Looking at the system introduction that appeared in front of him, Norman couldn't help but sigh.
After working for so long and experiencing a dangerous deep-sea fight, he finally managed to create this fresh water extractor.
With the fresh water extractor, at least the problem of water could be solved. The 5000 ml of fresh water it could extract daily would not only meet his normal survival needs but also leave a surplus that could be used for trading.
Under normal circumstances, an adult only needs 1000 ml of fresh water daily. This surplus, five times the necessary amount, could even allow him to take a bath after saving up for a few days.
But on second thought, Norman found this setup a bit odd. The system shouldn't be so generous, allowing pioneers to easily meet their survival needs in the early stages of the game.
Five units of iron ore and copper ore, though seemingly substantial, are relatively easy to gather with a bit of luck and courage. Even scavenging near the spawn point could yield enough in a day. This basic survival task seemed far too simple given the overall difficulty of the game.
Moreover, the daily extraction of 5000 ml of fresh water seemed excessively generous. Once most pioneers built their fresh water extractors, market demand would plummet, undermining the survival and competition aspects of the game.
"No, something's not right. There must be a catch here!" Norman muttered cautiously, refocusing his attention on the fresh water extractor.
The device wasn't large and resembled a sink more than a water dispenser, fully embedded in the bulkhead of the living cabin. As he concentrated, the golden text of his cheat flickered in front of him.
(Info Drop: Congratulations, you have successfully created a fresh water extractor. This is the foundation for survival in the deep abyss. Without it, you can't do much! However, maintaining its operation requires substantial submarine energy. If energy is insufficient, it is recommended to turn it off immediately after producing enough fresh water for survival each day, or your mileage will be drastically reduced! Of course, if you have plenty of resources or are lucky enough to mine an energy source, you can ignore the above warnings.)
"Motherfucker"
Norman's eyes narrowed as he read the info drop. He nodded thoughtfully.
"As expected, there's a catch. This game always has a catch!"
He shook his head with a wry smile. Thankfully, he carefully examined the fresh water extractor, and the golden text provided a warning. Otherwise, if he had unknowingly maxed out the extractor's capacity, it could have led to big trouble.
Missing a meal or two and enduring some thirst might be bearable, but if the submarine's energy ran out, leaving it without power, the situation would be dire. In the vast deep sea, no one would respond to a distress call, and the loss of the oxygen production system would be fatal!
"It seems I should share this critical information with the other pioneers in this channel starting area."
"Otherwise, who knows how many will make it to the first gathering outpost, Considering the system's no warning for such things or even a tutorial to help fellow pioneers, it's almost like it wants us to die."
Norman pondered, first turning on the fresh water extractor and letting it produce enough water for his needs. Then he left the living cabin and headed toward the cockpit.
In all honesty, Norman didn't consider himself the altruistic type. He wouldn't selflessly help others when his interests weren't secure. But if a little effort could save many people from trouble, he didn't mind lending a hand.
Through earlier observations, Norman noticed that most of the people in Channel 66671 were from China. While there were many foreigners, Chinese made up about 70% of the chat. Under these circumstances, Norman felt it was weird how 70% was Chinese, but that didn't matter to him in this situation; humanity as a whole was more important than a specific ethnicity.
The system's hidden settings were not easy to detect. Unless someone constantly monitored the submarine's energy system, they might miss the clues.
He opened the regional communication channel, noting that the number of chats in the upper left corner had dropped by hundreds. Clearly, many had unfortunately perished for various reasons during this period. In just a few hours since the game's start, the significant reduction in numbers highlighted the difficulty of this survival game.
Norman took a deep breath, clearing his mind of stray thoughts. With a few taps, he entered the information about the fresh water extractor's hidden settings into the chat box and pressed send. The daily communication count in the upper right corner dropped from five to four as the long string of text was sent.
Afterward, Norman intended to monitor the reactions of the other pioneers, but suddenly, a familiar system prompt echoed in his mind.
[System: You have successfully shared valuable information, and the Prestige of Tartarus went up by +1]
"Huh?! Sharing information can also increase prestige?!"
Norman was shocked, finding it incredible. Initially, the system had indicated that killing abyss creatures would earn mileage points and prestige. Norman had always assumed these were out of reach for him at this stage and planned to avoid engaging with abyss creatures until he had ship-based weapons.
Who would have thought that sharing system-related information would also be a way to gain prestige?!
For the hardcore gamers out there, even the most diligent among them would struggle to find such a hidden feature!
Closing the communication channel, Norman quickly pulled up the prestige list on the central console.
To his surprise, the once grayed-out prestige list had become selectable. Upon clicking in, Norman saw that more than ten submarines had already accumulated different amounts of prestige.
Topping the list was a submarine named "Mariner," which had already gained 5 points of reputation! Most of the others had one or two points, firmly placing them behind. Tartarus, represented by Norman, was ranked 14th at the bottom.
Norman was stunned.
How had someone managed to secretly accumulate so much reputation so quickly after the game started?
The communication channel chat hadn't mentioned another way to gain prestige, so it was clearly a well-kept secret.
Norman gritted his teeth, silently cursing as he sat in front of the display screen.
These people were really playing their cards close to their chest!