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

A fierce storm broke out.

The deafening sound of the rain turned into a pitiful, thick barrier, making those who were worried and unable to sleep all night appear deaf, even though they hadn't actually lost their hearing.

As the knocking was repeated for the third time, and the trickling water at the door was about to inevitably soak his trouser legs, Mr. Dart, seemingly satisfied with having completed the polite ritual, reached out and pushed the door open.

The fact that the lights were still on, visible from outside, proved that Mr. Dart's judgment was correct.

When the door opened, Lady Lilia, wearing a white apron, was sitting on the sofa in the living room, silently facing the bright, daylight-like lights.

Mr. Dart coughed softly.

"Lilia, you didn't sleep all night? I knocked on the door three times, but the rain was probably too loud, so I came in by myself when you didn't answer."

Lady Lilia showed no surprise at the uninvited guest, turning her head and asking in confusion, "I said 'please come in' three times, didn't you hear me?"

Boss Dart's old face twitched for a moment, but he quickly regained his composure and said, "...The Joker is actually myself?"

Lady Lilia, who was sitting upright, asked curiously, "What do you mean?"

The owner pulled up a wooden chair at the table, placed the umbrella by the door to let it drain, and explained, "I heard Marcus say this a few days ago—I didn't understand it before, but I suddenly figured it out just now."

Upon hearing the familiar name, Lady Lilia covered her mouth and smiled, "What an interesting young man... Dart, you seem to have changed a lot since he came."

"Have I been changed? Maybe..."

Upon hearing this, Mr. Dart's face immediately fell, and he complained, "Wait a minute... Do you think I'd be influenced by this kind of young man who talks nonsense and loafs around in town? I really don't know if that's flattery or sarcasm..."

Lady Lilia smiled happily: "Does that matter? Margaret once asserted that the only person who can change you is probably the Creator—and I never imagined that the Creator would be right beside me."

When Boss Dart heard the name from Lady Lilia, he was taken aback for a moment, his expression changing repeatedly before finally settling into a brief sigh.

Lady Lilia said gently, “Forgive me for bringing up your painful memories, Dart. For a patient like me, teetering on the brink of life and death, Margaret’s departure could turn into a reunion tomorrow. Perhaps then, we can once again chat intimately about the people and events of these past years, just like we used to.”

Mr. Dart shook his head.

“Lilia, I’m certain of one thing: Margaret has always considered you her best friend, and that has never changed.”

Lady Lilia smiled and said, "Then I will not give Rhodes to her, and that has never changed."

At this point, Boss Dart laughed as well: "This whole thing is a joke—it seems like she's been competing with you since she was a kid. I really don't know why Margaret always has to pick on you. I still remember the look on her face when she suddenly found out about your marriage to Rhodes and then gritted her teeth and announced to me that she had to move to this island before you."

Lady Lilia smiled at her friend's childishness, went to the kitchen, poured a cup of hot tea, and placed it in front of Boss Dart.

“Dart, although we are old friends, you have only stepped into my chicken farm a handful of times in all the years you’ve been in Mineral Town.”

Mr. Dart's square face showed no remorse.

"I prefer to stay within my own little corner of the world and I never approve of these time-wasting formalities."

Lady Lilia picked up her teacup and took a sip: "But you don't seem to have as much reservations about Marcus. Your attitude towards him always reminds me of how you treat Rhodes."

"The way you're saying it makes it sound like Marcus has some kind of connection to me..."

The pink-haired woman raised her eyes, her gaze sharp as she looked at Boss Dart. "Then let's pretend nothing happened. Let me guess, for example, this exceptional visit... was also for Marcus, wasn't it?"

Boss Dart was silent for a moment, then dusted off his sleeve that had been accidentally dampened by tea.

“Lilia, I think you had Gray pass on something to him because you had the same idea as me… After all, when Harris arrested Marcus, you personally tried to bail him out. Since we have the same goal, I think it’s necessary to have a talk.”

After saying this, the boss paused subtly for a moment before probing, "And what about you? Was it because of Rod this time?"

Lady Lilia nodded.

“After Marcus came back last time, he must have met Rhodes. He not only brought back news of Rhodes, but also brought Rhodes's ring; there’s no doubt about that. But later I received a letter without an address, and it also had Rhodes's handwriting on it…”

Boss Dart immediately became alert. "Something's not right. There haven't been any anonymous letters in town for the past three months. How did you receive this letter?"

