Aiden returned to the bridge, where Tirian was waiting for him.

"The unloading process is going smoothly. We will be able to transfer everything in the cargo hold to the port warehouse in about an hour," the bald first mate reported in high spirits. The strong smell of tobacco emanated from every fold of his clothes. "The sailors who stayed on the island quite liked the 'local specialties' you brought back."

"There will be a party tonight. If you are interested, you can join us," Tirian said casually. He couldn't help but look at Aiden twice more, frowning and sniffing, "You burned yourself to death by smoking?"

"...maybe a little too much," Aiden touched the tip of his nose a little awkwardly, "The tobacco from Plande is always...hard to let go."

"Be careful. You smell like bacon right now," Tirian shook his head and reminded him casually. He then changed the subject and said, "I often hear sailors discussing frost recently."

"The news has indeed spread," Aiden's expression immediately became more serious after hearing the captain's words. "The dead have resurrected. No matter where the rumor came from, the content of the rumor is enough to arouse discussion among the sailors. After all, we are all undead."

"Undead..." Tirian repeated the word softly, "Why, are you looking forward to coming back to life?"

"Honestly, anyone with a bit of common sense knows that this is impossible," Aiden shrugged. "Ordinary people may still have some imagination about this topic, but the more immortal one is, the more one knows that true resurrection from the dead is just a rumor. The god of death Bartok does exist, and there is no return through his door. People like us are stuck in the mortal world and become so-called 'immortals' because our souls have been twisted and changed and we can no longer pass through that door. Everyone is actually very clear about the boundary between life and death. After all, everyone has wandered in front of that door when they were on the verge of death."

Tirian nodded slightly, and after a moment's silence, he spoke again: "Why does this topic cause so much discussion?"

"True resurrection from the dead won't happen, so everyone is wondering if those so-called resurrectors are actually... 'living dead'," Aiden grinned and laughed, "You know, most city-states don't like the living dead, and Frostbite especially doesn't like it. They even regard it as a 'curse on the outer sea.' Although it's wrong to put the debt of half a century ago on the heads of today's Frostbite people, everyone is still happy to see the authorities of that city-state in a mess."

Tirian raised an eyebrow. "Watching for fun? If this matter is really related to the original Abyss Project, then this is more than just fun."

"You're right. I understand that, but most of the ordinary sailors think that it's better to just have fun first. Anyway, the first wave of unlucky people are the Frostbites. We can talk about other things after the fun is too great," Aiden said, spreading his hands. "It can't be helped. This is the mentality of the undead. What's more, this matter is related to Frostbite."

Tirian looked at Aiden in silence, and after a long while he waved his hand helplessly.

"…True resurrection from the dead requires passing through the gate of Bartok and returning, and the current mainstream belief in Frost is the god of death. Theoretically, in Frost, the rules of life and death will only be stricter and more stable. Now there are rumors of the return of the dead over there, which is very wrong." He did not continue to argue with his first mate about whether "I need to be a big deal to watch the fun", but instead put on a stern face and made the topic serious again, "I am more inclined to think that this is some other extraordinary power at work."

"That depends on how the local quiet cathedral reacts," Aiden said. "I heard that the current gatekeeper of the cathedral is a newcomer named Agatha, a young girl with little experience. I don't know if she can handle such troublesome matters."

Tirian did not speak. For some reason, he suddenly thought of another high-ranking priest who was also very young but showed strong strength and could even negotiate with his terrible father many times with ease.

Vanna, the Inquisitor of Pland.

If it was that powerful and somewhat scary Inquisitor... it should be no problem for him to deal with a few minor troubles that came back to life.

※※※

The slightly fishy and salty sea breeze blew towards me, bringing with it a chill that is not found in the central sea areas.

Fanna sat on a wooden barrel near the side of the ship, looked up at the endless sea horizon in the distance, and saw a faint mist at the end of her vision. It seemed that there were distant and hazy icebergs hidden in the depths of the mist.

The Lost Homeland has entered the Frigid Sea, which is very far away from Pland.

The young Inquisitor lowered his head and continued to carve at the wood with a small knife.

