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

A Stand! A Stand has appeared!

Someone can cook quickly while simultaneously transforming all their willpower into black energy that envelops the entire area! Could this be the legendary Stand... "The Terrifying Housewife"?

"Ah... that..."

I forced myself to speak, trying to break the silence, but as soon as I did, Mrs. Anna turned around abruptly, staring at me with wide eyes, and then looked at Basil with some panic.

"Hey! We have guests! When did this happen... Basil, why didn't you tell me sooner! How rude of you!"

In an instant, the eerie atmosphere vanished, and a woman dressed exquisitely and fashionably with elegantly curled hair appeared before me.

If her resentment was heavy just now, her smile is now incredibly warm, like that of a good housewife who has finished shopping and having afternoon tea (not the kind that involves going out in a crowd), and is now cooking at home, waiting for her husband and daughter to come home.

Her face radiated a bright, sunny smile, making me almost doubt that what I had just seen and heard was an illusion.

"Ahem... Mrs. Anna... I'm Marcus, it's my first visit, please... please excuse me..." I said incredulously.

"Oh, Marcus, I've heard about you from the neighbors. Why don't you stay for dinner? How about some omelets and apple roujiamo for the main course?"

Mrs. Anna gracefully and skillfully served the dinner dishes, and kindly invited the trembling Mary and the seemingly composed Professor Basil to sit down together.

The meal was eaten with great unease, without any sign of anything amiss. Mrs. Anna's culinary skills in home cooking were exceptional, almost on par with Mr. Dart's.

Throughout the meal, she thoughtfully added food to her daughter's plate, brought out Mr. Baqir's favorite brandy, and chatted with me animatedly about recent interesting events in town. If I hadn't witnessed what I just saw, who could imagine that Mrs. Anna was a Stand user?!

"Thanks to you so much this time. How did you and Mary meet? Do you talk a lot? Do you get along well? Did you enjoy the meal today?"

After dinner, Mrs. Anna was whispering to Mary as she told Mr. Baqir to see me out. Then she skillfully cleared the table by herself and sent Mary to see me off as well.

Standing at my doorstep, as the sun was about to set behind the mountains, Mr. Baqir looked at me with a meaningful expression and said, "Next time... you must come to my house for dinner again!"

Mary, still shaken, hid by the door, nodding rapidly like a little rabbit.

Growing up under such family pressure, it's no wonder Mary developed a skill that made her barely noticeable. If it were me, I'd probably have learned the magic of shrinking distances to an inch by now.

But I didn't look back. After waving goodbye, I walked away into the sunset, my shadow stretching long behind me, seemingly becoming a string of indescribable ellipses, or perhaps four abstract characters—

Next time for sure.

Chapter 552 Crime of Leaking Secrets

The sweltering heat of the summer night dissipated in the evening, but instead enveloped the seaside town even more intensely.

The deciduous trees on both sides bask in the sunlight during the day and sway comfortably in the wind at night, exuding a sense of ease and freedom.

As the sunset faded, bright stars shone in the sky. I looked up and saw that the sunlight had not completely disappeared, mysteriously drawing a line between light and dark on the horizon, leaving the deep blue night sky, like a giant whale lying across the sky.

The moon is the bright eye of the night sky, while the clouds are the light veils that drift across the sky, always playfully trying to cover this light source, but instead creating an even more beautiful halo around the moon.

I strolled through Mineral Town, like a real sheriff, carefully examining every corner of the buildings.

After walking past the hospital in Dortmund with the sea breeze in my face, I arrived at Father Carter's church.

After that unscrupulous priest left, the Church of the Holy Spirit, whose architecture was already simple and solemn, once again fell into a majestic slumber. The stained-glass windows, now devoid of light, could finally maintain their quietude, no longer disturbed by clumsy ghost stories and shameful acts of blasphemy.

