While Everyone Panicked, I Upgraded My Raft

Chapter 34: Chapter 34: New Disaster - Abyssal Heat Bacteria

Sunken ships were hidden resource nodes in the Sea Survival Game, aside from the islands. To find a sunken ship, players needed to obtain its coordinates on an island with a storyline, or if they were lucky, spot it with the naked eye to seize an exploration opportunity. For the first method, the coordinates Rowan Rhodes knew of were on the third island, which she couldn’t reach anytime soon. The second method relied too much on chance; she could only keep an eye on the waters and try her luck. After all, in her previous life, sunken ship coordinates were basically classified information. No one shared them, and as a bottom-tier player, she never had the chance to obtain any.

Right now, she was stretched a bit thin. However, Rowan’s mindset was remarkably stable. She knew that if she didn’t find the Steering Wheel and the oxygen bottle soon, she would just wait. She could wait until the third island, or until someone traded these two resources. She was willing to pay a higher price later, even if she missed unlocking them at their corresponding Level. Sometimes, rushing couldn’t solve the problem.

Retracting her gaze, Rowan continued fishing for Metal Ingots. Whenever her condition dropped, she replenished herself with food and drinks. This cycle repeated over and over until the new wave of Deep Sea Wurms arrived.

By now, it was 2:00 PM, and the temperature had soared to 66 degrees. It was also the time when the sunlight was most intense. Having a massive swarm of Abyssal Wurms spawn at this hour could be considered the Sea Survival Game going easy on the players. After all, if such a large swarm were unleashed at night, hardly any players would survive.

Rowan and the Seagull were already waiting. Over the past few hours, fueled by food and drinks, Rowan had relentlessly fished two hundred Metal Ingots out of the sea. She then upgraded the entire raft into a Metal Raft. She knew very well that the last wave of sixteen Abyssal Wurms had been a tough fight, and her raft had lost quite a bit of Durability. Now facing thirty-two Abyssal Wurms, even if they were weakened by the sun, she wouldn’t be able to defeat them effortlessly without taking damage. To protect her raft, she had to give it her all. Upgrading to a Metal Raft undeniably boosted her sense of security, allowing her to focus entirely on dealing with the Abyssal Wurms.

As for the Seagull, upon seeing so many Abyssal Wurms, it couldn’t help but glance at Rowan. It really wanted to know why there were so many marine creatures coming for them. Sensing the Seagull’s gaze and understanding the question in its eyes, the corners of Rowan’s mouth curled into a confident smile.

”Probably because I’m too strong!” she declared.

Her Strength far exceeded her peers, especially since she had thoroughly showed off during the beginner phase. Thus, the Sea Survival Game was deliberately targeting her.

The Seagull was left speechless. However, thinking of all the delicious food Rowan provided, it made up its mind—it would fight side-by-side with her!

A short while later, its stamina having bottomed out, the Seagull couldn’t help but fly over to the pile of coconuts to rest. It pecked open a Coconut with its beak and began drinking the water. GULP GULP GULP. There were simply too many! It needed a break before getting back into the fight!

Meanwhile, Rowan was killing them one by one. The sheer number of them was enough to trigger trypophobia. Abyssal Wurms completely swarmed her raft, their dripping Slime oozing everywhere. When there were only a few, direct sunlight slowed their movements, making them easier for players to handle. But there were too many now, and the accumulated Slime from their bodies was no small amount. They were corroding the raft. Fortunately, because it was fully upgraded to a Metal Raft, the corrosion was limited. This allowed Rowan to harvest them single-mindedly without being distracted to make repairs.

[Obtained: Rough Insect Skin.]

[Obtained: Rough Insect Skin.]

[Obtained: Hot Stone.]

[...]

The ferocious Abyssal Wurms turned into resources one after another, their numbers visibly decreasing. Mid-battle, Rowan had to eat to replenish her condition. Naturally, she sustained new corrosive injuries on her body. As she resumed killing after restoring her stats, she wondered if she should probably prepare a shield for herself.

A moment later, all the Abyssal Wurms vanished without a trace, leaving behind only the slight marks of Slime corrosion on the Metal Raft. Rowan let out a soft breath and lay flat on the floor, looking up at the awning as she soaked in the post-battle tranquility. The Seagull had flown back to her side, pacing back and forth, visibly worried about her condition.

”I’m fine,” Rowan said, listening to the DRIP DROP of the slime around her.

She just suddenly felt that she had truly grown stronger. It wasn’t just the raft upgrade; it was her own personal Strength. In her previous life, she had cried like a baby out of fear. Later, she was lucky enough to obtain a Hot Stone, which spared her the torment of the Abyssal Wurms and left her only having to endure the heat. But in this life, without relying on a Hot Stone, she had defeated a much larger swarm of Abyssal Wurms than she had ever faced before. They had all been reduced to cold numbers in her inventory. This feeling wasn’t bad at all!

Still lying down, Rowan looked at the system panel indicating the various parts of the raft that needed repairing and tapped the prompts one by one. After the repairs, the entire raft was restored to its pristine condition, as if nothing had ever happened.

Once she had rested long enough for her heart rate to settle, she finally got up. Looking at her dirty self, she immediately headed into the shower room to wash up. Before engaging in the battle, she had swapped her Heat-resistant Suit for the Insect Skin Short Sleeves. To her surprise, aside from providing a constant temperature Effect, the Insect Skin Short Sleeves could also defend against the Abyssal Wurms’ Slime. While showering, Rowan washed the Insect Skin Short Sleeves as well.

Emerging clean and refreshed, Rowan casually draped the Insect Skin Short Sleeves over the wooden railing to dry. Sitting back under the awning, she laid out a variety of delicious food and drinks. The Seagull fluttered over at the sight, not holding back in the slightest. Rowan, by her very Nature, wouldn’t be stingy with a partner who was willing to fight alongside her. One person and one pet happily feasted together.

At the same time, Rowan opened the world channel.

[District 122: (98127/100000)]

In the final wave of attacks, over four hundred people—nearly five hundred—had died. Yet, for the entire district, this was actually considered a relatively low death toll. The players on the world channel felt the same way.

”Is the Abyssal Wurm attack finally over? That wave was brutal!”

”Yeah, I honestly thought I was a goner just now.”

”My intuition tells me the Abyssal Wurms are done.”

”Thank goodness for the Insect Skin Short Sleeves! They actually defended against the Slime attacks.”

”@Faye Sinclair, you’re a master! From now on, I’m leaving all my clothes to you!”

”Equipment is so important!”

”Good thing I like hoarding Wooden Boards. You have no idea, those Abyssal Wurms corroded a hole straight through my raft, and I had to quick-repair it instantly.”

”Mine got corroded too.”

”But man, this temperature is ridiculously high! It’s already 66 degrees and still rising! After fighting, the heat is making me crazy.”

”Yeah, I’m feeling inexplicably irritable.”

”At least we survived.”

”That’s the only thought keeping me somewhat calm.”

”Everyone, take a good rest and recover your condition! It doesn’t look like this extreme heat will stop anytime soon, so we need to be in peak shape to face it.”

”I just wonder if there will be any more marine creatures.”

”Ptooi! Bite your tongue! We don’t need any more jinxing.”

”If there are, I’m hanging up a Hot Stone. Same here.”

”[...]”

Seeing the players’ worries, Rowan paused. There really wouldn’t be any more marine creatures. However, on the final day, accompanied by the scorching heat, there would be a type of bacteria.

The Abyssal Heat Bacteria.