While Everyone Panicked, I Upgraded My Raft

Chapter 164: Chapter 149: You Can’t Go Wrong Following the Big Shot

Rowan Rhodes had never considered hiding the matter of the Space Stones. After all, there were thousands of zones, and the probability of players stumbling upon a Void Isle was quite high. Players would find out sooner or later, so why should she bother keeping it a secret? She could even take this opportunity to sell a strategy guide.

With this in mind, Rowan completely ignored the flood of private messages blowing up her inbox. She had no obligation to explain anything to other players. If she replied today, would she be expected to report to them every time she obtained rare Equipment in the future? Just because she was willing to lend a helping hand didn’t mean she was a pushover. For instance, players like Zelda Parrish hadn’t bombarded her with private messages!

Right then, Rowan prepared to write the guide. Before doing so, however, she gave it some thought and decided to approach Void Beast Atticus first.

Meeting Rowan’s gaze, Void Beast Atticus spoke in a cheerful tone. ”I don’t have any more Space Stones today. If you want more, you’ll have to wait until tomorrow! But tomorrow, could you get some more vegetables, fruits, and delicious food?”

Rowan could hear the craving for food in its tone. It hadn’t mentioned this before. This could only mean that the batch of food she had just traded with it had already been transferred to its kin through some method. This wasn’t a baseless guess; since the Void Beast could locate her raft, it clearly possessed some kind of spatial teleportation Skill. It might even be its innate racial talent.

”Sure thing! Tomorrow, I’ll go all out and plant a wide variety of vegetables and fruits. Is there anything in particular you like to eat?” Rowan asked.

She planned to adjust her raft’s layout later and completely clear out the fourth floor. That way, the entire fourth floor would become a dedicated planting space. Also, the Seed Beds currently growing Eira Grass could be emptied out to grow more vegetables and fruits. Previously, she hadn’t planted much because she felt the investment didn’t match the yield. But now that she could trade them for Space Stones with the Void Beast, she naturally had to seize the opportunity. Who knew when the Void Beast might leave! While it was still here, she had to milk this opportunity for all it was worth. She couldn’t always expect things to work out perfectly. By preparing for the worst, she wouldn’t be caught off guard when it actually happened.

”Nope, as long as it’s tasty, we love it all,” Void Beast Atticus replied happily.

”In that case, if no other players show up tomorrow, will you continue to sell all your Space Stones to me?” Rowan did some quick calculations and figured the chances of any other player accurately reaching the Void Isle tomorrow were still relatively low. She herself had only managed to make a beeline for it because she had obtained its exact coordinates.

”Okay~” Void Beast Atticus agreed straightforwardly.

”Speaking of which, players in other zones probably haven’t reached their Void Isles either. Do they have Space Stones available today?” Rowan asked, the thought suddenly occurring to her. She suspected that the Void Beasts had a way of communicating with one another, so she decided to test this theory through trade.

Hearing Rowan’s words, Void Beast Atticus froze for a moment, looking at her in confusion. It clearly didn’t understand how Rowan knew about this.

”If you give me an Introduction to them, I can even pay you a finder’s fee. You might earn no less than what you just got from our trade,” Rowan continued, a hint of enticement lacing her tone. After all, it was almost past twelve o’clock. It would be a waste for them to hold onto the stones. As for whether she could swallow such a large supply—well, she knew she couldn’t do it alone, but fortunately, she had a massive market backing her up! If this actually worked out, she would gain a massive head start.

Void Beast Atticus looked noticeably tempted. SLURP. This human seemed quite formidable.

”You can completely trust my master! I guarantee it!” Seabird One, who was standing to the side, patted its chest with its wing and vouched for Rowan. It made no secret of its admiration for her. From Seabird One’s perspective, it had attacked Rowan, yet she hadn’t killed it. Instead, she had taken it in as a pet, fed it, and sheltered it. There was no reason not to support such a great master. Seeing that Rowan wanted to collaborate with Void Beast Atticus, it naturally had to stand up for her.

