Chapter 194: “The Captain”
Chapter 194 “Captain”
Subspace can contaminate everything but subspace, even reality as well as age, yet this doesn’t seem to be a problem for the Lost Country.
Because in a sense, the ship was already part of subspace – in fact its underside was even now sailing through subspace.
You can’t send someone with zero SAN into madness, and you can’t contaminate the Lost Country, which has already been completely remodeled by subspace, again.
Listening to Goathead’s words, Duncan gave a thoughtful expression, but he didn’t ponder for long, because another voice from Goathead came from the navigational table, “Captain, you’re starting to take an interest in what’s going on within the boundaries of civilization – previously you were focused on sailing beyond the borders. Is there something in the city-states that means something to you?”
Sailing beyond the borders?
Duncan’s heart stirred slightly, but the expression on his face still didn’t change much, and he just casually replied, “Simple concern is all, no reason needed.”
“Ah, well, you’re the captain, you call the shots,” the goathead replied immediately, followed by a two-second silence, as if it was hesitating or thinking about something, before speaking in a low voice, “Then, just in case, I’d like to ask you a question.”
Duncan raised an eyebrow.
He heard a hoarse, low voice coming from within the wooden carving, “Name?”
“Duncan Ebnomar,” Duncan’s face was expressionless, the fingers of both hands gently crossed, but this time, after uttering the name he suddenly smiled, followed closely by a rhetorical question, “I’m actually curious what would happen if I said another name? ”
This was the first time he asked this question, and it was also the boldest “crossing the line” he had ever done – it was the life he had been living on this ship, the many times he had come into contact with the goat head, as well as the growing understanding of his own power and characteristics, that had made him finally try to take this step. This step.
Mutual probing and observation established the most basic tacit understanding, Duncan’s rhetorical question was revealing an unspoken truth to both sides, and the goathead fell into a long silence after this question, and it took a full minute for the captain’s room to resonate again with its low, hoarse voice: “Try not to make fun of me like that, Captain, the Lost Country still needs you to take the helm. ”
Duncan laughed.
As he thought, if Goathead had been Captain Duncan’s second in command for the past century, he knew the ghost captain even better than the captain knew himself, and considering the number of bizarre and supernatural things in the world, it was unlikely that a first mate who knew the captain well would be able to detect that he was a ghost captain, or that the captain’s first mate was a ghost. A “first mate” who knows the captain so well would not be able to notice the change in the captain and would not be able to think of the possible scenarios?
Even the most discreet disguise has a loophole, and this loophole will become more and more obvious over time, but no one has mentioned this loophole, which means that this level of camouflage is just right and necessary.
The Lost Country needed a captain, and that captain’s name was “Duncan Abnormale”, and it didn’t matter what was behind the name, and it didn’t matter whether or not the captain himself was real, as long as there was a qualified person at the helm.
Duncan was just a little curious as to why it was himself, and whether or not …… not the fact that he now had “self-will” was unplanned, because according to his general understanding of ghost ships, if a cursed ship is going to keep “catching” people, it’s not going to be a good thing. According to his general knowledge of ghost ships, if a cursed ship is constantly “catching” people to be its captain, then the chosen one should be controlled by the curse, and he was obviously not bound by it in any way.
But he didn’t ask these questions, because the goat’s head’s attitude was a subtle reminder to him:
Some things are just for everyone to know, don’t mention them too obviously.
Until we figure out the full secret behind the Lost Country, this topic can end here.
“You still need your loyal first mate to serve you, and the Lost Country still needs the great captain himself at the helm, don’t you think?” Goathead’s voice came from the side, sounding slightly expectant and even eager.
Duncan turned his head and gazed into the other man’s obsidian-carved orbs.
“Of course.” He smiled.
He then stood up and walked towards the door to the captain’s cabin, “I’m going to leave for a bit, you look after the ship.”
Goathead had resumed his dogged attitude as usual with a pleasant tone in his voice, “Of course, your loyal following ellipses will be here for your return, good luck on your journey ……”
Duncan had pushed his way out of the room, blocking all of Goathead’s latter words behind the door.
