Bianca bit down hard on her lower lip with her pearly white teeth, almost drawing blood.
Her slender yet explosive arm muscles were taut as she paddled desperately.
The Gold Bug weaved madly left and right on the choppy, explosion-churned surface of the Black Lake, trying to dodge the endless bombardment of chocolate-scented death behind them.
She was absolutely certain now—she was being targeted!
Aside from the initial seven or eight grenades that were "equitably distributed" near other teams, the remaining dozens were almost all aimed straight at her Gold Bug!
The whistling black balls, the deafening explosions, the muddy lake water splashing all over her face...
It all felt like a vicious torture directed personally at her!
BOOM!!
Another grenade exploded just off the rear quarter. The violent shockwave shoved the entire boat forward, the hull emitting a tooth-aching creak as if it were about to disintegrate the next second.
Bianca and her crew were tossed around, choking on mouthfuls of lake water.
If their canoe hadn't been built with incredibly sturdy materials specifically to handle various "accidents," the shockwaves from the continuous explosions alone would have shattered their boat by now!
Bianca was shaking with rage.
The reason she had won easily in previous years was entirely due to the Siren accomplice she had arranged early on to lurk in the depths near the finish line.
Once her Gold Bug approached, that accomplice would swim over silently and flip the most threatening competitor's canoe from underwater.
"No rules," right? She had always felt she utilized this rule to its fullest with great wisdom.
But she never imagined that this year she would run into a group of... a group of lunatics who directly interpreted "no rules" as "laws of the battlefield"!
Were they really students? Not some terrorist cell escaped from a secret military base or an asylum?!
Bianca snapped her head around, shooting a furious, demanding look toward the shore—where her Siren accomplice was standing.
Her eyes screamed frantically: Go! Get in the water! Flip them over!
However, her accomplice looked at the scene on the lake that resembled an artillery barrage, looked at the meters-high water columns exploding constantly, looked at the pitch-black demon ship launching dangerous objects non-stop...
His face was as pale as paper. He shook his head like a rattle drum, fast enough to leave afterimages. He instinctively took several steps back, nearly sitting on the ground.
Coward!
Bianca roared silently in her heart, so angry she could spit blood.
If it were her... fine, faced with this indiscriminate saturation fire coverage, she wouldn't dare get in the water either.
That wasn't a competition; that was suicide!
Bianca whipped her head back around, locking her gaze on the black boat getting closer and closer behind her.
Her vision bypassed the two lunatics making noise and explosions, pinning precisely on the goth girl standing at the stern, steady as a rock, looking as if she were admiring the scenery.
Wednesday Addams! It's all because of you!
If not for the appearance of this transfer student, everything would be the same as in previous years! She would still be the elegant, victorious, admired Bianca!
"Wednesday Addams!"
Bianca's roar pierced through the sounds of explosions and water.
"You just wait! I will never let you get away with this!"
Wednesday heard the scream filled with unwillingness and threat from afar. She merely raised an eyebrow slightly, a faint, almost amused sneer appearing on her cold face.
"So energetic," she commented softly, as if critiquing an insect trying to stop a chariot.
Then, she raised her voice, her tone steady but carrying an unquestionable command:
"Victor, it seems our 'friend' requires more 'warm hospitality.' Increase firepower. Focus aim on the Gold Bug's stern. Restrict their mobility."
"Venom," she even extended a pale hand forward, "give me a few too."
Victor and Venom paused simultaneously, then their faces erupted with unprecedented, near-ecstatic light!
"Aye aye! Captain!" Victor's voice cracked with excitement. He immediately began throwing at a higher frequency, aiming tricky shots specifically at the water around the Gold Bug's tail.
Venom writhed with excitement all over. Several tendrils eagerly picked up three round "Chocolate-Flavored Grenades," placing them carefully into Wednesday's open palm. He even considerately turned the pins to face her.
"Here! Captain! Pull the little tail, throw it out! Easy to learn!" Venom's voice was full of agitation.
"I don't need you to teach me. I started playing with grenades when I was five."
Wednesday weighed the heavy, dark dangerous object in her hand, her fingertips touching the cold, slightly sticky surface.
She hooked her fingernail into the small metal pin and yanked it out!
Hiss—
A slight sound of gas escaping.
Wednesday's eyes sharpened. Her arm whipped out in an unexpectedly powerful, fluid motion—
The grenade, like a black bird endowed with the will of death, whistled precisely toward the flank of the Gold Bug!
Her throwing motion lacked Victor's manic flamboyance, but it carried a chilling, calculated precision. As if this wasn't randomly tossing bombs, but creating a piece of dark art.
BOOM!!!
A water column exploded extremely close to the Gold Bug's starboard side. The shockwave rocked the yellow boat violently, nearly flipping it over!
Bianca and her crew screamed in terror, using all their strength to barely stabilize the boat.
The corner of Wednesday's mouth, extremely imperceptibly, curled upward in a tiny but very real arc.
A violent pleasure, like the richest dark chocolate, melted in the bottom of her heart.
She reached out her hand again.
"More."
Her voice remained cold, but in those bottomless eyes, two sparks of destruction—never seen before—ignited.
Venom busily handed over several more.
Victor watched dumbfounded from the side, then burst into even louder laughter: "Whoa! Captain! You are a genius! I love you to death!"
The firepower of the Black Cat instantly leveled up.
With the Captain personally joining the fray, this pursuit turned into a true hunt.
And the Gold Bug was the prey being relentlessly chased, ragged and desperate.
Bianca watched the black nightmare sticking close behind her, watched the goth girl throwing explosives with the precision of the Grim Reaper marking names, watched the two lunatics cooperating even more excitedly...
She fell into despair.
Hmm?
Suddenly, Bianca realized the surroundings had become quiet. The roar of explosions was gone, leaving only the splash of paddles in the lake and her own heavy breathing.
Could it be...?
She jerked her head back to look, her heart nearly jumping out of her chest.
She saw the black demon ship still close behind, but the people on board were empty-handed. Venom's terrifying tendrils were no longer "spitting" out new dangerous spheres.
Victor even yawned boredly, playing with the bell on his neck.
They... they were out of grenades!
A wild joy of survival instantly drowned Bianca!
A god-given opportunity!