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

Chapter 46 Weapon Concepts

The first thing I do every morning is check on the growth of the potatoes.

These potatoes, specially treated by the colonists, have their growth period compressed to eight days, completing the normal eighty-day growth process of potatoes, and are ready to eat when mature.

On the fifth day, I saw that the potato field had become lush and green, turning into a large patch of green plants with small white flowers. The leaves were oval-shaped with a healthy dark green color, and the stems were quite thick, looking full of vitality.

In about two more days, the roots buried underground should grow.

Once that wave of shipments is sold, I can become rich...

Little Ma saw me standing by the field, grinning foolishly, and walked over with a puzzled look on his face:

(???)?

Seeing this, I quickly led the pony to the side, afraid that it might suddenly decide to take another bite.

Even now, half of the potato plants in the field still bear the teeth marks from when it gnawed on them last time.

Fortunately, this plant has amazing vitality; it recovered and regrowed within a day, otherwise the plan would have been completely ruined.

"This is what you're supposed to eat! Look carefully!"

I took the pony to another plot of land where crops were growing, and tried to explain this to it.

The field was covered with a large, haphazardly growing collection of plants. Based on my botanical knowledge, I could only distinguish grasses such as timothy grass, wild cogon grass, June grass, fine wheat, fescue, palm leaves, and foxtail grass, as well as legumes such as alfalfa, clover, and clover.

These are all excellent varieties of forage grass, characterized by their strong regenerative ability, allowing for multiple harvests per year. They are also rich in various trace elements and vitamins, making them the first choice for raising livestock.

This type of integrated forage not only contains all the nutrients that livestock need, but also crude fiber, which is particularly important for maintaining the health of ruminant livestock and cannot be replaced by grains or other feeds.

Although these foods are highly nutritious, they are completely useless to humans. The human stomach cannot directly absorb them unless they are processed into animal feed through grinding, fermentation, or other methods…

But why would I eat animal feed?

Is it because Mr. Dart's food isn't good?

Or do you think your life isn't miserable enough already?

Okay, my goal for the next two weeks is to at least eat potatoes to get by; I can't compromise anymore.

"This is your food. Eat more so you can grow up faster and then I can ride a horse at full gallop."

I gave Xiao Ma some instructions while packing my things, preparing to go to the hospital.

I promised Dr. Dort I'd help him gather herbs yesterday, and I need to keep my promise. I just don't know if the assistant he sent me is the same nurse?

"I'm so envious. He works in town and has a nurse to keep him company. Dr. Dort is the real winner in life."

I couldn't help but think.

Look at my place, it's so much more miserable in comparison. Not only do I not have a clean and tidy two-story house as my workplace, but I also don't have any pretty young ladies to accompany me. I don't even have a pet, just a weak, pitiful, helpless but edible little pony with an emoji-like expression.

That's enough!

I stormed out of the ranch, when a faint voice suddenly rang out.

"Boss Marcus, you're up so early."

I looked closely and saw a young man in a work jacket squatting on the path outside the ranch, looking around, checking his hairstyle and figure...

Isn't that Gray?

"Hey, Gray, you're up so early too? You look pretty energetic, buddy... wait a minute, what's wrong with you?"

I was about to praise him for being a good young man who goes to bed early and gets up early, but when I looked at him, I saw that he had two deep dark circles under his eyes. He looked like he had been staying up all night in an internet cafe for three days and three nights!

"Oh, I was thinking about weapon design concepts all day yesterday, and I couldn't sleep because I was thinking too much, so I just came out for a walk."

This guy is really pushing himself too hard! He's still hung up on something he brought up yesterday? Does this young man have OCD? He won't be satisfied until he comes up with a solution?

"So what's your idea? Tell me about it."

Gray had a completely absent-minded expression on his face.

No wonder, anyone who hasn't slept all night would be in this state, but his mind was very clear, and he began to talk eloquently about his thoughts.

"After listening to your multi-functional concept yesterday, I saw the stone bricks at the door and suddenly thought that we could make some universal weapon modules that can be transformed into different styles through special combinations."

"Yes, this is a great idea! A universal weapon module, which can be used in modern firearms."

Gray immediately perked up and said, "That's right! I'm planning to create a basic form that can then transform into various shapes of swords, spears, and halberds. It'll definitely be very effective."

“But Gray, have you considered something…” I pondered, “cost! The forging of cold weapons doesn’t require much technical skill. Instead of wasting effort making these general-purpose weapons, you might as well just forge one of each of these weapons…”

"All right……"

Gray, looking somewhat dejected, reverted to his listless state and said again.

"I have another idea, which is to combine the advantages and disadvantages of long and short weapons, and connect the long weapon to the short weapon so that it can be disassembled at any time when used, so as to achieve perfect coordination at medium and close range."

"This idea is also acceptable. It's somewhat like the idea of ​​attaching a bayonet to a rifle, ensuring sufficient combat effectiveness in close combat."

"Right? I think this is a great idea!"

