Chapter 242: Catgirl, Sea of Fire, and Politeness
The boat plunged straight down. If Faye Yardley hadn’t been secured by a rope, she would have been flung forward just like the passengers in the front row, tumbling over one another and even falling right out of the boat.
The passengers who hadn’t fallen out of the boat, even piled on top of each other, biting and tearing at one another, were at least still full of life.
As for those who fell out, they were completely washed away by the rain and the river, becoming one with the water.
Just as the boat was about to plunge into the river below, its bow shot up as if it had hit bottom and rebounded. With a WHOOSH, it rocketed upward.
Then came a tremendous CRACK—BOOM! A massive impact from below sent her flying into the air.
The rope around Faye Yardley’s waist yanked her back into the boat. She swung back and forth for a moment before steadying herself.
It wasn’t just maniacal laughter that reached her ears, but also all sorts of strange and bizarre screams.
Looking up, she saw the Catgirl open her mouth wide and bite off a large chunk of a front-row zombie’s head, even giving its brains a loud SLURP.
As if she had just eaten a Ten-Complete Great Replenishing Pill, the Catgirl’s body began to emit a faint glow, warding off the rain and splashing river water.
And so, everyone on the boat—except for her and the few who had already fallen out—was locked in a vicious free-for-all.
It wasn’t that no one tried to climb to the stern to attack Faye Yardley. The problem was the strange protective shield around her, and the fact that the Catgirl, also at the stern, was simply too ferocious.
’So this is another way of getting carried to victory, huh.’
At first, she could only see their own small boat, but after entering the river proper, more and more boats began to appear.
The river was anything but calm. It bucked and plunged like a roller coaster—it was all about the thrill!
The boats even started slamming into each other like bumper cars.
’It’s like getting several amusement park rides for the price of one.’
So, not only were the passengers on her boat engaged in "fierce and enthusiastic exchanges" with each other, they were also extending "friendly and cordial greetings" to those on other boats.
Faye Yardley whipped out her Basic Iron Axe and brought it down hard on a Centipede trying to climb aboard. She then tossed the severed portion of its body directly to her ferocious boat-mate, the Catgirl.
’After eating the Centipede’s body, the Catgirl seemed to sprout two new arms. So, you are what you eat... literally?’
’Then what was she hoping to get from eating that zombie’s brain? A mental boost?’
She didn’t care how these people lost their minds, but when their boat was about to be smashed to pieces by the others, it suddenly became her problem.
She started using her Basic Iron Axes as disposable throwing weapons.
Any boat that dared to ram them received a complimentary Iron Axe "gift package."
Her Arm Crossbow, meanwhile, fired indiscriminately.
As for using her Longbow? Forget it. The ride was too wild. Her Basic Shooting Skills weren’t nearly enough to handle the chaotic, bucking environment.
Even loading a Crossbow Arrow took considerable effort. Eventually, she resorted to using her torches as thrown weapons.
To her surprise, the torches were unexpectedly effective.
’So effective, in fact, that she wished she could get back the one she’d just thrown.’
The once-clear river had suddenly turned into a sea of fire!
The Catgirl was no longer cackling; she had started screaming with excitement!
"Whoa! The whole river’s a sea of fire! This is so freaking cool!"
"This is a total disaster!" Faye felt a headache coming on.
A moment ago, all she had to worry about besides the other boats and passengers was the rain and splashing river water. Now, she had to watch out for flames jetting out from all directions.
Her poncho could block the rain, but it couldn’t block fire!
"Oh dear, our little boat is about to sink~"
"Be a pal, let me on your boat!"
"Get lost! Get lost!"
"AHHHH!!!"
"Whoever ate my ear, give it back! Give it back now..."
"Who the hell set everything on fire for kicks? Did you ask for my permission?"
"It hurts, it hurts! Ahh~ I’m... done for... GURGLE... GURGLE..."
Faye now had one foot planted on a seat and one hand gripping the back of the seat in front of her. She swayed up, down, left, and right with the boat’s every move, doing her best to dodge any sudden attacks.
"Blackwood, give this boat a little protection. It looks like we’ve been knocked almost to the end of the river. If we can just hold on a little longer, we’ll reach the finish line."
"Meow~"
The Catgirl’s hearing was incredible. Even while fighting the others, she managed to turn back and ask Faye, "We’re almost at the finish line?"
"Maybe. I’m not sure."
As soon as Faye finished speaking, she saw the Catgirl accelerate her pace of attacking and devouring her foes.
She even leaped directly onto a neighboring boat and plunged into the melee.
Faye felt two violent impacts. Their boat was sent flying, skimming over several others before landing with a heavy SLAM on the flaming surface of the water.
Water and sparks flew in all directions.
Then, the small boat beneath her feet finally began to splinter, unable to take any more punishment.
Faye Yardley gave her grappling hook a sharp tug, and for a moment, the boat’s disintegration seemed to pause.
Before Faye could even get her footing, other boats rammed into theirs one after another, sandwiching it between them. With a final BOOM, it was blown to smithereens.
Already prepared, Faye swung her grappling hook, latching it firmly onto the foremost boat. Using the momentum, she launched herself into the air, stepping across several boats as she flew.
Someone tried to cut her rope. Faye greeted them with a Crossbow Arrow.
"If you won’t let me have an easy time, then no one gets to."
As she swung through the air, Faye took out another torch, intending to throw it at the boat her grappling hook was attached to, now that it was so close.
"Wait! Easy there, Pyro! We can talk this over. We’ll let you on board."
"Hah!" Faye sneered. She threw the torch with unerring accuracy into the boat anyway, then yanked her grappling hook back.
As she plummeted downward, she swung the grappling hook out again, and it caught on the overalls of a staff member at the finish line.
The stout man swayed for a moment before frantically hugging a large tree trunk at the finish line to steady himself.
Faye dodged a boat that was now part of the sea of fire, landed on another one slightly behind it, and with a light push-off from her toes, launched herself toward the finish line once more.
A furry tail hooked the rope around her waist, and the sound of manic laughter grew closer.
In the end, Faye Yardley and the Catgirl reached the shore at the finish line, no more than three seconds apart.
Retracting her grappling hook, Faye offered a polite word of thanks. She took out a stack of five pork and bamboo shoot buns and handed them to the stout man with sincere gratitude. "Thanks for the save. Please, take these as a token of my appreciation."
The stout man accepted the buns with a deadpan expression. He glanced back at his overalls; good, they were still intact and not torn.
The Catgirl giggled. "Well, aren’t you polite. Let’s hurry across the finish line before we get into all that. We don’t want to miss the other rides."
Faye stepped over the finish line and headed for the exit, shooting back without a trace of politeness, "And you’re just plain rude."