Chapter 65: The Screening Process

Chapter 65: Chapter 65: The Screening Process

Rowan Rhodes didn’t care about the storm of discussions on the World Channel; all her focus was on the Frost Phosphorus Shrimp.

Having secured this haul, she would be able to rest properly inside her warm raft for the next two days.

Finally, after switching out her Equipment several times back and forth and repairing the raft just as often, Rowan had scooped up nearly all of the Frost Phosphorus Shrimp. Stowing away all the shrimp traps, she returned to the raft and collapsed directly onto the floor. Exhausted! She was just too exhausted! Even though she constantly replenished her physical state, her mental fatigue couldn’t be restored with items—she could only rely on sleep.

Yet, despite her exhaustion, Rowan’s eyes sparkled brightly. Throughout the day, she had harvested tens of thousands of Frost Phosphorus Shrimp. She had struck it rich! Whether she ate them herself or sold them to others, she wouldn’t have to worry about a food source for a very long time. She could even use the Frost Phosphorus Shrimp as bait to lure marine creatures in the future.

By now, the Seagull family had gathered around Rowan, staring at her with concern.

"I’m fine. I’m just going to lie here for a bit," Rowan said.

Lying there like that, not thinking about anything at all... It felt incredibly comfortable!

Hearing this, the Seagulls nestled down beside her. Seabird One even hopped right into her arms. Rowan stroked its smooth feathers.

A moment later, she got up. Her first order of business was to head to the cooking platform and boil some instant noodles. Of course, it wasn’t just one portion, but six. While they cooked, she extravagantly added an egg.

A short while later, the raft started up again, returning to its normal sailing course. The only proof of their presence was the pitted and cratered surface left behind, which was completely smoothed over just a moment later.

The delicious taste of the instant noodles instantly conquered the Seagull family. Rowan let them eat freely, but they mostly chose ready-to-eat foods like bread, biscuits, and so on. They still ate very little of anything that required heating on the cooking platform. They originally thought cake was the most delicious thing in the world, never expecting to find something even better.

Rowan smiled as she watched the Seagulls eat happily, then shifted her gaze to the World Channel. Scrolling through the earlier chat logs, she discovered that her listing the Frost Phosphorus Shrimp had caused everyone to unanimously conclude it was her doing. They were now making all sorts of wild speculations about her "wealth."

Rowan was speechless. After all, she had already caused a stir that afternoon. She hadn’t expected a second listing to trigger an even stronger reaction.

Faced with such massive public discussion, only one thought crossed Rowan’s mind. Get stronger. Because now, even more people were eyeing her fortune.

Recalling her previous plans, Rowan began checking her current resources. After the recent barrage, her basic resources—like Metal Ingots, Wooden Boards, iron nails, and so on—had been severely depleted. In particular, fending off the Frost Phosphorus Shrimp just now had consumed more than half of her Metal Ingots.

It was safe to say that the higher the raft level, the more expensive it was to repair after taking damage. She had just sacrificed her raft’s durability to buy herself time. If she hadn’t acquired a massive stockpile of Metal Ingots from the sunken ship on the seabed, she likely would have needed to purchase far more before daring to risk staying out on the open sea for so long.

Once the raft was upgraded into a Metal Raft, its main structural component would no longer be Wooden Boards, but Metal Ingots. Of course, Wooden Boards could still be used for various structures built on top of the raft.

After reaching Level 10, once basic resources were fully gathered and blueprints appeared, the possibilities for raft construction would multiply significantly. In the later stages of the game, players’ rafts became incredibly diverse. There were luxury cruise ships, classical Chinese gardens, lavish villas, towering castles, Magic spires...

The reason she knew all this was because the Sea Survival Game updated the World Channel after players entered the Coastal Waters Region in the late stages. The World Channel no longer hosted just the players from a single district; it included players from other districts as well, though daily chat limits were imposed. Moreover, the World Channel wasn’t restricted to text alone. Players could post videos and images, as well as create private messages and group chats—functioning much like a real-world messaging app.

The pictures of those wildly different raft styles had been shared by various players. When she saw them back then, she felt her own raft was nothing more than a piece of junk in comparison. But in this life, her raft was different. She looked forward to the day she could truly begin constructing it properly.

