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

For example, the next morning, I went back to the cheetah hunting grounds to look for any traces of their escape on the ground, but the soil was too dry, and even a hoe might not leave a mark, so I returned empty-handed.

However, I saw the wild horse that had met its demise at the same spot. The poor creature's neck had been bitten off, and due to massive blood loss, its body was already cold and lifeless. The carcass, however, was intact; it seemed the cheetah, after the ordeal, didn't have the courage to return and drag away its prey.

These animals are overly cautious.

I buried the horse's carcass in a pile of rocks on the edge of a barren mountain, covering it with layers of rocks to prevent it from attracting other carnivores.

Then a horsehide blanket appeared in my bedroom.

Regarding this, I simply used rock salt as a mineral tanning agent and did a simple treatment after hair removal, resulting in a rather unattractive blanket. It also had a strong odor. It seems that making clothing without sufficient skill is quite difficult.

When I brought the horsehide blanket into the house, I was careful not to let those punks see it, so I hid it under my outer robe and only took it out and spread it on the bed after I entered the bedroom.

The temperature drops quickly at night here, falling from over 30 degrees Celsius to just over 10 degrees Celsius before midnight. Trying to tough it out with your bare hands isn't a wise choice. With this blanket, I can use it as a soft mattress pad and also as a blanket to keep warm.

As for keeping it a secret from the wild horses outside just to avoid being kicked by them, I didn't feel guilty at all.

In this wilderness, everything useful to me is far more important than tedious persistence. Taking the hide of a dead horse would make me more comfortable, and that's enough.

Unconsciously, my heart seemed to become both unfamiliar and realistic in this desolate Gobi Desert. What I cared about were the agave growing vigorously at the door, the salmon swimming in the sea, and the sturdy refuge provided by the colonizer system.

Indeed, there is no suffering that cannot be endured, only blessings that cannot be enjoyed. In just a few days, I have already adapted to the environment here and am tirelessly preparing to explore further.

My plan is that if no travelers or caravans pass by in the coming days, I will stockpile supplies and venture further into the wilderness.

At first, it won't take too long; about half a day's round trip is enough to explore in all directions. Then, return to the tavern to spend the night.

Finding medicinal herbs, exploring settlements, stocking up on daily necessities, and gaining a deeper understanding of this place will all be the focus of my schedule going forward.

Chapter 282 Taming Animals

With the campfire, my daily drinking water supply was also secured.

I found a coconut on the beach a couple of days ago.

This coconut drifted from who knows how far away it came from. It may have grown on a coconut tree by the sea, fallen into the water after ripening, and drifted along the coast until it ran aground.

After I split it open, I was disappointed to find that the coconut juice and flesh inside had long since rotted and smelled terrible. But then I had a bright idea. I scooped out the rotten flesh, washed it clean, and made it into a natural coconut bowl. I filled it with water and put it on the campfire to boil.

From then on, we were able to drink clean boiled water every day.

Subsequently, the seaside became my most important workplace.

…………

On the morning of the fifth day, I woke up from a bizarre and brainwashing dream. I angrily threw off the horsehide quilt, pushed open the bedroom door, and went outside to enjoy the cool morning air. A ray of sunlight shone on me.

I opened my mouth to marvel at the beauty of the Gobi Desert in the early morning, but instead I started singing.

"The light of righteousness shines upon the earth!"

"..."

I can't believe that in this completely unfamiliar environment, something familiar would still be with me in my dreams. Unfortunately, it wasn't my favorite girls, but rather the persistent appearance of those bizarre and absurd videos…

Hearing me open the door, the wild horse that had been sleeping on the ground by the door came closer again.

I took a look, and the ones guarding the house are still the "Shamate Wild Horse" style.

"Are you staying home to watch the house again today?"

I have learned the correct way to communicate with these wild horses.

Anyway, no matter what I say, these animals absolutely won't understand. But I can use a sharp look to stop them from moving, make them quiet and obedient, and then use pats on their heads and backs to signal them to follow me or stop.

