Hide and Seek: The Mad Girl Sees All novel Chapter 83

Chapter 83

Lyra glanced down at the can of cat food in Lily’s hand, then at her own paws.

She let out a soft meow and cocked her head to the side.

“Don’t want it?” Lily asked, bringing the can even closer to Lyra’s furry face.

Lyra stepped back, raising her front paw to block it. She was clearly saying: nope!

She wasn’t a real cat, after all.

No matter how good the cat food smelled, it was still cat food. Lyra was only interested in human food. Hmph. I’m not. real cat, Lyra grumbled to herself.

Lily pulled the can back, looking a little disappointed. “I thought I could help Goddess Lyra get a little stronger.”

Lydia was leaning against a shelf, about to say something, when the mall’s loudspeaker crackled to life.

[Attention, all players.]

[The Treasure Chest Rain is about to end.]

[Players who didn’t snag a chest will get a bonus: 24 hours of bad luck.]

[Countdown: 30, 29, 28…]

“Oh no, oh no, oh no!” Lily squatted down, covering her face with both hands. “We didn’t grab a single chest! What even is this bad luck thing? Lucky Lady, help me out here!”

Lána reached for her shield. “Bad luck for 24 hours.” She had no idea if her shield could handle that kind of curse.

“Wait.” Lydia suddenly called out.

Everyone turned to look at her.

Lydia reached into her backpack, rummaged around, and pulled out something glowing blue in her hand.

“Hey, I found a treasure chest,” Lydia announced.

Lily’s mouth dropped open in shock.

Lina blinked twice. “Wait, when did you?”

“When I was searching for Ambercat with Lyra, I stepped on it and just grabbed it without thinking.” Lydia said, setting the blue chest on the ground. The glow from the chest lit up her face.

The loudspeaker kept counting down.

[24, 23…]

Outside, the mall was once more thrown into chaos. Footsteps thundered, bodies collided, and screams echoed everywhere as players who hadn’t grabbed a chest scrambled desperately in the last thirty seconds.

Lina crouched down, staring at the chest. “Lydia, open it, quick! We’ve only got twenty seconds!”

Lydia put her hand on the lid, eyes lowered as she thought for a second. Then she looked up at everyone. “Did the game ever say a chest can only be opened by one person?”

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Chapter 83

Lina blinked, caught off guard.

FITA

Lydia looked around at the group. “What if we all open it together? Maybe it’ll count for all five of us.”

Lina’s lips twitched, then she shook her head. “Lydia, just open it. If it doesn’t count, you’ll lose your own shot too-that’s real bad luck.”

“I’m willing to risk it. Let’s do this together, Lydia said, her hand still resting on the lid.

“No, seriously, just open it!” Lina urged.

“We’re in this together, aren’t we?” Lydia insisted.

[18. 17…]

“Stop arguing! If we keep this up, we won’t even get to open it!” Lily plopped down next to the chest and slapped her hand on it.

“Only fifteen seconds left! Let’s do this together!” Lily shouted.

She looked up at Lina, grinning from ear to ear. “I’m LuckyKoi’s own daughter! I just asked my mom for a little luck, and boom-the chest appeared. So it’s bound to work!”

Lina’s hand hovered in the air, not quite touching the chest.

[13, 12…]

“Come on, Lina, quit dragging your feet!” Lily snapped, getting anxious.

Lina bit her lip, then crouched down and pressed her hand onto the chest.

[10,9…]

Sergei didn’t hesitate-he placed his large hand firmly on the chest.

[7, 6…]

Lyra hopped down from the counter, her paws making no sound as she padded over to the chest. She lifted her right front paw and placed it on the lid.

Four hands and one furry paw pressed down together.

[4, 3, 2…]

All five pushed at once, and the lid sprang open.

Steam billowed out of the chest, carrying five distinct aromas that filled everyone’s noses.

There was a bowl of borscht, with bits of red pepper floating on top, the steam melting the cream along the rim.

Next to it was a tray of soup dumplings, the wrappers were so thin, you could almost see through them, and the soup inside wobbled with every movement.

There was a meat sandwich, the crust was so crispy, it flaked apart, and the filling was piled so high, it was practically bursting out.

There was a cevapi wrap, flatbread folded around onions and minced meat, with sauce pooling at the bottom of the plate.

And finally, a Baumkuchen, its layers of golden yellow and caramel stacked up, the cross-section showing off all those

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Chapter 83

perfect rings.

Five dishes, all neatly arranged inside the chest.

Lily took a deep breath. “Wow, that smells amazing!”

Lydia stared at the bowl of borscht, swallowing hard. “Whoa, that’s a feast!”

Lina’s eyes swept over the five dishes. “Did we actually pull this off?”

Sergei’s eyes were glued to the Baumkuchen, his voice softening. “Baumkuchen… I used to love this when I was young

The countdown on the loudspeaker hit zero.

[The Treasure Chest Rain has ended.]

[The following players did not obtain a chest:]

A long list of names was read out.

Lyra’s ears twitched as she listened, but none of their names were on the list.

‘We made it! This actually worked, Lyra thought, a little surprised.

[The above players have received the bad luck bonus. Cats will go after unlucky players first.]

[Good luck.]

The blue chest dissolved into a shower of glowing particles and vanished.

The food was just sitting there on the floor.

The five of them stared at the steaming dishes, nobody moving a muscle. For a moment, they were all too stunned to react.

‘Should we eat it?’ they all wondered.

Lyra wasn’t bothered in the slightest. She let out a silent whoop, shoved her head forward, and snatched up a soup dumpling right in her mouth.

The thin wrapper burst, splattering her whiskers with hot, savory broth.

‘So good, Lyra thought, her tail swishing in pure bliss.

Lily watched Lyra devour her food with a big grin, then reached out and grabbed the meat sandwich.

“See? I told you! I’m LuckyKoi’s own daughter!” Lily said proudly.

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