While Everyone Panicked, I Upgraded My Raft

Chapter 28: Chapter 28: Primitive Capital Accumulation

Although such slogans were shouted, the number of online players in the world channel continued to plummet. In unknown places, countless lives vanished silently. Even if players noticed, they had no time to mourn, and Rowan Rhodes noticed it too. In the Sea Survival Game, one faced death at every moment. If you couldn’t endure, death was the only outcome. Even she didn’t know if she could survive after entering the latter half of the Coastal Waters and the seas beyond.

The thought flashed by in an instant. Rowan was already preparing to attack the second wave of Abyssal Wurms. The number had increased from one to two. Upon detecting the raft, they rushed toward it with eager ferocity. Their swimming Speed in the water was astonishingly fast. Rowan could only target one, while the other instantly opened its maw and bit into the front of her raft. It instinctively tried to wrap itself around the raft, but its body was immediately impaled by a spike. It thrashed in the ocean, SPLASHING boiling seawater directly onto the deck. The splashed sections of the raft instantly turned black and searing hot. Unable to entangle the raft, the Abyssal Wurm shifted its target to Rowan.

Right at that moment, the Seagull perching high above swooped down swiftly. It raked its claws viciously across the Abyssal Wurm’s head before stomping it down onto the deck. Noticing the Seagull’s assistance, Rowan swiftly finished off the first Abyssal Wurm with deft movements. Then, she charged toward the second one.

The Seagull had clearly not inflicted much damage on the Abyssal Wurm. It quickly regrouped, using its tail to attack the avian helper. Seeing Rowan approach, the Seagull instantly flew back to a high vantage point. Changing direction, the Abyssal Wurm’s tail whipped straight toward Rowan, aiming right for her neck. Sensing the impending strike, Rowan immediately ducked to dodge. But just as she crouched, the next wave of attacks arrived.

Evidently, this Abyssal Wurm realized the deadly threat of the Bow and Arrow and chose to engage Rowan in close combat. Understanding its tactic, Rowan pulled out her Iron Axe and swung it at her foe. To Rowan, the Iron Axe was the most comfortable weapon to wield; it was the one she had used constantly in her previous life. The Iron Axe cleaved into the Abyssal Wurm, instantly shaving off a third of its Life Value. A massive gash was torn open on its belly, blood dripping ceaselessly onto the floor.

However, the creature’s blood and Slime also splattered onto her. The corrosive fluids instantly burned through her clothes and ate into her flesh. Rowan furrowed her brows, but her hands never paused. She gripped the Iron Axe and continued battling the Abyssal Wurm. After several consecutive strikes, the Abyssal Wurm was finally finished off.

[Obtained: Hot Stone * 1]

It dropped a different resource. Rowan happily tucked the Hot Stone away. At that moment, a warning popped up on her interface.

[Your Life Value has dropped below 60! You are poisoned. Life Value is continuously decreasing.]

Looking at the warning and the spotted corrosive marks all over her body, Rowan let out a long breath. She hadn’t unlocked the Medical Table yet and lacked the appropriate medicine, so she could only tough it out. In gaming terms, she was hanging by a thread!

Immediately, Rowan dug out a bandage and applied it to herself. The bandage had healing properties. Once applied, the Speed of Rowan’s Life Value depletion stabilized, but her personal stats now bore a ”poisoned debuff.” Looking at this debuff, Rowan raised an eyebrow. She would likely be stuck with this for a while.

At this moment, seeing that Rowan had taken care of the second Abyssal Wurm, the Seagull finally flew down and landed beside her. Rowan rubbed the Seagull’s head. ”Thank you for helping me.”

So this was what it felt like to fight alongside a pet! It really wasn’t bad at all! Although she would have been fine even if the Seagull hadn’t helped, she genuinely appreciated its good intentions.

Sensing Rowan’s gratitude, the Seagull nudged its head against her palm. Smiling, Rowan took out a serving of dumplings from her backpack and fed it to the Seagull. The Seagull ate it without hesitation, letting out a SQUAWK SQUAWK of laughter at Rowan. Rowan also fed it a bottle of water. Relishing the meal, the Seagull began to preen its feathers, exuding a sense of cozy satisfaction from head to tail.

Looking at the relaxed Seagull, Rowan coughed lightly and said, ”Can I discuss something with you?”

The Seagull tilted its head and glanced at Rowan, as if asking what it was.

