The sounds of evening bells and whistles, representing the alternation of day and night, passed through the deep and damp ramps and shafts, faintly echoing in the dark and cramped sewers. The signal of the approaching night made the cultists hiding in the abandoned lounge even more depressed.

One of them had fallen seriously ill, for unknown reasons, and now he was dying—dying in this dimly lit underground world.

"He's still alive..." a cultist said hesitantly. He glanced at his "compatriot" lying on the ground and saw that his eyes were half open and half closed, and his eyeballs were slowly turning in his eye sockets. The unfortunate guy could still hear the movements around him, but he no longer had enough strength to open his eyes.

"He is still alive now," another cultist said in a low voice, "The evening bell has rung. He cannot die in this room. The Lord's protection will bless him to sleep in the darkness."

The man lying on the mat clicked his fingers twice. He obviously understood his situation. He didn't want to die like this, but death had already bitten his shadow tightly, and as far as it was concerned, his dear "sun compatriots" were already considering moving this "hidden danger" out of the shelter before real death came.

An extremely oppressive silence enveloped the room, so much so that the dying man's faint breathing became clearly audible. After an unknown amount of time of dead silence, the black-robed man who had previously cursed the Church of Storms suddenly broke the silence: "Wait a little longer. At least... people won't change immediately after they die."

"...Then wait a little longer," the black-robed cultist with a deep voice seemed to be relieved. He glanced at the man who was breathing hard and couldn't help muttering, "But why did he suddenly get sick? Are you sure this is just a normal attack?"

"I know him... He runs an antique shop in downtown that's about to close. The shop is full of fake goods," a believer who had never spoken much spoke up. "He was sick and his health has never been good. It's probably because he stayed in the sewer for too long and was frightened before, which made his condition worse."

After listening to the explanation of the person next to him, the black-robed cultist with a deep voice finally relaxed a little. Although he was not a "priest" of noble status, he had converted to the Sun for many years and was now more or less an "expert" who knew a lot of knowledge about the mysticism. He knew very well how many long-term and hidden dangers would remain after a failed sacrificial ceremony, and every believer who had participated in that sacrificial ceremony could become a "carrier" of these hidden dangers. Now, this person who suddenly fell into extreme weakness... could be such a "carrier".

If it weren't for the constraint that "all citizens of the sun are brothers and sisters", and if it weren't for the fact that there were a few cruel believers watching him, he would have thrown this unfortunate guy into the darkness outside.

After a long silence, the black-robed cultist suddenly made a move. He took out a light golden amulet from his arms and stuffed it into the chest of the dying "compatriot".

"You are..." a believer next to him asked curiously.

"I bought this sacred amulet from the messenger at a great cost," he said in a low voice with sincerity, "May the grace of God protect our brother, and the light of the sun may protect him from further erosion in the darkness."

The two believers nearby immediately had no doubts and looked at the church elder who "sent" the amulet with admiration. They clenched their fists and placed them between their brows, reverently chanting in a low voice: "The people of the sun are all brothers and sisters..."

The man in black robe with a deep voice also clenched his fist and placed it between his brows, then chanted in a low voice: "The people of the sun are all brothers and sisters."

※※※

After the sun completely sank below the sea level, the starless and moonless sky appeared in front of Duncan again. A pale crack stretched across the sky, illuminating the boundless sea and the Lost Homeland sailing on the sea with its cold light.

Duncan stood near the stern deck. He withdrew his gaze from the sky and sighed slightly.

No matter how many times he looked, he could not see the non-existent stars in the pale and cold light.

But compared to the last time he saw this starless night, he seemed to be in a much better mood now.

On the one hand, he has accepted the weirdness of this world and is actively adapting to his current life. On the other hand, the fish today is really good.

He was a very optimistic person, and any small improvement in life was worth celebrating for him - not to mention that the gifts from nature were more than he could have imagined.

At this pace, even if he cannot establish a stable connection with the land in a short period of time, he can at least improve the living conditions on the ship.

While daydreaming, he turned his head to look at the pigeon standing on his shoulder, and said jokingly: "You say... wouldn't it be easier for me to do something a pirate captain would do? For example, find a busy waterway to rob or something..."

The pigeon tilted its head, and no one knew where its two eyes were looking. "Is that reasonable? Is that reasonable? Is that reasonable?..."