Don't get me wrong, these shameless wild horses aren't intelligent or obedient animals. For example, they forget how to poop in the designated place no matter how many times they try. I'm constantly giving them practical lessons, feeding each horse three times a day, hoping to teach them as soon as possible.

No matter how complicated education is described, at its core it's about giving a stick and a treat, using rewards and punishments to ensure obedience.

I stared at the wild horse for a while to calm it down, then patted its head, grabbed its ear, and led it aside.

"Dinner's ready!"

I shouted, then swung my left arm, revealing a silver-white steel gauntlet inlaid with ceramic steel, and punched the trunk of the date palm tree with all my might.

Suddenly, a sound like rain was heard, and a large pile of things, including withered branches and leaves, fell from the tree, mostly overripe dates.

I picked up the less-ripe dates from the ground, intending to put them back inside to dry and make dried dates for later. The remaining dates, ripe to the point of near rot, were the wild horses' favorite food.

Dates are extremely high in sugar, providing a wealth of nutrients, and taste far better than wild grass, making them a favorite among these animals. Normally, they can't climb trees and don't know how to harvest them, so they can only wait for them to fall naturally, only getting to eat them once every ten days or so. Now, with my help, they can eat these things every day, so I've managed to buy them all off the neighborhood.

Yeah, I'll use it as a dog.

I gave some more food to the injured horse. This horse had been stranded here for several days, but it had eaten and drunk its fill every day and actually looked quite plump. It stuck out its tongue at me as soon as it saw me, and the more I looked at it, the more it resembled a domestic dog.

(V●?●V)!

The wild grass around the plant had been almost completely eaten, so I could only cut some agave plants, peel off their roots and leaves, remove the rough fibers, and feed them to the plants. Anyway, the agave field was almost ready to mature, so there was little point in keeping these wild agave plants.

Just as I was feeding the wild horses, a notification suddenly popped up from the system.

"System notification: Due to the act of rescuing the wild horse, this wild horse has voluntarily joined the colony (success rate 60%) and has been named Wild Horse 1."

"As a domesticated animal with a long history of domestication, horses, after being trained, can be used for riding, carrying loads, and fighting, and are also good human companions. However, due to the rapid rate of sludge production on wild horses, keeping them at home is by no means a wise choice."

...Taming? What the hell?

I only fed it a bite of food. Is it really worth being so moved that I would offer myself to it?

Suddenly, a wild horse with a thick coat of fur came up beside me, opened its mouth and bit off half of the agave leaf from my hand, and then I heard the arpeggio of the system notification.

"System notification: The colonist has successfully tamed the wild horse and named it Wild Horse 2 (success rate 60%)."

My hand, holding the agave leaf, froze in mid-air, my eyes flashing with a fierce light as I glared at the wild horse in front of me. The horse was happily munching on its agave, but upon seeing my menacing gaze, it quickly turned its eyes away and hopped off.

Why does this horse seem to be plotting something?

They wouldn't have come to join me just to freeload, would they?

No, ever since the time the little horse meme appeared, animals like horses seem to have a special fondness for me. Once they see me, they stubbornly stay and refuse to leave.

Could this be the legendary...?

Ghost of Tsushima?

That noon, after the other two horses returned from outside, I took a bunch of agave and stuffed it into their mouths as instructed. Sure enough, the system notification sounded again.

"System notification: The colonist has successfully tamed the wild horse and named it Wild Horse 3 (success rate 60%)."

"System notification: The colonist has successfully tamed the wild horse and named it Wild Horse 4 (success rate 60%)."

The success rate isn't 60%, it's 100%!

Is there something wrong with my special skill of controlling horses 100% of the time?

…………

Fine, let the horses join us. I'll see how to train them into proper vehicles; it will be a great help for my daily travels. Didn't the Mongols travel from Asia to Europe with four horses each? In the future, I can ride four horses and surely traverse this entire wilderness.

After these horses officially joined the colony, they probably accepted my dominant position psychologically, and for the first time ever, all three of them went out to play together, leaving none of them behind to accompany their companions.

...No, if it's a companion, there shouldn't be any difference. Could it be that the one I usually leave behind is here to spy on me?