”I’ll ask around,” Void Beast Atticus said instinctively.

Hearing this, Rowan handed over some of her backup food reserves to the beast. ”You can give these to your friends as gifts first.”

”For free?”

”Of course. Think of them as free samples,” Rowan said without hesitation. Nothing ventured, nothing gained. She didn’t expect all the Void Beasts to trade with her, but even if only a small fraction did, she would still make an absolute fortune.

”Then I’ll contact them and see,” Void Beast Atticus quickly followed up. Thinking about it, it also felt like this trade was a good deal.

While the Void Beast reached out to its kin, Rowan contacted the resident players she was more familiar with, planning to exchange Trading Coins and resources for delicious food, vegetables, and fruits.

She specifically prioritized Skye Schuyler, Jaina Harmon, and Ian Sinclair. After all, these three controlled Farming Skill players not just in one zone, but across several zones. Aside from them, she also reached out to a select group of players she had previously taken a liking to, and finally, she contacted the rest of the players. This incident would also serve as a test to see which players were reliable and which were not.

[Skye Schuyler: No problem. We can settle the payment with Antidotes and Trading Coins.]

[Zelda Parrish: Mm.]

[Faye Sinclair: Okay.]

[Owen Caldwell: Arranged.]

[Ian Sinclair: Wait for me.]

[Audrey Aldridge: Understood.]

[Levi Vance: Settle with ores.]

[...]

The majority of the players who received Rowan’s message agreed without hesitation. They were well aware of her capabilities and understood her personality perfectly. If they worked hard, they would genuinely reap the benefits, as Rowan would never treat them unfairly. Their ties with her had always been built on mutual benefit, not personal favors. Benefits were the only eternal currency.

Meanwhile, Rowan’s massive mobilization did not escape the notice of the other resident players, and they couldn’t help but discuss it.

”Suddenly demanding such a massive amount of food, vegetables, and fruits—what’s going on?”

”Could the next natural disaster be related to food?”

”Unlikely, actually. A large portion of players can now not only achieve self-sufficiency but also sell to others. We’re not short on food anymore.”

”Yeah, ever since that massive influx of seeds, everyone’s dining tables have instantly become richer. What many players lack isn’t basic food, but high-quality delicacies—ones with high Levels, long shelf lives, and special Effects.”

”She’s collecting all of this and offering to trade with Trading Coins and resources. Are you guys going to exchange?”

”So many players from different zones have joined? That’s a massive volume! The Trading Coins alone must be in the tens of millions!”

”Tens of millions? This pool is seriously huge.”

”Why are all these top players making a move? Although everyone’s progression is different, the information we receive is roughly the same. For so many heavyweights to mobilize together, the news must be huge. It’s highly unlikely they can keep it under wraps!”

”Besides some critical piece of news, there’s only one person capable of making all these top players move at once.”

”Who?”

”Rowan Rhodes!”

”If it has to do with Rowan, could it be related to Space Equipment?”

”It seems a lot of players sent private messages to Rowan asking about Space Equipment, but she hasn’t replied to anyone.”

”How do you know?”

”If she had replied, the news would have leaked out ages ago!”

”Just wait! We’ll eventually find out what’s happening.”

”So, should we sell the vegetables and fruits we have on hand?”

”Sell them! We can always grow more anyway.”

”It seems the price for delicious food is a bit higher.”

”Then let’s get to cooking! I was planning on just staying indoors for the remaining two hours! I didn’t expect to have a chance to make another profit.”

”...”

In a short amount of time, aside from the resident players Rowan had directly contacted, many other players also made their own private preparations. For them, once they produced the vegetables, fruits, and food, they could just eat it themselves if it didn’t sell. Furthermore, if this really did turn out to be related to Space Equipment, preparing early would mean they’d make a massive killing.

Since entering the Sea Survival Game, many people had struggled to figure out the game’s hidden patterns. But they all understood one thing: following the lead of the top players was a surefire path to success.