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

"But boss... if the armor can't protect, then why wear it? Shouldn't other functions also rely on good protection?"

After asking the question, Gray looked on expectantly, hoping I would provide an answer.

He is currently wearing a combat softshell suit and an advanced FAST helmet, but his mindset is still stuck in old-fashioned rigidity and he hasn't been able to break out of it.

He has made great progress in the concept of weapons, but he is still in the infancy stage when it comes to armor making.

I wanted him to become "Golfried," but after all that effort, he still hasn't managed to forge any decent equipment. At times like this, I need to give him a push and show him the right path.

"Grey, tell me, what's the point of wearing armor on the battlefield?"

“To avoid harm,” Gray replied.

I nodded: "Good, thankfully you didn't mention that you were using your pectoral muscles to block the light. So, when you're standing in front of an enemy who's already loaded, would you charge head-on in your armor, or would you avoid their attacks and look for weaknesses?"

Gray thought for a moment: "If there's only one opponent, I'll launch a surprise attack; if there are many, I'll dodge first."

As expected, conditional clauses are the secret to cracking all astrological scams; your answer puts me in a difficult position...

I reached out and tapped his helmet. "So the purpose of all actions on the battlefield is to kill the enemy while protecting yourself, right? Then why do you want to use your weak head to fight against the enemy's bullets?"

Gray paused for a moment, then muttered to himself, "Yeah... why get attacked when you can just dodge..."

I continued, “Do you understand? This system aims to integrate ballistic and traumatic brain injury protection, along with face, neck, and hearing protection, into a lightweight, modular, and scalable helmet system. This means that while retaining protective capabilities, designers are focusing more on enhancing communication functions and situational awareness!”

Gray asked in confusion, "Boss, what other functions are you talking about?"

I sighed as well: "Then it's all about integrating sensor inputs and display hardware and software to improve situational awareness! Modern helmets will inevitably become modular platforms, multifunctional systems, rather than just single-function metal shells. Do you understand?"

Speaking of the application of microelectronics technology, this is currently my biggest headache. It's impossible to fabricate chips by hand, and I can't magically master the arrangement of electrons. It seems there's still a long way to go before I can work with precise and complex electronics…

Gray returned to his desk thoughtfully, took off his helmet and examined it closely, seemingly entering a long-lost state of research.

"Grey, what are you thinking about?"

Gray said absentmindedly, "I think I've figured out a bit about how to make the main armor of the first-dimensional equipment... simplify the redundant parts, keep the core... expand its functions..."

He suddenly looked up at me, his eyes burning with intensity. "Boss! I need a little more time! Can I take this equipment back to study it?"

I nodded and said, "Take it. This was originally a gift for you. If you want to study it, I'll move some of the equipment to the bat cave tomorrow, and you can study it there."

The problem of electricity in the cave is now easy to solve. I just need to bring the ranch's batteries over, and the stored power should be enough for several days. The secret base can be considered to have entered the era of electrification.

"Boss, I'll be going now..."

"Hey! This door is a push door, don't pull it!"

"Ah... Boss, you're a bit too late... I've already pulled the door down..."

After watching Gray suffer a series of mental blows tonight and leave in a daze, my only worry now is that Gray has gone too far down the path of unorthodox methods.

Sigh, I was already prepared to give him room to experiment, and I also hoped that he would be meticulous and not cut things that shouldn't be simplified. In the end, he simplified my main armor into a breastplate.

If it's a breast protector, I can barely accept it, but if there are two side by side...

Are you suggesting I dress up like Wonder Woman and go to war?

Chapter 578 The Mystery of a Midsummer Night

The ranch felt even more empty and desolate after Gray left. The dim yellow lights scattered along the roadside, even at their best, could not illuminate the surrounding darkness, nor could they dispel the cold and lonely atmosphere.

I stood at the warehouse door for a while, but I just couldn't bring myself to go to sleep. I felt that once I fell asleep, the ranch would truly enter a deep slumber and never wake up again.

