PFC Chapter 339: Speed Race Turns into Item Race?
Chapter 339: Speed Race Turns into Item Race?
The atmosphere during the pre-race preparation time for the 4x100m medley relay at the 8th Underworld Games was extremely eerie.
Chen You stood on the starting platform of track one, looking down at the Weak Water churning with black foam, his brows furrowed.
"The order of the medley is backstroke, breaststroke, butterfly, and freestyle," Chen You said, pointing to the pool and turning to look at his three young talents.
"Who wants to go first?"
Ao Guang, wearing SpongeBob SquarePants shorts, shivered and hugged his thermos even tighter.
"Young man, let me clarify first, I have gout. My joints hurt when I go into the water, even though the water temperature is less than 38.5 degrees Celsius."
"I'll do the backstroke, belly up, at least I'll be less exposed to this cold, damp air."
Chen You nodded expressionlessly: "Alright, first leg is backstroke, Old Dragon King."
"Quack!" The giant rubber duck flapped its wings and puffed out its round chest.
"You're second, breaststroke." Chen You sighed. "Anyway, you usually just paddle in the water, so your movements are pretty much the same."
With his muscles bulging and his skin bluish-purple, Zhang Shun shouted loudly and struck a crab pose like a bodybuilder.
"Brother! My reputation as Zhang Shun, the White Streak in the Waves, isn't just for show! I've got this butterfly stroke covered! I'll teach those bastards a lesson in my prowess!"
"Very good, very energetic." Chen You patted Zhang Shun's wet shoulder, and finally pointed to himself.
"Then I'll be the fourth runner, finishing with a freestyle."
This is the most reasonable arrangement, right?
Although Chen You's cultivation had reached the ninth level of Qi Refining, this "Yellow Spring" was clearly not an ordinary swimming pool.
Even with physical abilities far exceeding those of ordinary people, it would be difficult to unleash any incredible speed in this swimming pool.
If we put him last, and can create a huge advantage for the others, he can paddle to the finish line even if he has to doggy paddle.
If there's no hope, then flip the table and give it your all before the game ends!
"All players, please take your positions!"
The skeleton referee, Aguda, stood by the pool, holding a megaphone and shouting.
As he shouted, a sudden gust of cold wind swept through the previously empty indoor swimming pool.
The stark white LED ceiling lights began to flash wildly, and eerie phantoms appeared one after another on the water's surface of the other three tracks.
On track number two, the water was churning violently when four water monkeys covered in green fur and with bulging eyes climbed ashore.
Their fingers were thickly webbed, their nails were sharp as knives, and they were emitting a piercing roar at Chen You, with remnants of an unknown creature still hanging from their mouths.
On track number three, a dilapidated coffin rises from the bottom of the water.
The coffin lid was lifted, and four headless, bloated corpses, resembling giants, stood swaying in a row.
Their chest cavities were split open like large mouths, spewing out black mud and sand.
Race number four featured four yakshas dressed in tattered armor, some even carrying rusty steel forks, their gills flaring violently on either side of their necks.
The temperature in the entire swimming pool instantly dropped to freezing.
"These are our opponents?" Chen You stared at the bizarre-looking contraptions. "Is this some kind of sports meet or a parade of demons?"
"The Huangquan Sports Center is all about being pristine and natural." Aguda pushed up his sunglasses.
"Lane 2 is the 'Centennial Corpse Track and Field Team,' Lane 3 is the 'Stubborn Residents at the Bottom of the River of Oblivion,' and Lane 4 is the 'Outsourced Team of Rakshasa Sea.'"
"Sir, your troops may look...unique, but you can't afford to lose in terms of momentum!"
"Unique?" Chen You's eyes twitched slightly.
He turned to look at Ao Guang, who was screwing the lid on a thermos, the giant rubber duck, who was preening its feathers, and Zhang Shun, who was doing the eighth set of broadcast gymnastics.
