Hide and Seek: The Mad Girl Sees All novel Chapter 72

Chapter 72

3

The fire escape stairs stretched downward into darkness, but since Lyra was a cat now, she could see everything clearly.

At the corner, a metal box was embedded in the wall, its green paint peeling off in large patches.

It was the electrical box. Twelve switches were neatly arranged in two rows, all flipped down.

Lyra stared at the switches for a couple of seconds, her tail flicking. Wow, even the blackout is so carefully planned? It sot some supernatural force turning off the lights-someone actually just flipped the switches.

Her paw touched the edge of the electrical box, then she pulled it back.

Now’s not the time to flip the switch.

“The game had just started, and the cats were out hunting. Screams echoed through the mall.

If she turned on all the lights now, it’d basically tell all ten cats-or the game itself-that someone was up to something on the basement level. Who knew what kind of changes that might trigger?”

She memorized where the electrical box was, then turned and kept going down. At the bottom of the stairs, two iron doors stood slightly open, and a blend of smells wafted out from the crack.

The aroma of food hit her-flour, rice, oil, and a hint of fruity sweetness.

Lyra squeezed her cat head through the gap, her ears pressed flat against the frame. With a little arch of her back, she slipped inside.

The scene before her made her feline eyes go wide-it was a full-blown supermarket! Shelves lined up one after another, stretching from the entrance all the way to the far end.

In the snack section, bags of chips, cookies, and chocolate were stacked up in perfect rows.

The produce section was bursting with fresh veggies, still sparkling with water droplets, and the meat-pork, beef, chicken- was already sliced and laid out in the coolers, with a basket of eggs right next to them.

In the rice and oil section, giant bags of rice and flour were piled up like little mountains, with containers of cooking oil lined up side by side.

The fruit section was loaded with apples, bananas, grapes, watermelons, and more.

Lyra crouched in front of the shelves, her mouth hanging open, a shiny bead of drool slipping from the corner of her lips.

Over on the Draconia Live Channel, the chat was flying faster than a cat on caffeine.

momo: [My stomach’s literally protesting just looking at this supermarket.]

NeverAteVeggies: [Fresh veggies! Real, actual fresh veggies! Fifteen years alive and I’ve never tasted a single veggie!]

AnotherDayAlive: [Third floor’s got a restaurant, basement’s got a supermarket-food everywhere! Can we just bring this whole mall home with us?]

BornToCuss: [Here I am sipping my nutrient shake, watching Goddess Lyra stroll through a supermarket. Is this psychological torture or what?]

LyraSuperfan: [Just looking at the supermarket is enough to curb your hunger.]

1/4

30

O

m

O

15:12 Tue, Jun 30

Chapter 72

NeverAteMeat: [The game’s just showing you all this to torture you with cravings-doesn’t matter, you can’t take any of it home anyway.]

LyraGOAT: [Who cares if we can’t take it home? Let Goddess Lyra eat her fill in there! Every bite is a victory’ Worst case, I saw some suitcases on the second floor-when the game’s almost over, she can just stuff one full and haul it home’]

Draconia Strategic Command.

At the Draconia Strategic Command, Laita stared at the supermarket on the screen. “There really is a basement level.”

Garrett was jotting down data nearby. “It’s not marked on the map-the whole floor’s been hidden.”

“The game wouldn’t just hide a whole supermarket for nothing.” Lana said, her eyes tracking Lyra’s cat form as she moved through the aisles.

“It’s either a trap, or something crucial to the game.”

“Chief Advisor, she just slipped into a hidden area, and neither the game nor those Wraith cats reacted at all! Could this place be outside the game’s rules? Maybe this is how you beat the game,” Garrett said, barely able to contain his excitemen

“No idea. Just keep an eye on those ten cats. If any of them head back, let Lyra know right away,” Lana ordered.

“Got it!” Garrett replied.

Lyra wandered through the supermarket, weaving around the snack aisle, slipping past the household goods aisle, and paused for a moment in the condiment section.

Salt, vinegar, soy sauce, chili powder, Sichuan peppercorns, star anise-she kept going, and up ahead, the freezer was loaded with frozen dumplings and sweet rice balls.

Everything looked totally normal-no game prompts popped up at all. She’d made it most of the way around, but not a single item triggered any kind of special item alert.

Something was off.

The game went out of its way to hide this supermarket from the map and even concealed the entrance to the basement- there’s no way it’s just a stash of groceries.

She doubled back to the produce section, leapt onto the top of the cooler, and swept her feline gaze across the entire supermarket layout. No way was she leaving until she found something crucial.

Meanwhile, in the outdoor gear shop on the second floor, Lily was also keeping watch. She lay flat on the floor, blinking as she tried to peer out through the gap under the roller shutter, but all she could see was pitch black.

Inside the shop, only one camping lantern was on. Lina was sitting on the floor by the checkout counter, hugging her knees, her ears perked up, listening for any sounds from outside.

Screams drifted up from the first floor, coming and going-some from men, some from women. Some were far away, others so close it made her skin crawl.

A dull, heavy thud echoed through the darkness, as something crashed to the floor.

Lina hugged her knees even tighter.

Sergei stood right under the vent, his hiking pole propped up beside him.

Lydia grabbed the citrus perfume, walked over to the roller shutter, and gave Lily a quick tap. Once Lily got up, Lydia leaned down and sprayed three times through the gap at the bottom.

214

30

O

m

|||

O

15:12 Tue, Jun 30

Chapter 72

The smell of perfume mixed with the punchy scent of orange peel, so thick it almost made you choke

None of the four said a word.

Another scream echoed from far away, stretching out before suddenly cutting off.

“Yowl!” A sharp cat cry came from outside the roller shutter.

All four of them tensed up.

“Snarl!”

A sharp, furious cat cry burst out from right outside, even closer than before, laced with contempt and rage.

E

Then came the sound of something springing-whoosh!-paws scrabbling against the roller shutter, and the sound quickly receded into the distance.

/ Lydia gripped the perfume bottle, listening for a moment longer before turning to the others and whispering, “It’s gone.”

Lina lifted her head from her knees and let out a long, shaky breath.

Sergei’s shoulders finally relaxed.

Lily’s lips curled up in a small smile. ‘Goddess Lyra really is a genius!’ she thought, but quickly straightened her lips, not daring to look too happy-she didn’t want Silver Whisper to notice.

The four of them fell silent again, but their hearts were still racing.

They waited for about three or four minutes.

“Lina. Lily, open the door,” Lyra’s voice called from outside.

Lina’s head snapped up, surprise lighting up her face as she sprang up and rushed to the door. “Lyra’s back!”

Lydia got to her feet too, and Sergei hurried forward-they couldn’t risk leaving Lyra outside any longer; they had to get her in, fast.

“Wait!” Lily threw her arms out, blocking the three adults.

Lina froze. “What’s wrong?”

Lily’s voice was low, but every word was clear. “Something’s off.”

“What’s off?” Sergei’s hand froze mid-air.

“Goddess Lyra always calls me Lil Lily,” Lily said, her eyes locked on the roller shutter.

VERIFYCAPTCHA_LABELVerify