Global Pioener: Earth Second Chance

The moment Rangga's message went through, the regional chat immediately came alive.

Fajar: Huh? Why?

Andre: You okay, bro?

Rio: What happened over there?

Bima: Why'd you come back so fast?

More messages continued appearing.

Rangga let out a long sigh before replying.

Rangga: There's a dinosaur the size of a house over there.

Rangga: A house-sized porcupine.

The chat suddenly went silent.

A few seconds later...

Andre: Huh?

Fajar: Porcupine?

Rio: What do you mean?

Bima: How did a dinosaur turn into a porcupine?

Rangga scratched his head.

It really was kind of hard to explain.

Rangga: Basically, it's a giant robot.

Rangga: Its back is covered in spikes.

Rangga: Then the spikes come off...

Rangga: And turn into missiles.

The chat only became more confused.

Andre: Huh?

Rio: The spikes become missiles?

Fajar: How the hell does that work?

Finally, Deri joined in.

Deri: What exactly do you mean, Mas Rangga?

Rangga took a breath and tried to explain it more clearly.

Rangga: Okay, so there's this robot dinosaur.

Rangga: It kinda looks like a porcupine.

Rangga: The spikes on its back can detach one by one.

Rangga: Then it shoots them at me.

Rangga: They explode when they hit the ground.

The chat went silent again.

This time, everyone was starting to understand. Deri no longer cared about what the creature looked like.

He immediately grasped the important part.

Deri: That's bad...

Deri: So three-star islands really are extremely dangerous.

Rangga: Yep.

Rangga: That's why I wanted to ask.

Rangga: Who here already has a Level 3 ship?

Several replies immediately appeared.

Andre: Not yet.

Fajar: Almost.

Rio: I'm only missing a few materials.

Then Deri replied.

Deri: If everything goes according to plan...

Deri: I should be able to upgrade my ship today.

Rangga immediately smiled.

Rangga: Okay, Major.

Rangga: Then if possible, let's meet up tomorrow.

Rangga: I think on three-star islands...

Rangga: We can't keep doing this alone anymore.

The chat immediately became lively again.

Andre: Huh?

Fajar: It's really that bad?

Rio: So they're that difficult?

Rangga replied without hesitation.

Rangga: Yeah.

Rangga: The Rock Island alone was already like that.

Rangga: I don't even wanna imagine what the other three-star islands are like.

Rangga: Upgrade as soon as you can.

Rangga: The faster, the better.

Rangga: Because I think from now on, we're gonna have to start exploring together.

Deri acknowledged the message.

Deri: Understood.

Deri: I'll prioritize upgrading my ship.

Rangga added another message.

Rangga: Yeah.

Rangga: Everyone else should prioritize your ships too if you can.

Rangga: The island upgrades can wait.

Several Pioneers immediately agreed.

Fajar: Got it.

Andre: Okay.

Rio: Ship first, then.

The chat became lively once again but this time, it wasn't because of curiosity.

It was because every Pioneer from Garuda had begun to realize one thing.

The world of the Pioneers had changed and from now on, surviving alone might no longer be the best option.

Across the various islands, Rangga's words continued echoing through the minds of Garuda's Pioneers.

Three-star islands can't be explored alone.

Those words made them realize something. If they wanted to keep progressing. They needed to catch up.

Fajar swung his axe faster than usual. One tree after another fell, and he immediately stored the hardwood inside his ship's inventory.

"Almost there... Just a little more."

Andre, who normally chose to return home whenever his inventory started getting full, decided to stay longer this time.

He ventured back into the Rock Island.

Breaking apart copper deposits, Collecting sulfur, Bringing back as many materials as possible for his next upgrade.

On other islands, several Pioneers who had previously only gathered whatever resources they needed began venturing deeper into unexplored territory.

The risks were greater but so were the rewards.

The sound of axes, The sound of pickaxes, The clash of weapons against mechanical creatures.

One after another, those sounds echoed across different islands. Many began pushing themselves harder.

They kept fighting even when their bodies were exhausted. They continued mining even when their tools were on the verge of breaking. They kept chopping trees until the sun began to set.

