Departure, Return, and Return Again

The sunlight was bright.

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

Duncan didn't know how long he had been staring at the sky until his eyes became so sore that he could barely stand it. He finally withdrew his gaze from the clouds, but the image of the "sun" was still deeply imprinted in his retina and mind. Even if he closed his eyes, he could still vividly recall its appearance—the sphere emitting a faint golden light, the twisting and dispersing streams of light around it, and the concentric ring structures that were silently orbiting around the sphere.

The sun shouldn't be like this. Even in the skies of a foreign planet in his familiar world, the high-hanging stars wouldn't look like this.

But now he had to accept the fact.

He was in a foreign land, a land that was even more distant than he had imagined.

Even the sun had become a shape he couldn't comprehend.

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

Pushing the door inward would take him back to the room where he had lived for many years, back to his bachelor apartment.

But outside that room, thick fog had already obscured the entire world. The "homeland" he was familiar with, in a sense, had been reduced to the final thirty square meters of that small house.

The "home" that seemed to be just a door away was actually just another lonely ship on the endless sea.

In the long silence, the voice of Goathead suddenly entered Duncan's ears. "Captain, where are we going next? Do you have any navigation plan?"

Navigation plan? How could Duncan have something like that? Although he really wanted to immediately come up with a comprehensive plan to explore this world, finalize the next voyage, and establish a complete map, he didn't even have a normal nautical chart in his hands. He didn't know what land or power there was in this world, and he didn't even know if this endless ocean had an end.

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

But he still fell into contemplation and spoke in his mind after a few minutes, "Where did the ship that collided with Lost Home come from?"

"Do you want to go to those cities?" Goathead's voice was somewhat surprised, but then he dissuaded, "I suggest you stay away from the shipping lanes controlled by those cities...at least not for now. Although you are the great Captain Duncan, Lost Home's current state...is not as good as it used to be, and the naval garrisons and the Holy See Guard of those cities will do everything to resist your...attack."

Duncan was a little speechless for a moment. He suddenly wanted to know what kind of outrageous things the "Captain Duncan" he replaced had done back then, so much so that even showing up in the mundane world could instantly stimulate a 25-man raid...

And from the euphemistic meaning in Goathead's words, Duncan also realized that the state of Lost Home and his own status as "captain" were not as good as the goat head usually complimented them to be. It turned out that the reason why the Ghost Captain and his ship roamed the open sea was because they dared not return to the ports of civilized society?

Another way of saying it was that they were on a journey to the end of the world!

Duncan was somewhat troubled. He urgently needed to find a way to understand this world. He had to figure out a way to connect with the "civilized society" of this world, whether it was to survive here for a long time or to unravel the mystery and return to his familiar "hometown." He couldn't continue to wander aimlessly on this endless ocean. The problem was that the "civilized society" of this world didn't seem to think the same way.

To the locals, "Captain Duncan" was a world boss wandering outside the main city, and once he appeared in their field of vision, they had to form a 25-man raid group to take him down...

Duncan sighed. If only he had a book to read on the "Lost Ark," he wouldn't be so passive. The only source of information he had here was the rambling goat head, but he couldn't reveal too much about himself in front of it at this stage.

But then again...how could there not be a single book on this large ship? The long and lonely voyage at sea was an extremely stressful environment for those who lived on it. People needed a way to relieve the pressure. Ordinary sailors may not have had the time to read for leisure, but the esteemed "Captain Duncan"...he couldn't possibly be illiterate, right?

After all, the position of "captain" required a high level of knowledge. Even the most rough and barbaric pirates needed a captain who could read nautical charts, understand astrology, and calculate routes.

With some doubt in his mind, Duncan casually asked, trying to make it seem like a passing remark. The goat head's answer came without hesitation, "Books? Reading books at sea is a dangerous thing. The creatures lurking in the abyss and subspace are waiting for the human mind to falter. The only safe reading material is the 'classics' issued by the church. That stuff is safe, but it's so dry and boring that it's better to swab the deck...Don't you usually have no interest in things from the church?"

