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

Unlike the other vicious thugs, this blacksmith apprentice was someone who could be saved and won over; sparing his life would serve other purposes. If I completely terrified him, then he could become my tool; but if, in this moment of extreme joy and sorrow, he showed signs of wishful thinking, then I would have to admit that his behavior just now contained an element of gambling and still posed a threat.

But when he saw my cold gaze, the bald man immediately knelt on the ground and asked in a respectful manner, "Boss, could you explain the punishment of shaving your head to me in more detail?"

Hmm? This behavior is quite unexpected. I thought he would either kneel down and beg for mercy or be hypocritical. Why is he showing such an unnecessary thirst for knowledge after escaping death?

"You want to know?" I raised an eyebrow. "Shaving the head is an ancient form of punishment that involves shaving off the head and beard of a criminal as a form of personal humiliation."

The bald man wiped the snot and tears from his face and asked in surprise, "How can shaving your head and beard be considered a punishment?"

"For someone who is destined to die, having their hair and beard shaved off as punishment is certainly a blessing. But what about for the living? Shaved hair means having to publicly expose one's crimes every day. Wherever one goes, people will talk about one's mistakes and cast strange glances at one. Therefore, those who suffer the punishment of shaving their heads are often in great pain. Such social punishment makes them afraid to go out, and they stay at home all day. They are even more afraid to face themselves in the mirror. Some people even commit suicide out of shame and humiliation after suffering this punishment."

"If someone feels no emotion at the punishment of shaving their head, or even feels a little amused, then they are hopeless and have no sense of shame or morality. I'm afraid even the death penalty can't awaken their conscience. Medicine can't cure a person; their only fate is to be stuck on a stake outside."

The bald man touched his bald head, seemingly suddenly remembering his mistake. His face flushed red and then turned pale. After a long while, he finally spoke, "No wonder the boss mocked me when he saw me happy... So I was that shameless scoundrel..."

"No... this place is probably full of shameless people like this... no wonder you look down on this place so much, boss..."

"This place where I've lived all this time is actually a stinking cesspool... After getting used to the smell, I've actually become proud of it. People even fight over the filth in the cesspool..."

After teetering on the brink of death, this guy seemed to have awakened his long-dormant conscience, and even developed some philosophical insights.

Indeed, people are not afraid of death, so how can you frighten them with death? Once people are no longer afraid of death, it is difficult for them to empathize with what ordinary people fear. On the contrary, it is the ethereal moral and philosophical questions that can touch their hearts more.

The bald man's face was filled with deep confusion as he spoke earnestly, "Boss, I can no longer look directly at the loader's collar or this place, yet I don't know what's right and what's wrong. I'm afraid that if I go back, I won't be able to distinguish right from wrong anymore and will fall back into the cesspool. Can I stay here until I've thought things through before I leave..."

Wait a minute, this script isn't right...

I originally wanted to mold him into a dutiful tool, but how did I end up raising a philosopher?

But that familiar aura gave me a sense of déjà vu. Suddenly, a brilliant idea popped into my head…

"Baldy, I see you have some understanding. I have something I can teach you. Are you willing to learn?"

The bald man hurriedly knelt down on the ground, not caring how dirty it was, and buried his head in the ground, shouting, "I'm willing! I'm willing! As long as I can stay, I don't want to be deceived like this anymore!"

I kicked him away and said disdainfully, "Then you should change your habit of kneeling at the drop of a hat. I shaved your head bald, not your tail. Where did you learn this spineless habit from?"

The bald man chuckled, dusted off his pants, and listened respectfully with his head bowed, saying, "The boss is right."

"Then I will impart this knowledge to you. If you understand it or gain some insight, you can continue to pass it on to others. There is no need to keep it a secret, because this is not some kind of mysticism, much less a rare universal truth."

I slowly said, "The knowledge I am about to teach you is called 'The Secret to Listening to the Voice of Your Heart.' If you can understand this knowledge, you will be able to sweep away the dust from your heart, understand what is good and evil, right and wrong, good and bad, gain and loss, and you will never be confused again."

The bald man became even more respectful and said excitedly, "Boss, have you reached such a level? No wonder you could see through my weakness at a glance. I've also seen those people from space in the workshop, but apart from their superior arrogance, I couldn't see any moral excellence in them."

Why does this guy seem to idolize me? Well, since I could have killed him but didn't, he naturally feels safe. In this life-or-death situation, where safety hangs in the balance, the human mind is prone to the "suspension bridge effect," developing a sense of reverence for the person who holds the power of life and death over them.

For example, when a hostage encounters a vicious killer who is unreasonable and ready to kill at any moment, the hostage gradually entrusts their right to life to the killer. As time drags on, every bite of food, every sip of water, every breath the hostage takes feels like an act of mercy and compassion from the terrorist. The hostage's fear of the kidnapper first transforms into gratitude, then into a kind of worship, and finally, the hostage subconsciously believes that the killer's safety is their own safety.

This condition is called Stockholm syndrome.

Anyway, it seems I've achieved my goal by accident, creating a very reliable tool?