The next moment, Rowan began trading for Metal Ingots from the permanent players. To build her raft into an impenetrable fortress in the future, Metal Ingots were an absolute necessity. However, Metal Ingots were a resource only obtainable by rafts at Level 6 or above, and they were in high demand among those Level 6 players.

Under these circumstances, purchasing them in bulk was exceedingly difficult. Still, she bought as many as she could get, never turning away even a single piece. Her only hope now was that she would be able to exchange for Metal Ingots once the Sea Survival Shop upgraded to Level 2.

Aside from these two avenues, the best method would be to find a Map for another sunken ship on the third island. Only by accumulating more and more of these resources could she properly build up her raft.

After taking inventory, Rowan resumed browsing through the list of permanent players. She began trading away some of the resources she no longer needed, exchanging them for Equipment and food with special Effects. In turn, this special Equipment and food would allow Rowan to trade for even more resources.

So far, the utility of the Sea Survival Shop was no match for these 200 permanent players. And for the permanent players, they would never refuse a trade request from the Sea Survival Shop; they would even go out of their way to fulfill it. Just like this, using the Sea Survival Shop as a front, Rowan was quietly making a fortune.

Of course, she maintained her usual routine, silently dropping a portion of the special Equipment and food into District 122. First, this continued to boost District 122’s survival rate. Second, it allowed her to maintain her secret identity as the mysterious big shot of District 122.

She wasn’t doing it out of pure kindness; rather, she was watching the butterfly effect of her rebirth unfold through District 122. The better District 122 fared, the more real her new life felt.

The moment this latest batch of resources hit District 122’s trading hall, the players instantly erupted in excitement.

"Aww yeah, the big boss has finally dropped more supplies!"

"I snagged a Charcoal Stove! I finally have some warming Equipment."

"I feel like I’m about to freeze into a popsicle."

"We’re actually incredibly lucky! We have so many permanent players providing different kinds of special Equipment and food, plus a mysterious boss who gives us massive drops from time to time."

"I have a feeling it’s highly possible for District 122 to take first place in survival rate for the second stage."

"The first day is almost over. We just need to endure for two more days."

"Plus, there’s the Frost Phosphorus Shrimp. That stuff is seriously overpowered for recovering your physical state!"

"I’ve made up my mind. I’m going to hide inside my raft without moving and rely on the Frost Phosphorus Shrimp to survive the extreme cold."

"I just don’t know if there will be other marine creatures showing up later. During the extreme heat disaster, there were three different types!"

"If there are, we’ll just have to do our best to fend them off."

"I’ve figured it out. As long as you hoard enough resources like Wooden Boards to repair damage in time, you’ll be fine. If the raft lives, you live; if the raft dies, you die."

"Actually, if you get some Equipment like Sleds or sleighs, your raft can travel across the ice. I’ve already started my voyage."

"Right! We still have two days left. If you stay put, you’ll fall behind!"

"I’m already trying hard to find the third island."

"..."

Many of the players who were ahead of the curve couldn’t help but show off in the World Channel. Those who had stayed put fell silent. Was it that they didn’t want to move? No, it was simply that they couldn’t afford Equipment like Sleds at all. All they could do was endure.

Many players also came to a realization. Every disaster was a filtering process. This filter didn’t just weed people out through death, but also by leaving them behind. As time went on, the gap between them and the top players would only grow wider. Sigh! Envy wouldn’t do them any good!

"Celia Lynch: For those who haven’t purchased Sleds, there’s no need to panic. Without the threat of the Frost Phosphorus Shrimp, staying in place just means your journey will be a bit slower. You’ll still reach the third island eventually. The most important thing for everyone is to survive. Only by surviving do you have a future."

Right then, Celia Lynch stepped up once again. Clearly, she had sensed the growing anxiety among a portion of the players and came out to console them.

Sure enough, her words instantly snapped many players out of their slump. She was right! At the very least, they were still alive. Compared to the players who had died, they were incredibly lucky.

With this mindset, many players quickly began their preparations. Even though their rafts couldn’t move, they could still put in the effort to make their lives inside the rafts a little more comfortable for the next two days.