The Other World | Stardew Valley meets Papers, Please

Chapter Four: Bleeding Heart

The following morning, Jessie would wake up at around 6am. Last night he hung out with Haley until about 11pm, and he went home before it got too late. He grunts and groans, stretching before getting out of bed. He shuffles his way over do his calendar, checking the date to see that the Spirit's Eve Festival is tomorrow. "Man... I hope the pumpkins are ready," he mumbles to himself. He soon gets dressed in his usual attire: White long sleeved button-up shirt, red bowtie, black jeans, and a pair of cowboy boots.

He makes his way outside, greeted by the sun just beginning to rise as it's light crests through the forested leaves on the distant horizon. "Another day," he says, "Just like any other day..." He gets to work on his chores: Water the plants. Check. See if anything has ripened. Check, nothing has yet fully grown. Feed and pet the animals. Check. Milk the lactating animals. Check. Gather all the eggs. Check. Harvest mushrooms. Check. Finally, store everything back in the house. Check.

He steps back outside and walks over to the mailbox, creaking it open to see a couple letters. He takes out the first one to see it is from Mayor Lewis. It reads:

"To Jessie,
As you know, tomorrow is the annual Spirit's Eve Festival. As an accommodation gift to our guests, we'll be hosting a live event from 11pm to 1am. I encourage you bring something to the table! If you're shy around crowds, don't worry about it! But there is something very confidential I feel I should tell you some time today if you get the chance.

Mayor Lewis"

"Hm," Jessie says, "Strange." He tucks the letter in his pocket and grabs the other one from the mailbox, shutting it. It's from Haley. His heart begins to beat faster, and he rushes to open it. It reads:

"Dear Jessie,
I've been thinking about what happened between us a couple nights ago when I stayed over. As much as I want to say I enjoyed it, I feel like it was a little rushed on both of us. I genuinely want to be with you. I'll say it now. I don't want to hide behind a curtain as they say, hehe. So please meet me by the bath house tonight at around 8pm. I have a surprise for you...

With love, Haley 💘"

He smiles and hugs the letter as the dopamine and oxytocin rushes through his body. He carefully folds it and stashes it into his pocket. He turns Eastwards and heads down the path towards Pelican Town.

Meanwhile, around 10am, Sergiu knocks on Georgy's door. "Come in," a voice from inside calls out. He opens the door and walks inside, shutting the door behind him. Inside, Georgy is still in his pajamas, and his suitcase is opened on a polished, ornamental table. He sees Sergiu and smiles, "Ah, Sergiu my friend, come in! Have a seat!" Sergiu does that, sitting at one of the cushioned chairs by the table. "So," Georgy says, "Have any luck with our... Problem last night?"

Sergiu nods, "Yes, sir. The doctor told us quite a lot of useful information regarding Stardew Valley." Georgy grins, "That's good. That's great, actually. What things in particular stood out for our interests?" Sergiu thinks, "Well... He mentioned an special type of Iridium ore that appears to be rich in the valley's geological formation."

Georgy thinks for a moment, smiling, "That may be very useful information that the Ministry of Engineers and the Mining Department in the Ministry of Labor may find interesting. Anything else, Comrade?" Sergiu nods, "Indeed. We have access to health records for the entire village here, which the doctor didn't give consent to easily. It's apparently a violation of Ferngill law to publicize health records to unauthorized people."

Georgy sighs, "While that information may be useful to us, I don't see it coming in handy for the Motherland. What else?" Sergiu thinks, remembering what Jessie told him the day prior, "Ah, yes. The farmer, Jessie, he said that the crops here grew exponentially faster than they do anywhere else. I planted a few beets on his farm to run a test, and he claimed they should be fully grown the day before we leave."