I sighed, realizing I couldn't shake the urge, so I obediently returned to the warehouse and decided to stay up a little later tonight—after all, I didn't need to teach the children tomorrow, so staying up a little later wouldn't be a big deal.

The Alpha Chicken in the warehouse, which had been lying on a workbench watching my conversation with Gray, is now half-asleep, its eyes half-closed, turning into two fluffy white balls of fur, snuggling together and drowsy.

The little pony emoji was even more honest. This guy also sidled up to me, instead of running back to the stable to sleep; he had just been rolling around on the ground.

The four flamboyant wild horses were still not quite used to their surroundings, remaining in a four-legged stance, heads up and hindquarters out, collectively asleep, seemingly ready to bolt at the slightest disturbance. In contrast, the meme-worthy pony, lying on its back with its legs in the air, was excessively comfortable, even snoring loudly.

I gave these guys some hay and bait, then turned to check on the Groudon hiding in the corner of the warehouse.

Given its size, the only difference between its concealed movements and those of a long, thin shape and a spherical shape is that it cannot hide its grizzly bear-like body and the terrifying aura that it has evolved for killing and fighting.

I touched the creature's head. Its empty brain, unaffected by the pheromones emitted from the insect nest, became gentle and calm, and it obediently hid in the corner, closed its eyes, and went to sleep.

When my palm touched it, the artificial insect opened its three pairs of irregular compound eyes, turned its angular head slightly, and gave me a friendly response.

The lamb noticed Groudon's actions and stood up alertly. When it realized I was approaching, it came closer affectionately, bleating and gently nibbling at my trouser leg.

"Alright, alright, I'm not asking you to repay a favor. Go somewhere cool and stay there."

After checking around, I discovered that two cheetahs were missing from the ranch.

These two guys are always listless during the day, but they disappear without a trace at night, no one knows where they go.

But felines are certainly not as loyal as canines. It's already a great honor for them to stay here. Hopefully, they can come back to rest soon and not affect the police leopard's work the next day.

Keep it up, working leopard!

The artworks I made during the afternoon class were all bought up by Zack just now. I hope these uniquely shaped items will attract buyers.

As I walked out of the warehouse, I saw a kappa watering the plants under the cover of night.

"Kappa, how's it going?"

The green creature, carrying a watering can, was darting swiftly between the planting area and the pond. It stopped when it heard my call and ran towards me on all fours.

Good heavens, he's showing his monkey nature! I may have taken him as a disciple, but I don't believe there's a curse that forces disciples to turn into monkeys.

Fortunately, the words this guy uttered were still his familiar catchphrases.

"Cucumber! Please give me a cucumber!"

With its shrill voice and comical facial expressions, it's definitely a kappa.

I pointed to a small patch of land by the river: "Look, that's a cucumber field. Just take good care of the field, and when the cucumbers grow there, they'll be the cucumbers you want!"

Actually, I only told half of what I meant.

The current season isn't ideal for planting cucumbers, and besides, that packet of seeds didn't receive the Colonizer System's blessing. Planting such old seeds, I honestly don't know if they'll even germinate and grow...

Sure enough, once a person becomes a capitalist, they naturally become good at making empty promises. They will think that this is just a reasonable incentive mechanism, and whether it is fulfilled or not is never important. Whether it is fulfilled depends on the capitalist's conscience, and a capitalist with a conscience... can he still be considered a capitalist?

Watching the kappa rush excitedly to the edge of the cucumber field, then quickly stop and carefully observe the land, I felt a little sorry for him.

If all else fails, buy it two pickled cucumbers.

…………

I lay on the bed in the room, staring blankly at the moonlight streaming in from outside, unable to find the sleepiness I should have felt.

On such a quiet, moonlit night, surrounded by the chirping of insects and the rustling of trees, it should have been a perfect day to enjoy a midsummer night. Yet, I remained wide awake, tossing and turning in bed, unable to fall asleep.

