Hide and Seek: The Mad Girl Sees All novel Chapter 96

Chapter 96

Èveryone watched as a flash of light burst forth, and the Ambercat vanished.

Lyra flipped the card over. The front, once blank, now displayed a black background with golden patterns.

There was an illustration of an Ambercat with a round face, big ears, and a plump body. Behind it, a shadow formed the silhouette of a woman.

It worked.

“Did it work?” Lily’s voice came from nearby.

Lana and Garrett also stared at the card, saying nothing.

Lyra didn’t rush to speak. She lifted the card and examined it closely. In the top-left corner was a letter: D.

She turned the card toward Lana and grinned. “Lana, it worked.”

Lily burst out, shouting. “It worked!”

She spun around, almost kicked the cat bed, jumped to the side to keep her balance, and kept cheering.

Lana let out a sigh of relief. Garrett smiled and leaned in to look at the card.

“Can we awaken it now?” Garrett asked, his voice a little faster than before.

“Yes,” Lyra said with a nod.

She pointed to the D in the top-left corner. “The soul’s a little weak; it’s only D Tier

Lana looked up at Lyra. “D Tier?”

“Yeah,” Lyra replied.

“So their souls can level up too?” Lana asked.

Lyra paused for a moment.

Lyra thought, ‘Oh, right.’

Lyra thought, ‘If D Tier means a level, and levels can go up, then maybe the soul can level up too?’

“It should work,” Lyra said. “I’m not sure how you’d do it, but in theory, it’s possible.”

Lana pressed her finger on the card. “It’s not just the top-left corner. Check out the bottom-right.”

Everyone’s eyes followed, landing on the bottom-right corner where the word “Speed” was written.

“That’s its special skill. Ambercat was all about speed in the game.

“Now that it’s sealed in the card, its ability shows up too,” Lana added.

“Yeah, Lyra said, flipping the card over and over to check it out.

On the front: the Ambercat, a woman’s silhouette, D in the top-left, Speed in the bottom-right.

The back was all black with golden patterns; no words, nothing else.

1/4

MT m

|||

Chapter 96

“I don’t know if the upgrade path is about speed or soul strength,” Lyra said, tucking the card away “The card doesn’t give any clues.”

Lana thought for a moment, then said. “Let’s wake it up first. Maybe the soul will know how to level up or get stronger

“Yeah,” Lyra said, holding the card steady. “Everyone, give me a little space.”

“How much?” Lily asked, already halfway back.

“Not too much, about three feet. We don’t know if what’s coming out will be a person or a cat, so let’s make room,” Lyra replied.

Lily took another step back, nudging Garrett as she moved. The rest followed suit, everyone shuffling back and leaving clear spot in the center.

“Should we awaken it in the Monitoring Room? The protection’s better there,” Garrett suggested.

“No need. Now that it’s sealed inside the card, I can control it,” Lyra replied.

Lyra flipped the card so the Ambercat side was facing up. Instead of waking it right away, she sent her thoughts into the card. searching for the soul inside.

She found it.

It was weak, huddled in a corner, like it hadn’t even woken up yet.

Lyra didn’t rush to pull it out. She lingered there for a couple seconds, letting the soul know she was there.

The soul stirred, slowly opening its eyes.

It was time. Lyra pinched the card between her fingers and pointed it at the ground. “Release!”

The Ambercat on the card started to glow, the golden patterns on the black background rippling and flowing. Then a ball of white light floated up from the card, hovering in the air.

The light spun twice, slowly taking shape, and finally settled.

Ivana Petrova, the player from Southern Reach, was floating in midair, her eyes open as she looked around.

Lily’s voice came from behind, soft and uncertain. “Can she see us?”

Ivana’s gaze swept across everyone in the room, finally landing on Lana. Then she spoke, and to everyone’s surprise, she was actually speaking Draconian.

Lyra wondered, ‘Do all Southern Reach people speak Draconian?’

“Draconia… Chief Advisor Sterling?” Ivana said, her voice uncertain.

Lana replied without hesitation, “Yeah, that’s me. You recognize me?”

“Yeah, I did. Saw your face online before I died,” Ivana said, her eyes moving from Lana to the card in Lyra’s hand, then around at everyone else. “Wait, are we actually in the real world?”

“Yeah, we’re outside the game, in Draconia,” Lana replied.

Ivana fell silent for a few seconds. Lana just waited, not pushing her. Then Ivana finally spoke up, “How long have I been dead?”

“The game’s already on its forty-seventh round, nearly two months,” Lana answered.

2/4

O

m T

|||

O

14:45 Sat, Jul 4

Chapter 96

“Two months,” Ivana repeated, her voice tinged with sadness. “Ambercat… so how long have I been an Ambercat?”

“We don’t know when the game turned you into an Ambercat. That’s something you’ll have to remember yourself

VERIFYCAPTCHA_LABELVerify