"Yes, this is not in line with my character," Duncan smiled, "and it's easier said than done. If you want to rob someone, you must at least be able to find a waterway with merchant ships."

The vast ocean was empty and there was no one knowing how far away from civilized society the Lost Homeland had drifted to. Since the last collision with the ship carrying Anomaly 099, he had not seen any other ships in his sight - he really didn't know where to find victims if he wanted to rob.

But at this moment, a voice suddenly came from the side, interrupting Duncan's wild thoughts: "Captain, are we going to rob?"

Duncan looked in the direction of the voice and saw Alice sitting on a high wooden board nearby, looking at this side curiously.

Under the glow of the pale scar in the sky, a Gothic doll in a court dress sat high on the ghost ship. Her mercury-like hair shone with a cool luster in the night. She sat dignifiedly with curiosity in her eyes - this scene was like a classical and mysterious painting.

Duncan was a little surprised for a moment - after experiencing several chaotic "real trivia", he almost forgot the elegant and mysterious impression that the doll lady gave him when she first lay in the wooden box, so that when he saw Alice in a quiet state at this time, he was a little stunned.

Alice didn't know what the captain was thinking. She just asked again out of curiosity: "Captain, are we going to rob?"

This sentence really damages her image.

Duncan looked at the puppet with a smile and said, "Do you like robbing?"

"No," Alice shook her head. "It sounds boring."

"But I was the one who 'robbed' you onto the ship." Duncan reminded her with a smile.

"...That's right," Alice thought for a moment, nodded, and then asked, "So are we going to rob now?"

"No," Duncan waved his hand and walked slowly towards his captain's cabin. "I also think robbing is boring. By comparison, taking a walk is more suitable as an after-dinner exercise."

Duncan returned to the captain's room, and after briefly instructing Goat Head to steer the ship, he entered the bedroom and closed the door as he did last time.

He has decided to make his second journey into the spirit world tonight.

But the difference from last time is that this time he wants to test this ability through the pigeon "Ai Yi".

A cluster of green sparks danced on Duncan's fingertips, and at the moment the flame jumped, the pigeon that was originally strolling on the table disappeared in the blink of an eye, and then a figure condensed on his shoulder.

Feeling the vague connection between Ai and himself, Duncan slowly calmed down. Then he recalled the "feeling" he had when he activated the brass compass last time, and began to try to communicate with Ai with the spiritual fire in his hand.

The invisible green flame turned into a thin line and wrapped around Ai's wings. The next second, the white dove was suddenly enveloped by flames!

As the flames burned, the white dove's feathers all turned into illusory shapes, and the rising green fire seemed to reshape its flesh and bones. Ai raised its wings in the flames, and the brass compass hanging on its chest "snapped" open - the dial depicting many mystical runes flickered, and the pointer in the center spun wildly and then pointed straight into the distance.

The surrounding scenes collapsed and scattered, and the familiar dark space appeared in Duncan's eyes, followed by those familiar streams of light and countless dotted "lights".

Duncan followed his feeling and looked at the stars, searching for the next "target" suitable to contact.

Suddenly, he was attracted by one of the clusters of starlight.

He didn't know if this was the "Captain Duncan's intuition" that Goat-Head always talked about, but he decided to follow this feeling - no matter who was behind the starlight, now he was destined to be with Captain Duncan.

※※※

In the abandoned sewers on the edge of the city-state of Plande, the few Sun God cultists who had managed to escape from the church guards were silent.

The world above ground has fallen into deep night, while in the underground world only a cluster of faint lights sheltering the abandoned rooms.

Even the most brutal and inhumane cultists would feel nervous and terrified in the approaching darkness.

The rags were spread on the ground beside him, and the dying man was about to breathe his last.

Listening to the gradually low and difficult breathing, several pairs of eyes looked at the dying person at the same time.

They stared at their "compatriot" lying on the floor, and everyone knew very well that there was really no way this person would survive the night.

Just like that, under the gaze of several pairs of eyes, the man on the floor's chest rose and fell for the last time - he exhaled his last breath of this life.

"May the sun continue to shine on your soul in the darkness," the black-robed believer beside him said slowly with a deep voice, and then waved his hand, "Put him..."

The next second, his words were suddenly choked back.

Before his eyes, the corpse with its eyes closed began to breathe again.