Inside the livestream…
[Raiden Ei: Is she stupid? What's the point of blocking the doorway?]
Watching Kirara make her last desperate struggle, Ei couldn't help looking down on it.
Was she just like Pela, panicking so much that she'd forgotten which way the door opened?
[Yae Miko: Who are you calling stupid? She has an item. She's buying time.]
[Raiden Ei: Hmph… I knew that already. I didn't need you to remind me.]
[Kujou Sara: Tch!]
[Zhu Yuan: Thank goodness… If Miss Kirara has an item, she should be able to escape.]
Since Kirara had helped Nekomata earlier, Zhu Yuan really didn't want to see her eliminated so soon.
[Nicole: Looks like Valerius's about to come up empty-handed. Nice.]
[Billy: We've won. There's not much time left. Victory is ours!]
[Anby: Cue the ending theme… roll the credits already.]
[Herta: Are you idiots? You should be worrying about your catgirl instead.]
[Nicole: What do you mean?]
[Fu Xuan: Kirara's item is a Position Swap Card. She can only swap with someone whose location she already knows. Do you understand now?]
[Beidou: Heh… Either Kirara survives, or Nekomata does. Pick one.]
[Anby: …]
[Nicole: No way… Kirara doesn't seem like the kind of person who'd do that.]
[Miyabi: It's over. The moment she uses that card…]
Seeing Kirara secretly hiding the card behind her back…
Everyone already knew what was about to happen.
Meanwhile…
On top of the lighting rig in the basketball arena…
Hu Tao looked helplessly at Nekomata.
"So…"
"How exactly did you get up here?"
After being randomly teleported here, the first thing she'd seen was Nekomata still lying atop the lighting frame.
She simply couldn't figure it out.
"Oh, that's easy."
"A ladder."
Nekomata proudly explained how she and Kirara had worked together earlier.
"See? Great hiding place, right? Valerius will never find me."
"…"
"You never considered that Kirara might sell you out?"
"Impossible!"
"We're both cat yokai!"
"We're basically sisters!"
"She'd never do that."
"Heh…"
"Whatever helps you sleep at night."
Hu Tao decided not to argue.
She still felt this place wasn't safe.
Leaning over the edge, she searched below.
She needed to find a lower place to climb down.
By now…
She'd already figured out the true nature of this game.
It might be called Hide-and-Seek…
But the key wasn't hiding.
It was running.
If you stayed hidden forever…
You'd eventually be found.
But if you kept moving…
Your chances of being caught dropped dramatically.
She had to get back to the ground.
There was no way she was going to trap herself up here.
Unfortunately…
After looking around…
Everything was ridiculously high.
There was only one way down.
One person would have to cling to the lighting rig…
Using their body as a ladder…
While the other climbed down.
Hu Tao glanced toward Nekomata.
She was just about to convince her to help.
At the very same moment…
Valerius had already opened the door and entered the room.
"You're not getting away."
"I…"
"W-Wait!"
Seeing Valerius approaching…
Kirara's face filled with hesitation.
She still had an item.
A Position Swap Card.
It could save her.
But…
It only worked on someone whose location she already knew.
And right now…
The only player whose location she knew…
Was Nekomata.
The moment she used it…
Their newly formed friendship would disappear completely.
"…Waaa…"
"What do I do?"
The livestream exploded.
[Raiden Ei: Stop thinking and use it!]
[Yae Miko: Exactly. Hurry up.]
[Zhu Yuan: Don't! Throwing away your friendship over something uncertain isn't worth it.]
[Jane: Friendship is the most precious thing. Everything else is temporary. You'll regret it someday.]
[Seth: I strongly condemn sacrificing someone else to save yourself.]
[Wise: Exactly. It's not worth it.]
[Ningguang: Stop dreaming. She's definitely going to use it.]
[Yelan: If you've got an item, you use it. Nothing wrong with that.]
Inside the arena…
As Valerius drew closer…
Kirara had nowhere left to retreat.
"…Nekomata…"
"I'm sorry."
She truly felt guilty.
But…
The Raiden Shogun was watching.
If she got eliminated while still holding such a powerful item…
She definitely wouldn't have a pleasant time afterward.
Finally…
She made her decision.
"I use the Position Swap Card…"
"…to swap places with Nekomata!"
Whoosh!
A pillar of light descended.
Kirara instantly vanished.
Standing where she'd been…
Was a bewildered Nekomata.
"…Huh?"
"…Huh?"
"…HUH?!"
She looked around in confusion.
Dead end.
Valerius standing right in front of her.
She couldn't understand a single thing.
"…"
Valerius blinked.
He hadn't expected the player to suddenly change.
Still…
A player was a player.
He pulled out the rope and swiftly tied Nekomata up.
Then crouched in front of her.
"Do you know why you're here?"
"…Why?"
Her large eyes were full of confusion.
She genuinely couldn't understand how she'd gone from perfectly hidden…
To suddenly appearing here.
"I don't know the exact details."
"But earlier…"
"Kirara suddenly shouted…"
"'Swap positions with Nekomata.'"
"…You mean…"
"It was Kirara who swapped with me?"
"Yep."
"She'd been hiding here all along."
"Nnnngh!!"
"KIRARAAAAAA!!"
"We're enemies for life!!"
Nekomata exploded.
She immediately began cursing Kirara without holding back.
Sisters?
Cat yokai never betray cat yokai?
What a lie!
She'd been so worried about Kirara earlier…
Now she finally understood.
Kirara had been acting nice because she planned to use her as an escape route all along!
"Calm down."
Seeing her so worked up…
Valerius hurriedly tried to soothe her.
"D-Don't eliminate me yet!"
"I'll tell you a secret!"
"Oh?"
"What secret?"
Valerius's eyes lit up.
This had been his plan all along.
Since they'd swapped positions…
Nekomata definitely knew where Kirara had gone.
If he casually asked a few questions…
Wouldn't he get a free clue?
"Kirara's on top of the basketball arena's lighting rig."
"Hu Tao's up there too."
"Go eliminate her!"
"…"
Now that…
Was an unexpected bonus.
Valerius almost burst out laughing.
He'd come looking for Kirara…
Yet he'd accidentally uncovered the locations of three players.
"The lighting rig in the basketball arena…"
"That's pretty high up, isn't it?"
"Very high."
Nekomata nodded before hurriedly adding,
"Earlier, Hu Tao wanted me to help her climb down."
"If you hurry…"
"They definitely won't be able to escape!"
"I see…"
Valerius nodded.
He now had a pretty clear picture.
He'd better move quickly.
Otherwise…
The two of them might get away.
Without another word…
He placed a hand on Nekomata's shoulder.
[Attention: Player Nekomata has been eliminated.]
"Waaaah…"
"I'm sorry…"
"I'm so sorry…"
Perched atop the lighting rig…
Hearing the elimination announcement…
Kirara was overcome with guilt.
If it weren't for her…
Nekomata never would've been eliminated.
"Enough feeling guilty."
"Hurry and help me get down."
"Otherwise Valerius will be here any second."
"O-Okay!"
Kirara nodded frantically.
Hu Tao had already analyzed the situation.
Valerius was very likely heading this way.
She had to help Hu Tao climb down and retrieve the ladder before he arrived.
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