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

“Mr. Rhodes, the machine is assembled, isn’t it? Why aren’t you starting to use it?” I asked.

Kate Winslop whispered, "What you see now is only a part of His incarnation. More bodies are widening the cracks in the prison, trying to enter this world. If we proceed with the plan now, we will only anger this terrifying being and bring about an even greater crisis..."

Well... if I were to use a Chinese proverb, you guys really are like the saying, "Friends come from afar—though they are far away, we will surely punish them!"

You guys conceded two goals and the ball was practically kicked into the penalty area, the goalkeeper was nearly knocked out, and you're still thinking about playing counter-attacking football? Is your strategic depth measured by the thickness of your players' skin? Did you learn this tactic from the Chinese national team?

“…Mr. Rhodes, I’ve always been good at using unconventional tactics, but I have a plan I’m not sure if I should share it?” I asked.

Mr. Rhodes said with slight surprise, "Marcus, what are your thoughts? Share them so we can all consider them."

I said, "I think that since the enemy is already in front of us, defending and counterattacking is too passive. We should besiege the city and attack the reinforcements! At this time, you send out 100 million troops in one direction to flank it from the rear and block its subsequent invasion. Then I will send 100 million troops in one direction to take its head head straight from the front!"

"...Marcus, you really did go mad when you looked directly at the Outer God, didn't you? I won't even talk about where you got an army of 100 million people, I'd really like to see how you managed to divide your forces into 100 million groups all by yourself," Mr. Rhodes said speechlessly.

I nonchalantly waved my sleeve and said, "I don't care about that. Just tell me, isn't this plan ingenious? I reckon even if I can't beat it, I can at least scare it back!"

Now that I've regained my full memories, my mind is filled with all sorts of random and unnecessary information, and the spiel in my head is practically like a bomb in the crotch of an airplane—it's absolutely awesome!

Fortunately, the person in front of me is just Mr. Rhodes from a parallel world. I won't see him again when I return to the ranch. Otherwise, I would never be able to hold my head up in front of Poppy and my ranch neighbors again.

…………

“Professor Rhodes, the Hume Index is still fluctuating wildly. There are still five minutes until the estimated time for the Reality Stabilization Anchor, but it seems that ‘Deepsea Explosion’ has spotted us.”

Kate Winslop, with her short hair, re-examined the Reality Anchors interface and said with a hint of worry.

The ocean has formed a reverse eddy, like a mountain rising quietly from the vast ocean, defying common sense, surging around Mount Maders, almost reaching the same height as the mountain.

Following them were many furtive figures climbing up the severely damaged cliff face. Their dark green bodies clung tightly to the slippery rock, highlighting the high, scaly ridges on their backs.

The creature had vaguely humanoid features, but its sides were adorned with constantly trembling cheeks, making it look like a real Godzilla that had just landed in Tokyo. These creatures leaped forward haphazardly, sometimes using only their hind legs, sometimes on all fours, moving swiftly towards the summit of Mount Mads!

Even more despairing was the sight of a huge, dark shadow that appeared and disappeared amidst the waves, lurking beneath them. I could even see the tattered sails billowing and the cabin windows opening and closing rhythmically.

“Marcus, they are the first deep-sea creatures that ‘Deepsea Cataclysm’ sent to invade! It cannot fully manifest itself yet, and it definitely intends to use these creatures to annihilate us!”

I gave them a cold look and said, "I understand, they're all old friends. A ghost ship trying to drag me into the sea, and a group of Deep Ones who assimilated and devoured the town's residents..."

"Are you sure you can manage on your own? Now it's up to you to buy some time!"

"Don't worry, I'll handle them. I'll just take my topknot and go to the barbershop—it'll be a breeze!"

“Your analogy is really a bit subtle…” Mr. Rhodes looked at me speechlessly.

The first deep-sea creatures to approach had reached the only path atop the cliff. After being affected by the dark green fog emitted by the "Deep Sea Cataclysm," they had grown even larger, now nearly two meters tall, and their claws, teeth, and bone spikes had rapidly matured into their familiar form.

Strangely, none of these dozens of Deep Ones were as large as Gotz, let alone the monstrous size of Doranco. Is there something unusual about this?

But there was no time to think about it. I was standing in a narrow crevice where there was no way to retreat, and there was no room to dodge or move. So the attack of the Deep Ones was already upon me!

Colonizer system, activate it!

"System notification: Colonists have been detected to be under attack by hostile creatures. Automatically entering counterattack mode!"

The Deep One's hoarse, shrill growl had barely escaped when a dangerous attack followed, but an even faster fist had already landed on its arm.

