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

But to my surprise, neither of them intended to help me. The jay glanced at the food with a hint of heartache, then gritted its teeth: "Save it for me to eat when I get back!"

Karen was even more infuriating. She hugged Jay and deliberately said, "Jay, don't pay attention to that bastard Marcus. He didn't tell me when he sneaked up to see you last time, and he wouldn't let me go later! He's a bad person!"

When I heard this, I was furious.

Waking up to find myself exiled to a godforsaken planet, forced to survive in the wilderness with nothing but my bare hands—is this what I want?

That godforsaken place has no criminals, everyone is begging with a gun, it's like a paradise on earth that leads straight to heaven, I'd even pay you to send two of my enemies there for a vacation.

But all those words swirled in my heart, and in the end, they could only be summed up in one sentence: "Don't go too far, come back soon!"

Lin laughed and said, "Marcus, why are you so afraid of Karen?"

I quickly explained, "No, that's not true. The martial world isn't just about fighting and killing; it's about human relationships and social interactions. Mainly, I respect Karen because she's a tough woman..."

Before he could finish speaking, a pizza flew in from outside the door.

"We're right at the door! Don't even think about talking bad about me!"

Karen's voice came instantly.

"...Why would someone throw a pizza?!"

Lin whispered to me, "Boss Jeff hasn't been in a good mood lately and hasn't cooked. Mrs. Sasha went to see Mrs. Lilia again today, and Karen took the pizza from home for breakfast before she left. She probably didn't finish it, right?"

What kind of nonsense is this? I don't understand a single thing. What exactly happened to Jeff? Did he secretly do a paternity test, then tear up the report with tears in his eyes?

And then there's Mrs. Sasha. This is the first time I've ever heard of someone going to someone's house early in the morning to gossip. Does Mr. Rhodes really think he's completely unaware of their gossip about the Egyptian Gods?

Lin comforted me, saying, "It's okay, they'll be in soon. You haven't eaten yet, have you? I'll ask Dad to make you something."

She seemed to mistake my speechless expression for frustration, but I couldn't very well tell the innocent Lin my inner thoughts, so I could only nod and say, "Thank you, Lin. I won't eat it. Your father just said that if I dare to steal the jay's food, I'll be the main dish tomorrow."

Marcus's set meal—if you didn't know better, you'd think I was a master chef—like a chef who makes abalone rice called abalone.

Lin said angrily, "Dad is going too far! How could he treat you like this!"

The owner, who had heard the noise, was standing at the kitchen doorway, holding a cleaver and looking at me.

“You can’t say that about Mr. Dart. You are the closest people in the world,” I said righteously.

It's normal for parents and children to have minor conflicts, and as a neighbor, I should always try to mediate.

Imagine your parents jokingly telling you, "Actually, we don't love you. We even hit you twice when you were little." As an adult, you would probably say, "It's okay, I've forgotten about what happened when I was little."

The fact that Lin still complains shows that she is not mature enough.

But if the parents are referring to not having an abortion, that's a different story.

Lin glared at the boss and muttered, "I'm ignoring you."

Then, she mysteriously took out a bouquet of flowers from her backpack and whispered to me, "Marcus, Karen and I picked these on the mountain. Here, have a bouquet for your room!"

This is a bouquet of flowers wrapped in newspaper. The pale blue exotic flowers are delicate and vibrant, still glistening with the morning dew from the mountain forest.

"Thank you, then I won't be polite."

I instinctively accepted the flowers, then realized there weren't many in the bag. "Are the remaining flowers... enough for you and Karen to share?"

Lin chuckled and said, "Karen came up the mountain to relax. She only likes to put spring moon tears in her room. The remaining blue exotic flowers are enough to decorate the upstairs inn."

I don't like autumn flowers, yet I still went up the mountain...

Is this family just clueless and unhappy?

Jay had already followed Karen in by then, and the two seemed to be having a very exciting conversation. Karen sat down with her head held high and said, "So? You didn't lose your Jay, did you? It's okay for her to stay at my place tonight, right?"

Why does that sound so sarcastic?

"It's good that she's not lost. She can stay at your house, but Jay is an important person now. The town's big event in a couple of days depends on her," I had to emphasize.

Karen immediately became interested, tossing her long hair in the wind as she leaned closer to me expectantly and asked, "Is something big going to happen in town?"

