Hide and Seek: The Mad Girl Sees All novel Chapter 75

Chapter 75

Lily’s mind raced. The cat that had just walked up to the door was carrying that orange scent, and the Tricolor Mimic had even imitated Goddess Lyra’s voice. Who knew if there was another cat hiding in the ventilation duct?

“Wait. Lily Sterling stared at the ceiling.

There was silence for two seconds.

Then…

Tap-tap!

The sound of cat paws drumming on the ceiling-two quick, sharp taps.

Tap-tap! Tap-tap!

It came in a rhythm: two quick taps, then two more.

Lina shot to her feet, the rope snapping taut and digging into her wrist, but she didn’t even notice. “It’s Lyra!”

Lydia jumped up too. “Yeah! That’s exactly how Lyra tapped when she transformed last time!”

Lina was already working on the rope around her wrist. Sergei didn’t stop her this time. He untied his own knot first, then helped Lydia with hers.

Lily’s wrist was so slender that the rope, wrapped around three times, was a nightmare to untangle. She was practically hopping with frustration, and finally, Lydia came over and just yanked it off in one go.

Sergei dragged over a shelf, stepped up on it, and yanked the hiking bag out of the vent. The smell of orange peel hit them all at once.

A cow-patterned cat poked its head out of the hole, flattened its ears, and with a quick push of its legs, jumped down lightly, landing on the floor without a sound.

Lily crouched down, her eyes practically glowing. “Goddess Lyra!”

Lyra meowed at her, then opened her mouth and tried again: “Meow? Meow!”

Lily scratched her head. ‘What is Goddess Lyra trying to tell me?’

Lyra meowed twice more, flicked her tail, and anxiously spun in place.

I’m a cat, Lyra thought.

‘I’m a cat.’

‘Cats can’t talk, and they can’t write.”

Last round, when she’d turned into a tree, she could still use her branches to scratch words into the ground. But now, as a cat, all she could do was leave a mess of claw marks on the floor.

Lyra crouched on the floor, her cat face twisted in frustration. She gave up struggling, and in her mind, she repeated. ‘Release transformation.

A flash of white light, and the cat’s body stretched and grew, bones cracking as fur faded away. Lyra stood among them again, back in her human form.

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Chapter 75

She rolled her neck, then looked down at her hands-ten fingers, all working just fine.

I used the Scrying Orb to look at the Ambercat’s memories,” Lyra said.

Without wasting a word, Lyra pulled out the Scrying Orb, and the Ambercat’s memories played out inside it

The four of them crowded around.

The memory showed a city with narrow streets and squat buildings. The signs weren’t written in Draconian.

A woman stood in front of a door. She looked to be in her early forties, with long hair, deep-set eyes, and thin lips. She wore a dark gray coat, and a badge was pinned to her chest.

She pushed the door open and stepped inside. A file sat on the table, its cover stamped with the game’s logo.

The woman picked up the file and flipped to the first page, her name printed at the top.

Ivana Petrova.

The scene shifted.

The same woman stood in an open field, surrounded by others, all of them looking terrified.

The game began.

The scene shifted again.

Darkness. A chase. Screams-and then everything faded away.

The last image froze on Ivana as she collapsed, her eyes wide open, lips parted, her final word forever caught in her throat

The Scrying Orb dimmed, and the shop fell silent for a few seconds.

Lina’s eyes were red, her fingers twisting the hem of her shirt, knuckles so tight the fabric bunched up.

Lina whispered, “Ivana.”

“She was Southern Reach’s contestant in the third round,” Lina murmured.

I know her, Lina said softly.

“She fought for our country.”

Lydia walked over and put a hand on Lina’s shoulder, but she didn’t say anything to comfort her

There was nothing to say.

Every nation had lost players Ursaria’s thirty-eight districts just kept lighting, round after round-so many had died. nobody could even keep track anymore.

All they could do now was win

Lyra gave Lina a minute, then spoke up. “There’s a supermarket underground At the very end, there’s a locked tron gate You need permission to get through.”

“The cat has access, but we don’t,” Lyra added.

“The Ambercat’s name is Ivana Petrova,” Lyra said.

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Lyra looked at Lydia.

“Lydia, use The Book of True Names and command her to unlock that door,” Lyra said.

Lydia patted Lina’s shoulder, let go, and nodded. “Alright.”

“Wait.” Lily raised her hand.

Lyra looked down at her. Lily asked, “Goddess Lyra, how do we get out of here?”

Lily counted on her fingers. “Goddess Lyra got out using a Transform Card. So how is Lydia supposed to get out? Is she supposed to use your Transform Card too? If not, if she goes out the front door, the cats will definitely notice.”

Lyra didn’t answer right away. She crouched down to meet Lily’s eyes. “You’re right. It’s way too risky to go now.”

She stood up and flicked Lily’s forehead with her finger. “So we wait.”

Lina wiped the corner of her eye. “Wait for what?”

“The treasure chest,” Lyra replied.

Lyra leaned against the counter. “If this mission works like the others, the chest should pop up again around the two-hour mark.”

“And that’s when the game pushes everyone out-it’s total chaos,” Lyra added.

Lydia chimed in, “Once the players start moving, the cats will split up to go after them.”

“Exactly.” Lyra said.

Lyra raised a finger. “Those few minutes when everything’s in chaos-that’s our chance to slip down to the basement.”

Sergei did some quick math. “The game’s been going for a little over an hour now.”

Lyra settled into the fishing chair, leaning against the pillar. She dug out an unopened cup of bubble tea from her hiking bag and poked in a straw.

“No rush. Let’s save our energy and wait for the chest to show up,” Lyra said.

She took a sip of her bubble tea, then fished a piece of cake out of her bag and broke off half, handing it to Lily.

Lily took a big bite, chewed a couple of times, then suddenly remembered something. With her mouth full of cake, she mumbled, “Goddess Lyra, if we’re heading down to the basement when things get crazy, does that mean we can’t go for the chest?”

Lyra chewed the tapioca pearls in her bubble tea, narrowed her eyes at them. “If you want to go after the chest, that’s up to you. But Lydia needs to come with me downstairs.”

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