Several days passed in the blink of an eye, and soon it was the day of the Moonchase Festival.
Fireworks burned endlessly throughout the streets, turning the vast stretch of night into a dazzling imitation of daylight. Crowds surged below. Lovers walked hand in hand, families gathered together in warmth and laughter.
"Quick, Zane, look over there! There are so many people gathered around that spot!"
Under the glow of the fireworks, the gray-haired girl's eyes sparkled brightly, much like the Stellaron inside her, carrying a smile filled with destructive delight.
Without taking her eyes off the crowded booth in the distance, she grabbed Zane and rushed over.
"Hey, slow down! Don't bump into people!"
Seeing the two charging recklessly into the crowd, the Doctor hurried after them while reminding them not to cause trouble, afraid the pair of little troublemakers would stir something up.
Walking beside the Doctor, Rover quietly watched everything unfold. Looking at the noisy group fooling around together, she felt a little dazed.
Not long ago, she had still been completely alone, awakening within Dim Forest. Before her lay an unfamiliar world, behind her stretched endless mountains.
At the time, she didn't know who she was, nor what she was supposed to do. She couldn't see her past, and she couldn't glimpse her future.
Thankfully, she met him.
She met many kind people.
She no longer had to sleep rough in the wilderness or wander from place to place exposed to the elements.
She no longer had to worry that showing her strength would make others fear her, nor fear being thrown into prison.
Rover lifted her head, amber-like eyes gazing toward the figure within the crowd.
Now, she had found the one destined for her, someone she could entrust her back to...
"Rover, hurry up! We're gonna leave you behind!"
At that moment, Zane's voice suddenly rang out. Her thoughts interrupted, Rover pressed her lips into a smile.
"Coming."
As she answered, she quickly caught up, a soft smile lingering on her delicate face.
Seeing Rover follow after them, Stelle pointed toward a banner overhead and eagerly said, "Rover, let's try this one."
Following the direction Stelle pointed, Rover looked up.
"Hide-and-Seek"
A surprised look appeared on Rover's face as she turned to Zane. If she remembered correctly, this was one of the activities Zane had prepared.
[Notice: 1. Men, women, elderly people, and children with high blood pressure, diabetes, heart disease, claustrophobia, toothaches, erectile dysfunction, gallstones, joint pain, diarrhea, or high fevers are prohibited from participating. Any adverse reactions during the event are unrelated to this stall.]
[2. This stall firmly adheres to the One Jinzhou Principle and resolutely supports the Magistrate's rule.]
[3. Weapons and Resonance abilities are prohibited during gameplay.]
[4. The game will take place in a jungle, not in Taoyuan Village.]
[5. Victorious players will receive a reward of 100,000 Shell Credits.]
[6. Please sign the 'Waiver of Liability' before participating.]
Looking at the absurdly long, galaxy-level disclaimer, Rover stiffly turned toward Zane and slowly produced a single "?"
'Is this hide-and-seek... actually normal?'
What Rover didn't expect, however, was that instead of discouraging visitors, the massive disclaimer only made even more people eager to participate. Quite a few rushed forward to sign the waivers.
"Rover, Doctor, let's go try it too!"
As Stelle spoke, she grabbed Rover and the Doctor by the hands and dragged them into the crowd, pulling out three waivers. The three signed them one after another.
As the person in charge of the booth, Zane naturally knew exactly what kind of monstrosity he had created.
Watching the three girls stand before the booth waiting to enter, he let out a couple of suspicious little chuckles.
Just then, a man dressed like a waiter hurried over. But if one looked closely at his hands, they'd notice thick calluses at the tiger's mouth and index finger.
"Mr. Zane, the attraction is ready. Shall we let the guests enter?"
"Let them in."
The so-called hide-and-seek naturally involved players using every method available to hide themselves within the forest and avoid being caught by the "cat."
During the game, players also had to search the forest for four key keys. Only after finding them could they open the gate and escape.
Anyone who successfully entered the gate or survived until the time limit ended would be the winner of the game.
"Hah, hide-and-seek? I'm basically a professional at this."
