Gu Mian felt this was the mont in his life with the highest probability of drawing a rare item; his eyes glead as he stared at the bamboo tube.
"Wait, Doctor! How about I do it?" Having been around Gu Mian for a while, Fatty had unwavering faith in his luck.
Although he didn't usually draw anything good, there was always a chance he could pull sothing like an aircraft carrier out of a hat at a crucial mont. Where would they even find one of those?
Gu Mian paused. He sifted through the bamboo slips in the tube; they were all blank, presumably to prevent him from choosing based on any markings.
"Alright," Gu Mian withdrew his hand and looked at Fatty. "You draw then."
Fatty let out a small sigh of relief. He nervously reached for the bamboo tube, took a deep breath, and shook it hard, much like soone praying to the gods for a good fortune slip.
Imdiately, a bamboo slip fell out with a PLOP.
Gu Mian reached down, picked up the slip that had fallen onto the dragon boat deck, and examined it.
Fatty's luck had always been quite good, at least compared to Gu Mian's. So, what he drew this ti was fairly common. It wasn't sothing you'd find on every street corner, but you could probably find one if you walked a few blocks: a beautiful woman.
"A beautiful woman," Gu Mian repeated, emphasizing each word. "Borrow a beautiful woman?"
Fatty had truly drawn sothing earth-shattering and ghost-wailing. Are they supposed to sail into a crowd of other players and abduct so poor maiden? Besides, who knew if this thing's judgnt was even accurate? They could tie up a player who looked like Xiao Qiao and bring her aboard, but she still might not be judged as a 'beautiful woman.'
Fatty spoke rapidly, racing against ti, "Doctor, we only have five minutes! Let's hurry and find a beautiful woman among the players!"
Losing the chance to get a teammate in this round wasn't a huge deal. As long as a teammate didn't board the boat, they wouldn't be in danger. At worst, they'd just be imprisoned until the event ended. It was just that having more teammates might be beneficial for the final minesweeping challenge on the water.
Fatty quickly grabbed an oar, ready to paddle at a mont's notice. "Doctor, are we borrowing one or not?"
Gu Mian gazed at the river surface, pondering for two seconds, then stopped Fatty. "We borrow. But not from the players."
"Huh?" Fatty asked, puzzled. Then, noticing Gu Mian's gaze fixed on the water, Fatty seed to grasp sothing. He gulped nervously. "You're not thinking..."
The ghosts in the water weren't so nurous as to be packed together.
They mostly congregated in areas with many dragon boats, lying in wait. Currently, players on the various dragon boats were either helping or harming one another.
Most players were in the midst of the second challenge: the item borrowing contest.
The items these players drew were relatively normal: so got pink-striped socks, others a live piglet...
Given that Fatty had previously drawn a live groundhog for a special item, it wasn't surprising that many players also drew live piglets.
Players on different dragon boats were bartering for needed items across the water.
"You give the pig, I'll give you the socks."
"Never thought a big guy like you would wear pink-striped socks..."
Of course, there were dishonest players too. One player, upon receiving the socks, imdiately turned his dragon boat and paddled off. The other boat quickly gave chase.
Rewards in the dragon boat race were based on ranking, so naturally, players needed to deal with those who might rank ahead of them.
A ghost seized the chance when a player was fleeing and their dragon boat tilted, forcefully capsizing it and dragging the fallen player underwater.
"Help! Help!" The man clutching the socks was seized by an Evil Ghost in the water. He thrashed about as he was dragged under.
Witnessing the struggle, the surrounding players gulped. This clearly wasn't the ti to play the hero. Everyone could only try their best to keep their own boats steady and prevent them from tilting too drastically.
Just as the other players watched in terror as the man was dragged under, sothing suddenly shot through the water towards them at high speed.
Before they could get a clear look, the thing seized the ghost holding the man and violently dragged it away.
The man with the socks thus survived. He scrambled back onto his dragon boat and looked behind him, only to find that his teammate, who had fallen in with him, had vanished without a trace. Probably dead.
"What the hell was that?" The man stared at the water, his heart pounding. "That thing was damn powerful."
"It says 'borrow a beautiful woman,' but it doesn't specify a beautiful *ghost* woman or a beautiful *human* woman," Gu Mian mused. "If it had just said 'borrow a beauty,' we'd have no choice but to rush into the player groups and abduct so virtuous maiden." He paused in thought. "A handso man might also work, I suppose."
He was calculating the ti. Fifty-seven seconds had passed. He had dispatched his brother to catch a female ghost. He could only hope his brother's aesthetic sense was sowhat normal.
Suddenly, bubbles frothed up beside the boat. Gu Mian turned to look, just as a snarling, fanged head shot vertically out of the water, held aloft by his brother from below.
Upon seeing Gu Mian, the struggling female ghost serenely closed her bared teeth.
Gu Mian glanced at the words "beautiful woman" on the slip, then at the ghost being held up before him. He shook his head and said quietly to his brother, "Don't find one that looks too much like Xiao Hong."
His brother released his grip and dived back into the water.
The female ghost scrambled to escape.
Fatty watched the female ghost flee. "Is it just , or did she look a little... aggrieved?"
Before Gu Mian could speak, another disheveled head erged beside the boat, again held up by his brother from below.
It hadn't even been ten seconds since the previous female ghost had left.
Gu Mian stared silently at its face. "Didn't I say not to find one that looks so much like Xiao Hong? This one looks identical... Hmm, dressed identically too, and even has the sa Mind Amplifier around her neck..."
Fatty chid in, "But this one... this *is* Xiao Hong."
His brother departed again, leaving a drenched Xiao Hong behind.
Ten seconds wasn't nearly enough ti for his brother to drag Xiao Hong all the way from where she lived.
Gu Mian didn't quite understand how she had arrived. Taking advantage of a lull, he asked her, "Were you teleported in too?"
He hadn't expected an answer, but surprisingly, the Mind Amplifier uttered a single word: "No."
Fatty was thoroughly confused. "Then how did you get here?"
The Mind Amplifier then transmitted another word: "Swam."
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