Hide and Seek: The Mad Girl Sees All novel Chapter 79

Chapter 79

The Draconia Live Channel chat was going absolutely wild.

momo: [What am I even watching right now?]

BornToCuss: [Where does all the stuff from the supermarket end up once it’s in the container? It’s so hard to guess! Goddess Lyra, are you just here to farm the game?)

LyraSuperfan: [Goddess Lyra already said to get their countries ready to receive the supplies. Where else could it go? It going straight home, ahhh!]

NeverAteVeggies: [Vegetables! Fresh vegetables! I’m crying, I’m really crying!]

NeverAteMeat: [So much meat! All kinds of meat! I’m crying.]

Another DayAlive: [Upstairs, folks are fighting cats for treasure chests, while Goddess Lyra and her crew are sneaking food in the shadows. These guys are total game exploiters!]

NeverAteFruit: [I suggest everyone keep tabs on the other countries’ Live Channels. If anyone starts following Goddess Lyra’s playbook, shout it out!]

Nutrient GooSucks: [I’m already camping in Mapleland’s Live Channel. They still have no clue, hehe.]

LuckyKoi: [My kid has already made six trips, each time hauling a fruit bigger than herself. Way to go!]

Teacher’s Pride: [The PE teacher said your daughter.was a total flop in PE. Let him take a look at this!]

momo: [LMAO, that’s not weak stamina, that’s pure adrenaline rush!]

BornToCuss: [Feels like New Year’s! Time to say goodbye to the old and welcome the new!]

GoDraconia: [Wait, I just thought of something. What if the game catches on? What if those ten cats come down here…]

The chat kept flying by, but after that last comment, there was a two-second silence. Then the flood of messages started up again-no one wanted to touch that topic.

Just keep moving.

Every bag we grab is a win.

While Lyra and her crew were frantically hauling supplies, the chaos upstairs was still going strong.

On the south side of the first floor, behind the cash register of a toy store.

Alex was crouched under the counter, his right hand pressed to his ear, his left hand gripping the golden treasure chest he’d just snatched. His chest was heaving with exertion.

The voice from the Aurelia Command Center crackled through his comms, rapid and urgent.

“Alex, the Draconian players just found a supermarket on the basement level.”

Alex was still out of breath, but he listened closely.

The Alliance Four are throwing supplies from the supermarket into some kind of container. Our Think Tank checked it out -those containers are almost definitely linked to the real world. Whatever they put in there will show up back home.”

Alex’s hand shot up from the treasure chest. “No! How is that even possible?”

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His voice was low, but disbelief crept in at the end. “Wait, you’re saying items from the game can actually be sent straight to the real world?”

The voice on the other end didn’t hesitate. “We’ve been monitoring the Live Channels of Draconia, Southern Reach Urvania, and Belsoria. They’re all tossing stuff into that container, and it just disappears. Plus, before that, the Draconian players had their Command Center tell Southern Reach and the others to get ready to receive the supplies.”

Alex leaned back against the counter, his mind spinning.

“Listen! The lower level is right by the mall entrance, next to the fire safety wall. There’s a staircase going down-once your there, you’ll hit the supermarket. At the very back, there’s an iron door, and behind it is the special container.

“Don’t hesitate-get moving.

“By any means necessary, secure the supplies.”

Beep-

The comms cut out, and Alex remained motionless, his hand still at his ear.

Outside, the mall was still a mess-treasure chests were scattered everywhere, people were running around, yelling, and the sound of cats meowing echoed from afar.

He glanced down at the golden treasure chest on his knees, still unopened. His fingers brushed the edge, and as he lifted the lid, a wave of steam billowed out.

It was a pizza.

The cheese stretched in gooey strands, the aroma of tomato sauce hit him instantly, and it was loaded with bell peppers, mushrooms, and bacon. It looked like it had just come out of the oven-still hot enough to burn his fingers.

Alex stared at the pizza for three seconds.

He was speechless.

He closed the treasure chest.

Footsteps echoed from the front entrance, and two figures hunched over as they slipped inside-one short, one tall and lanky, both clearly roughed up.

The short guy was Tanaka from Niphonia, with a rip in his left sleeve and a faint claw mark on his arm.

The tall one was Park Jung-hoon from Hanmark, his right cheek swollen and a dried blood scab at the corner of his mouth

Each of them was hugging a treasure chest as they squeezed in behind the counter.

“Boss, we got it, Tanaka said, setting the treasure chest down and gritting his teeth as he gingerly touched the scratch on hus

arm.

Park Jung-hoon stayed silent, placing his treasure chest at his feet and swiping at the blood on his mouth with his sleeve

“Open them up. Alex leaned in, wanting to see what they’d managed to snag.

Tanaka flipped open the lid, and a wave of steam billowed out.

Inside was sushi.

A whole row of nigiri-salmon, tuna, and sweet shrimp-each piece plump and glossy, with wasabi and soy sauce served in small dishes on the side.

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Chapter 79

Tanaka froze for a second, not sure whether to laugh or cry.

Park Jung-hoon popped open his treasure chest-inside was kimchi

Inside: a bowl of blazing red kimchi, plus a little bowl of rice.

The three of them crouched behind the counter, exchanging bewildered looks.

“Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!” Alex finally lost it, cursing under his breath.

After his outburst, he flipped open his own treasure chest to show them what was inside.

“All food?” Tanaka’s face twitched. “Shit! I risked my life out there, got scratched by a Wraith, and all I got was a box of sushi

Park Jung-hoon gripped the edge of the kimchi bowl, his mouth opening and closing. “Oh my! Is this game just messing with us or what?”

“But are you really gonna throw it away?” Alex shot back.

Tanaka fell silent, staring at the row of sushi. His throat tightened as he gulped-fifteen years since he’d last tasted rice.

Park Jung-hoon stayed quiet too, just staring at the bowl of kimchi, drumming his fingers twice along the rim.

“Let’s eat first.” Alex said, tearing off a piece of pizza and stuffing it in his mouth. The cheese was so hot he let out a sharp hiss, but after a couple bites, he just couldn’t stop.

Tanaka grabbed a piece of salmon sushi and stuffed it into his mouth, his eyes growing misty.

Park Jung-hoon grabbed a chopstickful of kimchi, piled it onto his rice, and took a huge bite.

The three of them crouched behind the counter, not saying a word-the only thing you could hear was their chewing.

Halfway through, Alex set down his pizza and filled them in on what he’d just heard over the comms.

Tanaka froze, chopsticks in mid-air, his eyes lighting up. “Yoshi! Like they say in Draconia, A wise man goes with the flow With loot this good, we gotta get in on it!”

Park Jung-hoon frowned. “Go now? The place is crawling with cats. Surviving this game is what matters most. No need to take unnecessary risks.”

Tm going, Alex said, shooting him a look.

Park Jung-hoon went quiet for a couple seconds. The three of them were allied, with Alex as their leader. It Alex was heading out, he’d have to go too.

Park Jung-hoon swallowed the last bite of rice and set his bowl down on the floor.

“Let’s go,” he said. Since he couldn’t say no, he might as well take the lead.

Alex and his crew weren’t the only ones who got the news.

The Britannia player got the message and was slumped in the corner of a shoe store on the second floor. He took ten seconds to weigh his options, then stood up, ready to move.

The Gallia player hesitated even longer, but ultimately stayed put. ‘Staying alive is all that matters, he told himself.

The Marsupia player didn’t even pause-he just made a beeline for the fire safety wall.

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