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

"You'll find out what's behind the door once it's opened."

Li Yu nodded and didn't ask any further questions.

The five people leaned against the back of the shop, each checking their equipment. No one spoke, only the occasional screams coming from outside reminded them that the game was still going on.

Time passed by, second by second.

Lydia sprayed perfume three times into the crack in the door every now and then, Sergei checked the vents twice to make sure they weren't blocked, and Lina held the shield item in her hand and rubbed it repeatedly.

Li Yu sat next to Lin Sui'an, swinging his legs back and forth, when suddenly his ears perked up.

Attention all players.

[In three minutes, the mall will experience its first round of treasure chest rain.]

The treasure chest contains abundant resources and items that can help players better navigate the game.

[Friendly reminder: Players who do not participate in the looting will be considered to be passively participating and will be rewarded with 24 hours of bad luck.]

The sound of game announcements echoed through the mall.

Li Yu tugged at Lin Sui'an's sleeve and lowered her voice, "An Shen, is this voice from the game, or is it being simulated by the calico cat?"

Lin Sui'an glanced outside, but there was no sign of a cat in front of the door.

"Did you all hear me clearly?"

Everyone nodded.

"That's from the game." Lin Sui'an looked away. "The calico cat's voice imitation has a distance limit. It has to stand at the door. If it's far away, it becomes indistinct. There's no cat at our door right now."

Li Yu suddenly realized, "I understand!" Even without An Shen's presence, they wouldn't be able to judge, nor would they know if there was a cat at the door.

Lin Sui'an stood up: "Ready to move out."

She picked up the citrus perfume, unscrewed the cap, sprayed it twice on her neck, then sprayed it on her cuffs, and handed it to Lydia.

"Spray it all on, make it thick."

Lydia took it, sprayed it on herself three times, and handed it to Lina. Lina sprayed it on and then handed it to Sergei. Li Yu was the last one. She took the perfume and sprayed it all over her head, her whole body enveloped in the citrus scent.

"That way, even if the cat finds out, it won't come looking for us first. The game says that not grabbing treasure chests will bring bad luck, so players who don't want to grab them will probably come out anyway."

This book was first published on 2009.com, providing you with a reading experience free of errors and disordered chapters.

"It's enough that we were both discovered by the cat and abandoned." Lydia stuffed the Book of True Names into the inside pocket of her coat and zipped it up.

The loudspeaker blared again.

[Treasure Chest Rain Countdown: Sixty Seconds.]

Lin Sui'an walked to the roller shutter door and glanced back at the four people.

"Lina, Little Fish, Sergei, the three of you go to the supermarket on the basement level and wait for me."

"I'll take Lydia to find the orange cat."

"Once we find it, we'll meet you on the basement level."

Lina asked, "What if you hadn't come?"

"Then you should adapt to the situation and prioritize survival."

Lina pursed her lips and said nothing more.

[Thirty seconds.]

Lina and Lydia first unlocked the glass door and pushed it to one side.

Sergei stood beside the roller shutter door, his hand on the lever, waiting for Lin Sui'an's signal.

[Twenty seconds.]

[Ten seconds.]

Inside the mall, the sound of rolling shutters began to echo incessantly.

Some are hesitating, while others have already taken action.

Players who didn't want to leave were forced out of their hiding places by the phrase "24 hours of bad luck." No one knew what bad luck meant, but in this game, any punishment could be fatal.

Splash!

Splash!

The sound of metal curtains rolling up continued, one layer, two layers, three layers.

[5, 4, 3, 2, 1]

[Treasure chest rain begins.]

Sergei yanked up the roller shutter, and the metal slats rolled up with a whoosh.

Lin Sui'an was the first to rush out. As his footsteps touched the corridor floor, he looked up and saw that the entire mall was lit up.

It's not the light that's on, it's the treasure chest that's lit up.

Multicolored lights rained down from the three-story-high dome. Red, blue, gold, and green glowing boxes of all sizes fell from the sky, hit the floor, bounced twice, and rolled to various corners.

In the pitch-black shopping mall, these points of light were scattered everywhere, like fireflies in the night.

Li Yu ran out, tilting her head back, her eyes shining in the light, her mouth agape: "An Shen, so beautiful..."

Stop looking, run!

Lin Sui'an grabbed Li Yu's wrist, and the five of them rushed down the corridor toward the escalator.

The mall is in chaos.

Players emerged from various shops, some heading straight for the treasure chests, some peering out from the doorways, and some taking a few steps before retreating.

The cat moved too.

Meows came from different directions, along with the pattering of paws on the floor and the whooshing sound of bouncing, all mixed with the players' footsteps and shouts, making it impossible to tell which came first and which came later.

Lin Sui'an led the four people down the escalator, their footsteps thumping on the metal steps. She didn't look at the treasure chests, her eyes fixed on the direction of the first-floor lobby.

When she got to the first floor, she glanced at the fire escape wall and saw no cat at the entrance.

"Lina, Sergei, Little Fish, go inside, go downstairs, wait for us in the supermarket."

Lina nodded, pulled Li Yu and squeezed into the fire escape. Sergei followed behind, squeezed through the door crack, and glanced back at Lin Sui'an.

Lin Sui'an waved to him, and the three of them disappeared around the corner of the stairs.

"Let's go." Lin Sui'an turned around and ran in the opposite direction with Lydia.

In the lobby on the first floor of the mall, treasure chests were scattered everywhere, and glowing dots rolled around on the ground. A player pounced on a golden treasure chest and just reached out to open it when a dark shadow darted out from behind him. A black cat emerged from the shadows and slapped the player on the back with its paw.

A scream rang out.

Lin Sui'an pulled Lydia around and ran along the wall.

Cats are scratching people, people are fighting over treasure chests, and the whole mall is in complete chaos.

"The orange cat was just on the south side," Lin Sui'an said as he ran. "Let's go there to look for it first."

The two rushed past the entrance of a clothing store. Lydia slipped and stepped on a blue treasure chest. She grabbed it without even opening it and ran away.

They hadn't run more than a few steps when they encountered a golden Shaded cat. Before the two could even get around it, the golden Shaded cat jumped away first.

The two continued running, bypassing the fountain in the courtyard and passing through a row of fallen signs, until finally the figure came into view.

Orange cat.

At this moment, it was dancing on a player's back, with a treasure chest under the player, who was screaming and trying to break free of the orange cat.

Lin Sui'an stopped and grabbed Lydia's arm: "That's it."

Lydia took out the Book of True Names, opened the cover, and her gaze fell on the blank pages.

Lin Sui'an lowered his voice: "Ivana Petrova."

Lydia stared at the pages, her lips moving: "Ivana Petrova."

The orange cat's name appeared on the pages of the Book of True Names. The orange cat's body stiffened abruptly, its ears perked up, its pupils dilated, and it stood up on its four legs, turning its head left and right twice as if searching for something.

Lydia whispered the order: "Open all the doors on the basement level."

The orange cat froze for three seconds, its pupils began to dilate, and then it moved. Its chubby body swayed twice, and it started running towards the fire escape.

Lydia closed the Book of True Names, and Lin Sui'an immediately followed the orange cat.

Lina was standing at the entrance of the supermarket on the basement level when she saw a flash of orange light dart down from upstairs, run straight past her, and head deeper into the supermarket.

"Senior..." Lina's voice was very soft, so soft that only she could hear it.

"Quick, keep up with the orange cat." Li Yu tugged at Lina and ran after the orange cat.

The orange cat didn't stop. It ran to the iron door at the deepest part of the room, raised its front paw, and pressed it into the circular groove.

The iron gate flashed.

Click.

The door opened.