With a loud "duang," my Orichalcos steel arm armor collided head-on with its webbed hand, sending it flying through the air. This was followed by a series of "receiving, transforming, and releasing" maneuvers performed by Master Ma Baoguo, allowing the professional team to successfully accept the order, apply makeup, and conduct the funeral.

"You bunch of young people, is it okay for you to bully an old comrade like me? It's not right! Let me show you what martial virtue is!"

After the familiar system descended upon me, I felt as if I were divinely aided once again. I became even more immersed in the combat style of the Colonizer System, drawing valuable experience from it.

But the system's counterattack was too fast. The swarming Deep Ones were trapped in the narrow space and could only resort to the tactic of the Calabash Brothers rescuing their grandfather, sending them up one by one. I, on the other hand, smoothly met their attack and kept repelling them.

"How much longer? These monsters are recovering at an astonishing rate, and they're getting more and more troublesome!"

I shattered the Deep One's deformed skull with one punch, but the other pounced on me and continued to bite. I pierced its brain with the rapier on my arm armor, which brought it some relief. I asked Mr. Rhodes.

Kate Winthrop said for him, "It's almost over. The stronger the Deep Ones become, the more the power of 'Deepsea Cataclysm' will descend! Hang in there!"

"What? We have to wait for them to get even stronger? How much stronger do we need to be?!"

"Three times... no, five times!"

"...Pah, I'm going to unlock a second-tier gene lock, you guys can handle it yourselves!"

Chapter 422 The War of the Worlds (Part 11)

After taking that first step, I probably spent the longest five minutes of my life, and after gaining a profound understanding of relativity, I also developed deep doubts about the world.

"Mr. Rhodes, is your school even reliable? Why are you and this student the only two people in such a dangerous situation? The world is about to end, shouldn't you all step up and protect the planet?"

I dodged a close-range attack from a Deep One, and with lightning speed, my right-hand rapier plunged into its elbow. With a slight effort along the bone, I severed its outstretched, ugly arm in two, splattering dark green blood across a corrosive patch.

Mr. Rhodes' voice finally came after a long pause: "Faced with such a crisis, even if we used all the personnel of Miskatonic University, it wouldn't be enough to form a decent armed force. Moreover, Miskatonic University has never solved problems with force. Our trump card is the world-class academic level and unimaginable collections within the university..."

Two deep-diving creatures climbed up the cliff this time, their bodies still entangled in rotting seaweed. It seems they had been lurking in the lagoon of Mount Mads for a long time before launching their attack, bypassing my sight.

With no room to retreat, facing the immense force coming from above, I took a small step forward, feet two feet apart, hands crossed above my head, forcibly taking the hit. However, the ground beneath my feet, softened by the flash flood, collapsed, creating a gap that prevented me from launching further attacks. Worse still, the Deep One, having recovered and healed, was closing in again from behind!

But at this moment, the Colonizer System's absolute strategic capabilities were on full display. The Colonizer System controlled my body to turn left and step out, kicking the Deep One's thigh. Suddenly, I leaped out from the center of attention, rolled on the ground, and then a strange weapon appeared in my hand—a crowbar.

Before the Deep Ones could react, I had already completed a flanking maneuver. I used a crowbar to pierce two approaching Deep Ones, eliminating the threat of further approach. Only then did I notice that two more Deep Ones were emitting hoarse, indistinct growls as they approached Kate Winsrop, who was monitoring the equipment!

System command: Activate charging mode!

Without giving them a chance to get any closer, I took a deep breath. A mysterious force surged up my spine, my arm muscles bulged explosively, and the power, like the ocean, reverberated through my body. After overlapping and advancing, it finally came into play with the action of throwing the crowbar.

Because of the uneven structure at both ends of the crowbar, it flew out spinning when it was extended, resembling a black, round iron disc in the air. It flew straight past the two monsters and embedded itself deeply into a rock wall of Mount Mades, creating terrifying, spiderweb-like patterns.

The two Deep Ones that had approached Kate Winslop had been torn in two by the flying crowbar, their bodies collapsing to the ground without a sound, having lost power.

"Phew... Mr. Rhodes, your school doesn't have any student buddies or anything like that, does it? Or do you have some kind of protection law against monsters, so that eating one or two students can get you a suspended sentence and a smooth graduation? Otherwise, why can't you spare any other manpower? Hurry up and get to work, there are more and more Deep Ones!"

After activating the charge-up mode, I immediately deactivated the counterattack mode to prevent exhaustion from excessive combat, and then casually threw the four pieces of the Deep One's corpse off the cliff.

