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

Poppy seemed quite puzzled as she answered me, then leaned closer to me and shook my arm as she spoke.

Oh, I see. My ranch was washed away by the flood, and their chicken farm, located downstream, must have suffered the same fate. They must be homeless and living in the inn above the tavern. I never thought Boss Dutter's business would come in handy for the first time.

"I thought... you were swept away by the flood like my mother... Waaah..."

"...What? Lady Lilia was swept away too?"

Poppy suddenly started crying. She had probably been sleeping upstairs and only rushed downstairs when she heard me talking. That's why she was wearing pink pajamas and her hair was loose, not her usual dress. At that moment, she hugged me from behind without caring about her appearance, causing the water stains and algae on my clothes to get on her as well.

The stranger behind the bar frowned and comforted Popuri, "Popuri, don't be sad. I believe Lilia will be alright, I will find her... I just don't know how this Mr. Marcus escaped the flood, or if he can give us any help?"

After he finished speaking, he kept scanning me with a scrutinizing look.

I sensed a hint of wariness and rejection in the middle-aged stranger's words, so I arranged for the sobbing Poppy to sit next to me and stared at him in silence.

"Please don't do this... Oh, right, Marcus, I haven't introduced you yet!"

Poppy wiped away her tears and tried to force a smile as she said to me, "You've never seen him before, have you? This is my dad! He's finally back in town!"

Poppy's...father?

The middle-aged man behind the bar looked at me with a serious expression, extending his thick hand to shake mine: "My name is Rod, Lilia's husband, and Rick and Poppy's father. I've been away from home for many years and haven't returned to town. I never imagined such a drastic change would happen..."

It felt like a thunderbolt struck my head. I shook his hand blankly, feeling like he was about to crush my palm, before I hurriedly pulled my hand back.

"Mr. Rhodes! You...you weren't..."

Aren't you trapped in a time vortex, unable to escape?

The question lingered on my lips, but I couldn't bring myself to ask it. First, old Sebala's words, spoken while drunk, were inherently highly unreliable. Second, if this man really was Rod, why would he coincidentally return to the ranch after disappearing for so many years, right when his wife went missing?

Is this really just a coincidence?

"Publi, take this Mr. Marcus upstairs and find him a room. Also, please have him change his clothes, understand?"

He spoke the last few words with extra force, as if afraid others wouldn't understand his unspoken meaning. Poppy, whether realizing she had been too agitated or noticing the mud stains on her pajamas, nodded with a slightly flushed face.

For some reason, I found that as I became suspicious of this man who called himself Rod, he also seemed to be hostile towards me.

But I put aside my doubts for the time being and nodded, saying, "Then I'll take my leave, Mr. Rhodes."

After I finished speaking, I followed Poppy upstairs.

Chapter 393 Mudslide

From the day I arrived in town, I have been living on my own ranch, and even though Mr. Dart invited me many times, I have never actually stayed at the inn for a single night.

Unexpectedly, I broke another first today.

Looking at the neat furnishings and clean bedding in the room, and then at the torrential rain outside the window that was about to engulf the world, I couldn't help but feel a sense of temporal and spatial dislocation, as if I were trapped in a difficult crevice, where even turning my body had become a luxury.

The lightning bolts in the sky writhed and twisted, splitting into countless silvery branches. In this small town without tall buildings, the view from the second floor of the tavern was exceptionally expansive, allowing me to see the entire gloomy sky.

I sensed a profound sense of oppression, as heavy as leaden clouds hanging over the sky above this remote town, and weighing heavily on everyone's hearts. I seemed to see a vortex rising from the boundless dark clouds, twisting and devouring everything in sight…

Seeing me standing in front of the closed glass window, staring blankly at the sky, Poppy made up the bedding for me and then sat obediently on the wooden chair next to me, speaking softly.

“Marcus, it’s so good to see you back… Where have you been all this time?”

Poppy's voice broke my reverie, "I...I don't know either...I think I had a very long dream. When I woke up, I was halfway up Mount Mads, and when I came down the mountain, I found that my ranch was gone..."

I simply can't explain how I ended up surviving in the wilderness on a planet light-years away, or how I managed to cross the dream gate back to town with the help of those two old bastards. But the medium in between was really just a grand dream.

I sincerely hope that I'm dreaming.

“A dream? But you’ve been gone for half a month!” Poppy exclaimed in surprise, covering her mouth. “This heavy rain started the night we parted at the tavern, and for some reason it triggered a huge mudslide that destroyed many parts of the town… Judging from the path, your ranch was the first to be destroyed. We all thought you couldn’t escape in your sleep…”

It seems that on the very day I crossed into the wasteland, the mudslide "coincidentally" destroyed the pasture...

Poppy said in a low voice, reaching out and grabbing my arm again with renewed courage, as if to confirm once more that the person standing in front of him was a living person, not a ghost who had returned to life with lingering resentment.

