Hide and Seek: The Mad Girl Sees All novel Chapter 74

Chapter 74

After a careful search, Lyra finally spotted an iron door tucked away at the end of the shelves, right up against the wall.

The door looked completely out of place in the supermarket-its gray metal panel had no handle, just a circular indentation.

She leaned in and sniffed, but couldn’t catch any scent from inside. She nudged it with one paw. It didn’t budge Then the pressed both front paws against it, braced her hind legs, and pushed with all her strength, but it still didn’t budge.

She eyed the circular indentation, then pressed her paw onto it. Four characters lit up on the ‘door

[Access Denied.]

The red characters glowed for two seconds, then vanished.

Lyra pulled her paw back and plopped down in front of the door, head cocked as she pondered. ‘No access, huh? Lyra mused.

Who gets access then? The System? Or maybe those ten cats?’ Lyra wondered.

She circled the iron door, but the frame was sealed tight-not even a crack, much less a ventilation duct.

Lyra hopped onto the shelves and searched along the ceiling, but still couldn’t find any entrance.

Lyra crouched in front of the door, her cat ears twitching. She’d searched every corner of the supermarket, but this door just wouldn’t budge. ‘Maybe Wraithslayer could split it open, but the commotion would be huge. I need another plan, Lyra thought.

She retraced her steps, heading up the fire escape back to the first floor.

From her vantage point, she spotted seven cats gathered together on the first floor, three more on the second, and not a single cat outside the outdoor gear store.

Lyra kept low, hugging the wall as she crept toward the group of cats.

In the Ground Floor Atrium, seven cats sat in a circle, meowing at each other and making a racket.

Lyra crouched behind a pillar, her ears standing straight up.

Ever since she turned into a cat, she didn’t need to translate their meows; she just got it, like it was second nature She could pretty much figure out what they meant.

The Cowcat flicked its tail and gave two sharp meows to the others.

Basically, it meant, “That store on the second floor reeks. Who left a mess at the entrance?”

The Silver Whisper chimed in, I held my nose and went in. There were people inside

The Tricolor Mimic stretched out its meow, “I went too. The entrance was disgusting. No clue what they smeared there, but it almost made me throw up!”

The Ambercat plopped down, its belly spreading out. “I smelled it too. That stink was wild.”

The Tricolor Mimic meowed again, “I braved the stink and followed the instructions, called out to them a bunch of times. but there wasn’t a single sound from inside!”

The Maine Titan thumped the floor. “If they won’t come out, I could probably smash the door open, but honestly? Forget it,

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Chapter 74

that smell’s just too much for me.”

The Tabby Mirage spun in a circle, then sat down and licked its paw. “Even if I wanted to use my illusions. I’d have to get close. But that smell makes my head spin-how am I supposed to cast anything like that?”

The seven cats went quiet for a couple of seconds.

The Ragdoll Healer yawned. “How about we let that stinky place air out for a bit? We’ll save it for last and focus on catching humans somewhere else first.”

The Silver Whisper stood up. “Works for me. Let’s leave the second floor till the end-there are plenty of other spots toh

The cats all nodded and stood up.

Lyra crouched behind the pillar, her cat mouth curling into a faint smirk.

Who knew orange peels and perfume would work so well? Even the Tricolor Mimic’s voice mimicry didn’t fool anyone Nice job, everyone, Lyra thought.

The group scattered, but the Ambercat didn’t tag along with any of them. It ambled off in the opposite direction, tail swaying lazily, taking its sweet time.

‘Now it’s alone-just what I wanted, Lyra thought.

Lyra waited a few seconds until the cats had put some distance between themselves, then slipped out from behind the pillar. She moved toward the Ambercat with a casual cat’s swagger, unhurried and smooth.

The Ambercat heard footsteps and turned to see a Cowcat stepping out from the shadows.

The Ambercat tilted its head and meowed, “What are you doing here?”

Lyra meowed back, “Wanna team up to catch humans?”

The Ambercat didn’t hesitate, flicking its tail. “Sure, I was just looking for a buddy.”

The two cats strolled side by side, patrolling the shops along the south side of the first floor.

The Ambercat’s pace was noticeably quicker-even when it was just ambling, it was still a step ahead of Lyra’s casual walk. She picked up her pace to keep up.

The Ambercat stopped in front of an electronics store, sniffed around and listened carefully. Then it meowed at Lyra, ‘Is there anyone inside? Can you hear anything?”

Lyra pretended to listen for a moment, gave her tail a flick, and meowed, ‘I can’t tell. Man, this is so frustrating. If the second floor keeps smelling like that, how are we supposed to catch everyone?”

The Ambercat tilted its head. “Don’t worry, our master will help us out.”

Lyra felt a jolt inside. ‘Master? Who’s that? Is it the System? Her eyes narrowed thoughtfully. “I want to catch tons of humans. so our master sees how awesome I am and gives me more missions-and more access!”

The Ambercat just meowed and sprawled out, pressing its ear to the door crack. “Not me. I just want to nap and eat canned food. I don’t need all those extra powers or access.”

Lyra’s heart skipped a beat. ‘It actually responded about access, she thought, but kept her cool and meowed, “So, how much access do you have right now?”

The Ambercat tilted its head, looking puzzled. “Don’t we all just have gatekeeper access? Did the master give you something

new?”

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Lyra meowed twice, shooting the Ambercat an envious glance. ‘Nope, I just thought maybe you got new access since you ve gotten even chubbier lately.”

The Ambercat lifted its head proudly.

Lyra didn’t keep pushing, afraid of making the Ambercat suspicious. Her mind raced. The cats had access, which had to be tied to the circular indentation. Since it hadn’t worked for her, she’d need another cat to open the door.

But how do I make a cat do what I want? Lydia’s Book of True Names, Lyra mused.

And where do I get their names? The Scrying Orb, Lyra thought.

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