While Everyone Panicked, I Upgraded My Raft

Chapter 84: Chapter 84: End of the Extreme Cold Disaster

For the time being, Rowan Rhodes continued to catch pufferfish and collect Slime.

Meanwhile, the solar-powered electric drill and iron pickaxe systematically mined ores on Glimmerstone Isle.

In the Sea Survival Shop, many players kept a close eye on the growing stockpile of ores. Eventually, they grew somewhat numb to the ever-increasing numbers. Several regular customers even began dropping hints to the Sea Survival Shop, inquiring if similar items were available for purchase.

In the eyes of many players, achieving Protos—landing on an island before other players—and then gathering resources was already considered the hallmark of a top-tier player. However, the emergence of the Sea Survival Shop and Rowan Rhodes’s meteoric rise taught them otherwise.

There was an even more efficient way to play the game.

Many players who were already interested in Engines became even more intrigued. One thing they were certain of was that Rowan had definitely unlocked electricity. However, they also understood that the Engine and Steering Wheel must be incredibly rare finds. This was especially evident since Rowan had only listed one of each in the Sea Survival Shop.

There were more batteries, but having only a battery wasn’t enough for them. They could only pin their hopes on the Sea Survival Shop.

Rowan didn’t find it strange when she saw these trade inquiries. If she were in their shoes, she would also ask the Sea Survival Shop just to try her luck. After all, if she got an answer, it would be a win; if not, she had nothing to lose.

Speaking of which, she did indeed plan to sell Engines and Steering Wheels, just not right now. As she always said, her own development came first. She would only start selling them once she was fully prepared!

This way, she could artificially control the development of other players.

Of course, she couldn’t control the truly capable ones. But capable players were an extreme minority in the player base. Besides, she had other cheats at her disposal! She would always maintain her advantage.

As for whether her hoarding behavior benefited the survival of other players—it absolutely did. In her past life, the players’ upgrade Speeds were nowhere near this fast. If anything, she was actually driving the players’ development forward!

Take the third island, Glimmerstone Isle, for example. Her ore-mining would ensure that the ores on Glimmerstone Isles across different districts were fully excavated, guaranteeing that the majority of players wouldn’t miss out on this benefit.

After all, opportunities like this were rare.

Once they reached the Coastal Waters Region, an island’s resources wouldn’t be divided among a single district; they would be shared across the entire server. What kind of island a player could find would depend entirely on their own abilities.

Because of the Positioning Card, some players who discovered an island would summon their team members to share the resources, and some teams might even occupy the island completely. As time went on, the competitive pressure would only intensify, making it increasingly difficult to gather resources.

She hoped players would realize early on that upgrading and advancing weren’t the most important things right now—gathering resources was. And judging by her ”show” today, it seemed the players had indeed realized this.

With these thoughts in mind, Rowan directly rejected the majority of the trade requests.

Time ticked by, minute by minute, second by second.

Players across the various districts gradually refocused their attention and continued to cope with the extreme cold disaster.

Some players who had used Sleds to propel their rafts forward kept a constant watch on the Map for any trace of the third island. However, it never appeared. Realizing that even if they found the island, it would take hours to reach, they understood the massive gap between themselves and Rowan. They gave up on the search and focused on crafting warm Equipment to earn resources from players within their own district.

After all, without any other channels to gather resources right now, surviving one day at a time was all they could do. As a result, quite a few players actually acquired warm Equipment, rather than stubbornly hoarding resources with nowhere to use them.

Meanwhile, the players who had stayed put were finally free from the harassment of the Snowstrider Bears. They could be certain of one thing: the Snowstrider Bears hadn’t stopped appearing because they were extinct, but because the third day of the extreme cold had triggered a protection mechanism.

Taking advantage of the lack of marine creature attacks, they huddled inside their rafts, prepared to tough out the remaining time until the Safe Day arrived.

Finally, under everyone’s eager anticipation, the clock struck midnight.

Almost the instant the countdown ended, all players locked their eyes on their interfaces. The system notifications arrived right on time.

[Congratulations, player. You have successfully survived the extreme cold disaster.]

[Your game district is District 122. The current number of survivors is 95,837. There is no need to merge with other districts.]

[Congratulations, player. In this stage, you have ranked first on the personal Level leaderboard, first on the raft level leaderboard, first on the resource leaderboard, first on the island exploration leaderboard, first on the aesthetics leaderboard, and first on the practicality leaderboard. You are currently ranked first across the entire server. You are rewarded with Wooden Chest x60.]

[Server Announcement: In the first stage, the extreme cold disaster, the number of survivors in District 122 ranks first among all districts. All players in District 122 are rewarded with Wooden Chest x20.]

[Server Announcement: The leaderboards are tallied at the end of each stage. Players, please continue to work hard and strive to get your names on the board.]

As soon as the system announcements were released, intense discussions erupted across all districts.

[District 122: (95,837 / 100,000)]

”AHHH! We’re first again!”

”To think we actually get 20 wooden chests this time.”

”I’ve already started opening my wooden chests! My resources are piling up.”

”HAHAHA, it really feels amazing to survive this.”

”Rowan Rhodes is first across the entire server again!”

”That’s just Nature. Her Level 8 Raft is in a league of its own.”

”I heard first place gets 10 wooden chests. So six first-place rankings mean 60 chests!”

”BOOHOO, I’m a bit jealous.”

”What’s 60 wooden chests? The ores that are still increasing right now are the real deal.”

”Would Rowan ever lack resources? Probably not! With the skills she’s shown, not just District 122, but other districts as well, will voluntarily offer her resources.”

”Right now, all I want to know is if we can buy Engines, Steering Wheels, and batteries from Rowan. These are the requirements for future upgrades!”

”Exactly! We aren’t like those big shots who can upgrade first and unlock things later. We have to prepare in advance.”

”I don’t care about any of that. I just want to sleep right now. I haven’t slept well at all these past three days. I can finally catch up on my sleep with peace of mind.”

”Me too.”

”Anyway, once the snow melts, our rafts will be able to move forward again.”

”I wonder when we’ll be able to reach the third island.”

”The Safe Day only lasts about a day. Who knows what the third disaster will be? How are we going to survive that one?”

”...”

The players of District 122 chimed in one after another, expressing their joy that the disaster had ended, their longing for the third island, and their worries about the future.

Just then, a particularly eye-catching message appeared in the World Channel.

”Today isn’t just a Safe Day, it’s also a Harvest Day! Look at the calendar.”

Following those words, countless pairs of eyes shifted to the top-left corner of their control panels.