Deep Sea Embers

This breakfast tastes like chewing wax — and it tastes worse than wax.

After finishing an unsatisfactory breakfast, Duncan's mood did not improve in the slightest as his stomach was full. Instead, it was because some information accidentally mentioned by Goat's Head aroused a mess of guesses. So a little irritable.

He looked at the pigeon Ai Yin, who was strolling on a nearby shelf, and felt that the wild thoughts in his mind became more and more outrageous.

He has always believed that this pigeon, which is full of "earth words", was born because he had the soul of an earth man, and believed that when he was walking in the spiritual world, the individual "Zhou Ming" reacted with the brass compass , thus giving birth to such a strange bird as Ai Yin.

But what if... that's really not the case?

What if, as Goat's Head said, the pigeon was just some kind of phantom that came out of "deeper" and just happened to condense its form around itself?

Then those "earth words" that Ai Yin pops up from time to time have nothing to do with "Zhou Ming"'s memory, but become a projection in a certain history recorded by the world itself...

The possibilities behind this upset Duncan.

Alice stood up, her voice interrupting Duncan's thoughts: "Do you need me to do the dishes?"

Duncan glanced at Miss Doll in surprise, who scratched her hair embarrassedly: "I think since I'm already on the boat, I should find something to do, otherwise I'm like a jerk..."

"But you don't eat at all," Duncan reminded her, "but it's good if you have the heart—take the dishes to the sink, discuss it with the sink, and if it doesn't mind, wash it."

After saying this, he stood up without waiting for Alice's answer, and said casually as he walked to the door of the captain's room: "I'll go check the deck, don't disturb me if there's anything else."

The pigeons who were walking on the shelf immediately fluttered onto Duncan's shoulders and left the room with Duncan, leaving Alice staring at Goat Head at the sailing table.

"Is the captain in a bad mood?" After hesitating for a moment, Alice asked Goat Head carefully.

Goat Head said in a deep tone: "The captain's mood is like the weather in the boundless sea, don't speculate, just accept it."

Alice didn't wait for the goat's head to continue to speak, and then quickly asked: "By the way, the captain just said that I should discuss with the pool... How to discuss it?"

"Simple, you go to wash things, if you are splashed with water, it means that the sink doesn't like you - do you know how to wash dishes? If not, I have some theoretical experience..."

Before Goathead could finish speaking, he saw Alice quickly tidying up the tableware on the table, and then rushed to the door while shouting, "No need, I will learn, thank you, Mr. Goathead! Bye!"

The captain's room suddenly became quiet, leaving only the black goat's head on the table, staring at the direction where everyone left with empty eyes.

After a long time, a sigh came from the sailing table: "How good should I have legs..."

Then its eyes returned to the chart.

The fog around the Lost Country was still slowly dissipating, and the captain's task at the helm still had to be done well.

Under precise control, this huge and "living" ghost ship sensitively adjusted the angle of each sail and began to sail on this boundless sea. Boat Song—a rough, hoarse, noise-like "humming" echoed in the captain's cabin:

"The sails are raised, the sails are raised, and the sailors who leave home go on;

"In the storm, in the noise, we are only one plank away from death;

"Stow the hornsail, spread the mainsail, let go of the hawser, and hold on to the sides! We are in the middle of the sea!

"Stay farther away from the fish, farther away from the fish, the sailors will cross the course where the sons are entrenched;

"Stay away from the fish, stay away from the fish! We're going to land safely - the liquor and the stove ahead..."

Duncan circled around the supply warehouse, and around the galley, before finally returning to the mid-deck of the Lost Country.

No matter how much he rummaged, there was nothing more palatable on this ship than jerky and cheese.

The good news is that he doesn't have to eat raw maggot biscuits like those sailors on Earth, and the bad news is that the ship doesn't even have any raw maggot biscuits.

He temporarily put aside those wild thoughts before, and brought the quiet Ai Yin to the edge of the deck.

