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

I stood up weakly, but as soon as my hands and feet were perpendicular to the ground again, my consciousness returned in an instant!

I felt as if a switch inside my body had been slammed shut, and power gradually flowed through my limbs and bones.

This feeling...

Ah... I was careless!

I slapped my forehead, immediately feeling extremely annoyed.

I only remembered that my alcohol tolerance had increased, but I forgot that my stamina limit was locked at 5%, and my ability to sober up was likely weakened by my overloaded body. How could I possibly beat a full-blown Karen under these circumstances!

Fortunately, the alcohol poisoning inadvertently helped to disperse the blood and energy throughout my body, stimulating my body's recovery potential and allowing me to escape from a state of weakness and emptiness ahead of schedule.

But that's no excuse for my alcoholism and self-satisfaction—without these colony systems as my support, I'd probably be dead by now...

"Lin, I promise I'll never drink recklessly again..."

Wide noodles of tears slid down my face.

Chapter 565 A New Storm Has Appeared

Lin comforted him kindly, "It's okay, it's okay, Marcus, don't cry..."

As Mr. Dart was tidying up beer bottles behind the bar, he looked up, frowned, and said, "Karen even praised your drinking capacity for improving. I'll challenge you to a drinking contest next time."

"No need! Unless the moon rises in the west..."

Wait a minute, I think I actually saw the moon rise in the west, wielding a giant, adorable creature and unleashing a fanservice beam at me, almost causing me to crash head-on into the ground...

“Uh, let’s not talk about that. Where did Karen go?” I asked.

Mr. Dart placed the empty bottle aside. "She just went home. Oh, and she gave you a wad of cash before she left... What kind of secret are you two hiding?"

"Boss...didn't you say to maintain social distancing...?"

I pretended to have a headache and covered my head, subtly refusing to answer.

Lin chimed in, "That's right, Dad. Marcus is already feeling so bad, so please stop asking all sorts of questions."

Startled by his daughter's retort, Mr. Dart gave a strange look, then awkwardly pulled a wad of cash from his drawer and placed it on the table.

I glanced at it out of the corner of my eye and suddenly said, "Boss... isn't the amount of money a little off?"

I didn't even need to count to realize that although the stack of money was thick, there wasn't a single whole bill; it was all crumpled change!

The money I stole from Thomas... cough cough, the money I got back from him, wasn't like that!

You can't bully honest people, Mr. Dart! How many bowls of noodles did you eat?!

Mr. Dart slammed the case of beer bottles on the table and roared, "You've drunk so much in the bar, aren't you going to pay?! I haven't even settled the bill for the broken tables and chairs!"

It's all over! Dart's owner is facing another loss crisis in this year's financial report!

"Ah... Boss, but that's my money..."

I never would have guessed that Karen's promise to treat me would turn out to be me using my own money!

I'd rather believe she was drunk, otherwise my heart is... ice-cold...

I clenched my aching heart tightly, feeling as if snow was falling from the sky—heavier than the snow that night Yuan Hua called Qiu Ya.

In a weak voice, I said, "Boss, take all the money... just order me a TV in the end, then our trip won't have been in vain..."

After standing there for a moment to think, Mr. Dart surprisingly agreed without hesitation.

I even started to wonder, "This isn't like you, boss?"

Boss Dart didn't answer, and instead left behind a dashing figure, disappearing outside the tavern.

Lin leaned close to me and said mysteriously, "Dad must want Kai to bring it over! He's been in a great mood ever since he got Kai's call..."

I asked, puzzled, "Kay? Who's that? Is he a new character that appeared in the system's feed?"

Lin wrinkled her nose playfully. "He's a neighbor who doesn't live in town often! He grew up with us when we were little, but he went back to inherit the family business a few years ago, so he can only come back to live here in the summer."

"...Would it be convenient to reveal what family business you inherited?"

"I'm not sure, but it seems like he's already become the captain..." Lin said, tilting her head.

The younger generation?!

It's so frustrating to compare yourself to others! Kay, who's probably younger than me, is already a captain, sailing the world; while I'm still running a runaway ranch in the countryside, raising weird animals and not making a single penny...

When will Kay be back?

A tremendous sense of crisis suddenly enveloped me.

Hmph, I've seen this kind of tactic too many times. A character who suddenly appears in the middle of the plot can't possibly bring anything good.

It's like a Russian older brother with a tail suddenly appearing, eating a pre-planned new stage boss, a multiverse character joining halfway through, or a mysterious transfer student suddenly appearing at the end of the semester...

Besides making the plot more unpredictable, these people often represent the author's inability to control the plot, actively adding variables in an attempt to turn the stagnant story around—but this often leads to the comic's decline until it is forced to go on hiatus.

But is it really necessary for someone like me, who opens new dungeons every day, to do something like this?

Ok……

Another possibility is... I think I'm just feeling competitive and don't want to lose to someone who suddenly appears?

"Probably next week? That way, we can rent out another room!"

Lynn tilted her head and counted, "Cliff has one room, Kay has one room... Hey! All the rooms upstairs are rented out!"

"Congratulations!"

I stood up from my seat again, feeling that I needed to do something.

"Marcus, you haven't fully recovered yet! You can't leave now!"

"I'm fine, I suddenly feel my fighting spirit burning!"

…………

You mean Kai?

