Chapter 59: The 1st Wave of Attacks Has Arrived

Chapter 59: Chapter 59: The 1st Wave of Attacks Has Arrived

After sending out the trading information, Rowan Rhodes continued to craft weapons and Equipment on her raft. She sent a portion sporadically to the Sea Survival Shop and deposited the rest into the District 122 trading hall. Her actions didn’t attract anyone’s attention, as many other players were also initiating trades with a wide variety of goods.

Aside from the items Rowan had previously listed, there were wool series items like sweaters, pants, wool gloves, and wool hats, as well as self-made warming Equipment like small stoves and honeycomb briquettes.

It could be said that the people’s Wisdom was infinite. Given a little inspiration and combining it with their own creativity, there were endless possibilities. More importantly, these special self-made goods were also listed in the Sea Survival Shop by the hands of Zelda Parrish, Owen Caldwell, Skye Schuyler, and others.

During this natural disaster, the players in District 122 weren’t just circulating goods internally; they were selling them outside the district, allowing the players to reap far greater rewards.

"I didn’t know what to do at first, but seeing the goods listed in the Sea Survival Shop instantly gave me a goal."

"Haha, with the resident players around, some of the small things we make can actually be sold, and for a good price too."

"Ordinary players are still the majority. Good things are nice, but not everyone can afford them. Right now, I think filling a glass bottle with hot water has a pretty good Effect."

"Speaking of which, the current ice surface is no longer suitable for salvaging supplies. If you want to fish for materials, you have to break the ice."

"Can your rafts still move?"

"They can’t move anymore. I originally drilled a hole in the middle of my raft to salvage supplies, but now even that hole is frozen solid."

"If you calculate it like that, we’re just eating into our reserves."

"I have a feeling this will be the norm in the future. When a natural disaster strikes, we simply can’t collect resources. The safe days between two disasters are meant for us to prepare, right?"

"The main thing is that we could guess this extreme cold disaster, but I really can’t imagine what the next one will be!"

"Why think so much? Just take it one step at a time! Compared to being completely helpless at the beginning, we’re doing much better now."

Rowan paused as she watched the discussions on the world channel. In the Sea Survival Game, this was naturally a process of continuous torment and self-healing. Those who survived would grow increasingly resilient, while those who couldn’t would have their sanity corroded.

Just as Rowan was thinking this, a series of THUDS echoed against the raft before finally returning to dead silence. Rowan realized her raft had stopped, unable to move forward anymore.

She stood up and opened the door. A fierce, freezing wind immediately howled into the raft, and she could feel the temperature around her plummet by several degrees. However, she didn’t feel cold, as she had bundled herself up tightly. When people in the trading hall were listing the wool series goods, they traded for wool as the raw material. Rowan had some on hand and had traded for it long ago.

Stepping outside, the previously boundless blue ocean had transformed into a vast expanse of white. Snow was falling, and the ice layer was rapidly thickening. The raft seemed to have become a solitary boat on an ice field, adding a touch of desolation to the scene.

Rowan took out a long spear from her backpack and began striking the ice. CRACK! She soon broke open a hole and continued to chip away at it. This commotion immediately attracted the Seagull family.

Watching Rowan’s actions, the birds one by one began to help with their claws. Mother Gull, in particular, was slightly larger in size; in the blink of an eye, she scratched out another hole right next to where Rowan was hammering, then looked up at her ingratiatingly. The Seagull family knew that their current comfortable life was all thanks to Rowan. Naturally, they wanted to help her.

Rowan looked at the holes they had poked, the corners of her lips curling up into a faint smile. "Thank you."

She had only wanted to check the thickness of the ice, but now she had a better idea. "Make it a bit bigger," Rowan instructed. It would take her ages to chisel it out herself, whereas the Seagulls could do it in just a few swipes of their claws. She might as well let them do the work!

Hearing this, the Seagull family instantly and happily began digging out the hole.

Rowan, meanwhile, walked over to the Workbench and quickly crafted several fishing rods. There were still quite a few ordinary marine creatures living beneath the ice. It was just that they rarely appeared on ordinary days, only occasionally blundering into the fishing net placed around the raft. Because they were scarce, and the Seagulls loved to eat them, she usually saved them as extra meals for the birds.

During the extreme heat disaster, those marine creatures had mostly dove into deeper waters, making them a rare sight. Now, under the extreme cold disaster, the sea surface was frozen solid, which ironically made the marine creatures more active. This could be considered a hidden perk of the cold wave. In her past life, she had only thought of trying this out of sheer desperation. To her surprise, it had actually worked, and it was by relying on these edible marine creatures that she had managed to trade for the things she needed.

After crafting the fishing rods, Rowan started to fish, using some leftover small fish as bait. She propped up her fishing rod and sat quietly, enjoying this rare moment of tranquility.

The family of five Seagulls surrounded the newly widened ice hole. To sum up their expression in one word: greedy. Following Rowan meant they never had to worry about food or water, but fish remained their instinctual favorite.

Not long after Rowan lowered her fishing rod, a fish bit the hook. Reeling it in, Rowan looked at the thrashing fish and tossed it directly to the Seagulls, who happily began to share the feast. One person fished, five birds ate. Of course, whenever the hole started to freeze over, the Seagulls would immediately break the ice to keep the water flowing.

Time slowly slipped by in this leisurely atmosphere. That was, until Rowan reeled in a Frost Phosphorus Shrimp.

The moment the Frost Phosphorus Shrimp was pulled up, the Seagull family’s eyes went wide, staring fixedly at it. Seeing their drooling appearance, Rowan chuckled. "The Frost Phosphorus Shrimp are here. You guys can have a good meal now."

As she spoke, Rowan grabbed the shrimp she had just caught. Taking a knife, she cleanly sliced off the Frost Phosphorus Shrimp’s head and peeled the shell, revealing the glossy, translucent shrimp meat inside. The moment she popped it into her mouth, a burst of fresh sweetness spread over her tongue, accompanied by an incredibly soft and glutinous texture. Most importantly, the shrimp meat carried a natural icy sensation. It was like eating ice cream on a snowy day—exceptionally refreshing. It was just as delicious as she remembered. No wonder it was the highly coveted food for so many marine creatures.

Rowan put away her fishing rod. Besides relaxing, fishing had been her way of determining whether the Frost Phosphorus Shrimp had arrived yet.

The next moment, Rowan took out the shrimp traps she had retrieved from the resident players. Using the raft as a center point, she chiseled out large holes one after another at a set distance away from the raft, then lowered the shrimp traps in one by one.

Rowan was using the traps she had traded from Zelda Parrish. Compared to other people’s shrimp traps, Zelda had modified hers. She had added a mechanism to the trap’s rope, similar to a Charcoal Stove. Once Wooden Boards were placed inside, the mechanism would generate heat, preventing the ice hole from freezing over.

Obviously, this was Zelda Parrish’s own ingenious design, and it had proven effective in practice. Truly worthy of being the future Equipment boss! The quality of the shrimp traps she made was several grades higher than everyone else’s.

After Rowan finished placing all the shrimp traps, her raft was met with continuous tremors.

The Frost Phosphorus Shrimp’s attack on the raft had begun.