After putting away his new "collection", Zhou Ming did not leave the room directly as usual, but sat down on the chair opposite the shelf, looking at the Lost Hometown and Plande on the shelf, while falling into thought.
He is trying to summarize and understand what these "collections" represent.
All along, this bachelor apartment and the world on the other side of the door have been isolated from each other. Except for himself who can pass through the door, nothing in the two worlds can pass through the thick fog barrier in the door to communicate with each other. He has tried this many times.
In a sense, the Lost Homeland and the Pland "model" that appeared in the room actually broke this rule - they had obvious connections with the world on the other side of the door, and their properties obviously possessed... "supernatural attributes."
Extraordinary is not a concept that should appear on this side of the gate.
The appearance of these two collections has a common pattern - they are things that have been completely burned by the fire of the spirit and then "controlled" by his own consciousness.
Zhou Ming pondered quietly, summarizing the rules bit by bit. Finally, he believed that "burning" and "control" should indeed be the two necessary conditions for the appearance of the collection.
The White Oak was also burned by the flames of the Lost Homeland, but he did not actively try to control the ship at that time. He did not exert any influence or "instructions" on the White Oak. Therefore, after the burning, the ship left a strong mark but did not form a corresponding "collection" in the room on this side of the gate.
The city-state of Plande was burned to ashes by the spiritual fire, and while it was burning, he took the initiative to control and purify the city-state, and even regarded the city-state as a part of the Lost Homeland, so Plande became a collection here.
So... what is the use of this transformation? What is the meaning of things that become collections to oneself?
Zhou Ming's eyes fell on Pland's "model", and then he closed his eyes slightly.
A breeze was blowing across the port district in the southeast of the city-state, small waves were lapping against the shore, the alarm clock in the fourth district had just rung for the last time, and the steam factory in the upper city was running at full speed.
He opened his eyes again and the situation was just as he expected.
He could sense the status of the entire city-state, even down to the details of any building or street lamp - although he could not sense the "human" part of the city-state, Pland's real body was like a lifelike model to him, all presented before his eyes.
This feeling... is like taking control of the Lost Homeland.
Zhou Ming was thoughtful, stroking his chin unconsciously with his fingers. After realizing the extent of his influence on the city-state, he naturally began to use the Lost Hometown as a reference.
Today, Plande can be regarded as another Lost Homeland, so...what he can do on the Lost Homeland, he can undoubtedly do on Plande.
He could order all the bell towers in the city-state to ring for him, order the city-state to sink into the spirit world, and even...
Zhou Ming stopped stroking his chin subconsciously.
It is even possible to order the city-state to sink into the warp.
Zhou Ming's eyes narrowed, and he quickly suppressed the terrible thought that suddenly popped up in his mind. But even though the thought was suppressed, his heart was still pounding.
He could really do this, because he could also make the Lost Homeland do this. The subspace was there, and he could clearly sense the "direction" of that chaotic dimension - the "promised land" that those End of the World preachers had been longing for but could not obtain, was like going home to him...
Not only that, when that terrifying thought just came to his mind, he instantly felt a vague calling, just like some people will inexplicably have a terrible urge to leap forward when standing in front of a cliff, he also felt this urge just now!
All it takes is a thought, an instruction, a compromise with impulse, or a moment of carelessness, and he... can reach the place that is calling him.
At the same time, anything that is engulfed, controlled, and polluted by you will fall down with you.
Zhou Ming took a deep breath and slowly stood up from the chair.
The world is right to be terrified of the Lost Homeland and Captain Duncan, and they should be.
Zhou Ming took a last deep look at his collection shelf, let out a breath, and turned to walk towards the door of the bachelor apartment.
On the chart table in the captain's room, the dark wooden goat head heard the noise coming from the door. It raised its head and saw the tall figure of Captain Duncan appearing at the door. Its obsidian-carved eyes lit up and it immediately began to speak skillfully: "Ah! The great captain has returned to his loyal first mate! Your achievements are known to everyone, and your great power makes the boundless sea..."
Duncan didn't say anything either. He just sat down at the navigation table and watched Goat Head silently with a calm look in his eyes.
As a result, it was Goat Head who felt awkward first. He could not help but stop talking halfway: "Um... Captain, don't you usually say 'shut up' at this time..."
Duncan said calmly, "I'm just suddenly curious, if I don't tell you to shut up, how long can you talk?"
