Global Pioener: Earth Second Chance

The farther they moved away from the beach, the more the terrain beneath their feet began to turn into shallow swamp. Murky water reached their ankles and covered almost the entire ground, while the roots of enormous trees protruded from the mud, forcing them to watch their steps carefully.

Mayor Deri remained at the front with his sword and shield ready, Rangga walked a few steps behind him, while Andre covered the rear with his loaded crossbow.

Mayor Deri glanced around their surroundings.

“What are we actually looking for here, Mas?”

Rangga immediately turned around with a confused expression.

“I don’t know. It’s our first time here. How would I know, Mayor?”

Andre, hearing them from behind, immediately laughed.

“Yeah, exactly, Mayor. How would Bang Rangga already know what we’re supposed to be doing?”

Mayor Deri simply smiled and returned his attention to the path ahead. But after only a few more steps—

“Stop.”

Rangga suddenly came to a halt.

Mayor Deri immediately stopped as well. His shield instinctively rose while his eyes swept across the swamp ahead.

“What is it?”

“Wait.”

Rangga’s gaze focused on something resembling a floating log about five meters away from them.

A golden screen appeared before him.

MECHANICAL SIMOSUCHUS

Rangga immediately recognized the creature.

“There’s a crocodile... Don’t scare it yet. It’ll run away.”

Andre frowned.

“Huh? A crocodile runs away?”

Rangga was already pulling an arrow from his quiver.

“Get ready, Ndre... If it runs, shoot it.”

Andre still looked confused, but he quickly raised his crossbow.

“Got it.”

Rangga slowly drew the bowstring. The tip of the arrow was aimed directly at the log-like object floating on the swamp.

He released the string.

Crack!

The arrow struck the Simosuchus.

The mechanical creature immediately rose from the water. Its flat body, which had previously been almost indistinguishable from the swamp surface, lifted up, revealing a shape resembling a short crocodile covered in a mixture of hide and metal.

As soon as it was attacked, the Simosuchus immediately turned around and attempted to flee.

“Shoot, Ndre!”

Andre, already aiming, pulled the trigger.

Thak!

The crossbow bolt shot forward with considerably more force than Rangga’s arrow.

The projectile struck the Simosuchus in the side and penetrated deep into its body, nearly half of the bolt disappearing inside it. The creature staggered for a few steps before its entire body shattered into light.

Several pieces of loot immediately fell into the swamp water.

Andre slowly lowered his crossbow.

“Wait... It actually ran away?”

Mayor Deri also looked surprised.

“I thought a creature like that would attack us.”

Rangga looked back at the two of them in confusion.

“What? You guys have never encountered these things on a two-star Swamp Island?”

Both of them shook their heads almost simultaneously, and Mayor Deri answered first.

“I have been to a two-star Swamp Island before... But I never went very deep.”

Rangga raised an eyebrow.

“Why?”

“I was worried about encountering crocodiles.”

Rangga fell silent, then shifted his gaze toward Andre. Andre immediately raised a hand.

“I’m just not brave enough to go into swamps.”

Rangga stared at them for several seconds before shaking his head repeatedly.

“Come on... It just looks scary. The thing is actually a coward.”

Rangga pointed toward the loot floating in the water.

“Even though its loot is useful... I need it for upgrading my storage.”

Mayor Deri and Andre immediately looked toward the loot. They then exchanged glances.

Rangga grinned widely at their reactions.

“There. Now we know why we came here.”

He pointed at the Simosuchus loot again.

“Go ahead and grab it... We might as well find a bunch of them.”

After collecting the Simosuchus loot and dividing it according to their respective needs, they continued deeper into the swamp.

Their formation remained the same, with Mayor Deri in front, Rangga in the middle, and Andre covering the rear.

The murky swamp water made every step feel heavy, while tree roots hidden beneath the surface forced them to move carefully.

They had not gone much farther when another golden screen appeared in Rangga’s vision.

Blood Moss

[TYPE: MEDICINAL PLANT]

Description: A red moss that grows in damp swamp environments. Contains natural compounds that accelerate blood clotting, making it a primary ingredient in the production of bleeding-control medicine.

Weakness: Can be harvested using a Metal Knife.

Rangga’s gaze immediately shifted toward the base of one of the enormous trees. Between the roots submerged in the water, a thick cluster of dark red moss was growing.

“Alright, this one’s mine.”

Without waiting for an answer, Rangga immediately approached the tree.

Andre watched him in confusion.

“What’s that, Bang?”

Rangga crouched down and pulled out his metal knife. But before he could answer, Mayor Deri spoke first.

“Don’t be surprised.”

Andre turned toward him, and Mayor Deri pointed at Rangga with his sword.

“Mas Rangga sometimes knows which things are valuable.”

Rangga’s hand stopped momentarily. He slowly turned around.

“‘Sometimes,’ Mayor?”

Andre immediately laughed.

“Wow, even the Mayor has figured it out.”

“What are you guys talking about?”

Rangga returned to scraping the red moss with his knife.

“It just looks interesting.”

He placed the harvested Blood Moss into his inventory.

“Basically, if you find weird stuff like this, take it. It’ll probably be useful eventually.”

Andre continued staring at the moss.

“You know what it’s for, Bang?”

“No.” Rangga answered immediately. “That’s why I’m taking it.”

Andre fell silent for a moment.

“Wait, what?”

Rangga stood up and put away his knife.

“That’s exactly the point. Ordinary materials are easy to find. If you leave something weird behind, then tomorrow your building recipe suddenly asks for it, you’re gonna regret it.”

Mayor Deri nodded slowly.

“That makes sense.”

“See?” Rangga immediately pointed at Mayor Deri. “Even the Mayor gets it.”

Andre shook his head with a chuckle.

“Yeah, yeah. Just take everything.”

They continued their journey. This time, Rangga’s attention was focused not only on the path ahead, but also on the base of every tree they passed. They found several more clusters of Blood Moss and harvested them before continuing deeper into the swamp.

Not long afterward, Rangga suddenly stopped again.

“Mayor.”

Mayor Deri immediately became alert.

“Where?”

Rangga pointed toward the surface of the swamp to their right.

“There.”

Andre followed his gaze but only saw several objects resembling floating logs.

“Which one?”

“The one on the far left.” Rangga drew an arrow. “Get ready.”

As soon as the first arrow struck, one of the “logs” immediately came alive and tried to escape.

Mayor Deri actually lowered his shield in surprise.

“It really doesn’t fight back.”

“That’s why,” Rangga replied with a laugh. “Makes them easy to hunt.”

Thak!

Andre’s bolt struck the fleeing Simosuchus.

The hunt continued.

Every time Rangga spotted a Simosuchus hiding among the murky water, tree roots, or swamp vegetation, he immediately pointed out its location to his two companions. After several hunts, they even began developing their own rhythm.

Rangga searched for targets and Mayor Deri kept watch for any other threats, while Andre acted as the executioner with his crossbow.

“By the tree.”

Thak!

“Near the big root.”

Thak!

“Ndre, behind you.”

Andre immediately jumped.

“WOI! You could've told me sooner!”

The startled Simosuchus immediately turned and fled, and Rangga burst out laughing.

“Go after it! Your storage loot is running away!”

“Damn it!”

Andre hurriedly cocked his crossbow again, while Mayor Deri could only shake his head at the two of them.