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

Teacher Yu, your long-lost girlfriend has been found!

"Cliff, pull yourself together! If you want to fight, go to the dance studio!"

I couldn't take it anymore and used a special technique I'd learned in the fringe world to slap him on the back.

Cliff, who was making mechanical chewing movements, spat out his food the moment I slapped him. The rice flew past Boss Dart.

But after that attack, his spirits seemed to have truly recovered, and the long-lost light returned to his eyes. He stared blankly at the food in front of him, then dejectedly put down his spoon.

"Boss, what's wrong with this guy?" I had no choice but to ask Dart, the indifferent boss, for help.

After the unscrupulous father made his daughter come out to wash the floor, he turned to Cliff and said, "Cliff, still haven't found the location of the insect nest today?"

The cultivation expert Cliff said with a mournful face, "No... Sebala and I searched the entire mountain today, but we couldn't find the insect nest... The infestation has clearly appeared here... Why haven't we found any trace of it..."

Boss Dart was used to this kind of thing, and upon hearing this, he comforted him, "Don't force it. If Gotz were still here, he would definitely be able to help you find him, but unfortunately he joined a fleet to help Zack transport goods, and he's probably still adrift at sea."

I frowned as I heard this. The sentence structure was similar to "The Marquis will be released next month." Could it be that Zack sold Gotz for food?

Who would have thought that this seemingly peaceful town was actually involved in the sinister Gothic trade... and even had Deep One bloodlines working as sailors, Zack really is a genius!

"Cliff, what happened? You can tell me, I'm the acting sheriff of this town!"

I revealed my identity, hoping to get Cliff to cooperate with my investigation. But the young man's eyes lit up, and he asked me a question with great eagerness.

"Sheriff?! Can you give me a job?! Just give me enough to eat!"

"Aren't you an expert from a pest control company?"

“Uh… this…” Cliff stammered, unable to get a clear answer, but Boss Dart stepped in to help explain.

“Marcus, things might not be as you think…”

"What kind of conceptual error could a bug catcher have? Are you the Shocker organization in the Kamen Rider world, or a bug-catching engineer who writes bugs for Ubisoft?"

Hurry! Someone please type the original manga by Shotaro Ishinomori onto the screen!

Boss Dart explained in a low voice, "He was just a temporary worker; he was fired last week..."

Firing temporary workers? That's a familiar tactic.

I'm used to ordering people around in the wilderness, and it's a bit strange to start developing things all by myself now. It seems like I could hire another helper for the ranch.

However, this person shouldn't hide anything. For example, when Master Roshi used the prize money from the martial arts tournament to treat Goku to a meal, he only ate half a meal after spending all the money.

"...Do you eat a lot?"

Cliff exclaimed excitedly, "I didn't eat much! I can eat even less next time!"

"Shut up! Don't make such death flags out of thin air! Especially those that only apply to me!"

…………

"So, you just temporarily joined a pest control company after running away from home?"

I still can't believe that this guy dared to impersonate the Akina Mountain racing god if he didn't have some real skills.

Cliff lowered his head and remained silent, his face contorted in a mournful expression.

I now realize that this young man isn't much older than Gray, and he's a bit shy and reserved, easily swayed by the opinions of those around him.

The pest control company that Boss Dick secretly contacted originally sent a team of experts, but unfortunately, the expert suffered from severe seasickness and was out of commission after only two days at sea. He almost joined the professional team, so Cliff, who was to be his assistant (responsible for carrying luggage), was sent first to ensure that there would be no complaints during the mission, and he would come later.

Cliff didn't think much of it and took office under this title, stumbling his way here.

But what he didn't expect was that the real expert, who had just recovered from seasickness and continued his journey, encountered a storm shortly after setting sail. Not only did the storm blow him back to port, but it also gave him severe thalassophobia, and he refused to come back no matter what.

This expert is said to have a fear of the ocean; he would vomit on the spot if shellfish or fishy dishes appeared on his table, let alone seeing rocks covered with barnacles or octopuses with tendrils.

