Chapter 499.
Chapter 499 – The Necessary Process
Duncan knew that the arrangement he had made today was destined to bring about an upheaval in the entire Boundless Sea – a “warning” that was enough to shock everyone, not only because of the content of the warning, but also because of the source of the warning.
The civilized world was in for a little “Lost Country Shock”.
“It’s a big deal,” Tirian said, breaking the silence, “The Church has nothing to worry about, they’ve always been sharp and professional when it comes to fighting transcendent crises, and they’ll take it seriously, but the city-states are complicated, and I doubt that anyone has an effective early warning mechanism. ”
“Before that, it’s better to consider how many people will treat this ‘warning’ correctly,” Lucrecia’s voice came from the crystal ball, “In a world where the ‘ In this world, there have been countless warnings about ‘Doomsday’, and most of them have come from those crazy cultists – now that the Lost Country has suddenly begun to warn the world again, frankly speaking …… I’m afraid that many people’s first reaction will be similar to that when they were in contact with those Doomsday cultists, or even more so when they were exposed to those Doomsday cultists. Theory cultists were about the same, if not a little worse ……”
Shirley across the table grunted up in a small voice, “After all, the reputation ……”
“That’s their business,” Duncan gave Shirley an expressionless look and shook his head, “The Lost Country’s ‘reputation’ is a good thing, even if some people don’t believe the content of the alerts, they at least value the ‘signaling’ itself – even if it’s out of fear of the Lost Country, they’ll be cautious, and that’s enough.”
“I’ll contact the Church as soon as possible,” Agatha nodded in turn, her voice husky and soft, “I’m sure that the Death Sanctuary will definitely pay attention to this warning from the Lost Country with the highest level of attitude.”
“After the Academy of Death, the Deep and Truth receives the message, the Fire Transmitter’s side will definitely receive it as well,” Vanna added with a nod as well, “I’ll confirm this matter directly to the Coronation of the Pope.”
“It’s also been a long time since I’ve corresponded with the Academy Ark, this time it’s a good time to catch up with old friends,” Morris took off his own monocle and wiped it off, “but I’ll need to make extra preparations for some of the ointments and herbal powders needed for the ceremony, it won’t be easy to contact the Academy Ark from the Infinite Sea. ”
Listening to Maurice’s words, another thing popped into Duncan’s mind.
“Has there been any progress on the matter you were asked to investigate last time?” He looked at the great scholar, “It’s the kind of Broken Cross Seal that the Final Preacher carries, have you found out the source?”
“I’m sorry, there’s no progress for now,” Morris showed a hint of apology on his face, “I’ve written many letters to my familiar friends in the academia, and also contacted a few well-connected universities, but none of them have found records related to that kind of Broken Cross Seal, and at the moment, I can still only determine that they ‘may’ have appeared on the architectural remains of certain ancient Cretan kingdoms ……”
“So ah ……” Duncan slightly regret, but he knew to investigate a mysterious symbol in the lack of information is a needle in a haystack, so he did not overly obsessed on this issue, just casually said,. “Then you continue to pay attention to this matter, if there is progress, the first time to tell me on it.”
Morris immediately lowered his head, “Yes, Captain.”
Duncan hmmm’d, then thought briefly to make sure there was nothing else missing before exhaling softly and rising from the long table, his gaze sweeping over everyone on the scene.
“So that’s it for today’s assembly, the general direction of the operation has been set, if you have any questions afterward, feel free to check with me.”
Lawrence at the end of the long table subconsciously sighed in relief.
This gathering was not as eerie as he had imagined, nor was it filled with bizarre and inexplicable rituals or strict and bloody rules, but even so, the mere fact of being here “under the watchful eye of Captain Duncan at all times” had made him feel quite a bit of pressure, and as a “newcomer” here, he had always felt a great deal of pressure. As a “newcomer” here, he had always been tense, and now he could finally relax.
But just as he was half relieved, he realized that the other people around the table had no intention of getting up and leaving, instead, most of them, including the respected Morris scholar, were looking forward to the next session.
Is there still a process to the assembly?
Just as a wisp of doubt bubbled up in Lawrence’s heart, he heard Nina’s voice coming from the opposite side: “Ah, finally we’re done chatting, let’s have dinner, I’m hungry.”
“Eat a big meal today! Eat a big meal!” Sherry yelled happily as well, “It’s the day of the rally, there’s good food!”
“The soup is still simmering in the pot, just in time,” Alice said while getting up, “I’ll go push the food cart over~”
Lawrence looked at the scene in front of him in a daze, frozen and unable to understand what was going to happen next, and twisted his head to look at Agatha, who was closest to him, only to see that the other party had the same bewildered look on her face as he did.
At this moment, Duncan’s voice suddenly came from the top of the long table, answering Lawrence and Agatha’s doubts: “After talking about business, gather for a meal, this is the rules of the ship.”
