they’re all hyped up, but I have no idea what for. Looks like I still need to brush up on my Draconian lingo!’

“Alright, now that everyone’s here, let’s head in.” Lyra said, taking the lead with Lily right beside her as they stepped into the

mission.

Once inside, the five of them were standing right at the entrance of a shopping mall.

Lyra looked up and saw a massive chandelier hanging from the ceiling, bathing the whole place in bright light.

The shops on both sides had their doors wide open, but there wasn’t a single staff member in sight.

It was a three-story mall.

“Wow!” Lyra exclaimed, her eyes lighting up. ‘It’s a real mall!’ she thought, feeling genuinely excited.

“Wow!” Lily gasped, her eyes wide and her mouth hanging open. ‘Is this really the game? It’s so huge!’ she thought, feeling like her eyes couldn’t take it all in.

Lina stood behind Lyra, wide-eyed at the scene before her. “Is this for real?”

“Yep, it’s an actual mall,” Lyra said, already stepping forward, her head swinging side to side as she took it all in.

Lydia and Sergei hung back, posted up back-to-back, scanning for any trouble. But there was nothing off-just regular stores everywhere.

Lyra’s attention was already locked on the third floor-her nose caught the scent of food drifting down.

“Guys!” Lyra spun around, unable to hide her huge grin.

“You smell that?” she asked, practically bouncing with excitement.

Lina took a deep sniff. “What is it?”

“It’s food! And it smells amazing!” Lyra said, practically bouncing with excitement.

Lily said excitedly, “I smell something sweet!”

“That’s cake! Come on, let’s go check out the mission!” Lyra said, already heading for the escalator, muttering to herself. “The System is actually being nice for once-dropping us into a real mall!”

Lily was the first to jump in, glued to Lyra’s side. “Goddess Lyra, what kind of stuff is inside the mall?”

Lyra explained as they walked. “There’s food, drinks, games, and all sorts of cool things! Today, I’ll let you see what a real mall is like!”

“Okay!” Lily replied, her eyes sparkling with excitement.

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