I patted her hand with a little concern and comforted her, "Don't worry, I'm still alive. Although I don't know what happened, I definitely escaped the mudslide unscathed. Can you tell me what happened next?"

I was eager to know what had happened in the town after I traveled through time, and Poppy also hoped to find a way to release her emotions by talking to others, so she said in a trembling voice.

"Boss Dart was the first to arrive at the ranch. He told us he couldn't find any trace of you and that you might have unfortunately perished. Then he ran to the downstream ranch area and found that Grandpa Muqi's house was just a dilapidated building barely standing in the ruins. Our chicken farm was also leveled by the mudslide. Fortunately, Mom's strange illness made her sleep schedule the opposite of ours, so she noticed the crisis in time and woke us up to escape..."

"Publi, you mean Lady Lilia led you to escape? Then how...how did she die?"

I hesitated for a moment before finally uttering the word "doomed." Lady Lilia's strange illness had caused her chronic weakness and unstable health, and she was often drowsy. She had only narrowly escaped death by waking up in the middle of the night. So how did she get into this mess?

Poppy's eyes instantly reddened, and tears streamed down her cheeks, washing over her pajamas and the back of her hands.

“At that time… when… Mr. Dart went to rescue Grandpa Muchi and Mei, who were trapped in the house… Mom told my brother and me to take refuge in Rose Square first, and she would wait for Mr. Dart to return before leaving…”

Poppy said sadly, her expression filled with remorse, "But who knew, Mom seemed to have forgotten something and went back to the house alone. Mr. Dart said that when he rescued Grandpa Mookie and May, he saw Mom go into the house as he passed the chicken farm... Then, another mudslide came... It washed away our house... and Mom... disappeared without a trace..."

I fell silent for a long time, the only sound the soft, persistent sobs of Poppy. Lady Lilia had been swallowed by the secondary mudslide because of carelessness—a truly tragic story…

"It's alright, Poppy. Since I survived this unexpected ordeal, I believe Lady Lilia will also be safe and sound!"

"Really?" Poppy looked at me with teary eyes and asked.

I deliberately acted confidently: "Look, I'm standing right in front of you, isn't that the best proof?"

Poppy looked into my eyes, a hint of trust finally flashing across her face, and nodded heavily: "Yes... I believe you, Marcus!"

Then she wiped away her tears and continued, "I believe in miracles! Dad's sudden return must be a blessing from heaven. I can't keep crying and causing trouble for everyone!"

Hearing this, I seized the opportunity to ask, "By the way, Poppy, what happened at the tavern? Where are Boss Dart and Lynn?"

Popley said, "After the mudslide, the town suffered severe damage. The original hydroelectric power station was also destroyed, so the whole town is pitch black at night... The effects of the famine are still ongoing. Boss Dart and Mayor Thomas took a boat to the Federation to purchase supplies and apply for aid. It seems they took Lynn with them..."

"The last ship to return carried two people: Mayor Thomas and my father. They said that Boss Dart had gone to seek more support and therefore wouldn't be coming back for the time being..."

Boss Dart took Lynn and ran off to the Federation, not coming back? Doesn't that sound like they're running away?

"Is this when Mr. Rhodes returned?" I asked.

Poppy nodded: "Dad said that Boss Dart entrusted him with managing the tavern, so he brought my brother and me to live here."

This is also a bit suspicious...

In other words, the man who called himself Rod did not appear with his "good friend" Boss Dart, and his words were only his side of the story. Based on my understanding of Boss Dart, he would never abandon his neighbors and run away with Lynn…

I would only believe something like this if it were Boss Dick or the unscrupulous businessman Jeff!

Something unusual must be going on. What exactly is the purpose of this suddenly appearing Mr. Rhodes?

“Publi, do you feel like there’s something wrong with your dad…”

Before I could finish speaking, I heard hurried footsteps in the inn's corridor, and a shadow elongated by the candlelight appeared at the doorway.

"Publi, why did it take you so long to clean up? Marcus must be exhausted after all that he's been through. Don't disturb his rest, okay?"

Poppy had heard my question clearly, but was startled by the shouts outside the door. A hint of panic flashed in her crimson eyes. She nodded slightly, then raised a finger and gently pressed it to her small lips, signaling me not to speak. Then she quickly got up and left the house.

"Dad, I'm chatting with Marcus, don't you dare eavesdrop!"

"It's already very late. How about we talk about it tomorrow? You should go and get some rest. I brought some of my own clothes for him to change into. It's not convenient for you to keep them. You can go now."

As the footsteps gradually came to a stop, the shadow at the doorway also gradually shortened, finally returning to the normal shape of a person's shadow.

And the person I suspected is standing in front of me right now, calmly looking at me.