”I think you’re really capable, my little helper. I need to craft more Basic Bow and Arrow sets to earn resources, but I can’t stay at the Workbench all the time. Will you help me?” Rowan asked tentatively.

Seagull: ”...”

This human wanted to exploit a bird! The Seagull’s gaze carried a hint of accusation as it looked at Rowan. Rowan did feel a little embarrassed, but she had simply seen the Seagull’s immense potential as a helper!

”I’ll give you rewards when the time comes, and I’ll help you level up in the future,” Rowan promised, feeding the Seagull a big pancake in the sky.

However, this was indeed her genuine plan. Since they were partners, the laws of Nature dictated that the bird should grow alongside her and contribute to the raft.

[Alright~]

With this system prompt, the Seagull gave Rowan its answer. A moment later, the Seagull stood by the Workbench, officially beginning its career as a laborer.

As for Rowan, she quickly focused on replenishing her own status. By this time, the night had grown completely dark. Rowan lit a campfire. The dim firelight illuminated the corners of the raft.

She walked over to the Crafting Table. The clothes she was wearing were the ones she had on when she first entered the game. After three days of fighting—and especially after just being corroded by the Slime—they were riddled with holes and completely ruined. Her whole body was sticky, emitting the sour stench of sweat. She hadn’t had the luxury before, but her shower room was already built. The Seawater Desalinator had been burning all afternoon and had completely filled the water storage tank. She planned to craft some clothes first and take a good shower.

Throwing some broken cloth into the Workbench, blueprints for a T-shirt and shorts were quickly generated.

[T-shirt: broken cloth * 8]

[Shorts: broken cloth * 6]

Upon crafting, a brand-new set of clothes appeared in front of Rowan. Grabbing the clothes, Rowan headed straight for the shower room. Turning on the shower, the water coming from the showerhead was cold, but washing it over her body felt like absolute bliss. As she washed her hair and scrubbed the grime off her skin, Rowan felt profoundly refreshed. Being reborn truly felt like getting the chance to nurture and raise herself all over again.

Taking advantage of this downtime, Rowan opened her interface and checked the world channel.

[District 122: (98829/100000)]

Compared to the last time she checked, the number had dropped by over five hundred. More than four hundred of those deaths had occurred during this Abyssal Wurm assault. After all, to fight against the Abyssal Wurms, one had to ensure that both their raft and their physical body could withstand the onslaught. Lacking either would lead to a grim end. Not to mention, this survival number was much better than in her previous life.

Moving her gaze down, she saw that the players were actively venting in the chat.

”These Abyssal Wurms are way more venomous than the Abyssal Poison Conch! Last time it just made you faint, but this time it’s straight-up poisoning.”

”It shows a poisoned status, and my Life Value keeps dropping. It’s forcing me to constantly eat just to survive.”

”I’ve got heatstroke on top of being poisoned!”

”I got a Rough Insect Skin. This should be pretty valuable. I urgently need water. If anyone wants it, let’s trade in the trading hall.”

”I got a Hot Stone! The Introduction says if it’s made into a torch, the Effect can dispel marine life. I’m going to try crafting it into a torch.”

”So the Abyssal Wurms drop different things? With different functions.”

”What’s the use of a thermal skin in this sweltering weather?”

”Just because it’s useless now doesn’t mean it’ll be useless later! We have extreme heat now, but what if a freezing spell comes along one day?”

”Exactly. Every resource that has appeared so far has an Effect.”

”So step right up, don’t miss out! Rough Insect Skin for water!”

”Simon Quinn: I want a Hot Stone. Trade with me. I’m offering Coconut water, which has a cooling Effect.”

”Hot Stones have a low drop rate, no way I’m trading!”

”...”

Seeing the players figure out the uses of the Abyssal Wurm drops so quickly put Rowan in a fairly good mood. With proper preparation, fewer people died, and more resources were harvested. This could be considered the benefit of having more survivors! No matter how powerful an individual was, the resources they could gather couldn’t compare to the collective effort of tens of thousands of people.

The next moment, Rowan switched to the trading hall and began trading for all kinds of Rough Insect Skin. She had plenty of water to spare. The Rough Insect Skin would prove vital in the next natural disaster. By hoarding it early, she would have an easier time when the disaster struck. By accumulating this primal capital now, she would breeze through the future catastrophes of the Sea Survival Game with much greater ease.

It was an intoxicating feeling.