"Are you watching? Just do this with the French fries. It's very simple - just be careful not to overcook it or get it raw. You don't need to stick your head around the frying pan and keep staring at it, and you don't need to taste it for saltiness.
Do you remember?"
In the morning aboard the Lost Home, Duncan was in the kitchen giving serious instructions to the nervous Alice. In the oil pan in front of them, some white French fries were tumbling up and down in the hot oil, making a continuous sound.
A constant sizzling sound.
"Remember...remember!" Alice stared at the hot oil pan without blinking, one hand still holding a kitchen knife tightly, and there were pieces of meat she had cut into shapes on the chopping board next to her.
Potato cubes - these potato cubes will become the ingredients of other dishes.
Duncan looked at the oil pan, then at the puppet next to him, and nodded slightly, thinking that for such a simple thing, this idiot would not mess it up again. Then he noticed the kitchen knife in Alice's hand, and couldn't help but feel...
A little awkward: "...can you put down the kitchen knife first, and don't carry it with you after cutting."
A cursed doll standing in the kitchen with a kitchen knife and murderous intent (aiming at potatoes), this image is unlucky no matter how you look at it.
It seems that the next second will change to a thrilling BGM, and then a blood bar will appear on Alice's head that can pierce the screen.
"Oh...oh!" Alice then reacted and quickly put the kitchen knife back to the side, then waved her hand to the captain quite confidently, "Captain, just go back! I have already learned this, you and Ai just need to worry about it.
Just wait and eat!”
Duncan stared at Alice for a long time, confirming that there would really be no more problems with the doll, and then he breathed a sigh of relief, and then a feeling of emotion came over him -
After so long, his Homeless Ship was finally able to produce French fries steadily!
…
On the second floor of the antique shop, next to the dining table, Nina, who had a piece of medicinal cloth on her head, suddenly raised her head curiously and glanced at her uncle: "Uncle, I wanted to ask you before, why are you frowning all the time in the morning...
...And why did you exhale as if you suddenly relaxed just now..."
"Really? I didn't pay attention..." Duncan was startled for a moment, and his attention instantly fell across the distant space on this small antique shop. Then he smiled and shook his head, "It's nothing, I just remembered some things on the accounts.
I just did some mental math on the matter, and now it’s solved.”
"Oh," Nina nodded, "I mean, it feels like your nerves were tense just now."
Duncan didn't say anything, but kept a calm smile, but he couldn't help but mutter in his heart - this girl is quite observant.
At this time, Nina glanced at the small window facing the street at the end of the corridor on the second floor. After hesitating for a moment, she whispered in a low voice: "Shirley didn't come today."
"...She has her own place to live," Duncan looked at the lonely girl across from him with a dumbfounded look, "and you have to go to school today, so you don't have time to go out and play with her."
"I should find out where she lives," Nina added, "so that I can go find her when she doesn't have time to come to me."
Duncan didn't speak for a while. After two or three seconds of silence, he asked softly: "Do you like this new friend very much? It's obvious that you haven't actually been together for long."
"Shirley is a very nice person. She even saved my life in the museum," Nina said immediately, "And...and..."
"And what?"
"And when she lived here, I chatted with her and Agou at night, and inquired about her situation. I found out that she and Agou had always been dependent on each other, and lived in a small alley in a slum, where there were no street lights at night.
, the house is leaking again, I..."
"Nina," Duncan suddenly interrupted the girl in front of him, his expression a little serious, "Friendship cannot be built on sympathy, especially for a child like Shirley."
Nina was startled for a moment, then raised her head to meet Duncan's gaze. After a moment, she slowly scratched the hair on her temples: "Uncle, you suddenly said something very philosophical..."
Duncan: "..."
"But uncle, you did remind me. I may have a little sympathy," Nina then said, "but... I just want her to live a better life. I can feel it, even though she lives here
I'm always very nervous for no reason, but actually I'm
I'm very happy, I... am I a bit presumptuous in making judgments for her like this?"
Duncan did not answer. He seemed to have fallen into a brief thought. After a moment, he smiled and shook his head: "Don't think so much. Let's ask Shirley where she lives next time we see her. As for now...
