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

In this process, the traitorous commander deserves immense credit.

"Well done, we'll make you a permanent employee once we reach our destination."

I yelled at the traitor who was busy readjusting the formation, then turned to look after the dromedary camels while he looked on in bewilderment.

This guy is truly talented. Normal military formations sound impressive, but they're actually just like elementary school students practicing calisthenics. How to march fastest, how to quickly change direction when encountering the enemy, how to handle obstacles and wild animals, how to take care of these kids when they're thirsty, hungry, or tired…

These are things I gradually learned through daily training, and they have nothing to do with the tricks of "golden cicada shedding its shell," "deceiving the heavens to cross the sea," or "besieging Wei to rescue Zhao" recorded in military books. They are purely based on experience.

In this respect, I know far more strategies than he does, but the only force I can effectively command is myself, relying on personal military might to conquer territories. If we are to develop in the future, the existence of this person in front of me is crucial.

What's even more absurd is that this guy also seems to have no morals. At the slightest provocation, he ordered his former comrades to be stripped naked, leaving the lord with a mound of corpses and a row of headless, naked bodies. It looked cruel yet somewhat comical. I can just imagine the lord's inner rage and helpless expression when he saw this scene...

I'm very satisfied with this transportation team leader!

Perhaps seeing the traitorous commander shining brightly, and the bald man having already rendered meritorious service, while he himself looked extremely like a burden, the fat warden instantly sensed something was wrong and quickly moved closer to me, trying to demonstrate his usefulness.

He pursed his chapped lips and said softly, "Sir, we're running low on food and drink. Shouldn't we collect them and redistribute them?"

I was stroking the head of a dromedary camel when I accidentally plucked a piece of its hair—sorry, I've added a mushroom to your mess. The dromedary camel, resting with its eyes closed, was very slow to react; it just shook its head and didn't even open its eyes. I asked it irritably, "What's it to you?"

The fat guard looked at me with a pitiful expression, his voice even weaker: "Sir, I'm worried that we'll run out of water and food and won't be able to get out of this desert. I'm doing this out of the best of intentions..."

I tried to stick the plucked hair onto the camel's head, but the wind in the wilderness was too strong, and it instantly blew the tuft of hair into the air. I immediately blamed him again, and retorted irritably, "What you're saying has nothing to do with me?"

The colonist system says my maximum comfortable temperature is 58 degrees Celsius, just like those modified plants; ordinary high temperatures can't harm me at all.

The fat warden opened his mouth but couldn't speak, his expression like that of a simpleton. He wiped the sweat from his fat face, looked up, and continued, "Sir, where are you taking us? I know every oasis around here; I can give you directions!"

"Huh? You have this function? Show me how to tell east from west and north from south first."

The fat man was overjoyed to hear this. He immediately ran to the roadside, picked up a dry twig, and stood it upright on the ground. He then placed a pebble at the tip of the twig's shadow. About 10 minutes later, he placed another pebble at the tip of the now-moved shadow. After doing this, he drew a straight line between the two pebbles.

I roughly know this method too. On Earth, this straight line represents the east-west direction, and the direction perpendicular to this line is the north-south direction. The end of the line pointing towards the sun points south, and the opposite direction is north.

But who knows what the sun's trajectory will be like on this planet, and with two suns in the sky, which one should we look at!

"Sir, the results are in!"

The fat man drew a cross on the ground as a marker and instantly got the result.

Only then did I look at him properly and continue, "Give me directions to Silent Valley. We must get there before dark."

The fat man's expression suddenly turned as if he were constipated, and his words of praise caught in his throat.

"Speak up, don't you know everything?"

I asked.

After hesitating for a long time, the fat man finally said haltingly, "Well... I know about Silent Valley. It's located 45 degrees south of east in the territory. It should be about a three-hour hike there... but..."

"But what?"

"But...it seems we've gone the wrong way, we've been walking in the opposite direction for an hour..."

Chapter 365 Old Cao Cao

"Sir, three slaves have died from the heat," the traitorous commander suddenly reported from behind me.

I said to him expressionlessly, "A proper burial, the deeper the better."

The traitor seemed somewhat sentimental as he cautiously said, "Sir, these people died because of their fate, not because they took those extra few steps. You don't need to feel guilty..."

"what?"

I turned to look at him. "What are you talking about? I mean bury it deeper so as not to attract wild animals or leave any traces for the enemy. Oh, and by the way, don't waste the clothes. Remember to take them with you. These ghillie suits are good stuff; they can be pieced together and still be used..."

