Seeing that Hanabi had seen through him, Valerius didn't bother denying it. Instead, he looked at her with interest.
"So then… instead of finding a place to hide, you came to me. Is there something you want?"
That was what puzzled him.
He knew Hanabi loved causing trouble, but walking right up to him like this…
Wasn't that a little too reckless?
Wasn't she afraid he'd just catch her on the spot?
Even though everyone's abilities had been sealed, he'd already tested his physical condition earlier. His speed was still decent.
If he was determined to catch Hanabi, he could chase her for three streets without a problem.
"Hehe. We players bought quite a few items."
"I'm here to tell you exactly what they are."
"Hm? The purchased items?"
Valerius frowned.
It was true he didn't know what everyone had bought.
But hadn't Hanabi just said earlier that they were all items meant to sabotage each other?
"So, what are they?"
Placing a finger against her lips, Hanabi pretended to think.
"Let's see…"
"I remember there were Location Reveal Cards, Slow Cards, Speed Cards, and Reflection Cards."
"My guess is… quite a few people bought the Location Reveal Card."
"I see."
Valerius silently memorized the information.
His eyes drifted toward several colorful arrows that only he could see.
So that's why these arrows suddenly appeared…
Looks like someone really did use Location Reveal Cards to help me.
"But… why are there three arrows?"
One was green.
One was red.
One was yellow.
Valerius guessed each arrow represented a different player's location.
Does that mean three different players all used Location Reveal Cards?
And each targeted a different opponent?
"No…"
Suddenly, something clicked.
Hanabi had also mentioned the Reflection Card.
That meant…
The real situation was probably the exact opposite.
Instead of three players exposing three different people…
Several players had all targeted the same person—
Hanabi.
Only for Hanabi to use a Reflection Card and bounce every reveal back at them.
It made perfect sense.
After all…
She was a troublemaker.
Everyone naturally wanted to eliminate her first.
"So…"
"Why are you telling me all this?"
"Oh, I'm just worried you don't have any special abilities."
"So I thought I'd give you a little information."
"I'm fair like that."
She smiled innocently while casually taking a few steps backward.
"But don't come any closer."
"If you do, I'll leave."
"Uh… alright."
Valerius awkwardly stopped advancing.
He'd actually been planning to quietly close the distance before making a sudden grab.
"Hehe."
Only after seeing him stop did Hanabi halt as well.
"Oh, one more thing."
"Right now, Lisa, Kirara, and Hu Tao have already completed missions."
"As for everyone else… I haven't found them yet."
"That's everything."
"See you later."
"Do your best!"
With that, she pushed open the gymnasium doors and walked away without looking back.
"What a character…"
Valerius couldn't help laughing.
He never expected Hanabi to hand over so much information so willingly.
As expected of a true agent of chaos.
She really wasn't afraid of making enemies.
Of course…
He wasn't about to believe everything she'd said.
He simply filed the information away mentally before choosing one of the colored arrows at random and following its direction.
Inside the livestream…
[Ningguang: That's absolutely outrageous… She's completely shameless.]
[Keqing: What does she even gain from this?]
[Jing Yuan: Sigh… Perhaps she simply finds it entertaining.]
[Seele: Now I finally understand how terrifying a true prankster can be. She'll stir up trouble even when there's nothing to gain.]
[Boothill: Son of a… Even I want to punch her.]
Not just the opposing players—
Even Boothill, who belonged to the same faction, wanted to wring Hanabi's neck.
She'd gone way too far.
[Raiden Ei: On behalf of Inazuma, I hereby lodge our strongest protest against Penacony!]
[Jean: Mondstadt protests as well.]
[Keqing: Liyue also protests.]
Hanabi had exposed that players from three different factions possessed special items.
She hadn't revealed exactly what those items were.
But simply knowing they existed meant Valerius would be cautious now.
That made hiding much more difficult.
[Robin: Um…]
[Sunday: Hanabi acted entirely on her own. Please don't blame all of Penacony for it.]
What exactly are you protesting to us for?
It's not like any of us can control that troublemaker.
At the same time, Sunday couldn't help cursing Hanabi inwardly.
Cause trouble if you want…
Just don't drag the rest of us into it.
She'd already used up her participation slot for this round.
Who knew when she'd get another chance?
The rest of them still had future games to play.
At this rate, they'd all be targeted before they even entered.
Meanwhile…
Following one of the arrows, Valerius left the basketball court.
High above…
Perched atop the lighting rig near the ceiling…
Nekomata finally breathed a sigh of relief.
"That was close…"
"Thank goodness he didn't notice me."
She'd picked this hiding place almost immediately.
The height difference was enormous, and the lighting fixtures provided excellent cover.
Combined with her small frame, she was practically invisible up here.
She'd also witnessed something incredibly entertaining.
Hanabi had exposed practically everyone.
"Kirara's in danger…"
Kirara had helped her reach this spot, so Nekomata couldn't help worrying about her.
The only way to climb up here had been using a ladder.
But leaving the ladder behind would have made the hiding place obvious.
So she'd asked Kirara to carry it away.
She wasn't worried about Kirara betraying her.
After all…
Cat girls don't betray other cat girls.
But now the situation had changed.
Hanabi had exposed Kirara's information.
And Kirara herself had no idea.
What if she kept hiding in one place and got caught?
For a brief moment…
Nekomata almost wanted to climb down and warn her.
Kirara! Hanabi sold you out! Don't stay in one place!
"Please…"
"Kirara…"
"Don't get found so soon…"
Inside the livestream…
[Raiden Makoto: Oh? Why is she so worried about Kirara?]
Makoto couldn't quite understand.
Hadn't Ei said this game was full of deception?
So why was Nekomata worrying about another competitor?
[Yae Miko: What a sweet little girl.]
[Raiden Ei: Exactly. That's what true friendship between players should look like.]
Ei nodded with satisfaction.
She liked Nekomata's attitude.
She cared about Kirara.
And even her name sounded perfectly Inazuman.
Excellent.
[Robin: Nekomata really picked an amazing hiding spot. It's so high up that Mr. Valerius could never reach her.]
[Nicole: Naturally! I've got a feeling our little Nekomata is making it all the way to the end!]
[Anby: She won't. She's definitely getting punished.]
[Billy: Anby… maybe don't say that.]
Sure, the two of you argued all the time…
But this was still the same team!
Did you really have to curse your teammate?
[Nicole: Whose side are you on?!]
[Anby: Uh… it just slipped out…]
She hurriedly covered her mouth.
She'd spent so long bickering with Nekomata that it had become a habit.
[Jane: Hehe… It's a great hiding place.]
"But it's also a dead end."
[Nicole: What do you mean?]
[Jane: Have you considered what happens if Valerius actually finds her?]
Jane had already seen the flaw.
It was a perfect hiding place—
Until it wasn't.
The moment Valerius discovered her…
There would be nowhere left to run.
[Billy: She can just jump down and escape!]
[Zhu Yuan: From that height?!]
[Nicole: Wait… that's true…]
Nicole finally realized the problem.
The hiding spot looked incredibly safe.
But if Nekomata were discovered…
She'd have no escape route whatsoever.
And everyone was just an ordinary person now.
Jumping from that height would probably knock her unconscious on the spot.
It was practically a death trap.
"Please…"
"You absolutely have to stay hidden…"
Nicole silently prayed.
Whether the Cunning Hares brought home a reward this time…
Depended entirely on Nekomata.
She absolutely couldn't afford to choke at the critical moment.
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