Hide and Seek: The Mad Girl Sees All novel Chapter 93

Chapter 93

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Hamilton’s heart skipped a beat, but his face stayed perfectly composed. “Advisor Sterling, you must be joking. After all these rounds, no one’s ever found a fake game item. Everyone knows that.”

Lana didn’t rush to respond. She shifted in her seat, propping her elbow on the armrest.

“General Hamilton, the two conditions you just mentioned are a bit one-sided. Let me add one of my own.” she said.

The man on the screen lifted his chin slightly.

“We brought out ten cats,” Lana said, tapping her finger on the table.

“Each cat carries the soul of a dead player, and we’ve already woken them up,” Lana continued.

Hamilton’s face changed for a split second. He kept his cool, but Lana noticed his eyes narrowing.

“Now that their souls are awake, we can get our hands on everything those dead players went through in the game: what they saw, what they heard, all the info they picked up,” Lana continued.

She paused for two seconds, giving him time to process it.

“Ten players, ten batches of game secrets. Your Fate Mirror only gives one answer, but my cats can give you ten,” Lana said.

Hamilton’s fingers tightened. “So what’s your offer?”

“Let’s swap the cats’ intel for an answer from the Fate Mirror. It’s a fair trade: no food, no alliances,” Lana replied.

Hamilton leaned back in his chair, his gaze sweeping over Lana’s face.

Chief Advisor Sterling, what did you get out of those cats?” he asked.

“Stuff about the game,” Lana replied.

“Like what, exactly?” Hamilton pressed.

“General, I haven’t even asked you what the Fate Mirror said yet,” Lana said.

Hamilton’s lips tightened.

The two of them stared at each other across the screen, neither saying a word.

Five seconds.

Ten seconds.

Hamilton finally broke the silence. “Chief Advisor Sterling, you really ought to think twice. The Fate Mirror’s answer decides whether humanity lives or dies. It isn’t just some bargaining chip you can toss around.”

“Then why did you call me?” Lana shot back.

Hamilton’s lips moved, but he didn’t say anything.

Lana leaned in toward the screen. “General Hamilton, I suggest you give my offer some serious thought.”

Hamilton stared at her for three seconds. “Chief Advisor Sterling, not all intel is created equal. Trust me, the info from your ten cats can’t hold a candle to what the Fate Mirror can tell me.”

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“Oh? Is that so? I don’t buy it,” Lana replied.

“Heh.” Hamilton couldn’t help but hear the disdain in her voice. “Since you’re not interested, Chief Advisor Sterling, don’t say we didn’t give you a chance when you regret it later.”

“Right back at you,” Lana shot back.

The call ended, and the screen went dark.

Lana leaned back in her chair, tapping her fingers on the armrest, lost in thought.

Aurelia and Draconia had never gotten along, even before the Nuclear War. It was no secret; everyone knew about it.

If the Fate Mirror’s answer was really that useful, Aurelia would’ve kept it under wraps and used it for themselves. No way they’d show up looking to trade.

Unless.

They couldn’t figure it out on their own.

Maybe the conditions were just too tough for Aurelia to handle on their own.

Or maybe the answer was so vague and uncertain that keeping it to themselves wasn’t worth it. Better to trade it for something real.

Either way, it meant one thing: Hamilton was even more anxious than she was.

Lana pulled her hand back from the armrest, picked up the internal phone on her desk, and dialed a number. After two rings, someone picked up.

“Ms. Reed, it’s Lana,” she said.

Aurelia Strategic Command Center.

After the screen went dark, Hamilton stayed perfectly still, his hands still crossed on the desk.

Four other people were sitting in the office, silent the whole time during the call, but now they finally started to move.

A middle-aged man in a gray uniform spoke up first. “General, she didn’t budge.”

“I heard her, Jackson,” Hamilton replied.

“So what now?” Jackson asked.

The woman with glasses interjected, “General, my advice is to keep this information to ourselves and not share it with anyone. Draconia isn’t the only option we have.”

Hamilton remained silent and turned to Alex in the corner.

“Alex, what do you think?” he asked.

Alex leaned back in his chair, his face dark. “General, the fewer countries in the loop, the easier it is for us to pull this off. But I can’t pull it off solo.”

Jackson raised an eyebrow. “Just because it’s tough doesn’t mean it’s impossible, Alex. You’ve got the Safehouse Chalk; no one’s safer than you among all the contestants.”

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Alex shot him a look but kept quiet. Safehouse Chalk is great, but it only lasts so long. He could still end up dead.

Everyone else was thinking the same thing: if Alex failed and died in the game, Aurelia would just send in another. contestant. Alex might not manage it, but as long as Aurelia could, that was enough.

Alex wasn’t fooled. He knew exactly what they were thinking.

“There’s another thing,” Alex said..

Everyone turned to look at him.

“Lana brought up a good point. The Fate Mirror might just be a nerfed version, so the answer could be missing stuff too Alex said.

The woman with glasses pushed her frames up. “General, do you think there’s something off about the answer?”

“I’m not sure,” Hamilton replied.

Alex sat up straight in his chair. “General, I disagree with that assessment.”

Hamilton looked at him.

“Back in the first round, I found a treasure chest in the mission. The item inside came with information about the game mechanics. You know that.

“I asked the Fate Mirror to double-check what I already had, and its answer matched my clues exactly. You know that too.

He stood up and walked over to Hamilton.

“Two separate sources, same conclusion. That’s no accident,” Alex said.

The room went quiet for three seconds.

Jackson cleared his throat. “Even if the info checks out, with Niphonia and Hanmark on our side, that’s more than enough.”

Alex glanced back at him. “They’re pretty weak. Honestly, they’re only surviving thanks to my Safehouse Chalk.”

The woman with glasses still insisted the info shouldn’t be leaked. “General, Alex, Draconia is clearly not a good pick. They’ve already got three allies. If they catch wind of this, they might end up targeting us instead.”

The room went quiet. She wasn’t wrong; there was a good chance it could happen.

Hamilton raised his hand. “Alright, let’s put this on hold for now. We’re the ones holding the key intel, so we’re sitting pretty.”

He closed the file in front of him.

“Meeting adjourned,” he said.

Draconia.

After the meeting, the Draconia Press Office’s official platform put out two announcements in quick succession.

[Tomorrow at 10 AM, Draconia Strategic Command will hold a promotion ceremony at Capital Hall, where contestant Lyra Vance will be promoted to Major General and Lily Sterling to Major. The event will be livestreamed online.]

[Starting today, all civil affairs stations in Draconia’s safe zones will begin distributing daily food rations. Residents can pick up their quota at their local station by showing ID.]

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