Hurry up and finish your meal, school time is almost here."
"Okay!" Nina immediately nodded obediently, and then she seemed to have thought of something, with a look of excitement on her face, "By the way, can I... ride that new bicycle to school today?
Already?"
"No," Duncan raised his eyelids and rejected the other party without hesitation, "Have you forgotten how badly you fell last night?"
As he spoke, what happened after Nina came home yesterday came to mind - the girl saw the brand new bicycle parked on the first floor at the first sight, and almost jumped up in excitement, and then
I excitedly wanted to get in the car and try it out. It took about thirty seconds before I fell to the door with a clang...
She still has a bandage on her forehead.
"I...I thought riding a bicycle would be easy," Nina lowered her head in embarrassment, "I think all my classmates can..."
Duncan sighed.
He should have thought earlier that if there were no bicycles in this antique shop and Nina had no friends for so many years, how could she have the chance to learn to ride a bicycle? This was something he completely ignored when he bought the bicycle.
"Let's take the bus to school today. Don't run. We don't need the ticket money right now." Duncan took out a few coins and put them in front of Nina. "I'll teach you how to ride a bicycle when you get back - it's really not difficult.
, with your cleverness, you can learn it in just a few days."
Nina was a little depressed at first, but soon became happy again and nodded happily: "Oh!"
After a while, Nina happily ran out of the door of the antique store, while Duncan stood at the small window on the second floor of the antique store, watching the girl's figure running through the street in the morning light and running to the bus stop not far away.
.
The sound of more and more cars, horses and people passing through the market is echoing in the streets and alleys. The city is waking up little by little in the sunshine. The golden-red sunshine is spreading along the distant rooftops, making it look like a layer of illusory splendor.
Curtain.
A curtain formed by flames that swept across the entire city-state.
Duncan's expression suddenly froze, and he frowned and stared at the rows of houses in the distance.
The magnificent scene of the flame curtain sweeping across the city-state disappeared from the glow, as if the impression that had just entered his mind at that moment was just a momentary baseless fantasy.
However, Duncan's frown did not relax at all. He just continued to stare into the distance, as if he wanted to find another layer of reality that overlapped with the magnificent morning glow. After several minutes, he slowly
Withdraw your gaze.
He thought for a moment and waved to the air next to him: "Ai Yi."
The next second, a group of green flames suddenly exploded in the air, and the undead bird emerged from the flames. Ai flapped its wings and landed on Duncan's shoulders, belching loudly and shouting: "Hiccup... who's here?"
Call...Hiccup...fleet?"
Duncan's emotions suddenly became incoherent. He turned around and stared at the pigeon that had almost swelled in size: "...how much did you eat on the boat?"
Ai Yi flapped his wings and stretched his neck: "The time has come to eat a lot of food... Hiccup!"
Duncan looked at the bird expressionlessly, and after a moment he sighed: "No wonder Alice has been tinkering for a long time, and what she finally brought to the cabin was so little that you had to cut off the beard...forget it...
, just pretend it’s not a waste. Can it still fly? Sixth Street.”
The pigeon immediately let out a loud bleat: "The mission must be achieved! The mission must be achieved!"
The next second, there was a flash of fire in the small window on the second floor of the antique store, and a swollen, fat pigeon jumped out of the window and flew staggeringly towards the Sixth Street.
At the same time, deep in the sixth block, two dark gray steam cars were driving through the empty and deserted streets.
The tall Fanna was sitting in the back seat of one of the cars, with her giant sword in her hand, and she was quietly watching the scene on the street outside.
Unsure of the condition of the chapel, Vanna did not
He directly entered the block with the overly eye-catching steam walker. Instead, he chose to personally lead a group of elites to enter in a low-key manner, while the support team was on standby in nearby blocks.
After entering the Sixth District, she immediately noticed the "atmosphere" here... something was very wrong.
Communities that lack vitality, scattered and lazy residents who are unresponsive to external stimuli, and old facilities that are in disrepair and even exceed the tolerance limit of the downtown area.
There is an aura lingering everywhere here, and the whole neighborhood feels to her... as if time is frozen in a forgotten gap.