After experiencing his first dive, Norman made his first run of resources in his journey towards the gathering outpost.
Although it was just three units of iron ore, to him, it felt like a monumental step forward in his life.
Swimming in the depths of the ocean, two thousand meters below sea level, he wandered through the unknown. This was something he never dared he would do before, but now that he had lived through it, that counts for something.
The moment he returned to the submarine's airlock, Norman even had the sensation of having been reborn, as if he had gained a new life!
Lying weakly on the ground for some time, he regained his composure only after the water pump drained all the water from the airlock. Struggling to move in his heavy diving suit, he walked back into the living cabin.
He took off the dive suit and placed it back on the stand.
The automatic oxygenation function activated, and the content in the oxygen cylinder slowly began to rise.
Norman glanced at it; it would take about five minutes to fill the oxygen cylinder, so he decided to ignore it for now.
After putting away the harpoon, diving knife, and mining tool, Norman suddenly had a thought.
It seemed that apart from the backpack included with the diving suit, he hadn't found any storage equipment in the submarine.
"If I rely solely on the 10-slot backpack that comes with the diving suit to store supplies, it won't be long before it fills up. There must be a storage compartment in this submarine, but I just haven't found it yet."
After pondering for a moment, Norman scanned the cabin thoroughly.
Finally, he discovered a storage box tucked away in an inconspicuous corner beside the bed.
Norman stared at it.
(Info Drop: Small storage boxes can hold 30 different types of materials, and each material can be stacked up to ten units. Please choose the storage items carefully.)
The box was small, but it had a big capacity for storage.
However, at this stage, a 30-slot storage box would meet his storage needs.
After all, Norman had only managed to collect three units of iron ore during his resource run.
To fill all 30 slots in the storage box, how many trips would he have to make to gather enough supplies?
For most pioneers, there may not even be a chance to fill the storage box at all; many would likely give up before that point.
Thus, a 30-slot storage was more than sufficient for now.
Norman took the three units of iron ore from his diving suit's backpack and stored them in the submarine's storage box.
Even though there was no risk of loss while in the backpack, Norman preferred to be cautious and felt it was safer to store them in the storage box.
After completing this task, Norman left the living cabin and returned to the cockpit.
The three HV points marked on the sonar display indicated that the green spots of iron ore had vanished, leaving only two remaining.
Norman didn't linger and drove the submarine directly toward the nearest HV point.
Time during the starting phase was incredibly precious, and he couldn't afford to waste any until the most basic living conditions were secured.
With nothing else to occupy his mind during the journey, Norman opened the communication channel again to see how other players were progressing in their starting phase.
What he found shocked him; the communication channel was abuzz with complaints!
Most players were expressing their frustrations.
Some players, suffering from deep sea phobias, looked at the impenetrable darkness outside the porthole and refused to leave the cabin, instead opting to voice their grievances.
[Zhan Lanhao: What the hell is this system setting us here? It's practically impossible to survive! The first abyss creature I encountered was a sea snake lookalike; damn fucker was big. If it weren't for my sharp eyes, I'd have been done for!
[From the Heart: Don't push me, man; I've explored two HV points and found two units of plastic. I've got nothing, and I was nearly ambushed by a giant fuck crab! Have you ever seen a crab the size of a truck with pincers thicker than my body? I almost wet myself!
[Concorde: You guys have already jumped into the water? It's so dark outside; aren't you scared? I'm going crazy just sitting in the submarine while you all are so brave to just swim out there!]
[Cyclops: I have claustrophobia and a fear of the deep sea. This is fucking hell for me, man!]
[Love Sauce: Boo Hoo I'm too scared to go out. It's so dark, and I can't swim. I want to go home; I want to find my mom.]
[Gourmet lover: I'm starving! I haven't eaten since being teleported, and there's not even a bottle of water here. If anyone finds food, can you share some through the trading system? I promise to repay you later!]
…
In the communication channel, cries for help, pleas, and curses mixed together.
Even though the pioneers had survived the initial wave of crises, the game's harsh setting had become the greatest obstacle for most.
However, not everyone was in despair and helplessness.
With billions of people on Earth, even if each channel area only had a maximum of 100,000 players, the number of elites was significant.
Many, like Norman, had already set out and made various discoveries.
[Zhongzhou: A friendly reminder: about ten kilometers away from the spawn point, the resources and ecological environment are relatively poor. According to the autopilot's navigation route, the deeper you dive, the higher the probability of encountering HV points. Don't waste too much time in the waters near the spawn point; let's head to the deep sea as soon as possible!]
