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

Mr. Dart thought the same way, which is why, after considering many factors, he only told me. The town's economic foundation was too weak, and its production capacity was practically zero. Once such obstacles to the supply of goods occurred, it could very likely jeopardize the settlers' confidence.

But what I don't understand is, if the Federal Council is confident in waging war against the evil god, why would they deliberately make trouble for a poor, remote place like Mineral Town?

"So, Mayor, please give me the money quickly. I'll use it to expand production so that food and supplies can be provided first."

I once again brandished the banner of "acting on behalf of Heaven" and reached out for the compensation funds for the requisitioned materials in this special operation in the town.

"Giving you a portion wouldn't be out of the question..."

Thomas's round face was full of struggle. He hesitated for a long time before finally managing to speak: "But how will you produce the other supplies? We're not just lacking food. Under the Federation's suppression, we don't know how long it will be before we run out of fabric, building materials, medicine, and mechanical parts..."

At this point, he finally took off his nightcap, his small eyes no longer showing any sleepiness.

"No, I still have to go out. I'll see if I can persuade them to change their minds!"

I have a negative attitude towards this matter.

How could the political power of a nominal town mayor, who is in reality at most a village party secretary, possibly shake the federal government's overseas strategy? If they are determined to seize Mineral Town and turn it into a bridgehead, then we have no way to organize resistance.

Fortunately, the federal government does not have legal ownership of overseas islands or even mainland territories, so it can only use economic means to "buy" the places it wants.

The owner of Dart was the only one with a clear head; he saw through the situation long ago and knew how to break it.

The worst option at this point is to plead with the Federation to stop interfering. The middle option is for the Navigators' Alliance to reorganize shipping routes to transport supplies. The truly best option is to realize production and processing locally, thus avoiding the possibility of Mineral Town being trapped and killed in the long run.

With the help of the colonizer system, it's not impossible for me to manufacture the scarce items Thomas mentioned. I just need to spend time overcoming the technical obstacles and getting the colonizer system to recognize the research results.

But raw materials are a big problem. Expecting me to have a complete light industrial system and raw material agriculture scale on a single ranch is just asking too much.

I have no clue, no clue at all. I always want to say something to Louis XVI, but Louis XVI, there has to be a beginning!

"Mayor, you think of a solution first. I'll go back and write a plan, then I'll come back to ask you for funding."

In order to find a solution to the food crisis, I may have to make a decision that goes against my ancestors' wishes and bring out the priceless family secret recipe...

Ba + 2Na = Banana!

Chapter 664 The Prey and the Mysterious Visitor

In the forest behind the ranch.

Dense trees intertwine to form a thick canopy, covering a winding path that runs east to west. One side of the path leads to the sea, while the other side winds its way into the dense forests of the Mads Mountains.

"Hey, isn't this Marcus? What brings you here today?"

Gotz, with a full beard, carried an axe and a bag, and slowly made his way up the mountain. The rugged mountain path did not cause him any trouble. His large feet seemed to be nailed to the ground, and his steps were steady and powerful.

I stood up from the tree stump by the door.

"I've been waiting for you for ages. Did you go up the mountain to cut down trees?"

Gotz laughed heartily.

"The roads and trees on the mountain need repair. I was just planning to go up the mountain for a few days in the next day or two to finish the work before coming down. Luckily you came today, otherwise I would have been disappointed."

Gotz took out his key and opened the door. Sunlight finally shone through the thick door frame and into the room, dispelling the cold and gloom.

Even though he was far from the ocean, the deep-diving bloodline still had some effect on Gots, so he particularly liked this indoor environment where rheumatism was common, and even made the door more than enough to block out the wind and light.

"Sit down, I'll boil some water for you."

Götz gathered a few dry firewoods, skillfully opened the hearth, and waited until a few flames shot out before he had time to plop down in a chair.

I asked curiously, "Gotz, how have you been lately?"

Gotz gave me a strange look: "What's so good about it? I've been patrolling the mountains every day lately, have the people in town been gossiping about it again?"

