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

Finally, in a scenic, shady spot in the mountains, I saw a large, fallen tree. Its roots had become a natural petri dish, its surface densely covered with plump mushrooms…

Would you like to try some?

This thing looks like it's edible, but it also looks like a poisonous mushroom. I'm completely undecided.

What am I even doing up in the mountain?!

I've never actually been to the wilderness in my entire life!

Previously, when I was working as a VR world builder, even when constructing large outdoor scenes, I only needed to imitate a rough outline.

After all, those rich people never care about what a real scene is.

mushroom?

Big and red is the way to go!

Trees?

Twenty people need to hug him!

A mountain cabin?

Water and electricity supply, independent bathroom!

What kinds of wild animals are there?

I want one of each of those giant pandas, peacocks, camels, and zebras!

"Once we're actually out in the wild, I'm not much better than those bastards..."

I sighed for a moment, then continued up the mountain, picking a mushroom along the way to take back to Mr. Dart to have him identify whether it was poisonous.

"...Are you planning to eat this thing?"

A deep, thunderous voice boomed in my ear, startling me so much that I dropped the mushroom on the ground and kicked it as I did so.

It was completely smashed.

"........."

A burly man with a full brown beard, wearing a drab gray short-sleeved shirt, stood behind me, carrying an axe just like me.

"...Who are you?" I asked warily.

The big man then realized how suspicious he looked, and quickly threw the axe far away, spreading his hands and saying to me.

"Don't get me wrong, I'm Gotz, the town's carpenter and forester."

Perhaps confident in my small stature, believing that even with weapons I couldn't defeat him unarmed, Gotz didn't care that I was holding an axe. He swaggered towards me and extended his hand.

"Hello, I'm Marcus, the new guy in town. I currently run a ranch."

After shaking my hand, Gotz's disheveled face showed surprise.

"Is that the ranch that's been abandoned for so long? I can't believe someone would take it over!"

Gotz scratched his head and sighed, "I didn't hear about this when I went up the mountain three days ago. It seems you really are new here!"

I was even more surprised than him now.

"You've been up the mountain for three days straight without coming down? What about food and lodging?"

"That's easy."

Gotz laughed heartily.

“I have always lived in the mountains.”

"The food is even simpler. I grew up in this mountain, and to me, there is food everywhere."

You're an expert!

Although he was doing the work of cutting down trees and protecting the forest at the same time, which seemed to me like a thief crying "stop thief!", there was no doubt that he was the expert on this mountain!

"Then I'll have to learn a lot from you!"

I immediately put on a humble and eager-to-learn attitude.

Gots laughed heartily.

"You are welcome to visit my home at the foot of the mountain anytime!"

But you stay on the mountain for three days and three nights, how could the ghosts find you?

I thought to myself.

Gotz patted me on the shoulder and enthusiastically introduced me to various aspects of the mountain.

"If you walk a little further up, you will see a hot spring, which means you have officially entered the foothills of Mount Mades, and there is also an abandoned mine."

"Continue walking past the hot spring, there is a lake halfway up the mountain. That's where you'll find the most mountain produce. If you're interested, you can go there more often."

"After passing Banshan Lake, we officially enter the summit route of Mount Mades!"

Gotz stared intently at the mountain peak, pointed towards the mountains, and his tone suddenly became profound.

"The richness of the mountains is unimaginable."

"But its mystery has never been known to anyone."

Chapter 19: Hot Spring House Archaeological Incident (Part 1)

In addition to wandering around the mountains, Gotz's daily work also involves planning for the rampant growth of trees, cutting down trees that are affecting roads and the environment, and clearing overly dense areas and branches, which is also a way to protect the ecology of other plants in the forest.

Actually, I should have noticed it on the way. The tree stumps left along the road and the tree trunks marked with different signs all indicate that someone has been maintaining this place for a long time.

Therefore, after Gotz pointed out the way to me, he continued patrolling down the mountain to deal with the miscellaneous trees.

He had just spent two days tidying up the mountain section, indicating that there were no problems there; the roads were flat, the routes were well-defined, and there were no creatures larger than mountain goats or poisonous insects like mosquitoes, so he could proceed with peace of mind.

After saying goodbye to Gotz, I continued my journey deeper into the mountains.

Following his instructions, my journey became much smoother, and I soon arrived at a building that was unassuming in appearance but exuded a wisp of smoke and water.

