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

Gotz swallowed hard, dumbfounded, and stammered, "You...you...how did you just do that! Am I seeing things?!"

I looked at him dismissively: "You're making a fuss over nothing. This is something I can say with ease. Do you think I'd tell you about my identity as the King of Firepower Farming?"

Chapter 222 Building a Warehouse

Is this enough?

I quickly made over seventy more pieces of general-purpose stone, which I neatly stacked next to the house, forming a silver-white memorial stone.

Gotz stared wide-eyed at my actions, only snapping out of his daze after a long while. He clapped his hands in disbelief, grabbed a stone from the ground, and smashed it on the floor. Looking at the chaotic limestone structure inside, he exclaimed, "Why do the same stones look completely different when you cut them open compared to when I smashed them open?"

I patted him on the shoulder reassuringly: "Don't doubt it. Do you think the experience of a regular player and a pay-to-win player would be the same in the same game? Even for pay-to-win players, the experience is different from that of cheaters."

Praise the light! I pulled off an impossible feat!

"What...do you mean? Are you a cheater?" Gotz asked, puzzled.

"I, Luben... ptooey, ptooey, I didn't cheat! This is skill!" I righteously stopped Gotz from slandering me. How could cheating have anything to do with me, the upright Marcus?

At most, it's just using a third-party plugin to optimize the game experience with software developed by other private or unregistered groups that doesn't comply with relevant regulations!

Poor Gots didn't understand what I was saying at all, but he could tell that the operation was something he couldn't imitate, so he gave up asking questions, took out his measuring tools, and walked to the side of the ranch.

"Marcus, where do you want to put the warehouse?" Gotz measured the location, walking around the open space of the ranch, stopping and starting to check the soil, location, vegetation and other data. "There is a lot of open space on the ranch, but not much of it is actually usable. Otherwise, how about putting it near the exit on the side of Mads Mountain?"

Gotz offered a seemingly feasible suggestion. The exit near Mount Marcus was indeed overgrown with weeds, but the land was relatively flat, the last patch of level ground before the mountain path. This was why the ranch boundary was placed here; further on, the terrain became rocky and difficult to traverse.

However, I'm not entirely satisfied with this location.

Placing the warehouse there is feasible in terms of location, but it's too far from the main part of my ranch. The plots where I grow crops and raise animals are all located closer to Mineral Town, and the warehouse's distance makes it difficult to transport goods there.

Even worse, that area is on the edge of my ranch's defense system, with virtually no possibility of it being included in the defense zone. If someone attacks the ranch, this warehouse will not only fail to provide me with assistance, but will also easily become a hiding place for the enemy.

Then everything I stored inside would just benefit the enemy!

I shook my head and gestured to Gotz, "I don't think this is a good idea. How about... over there?"

I drew out my words and pointed to another part of the ranch. Gotz looked in that direction and looked at me with a puzzled expression.

"You already have buildings there. Do you want to demolish them?"

I shook my head. Gots' comprehension was indeed lacking. His level was about the same as his orphaned Zaun brother, Kappa.

The location I'm pointing to is where the emoji pony and Alpha Chicken live; indeed, two buildings have quietly sprung up there.

But that's also my purpose.

“Götz, my idea is, could you build a large warehouse that includes the stables and chicken coop? This way I can save on building land and avoid having to renovate those two places.”

That's right! What I'm struggling with is the issue of building capacity. A building without height is simply a waste of land!

If I had the technological level of a dazzling metropolis, I would definitely build a skyscraper on the ranch, making the area of ​​one ranch feel like twenty ranches.

The people in the town may not yet realize that their outdated land use is a huge waste. Although for them, the town is so spacious that there is no need to build tall buildings, after so many years of development, most of the usable land has been occupied, leaving only the beach and the mountains in the forest.

This is especially true for me. The focus of a ranch is planting and raising livestock. It can't be called a ranch but it's a place where people slack off, relax, and date all the time, right?

Saving the land that is occupied and leaving enough land for planting and grazing is what I should do.

“I have a new plan. What do you think if I developed a real estate project on the ranch, I could make a fortune?” I said, indulging in a wild idea.

Gotz shook his head: "The people in town don't need to move anymore. Where are we going to find people to buy the houses you built?"