All for one goal.

To upgrade their ships to Level 3 as quickly as possible. Because they knew that if they were too slow...

They would fall even further behind Rangga.

And if Rangga was right that three-star islands required cooperation, then the sooner they could meet each other, the greater the chances that every Pioneer from Garuda would survive until the day they could finally return home.

As soon as his ship docked at the pier, Rangga stepped onto the island while still thinking about the Kentrosaurus.

He was still annoyed.

"Fuck... I wasn't even done exploring and that bastard chased me out."

He shook his head.

But when he opened his ship's inventory, his mood immediately improved.

195 / 200

Almost completely full.

80 Coal

70 Iron Ore

25 Chromium Ore

The remaining slots were filled with stone and various other materials he had picked up while mining.

Rangga smiled slightly.

"Whatever... Still a pretty good haul."

One by one, the materials turned into light and transferred into his warehouse.

Once everything was stored, Rangga walked toward the center of his island.

Instead of opening the crafting table, however, he opened the regional chat.

Rangga: Major Deri.

Rangga: You wearing any armor?

A few seconds later, Deri replied.

Deri: What armor?

Deri: I'm still wearing the clothes I had when I first arrived here.

Rangga frowned.

"Huh?"

He started typing again.

Rangga: Then what do you normally use to kill monsters?

Deri: An axe.

Deri: I'm not particularly comfortable using a bow.

Rangga typed again.

Rangga: Huh?

Rangga: So you just keep making axes?

Deri: Yes.

Deri: I use my Stone Axe to gather resources.

Deri: And my Copper Axe for combat.

Seeing the conversation, the other Pioneers started joining in.

Fajar: I use a pickaxe.

Fajar: Doesn't feel that great against monsters, though.

Andre: I'm still using a Stone Spear.

Rio: Same. Just whatever I have.

Rangga read their messages one by one while scratching his head.

He muttered to himself.

"Wait... These guys survived this long with just that? That's actually impressive."

He started typing again.

Rangga: What about a sword?

The chat suddenly went silent.

Deri: A sword?

Rangga: Yeah.

Rangga: You want a two-handed sword or a one-handed sword?

Now it wasn't just Deri and the entire chat was confused.

Andre: Huh?

Fajar: Those exist?

Rio: What do you mean?

Deri thought for a moment before replying.

Deri: In my opinion...

Deri: A sword would probably suit me.

Deri: A one-handed sword might be easier to use.

Rangga immediately grinned.

Rangga: Okay.

Rangga: When we meet later...

Rangga: I'll give you a weapon and some armor as a gift.

Rangga: How's that?

Deri still didn't seem to fully understand what Rangga meant.

Deri: Very well.

Deri: Thank you, Mas Rangga.

But before the conversation could continue, the chat exploded.

Andre: Hey, I want one too!

Fajar: Bro, don't play favorites!

Rio: Me too!

Bima: I'm joining the queue!

Rangga immediately burst out laughing.

Rangga: Okay... okay...

Rangga: Relax.

Rangga: I'll show you the options first.

Then he began typing them out one by one.

Rangga: Two-handed sword.

Rangga: One-handed sword.

Rangga: Longbow.

Rangga: Crossbow.

Rangga: Long spear.

Rangga: Javelin.

Rangga: One-handed hammer.

Rangga: Two-handed hammer.

Within seconds, the chat became chaotic again.

Andre: Crossbow and Long Spear for me!

Fajar: One-handed Hammer and Crossbow!

Rio: One-handed Sword!

Bima: Longbow for me!

Yusuf: Javelin!

Everyone immediately started choosing whatever they wanted.

Rangga couldn't help chuckling as he read their replies.

Rangga: Okay.

Rangga: Hurry up and upgrade your ships first.

Rangga: Once we can actually meet, I'll make them for you.

Rangga: But bring your own materials, alright?

The chat immediately filled with laughing emojis.

Then Rangga began explaining the materials required for each weapon, along with the materials needed to craft the Swamp Armor.

One by one, the Pioneers began taking note of everything they would need.