Mrs. Lilia said, "When I was sorting through the mail last week, I suddenly found an unopened letter. I clearly remember that these letters were locked in the drawer five years ago, but the date on the letter was last week."

Boss Dart asked, "...What did Rhodes say in the letter?"

He said his journey was long and fraught with danger, and warned me not to go out on rainy nights. He also told me not to try to stop Marcus if he had important things to do...

Lady Lilia was silent for a moment. “I believe what Rhodes said, but I was worried about Marcus, so I could only do what I could. And I thought… you would stop him.”

Boss Dart gave a wry smile: "Perhaps this is the capriciousness of fate. Two people who didn't want him involved in this matter inadvertently facilitated Marcus's involvement..."

Lady Lilia suddenly realized something from the words and covered her mouth in surprise, "Dart, could it be that you also..."

Boss Dart stopped her from continuing: "Lilia, everyone has secrets, and everyone has reasons to keep them. Besides, Gray went with them tonight too..."

“But Gray is different from both us and Marcus…”

Lady Lilia said in a low voice.

Boss Dart shook his head and said, "At first, I thought so too, but after getting to know this young man better, I had a feeling that Marcus would be the most special one. What we thought was unnecessary actually had its own necessity; it's just that we didn't see it clearly enough..."

The two then listened quietly to the sound of rain for a long time without saying another word, until Boss Dart spoke and they returned to polite mode.

"Lilia, let me reiterate, I'm not here tonight for that brat, but for my precious daughter. I hope Lin can sleep; she used to cry at the slightest sound of thunder..."

Lady Lilia smiled without exposing Mr. Dart's lie, nor did she refill the teacup.

She stood up with some difficulty and watched as Mr. Dart also picked up an umbrella and slowly pushed open the door.

A damp, cold draft instantly rushed into the room. Boss Dart tightened his coat, then suddenly turned around and said, "Zack was already asleep when I arrived—if you could try to talk to him, perhaps he could get over what happened back then sooner. After all, he's always cared about you..."

Lady Lilia smiled and shook her head, saying, "Dart, you're wrong. Even Zack himself probably hasn't realized that what he truly cares about all these years is the people he couldn't save in the shipwreck, and I'm just a convenient outlet for his remorse. Ultimately, only he himself can truly pull him out of this nightmare..."

“You all… you’ve all gone out, but who knows when you’ll come back…” Boss Dart murmured.

"What?" Lady Lilia asked.

Mr. Dart replied noncommittally, "It's nothing. By the way, if you'd like, I'd like to hear about the shipwreck next time I visit."

"Oh? Haven't you always believed that keeping secrets is a necessity?"

Mrs. Lilia said with a smile.

Without turning back, Mr. Dart, who had burst into the night rain, replied solemnly, "But I sometimes believe that the best way to keep a secret is to put it out in the sunlight and forget that it is a secret."

Chapter 606 The Strange Tales of Mineral Town Harbor (Part 8)

The deep, tranquil ocean erupted into chaos the moment the colossal figure appeared, its original appearance completely obscured. The calm at the eye of the storm vanished, giving rise to an even more chaotic chemical reaction.

A monster that resembled both a frog and a fish surfaced, stirring up the seawater with its deformed body. The grotesque limbs hanging diagonally on its back swayed precariously, creating an incongruous and bizarre effect.

After a brief revelation, even more bubbles rose from the seabed, densely packed like soda just poured into a glass. Countless black shadows with fish bodies and beast faces thrashed their bodies and shook their tail fins, swimming like arrows in different directions.

Without exception, these underwater shadows facing all directions all had their backs to the terrifying creature that had just emerged from the water, reminiscent of a swarm of rats fleeing in panic after their nest has been destroyed...

"Grey, take Kay inside the ship first..."

I stood still and whispered to the young man standing there dumbfounded.

Gray was clearly stunned by what he saw. Instead of asking how to deal with it as usual, he stupidly asked, "What about you, boss?"

Faced with an absolute and overwhelming disparity, the biological instinct has already told the brain that there is no possibility of matching it, leaving only the thought of escaping for one's life.

Escape was now a pipe dream, for a terrifying presence lurked within the waves, easily stirring up massive ripples as if shaking a glass of water. Even in the blurred vision, the water appeared to be many times the length of the yacht, and five or six stories high above the surface!

