The heretics and deformed freaks who were executed in the spiritual world have now turned into embers of debris in the real dimension. The severe pollution suffered by the sewage treatment center has been temporarily purified, but for the shadow that shrouds the entire city-state, this may not be enough.
It's just the beginning of the curtain.
The guards in black returned to the gatekeeper. Agatha briefly took stock and confirmed the status of her subordinates. Then her eyes fell on the slightly bald manager not far away.
"Has his condition been confirmed?"
"It has been confirmed that he is indeed a normal human being," a guard in black whispered, "but he was severely frightened and the possibility of mental contamination cannot be ruled out - he needs a period of psychological counseling and observation.
"
"Leave it to the local church," Agatha nodded lightly, "In addition, inform them that the condition of this sewage treatment center is very bad, and the entire facility will need a thorough purification and inspection after all hidden dangers have been eliminated.
Restart here again.”
"Yes, gatekeeper," the subordinate nodded and accepted the order, then looked up at Agatha with some worry, "You...are not in trouble?"
Agatha frowned: "Huh? Why do you ask?"
"You stayed there longer than usual," the subordinate explained. "Did you find any clues in the spiritual world?"
Agatha still frowned slightly, with a thoughtful expression on her face. For some reason, she always felt that she had overlooked something, but when she thought about it carefully, she didn't find any doubts - she had been in the spirit world for a long time.
Are there any sequelae caused by detention?
She shook her head, reached into her coat pocket and took out her usual eye drops, but hesitantly put it away after a moment.
There was no discomfort in my eyeballs, as if I had already used the medicine before returning to reality.
"Nothing happened," she said to her subordinates, "It's just that the heretics appeared strangely, and it took a little more time to 'interrogate.'"
It's a pity that nothing came out of the trial - those heretics were so stubborn and fanatical that even simple death could not shake their stubborn hearts.
But...what did she overlook? A vague doubt emerged in Agatha's heart again, but she didn't show anything in front of her subordinates.
"Are we going back to the cathedral next?"
A guard in black asked beside him.
"Return to the cathedral," Agatha nodded. "We must immediately organize manpower to search all underground facilities in the city. The situation may be more serious than we thought."
The time is approaching dusk, and the edge of the sun is gradually approaching the sea level. The brilliant double rune rings are emitting magnificent brilliance near the sea. The city-state buildings in the distance are gradually soaked by the setting sun, and the whole city appears as if it is going to be under the sunset.
Gradually melting texture.
Duncan stood in front of the narrow window at the end of the corridor on the second floor. His burly body almost blocked all the light coming in from the window. In the gap between the bandages, he quietly stared at the afterglow of the setting sun in the distance, seemingly lost in thought.
The sound of the dog's furtive footsteps came from the side, and Duncan already knew who was approaching without turning around.
"Have you finished your homework?" he asked casually.
Shirley, who had just opened the door and was about to sneak down to the first floor to look for snacks in the kitchen, suddenly stopped in excitement. A dog's trembling head appeared in the shadow next to him. The latter muttered in a low voice: "I just said
It will definitely be discovered..."
"I...I finished answering the oral arithmetic card," Shirley ignored Ah Gou's hindsight, and just shrank her head and carefully looked at Duncan, who was as majestic as an iron tower at the window, "I still have one new word left, but I'm hungry.
Already..."
Duncan heard the full tension and grievance in the girl's tone, which made him turn his head and glance at Shirley with a bit of laughter: "Did I say you are not allowed to eat until you finish your homework?"
Shirley shrank her neck and did not dare to answer.
Duncan sighed, turned around with a smile, and pressed Shirley's head.
"Don't like studying very much?" He said helplessly, "You look like you are being bullied."
"I...I get sleepy when I read a book..." Shirley said nervously. She was still a little uncomfortable talking to Duncan's current body. The bandage and gloomy black clothes seemed to her even more serious than usual.
The captain on the Lost Home was a little more scary, "I...I'm going back to my room to do my homework!"
Duncan gently held Shirley's shoulders, and the latter's movement to turn back to the house was instantly interrupted.
"Take a rest when you are tired," Duncan shook his head, "Don't study out of fear."
Shirley glanced at Duncan in disbelief, but then nodded quickly, as if she was afraid that the captain would regret it.
After a few more seconds, she looked at Duncan carefully and couldn't help but ask: "Why do you have to let me read and write...I...I don't have to go to college like Nina, nor can I be like Mo
Mr. Rees is just like a scholar..."