"Exactly. And it's in a forest too, which makes catching people super difficult. Whoever's playing the cat is screwed."
"I'm fast, so I'll be the one kiting the hunter."
"Nice, nice. Then I'll just spectate."
"I-I'm a coward. I'll just hide somewhere and stay still."
———
Listening to the surrounding players chatting, even Rover couldn't help feeling a trace of excitement.
At that moment, Zane's amused voice suddenly echoed from the loudspeaker, "All players have entered the field."
"Please hurry and hide yourselves. The game officially begins in one minute. If anyone wants to quit, this is your last chance~"
Hearing Zane's "kind-hearted" warning, quite a few players snorted dismissively.
"Heh, only an idiot would quit a game this easy!"
"A free 100,000 Shell Credits? Only a fool would turn that down."
Seeing nobody back out, the corners of Zane's lips curled into a sinister grin inside the broadcasting station.
Of course, the players knew nothing about this. At the moment, they were fully focused on finding hiding spots.
As the saying went, "CTs never look up."
Some people climbed trees.
Some used the dim moonlight to hide directly in the grass.
Others simply dug holes on the spot and buried themselves.
Watching everyone hide with such enthusiasm, Rover's group found a large rock directly facing the entrance. It happened to sit in a blind spot from the entrance's line of sight.
"I honestly think we don't even need to hide. There's no way an ordinary person could ever catch up to us anyway..."
Ding-ling!
After a loud ringing sound, the gate at the entrance slowly opened before shutting again.
Just as the players waited nervously in their hiding places, an even louder roar suddenly echoed through the field.
Hearing it, Rover and the others cautiously peeked out.
"What the hell is THAT?!"
In Rover's sight, four Lightcrusher Beasts stepped into the field, glowing trails left beneath their feet.
"This is supposed to be hide-and-seek!? What kind of psychopath uses Lightcrusher Beasts as the cat?!"
Stelle immediately ducked back behind the rock. Only now did she finally understand what Zane meant by an "unforgettable holiday."
The first people to get caught were naturally the players who had bragged about "kiting the hunter."
After all, what they could kite were "ghosts," not "cats."
The next to suffer were the spectator-types.
"Little mouse, climb the table, steal the candy, can't get down!"
Zane's maddening nursery rhyme echoed from the loudspeaker, along with his wild laughter.
"Hahahahaha... Last reminder, hide-and-seek has begun! In the trees, under the trees, in the grass, in the water, and behind the rocks!"
"In the name of Lord Zane's Lightcrusher Beasts, I command you... retreat! Time's almost up! The Lightcrusher Beasts are coming to find you... Ahhh!"
Along with a miserable scream, the loudspeaker suddenly fell silent.
At that moment, the players hiding throughout the field suddenly realized they could no longer hear the Lightcrusher Beasts.
Everything around them had gone completely quiet.
No sounds from the beasts.
No sounds from people.
All they had to do now was wait for the timer to run out, or gather the four keys to end this deadly game...
Rover rolled her wrists and crouched down, removing a key from the neck of the Lightcrusher Beast at her feet.
Looking over at the Doctor and Stelle, she saw the two of them had also taken keys from the other two Lightcrusher Beasts.
"I thought it'd be terrifying, but they shattered in one hit."
Stelle curled her lips. Earlier, when the three Lightcrusher Beasts lunged at them, she'd practically started saying goodbye to the trash cans back home.
And then one punch shattered the beasts?
"So..." Doctor rubbed her smooth chin and looked around thoughtfully. "This is the game's real mechanic?"
The hunter you thought was hunting was actually the prey.
Rover rubbed her forehead with a headache coming on.
Looks like she'd need to settle things here quickly... and then properly "reward" the great contributor behind all this.
Meanwhile, Zane lowered his head and walked toward another booth he had planned, looking exactly like a child caught peeing in the soup pot by their parents.
Under Changli's "friendly" threats, he had been forced to remove all the bizarre content.
Before him, a banner fluttered noisily in the night breeze.
"Master Chef Championship"