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Chapter 441 Gu Mian's Stunning Fan Club
The race had just begun, and the dragon boats were not yet far apart.

The strong wind on the river swept the burning flames around, and within seconds the fat man saw the flames spread from one boat to another, and soon more than a dozen boats were affected, with the fire spreading directly to the fat man's side.

Fortunately, he rowed back a short distance to separate himself from the others, so the raging fire couldn't reach his boat.

The fat man swung the oar backward a few more times, watching the flames burning ahead with trepidation.

Besides the sound of the wind, curses and screams echoed across the river. Some people jumped into the water and reached out to grab the nearest dragon boat, eventually causing other boats to capsize as well. The scene was quite gruesome. These affected players probably didn't expect to encounter such a thing at the very beginning of the game.

He saw people jump off the burning boat and swim toward the unseen shore, but immediately those swimming in the water seemed to be torn apart by something, thrashing and sinking to the bottom. Then a few strings of bubbles rose to the surface, and then there was no more sound.

Everyone knows that there are ghosts in the water, and if you fall in, you're likely to die.

There doesn't seem to be any immediate danger on the ship.

The fat man swallowed hard.

He looked away and saw that the dragon boat, unaffected by the turbulence, had already traveled quite a distance, while several small, burning boats lined up side by side lay in front of him.

The fat man turned to look at 007, who had not been affected by the fire. At the same time, the fat man also noticed that several ships had rowed backward from the beginning to avoid the arson incident, perhaps because they had anticipated it.

Thus, these dragon boats successfully claimed the last place spot.

Without paying any attention to others, Fatty and 007 exchanged a glance, and after confirming that the other was safe and sound, they put all their strength into paddling, trying to catch up with the players in front.

Chu Changge suggested that the dragon boats should move backwards at the start of the race. If someone sets fire to the boats, the densely packed boats will definitely catch fire. Only by keeping a distance from others can they avoid being affected.

When the game starts, other players will slide forward, and you can easily isolate yourself from them by simply moving backward.

It now seems that Chu Changge's idea was quite correct. Fatty was indeed far behind the players in front of him, and no matter how panting he paddled, he couldn't catch up.

Fortunately, he was physically fit, and although he couldn't catch up, the distance between them was gradually decreasing.

The whistling wind occasionally swept across the river. The fat man rowed the boat with all his might while muttering, "The doctor is gone. Where did my brother and Xiao Hong go? If only they were here, the ghost-pushing boat would be incredibly fast."

The fat man couldn't help but imagine a scene in his mind: two little people pushing a small boat, with the fat man sitting on the boat laughing heartily.

Just then, a ship suddenly appeared in his peripheral vision. The fat man turned his head and saw 007 chasing after him from behind.

At this moment, 007 was rowing hard, moving side by side with the fat man.

The other dragon boats that lagged behind caught up, but they kept a good distance from each other, wary of one another.

At this point, only the two ships, Fatty's and 007's, were sailing side by side.

"You're here too," 007 said without offering any pleasantries about the weather, even though it was indeed nice. "Thank you for earlier, otherwise I might be drowning by now."

The fat man chuckled: "No need to be so polite. By the way, have you found your parents yet?"

He still remembers that 007's biggest goal was to find his parents, and if it were written into a book, it would definitely be an inspirational story comparable to the tadpole looking for its mother.

Unaware that the fat man was mistaking him for a tadpole, 007 suddenly fell silent for a moment before finally speaking in a muffled voice, "No..."

The fat man asked while paddling the boat, "Couldn't find it? Not at home?"

"They moved. They moved before the game started. When I got back, a different family was living there. Nobody knows where they moved to, and I don't know either," 007 replied in a muffled voice.

The fat man frowned. There was no reason to move without informing the children. He had seen several cases of parents and children going to court when he worked as a court clerk. They were usually about issues like property division and elderly care.

Even worse, one of them launched into a tirade in court, claiming he would sever his father-son relationship...

If the relationship with her parents is so strained, it's understandable that she wouldn't know they've moved. But it seems like 007 has a pretty good relationship with her parents, because when the fat man was taking her home, he heard 007 talking about her parents the whole way, until his ears were practically calloused.

The fat man asked as he paddled through the water, "What's your relationship with your parents... um, how's it?"

007 paused for a moment before realizing what the fat man was thinking. She smiled and said, "Great. My mother is very gentle and beautiful. I remember when I was little, she took me to parent-teacher conferences, and all the other kids envied me."

The fat man was a bit confused. 007 didn't seem to be having problems with his parents, but he didn't know about their move...

Just as the two dragon boats were moving forward side by side, a not-too-loud "ding-dong" sound suddenly rang out.

The sound was like picking up gold coins in a game, so much so that the fat man subconsciously looked around to see if there was anything shiny.

Immediately afterwards, he discovered that a machine half a meter tall had suddenly appeared behind him on his boat.

Similarly, the same thing was also added to 007's ship.

The two of them simultaneously put down their oars and looked at the machine.

"The first checkpoint?" The fat man looked at the machine in front of him with some curiosity.

This thing is shaped like a shoebox. The top side is a large screen with a turntable in the middle and a small arrow at the top. The turntable is divided into four sections, each printed with the portraits of Gu Mian, Chu Changge, Xiao Qiao, and Liu Ruyan.

There are a few lines of text next to the turntable—

【Level 1: HAPPY Spin Wheel】

[It's not really a level, actually. This time, you'll be given a free teammate, but you can't choose one; click the 'Start Lottery' button in the middle of the wheel to participate.]

So sloppy?

The fat man shakily raised his hand and brought his finger close to the red "Start Lottery" button in the middle of the wheel.

"I drew the doctor, I drew the doctor, I drew the doctor..." he muttered to himself as he closed his eyes, gritted his teeth, and pressed the screen hard.

The turntable started moving rapidly, then slowed down after a dozen seconds, and finally came to a stop.

As soon as Gu Mian opened her eyes, she saw the fat man sitting in front of her, his eyes tightly closed and his whole body trembling, as if he had epilepsy.

"What are you doing?" Gu Mian silently looked at the fat man in front of her who was convulsing.

"Ah, Doctor," the fat man excitedly opened his eyes after hearing Gu Mian's voice, "I knew I was lucky, I got the Doctor at the beginning of the game."

Putting that aside for now, Gu Mian pointed to a line of words on the bow of the ship: "What is that?"

The fat man turned his head and looked—"The doctor's stunning fan club."

That was the name he gave to the ship.

(End of this chapter)