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

"Lina? Why aren't you opening the door? Has something happened to you all?"

Lin Sui'an's voice rang out again, this time with urgency and worry, and he spoke faster than the previous two times.

Lina's hands were clenched on her knees, her nails digging into the fabric of her pants.

"Damn those creepy cats, I'm going to find them and avenge you right now!"

"Wait!" Lina almost stood up.

Li Yu grabbed her wrist, draped himself over Lina's arm, and dragged her backward by pushing off the ground with his feet.

"Don't open it!"

Lina looked down at her. Li Yu's face was flushed red, but her lips were pressed into a line, and she held Lina's wrists tightly with both hands.

Lina opened her mouth, "But what if it really is Sui An? Wouldn't she be walking into a trap if she went to find the eerie cat?"

"No." Li Yu's voice was soft, but every word was firm and resolute.

What did An Shen become when she left?

Lina paused for a moment, and Sergei and Lydia both looked at Li Yu.

"The cat," Lina's voice changed, "she turned into a cow cat."

"Yes." Li Yu released Lina's wrist and took a step back. "Can the cow cat speak human language?"

Lina felt a chill run down her spine. The black and white cat couldn't talk; the calico cat could.

If Lin Sui'an were in cat form now, she could only meow; she couldn't possibly stand outside the door and call for them to open the door in a human voice.

Lydia walked over from the shelf, her voice extremely low: "And she left through the ventilation duct."

She looked up at the ventilation opening in the ceiling, which was blocked by a hiking backpack.

"If it were Lin, she would also come back through the pipes, not through the main entrance."

The four people looked at each other, while the noise outside the door continued.

"Lina, Little Fish, I will definitely avenge you!"

"It's all my fault that the cat found me. My transformation card is no longer valid, and I can't go back to cat form. The ventilation duct is too narrow; a human body can't fit through it."

"Otherwise, I could have come back from the ventilation duct sooner, and you wouldn't have perished."

Lina's hand trembled again. They knew that the transformation card would become invalid if it was detected. If the transformation card really became invalid and Lin Sui'an returned to human form, she would indeed not be able to squeeze into the ventilation duct.

The only way she could come back was through the main gate.

Sergei gripped his trekking pole, his brow furrowed, and looked at Lydia: "Is it... possible that it's true?"

Lydia didn't answer. She was thinking that it wasn't impossible for the transformation card to malfunction, nor was it impossible for the cat to discover it.

"If Sui An is really outside, we won't open the door..." Lina's voice trembled.

"No." Li Yu's voice was crisp and decisive.

The three adults looked down at her.

Li Yu stood next to the camping lamp, the light shining on her face from below. The ten-year-old girl's expression remained unchanged.

What did An Shen say before she left?

Li Yu repeated each word carefully: "No matter what sounds come from outside—game announcements, people shouting for help, knocking on the door—you are not allowed to open it."

"I remember every word An Shen said perfectly." Hmph! I'm going to tell on them when An Shen gets back! These people are so stupid! No wonder only she and An Shen can beat the game!

The three of them suddenly realized.

"Moreover, it calls me Li Yu, and An Shen calls me Xiao Yu."

"The first time it said 'Lina, Li Yu, open the door,' I knew something was wrong. Later it changed its address and called me Little Fish, but the change itself was wrong."

Lydia narrowed her eyes. This child's logic was much clearer than she had expected. Are all players from the Dragon Kingdom really this powerful?

"No," Lydia decided.

Lina took a deep breath, removed her hands from her knees, nodded, and Sergei held his trekking pole horizontally in front of him and took two steps back.

There was a five-second silence outside the door.

Then Lin Sui'an's voice changed; it stopped urging and became very soft and helpless.

"Little Fish, it really is me. So you were still inside. You actually suspected me?"

Li Yu's shoulders tensed, but she didn't move.

"You promised me we'd conquer the game together, right?"

Li Yu bit down on the flesh inside her cheek.

"I need you now."

Li Yu squatted down, covered her ears with both hands, and her voice came out muffledly through the gaps between her palms: "An Shen said not to open the door, so the door is not to be opened."

"An Shen is a million times smarter than me; I listen to what she says."

