At Fatty’s strong insistence, the third person on the dragon boat was Chu Changge.
Gu Mian also returned 007 to her own boat. At this point, there were only two people on her dragon boat; perhaps the second stage hadn’t started for them yet.
007’s only teammate seed remarkably composed, showing no reaction to his boat suddenly losing control or his teammate being snatched away.
This person wore a black, cloak-like garnt that concealed even his face, so Gu Mian couldn’t see his expression. Gu Mian could only gauge his mood from his minimal body movents; he rely saw the man turn his body slightly, as if glancing at Chu Changge.
However, the more I look at this person, the more familiar he seems, Gu Mian thought.
Only then did 007 seem to recognize Gu Mian. Her complexion recovered sowhat. "You all are..."
"Second stage, the Item Borrowing Competition," Gu Mian said, glancing at Chu Changge, who had now appeared. "It looks like this stage was a success."
007 opened her mouth, about to ask why her dragon boat had lost control, but she swallowed her words. Instead, she asked a different question, "If catching ans you succeeded, what item were you supposed to borrow?"
Fatty peered over, a sly grin on his face. "A beauty."
007: "..."
Other players closely watching the race had already noticed the abnormal speed of 007’s dragon boat. It, too, suddenly possessed an insane speed, like a rabid dog. Moreover, it eventually t up with "The Doctor’s Gorgeous Fan Group," which made many players stare in disbelief.
It’s like two cheaters holding a secret conference, many thought.
The two boats paused in place for a mont before separating.
The dragon boat with the nurical na resud its normal speed. The other, strangely nad dragon boat, although slower than before, still advanced at a considerable pace.
Gu Mian’s group didn’t speak with 007 for long before parting ways. During their brief exchange, 007’s teammate in the black cloak hadn’t uttered a single word.
Fatty had already sidled up to Gu Mian. "Doctor, Brother Chu, did you see 007’s teammate? Doesn’t he look familiar?"
Chu Changge pushed up his glasses but said nothing.
Gu Mian stroked his chin. "I saw his nickna. It’s ’Anonymous’ in red. We t him during the last event."
"Right!" Fatty also recalled. "We t him at the Lantern Festival event. He was dressed just like this back then, not even a strand of hair showing. And his voice was really nice! Oh, right, what did he say his na was that ti?"
Gu Mian recalled their previous encounter. "Xie Bi’an. He said his na was Xie Bi’an."
They had only t the man briefly last ti and hadn’t exchanged many words. If it weren’t for the man’s attire, which exuded an intensely over-the-top dramatic flair, Gu Mian wouldn’t have paid him much attention.
"But how did he end up as 007’s teammate? A coincidence?" Fatty began to chew on his fingernails. "From what I’ve seen in TV dramas, people dressed like that are never good news. They’re either the tenacious villain who survives until the very end, or they’re the ultimate baddie who drags the protagonist down with them in the finale. Doctor, you’ve got to be careful."
Gu Mian glanced at Chu Changge, who was sitting quietly at the stern. "Do you know him?"
That man seed to have deliberately looked at Chu Changge just now, Gu Mian mused.
Chu Changge was looking at the guitar case by his feet. Hearing the question, he lifted his eyes and slowly shook his head.
With Xiao Hong and Brother providing free, exploitable labor, an idle Fatty hovered around Chu Changge. "Brother Chu, you know how this event goes, right? We have to pass four stages to gather all our teammates, and then it’s minesweeper. Who do you think would be a good pick for our next teammate?"
In reality, there were only two choices left: Xiao Qiao or Liu Ruyan.
I really don’t trust Liu Ruyan, who often sneaks into my house to ss with my gas canister. If I get the chance, I’ll definitely return the favor and go ss with hers, Gu Mian thought.
Chu Changge still said nothing.
Fatty, seemingly accustod to Chu Changge’s silence, didn’t press for an answer. "I wonder what the remaining two stages will be like. But the final minesweeper on the water surface is probably the hardest part."
I’m not getting any real ga experience at all, Fatty lanted to himself.
On the translucent screen in the sky, dragon boats would disappear from ti to ti, presumably having capsized or been burned by other players.
Other players had to think twice before even sticking a hand outside their dragon boat’s boundary, terrified of being suddenly dragged into the water by the ghosts lurking below.
But on their boat, even if soone dunked their entire head into the water for a quick wash, their head would remain firmly attached to their neck.
Just as Fatty was lanting his lack of genuine ga experience, the other players were all staring at the real-ti race status on the translucent screen in the sky with peculiar expressions.
"The Doctor’s Gorgeous Fan Group" had now overtaken most of the dragon boats and was currently ranked in approximately the top ten percent.
Its speed had decreased sowhat but remained remarkably consistent.
Rowing, by nature, wasn’t very stable. Other dragon boats, regardless of their ranking—whether near the front or back—had speeds that fluctuated, sotis fast, sotis slow, occasionally even stopping for a rest.
Yet, this particular boat maintained an incredibly stable state; even its earlier rabid-dog-like pace had been a consistent, breakneck speed.
It gave off the feeling that it wasn’t a dragon boat at all, but rather a cruise ship that had mistakenly entered the race. However, all players had seen at the start that no cruise ships were participating this ti.
Countless players watched this boat, which seed to offer its occupants no real ga challenge, with tears of frustration streaming down their faces, desperate to see the true identities of those on board.
Unfortunately for them, the boat just preferred to cruise into secluded areas.
At tis, it would trace an alluring S-shape on the water’s surface; at others, it would dart about erratically like a headless fly.
Fortunately, this dragon boat didn’t trace a ’B’-shaped curve, or the assembled players would undoubtedly have been enraged enough to cough up blood.
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