At this point, Duncan finally understood the ins and outs of the "Abyss Project" that had been sealed for half a century, and knew why it was regarded as a taboo. Even the rebels who launched the Frost Rebellion were deeply afraid of it - they should be afraid.

Although the whole thing happened in the real dimension from beginning to end, when the situation began to get out of control, it was obviously beyond the order of the real world. Under the deep sea... there was a completely unknown horror, and until the end, no one figured out what it was. Only people continued to fall into madness, and the whole plan continued to accelerate, as if sliding into the abyss.

The endless dive, the gradually spreading weird atmosphere, and the almost autistic behavior of the Frost Queen in her later years... To be fair, even Duncan himself, in the face of this series of facts, would instinctively think that Leigh Nora was really bewitched and controlled by something, and even suspected that the "Frost Queen" was colluding with the subspace.

In this situation, not to mention that there are opponents of the Queen hidden within the Frost Sea itself, not to mention that there are many city-states in the Frigid Sea itself that have ill intentions towards the Frost Queen's rule, even if the situation in the north was originally stable, undercurrents will gradually arise over time.

But Tirian always emphasized that Ray Nora had never been affected by anything. He firmly believed that the Frost Queen remained awake until the end and protected the city-state until the end.

Duncan couldn't say whether Tyrian's judgment was correct, but he tended to believe it because... he had also seen the "Frost Queen" in historical fragments.

The other party also soberly and rationally asked him "not to pollute history."

At least from that brief encounter, the Frost Queen back then didn't seem like a terrible lunatic controlled by the Warp.

But it was precisely for this reason that Duncan was so curious - he couldn't understand what kind of motivation would make a sober city-state ruler make such autistic and extreme decisions, causing her to continue to push forward the project at all costs even when she knew that there were problems with the Abyss Project. What was the reason that made her keep all the secrets in her heart and remain silent even in front of her most trusted naval commander.

After pondering for a long time, Duncan found that all the questions finally pointed to one thing: What "secret" did the Frost Queen learn in the deep sea?

"...After the Frost Rebellion, you never returned to that city-state?" Duncan raised his head and asked Tirian.

"No, Her Majesty Ray Nora once ordered me to leave Frostbite with my own troops. At that time, the rebels had colluded with other northern city-states and gathered a whole fleet in the open sea." Tirian's tone was particularly low when he said this. This was obviously a past he didn't want to mention. "... But if I disobeyed the order and stayed, Frostbite would have an additional troop still loyal to the queen, and those rebels would not be able to easily break through the defense of the port..."

"So there are rumors in later generations that you actually participated in the rebellion, or even took the initiative to let the rebels into the Frost." Duncan said, shaking his head, "Then have you ever thought about why the Frost Queen gave that order? Didn't she have any other explanation to you?"

"...I have been confused about this for many years," Tirian said frankly. "The queen did not order anything, but just asked me to leave with the team. I thought that she might want to leave a troop to avenge herself in the future, but...this makes no sense. She forbad us to return to the city-state, and the rebels occupied the city-state. How can we take revenge if we don't return?"

"You can plunder the rebel fleets on the open sea and intercept all merchants entering and leaving Frostbite. You have been doing this for many years."

"Yes, this was the only thing I could think of at the time, and it was also the only way to keep the Sea Mist Fleet alive... At that time we didn't even have a home port," Tirian shook his head, "but now we have gradually stopped this kind of looting."

"Why?"

"...Because the last rebel leader died, too. Died of old age." Tirian smiled bitterly and spread his hands. "We have been trying every possible way to capture those rebel leaders. Once we caught them, we hanged them on the masts and threw their bodies on merchant ships heading to Frost. So they learned their lesson and simply hid in the city-states, not setting foot out of the city for decades. I could only watch them die peacefully until all those who had participated in the rebellion passed away."

Duncan was silent for a while. He was silent for a long time, thinking about something. Then he suddenly said, "All the soldiers under your command are 'living dead', right?"