The traitorous commander couldn't help but roll his eyes after hearing this, and then bowed his head and retreated.

Why are all these people so strange?

What does it have to do with me that slaves were sunburned to death?

What does your arrest of Zhou Shuren have to do with me, Lu Xun?

It's really baffling.

"Boss, we've run out of water. It'll probably only be enough for one more sip for everyone. More people might die from the heat or thirst..."

"Yes, sir, and everyone's strength is running low. The chances of reaching Silent Valley before dark are very slim..."

After hearing our discussion, the bald man and the fat guard also came up and recounted the current situation, trying to analyze it for me.

I braced myself against the ground with my steel halberd and looked back at the people who were following closely behind me.

These 150 or 160 people have already risked their lives to follow me into this wilderness. I know very well that the sick and weak among them could not possibly survive.

The remaining people are fully capable of crossing this Gobi Desert. If they were to perish because of my misjudgment, it would be a huge loss. I never imagined that traveling long distances in the wilderness would be so difficult. In the future, I must be fully prepared before undertaking such large-scale operations.

But if it were just me, that wouldn't be a big problem. I could keep up with the speed of a wild horse on my own two legs, and I'm probably the only one in the territory who can march at high speed.

The filthy slaves and town guards, though their clothes were worn out, were quite different in appearance and manner. They followed me bewilderedly, numbly and mechanically taking turns stepping, struggling across the Gobi Desert. They dared not waste a single bit of extra energy. Their only luxury was to occasionally look up at me, as if the mysterious figure in iron armor before them could infuse them with the strength to survive just by looking at his back.

Seeing the reverence in their eyes, I sighed. "Order everyone to drink all the water that was brought out of the unit, one sip at a time. Go and tell everyone."

The traitorous commander's voice was also quite hoarse from thirst. He whispered to me again to confirm, "Sir, are you serious? What if we run out of water and can't find a resupply point?"

I thought for a moment, "Don't worry, let's pass on the order again. There's a plum grove not far ahead, and the green plums there are big and juicy. One bite and they'll make your teeth ache! Let's hurry over there and we can eat them!"

Indeed, you still have to look to me for military strategy!

My trick of quenching thirst by looking at plums is absolutely flawless!

But the traitor and the bald man stammered and asked me, "Boss/Sir, what is a green plum?"

"..."

I was careless; I didn't expect these country folk to have never seen a green plum before...

"...Why all the nonsense! Let everyone drink some water, rest for ten minutes, and then we'll continue on our way. If we rest any longer, none of us will get out of here!"

…………

Shortly after we finished our last sip of water, we arrived at the outskirts of an abandoned complex of buildings.

"Well done, Fatty."

I praised the fat guard, and looking around, I saw a group of buildings that seemed to have been burned and destroyed. Most of them were low buildings with desert characteristics, but a tall warehouse in the middle stood out.

What's even more worrying is that a large area of ​​crops on the edge of the village has turned slightly yellow and is gradually losing its vitality due to a lack of care in the short term. If this continues, this unique green patch in the landscape will soon disappear in the daytime foehn winds.

"We've arrived at Shisong Village."

I was the first to enter this village that had recently been massacred and burned. The first thing I saw was a row of crooked new graves, which looked shabby and simple.

Apart from the dazed slaves, most of the people present knew the story of the massacre at Shisongzhuang, and the bald man was a witness to the event. Their expressions were not good when they came here.

As the saying goes, "birds of a feather flock together," and their fate today is no different from that of Shisongzhuang back then. The only difference is that one of them was more unlucky and could not escape the slaughter, and was buried under the yellow earth. The other two are relatively lucky. Although they are a bit disheveled, thirsty and hungry, at least they can still breathe and will not become objects of mourning for others.

"The village chief of Shisongzhuang at the time, I heard, also led a group of wanderers across the Gobi Desert. When they had nowhere else to go, they sought refuge with the loader's leader, but unfortunately..."

The fat warden seemed to be quite experienced, having personally witnessed all the major and minor events since the establishment of the territory, and immediately expressed his opinion.

I nodded and said to my three men behind me, "Baldy, tell everyone to find a house that hasn't collapsed yet to rest. We'll camp here for today and continue our journey tomorrow. Erwuzai, take a few men to check that well and see if there's any water left to drink."

