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

There is no doubt about this; most of the people associated with this mine ended up dying or disappearing in the mine.

Of those who are definitively confirmed dead, only Antonio is mentioned in the monologue. He died in what appears to be a fall from a cliff, but his body was found on flat ground in a plantation, suggesting it had been moved.

Then the act of moving the body would seem extremely suspicious. Even if it wasn't the murderer, it was clearly intended to frame someone and stir up trouble in the town.

The person I'm most concerned about, named "Yorkson Providence," is very likely the old Yorkson in the monologue.

He was a learned and wise old man who was decisive in his youth but devoted himself to books in his old age.

His proposed centralized political system on the island and long-term development model laid a solid foundation for the later prosperity of Mineral Town.

Moreover, his involvement in the construction of Rose Square and the final building of this spa resort aligns with the information I have.

However, the old man's final fate was to disappear from his own house when he was no longer able to walk freely.

Unlike those egalitarian activists who ventured into the mountains, no one explicitly stated that he disappeared in the mines.

Doranco suffered the same fate.

As one of the mining leaders and a carpenter on the island, he had arguably the closest contact with the mountain.

But his final whereabouts were indeed lost during his patrol of the mountain. Knowing of the strange events that had occurred with so many people already missing, why did he insist on searching the mountain alone? Was it driven by a sense of justice, or did he have another motive?

If Antonio was killed by ordinary miners who later fought for power, then the disappearance of these two men seems illogical.

As the town's sheriff, I interrogated Hooke the moment Antonio died. Why did this lone traveler, known as a "skeptic," give up on going into the mountains so early and seek another way at the foot of the mountain?

Admittedly, Hooker Jr. is highly suspicious in terms of both motive and timing of the murder, but the method of the murder is a major flaw.

If I were the murderer, I would never move the body to my own plantation after killing someone, without making any attempt to cover it up, waiting for the crime to be exposed at dawn.

This alone is enough to clear Hooke Jr. of suspicion. Old Yorkson must have thought of this as well, which is why he proposed the protective custody measure, placing Hooke Jr. in full view of the public to prevent the murderer from continuing to kill.

After all, what could be more reasonable than committing murder and then taking one's own life out of guilt?

At this point, old Yorkson had made an absolutely rational choice.

It can be seen that even though Hooke Jr. constantly questioned his decisions, the old man only used his wisdom as an elder to maintain the relative stability of the team, rather than expelling or separating an unstable factor.

Hooke Jr. merely maintained his skepticism, did not interfere with the collective decision, and even willingly accepted being imprisoned and arrested, suffering an inexplicable injustice.

So, at this time, the elder Yorkson and the younger Hooker, two men with completely opposite opinions, became trustworthy allies.

Therefore, in the long run, it is actually the timid "I" and the later Doranco who acted independently that seem to be detached from the situation.

One theory suggests that the egalitarians murdered Antonio, a staunch figure in power, in order to create an opportunity for conflict, and then they all died in a trap left behind by the six miners.

However, this does not explain why the town later fell into chaos again, devastated by a rumor.

The horrifying story of that alcoholic has repeatedly drawn attention to the area surrounding Hooker Jr. It's highly possible he was also a pawn used by egalitarians to sow discord.

However, this still cannot explain the mass terrorist disappearances he later testified about.

Revealing this news will only render all the previous efforts of the equality advocates futile.

The best approach would be to subtly imply and frame the group of six veteran miners, forcing them to come up with a compromise to quell the conflict!

I felt as if behind the strange events in the town, there was a pair of malicious eyes watching everything unfold.

The mastermind behind the scenes was not satisfied with any compromise or mediation; what it wanted was for the town to descend into absolute chaos and panic, to plunge this once prosperous town into a virus of fear, and to destroy the fertile ground for development that had been cultivated over many years.

But who exactly is it?

No one has stepped forward to take responsibility for this.

No one benefited from it.

There isn't even a single person on record who could have orchestrated this mad farce.

.........

The colonizer system has presented me with a huge puzzle, one that I have pondered deeply but still cannot find the answer to.

I kept drawing relationship diagrams on the ground to recreate the events, but in the end I only got a messy doodle.

The clues for each person are interconnected, and the suspicions against each person are contradictory, turning small problems into a vortex of huge problems.

I suddenly began to sympathize with the nameless "I" in the monologue.

He used his limited knowledge to do his best to unravel this conspiracy.

However, from his perspective, he was unable to objectively and fairly analyze the motives of his close friends.

Even with his investigative abilities, he couldn't possibly uncover every single clue with ease.

