Rangga's Choice
Rangga got back to work. His Copper Pickaxe continued striking the Quartz Deposit.
Clang!
Clang!
Clang!
The clear crystals shattered into small fragments before turning into particles of light and flying into his inventory. After mining the first deposit, he looked into the distance.
Beyond the oasis, he spotted another crater containing the familiar pale white mineral deposit.
"Saltpeter again."
Without hesitation, Rangga headed toward it. But after taking only a few steps away from the oasis, another cloud of dust appeared in the distance.
Rangga immediately stopped.
"There it is again..."
He drew his Composite Alloy Spear. The dust cloud grew larger as another Mechanical Vespersaurus charged straight toward him.
The creature leaped and Rangga sidestepped.
Thud!
His spear slammed into the supporting leg joint, causing the Vespersaurus to lose its balance. Before it could recover—
Crack!
The spear pierced through its neck and The creature dissolved into light.
Rangga picked up the Thermal Core and Reinforced Synthetic Fiber it had dropped before continuing toward the crater.
Clang!
Clang!
Clang!
More Saltpeter filled his inventory. Once he finished mining, Rangga turned around and headed back toward the oasis.
He spent a few moments looking around.
"Hmm... That's kind of strange... Nothing attacks inside the oasis."
He rubbed his chin.
Maybe the Vespersauruses simply never entered the oasis. Or perhaps there was another reason he hadn't discovered yet.
Either way, Rangga didn't dwell on it. As long as the place was safe to work, that was all that mattered.
He resumed mining another Quartz Deposit.
Clang!
Clang!
Clang!
After extracting all the quartz surrounding the oasis, Rangga switched to his Copper Axe.
One by one, he chopped down the date palms. Their trunks turned into logs.
He harvested all the ripe dates before felling each tree, storing everything inside his inventory.
Rangga continued circling the oasis, chopping, harvesting, and mining.
Occasionally, he ventured out to the nearest Saltpeter crater, fought off any Vespersaurus that intercepted him, then returned to the oasis, which always felt far more peaceful.
Before he realized it, his boat's inventory was full once again.
150/150
Rangga looked at the number and nodded with satisfaction.
"There we go... Full again... I think that's enough for today."
He let out a relieved sigh and he had gathered far more than he had expected.
Saltpeter, Quartz, Dates, Thermal Cores, The Composite Alloy Knife Blueprint, The Composite Alloy Sword Blueprint and countless other materials that completely filled his inventory.
Rangga then filled the simple earthenware bottle he had crafted with water from the oasis.
"The trip back is pretty long... Better than getting thirsty again."
After making sure everything was ready, he began walking briskly away from the oasis.
By now, he had completely figured out how to deal with Vespersauruses.
Whenever he spotted a cloud of dust, he either adjusted his route slightly or prepared his spear.
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Fortunately, the journey back to the beach went much more smoothly.
He spotted several Vespersauruses in the distance, but none managed to slow him down.
Before long, the shoreline finally came into view. Rangga immediately quickened his pace.
"Almost there."
As soon as he reached the boat, he climbed aboard.
"Come on... Nobody better kick my boat."
It was as if he was worried another Vespersaurus might suddenly leap out of the sand.
The moment he selected Return, the boat began sailing away from the shore. Only then did Rangga let out a sigh of relief.
"Huff... Finally."
He sat down on the boat and opened the regional chat. This time, the atmosphere was much calmer.
There were no heated arguments. Only a few Pioneers casually chatting about what they had discovered that day.
Rangga typed.
Rangga (Garuda Nation): Hello, everyone.
Replies immediately poured in.
Fajar: Rangga!
Andre: Hey, bro!
Siska: Back already?
A moment later, Deri joined the conversation.
Deri (Garuda Nation): Good afternoon, Rangga.
Deri: How are the conditions on Desert Island?
Rangga thought for a moment before replying.
Rangga: My advice...
Rangga: Don't go to the desert unless you're prepared.
The chat immediately became lively.
Andre: Huh?
Siska: Why?
As always, Broto interrupted.
Broto: More like you're scared.
Rangga only glanced at the message before ignoring it.
He continued typing.
Rangga: There's a mechanical dinosaur there with zero manners.
Rangga: It shows up and kicks you immediately.
The chat fell silent for a few seconds before erupting in laughter.
Andre: LOL!
Fajar: What do you mean "no manners," bro?
Siska: It really does that?
Deri, however, asked seriously.
Deri: You mean it attacks immediately without being provoked?
Rangga: Yeah.
Rangga: The moment it sees someone, it sprints over and flying-kicks you.
Rangga: The entire place is covered in sand.
Rangga: Makes dodging a lot harder.
Rangga: If you're not ready, it's dangerous.