Poor Cliff had no idea about this.

Upon arriving in Twin Town, he began a futile effort, but no matter how he sprayed pesticides, deep-plowned the infested soil, cut down the affected plants, or killed the unhatched larvae, he could not control the escalating pest infestation in the Twin Town farmland.

Those nasty, rampant insects—today they're honeybees, tomorrow they'll be bamboo scale insects, root rot nematodes, brown leafhoppers, and black-tailed leafhoppers. In a very short time, the pests have changed several times. The insects are getting bigger and bigger, spreading faster and faster, transforming from crawling on the ground to taking flight, becoming an uncontrollable natural disaster…

"There must be a root cause that we haven't found!"

Cliff slammed his fist on the table in anger, his eyes filled with an unwillingness to admit defeat.

I tried to console him, saying, "Come on, I'd believe it if you said Beelzebub had descended! How could there be such an unreasonable way of spreading this? This young man has no sportsmanship!"

Cliff said with a bitter face, "How could it be... completely different..."

I didn't hear what he said for a while, but I had to keep a close eye on this matter.

I'm not worried about pests. The crops in the colonist system are resistant to most diseases and pests. With the ranch behind us, we can easily feed everyone.

However, this unusual situation, where the concept of "insect" keeps recurring and cannot be controlled, doesn't seem like a normal thing at all...

Could it be related to some mysterious force again?

Thinking about this, I immediately felt the need to take action. Father Carter, that incompetent fool, deserted at the last minute; there was no way to rely on him to get help from the Holy Spirit Church. If it really was related to supernatural forces, then it was up to us—the police—to control and contain it, eliminating the threat.

Oh right, I also need to find some time to go up and check on the contained objects on the mountain and that water elemental who claims to be a goddess.

"Cliff, what's the situation in the Mads Mountains these days?" I refilled liajgrenq's cup halfway with water—it's free anyway, so I might as well drink as much as I can.

Cliff took a large gulp, frowned, and said, "It's strange... After the pests devoured all the crops in Twin Towns, they retreated and migrated to Mount Mads, which is just across the border, and then there was no further activity..."

I frowned as well; anything associated with Mount Maders is bound to be bad.

Surely there aren't a bunch of Cantonese people with amazing teeth living in the mountains who would help us deep-fry Beelzebub and eat him—Beelzebub doesn't have a Fujian household registration!

Hmm... wait a minute, maybe it would make sense if people from Yunnan lived in the mountains...

Lost in thought, I subconsciously poured myself another glass of water.

“Marcus, can you hire me? When I applied for new insect control supplies at the company at the end of last month, I found out that our impersonation had been exposed, and I was fired... Now the insect infestation is still not cured, and I have nowhere else to turn…”

I was about to agree when I suddenly remembered that I was also broke. I had to pay on credit to eat here today, so how could I possibly hire workers? I was truly penniless until Thomas the Train Captain woke up!

In that instant, the aura of poverty emanating from both Kerry and me resonated faintly, as if we were about to break through from the late stage of the Poor General realm to the Poor Emperor realm!

...Then Mr. Dart stood at the bar and swiftly took away the bowls, chopsticks, and cups in front of us, extinguishing our hopes of drinking our fill.

"Boss, do you need to hire a worker here? I think Cliff would be perfect!"

“No need, I’m already struggling to support my daughter,” Mr. Dart said decisively.

"You can leave Lin to me, Father-in-law!" I made a grand entrance with my confidence, but all I got in return was an elbow strike from Lin as she passed by.

"You should go and have Sebala hand Gray over to you."

The wild Dart boss has a great rant!

A critical hit!

Marcus was sunk!

Marcus can't rise again!

I helplessly spread my hands and said to Cliff, "How about this, I'll pay for your food and lodging expenses from now on with the sheriff's salary. You stay here and help monitor the pests. Tomorrow, take me up the mountain to see if we can find any clues about the pests."

Cliff nodded happily and said, "Great! I must eradicate the pests completely! I believe there is a pest nest in the Mads Mountains. Give me some more time, and I will definitely prove my theory!"