When Father Carter was here, coming here felt like facing a poorly printed religious text—it just didn't feel right. I couldn't sleep, so I scrutinized it for half the night before finally deciphering the words between the lines: the whole book screamed two words—"Disgraceful!"

Q: How can churches properly spread the gospel of the Holy Spirit?

A: It's very simple, just make Father Carter, who is preaching, shut up.

Q: How can a church maintain its solemnity and dignity over a long period of time?

A: It's very simple, just throw Father Carter out of the church.

I knocked on the church door and waited for a long time to make sure no one was sleeping soundly inside before I walked away satisfied.

After living in Mineral Town for a while, I discovered an incredible phenomenon—no matter how much I wandered the streets, my feet would always unconsciously stop in front of Mr. Dart's tavern, and then I would uncontrollably push the door open, slump down in front of the tavern counter, like a piece of nationally protected waste.

Could it be that Boss Dart is a feng shui master who has secretly set up a Nine Heavens and Ten Earths Waste-Attracting Array, with the tavern as the array's core, slowly refining the people of this town into waste?

Thinking of this, I was startled and couldn't help but tell Cliff, who was standing next to me, about my idea.

Cliff, however, was oblivious to the danger. He wolfed down the curry powder provided by Boss Dart, and then mumbled, "I think the boss is a good person and wouldn't do such a thing."

"I also think you're overthinking it."

After eavesdropping for half the day, Boss Dart wiped the table and said with a serious face, "The fact that this town is full of useless people has nothing to do with me—and in a sense, your arrival is not unexpected."

...I seem to have sensed a subtle malice?

“Boss, I’m a genuine top student from Shining City Star University, holding degrees from 985 and 211 universities. I’m also a technical advisor to the Illuminati, an honorary lizardman passport holder, and a special envoy for Planet Nibiru. I don’t want you to be so sarcastic!”

I confidently revealed my hidden identity, but Boss Dart's expression remained unchanged. "So you still ended up in the countryside growing potatoes?"

"Hmm... Boss, that's a bit too harsh. Where's Lin today?" I asked.

"I gave Lynn the day off today," said Boss Dart. "It seems she went to see Karen."

"Karen?"

Are they discussing some travel plans again? How can I subtly tell them that the flight paths on this planet don't go to Jay's territory?

Since Jay, no new guests have visited the Colonist system. Is there some kind of bug in the system?

Ok……

After careful consideration, I realized that the place where the jays arrived at the pasture was a hot spring mine, indicating that this haunted mine was the path the visitors took. Now that it's full of insects, it must be blocked.

I calculated the time, and it seems to be exactly the period after the jays returned that caused the anomaly. I wonder if the visitor system function will be restored after this cleanup of the insect nest, bringing some surprises to my life.

This time I want two older sisters, the kind who aren't wearing clothes!

While Gotz and I were efficient in our clearing operation, there were definitely many omissions. The remaining tasks should be left to the professionals...

I turned to Cliff and said, "By the way, Cliff, I've gotten revenge for you. I've locked up that old man who was drunk and assaulting people. I won't let him out until he repents."

Cliff scratched his head sheepishly: "It's really nothing serious, just a little injury..."

"You're welcome! Did you know that we've already taken care of the pest infestation?"

After finishing the last bite of rice on his plate, Cliff said mysteriously, "I know, Marcus, I actually went in this afternoon..."

I raised an eyebrow: "Hmm? Mr. Dart told you everything?"

The young man nodded heavily. "Yeah... I really didn't expect that there would be such a thing inside..."

Before he could finish speaking, I covered his mouth and dragged him to the tavern entrance, instructing him, "Don't talk about it. I don't know the situation inside very well yet. All news should be based on my word, understand?"

Cliff was probably startled by my serious expression and quickly shut his mouth, indicating that he fully understood.

Seeing his obedient behavior, I nodded in satisfaction.

"The insect infestation hasn't stabilized yet, and I estimate there will be small-scale insect mutations. So I plan to continue employing you for a while longer, to be responsible for patrolling Mount Mades and inspecting the mines every day, and to promptly extinguish any resurgence of the insect infestation."

