Hide and Seek: The Mad Girl Sees All novel Chapter 92

Chapter 92

Lana cleared her throat.

“Lil Lily, Major’ isn’t short for junior principal,” Lana explained.

“Huh?” Lily looked confused:

Lana slowed her speech. “Major is a military rank. Above that are Lieutenant Colonel, Colonel, and Senior Colonel. After those come the generals: Major General, Lieutenant General, and General.”

Lily glanced at Lyra on her left, then at Lana on her right.

“So I’m not a principal?” Lily blinked, still confused.

“Nope,” Lana replied.

“Then what am I supposed to be?” Lily asked, scratching her head.

“You’re an officer,” Lana clarified.

Lily’s eyes sparkled. “So I get to wear a military uniform?”

“Yep,” Lana replied.

“And a gun?” Lily asked, her voice full of excitement.

“We’ll teach you first. Once you know how, then maybe you’ll get one,” Lana said.

“Yes! I’ll work hard!” Lily nodded eagerly.

Lana smiled. “Tomorrow at 10 AM, District Hall, the commissioning ceremony. You and Lyra will go together. Any questions?”

“No! Mission accepted.” Lily snapped her hand to her side, mimicking a military salute.

Lana closed her folder.

“Alright, that’s it for today’s agenda. After the meeting, all departments get moving, especially the news team. Make sure food distribution, the link between food and the three Vital Flame values, and tomorrow’s livestream are all sorted,” Lana said.

“Yes!” everyone responded together.

“Meeting adjourned,” Lana announced.

Chairs scraped against the floor as everyone stood up and headed out.

Lily grabbed Lyra’s sleeve. “Goddess Lyra! Let’s go, let’s go!”

“Where are we going?” Lyra asked.

“To see my mom!” Lily said excitedly.

Lyra was dragged along by Lily. “Lil Lily, does your mom know I’m coming?”

“Yeah! I told her last night you were coming, and she was so excited she couldn’t sleep all night!” Lily said.

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Chapter 92

Lily pulled Lyra into the elevator, hit the button for the sixth floor, and as soon as the doors opened, she rushed Lyra to the door of 602, freeing up a hand to knock.

‘Mom’ Mom! I brought Goddess Lyra home!” Lily called out.

The door swung open, and a woman in her early forties stood there, her hair pulled into a neat ponytail.

Mrs. Sterling was even slimmer than Lyra had pictured, with fine lines at the corners of her eyes. Her smile was a mirror image of Lily’s, right down to the two dimples.

“Goddess Lyra!” LuckyKoi’s voice was a mix of surprise and joy. She quickly wiped her hands on her clothes and reached gut to take Lyra’s hand.

“Hello, ma’am,” Lyra greeted politely.

“Come on in, come on in!” LuckyKoi ushered her inside.

The living room was small, and a middle-aged man was mopping the floor. When he saw Lyra come in, he quickly set the mop aside in the corner, looking a bit shy.

“Goddess Lyra’s here!” Mr. Sterling let out an embarrassed laugh, his square face bunching up with wrinkles as he smiled, making him look even more self-conscious.

“Hello, sir,” Lyra said politely.

“Sit, sit, sit!” Mr. Sterling hurriedly cleared some stuff off the coffee table and patted the seat, making space for her.

Mrs. Sterling dashed into the kitchen, quickly rinsed two cups, and came back with water.

“Goddess Lyra, do you want hot or cold water?” she asked.

Warm, please, ma’am,” Lyra replied.

“Don’t call me ma’am!” LuckyKoi pressed the cup into her hand. “Call me Jenna!”

Lily chimed in, “Mom, she’s twenty years younger than you.”

“Jenna’s fine!” Mrs. Sterling insisted.

Lyra smiled and sat down on the couch with her cup.

Mrs. Sterling sat down next to her, feeling both nervous and excited, not sure what to say. ‘Guys, can you believe it? I’m actually meeting Goddess Lyra!’ she thought.

Trying to compose herself, Mrs. Sterling, Jenna Sterling, stared at Lyra for several seconds, her eyes suddenly turning red.

“Goddess Lyra, thank you for taking care of our Lil Lily,” Jenna said.

“Jenna, you really don’t have to thank me. Lil Lily’s smart on her own,” Lyra said.

“I have to thank you.” Jenna’s voice was hoarse. “Lil Lily’s never been away from me since she was little. When she went into the game, I watched every second of the livestream at home. I was worried sick the whole time.”

Lyra could feel Jenna’s hand trembling.

“She’s always been really timid. She’s scared of pain, bugs, shots, and pretty much everything,” Jenna said.

“Mom!” Lily blurted out, flustered. “Don’t say that!”

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Chapter 92

Jenna ignored her and went on. “If you hadn’t been there for her in the game. I honestly don’t know what would’ve happened.”

Jenna let go of Lyra’s hand, stepped back, and gave her a deep bow. Mr. Sterling quickly joined his wife and bowed too

Lyra had never dealt with something like this before and felt a bit flustered. She stood up, took a step forward, and steadied Jenna by the shoulders.

“Jenna, Lily’s really amazing. It wasn’t me looking after her; she got through it all by herself,” Lyra said.

Lyra gave an embarrassed little laugh. “You saw it on the livestream, right? Once the game started, I just ran off, and Lil Lily totally managed on her own.”

Jenna straightened, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand. “We really do owe you. Not just for helping Lil Lily, but for giving all of us hope. Because of you, we finally saw light ahead.”

Lyra scratched her head. “Jenna, you don’t have to call me Goddess Lyra. Just call me Lyra, like Lana does.”

Jenna wiped her tears and broke into a smile. “Alright! From now on, we’re family. You’re like my own sister.”

Lily came over from behind, wrapping her arm around her mom’s waist. “Mom, stop crying. You’re making a scene!”

“You’re the embarrassing one,” Jenna said, giving her a light smack on the back of the head.

Lyra watched the two of them bicker, and couldn’t help but smile.

While things were all cozy and cheerful at Lily’s place, Lana was in her office, buried in paperwork, when her comms suddenly buzzed.

Lana set the papers aside and saw it was a call from the Aurelia Strategic Command Center.

She wondered why they were calling at this hour. ‘Are they here to beg for help?’ Lana thought. With all this food we’ve got, the rest of the world has been posting salty comments and trying to guilt-trip us!

Shoving those thoughts aside, she answered the video call. On the screen was a man in his fifties, dressed in a sharp military uniform with an Aurelian flag badge on his chest.

“Chief Advisor Sterling,” the man greeted her. His Draconian was spot-on, so good it almost caught Lana off guard.

“General Hamilton, Lana replied.

“Let me get straight to the point,” Hamilton said, his fingers laced together on the desk. “Alex got an A Tier item, the Fate Mirror, in the mission. He’s already used it.”

Lana’s expression didn’t change.

“We asked it one question: how to end the game,” Hamilton continued.

He paused, eyes fixed on Lana, searching for any sign of reaction.

“The Fate Mirror gave us an answer,” Hamilton said.

Lana’s fingers curled slightly under the table.

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