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

Looking at the innocent-looking Dolanco beside me, I found it hard to reconcile him with the brutal Deep Ones outside. It seemed old Yorkson had indeed been hiding many things, both from his companions and from me.

Looking at the old man in front of me, I suddenly felt a sense of reverence.

It wasn't because of his twisted personality and skepticism, but because of his talent!

After reading through old Yorkson's manuscripts once, he mastered all the unique techniques that old Yorkson had developed over decades, and could even invade the dreams that old Yorkson had constructed from an unknown distance...

This behavior is equivalent to Dugu Jiansheng painstakingly studying the way of the sword and finally creating a move called Sword Twenty-Three that allows the soul to leave the body, and then coming to the World Society to kill Xiong Ba.

As a result, Xiong Ba in the main hall took a look and learned Sword Twenty-Three. He even performed a backstab, which caused Dugu Sword Saint to die on the spot!

Who would dare not call him a martial arts prodigy?!

"Alright... So, Old Man Hook, what do you want from me? What does what you're saying have to do with me?"

Old Man Hu Ke glared at me, his expression... like Feng Qingyang was about to teach Dugu Nine Swords, but Linghu Chong retorted with "Why should I learn from you?"

"Then let the monsters outside kill you," he said irritably. "And I came here to help you out of kindness."

"A monster! A Deep One?"

Hearing this, I became excited: "Dad, do you know how to deal with the Deep Ones?"

Old Man Hook stood up from his chair and pointed at the burly man beside him: "I don't know how to deal with him, but Doranco knows very well! In this world, besides the Doranco who has turned into a monster outside, only I have a copy of Doranco's personality here!"

Exactly! Weaknesses are something no outsider knows better than you do!

If Dolanco tells me the method, won't I be able to easily defeat the Deep Ones?

"Please!" I suddenly had a bright idea and said to Old Man Hook, "By the way, Dad, could you teach me your dream-entering technique... well, let's just call it dream stealing, and that meme technique too?"

"You're too greedy. These two techniques can't be learned in the real world; they can only be practiced and learned behind the Dream Gate."

Old Man Hook shook his head: "Time is running out. You need to find out more from Doranco. You still need to clean up the mess outside."

Time is running out? Is this old man going to die?

"Are you really hoping I'll die? It's true I don't have much time left. But before that, you bastard will die before me."

Why!

So what if you know swordsmanship level 23? If you're so capable, kill me with one punch! I'm so strong and healthy, I'll die before you, you old geezer!

Chapter 195 Switching Channels

Old Man Hook, with an annoyingly slow and deliberate manner, said in a loud voice, "Do you know how I invaded old Yorkson's dreams?"

"Have I not asked you?"

"Old Yorkson's method of controlling the flow of time in the dream world was to switch between the first layer of the original white dream and the second layer of the colorful dream. I took advantage of this gap in his switching to sneak into the first layer of the original white dream, and when he controlled time for the second time, I turned around and sealed him in the colorful dream..."

Although I felt a little dizzy listening to his various transitions, something seemed off.

"So, which floor are we on now?"

“In the original white dream layer, I secretly set up a scene that was so realistic that it fooled old Yorkson. He thought the switch had failed and switched again, and then I trapped him in the deeper dream layer.”

So we're actually in a dream?

“Of course, dreams can only have a shallow layer sealing a deep layer. How can a deep layer seal a shallow layer? Have you ever seen a person’s body being directly controlled by their subconscious while their conscious mind is still intact?” Old Man Hook said confidently.

You burglar, how dare you act so self-righteous!

In one layer of the dream, time passes in 1:12. Twelve minutes here equals one minute in the real world…

“That’s right, if you keep rambling on, there’s nothing I can do to you, and I don’t have any techniques for killing in dreams. But the monster that Doranco has become will slowly stand up and blow your head off!”

I made the wisest decision in an instant...

"Mr. Doranco! Please teach me how to kill you! I beg you!"

"..."

After his explanation, I roughly remembered the main points he made.

"I've remembered everything you just said. By the way, do you think removing the intestines would be effective?"

“…I’ve never tried it.” Doranco clutched his head in despair.

"What about cutting him into a human stump? Crushing his head? Locking his collarbone? Tearing him apart with five horses? Breaking his spine?" I still looked at Dolanco in front of me with eyes full of curiosity.

Even though Doranco was just a copy of a personality, he felt a chill run down his spine, as if this young man was going to take the opportunity to inflict all these tortures on him!

"There's no time, let's go!"

Old Man Hook's eyes widened, and he stopped me from asking more questions about Dolanco's details, giving me a shove.

"Hmm? Let me ask! Let me ask! I have more questions!"

But in an instant, I vanished from the dream world, leaving only Old Man Hook and Doranco staring at each other in bewilderment...

After a long silence, Dolanko finally spoke: "Hook, are you sure you're okay with choosing him? This young man seems... a bit off about his thought process?"

Old Man Hook, as if he had swallowed a fly, said sullenly, "I can't worry about that... In this bizarre world, normal people are of no use."

"Judging from your expression, you don't seem surprised by his appearance. You didn't even ask about the origin of his name." Doranco smiled innocently, looking at Old Man Hook, completely unconcerned about his unpleasant demeanor.

After pondering for a while, the elderly man, whose appearance remained youthful in his dream, finally spoke his mind.

"There's only one possibility that he'll come to inherit my ranch."

"My feelings for him..."

"Do not……"

"I should say I have confidence in that man..."