When Gotz said that, I knew he hadn't completely ignored the idea of ​​building and selling houses. Otherwise, he would have argued with me about the point of building such a house, instead of instinctively conducting a feasibility analysis.

I shook my head and said, "Of course the town doesn't need it, but many overworked people in the city who work from 6 am to 12 pm must really yearn for this kind of rural life, right? As long as Thomas does some advertising and promotes tourism, we can develop this place into a tourist destination."

I envisioned: "My ranch will be a place where I can farm and run a farm stay, hire Dart to cook, Carter to sell handicrafts, and Dick and Sebala to perform a 'chest-breaking boulder' act. It would be very popular!"

"Are you serious about breaking a boulder on your chest?" Gotz asked, wiping the sweat from his brow.

I said resolutely, "Of course! Those two weren't always in the tavern, saying they could catch bullets with their bare hands. Breaking a boulder with their chest shouldn't be a problem for them, right?"

"That's obviously bragging!"

"Really? I thought they were really retired ultimate killers..."

After casually expressing my regret, I continued with the warehouse construction: "You build a two-story warehouse right here, incorporating my stables and chicken coop. Set up some storage rooms on the side to categorize and store materials. Leave the middle space empty; I want to put some production equipment here."

Gotz nodded: "That's something I hadn't thought of. Now that you mention it, it makes sense. I think we have enough basic materials. Let's take some measurements today to get the approximate location in order, and then I'll design the blueprints. We'll start construction tomorrow."

After saying that, Gotz kicked me out of his work area, saying that if I continued to talk nonsense, it would affect his surveying.

I am deeply dissatisfied with this blatant slander, but considering his status as free labor, I have decided to forgive him for the time being.

By then, it was getting dark. I led the pony around the field twice, then put it back in the stable and covered it with a blanket.

The pony's expression quickly changed from (:3[▓▓] to (|3[▓▓], and it drifted off to sleep with loud snoring.

The noise was so loud that even Gotz, who was busy nearby, ran over and asked me, "When did you get a motor hidden in your stable? Can I borrow it?"

"I do have horses, but I don't have motors. Have you ever seen a pneumatic pony?"

Chapter 223 Art Creation Platform

My unexpected catch from fishing at the beach gave me some immature ideas.

The first one is that piece of dark wood whose origin is unknown. If I can gather enough wood to be the same size as myself, I can make a coffin and sell it to Empress Dowager Cixi.

However, judging from the size of the wood I have, it's only enough to make a small, affordable grave for a feline.

"It could at least be used as a small ornament, right?" I pondered, fiddling with the piece of wood as I sat in the chair.

This type of wood is formed when earthquakes, floods, and mudslides bury all terrestrial plants and organisms in ancient riverbeds and other low-lying areas, resulting in some trees buried in silt. Under anaerobic and high-pressure conditions, bacteria and other microorganisms undergo a carbonization process that lasts for thousands of years, forming ebony, hence the name "carbonized wood".

Due to its unique properties of sinking immediately in water and not decaying, ebony has been used as an amulet for warding off evil spirits throughout history, and has been used to make handicrafts, Buddha statues, and amulets.

The formation time of this submerged wood is quite interesting.

Submerged wood typically takes only a few thousand to tens of thousands of years to form. This timeframe is incredibly long for humans, but it is extremely short compared to geological activities that take tens of millions of years to complete.

The fact that I was able to fish it out on the beach right in front of Zack's house shows that it wasn't buried very deep, definitely not the kind of thing you'd imagine that's deep underground.

So the question arises: how did this piece of submerged wood come about?

The first possibility is that geological disasters such as volcanoes and earthquakes occurred on the small island where Mineral Town is located, carrying a large number of trees into the sea, creating a high-temperature and high-pressure environment that formed this piece of submerged wood.

However, judging from the timeline, if such a severe disaster had occurred thousands of years ago, Mount Madras should still be a scene of devastation and ravines today. It would never be the peaceful and serene place it is today.

The second possibility is that thousands of years ago, some factors other than natural disasters caused events on the island that led to the active burial or passive sinking of the wood to the seabed, forming special fossils.

—And in 99% of cases, this is caused by human beings.