[Explorer: Everyone, don't try to drive your submarine up. I just confirmed that when you're 500 meters from the spawn point, the seawater freezes as I see cracks on the ice. It's impossible to reach the surface. It's better to stick to the autopilot.]
[Nautilus: Those who don't know how to dive needn't worry. The system has provided us with diving skills; it seems like some sort of hard rule of this game. If I, a landlubber, can dive, so can you.]
…
Norman quietly observed the screen, gaining valuable insights.
Through the information shared by the explorer, he could ascertain that the surface of this planet was indeed covered by ice, and the thickness of the ice was likely substantial.
Now, they were over 2,000 meters below sea level, and at just 500 meters above the surface, the seawater had already frozen.
This indicated that the actual thickness of the ice layer must be over 1,000 meters!
The cracks discovered by the Explorer confirmed that, at some point in the future, the ice layer in the shallower areas might collapse, and this transition was already underway.
Although the consequences were unknown, Norman felt it was better to heed the system's requirements and reach the first gathering outpost as quickly as possible within seven days.
Moreover, the resource distribution mentioned by Zhongzhou was another critical piece of information.
However, compared to other pioneers, more outliers meant more resources.
But with that also came greater risks, as the likelihood of encountering abyss creatures increased!
After closing the communication channel, Norman felt a sense of relief.
Being able to see the system prompts meant that the hidden dangers lurking in the unknown didn't apply to him.
This alone was enough to ensure his safety.
Even if he proceeded cautiously, he would likely emerge as one of the last survivors.
Of course, now that he has access to this cheat, Norman intends to use it to its fullest potential.
He was determined to make it through this survival game!
As the submarine continued its journey, the white, flocculent organic matter drifted like snowflakes in the deep sea, constantly streaming past the porthole.
As Norman piloted the submarine, he passed a HV point marked by the sonar, now two hundred meters away.
Another HV point appeared, marked by sonar, gradually faded from view; Norman had no intention of returning to explore it.
According to the clues provided by Zhongzhou, he aimed to delve deeper as quickly as possible to expedite the collection of supplies.
But before that, Norman decided it would be wise to retrieve the storage box with the unknown contents. Perhaps it held something valuable?
Five minutes later, the submarine reached the vicinity of the storage box.
This area was equally desolate and barren; the yellow-brown seabed was littered with rugged reefs, devoid of life.
Following the guidance of the three-dimensional virtual map, Norman cautiously approached the HV point.
The searchlights swept around continuously, trying to locate the storage box hidden among the reef piles.
However, after a lengthy search, nothing was found.
The shape of the reef was too rough; it was hard to spot anything. It grew horizontally, appearing irregular and uneven, making it difficult to discern anything at a glance.
Eventually, Norman halted the submarine more than ten meters above the HV point, memorizing the rough location of the storage box to memory.
Then he headed toward the airlock room again.
At this point, the oxygen tank of his diving suit had been refilled, and the half-hour supply of oxygen would be enough for him to explore the nearby area.
The gate opened, and the icy water engulfed Norman once more.
Having learned from his previous experience, this time he firmly steadied himself against the pull of water pressure and let his diving suit pressurize.
As the water level completely felled the airlock, he immediately swam out and dove toward the reef at the submarine's bottom.
The strangely shaped reef environment was extremely complicated. Norman activated the lights on his diving suit helmet and searched diligently through the jumble of rocks.
Finally, in a hidden corner, he discovered a white square storage box about thirty centimeters long and wide.
"Found it!"
Norman exclaimed. He planned to place the storage box into his backpack and check its contents after returning to the submarine.
However, he soon realized that the white storage box couldn't be stored as a resource. It couldn't fit in the backpack that came with the diving suit and could only be held in his hands.
In frustration, he had no choice but to grasp the storage box with one hand, put it under his armpit, and swim back to the submarine with great difficulty.
The moment the airlock door closed behind him, Norman eagerly opened the box, revealing a milky white spherical object.
[Congratulations! You have found a small gravity ball, which can create a small-scale gravity trap. When small fish approach, they will be pulled in by gravity and cannot escape, greatly enhancing your fishing efficiency! However, the gravity ball is slightly damaged and needs to be repaired and charged before it can be used again.]
After reading the system's description, Norman's eyes lit up!
"A gravity ball, seriously?! Thats just... Wow, this is a fantastic find!"