Mr. Dart was quite satisfied with the plan and asked, "Marcus, since you have money, why not let him stay on the ranch to help you? I heard you brought back quite a few animals; you could hire someone to take care of them."

I shook my head, ignoring Cliff's hopeful gaze.

"No, I'm afraid he'll steal the animal feed."

Chapter 539 The Story of Dr. Dort

The atmosphere of summer nights is different from usual; it's a quiet amidst the noise.

The gentle breeze from the south melted away the sounds around me, and the sounds of every household came vividly to my ears. The rustling of grass and the birds perched on the treetops sang softly, making the town at night full of life.

I stepped out of Dart's tavern, onto the cobblestone street, and with a feeling of ease, turned right into a side street, appearing on another street in the town.

After my experience of wandering the wasteland, I grew to love the lively atmosphere of this small town even more. I began to understand why Harris tirelessly patrolled the tiny mining town again and again, and I also began to understand why people who leave settlements in the wasteland eventually unconsciously band together.

After all, humans are social animals.

At the entrance of the quaint and elegantly designed general store, I peeked through the window into the hall, which had originally been a reception room but was now a showroom. Karen was arguing with the unscrupulous shopkeeper, Jeff. From the few words they exchanged, it seemed they were discussing Karen's desire to travel, while a woman who bore a resemblance to Karen stood by, watching the scene with a helpless expression.

Come on, Jeff, the henpecked husband! Don't lose!

As the culprit, I quickly lowered my head and bent over, darting past the window and arriving at Dr. Dort's hospital.

"Doctor, has the mayor woken up yet?" I pushed the door open and found the young doctor who was still working after dark.

Dr. Dort was scratching his black hair in distress, but when he heard my question, he looked up with delight: "Ah, it's Marcus! The mayor woke up shortly after you left, and Harris went back with him!"

Relieved, I casually asked, "Doctor, are you still busy so late?"

Dr. Dort rubbed his tired eyes hard, clearly having struggled with the books on the table, and looked extremely frustrated.

"I sent the samples of the drug I developed back to my professor, but some instability occurred during the clinical trials, so I'm still trying to find the reason..."

The drugs you developed? Aside from anesthetics that kill instantly with one sip, all that's left is that one application that makes half an arm ache with pain—all the evils of this world? Shouldn't this stuff be destroyed as a banned substance?

"Oh, I see... Dort, do you still have the medicine you gave me last time? You must have more than you need, right? I'd like to take some back with me."

However, remembering the miraculous effects of that ointment, I thought it might be useful to keep some on hand. So, as I said this, I glanced at the medicine shelf, but I didn't see the familiar black mud.

Dr. Dort said apologetically, "I'm sorry, I sent all the medicines I made, except for the ones used in experiments, to my teacher for component analysis, so we're out of Mark II wound medicine..."

I glanced at him with some regret, and suddenly noticed a strange glint in his eyes.

“However, my Mark CX is finished. Just one sip and you’ll have the same energy as me for 24 hours straight! Why don’t you take two bottles back with you and tell me about your experience tomorrow so I can see if there are any individual differences!” Dort said with fervent eyes.

Difference my foot!

I almost forgot that this guy is a human experimentation fanatic; he wants to test any drug on mice.

And this research and development speed is too fast! According to his coding method, wouldn't CX be drug number 110? Is this guy maintaining a rate of one new drug per day, constantly hiding here grinding for progress?!

Good heavens, this guy is practically a liver, just like Zhao Zilong!

This kind of miracle cure for those who stay up late sounds useful, but it undoubtedly has side effects.

For example, this guy's emotions have become extremely volatile lately. One minute he's feeling depressed and gloomy, and the next he's passionately trying to sell me drugs. He can switch his emotions from brakes to full throttle in three seconds. I'm afraid he'll slam on the gas and blow himself out of the water...

"No, no, you should keep this medicine for yourself. Our sect never relies on external things to cultivate immortality!"

I quickly and firmly refused, telling him to take this messy stuff away from me.