The girl standing at the door looked to be no more than eleven or twelve years old. She was short and wore a thick white coat with steam rising slightly from her woolen hat. She seemed to have run all the way here and was still panting when she saw Morris, but soon a bright smile broke out on her face.

"Is that Grandpa Morris? Mom asked me to bring this to you," she stretched out her hand and handed over a key, "It's the key to the basement. Mom said she forgot to give it to you when she left."

"Ah, thank you, little girl," Morris responded, nodding as he reached out to take the key, "Come in and warm up?"

Just as the little girl was about to speak, Duncan's voice suddenly sounded from behind Morris, with a hint of surprise: "Annie?"

Looking over the old scholar's shoulder, Duncan looked at the girl standing at the door with some surprise.

That was none other than Anne Barberi whom he had met at the entrance of the cemetery before, the daughter of Captain Christo Barberi of the Obsidian.

Duncan already understood what had happened - he didn't know whether to describe it as a coincidence or to lament the "smallness" of the city-state. After going around in circles, he actually met the daughter of Captain Obsidian again. Morris and Vanna spent a day finding a temporary residence... which happened to be Anne's house.

Annie also saw the burly figure that suddenly appeared in front of her, and her eyes widened instantly.

The unexpected situation made the girl seem a little at a loss. She stared blankly for several seconds before she realized what was happening and greeted him awkwardly, "Ah, it's the uncle at the cemetery gate... Hello?"

Her final greeting was obviously hesitant, obviously recalling the experience at the cemetery gate and the spectacle of flames rising into the sky when Duncan left - Duncan didn't think much about it at the time, but the scene undoubtedly left a deep impression on the little girl's mind.

Even though she was still young, Anne knew that it was an extraordinary power - this knowledge had long been written into the textbooks of every city-state and promoted to the general education of all citizens. The superficial understanding of extraordinary powers and protective skills were the basis for ordinary people in this world to survive safely.

But what kind of power it was, Anne couldn't tell - it was not mentioned in her textbooks, and the cemetery caretaker didn't explain it to her. When she returned home and told her mother, her mother didn't tell her anything either.

This seems to be a secret that children should not be exposed to yet.

Anne looked at Duncan standing opposite her in a daze. The warning from the caretaker grandfather was still ringing in her ears, which made her instinctively feel a little uneasy. But the burly figure suddenly stepped aside. His voice sounded a little scary, but also gentle: "Come in and take a rest. It's snowing outside again."

Anne then realized what was happening and looked back, seeing snowflakes falling from the sky again. A few snowflakes were blown by the wind and got into her neck, making her feel cold.

She entered the house as if possessed by a ghost, and looked around in a daze.

The elder sister with beautiful blonde hair and a noble-looking temperament was also standing in the living room, next to the dining table, casting a curious look over here.

She took off her veil, and looked very beautiful—almost the most beautiful person Anne had ever seen.

"Mom said we shouldn't disturb tenants casually," Anne said hesitantly as she rubbed the mud and snow on her boots on the mat in the entrance hall. "She said Grandpa Morris is a great scholar and it's very rude to disturb him casually..."

"You didn't bother us. We just wanted to learn about the new residence," Morris guessed the general situation at this time and said immediately, "Besides, it's snowing outside now. It's not safe for you to run back through the path. Rest here for a while. Vanna will take you back later."

Anne looked up at Vanna, who looked like a little giant, and nodded subconsciously.

Then she looked at Duncan and hesitated for a few seconds before speaking: "So... So you need to live in a house too?"

"Of course I'll live in the house," Duncan laughed, and casually said as he led Anne to the sofa in the living room, "Won't your mother be worried about you running around outside by yourself?"

In his opinion, Anne was running too much. Not only did she run to the cemetery alone early in the morning, but she also walked through the small paths between the blocks in such bad weather and delivered keys to a new tenant whose background she didn't know. This was really worrying.

"It's OK. Everyone in this area knows me. Mom said half of the people in these two streets are Dad's friends." Anne didn't care at all. She sat on the sofa, supported her hands under her thighs, and swayed back and forth. "Besides, Mom is usually very busy. She has to do accounts and fill out forms for people. She also has to help out in the chapel when she has time. I'm used to running around."

Duncan thought for a moment and asked, "So...did you tell your mother what I told you when you got home?"

