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

Friends on the mountain, friends in the trees, friends in the water

Friends in the well, friends behind bars, friends on the rooftop!

Lend me your energy!

Let the giant eyeball in the sky be punished by justice!

Please give me your strength, I beg you!

Go ahead.

Spirit Bomb!

Later I learned that as I shouted at the top of my lungs, more and more people on the planet were awakened and subconsciously raised their hands, engaging in a strange religious ritual, standing motionless in front of the sky, while their bodies truly felt as if a trace of strength had been drained away.

This act has even been designated as a planetary holiday, where people commemorate the unknown heroes who saved the planet by performing the same gesture every year on this day.

But I didn't know all that at the moment. All I knew was that a mysterious celestial sound had emerged from the atmosphere and flown into space, taking with it the Eye of Death that had been drawing ever closer, and together they disappeared into the pitch-black universe...

Chapter 533 The Bell Tolls, Signaling the Return Home

When people were finally freed from their near-death state, the entire scene consisted of pitiful people who had slowly crawled out of the mud, their spirits and bodies utterly exhausted.

Whether it was the elite and experienced Sunheart Slaughter Squad or the proud and powerful Royal Knights Guard, they were all in a daze, as if they had just had a deep sleep and then been woken up by a loud alarm clock, and began to suffer from a persistent splitting headache.

But whispers slowly arose from the crowd as they confirmed with each other the strange scene they had just witnessed.

Everyone clearly saw a terrifying blood moon rise from the clear sky, shrouding the earth in shadow and invading their souls with chaos. Even the pain in their eyes and brains felt so real. Yet, at this moment, the sky was clear and sunny, as if everything that had just happened was just a dream...

When everyone was in a state of confusion, as a ten-year fan of the "Approaching Science" program, I naturally came uninvited when this happened.

"I'm a professional, please trust me! We're going into superstition... oops, oops, oops, out of science... that doesn't seem right either... Anyway, just trust me!"

Standing on high ground, I confidently explained, "What just happened was due to the silent spread of nerve gas in the cave, causing hallucinations and dizziness after the group inhaled it!"

However, differing opinions immediately emerged.

"That's not right, leader of the Sharp Vision Alliance. If it's a hallucination, there's no reason for us to have the same dream, especially about the moon's anomaly!"

I said dismissively, "That's mass hysteria."

The questioner was still skeptical: "What about our symptoms of general weakness?"

I said definitively, "It's a hysterical episode where he's gesticulating wildly and is exhausted."

"But in our dream we heard a mysterious voice telling us to raise our hands or something..."

I vehemently denied it, saying, "That must have been the sound of me waking you up, which you mistook for talking. Think about it yourself, if raising your hand could save the world, wouldn't the French army have liberated Munich and captured Hitler long ago?"

The questioner was taken aback by what I said, muttering to himself, "That seems to make sense..."

I pressed my advantage, saying, "That's why we must believe in science and oppose superstition. For example, I don't like listening to anything about gods and ghosts. Where in this world are there ghosts? I've been here for over two hundred years and I've never seen a ghost!"

The questioner nodded, seemingly puzzled but unable to quite put his finger on what was wrong. So he stubbornly said, "You can't be so arbitrary. For example, how do you explain the glowing emanations from your shaman?"

I glanced back and saw that he was talking about the bald man with a dazed expression, so I slapped him on the head without any politeness and said, "That's Solar Fist, a very advanced fighting technique, and only bald men can use it! The principle is similar to that of an electric light bulb, it's very scientific!"

"Uh... there's a half-fish, half-beast lake monster in the lake near our town, and many people have seen it!"

I countered, "Could the water monster you're talking about defeat a hippopotamus?"

"Hmm...it seems like we can't beat them, hippos are so big..."

I said firmly, "Fake! It must be fake! A real sea monster kills hippos! A real man anals men! A real sea monster sucks squid! A real rich man eats kidneys! Next!"

