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

Kay paused briefly, then stood on a coffee table, pulled a very familiar sphere from his pocket, emitting light enough to illuminate the room, and while holding it up with one hand, searched around, then suddenly pointed in a direction: "Over there!"

In the blink of an eye, just as Kai issued the warning, a bizarrely twisted figure suddenly leaped out from behind the collapsed cabinet, soaring into the air in a terrifying manner!

It had neither the advantage of being able to move its limbs nor the advantage of having weapons, yet it opened its mouth wide in an unnatural way, revealing its teeth amidst a strange sound of its jaw dislocating, and without hesitation pounced to bite its target—Elliott's throat!

Fortunately, just when the situation was about to get out of control, Gray suddenly appeared!

At the critical moment, he reached out and dragged Elliot, who was having a nightmare, away from where he stood. He then immediately turned around and exchanged a palm strike with Stuart, the snake-like man who lunged at him.

Stuart's eyes were bloodshot as he was knocked to the ground by Gray's superhuman attack.

But after landing, he didn't utter a sound and seemed to feel no pain. He once again burrowed into the pile of debris and disappeared with a rustling sound.

Disappearance does not mean escape. In the chaotic scene, Stuart lurks like a snake, waiting for the right moment to strike his prey.

Kay and Gray had no choice but to stand back to back, wary of any potential enemy attacks.

Fortunately, thanks to Kai's artificial lighting, the environment was no longer dark.

Gray wanted to give chase, but aside from the element of waiting for the prey to run into him, he couldn't quite grasp the strange route it was taking. Kay also opened his eyes wide, trying to search, but he was always a step too late to speak.

"Still trying to run?"

Admittedly, the way the human-snake swam, sometimes to the left and sometimes to the right, and its behavior of turning around in place was very strange, but what could be stranger than the colonizer system?

"Select work order: Capture target."

I activated the capture command, and my figure began to flash repeatedly!

No matter how agile Stuart's serpentine figure was, he couldn't escape my lock. The bizarre scene didn't seem like I was chasing him; it was more like he was coordinating with me to run points, and even subtly lagged behind me!

Before long, I caught Stuart red-handed, caught up with him, locked one of his legs, and lifted him high above my head!

"Marcus, watch out, he might use a joint lock!"

Before Kai's warning had even faded, the serpentine figure began to writhe, frantically tightening its grip on my wrist, like a python coiling around its prey...

"Select work command: Abort command."

Before he could react, I decisively revoked the order, instantly defying convention and ignoring his lock, and forcefully shook him to the ground like a sack of potatoes, slamming him heavily to the ground.

Then, while he was still in a daze, it grabbed him like iron pincers...

Hey, this is called Liu Bei throwing his child – it happens just like that!

With Kay and Gray staring in disbelief, a series of rhythmic, repetitive thuds followed, and finally, everything came to a close...

…………

"He shouldn't cause any more trouble now, right?"

I clapped my hands and let out a sigh of relief. For safety's sake, I tied him up tightly with a rope and hung him in mid-air to prevent him from using it for leverage. I even dislocated his jaw to prevent him from continuing to bite people or intentionally or unintentionally biting his tongue to commit suicide.

As for this technique...

Don't ask, it's just a technique from Russian hostage rescue training!

Kay also went over to check and said with certainty, "Yes, he's just one breath away from death. If he doesn't wake up, he'll never wake up."

I said with dissatisfaction, "What are you doing, just standing here? Teleporting on the spot? And let me see what you have in your hand first!"

Kay handed me the sphere without hesitation.

The moment I held it in my hand, I became even more certain of my guess: "This is... the Jade of Truth?"

Kay said with some surprise, "You actually recognize this? Many people just think it's a natural luminescent mineral."

The matter here is not easy to explain, and besides, it's not me who needs to explain now, but probably you, sir?

"Tell me your story first! How exactly did Elliott get on the ship?" I asked, gathering my thoughts.

Kay pondered for a moment, then looked at the federal badge on my chest and posed a small question.

"Weren't you here because you were tracking down a murderer?"

...I knew there was another misunderstanding!

“In the dead of night, Miss Elliott suddenly appeared on the stormy shore, saying that Mr. Stuart wanted to kill her and that she was seeking refuge. I took pity on her and let her on board, and that’s how we ended up in this storm…” Kay said.

Let me sort it out...

It was Stuart who wanted to kill Elliott...

What exactly happened inside...?

“Marcus, so what do you think happened?” Kay asked.

Gray volunteered, "What we encountered was Mr. Stuart saying that Miss Elliott went missing late at night and he hoped we could help find his fiancée... exactly the opposite of what you said!"

One of them must be lying, and the two people involved just happen to be completely unconscious.

Of course, judging from his performance just now, Stuart is indeed highly suspicious. His serpentine movement skills alone don't make him seem like a good person—or rather, he's afraid of being mistaken for one.

Thinking about it another way... Could it be that Stuart came to the ranch late at night also intending to take advantage of the darkness to attack me, but I woke up in the middle of the night and caught him?

But looking back on my behavior throughout the night, something just doesn't feel right...

If Stuart harbored malicious intentions, I should have sensed it, and it's impossible that I would have obediently remained hidden all this way.