“It has nothing to do with the Three Egyptian Gods. I’m asking if you’ve been looking at the sea lately and felt an urge to swim to distant places?” I continued.

Gotz took out the iron kettle, poured in a full amount of water, and when it boiled, he casually threw in a handful of tea leaves. He watched as the tea leaves tumbled up and down in the kettle, making the tea soup even brighter.

"Have a drink and see, this is some good stuff that Huo An brought over a while ago."

Hoan? Isn't that the legendary businessman who can defeat Boss Jeff, the quintessential gold-level swindler?

I haven't seen him in town lately, so I guess he's already left. He appeared right around the time I disappeared; it was truly a missed opportunity. I wonder what he's doing in Mineral Town this time.

Gotz poured me a full glass before continuing, "How did you know I was feeling unwell recently and could only get a good night's sleep in the ranger's cabin in the mountains?"

I nodded: "You don't know? This matter has indeed caused quite a stir, but it's not exactly a huge one either. If you were to say it's small, it wouldn't be a small one either."

Gotz asked nervously, "Has something really serious happened?!"

I pondered for a moment and said, "I think this matter is quite significant, not particularly significant, but not insignificant either. Everyone thinks it's extremely significant, but I don't think it's that significant. However, if you were to say it's insignificant, it's not insignificant either."

Gotz's forehead was beaded with sweat: "Could it be that my identity has been exposed? No, who could have leaked it... Only a few of you should know about this..."

I took a sip of strong tea, feeling the heat instantly spread throughout my body. "I've forgotten the specific details of this matter, but the reasons behind it are indeed quite complicated. It wouldn't do either of us any good to talk about it; just pretend you don't know. All I can say is that there's a lot going on here, involving many different things..."

Gots looked even more panicked.

"Is this even more serious than my identity being leaked? Could it be... could it be that 'that being's' meme has spread again! No, I have to contact Harris immediately. This time, no one can help us; we have to rely on ourselves..."

I held my teacup, lost in thought for a moment, and finally said, "Didn't you realize that everything I said was actually nonsense?"

Gotz shook his head blankly: "Don't you always like to talk nonsense?"

"...Thank you."

I gritted my teeth and forced out these words, "There's been some trouble at sea lately, but it has nothing to do with you directly. I'm just curious why you're unaffected!"

"You mean Zack's injury? I knew Rhodes wouldn't do something like that."

Gots suddenly realized, and then continued, "Because of Tozak, I was a sailor for a while, and now I can shield myself from some of the influences in my bloodline."

That's good news, otherwise I'd be worried about trouble brewing in the town. After all, in this near-death experience, we released the "Billionaire" trapped in the spacetime rift, and who knows what kind of changes it would cause to the world.

It's good that special beings like Gotz haven't mutated; at least I don't have to worry too much about situations like a global resurgence of advanced weaponry or supernatural phenomena.

"Anything that happens at sea must be very serious, right?"

"It was a truly harrowing experience, I almost didn't make it back. But as you said, it involves memes, so I can't reveal too much."

"clear."

Gotz nodded decisively and remained silent.

I originally intended to help others when I was successful, but the Federation turned out to be a stab in the back. I've decided to take care of Mineral Town first, and deal with other grudges and favors later.

I said with a lingering fear, then looked curiously at the cloth bag he had placed on the bed, "What good stuff did you bring back from the mountain? Judging by its size, was it a roe deer or a wild boar?"

"It wasn't found on the mountain, but rather caught by a pool of water. You can't tell how heavy it is from its appearance, but it was quite heavy to carry all the way."

Gotz took out cheese and bread and ate his lunch, with no intention of showing it to me.

Hey, as the saying goes, you have to share everything when you meet. It's one thing if you don't treat me to a meal, but it's really not right not to give me anything as a treat.

I immediately took out the apricot-yellow tablecloth banner that read "Acting on Behalf of Heaven," but then felt it was inappropriate and thought of rewriting it as "Loyalty and Righteousness Through the Ages." But then I felt it still didn't quite feel right, so I simply changed it to four large characters and placed it in front of Gotz.

