[Holy shit! This blonde beauty is having Little Grandchild call her Aya?!]
[Aya? Wait a minute! Could she be... Little Ya, the boss?!]
[That aura! That calm yet oppressive aura! It's so similar! She's completely overwhelming Night Shadow's presence—this Conquerers Haki is the real deal!]
[Case closed! Little Ya herself has entered the game! Is she here to personally capture Cifera and Little Grandchild?!]
[No way! She's not part of the Pursuit Team!]
[True, it wouldn't be much fun if viewers could just jump into the live stream themselves.]
[What are you worried about? Didn't you hear the Production Team's announcement? They've already blocked all signals near the Starry Headquarters. Even the Pursuit Team's footage is gone. Little Ya can't even watch the live stream if she's there.]
[So, is this really Little Ya? @LittleYa, are you there?]
But Little Ya remained silent, which only fueled the audience's belief that this blonde beauty, Aya, was indeed Little Ya.
While the live stream viewers erupted in debate over Cifera's "Aya," Night Shadow's hair stood on end!
"A... Aya?"
He repeated the name almost unconsciously, his voice trembling slightly despite his efforts to control it.
The name "Ya" struck him like a cursed incantation, triggering a wave of fear. He barely restrained himself from instinctively recoiling.
So, you're not even pretending anymore, huh?
This woman must be one of Little Ya's people. She recognized me and deliberately called herself "Aya" to tease me!
The thought of his secret being exposed by Little Ya filled him with fury.
She promised she wouldn't tell anyone! Those "Cat-Eye" people are utterly untrustworthy!
Hmph, Little Ya, you'll pay for this! I'll settle the score with you sooner or later!
For now, to prevent this woman who's seen through my disguise from causing trouble, I'll play along with her...
Night Shadow swiftly regained his composure, flashing what he considered a perfectly measured smile.
"I'm Lu Yue. Since Sister Aya has been so direct, I can't possibly refuse without losing face."
Though Night Shadow quickly regained his composure, Cifera had already caught the violent flicker of microexpressions that crossed his face when she mentioned "Aya."
No way... Is it really that coincidental? Your arch-rival is also named Aya?
Just as Cifera was inwardly marveling at this coincidence, she suddenly felt the Authority of Trickery activate.
In an instant, information about a network account named "Little Ya" flooded her mind, including recent comments from the account in the live stream chat and related discussions across the internet.
So that's how it is~
This mysterious seventh expert, Night Shadow's arch-rival, is really named Little Ya.
This is getting more and more interesting~
Cifera easily deduced why she had suddenly gained information about "Little Ya."
Some viewers in the live stream must have heard her refer to herself as "Aya" and, carried away by their imaginations, assumed she was Little Ya.
However, since only a small number of viewers believed this, and their impressions of Little Ya were limited to her comments in the live stream,
Cifera could only access information related to Little Ya's activity as a viewer during the show, without gaining any deeper personal details.
But that was enough. For this Little Ya, who had suddenly appeared to sabotage her, Cifera decided to administer a small punishment.
According to the show's rules, Cifera wasn't allowed to watch the official live stream, so she couldn't hack into Little Ya's account and cause trouble in the chat.
In that case, she'd just give her a "24-hour mute package."
At the same time...
In a cat-themed VIP suite at a luxurious hotel in Japan:
Fluffy paw-shaped pillows lay scattered across the soft white carpet. Cat-themed art adorned the walls, and a faint vanilla scent permeated the air.
A young girl lay nestled in the center of an oversized round bed covered with a fluffy cat-themed duvet.
She looked young, somewhere between middle and high school age, her face still showing a hint of youthful awkwardness and baby fat. Her long, radiant golden hair cascaded over her shoulders like flowing sunlight, the ends curling naturally, giving her the air of a lazy, aristocratic golden Chinchilla cat.
Clad in a one-piece cat-themed pajama set, the hood with its drooping cat ears hanging behind her, she clutched a massive plush cat doll almost as tall as herself.
