Chapter 2: The Sooner You Build the Raft, the Better

Chapter 2: Chapter 2: The Sooner You Build the Raft, the Better

After throwing her hook over twenty more times, acquiring various resources and two wooden boxes, Rowan Rhodes finally stopped her salvage efforts only when her Thirst Value and Fullness Value dipped dangerously close to the warning line. Sitting down to rest, Rowan couldn’t wait to open the Trading Hall. The Trading Hall was also divided into regions; it only displayed items offered by the players of District 122.

[iron nails x2, Trade: bread x1 or mineral water x1]

[Trash x2, Trade: bread x1 or mineral water x1]

[...]

Obviously, most of the items currently flooding the Trading Hall were various raw materials, while the hard currency consisted of bread and mineral water. After a brief browse, Rowan directly posted her own trade listings.

[bread x1, Trade: Empty wooden box x1]

[mineral water x1, Trade: Empty wooden box x1]

Rowan only kept two portions each of bread and mineral water for her meals, intending to trade the rest away. She knew very well that many players needed massive amounts of food and water to recover their stats. A bottle of water could restore 20 units of Thirst Value. A loaf of bread could restore 20 units of Fullness Value. To sustain prolonged use of the Hook Claw, by Nature, they needed constant replenishment.

This approach was correct. The novice period was the prime time for harvesting resources, which players needed to build their raft. However, a single misstep during this process could put them in a dangerous situation, greatly testing a player’s individual abilities. As for Rowan, not only did she have past experience, but she also possessed the Heart of Life’s once-a-day status buff, effectively giving her twice as much active time. Therefore, she could use her survival supplies to exchange for other resources, allocating them to build her raft and giving herself a head start at the starting line.

Yes, a competitive relationship existed among the players. They were competing for the resources in the ocean and on the islands. Especially the islands. Although island resources were abundant, players had to physically go ashore for Collection, and the island resources could not undergo Regeneration. Why bother with Collection yourself when robbing others was so much faster! Later on, people wouldn’t just rob supplies; they would even hijack the raft. Once a raft was successfully hijacked, its owner would either have to choose death or become a subordinate. Harsh survival environments would, by Nature, breed sin. Wasn’t she killed by such "sin" in her previous life?

The only way forward was to upgrade her raft as quickly as possible, equipping her raft with defensive abilities to protect herself against marine creatures, natural disasters, and... other players.

While she was calculating all this, the trade listings she had posted were swiftly cleared out. After all, hers were reverse trade listings; there was a horde of people scrambling to take the deal. Subconsciously, Rowan opened the World Channel. This was another habit she had cultivated in her previous life. Since massive numbers of players gathered on the World Channel, it served as an information hub. Sometimes, she could glean useful information from it. Upon opening it, Rowan saw many players discussing the Trading Hall.

"What are empty wooden boxes used for? Why would anyone trade bread and mineral water for them?"

"Right, I’m wondering the same thing. I hope this player can step forward. We’re all in the same boat, so don’t hide things from us."

"If this person can afford to trade bread and mineral water, they must have tons of supplies. Can they step forward and save some lives?"

"Yeah! I’m dying of thirst here."

"I can’t even aim properly at the supplies around me."

"All I’ve hooked are Wooden Boards. Can a kind soul please save me? It’s a human life, after all."

"The person above should just use empty wooden boxes to trade!"

"I feel like empty boxes might actually be useful for something."

"If you think they’re useful, then don’t trade them. Hug your empty wooden boxes while you starve to death, waiting for them to be useful. Good for you!"

"Hahahaha."

"..."

Watching some of the players "begging for help," Rowan’s expression remained calm. As a veteran player, she had long since discarded any scraps of "pity." She could guarantee that she wouldn’t actively harm anyone. In this game where the weak were prey to the strong, being able to do just that already made her an absolute "saint." In this life, she only wanted to live well. Not just surviving, but... thriving. She had suffered more than enough in her previous life.

As for revealing the function of empty wooden boxes, that was completely out of the question. She didn’t even plan to speak in the World Channel. The Trading Hall was anonymous, but the World Channel was not. Once the novice period passed and everyone learned that empty wooden boxes could be dismantled, they would definitely suspect how she knew in advance. She didn’t want to bring unnecessary trouble upon herself.

Closing the World Channel, Rowan prepared to dismantle the wooden boxes. Six portions of bread and seven bottles of mineral water had netted her thirteen empty wooden boxes. Adding the three she already had, she possessed a total of sixteen. Taking them out, Rowan dismantled them one by one.

[Wooden box dismantled successfully. Gained: Wooden Board x5, iron nails x2.]

[...]

After dismantling all sixteen empty wooden boxes, she obtained Wooden Boards x80 and iron nails x32. Seeing that she had enough materials, Rowan chose Expansion without hesitation.

[Building one square meter of raft requires: Wood x10, iron nails x10. Current maximum Expansion area is 3 square meters. Expand all?]

When this prompt appeared, a virtual raft was displayed on the raft schematic on the right side of the screen, allowing players to freely select placement locations. As soon as all the pieces were placed, the Expansion of the raft in reality would be completed. Rowan placed them down one by one. Finally, the raft formed a 2x2 meter square. The moment this new structure was formed, the raft’s stats also changed.

[Territory: Initial Raft]

[Level: Level 2][Upgrade]

[Introduction: Composed of crude Wooden Boards, possessing a bit of surface area.]

[specification: 2m x 2m][Expansion]

[Durability: 200/200]

[defensive power: 200/200]

[Current Equipment: Hook Claw]

[Unlockable Equipment: raft (Thatch wall, thatch door), Production (fishing net), Survival (campfire), Weapon (long spear)]

It wasn’t just the stats; the raft in reality had also become a four-square-meter large raft. The space had suddenly expanded significantly. Now that the area had grown larger, some modifications to the raft also needed to be put on the agenda. As the raft’s Level progressed from Level 1 to Level 2, the Unlockable Equipment increased. These pieces of Equipment could all be considered necessities, directly tied to the raft’s future upgrades. In the early stages, many players felt it was a waste of resources. It wasn’t until the later stages that they realized the raft’s upgrades, production Equipment, and ocean survival items all needed to be upgraded from this foundation.

For example, the thatch wall required 10 units of Wooden Boards to build. Its description upon completion was a "fragile barrier." However, in the later stages, it could be directly upgraded to a Wood Wall for a small number of Wooden Boards. If a player skipped this phase, building a Wood Wall from scratch would require a massive amount of Wooden Boards, iron nails, rope, and other supplies. For instance, the campfire was a prerequisite Equipment for the cooking platform. Among them, the most critical was the long spear, a sharp weapon for defending against sharks.

...

In short, the earlier she built them, the better! Rowan began to calculate the resources required for each facility.