Hearing the discussion, others nearby offered different perspectives, "Then please explain why we in Tesienya once encountered lights appearing in an abandoned village late at night..."

I immediately said, "I've done this problem before. It's about a short circuit that automatically switches on and off! Next."

“A child in our tribe once claimed that he was the reincarnation of a ghost from two thousand years ago…”

I said definitively, "If the kid says he's Zuo Zongtang, then give him a beating. If not, then ask him for his social media account password. If he can't answer, then give him another beating. One course of treatment will cure his chuunibyou! Next."

"Greetings, Leader. I come from the Aim Human Federation. I once encountered a nameless town where I met strange beings that fed on blood. They could suck blood instantly from the skin with a single bite..."

I nodded: "Stop, stop, stop. He's a patient with severe gingivitis. To deal with him, call Teacher Yu's father; he's a martial artist! Next."

"My turn! My turn! We've seen empty ships in the desert, and half-eaten sandwiches on the table..."

I nodded knowingly: "You just ran into the Mongolian navy, just go around them. Before you leave, remember to call Mr. Yu Qian's father, he's the commander of the Mongolian navy! Next."

"Wait a minute, who are you talking about? Is he a famous exorcist shaman?"

I emphasized impatiently, "Did you hear me clearly? I said Yu Qian's father and Yu Qian's dad, they are clearly two different people!"

"...I think I understand a little, but I'm still a little confused." The questioner looked completely bewildered, having been led astray.

I patted him on the shoulder and said, "It's a very simple principle. It's like your parents had twins, and then one of them died. You were the one who died, and you were the older brother! Think about it carefully."

I thought the Q&A session was over after Yu Qian's unsolvable family problems, but then someone else suddenly spoke up.

"Hello, what are your thoughts on unidentified flying objects in the sky and mysterious symbols on the ground?"

I said irritably, "These things don't exist. These two charlatans can be easily exposed with a high-resolution smartphone and surveillance cameras near the wheat field."

"But Marcus, you have mysterious symbols on your feet, and strange spaceships are appearing in the sky... Your explanation is completely unconvincing!"

A jay suddenly appeared out of nowhere and rudely undermined my efforts.

I subconsciously looked down and sure enough, I saw rows of words rapidly appearing on the ground.

[Emergency call! Unidentified flying object approaching! Unidentified flying object approaching!]

[Emergency call! Unidentified flying object is rapidly approaching! High energy levels are detected!]

[Calls unsuccessful, attempting to contact rescue team via signal!]

【………】

Rows of messages kept refreshing on the ground, almost as fast as the guild channel during the siege of the city. It was clear that Shalon Whitestone was trying his best to contact me, but he was unable to communicate by voice and could only use symbols on the ground to attract my attention.

I looked up and saw a huge flying object approaching from the sky, its outer shell rubbing violently against the atmosphere, emitting blinding flashes of light.

As I watched the massive spaceship approach, I instantly caught sight of the prominent markings on its hull... What a small world! The spaceship approaching us was that of the Godslayer Pirate Crew!

My face darkened, and I quickly asked in a low voice, "What happened?"

A line of text immediately appeared on the ground.

[Mr. Marcus, it seems my distress signal sent via radio has been intercepted...]

...So it was you who led the Japanese devils here!

…………

With terrifying howls, landing pods resembling iron canisters rained down from the sky, densely covering the ground and forming a terrifying area like a steel graveyard.

The mad pirates swept across the land, their feet crunching over the smoke-filled air. As the cannons from their cigar-shaped ships unleashed their barrage, the ground trembled violently, the craters and raging flames a testament to the suddenness of the war.

"Form ranks! Form ranks now!"

The various forces, now scattered and disorganized, reacted simultaneously, adopting a high-altitude approach to guard against the incoming space pirates.

However, after a series of high-intensity battles and facing the indescribable existence, everyone's physical and mental strength reached the limit of exhaustion, and they were on the verge of collapse.

