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

Oh no! Someone's coming out!

The police leopard needs to hide quickly, lest it scare anyone!

Neither Lady Lilia nor Popuri in the chicken farm could possibly accept the presence of a cheetah!

Seeing such a terrifying scene so early in the morning would probably make someone faint on the spot!

As I saw the other person's shadow emerge from the chicken farm gate, I quickly stopped and turned to shield the police leopard with my body...

((?(???)?))=>((?(???)?))!

"Marcus, what are you doing here so early...?"

A gentle voice came from behind me. I glanced around to make sure the two big cats had already hidden in the bushes before turning around awkwardly and saying, "Haha... I'm doing my morning exercises here..."

Lady Lilia was walking out with light, delicate steps, holding an exquisite parasol. Her pink hair, exactly like Popuri's, was tied to one side, and she gave me a warm, morning-like smile.

“It’s great that young people can be so energetic. Rick is just too introverted. I heard from Poppy that you’re back, but you should take care to rest after such a long trip and not push yourself too hard.”

Lady Lilia's words had a magical power that suddenly calmed my mind.

I scratched my head sheepishly and said, "I got back yesterday. I'm sorry for causing everyone so much trouble by being away for so long... Lady Lilia, why are you up so early?"

Lady Lilia smiled warmly and said softly, "I can't sleep well in the summer. Luckily, I've been feeling better lately, so I'll get up early to take a walk. It's always good to get out and about more."

I am deeply grateful to Poppy's mother for her unprecedented determination in coming to my aid when I was arrested by Harris.

In the process of dealing with the indescribable beings, I've gained some supernatural experience; moreover, Mr. Rhodes from the parallel world has entrusted me with taking care of their family here, so I still need to think of a way to see if I can cure Lady Lilia's strange illness...

“Marcus, your hand…can I take a look?” Lady Lilia asked hesitantly.

I stretched out my hands, completely bewildered, and found that Lady Lilia's attention was entirely focused on the old bronze ring.

"Ah... this was given to me by Mr. Rhodes..." I quickly explained to prevent her from associating it with murder and robbery.

But Lady Lilia's surprise lasted only a moment before she regained her calm smile, covering her mouth and laughing, "Oh, it really is Rhodes. You must have done him a great favor, right? Honestly, he actually gave such an unseemly gift."

I quickly denied it, saying, "No, Mrs. Lilia, this ring is Mr. Rhodes' most treasured possession, but..."

I don't know how to explain it to her clearly about the events that happened in a parallel world and my encounter with two Mr. Rhodes.

To my surprise, Lady Lilia didn't seem to care about her husband's whereabouts. She simply leaned the umbrella against her chest and smiled with an air of unwavering certainty: "Rhodes... he must be on his way back, right?"

Two images flashed through my mind.

One is a highway in the endless night, where four people are walking forward with difficulty. The man in the lead has a resolute face and his steps are like a giant reef that is not moving in front of the waves. The other is a chaotic and strange surging black tide, where a man is driving a boat and shouting as he rushes towards the indescribable monster. He disappears into the whirlpool with a suicidal and unstoppable momentum.

Others might choose to give up, but for some reason, I have great confidence in Mr. Rhodes and firmly believe that even if there are obstacles of time and space, he will never back down.

I nodded emphatically: "That's right, Mr. Rhodes must be on his way back."

…………

I chatted with Lady Lilia for a while before saying goodbye. I quickly hid behind a tree to make sure she was gone and wouldn't be coming back before I started looking for the leopard's hiding place.

Out of the corner of my eye, I caught a glimpse of the grass trembling by the roadside and assumed that the police leopard was hiding inside. Instead, I reached out and grabbed a suspicious stalker from the grass.

"Ah... Marcus... Good morning... What did Lilia say to you just now?"

You bastard, accept justice and punishment!

((?(???)?))=>((?(???)?))!

Following the mysterious summoning ritual, two shadows leaped down from the nearby rooftop. Three righteous companions—one man and two leopards—stared intently at the suspicious man before them, ready to deliver their judgment at any moment.

"Before asking me, shouldn't you explain your behavior?!"

I looked at the person in front of me with annoyance.

That's right, the one hiding in the bushes spying is none other than Zack, who is suspected of failing to spread his philosophy and fleeing overseas to preach!

I thought you were just a simple gay guy, but I never expected you to do something like this. It's outrageous!

"Aaaaah, what is this thing?! Why is your cat so big?!"

Zach, as if seeing a ghost, scrambled backward, staring in panic at the approaching police leopard.

I said matter-of-factly, "It's my newly trained police dog!"

Zack exclaimed in shock, "What kind of police dog looks like this?! That face is clearly that of a feline!"

"There's a branch called 'Police Leopard' in the police dog series too, don't make a fuss!"

"It doesn't exist! There's absolutely no such thing! I'd bet my career that it doesn't exist!" Zack retorted righteously.

I looked at him coldly: "Isn't your career already over? Please don't gamble with something that no longer exists, thank you."

I whistled, and the two police leopards vanished into the bushes in an instant. Only then did Zack stand up from the ground with lingering fear, brushing off the dust and complaining.

"Don't keep such dangerous animals as pets! They're terrifying to the sight of people!"

I asked curiously, "Didn't you boast that you've already reached the third stage of the genetic lock? Why are you still afraid of animals?"

Zack stared blankly for a moment, perhaps mentally rehearsing my words, before saying in surprise, "Uh...you're right...I forgot! I only remembered that this animal in front of us was dangerous..."

I patted him on the shoulder to show my understanding: "Yeah, it's like wearing the world's strongest armor, but you still won't step in dog poop..."

Zach said gratefully, "Marcus, this is the first time I've ever felt you were so understanding!"