I patiently explained, "In a few days, I plan to hold a harvest festival in Mineral Town. Jay and the others are special guests, and there will be many activities."

Karen's eyes lit up: "What kind of format? A party? A carnival? A competition?"

I mumbled, "It's not that fun. Well, it'll probably be like when we organized the cafeteria last time, it'll require everyone's participation..."

Hearing me say that, Karen was not discouraged at all; on the contrary, she became even more enthusiastic, reaching out to pat my shoulder, looking like she thought highly of me.

“That’s more like it, Marcus!”

Karen shook off her gloomy mood from the morning, and her beautiful face was now radiant.

"The town is so dull and lifeless every day. We should organize more activities! Count me in, I'll definitely do my best to help!"

Lin, who was standing nearby, also stretched out her hand, indicating, "Me too, I want to participate too!"

The jay, sitting right next to the rice cooker, heard everyone expressing their opinions and, somewhat dazed, tried to raise its hand: "I want to participate too..."

I was both amused and exasperated, so I pressed her hand down: "You were going to participate anyway, so you didn't need to raise your hand."

Seeing that I had already brought in two people, I went all in and said, "Since you're going to participate anyway, Lin, you're in charge of notifying Poppy, and Karen, if you're passing by the clinic, you should also call Mary. Let's all help organize this event!"

Karen, who had long been unable to bear the boring days in town, was eager to try her luck and was just short of shouting "Avengers Assemble!" But Mr. Dart couldn't help but want to pour cold water on her enthusiasm.

"Marcus, have you made sure all the other conditions for holding the festival have been met by calling in so many people?"

Bertholdt has gone back to deliver the designated supplies. With the Rimworld portal and the Colonizer System as my backing, I'm determined to make the federal government understand what dumping is and what technological barriers are.

I nodded slightly: "Don't worry, boss. The supplies will arrive in three days, and I'll have time to inform the neighbors. I've got this harvest festival all set!"

Chapter 667 Torture and Technology Tree

Dr. Dort's shady clinic.

This place used to be just black in a literal sense, but now it is truly pitch black and silent. Even though dusk is approaching, no one is around. Yet the hospital doors are wide open, and the white curtains flutter in the wind as if beckoning.

The whitewashed walls were cold and unforgiving, and surgical instruments and suspicious drugs were displayed everywhere. An uneasy atmosphere was stirred by the wind, and a faint, inhuman wail of pain was faintly carried on the air...

Having brought Jay to the hospital, I took two steps back, somewhat wanting to distance myself from this place of trouble. To be frank, I was afraid that Dr. Dort would come out wiping his mouth with a scalpel, praising the deliciousness of human flesh.

"Dortmund... are you home...?"

To avoid looking foolish, I decided to call out quietly, keeping my voice so low that no one could hear me two steps away. Once I'd confirmed that no one was in the hospital, I could leave gracefully...

But the jay probably misunderstood me, and loudly repeated my words: "Doctor! Are you home!"

The sound was like a thunderclap. I quickly covered the jay's beak, but the lights in the room turned on instantly. In the bright light, a white-clad figure floated out from behind the door, still without making a sound.

...Shouldn't it be fine? It's just a hospital, why does it feel like a haunted house?

Wherever Dr. Dort with his black hair went, a shadow followed. His hair was disheveled, and his eyes were bloodshot, clearly indicating that he had been staying up all night cultivating immortality. He called out to the door in a joyful voice, "Is the patient here? Come in quickly, patient!"

I walked in front, blocking the door, half a body's width of space, allowing me to attack or defend as needed.

"Doctor, what's wrong with you? Even if I'm a patient, I'm here to see a doctor, not to see you!"

Dr. Dort walked to the door and probably only then realized his improper demeanor. He quickly tidied his messy hair and changed his slightly strange tone to his usual aloofness.

"Marcus, it's you. Come in, what's your appointment today?"

I stopped the jay that was about to enter and asked warily, "I can go in, but first explain to me why there are scalpels and medicine jars in the room? Are there any Kira Yoshikage 'figures' soaking in there?"

Dr. Dort stated matter-of-factly, “These scalpels, hemostatic forceps, dissecting tweezers, and fine scissors were sent by my teacher; I applied for permission to have them transported here after a long process. As for these medications, they are leftovers from previous experiments; there wasn't enough room in the room, so we're storing them here for now. Is there a problem?”