In this situation, no one would believe that the unknown forces that came so aggressively were just here to sell sunflower seeds, drinks, mineral water, watermelons, Red Bull, and Snickers.

"Invincible Shiraishi Minoru, you'd better think of something!"

[Mr. Marcus, the distress signal has been transmitted again. Please wait patiently.]

"Wait my ass! If I wait any longer, I'll be dead!"

The number you dialed is currently busy. Please try again later.

"Think of something quick, stop pretending to be dead!"

[Beep...beep...beep...]

...Was it because I kicked him too many times back then that caused a problem with the processor? Where did this guy get all these random replies?

Gunshots and shouts rang out, swirling like waves. I knew this turmoil would engulf everyone present, with no one spared; countless lives would likely be lost in the chaos…

But before the chaos could begin, before the fire ant-like islands could unleash their erosive power, they encountered an unexpected enemy.

Bertholdt has gone mad.

The man with disheveled, white hair came down from the mountain like a madman and crashed into the group of pirates.

I don't know if the earthquake on Mount Corillo struck his head, or if his vanished dreams severely damaged his spirit. Now, his eyes no longer hold the wisdom they once had; only a dazed and confused look remains.

Perhaps too many unexpected events occurred over the millennia, or perhaps the turbulence of outer space destroyed the original plans; of the supplies and equipment originally intended to aid the construction of the planetary civilization, only a small number remain intact. According to Sharon Whitestone's estimate, less than one-tenth of the supplies originally reserved in orbit have survived.

To be honest, judging from the defensive weapon crates I just summoned, the original number of equipment should have been in the thousands, but in the end I only managed to assemble a little over a hundred cannons, and the loss rate was as high as ninety percent.

Ninety percent lost, ninety percent damaged, how much use is left? I can even imagine Bertholdt collapsing in the cramped control room.

Decades of hard work and accumulation have yielded only this meager reward; such a blow is beyond the capacity of most people to bear…

Bertholdt, like a mad bear, pounced on the iron box that fell from the sky, dragging out the pirates who hadn't yet escaped from the landing pod. With his immense strength, he often broke half of their bodies along with their ribcages and threw them out, then searched in vain for what was inside.

Upon witnessing this, the armed forces of the Godslayer Pirate Crew quickly turned their guns on the attackers.

But Bertholdt, his face a mixture of frustration and madness, suddenly lunged at the nearest pirate, grabbed him by the neck, and roared, "Where did you put the stuff! Hand it over!"

Before the terrified pirate could reply, he was torn to shreds with a slight effort of his arms and thrown far away, leaving only a desperate silhouette.

The momentary shock did not deter the pirates. After an initial hesitation, the gunfire behind them quickly merged into a continuous barrage, with the muzzles unsurprisingly pointing towards Bertholdt.

Faced with this betrayal, Bertholdt, who had gone mad, seemed to see everything and, with an almost supernatural intuition, dodged the chaotic gunfire. He suddenly leaped into the air and pounced on the pirates who had fired the shots.

"Give it back to me... or die..."

To my astonishment, he stared blankly at the pirate before him, his hands clasped together and slicing across the pirate's throat with an instinctive reaction that seemed to have been honed countless times. And the next moment, the pirate's neck was indeed severed as if by a sharp knife, blood spurting as he fell to the ground.

But the pirates beside him were a step ahead, striking his arm with their guns and interrupting his subsequent attack.

Bertholdt remained unconscious. I saw him take a deep breath, his stomach rapidly expanding as his diaphragm moved. Then, defying the force of the gun attack, he threw out his fists again, smashing the pirates around him to pieces!

"Has this old man taken the wrong medicine?!"

I watched his performance in shock. His combat power was too strong for me. Could it be that he had taken care of this battle all by himself?

As it turned out, my worries were unfounded. Bertholdt, though powerful, still encountered an equally formidable enemy on the battlefield.

A group of strange figures wearing white headscarves and white robes suddenly appeared out of thin air and pierced Bertholdt's arms with long swords.