"Read it, eh? This is how you make French fries. It's very simple. Just be careful not to overcook them or make sure they're not too raw. You don't need to stick your head over the frying pan and stare at them. You don't need to taste the saltiness. Remember?"

In the morning on the Lost Homeland, Duncan was in the kitchen giving serious instructions to the nervous Alice, while in the frying pan in front of them, some whitened French fries were still rolling up and down in the hot oil, making continuous sizzling sounds.

"Remember... remember!" Alice stared at the hot oil pan without blinking, one hand still tightly grasping a kitchen knife. On the chopping board next to her were potato cubes that she had cut into bad shapes - these potato cubes would become the raw materials for other dishes.

Duncan looked at the oil pan, then at the puppet next to him, and nodded slightly, thinking that this fool would not mess up such a simple thing again. Then he noticed the kitchen knife in Alice's hand, and couldn't help feeling a little awkward: "...Can you put the kitchen knife down first, and don't keep carrying it after cutting things."

A cursed doll holding a kitchen knife and looking murderous (targeting potatoes) is an ominous picture no matter how you look at it.

It seemed as if a thrilling BGM would play in the next second, and then a blood bar would appear on Alice's head that could pierce through the screen.

"Oh...oh!" Alice finally reacted and quickly put the kitchen knife back to the side. Then she waved to the captain confidently, "Captain, you can go back! I have already learned this. You and Ai just need to wait for the food!"

Duncan stared at Alice for a long time, and confirmed that the doll would not have any more problems. He breathed a sigh of relief, and then a feeling of emotion arose in his heart -

After so long, his ship, the Lost Hometown, can finally produce French fries stably!

※※※

On the second floor of the antique shop, beside the dining table, Nina, who had a patch on her head, suddenly raised her head curiously and glanced at her uncle: "Uncle, I wanted to ask you before, why were you frowning this morning... And why did you suddenly breathe out as if you were relaxed just now..."

"Really? I didn't notice..." Duncan was stunned for a moment, his attention instantly crossed the distant space and landed on this small antique shop. Then he smiled and shook his head, "Nothing, I just remembered something about the accounts, and I just did some mental calculations, and now I have solved it."

"Oh," Nina nodded. "I thought you were quite nervous just now."

Duncan said nothing, but maintained a calm smile, but he couldn't help muttering in his heart - this girl has a strong sense of observation.

Nina then looked at the small window at the end of the second-floor corridor that faced the street. After hesitating for a moment, she whispered, "Shirley didn't come today."

"...She has her own place to live," Duncan said, looking at the lonely girl opposite him with a smile, "and you have to go to school today, so how can you 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 see me."

Duncan didn't speak for a while. After two or three seconds of silence, he asked softly, "Do you like this new friend? Obviously, you haven't spent much time together."

"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 asked about her situation. I learned that she had always been dependent on Agou and lived in a small alley in the slums. There were not even street lights at night, and the house was leaky and windy. I..."

"Nina," Duncan suddenly interrupted the girl in front of him with a serious expression, "Friendship cannot be based on sympathy, especially for a child like Shirley."

Nina was stunned for a moment, raised her head to meet Duncan's gaze, and after a moment she slowly scratched her hair at the temples: "Uncle, you suddenly said something very philosophical..."

Duncan: “…”

"But uncle, you did remind me. I may have a little sympathy," Nina continued, "but... I just want her to have a better life. I can feel that although she is always inexplicably nervous when she lives here, she is actually very happy. I... am I a little self-righteous to judge for her like this?"

Duncan did not answer. He seemed to be lost in a brief thought. After a moment, he smiled and shook his head: "Don't think too much. Let's ask Shirley where she lives next time we see her. As for now... finish your meal quickly. It's almost time to go to school."

"Okay!" Nina nodded obediently immediately. Then, as if she had thought of something, her face showed excitement. "By the way, can I ride that new bike to school today?"

