Chapter 170 - 155: District 122 Retains First Place

Chapter 170: Chapter 155: District 122 Retains First Place

[Congratulations, Player. You have successfully survived the Virus Disaster.]

[Your game zone is District 122. The current number of survivors is 93,291. There is no need to merge with other districts.]

[Congratulations, Player. In this stage, you have ranked first on the Individual Level Leaderboard, first on the Raft Level Leaderboard, first on the Resource Leaderboard, first on the Island Exploration Leaderboard, first on the Aesthetics Leaderboard, and first on the Utility Leaderboard. You are currently ranked first across the entire server. You are rewarded with Wooden Chest x60.]

[Server Announcement: For the third stage, the Virus Disaster, the number of survivors in District 122 ranks first among all districts. All players in District 122 are rewarded with Wooden Chest x30.]

[Server Announcement: The leaderboards will be tallied at the end of each stage. Players, please continue to work hard and strive to get your names on the rankings.]

[Server Announcement: The fourth small island group has been unlocked. Players will fulfill the completion requirement by exploring just one small island.]

[...]

Rowan Rhodes looked at the various notifications on her panel. Her gaze fixed on the mention that exploring a single small island would satisfy the completion condition. This was exactly as she had expected. The Sea Survival Game didn’t require players to finish exploring all the islands within the same sea area; instead, it encouraged them to enter the Coastal Waters Region more quickly. But was what the Sea Survival Game encouraged necessarily a good thing? Even if her Speed slowed down, she would choose to explore all the islands. After all, in this life, hadn’t she discovered more of the Void Beast’s secrets this way? She intended to explore thoroughly. She believed that as the number one player across the server, if she took the time to properly explore the various small islands, other players would follow her example once they saw it.

Immediately after, Rowan began checking the chat in the main group of the Sea Survival Shop. This place could be considered the information hub for all the districts. At this moment in the main group, rather than focusing on the island exploration like Rowan did, the vast majority of players were concerned with whether today was a Harvest Day.

After all, the previous Harvest Day had provided many players with their initial accumulation of capital. Eira Grass Seeds, various plant seeds—those were all obtained on Harvest Day, not to mention the other abundant resources. Especially during this Virus Disaster, to avoid being poisoned, most players had spent more time indoors, leading to a massive consumption of resources. Many players had even emptied their inventories. They urgently needed a Harvest Day to recover. Unfortunately, the situation disappointed them.

[Sea Survival Calendar: January 14, 0:01. Current temperature: 22°C. Weather: Sunny. Players can now breathe fresh air.]

After reading the calendar, the mental state of quite a few players became a bit unbalanced.

"Why isn’t there a Harvest Day?"

"I was waiting for Harvest Day!"

"What exactly is the principle behind Harvest Days?"

"I don’t know! We’ve only been through three disasters, so we can’t figure out the pattern yet."

"Could it be on even numbers?"

"Sigh, the losses from this Virus Disaster were truly heavy. I don’t have many resources left, and I don’t know if I can survive the next one."

"I heard the aftereffects of the Virus Disaster have been confirmed. As previously stated, it’s a permanent impairment to Life Value."

"Damn it, can it not be restored? Will drinking an Antidote in the future help?"

"It’s useless. Once past midnight, the body’s state is fixed. The health bar is just permanently shortened by a chunk. Antidotes are of no use."

"But at least we kept our lives."

"That’s true! The death toll from this disaster is even worse than the Extreme Cold Disaster."

"Speaking of which, could it be that there’s no Harvest Day because too many people died this time?"

"It’s highly possible. Most districts actually managed to endure the last Extreme Cold Disaster because of the gains from the Extreme Heat Disaster."

"When a disaster strikes, being able to take care of yourself is good enough. How could anyone look after other players? This is an unsolvable problem."

"District 122 got first place again. Thirty Wooden Chests mean so many resources. They are the luckiest."

"Our district ranked tenth. We didn’t get thirty Wooden Chests, but we still got ten. That can be considered a bit of recovery."

"It seems Rowan Rhodes is in District 122. With a big shot like her holding the fort, it’s totally normal for District 122 to get first place."

"Suddenly, I wish our district could be merged into District 122. I’m so envious."

"Big shots are different from one another. Rowan Rhodes can drive the development of her district, while some big shots can’t wait to suck the blood of their entire district to strengthen themselves! Our district is exactly like that—it’s a complete mess. I don’t even dare to explicitly say in the world channel that I want to trade fruits and vegetables for Space Stones, for fear of being robbed and letting someone else reap the benefits."

"There’s no other way. For many things, you still have to rely on yourself."

"Sigh! The outcome is set, so let’s just look forward! Even without a Harvest Day, we can at least salvage resources from the seabed and go searching for islands."

"More than that! Now we can also do some planting to exchange for Space Stones. If you’re willing to give up using the Space Stones yourself, you can trade them for a lot of resources!"

"I feel like when I reach the next island, I’ll need to dig up a lot more soil."

"Yes, planting consumes quite a bit of soil."

"I wonder if we can make fertilizer. With fertilizer, the soil should be reusable."

"This is a potential enterprise for the future! If someone can figure it out, it’ll definitely be profitable. Let’s work hard, everyone."

"There’s also the task of searching for islands and trading with Native People for Space Stones."

"The most important thing right now is sleeping. I’m so sleepy. Whatever it is, let’s talk about it tomorrow!"

"..."

Many players wailed over the fact that the Safe Day wasn’t a Harvest Day. But even more players understood that the situation was already a reality they could neither change nor dictate. All they could do was adapt and find the survival method that suited them best. Especially since the current reality of the game wasn’t as difficult as imagined. There were salvageable supplies everywhere on the seabed, islands that could be explored, a trading hall where transactions could be made, and a stable channel for purchasing fruits and vegetables... As long as there was a sliver of hope, the players wouldn’t despair. After venting their emotions, they all gathered themselves and continued living.

Many players whose nerves had been stretched taut for three days finally relaxed a great deal. After confirming there was no danger, their very first choice was to sleep.

Meanwhile, the much-envied players of District 122 were reveling.

"First place, first place! We’re first place again! Thirty Wooden Chests!"

"This is amazing!"

"Haha, the feeling of having a big shot looking out for us is really great!"

"Exactly! Thanks to the big shots for supporting our entire district. I hope everyone continues to help each other so our district can have a better tomorrow."

"Thank you, thank you."

"However, I feel like the disasters are getting harder and harder. During the countdown in the last few hours yesterday, thousands of players still died."

"It can’t be helped. The number of players is too large, and the resources are still insufficient to go around."

"The situation in our district is already so much better than in other districts."

"That’s true. I previously heard Zelda Parrish mention that some districts have already seen a sixty percent player mortality rate."

"Doesn’t that leave only a little over thirty thousand people? How terrifying. It’s only been a dozen days or so; do several thousand people have to die every day?"

"Districts like that are everywhere."

"It must have been even more miserable before the Sea Survival Shop existed!"

"Anyway, as long as everyone follows the pace set by the big shots, we’ll definitely be fine."

"..."

The thriving nature of the district made the players of District 122 very willing to advance at their current pace. The tangible resources were the best proof. No one would come out and jinx things at a time like this.

Seeing District 122 like this, Rowan felt somewhat emotional. Ultimately, they had paved a different path. She wondered how far such a path could take them.