34. Hunting Protoceratops
Rangga continued exploring the two-star Stone Island. By now, he had figured one thing out.
As long as he struck first, The Mechanical Protoceratops was no longer an impossible opponent.
The first Protoceratops. He found it patrolling around a Copper Vein.
Instead of approaching immediately, he slowly circled the area until he found an angle that gave him a clear view of its front legs.
He drew his bow.
Fwoosh!
Crack!
The arrow struck the front leg joint perfectly. The Protoceratops immediately collapsed.
Rangga sprinted forward, slinging his bow over his back while drawing his spear.
Before the creature could get back up, the spear pierced the joint at the back of its neck.
Kraakk!
The Protoceratops dissolved into light and Rangga collected all the loot before calmly mining the now unguarded Copper Vein.
---
The second Protoceratops. The strategy remained the same.
Sneak. Find the right angle. Draw the bow.
But just as the arrow flew... The Protoceratops stepped forward.
Clang!
The arrow struck its armored head.
"Ah, damn it!"
The creature immediately charged. Once again, Rangga became the "matador." He waited until it was almost on top of him before rolling aside.
Thud!
His spear thrust into the front leg joint. After two charges... And two desperate rolls... The Protoceratops finally collapsed.
Rangga finished it by driving his spear into the back of its neck.
"Phew... It's exhausting whenever the first shot misses."
---
The third Protoceratops.This time Rangga was much more patient.
He waited nearly a full minute until the creature turned its back toward him. The instant the opportunity came—
Fwoosh!
The arrow struck the front leg perfectly and The creature immediately lost its balance. Rangga simply ran over and finished it with his spear.
"Now that's more like it."
---
The fourth Protoceratops. Rangga crept into position again. He released the arrow but it missed once more.
Clang!
The creature's armored head deflected it.
"...Well."
The Mechanical Protoceratops let out an angry roar.
GROOOHHH!!
It charged directly toward Rangga. This time, however, Rangga didn't fight back immediately. Instead, he sprinted around the Copper Vein.
"Come on! Catch me!"
The Protoceratops chased him relentlessly. The moment it got close enough—Rangga rolled aside.
BOOOOM!!
Unable to stop in time, the creature crashed straight into the Copper Vein with full force.
The copper deposit immediately cracked apart before exploding into pieces.
Chunks of ore scattered across the ground.
Having just gotten back to his feet, Rangga burst into laughter.
"HAHAHA! You mined it for me!"
The still-dizzy Protoceratops tried charging again. But this time Rangga was ready.
He circled behind it and drove his spear into the exposed neck joint.
KRAAK!
The Protoceratops dissolved into light and Rangga collected all the dropped loot.
Then casually walked over to the pile of ore that had been created when the Protoceratops smashed the Copper Vein.
As he picked up the scattered ore one piece at a time, he couldn't stop chuckling.
"If every Copper Vein can get mined like this... I'll save myself a whole lot of work."
---
On Earth, Rangga's livestream had become one of the most-watched broadcasts in the world.
Its audience continued growing every second—not merely out of curiosity anymore.
People watched because every battle introduced something new.
From hunting mechanical dinosaurs... To developing new strategies... To the increasingly intense fights against the Mechanical Protoceratops.
The comment section never stopped scrolling.
"Let's go, Rangga!"
"Another hit!"
"His strategy keeps getting better!"
"He's figured out how to fight them now!"
"Keep it up!"
Citizens of Garuda Nation flooded the chat with encouragement.
Soon, however, overseas comments began appearing.
"He's just lucky."
"Wait until something stronger shows up."
"If that monster hadn't been careless, he'd already be dead."
Those comments were quickly answered by viewers from other countries.
"Maybe once or twice is luck."
"Winning over and over is called skill."
"He learns from every fight."
"That's exactly why he's so fun to watch."
Small arguments continued to flare up. But they were quickly buried beneath thousands of new comments.
One fact was impossible to deny. Rangga's livestream had become one of the most popular broadcasts on Earth.
---
Elsewhere, Putri was still sitting in front of the television. Unlike a few days ago, however, her face was much calmer. She still held her breath whenever Rangga entered a fight.
But after watching him repeatedly figure out how to defeat his enemies... Her fear had slowly transformed into confidence.
When Rangga once again brought down a Protoceratops using his own strategy, Putri smiled broadly.
"Big Brother... You're pretty amazing."
She laughed softly when she watched Rangga deliberately lure the Protoceratops into smashing the Copper Vein.
"The monster ended up mining it for him."
Still smiling, Putri shook her head before turning back toward the screen with sparkling eyes.
"Come on, Big Brother... Keep going... I know you can survive."
For the first time since the world of the Pioneers had begun... Putri was no longer watching her brother's journey out of fear alone.