It was the first time Duncan heard this question from Shirley, but it was obvious that this question had been lingering in her head for an unknown period of time - this person had never been to school since she was a child and only lived with a mysterious hound.
The orphan girl obviously could not understand the captain's intentions.
"Because knowledge is useful," Duncan was silent for a while, then looked at Shirley seriously and said, "The knowledge that makes you resist and have headaches supports the operation of the entire civilized world - look at the cars driving on the street outside.
Cars, roaring machines in factories, and the boundless sea outside the city-state, haven't you ever wondered how those things work? Have you ever wondered what the city-state in the distance looks like?"
Shirley thought for a while, and she seemed to know what the "correct answer" was, but in the end she still shook her head hesitantly: "No, I... I always thought that filling my stomach was enough, and I didn't think much about it."
"But you don't just need to fill your stomach now, Shirley," Duncan bent down and looked seriously into each other's eyes, "Maybe you don't understand yet, but I want your life to be more complete - you have missed it
You have missed a lot of things, but since you are now a member of the Lost Home, those missed things will definitely be made up for."
Shirley looked at Duncan blankly. She actually still didn't quite understand what the captain was talking about, but from his serious and solemn tone, she seemed to be vaguely aware of some... warmth.
There's something vaguely familiar about this temperature.
So she nodded in confusion and made a somewhat drawn-out sound: "Oh..."
"Very good," Duncan laughed and slowly straightened up, "Now that you understand, go down to have something to eat and then continue your homework. I..."
He stopped suddenly.
Shirley was shrinking her neck and waiting for the next instruction. At this time, she raised her head with some regret: "Ah? What's wrong with you?"
Duncan didn't answer her, just waved his hand gently, but his eyes had already been cast into the distance. It seemed that he was looking at the opposite side of the corridor, but deep in his eyes, it seemed that he was reflecting a very distant place.
A touch of light and shadow.
He blinked, one eye reflected the corridor and roof of the house, while the other eye seemed to see a ship burning with faint green flames, wandering among the fog and shadows.
Outside the frosty sea, in the captain's room of the Lost Home, which was slowly patrolling the vast sea, Duncan suddenly raised his head from the chart table.
His sudden movement caused the goat head on the edge of the table to react immediately. The latter turned his neck squeakingly: "Ah, Captain, what are your orders? Are you ready for dinner? Although there is no manpower available on the ship now, but
I am still willing to provide you with dining services within my ability. What would you like to eat? We can start with the southern cuisine, fried meat rolls, fried pork chops, fried fish cakes, fried meatballs, grilled bird eggs, steamed bird eggs, boiled bird eggs, and braised birds.
Pickled bird eggs, smoked bird eggs…”
"Shut up, I didn't raise my head to hear you tell me the name of the dish," Duncan glared at the noisy goat head, but there was a hint of solemnity in his expression. He raised his head and looked out the window of the captain's cabin - it was frost.
In the direction of the city-state, he spoke thoughtfully, "White Oak?"
"The White Oak?" Goathead was stunned for a moment, then responded, "Ah, you are talking about the steamship, the one Alice was on before? Why did you suddenly think of it? You want to find the steamship
A piece of trophy? I can provide you with a complete set of collection plans. Do you plan to replace the sailors on the ship with new ones? The captain should be able to keep..."
"It's nearby," Duncan didn't care at all what the goat head was talking about. He just slowly stood up from behind the table, frowning slightly as he spoke, carefully sensing the weak but tangible connection, "In...
…near the frost?”
"White Oak is near Frost?" Goat Head finally stopped chattering, with a tone of surprise in his voice, "Isn't it possible...Isn't Frost blocking it now? And Tirian's fleet is still blocking the route.
Here, there is a foreign ship approaching, he can't possibly not report it to you, right?"
"... something is not right. I do feel the presence of the White Oak," Duncan said thoughtfully, "but its position... is vague and seems to be changing all the time..."
He squinted his eyes and looked in the direction of Frost City, trying to determine the location of the aura that suddenly became stronger in his perception.
The aura of the White Oak appeared suddenly and became stronger in a short period of time, as if a flame suddenly lit up in the darkness, attracting his attention. This feeling... had never occurred before.
And whether it was an illusion or not, Duncan also felt that the ship's aura fluctuated several times, just like... lights flickering on and off.
While thinking, he lowered his head and looked at the goat head wood carving on the table: "Do you know what's going on?"
The goat head thought for a while and shook his head: "How about I give you a name for the dish..."
"It won't come in handy at the critical moment." Duncan twitched his lips, stood up, walked around the navigation table, and walked towards the captain's room.