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

“I understand now, it’s my heart that’s restless!” Gray muttered to himself.

"Nonsense. It's atmospheric circulation! There are four reasons for atmospheric circulation: first, solar radiation; second, the Earth's rotation; third, the uneven distribution of land and sea on the Earth's surface; and fourth, the exchange of heat and momentum between the north and south sides of the atmosphere. Where have you been studying?"

Gray: "???"

"It's obvious that your basic knowledge is not strong. I'll read some things to you to build up your foundation. I believe that with your comprehension, you will definitely be able to understand it."

I cleared my throat and began to recite aloud: "The way of Heaven is to take from the excess and give to the deficiency; therefore, emptiness overcomes fullness, and deficiency overcomes excess. Its meaning is broad, its principle is profound, and its interest is deep. The phenomena of Heaven and Earth are distinct... Do you feel anything?"

Gray looked at me blankly: "No."

"Then let's try this. Let him be strong, the breeze still caresses the mountain. Let him be arrogant, the bright moon still shines on the great river. Let him be ruthless, let him be evil, I have enough true energy... How about it, do you feel your lower abdomen getting hot?"

Gray honestly shook his head and said, "I just feel a little urgent needing to pee."

"...Then let's try another one. Tai Chi originates from Wuji, the mechanism of movement and stillness, the mother of Yin and Yang. When it moves, it separates; when it is still, it unites. It is neither excessive nor deficient, yielding to the curves and extending to the sides. When the opponent is hard, I am soft, which is called yielding; when I am compliant and the opponent is resistant, which is called sticking..."

After reading for so long, my throat was dry, so I asked directly, "You've been listening for so long, don't you have any thoughts?"

Gray scratched his head: "To be honest, this is all too profound. I didn't understand a word of it."

"Then let me explain something simpler, listen carefully: To master divine skills, one must castrate oneself; to refine elixirs and take medicine, one must harmonize the internal and external. The way of cultivating qi is nothing more than visualizing and guiding, in the vast emptiness, where heaven and earth separate the pure from the impure to give birth to humankind..."

Young man, if you're lost on your path to power, what you're missing is just this one moment. Don't hesitate any longer, grab this knife tightly, and bite down on this piece of cloth...

"I don't want to hear it! Stop saying such horrible things!" Gray covered his ears, indicating that he hadn't heard anything.

Ugh, I was actually hoping that with Gray's absurd comprehension, he might be able to decipher these martial arts manuals using the protagonist's template, and maybe even verify whether what Jin Yong said was true.

But after my advice, Gray's mood improved significantly, and he was no longer depressed or dissatisfied—his expression was now just blank and empty!

I sat down on the rock and said to Gray, "I gave you the arm armor on a whim, nothing more. Besides, you're already quite strong. Did you really think that with training you could lift yourself up by your own hair? Or lift the Earth and fly it to the sun?"

Gray countered, "But Zack flew!"

"...Why did you have to learn to be a vegetable? Let's wait until he learns Wood Release first."

I thought for a moment and continued to speak to Gray, "Have you ever considered that what's hindering your continued growth isn't absolute power, but rather your understanding of how to use power? For example, a lack of skill that leaves you with nowhere to go?"

Gray nodded. "I feel the same way. But what can I do about it? Grandpa can't tell me either."

I slapped my thigh and exclaimed, "What a coincidence! I know it all too well! Let me tell you, the skills are nothing more than 'practice makes perfect' and 'versatility.' 'Practice makes perfect' requires continuous practice and accumulation, which isn't really suitable for you, while 'versatility' is perfect for a martial arts prodigy like you with such innate talent!"

Gray was intrigued: "So how do we train?"

I waved my hand dismissively: "No training is needed, and you don't need to be able to turn every blade of grass into a sword. The first step is to master the skill of 'Jackie Chan never dies unarmed,' which means mastering the ability to use anything you can grab to fight! Specifically, it's about observing, learning, imitating, and summarizing!"

Gray said with some distress, "This sounded very reasonable at the time, but will it really improve our strength? Doesn't it just sound like we're just fighting randomly?"