"I told her," Anne nodded, and then her expression became a little strange. "She said I was talking nonsense at first, and then I told her what the cemetery keeper said. She went back to her room alone... She seemed to have cried when she came out... But she smiled and told me that she would make fried fish fillets and sausage stew in the evening because today was a day worth celebrating."

She stopped shaking her body, looking a little confused. She looked up at Duncan and said curiously and hesitantly: "I feel... I don't quite understand."

"It doesn't matter. You will understand it sooner or later." Duncan laughed. "Some things are too complicated for you now."

"Uncle, you talk like the caretaker grandpa, he always says that," Annie muttered, then shook her head, as if thinking seriously for a while, then raised her head again, "Uncle, you... don't want to be disturbed?"

Duncan was curious: "Why do you say that?"

"Because you were dressed like that - and you disappeared suddenly when you left. Mother said that this was the style of the secret members of the cathedral or the hermits of the society. I think that's the word, style."

Duncan didn't know how to answer the girl for a moment, but the latter obviously didn't wait for his answer. Anne thought about it for a while, and then suddenly said, "I won't tell anyone casually. The guard grandfather also reminded me to pretend that I haven't seen you. Don't tell anyone except my mother."

Duncan laughed, but before he could speak, Anne continued, "Can I tell the caretaker? Tell him... that you live in my house?"

Morris and Vanna, who came to the sofa to listen to the fun, couldn't help but look at each other after hearing what the girl said, while Alice immediately turned her eyes to Duncan.

They all felt that there was something wrong with this matter.

However, Duncan was silent for just a few seconds, then nodded with a smile: "Okay, I don't mind."

※※※

At the same time, sample collection from the wreckage of the Haiyan has begun near the eastern port.

Several light speedboats set out from the dock and cautiously approached the sea where dirty "mud" and a small amount of fire were still floating. Each speedboat was equipped with a priest and holy objects, as well as nitroglycerin explosives for emergencies.

On the shore, the port garrison was also ready for docking.

A vacant warehouse was chosen as a temporary transit facility. The priests and guards who came from the higher church had completed the purification and countermeasure arrangements for the entire area. The gatekeeper Agatha left behind a team of elite confidants before leaving to prevent any accidents when collecting samples of the wreckage.

Lister stood on the dock, looking out at the situation on the sea, while several of his trusted subordinates stood beside him, paying attention to the progress of the salvage work.

"Will there really be no problems if we get those things ashore?" A trusted aide asked with uneasiness in his tone. "Of course, I'm not questioning the gatekeeper's judgment, but those things... were rushing towards Frost Island at an alarming speed a few hours ago. Are they really 'dead' now?"

"Ms. Agatha has repeatedly confirmed in the depths of the spirit world that these things are no longer active," Liszt said calmly, "They can indeed be 'killed'. Judging from Ms. Agatha's attitude and disposal plan, I think the cathedral may have even come into contact with similar things."

"Something like this? Has it appeared in the city-state?" A junior officer was surprised. "This... I haven't heard any news about this..."

"If you didn't hear it, it means that this matter should not be made public, at least it's not the time to make it public yet. The cathedral and the city hall have their own judgment." Liszt shook his head. "In any case, Ms. Agatha is trustworthy. She won't risk the safety of the city-state. What we have to do is to listen to the judgment of professionals. Priests know how to deal with such weird things better than soldiers."

The confidant stopped talking, but at this moment, another burst of hurried footsteps suddenly came, and a soldier hurried to the dock.

"Sir!" The soldier trotted over to Lister, saluted, and handed a document that had just been delivered through the high-pressure air pipe to the defense commander. "An order from the City Hall."

"It looks like the official order to blockade Dagger Island has arrived." Lister said as he took the document, but when he saw the contents on the document, his expression suddenly changed.

One of his trusted followers noticed: "Sir? Is there something wrong?"

"...It is indeed an order to blockade the waterway, but not Dagger Island." Lister's expression was solemn and his tone became particularly serious. "Strictly speaking, it is not just to blockade Dagger Island - the order requires the blockade of all waterways in and out of Frost, and all defenders to enter a state of readiness for battle."

"Blockade... the entire Frost Island?!"

"The Sea Fog Fleet appeared in the nearby waters," Liszt took a deep breath, his face even gloomier than the sky at the moment, "the entire Sea Fog Fleet."