After talking about business …… get together for a meal?
Lawrence listened with dismay, thinking he had heard something wrong, but then he saw that the “living doll” actually pushed a large food cart back to the cabin, slightly old food cart creaking in the push, many containers on the cart were filled with steaming hot… …food.
Lawrence watched dumbfounded, seeing Alice carry the food to the table, watching Shirley and Nina run around helping to arrange the plates and knives and forks, and he smelled the aroma of the food – there was fresh bread, vegetables and fruits, and meat.
It was normal, recognizable to him, food that humans could eat.
But the strongest of all the aromas came from a pot of soup at the end of the long table. A delicious fish broth, in which tender, slightly curled-up meat, no longer distinguishable from its species, was soaked, and the heat rose in it, and on the slightly shaking surface of the soup, the curled pieces of meat seemed to have a little bit of activity left in them, still quivering and spasming in the lulling steam.
But when looked at closely, the tremors and spasms were like an illusion that never happened.
Lawrence unconsciously stood up, his eyes fell on the fish soup, he could not tell what kind of fish it was, nor could he notice any difference in this “food”, however, a strong intuition was still thumping in the bottom of his heart, that was something accumulated over decades of wandering in the boundless sea, and it was the thing that made him, an “ordinary” person with no spiritual talent, realize that he had no spiritual talent, and that he had no sense of humor, and that was the reason why he had no spiritual talent. It was something accumulated from decades of wandering on the boundless sea, an “empirical reaction” that allowed him, an “ordinary man” with no psychic talent, to detect something extraordinary…
It was something extremely dangerous, something that could kill a man and bury an ocean-going ship in the depths of the sea. ……
“It’s fresh fish,” Duncan smiled, addressing Lawrence and Agatha, who were attending the gathering for the first time, “I just caught it today – made a special trip quite a distance from Frostbite proper to catch it. ”
Fish? “Fish” caught in waters far from safe routes, far from the shelter of the island?
Lawrence drifted off for a moment, a somewhat alarming suspicion coming to mind, while Morris, not far away, nodded kindly to him: “That’s what you think, Captain Lawrence, but relax, it’s a necessary step in joining us, and you don’t have to worry, it’s harmless enough – on this ship, it is! -on this ship, it is indeed food.”
Lawrence listened sparingly, and by the time he responded, Alice had placed a steaming bowl of fish soup on the table in front of him.
As it came to Agatha, though, Alice paused in some confusion.
“I’m not in a position to eat,” Agatha said with a hint of embarrassment on her face, “This body is already an empty shell of death, no longer blessed with good food.”
“That’s fine,” Duncan waved his hand magnanimously at the sight, “It’s said to be a rule of the ship, but in reality it’s no different from a normal gathering, eat what you can, and if you can’t eat a few words of small talk to bring you closer together.”
While saying that he turned his head and glanced at the crystal ball placed in front of Tirian again, “Lucy, don’t forget your own dinner as well.”
“On it’s on it’s on it’s on,” Lucrecia replied hurriedly, “Lunie brought me baked apple pie and savory tarts!”
With a nod at that, Duncan smiled and looked to either side of the long table, casually picking up the glass of wine that was resting in his hand and raising it high in the air as a host:
“Then, to the day we meet here-“
……
The slight dizziness faded a little, and the ghostly green firelight at the edge of his vision faded into the air, as a fresh, cold sea breeze blew across the deck, bringing instant clarity to his mind.
The experience of attending the party on the Lost Country ship still seemed like a dream, lingering in the mind with a slight sense of unreality.
Lawrence shook his head to regain further clarity, and then went to the edge of the deck and looked out to the sea that had gradually sunk into the night.
The faintly glowing silhouette of the Lost Country was still floating in the sea not far from the White Oak.
“…… It’s really like a dream.”
Gathering on a mysterious and unpredictable ghost ship, communicating with various “characters” including living dolls, sun fragments, and profound demons, discussing the secrets of the ancient gods and the end of time in the spiritual realm in depth, and then sharing the flesh and blood of the children of the deep under the watchful eyes of the shadows of subspace.
When the gathering was over, and the wind of the real world blew across his cheeks again, when the tension and numbness in his mind gradually faded away, and he was able to think with human reasoning again, and when the relaxed and strange impressions of the gathering process dissipated, Lawrence finally gradually realized the “essence” of everything that had just happened.
A kind of hindsight “realization” came up, but he could not tell what feeling he had in his heart at the moment.
A normal person should feel fearful, should feel horrible, at the very least, when recalling the “fish” that he had eaten into his stomach, he should feel horrified.
However, he felt nothing.
There was only a strange sense of calm and belonging that soothed his slightly agitated mood.
Fish, it smells so good ……
(End of chapter)