(Nonsense, how would I know if this will work? I just want to distract you from practicing the reverse technique and killing yourself every day.)

But I remained calm, stood up, turned my back to him, and said coldly, "Then can you beat me? This is my unique method. If you can master it, you will be able to acquire the same fighting skills as me."

Hearing no movement behind me, I peeked back and saw Gray indeed looking at his hands, muttering to himself with a look of delighted surprise, "So that's how it is... This method is actually so effective... That's great..."

I was relieved to see Gray turn around from his madness and onto the wrong path.

If he can really master it, that would be great. At least he won't have to worry about not having a weapon when he fights in the future.

Once he gains fame, his opponents will even proactively hand him proper weapons to help him fight fairly—because doing so will occupy his hands and prevent him from looking for suitable furniture himself.

At least in the end, when you get knocked down, you'll remember that you were taken down with dignity by a proper weapon, not some weird thing that came out of IKEA.

…………

After tricking Gray into going up the mountain to train, I hurriedly ran back down the mountain to the ranch and smiled as I looked at the long string of messages.

[System Notification: The colony's research project—'Fundamentals of Microelectronics'—has been completed. The subsequent multivariate analyzer technology sequence has been unlocked; colonists can explore it independently.]

[System Notification: The Microelectronics Foundation has unlocked new construction projects including 'Orbital Trade Beacon,' 'Communication Station,' 'Advanced Research Station,' and 'EMP Technology.' Colonists can explore these projects independently.]

[System notification: Colony technology has entered the microelectronics era. The 'Deep Drilling' project is now unlocked and can be viewed in the building planning module.]

Finally, my ranch has entered a new era!

The biggest problem with this colonizer system, which I don't know where it came from, has always been that it's incompatible with me and the ranch. Basically, it ignores all the agricultural and light industry technologies I need, and its technology tree always tends to develop in the direction of bunkers and fortresses.

In Mineral Town, there wasn't much military technology available for research, which resulted in the colonist system's technology tree being riddled with problems. What I needed, it didn't have, and what it had, I didn't need.

But no matter what, after stumbling and searching for so long, I finally figured it out and, by trial and error, illuminated the core technology tree of subsequent research: Microelectronics Fundamentals. I believe that all related research projects will see leapfrog development!

"Hehe, first let me see what this deep well is..."

With a comical arpeggio, I skillfully clicked on the illusory icon in my field of vision and found the new gadget in the Architectural Planning - Production Project.

Judging from the blueprint's silhouette, it was a barrel-shaped object over three meters tall, resembling an inverted washing machine drum on the ground. Its exterior had a row of dense ventilation windows, and its slightly recessed interfaces were pressed tightly against the ground, seemingly able to penetrate deep underground.

[Project Name: Deep Drilling (Blueprint)]

[Project Description: A drilling rig used to extract ore deep underground. To accurately obtain minerals, it needs to be used in conjunction with a geological scanner to explore underground resources. If the location is inaccurate, only rocks will be unearthed.]

【Durability Limit: 300】

Physical mass: 350 kg

[Terrain Requirements: Lightweight]

[Skill required for construction: 4]

Building power consumption: 200W

Workload (construction): 167

Workload (unloaded): 30

[Required Resources: Steel: 0/100, Parts: 0/2]

mineral!

In the past, I had entered the Quanbian Mine many times in order to mine copper and iron ore, but due to the early excavation of the upper layer, the surface resources had been depleted, and the deeper layers, after being backfilled and abandoned, were like a maze that was impossible to explore.

Now that I have this machine, can I just place it anywhere on the ground and wait for the ore to be transported out from underground? As for the mineral scanner and such, the Springside Mine is a rich mine personally surveyed by Old Yorkson, so what special positioning is needed?

The two common parts are easy to find; I can just go to the Brownpool Tribe caravan. As for the hundred units of iron ore…

I've already taught Gray superior martial arts, so asking Sebala for some ore shouldn't be too much to ask, right?

