Lawrence walked into the bridge, and first mate Gus immediately greeted him. Many crew members stood behind the first mate, looking at their captain with some anticipation.
Lawrence's eyes swept over these subordinates and friends who had been with him for many years. After a long time, he took a gentle breath and smiled on his face: "We can go home and set off now."
The expression on the first mate's face was visible to the naked eye, but he couldn't help but ask: "Then... where is the Homeless Ship?"
"The Lost Home will embark on another journey," Lawrence nodded slightly and said to everyone, "Captain Duncan will go to the south to do more important things - he ordered the White Oak to return according to the original sailing plan.
On the normal route to the civilized world, according to the plan, we will first go to Cold Harbor to resupply and complete the purchase order, and then return to Pland."
"What about the future?" The first mate Gus listened to the captain's words, but still looked uneasy. Obviously, like everyone on the ship, this frosty journey was too unexpected and unexpected for him.
It was too long, and when the news of returning home came, he still couldn't believe that everything would really return to the way it was before, "We..."
"We will still make a living on this sea. The White Oak has been granted permission to pass, and the waterways of the civilized world will continue to be open to us. The only change is... From now on, Captain Duncan will always watch over us all,
"Lawrence said calmly, "When the Homeless ship sends an order, as a member of the fleet, we have to respond - but at least not now, sailors, now we can go home."
The bridge was quiet for more than ten seconds, and then someone finally clapped their hands. Gradually, more people clapped their hands, followed by cheers that were long overdue.
The news that he could go home spread throughout the ship in an instant and reached the ears of every sailor.
This long unexpected journey is finally over. A thrilling and bizarre adventure will be deeply imprinted in everyone's mind. The joy of returning home dilutes all worries about the future. The new boiling gold catalyst is sent into the steam core, and the machinery
The cabin began to roar, and the whistle resounded throughout the boundless sea, as if even the entire ship began to cheer for the upcoming journey home.
Lawrence came to the edge of the front deck and quietly looked at the wavy sea in the distance. The endless sea lacked reference objects and even gave people the illusion that the ship was still staying in place, but the undulating direction of the waves and the oncoming blowing
The coming sea breeze told him that the White Oak had already set sail.
He lowered his head and looked down the side of the ship, and saw the dark cloud-like silhouette of the Black Oak reflected under the undulating sea surface. The front end of the ship was shrouded in darkness, and the sparse lights looked full of shadows.
Martha's voice came from the small mirror on the chest: "Everyone is happy - it seems that the day has come to go home, and the familiar life will come back together, but you should remind them that not everything will return.
In the past, we have established contact with the Lost Home. No matter how much freedom Captain Duncan gave us, this connection with the warp is destined to change many things... We should make preparations for this curse and blessing.
.”
Lawrence was silent for a moment and then spoke softly: "Like the changes that happened to the Brilliant Star or the Sea Mist?"
"They will no longer age and die, but they will gradually deviate from the category of living people. This ship will slowly transform into a living thing. Some parts of it will suddenly learn to think and start to run automatically. Black Oak
The existence of this 'weird reflection' will gradually infect the White Oak with all kinds of horrifying rumors and ghost stories - soon, some people will be afraid of this new 'ship of the curse', and the church has announced
The pass does not solve this problem..."
Martha spoke unhurriedly, as if she was not deducing the future for Lawrence, but stating the past that had already happened - in her huge and complex cluster of memories, she outlined what the White Oak would face next.
destiny.
But Lawrence just listened quietly. It wasn't until Martha's words fell that he spoke in a low voice: "Maybe your deduction is right, and those changes will happen gradually, but at least it's not today. Today is the day when the girls and boys go home.
——
"They will return to the warmth of Pland before the end of the year, hugging family and friends, telling them about this incredible adventure as humans, and I will do everything possible to keep the White Oak active on all busy routes.
To contact the church, the Explorers' Association, and the city-state caravans - not only to fulfill Captain Duncan's orders, but also to make this ship a respected symbol before it becomes a feared curse.
"
There was no response from the small mirror.
But Lawrence felt a breeze blowing beside him - in the mist that suddenly spread over a small area, a hazy shadow came out of the mist, hugging him gently from behind.
The touch was ethereal and soft, like a dream.
"Old man——"
"What's wrong?"
"very handsome!"
…
Chaotic clouds as thick as lead cover the sky, and the turbid and dark skylight replaces the bright and warm sunshine before. The hazy mist covers the entire sea as far as the eye can see, and on the sea covered by this mist,
Dark, hair-like strands of shadow are rapidly gathering, eventually turning the entire sea into pitch black.
