While Everyone Panicked, I Upgraded My Raft

Chapter 145: Chapter 136: Anxious Abyssal Sea Serpent

Rowan Rhodes fell asleep to the sound of twisting metal and woke up to the exact same sound. Upon waking, she instinctively glanced at her data panel. Her Fullness Value and Thirst Value had both dropped below 60. It was already dinnertime. Time to eat.

Seeing Rowan wake up, Seabird One immediately flew into her arms, rubbing against her affectionately. As the first pet she had formed a contract with, Seabird One had always been the closest to her, and naturally, the most clingy. She had to admit, it felt pretty good to be fussed over the moment she woke up. Smoothly placing Seabird One on her shoulder, she said in a relaxed tone, ”Let’s go eat.”

Seabird Two and Seabird Three had been listening with pricked ears! In the next moment, they flew right to Rowan’s side, ready to follow her down to the first floor. Behind them, Father Gull and Mother Gull followed closely in their wake.

On the first floor, Rowan opened one of the Storage Boxes and began selecting the food for tonight’s dinner. She didn’t need to cook at all; she only had to take the prepared meals out of the Storage Box and dig right in. These had all been made by Skye Schuyler upon her request. They were hot when placed into the Storage Box, and came out just as steaming hot.

However, unlike the long-term preservation of fruits and vegetables, the Storage Box had a strict time limit for cooked food. The lower the Level of the food, the shorter its shelf life. The food Rowan was eating now had a shelf life of one month and was classified as E-level cuisine. F-level cuisine had a shelf life of seven days, but Rowan basically had no F-level food in her inventory. After all, her partner, Skye Schuyler, had leveled up long ago.

White cut chicken, stir-fried shredded potatoes, clear stewed shrimp with Napa cabbage... Compared to when she first entered the game, the meals Rowan now enjoyed had truly reached the next level. By following her, the Seagull Family was living the high life.

Just as Rowan brought a table full of delicacies out of the Storage Box, a TAP TAP TAP sound echoed from the stairs inside the raft.

”Master, I’m here!” Big Turtle’s sweet voice rang out as it quickly scrambled down the stairs, then climbed onto the table, waiting eagerly for the meal to begin.

”Let’s eat,” Rowan commanded, and everyone dug in.

Delicious food didn’t just satisfy their appetites; it also restored their physical conditions. Right as Rowan and her pets were scarfing down their food, a massive snake head suddenly appeared outside the nearby glass window. Upon spotting them, its pupils immediately narrowed into vertical slits, staring coldly. Rowan lifted her gaze slightly, locking eyes directly with the Abyssal Sea Serpent. In that split second, she sensed the bloodthirsty intent radiating from its gaze.

Evidently, after attacking Rowan’s raft for so long to no avail, the Abyssal Sea Serpent had started using its brain, checking around to see if this impenetrable fortress had any weak points. As a result of its search, it discovered Rowan’s group enjoying their feast. For a moment, the Abyssal Sea Serpent was quite infuriated. After letting out several loud HISSES, the other Abyssal Sea Serpent appeared as well. Two pairs of eyes stared unblinkingly at Rowan, as if they wanted to drill their way inside and devour her.

Rowan merely glanced at them, raised an eyebrow, and went back to eating.

The Abyssal Sea Serpents were speechless. They thought about how audacious this human was, and how they were determined to eat her.

In the next moment, the Abyssal Sea Serpents began slamming their heads against the glass window. However, their heads were simply too large to accurately strike the glass. After all, when Rowan upgraded the Wood Walls of her raft, she had intentionally reduced the size of the glass windows. With the heavy fog outside, it was impossible to see the scenery anyway, so she had only left a few to keep the interior from feeling claustrophobic. Now, as the Abyssal Sea Serpents attacked the windows, their massive size meant they ended up smashing against the Metal Walls instead.

Sure enough, the Metal Wall dented slightly, but it didn’t cause any significant damage to the raft as a whole. But a second and third impact closely followed. The Abyssal Sea Serpents were getting anxious.

Rowan instinctively checked the time. It was 5:51 PM. So the time was up.

It was still the early stage of the game. Even though her overwhelming strength had caused her to be matched against a mini-boss, the Sea Survival Game still gave players time to rest. Restricted by the rules, it was impossible for the two Abyssal Sea Serpents to harass her raft indefinitely. Having worked so hard for so long without getting a single bite—a stark contrast to their usual hunts—how could they not be frantic?

But the more anxious the Abyssal Sea Serpents became, the less anxious Rowan felt. In fact, she chose this very moment to fully repair her raft. With that single repair, Rowan’s raft was instantly as good as new. The dents and marks previously left by the two Abyssal Sea Serpents vanished completely. Rowan thought that if there was sunlight outside, her raft would be gleaming with a metallic luster right now, offering an absolute sense of security.

Of course, to the Abyssal Sea Serpents, this was undeniably a blatant provocation. Not only did the crashing sounds from outside become more pronounced, but they were also accompanied by the occasional furious hissing of the sea serpents. Rowan, the Seagull Family, and Big Turtle paid absolutely no mind to the commotion, happily continuing their meal.

Only after they had wiped the entire table clean did they suddenly realize that it had gone quiet outside. Rowan initiated a one-click repair once again.

”Master, they are still here.” Just when Rowan thought they had left, Seabird One cried out to her.

The pets could sense that the dangerous aura outside had not disappeared. The two Abyssal Sea Serpents were waiting. They were waiting to see if Rowan would step out of the raft once she thought it was safe. Though it was a shallow scheme, it was enough to prove that these two Abyssal Sea Serpents possessed a certain level of intelligence. This undoubtedly proved one thing: as the game progressed, the marine creatures pitted against the players would only grow smarter. After all, marine life was leveling up too.

An unknown amount of time passed before it finally went truly quiet outside.

Rowan made her way back to the control room. Inside, the radar was still dutifully scanning the surroundings. It showed two massive red dots leading a swarm of smaller red dots, hovering in a circle around the raft. However, there was an empty zone between the monsters and the raft, a clear manifestation of the so-called rules of the Sea Survival Game.

With a light scoff, Rowan shifted her attention to the main chat group of the Sea Survival Shop. She had assumed that after so long, the regular players would have changed the subject. But upon opening the chat, she found they were still discussing her. Only now, the discussion revolved around what had happened to the Abyssal Sea Serpents in her sea area.

”Rowan didn’t kill the mini-boss today.”

”Maybe there’s only a server announcement for the first kill.”

”I heard those two Abyssal Sea Serpents are a hundred meters long!”

”A hundred meters long? That’s basically an Abyssal Behemoth by now!”

”Can the big shot Rowan even defeat them?”

”Who knows if she can defeat them, but one thing is for sure: she’s fine.”

”Yeah! She’s still sitting comfortably at the top of the leaderboards, leaving the rest of the players in the dust.”

”I wonder if there’s any experience to share on how to deal with these bosses. Just because we haven’t encountered them yet doesn’t mean we won’t in the future!”

”True. Those top players who went over to rob her were pretty strong themselves, but they seemingly got wiped out in just a few minutes.”

”So it makes complete sense that Rowan hasn’t dealt with the Abyssal Sea Serpents.”

”What we need is the experience!”

”Didn’t the big shot Rowan sell information items before? She should sell some more!”

”Paging the big shot.”

”...”

Reading through the comments, Rowan had to admit that she truly did feel paged.