"Help! Robbery! Someone's trying to steal my ore!"

With tears streaming down his face, Sebala shouted, "Call the police! Someone's robbing us!"

I glanced down at my uniform and then casually put the sheriff's badge on my chest.

"I am the sheriff. Who here is accusing me?"

Old Sebala: "...It's alright now."

I comforted him, "Old man, try to think positively. I'm not robbing you. This time we're building something great. If it's successful, you won't have to mine anymore. I'll return whatever you took this time, and we can keep supplying you. How about that?"

Sebala asked suspiciously, "Really?"

I nodded firmly: "Of course! Let go of my hand. I didn't force you. You gave these to me voluntarily, right..."

After obtaining the ore, I went to Rose Square again.

Bertholdt led his caravan to camp in the woods in front of the Goetz family's house, but at this moment he also came to Rose Square to inspect commercial activities.

“Marcus, the second caravan will arrive soon, and the cargo volume is twice as large as the first one.”

This old man was much calmer than the previous one. He casually gave me ten universal parts. "I've also received the cotton from your tribe. The quality is better than anything I've seen before. If you continue to supply them, the market share of the Brown Pond tribe can continue to grow."

I nodded: "Just as I expected. I'll be producing some other things here in the future. It's really reassuring to see the goods coming and going every day."

A jay next to me handed me a cup of herbal tea, which had a strong grassy flavor but a particularly noticeable sweet aftertaste.

"Hmm... This tea contains wild herbs? I didn't expect it to be so sweet after being blended like this, it's quite delicious."

“Marcus, do you want to come back with us? The tribe has been struggling to recruit new members. It would be great if you could come back with us.”

The jay looked me up and down with ill intent. "I'll make you tea every day then."

What's going on? They can't find anyone, so they've turned their attention to me?

"No, no, the ranch still needs me... Hey, hey, don't cry. You can go back for a visit when you have time."

Seeing that the jay was about to shed tears, I quickly said, "But I don't know if we can use the route you came from, or if it's a special supply for allies? Let's talk about it after we're done here."

Jay pretended to rub his eyes: "It's a deal then, right? Oh, and you have to bring Karen along too!"

"I knew it was Karen who did this!"

I covered my head. "Why couldn't we have gone anywhere else for the trip? I heard her say she wanted to visit South Town in the Southern Islands, but now the destination has changed to the Brown Pool Tribe..."

I looked outside and saw the "Earl William, President of Jin Ke La" banner fluttering in the wind, and Bauer and others working hard to sell their products.

Perhaps it would be a good thing to allow Mineral Town and Brownpool Tribe to have in-depth exchanges in politics, economy, and culture?

"If the harvest festival is done well, everything will be fine."

I patted the jay on the head and watched as she gave me a cat-like expression.

As the sun set and I gazed thoughtfully back at the sea from Rose Square, I could already sense the unique scent of the trade winds, and some anticipated news was about to arrive...

Chapter 678 Harvest Festival in Mineral Town (Battle for Life)

Sold out immediately.

The message that came back from Dart's boss's channels consisted of only these four words.

Even after experiencing successive insect infestations and economic depressions caused by blockades, the population of many overseas islands has once again plummeted. However, there are always people left who cannot escape and need to face increasingly scarce resources.

In this way, even the smallest needs of each individual can snowball into a huge market, unleashing boundless purchasing power.

Originally, what truly constrained the purchasing power of the overseas islands was the high prices caused by the disruption of trade routes. A bag of salt could sell for the price of a bag of rice here. Considering the huge difference in purchasing power between overseas and the central federal region, a recession was inevitable, unless a few great philanthropists like Thomas Wayne appeared, willing to go to great lengths to help the poor.

Unfortunately, most of the capable people are not like old Lord Wayne, but they all have the potential to join the Court of Owls, investing their money in the financial capital market to chase highs and lows, and making profits together in this overseas crisis.

Therefore, the method I proposed caught the manipulators completely off guard.

Bartering.

No money?

They traded it for produce from the town.

No production at the moment?