The world turned into a strange and colorless phantom, and the Lost Home raised its spiritual sail in the dark sea. The invisible "wind" instigated the sail, causing the ship to begin to sail at a speed far exceeding the real world.
Cross the sea.
On the platform at the rear of the Lost Home, Duncan personally held the steering wheel, and the goat-headed voice came into his mind: "It has sunk safely into the spirit world. The Lost Home is currently sailing stably in the shallow area."
Duncan hummed, turned to Nina, who was standing not far away and looked at him at the helm curiously, and nodded: "We have safely sunk to the spirit world."
Nina nodded in confusion. For her, driving a ship - and it was a sailing ship from a century ago - was something she couldn't understand at all.
Fanna, who was standing on the other side, couldn't help but cover her forehead after hearing Duncan's words: "Well, no matter how many times I hear it, I still feel that the words 'safety' and 'spiritual world' are really weird when used together.
There is actually a saying that 'Safely sinking into the spirit world' can really exist in the world..."
Duncan just smiled when he heard this: "This requires some skills, but in the spiritual world, we can sail at extremely fast speeds, and we don't have to worry about hitting most obstacles in the real world - after all, we have to get out of the cold.
It's a long journey to get to Qingfeng Port from Shuang."
"Qingfeng Port... I have only seen this place in books," Nina said with a hint of longing in her eyes, "The book said that it was a city-state built by elves, and it was also one of the most important 'parishes' of the Academy of Truth.
One, second only to 'Moco', I heard that it has the world's most advanced difference engine and steam core, and its mechanical technology and mathematics are very developed..."
"What the book says is true, but the book often ignores one thing - Qingfeng Port is not only leading in technology, it is also one of the important strongholds of the Explorers Association," Morris said to Nina with a smile,
"Because the entire city-state is close to the border of civilization, countless pioneering fleets and explorers have used Qingfeng Port as a supply point and hub for information exchange - and the explorers who gathered there brought information from
There are all kinds of food in the entire civilized world, so Qingfeng Port is also known as the city of gourmet food..."
Nina was full of curiosity and thirst for knowledge as she listened to the knowledge that she could not usually read in books. When she heard it, her eyes suddenly lit up: "Are there any sweet pancakes over there?"
"There should be some," Morris thought for a while and nodded, "Plande has developed a prosperous business, and many merchants have established shipping routes from the central sea to the south. Naturally, Purlande's delicacies will spread there.
"
Nina became happy. She climbed onto a big wooden barrel next to Duncan, sat on it and swayed, with her legs swinging on the edge of the barrel: "It's so good... there are delicious food and the most cutting-edge machinery.
I’m starting to look forward to it…”
Duncan glanced at Nina, who was swinging on the barrel, and then at the deck around the barrel - several ropes were shaking slightly in the open space between the rudder and the barrel, looking embarrassed and humble.
Obviously, these ropes thought that Nina, the "crew", was too close to the "rudder" at the moment - but they were afraid of the brilliance of the sun.
After all, it is a 6000° Dabi Dou.
"Stop swinging on the barrel, be careful of falling," Duncan shook his head and said to Nina, "Also, don't get so close to the rudder, it's not safe."
Nina reacted immediately, said "Oh" quickly, jumped to the deck and retreated to a safe distance.
The ropes around the rudder relaxed - they were safe.
Nina was only quiet for a short while, and then suddenly thought of something else.
"We went over to see that...Ms. Lucretia, right?" She leaned on the fence at the edge of the bridge, blinking at Duncan with a slightly nervous tone, "Is she easy to get along with?
?”
"...It should be okay," Duncan's expression was a little subtle. When he tried to think about this problem from Nina's perspective, this subtle feeling became more serious, "Lucrecia is a person who is obsessed with research.
She is a scholar, and other than that, she doesn’t seem to have anything bad to say—she always does this when she is in front of me, but I really don’t know what she looks like in normal times.”
"Actually, I'm a little nervous," Nina stuck out her tongue, "I heard that she was called the 'Sea Witch'. Captain Lawrence said that she was a cold and weird-tempered witch, and she would also treat those who disturbed her research.
She was cursed by many famous adventurers, and many famous adventurers were very afraid of her..."
While holding the steering wheel, Duncan turned his head and glanced at Nina.
"Tirion is also a feared pirate - don't you think he's quite polite around you?"