Chapter 35: Day 5

Despite being a normal man with desires, Logan felt no spark for Anna Young or Rena Dane. Some strange internal warning told him to keep distance.

Instinct or fate, he wasn't sure, but it left him reluctant to touch them.

He pulled out ten Floating Stones from a large crate in Warehouse #1.

Last time, the Icelandic Crabs had wrecked the island's structure equal to ten stones. Now he'd use these to patch the holes.

As Island Master Logan, he possessed plenty of Floating Stones.

That put him far ahead of others. Once those crabs were fully harvested, he'd keep enough for himself and maybe send some to MorganBlossom—then sell the rest for profit.

Early in the survival game, rank-grade food was both rare and precious; it could easily be traded for more Floating Stones or Universal Metal Sheets.

He planned to stash even more of those resources, anticipating they'd become immensely valuable. He wasn't a saint out to save anyone—he just wanted more bartering power.

Logan closed the warehouse screen and returned to his thatched hut, intending to meditate and further refine his foresight ability.

While Logan was stable—thanks to abundant resources and personal strength—many survivors were in dire straits.

Some had managed to build a thatched hut or cabin, so they had decent food and water for now. But others only had a few planks and a flimsy roof. With no real shelter, constant downpours made them ill and starved, and all they could drink was direct rainwater.

For most, the heavy rains were worse than scorching heat.

Under the old rules, they could gather driftwood and rely on saltwater to survive, but now it rained endlessly, and the novice protection period had ended.

Many survivors had no strong weapons.

Even the typical sea beasts—rankless or unranked—were lethal, and with everyone isolated on separate mini-islands, teaming up was impossible.

Renting better gear? There wasn't much to rent. Anyone with spare weapons probably set sky-high rates, demanding collateral.

And tomorrow—Day 5—novice fishing nets became unusable. Countless people hadn't found enough materials for rods or nets, leaving them with the suicidal option of diving in the Arcane Ice Sea with no guarantee of protection.

Logan recognized these grim facts and figured he'd give it a few more days. He'd unify all the island's resources, then start selling to those barely hanging on.

He had no illusions of altruism. The more survivors remained, the more trade potential existed, and that meant more items for him.

Eventually, he suspected a district merge would occur once enough survivors died.

Anyone left would be much stronger, competition fierce. If he saved more people now, he'd have more trading partners before the merge—and more leverage.

Anna Young and Rena Dane waited in Cabin #3 for about twenty minutes. Rena looked pale, still recovering from her earlier misjudgment. Anna occasionally glanced toward the dim glow in the thatched hut, then sighed. Wearing leaf-woven outfits, they dreaded stepping out into the freezing rain again.

But Logan's command was absolute, so they emerged into the storm, shivering as gusts cut through their flimsy leaf clothes.

Their newly enhanced bodies—close to normal human limits—might avoid sickness, but it was still miserable. Logan didn't care; they were on assignment.

Meanwhile, Logan continued his regular meditation, taking small sips of C-rank water every hour to incrementally raise his stats, though at a slower pace.

Eventually, dawn arrived—Day 5—yet the sky was still a dark sheet of rain, albeit falling slightly lighter now, with no wind.

Logan opened his eyes, feeling fresh despite skipping sleep. He grabbed an umbrella made of leaves and vines, checked on his deer in its lean-to, then headed to the stone pillar.

Tapping on the interface, he noticed that the displayed population total in their district had drastically dropped.