Chapter 185: Hide-and-seek Challenge 7

"Seriously? This game has an intermission?"

’A question mark slowly formed in Perry Yates’s mind.’

However, she was well aware of the need to blend in. Given the Croupier’s unique status, Perry Yates decided to disguise herself so no one would realize she was a newcomer.

She glanced around. Since it was break time, her first priority was to find a place to rest. The only problem was, she had no money.

Watching the people coming and going, Perry Yates hesitated for a moment before melting into the crowd.

She had no idea where she was going, but she didn’t dare let her confusion show. Noticing the many vendor stalls nearby, Perry Yates started browsing, feigning interest.

Unsurprisingly, the goods at these stalls were all various types of cards, most of which were White Cards.

The stall owners sat lazily at their posts. They didn’t greet customers, simply letting them browse freely with a clear "take it or leave it" attitude.

For their part, most of the customers were just looking, showing no intention of buying.

Perry Yates looked at the cards on the stalls. To be honest, she was very tempted.

After all, a single card could be traded for many more. It was hard not to be tempted. As the saying goes, only a fool passes up a good deal.

But...

Feeling the faint, burning sensation coming from her wrist, Perry Yates suppressed the impulse.

’Forget it,’ she thought. ’It’s not like I’m desperate for a few cards. It’s not worth the risk of arousing suspicion to get them.’

With that thought, Perry Yates lost all interest in browsing. The most important thing now was to find a place to rest. Otherwise, wandering around the area all night would undoubtedly make her look suspicious.

As for a proper place to rest, like a hotel, Perry Yates had already spotted one—a very grand, upscale-looking establishment.

The problem was, she had no money. And without fully understanding the situation, she didn’t dare try to exchange her cards for cash.

On top of that, every time she even considered walking into the hotel, the bracelet on her wrist would begin to burn, hot enough to turn the surrounding skin red.

Then again, the bracelet on her wrist seemed to have been constantly hot ever since she arrived here.

The bracelet could sense potential danger, and its constant heat meant that danger had been surrounding her from the very moment she arrived, never once letting up.

At this thought, Perry Yates cautiously scanned her surroundings. She didn’t see any obvious threats, but she didn’t dare let her guard down. You can never be too careful.

’Looks like the hotel is out of the question,’ she thought. ’I’ll just have to find some random place to make do for the night.’

And so, after scouting the entire area, Perry Yates found a deserted corner and transformed herself into an inconspicuous stone.

Perry Yates felt it the instant she turned into a stone: the temperature of her bracelet had actually dropped a little, though it was still warm.

In other words, her current location and state were a little safer than before, but she wasn’t completely out of danger yet.

So, in order to find a truly safe place to wait out the night, Perry Yates focused on the temperature radiating from her wrist and began to roll.

Luckily, her stone form wasn’t very large. Otherwise, anyone passing by would have witnessed the strange spectacle of a perfectly unremarkable-looking rock rolling around on the ground.

After rolling for who knows how long, the heat from her wrist finally vanished completely. Only then did Perry Yates stop.

’Finally,’ she thought. ’Safe.’

Perry Yates was still dizzy and utterly disoriented, but it had all been worth it.

Perry Yates didn’t slowly awaken until the next day.

[Congratulations, player. You have successfully resisted temptation and cleared the fourth round of the game.]

Hearing the game-clear notification the moment she woke up, Perry Yates was still a bit dazed.

And while she was still dazed, the scenery around her changed once more.

She was back inside the game, as if she’d never left. She checked the time—surprisingly, only an hour had passed.

So, everything she had just experienced was an illusion. There was no intermission; that *was* the fourth round.

"No wonder it was burning the whole time."

Perry Yates lifted her hand to look at the bracelet on her wrist and let out a breath. For a second, she had thought her item was malfunctioning.

[The fifth round of the game has begun. Rules for this round: Play your role well. Do not let "them" discover you are different. Duration: One day.]

The system’s voice faded. In the blink of an eye, Perry Yates found herself in a bedroom.

The bedroom was decorated in a simple European style. Several cute stuffed animals sat at the head of the bed. It had to be a girl’s room.

’The rule for this game is to play my part well. So, what is my part?’

Perry Yates frowned and scanned the room. To be honest, she really hated these kinds of brain-teaser sections.

’Can’t hide-and-seek just be hide-and-seek? Why bother with all this role-playing?’ she fumed internally.

Perry Yates screamed silently in her mind. However, no one paid any mind to her complaints; the game had to go on.

Glancing around, her gaze quickly fell upon a desk to the side.

Several books lay on the desk. Judging by how worn the pages were, they were clearly read often by the person whose identity she had assumed.

Perry Yates picked up the books, opening them one by one. As she flipped to the third one, a rather thick volume, she sensed something was wrong—the weight was off.

She opened the book. Sure enough, its pages had been hollowed out to create a cavity. A white phone lay nestled quietly inside.

She took out the phone and turned it on.

The phone was locked and required facial recognition to open.

Perry Yates tried it, and sure enough, it unlocked for her.

Relying on her woman’s intuition, Perry Yates found two messaging apps among all the software and precisely zeroed in on two contacts from the long list.

’Alright, fine, she’d actually just zeroed in based on the chat timestamps.’

From the looks of things, these two chatted with the body’s original owner most frequently. As for their identities...

She scrolled through the chat history. Well now. A boyfriend and a bestie.

"Dating in school?"

After quickly scanning all the chat logs, the image of a naive, sweet, and simple-minded girl gradually formed in Perry Yates’s mind.

Her current identity was that of a total sucker.

A manipulative "Pick-Up Artist" for a boyfriend and a two-faced "green tea" bestie who acted as his accomplice.

Judging from their last messages, those two were planning on visiting her today. And looking at the time, they should be arriving any minute now.

Just then, Perry Yates suddenly heard the voices of a man and a woman coming from outside.

At the door, a man and a woman entered, talking and laughing.

Maybe it was because she’d read too many novels, but no matter how she looked at it, Perry Yates felt the atmosphere between the two of them was all wrong.