Tirian answered casually, "Yes, it is known to all men."

"Have they all directly or indirectly participated in the 'Abyss Project'?"

"I participated in the plan, and they, as my direct troops, of course participated as well," Tirian said casually, then frowned slightly, "What do you think of it?"

"You participated in the Abyss Project, but you didn't become crazy and weird like the other participants in the plan. After 'One Thousand Meters', the Frost Queen had a dispute with you and excluded you from the plan. On the eve of the rebels' attack, your queen specifically ordered you to lead your direct troops away from the Frost..."

Duncan spoke slowly while thinking. Finally, his eyes fell on Tirian and his voice was low: "You are right. The Frost Queen may indeed want to leave an army behind, but it seems that she did not leave this army for revenge..."

Tirian slowly showed a somewhat surprised expression, but before he opened his mouth to ask something else, the figure in the mirror shook his head gently: "Don't ask me, if you don't understand it yourself, I don't understand it either - I am just standing from the perspective of an observer and expressing my own thoughts."

Then, the room fell into a brief silence. After an unknown amount of time, Duncan's voice sounded again: "Tirion, we have talked long enough this time."

The big pirate, who was lost in thought, looked up subconsciously upon hearing this, and looked at his father in the mirror with some surprise. He seemed to suddenly realize something at this moment, and a complicated and stunned expression appeared in his eyes.

He seemed to have just realized how much he had talked about with the other party, and realized that he had unknowingly completely adapted to the atmosphere of this conversation - even a century ago, he rarely had such a long conversation with his father, and as for the vigilance in his heart when he just woke up here... it had disappeared completely at some point in time.

"I..." He subconsciously wanted to say something, but at this moment he felt a sharp pain on his forehead, and he couldn't help but touch his forehead, "Ah, it hurts..."

"...The child didn't use any gentle force on me. I hope you won't take it personally," Duncan's voice echoed in the mirror. "Do you need any ointment?"

"No... no need," Tirian waved his hand with a strange look on his face. He couldn't help but recall the last scene he remembered before coming here, the strange little girl, and the flying... dog-like thing. Then he suddenly realized, "Wait, I remember, it's not a dog, it's a Deep Hound!"

He looked into the mirror, his eyes filled with disbelief: "Is that also one of your subordinates now? A... Annihilation Cultist?"

He seemed a little hesitant when he said the words "Annihilation Cultist", obviously he was not sure of Shirley's true identity - after all, he had seen creatures like the Annihilation Cultist before, but this was the first time he had seen one rushing towards him with a contracted demon in his hand...

"She is indeed doing something for me," Duncan said with a half-smile, "but if you have a chance to meet her again, I suggest you don't mention the word 'Annihilation Cultist' in front of her. She doesn't like it."

Tirian uttered "oh" in confusion, then subconsciously looked around, and finally his eyes fell on Alice who seemed to have begun to daydream.

Alice reacted quickly and looked at Tirian curiously: "Why are you looking at me?"

"Nothing." Tirian retracted his gaze, with a complex expression that contained some emotion. Finally, he looked at the mirror that was still burning, and asked uncertainly, "Then... can I leave now?"

"Do you still want to stay for dinner?"

Tirian waved his hand quickly: "Ah... No, that's not necessary..."

"Well, I'll arrange for my messenger to take you..." Duncan in the mirror nodded, but suddenly, he frowned, as if he had thought of something, "Wait, I suddenly thought of something."

Tirian was a little nervous subconsciously: "One thing?"

"Strictly speaking, these are two doubts about the same thing." Duncan's expression became serious again. He stared at Tirian. "Do you remember what you just mentioned, that several 'copies' of the No. 3 submersible surfaced one after another?"

"Of course," Tirian nodded, "Including the first original and the six subsequent copies, a total of seven 'Submersible No. 3' surfaced."

"I have two questions," Duncan said slowly after organizing his thoughts, "First, was the first submersible that surfaced...really the real body?

"Second, was the seventh submersible that surfaced at that time really empty?"