129. The Mystery of Four Stars

The small celebration eventually turned into a fairly lively feast.

Several simple tables had been filled with food and drinks. The Garuda Pioneers sat in groups around Rangga's house, enjoying the evening while talking about the island and ship upgrades they had just witnessed.

Fajar still occasionally glanced toward the ship at the dock.

“I still can't get over it. Your ship looks like a yacht now.”

Rangga laughed.

“Nice, right?”

“Nice for showing off.”

“That's the point.”

Andre immediately chimed in from the side.

“All right, Bang. Now for the important question.”

Rangga turned toward him.

“What?”

“Now that the island is Level 4 and the ship is Level 4, what new technology is there?”

Several people immediately joined in.

“Yeah, exactly.”

“There has to be something.”

“A new weapon?”

“Armor?”

“Or a new production device?”

Rangga, who was eating, paused for a moment.

“I haven't checked everything yet.”

“Check now.”

“Now?”

“Yeah.”

Rangga sighed, then stood up.

“Fine.”

He opened the system interface and began checking each of the facilities they already knew.

Production Bench, but there were no new recipes. Rangga shifted the display.

Apothecary, and there was still nothing new. He moved on again.

Furnace, but there were still no changes.

Rangga checked the other categories as well, including the various equipment and components available.

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Still the same.

There were no new weapons, no new armor, and no new technology that had been unlocked.

Rangga frowned.

“Huh...”

Andre immediately moved closer.

“What?”

Rangga checked several menus again to make sure.

“There's nothing.”

“Nothing what?”

“New technology.”

Several people immediately protested.

“No way.”

“Let us see.”

Rangga turned the interface so the others could see it.

Andre examined it seriously. Fajar looked as well. Siska even stood up from her seat to take a closer look.

After a while, Andre scratched his head.

“There's really nothing new.”

Fajar frowned.

“Then what's the point of leveling up?”

“Don't say it's pointless,” Rangga said. “My island and ship got bigger.”

“Yeah, but we were expecting new technology.”

“I was expecting it too.”

Andre looked at the display again.

“How come nothing new appeared?”

“That's why I'm confused.”

The other Pioneers began commenting as well.

“Usually there's something every time you level up.”

“At least a new weapon.”

“Or a new material.”

“But there's nothing.”

Rangga sat back down while still staring at the interface.

“I don't know either.”

Siska, who had been quiet until then, suddenly spoke.

“Maybe it's because of that strange island.”

Everyone turned toward her.

“The four-star island?” Andre asked.

Siska nodded.

“The one with twenty-eight days remaining.”

Rangga immediately remembered it.

“Oh, right.”

He reopened the ship's destination screen. The four-star island was still listed there.

Remaining Time: 28 days 11 hours 27 minutes

“It is strange,” Rangga said. “I've been thinking about that too.”

“It could be related,” Siska said.

Rangga slowly shook his head.

“I don't know. We have to check first.”

He pointed at the screen.

“We can't tell just from here.”

Andre still looked curious.

“What do you think is there?”

“Probably some new materials.”

Rangga picked up his food again.

“So far, One-, Two-, and Three-Star Islands have all contained resources we can bring home. Wood, stone, metals, all kinds of stuff.”

He shrugged.

“So maybe Four-Star just has rarer materials.”

Siska narrowed her eyes.

“Then why does it take almost a month?”

Rangga fell silent.

“Well...” He pointed at the screen again. “...that's what I don't understand.”

Deri, who had been listening the entire time, finally spoke.

“In that case, there's no need to speculate too much.”

Everyone turned toward him.

“Tomorrow, Sir Rangga will go and see for himself.”

Deri continued calmly.

“Whatever you find there, let us know. If there's something related to this upgrade, we can think about it once we have some information.”

Rangga nodded.

“Yeah, I'll check it tomorrow.”

He looked at the remaining time on the screen again.

“But it really is strange. Twenty-eight days.”

“That's why you shouldn't rush,” Deri said.

The conversation then shifted to other topics. They went back to eating, joking around, and discussing their respective development plans. No one could really answer the mystery of the four-star island that night.

Time passed without them noticing, and one by one, the Pioneers began saying their goodbyes. Small ships left Rangga's island dock, carrying their owners back to their respective private islands.

Before boarding his ship, Deri stopped and turned toward Rangga.

“Sir.”

“Yeah, Major?”

“Be careful when you go there tomorrow.”

Deri looked at him seriously.

“Don't rush into any decisions. We don't know what that island is like yet.”

Rangga nodded.

“Understood, Major.”

“If the situation isn't safe, come back.”

“Yeah, don't worry.”

Rangga then smiled.

“I'll let you know before I leave too.”

Deri nodded in satisfaction.

“Good.”

After that, he boarded his ship.

“Good night, Sir.”

“Good night, Major.”

Deri's ship slowly left the dock, and Rangga stood there until it disappeared into the darkness of the night. Afterward, he turned toward his own ship.

His gaze then fell upon the one destination that had been occupying his thoughts all evening.

Four-Star Island.

Remaining Time: 28 days 10 hours 55 minutes.

Rangga scratched his head.

“Tomorrow, we'll find out what the hell you really are.”