Thinking of this, I couldn't help but lean out the window and look at the darkening sky outside, watching crows and sparrows fly all over the sky, and leisurely imagine this momentous event from thousands of years ago.

Was it a war? A ritual? A transformation of civilization? Or some unknown, mysterious event?

According to Father Carter's historical manuscripts, thousands of years ago, the open sea was not a place of origin or habitation for humankind. It was still occupied by ancient jungles and primitive animals that knew nothing of the Han, Wei, or Jin dynasties.

Of all the people there at that time, only the organization's predecessor, from whom Zack originated, had the courage to explore the outer seas. Only then did they have the possibility of setting foot on this small island.

So, could it be that the navigators of yesteryear came here, and some unknown story unfolded here?

The past years have turned to ashes and dust, nowhere to be found, yet everywhere, seeping into every corner of this island, merging into every breath I take...

I arranged all the fish I had caught on the table, my gaze falling on the jadeite, which was second in line. The jadeite ore emitted a cool, clear light, casting a barely perceptible gray hue in the dim room.

According to Zach, this jadeite rough stone may have been a gemstone ordered by Sebala. However, as the old saying goes, "only the virtuous possess the finest treasures," or "whoever finds something lost owns it." So I don't plan to tell Sebala about this anymore.

After all, if you don't have something, can you call it greed?

The third item was a piece of metal with a peculiar luster. The Sebala family's treasury currently contains ordinary gold, silver, copper, and iron, as well as a considerable amount of mithril and orogeny. The fact that they still rely on imported special steel ingots under these circumstances suggests that it must be exceptionally precious in some way.

I tried to probe the properties of this metal, but after searching for a long time, I couldn't find any characteristics that made it different from other steel ingots.

The strange thing is that this 30-centimeter-long steel ingot is in the standard shape of cast iron. It looks ordinary, but it does not reflect external light. Only when it is rotated and examined does it shimmer with a silvery luster from the inside out.

"It might be something extraordinary..." This mysterious quality made me a little uneasy.

Unidentified ancient tree fossils, jade as clear as water, and an indestructible mysterious metal—these three things combined create a combination that's utterly incomprehensible. Have I stumbled into something mysterious again?

"In short, let's get started first, make it into a work of art so that Sebala can't recognize it."

I called out to the colonizer icon in my field of vision, and instantly a comical arpeggio sounded, and the familiar gear interface once again captured my attention.

"Let me look... I remember there was a craft table..."

Soon, I found what I was looking for in the production sub-items under the architectural planning.

Item Name: Art and Creation Platform

Item Description: A platform equipped with tools for creating artwork. This platform only provides a space for creation and will not inspire creativity. The 9th Edge World Artists Alliance unanimously recommends its use in conjunction with flakes, yaya powder, and marijuana.

Durability: 175/175

Materials: Any available wood or metal

Cover effectiveness: 50%

Physical mass: 20 kg

Terrain requirements: Medium

Flammability: 100%

Cleanliness: -5”

I set up the building blueprints somewhere inside the building, and then selected the work tasks.

"Select Work Order: Prioritize Building the Woodcrafting Platform (Blueprint)"

I initially thought that this kind of construction task would simply involve piecing together two pieces of wood to create a platform, and at most, using the hatch as a tabletop, like a stone-cutting table. After all, with the handcrafting workshops equipped with production equipment for alchemy, the so-called "production" of this colonist system wouldn't need to rely on means of production at all.

But I soon paid the price for my carelessness.

My body, covered in wounds, was instantly taken over by the system. My body immediately stood at attention and rushed out like an arrow, retrieving two planks that were originally stored in the room.

I used both hands to tear the wooden board in half with my bare hands, and forcibly pieced them together to create a sturdy platform.

Having just finished the feat of tearing the template apart with my bare hands, I rushed outside, picked up a large rock, and carved it into a flat stone slab by hand. I then placed it across the wooden platform to serve as the tabletop for this art creation table.

Gotz, who was measuring the location and marking the construction points on the ground, suddenly saw me run out of the house and start processing stone. He thought I was rushing to do something, so he was not alarmed and even greeted me.

But the closer he got, the clearer he could see a zombie-like figure with limbs dangling and stiff limbs walking quickly toward him, his face full of gloom, looking like a pitiful person possessed by a demon.