Chapter 51: Preparations Before the Extreme Cold Disaster

Chapter 51: Chapter 51: Preparations Before the Extreme Cold Disaster

Rowan Rhodes weighed the pros and cons of upgrading in her mind. The advantage was gaining access to a wider selection of Equipment and resources. The downside was that it would attract unwanted attention, including being targeted by the game’s system—like the doubling of sharks and other marine creatures.

Previously, having doubled resources might have been a silver lining, but now that she had the Sea Survival Shop, that benefit was negligible. After pondering for a moment, Rowan decided to take it step by step. Since a considerable number of players had already upgraded their rafts to Level 6, her reaching Level 7 wouldn’t be too conspicuous; it just meant she was one step ahead of the rest. However, jumping two levels at once would be pushing it.

This was entirely different from leveling up twice during the novice phase. Back then, consecutive upgrades only required enough Wooden Boards and iron nails. But any player above Level 5 knew exactly how agonizing the jump to Level 6 was, demanding a colossal amount of resources.

She had only managed it this time thanks to the sunken shipwreck. Without that shipwreck, it wouldn’t have been nearly as easy. She would have had to wait until exploring her third island to even think about upgrading. And that wouldn’t happen for several days.

"Since I already have an advantage, I should probably hold off for now," she reasoned. It was the perfect time to properly digest her current resources and prepare for the future. The Sea Survival Game was never about who could level up the fastest, but about who could survive the longest. The more she stockpiled in secret, the greater her advantage would become. Having made her decision, Rowan selected "No."

After making her choice, she turned her attention to the newly upgraded electric Furnaces. As long as she set the required quantities, they would manufacture items automatically, only stopping once the designated amount of Equipment was produced. This massive leap in convenience was exactly what Rowan needed. She immediately began configuring the settings.

[Obtained: Flaming Fire Bow and Arrow]

[Obtained: temperature control device]

[...]

Different Furnaces churned out various pieces of Equipment at breakneck Speed. Watching the production lines go into overdrive, the corners of Rowan’s lips curled up unconsciously.

Once her raft reached Level 10, it would undergo its first major transformation. At that point, it would no longer be a mere raft, but a veritable Sea Base. Perhaps in this lifetime, her Sea Base would actually begin to take shape before she even entered the Coastal Waters Region.

Amidst her anticipation, Rowan didn’t neglect resource collection. Of course, she wasn’t gathering them in District 122, but through the permanent players she had invited from other districts. She had just proven the capability of the Sea Survival Shop to those players, laying the groundwork for this very operation.

Profiting from a single district was nothing compared to the thrill of bleeding every district dry. Besides, she was technically stimulating resource circulation in other districts. She might even be saving countless players in the process! After witnessing the transformation of District 122, Rowan’s mindset had shifted. She had no idea what the ultimate endgame of the Sea Survival Game was. But she did know one thing: the Sea Survival Game wanted players to compete and slaughter one another.

So, she would do the exact opposite. Opening her permanent player list, Rowan excluded the individuals from District 122 and sent a mass message to the players in the other districts.

District 1938.

After receiving the resources from the Sea Survival Shop, Jaina Harmon had managed to survive. Even now, she was still trembling with lingering fear. She truly hadn’t expected to pull through! Once she calmed down and replenished her stats, she immediately began using her Hook Claw to salvage resources. Her luck wasn’t half bad, and the probability of hooking wooden crates was quite high. Without any marine creature attacks to hinder her, she swiftly paid back the "salary" she had drawn in advance.

At the moment, she was stockpiling supplies in preparation for the next natural disaster. She had no idea what the disaster would be, only that it could strike at any time. Right now, the world channel in her district was abuzz with discussions about the Sea Survival Shop.

"The Sea Survival Shop puts out way too few items."

"Still, there’s quite a lot of good stuff."

"Ironically, what I want are just some basic resources, but the moment a large batch appears, it gets snatched up instantly."

"Yeah, and the small batches are way too expensive."

"Maybe the basic resources restock at specific times."

"Having to fight over resources seems perfectly normal to me. If everyone could easily buy what they needed, where would the difficulty be?"

"True that."

"..."

Watching the discussion unfold, Jaina didn’t dare utter a single word. She hadn’t seen anyone on her district’s world channel mention permanent players. Whether she was the only one or there were others, she had no intention of exposing herself. She was genuinely terrified of being robbed.

Back during the first island phase, many players in their district had descended into mutual slaughter the moment they made landfall. It had been a frenzy of burning, killing, and looting. She hadn’t even dared to step foot on the island back then. She had stubbornly waited until most of the players were gone before finally going ashore, and as a result, she had only managed to scrounge up common resources.

During that time, the number of players in the district had plummeted drastically. Between the island and the natural disasters, tens of thousands had perished. Therefore, the moment she realized she possessed the qualifications of a permanent player for the Sea Survival Shop, she knew she had to keep it a closely guarded secret. While she was scrolling through the world channel, a private message from the shop suddenly popped up on her Sea Survival Shop interface.

[Buying: Hot Stone (50 Trading Coins), geothermal core (100 Trading Coins)]

"Hot Stones? Geothermal cores? These are materials dropped by the Abyssal Wurms," Jaina thought. "Why would the Sea Survival Shop be purchasing these?" Whatever the reason, she opened the trading hall. Sure enough, she saw several people listing Hot Stones and geothermal cores in exchange for urgently needed resources.

Jaina was eager to make a move, only to realize her pockets were empty. Thinking of the shop’s life-saving grace, Jaina shamelessly requested another advance on resources from the Sea Survival Shop. Once again, her request was approved. Armed with the advanced resources, Jaina began a frantic buying spree within her district. She had no idea what the shop intended to do with these items. But she knew one thing for certain: blindly following the Sea Survival Shop’s lead was the right play. After all, this was her "savior"!

District 5323.

Ian Sinclair had already seized the time to upgrade his raft to Level 6. His harvest from Thesora, combined with the resources he had plundered from players who tried to rob him, had provided more than enough for a smooth upgrade.

Immediately after the upgrade, Ian turned his attention to the raft’s Unlockable Equipment. Metal Raft, Furnace, Engine, Fish Spear Gun. The Metal Raft required Metal Ingots. The Furnace required Dry Bricks. The Engine required an Engine and a Steering Wheel. The Fish Spear Gun needed Metal Ingots and an oxygen bottle.

Looking at the list, Ian felt a headache coming on. He hadn’t even heard of these resources before. However, he was acutely aware that this new Equipment would drastically elevate his raft’s functionality. He just had to figure out a way. Consequently, he began scrolling through the world channel, hoping to find some useful information.

But in the blink of an eye, he received an alert from the Sea Survival Shop.

[Buying: Hot Stone (50 Trading Coins), geothermal core (100 Trading Coins)]

"What is the Sea Survival Shop’s purpose in acquiring these two resources?" was Ian’s very first thought. Regardless, he was definitely going to take this deal. The next second, he began sweeping the trading hall to purchase the items. At the same time, he initiated a trade request with the shop for the Engine, Steering Wheel, battery, and other resources. He figured he might as well test the waters to see if the shop had them in stock.