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

Before us, Professor Henry Armitage held a metal box with a strange, asymmetrical shape. Its lid was flipped open, and the contents, buried under years of accumulated dust, appeared to be an egg-shaped or irregularly shaped sphere about four inches in size, gleaming in the sunlight like an unknown mineral fossil.

Professor Henry Armitage, his beard now white, was lost in thought, as if transported back to that night when he hurriedly threw on a few clothes, ran out the door, crossed the street and the lawn, and rushed toward the school building in the darkness.

Professor Henry Armitage then closed the lid of the metal box.

Chapter 427 The War of the World (Sixteen)

The instant the metal box lid was closed, I heard a dull thud coming from inside the box, as if some unclean thing was flapping its wings and flying in the small space.

Moreover, the sound grew noticeably louder, and the strange, malevolent odor emanating from Professor Henry Armitage's location became even more noticeable and unpleasant. The entire metal box trembled restlessly, like a fish out of water.

Immediately afterwards, the metal box lid burst open, and an unbearable stench gushed out from the bottomless depths of the box, making Professor Henry Armitage's trembling male assistant feel suffocated and nauseous, almost collapsing on the mountaintop.

Suddenly, the irregular trioctahedron inside the metal box burst forth with a strange black light, severely obscuring everyone's vision. At the same time, the air began to tremble, as if giant wings were flapping around it, and a sudden gust of wind blowing eastward, more violent than any sea gust, lifted Professor Henry Armitage's hat and abruptly drew the attention of the audience.

Just as the initial black flash erupted, everyone saw a bizarre and terrifying cloud of smoke looming above us, but in my blurred vision, I wasn't quite sure what I was seeing. However, all the observers agreed that the strong wind from the west and the unbearable stench occurred before the belated black light; and afterwards, signs of an instantaneous scorching stench were quite common.

Without candles and in the sudden darkness, I couldn't see anything clearly. I guessed that the enormous black shadow was born from the small metal box, grew larger as it flew against the wind, and then transformed into a huge black object that crawled across the sky, shrouding the world in darkness on both sides.

Something like invisible clouds or smoke flew eastward like a meteor, heading straight into the rift where the "Deep Sea Cataclysm" invaded the world.

The dark green mist and the black flashes collided violently, stirring up a huge dust storm. The giant city that slowly rose from the seabed made a cracking sound, countless ancient pillars broke in the middle, the exquisitely carved murals collapsed, and the buildings entangled in seaweed and silt turned into dust.

Beneath the seabed, a dreamlike, blurry, and distorted body slowly formed from flickering chaotic lines, pale lightning like static interference, and bloated dark green poisonous mist emitted sound waves powerful enough to shatter all human reason. It was swept away by tons of seawater and disappeared into the rolling waves.

But in the instant I looked up, I felt I glimpsed a huge, darker, and deeper mass extending outwards, giving rise to an inky black sky.

…………

"Marcus, what brings you back?"

When I opened my eyes, I found myself in a pure white space, with Old Man Hook's old face facing me, looking at me with a shocked expression.

"Holy crap! I'm back in the dream world?!" I exclaimed in surprise. "I just saw a dark shadow flash by, how did I suddenly come back?"

Old Man Hook was taken aback upon hearing this, then said angrily, "You brat, you're dead again, you know that! We just sent you back to where you were before, and what terrible thing have you done now!"

...Looking directly at the "Deepsea Cataclysm" didn't kill me, so how come I died as soon as it got dark? This doesn't make sense!

"Old man, can you still take me back? The situation over there is a bit critical; I need to go back and see what happened!" My intuition tells me that Professor Henry Armitage must have done something even more terrifying than facing the "Deepsea Explosion." If even someone like me, who relies on the soul of a sand sculpture and isn't afraid of mental pollution, has knelt down, wouldn't the rest of us be in even greater danger?

Old Man Hook's face fell, and he said to me with displeasure, "That's fine, the old bastard has given me the method. But your attitude..."

I immediately said, "Old sage! Is this alright? Quickly send me back!"

Old Man Hook nodded slightly, somewhat reluctantly: "Alright, but I need a ritual to complete it. You have to recite it as I say."

"What problem! I'm a seasoned repeater!"

"Ia Hastur cfayak'vulgtmm, vugtlagln vulgtmm!"

"...Old man, say that again, is that even human language???"

"...Fine, just close your eyes and say anything as a response. Ia Hastur cfayak' vulgtmm, vugtlagln vulgtmm! Answer quickly!"

"Oh... Prajnaparamita!"

This time, all I heard was a gust of wind rushing past my ears, as if I were outside a speeding train, imitating Jackie Chan doing a difficult stunt of climbing off the roof.

…………

After a while, the wind died down, and I opened my eyes to find that everything was still pitch black. However, there were faint, shimmering shadows in the distance, and the outline of a person could be seen through the darkness. Judging from the irregular shape and the figure emerging from it, it should be Mr. Rhodes, who was protected by the phosphorescent star crystal.

"Mr. Rhodes, what just happened here..."

I had just taken a step using my shadow as a guide when I felt a blur before my eyes, and my body seemed to fall into an endless abyss, with the scenery around me turning into a continuous stream of afterimages.

…………

When I opened my eyes, I found myself lying in a completely white dream world again, staring at a bewildered old man named Hook.

"Why are you back again!"

"Damn it, you must have teleported wrong! Try again!"

"...You're talking nonsense! My teleportation was a complete success!"

"Then I'll ask you, do you dare to try again?"

"Come on! Repeat after me: Ia Hastur cfayak'vulgtmm, vugtlagln vulgtmm!"

"I will not recite! Prajnaparamita!"

…………

When I opened my eyes again, I found that it was still pitch black in front of me, and Mr. Rhodes' quantum ghost figure was faintly visible in front of me.