"But Gray, have you ever heard the story of Jing Ke's assassination attempt on the King of Qin? Oh, never mind, you probably haven't. Normally, an inch longer means an inch stronger. If I use a long weapon against a long weapon, I definitely won't be able to draw my short weapon. And even if a long weapon meets a short weapon, then there will be the problem of 'the king carrying his sword'... unable to draw the sword at the crucial moment!"

"........."

Gray looked constipated, making me worry that he might suddenly start swearing at me.

He gritted his teeth and said, "Then I have one last idea to create intelligent weapons!"

"Oh?! That's a great idea! But is your technology up to par? Are you relying on artificial intelligence or developing electronic chips?" I was a little incredulous. Could this kid actually be a super genius?

"I saw in my grandfather's notes that some weapons could be forged from living beings. If I can find the right recipe, I can create weapons imbued with spirit..."

Stop!

This is not weapon forging at all!

You're forging a demonic sword!

There are no Gan Jiang and Mo Xie here, nor is there Long Kui!

"Gray! Calm down!"

I shook his shoulders frantically, hoping he would calm down and not go down the path of crime. A man who aspires to be Batman shouldn't turn into the Batman Who Laughs.

"Stop shaking me! I'm dizzy!"

After I shook him around, Gray was almost foaming at the mouth. He quickly broke free from my control and calmed down for a while.

"I'm sorry, I'm stuck in a dilemma. I really can't think of a way to improve the idea."

"Gray! Just focus on doing your job well, you don't need to get bogged down in these details."

I think I understand now. Gray's obsession with trivial matters is like a beggar worrying about how to spend a hundred million dollars—it's completely unfounded!

Once his forging skills reach that level, his forging philosophy will naturally mature; these are all things that happen naturally.

"Put the matter of the Demon Sword aside for now. Is there something you need from me so early?"

Chapter 47 Going Up the Mountain

"Dr. Dort asked me to help collect herbs."

Green said it bluntly.

"Didn't the doctor say you already agreed?"

"Oh, so you were the helper."

I've finally let go of my fantasy of going on a picnic with the lovely nurse; this is more realistic now.

"Let's go then, I'll pack my things."

I went inside the house, took a sickle, tucked it into my waistband, and then walked up the mountain with Green.

Once outside the pasture, I found myself back on the mountain path I had cleared last time. In the two days since I last visited, the vegetation had spread further, and the path beneath my feet had become blurred and difficult to discern; it still took considerable effort to find my way.

Fortunately, the massive Maders mountain served as a landmark, ensuring we wouldn't get lost.

The desolate scenery along the way was always boring, and I knew I should continue to bother this drowsy boy.

"Green, do you recognize these drugs? Did Sebala teach you?" I asked curiously.

"Oh, I think I know most of it. After all, I've lived in this town for so long, and my grandfather has taught me about the local medicinal herbs," Gray said. "Don't they use these herbs in the cities outside?"

"The outside world? If you mean Shining City, then the medicines there are already highly purified, and they seem to be called Shining World Medicines. But I do remember places where these medicines are used to treat illnesses."

The place I'm referring to is certainly not outside of Mineral Town.

Given my limited knowledge of those places, I probably know fewer place names than Gray, the country boy.

So what I'm talking about is the world of the past life, but it's different. Chinese medicine rarely involves drinking the decoction directly; it usually requires processing or extraction before being used in medicine.

Drinking the juice directly is indeed a unique feature of this treatment method.

"I see..." Gray muttered to himself, then fell silent again.

I've noticed that this boy is the type who thinks a lot but speaks little, making him seem like he's not very good at communicating. But actually, he has a very strong ability to express himself in areas that interest him.

Sure enough, after a while, Gray got caught up in his obsession with weapons development again and started asking me questions.

"Boss Marcus, do you find this scythe convenient to use?"

This scythe wasn't the old one I borrowed from Boss Dick; it was a mithril scythe that Gray had forged yesterday. It was lightweight, agile, and incredibly sharp. I secretly took it after the sparring match, and he didn't express any dissatisfaction.

“The sickle is very useful, but to be honest, such tools are not very convenient,” I said. “Last time I went up the mountain, I brought a sickle and an axe with me. It was really troublesome at that time. With both hands free, I couldn’t clear away the weeds or anything.”

"Is it inconvenient? What if there's a way to get more tools?" Gray suddenly asked.

How to get more tools?

The image that comes to mind is me in a three-sword style: a sickle in my left hand, a hammer in my right, and a hoe in my mouth—a super low-budget version of Zoro…

"No need..." I said, sweat beading on my forehead. I couldn't muster any enthusiasm for this embarrassing look.

"Boss, why do you look so pale? I mean, do you think it would be better if we replaced the tool set?" Gray asked.

After his explanation, I finally understood what he meant.

He also said that the tool would be designed to have replaceable electric toothbrush heads, and would also come with three heads: an axe head, a sickle head, and a hoe head, allowing for flexible switching during use and reducing the load.

This idea surprised me. It seems that his talent in agricultural tools is far greater than that in weapons.