While Everyone Panicked, I Upgraded My Raft

Chapter 98: Chapter 98: Sea Survival Shop Upgrade

[Sea Survival Calendar: January 11, 0:00. Current Temperature: 20°C. Weather: Heavy Fog. Today’s air quality is slightly poor.]

”Heavy fog? Does that mean we won’t be able to see anything?”

”If we can’t see, do we just fish for supplies blindly?”

”The air quality is slightly poor... Could it be smog or something?”

”That’s possible.”

”Compared to the first two times, this one is a bit harder to guess.”

”Yeah! The hint is obvious, but it’s impossible to figure out what the specific natural disaster will be.”

”I think we should prepare more oxygen bottles. If there’s a problem with the air, we’ll just rely on them to survive!”

”That’s not a bad idea.”

”...”

In the World Channel, players chimed in one after another, instantly zeroing in on the air quality issue mentioned in the calendar.

Rowan Rhodes watched the discussion without an ounce of surprise. In her past life, the players had also guessed that the disaster would be related to the air and urged everyone to prepare oxygen bottles. Unfortunately, players who had advanced to Level 6 were in the minority; help from afar couldn’t save them from an immediate crisis. Thus, when faced with the virus, the players had no choice but to grit their teeth and endure it.

She had been one of those who tried to tough it out. By the time the natural disaster ended, she was left with lasting side effects. Her Life Value could never return to full, and she suffered from a permanent shortness of breath debuff. Many other players had shared the same affliction. Of course, some Healing potions appeared later on, but they were so incredibly precious that most players simply couldn’t afford them.

At the thought, Rowan’s gaze unconsciously drifted to the air purifiers currently in production. Because she had planned ahead and utilized the resources at hand, her stockpile of air purifiers had just reached over four hundred. Simply producing these four hundred units had cost her over 4,000 Metal Ingots, 4,000 pieces of plastic, 2,000 pieces of glass, 800 circuit boards, and 4,000 pieces of charcoal. It was safe to say that she had completely depleted her current resource reserves.

If she wanted to produce more, she would have to continue acquiring materials from the Trading Hall and the Sea Survival Shop. Previously, she hadn’t dared to make any major moves out of fear of drawing attention, so her acquisition speed had been on the slower side. But now, the situation was different. The Sea Survival Calendar had explicitly pointed out the air quality issue, so it was perfectly normal for her to mass-produce air purifiers! Moreover, her bulk-buying of these resources would definitely serve as a wake-up call to other players.

Rowan’s attention then shifted to the item she had listed earlier: information about Glimmerstone Isle. After she put it up in the Sea Survival Shop, the transaction volume for this single piece of information had skyrocketed to over ten million. Not only did it earn her over ten million Trading Coins, but it also allowed her Sea Survival Shop to jump two Levels consecutively.

[Shop: Sea Survival Shop]

[Owner: Rowan Rhodes (Anonymized)]

[Level: 4 (0 / 100 million)]

[Trading Coins: 14,923,845]

[Reputation: 7,103,880]

[Listed Items: 139]

[Listable Categories: Basic Resources (18), Food & Beverages (53), Planting Seeds (40), Biological Drops (8), Weapons & Tools (11), Equipment & Armor (11), Raft Equipment (26), Special & Rare (6), Information]

[Acquisition Items: 0]

[Invited Residents: 200 (Invitable Slots: 600)]

[Target Customers: All Channels]

When she listed the information, her first goal was to prevent players from wasting it, and her second was to use the low-priced item to meet the transaction count requirement. She hadn’t expected it to actually work out so flawlessly. This meant she could continue to exploit this shortcut in the future. However, hitting a transaction count of one hundred million would be no easy feat. Still, she was already more than satisfied to have reached Level 3.

Reviewing the data, the first thing Rowan did was open the invitation list. Previously, with two hundred slots, she had covered over a hundred districts. Now that she had an additional six hundred slots, she could invite players from exactly six hundred new districts. This way, the Sea Survival Shop could directly influence nearly eight hundred districts. In turn, she would have nearly eight hundred workers under her, instantly expanding her business scope.

Rowan went down the system’s list, carefully selecting players one by one to ensure that each district had only a single representative—unless a particular district possessed a completely unique Skill. Just like that, invitations were sent out one after another.

Upon receiving the invitations, the chosen players slammed the ’Accept’ button with racing hearts, terrified that the opportunity would vanish if they hesitated for even a second. Consequently, Rowan received one confirmation after another. At the same time, the number of items listed in the Sea Survival Shop began to skyrocket. This anomaly quickly caught the attention of players across numerous districts.

”What’s going on? How did so many items suddenly pop up? And they’re all basic resources too?”

”Yeah, I just checked. There are thousands of them!”

”Did the big boss Rowan Rhodes list them?”

”Impossible! After leaving Glimmerstone Isle, there’s no way anyone could harvest that many resources in such a short amount of time. Plus, even if she did, they wouldn’t be basic resources.”

”Then that only means one thing: new players have received invitations to join the Sea Survival Shop. Now they can exchange their surplus resources for Trading Coins to buy other materials.”

”The Sea Survival Shop sent out invitations again? Did I miss my chance again?”

”Did anyone in our district get invited? Speak up and let us know.”

”Even if someone did, there’s no way they’d admit it.”

”True. Now that Positioning Cards are a thing, everyone is paranoid about their own safety!”

”I still hope we have one in our district. It’d make getting Trading Coins and selling resources so much easier.”

”Yeah, you can only buy things in the Sea Survival Shop with Trading Coins.”

”...”

Following this trail of breadcrumbs, the players quickly figured out the Sea Survival Shop’s operations, and excitement rippled through the channels. Everyone desperately hoped their own district had a representative. They were all keenly aware of one fact: being able to list items in the Sea Survival Shop was a massive privilege. It didn’t just benefit the invited player—it benefited their entire district.

Meanwhile, many of the invited players watched their district chats with secret delight. They weren’t about to step forward and out themselves. With Positioning Cards now in play, exposing their identities would instantly paint a massive target on their backs. After all, everyone knew that any player invited to the Sea Survival Shop would rake in huge profits through the platform. In times like these, keeping a low profile while making a fortune was the only way to go!

Rowan was entirely oblivious to the frenzy gripping the other districts. After sending out the invitations, she quietly posted various resource acquisition requests in District 122’s Trading Hall, all settled in Trading Coins. In addition to that, she began purchasing items directly from the Sea Survival Shop. Having just absorbed such a massive sum of Trading Coins, her next step was to spend them.

While her buying spree in the Sea Survival Shop went unnoticed, her activity in the Trading Hall quickly caught people’s attention.