Deep Sea Embers

The sun is bright.

If that glowing object high in the sky is really the sun, then its "sunlight"... is bright indeed.

Duncan didn't know how long he stared at the sky until his eyes became sore and unbearably sore that he finally looked away from the clouds. However, the posture of the "sun" was still deeply imprinted on his retina and the depths of his mind, even if he closed his eyes. When he closed his eyes, he could still clearly recall its appearance - the sphere emitting a faint golden light, the twisted and scattered light flow around the sphere, and the concentric ring structure quietly running around the sphere.

The sun is not like this, the sun should not be like this - in the world he is familiar with, even under the sky of alien stars, the stars hanging high in the sky will not look like this.

But now he had to accept the truth.

He is in a foreign land, a foreign land farther away than imagined.

Even the sun turned into something he couldn't understand.

Duncan turned his head subconsciously and looked at the door in front of the captain's cabin.

Push the door back in and you'll be back in the room he's lived in for so many years, back in his bachelor pad.

But outside that room, the thick fog had already covered the whole world, and the "hometown" he was familiar with, in a sense, only the last 30-square-meter hut remained.

It seems that the "home" that can be returned as long as the door is opened is actually just another boat sailing alone.

During the long silence, the voice of the goat's head suddenly entered Duncan's ears: "Captain, where are we going next? Do you have any sailing plans?"

Sailing plan? How could Duncan have that kind of thing—although he also wanted to immediately formulate a complete plan to explore the world and finalize the next voyage, but he didn't even have a normal sea chart at hand, let alone I don't know what kind of land there is in this world, what kind of power it has, and I don't know whether this endless ocean has an end.

He had only just learned how to pilot the Lost Home a few hours ago.

But he still pondered, and after a few minutes he said in his heart: "Where did the ship that collided with the Lost Home come from?"

"Do you want to go to those city-states?" The voice of the goat's head was a little surprised, and then dissuaded, "I suggest that you better not approach the waterways controlled by those city-states... at least not now. Although you are the great Captain Duncan, The current state of the Lost Country... is not as good as it used to be after all, and the garrison navy and Holy See guards of those city-states will definitely do their best to resist your... attack."

Duncan was a little speechless for a while, he suddenly wanted to know what the "Captain Duncan" he replaced had done in the past, so that it seemed that showing his face in the world could instantly stimulate 25 people The group originally...

And listening to the euphemistic meaning in Goat Head's words, Duncan also realized that the current state of the Lost Homeland and his "captain" does not seem to be as good as it usually compliments-the captain of the ghost and his ship are on the ocean. The reason is actually afraid to return to the port of the civilized world?

Another way of saying exile is to travel to the end of the world!

Duncan was a little distressed. He desperately needed to find a way to understand this world. He had to find a way to get in touch with the "civilized society" of this world, whether it was to survive here for a long time or to return to the "civilized society" he was familiar with. "Hometown", he can't continue to wander in this endless ocean, but the problem is——

The "civilized society" of this world doesn't seem to think so.

In the eyes of the locals, "Captain Duncan" is a world boss who wanders outside the main city. Once he appears in the field of vision, he must pull a group of 25 people...

Duncan sighed——as long as there is a book on the "Lost Home", he will not be so passive. His only source of information here is the nagging goat head, but he dare not at this stage. Expose yourself too much in front of that goat's head.

But then again... why is there not even a single book on this huge ship?

The lonely and long sailing journey is an extremely stressful environment for people living at sea. People always need some means of relieving stress. Ordinary sailors may not have much time to read for entertainment, but the dignified "Captain Duncan"... It can't be illiterate, right?

You know, "captain" is a technical job that requires a high level of knowledge. Even the most rude and savage pirates must at least have a captain who can understand charts, astrology, and calculate routes.

Feeling puzzled in his heart, Duncan asked casually—he asked very cautiously, trying to act as if he mentioned it casually, but the answer of the goat head was without hesitation:

"Books? Reading at sea is a dangerous thing. Those guys in the deep and subspace are waiting for a hole in the mind of mortals all the time, and the only safe reading materials are the 'classics' issued by the Holy See. That thing is safe, but reading it is as boring as washing the deck... Aren’t you always not interested in things from the Holy See?”

Duncan raised his eyebrows immediately.

How could it be life-threatening to read a book at sea? Are only the "classics" of the Holy See safe to read? What is wrong with this boundless sea?

It feels as if he has acquired a little more knowledge about the world, but it is followed by new doubts. Duncan can only suppress these new doubts in his heart, and he comes to the end of the ship's side, looking at the endless sea in the distance with the sky.