At the entrance of the seaside cottage, Zack had just finished a day's work of shipping and delivering goods. He was leaning against a pillar, drinking beer and enjoying the gradually setting sun when I, the uninvited guest, grabbed him and asked him questions.

Zack crushed the can and tossed it into a trash can on the beach. "The little house next to my house is Kai's property. When he comes back in the summer, he opens a seaside restaurant here, where he invites the townspeople to play and have fun on the shore. He's a really nice guy!"

He laughed heartily.

I turned to look at the room. "I always thought that little house was your storage room!"

Zack denied it, saying, "That's not true. Actually, this wooden house by the sea originally belonged to the Kai family. His grandfather gave the house to me, which is why there's only a small space left."

The floor in front of the cabin was painted blue, but the paint had been eroded and peeled off by the strong winds and sun at the seaside. However, I noticed a lighter patch of sunburn under the eaves, which probably used to hold a sign or shop sign.

“Zack, you seem to think highly of Kai,” I probed.

Zakla moved a chair over, a look of relief spreading across his silly face.

“Of course, Kai is the young man I have the most faith in! The Navigator's Alliance hasn't had such a young captain in a long time! Last time I heard Gu Legu say that Kai had been in charge of the route on his own for a long time before he was given the title of captain—if the claim that he was fifteen years old is true, then he will be the youngest captain in history!”

I exclaimed in surprise, "A fifteen-year-old in charge of an airline? That's impossible!"

Although I had heard the news that a sixth-grade student from the city had won an award at the 34th National Youth Science and Technology Innovation Competition with a project titled "Research on the Function and Mechanism of C10orf67 in the Occurrence and Development of Colorectal Cancer", those who know the tricks involved understand.

In a field like navigation, where everything is a direct confrontation, they probably wouldn't intentionally release such a satellite, right?

Zack said with envy, "Kay's talent is important, but his background is even more important... Back then, in order to become a captain, I was forced to serve as the first mate by the old captain for five years. He tested and tormented me day and night before I could receive his instruction..."

Oh no, the concentration of "post-90s generation" is seriously excessive!

Red alert! Unauthorized personnel must evacuate immediately!

Sure enough, after finishing his envy, Zack said sourly, "Old Captain Kai has accumulated so many ships that they're almost a fleet, of course he wouldn't mind if one of them was used for practice..."

Seeing Zack's envious and jealous expression, I felt much more at ease. At Zack's prime age, when he should be conquering the world, he's stuck on a remote island, watching those kids from his youth surpass him. I wonder how he feels.

"Stop being so sour. I suspect you're just lusting after someone else's wife, that's why you're deliberately staying on the island! Get back to your sea right now, and don't come ashore even if you're dried into a salted fish!"

I deliberately teased Zack with some silly remarks, and sure enough, Zack's sad expression softened a lot. He touched his spiky buzz cut and said, "I can't envy that. If I really want to envy someone, I should envy Sparrow, the business tycoon of the Federation who inherited his family business at the age of twenty and holds one-tenth of the government's decision-making power!"

I asked, puzzled, "And who is that? What's their connection to the Black Pearl?"

Zach looked at me with a disappointed expression. "Marcus, you should watch the news occasionally and know what's going on... The Sparrow family used to be the biggest competitor of the Navigators' Alliance, monopolizing inland sea trade. Later, they became an important member of the Trust Business Alliance and jointly formed the federal government."

I pondered for a moment, "So that's the difference between the Navy and pirates? Let's move on to the Celestial Dragons' appearance, thank you."

"Don't put it so harshly, we are just legitimate business people."

Given Zach's ruthless, gangster-like appearance, it's hard to believe he'd say such a thing. "Besides, the Sparrow family's origins aren't exactly honorable. Everyone knows they made their fortune through smuggling and illegal immigration; in their early years, they were complete opportunists."

I teased, "But he quit, and then a twenty-year-old Tony Stark came along. It's infuriating to compare yourself to others..."

Zack said with a bored expression, "I'm not talking to you anymore. Our Navigators' Alliance is one of the oldest organizations in history. There's no need to lower ourselves to the level of these nouveau riche..."

"Okay, then I won't say anything more. Hurry up and bring out all the ship repair parts at home. I need them when I get back."

Zack was taken aback: "Huh?"

…………

I only found out the next day when I read the news why Zach looked so utterly hopeless when talking about this person.

The Sparrow family and the Navigators' Alliance are indeed sworn enemies, but in reality, they have long since retired from the business and no longer pay attention to their old rivals, focusing instead on building their own businesses.

After abandoning the competition in ocean shipping, the Sparrow family now focuses on shipbuilding.

Well, to be precise, they took on the responsibility of building the federal government's new space fleet, and were single-mindedly focused on "going to space"...

So old-school figures like Zach can only watch enviously as their old rival gradually leaves them with an indistinct silhouette, disappearing into the distance after five turns, until even his taillights are no longer visible, and sigh, "I didn't even bother with him back then."

Thinking about it again, I gradually came to terms with it.

I was once a powerful ruler who built my own forces on a marginal planet, directly governing a population of tens of thousands and radiating a territory of hundreds of thousands of square kilometers. My legend still circulates on the planet today.

...If it weren't for the fact that I couldn't buy toilet paper there, I might have actually considered staying.

Oh right, Sharon Whitestone is still mining in some corner of the universe; we need to find a way to bring him back.

Holding the mechanical parts I'd looted from Zack's house, I slapped my forehead.

Mining?

Hmm, I think I understand what I'm worried about now...