Climbing up the rope ladder, Lawrence climbed up the Black Oak's hull, which was dark in color as if it had been smoked by something, and came to the deck of the ship.

As soon as he landed, he bent down, supported his knees with his hands, and took several breaths before he could even out his breathing - this made him laugh at himself and shake his head.

I am really old. I have reached the point where I have to stop and rest after climbing a certain distance along the rope ladder. If it were in the past...

Another sound of footsteps came from behind. Lawrence put away his irrelevant thoughts and turned around to see Anomaly 077 also climbing up with him - this horrible mummy stood cautiously on the edge of the ship's side, looking honest.

It, or rather he - was really cooperative along the way, and it was indeed a bit strange that a terrifying high-level anomaly was so honest, but when he thought that this mummy was his only "companion" in this exploration, Lawrence suppressed the strange feeling in his heart and made his expression serious.

"Is the boat secured?" He looked at Anomaly 077 and dealt with this special "sailor" just as he usually did with his own sailors.

"It's fixed," the mummy nodded immediately and said in a hoarse and low voice. Then he raised his head and looked around quickly, with a hint of hesitation in his tone, "...It seems that there is no one up here, Captain."

"I'm not blind." Lawrence said lightly, while looking at the situation on the deck.

After stepping onto the deck of the Black Oak, the strange fog and shadows still existed around him, but there was no sign of them getting thicker. In the floating mist, he could vaguely see the scene on the ship - everything was as he remembered. About 70% to 80% of the facilities on the Black Oak were similar to those on the White Oak, but it looked as if it had been abandoned for years. The paint on the railings was mottled and peeling, and some places on the deck were deformed and warped. The surface of the superstructure in the distance was covered with rust-like stains.

Apart from the eerie mist, the ship felt like another White Oak—a neglected version that had been abandoned and drifting at sea for years.

And just as Anomaly 077 said, there was no one to be seen on the ship.

"There's no one on board. Who threw the rope ladder down just now?" Anomaly 077 muttered. "And when you ordered the ship to signal before, it responded with a light. Who responded to the signal then?"

"As an 'anomaly', your thinking is quite logical," Lawrence couldn't help but look back at the "sailor" with a surprised tone, "but don't you think it's strange to use 'logic' to think about a ghost ship?"

Anomaly 077 shrugged and said nothing.

But Lawrence did not give the mummy a chance to remain silent - he brought the mummy to the Black Oak not only to prevent this guy from staying on the White Oak and causing danger, but also to make him of some use.

"Do your abilities work on this ship?" Lawrence stared into Anomaly 077's eyes. "Can you control this ship?"

"You want me to 'take over' it?" Anomaly 077 was a little surprised.

"You can't 'take' it away - but I want you to confirm whether your ability can be effective here," Lawrence said seriously, "and sense the status of this ship."

Anomaly 077-Sailor, the greatest ability of this anomaly is to control and take over things with the concept of "ship". In other words, this anomaly actually has a perception and influence ability on the thing of "ship" that far exceeds human understanding. So... in the eyes of the "sailor", will this Black Oak show some "special features"?

Based on this line of thought, perhaps Anomaly 077 can help me uncover the truth here.

The mummy obeyed the order. He stood on the deck with his arms outstretched and closed his eyes slightly as if he wanted to feel the direction of the wind in the fog. Not far away from him, Lawrence looked at the familiar things on the deck with a somewhat complicated look.

The Black Oak… He was standing on this ship now. No matter how many times he dreamed of the past, he could not forget the scenes on this ship. No matter how many times he set sail, he was obsessed with the idea of ​​finding this ship - but when this moment really came and he really stood here, he had to question everything again and again, question his own judgment, question his perception, and even question the existence of this ship.

Because the appearance of the Black Oak was too suspicious and strange, and its current state was definitely abnormal. Although he was unwilling to admit it emotionally, his reason told him... this was most likely not the "Black Oak" he was looking for.

This is just a "phenomenon" created by some kind of out-of-control extraordinary phenomenon.

