Chapter 154 - 143: Abyssal Sea Serpent Swarm

Chapter 154: Chapter 143: Abyssal Sea Serpent Swarm

Ignoring the enthusiasm of the other players, Rowan Rhodes turned her attention back to her raft. On the radar, the silhouette of Void Isle had finally appeared.

The raft’s increased Speed meant she would reach Void Isle a bit sooner than anticipated. Consequently, her arrival time might coincide with the attack of the mutated marine creatures. However, since she was so much further ahead than the rest of the players, waiting a while wouldn’t hurt. She figured that with the introduction of the Engine, quite a few players were now advancing just as quickly.

Ever since Glimmerstone Isle, it had become a widespread consensus that achieving Protos on an island yielded far greater benefits. The top-ranking players in every sector hoped to reach the next island faster than their peers. Even the players in District 122, who knew she was guaranteed first place, would still strive for second or third. This race concerned the future development of both their rafts and themselves. No one knew exactly how the rafts would evolve in the future, but during this early developmental phase, everyone wanted to secure an advantage.

Still, Rowan knew that amidst the current viral natural disaster, the probability of any player achieving Protos before her was incredibly slim. Yet, arriving first didn’t mean much on its own. Starting from the fourth island, the rules had changed. A portion of the resources on these islands could respawn.

Take Void Isle, for example. The Space Stones found there were renewable resources. However, this respawning came at a price. Space Stones were carried by Void Beasts, and killing a Void Beast yielded a certain amount of them. Void Beasts, however, were not easy to kill. But brute force wasn’t the only option. If one could establish a connection with a Void Beast, it might be possible to trade for a massive amount of Space Stones.

In her previous life, Rowan had arrived at Void Isle very late. By then, many people had already discovered the Void Beasts’ capacity for Regeneration, only to find that killing them became progressively harder. By the time Rowan arrived, she had long given up any hope of obtaining Space Stones. So, she ignored the Void Beasts and focused on the Collection of other resources on Void Isle: Wooden Boards, Stones, sand, and the like.

Perhaps sensing she harbored no ill intent, a Void Beast had followed and observed her, even showing curiosity about the food she ate. After she gave the Void Beast some bread to eat, it surprisingly handed her a good number of Space Stones. Those Space Stones became a crucial foundation for her survival later on.

Therefore, this time around, Rowan had absolutely no intention of killing any Void Beasts after landing on Void Isle. She would use all sorts of delicious food to trade with them. She wondered if she would encounter the exact same beast as before. She hoped so; at the very least, it would allow her to properly repay its kindness.

As Rowan pondered this, the raft continued heading in the direction of Void Isle.

Around the raft, mutated marine creatures were now a rare sight, but two Abyssal Sea Serpents still trailed closely behind. Clearly, even after an entire day had passed, they refused to give up on hunting her. Rowan didn’t know if they were just gluttonous or if it was part of their innate programming. Furthermore, she had a feeling that another Boss-level mutated marine creature would appear today. She wondered what it would be. If they weren’t dealt with by the end of the attack period, would they continue to linger around her raft? If she landed on the island, would they attack?

Rowan was somewhat curious. After all, everything she was experiencing now was entirely different from her past life. This sense of the unknown actually ignited her desire for a challenge. Conditions permitting, she wanted to grow stronger and acquire as many unique things as possible.

Now that Void Isle had appeared on the Map, Rowan’s mindset completely steadied. Keeping the raft moving at its current Speed, she shifted her gaze toward the mutated marine creatures that were gathering once again on the radar.

Today, the red dots were much denser than yesterday. Instead of tailing her from behind, they were appearing dead ahead. Evidently, the Sea Survival Game had taken Rowan’s current situation into account and made corresponding adjustments to its deployment of mutated marine creatures. This undoubtedly proved one thing: the data in the Sea Survival Game updated in real-time, adapting based on a player’s status. However, these adjustments were merely governed by artificial intelligence, rather than displaying true Wisdoms. For now, there was no actual "person" operating behind the scenes of the Sea Survival Game.

Just as Rowan was thinking this, she suddenly noticed four red dots, similar in size to the Abyssal Sea Serpents, abruptly spawn within her waters. Were these today’s bosses? Four of them all at once? They really thought highly of her!

Rowan felt that her strength was being somewhat overestimated. Or perhaps it wasn’t an overestimation; they were purely here to deplete her energy. After all, if she didn’t meet them head-on, she had only one choice: trade resources for time.

While she was mulling this over, six large red dots began hurtling toward her raft at a Speed much faster than the smaller dots. Seeing the synchronized movements of these six mutated marine creatures, Rowan had a premonition. Today’s four Boss-level mutated marine creatures were likely Abyssal Sea Serpents as well. The Sea Survival Game probably assumed that because she hadn’t killed the Abyssal Sea Serpents yesterday, she was incapable of handling them.

The thought flashed through her mind. The next second, the six red dots completely overlapped with her raft on the radar.

The radar emitted a warning alarm, BEEP BEEP BEEP. At the same time, the SCREECH of Abyssal Sea Serpents scraping against metal rang in her ears, wrapping around her in a 360-degree surround sound.

Her raft had clearly been tightly surrounded. If one were to look at the raft from the outside, all they would see was a dense, writhing mass of snake bodies. Just imagining it gave Rowan a bout of megalophobia. Simultaneously, the physical pressure intensified. The CREAK of compressing metal echoed continuously. Most importantly, the raft was sitting noticeably lower in the water, and its forward Speed instantly plummeted.

Rowan was utterly speechless.

After a moment of silence, she comforted herself. If the raft was slow, then so be it! There was a time limit to this assault anyway. Besides, even if the raft reached Void Isle early, she wouldn’t dare step outside under these conditions! She just had to survive until tomorrow’s "Safe Day."

As Rowan’s raft slowed down, a portion of the surrounding mutated marine creatures swarmed closer. The Fish Spear Guns stationed under the sea began to fire relentlessly.

Rowan monitored the raft’s status, constantly replenishing resources to maintain the raft’s Durability at a stable level. Meanwhile, she made her way up to the fourth floor. The impact was most obvious here; the entire ceiling was warped. Even the Watchtower itself was tilting slightly.

Seeing Rowan appear, the Big Turtle silently crawled over to her side.

"Master, there are so many bosses," the Big Turtle said, its tone carrying a hint of confusion.

Clearly, the situation surrounding Rowan’s raft had exceeded even its imagination.