Everyone's playing hide-and-seek: This crazy beauty has maxed-out third eyes.

Li Yu rushed over, tiptoed to reach a piece of strawberry cake from the counter, took a bite, and smeared cream all over half of her face.

"Mmm~~ Delicious! Mmm~ Soothing, I've never eaten anything so delicious before!" Li Yu ate while happily shaking her head.

Lina took a mango smoothie, took a sip, and leaned against the counter.

Lydia tore open a piece of tiramisu packaging, handed half to Sergei, who took it, took a bite, and nodded.

Five people stood in the bubble tea shop, carrying bulging backpacks, eating and drinking.

Lin Sui'an, with a straw in his mouth, glanced at the preparation area behind the workbench.

Lots of fruit: chopped mango chunks, strawberries, lemon slices, and a basket of unopened oranges.

Lin Sui'an stopped the straw at her lips, put down her milk tea cup, reached out and picked up an orange, twirled it in her hand twice, her fingernails digging into the orange peel, and a sour smell wafted up.

"You all speak," Lin Sui'an said, holding up the orange to the four people.

"Do cats hate the smell of oranges the most?"

Li Yu tilted her head, her eyes darting around: "Cats hate the smell of oranges?"

Lin Sui'an didn't answer her. Instead, she lowered her head and peeled the orange. The moment her fingernails dug into the peel, a strong citrus scent exploded out.

It's sour and pungent, and it goes into my nasal cavity.

Li Yu took a step back: "Okay!"

"This is the taste I want." Lin Sui'an tore the orange peel into small pieces, stuffed two pieces into his pocket, and put the rest of the fruit directly into his mouth.

After chewing a couple of times, he picked up a second orange.

Lina came closer, picked up an orange, and examined it from all angles, but no game prompts popped up.

"Good evening, there are no prop instructions for this."

"Of course not." Lin Sui'an peeled the second orange, keeping the peel and giving half of the flesh to Li Yu.

"Each type of item given in the game is limited to one piece."

"But the oranges are not props."

Lin Sui'an shook the clump of orange peels in his hand: "It's an ingredient."

Lydia realized what was happening, so she went around behind the control panel and dragged out the whole basket of oranges.

There are probably more than thirty.

"Stripped completely?" Lydia asked.

"Peel it all off."

Five people surrounded the basket of oranges, all ten hands moving together.

She pinched her skin with her fingernails, tore it open, and essential oil splattered. The citrus scent in the air grew stronger and stronger, so strong that Li Yu started sneezing.

"Achoo!"

"Bear with it." Lin Sui'an peeled the oranges and sorted the peels as she went. "Keep the big pieces, and don't throw away the broken ones."

Lina peeled seven or eight cats, her fingers glistening with orange oil. "How effective is this for cats?" she asked.

"I'm not sure." Lin Sui'an stuffed a handful of orange peels into the side pocket of his backpack.

"But a cat's sense of smell is dozens of times stronger than a human's."

"It smells pungent."

"Their smell is deadly."

Sergei paused for a moment: "You mean, use orange peels as weapons?"

"It's not a weapon," Lin Sui'an shook his head, "It's a barrier."

She stood up, clutching a handful of orange peel crumbs, walked to the entrance of the bubble tea shop, and scattered a line of them on the ground.

"A cat's sense of smell can detect extremely small amounts of scent molecules, while silver shaded cats rely on telepathy to lock onto their location, but they have to get close to them."

"A black cat walks in the shadows, but the shadows cannot filter scents."

"As long as we carry enough orange peels and spread them around our hiding place, their noses will tell them before their eyes do—don't come any closer."

Li Yu squatted on the ground, staring intently at the orange peel-like line on her face: "Answer, how long will this hold?"

"I don't know." Lin Sui'an said those three words again.

"But we don't need to hold them off for six hours."

She turned around and glanced at the layout of the mall lobby, her gaze sweeping from the first floor to the third floor.

"We just need to let the cat hesitate for a few more minutes at each stage."

"Use props to buy time, use orange peels to create a buffer, and use terrain to delay the pursuit."

"Six hours, broken down into thirty-six ten-minute segments, to be lived in one piece."

Lydia peeled the last orange, and the peels piled up into a small mountain.

Each of the five people stuffed a handful of orange peels into their backpacks.

Li Yu's pockets were bulging, and she patted her pockets, saying, "I smell like oranges all over."

"Good news." Lin Sui'an wiped his hands.

She glanced at the cosmetics display case: "Go find some perfume, something with a similar scent, like citrus or orange, that might help. Also, find some empty spray bottles, squeeze some orange juice into them, and spray it on yourself."

"I'll go. I'm more familiar with perfumes. We don't have much time, so let's split up." Lydia got up and walked outside.

"Okay." Lin Sui'an picked up his backpack and walked towards the lobby on the first floor.

There were very few players in the lobby; most had already chosen their hiding spots.

No one noticed Lin Sui'an. She walked to the center of the mall and looked up.

The atrium has a three-story high ceiling with a huge glass dome overhead. Chandeliers hang down, illuminating the entire hall.

Escalators and elevators connect the three floors, and each floor's corridor has railings, offering a view down below.

"Cats like to look down from high places," Lin Sui'an said, pointing to the edge of the railing on the third floor.

Lina followed her gaze and looked up: "Sui'an, do you think the cats will take over the upper floors?"

"If I were a cat, I would."

Lin Sui'an withdrew his gaze: "The third floor has the best view, so we can't hide on the third floor for the time being."

Li Yu raised his hand: "Then where should I hide it?"

Lin Sui'an didn't say anything. She walked to the fire wall at the entrance of the mall and stopped, taking another careful look at the ten cats behind the wall.

The cats were still squatting there, in various postures. Some were licking their paws, some had their eyes closed, and the orange cat was lying on the ground with its tail swaying idly.

Quiet and peaceful, it didn't look strange at all.

Lin Sui'an stared at the silver shaded dog, which just then raised its head, its light green eyes meeting her gaze.

Lin Sui'an didn't look away.

Silver-colored pupils contracted slightly.

Did it see her?

No, that's not right, it sensed her.

Lin Sui'an got goosebumps all over his back. It was telepathy! The cat was already at work.

She immediately looked away, controlled her emotions, and silently repeated three times in her mind that the milk tea was really delicious.

Turning to Li Yu in a low voice, he said, "When the game starts, no matter what happens, you must remember one thing."

"What?"

"Don't be afraid."

Li Yu was stunned.

"If you get scared, they'll find you."

Li Yu's fingers gripped the orange peel in her pocket tightly, and the scent of citrus wafted from between her fingers.

"To calm the mind."

"Um?"

"As I just mentioned, my mother is a lucky charm, and I also use her to calm my nerves."

Li Yu grinned and said, "I'm not afraid."

The mall lights flickered.

[Hide countdown: 10 minutes.]

The sound of the game came from overhead and echoed throughout the mall.

All players looked up at the same time.

The light flickered again.

Lin Sui'an squeezed the hilt of the guillotine knife in his pocket, then turned back for one last look at the fire wall.

All ten cats stood up.