When Pigeon said this, both the content and the tone were as funny, humorous, and silly as ever.

But now it is an undead bird with ghostly flames burning all over its body. Its translucent flesh and blood are bones and tendons with flames flowing in them. Its cries are mixed with crackling explosions, like the howling of wronged souls leaking out when the gates of the underworld are opened.

It turns out that in many cases, the distance between evil and humor is not that big.

The spiritual fire surrounding Duncan was still burning. He watched the three cultists disappear before his eyes, but he was not sure about the principle behind this process.

He only knew that this was the ability of "Ai Yi".

After a few seconds, he confirmed that the three cultists really couldn't come back, then he turned his head slightly and asked the pigeon on his shoulder: "...Where did you take them?"

Ai flapped his wings and used his mouth to comb his translucent feathers. After a while, he suddenly said, "Retreat to the shadows!"

Duncan frowned. He had begun to understand the true meaning of Ai's words recently. "...You mean, you banished them to some kind of...parallel space? Or made them into some kind of untouchable state?"

The pigeon raised its head and looked at Duncan with its eyes wandering: "Coo!"

It is now pretending to be a real pigeon again.

But Duncan believed he had understood the truth. He pressed Ai's head with his fingers, then looked around the dimly lit "shelter" again.

In the flickering light of the oil lamp, everything in the small room was clearly visible. The believers of the Sun God who once hid here had completely disappeared from this world. Now, there was only a ghost captain who possessed the corpse of a cultist and came here, and his pigeons.

But somehow, Duncan had a feeling - he seemed to be able to feel that the three cultists were still here, right beside him. They were trapped in this room, in a dimensional crack that could not be detected or reached by any means.

He could even "feel" the futile shouting and struggling of those cultists, and felt their despair of wanting to reconnect with the real world but being permanently blocked from reality by an invisible barrier.

This feeling permeated invisibly until one moment, when Duncan saw the evidence: in a certain shaking of the oil lamp on the table, in a certain perfect interweaving of light and shadow, he suddenly saw a mark appear on the nearby wall, which looked as if it was left by a strong chop of a dagger - but when he looked over again, the flame of the oil lamp shook again, and the mark on the wall disappeared without a trace.

That was the three Sun Followers' last contact with the real world.

Duncan exhaled softly, turned around and left the room with the pigeon.

Outside the abandoned lounge is a corridor that is much narrower than the sewer corridor seen before. The deep and long corridor extends to both sides. One end leads to a fork in the road, and the other end is connected to an upward ramp.

Even in the abandoned areas, the city managers obviously maintained the most basic maintenance of these underground facilities - at least, the gas lamps on both sides of the corridor were still on.

Duncan briefly judged the direction of the corridor, and then sorted out the route to the surface based on the remaining fragments of memory in his mind, and soon walked towards the upward ramp.

He walked faster and faster.

A fresh air flow appeared, and the cool wind blew Duncan's hair in his face. He heard some vague and distant sounds, which seemed to be the roar of some factory facilities on the surface running all night, and there was also the sound of waves coming from more distant places... That was the sound of breaking waves hitting the coastal rocks at night.

Duncan almost jogged.

Ai, the pigeon that had returned to normal after the spiritual flames faded away, flapped its wings on his shoulders and said happily: "The times are calling! The times are calling!"

Duncan suddenly stopped and stared into the pigeon's eyes: "Don't talk casually outside - normal pigeons don't talk."

Aye thought for a moment and flapped his wings vigorously: "Captain Aye!"

Duncan was immediately surprised because the pigeon actually responded to him correctly once. He didn't know whether it was a coincidence or what - but he soon stopped thinking about it.

He wants to be ready to take on this world.

The black robe on his body must not be worn outside. In the memories that were "swallowed", this suspicious robe was only used in secret ceremonies of believers of the Sun God. If he wore this robe on the streets of the city on the surface, he would be tied to a tree and beaten by seven or eight security guards if he showed it in public.

There is a very strict curfew in the city-state of Plande, and wandering around at night seems to be a very dangerous thing. Ordinary people who want to go out at night must hold a pass and report in advance - the cultist who is possessed by him obviously does not have these legal procedures, so if he wants to move around in the city, he must avoid those night patrols.

The people who were responsible for maintaining order in the city at night were called "Guardians". They seemed to be the armed forces of the Deep Sea Church. In the memories devoured, the original owner of this body had a deep fear and hostility towards those armed priests...

Duncan quickly sorted out the fragments of memory in his mind. Since they were memories inherited from a corpse, most of these fragments were messy and vague. He could not piece together the complete life trajectory of a "member of modern civilized society" from them, nor could he piece together all the information about the city-state of Plande. But even the most basic parts were enough to give him a general idea of ​​his next actions.

He first took off his black robe in front of the ramp leading to the surface - he was wearing normal clothes underneath the black robe, so he would not arouse suspicion when walking outside.

He considered whether he should burn the black robe, but the flames and smoke might attract the attention of the night watchmen, so in the end he just rolled up the black robe and hid it in a corner near the ramp.

The sun amulet could also be a source of trouble, but it could also contain valuable information. After much hesitation, Duncan decided to take it with him - he could use the amulet to do another test when he returned to the Lost Homeland to see if Ai could bring it back as well.

He can study this thing with peace of mind on the Lost Homeland.

He cleaned up the traces of the black robe and roughly adjusted his appearance, trying his best to look like an ordinary citizen rather than a cultist hiding in the sewers in a miserable state. Only after he had done all this did he step onto the ramp.

The road ahead is not too far.

Duncan rushed up the ramp, the increasingly fresh air filling his chest. He could already clearly hear the sounds of factories and waves in the distance, and after a few minutes, he even saw a cool light appear on the steps not far ahead.

He took a few quick steps forward, and the cold light finally enveloped him completely.

He came to the surface.

Solid, stable earth bathed in a pale light.

Duncan's eyes widened. He saw a city, a city standing on the boundless sea, representing mortal civilization. A huge scar in the sky ran across the city, illuminating the densely packed roofs, high towers and buildings further away. Not far in front of him was a slightly shabby fringe area, and on the higher ground further away, many distant and magnificent buildings could be seen. That was the "upper city" where the cathedral and the town hall were located.

Duncan suddenly laughed. He didn't make any sound, but he laughed until he was out of breath.

But after a moment, he forced himself to stop laughing. He took a deep breath in the cool night breeze, and then strode towards a direction in his memory.

Cult members also have their own "normal lives". Except for a few "priests" who make a living by harming the people, the Church of the Sun, like most other cults, relies on a large number of ordinary people to support its operation. These bewitched grassroots believers are mostly poor citizens from the lower classes of the city, elderly people who lack attention, young people who are not familiar with the world, or just like the body that Duncan now occupies...

An ordinary person who is ignored, seriously ill, runs a fraudulent antique shop and struggles with life and taxes in the downtown area.

The terrible life of the antique shop owner named "Ron" ended. His debt with an evil god was written off with his last breath, but he still left a place in this world...a place that Duncan liked very much.

Notes:

①Aye is an Old English word, meaning to understand or agree. Therefore, the navy has always been accustomed to saying Aye captain, which means "Yes, Captain!"