338: Chapter 338 What kind of amazing teammates are these?

Chen You stared at Referee Aguda's drafty skeletal face, his brows furrowed into a tight knot.

"Random matching?" Chen You pointed at the fifty-meter standard swimming pool in front of him, which was churning with black water vapor.

"Give me the lowdown first. What kind of characters are these permanent unemployed wandering souls of yours?"

Referee Aguda straightened his toad sunglasses and snapped his fingers crisply.

The LED ceiling lights above the pool flickered twice.

Above the water's surface, three translucent phantoms slowly emerged.

The first phantom was an ancient woman dressed in tattered hemp clothes, clutching a massive bluestone millstone tightly in her arms.

As soon as she appeared, she sank to the bottom with a "thud" along with the millstone, without even making a splash.

The second phantom was a vengeful spirit with only a torso left.

No hands, no feet.

He spun frantically on the water's surface like a top, splashing circles of black waves, his mouth letting out a shrill scream: "I'm so miserable—"

The third phantom was slightly more normal—a complete skeleton.

Around its waist was a pink flamingo children's swim ring.

The skeleton splashed around in the water a few times before the swim ring let out a "pfft" and deflated, causing it to sink as well.

Chen You watched expressionlessly as the three phantoms vanished.

"These are the temporary teammates you mentioned?" Chen You turned to look at Referee Aguda.

"You want me to take them and win a relay race?"

"They're free, after all. What more do you want for nothing?" Referee Aguda spread his hands.

"The Huangquan Sports Center is constantly short on funds. These are all holdouts who refuse to reincarnate and just loiter here."

"It's already good enough that we could scrape together enough people."

"I refuse," Chen You said decisively.

At this critical juncture, if he failed his Foundation Establishment and had his cultivation wiped out because he was matched with a few eccentric wandering souls...

Referee Aguda's movements stopped.

"Paid service?"

His tone changed instantly.

"My lord, you should have said so earlier! The Huangquan Sports Center adheres to the service tenet of 'Money makes the ghost turn the millstone, and heavy rewards make the ghost break records.' We are dedicated to providing you with the top-tier competition experience."

Referee Aguda snapped his fingers again.

The blue mosaic tiles under Chen You's feet split open to both sides.

A giant gashapon machine with peeling paint and the words "Underworld Sports Lottery" printed on it slowly rose.

At the top of the machine was a warning light flashing red and blue.

"The Underworld Talent Recruitment Machine." Referee Aguda patted the glass casing of the gashapon machine.

"The card pool is divided into three tiers. The Regular Pool costs ten gold coins per pull, with a high probability of getting water ghosts or drowned dogs. The Elite Pool costs one thousand gold coins per pull, with a guaranteed 'White Streak in the Waves' level swimmer."

Referee Aguda paused, lowered his voice, and leaned in toward Chen You. "And then there's the hidden mythological-grade limited pool. Ten thousand gold coins per pull, with a chance to draw an SSR-rank Ancient Water-type Heroic Spirit."

"My lord, what do you think..."

"Give me the ten-thousand one." Chen You didn't even blink as he slammed the gold coins into the gashapon machine's coin slot.

The gashapon machine swallowed the gold coins, and its body began to vibrate violently.

The warning light at the top spun frantically, emitting a piercing air-raid siren.

The lights in the entire indoor swimming pool dimmed instantly, leaving only the blinding golden light emitted by the gashapon machine.

"Clack!"

The first gashapon ball rolled out.

The shell cracked open, and a purple light shot up into the sky.

The purple light condensed in mid-air into a two-meter-tall man with bulging muscles.

He was wearing an extremely tight red speedo, his skin was a cyan-purple color typical of drowning, and a few strands of rotten seaweed hung from his body.

As soon as the man landed, he struck a standard bodybuilding pose, his pectoral muscles twitching rhythmically.

[Underworld Athlete · White Streak in the Waves · Zhang Shun (Mutated Contaminated State)]

[Quality: Legendary]

[Specialty: Holding breath underwater for three days and three nights, comes with a "Wave Breaker" water flow acceleration aura.]

[Status: Suspension for doping violation has ended; eager to return to the field.]

"Not bad." Chen You nodded to himself.

Although the style was still eerie, at least he was a proper swimmer. Those ten thousand gold coins weren't wasted.

Zhang Shun walked up to Chen You and cupped his fists. "Brother, are we to hijack the Birthday Gifts?"

Chen You's lip twitched. "We're not hijacking any Birthday Gifts. Go over there and stretch. Get ready to swim."

Zhang Shun was stunned for a moment, then let out a roar of "Understood!" before walking to the poolside and starting to do high knees frantically.

"One more to go." Chen You looked at the gashapon machine. "Continue."

The machine vibrated again.

This time, the vibration was much stronger than before.

The floor of the entire Huangquan Sports Center trembled, and the black Weak Water in the pool surged with waves half a meter high.

Referee Aguda was so excited that his bones rattled. "It's a gold! My lord! It's a gold!"

A column of dark-golden light, brilliant to the extreme, smashed through the gashapon machine's shell and shot straight toward the ceiling.

Within the golden light, the roar of waves crashing against reefs and a low dragon's roar could faintly be heard.

Even Chen You couldn't help but feel his heart race.

An SSR-rank Ancient Water-type Heroic Spirit—with this kind of entrance, it was bound to be a powerhouse.

The light gradually dissipated.

In mid-air, a giant pink pearl shell emerged.

The shell slowly opened.

Chen You held his breath.

Inside the shell lay a man.

He had a "Mediterranean" hairstyle, with a few sparse hairs stubbornly plastered to his scalp.

He wore a gaudy Hawaiian short-sleeved shirt and SpongeBob SquarePants patterned boxers.

On his feet, he wore a pair of flip-flops.

The man held a thermos in his hand, leisurely blowing on the goji berries floating on the surface of the water.

Chen You was stunned.

Referee Aguda was also stunned, his toad sunglasses falling directly to the ground.

[Knock-off Dragon King · Ao Guang (Laid-off and Re-employed Version)]

[Quality: mythological-grade]

[Specialty: Absolute Water Control. Ignores all physical resistance in water.]

[Status: Laid off due to the Underworld's restructuring; currently receiving unemployment benefits. Suffers from severe gout and is extremely sensitive to cold.]

The man took a sip of goji berry water, slowly drifted down from the shell, and landed in front of Chen You.

"Young man, are you the one who pulled me?" Ao Guang rubbed his bloated belly and let out a water burp.

"Tell me, do you want rain or a flood? Let's get this straight first: I have gout and can't touch cold water. The water temperature in this pool must be adjusted to 38.5 degrees Celsius, or I'm not getting in."

Chen You took a deep breath and turned to Referee Aguda. "Can I return him?"

"Blind boxes are final sale, no returns or exchanges!" Referee Aguda picked up his toad sunglasses, put them on, and quickly regained his rigid NPC face.

"My lord, your luck is heaven-defying. This gentleman was once a big shot who commanded the Underworld's water systems. Although he's currently laid off, his foundation is still there!"

Chen You rubbed his temples.

The team was assembled.

Chen You, Big Yellow Duck, Zhang Shun who hijacks Birthday Gifts, and the gouty Dragon King Ao Guang.

What kind of god-tier lineup is this?

"Beep—!"

Referee Aguda blew the silver whistle around his neck, the sound echoing in the empty indoor pool.

"Attention all participants! The 8th Huangquan Games, 4x100m Medley Relay, is about to begin!"