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

[Abnormal interference detected.]

[The game is about to end.]

[Ten seconds remaining. All players will be forcibly teleported out of the instance. Please prepare accordingly.]

【10...】

Lin Sui'an squatted among the ten cats, her hand resting on the head of the calico cat. She looked up at the ceiling.

"What?"

The calico cat had barely uttered a "no," the orange cat's eyes were still wet with tears, and the Maine Coon's pupils had just focused when the game was called to a halt.

"You can't take a joke, huh?"

Lin Sui'an's lips twitched.

How can you do this? The cat is about to be woken up, and you've started the countdown?

----

Dragon Kingdom Strategic Command Center.

Jiang Lai slammed her fist on the table, causing the teacup to bounce and spill water.

Chen Zheng looked up at her.

Jiang Lai didn't look at him; her eyes were fixed on the screen, where ten cats lay motionless at Lin Sui'an's feet.

"The game has been stopped."

Chen Zheng stopped writing: "Chief of Staff, this is the first time the game has been suspended."

"Yes, the first time." Jiang Lai stood up, placing her hands on the edge of the table. "No matter how many people died before, no matter how outrageous the dungeon was, the game was never stopped halfway through. It didn't even stop moving the food just now."

Chen Zheng followed her gaze to the screen: "Is it because of Zhuangzi's dream of a butterfly?"

"The timing is too coincidental." Jiang Lai's fingernails dug at the table. "An An used Dream Weaving, the cat started to react, and the game immediately stopped. In the last round, the Ice Tree reacted in the last few seconds and didn't notice the difference, but this round..."

She released her grip and took a half-step back: "This at least proves one thing."

"A cat's consciousness can indeed be awakened," Jiang Lai said in a lower voice.

----

Dragon Kingdom Live Stream Room.

The live chat was silent for three seconds, then exploded.

momo: I held my breath and watched for a full two minutes, my hands were shaking, why are we suddenly ending the game?!

A descendant of the Zuan people: This game is such a piece of trash! Just when the cat was about to be soothed and woke up, it cheated! Its father is so shameless!

An Shen's Little Fan: Wait, do you guys remember the Ice Tree from the last round? The Ice Tree rebelled after being dreamt! The cat is the same! An Shen really woke the cat up!

Never eaten vegetables: So the game got scared? It just flipped the table and refused to play anymore?

Another day has passed: I'm fed up. This game is even more petty than my boss. If they can't win, they flip the board.

Koi: Bless me, bless me, bless me so everything goes smoothly! Little fish, what are you standing there for? Hurry up and grab the props!

----

Inside the beauty store.

The moment Lina heard the broadcast, she nearly dropped the perfume bottle in her hand.

"What? The game is suspended?"

Lydia sprang up from beside the shelf: "We won?"

Sergei looked up at the ceiling: "What's going on?"

Li Yu cupped her face in her hands, her mouth agape: "What terrible thing did An Shen do?! She ruined the game!"

Lina paused for a second, then her mind cleared.

"Props!"

She crouched down and started rummaging through her backpack, speaking rapidly: "Quick, bring all the items! Items you get in the game can be brought back to reality! You can use them in the next round!"

After saying that, she turned her backpack to the front, unzipped it, and frantically stuffed things into it with both hands.

Perfume, citrus spray, samples—I grabbed everything within reach from the shelves and put it in my bag.

Lydia reacted quickly, rushing to the shelf and grabbing all the remaining citrus perfumes into her bag.

Sergei took off his coat and spread it on the ground, then threw bottles and jars into it.

Li Yu rummaged through her pockets and found cat food cans, orange peels, cat toys...

Alright, she had everything she needed, but she didn't mind having too much, so she joined in collecting the props, regardless of whether they were useful or not, she just wanted to get them first!

----

The safe house is located on the south side of the first floor.

Alex leaned against the wall, listening to the countdown on the radio, his brow furrowed.

Tanaka rubbed the claw marks on his face: "Boss, the game stopped? What happened?"

Park Jung-hoon stood up from the ground: "Did the people from China empty out the basement, and the game found out?"

"I don't know," Alex shook his head. "Maybe, we'll find out when we get out."

Tanaka thought for a moment: "It must be something the Chinese players did!"

Alex thought of the Maine Coon cat from earlier.

That cat is strange; it's too smart, too purposeful. It doesn't seem like an NPC, it's more like...

"Never mind." He stood up, dusted off his pants, and said, "Just getting out of here alive is enough."

The other players scattered throughout the mall also breathed a sigh of relief.

The British player emerged from behind the shoe store, his legs still trembling.

The player from Gaul, hiding in a corner on the second floor, breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing the broadcast.

Anyway, we survived.

The atrium on the first floor.

[9, 8, ...]

Lin Sui'an squatted among the ten cats, his mind racing. The cats were reacting, but they weren't fully awake yet, and the game was about to send everyone away.

When I see these cats again in the next round, I don't know when, or whether the game will erase their memories.

She needed to think of a solution. She suddenly remembered the props that Lina had been pulling out from time to time in the previous round.

What about the cat?

Does the cat count as a prop?

uncertain.

But if you're unsure about something, you'll find out by trying.

【5...】

Without further hesitation, Lin Sui'an lunged forward.

He opened his arms wide, trying to reach as much as possible into his bosom.

The Maine Coon was half-pressed down by her chest, the orange cat was pinned under her armpit by her left elbow, the silver shaded cat was swept in by her right arm, and the calico cat was squeezed under her chin.

Not enough, there are six more.

Lin Sui'an also used her legs, squeezing them together to pull the black cat and the golden tabby in.

The Ragdoll cat was nudged by her elbow and rolled into the group of cats.

"Come on! Everyone, come here!"

The three outermost cats—cow cat, tabby cat, and Siamese cat—are too long for Lin Sui'an's arm to carry.

She gritted her teeth, arched her upper body forward, rested her chin on the cat's head, reached out with her arms, hooked her fingertips around the calico cat's hind legs, and pulled it into her arms.

The tabby cat was pulled along by the crowd of cats that squeezed in and rolled into her arms.

Siam was lying at the furthest point, about half a meter away from her.

【2...】

Lin Sui'an pulled his right hand out from the pile of cats, reached forward, and his fingertips touched the tip of the Siamese's tail.

not enough.

She lunged forward a little further, her knees scraping the floor, and her fingertips finally hooked onto the Siamese's hind paw.

He grabbed her and stuffed her into his arms.

All ten cats were in her arms.

Lin Sui'an lay on the ground, her arms tightly wrapped around a bunch of cats. Cat hair covered her face, an orange cat's butt was pressed against her chin, and a silver shaded tail swept across her eyes.

【1. 】

A white light appeared.

Lin Sui'an closed her eyes and tightened her arms even more.

Take them all!

If you don't let me wake them up, I'll take them away!

The light engulfed the entire mall, and all the players disappeared from the instance.