Global Collapse-Chapter 465 - 440: Gu Mian’s Gorgeous Fan Club_1

The race had just begun, and the distance between the dragon boats had not yet widened.

The strong wind on the river swept the flames, spreading them rapidly. Within seconds, Fatty saw the flames leap from one boat to another. Soon, a dozen or so boats were engulfed, and the fire spread directly toward Fatty's position.

Luckily, he had paddled backward in advance to create some distance from the others, so the raging fire couldn't reach his boat.

Fatty forcefully paddled backward a few more times, watching the approaching flames with a terrified heart.

Besides the howling wind, the sounds of cursing and terrified screams echoed across the river. Those who jumped into the water desperately tried to grab the nearest dragon boats, often causing those boats, and others nearby, to capsize. The scene was horrific. No doubt these affected players hadn't anticipated such a disaster at the very start of the game.

He saw people jumping from the burning boats and swimming toward the unseen shore. But almost immediately, those in the water seemed to be seized and dragged under by something unseen, thrashing briefly before sinking to the bottom. A few strings of bubbles rose to the surface, and then silence.

Everyone knew there were ghosts in the water; falling in likely meant a gruesome death.

Meanwhile, it seemed there was no immediate danger for those still on their boats.

Fatty swallowed hard.

He looked ahead. The unaffected dragon boats had already pulled far ahead, while several burning boats now blocked his path.

Fatty glanced at 007; she hadn't been affected by the fire. At the same time, Fatty noticed a few other boats had also paddled backward right from the start, avoiding the arson. Had they anticipated this?

Thus, these few dragon boats successfully secured last place.

Ignoring the others for now, Fatty and 007 exchanged a look. After confirming each other's safety, they paddled with all their might, trying to catch up with the players ahead.

Chu Changge had suggested retreating first when the race began. His reasoning was that if someone started a fire, the densely packed dragon boats would inevitably catch alight. Only by creating distance from the others could one hope to avoid being caught in it.

While other players would surge forward at the start, retreating would easily separate them from the main pack.

Now, it seemed Chu Changge's idea had been spot on. Fatty was indeed a long way behind the leading players, and no matter how furiously he paddled, he couldn't seem to catch up.

But luckily, he had good stamina, and although he couldn't close the gap quickly, the distance was slowly shrinking.

The howling wind swept across the river surface periodically. As Fatty rowed with all his might, he muttered, The Doctor's gone, and where did that big brother and Xiao Hong run off to? If they were here, it'd be great. Ghosts pushing the boat would be super fast!

Fatty couldn't help but picture two tiny figures pushing a small boat, with a large, laughing Fatty sitting comfortably aboard.

Just then, a boat suddenly appeared in his peripheral vision. Fatty turned to look. It was 007, who had caught up from behind.

Currently, 007 was paddling hard, advancing side by side with Fatty.

The few other dragon boats that had also fallen behind eventually caught up, though they all maintained a wary distance from one another.

At this moment, only Fatty's and 007's boats were moving forward side by side.

"You're here too," 007 said, skipping any small talk about the weather, though it was indeed a pleasant day. "Thanks for earlier. Otherwise, I might be a corpse at the bottom of the river by now."

"No need to be so polite," Fatty chuckled. "By the way, did you find your parents?"

He still remembered that 007's greatest goal was to find her parents. If her story were written down, it would definitely be an inspirational tale comparable to 'Little Tadpoles Looking for Their Mama.'

Unaware that Fatty had just likened her quest to that of a tadpole, 007 fell silent for a moment before murmuring, "No..."

Paddling, Fatty asked, "Didn't find them? They weren't at home?"

"They moved. They moved before the game started. When I went back, another family was living there. No one knows where they moved, and I don't either," 007 replied, her voice muffled.

Fatty frowned. What kind of parents move without telling their child? He recalled seeing a few cases of lawsuits between parents and children during his time as a court clerk. They were usually over things like property distribution or elder care. Some were even more extreme, with people shouting in court that they wanted to sever parental ties... If her relationship with her parents was that strained, not knowing they had moved would be understandable. But from what he'd gathered, 007 seemed to have a good relationship with her parents. After all, when he'd escorted her home, she had talked his ear off about them.

"So... what's your relationship with your parents like?" Fatty asked, still paddling.

007 paused for a moment, then realized what Fatty was implying. She smiled faintly. "It's very good. My mother is very gentle and beautiful. I still remember when I was little, she would take me to parent-teacher conferences, and all the other kids would be so envious of me."

Fatty was a bit stumped. Judging by her words, 007 didn't seem to be on bad terms with her parents, yet she didn't know they had moved...

As the two dragon boats advanced side by side, a soft DING DONG sound suddenly rang out.

The sound was reminiscent of collecting Gold Coins in a video game, causing Fatty to instinctively glance around for anything shiny.

Then, he discovered a machine, about half a meter tall, had suddenly materialized behind him on his boat.

The same thing had also appeared on 007's boat.

They both stopped paddling almost simultaneously and turned to look at the machine.

"The first checkpoint?" Fatty wondered, looking at the machine before him.

The device was shaped like a shoebox, with a large screen on its top surface. The screen displayed a spinning wheel with a small arrow at its apex. The wheel was evenly divided into four sections, each bearing a portrait: Gu Mian, Chu Changge, Xiao Qiao, and Liu Ruyan.

Next to the wheel, a few lines of text appeared—

[Checkpoint One: HAPPY Big Wheel]

[Actually, this isn't really a checkpoint. This time, you'll be directly given a teammate, but you can't choose who. Click the 'Start Draw' button in the middle of the wheel to begin!]

This casual?

Fatty hesitantly raised his hand, his finger approaching the red 'Start Draw' button in the center of the wheel.

Get the Doctor, get the Doctor, get the Doctor... he chanted inwardly, closing his eyes, gritting his teeth, and slamming his finger onto the screen.

The wheel spun rapidly, began to slow after more than ten seconds, and finally ground to a halt.

The moment Gu Mian opened his eyes, he saw Fatty sitting before him, eyes squeezed shut, trembling all over as if having an epileptic fit.

"What are you doing?" Gu Mian asked, silently observing the twitching Fatty.

"Ah, Doctor!" Fatty exclaimed, eyes snapping open in excitement at the sound of Gu Mian's voice. "I told you my luck was pretty good! I got the Doctor right at the start!"

Setting that aside for the moment, Gu Mian pointed to a line of text at the bow of the boat. "What's that?"

Fatty turned to look—"Doctor's Gorgeous Fan Club".

That was the name he'd given his boat.