Even disregarding the Deep Ones' attack, the ghost ship that's gradually approaching in the waves poses a huge threat. If it launches an attack, I can't guarantee I can continue to protect the two people on the mountaintop.

Finally, Mr. Rhodes uttered the words I longed to hear: "Thank you for your hard work, Marcus! The Hume Index shown by the Reality Anchor has stabilized, and the 'Final Catastrophe' has entered its predetermined phase..."

Kate Winslop said proactively, "Understood, Professor Rhodes! Activate the device!"

…………

After Kate Winslop pressed the switch, a terrifying white light suddenly shone from the strange device on the ground. The unidentified fluctuations that spread rapidly swept across the world, triggering a silent catastrophe. The various anomalies surrounding Mount Mads were instantly and severely damaged by the power of this machine.

The Deep Ones, who were trying to get closer to us from the mountainside, had grown noticeably stronger after being enhanced by the dark green poisonous fog. Their smooth, glossy skin could even block the cuts from my arm armor blades, and their wounds would naturally heal over time. They threw themselves back into the battle.

However, after the first exposure to stable anchor radiation, these deep-sea divers clearly experienced varying degrees of rhabdomyolysis. Their tangled, inhuman limbs resembled melted candles, and their skin became noticeably dry and cracked. The deep-sea divers, who had been crawling and jumping rapidly, suddenly collapsed to the ground, their legs giving way. They gasped for breath, their mouths wide open, but were unable to obtain oxygen, resembling fish out of water.

Even more terrifying was that after the second wave of reality-stabilizing radiation, these Deep Ones collapsed to the ground, their limbs convulsing. Bizarre organs gradually detached from their bodies, and the difficulty of oxygenation in their massive forms caused their torsos to rapidly turn bluish-purple and necrotic. Their gaping, menacing mouths began to retch, vomiting out countless amounts of thick, dark green blood. Then, strange, twisted organs continuously spewed from their mouths, some even pulsating with deformed blood vessels…

These monsters behave much like deep-sea fish that have been pulled ashore, their internal organs squeezed out due to the pressure difference between the inside and outside of their bodies!

The surging seawater surrounding Mount Maders instantly plummeted from its heights, returning to its normal level. The strange vessel that had been approaching on the turbulent waves also began its freefall, plunging deep into the waves and disappearing from our sight.

"See that? That's the power of a reality anchor. These reality-distorting creatures possess extremely high Hume indices. We only need to stop them when they've become alienated to a sufficient degree, and they will be rejected and punished by this world, ultimately dying under the world's original laws!"

"More importantly, any organism that enters a plane with a Hume index that is 100 times higher or lower than its own will cause the decay or collapse of the Hume field."

"Moreover, whether it is the decay or disintegration of the Hume field, the consequences are irreversible and extremely terrifying. In the Hume index, where the height difference is extremely obvious, just by getting close, the anomalous existence will disappear from the world completely without leaving a trace of DNA, just like entering the core of a star."

Mr. Rhodes said calmly.

Chapter 423 The War of the Worlds (Part Twelve)

The anchor of reality before us is working steadily and reliably, rapidly and effectively shaping a world that is returning to normal in our eyes.

Whether it's deep-sea divers, terrifying thunderstorms, or ghost ships in the deep sea, they are all vulnerable to the tides of stable reality and quickly disappear from this stage.

But in the deep sea fissures in the distance, the enormous eyeball still remains underground. Countless wisps of dark green mist surge out and dissipate, yet they tightly envelop the nearby sea, concealing the demonic shadow that has invaded the world.

In the chaos, we all saw that dreamlike, blurry, and distorted form, slowly constructed from flickering chaotic lines, pale lightning like static interference, and bloated dark green poisonous mist.

Unlike those ambiguous and distorted products, even under the influence of a stable anchor in reality, this symbol of distortion can still change or distort its body at will, growing new limbs and shrinking back old, useless limbs, easily adapting to the rules of this world.

In the deep shadows, we saw green mist swirling around the underground fissures. The embodiment of the 'Deep Sea Cataclysm' was entirely green, with an enormous body that looked as tall as a mountain. Its soft head was covered with countless tentacles, its body was fat and covered with scales, its forelimbs had soft, claw-like appendages, and its back had a pair of tattered, seemingly undeveloped wings.

“Mr. Rhodes, is the power of the Reality Stabilizer insufficient? It seems we need to increase its power for this purpose—could we get another one?” I asked.

