“Clang clang~ Hello dear audience friends~”
“I am your favorite Magic Girl—Xin Yuehu yo ☆~”
“Fox Fox is still in Sui City today. I wonder if everyone in Rong City misses me? Fox Fox will return to Rong City in a few days, and then I will put on a lively performance for the fans in Rong City~”
Half of the live stream's comments were wailing, and half were cheering, with a flurry of comments like 【Don't go! Stay in Sui City!】 and so on.
“Xin Yuehu is really popular.”
Mai Sui looked at the lively atmosphere in the live stream with some envy, and sighed softly.
Hyacinth was about to say something, but Violet's angry voice already rang out:
“What's the use of being popular! She's always causing destruction and disturbing order. We must stop her today!”
Iris stood by silently, only glancing at the purple Magic Girl beside her.
Once upon a time, Hyacinth's attitude towards Xin Yuehu was exactly the same as Violet's—no, although it's still similar now, she could feel that little Hyacinth actually didn't have any overly extreme negative emotions towards Xin Yuehu anymore.
At least she no longer only thought about defeating that little Fox like before.
Bai Lili and her companions stood not far away, also silent, just quietly looking at the Suicheng Wild Animal Park shrouded in dusk, their hearts complex.
—She was dragged here to support by her teammates. Bai Lili muttered to herself.
She had no intention of intercepting Xin Yuehu at all, for no other reason than that Xin Yuehu had a very close companion named Hell Shrike.
Or rather… Hellcat.
Not long ago, Xin Yuehu used mysterious magic to envelop the entire Suicheng Wild Animal Park. All staff and tourists were teleported out, and the area around the park was also covered by a powerful barrier, preventing even birds from entering or leaving.
The Suicheng Hero Association had never seen such a spectacle. They quickly contacted Red Rose, who was on vacation, but the reply they received was, “Sui City has so many juniors now, just call a few teams over.”
So they sought out Hyacinth and her two companions, who had rich experience in dealing with Xin Yuehu's attacks, and also temporarily invited the Bai Lili Squad and the local Maisui Squad to come here together to conduct an investigation.
The Magic Girls gathered together, watching Xin Yuehu's live stream on the screen, trying to find out what she had done inside the animal park from the live video.
“Fox Fox plans to give the Magic Girls some interesting activities, so Fox Fox has temporarily taken over the animal park, but Fox Fox will use magic to take good care of all the animals inside!”
“So, please, staff members, stay at home and enjoy a rare day off~”
“What? You want to know what the program will be?”
“Heh heh heh… It's a secret for now~ But Fox Fox has already set up many camera positions in the animal park, so please continue to follow Fox Fox's live stream and wait and see~”
Hyacinth turned off the live stream screen and looked at the animal park's main gate not far away with her companions.
Aside from being obscured by a powerful magic barrier, the animal park appeared to have no special changes from the outside; at most, it seemed a bit eerie due to being empty.
“Any offensive magic cannot break through this barrier from the outside. Ms. Green Vine has already tried it.”
Hyacinth said to her companions,
“This is also Xin Yuehu's consistent characteristic. We can only find a way to get in and try to break her barrier from the inside!”
“…Indeed, it’s the only feasible method. Let’s go then!”
Bai Lili was startled. Her companions beside her were already rubbing their fists and walking towards the main gate. Before she could stop them, several people quickly entered the barrier entrance at the main gate and disappeared.
The pure white Magic Girl stood still, hesitant for a moment, unsure whether to enter or not.
But since everyone else had gone inside… she was, after all, an old senior of Star Shadow! How could she retreat here!
Bai Lili, oh Bai Lili, you must show the reliability of an old senior and bravely face that Hellcat!
Thinking this, the girl took a deep breath, slowly exhaled, and stepped into the animal park gate.
…
The moment she entered the gate, powerful magic suddenly descended upon Bai Lili, making her jolt.
Her instinctive defensive magic was triggered, but the magic shield that should have appeared did not manifest. The surrounding magic became unusually calm, unable to stir up even the slightest ripple.
“Hmm? What's going on?”
“Magic can't be used? What exactly is this…?”
Not far away, her companions also showed surprised expressions, while only Hyacinth and her two companions, plus Mai Sui, were very calm, even somewhat accustomed to it.
“This is also Xin Yuehu's trick. She can seal our use of magic, so everyone must be careful.”
Hyacinth tightened her grip on her magic staff. Although she couldn't materialize it into a greatsword, it was quite handy to use as a sturdy club.
But when she looked back and saw the troubled expressions of her companions, she suddenly realized something:
Among all the Magic Girls present, only she was a close-combat type; almost all the others were support or firepower types who relied on magic!
“…It really is a mismatch of specialties. I should have known to let the Autumn Osmanthus Squad come.” Bai Lili complained.
“What are you afraid of! There are so many of us, and there are only three of Xin Yuehu's group. There's nothing to be afraid of at all!”
Violet was very confident, her hands on her hips, and began to observe the surroundings.
Unlike the twilight outside, the animal park inside the barrier was like daytime, with the sun shining brightly. Aside from the absence of tourists, it was no different from the usual Suicheng Wild Animal Park—
—“Beep beep.”
“!!!”
The sudden broadcast startled everyone. The Magic Girls quickly looked towards the sound source, only to see tourists queuing up at the animal park entrance behind them at some unknown time, astonishing everyone.
“Eh? Tourists?”
“Don't come in! Inside is…”
One of Bai Lili's companions went forward to try and stop them, but the child running at the front passed directly through her arm, like a phantom.
“—Projection magic.”
The discerning Bai Lili immediately said,
“These are all tourists duplicated by Xin Yuehu using projection magic. They only have audio-visual effects; we can't touch them.”
“Is that so… Then why did she go to such lengths to use such a large barrier to enclose the animal park? Is it just to replicate illusions to trap us?”
Green Vine tentatively put forward her idea.
Then it was denied by Nightingale.
“Impossible. Xin Yuehu must have been messing with strange things inside this barrier. We must find what she's hiding, otherwise even leaving here will become a problem!”
“Anyway, let's investigate the surroundings first. Maybe…”
Before she could finish, the life-sized standee of Xin Yuehu in front of a flower bed not far away immediately attracted everyone's attention.
The Golden Fox on the standee showed a happy smile, extending her hands forward, with a plastic basket designed at the hand position to hold tourist pamphlets, containing a stack of flyers.
The Magic Girls looked at each other, deciding that Bai Lili, Hyacinth, and Iris, the three of Star Shadow, would go first as vanguards to cautiously investigate.
Hyacinth picked up a flyer. The front showed a promotional map of the animal park, but the LOGO had changed to a fox carrot, cat paw, and rabbit ears. The back had a few lines of text, like some kind of Precautions.
But when Hyacinth finished reading the first line, her expression suddenly changed.
“—Oh no!”
“This is Xin Yuehu's conspiracy! We've fallen into her trap!”
The back of the flyer clearly read:
【Welcome to Fox Fox's animal park~】
【I hope everyone has a pleasant day at the animal park, but please be sure to follow the rules below, otherwise, Fox Fox cannot guarantee your safety~】