Cliff's eyes lit up as he exclaimed, "Great! I've found a job again!"

"It's just a temporary job, why are you so excited? You'll have to leave once it's done."

Cliff said with a wronged expression, "I just need to earn money to support myself. I've been away for so long, and the only place I can get enough to eat every day is Mineral Town. If I could, I wouldn't want to leave."

I asked in surprise, "You want to stay?"

Cliff said seriously, "That's right! City life isn't for me. I think it's better to start in a small town."

I sneered, "Don't underestimate this mining town! Let me make this clear beforehand: after we finish dealing with the pest infestation, my ranch won't have the money to hire you!"

Cliff smiled shyly and said, "Marcus, you've helped me enough during this time. I will definitely find a job in town through my own efforts!"

This young man is fine in every other way, but he's a bit slow-witted and does things without thinking about the consequences. In my opinion, it's better for someone like him to stay in Mining Town. If he were anywhere else, he might have already been tricked into working in an illegal coal mine.

Alright, at least dealing with the aftereffects of the insect hive is no longer a problem. So the next issue is to find out the identities of the unidentified dead in the mine!

Cliff and I went back into the house and found that Mr. Dart had already cleaned up all the dishes and was just sitting there doing nothing. So I said goodbye to him and set off for the next location.

…………

Thomas the Tank Engine's house.

Thomas, an extremely obese man, was fast asleep in bed, completely oblivious to the rising moon outside.

I frowned and asked Harris, "Didn't this guy say he was working day and night because of his job? He should be up and working now, shouldn't he?"

Harris washed an apple, grabbed one, and ate it while saying, "My God, you actually believe his nonsense? Ever since I've known Thomas, he's been a long-sleeping man. Even with urgent federal orders, you can't wake him up unless the doorbell rings three times!"

So you just sleep during the day and sleep at night, waking up occasionally to eat or go to the bathroom?

"...This person is useless, let's throw him away."

Harris said solemnly, "No, he is, after all, the mayor of our town..."

I asked in surprise, "I didn't expect you to approve of Thomas so much? Is this what male friendship is like?"

Harris waved his hand and said, "No, any dog ​​could do the mayor's job. I mean, this town depends on him to embarrass us, we can't just let him get away like this..."

...At least show some respect!

Why can someone who is staying at another person's house have the audacity to criticize the homeowner and then openly eat food from their refrigerator?

The two finished eating their apples in silence, then suddenly spoke at the same time.

"Ah...I said..."*2

Oh no, the most embarrassing thing, besides wearing the same clothes, is saying the same thing. At this time, it is easy to encounter the "bicycle problem", where you bump into each other from the left and right.

"Tsk...you go first..."*2

What exactly is Harris up to? Is there something he wants to say but can't bring himself to say it?

What makes this guy so secretive...

Could it be a relationship problem?

"Let me speak first," I said, cutting in line. "Are you thinking about settling down and starting a family?"

Harris paused for a moment, his long face displaying a rich array of micro-expressions, before finally regaining his composure. "How did you know? You're getting old; it's time to settle down and start a family, don't you think?"

Hmph, the way to solve a problem is to face it with a smile, so I anticipated your thoughts!

But his honesty surprised me.

I thought that after he finally unloaded his burdens, he would go find Anzo, whom he had missed back then. Good grief, it seems he's still wandering at a crossroads in his love life?

When it comes to these kinds of relationship problems, I always advise reconciliation rather than separation. "Don't feel guilty, Harris."

I spread my hands and said to him, "Although you are average-looking, unemployed, have a low income, a narrow mind, are bad at speaking, have a broken family background, have made bad friends, and are mediocre in talent... you have a sincere heart! What does it matter if you are old enough to be brothers with your father-in-law? What does it matter if you look like a pervert when you are with your sweetheart? You must stick to your heart and pursue your own happiness!"