Chapter 121 - 115: Scrambling to Cooperate

Chapter 121: Chapter 115: Scrambling to Cooperate

Rowan Rhodes was highly satisfied after the test. For the next little while, she took her time using her Regeneration Skill to mend the wounds the Abyssal Octopus had inflicted upon her, healing them one by one. Because her Skill Level was too low and the process consumed a significant amount of Life Value, she had to apply Healing Ointment a few times in between. Given her abundant resources, Rowan had no intention of enduring the pain.

Once fully healed, she set out to clean up the mess left on her raft. Its Durability had dropped by several hundred points.

Of course, not all the damage was caused by the Abyssal Octopus; the rest was the work of other marine creatures. Even with the Fish Spear Gun, the mutated sea creatures had swarmed so densely that her attack Speed couldn’t keep up with their onslaught. Put simply, there were just too many of them. In fact, even now, they were still relentlessly assaulting the raft from the outside!

However, their numbers were far fewer than before, and every precise shot from the Fish Spear Gun took out another wave. Because of this, Rowan wasn’t in any rush. She decided to prioritize cleaning up her raft first.

With Seagull and Big Turtle in tow, Rowan headed up to the third floor. Many of the surrounding glass panes had cracked, but since this wasn’t the main battlefield and Rowan had periodically repaired them, it only looked a bit battered. The interior decor remained unaffected.

Oh, wait—there was a slight impact. The hens and goats were huddled inside their pens, shivering in fear. The recent battle between Rowan and the Abyssal Octopus had clearly terrified them. She gave them a passing glance before looking away. As long as they were alive, it was fine.

The worst of the raft’s devastation was concentrated at the Watchtower, which had served as the primary battlefield. There was also the issue of the dark ink clinging to the glass. Rowan couldn’t help but check the raft leaderboard, and just as she expected, her once undisputed first-place ranking had dropped significantly.

To make matters worse, the octopus ink was actively corroding the glass. It seemed an immediate cleanup was mandatory. Shifting her gaze from the control panel to her backpack, Rowan began replacing the glass panes one by one. Abyssal Octopus ink was notoriously difficult to wash off; rather than wasting time trying to scrub it clean, it was far more efficient to simply swap in brand-new panes.

Under her swift hands, the sunroom was restored to its former glory. As for the ink-stained glass she had collected, Rowan directly dismantled it. To her surprise, the deconstruction process yielded an unexpected harvest.

[Stained glass dismantling complete. Obtained: sand x2, ink x1.]

[Stained glass dismantling complete. Obtained: sand x2, ink x2.]

[...]

Octopus ink could be used to craft writing instruments or to manufacture special Equipment capable of obscuring other players’ vision. This definitely counted as a rare resource. What a pleasant surprise! Rowan instantly felt that replacing the glass had been the right call.

Once the dismantling was complete, Rowan climbed up to the Watchtower. Unlike the relatively intact third floor, the Watchtower was an absolute disaster zone. Shattered glass, ink, bloodstains, and even severed chunks of the Abyssal Octopus littered the space. Rowan immediately got to work. In no time at all, the Watchtower was spotless. Although the heavy fog outside still obscured the path ahead, she could at least oversee the entirety of her raft.

With the cleanup finally finished, Rowan returned to the shower room on the second floor and treated herself to a refreshing hot shower. But the moment she stepped out, she received several private messages via the Sea Survival Shop. Private messages could only be received if a player’s status was set to public, meaning the senders were likely the regular players of District 122.

She wondered what had happened. Opening her inbox, Rowan began to read through the messages.

[Zelda Parrish: My Manufacturing Skill has now reached D-Level, and I’ve manufactured an air-purifying Mask. If you’re open to collaborating, hit me up anytime.]

[Owen Caldwell: I can also produce air purifiers, but I’m lacking raw materials. I’m willing to do the work for a nominal processing fee.]

[Faye Sinclair: I’ve developed a suit capable of resisting viruses, but I currently lack the massive amount of resources needed. Want to collaborate?]

[Skye Schuyler: I just mentioned my collaboration with you to a few regular players in our district, so they might reach out to you. Just giving you a heads-up! Also, if you have any extra ingredients on hand, feel free to bring them my way. I’ve got plenty of time.]

Clearly, Rowan’s successful partnership with Skye had shown the other players that they, too, could strike deals with her directly. Everyone had already confirmed that Rowan’s resources were astonishingly vast, so they naturally extended their olive branches in her direction. Looking at these messages, Rowan had to admit that this suited her perfectly.

She had been harboring this exact idea ever since she first collaborated with Skye, but simply hadn’t found the right opportunity to act on it. She had anticipated that Skye might spread the word and draw the others to her. Even so, she hadn’t expected Skye to act so quickly, resulting in this eager scramble. Moreover, the specific items these players proposed were all highly intriguing. Without hesitation, Rowan began replying to them one by one.

***

After sending her message, Zelda Parrish immediately initiated a trade, wanting to show Rowan her finished product first.

She waited anxiously for a long time before finally receiving the notification that the trade had been completed. To her utter surprise, Rowan had sent her a portion of Blast Fried Octopus Tentacles in return. This was the exact dish Skye had cooked up. In fact, Skye’s glowing endorsement was the only reason Zelda had entertained the idea of partnering with Rowan in the first place.

While they had transacted through the trading hall before, those were merely straightforward exchanges of money for goods. A direct collaboration like this was far more intimate. If sustained long-term, they could even form an alliance. And that was exactly what Zelda wanted—an alliance.

Although the Sea Survival Game had only been running for a dozen days or so—still squarely in its early stages—Rowan’s stellar performance proved she was a powerhouse thoroughly capable of conquering this world.

Forget about "late bloomers" or "underdogs taking the lead." In a deadly game where lives hung in the balance, absolutely everyone was giving it their all from day one. It wasn’t that no one else would rise to prominence in the future, but rather that whoever dominated the early game—especially with such a staggering, insurmountable lead—would only expand that gap over time. Not to mention, aside from her high rank, Rowan somehow always managed to produce the exact right items to counter the ongoing natural disasters. Under these circumstances, forging an alliance with Rowan could only bring them immense benefits.

Zelda was not normally the type to collaborate; she much preferred working as a lone wolf. However, everything Rowan had accomplished in District 122 had gradually chipped away at her resolve. Sometimes, teamwork was exactly what they needed to secure greater advantages and a better standard of living.

Storing the Blast Fried Octopus Tentacles away, Zelda began negotiating the terms of their air-purifying Mask collaboration with Rowan. Compared to bulky air purifiers, the air-purifying Masks were far more practical for the average player—especially those whose sole goal was simply to survive.