From the white storage box, Norman retrieved a small gravity ball. The milky-white gravity ball looked small, about the size of a tennis ball. Beautiful lines and delicate, complex textures made it look highly advanced. However, it seemed that either long-term pressure underwater or external impact had caused the upper part of the sphere to be covered with cracks and slightly damaged.
Norman concentrated on the gravity ball. The info drop appeared as golden text; the basic information of the gravity ball immediately appeared before him.
[Info Drop: A small-scale gravity trap can be used to attract small targets wandering around. The current state is broken and can be repaired at a crafting station.]
"This thing is valuable. With it, at least the food problem can be solved. As long as I find an area rich in fish and throw it in between them, the harvest will be unimaginable."
Norman's heart raced, and the excitement in his eyes flickered. He did not expect to find such a huge bounty before preparing to leave the area near the spawn point. For pioneers in the starting phase, this kind of item could easily be called a life-saving grace or a food-saving grace!
The key point is that food in survival games is always a form of currency. With the gravity ball, Norman's catching speed would far exceed his basic needs. At that point, he could trade the excess food for more valuable materials.
However, Norman, who composed himself, was not carried away by this. He knew very well that an object such as this, the gravity ball, would not be easy to repair. His primary goal now was to create a freshwater extractor first.
People can survive at least a few more days without food, but without freshwater, survival would be impossible within four days. They would even lose the ability to enter the water after two days. If the materials needed to repair the gravity ball conflicted with those for the freshwater extractor, he would prioritize the freshwater extractor and postpone the gravity ball's repair.
At that moment, Norman held the tennis ball-sized gravity ball and walked to the crafting station, placing the gravity ball on it. The interface of the crafting station changed immediately.
[Info Drop: damaged gravity ball, repair needs: iron 3/5; aluminum 0/5; plastic 0/3; titanium 0/3; copper 0/3]
Looking at the text shown before him, Norman frowned. Sure enough, the materials needed for repairs could almost equal the cost of upgrading parts of the submarine. There were five different materials in total needed, each requiring no less than three units, with aluminum being five.
If it were another pioneer that did not have a cheat like Norman, it would undoubtedly take a lot of effort to repair this gravity ball under normal circumstances.
"It seems this gravity ball has to be put away for a while; I should build the freshwater extractor first. I need three units of copper and two irons, and I've collected three irons today. I'll be able to construct the freshwater extractor if I run a few resource runs today, and maybe I'll be able to gather enough materials to repair the gravity ball too. Being able to see the info drops of HV points has saved me a lot of time."
"However, the resources in this area near the spawn point are indeed too scarce. I would have to leave as soon as possible and dive deeper into the abyss."
Norman pondered this and, without further delay, picked up the gravity ball and placed it in the submarine's storage. He then planned to navigate the submarine according to the information provided by Zhongzhou and the route planned by the automatic navigation system, moving deeper into the abyss.
As he walked past the empty white storage box on the ground, Norman glanced down. The info drop suddenly reappeared before him.
(Info Drop: An empty storage box does not have much value. It can be deconstructed into two units of iron, or it can be used for storage, though limited as it is.)
"Wait what... really this can be deconstructed?"
Norman was stunned by this, then his face brightened. Unexpectedly, he can deconstruct objects; he finds these items could still be repurposed.
"This survival game has this feature… damn, more like I should have known about that. Still, if objects found by pioneers can be deconstructed, it reduces many risks for many pioneers out there."
As he grabbed the storage box, he walked and placed the storage box on the crafting station, and the interface immediately popped up for the option to dismantle. Without hesitation, he confirmed the action.
[System prompt: Obtained iron*2]
White light flashed, and the storage box on the crafting station started being deconstructed, then disappeared. In its place were two units of iron in the shape of squares.
With a smile on his face, he stored the two iron squares in the submarine storage compartment. As a result, the materials needed to make the freshwater extractor were now complete, and he had enough iron to meet the requirements.
Next, he only needed to mine a spot with copper ore and get three units from it, and the freshwater issue would be solved.
In a cheerful mood, Norman approached the cockpit of the submarine. The automatic navigation system on the center control panel was activated, presenting a series of data.
[Return to the spawn point: current coordinates: 9174131, -2177.6]
[Distance from the No. 1 gathering outpost: 1,000 kilometers]
[Current maximum level of autopilot speed: 15 kilometers per hour]
[Current maximum diving speed of autonomous driving: 5 kilometers per hour]
Looking at the data displayed on the central control display, Norman stroked his chin thoughtfully. The three strings of data indicated latitude and longitude. The negative number in the middle represented the depth of the sea where the submarine was located. Tartarus was currently over 2,100 meters below sea level.
Norman vaguely remembered that the Shenlong first proposed the concept of coordinates. From the coordinate data, the Shenlong's previous location did not seem too far from Tartarus. However, so much time had passed, and he didn't know where it had gone now.
Looking down, Norman frowned. Although the system had given him seven days, the gathering outpost was definitely not close; it was far.
He had not expected it to be one thousand kilometers away! Given the current maximum speed of Tartarus, it would take nearly three days to arrive, even if it sailed continuously for 24 hours. Moreover, on the way, he needed to collect various materials to ensure his survival while also upgrading the submarine.
Furthermore, autonomous driving came with its own risks, so most of the time, he would have to rely on manually driving. In this way, seven days was not a lot of time for him; anything can happen that can make him get there late!
Norman took a deep breath, feeling an inexplicable sense of urgency. "I can't continue wandering near the spawn point; I must dive as soon as possible!"