"Marcus! Watch out..."

"Be careful of what!" Before I could finish speaking, I felt as if my body had fallen into an endless abyss, and the scenery around me turned into a continuous stream of afterimages.

…………

In the pure white primordial dream, I looked somewhat awkwardly at Old Man Hook's angry face and cautiously asked, "Dad, what's wrong with me? It feels like I got disconnected halfway through a game. Is your broadband from China Telecom?"

Old Man Hook practically spat in my face: "You bastard, you clearly died the moment you went out! You died twice in a row and you still don't understand!"

Dead? No wonder I felt so relieved for a moment, as if I had been elevated... It turns out I really was elevated!

"Dad, can you take me back again? I want to see who killed me! I want to try a few more times!"

"Do as you please! Ia Hastur cfayak' vulgtmm, vugt..."

"Incantations are too troublesome, Prajnaparamita!"

"You brat, let me finish the spell!"

…………

The first time, (╯*□*)╯

"Who killed me?! Stand up if you dare..."

The second time, (“▔□▔)

"Great hero, great hero, please have mercy! My lunch break isn't over yet..."

…………

The ninth time, (っ°Д°;)っ

"Golden Finger, quickly use your invincible Marcus to think of a solution..."

…………

The fourteenth time, (;'??Д??`)

"After this war ends, I'm going back to my hometown to settle down..."

…………

The twenty-seventh time, ╮('～')╭

"There's... nothing to be afraid of anymore..."

…………

Forty-fifth time, ?o?o?

"You didn't expect that, did you! I, Grey Wolf, am back again, hahaha..."

…………

Ninety-ninth time, ∠(?」∠)＿.

"Dormammu, I'm here to negotiate..."

Chapter 428 Corporate Black Hand

And so, the sound of wind rushing across the world's borders filled my ears, and the scenery before my eyes shifted back and forth between pure white and pitch black. After dying so many times for no apparent reason, I even felt like I'd gotten used to this rollercoaster experience. It was like playing a very difficult, masochistic game, constantly reloading and restarting, only to repeatedly hit a wall in front of the level.

The only difference is that this kind of game doesn't offer the option to shut down; once you leave, it's a complete and utter death.

After countless attempts, I opened my eyes to find myself in the gradually familiar darkness. The witty remarks I wanted to say stuck in my throat for a long time, but I couldn't get them out—after all, I'm not some kind of idiot, how could I possibly say the same witty remarks hundreds of times without repeating myself?

But this time, I found that I didn't disappear back to Rumi in a daze... Something seems wrong... That means I'm back at the Firelink Shrine!

The incantation was only halfway through when Old Man Hook stopped, even though it was only "Ia Hastur cfayak'vul...". Did the teleportation fail?

"I heard you're here to negotiate with me?"

A strange sound rang in my ears, like countless beetles flapping their wings, or like rocks in an abyss colliding and rubbing against each other, creating an eerie tone.

"Who is it!"

I cautiously groped my way in the darkness, and finally chose to take two steps closer to Mr. Rhodes's location, leaning against the phosphorescent star crystal that emitted a faint glow to prevent being attacked from behind.

As I got closer, I noticed that Mr. Rhodes' face was filled with extreme terror, his dilated pupils clearly visible. One hand was patting the surface of the crystal, while the other was clutching an ancient ring. But he seemed frozen in the ice of time and space, radiating a cold aura from the inside out, like a clay statue.

In the dim light, I could only see his figure, but I still thought of when Old Man Hook appeared and pulled me into the dream world, using the time difference between different layers of the dream to create a scene of time stopping.

"Marcus, place your hand on the meme imprint of 'Ultimate Catastrophe'." A familiar voice called out, and I followed suit, placing my hand on my chest. After a brief burning sensation, my eyes seemed to have been transformed and upgraded, allowing me to see things in complete darkness. This feeling was definitely not "seeing" in the ordinary sense; it was more of an intuitive reaction beyond reason.

As my vision returned, I "saw" old Yorkson in a world frozen in time, confronting an unidentified man—a dark-skinned, tall, thin man with a hearty smile.

In my indescribable hyperdimensional vision, the figure I saw was tall and thin, with a youthful yet strange appearance, wearing a magnificent and solemn robe, and a double crown that naturally shimmered with black light...

He possessed a charm that only a dark god or a fallen angel could have; his eyes held a weary sparkle of unpredictable humor, making him seem detached from the world, as if he were a god playing with the earth.

The strange black man glanced at old Yorkson with an approving yet mocking expression, paying no attention to me whatsoever. He clapped elegantly without saying a word, but his voice echoed from all directions.

“Interesting.” His strange way of speaking was noisy yet not chaotic. “Did you guess that I would become interested in his constant resurrection and set up this trap to imprison me with the dream gate?”

Old Yorkson took off his hat and nodded slightly. No wonder that old guy had disappeared since earlier; only Old Man Hook was there, reviving me like an assembly line. Turns out, he'd been plotting something against me all along.

“You misunderstand. I am just an old man who barely survives in the Dream Realm. If I leave this place, I cannot survive for even a minute under your power, so I have resorted to this desperate measure.”

Old Yorkson still wore that humble, polite yet irritating expression, as if he wanted to tell everyone that he was secretly plotting something.

But the strange Black man didn't seem to care, still looking at us with a contemptuous expression, and made a sound.

"Although our previous conversation went very smoothly, aren't you worried that this might anger me? I've traversed the gates of dreams countless times; you must understand that this cannot trap me, and this futile struggle holds no hope of changing my fate."

Old Yorkson replied noncommittally, "Of course I understand what you mean. From your long-term perspective, the fate of this world was predetermined long ago. Am I right?"