Chapter 123 - 117: Filthy Rich Rowan Rhodes

Chapter 123: Chapter 117: Filthy Rich Rowan Rhodes

Zelda Parrish and her group’s actions did not escape Rowan Rhodes’s eyes.

After all, Rowan had joined quite a few small group chats. Since Zelda and the others hadn’t remained anonymous, she could naturally spot them. This was especially true after players realized that many shared the same first and last names; those with more common names just went completely public. After all, being public made it much easier for people to find them.

Apart from the Sea Survival Shop, Zelda and her group were also trading resources in the Trading Hall. With such large-scale movements, the players of District 122 instantly noticed them.

In the World Channel, players were having a heated discussion.

"There’s suddenly a ton of new listings in the Trading Hall buying up cloth and ores. What’s going on?"

"It’s probably the top players making a move. Other than them, nobody has that many resources to exchange, especially since they’re trading Equipment for it!"

"What are they up to?!"

"@Zelda Parrish, bosses, can you share what’s happening?"

"If there’s a good way out, don’t forget about us!"

"Yeah, exactly!"

"When things are this unusual, there’s always a catch. Something is definitely going on behind the scenes."

"It might have to do with the Sea Survival Shop. The Shop has been making massive moves over the past two days, especially after the private messaging and group chat functions were unlocked."

"Sigh! The Sea Survival Shop’s extra features for permanent players are, to some extent, widening the gap between us. These players with special Skills are using this channel to accumulate their initial capital."

"But we’ve benefited too. Now there’s so much Equipment in the Sea Survival Shop. Masks, air purifiers, food with special Effects, weapons, and so on. It’s made things convenient for all of us."

"True, we do get our share of benefits."

"District 122 probably gets more benefits than other districts too."

"I just hope the bosses take us along for the ride."

"Harold Thompson: Why would they share the benefits with outsiders? They’ve definitely formed their own little clique."

"..."

Reading the players’ speculations on the World Channel, Rowan had to admit that their sensitivity to anomalies was incredibly high. Then again, it was only normal. When it came to matters of life and death, everyone would naturally think things through a bit more carefully.

"Would Zelda and the others form a team in District 122?" Rowan pondered. After all, the World Channel currently didn’t have private messaging or group chat functions. Even if they formed a team, it would be fully visible to everyone else. They might even be targeted. Lifestyle Skill players were typically weak in combat but rich in resources. Weren’t they just natural targets for robbery? Rowan felt that forming a team in District 122 wouldn’t work; the conditions just weren’t right.

"Zelda Parrish: We’re crafting a type of Equipment that saves resources. We need a massive amount of oxygen bottles, Metal Ingots, and other materials. We are buying them at high prices or trading for them."

"Owen Caldwell: I’m currently making air purifiers."

"Faye Sinclair: I developed an Anti-toxic Equipment piece. It requires a lot of broken cloth, fabric, leather, and similar resources."

"Skye Schuyler: I’m just tinkering with food, making some dishes with special Effects. If anyone else has Cooking Skills, feel free to hit me up on the World Channel."

"Harold Thompson: So you guys really did secretly form a team outside? Looks like you’re about to strike it rich!"

"Simon Quinn: This is way too unfair! I’m going to report you."

"Celia Lynch: @Harold Thompson @Simon Quinn, don’t be so green with jealousy."

"Exactly! If you two had any ability, the Sea Survival Shop would have definitely invited you. You wouldn’t be here whining about it."

"@Zelda Parrish, what kind of new Equipment is it? I’ll trade you Metal Ingots and oxygen bottles for it."

"@Skye Schuyler, I have some ingredients on hand. Can I trade them for food?"

"..."

Wave after wave of trades kicked off directly in District 122’s World Channel. Similar situations were unfolding in the districts of many other permanent players. Driven by the permanent players’ desire to earn more, this trend of resource exchange rapidly spread. Countless players seized the opportunity to continually line their pockets.

Of course, there were also countless players losing their lives to the viral invasion. Just as many had predicted, the gap between players grew increasingly obvious as time went by. However, compared to the time before the Sea Survival Shop appeared, most players were still very grateful for its existence. After all, many ordinary players benefited from the businesses of the top-tier ones. If they were lucky, they could buy Equipment to resist the natural disasters from the Trading Hall and the Sea Survival Shop.

As for Rowan, once she confirmed that Zelda and her friends were indeed forming a team, she put her own abilities to use and went on a massive resource-buying spree.

Trading Coins, Equipment, and food—these three hard currencies gave her unimpeded access to everything. She possessed incredibly robust capital, after all. Was it that no one else wanted to do what she was doing? Of course not. It was just that the rest of the players lacked her formidable strength and profound foundation; they simply couldn’t play the same game.

Under these circumstances, Rowan spent more than half of her hundreds of millions of Trading Coins. This wealth flowed directly into over a thousand districts and the hands of their respective players. At the same time, through various methods, these Trading Coins eventually cycled back to her. However, the economic liquidity across the entire Sea Survival Game’s player base was significantly strengthened.

In the process, Rowan hoarded a massive amount of Equipment. Air purifiers, antiviral suits, air-purifying Masks, and all sorts of food with special Effects... all of these were displayed at high prices in the Sea Survival Shop. Countless players’ eyes zeroed in on these items because they were just too, too, too... tempting.

Night fell, and the players who had just survived another wave of mutated marine creature attacks took advantage of the gap in time to rest. They weren’t sure if more creatures would strike during the night, but having just cleared out the last wave, they at least had a brief window of peace. With time on their hands, more players began to chat idly.

"When exactly is Rowan Rhodes going to start selling her Equipment? I’ve been distracted by it all afternoon."

"They’re all such good items! I’m so jealous."

"How are you so sure it’s Rowan?"

"Who else could it be?"

"How did she manage to get so much Equipment all by herself?"

"Of course she didn’t do it alone. She directly roped in a bunch of players, and those players have others with similar Skills backing them up. They formed a team, and everyone is essentially working for her."

"How did the gap between players get so huge?!"

"Personally, I think it’s better to have a few more players like Rowan. Unlike before, when we had nowhere to turn for help, now we can at least see what kind of Equipment we need to survive the natural disasters."

"That’s true."

"..."

The above conversations happened in districts that housed permanent players, where they could glean outside news through them. Meanwhile, in districts without any permanent players, people watched the situation unfold and sighed in frustration.

"There must be some changes happening out there that we don’t know about."

"I think so too. The sheer volume of goods listed is way too high. There’s no way one person or one district could achieve this."

"So why is our district completely in the dark?"

"Nothing we can do. Information is lagging."

"Just strive to stay alive! Our day will come eventually."

"I’m still so jealous! So much Equipment."

"It definitely belongs to the top bosses on the leaderboard. Just wait! It’ll go on sale for sure."

"We have to pay close attention and snatch up as much as we can. If we can get our hands on it, that’s our ticket to survival."

"Actually, capable players can learn from this too. They’ve basically posted the standard answer key for us."

"..."