Several Pioneers fell silent after reading his explanation.
Broto typed again.
Broto: Yeah, right.
Broto: You're just making things up.
Before Rangga could respond, Deri spoke first.
Deri: Broto.
Deri: Stop making the situation worse.
Deri: Other Pioneers will eventually verify Rangga's information themselves.
Deri: At the very least, don't make negative comments if you don't have better information to contribute.
A moment later, Fajar chimed in.
Fajar: Exactly.
Fajar: Rangga shares way more useful information than you do.
Fajar: So maybe stay quiet if you've got nothing to offer.
The chat became lively again. This time, everyone was responding to Broto, who began angrily firing back.
Rangga read a few of the messages and chuckled.
"Heh... Got him."
He didn't join the argument. Instead, he sent one final message.
Rangga: I'm gonna get some rest.
Rangga: Pretty worn out today.
Rangga: Still sailing back too.
Replies quickly followed.
Deri: Thank you for the information.
Fajar: Thanks, bro.
Andre: Safe travels.
Siska: Hope you make it back safely.
Rangga smiled faintly before closing the chat window.
He leaned against the side of the boat, enjoying the cool sea breeze, a welcome relief after the scorching desert heat he had just escaped.
By sunset, Rangga's boat finally docked at his home island. He stepped ashore and, as usual, a blue screen appeared.
《Unload the boat's entire inventory?》
"Yeah."
The moment he confirmed, every material transformed into particles of light and shot toward the warehouse.
The warehouse beside his house glowed softly before the light gradually faded.
Rangga smiled in satisfaction.
"Nice... I just come home, and everything gets stored automatically."
But instead of entering the warehouse immediately, he looked down at himself. His body was still covered in desert dust.
Rangga walked to the shoreline, removed his leather armor, and washed his face, hands, and body with seawater.
The sand clinging to him since noon was slowly carried away by the waves.
"Haa... Feels good."
After cleaning himself off, he put his armor back on and walked toward the warehouse.
He opened the wooden door. The storage racks were even fuller than before.
Dates, Quartz Saltpeter, Thermal Cores Alloy Plates and countless other materials were neatly organized.
Rangga scratched his head.
"Hmm... What should I send today?"
He picked up several dates.
"Dates... They probably have plenty of these over there."
He returned them to the shelf before picking up a chunk of quartz.
"What about this..."
His gaze shifted toward the pile of Saltpeter.
"...Or the Saltpeter?"
He sighed.
"I seriously have no idea... Which one's actually more valuable?"
Rangga stood there silently for quite a while.
On Earth, Rangga's livestream once again exploded with comments.
The moment viewers saw him hesitating, the comment section began scrolling at lightning speed.
"Saltpeter, Rangga!"
"Send the Saltpeter!"
"Not the Quartz!"
"Saltpeter is way more important!"
Some viewers even posted lengthy explanations.
"Saltpeter is the primary ingredient for making gunpowder."
"Quartz is important for glass and electronics, but Saltpeter is much rarer."
"Based on today's economy, Saltpeter has a much higher value."
The comments turned into a debate among geologists, chemists, and economists.
Each explained the advantages of the two materials.
At the Presidential Palace, General Suryo watched the broadcast.
Seeing Rangga's indecision, he muttered quietly,
"Saltpeter... That's actually what we need more."
President Prabu, standing beside him, simply continued watching the screen.
Back on the island, Rangga alternated his gaze between the two materials.
"Hmm... Oh well."
He picked up the Quartz.
"I'll go with the Quartz. I have no clue what Saltpeter's even for. But glass... I feel like it'd be useful for a lot of things."
Without another thought, he walked to the resource transfer point.
A blue screen appeared.
Quartz 5/5 kg
Rangga immediately pressed Send. Five kilograms of Quartz transformed into light and vanished toward Earth.
The moment viewers saw his choice, the comment section exploded.
"Noooo!"
"Rangga, not that one!"
"LMAO!"
"He picked the Quartz!"
"Everyone was telling him to send the Saltpeter!"
General Suryo simply rubbed his temples with a small smile, shaking his head.
President Prabu smiled as well.
"Don't think too much about it... Rangga is just an ordinary civilian."
"If I remember correctly... He worked as a construction laborer. So it's perfectly understandable that he doesn't know the importance of chemical materials like Saltpeter."
General Suryo nodded.
"You're right, Mr. President. Besides... Quartz is still an extremely valuable material."
The two men turned their attention back to the screen.
To them, Rangga's choice might not have been the most optimal one.
But that was exactly what convinced everyone even more.
Every decision Rangga made came purely from his own knowledge, judgment, and reasoning. Not because anyone on Earth had been guiding him.