At that moment, her emerald-green eyes were wide and fixed intently on the screen of the tablet in front of her.
The screen showed the live broadcast of the Global Manhunt: The Final Heist China Region qualifiers, the image frozen on Aya—the elegant, golden-haired, blue-green-eyed woman standing outside a coffee shop.
"Meow...?"
She unconsciously let out a soft, cat-like hum, her eyes filled with stunned disbelief. She didn't even notice when someone @'d her in the live stream chat.
This woman on the screen... this woman calling herself "Aya"...
"This... how is this possible?!"
The girl sat bolt upright, the plush cat doll slipping from her arms and landing with a thud on the carpet.
She reached out a delicate, pale finger, almost touching the face on the tablet screen:
"This face... the color of these eyes... this hair color... except for the hairstyle and demeanor... it's almost... almost like..."
She suddenly leaped out of bed, grabbed the tablet, and dashed barefoot to the massive floor-to-ceiling mirror in her room.
The mirror reflected "Aya's face" as well, but it was rounder, more youthful, with eyes that were younger, clearer, and more spirited.
The girl gazed at herself in the mirror, then back at "Aya" on the tablet screen, her small mouth slightly agape as she compared the two repeatedly.
"No way... could Mom and Dad really have...?"
She muttered to herself, her expression shifting from shock to growing bewilderment and a touch of absurd speculation:
"Could I have a long-lost older sister? How else could we look so alike?!
"This isn't just similar anymore—it's practically... a grown-up, high-spec, elegant version of... me?!"
The moment this thought popped into her head, she found it absurd and couldn't resist pulling a face at her reflection.
As she watched "Aya" on the screen, her every gesture radiating the unique allure and powerful presence of a mature woman, a faint, uncontrollable longing flickered deep within the girl's emerald-green eyes—a longing she herself hadn't fully recognized.
"Hmm..."
Clutching her arms, her cheeks flushed slightly, she murmured softly to the screen:
"So... is this what I'll become when I grow up? She's... actually quite pretty..."
Her voice carried a mix of bashfulness and a hint of smug pride.
"Well, but this hairstyle..."
In an instant, a glint of daring sparked in her eyes.
"Maybe... I should try it?"
Once the idea took root, it spread like wildfire.
Without hesitation, she turned and began rummaging through her room. She quickly retrieved a pair of sharp paper-cutting scissors from the pen holder on her desk.
Standing before the mirror, she didn't bother with any preparation. Without even glancing at "Aya" on the screen, she began to cut.
Snip!
The first cut was swift and decisive.
A large strand of shimmering golden hair fell soundlessly onto the white carpet, its contrast stark against the pale background.
The girl's movements showed no hesitation. Her small hands were astonishingly steady, the scissors seemingly alive in her grip, weaving through the strands with surgical precision.
She needed no measurements or markings; her sharp, emerald-green eyes served as the most precise ruler. Every curve and layer of Aya's hairstyle on the screen was clearly imprinted in her mind, and she flawlessly replicated it on her own head!
Snip! Snip! Snip!
The crisp, rhythmic clicks of the scissors echoed in the silent room, creating an almost hypnotic rhythm.
Golden strands of hair drifted down, piling up on the carpet.
In the mirror, the girl's magnificent long hair visibly vanished before her eyes, replaced by a mid-length style almost identical to Aya's on the screen.
The entire process was astonishingly quick, taking only two or three minutes.
The girl put down the scissors, shook her head, and her layered golden bob bounced lightly.
She leaned closer to the mirror, scrutinizing her reflection—her delicate, baby-fat-cheeked face now appeared less childish, framed by the sleek, short haircut. It exuded an elfin agility, a sharp intelligence beyond her years, and... elegance!
Though her features still retained a hint of youthful innocence, her overall resemblance to Aya on the screen had skyrocketed to over ninety percent.
Of course, if body measurements were considered, the similarity would plummet considerably.
Damn mature women!