Chapter 474 - 449: We are all Meiren Chu_1

Fatty stared speechlessly at the spot where Qi Tian’s boat had sunk. "That was a bit of an unceremonious death..."

Gu Mian adopted a sorrowful expression and said, "This isn’t a television drama. The fact is, anyone can die arbitrarily. Take Qi Tian, for example. Of course, I could be next."

Fatty curled his lip. "Doctor, you’re really good at cursing yourself... Can you stop feigning such sadness? Do you see any other players acting like you?"

The sight of Qi Tian’s capsized boat had drawn the attention of the surrounding players, but they didn’t keep their eyes on his boat for long. They merely saw a struggling figure in the water manage a desperate ’GLUG!’ before sinking out of sight.

Of course, no one would suspect Gu Mian, who stood at a distance, eyes brimming with tears, wearing an expression of profound sorrow and compassion for Qi Tian.

Having grown accustomed to deaths during the event, the players showed little sympathy for the capsized boat. Their attention was mainly still on Gu Mian’s boat.

This boat was particularly strange; it lacked a boatman but moved forward on its own, a true oddity slowly emerging on the river’s surface.

The river was getting narrower now. Chu Changge suddenly said, "The Liannu River shouldn’t have such narrow waters. The event must have altered the terrain here. The final stage of the game will likely require many players to gather together."

Fatty, also gazing at the increasingly tightening banks ahead, said, "Right, if we continue like this, we’ll certainly run into other players. At that point, we’ll be able to see each other’s game nicknames. Although Doctor’s nickname is disguised, people will still find mine and Brother Chu’s familiar..."

Gu Mian wiped away the deceitful tears from the corners of his eyes, took off the [Blood-Stained School Badge], and returned it to Chu Changge. "My nickname, ’Doctor’, is green. Chu Changge’s nickname can also be concealed by this special item. Now we just need to solve the issue with your nickname, Fatty."

A chill ran down Fatty’s spine. "How do we solve it?"

Fatty’s heart screamed in protest as Gu Mian plopped down on him.

Gu Mian actually wanted Fatty to lie down and hide, attempting to prevent other players from seeing him in the boat. However, Fatty’s build was so large that even if he sucked in his stomach, other players could spot the distinct bulge on their boat even from a great distance.

In the end, Fatty wore the school badge, and his nickname changed to Meiren Chu, while Chu Changge lay down in the boat.

Chu Changge was considerably smaller than Fatty. Gu Mian even deliberately used his guitar to cover Chu Changge, making it hard to spot the hidden person on their boat without looking very closely.

However, while Gu Mian was doing all this, many players were still watching from a distance. They saw Chu Changge lie down in the boat but had no idea what he was doing.

Fatty looked around. "Besides Qi Tian just now, there are no familiar faces here. As long as Brother Chu doesn’t expose his nickname, there should be no problems."

"There may not be anyone you know," Gu Mian’s voice came eerily from the side, "but that doesn’t mean there isn’t anyone I know."

Fatty’s brain froze. He rigidly turned his head. "You have an acquaintance? A former colleague? Schoolmate? I remember you entered some instances alone."

Fatty was right; Gu Mian had joined some instances alone.

The person Gu Mian was looking at now was someone only he had met; neither Fatty nor Chu Changge had seen this individual.

Actually, Gu Mian only recognized her face; he didn’t know her name. Their encounter had occurred in an instance where player nicknames weren’t displayed.

It was that love matchmaking show hosted by Teacher Sweet. Gu Mian remembered it was called ’Sweet Lovers’.

The person Gu Mian was now looking at was one of the female players from that show. Upon entering that instance, she had killed another player and taken their place, all unbeknownst to everyone else. It was in that same instance that Gu Mian had met the Fortune-teller. After the Fortune-teller exposed her identity, the female player had even tried to kill them to silence them. However, Gu Mian had suddenly crawled out from under a bed, scaring her away.

This female player was still quite far from Gu Mian and his group. He saw her glance their way a few times, seemingly unintentionally, before turning her head away as if she hadn’t recognized him.

Fatty, quick-eyed, had already pinpointed the "acquaintance" Gu Mian was looking at. He also stared in that direction for several seconds.

Then, Gu Mian saw Fatty ponder for a moment before speaking, "That stage where we borrowed a beauty to pass... do you think we could borrow this one too?"

Gu Mian’s eyebrow twitched. "All you know is to look at beauties. If you like them so much, why don’t you transform into one?"

Fatty chuckled unabashedly.

Anzhi Tianlan didn’t expect to encounter this player again during the event. Ever since their encounter in the ’Sweet Lovers’ instance,

she had realized this player was not to be trifled with,

so she had done her best to hide her identity during that instance. But this time, she had run right into him.

She had long noticed that peculiar, boatman-less boat and the player on it who was so thoroughly wrapped up it was hard to make out their features. Though the disguise was strange, her keen senses still picked up on something.

Anzhi Tianlan, observing intently, had witnessed Qi Tian’s boat capsize, the sound Qi Tian made as he went under, and the strange smile on the black-framed glasses-wearing man’s face right after—a smile instantly replaced by a hypocritical, sorrowful expression.

Anzhi Tianlan was certain that man was involved in the capsizing. She carefully considered the sound that sinking person had desperately made in their last moments.

Gu?

"Tianlan," a female player next to her called her name, "What’s up with you? You seem to be daydreaming."

Anzhi Tianlan quickly responded, "Nothing, I was just spacing out."

After saying this, she threw another deep glance in Gu Mian’s direction.

"Doctor, it seems she didn’t recognize you," Fatty glanced in her direction before turning back. "But it’s also possible that she recognizes you but is pretending not to."

Gu Mian rubbed his chin. "The instance we traversed didn’t display nicknames."

Fatty also mimicked Gu Mian, pinching his own fleshy chin. "That’s even better! Doctor, your name was already hidden, so this person doesn’t even know your fake name, let alone your real identity."

But it seems she recognizes me, this ’acquaintance’, yet she’s pretending not to... Maybe she’s guessed something,

Gu Mian thought.

Just then, the final stage of the dragon boat racing event suddenly began.