Lawrence's mind was full of mixed thoughts, until the "sailor" beside him suddenly opened his eyes and made a puzzled sound, his messy thoughts finally stopped.

"What's going on?" Lawrence asked immediately.

"I... don't know how to explain..." The sailor lowered his head in astonishment, staring at the deck where he stood, "Captain, I... I can't feel the existence of this ship..."

"What do you mean? You can't sense the existence of this ship?" Lawrence's eyes widened instantly. He thought that the "sailor" might not be strong enough to control this strange ghost ship, but he didn't expect the other party to give such a direct answer. "Then where are we standing now?"

“So I don’t know how to explain it…” The sailor seemed to be frightened by Lawrence’s expression, but he still continued, “We are standing here. It undoubtedly exists, but in my perception, it actually does not exist, at least… at least it is not here…”

Lawrence frowned. He knew that the mummy in front of him was not deceiving him. This was the other party's true thoughts at the moment. However... this could not alleviate the doubts in his heart at all.

After a brief pause, he took a breath, held the lantern in one hand, and turned to look in a certain direction at the end of the deck.

The soft yellow light from the lantern floated in the mist, as if guiding an invisible path.

"Captain, where are we going?"

“Bridge,” Laurence said calmly. “The captain should be on the bridge.”

Before he finished speaking, he had already taken steps towards the direction of the light. The "sailor" was stunned for a moment before quickly following him. He walked a little unsteadily and asked curiously: "You mean... the captain of this ship? Do you know the captain of this ship?"

Lawrence paused for a moment, then walked forward: "I know him, very familiar with him."

The sailor uttered an "oh" and then calmed down.

A moment later, Lawrence arrived at the door leading to the bridge.

The red metal door in front of him was slightly open, as if inviting him to come in.

"Go open the door."

Lawrence held the lantern in one hand and pulled out a revolver from his waist with the other hand, and signaled the mummy beside him to come forward with his eyes.

"Oh... okay."

The mummy sighed in a very human way, stepped forward and grabbed the door handle, and without much effort, he pushed the door open.

Lawrence leaned over and looked inside.

The bridge was empty, without any human figures in sight. Only a thin mist floated between the chairs and control equipment. On the control console at the front end of the bridge, the unmanned steering wheel was swaying slightly from side to side, as if it was fine-tuning the course.

"There's no one here either." The mummy muttered nearby.

"I'm not blind," Lawrence said, and stepped onto the bridge.

He raised the lantern and used the light to dispel the darkness around him. His eyes swept over the dingy and old equipment and seats, and then he slowly came to the steering wheel.

The captain should stand here.

But there was no sign of the captain.

Lawrence stood quietly for a while, and sighed, not sure whether he was disappointed or relieved: "Alas, you are not here after all."

"No, I am."

A slightly cold female voice came from the side.

Lawrence was instantly startled, and even the green flames on his body that could not be extinguished suddenly jumped several inches higher. The next second, he suddenly looked in the direction where the sound came from -

The young-looking female adventurer, wearing a captain's uniform and with her long curly hair draped behind her head, was standing there with her arms folded across her chest, looking over here with a calm yet helpless expression.

“Ah, a woman showed up,” Anomaly 077 said in astonishment. Then he seemed to realize something and glanced at Lawrence quickly. “Captain, do I need to keep quiet?”

Lawrence took a look at the mummy and said, "Yes, quiet."

"Yes, Captain."

Although the interruption from Anomaly 077 was inappropriate, it did somewhat alleviate the awkward atmosphere. Lawrence took the opportunity to calm himself down, and then quickly thought about how to start the conversation - what should the first sentence be?

In the past days, he had talked with "Martha" countless times, and they had been together for many, many years in hallucinations. But at this moment, Lawrence suddenly realized that he was stuck - he could not get along with Martha as naturally as he usually did when he was in hallucinations.

It was this moment of stuckness that made him suddenly realize something.

The Martha in front of him... is an "individual" who is completely unrelated to his subconscious and is acting independently!