While Everyone Panicked, I Upgraded My Raft

Chapter 152: Chapter 141: ”Rowan Rhodes Teaches You” Series - ”How to Generate Electricity Using Solar Power

Over the next bit of time, Rowan Rhodes didn’t pay much attention to the World Channel and group chats. After all, checking them just to pass the time or when there was critical information was more than enough. Instead, she focused her attention on her private messages.

Through the recommendations of many regular players, she had indeed added quite a few new contacts. Among them were several she had taken a liking to while using her Sea Survival Shop alt account.

[Ian Sinclair]

She remembered he was a player with the Farming Skill, but it was obvious that his combat ability was quite strong, and he was incredibly patient. He had stayed on Glimmerstone Isle for a long time, traded for an electric drill and iron pickaxe from her, and collected a vast amount of ore. At a glance, it was clear he was ambitious.

His Farming Skill wasn’t lacking, either. After trading for Eira Grass Seeds, he continuously expanded his crop scale. After adding him, Rowan chatted with him briefly, and they traded seeds the other lacked. It was a known fact that the seeds distributed across different zones varied, and some players liked to hoard special seeds. Yet, Ian had the ability to barter for them from those people. Rowan found her exchanges with him quite pleasant.

[Finn York]

A blacksmith. His proudest creations were the Sled and some other cold-resistance Equipment. He had accumulated a massive amount of initial capital during the previous extreme cold disaster. Once the Sea Survival Shop allowed the creation of small groups, he had rapidly assembled a team.

Furthermore, he was a decent person. He consistently sought her out for collaboration, eager to give back to the players in his own zone. He had lost contact with his family and posted missing person notices, marking him as a capable player who heavily valued loyalty and relationships.

The fact that they could add each other was actually due to Rowan deliberately seeking him out. After all, she had been keeping an eye on Finn ever since he crafted the Sled. She took this opportunity to add him to her contacts so that in the future, when her blacksmith shop opened, she would have a stable supply channel.

[Levi Vance]

A highly innovative research expert. It was evident he was likely a top scholar in the real world. He had traded for quite a few items from her for his research, and the things he studied perfectly met market demands. However, he himself might have had even higher research goals.

Therefore, after a bit of small talk, Rowan initiated a trade with him—or rather, a unilateral sponsorship on her part. After all, the five weapon blueprints for her future Weapon Shop might need to be acquired from this very person.

Although the Sea Survival Game also dropped weapon blueprints, the situation in the later stages of the game was that custom-made weapons by top-tier players had far better Effects. Zelda Parrish was a perfect example. Rowan also collaborated on blueprints with Zelda, and she thought highly of her. However, favoring Zelda didn’t mean Rowan couldn’t cultivate relationships with other players.

She didn’t want to put all her eggs in one basket. There was a massive number of players, and many possessed great ability. Developing a few more connections would only bring her greater benefits, not just for weapons, but in other aspects as well.

[...]

Just like that, Rowan chatted with one player after another, obtaining Equipment and resources she lacked from them. Of course, she also shared some of the Equipment and resources she had on hand in return.

Some even asked her for advice on upgrading Equipment and securing power resources. After all, so far, Rowan was the only one selling batteries and lightbulbs in bulk. Coupled with her efficiency in producing goods, many players could guess that she definitely had a stable channel for generating electricity, or had mastered the method of crafting batteries.

Rowan couldn’t help but marvel at the players’ keen intuition. However, the batteries in her hands were actually purchased from the Sea Survival Shop. She still hadn’t found any Acidic Mushrooms! Fortunately, because she had previously sold large quantities of batteries while communicating with regular players under her Sea Survival Shop identity, this wouldn’t arouse any suspicion.

The main reason she sold batteries in bulk was to sell the lightbulbs she crafted. It provided a stable output of profit. As for a stable channel for generating electricity, she did indeed have one: solar power!

Therefore, faced with inquiries from this group of players regarding her power generation methods, Rowan did not reply directly. Instead, she considered turning the information into a guide to share with all players.

Solar power could be considered the most basic form of power generation, though it was heavily limited by the weather. Take this current viral disaster, for instance. On the first day, when the fog was relatively white, Rowan’s solar panels still generated power intermittently. But over the next two days, the generation was impacted by the thick fog and essentially stopped working. The meager amount of power generated yesterday couldn’t support Equipment like the Engine and Workbench at all, so she had to use newly purchased batteries. Let alone today, where the heavy fog was so thick it had turned pitch black; the solar power system had completely given up.

Seizing the moment while players were actively asking, Rowan decided to go ahead and create this guide. After all, the three guides she published yesterday had easily reached sales in the millions at the Sea Survival Shop. If a solar power guide came out, it might recreate that glory. Reaching tens of millions in sales was a definite possibility. It could also be considered doing her part for the Sea Survival Shop’s upgrade.

Thinking of this, Rowan sent a brief message asking those players to wait a moment, then began editing the relevant details on solar power generation. A short while later, the newest installment of the ”Rowan Teaches You” series—”How to Utilize Solar Power Generation”—was freshly baked. She even sent the trading link for this product directly to the players who had asked her.

While most players were busy making various life-saving preparations for the third day of the viral disaster, they suddenly saw this new product and were instantly drawn to it.

”Rowan put out a new guide. This time it’s about solar power?”

”Holy crap, this guide is hard currency!”

”Right now it’s a viral disaster with heavy fog. Isn’t a solar power guide coming out a bit too early?”

”Not early at all! I think it’s definitely useful.”

”I couldn’t wait and already bought it.”

”Buying batteries these past few days has really cost me a lot of money!”

”Hey, why did Rowan release a guide at this time? There must be a reason; she couldn’t just do it on a whim, right?”

”I can probably guess. I was just having a great chat with Ms. Rhodes and directly asked her if she had a stable power generation channel since she was able to sell such massive quantities of different Equipment. She told me to wait a moment, and then this guide appeared.”

”No wonder she had a massive amount of goods so early on. Turns out she already had a stable power supply.”

”Didn’t we already know it was highly likely Rowan had achieved electrification of her raft?”

”But everyone guessed she was using batteries. Who would’ve thought it was solar power!”

”She’s so many steps ahead of all of us players!”

”Who hasn’t thought of solar power? I thought of it too, but the materials to make solar panels aren’t simple, right!”

”What materials?”

”You’ll know once you buy the guide. Anyway, it’s a resource I haven’t seen before up to this point—a special ore.”

”Anyone who’s studied solar energy in the real world knows it’s titanium-related ore, right!”

”You actually managed to say it out loud.”

”That’s from my own personal knowledge.”

”Now that we know, at least we have a direction.”

”True, true.”

”Anyway, I’ve discovered that Rowan’s guides are really worth buying.”

”Tomorrow, after the viral disaster ends, I’m going to work hard in this direction.”

”Is there any chance we can buy titanium ore and the like from Ms. Rhodes?”

”Sob, I want to just buy it directly from her.”

”...”

Rowan kept a close eye on the chat after publishing the guide. Seeing the demands of some players, her eyes lit up slightly.

She didn’t have any titanium ore on hand, but as luck would have it, the Sea Survival Shop did! It had just appeared as a new item after the latest upgrade. She wasn’t planning to sell it under her own name; she would have to use her Sea Survival Shop alt account.