Mr. Rhodes said in a deep voice, "No, Professor Henry Armitage believes that the unidentified weapon manuscript recording the manufacturing method of a real-world stabilizing anchor has sinister intentions and may be part of a conspiracy. Therefore, he disagrees with its large-scale production and use. Currently, the weapons manufactured according to the manuscript all have extremely serious side effects..."

"Side effects? The positron cannon I just used was perfect, wasn't it?" I asked.

Kate Winthrop, as a researcher, volunteered to answer: "Professor Rhodes is right. I also participated in this strategic weapons research program from start to finish. The use of positron cannons requires a massive amount of electricity, and the moment of firing would cause power plants around the world to overload and explode. Therefore, only Migo's energy technology can make it portable."

"The weapon design blueprints also included a super bomb that could cause matter annihilation; its toxicity would render the blast area uninhabitable and cause widespread genetic mutations in humans. There was also a strange humanoid machine that possessed autonomous action and work capabilities, but it secretly reprogrammed itself on the day it was developed; fortunately, it was destroyed by the school's guard dog..."

Mr. Rhodes said helplessly, "That's why I went to great lengths to initiate this guidance program, promising that only one experimental model of each weapon would be manufactured and used under the supervision of the Academy Committee... If we weren't forced to, we wouldn't want to use this reality anchor of unknown origin... Such a powerful weapon, almost capable of confronting gods, I really don't know what kind of side effects it might have..."

Suddenly, a voice echoed in my mind: "Marcus, do not let your guard down... I sensed the arrival of the Old God through the dream realm. Now is both your most dangerous time and your greatest opportunity. You must seize the chance to defeat Him completely!"

Old Yorkson is still talking without understanding the situation. Even if "Deepsea Crash" is restricted in its actions by the stability anchor of reality, it doesn't mean that a few small fry like us can do anything to it.

Old Yorkson continued, "Also, next time you encounter two or more reality anchors, remember to run far away. According to them, for some reason your Hume index is also alarmingly high. You mentioned that your physical and memory abnormalities were related to this. I had to forcibly stabilize your Hume field to restore your condition..."

...Something feels off. I can understand the cheat ability being blocked due to the difference in Hume's indices between the two worlds, but why are those silly and absurd memories in my head also affected? Does a high Hume's indices equal sillyness? That theory is too unreliable!

While I was having this conversation in my mind, Mr. Rhodes stood atop Mount Mads, silently gazing into the distance.

Kate Winslop asked, "Professor Rhodes, are you waiting for news from the college?"

Mr. Rhodes nodded: “My plan was too radical, completely contrary to the style of the school board. I was worried that they were again making assumptions and assuming that this would be enough to thwart the ‘Deepsea Disaster.’ I made it very clear at the time that without implementing the highest level of the Alpha contingency plan, success was absolutely impossible…”

Kate Winslop, with her short hair, bit her lip, a hint of helplessness flashing across her face, and hesitated before saying, "Professor Rhodes... I'm sorry, I actually lied to you just now..."

Mr. Rhodes, standing inside the crystal wall, stared at her in astonishment and suddenly exclaimed, "Didn't the school committee consider my contingency plan at all?! Impossible, you would never have been able to obtain the reality anchor in that case!"

Kate Winthrop, her face pale, said, “Professor, I regret to inform you that the school did not heed your advice and only agreed to Professor Albert Wilmas’s plan. My presence here was of my own volition, and this reality anchor…”

The short-haired woman's expression was very strange, and she said in an ambiguous tone, "Before I came here, you found me, told me the location of the Reality Stabilizing Anchor, and pointed out the route to get here... and told me not to say anything about it..."

"What?! You're saying I arranged for you to come here?! Kate Winsrop, are you sure you're telling the truth?!"

Mr. Rhodes stared in astonishment at the student before him, unable to believe his ears.

Kate Winslop bit her lip and said softly, "Yes, Professor... you also asked me to tell you this and convey a message after I used the Reality Stabilization Anchor..."

"Hey, what are you saying? Mr. Rhodes, are you relaying a message to yourself? You're obviously a schizophrenic." I overheard their conversation and couldn't help but join in.

Kate Winthrop said, “What you told me that day was that I had found Brown University’s President Francis Wellan Thurston through case reports of sea phobia and insomnia, and that we live on a quiet island called ignorance, surrounded by an endless dark ocean, and that we should never have set sail. Look, I’m setting sail now, my dearest friend—give my regards to Professor Henry Armitage.”

As Mr. Rhodes recounted Kate Winslop's monotone story, his gaze couldn't help but drift to the sea, still shrouded in turbulent, chaotic currents.