What's even stranger is that if Stuart had long harbored murderous intentions, Elliott wouldn't have been completely unaware of this and foolishly chose to come to town with him, right?

"I have a new idea..."

I pondered, "Could it be that Stuart has an extreme split personality, and under certain circumstances, he might lose control and hunt down someone? Is that why the information we have is so different?"

“I must say, your guess is far more outrageous than mine…” Kai replied.

He pointed to Stuart's arm and said, "See this tattoo? This branching, sprouting pattern likely represents 'that' organization. Only those lunatics would so brazenly use brainwashing to create such inhuman assassins..."

I frowned and asked, "Do you know something?"

Kai frowned and explained, "As a long-established organization, the Navigators' Alliance inevitably deals with some shady characters from the shadows of history. I just didn't expect to run into a traitor so easily and so unluckyly..."

Contract thieves? What are those?

I asked cautiously, "...Is it a type of squid?"

The situation instantly became awkward. Those in the know didn't know how to answer, while those who were kept in the dark looked completely bewildered.

Chapter 609 Tales of Mineral Town Harbor (Part 11)

"Thieves aren't seafood..."

Kai stopped dwelling on explaining things to us and said first, "Marcus, I'll take you back first. I'll explain this to you later. If we wait any longer, that monster will come back..."

But to our surprise, Stuart, who was beaten half to death and had his jaw joint dislocated, was still able to make a sound.

That sinister laugh, like that of a venomous snake, suddenly rang in their ears, catching everyone present off guard.

I rushed to Stuart's side immediately and found his eyes rolled back and his breathing weak. He had clearly fallen into a self-protective coma due to his serious injuries, and even breathing was difficult for him. How could he make a sound again?!

Upon closer reflection, that laughter didn't sound like Stuart's usual voice...

Is it haunted?

Could it be some unseen entity attached to humans that we've mistaken for "Stuart"?

But before I could voice my guess, Kai approached the source of the sound and said decisively, "Stop playing tricks! Since you can still communicate using ventriloquism, just tell us honestly what your purpose is!"

Ventriloquism!

The laughter paused briefly, then resumed with a sinister chuckle, mixed with a muffled voice.

"Hehe... You say I'm playing tricks... Do you dare to tell me the secret behind your coming here?"

Kay's face darkened. He ignored the question and said to us, "Ignore him, let's get out of here quickly."

But Stuart did not give up; instead, he smiled even more arrogantly.

"Leave? Then why don't you dare tell them... that those who step into this place have no way to return alive... have you ever seen a single person you send here return alive?"

Upon hearing this, Kai abruptly stopped, turned around, glared angrily at the man hanging in mid-air, and demanded sharply, "Where did you get all this information from! And what is your purpose here!"

But Stuart remained unmoved, even somewhat smug.

"You're afraid to answer, are you...? Then let me ask you a few more questions..."

The venomous voice relentlessly pursued them, emanating from Stuart's half-dead body, making it all the more bizarre.

"Who built the raft containing the remains sealed by the Navigators' Alliance?"

"Who has the human skin chart that the Elders consult on every day now?"

"Thirty-one ghost routes scattered around the world, theoretically 'non-existent,' where do they lead?"

"Whose name do the madmen with broken wills in the monastery on the island of Asini chant day and night?"

"Do you dare to answer these questions...?"

One question after another came from him, his voice growing increasingly shrill, like the howling of a ghost.

After "Stuart" mumbled these questions, Kai calmed down, but his slightly shy demeanor completely disappeared, revealing a firm attitude that even Gray had never seen before.

"These are things you shouldn't know. But now that you're here, on this ship... could it be that you're going to... that place?"

The "Stuart" hanging in mid-air merely sneered, its half-dead voice echoing throughout the cabin, leaving us with endless questions.

I asked in a low voice, "Kay, I'm completely confused... Can we go back, or can't we?"

Kay tied his purple headscarf tighter and said to me with a wry smile, "I had hidden a speedboat on the Pegasus in case of danger. But judging from his tone, even without checking, I could tell that the ship was probably doomed..."

Given the obvious deliberate and unpreparedness of the situation, and considering that "Stuart" had spent the entire journey on Kay's yacht, and Kay, who was at the helm, couldn't possibly monitor him at all times—all things considered, it was fortunate that the lifeboat still had two planks left.

Unconvinced, Gray went to investigate and indeed found a speedboat with its engine smashed to pieces.

At this point, the Pegasus had suffered two major damages, and its sealed compartments were flooded in several places. It was barely floating on the surface and there was absolutely no way it could return to the harbor. Our tattered raft, which we had rowed over, was also no match for the fierce winds and waves outside the eye of the storm.

Upon returning, Gray retorted defiantly, "It's just by sea! We were able to row in with our little sampans, and I can swim back to port on my own!"

Kay disagreed, saying, "No, it's not that simple. The situation in the eye of the storm is very special; once you're inside, you can't move freely. My original plan was to break free with the Clippers, but now we have to find another way..."

I whispered, "Grey, think about it carefully. If we could get out by swimming, then how come that monster was trapped here..."

"Stuart" sneered, "I didn't expect everyone on board to be so fearless... Heh heh... Go, go... Take the people on board and go for good, they'll never come back..."

Stuart's attitude is now very clear: he has come for a secret purpose and has long since disregarded life and death.