Chapter 47 Adapting

As they grew accustomed to the oars and improved their rowing skills, the boat's speed gradually increased, becoming faster and faster. They had to thank the system's virtually non-existent fatigue setting once again. The three taking turns to rest was merely a formality; no one felt tired at all.

Gradually, the small boat was no longer just pushing through the waves, but seemed to be riding them. Watching the spray from the bow fly behind them, Gu Fei nodded repeatedly. "Perhaps we really can catch up with the system's big ship."

The waterway ahead remained a vast expanse. Although there was no sign of the big ship, there was also no land in sight, which suggested that other Cloud players were probably still adrift at sea as well.

"Maybe we can even overtake them and reach Linshui City first," Gu Fei added, pushing his luck.

But everyone liked this idea. Drifting on the water was indeed very boring, not to mention having to row themselves, which was only something a child would find exciting.

Just then, Mang Mang, who had just finished his shift and was resting, stretched at the bow of the boat. Suddenly, he saw shadows moving in the water mist ahead and excitedly turned to the others. "There seems to be something ahead."

"What is it?" Both of the others had been diligently rowing with their heads down, but now they immediately craned their necks.

Everyone saw the still-blurry shadow.

"Hmm, it's so small. It doesn't look like land," Xi Xiao Tian said, disappointed. With their current speed, their desire to catch up with the big ship had faded. Getting ashore as soon as possible was more important.

But as they continued to approach, the blurry shadow became clearer and clearer. The three could even see it moving, coming towards their small boat. Then, similar shadows emerged one after another from the water mist, gradually moving and becoming clearer.

"It's a boat." The first shadow to be spotted was now completely clear: a small boat, identical to the one they were in.

If the first was a boat, then the other shadows were, of course, also boats. Standing at the bow, Mang Mang counted them. There were already five in sight, and there might be more in the water mist.

"What are they doing?" The three looked at the approaching boats with curiosity and a growing sense of unease. Judging by their direction, it looked as if they were heading straight for them.

The boats were closing in. They were exactly the same as the boat they were in, with four people on each. However, instead of rowing by hand, they had mounted the oars at the stern and were cranking them with a handle. The other three were fully equipped and stood with alert expressions.

The leading boat, traveling at a similar speed, headed straight for their small boat without slowing down or showing any signs of turning.

The three tried to avoid it, but unfortunately, while they were now proficient at rowing in a straight line, controlling turns and changes in direction was still clumsy and awkward. After some frantic maneuvering, they not only failed to move out of the way, but also exposed their flank to the oncoming boat.

The three on the other boat, except for the one cranking the oars, had crouched down and were gripping the edges of the boat tightly with both hands.

Gu Fei and the others had no doubt about what they were about to do. No one could predict what would happen in the collision. If it was just a violent shaking, then holding on tight might be enough to get through it. But judging by the speed of the approaching boat, if it capsized or damaged their boat, it would be a huge problem.

Even if Gu Fei flew onto the other boat and dealt with those people in an instant, the collision would still be unavoidable, because no one could stop the force of inertia.

With no time to waste, Gu Fei reached into his pocket.

He pulled out a coil of rope.

Gu Fei had many coils of rope in his pocket, but this one was different. Attached to the end of the rope was a hook. Like his iron fork, this hook was a quest item that Gu Fei had obtained after completing a specific quest, and he had fashioned it into a simple grappling hook. It was also an ancient weapon with a long history. Most people might think of it as a burglar's favorite tool for scaling walls, but its primary use was as a defensive siege weapon.

Today, the grappling hook was unlikely to have any military use, but in the context of martial arts, it could still be used as a soft weapon.

Gu Fei grabbed the coil of rope and quickly flung it out, accurately hooking it onto the edge of the other boat.

"Quick!" Gu Fei shouted to the two women. They reacted quickly, grabbed the end of the rope, and together they pulled with all their might, using their feet to brace themselves against the boat's floor. The hooked boat swayed and lost its direction, while their small boat, using the force of the pull, shot forward. The oncoming boat, unable to change direction in time, grazed past the stern of their small boat. The two boats rubbed and bumped against each other, rocking violently.

"Hold on tight!" Gu Fei yelled to the two women.

The two girls didn't need to be reminded; they were already holding onto the edges of the boat for dear life. Gu Fei, on the other hand, swayed back and forth with the rocking of the boat, but somehow managed to stay upright.

"How did you do that?" the two girls asked in amazement.