Okay, let's leave it at that.
"preparation--"
Aguda raised a starter pistol with an exaggerated skeletal design.
The first runners stepped forward one by one.
The water monkey on lane two was on all fours, like a giant toad.
The headless corpse on Lane 3 stood upright by the water.
The Yaksha of Lane Four raised his steel fork.
At lane number one, Ao Guang slowly walked to the edge of the diving platform, took off his flip-flops, and tentatively touched the water with his toes.
"Hiss—" Ao Guang gasped, "It's so cold, my kneecaps are already protesting."
"Bang!"
The starting gun fired, and a burst of green phosphorescent light shot out from the muzzle.
The game officially begins!
"Thump! Thump! Thump!"
The runners in lanes two, three, and four plunged into the water like arrows released from a bow, splashing up large sprays of black water.
The water monkey is extremely fast; once it enters the water, it's like a green torpedo, instantly shooting forward more than ten meters.
Let's look at Lane 1 again.
Ao Guang slowly turned around, his back to the pool, pinched his nose with both hands, and in an extremely ungraceful "popsicle" pose, he slammed straight into the water.
"Splash!"
The splash was small, but extremely insulting.
"You damn well better swim!" Chen You shouted anxiously from the shore.
Ao Guang surfaced, belly up, hands behind his head, legs kicking haphazardly.
Although the posture resembled a vacation in Hawaii, the speed was incredibly fast.
He is a mythical water-type hero, and even though he's retired, he's still an absolute overlord in the water.
The water flow automatically formed a small propulsive vortex beneath him, propelling him forward at high speed.
"Hey young man, don't rush me, you have gout."
While swimming on his back, Ao Guang could still pull out a handful of goji berries from the pocket of his shorts and stuff them into his mouth to chew.
In the blink of an eye, Ao Guang caught up with the water monkey who was in the lead.
Just when Chen You thought he had it in the bag, an unexpected change occurred.
The water monkey in lane two suddenly rolled over in the water, opened its mouth full of fangs, and spat out a large, pale net, which directly covered Ao Guang, who was leisurely swimming on his back.
The headless floating corpse on Path Three was even more ruthless, pulling three dark, round balls directly from its large mouth in its chest cavity and throwing them forcefully.
"Boom! Boom! Boom!"
Three muffled thuds followed, and three jets of water shot into the sky from the surface of the water. The shockwaves from the mines shook the entire swimming pool.
The Yaksha of Path Four was frantically waving its rusty steel fork underwater, attempting to attack Ao Guang's belly.
"Holy crap!" Chen You's eyes widened as he turned to glare at Aguda.
"Referee! They're cheating! They're throwing nets, setting mines, and even bringing melee weapons! Aren't you going to do anything about it?!"
Aguda picked his nose, looking completely innocent: "Master, do you seem to have some misunderstanding about the Underworld Games?"
"We never engage in fair competition here; that's something only the living do."
"Here, you can use any means necessary to swim to the finish line alive."
Chen You was stunned.
So it turns out it's a props competition?
As he watched the scene of cannon fire and flying projectiles on the water, images of a game he used to play flashed through his mind.
"Bang!"
Although Ao Guang had absolute control over water, he was caught off guard by a sudden water mine.
His sparse Mediterranean hair was blown up, and the goji berries in his mouth were sprayed far away.
"Young people have no sportsmanship! Even the older comrades are getting angry!"
Ao Guang clutched his chest and spun wildly on the water's surface, his speed instantly slowing down.
The water monkey seized the opportunity to overtake, with the yaksha close behind.
"Brother, don't panic! I'm here to help you!" Zhang Shun, who was on the shore, was so angry that his eyes were bloodshot. He roared and was about to jump into the water.
"Come back here! It's not time to hand over the baton yet!" Chen You grabbed Zhang Shun's tight swimming trunks.
He also looked displeased.
Since we're going to play it this way, I'm not going to pretend anymore!