This place is located in a mountain valley, surrounded by mountains on three sides. A stream cascading down from a high mountain flows slowly and meanders, but a small stream is diverted into the hot spring.

The house was just a row of brick and wood structures, standing side by side with the hot spring, surrounded by a row of slender bamboos that hung low and cast dappled shade.

This place seems to have taken advantage of its location with natural hot springs, and with some simple renovations, it has been transformed into a cozy area where spring seems to last all year round.

However, the overall design can be described as ingenious. The cabins built in this sheltered spot at the foot of the mountain not only make perfect use of the hot spring resources, but also introduce a channel of running water, which lowers the temperature of the hot spring and prevents the hot spring water from stagnating and decaying over time.

More importantly, a mountain breeze, following the airflow caused by the uneven temperature, automatically becomes the air circulation system of this hot spring house, so it will not be overwhelmed by sulfur gas even if it is left unattended for a long time.

As VR architects, these ingenious examples are our learning targets, striving for nature and harmony in such a natural environment.

But its appearance in this deserted valley seemed particularly abrupt.

I glanced inside and saw only rows of shelves and an extended bench for guests to store their clothes and relax. Looking around, the entire hot spring villa was divided into two sections by wooden planks, separating the male and female guests.

After a brief look, I decided not to look any further. I hadn't brought any toiletries, and the ranch was still recovering from the heat; I wasn't really in the mood for a hot spring bath. Maybe I can come here to relax once the ranch is more established.

As I stepped out of the cabin, a floor tile caught my eye.

The brick stood alone in the corner of the hot spring cabin, less than three feet off the ground, and looked particularly old.

"Yorkson Proviston".

The brick only had a mottled name on it, but fortunately it was carved directly on it during the firing process, so it was not corroded by moisture.

But what puzzled me was not the name, but the fact that the tiles were covered with the same spiral pattern as those in Rose Square, forming a cluster of blooming rose plants.

"........."

I suddenly sensed something was off, but I couldn't quite put my finger on it.

In my estimation, the unique bricks in Rose Square should date back to the time when the earliest residents settled on the island and named Mineral Town.

There are two possibilities for the bricks that appear here.

Firstly, the residents of the town unintentionally used the same batch of bricks from Rose Square when building this house, and coincidentally, they used the rose brick with the person's name on it.

However, the probability of such an accident occurring is too small, and it is far too far-fetched to consider it a reasonable estimate.

Another explanation is that the residents who built Rose Square and the builders of this little house were the same group of people, which is why they subconsciously used bricks with names on them when building the brick and wood structure.

This speculation is clearly more in line with common sense.

However, there is a loophole in the middle.

That is, the lifespan of a normal brick and wood structure building is not long, and the lifespan of such a building built in a hot spring is even more severely eroded by the sulfur and other corrosive gases in the hot spring, which shortens it to twenty or thirty years.

In other words, the era of the previous group of town residents is actually much shorter than I imagined.

The unrecorded period in Mineral Town was longer than I expected.

It's even possible that some of the town's current residents are survivors of the mining boom era.

Is it Mr. Dart? Or Mr. Dick?

It's unlikely. These two have clearly been in the same industry since they were young, and they don't seem like people who changed careers midway. After all, the service industry workers in Mineral Town were immigrants, and it's unlikely they didn't migrate along with the mining industry.

Are they two old men, Sebala and Muchi?

It's reasonable in terms of age, but neither of them has any children living in the town. If they are used to retirement, why don't they leave the town with their children and instead raise their grandchildren alone here?

Or is it Sheriff Harris and Thomas the Tank Engine... or the mayor?

According to the boss's description, these two people, like Zack, came to town later, so their work was closely related to the town's life, but their personalities were completely unlike those of miners.

.........

I matched everyone I knew in town with their names, but I couldn't find anyone who matched perfectly.

Could it be that all those miners from twenty years ago left this town without prior agreement, and their territory was inherited by a completely unrelated group of people?

That possibility is extremely small.

Actually, I don't have any particular obsession with where these miners went.

I'm just curious how this once prosperous town has become so sparsely populated.

Such a radical industrial relocation is destructive to a region's economy.

Just as the hollowing out of industrial areas leads to mass unemployment and a deterioration of public security, the resulting deterioration in public security causes other employed workers to choose to migrate elsewhere.