She had finally begun to enjoy his adventure.
By late afternoon, Rangga finally ended his expedition. He walked back toward the beach. His steps felt far lighter than when he had first arrived.
Reaching the shoreline, he crouched down and washed his face and hands with seawater.
Stone dust, dirt, and sulfur residue that had clung to his leather armor all day slowly washed away with the waves.
"Haa... That's refreshing."
He splashed a little water onto his hair before standing and opening the ship's inventory.
His eyes immediately lit up.
Ship Inventory: 150/150
"Full."
He smiled with satisfaction. Unlike his expedition to the two-star Tropical Island, which had still left empty inventory slots... This time he had completely filled every available space.
Copper Ore. Iron Ore. Sulfur. Stabilizer Modules. Reinforced Alloy Plates. And the Composite Alloy Hammer Blueprint, which was now finally complete.
"Today was a great day."
After making sure nothing had been left behind, Rangga climbed aboard his ship.
He selected Return to Main Island. Slowly, the Level 2 ship departed from the two-star Stone Island.
---
As usual, Rangga opened the regional chat during the trip home. This time, the atmosphere was relaxed.
Several Pioneers were casually chatting.
Andre (Garuda Nation): Has Rangga shown up yet?
Fajar (Garuda Nation): He should be heading back by now.
Siska (Garuda Nation): Yeah, he usually checks chat around this time.
Then one familiar name appeared, making Rangga snort quietly.
Broto (Garuda Nation): He's probably dead.
Reading the message, Rangga smiled faintly.
"He keeps killing me off... He's really desperate to see me die."
He shook his head before typing.
Rangga (Garuda Nation): Hey everyone.
Rangga (Garuda Nation): I'm fine.
Rangga (Garuda Nation): The monsters there aren't that difficult.
The chat immediately exploded.
Deri (Garuda Nation): Glad to hear it.
Deri (Garuda Nation): Were you injured?
Fajar (Garuda Nation): Rangga, is that rhino-like robot monster really there?
Before Rangga could answer, Broto interrupted.
Broto (Garuda Nation): He probably hid the whole time.
Broto (Garuda Nation): No way he'd dare fight it.
Rangga chuckled before replying to Fajar.
Rangga (Garuda Nation): Yeah.
Rangga (Garuda Nation): It's easy.
Rangga (Garuda Nation): Hit the joints in its front legs first.
Rangga (Garuda Nation): Then just finish it off.
The chat suddenly went silent. A few seconds later—It exploded.
Andre (Garuda Nation): Huh?!
Siska (Garuda Nation): It's that easy?
Fajar (Garuda Nation): Seriously?
Raka (Garuda Nation): I get scared just looking at it from a distance.
Smiling at their reactions, Rangga typed again.
Rangga (Garuda Nation): Sooner or later...
Rangga (Garuda Nation): You'll have to fight it too.
Rangga (Garuda Nation): It drops materials needed to upgrade your ship.
The chat fell silent again. Then—
Andre (Garuda Nation): Seriously?
Siska (Garuda Nation): Oh no...
Raka (Garuda Nation): I'm gonna die...
A moment later, Deri asked another question.
Deri (Garuda Nation): Rangga.
Deri (Garuda Nation): Is the Composite Alloy Spear from the Oviraptor enough to defeat it?
Rangga (Garuda Nation): Yep.
Rangga (Garuda Nation): That's what I used.
That single message immediately relieved many of the Pioneers.
Andre (Garuda Nation): Thank goodness.
Fajar (Garuda Nation): Then there's still hope.
But Broto refused to stop.
Broto (Garuda Nation): Yeah, right.
Broto (Garuda Nation): More lies.
A faint smile crossed Rangga's lips as his fingers moved again.
Rangga (Garuda Nation): If you're scared...
Rangga (Garuda Nation): Don't assume everyone else is as cowardly as you are.
A second later, the chat burst into laughter.
Andre (Garuda Nation): HAHAHAHA!
Fajar (Garuda Nation): Nice one.
Siska (Garuda Nation): Come on, Broto...
Meanwhile—
Broto (Garuda Nation): YOU—
Broto (Garuda Nation): HOW DARE YOU!
Broto (Garuda Nation): WHEN I FIND YOU—
Rangga didn't even bother reading the rest. He sent one final message.
Rangga (Garuda Nation): Anyway...
Rangga (Garuda Nation): I'm going to get some rest.
Without waiting for a reply, he closed the chat window.
Behind the disappearing screen, Broto continued flooding the chat with furious messages. Rangga simply laughed quietly.
"Man... You're way too easy to bait."
"Keep raging... At this rate you're gonna give yourself a stroke... Hahaha..."