Therefore, you shouldn't mess with people who carry knives, and you should definitely avoid doctors, because you never know whether they're trying to kill or save someone behind the law.

Considering Dr. Dort's previous experience treating wounded special operations soldiers, what he said should be reliable. There's no way he would prepare so much stuff to ambush me here...

I'll trust you this once.

As I walked into the hospital, I found it much more messy than before, unlike the neat and tidy place Ellie had kept it in before.

"Has Ellie stopped coming to work as a part-time nurse lately?" I asked.

Dr. Dort put on his stethoscope and straightened his white coat: "She hasn't been coming in much lately. Is this another young girl who needs a check-up?"

I glared at him: "Don't give yourself any more work. I just came to check on Zack. How come this guy hasn't recovered after being bedridden for so long?"

Dort said somewhat awkwardly, but covered the ward door with his body, "His injuries are quite serious, so he needs to rest for a while... Do you need any medicine? I have plenty here, just let me know if you need anything!"

I nodded decisively, looking around: "Okay, give me a little of everything, and do you have any particularly effective, fast-acting external wound medicine?"

Dort quickly and eagerly replied, "Yes, I'll get it for you right away. This traditional Chinese medicine is the best anti-inflammatory and antibacterial medicine I've ever seen for external injuries. You must try it..."

He turned and walked to the medicine cabinet next to him, rummaging through the many bottles and jars.

But before he could react, my eyes sharpened, and I decisively reached out and opened the wooden door of the ward, barging into the place he had been hiding.

"Don't open it, Marcus!"

Dortmund's attempts to stop him were futile, because I had already seen Zach, who was wrapped in layers of bandages, his limbs tied to a pillar by the bed. He struggled when he heard the noise, but he never opened his eyes.

The room floor was covered in blood-stained bandages and cotton cloths. The strong smell of blood filled the nostrils, and the pungent odor of the medicine also gave off a disgusting smell, making the entire ward feel like hell on earth.

Normally dried blood-stained gauze wouldn't have such a strong smell, but the sheer quantity of these gauze pieces was overwhelming, almost filling half the room's floor. They were covered in dark black blood clots. I estimated that if this blood were put into a basin and mixed with ten yuan's worth of peppercorns and star anise, it could make three large basins of spicy blood curd!

"I'll count down from three. If you can't give me a reasonable explanation, calling a lawyer won't help—because I'll execute the lawyer along with you."

I pulled out my pistol from my waist and slammed it on the table. "Three, time's up!"

Dortmund stomped his foot: "What kind of timing method is this?!"

"A real man only needs to know how to count to one!"

"Did you just count to one? The counting utility is zero!"

"What do you mean by 0 and 1? If you dare to spout nonsense in front of the police again, I'll knock you out and dump you in Chengdu!"

I almost thought that Dr. Dort, seduced by the dark side of the Force, had become a biochemist, trapping the vegetative Zach here to conduct all sorts of evil experiments, preparing to turn him into a Western Region poisoner like Ma Ning'er.

At this moment, as long as I say the words "Xi Guan, how have you been?", no matter how high my martial arts skills or how good my equipment are, I will be hit by the causal weapon and will surely die within three days.

But Dr. Dort's actions were more terrifying than I had imagined.

After being brought in with severe injuries, Zach was covered in external wounds, but even more horrifying was the massive trauma to his brain. His body only retained the basic instincts of breathing and eating, and he was in a state of constant, weak distress.

He was clearly a strong and robust man, yet he was as weak as an old man on his deathbed, barely clinging to life.

Dr. Dort worked day and night administering medication and observing patients, discovering that no matter what medication was used, Zach was becoming increasingly dangerous during his difficult recovery.

His fractures and other injuries healed in a deformed way. The more he recovered, the fainter his consciousness became. He was rapidly evolving into a vegetative state with shattered bones and muscles, just as if Zack's health condition should have made him a bedridden, first-class protected waste. The normal self-healing function of humans had completely disappeared from his body!

Upon reaching this conclusion, Dr. Dort, while shocked, demonstrated his exceptional medical expertise by boldly employing a treatment plan that, after a series of stimulating tests, was worthy of being recorded in history—or at the very least, worthy of being penalized.