And now, this being is staring at me with its dead white eyeball on one side of its head, its gaze fixed on my location, without changing at all.

I am absolutely certain that those lifeless white eyeballs are conscious!

The aura emanating from the terrifying entity was as if it were tangible, assaulting me with the stench of decay from the deep sea and the stubborn malice that defied the passage of time, locking onto me without the slightest deviation!

"Go inside and figure something out! Stop talking nonsense! Do you think we can run away now!"

After saying this, Gray finally recovered from his shock, gritted his teeth, overcame his body's instinctive fear and trembling, and walked into the cabin.

We all know that hiding like this is actually meaningless.

The moment I saw the broken horn on the head of the unknown entity, I understood that the huge wound on the side of the yacht, which cut deep into the flesh, was caused by the hideous broken bone in front of me!

Only such a terrifying attack would have made Kay choose to turn off the lights and stop the boat, quietly drifting in this sea.

"No... I need to calm down... There must be something I haven't considered..."

…………

The benefits of having fought against various unknown entities in the past are now becoming apparent.

For me, I've experienced too many of these certain-death situations, to the point that I often have this illusion: even if I were to stand on the guillotine with the blade hanging high, others would at most be the bandit Pelletier, while I would be Louis XVI or Robespierre...

Even in death, I will dishonor the law; that's truly my character!

...This thing in front of me seems different from anything I've encountered before... But why is it staring at me so intently? If I could see any emotion in its eyes, I'd suspect it has a crush on me...

Yes, yes, yes... It's said that King Kong really likes human women, from the old version's preference for blondes with big waves to the new trailer's preference for little girls... Is this growing up or regressing...? Could it be that even a lack of maternal love from childhood couldn't resist the call of the era of pedophiles...?

What if it really pounces? Suddenly I remembered that animals usually like to give a light bite as a sign of affection... So if a tiger or lion were to show affection, wouldn't the owner be outwardly happy while secretly clutching their bleeding shoulder...?

Lost in thought, I slowly adapted to the oppressive presence of the enormous being, but I dared not move my eyes for a moment, fearing that the other party would unleash a tidal wave the instant I relaxed.

But I, a blind student, suddenly discovered a brilliant point!

In the past, the indescribable things encountered were all accompanied by extremely strong mental pollution. For example, an ordinary person would go insane from just one glance, and the twisted aura that was leaked would plunge people into an abyss of no return. It was a power that the human body could never resist, a crushing and trampling that transcended countless levels. Madness was more like the struggle of weak creatures to maintain their last dignity!

In the past, I relied on even more powerful demonic pollution to combat this mental breakdown and overcome these chaotic states that ordinary people could not withstand. But even so, there have been instances in the fringe world where looking directly into the "Eye of Death" has led to near-death experiences, showing that the degree of threat varies, but it has never disappeared.

Judging from its size, this monster must possess at least three times the mental corruption ability of an interstellar vampire. But this time, even now, as I stare directly at it, I haven't sensed any disorder or distortion beyond the oppressive feeling…

"Could this thing be different from the previous indescribable beings...? But they were all just as ugly... Uh, even if they were slightly better, they're still beyond the reach of the average family..."

No, judging by appearance is absolutely inaccurate.

For example, a terrifying being like the "Thousand-Faced God" is far less disgusting in appearance than the "Deepsea Cataclysm," and it is not even as abstract as the flesh and blood puppet of the "Lord of Light," but its danger is far greater than these beings.

If I want to determine the nature of the other party, I actually have another method...

Hesitating, I subconsciously glanced at my arm, which was gripping the cabin railing so tightly it was almost deforming the steel.

With a quick glance, I noticed the King Soul First Flame Ring on my left hand, emitting a dim, hazy light, as faint as an incandescent bulb nearing the end of its life, about to quietly go out in the next second.

"It's too dark... If it encounters a twisted being, the King Soul First Flame Ring will burst forth with light as bright as the sun... So this guy in front of me is different from the others..."

Just as I thought of this, I felt as if I were being electrocuted. An idea spread like wildfire, instantly illuminating my thoughts!

...Could it be that it wasn't looking at me, but rather at the light emanating from this ring?!

Was the reason Kai chose to turn off the lights and stop the ship after being attacked because of the monster's sensitivity to light?

I slowly covered the ring on my hand, letting its starlight-like brilliance gradually fade away.

The monster, which resembled a floating mountain on the sea, suddenly became restless!