Looking at the boundless sea, he kept thinking:

"...In any case, find a way to replenish the necessities of life on the Lost Country... Although I can't pay too much attention to the quality of life on the ghost ship, I can't really live like a ghost after all...

"Alice might need a change of clothes, but there's no dress for her on this ship.

"It is necessary to establish contact with the city-state on land as soon as possible... The Lost Homes has been adrift at sea for too many years, and the city-state on land may have developed during this time to a degree that even the goat's head could not predict. The scene seen in the sewers, at least the city-state of Prand is a powerful and advanced city, and the revolvers carried by those cultists can also explain the technological development of human society...

"The ancient ghost ship may not be so invincible in the face of a century-old civilized society. The Homeless Yu Wei is still there, but if there is only one Yu Wei left, it will be difficult to handle..."

Duncan glanced at Ai Yin on his shoulder.

Maybe... recharge your energy today, and it's time to try the next "spiritual world walk".

"Cuckoo?"

Ai Yin tilted his head, and finally there was some movement that a normal pigeon should have.

Duncan couldn't help laughing, and at this moment, out of the corner of his eye, he suddenly noticed that there seemed to be a flash of light on the nearby sea.

He was attracted by the movement, and subconsciously glanced over the side of the boat a few more times, and then he noticed that there seemed to be something swimming below the water surface nearby.

After a moment of hesitation, Duncan suddenly slapped himself on the forehead.

"Hey! My reaction... It's at sea! Isn't there fish in the sea!"

The sudden appearance of "possibility" made Duncan's mood suddenly improve. He realized that establishing a connection with the land and providing stable supplies to the Homeless were not something that could be done overnight, but could the vast sea itself be? Can't you help me a little bit?

There are fish in the sea - and he's had enough of the jerky and cheese on the ghost ship!

Duncan's enthusiasm was aroused. He remembered that there was a heavy fishing rod for sea fishing in a warehouse below the deck, and the position for fixing the fishing rod could also be found on the side of the deck. As for the bait... I don't know what meat Would dry and cheese work?

In this way, the cursed puppet was washing dishes in the water room, the talking goat head was concentrating on sailing, and the captain of the Lost Country was busy between the deck and the cabin.

Duncan quickly found what he wanted. He carried three heavy fishing rods and "bait" back to the deck, and fixed these things on the side of the boat rather rusty. After baiting and casting, he Another empty bucket was moved from nearby to serve as a waiting chair.

Duncan actually has no experience in sea fishing - all his fishing experience is limited to a pond and a small river in his hometown. He doesn't know if his whim can really catch fish, but he is idle anyway. , what if?

Quan regarded it as a recuperation before the next walk in the spirit world, and by the way, he could keep an expectation for the improvement of food in the future.

Duncan sat down between a few fishing rods, and his mood returned a little bit during the long wait.

Today's sea conditions are fairly stable, the sky is somewhat cloudy, but there is no sign of a storm.

Duncan sat on the barrel, leaning back against a winch used to hold the cable, and narrowed his eyes slightly as the boat shook slightly.

At some point, he fell into a half-dream and half-awake state.

He dreamed that he was barefoot on the calm sea, blue water, sunshine and warmth.

The familiar and "normal" sun in my memory hangs high in the sky, bright but not scorching hot.

He heard the sound of splashing water, and looked after the sound, but saw that a fish suddenly jumped out of the calm water nearby.

It was a group of little golden fish, about the size of a slap, they were blowing bubbles in the air and waving their tails as if they were swimming in water, slowly circling around Duncan.

The fish that were swimming in the air leaned over little by little. Zhou Ming looked at them curiously, at their bulging eyes, at their fine scales, at their open and closed mouths, and at their slightly fluttering behind them. , fine lines like water waves.

Zhou Ming suddenly felt that these fish were beautiful, and…

good smell.

Must be very, very fragrant.