62. Connected
After nearly an hour of trekking through the tropical jungle, battle after battle continued to unfold.
Every so often, a Herrerasaurus would leap down from the treetops. But by now, their teamwork had become second nature.
Mayor Deri served as the shield on the front line, while Rangga waited patiently for the perfect moment to release his arrows.
Eventually, they arrived at a fairly wide river. Crystal-clear water flowed through the heart of the jungle.
Mayor Deri let out a long breath.
"Let's take a short break."
Rangga nodded.
The Major immediately knelt by the riverbank, splashed water onto his face, then scooped up a handful to drink.
At that moment, Rangga's attention shifted to the opposite side of the river.
Several trees stood in neat rows along the riverbank.
A golden screen immediately appeared before him.
Rubber Tree
[TYPE: PLANT]
Description: A tropical tree that produces abundant natural latex sap. Its latex can be processed into Natural Rubber, an elastic material used in various advanced tools, mechanisms, and construction.
Weakness: Can be felled using a Metal Axe.
Rangga's eyes lit up.
"Woooh... Nice."
Mayor Deri, who had been drinking, immediately looked over.
"What is it, Mas?"
But Rangga was already running toward the trees.
"Rubber!"
He immediately pulled out his metal axe.
THACK!
THACK!
THACK!
His axe repeatedly struck the trunk and Mayor Deri walked over curiously to watch. A few moments later—
KRAAK!
The tree toppled over. Two logs appeared, along with five clumps of pale yellowish-white latex.
+2 Wood
+5 Natural Rubber
Rangga broke into a wide grin.
"Woooh... Awesome."
Mayor Deri picked up one of the latex clumps and examined it.
"What is this, Mas?"
Rangga took it back.
"It's rubber... Pretty useful."
He pointed along the riverbank.
"There's plenty more over there."
Mayor Deri followed his finger. Sure enough, many identical trees lined the river.
"So... We're collecting them?"
Rangga nodded enthusiastically.
"Go for it... We might need it later."
Mayor Deri smiled.
"Very well."
Before long, the two split up along the riverbank. The sound of axes once again echoed through the tropical forest.
THACK!
THACK!
THACK!
One rubber tree after another fell, while their supply of Natural Rubber steadily increased.
While cutting down another rubber tree, Rangga suddenly noticed an old tree whose trunk was covered with thick, amber-colored sap.
The golden screen appeared once again.
Tree Resin
[TYPE: ORGANIC MATERIAL]
Description: Thick resin produced by ancient trees in tropical forests. Highly adhesive and water-resistant. It can be refined into Refined Resin, an industrial adhesive and protective coating used for advanced buildings and equipment.
Weakness: Can be harvested using a Metal Knife.
Rangga immediately grinned.
"Now we're talking..."
He walked over to the tree and drew the metal knife from his belt.
Screeetch...
The blade slowly scored the bark.
Thick resin began oozing out and was automatically stored in his inventory.
Not far away, Mayor Deri looked over while chopping down another rubber tree.
Seeing Rangga carefully scraping sap from a tree, he walked over.
"What did you find this time, Mas?"
Rangga smiled broadly.
"Resin... Hehehe..."
Mayor Deri studied the tree before looking back at Rangga.
"How do you always know which trees have useful materials?"
Rangga's smile froze.
"...I'm screwed."
His heart immediately started pounding.
Mayor Deri continued looking at the tree before glancing around the forest.
"They all look almost the same... So how can you tell?"
Rangga panicked. His brain desperately searched for an excuse. Without thinking, he blurted out,
"YouTube."
Mayor Deri blinked.
"YouTube?"
"Yeah... I used to watch stuff like this all the time... After work, I'd watch videos of people exploring forests."
Mayor Deri stared at him for several seconds.
Meanwhile, Rangga had already accepted his fate internally.
"Please don't ask any more questions... Please don't ask..."
After a while, Mayor Deri slowly nodded.
"That... actually makes sense."
Rangga sighed with relief inwardly. Before he could fully relax, however, Mayor Deri looked around the forest again.
"In that case... Which other trees produce resin, Mas?"
Without thinking, Rangga pointed toward several old trees with similar appearances.
"Those ones! The ones with trunks like that... Check those."
Mayor Deri immediately nodded.
"Understood."
Without the slightest suspicion, he walked toward the indicated trees.
Meanwhile, Rangga stood frozen for several seconds. He pressed a hand against his chest.
"That was close..."
he muttered quietly before continuing to harvest resin from the tree in front of him.
Time continued to pass. Rangga and Mayor Deri spread out along the riverbank.
Sometimes they chopped down rubber trees. Sometimes they harvested resin from ancient trees.
Whenever the screech of a Herrerasaurus echoed from the canopy above, they immediately returned to formation.
Mayor Deri stood at the front as the shield.
Rangga eliminated the predator from behind with well-placed arrows.
Before they realized it, their inventories were nearly full.
Hardwood, Natural Rubber, Tree Resin and various materials dropped by the Herrerasaurus kept piling up.
Eventually, Mayor Deri stopped walking.
"Mas... My inventory is full."
Rangga opened his ship's inventory. His remaining slots had also been filled.
"Yeah, Major... Mine's full too."
He closed the inventory and smiled.
"In that case... Let's head back."
Mayor Deri nodded.
"Agreed."
The two retraced their route toward the beach.
The journey out of the jungle took quite some time. They crossed the river. Passed the small hill. Eventually, the large rock formation that had served as their meeting point came back into view.
Not far beyond it, both ships were still quietly anchored on the shore.
Rangga stopped and looked toward Mayor Deri.
"Oh, right, Major... How about we exchange our coordinates?"
Mayor Deri nodded without hesitation.
"Sure... I don't mind."
Rangga immediately raised his left arm and Mayor Deri did the same.
The two touched their forearms together, right where the Nautical Scanners encircled their wrists.
Beep...
Beep...
Both futuristic wrist devices lit up simultaneously. A thin blue beam connected them for several seconds.
Moments later, they lowered their arms.
Rangga immediately looked at the small display on his Nautical Scanner.
A notification had appeared.
New Pioneer Coordinates Successfully Added
Below it was the location of Mayor Deri's island.
Mayor Deri looked at the same notification on his own device.
He nodded.
"It worked."
Rangga smiled broadly.
"Nice... That means we can visit each other's islands from now on."
Mayor Deri smiled as well.
"Indeed."
Rangga stepped backward toward his ship.
"Well then... See you again, Major."
Mayor Deri raised a hand in farewell.
"Until next time, Rangga."
A few moments later, they boarded their respective ships. The two vessels slowly departed from the same shore.
Each sailed toward its owner's private island. But this time, neither of them was truly alone anymore.
From that day onward, Rangga's island and Mayor Deri's island were officially connected through the coordinates stored within their Nautical Scanners.