Chapter 314 Possibility of Survival

"System notification: Colonist Marcus promised Alex Jessup high wisdom and allowed him to join, and Alex Jessup accepted and joined the group."

Huh? I've already recruited someone?

Suddenly another system notification popped up in the field of view.

"System notification: This colony already has two personnel. It is suggested that you give it a special name. Please enter your preferred name."

...Is this kind of function even available?

“Name it: Mickey’s Mischief House”.

"System notification: Name saved successfully."

I patted the bald man... oh, I should call him Alex Jesup on the shoulder and said earnestly, "Go on, go to the door and bring back some weeds or something."

The bald man asked cautiously, "Do you want me to feed the camels outside?"

I nodded: "That's a great idea. Let's find more of these. You can use the leftovers from the camels as a makeshift bed on the floor, and the storeroom will be your room from now on."

"Okay, boss!"

The bald man walked out of the door with utmost respect.

It's really great to have free laborers like this. In the future, we'll have someone to do all the miscellaneous tasks like chopping wood, feeding horses, repairing houses, and building houses.

I stared intently at the bald man and noticed a brand new dialogue box appearing on his body as well.

Character Name: Alexander Jessup

Faction: None, Qin Chuan Safe House

Male, biological age 16 years and 139 days

Childhood: Blacksmith Apprentice

Adulthood: None

Traits: Kind, good at chatting

But as I looked closer, I saw even more information about Burnett.

Shooting: 2 Beginner's Guide

Combat: 4 Beginner's Guide

Social skills: 0 Completely clueless

Animal Taming: 2 Beginner's Guide

Medical: 3. Superficial understanding

Cooking: 4. Getting Started

Construction: 6. Somewhat accomplished.

Planting: 1. Unaware of the details

Mining: 0 Completely clueless

Art: 0 Completely ignorant

Craftsmanship: 9 Outstanding

Intelligence: 5 "Sudden realization"

Looking further down, below the character attributes, there is a very clear display of social relationship levels.

Impression of Marcus: +75 (reverence)

-----------

Detained: -40

I was recruited: +20

Combat Expert: +20

Pillar of Faith: +75

I never imagined that the colonist system could quantify and analyze the level of goodwill between me and others, and display it numerically. This is a very useful feature.

It's easy to understand why he was detained. I arrested the bald man, and he unfortunately went from being a free man to a prisoner. There's definitely no positive impression of that.

However, I recruited him when he was homeless and took him in at the tavern, which was a positive thing and salvaged some goodwill. But offering help in times of need doesn't mean you won't encounter a wolf in sheep's clothing, and that's something that can't be reversed.

Later, I demonstrated formidable combat skills, which earned me the reputation of a combat expert. While strong combat abilities naturally inspire fear when facing enemies, they become a source of trust when on the same side.

But this last pillar of faith...

I'm not some charlatan, so how can I have such outstanding brainwashing effects? I directly turned an ignorant young man into a brainwashed fan, raising his favorability rating by 75 points to the point of worship!

Okay, with this feature, I can confidently order him around without worrying about him doing anything behind my back—if he has any ulterior motives, I can see it all through this system!

Unfortunately, this system can only be seen on recruited personnel, not directly on other people. For example, I didn't see much information about Burnett.

I glanced at it one last time, and just as I was about to close the information box, I suddenly noticed that a new character had appeared in the character relationships section.

Huh? Am I seeing things?

But upon closer inspection, I discovered that there was indeed another piece of information below the previously isolated line of text.

Impression of Burnett: -15 (hostile)

----------

Old grudges: -15

Guilt: +10

Beaten twice: -10”

Let me analyze it...

The old grudge refers to the bald man's participation in the massacre at Shisongzhuang. The guilt stems from the fact that, after my verbal sparring, he has realized his mistake and feels remorseful for the massacre.

This beating... I don't remember them fighting.

Just as I was conducting enterprise-level analysis, the "beaten" message suddenly turned into *3, and the relationship index dropped to -20!

"..."

Now I understand perfectly well that this beating is not a thing of the past, but something that is happening right now!

Don't fight! Don't fight! Whoever answers correctly about the benefits of Golden Fertilizer gets it!

When I pushed open the door, I saw two people fighting. To be specific, it was Burnett beating him up, while the bald man was rolling on the ground protecting his head, looking as pathetic as could be.

When I pulled Burnett up and started fighting, he was still cursing and yelling, "I'll beat you to death, you bastard! You think you can run away after shaving your head? I'll beat you to death!"

Actually, I shaved his head.

I looked at Burnett with a deep gaze and said in a very serious tone, "Stop fighting! If you want to fight, go to the dance studio!"

Burnett: (?_?)

"Pretend you didn't hear what I just said. Burnett, I know you're quite emotional, but what I need to tell you is that this bald guy didn't actually participate in the massacre. You can't generalize about them."

I tried to explain the grudges and entanglements between them, attempting to untangle the messy relationships, but after thinking for a while I gave up. I'd rather spend that time tilling two acres of land.

In the end, I could only look at Burnett meaningfully, exuding the aura of authority I had recently grasped. "I'm the one who calls the shots here in the tavern. Do you remember that rule? Or are you planning to challenge my authority now that I've just saved you?"