In the end, even though he was once closer to the truth than I was, he still became a pawn in the conspiracy after making tremendous efforts.

I think that, apart from the elderly old Yorkson, having young Hooker thoroughly investigate this matter would be more likely to uncover the truth.

Moreover, judging from the fact that he lives at the foot of the mountain and is unwilling to go into the mine again, could it be that he has discovered some clues?

.........

A mysterious sixth man, an unknown murderer, the final whereabouts of the original residents, and the answer to the town's mysteries...

These questions lingered in my mind, refusing to leave, and I couldn't find a reasonable explanation even after I returned to the foot of the mountain.

Actually, I have some immature clues in my mind that I need to verify one by one, so I can only keep these doubts to myself.

After all, survival is the most important thing.

My thoughts suddenly flew across distant times and space, and I remembered that there were also six people back then, just like me now, struggling to establish themselves in a completely new world.

Like me, they are full of hope.

Chapter 24 Madam, your hairstyle is dangerous!

I hurriedly descended the mountain, temporarily keeping these doubts to myself.

The next priority should be to focus on building the ranch.

For example, visiting neighbors and ranchers in town is a very important part of the process.

Like now, I looked up and found myself standing in front of old Sebala's blacksmith shop.

Suddenly, the sounds of fighting erupted from inside. Not long after, a figure flew out from behind the blacksmith's curtain, fell to the ground, and immediately leaped up, disappearing into a black dot in the distance.

Is this another of Sebala's daily beatings of his grandson?

Hey buddy, what do you look like? I still haven't gotten a good look at you.

"emmm..."

I hesitated for a moment, but still decided not to go in.

Getting too close to silly people can lead them astray, since only silly people can understand silly people.

Boss Dick and Old Sebala here have already reached the level of being silly Stand users!

After thinking all this through, I resolutely turned around and continued walking forward without looking to the side.

Before I had taken two steps, at the edge of a wooden gate, the familiar event occurred again!

"Cuckoo!"

A hen flew out of the gate and landed on my face with one claw. Its fluffy feathers shimmered in the sunlight, completely obscuring my vision.

"What the hell! Enemy attack!"

Still in a state of tension, I was blinded by an invisible, furry creature and quickly raised my hands to block it.

This action played right into the hen's hands, and she used her arm to propel herself into flight.

I looked up and saw the hen soaring in the air under the blazing sun, displaying a majestic air reminiscent of a phoenix dancing in the heavens. I couldn't help but exclaim in admiration:

"The phoenix..."

Before I could even utter the last word "fly," a cannonball-like figure slammed into my chest, knocking me to the ground.

It's appeared! It's appeared again!

The curse of being 100% killed around the corner!

"it hurts……"

A pink-haired girl was lying on the ground like a dead fish that had just come ashore, looking like she had hit the ground very hard, shaking her head and unable to recover.

"Are you OK?"

Seeing this, I couldn't keep lying on the ground pretending to be dead. I stood up abruptly and tried to help the pink-haired girl in the dress up.

"I feel so dizzy..."

Even after I helped her up, she remained standing there with her eyes glazed over.

No wonder, when I was using my chest to tank damage, she was using her head to deal damage, the danger levels were not even in the same league.

The pink-haired girl swayed for a while before finally coming to her senses and suddenly uttering a sentence.

"Coco! Coco ran away!"

When I looked back, I saw that the hen that had just used the Phoenix Dance Nine Heavens technique was still wandering around in the open space next to the Sebala Forge, looking for insects and pebbles to eat in the grass.

"It's okay, your Coco is still there, I'll go get it."

I can't count on the pink-haired girl for now, so I'll have to step in myself.

I helped her to a bench by the roadside, then turned around and took off the sickle and axe from my waist. I tiptoed closer to the hen that was wandering around oblivious to my presence.

…………

"Mr. Marcus! Thank you!"

The pink-haired girl in a dress, who called herself Popuri, happily hugged the hen named Coco and smiled sweetly at me.

"It's nothing, it's what I should do."

I quickly expressed my modesty.

But Popuri's eyes showed a hint of worry as she asked.

"Are you really alright, Mr. Marcus? Your face is covered in injuries..."

Young lady, do you know that there are some things that men would rather die than admit?

During the process of capturing the hen, it used a series of tricks such as "Phoenix Dance in the Nine Heavens," "Hundred Birds Paying Homage to the Phoenix," and "Phoenix Dance Moving the Clouds," leaving wounds on my face and hands that are still throbbing slightly.