It was an island with a winding coastline and rocky cliffs. The island was shrouded in a layer of fog, and the situation on it could not be seen clearly. One could only vaguely make out the undulating terrain and the strange silhouettes hidden in the fog, like jagged rocks or collapsed buildings.

It appeared very abruptly, as if it had appeared out of thin air near the White Oak.

"What is that?" The first mate looked at the silhouette of an island in the distance in amazement. The nervousness and fear brought by the sudden return of the concept of "sun" to his mind had not yet faded away. At this moment, he saw another island suddenly appearing. Even an old sailor like him who has been dealing with the boundless sea for many years was shaking a little at this moment. "An island... Is there such an island near Frost? Is there such an island on our scheduled route?"

"There is no scheduled route anymore. The White Oak is sailing in a strange sea. We are far away from the real world, and everything we see is normal," Lawrence's steady voice seemed to have the power to calm people's hearts. Although he was shocked by the disappearance of the "sun" a second ago, the old captain seemed to have completely calmed down at this moment. "As for the island... there is a 'Dagger Island' near Frost, but I'm not sure if it is it... it is not the same as the one on the identification map."

"What should we do?" The first mate turned his head. "Should we move closer to it? Or should we move away from it?"

Lawrence fell silent, weighing the options rapidly in his mind.

The island appeared suddenly, just after I and the first mate suddenly realized the concept of "sun". Is its appearance related to cognitive correction?

The island is shrouded in fog. Is it real fog or an illusion caused by cognitive bias?

Was the island fixed? Could the White Oak really move away from it? If the island was somehow "deliberate," then it would continue to appear in front of the ship no matter how the White Oak moved.

But in any case, from a prudent point of view, we should not approach rashly.

"Go around it," Lawrence said in a deep voice, "Go around it from the left and get away at full speed."

"Yes, Captain!"

The first mate ran quickly to the bridge. A moment later, a loud whistle sounded over the White Oak. Lawrence felt that the ship under his feet began to turn, and the steam engine deep in the hull was emitting a powerful roar.

Many sailors had noticed the island that suddenly appeared. Some of them approached the edge of the deck and looked at the fog-shrouded island in the distance with nervousness. In full view of everyone, the island was left behind the White Oak little by little and gradually went away.

Lawrence breathed a sigh of relief, turned around and walked towards the bridge.

His steps suddenly stopped.

A figure appeared in his sight—wearing a female captain's uniform, with long curly hair draped behind her head, her arms folded across her chest, and a slight smile on her face.

"Do you remember what I said?" The figure spoke with a deep sense of helplessness in his tone, "You really should retire. Don't wait until I show up on your ship to regret it... Lawrence, you are already old."

"Martha..." Lawrence called out the name subconsciously, and then he quickly reached into his pocket, trying to take out the bottle of potion.

At the same time, a wave of astonishment filled his mind - why so quickly? Why did the effect of the potion fade so early? It was only a day since Martha last appeared... Was the potion's duration so short?

He felt his palms and arms trembling. He finally touched the bottle of potion, but just as he was about to open it, a hand suddenly rested on his arm.

At some point, Martha had come to his side. She reached out and held the old captain's arm with a worried look on her face.

"You know the medicine is no longer effective," Martha said softly. "If you drink it now, I will be gone for a while and then reappear. If you drink the whole bottle, I will be gone for a longer time but will still reappear... Lawrence, the medicine is no longer effective."

"I... I don't understand..." Lawrence blinked hesitantly. He looked at the most familiar face in his memory, but he only felt a cold breath spreading in his heart. "I know my condition, and the psychiatrist is also a great expert, but why..."

"Your mind is being affected, Lawrence, don't you feel it? This sea is affecting you," Martha said softly. Perhaps it was Martha's voice, or perhaps it was Lawrence's own subconscious that was speaking. Obviously, in his subconscious, the experienced old captain had already sensed some truth. "As you stay here, your mind is deteriorating faster. Be careful, Lawrence, you are already in the middle of the ocean..."

"How should I leave here?" Lawrence asked subconsciously, and unknowingly, he had let go of the bottle of medicine in his hand.

The small medicine bottle fell onto the deck with a crisp shattering sound, and half of the medicine inside flowed out and mixed with the accumulated water on the deck, making it indistinguishable from each other.

Lawrence lowered his head and stared blankly at the broken potion bottle.

Martha still held his arm and whispered, "Go to the frost..."

Lawrence was startled, as if he had suddenly woken up from a dream. He looked up, but saw that there was no one beside him - only a little residual heat remained on his arm.

A burst of hurried footsteps suddenly came from not far away. Lawrence looked up and saw the first mate walking towards him quickly.

"Captain, we have 'left behind' the island," the first mate said quickly, but then he raised his head and looked around curiously, as if looking for something, "Where is the person who was with you just now? Is that a sailor on the ship?"

"You're wrong. I was the one just now..." Lawrence said subconsciously, but he reacted halfway through his words and suddenly looked up at the first mate in front of him, "What did you say? The person who was with me just now?!"

"Yes, the person standing next to you just now looked like a lady - but I didn't see it clearly," the first mate said in confusion, "Did I see it wrongly?"

Lawrence's eyes widened. His eyes were so wide open that they even frightened the first mate. After several seconds, he suddenly said, "Can you see her?!"

The first mate swallowed subconsciously. He didn't know why his captain reacted like this: "...I did see it."

As soon as he finished speaking, the experienced seaman seemed to have thought of something, and his face became tense: "Wait, was that an illusion just now? Am I affected?"

"That was indeed an illusion... but theoretically it should be an illusion that only I could see," Lawrence's face turned extremely ugly. He waved his hand, signaling the other party not to be too frightened, but his mind was a mess, "It shouldn't be, it shouldn't be..."

The old captain raised his head and looked around in a trance, as if he was still trying to find Martha.

And in his mind, everything seemed to be mixed together - reality, illusion, memory, delusion...

Everything here seems to have no boundaries between reality and illusion. The illusion that theoretically only you can see also appears in the eyes of others. False things are becoming real, but what about the real things?

Is this sea real? Is the White Oak real?

What the hell is this place?

Lawrence was in a state of confusion, but suddenly, a sailor's shouting came from somewhere on the deck, interrupting his wandering thoughts.

A sailor discovered something on the sea.

Lawrence and the first mate exchanged a glance, and the two quickly ran to the side. Soon, they saw the thing that caused the sailor to exclaim -

An island appeared in front of the White Oak, with a winding coastline and towering rocky cliffs. The island was shrouded in mist...

The island reappeared.

"...The island is moving..." The first mate swallowed nervously. The worst guess became a reality before his eyes. "It caught up..."

"It's also possible that we've been spinning in circles, and this sea is filled with 'curtains' that can temporarily obscure our vision," Lawrence said in a low voice, his eyes fixed on the island. "It's even possible that 'Frost' is right next to us now..."

The first mate looked at the captain in astonishment. He didn't know why the old captain suddenly mentioned the word "frost", but he soon calmed down and asked: "Captain, what should we do this time? Continue to bypass it?"

Lawrence fell silent and thought rapidly for a moment.

The words Martha had whispered in his ear still lingered in his mind—

"Go to Frost."

That island is certainly not the Frost City-State, but its repeated appearance near the White Oak may have been some kind of "guide".

Not long ago, he led the White Oak and hurriedly "escaped" from the Frost City-State with a strange atmosphere, but was trapped in this unfamiliar sea. Now, "Martha" is guiding him to "go to Frost".

A strange island with an even more eerie atmosphere appeared before their eyes—it suddenly appeared next to the White Oak twice in a row.

What is the right choice?

"…We are approaching the island."