There can't be a Harvest Moon in the RimWorld.

Harris's voice grew increasingly ethereal, as if it came from beyond the heavens. My vision blurred, and even focusing my gaze became difficult.

Until darkness fell.

Chapter 157 Regaining Freedom

In the endless darkness, only Harris's receding figure could be seen. Waves surged from all directions, pouring into the enclosed space where no one could approach, desperately flowing into my mouth, nose, eyes, and ears.

I opened my mouth wide, feeling as if endless shackles had been placed on my body, restricting my movements. The powerful negative pressure was even stronger than the pressure of surging water.

I closed my eyes and heard my heartbeat ringing out in a continuous, rhythmic beat, threatening to intensify. In the absolute darkness, I couldn't feel a single ray of light, nor could I sense any direction.

It neither sinks nor floats, nor is it subject to life or death.

I was like a sealed dark mage, slowly locked up by heavy chains. A part of my memory was forever separated, sinking into the deepest part of the ocean of consciousness.

Thoughts gradually transformed into a near-chaotic, selfless state, beginning to heal and repair lost memories. This is a traumatic stress response of the human spirit; people who have suffered great blows often enter a state of self-protection.

The memory of that bizarre encounter began to disappear rapidly, while the gaps in the memory were slowly replaced by other fragments of memory.

I forgot the layout of the secret base, forgot my sparring with Gray, forgot the tragedy by the lake, forgot the invisible killer, forgot the stories I had heard, forgot Harris's figure, and only remembered the lies Harris made up in my ear while I was unconscious.

“Marcus, yesterday you went up the mountain to illegally log timber and were caught by Gotz. During the struggle, Gotz fell off a cliff. After you rescued him, you were locked up in the police station. A fever almost killed you, so you were temporarily released. Remember, there are no weird things, no weird things, no weird things.”

If nothing unexpected happens, I will completely forget the horror story that happened before, treating it as a figment of my imagination bursting from the deepest part of my dream, easily suppressed by reason, and never have the chance to recall it again.

However, during this memory erasure process, a memory inevitably came into play: the memory of when I sparred with Gray and unlocked the friendly battle mode between correcting the construction of the secret base and discovering Gotz by the lake!

"System notification: Brain dysfunction caused by colonist taking medication has been detected."

"Bear Grylls' traits activated, the colonists' willpower has been elevated to the pinnacle of the food chain."

"Disorder exemption for psychotropic drugs".

"Repairing the consciousness-damaged sector."

"There are three hours left until the repair is complete, after which your memory will return to normal."

"Friendly reminder: Dear colonists, taking psychotropic drugs can lead to irreversible addiction and side effects. Please use them with caution."

…………

When I woke up, the throbbing headache was still lingering, just like the hangover I had last time. But the mental disconnect I felt while I was unconscious was gone.

I remember every word Harris said, every expression on his face that day. I also remember his resolute determination to die before he left.

"That bastard, as a sheriff, he actually resorts to such despicable methods."

I shook my head, feeling the contractions gradually subside, and then I woke up to find myself not in a police station's detention cell, nor in my home, but in a room upstairs in Boss Dart's tavern!

As I slowly walked down the stairs, I saw that the tavern was still calm and the owner was idly wiping the tables.

When he saw me come down, he remained unmoved and asked, "Marcus, you're awake."

I shook my head, pretending to have a splitting headache. Since Harris put me here, and Dart has already appeared in his story, the two of them must have a good relationship. I couldn't tell if the boss would be on my side, so I reluctantly decided to pretend to have amnesia.

"Boss, how did I get here?"

Mr. Dart frowned and said, "Harris brought you here. He said you had a high fever at the police station and it wasn't safe for you to stay there, so he brought you here."

After taking that medicine, the feeling of my brain getting hot and my whole body sweating really resembled having a high fever. I just don't know if this medicine has any side effects.

Luckily, I had the Colonizer System with me, otherwise I would definitely have failed this time.

"Boss, what about Harris?"

I asked helplessly, and took the set meal that the shop owner handed me.

"That guy said he was going to check out the site of the accident in Gotz, and then he went up the mountain. I don't know where he is."

I glanced at the sky outside without making a sound. It was already evening of the second day, and there wasn't much time left before sunset. Harris was definitely going up the mountain to continue his plan.

From my own experience and his story, I know that these strange events all happened late at night. There must be an incredible connection between them.

"Boss, I'll head back now."

I quickly finished the rice on my plate, gave Mr. Dart a look that I was much better, and prepared to leave.

The owner silently tidied up the mess on the table, watched me slowly stand up, and move step by step to the edge of the tavern, before suddenly speaking.

"It's getting dark outside, please be careful."

I was taken aback and glanced back at the owner. He was still standing there with his tray in hand, looking thoughtful as he carefully uttered those words.

"...Okay, boss, I'll be careful."

I gritted my teeth and resisted the urge to ask my boss for help. Having too many secrets in my heart wasn't a good thing. The mysterious events surrounding Harris and Gotz were the closest I'd ever come to the strange occurrences that happened in town years ago.

I didn't know who to tell, or how to tell them. What I could sense was that both of them were desperately trying to conceal the strange happenings in town, keeping it to a minimum. If Gots's ordeal was something he was born with, then Harris's story was an accident.

At least in the last twenty years, the number of people who knew about these things has not increased again—except for me.

Therefore, I cannot involve Mr. Dart.

But to my surprise, Mr. Dart slowly uttered another sentence behind me.

"Everyone's path is predetermined. You cannot walk it for someone else, nor can someone else lead you. But conversely, when you walk the path you have chosen, you have nothing to do with others. Even if you have companions, it is only a brief and desolate encounter, and you will eventually be separated because of the long journey."