Duncan raised an eyebrow. How could reading a book at sea be life-threatening? And only the church's "classics" can be safely read? What kind of illness was this boundless sea suffering from?

He felt like he had gained a bit more knowledge about this world, but with it came new doubts. Duncan had to force these new doubts down and went to the end of the ship, gazing out at the endless sea and sky.

"I'd like to hear your advice," after much deliberation, Duncan finally cautiously said to the goat head, "I'm a little tired of this aimless sailing. Maybe..."

He was interrupted halfway through his sentence by a strange "feeling" that suddenly came from the bottom of his heart. It was a feeling that came from the connection between him and the "Lost Ark." It was as if something "foreign" had suddenly made contact with the ship. Then, he heard a "thud" coming from the direction of the stern, as if something heavy had hit the deck.

Duncan frowned, and immediately drew the flintlock pistol that was already loaded at his waist. His other hand drew the single-handed long sword and he quickly ran towards the direction of the sound.

After a moment, he arrived at the stern deck and was stunned by what lay still on the deck. It was the gorgeous wooden coffin.

And the eerie puppet.

A chilling feeling surged up in Duncan's heart. He stared fixedly at the still damp surface of the box, as if the latter would suddenly open on its own in the next second. Then he noticed that the nails around the lid of the wooden box had disappeared.

Those were the nails he had hammered into the box before throwing it into the sea, they should have been very firm.

After standing vigilantly beside the box for several minutes, Duncan finally made up his mind. He tightly grasped the flintlock pistol with one hand and used the other to probe the gap in the box lid with his long sword. Then, he exerted force to pry it open.

The gorgeous lid creaked open, and the lifeless gothic doll lay still inside, surrounded by red velvet, like a sleeping princess.

Duncan stared at the doll for several seconds, then spoke in a solemn tone (he believed he was showing enough dignity): "If you are alive, get up and talk to me."

He repeated himself twice, but the doll remained motionless.

Duncan looked at her seriously and finally said, "Very well, then I will have to send you back."

After speaking, he decisively covered the lid again and used coffin nails to firmly seal it shut, crisscrossing the box with a chain he found and securing the lid with the original hooks.

After completing all of this, Duncan stood up, clapped his hands in satisfaction, and nodded at the "coffin" that he had tied up with nails: "This time, you won't be able to get out of the coffin."

After saying this, he kicked the box back into the sea.

Watching the box fall into the water and gradually drift away with the current, Duncan breathed a sigh of relief and turned to leave the stern.

However, halfway there, he suddenly turned back and looked in the direction where the box was drifting away on the sea's surface.

The wooden box was still floating on the waves.

Duncan nodded and turned to continue walking toward the captain's cabin, but then he suddenly turned back.

"That box should have something like a shell inside it, so it can sink...," he muttered, then turned around and slowly walked towards the captain's cabin.

"You're being harsh on that lady," the goat head's voice came into his mind.

"Shut up - what kind of 'lady' do you call a cursed doll?"

"That does seem to be a cursed doll...but what curse on the boundless sea could compare to the curse and reputation of the Lost Ship and the great Captain Duncan? Captain, that lady is actually quite gentle and harmless..."

  Duncan: "..."

  Why did this goat head sound so proud when talking about the curses and reputation of the Lost Ship and Captain Duncan?

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

  "Later, I need to rest for a while - driving the Lost Ship in the spirit realm has drained my energy. You stay quiet for now."

  "Yes, Captain."

  The goat head fell silent, while Duncan returned to the captain's room and walked over to the navigation table, casually glancing at the sea chart.

  The next second, his gaze suddenly froze.

  The sea chart seemed to have undergone a subtle change - the gray-white patches that constantly writhed and covered the entire map seemed to have dissipated a bit, and the sea around the Lost Ship was becoming clearer!

  Could this thing...be updating real-time information of the surrounding sea area as the Lost Ship sailed?

  Duncan immediately came to the navigation table and focused all his attention on the subtle changes on the sea chart.

  But his intense concentration was quickly interrupted.

  Deep in his mind, the Lost Ship once again transmitted a signal of "contact with foreign objects," and then Duncan heard a "thud" from the deck behind the captain's room.