The two men readily accepted the order and turned to carry out their tasks. Only the fat guard followed behind me, pointing to his own nose and saying obsequiously, "Sir, whatever your orders are, I will have no objections!"

I snorted and turned to walk into the village. Fatty quickly caught up with me and followed closely behind.

I arrived at the outside of a building that looked very low. I looked at the small window on the wall, and after confirming it several times, I stepped hard on the ground. I heard a "crack" sound, which seemed to be the sound of a wooden plank being split. Then the dust on the ground kept falling, and a hole big enough for me to pass through was revealed!

"My lord...this is..."

The fat man stared in disbelief at my actions and stammered a question.

"The secret grain warehouse of Shisong Village contains bread, beer, and tobacco that they have stored up. If it is full, it is enough to feed dozens of people in the village through a famine."

I smiled at him and gently explained the contents of the storehouse: "Your task is to guard this place and not allow anyone to put anything in."

"Sir! You...you actually trust me so much! I...I really..." The fat man's expression was incredibly complex. He had thought he was an outsider, and with his history of swindling and cheating, he would never gain trust, let alone shine like the other two. But he had actually been given the coveted job of guarding the warehouse, and he almost burst out laughing...

I could tell from his expression that he had something on his mind.

"Don't rush, let me finish." I shoved the steel halberd into his hand and instructed, "I'll tell everyone there are mountains of tobacco, beer, and bread inside, but you'll have to play the role of a stingy, merciless miser, blocking the doorway and chopping down anyone who comes near. Go in!"

After saying that, I pushed the fat man into the pit and quickly backed away.

With a loud thud and a cloud of dust, a muffled shout immediately echoed from inside the cave: "Something's not right, sir! There's only a barrel of wine, two bags of tobacco, and half a chest of bread in here! Lord Seven, you've tricked me!"

But I left only a ruthless reply: "That's exactly why. If you dare let anyone in, I'll have to tell everyone you lied about the supplies, and then use your head to boost morale!"

Chapter 366 Cloning Humans

This hidden warehouse was built on the foundation of several interconnected buildings. The real entrance was actually inside the Shisongzhuang Warehouse, which had a dedicated underground passage that allowed stored goods to be moved undetected for mutual relief during famine and bumper years.

I don't quite understand their approach. Perhaps they have to deal with the constant plundering by the vampires, the Loaders, while storing the goods, so they resorted to this desperate measure of storing the goods in a place where no one can see them.

Besides the tunnel I found, there are actually entrances to underground warehouses in many corners of the town. In critical moments, these underground passages can also be used to hide people and serve as refuges.

Ordinary people wouldn't know the location of these passages, but Burnett was an exception—this guy was in charge of the trade of goods in Shisong Village, his position was equivalent to that of the Grand Steward, and he was as close as family with the village chief, so he knew all the information the old village chief had. Before coming, he described the location of these tunnels to me and said that if there was nothing to eat, I could go inside and look for it.

As for where the things in the warehouse went?

Of course, it was moved away.

The people who moved these things were not raiders from the wasteland, but the original residents of this town. They had recently engaged in a large-scale underground trade with the pirates of Sabre Bay, using the supplies from the secret warehouse.

This year's climate is relatively mild compared to the extreme cold and heat of previous years—this can be seen from the thriving crops in the fields.

This year was originally expected to be a rare bumper harvest, so it was a perfectly reasonable choice for Shisongzhuang to exchange its stockpiled old grain and secondhand goods for some urgently needed supplies. After all, once the harvest was plentiful, the warehouse would be overflowing with grain, beer, tobacco, and more...

Unfortunately, they can no longer see it; all that remains are these lonely goods sitting alone in the warehouse.

"Boss, I've arranged everything!"

The bald man emerged from a corner and bumped into me, then immediately started talking about work.

I was a little surprised: "It was all arranged in such a short time? This village originally only had forty or fifty people. Can it accommodate more than a hundred of us?"

The bald man smiled slightly, his expression calm and composed, showing no sign of pride or arrogance: "Boss, the slaves are used to being crammed together. Twenty people have crammed into a two-room house. They can fall asleep anywhere, from the bed to the floor. Even the stove has been turned into a bed. The town's guard force was already small, and half of them went out to find a well. The remaining people have filled four rooms."

After saying that, he realized something was amiss and added, "The biggest room is reserved for you, boss. Take a look and see if you're satisfied. If not, I'll move out whichever room you like."

"Kick them out? No way. Didn't you say you'd changed your ways? Why are you still so domineering?" I asked.