There was silence outside the door, a long silence.

A low meow came from outside the roller shutter, tinged with resentment.

Then came the sound of meowing, it was hard to tell if it was cursing or communicating with its companions, but soon the meowing grew weaker and weaker.

Li Yu took her hand off her ear, exhaled, and turned to look at the three adults.

"I'm gone."

Lina slumped to the ground, completely drained of energy: "My God, is the calico cat's imitation that good?"

Li Yu didn't stop. Her eyes darted around twice before she suddenly looked up and stared at Lydia.

"Sister, An Shen said that tabby cats have illusion magic."

Lydia nodded.

"The calico cat's voice can't fool us, but what if the tabby cat comes too?"

Li Yu's voice grew faster and faster as she spoke.

"If the tabby cat uses illusion magic on us, will we unknowingly open the door?"

Lina suddenly looked up.

"So we have to tie ourselves up."

Li Yu turned to look at the shelf, her gaze falling on a roll of climbing rope: "Tie your hands to the pillar furthest from the door."

"That way, even if someone is tricked by an illusion, they won't be able to reach the door."

Lydia walked over, picked up the coil of climbing rope, weighed it in her hand, and found it to be over ten meters long—enough for her.

"OK."

Sergei took the rope and tugged at the pillar. It was a metal display stand fixed to the ground, welded shut, and quite sturdy.

He wrapped the rope around the pillar and tied it in a figure-eight knot, then tugged at it twice, but it didn't budge.

"I'll go first." Sergei put the rope loop on his left wrist and tightened the knot with his right hand.

Lydia helped Lina tie up her wrists, and then helped Li Yu tie them up. Li Yu's wrists were too thin, and Lydia had to wrap them around three times before she could get them in place.

"Does it hurt?"

"It doesn't hurt." Li Yu shook her wrist and moved it around a few times. She could sit, stand, and squat, but she was still four or five meters away from the roller shutter door.

Lydia tied the last piece of rope to her hand and bit the knot tightly with her teeth.

Four people stood deep inside the shop, tied to the same pillar with ropes, at the furthest point from the roller shutter door.

"Even if my mind is muddled now, my legs can't carry me across." Lina tugged at the rope and gave a bitter laugh.

Li Yu patted his pocket; the whistle was still there, the orange peel was still there, and the perfume bottle was still there.

She sat down against the pillar, clutching the whistle in her hand.

"An Shen will come back."

"She went through the pipe, and she will come back through the pipe."

Li Yu looked up at the ventilation opening on the ceiling.

----

The chat in the Dragon Kingdom's live stream had a different style.

momo: Is this kid really only ten years old??

A native of Zu'an: Fourth graders, comrades, your logical reasoning ability is at a fourth grade level.

Another day has passed: Calico cat: Imitating a voice to lure her into opening the door. Li Yu: No, An Shen calls me Little Fish. Calico cat: Then I'll change my address. Li Yu: Changing your address is itself a flaw. Calico cat: ...She was instantly defeated by a ten-year-old child.

An Shen's Little Fan: Wait, did you guys notice? Li Yu not only saw through the calico cat, she also predicted the tabby cat! She even offered to tie herself up to protect herself from illusions! What level of crisis awareness is that?!

Go China! An Shen said that if you're afraid, you'll be found, but Li Yu wasn't afraid at all the time. How did this kid do that?

Never eaten vegetables: I cried. She said An Shen was a million times smarter than me. She listened to what An Shen said. Trust at ten years old is so pure.

Koi Fish: Let me introduce you, this little fish is my baby! He's been smart and obedient since he was little, and he gets almost perfect scores in every subject! (Proudly jpg)

"Her students are all over the world": That's right, she's my student and also the class monitor. She's a particularly smart girl.

Ancestral Zuan person: No? Is it your child, Koi? Why didn't you say so? I didn't see you worrying for so long.

The nutrient solution tastes awful: No, did you guys notice? Out of the four players, three are adults, and the calmest one is actually a ten-year-old child.

Never eaten meat: I'm really curious about what the calico cat's expression was after it left. I was so upset by a primary school student. Cat life isn't easy either.

Another day has passed: An Shen: I have a successor (not really).