Administering according to law.

"Open it and let me see. Is the prey you hunted critically endangered, endangered, or vulnerable? If you happen to hunt some kind of beast that's going to be imprisoned for life, I'll have to tearfully arrange a decent private room for you."

Gotz said dismissively, "Go see for yourself if you want. My gut feeling tells me this thing isn't edible. As for the endangered or vulnerable classification... I've never heard of that before."

"That would be even better! What I say goes! Of course, if it's a normal animal, it still needs to eat; we can't spoil it!"

I wiped the drool from my mouth, already debating whether to have roasted wild boar or stir-fried venison with scallions for dinner, when I opened the bag and found a green face with a pointed snout and monkey-like cheeks peeking out...

I really have no appetite. Sorry to bother you.

As soon as the bag was opened, the creature started yelling uncontrollably, gesturing wildly and strangely. Judging from my extensive experience, this animal, though belonging to an extremely rare and critically endangered species, was so precious that protecting it was like a forty-year-old virgin becoming a high-ranking mage—the kind you wouldn't even feel bad about throwing away.

"Cucumber...give me a cucumber!"

The guy started yelling uncontrollably.

That kappa guy... actually came back again?

Although I already knew that the Knight and Jackie Chan wouldn't die from bare hands, and that the Deepsea and the Kappa wouldn't die from drowning, it hadn't come back for so long, and I was even planning to report this "unfortunate news" to Father Carter.

How did it get up the mountain?

"Look," Gotz said helplessly, "I finally waited until it quieted down. This thing kept yelling and repeating the same thing over and over, which is why I didn't want you to open this bag..."

I stared at Gotz with a twitching face: "You caught it, and then carried it all the way back?"

Gotz said helplessly, "I've never seen this kind of creature before, and I didn't dare leave it to damage the mountain's ecosystem, so I simply brought it back. I've been carrying it all the way here, trying to figure out a solution. Is there a problem?"

No problem, absolutely no problem.

You just accidentally became a real "dad-carrying" dad.

What a loving father and filial son!

"Dealing with invasive species is also one of the town sheriff's jobs, so leave it to me."

I covered the bag back up, temporarily shutting out the annoying noise, and confiscated the unidentified creature.

Gotz scratched his head, a hint of relief in his expression: "Well, I'm not good at handling these kinds of things anyway. The situation on the mountain has been giving me enough headaches lately..."

Up in the mountains? Has something happened up there lately? Anything happening on Mount Mades is no small matter...

"Tell us quickly, we absolutely cannot let our guard down!" I said, my expression turning serious.

Gotz finished his bread in two bites, gulped down a large glass of water, and then said with a smile, "Don't worry too much. Compared to what you've encountered, my troubles are nothing."

“Anything unusual happening in town could be a consequence of the mutation—so please tell me everything without reservation,” I emphasized.

“I recently saw some footprints while patrolling the mountains.”

"Footprints? Are you sure this is a small matter?" I asked back.

Gotz patted my shoulder and reassured me, "Don't worry, I've checked it many times. It's all legitimate human footprints. The tracks they follow know how to avoid rocks, bushes, deep pools, and swamps. There's nothing unusual about it."

I was relieved.

My ranch still holds an entire army of vengeful spirits, so I immediately thought of the miners who mysteriously disappeared while traveling in the mountains years ago. As long as no other strange entities emerge, that's fantastic news.

"What's there to worry about with such a small thing? I guess Mr. Baqir is collecting specimens in the mountains." I laughed too.

Gotz said with a troubled expression, "It's not Baqir. I was drinking with him at the tavern the other day, and then the next day when I was patrolling the mountains, I found several more footprints. The distribution wasn't very clear, and I suspect they were some of the uninvited guests from a while ago, some of which are still hiding in the mountains..."

"Impossible. Those guys could stay in town and act with impunity, why would they go to the mountains to learn from the Viet Cong? Can't they track them down?"

"Okay. I followed a few sections before, but they all stopped at strange places, as if they suddenly disappeared there."