He stood on the aft deck of the ship and exhaled softly, a strange kind of relaxation floated up in the bottom of his heart, the early morning sunlight was spreading over the sea, making the whole deck seem to be filled with a warm atmosphere, and the door connected to the captain’s room stood quietly in front of Duncan, and on the frame of the door, “Lost Homelanders’ Door” a few letters glittered in the sunlight.
He pressed the handle and gave it a gentle push forward.
Inside the captain’s cabin, Goathead sensed that the captain had left the Lost Country for the time being.
It was silent, as was everything in the entire room, even the entire ship, but after a few minutes, a low creaking sound suddenly came from underneath the floorboards, followed by a number of furnishings in the room that began to sway slightly, making all sorts of subtle noises. The voice of the goat head broke the silence immediately after, muttering to himself, “Mom hey …… not angry right …… should not be angry right …… I go , really not angry it ……”
Various subtle rattles in the room became more pronounced.
“I know I know …… it’s not like I have to ask for names every other day! It’s not for the sake of navigational safety! In case of a sudden fall back to subspace at least there is a preparation not …… Don’t argue don’t argue, I’m still messed up here …… Or next time you guys ask! If you can’t, don’t argue …… You also know that I’m the only one on the ship with a mouth ……
“That mannequin? What’s wrong with you guys? How does she know the situation …… Wait, when did you guys get so close to her? Is not fighting all day …… bully more feel bad about it? Can still be like this?
“All right, all right, all scattered, scattered, focus on the road, the captain may be back at any time, he may have to ask the progress of the voyage …… boat anchor can you learn to paddle? The anchor can you learn how to paddle a little bit? It provides a little bit of power to throw it up, and I think that the propeller of a steamship …… is okay, when I didn’t say that …… or those two lifeboats you jumped down and poured it on? Well, also when I did not say ……”
The various rattles in the captain’s room gradually calmed down.
Goathead, on the other hand, silently sighed and continued to control the huge ghost ship in the direction of the city-state of Prand.
The shimmering point of light on the mist-shrouded chart where the city-state was located came a little closer.
……
Zhou Ming pushed open the door of his bachelor apartment and stepped towards that world he was familiar with.
The window was still shrouded in mist, and the world he was familiar with was still only a stone’s throw away.
Everything in the room remained the same as when he left, the bedding on the bed was a bit scattered, the books on the nightstand were still spread out, the computer screen in the corner was shimmering, and the prompt “network not connected” popped up over and over again in the lower right corner.
Zhou Ming gently breathed a sigh of relief and walked to the shelf at the end of the room.
The miniature model of the Lost Country was still lying quietly in the compartment, still in the position he had placed it in last time.
Zhou Ming picked up the exquisite “model” of the ghost ship, and opened the door to the captain’s room to look inside.
The sailing table was still empty, and there was no sign of Goathead.
After pondering for a while, Zhou Ming put the Lost Country ship back to its original position, and then turned around to the desk, ready to sit down and take a rest, and at the same time organize the known information and thoughts in this familiar and quiet environment.
But suddenly, his eyes were drawn to something on the desk.
Strictly speaking, not a certain “thing”, but some strange …… phenomenon.
He saw the empty desktop is constantly jumping some very very small embers, fine embers like sparks continuous, and in these weak and green embers outline, there are some vague outline is in the air now and then.
It was as if something was coalescing on the desk, but too slowly, stuck in a state of imminent molding.
Zhou Ming sat down in front of the desk, quietly gazing at the jumping flames, as well as the light that was vaguely presenting an outline in the flames, the greenish firelight reflecting on his face, his slightly thin face gradually becoming serious.
He recognized that some of the outlines outlined by those leaping flames were places familiar to him – they were certain neighborhoods of Prand!
He could even distinguish some details of the city-state’s shores.
The fire was burning, and Zhou Ming remembered that the order he had given to the flames was to keep chasing and hunting that “thing” with the black umbrella.
Now it had spread to almost all corners of the city-state.
The prey …… is everywhere!
Zhou Ming’s brows furrowed a little, as he thoughtfully tracked and discerned the trajectory of those flames spreading, looking for the pattern of their gathering and the direction where they might converge next, like a hunter, tracking the scent of his prey.
(End of this chapter)