themonasnovels Chapter 223 The Last Swan Lake
Chapter 223 The Last Swan Lake
On the shores of Swan Lake.
The viewing platform stands quietly on the shore, and tourists gaze at the water birds leisurely floating on the lake, taking photos with their mobile phones and cameras.
"They are so beautiful."
Watching the white waterbirds swimming in the water, Hyacinth couldn't help but sigh.
As a signature attraction of Guangzhou Wildlife Park, Swan Lake is home to a large flock of swans, who are currently gathered around the viewing platform, swimming and swaying as they feed on the food thrown to them by visitors.
Iris also bought a bag of swan feed with great interest and perched on the railing to feed the waterbirds, attracting Clover to follow along.
"But don't overdo it, we still need to crack the core of this mental world's barrier."
Seemingly feeling that simply feeding them wasn't very meaningful, Hyacinth tossed a few snacks to a swan that was eagerly waiting, and then spoke to her companions.
"We'll come after we finish feeding this bag!" Clover followed Iris happily, becoming her little shadow.
Bai Lili couldn't do anything about her either. When she turned around and saw Lizhao walking over with drinks and snacks, the group simply sat on the bench on the observation deck, spread out a promotional poster, and began to look at it carefully.
"Based on the intelligence we've gathered so far, the barrier set up by Xin Yuehu can be completely broken! As long as we follow her rules step by step and investigate, we can dismantle her barrier!"
"It's like an escape room."
The bladderwort chewed on the pudding in her small bowl and spoke aloud.
"Now that you mention it, it does seem like I do have that feeling." Hyacinth blinked in surprise, praising the bladderwort's imagination.
When Hyacinth was first trapped in the barrier, she felt a little eerie, but if she imagined it as an alternative escape room, it didn't seem so scary.
After all, the Heart Moon Fox was just playing pranks and never actually did anything strange.
...Well, we can't attribute everything to Xin Yuehu's kindness; we still need to take things seriously.
"Let's investigate around Swan Lake next. If all goes well, we should be able to find the next clue here."
Hyacinth made her next arrangements and stared intently at the poster in her hand.
The content of the poster surprised everyone.
The huge painting depicts Swan Lake at night, with the lake surface as calm as a mirror under the starry sky. A petite fox-woman wearing a ballet dress lightly touches the water, her graceful figure like a dancing swan.
"The Little Swans"
Mai Sui recognized the dance pose on the poster at a glance and said softly.
Everyone couldn't help but look at her with surprise, and Bai Lili even smiled.
"Oh my, I didn't expect Miss Wheat to know this."
"I used to study ballet, so I'm very familiar with this move," Mai Sui said with a helpless smile.
Hyacinth recalled the young lady's family situation, so it wasn't too surprising that she knew ballet.
"But logically, the Four Little Swans should be performed by four people, so why is there only one person on the poster?"
"……one person?"
Hyacinth was the first to express her doubt.
Bai Lili's eyes also looked a little strange, and the bladderwort also showed a look of horror.
"Mai... Mai Sui, is there only one person on the poster you saw...?"
"Yes, I only saw one person too."
Iris and Nightingale chimed in, and Four-Leaf Clover nodded in agreement.
Hyacinth swallowed.
In my eyes, on the Swan Lake under the starry sky in the poster, there are clearly four girls in ballet dresses standing.
Besides a figure resembling Xin Yuehu, there were three other rather familiar figures:
"Pothos, violet, and edelweiss—aren't all three of them in the poster?"
"?!"
Mai Sui was startled and looked at the poster again, but no matter how she looked at it, she could only see Xin Yuehu and nothing else.
"...I only saw Green Ivy and Heart Moon Fox, but I didn't see the Violet Edelweiss," Bai Lili replied.
silence.
A long silence followed.
The group stared at the poster, each seeing a different image. The eerie scene seemed to imbue the surrounding environment with a chilling atmosphere.
"It seems that the dance performance depicted on this poster is probably the clue we're looking for in Swan Lake."
Hyacinth tried to calm herself down from her shock, hugging her fox-shaped pillow tightly, and said to her companions beside her,
"And Xin Yuehu has also kidnapped Green Ivy! We must find a way to rescue all three of them!"
Wheat looked at the poster in Hyacinth's hand, staring at the golden fox with only one person in the picture, her eyes lowered.
Green ivy, violets, edelweiss, and my former teammates.
Shortly after she became a magical girl, the three of them found her and formed the magical girl team of Suicheng.
Despite some unpleasant incidents recently, Mai Sui's feelings were very complicated upon hearing the news that they had been caught.
I couldn't see the three of them on the poster, but since Hyacinth said so, and Green Ivy and the other two have indeed disappeared, it's quite possible that they've fallen into the hands of Heart Moon Fox.
When Mingming made up her mind to leave Suicheng, she was very determined and thought she would never pay attention to them again in this lifetime, but she still worried about them.
After all, they were comrades who fought together.
Just like last time at the Suicheng Tower, I would still rush to rescue them without hesitation.
Magical girls are born to protect.
Recalling her conversation with Dandelion and the belief she had shared with her, Mai Sui felt as if she had realized something.
—We cannot abandon any of our companions!
Even though this is the mental world of the Heart Moon Fox, and even though they have been drawn into a terrifying tale of rules and supernatural phenomena, they will do everything in their power to save their companions!
"In short, we must investigate this so-called performance!"
……
The performance is scheduled for the evening.
Following the directions on the poster, the group wandered around the zoo a few more times, but found no further relevant information. It seemed that the end of this strange tale of rules was set at the ballet performance that night.
Time passed quickly, as if time in the mental world had been accelerated. Although only two hours had passed, the sky had already become completely dark.
The zoo was supposed to close for the evening, but the number of visitors around showed no signs of decreasing. Instead, they gathered in front of Swan Lake, as if waiting for the show to begin.
"It's almost time."
The Hyacinths stood by the lake, each clutching their magic wands and fox-shaped pillows, ready to deal with any possible emergencies.
The stars are shining brightly.
The lights in the zoo went out all at once, and the noise from the visitors suddenly fell silent, leaving only the sound of melodious music drifting from somewhere.
"Look! There's movement on the lake!"
Nightingale spoke first.
Everyone looked down and saw that the surface of Swan Lake had become as calm as a mirror. A spotlight shone in the center, illuminating the golden fox striking a ballet pose.
Her formal attire transformed into a pristine white ballet dress, elegant and slender, making her appear like a little swan truly floating on a lake.
"Welcome to the last episode of today's program."
Heart Moon Fox's voice echoed in the sky.
"Did everyone have fun at FoxFox's Zoo? Did you all strictly follow FoxFox's rules?"
"However, some tourists don't pay any attention to the rules at all... If they ignore the rules and do whatever they want, they'll be punished by me, Fox!"
"Now, let me, Fox, give you my final performance."
The spotlight went out, then came back on.
The figures of Green Ivy and the other two appeared beside Heart Moon Fox, as wooden and silent as puppets, striking the starting pose of a ballet.
"bring it on."
Su Tianqing smiled and looked up at the group of people by the lake, all of whom looked astonished.
"If you can snatch Miss Green Ivy back from me before the show ends... then you'll consider it a victory~"