Operation Red Book

Chapter 214 Graduation Ball and Moonlight Castle

Ivy opened her eyes, almost instantly.

She didn't feel any discomfort in her body, as if she had begun to adapt to the changes between the two worlds.

There was noisy electronic music all around, and the huge room was pitch black with only green and red lasers flashing everywhere.

As the lights changed, the crowd gathered like a tide, filling the entire space in the blink of an eye.

They were dressed in 18th century French court costumes, with a thick layer of powder on their faces and two circles of pink blush on their cheeks.

The ladies wore layered pleated skirts and tall white wigs; the men wore blue military uniforms from the Napoleonic era and black and gold tricorne hats on their heads.

"I wouldn't be like this, would I?"

Ivy looked down at the clothes she was wearing in confusion... Never mind, she couldn't imagine her face covered in fried chicken powder.

The sound of the electronic music grew louder and louder, and the drum beats changed into a heartbeat, clearly presented as red waves on the dark wall.

The "nobles" around were dancing to the music, but they were not dancing to waltz, but to disco from the Elvis era.

"Enough, enough." Ivy was squeezed and swayed from side to side. "Don't change anymore. This is the real world. I'm convinced of this..."

Ivy stretched out her arms, trying her best to keep some distance from the white wigs around her.

There was no sound from the crowd; everyone was dancing in silence, including the DJ who was dancing vigorously on the stage.

"Ahem, make way, ahem... Is this the graduation dance?"

Ivy impatiently pushed away a "Napoleon" who was approaching her, and tried her best to open up a path forward.

To be honest, during the day, Ivy was looking forward to the graduation dance.

That was a testament to the madness of student life, not having to worry about exams and rankings, just having fun and laughing, and maybe even finding your first kiss.

Of course, she had already prepared various methods to deal with those troubles:

If someone confesses his love to you, you can pretend to be drunk and laugh it off.

If you encounter someone who is drunk, you can secretly pour it out when he is not paying attention and fool him into thinking it’s over.

If they encounter a fight or trouble, they can hide behind the principal in advance. They are more willing to beat the principal than themselves.

In short, Ivy had already anticipated various contradictions, but she had never anticipated the current problem, let alone anticipated a solution.

The surrounding environment was a bit weird. It didn't feel like an ordinary high school graduation party, but more like the monster masquerade party in "Wednesday".

After looking around, Ivy couldn't find any teacher. The blonde girl was nowhere to be seen, and the dancing classmates also acted as if she didn't exist. No one wanted to pay attention to her.

There were no familiar people, no drinks, no snack bar, and not even an exit.

The entire dance floor was like a fishing boat in the sea. The wind and waves outside the boat made the boat sway, and the squid inside the boat also made Ivy tumble up and down.

The air was humid and hot, and Ivy's body soon became uncomfortable.

She felt her cheeks getting hot, like a boiled egg. The air became increasingly scarce, and the gas she inhaled into her throat carried a fishy stench of preserved eggs. Ivy felt like she was about to faint.

The lasers in front of me were blurry, and the crowd around me was getting more and more crowded.

Ivy lowered her head, but the cramped space did not allow her to bend down, not even to the knee.

Just when she was about to faint from the crowd, the people around her suddenly dispersed.

A large amount of fresh air rushed into Ivy's lungs, and she immediately regained consciousness.

The electronic music on the DJ station was still playing, but the sound was not as harsh and the speed was much slower, which gave Ivy a chance to catch her breath.

"Ok?"

A hand as white and tender as a lotus root suddenly appeared in my sight. This hand had a soft light, which was out of tune with the gloomy atmosphere. The moment it appeared, a question mark of doubt immediately came out of my mouth.

"who is it?"

Who was the owner of this hand? Ivy wanted to see what that person looked like, but no matter how hard she tried, her sight was always occupied by the hand, and she was not allowed to see the forearm from the wrist up.

The hand was stretched out quietly, with slender knuckles and skin as white as jade, and a small bright red mole on the second knuckle of the little finger.