"No," Duncan raised his eyelids and rejected the other party without hesitation, "Have you forgotten how badly you fell last night?"

As he spoke, his mind flashed back to what happened yesterday after Nina came home. The girl saw the brand new bicycle parked on the first floor at first sight, and she almost jumped up in excitement. Then she was eager to try the bicycle, but it took about thirty seconds before she fell at the door with a clang...

There is still a patch on her forehead.

"I... I thought riding a bicycle would be easy," Nina lowered her head in embarrassment, "I saw that my classmates could all do it..."

Duncan sighed.

He should have thought of this earlier. If there were no bicycles in this antique shop and Nina had no friends over the years, how would she have the chance to learn to ride a bicycle? He completely overlooked this point when he bought the bicycle.

"Take the bus to school today. Don't run. We don't need the bus fare right now." Duncan took out a few coins and put them in front of Nina. "I'll teach you how to ride a bike after we get back. It's really not difficult. With your intelligence, you should be able to learn it in a few days."

Nina was a little frustrated at first, but soon became happy again and nodded happily: "Oh!"

After a while, Nina ran out of the antique shop happily. Duncan stood at the small window on the second floor of the antique shop, watching the girl's figure crossing the street in the morning light and running towards the bus stop not far away.

More and more vehicles, people and market sounds are echoing in the streets. This area of ​​the city is waking up little by little in the sunshine. The golden-red sunlight is diffused along the roofs in the distance, and it looks like a layer of illusory and gorgeous curtain rising up.

A curtain formed by flames, sweeping across the entire city-state.

Duncan's expression suddenly froze and he frowned as he stared at the rows of houses in the distance.

The magnificent scene of the curtain of flames sweeping across the city-state disappeared in the sunset glow, as if the impression that had just appeared in his mind was just a momentary and unfounded fantasy.

However, Duncan's furrowed brows did not relax at all. He just continued to stare into the distance, as if trying to find another layer of reality overlapping with the magnificent morning glow - after several minutes, he slowly withdrew his gaze.

He concentrated on thinking for a while, then waved at the air beside him: "Ai Yi."

The next second, a ball of dark green flame suddenly exploded in the air, and the undead bird circled out of the flames. Ai flapped his wings and landed on Duncan's shoulder, burping loudly and shouting: "Hiccup... Who's calling... Hiccup... Fleet?"

Duncan's emotions suddenly became incoherent. He turned his head and stared at the pigeon, which had almost swelled up. "...How much did you eat on the boat?"

Ai flapped his wings and stretched his neck. "It's time to feast on food... Hiccup!"

Duncan stared at the bird expressionlessly. After a moment, he sighed, "No wonder Alice tinkered with it for so long, but ended up bringing so little to the cabin. It turns out you snatched it all away... Never mind, let's not waste it. Can it still fly? Block 6."

The pigeons immediately let out a loud cackle: "Mission accomplished! Mission accomplished!"

The next second, a flash of fire appeared in the small window on the second floor of the antique shop, and a bloated fat pigeon jumped out of the window, staggering towards the direction of the sixth block.

At the same time, deep in the Sixth Block, two dark gray steam cars were driving on the empty and deserted streets.

The tall Vanna was sitting in the back seat of one of the cars with her giant sword at her side, and she was quietly watching the scene on the street outside.

As she was unsure of the situation in the chapel, Vanna did not directly enter the block with the overly conspicuous steam walker. Instead, she chose to personally lead a group of elite troops in a low-key manner, while the support team stood by in the nearby blocks.

After entering the sixth block, she immediately noticed the "atmosphere" here... something was very wrong.

The community is too lacking in vitality, with scattered and lazy residents who are unresponsive to external stimuli, and old facilities that have been in disrepair for a long time and even exceed the tolerance limit of the downtown area.

There was an aura lingering everywhere here, and the whole block gave her the feeling... as if time had frozen in a forgotten gap.