Yan Qingwen had his own convictions, and Shen Mo had no way to interfere. He found an opportunity and slipped away. Not long after, the rag doll and stuffed cat spotted him — but once he’d run a fair distance, the stuffed cat stopped pursuing him and turned back, continuing to prowl near the food street in search of Yan Qingwen.

It seemed that Mali was deeply anxious about being found.

Shen Mo cast one last glance in that direction from a distance, then pulled his gaze away and left.

He returned to the hideout and laid out the situation to the others in a few brief words. When Bai Youwei heard that Mali had gone into hiding, she didn’t seem particularly surprised.

This game was called Hide-and-Seek.

And now, the hide-and-seek had truly, finally, begun.

“Yan Qingwen’s approach is correct — he must stay in Treasure Bay.” Bai Youwei said calmly. “As long as the stuffed cat cannot find him, Mali will be too afraid to show herself, which means she cannot move position freely. We need to get over there as quickly as possible to share the pressure, and seal off every exit from Treasure Bay.”

Shen Fei fetched a map and spread it out before everyone to explain:

“By area, Treasure Bay is the second largest zone in the park, right after Fairytale Kingdom. It’s divided into five main attractions —

The Lost Ghost Ship, the Mysterious Crystal Tower, the Sea Monster Food Street, the Treasure Bay Theater, and the Jungle Adventure.

All five of these attractions would take considerable time to search. The Sea Monster Food Street has quite a few Chinese and Western restaurants; Jungle Adventure has countless climbing tubes and rope structures; and then there’s the Crystal Tower, the Grand Theater, and the Ghost Ship. Mali could be hiding in any one of them.”

Shen Mo pointed to the food street on the map. “When we were chasing her and she disappeared, it was in this area — so the food street can be ruled out. The attractions closest to the food street are the Jungle Adventure and the Treasure Bay Theater. Those two are the most likely locations.”

“Not necessarily.” Bai Youwei said. “She may have ambushed you at the food street deliberately to throw you off — a misdirection.”

Shen Mo frowned, thinking it over. “…Then our most pressing priority right now is to narrow the search area as quickly as possible.”

“How do we search?” Shen Fei’s heart was tight with anxiety. “If Mali’s rag dolls and the cat don’t leave Treasure Bay, we can’t even get close — let alone go through the attractions one by one!”

Yu Yaqing, listening in, also looked grave: “And even if we do find Mali, her rag dolls and the stuffed cat will definitely come to rescue her. We’re no match for them.”

Everyone fell silent.

Shen Mo looked around at them, and after a long moment, said: “Regardless of anything else, we have to get to Treasure Bay. As long as we can hold on until dawn, our odds improve dramatically.”

Yu Yaqing bit her lip and nodded. “That’s right — this is our chance. We have to try.”

The group was about to set out when Bai Youwei suddenly said: “Actually… I do have an idea…”

Everyone turned to look at her.

“But there’s a degree of risk involved.” Bai Youwei looked at them. “We don’t know where Mali is hiding — but don’t forget: Mali’s rag dolls and her cat, they know exactly where she is. If we send small groups to probe each attraction separately, we’ll definitely be able to figure out where she’s hiding.”

Yu Yaqing thought it over carefully. “I understand what you mean… If Mali is hiding on the Ghost Ship, and we split up to search both the Ghost Ship and the food street, then her dolls and the cat will prioritize attacking whoever searches the Ghost Ship. The plan could work, but it requires information to be relayed quickly — otherwise it won’t be effective.”

Let me give an example:

Bai Youwei goes to the food street to look for Mali. Shen Mo goes to the Ghost Ship to look for Mali.

Shen Mo gets attacked first — but he has no way of knowing whether the cat attacked him first or not.

Bai Youwei has no idea what’s happening on the Ghost Ship and has no way of knowing whether Mali is there or not.

Now let me give an extreme example:

Shen Mo dies on the Ghost Ship! Even if he sees Mali, a dead man cannot pass that information along!

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