There was not a trace of blood on the whole hand, and it looked a little blue if you looked closely. I wonder if it was because of the light.

It seemed that there was no other choice. Ivy sighed and gently placed her hand on it.

The hand was huge, and Ivy's right hand was much smaller than it.

It was very light, so light that I didn't even realize when the hand grabbed me; it was very cold, as cold as a vampire that had been dead for five thousand years.

Ivy breathed slowly. Her vision was very limited. She could only see the hand that was emitting soft light and her own cautious steps.

In this way, the two walked for an unknown amount of time. The people around them stopped dancing and the noisy music gradually faded away in their minds.

The red and green lasers stopped flashing randomly, the surroundings were still dark, and the heartbeat on the wall was still showing regularly.

The world slowly became silent, so silent that it seemed as if there were only the two of them.

"Maybe I will continue like this." Ivy thought.

Her pulse was steady, without any fluctuations.

"But we have to stop eventually." And that is indeed the case.

For some reason, Ivy felt indescribably sad.

She stopped walking, but the man still held her hand, with no intention of letting go.

A strong light shone down from above, illuminating Ivy and the surrounding environment.

She stood in the center, like a puppet on a stage being watched.

The blinding light illuminated Ivy's eyes, and her vision turned white, so she had to close her eyes.

Ivy opened her eyes again after the bright light in front of her eyes faded.

The darkness and strong light in front of me disappeared, and what came into view was a huge floor-to-ceiling glass.

"It won't change. I've made up my mind. This is the real world and it won't change anymore." Ivy patted her forehead and said as if hypnotizing herself.

This is an ancient castle with cold colors, dim moonlight and burning torches all around. Under the three kinds of lighting, Ivy can see everything in the castle clearly.

The castle's inner hall is towering, with a huge glass crystal chandelier hanging above it.

The iron pillars supporting the chandelier swayed in the wind, making a creaking sound.

There is a black grand piano at the gate, with countless blue roses overflowing from the inside to the outside, growing all the way to the feet of the piano.

The black and white piano keys were covered with blue rose petals. There was no one there, but the piano suddenly started playing automatically when Ivy looked over.

The blue petals danced happily with the swaying of the notes, and after a few seconds, blue-red flames ignited.

It wasn't just the grand piano that was making the sound. The table facing the door was filled with musical instruments of all sizes.

The strings of the bass, violin and bass were slowly plucked up and down, and the harp was located in the center, trembling string by string.

The clarinet, oboe, English horn and flute were all stood up and blew out notes with their heads shaking.

The trombone and French horn were not to be outdone, and they rose up together with the bassoon, blending perfectly into the rhythm of the beating notes.

Heavenly music played under the moonlight, and blue roses swayed to the rhythm.

Bluish-purple flames ignited from time to time, intensifying the dew that fell from the rose petals.

"It's Mozart's song, the Requiem."

It's strange to say, Ivy didn't know much about music, but the moment the overture sounded, a heavy mark was engraved on her heart.

The bright moonlight illuminated everything in the hall, and Ivy's reflection was reflected on the large floor-to-ceiling windows.

She found herself wearing familiar clothes: a knee-length black skirt, shiny leather shoes, a neat black suit, and a colorful school badge on the chest of her shirt - the Sigma Middle School uniform.

"Great! This outfit suits me best!"

Ivy lowered her head in ecstasy and tugged at the hem of her black skirt.

Her smiling face appeared on the reflective blue floor, peaceful and beautiful, a joy that came from the bottom of her heart.

But soon, she saw her smile frozen on her face, and dullness and confusion appeared in her eyes.

That hand is here again.

Just as light, just as cold, just as softly glowing, just as iron blue, there was still a small red mole on the second section of the little finger, and the moment he grasped her, he still held her tightly.

Ivy still had her head lowered as before, with the hand and her own feet still in her sight.

The floor was blurry and I couldn't see anything except my face.

The hand led her up the spiral staircase in the castle, and Ivy breathed a sigh of relief. The spiral staircase was very long, curved and high, and they could walk for a long time.