Hide and Seek: The Mad Girl Sees All novel Chapter 66

Chapter 66

3

Lily stretched up, gripping the edge of the counter and standing on tiptoe. “Goddess Lyra, which one’s the toughest to

handle?”

Lyra didn’t reply right away. She flipped back a page, running her finger down the list of cat names.

“What makes things tricky isn’t which one’s the strongest,” Lyra said.

She looked up. “It’s if they decide to team up.”

Lina paused, a bit taken aback. “Team up?”

“If it’s ten cats each doing their own thing, that’s like ten solo puzzles,” Lyra said.

She closed the notebook and stuffed it into her shirt.

“But if they join forces-Silver Whisper up front, sensing emotions and pinpointing your location, Shadowcat sneaking in from the shadows, Tigerstripe swiping with a paralyzing claw, Ragdoll Healer patching up teammates from behind…”

She spread her hands. “That’s a killer question.”

Lydia frowned. “You think they’ll actually team up?”

“No clue,” Lyra said, straightforward as ever. “But this game never cuts us any slack. I always expect the worst.”

Sergei shifted the bag of cat food in his arms. “So what do we do?”

“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves,” Lyra said.

She tucked the notebook deeper into her shirt and clapped her hands. “If we’re low on gear, we’ll just have to rely on

teamwork.”

“Let’s strip this place bare first,” she added.

The five of them split up, rummaging through the shelves.

Lyra crouched in front of the back row, gathering cans of cat food into her arms one by one.

Beef, rabbit, tuna-just one can of each. She stuffed them all into her shirt pockets.

Lily was hugging the pot of catnip when she grabbed something else off the shelf. “Goddess Lyra! There’s a laser pointer

here!”

She waved it in the air. “This’ll totally catch the cats’ attention.”

“Take it!” Lyra said.

Lily stuffed the laser pointer into her pocket.

Sergei dug out a collapsible cat tunnel from the corner and unfolded it, checking the description.

[Cat Tunnel: When placed, cats might crawl in and mess around. How long they stick around depends on their personality.I

“A chance?” Sergei frowned. “So this thing’s just a gamble?”

Lina pulled out a few plastic cat carriers with air vents from under the counter. “Can we stash stuff in these?”

1/4

30

O

m

O

15:11 Tue, Jun 30

Chapter 66

&

“As long as it holds things, it’s good enough for a backpack.” Lyra said, grabbing one and cramming cans and toys inside

Fifteen minutes later, the five of them stood at the pet store entrance, each with a bulging cat carrier slung over their shoulders.

Lina lifted the strap, tested the weight, and let out a long breath. “Man, this feels so safe

Lily counted on her fingers. “But Goddess Lyra, these items won’t get us through six hours. What do we do for the rest

Lyra flicked Lily’s forehead. “Who says the pet store’s the only spot with gear?”

“Let’s go. We’ll hit up the other stores too,” she added.

The five of them left the pet store and walked along the third-floor corridor.

Just as they rounded the corner, two players rushed up. A blond man stormed into the pet store, scanning the empty shelves

His teammate poked his head in, glancing around.

“Nothing left?” he asked.

The blond man kicked over the cat tree by the door. “Damn it, they didn’t leave a single thing!”

The third-floor corridor stretched on, lined with restaurants on both sides.

Hotpot, barbecue, sushi, grilled fish, lobster, noodle shops-their signs glowed under warm yellow lights, and the air was thick with the smell of food.

Lily slowed down, taking a deep breath. “Goddess Lyra, it smells so good.”

Lyra caught the scent too, her eyes sweeping over the empty shops.

“Anyone here know how to cook?” Lyra turned to the four behind her.

Lydia just shrugged.

Sergei threw his hands up in mock surrender. “I can’t cook anything Draconian.”

Lina gave an embarrassed smile. “Lyra, none of us has cooked in fifteen years. We’d probably mix up salt and sugar at this point.”

Lily tugged at Lyra’s sleeve. “Goddess Lyra, can you cook?”

“Nope!” Lyra replied.

Lily shrank back, looking awkward.

The five of them stood smack in the middle of the third-floor food court, wide-eyed and clueless. Hotpot on one side, barbecue on the other, ingredients everywhere you looked-but none of them had a clue how to cook.

Lydia, refusing to give up, rushed into the kitchen for a peek. It was stocked to the brim with ingredients, but not a single ready meal anywhere.

“What a waste,” she muttered.

“Let’s go,” Lyra said, turning away. “Let’s check out the second floor.”

They took the escalator down. The second floor was a whole different scene-clothing stores, shoe shops, home goods, and opticians.

2/4

30

O

O

m

111

<

15:11 Tue, Jun 30

Chapter 66

Lyra’s eyes skipped over all that, landing on a sign halfway down the corridor

Outdoor Gear Store.

That one,” she said, picking up her pace and heading straight for it.

The door was wide open, and the shelves were packed with hiking poles, tents, and sleeping bags.

Lyra didn’t even bother with those. She headed straight for the lights section-headlamps, flashlights, camping lantern. glow sticks.

Just one of each, as usual.

Lyra grabbed a headlamp, pressed the switch, and a bright white beam lit up the wall across from her.

[Bright Headlamp: Shine this on a cat and it’ll get visually uncomfortable-works for as long as you keep the light on ]

“Nice,” Lyra said, as she strapped the headlamp onto her head.

Lily was already hugging a bunch of glow sticks-green, yellow, orange, a whole rainbow of colors.

[Glow Stick: Weak light source. Won’t scare off cats, but you can use them to mark your path.]

VERIFYCAPTCHA_LABELVerify