"Lower body strength," Gu Fei laughed. It would be too mystical to talk about something like a "thousand-pound drop," but lower body strength mainly refers to the stability and balance of the lower limbs when supporting weight. Lower limb strength is indeed important, but it mainly comes into play when two people are grappling, such as when holding a position on the basketball court. Gu Fei was simply trying to stay steady in the rocking of the boat, so even though his strength wasn't great, it was enough to handle the situation.

Having avoided the collision with the first boat, their small boat drifted slowly towards the boat that Gu Fei had hooked due to inertia. There was no need to worry about a collision, because even if they did bump into each other, the impact wouldn't be strong. Gu Fei raised his sword and launched a Skyfall Fire Wheel at the small boat.

The four guys on the boat immediately huddled together, and one of them raised his shield above his head. Gu Fei's Skyfall Fire Wheel was so slow that the other party had time to strike a pose before the fire wheel finally landed. It was clear that the warrior with the shield was terrified by the damage of Gu Fei's spell. But in any case, all four of them survived. One of the priests immediately began spamming healing spells.

Seeing that this move didn't work, Gu Fei followed up with a Fire Tree Thousand Heavy Flames. It would be too difficult to spread the shield on the boat. Unexpectedly, the opponents didn't do that. The four guys did not hesitate. They turned over and jumped into the water.

The Fire Tree Thousand Heavy Flames continued to burn, but its effect was weakened on the surface of the water. The burn that should have lasted for five seconds went out after about two to three seconds. However, the small boat was burning fiercely, but after five seconds, it returned to its original color. The four guys poked their heads out of the water, grabbed the edge of the boat, and expertly climbed back on. They continued to huddle together, the warrior raising his shield, the priest spamming heals, and their expressions were calm.

In addition to these two classes, the other two were an archer and a mage, both of whom were ranged attackers. It was just that Gu Fei's preemptive strike had put them on the defensive. They were in awkward poses, jumping into the water, and climbing back on the boat. At this time, the boat was shaking so badly that it was difficult enough to stand still, let alone make an accurate attack.

The archer let go of the boat’s edge with one hand and couldn’t shoot an arrow one-handed. The mage waved his staff and cast an Ice Whirlwind, but the boat was rocking and he was also rocking. Although the hand holding the staff didn't want to shake, it was unfortunately attached to his body, and it swayed left and right. The Ice Whirlwind turned into an S-shape and trembled. The mage saw that it was too embarrassing, and quickly stopped casting. The Ice Whirlwind disappeared into thin air.

Gu Fei scanned the current situation. The boat in front of him was still shaking. The one that had grazed past the stern was also in turmoil due to the collision. The people on board were trying to steady themselves and turn the boat around, otherwise, it would sail straight to the dock where Gu Fei and the others had boarded.

There were three other boats charging towards Gu Fei and the others' small boat. The situation was dangerous, and there was no time to think. Gu Fei swung his sword, and in a flash of lightning, a wall of electricity was erected on the surface of the water, spanning the bows of the three boats.

The power of fire magic seemed to be weakened on the water, but electrical magic was unaffected. On the contrary, as it rippled across the surface of the water, droplets of water splashed onto the electric net, causing sparks and loud crackling noises, adding to the visual and auditory impact. The players on the three small boats didn't know what it was and dared not crash into it. But the current wall was stationary, and the boats were moving, so they were being carried towards the electric wall.

These little broken boats didn't have car brakes that could stop them on a dime. The players cranking the oars at the stern were desperately rowing in the opposite direction. Unfortunately, they had been rushing forward too aggressively, and now it was time to pay the price. Rowing in the opposite direction slowed the boats down, but they continued to advance. The players on board retreated, and finally, the four players on the first boat gathered at the stern. The boat lost its balance and flipped over, sending the four players into the water.

When the players on the other two boats saw this, they dared not retreat too far. The boats couldn't stop, and the current wall was in front of them. If they didn't want to crash into it, what could they do? Jump into the water!

"Splash, splash, splash, splash!" Eight players jumped into the water one after another, watching their small boats sail away. They flailed their arms and swam after the boats, but they had to go around the current wall, which was very frustrating.

The wall of electricity had achieved such a great result. Gu Fei's mana was exhausted, but fortunately, Mang Mang was present. With a wave of his staff, Mana Sacrifice was cast on Gu Fei. Gu Fei cast Instant Shift, teleporting to the boat less than five meters away that was still shaking.

"Twin Flame Flash, flash!!!" Gu Fei slashed with his sword. At this crucial moment, Gu Fei would definitely not care about the question of whether the PK value was 28, 29, or 30.

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Regarding the book review section: Uh, although I'm not very diligent in highlighting posts or responding to them often, I read all the posts in the book review section, including every reply in each post. This is the biggest motivation for me to write. Just wanted to let you know~~