I frowned and said, "You seem to have misunderstood. I was just talking about mocking you, trying to convince myself not to hold it against you."

So you're saying I'm dog shit?!

I argued righteously and firmly: "No, I generally refer to perverts who stalk women as scum."

Zack's face immediately fell, and he lowered his voice, saying, "It's not what you think... Rod and Lilia saved my life. If it weren't for them, I would have died in the shipwreck... I was too embarrassed to go up and say hello, so I hid..."

This was the first time I'd heard Zack bring up the shipwreck on his own initiative, so I continued, "Was it really Mr. Rhodes who saved you?"

Zack nodded: "Rhodes and Lilia were returning from a boat trip that day when they encountered the same storm in these waters. But they were lucky; their boat wasn't damaged, and they even saved me from almost drowning in the storm."

Ok……

It seems that Mr. Rod's talent lies in always encountering strange things when he goes out, and in always managing to trick others half to death while escaping unscathed.

For example, in a parallel world, his life was so tough that he killed everyone who appeared in the story. He survived the chaotic battles between the Deep Ones, the Night Demons, the Lord of Light, and the God of a Thousand Faces, and lived to the end unscathed, even continuing to fight against the God of a Thousand Faces.

Therefore, I can confidently assert that if Mr. Rhodes' ship hadn't run into Zack that day, things wouldn't have turned out so badly! Zack might not have ended up in such a sorry state with his entire ship sinking, much less develop a serious mental illness!

The law of causality is something you really shouldn't underestimate...

One more thing, the expert Cliff was impersonating also encountered a storm on his way here and developed a deep-seated fear of the sea that was difficult to cure.

Does all of this mean that Mr. Rhodes might just be a trigger, and the real problem lies in some unknown entity lurking beneath the surface of this sea...?

Zack, unaware of what I was thinking, affectionately put his arm around my shoulder: "Anyway, it's great that you're back! The town has been so much more boring without you! How about we have lunch together at my place?"

"I can mooch a meal? Great, great!"

I'll accept any food offered. "Aren't you afraid of the police leopards I'm with now?"

Zack chuckled and said, "It's alright. Actually, thinking about it carefully, it's a good thing you brought the leopard with you. There's still a pest infestation lurking in Mount Mades, and having these two helpers might help us find the source!"

"Then you might as well bring Gotz back! He's up in the mountains with thirty German Shepherds!" I said, dissatisfied.

...This description sounds a bit strange.

Zach laughed and said, "He asked for it himself... Anyway, he's taking the boat back this morning, so why don't you come and wait with me? He'll be so happy to see you back! With Basil on the side, we can have a big meal!"

"Bakir? Why would he hang out with you?"

Zach said, "Recently, there's been a bug infestation on Mount Mads, and people aren't allowed to go up there, he..."

I asked in surprise, "...Did he just switch from being a botanist to an oceanographer on the spot? That's too casual! Tell me the truth, under which overpass did he get his degree certificate?"

Zach was speechless. "What are you talking about! His daughter is coming to stay in town for the summer, so Baqirti came here early to wait for the boat!"

"Oh, waiting for my daughter."

I casually agreed. Since I had nothing to do in the morning, I figured I could train the police leopard on the beach and then grab a free lunch—that seemed like a perfectly reasonable plan.

"Waaah...waaah..."

As soon as we arrived at Rose Square, we heard a loud and high-pitched ship horn sounding from the beach. The deep, majestic horn roared towards the sky, carrying far and wide, as if afraid that people wouldn't know it existed.

"The ship is about to arrive! Let's hurry!"

Chapter 542 Mary, the Girl from Akarin

In the harbor where seagulls soar, a familiar white ship has arrived. A dozen or so strong crew members are efficiently unloading cargo from the ship. The scene is quiet and orderly, completely unlike the arrogant, unruly image I had of the ship.

Are they elites trained using spirit-infused sticks?

"This ship... is Gu Le Gu here too?" I asked.

"No, Gu Legu went to participate in a fishing tournament. He lent us this boat to transport goods. It's all thanks to these little rascals who gave up their shipping duties and helped us transport goods for so long!"

Zach is indeed a veteran captain; he managed to secure an independent shipping route so quickly by leveraging his connections.

The work was in full swing over there, and Zach happily ran over to join in the work of moving goods. What others needed two people to carry, he could lift a large wooden crate with one hand with his broad arms, and then walk briskly across the beach, leaving a trail of even and deep footprints.

The sailors burst into exclamations of admiration, stopping to watch Zach's solo performance.

But at this moment, a dark-skinned, bearded man stood up and, not to be outdone, picked up a large box with one hand and deftly tossed a second one, placing it steadily on top of the boxes before starting to move as well. His steps were equally steady and his speed was no less impressive.

The sailors erupted in a low cheer, and some even put down their work to applaud.

Because this cheerful and optimistic person was wearing a headscarf, I didn't realize until he winked at me that it was actually Gotz, who usually had a bitter and resentful expression!

Gotz, who was once immersed in grief over the death of his wife and daughter, has actually emerged from his pain?

That doesn't make sense. Could it be that he found true love again during his long sea voyage?

But the ship was clearly full of men...

Tsk tsk, so it really is a change in orientation and personality? Gots looks so much better after becoming a 1! Even his grin seems to be saying "Yaranaika!"

Help! This beach seems to be full of gay guys! Run, you idiot!

I felt a chill run down my spine and wanted to back away, when I suddenly heard a light, calm voice, devoid of any emotion, exclaim in admiration: "The friendship between men... it's truly incomprehensible..."

Hmm... I guess that's a compliment?

"What? This kind of friendship is better off gone... Wait a minute, who are you? When did you appear behind me?!"

After I answered instinctively, I suddenly realized that there was a stranger behind me!