Gradually, I began to suspect that the problem was with the bed, so I immediately made a wooden single bed, moved the pillows and blankets onto it, and changed from sleeping in the hibernation pod to lying in the middle of the living room.

When my back touched the hardwood bed frame, I felt an indescribable sense of security, and sleepiness washed over me. A wave of drowsiness and weakness washed over me, engulfing me like a tide.

My brainwaves finally calmed down, gradually reaching the edge of my unconscious state. As I stood, seemingly alone on a vast, gloomy beach, gazing at the sea where gray and darkness alternated, a strange sound rang out…

In a room that was completely empty, I could clearly hear the sound of a chair moving!

As if guided by some unseen force, the wooden chair legs rubbed slightly against the floor, producing a soft rustling sound. This sound was different from the low-frequency friction of leaves, or the muffled rustling of curtains; its abrupt detail alone could make the listener feel uneasy on a spiritual level…

The sound only lasted a few seconds, but the process felt like an eternity to me. My brain was sluggish from drowsiness, and it took me a while to react.

I've finally come to realize a fact...

That voice was just a step away from me!

Since I moved from the hibernation pod to a wooden single bed, my sleeping location has also changed from the west corner to the center of the room, with my head facing north and my feet facing the south side of the room, where the desk and chair are!

I sat up immediately, my movements so quick that my eyes weren't even prepared to see anything.

After a brief period of darkness, I used the dim moonlight streaming into the room to begin to survey the surroundings.

The desk by the window remained as it was, and there were no signs of anyone touching the window or the door. From my perspective, the entire room still presented the same moonlit scene as before I went to sleep.

I didn't see any obvious movement from the chair that was supposed to be making the sound.

"...By the wind?"

I hesitated for a moment, then got up and pushed the chair to the far end of the table, connecting the two tightly. That way, even if the movement was small, I could judge the problem from their relative positions.

After lying down again, I wasn't as sleepy as before, and it took me longer to fall into a deep sleep.

The cool night breeze crept up the blanket and onto my body, ruffling my hair and gently enveloping me like a mother's caress, pulling me back to the edge of sleep once more...

"Squeak..."

The thin, grating sound appeared once again!

This time it was very clear, right at my feet!

I jumped out of bed and, without thinking twice, went straight to the light switch and turned on the room's lights!

The blinding light suddenly shone, making the whole room as bright as day. I lowered my head and slowly adjusted to the light. The scene in front of me was blurry, but my ears were still searching for any suspicious information, but to no avail.

I took three breaths, using a unique method to adjust my vision, and then focused my gaze precisely on the desk in front of the window...

This is completely different from what I checked before going to bed—the chair has inexplicably moved five centimeters outward!

The table and chairs that were just pressed tightly together are now separated by a gap of two fingers!

Is this chair some kind of sentient being?

Have you heard that it was banned for beings to become spirits after the founding of the People's Republic of China?

"Go to hell!"

I casually tossed the chair out the door and then slammed the door shut.

I was repeatedly interrupted on the verge of sleep. I don't know if I was more annoyed or scared, but I had a terrible headache. After my subconscious action, I admire myself for turning off the lights and going back to sleep.

I stormed back to bed, rolled over, and pulled the covers over myself. I felt sleepy and knew I had to fall asleep no matter what.

…………

A few minutes after the lights were turned off, I did get a moment of peace. The white noise in my ears blocked out the sound, allowing me to lie peacefully on my side in bed and feel the tranquility of my body and mind.

But not long after, a faint sound suddenly came from a corner of the room.

The sound didn't appear out of thin air. As soon as I turned off the light and lay down, I could feel a whistling sound of wind swirling in a corner of the room. However, the sound was very faint, so I thought it was the air convection caused by closing the door too hard earlier.

But as I lay down to sleep, the sound not only didn't lessen, but actually intensified. The tiny noise wasn't bothersome at first, but the continuously increasing low-frequency noise made it even harder to fall asleep, as if an invisible mosquito was hovering in the room.