That round of golden "sun" sheds a thousand zhang rays of light, and the undulations like fine gold leaf are reflected on the sea surface-if you don't consider the strange appearance of the sun, this is indeed a beautiful scene.

"I want to hear your suggestion," Duncan finally said cautiously to the goat's head after much deliberation, "I'm a little tired of this aimless voyage, maybe..."

As soon as he was halfway through his words, a strange "feeling" suddenly came from the bottom of his heart. This feeling came from the connection between him and the "Lost Country", as if some "foreign object" suddenly touched the ship , Immediately afterwards, he heard another "boom" from the direction of the stern, as if something heavy had hit the deck.

Duncan frowned, and immediately pulled out the loaded flintlock gun at his waist, and the one-handed long sword with the other hand, and then quickly ran towards the direction where the sound came from.

After a while, he came to the poop deck, and he was dumbfounded by something lying quietly on the deck.

It was that gorgeous wooden box like a coffin.

It's that weird puppet.

A creepy feeling surged into Duncan's heart. He stared at the box that was still wet on the surface, as if the latter would suddenly open by itself in the next second. Then, he noticed that the nails around the wooden box lid had It was gone.

Those were the nails he had hammered into the box before throwing it into the sea, so it should be very strong.

After vigilantly confronting the box beside the box for several minutes, Duncan finally made up his mind. He held the flintlock tightly in one hand, and with the other hand, he used his long sword to penetrate the gap in the wooden box's lid, and then he slammed it hard. pry open.

The ornate lid creaks open, and the inanimate Goth doll still lies inside, surrounded by a red velvet lining, like a sleeping princess.

Duncan stared at the puppet for several seconds, and said in a serious tone (he believed he had shown enough majesty at this moment): "If you are alive, then get up and talk to me."

After saying it twice in a row, the puppet still remained motionless.

Duncan looked at her with a serious expression, and finally said lightly: "Very well, then I can only send you back."

After finishing speaking, he put the lid back on without hesitation. Then he took tools and nailed a circle of coffin nails in a criss-cross pattern on the box. Hook to secure its cover firmly.

After finishing all this, Duncan straightened up and clapped his hands in satisfaction. He looked at the "coffin" which was tied up by himself and added a circle of coffin nails, and nodded slightly: "This time, you should not be able to get out of the coffin."

After speaking, he kicked the box into the sea again without hesitation.

Watching the box falling into the water, and seeing the box rising and falling with the current and gradually drifting away, Duncan breathed a sigh of relief, then turned and left the stern.

But just halfway there, he suddenly turned his head and looked in the direction where the box drifted away again.

The wooden box is still drifting on the sea.

Duncan nodded, turned his head and continued to walk away, then turned back suddenly.

The box was still floating on the sea, and it had already floated far, far away.

"Maybe I should put a cannonball or something in it so it can sink..."

Duncan muttered, then turned around and walked slowly towards the direction of the captain's cabin.

"You were a little harsh on that lady." The voice of the goat's head came in his head.

"Shut up—you call a cursed doll 'Madam'?"

"It does look like a cursed doll... But what curse in the Infinite Sea can compare to the Lost Country and the great Captain Duncan? Captain, that lady is actually quite gentle and harmless..."

Duncan: "..."

Why is the goat head so proud when he talks about the curse and notoriety of the Lost Country and Captain Duncan?

Perhaps sensing Duncan's bad mood in the silence, the goat's head immediately changed the subject: "Captain, you said earlier that you wanted to hear my advice, specifically..."

"Let's talk about it later, I need to rest for a while--the previous sailing on the Lost Country in the spirit world drained my energy, and you keep quiet."

"Yes, Captain."

The goat's head fell silent, and Duncan returned to the captain's cabin. He came to the nautical table and glanced casually at the chart.

In the next second, his eyes suddenly froze.

There seemed to be a slight change in the sea chart—the gray-white patches that seemed to be alive and wriggling that originally covered the entire blueprint seemed to have dissipated a little bit, and the sea around the Lost Country was becoming clearer!

This thing... Is it updating the information of the surrounding sea area in real time as the Lost Home sails?

Duncan immediately came to the nautical table, paying full attention to the subtle changes on the chart.

But his state of concentration was soon interrupted.

In the depths of the mind, the Lost Homeland again sent the signal of "contact with foreign objects", and immediately after, Duncan heard a "boom" sound from the deck behind the captain's cabin.