The more similar it seems, the more likely it is? These bastards, I might as well let them starve!

But even if the horse doesn't eat, people still need to eat. So I picked up my bow and arrows and went to the beach to see if there were any salmon.

Today seems to be my lucky day. Not only are there salmon on the beach, but a large group of migrating salmon have gathered here, probably preparing to mate. They are all well-fed and satiated, wandering around the bay.

After several days of research, I have mastered the correct way to catch fish.

First, when catching fish, you must first catch the lone fish on the side so as not to disturb the main group and cause the fish to scatter, thus losing more than you gain.

Secondly, aim for the fish's head to kill it with a single shot. If you miss, the fish can stay alive and kicking for a long time, alerting their companions to escape.

Finally, you can tie a rope to the arrow, shoot it, grab the rope on the shore, and then pull it up, and it will fall into your hand like a fishing rod.

Chapter 283 Hamster Habits

Just as the sun reached its highest point, I finally finished my fishing task before noon.

This time, I caught a total of 12 lively and fresh fish and brought them ashore, enough to feed me for almost a week.

I strung the fish and meat gift bag together with ropes made from the versatile agave fibers, and headed home, knowing the sun would get stronger the longer I waited.

On this Gobi Desert, it's absolutely forbidden to move around outside between noon and four in the afternoon. The blinding sunlight, like a microwave, indiscriminately covers the land. All the plants that proudly grow in the morning temporarily retreat from its harshness, wilting to avoid being dried out.

The animals also returned to their dwellings in rock caves, grottoes, and shady spots under trees to hide, and would never wander outside unless absolutely necessary.

As humans with highly developed sweat glands, being active in this kind of environment will cause our body pores to sweat profusely, resulting in a huge loss of water.

At this point, there are only two possible outcomes.

The first scenario is when sun protection is in place and the skin is not exposed. In this case, excessive sweating due to the heat can cause dehydration, electrolyte imbalance, and directly lead to fainting, shock, or even death.

Another cause is sunburn due to inadequate sun protection, leading to various discomforts. These discomforts are usually mild and generally subside on their own after a week, but it is still damage to the skin. Sunburn may cause symptoms such as general malaise, nausea, and palpitations.

Not to mention problems such as hot edema, heat cramps, heat exhaustion, and heatstroke, which can all be collectively referred to as heatstroke, and once it occurs, it's no joke.

Therefore, I usually take a nap in the afternoon to replenish my energy, or do some handicrafts or marinate food indoors. I only go out again when the cool sea breeze returns to this land in the evening.

However, given this external environment, the room would obviously not be very comfortable either.

Hot air often blew through the wooden walls without restraint, filling the house and turning it into a giant oven. Fortunately, I used a double-layered structure in the spatial design. The outermost part, exposed to the sun, was made into the entrance hall of the tavern, using the spacious and empty room to reduce the penetration of hot air.

Then, following the airflow, it first passes through the narrow storage room, past the agave berries and smoked salmon drying in the room, and finally reaches my bedroom. By this time, the overall temperature has dissipated considerably, becoming almost like a cool cross breeze.

Even before this time, the wild horses outside the door would try to run into my house, hoping to share some of the shade. But I ruthlessly kept them all outside.

These horses never bathe, and their thick coats result in a strong odor. This is likely their way of protecting themselves from mosquitoes and flies when living in the wild.

When they feel itchy and need to be cleaned, they will run to the desert or beach like real "shamate" aristocrats, choose the softest sand, roll around on the spot, and dance abstract non-mainstream disco art, transforming themselves into sand sculptures before coming back.

If I let them in at a time like this, then I'd be the real idiot.

The campfire at the entrance was still burning weakly to minimize wood consumption. Here, you might not need much else, but wood is essential.

Wood is needed for daily life: to start a fire, to make furniture, to smoke and grill fish and meat, and to make short bows and arrows.

I took stock of the wood in the house and felt I needed to do something... Hmm, I'll definitely go find some wood next time!

Smoked fish is a must.

I dragged the lifeless fish ashore and walked to the campfire to give work orders.