While Everyone Panicked, I Upgraded My Raft

Chapter 111: Chapter 106: Small Group of Regular Players

Having gathered enough of one type of ore, Ian Sinclair moved on to another. There were quite a few other players around him. Seeing him move, they shrank back and hurriedly scattered to other spots.

These players had harbored ulterior motives while he was mining earlier, though they only intended to rob him. Giving them a taste of their own medicine, he had taught them a harsh lesson and stripped them of all their ore. Once he was certain they wouldn’t dare try anything funny again, Ian Sinclair turned his attention to the Sea Survival Shop interface.

”***: Just noticed a bunch of new small groups popped up.”

”***: I’ve joined a few already. Currently lurking.”

”***: There’s too much to read. I can’t keep up at all.”

”***: The permanent players are truly bursting with talent!”

”***: You can stay anonymous in the small group chats, but not in private messages!”

”***: Our team needs combatants. Join the combat group if interested. Password: 2345.”

”***: A combat group? What are they planning?”

”***: Suddenly I feel like these small groups could easily become gathering spots for criminal organizations.”

”***: No worries, I’ll go undercover.”

”...”

Ian Sinclair’s eyes darkened thoughtfully. Although his Skill was Farming, he was highly interested in combat! He decided he had to get into this group.

A moment later, he located the combat group, entered the password, and joined directly.

”***: Add me as a friend and trade a Positioning Card to enter the core group.”

This was the first message Ian Sinclair saw upon entering. He raised an eyebrow. A Positioning Card! At this moment, he was certain of one thing. This combat group was up to no good. If he joined but refused to participate, he would likely become a target.

Ian Sinclair cautiously opted out for the time being. He wondered if these combatants could form groups via Positioning Cards just as easily as they did in chat. He had a feeling it was entirely possible. Perhaps the game mode would even shift from an individual focus to a team-based one in the future. Under these circumstances, he needed to do his best to find like-minded companions. He might not actively provoke innocent people, but he had to ensure he possessed the Strength to defend himself against others.

Sector 2744.

Meanwhile, Finn York had joined a small group of blacksmiths. He traded quite a few ores with the permanent players in the group while discussing the various applications of different materials. After all, researching ores was a blacksmith’s favorite pastime.

As they bounced ideas off one another, Finn York found himself deeply interested in the techniques many of them proposed. Throughout the process, he also shared his own experiences with the rest of the group. The entire session felt more like an academic exchange.

Those who still worked as blacksmiths in the era of modern technology were mostly older individuals carrying on the traditions of previous generations. Artisans of this caliber inherently possessed a relentless pursuit of technical mastery. Finn York was genuinely having a great time; it felt as though he had finally found his kindred spirits. Compared to the Zone 2744 world channel, he much preferred conversing in this small group. This was what he called a satisfying conversation!

As for the Sea Survival Shop’s new private messaging and group chat functions, Finn York made sure to announce it on the world channel. After all, he was the only permanent player in Zone 2744. It made sense for him to inform the players in his zone about outside developments. This was a way to curry favor with his zone’s players while simultaneously demonstrating his own value. He definitely didn’t want to end up like Ben Shaw, who had been eliminated right off the bat by players in his own zone.

The moment he dropped this information into the world channel, it sparked a heated discussion.

”So the Sea Survival Shop upgraded again?”

”This feature is really nice!”

”@Finn York, boss, we’ll be relying on you a lot in the future!”

”Are there any air purifiers?”

”@Finn York, or could you research something like a Mask? We need you!”

”@Finn York: If you’re short on any resources, just let us know.”

”I’m so jealous of the permanent players! They can actually send private messages now.”

”Honestly, I really want to post a missing person notice! I couldn’t find my friends or family in this zone, but what about the other zones?”

”I’d love to know, are there any small groups for finding relatives?”

”If there aren’t any, maybe the boss could create one! We’ll pay you for it.”

”Yeah, exactly.”

”...”

Seeing someone mention missing person notices, Finn York’s heart unconsciously skipped a beat.

The topic of searching for relatives had been brought up by many players on the world channel right when they first entered the game. However, after realizing that people in the same zone were scattered from all over the world and that the game had artificially separated friends and family, players had stopped mentioning it.

But now, with the advent of cross-zone chat, missing person notices were likely to become the next major trend.