"Marcus, think carefully about your path. But if you make a decision, don't regret it like I did."

After saying that, Mr. Dart went into the kitchen.

I stood there stunned for a long time at the entrance of the tavern, before finally breaking into a smile.

As expected, Mr. Dart knew something, but his respect for privacy prevented him from prying any further. He probably had a vague feeling that I was plotting something, but he didn't say anything.

This unspoken understanding is what we share. Sometimes, the silence of maintaining distance is far more effective than open and honest conversations.

But as soon as he said those words, I knew I wasn't alone in town.

I took a deep breath of the air of freedom, gazing with rapt attention at this unassuming little town. I knew that in the next moment, I would be engulfed in darkness, protecting this land.

Chapter 158 Secret Meeting

As I approached the secret base, I saw a figure sitting upright in a high-backed chair, holding a bunch of strange parts, and carefully assembling them.

He wasn't surprised to hear my footsteps, nor did he look up; there wasn't a trace of hesitation in his voice.

"I knew you would come."

He stood up from the chair. The dim light from the fluorescent mushrooms illuminated the room, casting a halo of light and shadow on his silhouette, making him seem as if he were melting into the space.

"Boss, you're too late."

But then, one of his sentences revealed his identity:

Who is this pig-headed guy?!

Through the dim light, I could see that although the person in front of me was not old, he had an overly unrestrained face. His face was swollen, and his eyes were only slits. He looked like a human pig's head.

He looked as if he had been kicked more than thirty times by the Deadly Scholar, so badly that even his own mother wouldn't recognize him.

"I am Gray! Gray!"

He looked at me with displeasure, his speech slurred due to facial distortion, expressing his dissatisfaction through his swollen face.

"Green, your disguise won't work. Others might not recognize you, but you won't be able to see where you're going either, right?"

I patted his shoulder earnestly.

Pig-headed Gray sat down resentfully, muttering, "It's all because Grandpa beat me up, and he just had to hit me in the face. If I hadn't run fast and hidden in the secret base, I'd still be getting beaten up right now."

I glanced at him and said, "Can you be as miserable as me? I actually went to jail. You just turned into a pig's head, but I lost my freedom!"

"...Boss, I don't know why, but what you said sounds really hateful. And could you please stop laughing while you're saying it?"

I couldn't help but burst out laughing. I slapped the table for a while before I calmed down, and then casually tossed him a bottle of ointment.

"Use it sparingly. This is a wound medicine developed by Dr. Dort. Applying it to this small skin injury will make it heal in half an hour."

Upon hearing this, Gray, as if he had found a treasure, smeared all the evils of the world onto his face. The black ointment, once applied, made his swollen, purplish-black face look much better; all that remained was a black face. If he didn't speak, I wouldn't be able to find him in the dim cave.

"Grey, I've been locked up at the police station, so I'm not really aware of the situation in town right now." I asked the question that concerned me most, the one I dreaded hearing the rumors circulating in town. If that was the case, it meant things were getting out of control.

Gray sat in his chair and said seriously, "It's not good. The people in town are fine, but Dr. Dort, who had a lot of contact with Gotz, has amnesia. I went to the hospital to visit Gotz, and Dr. Dort insisted that Gotz rolled down the mountain, and that Gotz had already left the hospital and no one knows where he went."

"Gotz is awake?" I exclaimed in astonishment. After suffering such severe injuries, Gotz regained his mobility in just one day? That kind of self-healing speed is simply astonishing!

Gray shook his head: "I'm not so sure. Because Harris disappeared at the same time. It's also possible that Harris took Gotz away and is hiding somewhere in town."

Have you been to Gotz's house?

Gray nodded. "I went to Gotz's house immediately, but it was uninhabited, and the tables and chairs were covered in dust. I guess we can't get to the bottom of this with him now."

I slammed my fist on the table in frustration.

That was a miscalculation on my part. I thought that as long as I kept an eye on Gotz at the hospital, Harris wouldn't disappear without a trace, and he had to continue playing the role of sheriff to make things reasonable.

Harris didn't expect to take Gotz away, and the two of them disappeared at the same time. In that case, their movements would be unpredictable.

Even more awkwardly, Dr. Dort also appears to have had his memory erased. That means there's one less person close to the truth who can stand with us. In the eyes of the townspeople, Gray and I will only be seen as thieves who illegally logged trees and stole Grandpa's collection; no one will believe our accusations.

How is your grandfather?

I asked Gray. As his grandfather, Sebala might be angry, but shouldn't he at least believe his account? After all, he came to the police station to tell them about his encounter with the monster; surely he wouldn't be indifferent?

Gray lowered his head, his eyes filled with disappointment: "After Grandpa heard what I had to say, he gave me a severe beating and told me never to mention it again and never to go up this mountain again. I guess he knows something..."

"I see..."

I had a pretty good idea of ​​what was going on. Like Mr. Dart, Sebala probably had some vague knowledge of the situation but didn't investigate further, thus managing to remain uninvolved. It wasn't until Gray and I got involved that we reluctantly revealed some information.

I looked at Gray with a serious expression and said.

"This matter may be more complicated than we imagine. It is no longer just the story of Harris and Gotz, but a magma current that has spread for decades, runs through the entire history of the town, and lies hidden beneath the surface of Mineral Town."

“If we intervene rashly, we might get embroiled in some irreversible problems. You need to think this through; you can leave right now.”

Strangely, Gray didn't react with the fury I expected, nor did he show any displeasure at my slight. Instead, he remained calm, just like me, and asked...

"So, boss, why are you getting involved in this?"

me?

I stood up, looked at the dark cave, and tried to organize my thoughts. I had a thousand words to say, but in the end, only one sentence came out.