Chapter 394 Mysterious Rain

"This rain is really like it's going to drown the fish in the sea... Marcus, do you mind if I talk to you for a while?"

As the man who called himself Rod said this, he quickly got to work. After a brief eye contact with me, he brushed past me and stepped onto the wooden floor of the inn, placing a clean but simple set of cotton clothes in front of me.

"Wouldn't it seem too heartless of me to say I mind?" I smiled slightly, picked up a towel to wipe the water off myself, leaned against the wall, and looked at the man in front of me.

Mr. Rod probably sensed my wariness, so he took a few steps forward and stood beside me by the window. He looked out the window at the raging rainy night separated by the glass, watching the chaotic world being torn apart by the wind and battered by the raindrops, and spoke softly.

"I never imagined... that returning to town after so many years would turn out like this. Marcus, what are your thoughts on this place?"

I also stared at the mottled rain streaks on the glass, watching the water droplets slide down it at varying speeds, leaving behind an indescribable distorted pattern.

"This doesn't seem like the town I know anymore... Mr. Rhodes, I've never seen a town this violent before. Before I left, this mining town was a peaceful, impoverished backwater, where everyone lived happily together, looking no different from any other town in the world..."

At that moment, the middle-aged man who called himself Rod quickly raised his head, as if attracted by the thunder that suddenly appeared in the sky, but I noticed a fleeting look of surprise in his eyes.

What is he panicking about? Is it about this town? Or about me?

"Mr. Rhodes, how long has this rain been going on?" I decided to take the initiative to speak, even if it meant exposing my own weakness, just to find out what was wrong with him.

The middle-aged man sighed, tilting his head back: "After the mudslide, Dart and Thomas somehow found me and told me that Lilia was in trouble. So I rushed back to the ranch... After that, this sudden downpour came, and it's been going on for almost a week now..."

not right...

The fastest flight from Mineral Town to the Federation takes at least three days, making it six days round trip. It rained for seven days, so the boss and the little train have been gone for at most three and a half days. How could Mr. Rhodes, whom Boss Dart mentioned, who travels the world extensively, have been found so quickly? Could this be a coincidence?

My contemplation became a catalyst for the middle-aged man's narration, and I listened as he continued.

"Initially, we were worried about other secondary geological disasters and decided to evacuate all residents to the surrounding islands. However, the thunderstorm continued uninterrupted, making it impossible for any ships to approach the area. We had no choice but to do our best to prepare for disaster prevention..."

"Disaster prevention measures? But I see this place is completely empty?"

“Harris and Gotz’s departure is truly a loss,” Mr. Rhodes said helplessly. “The rain showed no signs of stopping on the third day, and even intensified, led by unidentified thunderstorm clouds overhead, locking the town in place. The lake on Mount Mads quickly exceeded the warning level, and even formed a landslide dam halfway up the mountain. In order to prepare in advance, we could only dig an artificial channel along the path of the mudslide to divert the water to a ruined pasture area…”

"No wonder I returned to the ranch and found it had turned into a swamp," I said, suddenly realizing.

Mr. Rhodes said apologetically, "This is the only route that can minimize the losses for the town's residents. I hope you don't mind. If you do mind, I can apologize, because this was not a decision made by the town, but rather my personal action."

I shrugged indifferently: "There's no point in keeping a pasture that's been reduced to ruins. It would be best if it could become a flood channel. I would make the same choice if I were in that situation, but Mr. Rod, you must have put in a lot of effort to carve out a river channel from the debris flow ruins, right?"

Mr. Rhodes shook his head: "Actually, I had been digging and searching there for the first few days. After all, I don't believe Lilia... I don't believe she would just disappear like that."

At this point, he lowered his head and remained silent for a long time before continuing, "Marcus, you seem to have a... good relationship with Poppy?"

"Of course, when I first arrived in town, Lady Lilia and Poppy helped me a lot, and we're very good friends." Is it necessary to keep this relationship a secret, even though most people in town are my friends?

"Then could you please tell me how you escaped death? It's important to me, and it's important to Lilia, please!"

Mr. Rhodes unconsciously twirled the ring on his hand, looked down into my eyes, and then remained silent.

I felt uneasy under his gaze, and tried to sound as honest as possible as I said, "Mr. Rhodes, I feel sorry for what happened to Mrs. Lilia, but my experience was too bizarre, and I don't even know what happened to me. I really can't offer any useful clues... so... I'm sorry."

As soon as I spoke, Mr. Rhodes's eyes returned to their initial indifference, as if the door to his heart that had just opened for a moment had been locked shut again, and it all seemed to be my imagination.

"Marcus, you should get some rest. It's not a good time to go out in town lately, let's pray together that this heavy rain will end soon."

Mr. Rod blew out the candles he had brought into the room, picked up the candlesticks, bowed slightly, and prepared to leave. But I couldn't let him leave so easily.