The goat-head immediately became excited when he heard this - it seemed that he didn't hear the ridicule in Duncan's words at all, or even if he did, he pretended not to hear it: "Then you've hit the nail on the head. Your loyal following omission has always been well-informed. Even if we only talk about recipes on the vast sea, we can talk from morning to night. If you are interested, we can start with the 137 categories of butter biscuits..."
"Okay, shut up," Duncan interrupted, shaking his head helplessly, "I thought you at least had a concept of 'awkward'."
The goat shook its head, and there was a creaking sound in its neck. Then its dark face turned completely to Duncan, and its empty eyes stared at the latter's face: "Captain, you seem to be worried? We have just completed an unprecedented feat. What else can affect your mood?"
"An unprecedented feat..." Duncan muttered softly, then shook his head, "You can feel the connection between Plande City-State and the Lost Homeland now."
"Of course!" The goat-headed man replied immediately, not forgetting to flatter, "I never thought that there would be such a day - your great power is shocking, and your prey this time is an entire city-state! So where is the next target? Should we go to Lunsa or Cold Harbor first? Or Frost..."
Duncan waved his hand, and the goat-head suddenly quieted down.
"I'm not interested in 'Hunting' for now. I just want to tell you that I don't have the energy to keep an eye on such a large area all the time. If you sense that something that shouldn't be there has set foot on Plande, you can remind me - of course, the premise is that you have the energy to spare. Your main task is still to take care of this ship."
"With pleasure!" said the goat-headed man immediately. "This is easy for me and will definitely live up to your expectations..."
Duncan nodded slightly, then his eyes swept across the wall clock next to him, and then looked out the window.
Before I knew it, the night had passed.
A few seconds later, Duncan suddenly turned around and asked, "What time is it now?!"
The goat head was stunned for a moment, a little unsure: "It should be... morning, the sun should be rising."
"...The sun hasn't risen yet," Duncan said in a deep voice, his expression extremely serious. Then he turned his head abruptly and stared at the ticking wall clock. "...The sun should have risen fourteen minutes ago."
The goat head fell silent instantly, but Duncan's eyes were still fixed on the hands on the wall clock that were moving forward one by one, and on the mechanical disk on the top of the clock that depicted the scale of the rising sun.
The "sun" of this world, Super Anomaly No. 001, rises at an extremely precise time every day and sets at an extremely precise time. The wall clock of the Lost Hometown is linked to the coordinates on the nautical chart, and will accurately indicate at what time and minute Anomaly 001 will jump out of the sea in the current sea area - since Duncan came to this world, all this has never gone wrong.
The sun did not rise on time today. Ordinary people might not have noticed this change, but Duncan noticed it, and the moment he noticed it, he suddenly felt a huge... uneasiness.
He didn't even know how this uneasiness came about so suddenly.
"Maybe... just wait a little while..." The voice of the goat head sounded again at this time, and it seemed a little nervous. "You see, the weather at sea is always unpredictable. Maybe something will block it..."
Duncan didn't pay attention to what Goat Head said. He was still looking at the wall clock. But in the next second, a faint golden light suddenly appeared at the edge of his vision.
The golden light came in through the window.
Duncan immediately turned around, walked to the window in three or two steps, pushed it open and looked at the sea in the distance.
The sun rose, and the huge body of light bound by two rune rings gradually rose into the sky as usual. The brilliant light illuminated the entire boundless sea, and at the same time dispelled the cold and pale atmosphere left to this world by the Creation of the World.
He turned back and checked the time for the last time.
Today's sunrise is fifteen minutes later than usual.
Why?
Is it the aftermath of the disaster at Plande? Is it related to the "Creeping Sun" summoned by the Sun Cultists? Is it related to Nina's awakening and control? Or is it... a precursor to another abnormal change?
Duncan returned to the table and began to think wildly. He knew that his thoughts might be a little too nervous, but after experiencing the historical pollution crisis in Plande, he was now particularly sensitive to all unusual phenomena.
"Maybe it's just the weather at sea. Look, the sun is still rising," said the goat-headed man. "Sometimes large areas of thick fog will refract light, causing..."
"The sun in Plande is also fifteen minutes late," Duncan interrupted Goat Head softly, "The weather is fine over there, and the sea is calm - it's not the sun that's late, it's the sun itself."
“…Fuck.”