36. Desert Island ⭐⭐
The next morning, Rangga was up and preparing himself as soon as the sun rose. He had actually decided on today's destination the night before.
Two-Star Swamp Island.
He wanted to gather clay while also finding out whether the island had any hardwood.
After making sure all of his equipment was packed, Rangga headed toward the dock.
He boarded his Level 2 Boat, and a blue screen immediately appeared before him.
Choose Exploration Destination
Swamp Island ⭐ Time Remaining: 20 hours
Rock Island ⭐⭐ Time Remaining: 18 hours
Desert Island ⭐⭐ Time Remaining: 18 hours
Rangga stared at the three options for several seconds before his expression went blank.
"..."
He scratched his head in annoyance.
"Huh? Where is it?"
He checked again, but nothing had changed. Letting out a long sigh, he muttered,
"Damn it... Damn this universe."
He waited for a while, hoping the options would refresh, but the screen remained exactly the same.
"It still hasn't changed..."
His eyes returned to the first option.
One-Star Swamp Island.
"If I go here... I'll probably just get clay."
"I wanted to check the two-star swamp. Maybe it has hardwood too."
He shifted his gaze to the second option.
Two-Star Rock Island.
"Hmm... Why would I go back there?"
"I've already got plenty of stone."
"My ore's still piling up."
"I'm tired of playing matador over there."
He chuckled, remembering how many times he'd had to roll out of the way to avoid a Protoceratops charge.
His eyes finally settled on the last option.
Two-Star Desert Island.
"A desert... Why is there even a desert island?"
He pictured an endless sea of sand.
"What's even out there?"
Rangga fell silent for a moment before shrugging.
"Oh well... Maybe there's something important."
"Might as well check it out... Let's see what it's like."
Without thinking any further, he selected the destination.
His Level 2 Boat trembled gently as the mooring ropes released.
Slowly, the boat left the dock, cutting across the sea toward a destination he had never seen before.
Two-Star Desert Island.
---
As the boat sailed across the ocean, Rangga opened the regional chat once more.
Several familiar names were already active.
He immediately typed.
Rangga (Garuda Nation): Good morning, everyone.
Replies poured in almost instantly.
Andre: Morning, Bro!
Fajar: Morning, Rangga!
Siska: Good luck today!
Deri: Good morning.
Then Andre asked,
Andre: Bro, where are you heading today?
Smiling, Rangga replied.
Rangga: I was planning to go to the two-star Swamp Island.
Rangga: But it didn't show up.
A few seconds later, the chat became lively again.
Fajar: Huh? Same here.
Siska: Me too.
Andre: Yesterday I wanted to go back to the two-star Tropical Island for the blueprint, but it wasn't there either.
Dita: So the destinations really do rotate?
The discussion quickly expanded.
Andre: Maybe the islands rotate on a schedule.
Siska: Or maybe they have a time limit.
Raka: They might actually sink.
Fajar: Yeah, they all have countdown timers.
Rangga read everyone's theories with interest.
He suddenly realized he'd never actually seen what happened when an island's timer expired.
His fingers began moving.
Rangga: Has anyone actually seen an island sink?
A moment later, Deri answered.
Deri: Fajar has.
Everyone's attention immediately shifted toward Fajar.
A few seconds later, he began typing.
Fajar: Yeah.
Fajar: I was still on the island.
Fajar: About an hour before the timer ran out, the sky suddenly turned dark.
Fajar: Then a massive storm appeared.
Fajar: I panicked and ran back to my boat.
Fajar: So I never actually saw whether the island sank or not.
Rangga imagined the scene as he read.
"Whoa... That's actually pretty cool."
If the island really disappeared after the timer expired...
Then delaying exploration for too long definitely wasn't an option.
A little later, Deri asked another question.
Deri: Rangga, where are you going today then?
Rangga answered briefly.
Rangga: Two-Star Desert Island.
Rangga: I want to see what's there.
The chat became active again.
Andre: Good luck, Bro!
Siska: Be careful!
Fajar: Let us know if you find anything.
Raka: Don't forget to bring back information.
Even several Pioneers who rarely spoke chimed in with short messages.
"Hope you make it back safely."
"Take care out there."
Amid all the encouragement, one predictable comment appeared once again.
Broto: Bet you'll come back crying.
Rangga glanced at the message before smiling faintly.
"This guy's consistent."
This time, however, he didn't bother replying.
He simply closed the chat window and looked ahead.
---
After nearly an hour of sailing, Two-Star Desert Island finally came into view.
The closer he got, the deeper his frown became.
"Huh?"
As far as the eye could see, there was nothing but endless stretches of golden sand.
Rolling sand dunes extended endlessly into the distance.
There were no cliffs. No massive boulders. No rivers.
Under the blazing sun, waves of heat distorted the air above the sand, causing the distant landscape to shimmer.
"Damn... This place is empty."
Then, squinting toward the farthest edge of the island, he noticed something unusual.
In the middle of the endless sea of sand stood a dense cluster of lush green trees.
It looked like a tiny island surrounded by an ocean of sand.
"Huh... What's that?"
He stared for a while longer. Unfortunately, it was too far away.
All he could make out was a patch of deep green in the middle of the desert.
Several minutes later, the boat finally reached the sandy shore.
Rangga stepped off, carrying all of his equipment.
The instant both feet touched the sand, the heat became even more intense than it had been aboard the boat.
"Hmm..."
He looked to his left, then to his right. The beach was completely deserted.
There were no animal tracks. No plants. Not even a single large rock that could provide shelter.
There was only sand, sand and more sand.
Rangga looked once more toward the distant grove before letting out a sigh.
"Looks like... that's the only place worth going."
He raised his hand and pointed toward the greenery.
"Because there's literally nothing here except sand."
With no other choice, Rangga began crossing the endless desert toward the only promising location on the island.
---
Rangga steadily made his way toward the distant grove.
After only a few dozen steps, he was already complaining.
"Damn... Walking on sand is exhausting."
Every step caused his feet to sink slightly, forcing him to spend far more energy than walking on solid ground.
On top of that, the sun was directly overhead.
"It's freaking hot out here."
He wiped the sweat from his forehead. There wasn't a single cool breeze.
Only scorching air that left his throat feeling increasingly dry.
As far as he could see, there was still nothing. Just an endless sea of sand.
The distant air shimmered beneath the intense heat, making the entire landscape seem to ripple.
Rangga kept walking until something suddenly caught his eye off to the front left.
"...Huh?"
He immediately stopped. A small cloud of dust was drifting in the distance.
Squinting, he tried to focus.
"What's that?"
At first, it drifted from left to center, and Rangga assumed it was simply a gust of wind.
A few seconds later, however, its movement changed. It was no longer drifting sideways.
It seemed to stop for a moment... Then slowly turned toward him.
"...Me?"
Rangga frowned.
"That's weird."
He tried to get a better look but behind the swirling dust, he couldn't make out what was causing it.
All he could see was sand constantly billowing into the air as the dust cloud slowly moved closer... and closer... toward him.