While Everyone Panicked, I Upgraded My Raft

Chapter 83: Chapter 83: Rowan Rhodes’s ”Entourage

Rowan Rhodes first examined the marine Map of the waters surrounding Glimmerstone Isle. Unfolding the Map, Glimmerstone Isle sat right at the center, directly marked with all its various ores and marine life. Rowan’s gaze immediately shifted to the surrounding waters, and the pufferfish she had been searching for were impressively listed right there.

Besides pufferfish, there were multiple species of marine life, all inhabiting different ocean depths. To explore, she would need a diving suit and an oxygen bottle. Rowan really wanted to go down and harvest them, but since the extreme cold weather hadn’t passed, she was still wearing the White Bear Anti-Cold Suit. The fluffy outfit made her look like a giant bear. She had already found it cumbersome just climbing the mountain earlier, let alone going into the water—that would just be exhausting on top of exhausting.

She could only wait until the extreme cold disaster ended before getting into the water. Based on her timeline, there was still plenty of time. Speaking of which, even if she ran into players from District 122, it wouldn’t matter. Once the players of District 122 arrived at Glimmerstone Isle and saw the ”disappeared” island, most of them would be able to guess that Rowan was in their district. Even after the Positioning Card was released, this news couldn’t be kept under wraps anyway. Since she couldn’t hide it, there was no need to try. When the time came, she just needed to bundle up tightly so no one would recognize her.

Thus, for the time being, Rowan set her sights on the pufferfish near Glimmerstone Isle. She used the Hook Claw. Having not used it for the past two days, she instantly felt much more in tune with it upon casting. This was her familiar way of living in the Sea Survival Game.

By the time she caught a large pile of them, it was already noon. Rowan went to the living area and started preparing lunch. Seeing her get ready to cook, the Seagull Family had already flown onto the dining table to wait. They were now completely accustomed to Rowan’s routine and fully intended to freeload off her for food and drink. As for snacks, they planned to eat the stockpiled Frost Phosphorus Shrimp from the Storage Box sitting right inside their room. To them, their current lives were pure paradise, which was exactly why they were so proactive in working for her.

Meanwhile, what Rowan was currently frying was none other than the raw meat chunks she had obtained from killing the wild boar last night. For seasoning, she simply used the flavor packets from her instant noodles. Just a little bit was enough to make the pork delicious. Speaking of which, the food in the Sea Survival Game always tasted better than in reality, and the raw pork was no exception.

After she sprinkled the instant noodle seasoning, the savory aroma instantly spread across the raft. The Seagulls’ heads turned in unison to peer in Rowan’s direction. They wondered what delicious food she was making today.

A moment later, once the pork and instant noodles were ready, Rowan and the Seagulls sat around the dining table and began to enjoy their feast. The moment the tender pork entered her mouth, Rowan felt instant satisfaction. As for the Seagull Family, they gorged themselves, not even lifting their heads once.

Taking advantage of mealtime, Rowan checked the messages in the District 122 world channel. The moment she saw them, she was slightly stunned.

”Rowan Rhodes is going to hollow out the entire mine!”

”The quantities of several ores are skyrocketing.”

”No other resources have appeared, which means the third island is mostly made of ore.”

”I’m panicking.”

”Rowan Rhodes shouldn’t be in our District 122, right! She’s never shown up here before!”

”Boohoo, I have a bad premonition about this.”

Harold Thompson: ”That mysterious big shot is definitely Rowan Rhodes. Aside from her, no one else has this kind of capability.”

Simon Quinn: ”Right, it has to be her. At this rate, the rest of us in District 122 might not even get to scavenge the scraps.”

Celia Lynch: ”If she really is in our district, she’s the reason we have our current survival rate. Do any of you have the right to blame her?”

Zelda Parrish: ”Scavenging for resources is first come, first served anyway. What’s the matter? I don’t see any of you leaving resources for the people behind you!”

”We should be thankful to have a big shot guiding us.”

”I think it’s great having a big shot around! If we need anything, we can just buy it from her later.”

”Exactly! Even if we made it to the third island, we wouldn’t necessarily be able to mine as much ore as the big shot, right?”

”Yeah, don’t project yourselves onto the big shot’s status and skill level!”

”Other districts wish they had a big shot like Rowan Rhodes!”

”Among all the players right now, Rowan Rhodes stands entirely in a league of her own, possessing opportunities vastly different from the rest. She even brought our District 122 up with her.”

”No, the mysterious big shot might not even be Rowan Rhodes!”

”Isn’t it highly probable?”

”When it wasn’t even certain, you guys were already condemning her! So what if we talk based on that assumption?”

”...”

In reality, most players were still worried that Rowan was truly in District 122, leaving them with no resources. However, after being interrupted by Celia Lynch and the others, many players came to their senses. Even if the mine was still there, how much could the straggling players realistically grab? The answer was next to nothing. The resources they currently held had been fished out of the ocean or were survival rate rewards obtained after enduring the natural disaster. Not to mention, they had only survived the disaster by trading for Equipment.

Who was the driving force behind all this? It was the mysterious big shot. If this mysterious big shot was Rowan Rhodes, then compared to the unknown amount of resources they might grab, Nature dictated that the big shot’s ”support” was far more important. This was especially true since they had just witnessed Rowan’s immense power with their own eyes. Furthermore, if Rowan was in their district, she was definitely watching the world channel. If they spoke up for her, she would surely remember their goodwill!

With this mentality, more and more people began to speak up in Rowan’s defense. Ultimately, they were driven by profit. After realizing the truth, many players took Rowan’s side as well. For a time, the world channel was flooded with praise for her. This was why, when Rowan checked the world channel, all the content she saw was centered around her name.

It had to be said, watching these discussions, the corners of Rowan’s mouth couldn’t help but twitch. She understood perfectly well that these comments were all meant for her to see. Most players were guessing that she was the mysterious big shot; after all, there were indeed very few people on the leaderboards capable of such feats. This applied especially to Zelda Parrish, whose ranking wasn’t low at all and who had even reached second place before. Logically speaking, it was highly probable that the mysterious big shot was Rowan.

She understood even better that these players were standing by her side because of her previous ”support” for District 122. Her support back then hadn’t been out of the goodness of her heart, but strictly for her own benefit. She hadn’t expected things to develop this way.

Profit.

Mulling over this word, Rowan suddenly had a new idea for the future development of her raft. She could still choose to quietly develop her raft on her own, but she also had to possess her own ”Strength” and ”voice” to prevent becoming a target for everyone to gang up on. After all, while she wasn’t afraid of dealing with wars of attrition, they consumed a great deal of resources. Moreover, establishing her own Strength and voice didn’t seem to require her to expend too many resources; she could even profit from it.

For her, this was a win-win situation. And since she could win, this was definitely a strategy she would continue executing moving forward.