Chapter 24: Dividing Line—Level 5 Raft

Chapter 24: Chapter 24: Dividing Line—Level 5 Raft

By now, Rowan Rhodes increasingly felt that not even she could predict how the players’ future would unfold in the Sea Survival Game. District 122 had undergone a massive transformation. Could unexpected deviations have already occurred in other districts as well?

Regardless, Rowan could be certain of one thing: in this life, the Sea Survival Game was completely different! Moreover, it was evolving in a better direction.

Watching the bustling Trading Hall, Rowan decided to add a little more excitement to the mix. She pulled the Watermelon directly out of her Storage Box.

As soon as the Watermelon appeared, the Seagull flew over, staring at Rowan with burning eyes. The only reason it had attacked her before was because she had harvested all the Watermelons it usually ate, and then chopped down its resting tree.

"I plan to sell these Watermelons. I’ll give you something else delicious to eat later," Rowan explained simply.

Hearing this, the Seagull nodded at her. When it came to food, she truly hadn’t mistreated it.

Seeing its response, Rowan smiled, drew her knife, and began slicing the fruit. As she cut, the corresponding attributes appeared above each piece.

[Watermelon Chunk: Possesses a heat-relief Effect; dispels negative Effects.]

These chunks were effectively heatstroke medicine. Rowan’s cutting skills were perfectly precise, slicing them to the exact size needed for the Watermelon to take Effect. A single Watermelon was portioned into sixteen pieces.

Rowan ate one piece herself and gave another to the Seagull. The rest were tossed straight onto the Trading Hall’s market.

[Watermelon Chunk: Dispels heatstroke status. Trade for: plastic x20, empty mineral water bottles x10.]

Rowan was explicitly targeting mineral water bottles and plastic.

Under the extreme heat disaster, players had to consume massive amounts of mineral water, so the empty bottles naturally accumulated. When not in immediate danger, players would obviously hoard them. But if someone was already suffering from heatstroke, would they cling stubbornly to an empty bottle, or would they trade it for "medicine"? Was it even a choice?

After all, at this moment, Watermelon was equivalent to a life-saving drug. Sure enough, almost the instant Rowan listed them, they sold out completely.

The World Channel promptly burst into a synchronous discussion.

"So there are actually Watermelons in the Sea Survival Game, and sliced Watermelon has the Effect of treating heatstroke. That’s amazing."

"There are coconut trees, so having Watermelons isn’t strange at all!"

"I saw Watermelon vines on Pyralia. The Watermelons were probably all picked by the first player to land on the island, or those who got there early."

"So it really feels like island resources are incredibly important!"

"Harold Thompson: Why wouldn’t they leave any for the players behind them? We didn’t even catch a glimpse of a Watermelon."

"@Harold Thompson, I didn’t get to chop down any coconut trees. How about you give me some coconut seeds and Coconuts?"

"@Harold Thompson, me too! I want some too!"

"@Harold Thompson, and me! Save me!"

"..."

A crusade against Harold Thompson began just like that.

In the beginning, when everyone was unfamiliar with the Sea Survival Game, it was inevitable to feel jealous upon seeing oneself at a disadvantage while others pulled far ahead. Therefore, when they saw Harold Thompson and others trying to morally hijack the frontrunners, deep down they hoped he would succeed. After all, the target was at the front of the pack. If he succeeded, they would receive help without paying any price.

However, the continuously dropping player count on the World Channel used cold, hard numbers to tell them the truth: people could truly die in the Sea Survival Game.

Players were competitors. Certain resources were only available to those who moved fast. Failing to get those resources simply meant they couldn’t outcompete other players. Yet now, some were demanding that their fellow competitors hand over their hard-earned gains. Putting themselves in those shoes, would they be willing to do it?

No, they wouldn’t.

If such a toxic trend was allowed to spread, perhaps one day it would be their turn to be forced to hand over what they had risked their lives to obtain. Thus, the majority of players had regained their rationality and weren’t so easily swayed anymore.

Of course, the most important factor was that Celia Lynch and other mysterious top players were actively providing tangible support to the players of District 122.

What had Harold Thompson given? His tricks no longer worked.

After reading the chat, Rowan raised an eyebrow and quickly came to a conclusion. At the end of the day, it was all about self-interest! With a dismissive glance, Rowan turned her attention back to her own tasks.

Learning from Celia Lynch’s experience, she laid the Grassland directly on the raft. Once the installation was complete, the ambient temperature on the raft dropped by 2 degrees.

Next, Rowan shifted her gaze to her two Bronze Treasure Chests. The last Bronze Treasure Chest had given her potatoes and a Pet Egg. What would she open this time?

[Obtained: Self-heating meal x10, mineral water x20, Wooden Board x20, iron nails x20, sweet potato x5, Engine components x5.]

[Obtained: Self-heating rice x10, mineral water x20, Wooden Board x20, iron nails x20, wheat x5, battery x5, Metal Ingots x10.]

The loot from these two Bronze Treasure Chests was on par with her previous haul. However, this time she didn’t get a Pet Egg, making it clear that the drop rate for such special items was quite low.

Rowan began sorting her harvest, placing the items into their respective Storage Boxes. Speaking of which, due to the sheer variety of resources, she had already built Storage Box No. 9. Even though the raft had been expanded to 25 square meters, there wasn’t much free space left.

It seemed she needed to upgrade again!

Honestly, upgrading the raft was easy. As long as a player had enough resources, boosting it to Level 10 in one breath was no problem. But a Level 10 Raft was only the beginning. In the face of true storms and rough seas, it would be completely insignificant.

Once in the Coastal Waters, it would be considered a bottom-tier raft, the kind that could be eliminated at any moment. Many people who proudly rode their Level 10 Rafts through the Shallow Sea were immediately knocked back down to reality upon entering the Coastal Waters, forced to desperately accelerate their Speed of advancement.

Therefore, Rowan genuinely planned to upgrade and fortify her raft as much as possible within the limits of her abilities. Since her resources were ample and her raft space was lacking, upgrading was simply the way of Nature.

It could be said that a Level 5 Raft was a dividing line; progressing beyond a Level 5 Raft would become significantly harder. Once a player reached a Level 6 raft, they could unlock electrical Equipment and the Metal Raft. At that point, even a casual upgrade or modification would require massive amounts of metal and plastic.

However, living conditions would correspondingly improve.

Having calculated all this, Rowan clicked to upgrade. But the moment she made the selection, it didn’t directly deduct resources to upgrade the raft like before. Instead, a prompt window popped up:

[Condition 1: Wood x110, iron nails x110 (Met)]

[Condition 2: The Level of all Equipment on the raft must be at least E-level (Unmet)]

Rowan was already mentally prepared for Condition 2. Her mass collection of plastic and salvaging of fragments was precisely in preparation for upgrading to a Level 6 raft.

Clicking to confirm, Rowan shifted her gaze to the raft’s interface panel to check the status of her Equipment.