…………

And so this chaotic dream journey came to an end. I neither figured out what they were doing nor gained any useful information.

Aside from the "suicide techniques" that Dolanco taught me, everything else was valuable experience he gained through years of experimentation...

What normal person would research methods of suicide?

I opened my eyes and found myself still on the mountain road of Mads Mountain, but an ugly, twisted claw was slowly approaching me, less than thirty centimeters away!

"Doranco, you're too vengeful! All I asked was how to kill you, and you actually attacked me?"

Old Man Hook probably kicked me out of the dream chat group because he discovered that the Deep One, the true incarnation of Doronco, had awakened and attacked me.

It's unknown how Old Yorkson, still trapped in his dream, will be dealt with by Old Man Hook.

A professional gamer who's been AFK for decades must be quite surprised to find his skills completely outclassed by his former underdogs when he logs back in...

Forget it, now's not the time to dwell on these things. My current troubles are no less than old Yorkson's.

"System notification: The colonists have been attacked by hostile creatures. Combat mode is now fully activated."

"Please select command mode: counterattack, dodge, ignore."

"Counterattack command: Colonists will automatically retaliate against attacks from hostile targets, employing the most effective attack method, but the damage inflicted is related to the weapons they are equipped with."

"Evasion Command: Colonists will automatically evade attacks from hostile targets, but will not initiate attacks. However, unlike the friendly sparring mode, they will actively flee the battlefield in this mode."

"Ignore Command: Please note that the Colonizer System is not legally responsible for deaths that occur in this mode. Please use with caution."

Isn't this a scam?

In this perilous situation, my mind became exceptionally clear, and I reached a conclusion in the blink of an eye.

We cannot fight, we can only flee!

With fists and claws almost upon you, choosing counterattack mode or ignore mode is just standing still and getting beaten up, isn't it?

"Select command: Dodge!"

The giant deep-sea creature's injuries have severely hampered its recovery abilities. After being thrown around for half a day, and with its stomach ruptured, it's even lost the food it uses to absorb energy and accelerate recovery.

Ultimately, it resorted to consuming energy from other parts of its body. It squeezed energy from muscles, fat, and various unidentifiable bodily substances to accelerate its recovery. This energy extraction and bodily decomposition was extremely cruel and dangerous, causing its original four-meter-tall body to visibly shrink to just over three meters tall.

But after a series of desperate measures, the Deep One finally stood up, shakily, and prepared to swallow the nearest ant to replenish its healing power.

The Deep One's cruel and cold mind conceived: This ant is perfectly oblivious to its surroundings, eyes closed and motionless like a frozen tree. With a slow approach and a gentle reach, it can be devoured effortlessly…

But just as the giant monster was about to succeed, the tiny ant vanished in an instant, its form transforming into a streak of light. It reappeared three meters away, escaping from the monster's fingertips.

Disappointment clouded its mind, and a deep roar slowly rose from the Deep One's belly. It rose from the ground with an earth-shaking force, regaining its domineering aura, and stood in front of me.

The numerous wounds, large and small, still healing all over its body, made this terrifying beast even more horrifying, like a lava demon rising from hell, entwined with countless gruesome ghosts, descending to this world to charge at the living.

I turned and ran, completely oblivious to the Deep One's intention to eat me; only one thought occupied my mind:

Where can I buy cough syrup?

Chapter 196 Only a Storm Can Topple a Tree

Only storms can topple trees, and only monsters can defeat monsters.

I can roughly understand a sentence now.

The massive deep-sea creature's body resembled a dry, charred tree stump, and it rushed towards me with an earth-shaking gait. As it moved, the scabs on its body quickly peeled off, revealing the uneven skin underneath. The skin's condition had changed from the moist, translucent state of an amphibian to the tight, resilient state of a land animal.

This life-force-consuming recovery caused it significant damage, shrinking its size considerably, but it also made it more closely resemble a terrestrial animal in appearance. Even more astonishingly, after shrinking in size, the giant deep-sea creature's massive skeleton protruded further, forming a crude yet effective bony armor that concealed the enormous wound inflicted by Gray.

"First bandage the wound, then let it heal internally... This monster really isn't afraid of internal infection..."

Looking at the monster's even more ferocious exposed fangs and claws, I could confirm that this monster genuinely wanted to grab me, and was willing to forcibly twist its body shape.

The most significant change was to the left arm, which had been almost severed. The bone at the wound site had completely disintegrated, and the limb had contracted and healed, transforming into a thick, powerful tentacle. At the tip of the tentacle grew a mouthful of sharp teeth, opening and closing incessantly…

The pursuing Deep One lashed out its tentacles, which then wrapped around a tall tree, creaking and groaning as they were strangled, leaving visible marks and breaking off branches and leaves.

Then the giant deep-sea creature used the pull to launch itself like a slingshot, its sharp right claw snapping a tree in half at the waist.

This ejection narrowly missed me, and combined with the Deep One's incredible jumping speed, it almost made me appear in a flash.

This contradicts my original plan. I intended to lure the monster deep into the mountains, using its enormous size and difficulty in maneuvering to escape the pursuit. But now it seems that a near-death experience inadvertently shrunk its size and even triggered its berserk state.

The once cold and cruel gaze in the eyes of the giant deep-diving creature had vanished, replaced by an incomparably fanatical and persistent bestiality, like a surging, boiling magma that could burst forth at any moment and melt the entire world.

This monster was now dominated by its bestial instincts, with only thoughts of killing and devouring remaining.

I recalled Doranco's words in the dream and felt that the time was almost right.