She is carving a new wave amulet from seabreath wood.

Life on the Lost Homeland was actually countless times better than she had imagined at first. None of those horrible or weird things happened. There was a normal schedule, decent food, clean and independent living space, and noisy but interesting crew members. From some perspectives, the living conditions on the Lost Homeland were even better than those on ordinary ocean-going ships.

Because of Ai, the "messenger", the ship can always be replenished with fresh food. Because there are a large number of "living" facilities on board, the Lost Homeland will hardly encounter inconveniences caused by facility failures. And the greatest advantage of this ship is not this. Its greatest advantage... is safety.

Yes, safe, it's incredible, but after living here for a few days, Vanna finally confirmed this incredible reality: no ship is safer than this terrifying ghost ship.

Because of Captain Duncan's presence, even invaders from the warp space dare not come to this ship to cause trouble...

On the Homeless, people can discuss matters of the subspace and read any books. Morris asked Ai to bring a bunch of folklore and history books from Plande, and he would spend most of the day reading them. In order to hurry on his way, the captain would sometimes even sink the Homeless directly into the spirit world and sail wildly in that dark and terrifying abnormal sea.

There would be no deep shadows at all - and even if something did emerge, it would just become a daily pastime for the crew.

Or add a meal.

All in all, life on the Lost Homeland is not bad.

But she still needs some time to adjust.

The knife scratched the wood, leaving deep dents. Sawdust fell off bit by bit, and the slightly restless mood gradually calmed down.

Footsteps approached from behind, and a very energetic voice suddenly sounded beside: "Miss Vanna, what are you doing?"

Vanna looked up and saw Nina curiously looking at the half-carved amulet in her hand and several amulets that had already been carved on another wooden barrel next to her.

"This is a talisman dedicated to the storm goddess Gemona," Fanna laughed. She knew what kind of amazing identity this ordinary-looking girl had, but after spending a few days with her, she was no longer surprised by the identities of any crew member on the ship. "Throwing the Sea Breath Wood Amulet into the sea is equivalent to completing a tribute to the goddess."

"Oh!" Nina nodded in realization, looking at the amulets carved on the barrel in amazement. "I seem to have heard of this in school before, but this is the first time I've seen it. You made so many!"

"Actually..." Vanna said hesitantly. Then she hesitated for a moment, looked at Nina's sparkling eyes, and slowly opened the lid of the barrel, "There are more than just these."

Nina was stunned, she looked inside the barrel and continued to be in a daze.

After a moment, she raised her head and looked at the judge in front of her.

"Ms. Vanna...are you extremely bored on the ship?"

"Not really," Vanna looked a little embarrassed. She also felt that it was a bit exaggerated to carve a bucket of amulets in just a few days. "It's just... maybe I need a little bit of adjustment."

"oh."

Nina nodded, walked to the wooden barrel again, squatted down and began to daydream in thought.

I don’t know what she is thinking about.

Vanna put down a new wave amulet and silently put away the knife.

"Miss Vanna, you're not going to carve anymore?"

"…We have run out of materials."

"Then could Ai please help bring some more?"

"It's better not to do that..." Vanna waved her hand awkwardly, but just as she was about to say something else, a strange low roar suddenly coming from the direction of the sea interrupted what she was about to say.

It sounded like something was moving beneath the surface, carrying with it a large number of bubbles that were rising rapidly.

Almost at the same time, a creaking sound came from the direction of the mast of the Lost Homeland. The next second, Vanna saw the spiritual sails above the ghost ship slightly adjusting their angles at the same time, and the huge hull adjusted its posture and course accordingly.

Nina ran to the side of the ship, staring at the sea in the distance with wide eyes, and suddenly raised her hand and pointed there and shouted: "Look! Miss Vanna! Something is coming out!"

Vanna looked in the direction Nina pointed.

She saw a large area of ​​rising sea foam, irregular and chaotic water currents rising like hills in the distance, and a huge shadow gradually rising to the surface of the sea in the water and foam.

The high-raised flagpole, the rusty bow and chimney, the broken and damaged deck...

That's a ship.