Remove frost.

Lawrence instantly thought of what "Martha" had told him before - he could no longer tell whether the Martha at that time was his own hallucination, or the "sense of presence" emanating from the "Martha" in front of him, but there was only one thing that was certain, he should go to Frost.

But how to get there?

"We have been searching here for a long time," Lawrence said with a frown, "Since we left the city-state port at night last time, the White Oak has never found the city-state again. We returned along the original route, and there was only the sea."

"You won't find it if you look for it this way," Martha smiled and shook her head. "Laurence, the frost is hiding from you."

"Avoiding from me?" Lawrence was stunned. "Why?"

Martha said nothing, but raised her hand and pointed at the ghost flame that was quietly burning on Lawrence's body.

Lawrence understood instantly. He looked down at his spirit-like arm and said thoughtfully, "So... we were not blocked when we left the city-state port... It's not that we left there, but that the city-state left the White Oak?"

He raised his head, his expression becoming a little subtle: "Then what should we do? The White Oak is now closer to the Lost Homeland than when it left the port. If that city-state has been consciously moving away from me, how can I find it?"

"I'll go find it," Martha said briefly and calmly.

"You go find it?" Lawrence didn't react for a moment. "Can you find it?"

"Of course. Over the past many years, my ship and I have always been part of this sea. Even if I am separated from this huge community now, it will not realize this in a short time. On the other hand, the Black Oak's current existence is closer to the 'reflection' of the White Oak. I have not established a direct connection with the Lost Homeland, at least not yet. Frost will not hide from me... It is not as 'smart' as you think."

Lawrence nodded, half understanding, but still a little confused: "But then you are the only one who can get close to it - what about me and the White Oak? As long as we show up, it will definitely 'escape'..."

Martha smiled.

She took a half step forward and gently placed her hand on Lawrence's chest. With a meaningful expression on her face, she spoke softly, "It's simple. Let's switch positions. Here, the boundary between the real body and the reflection is not so clear."

Lawrence was stunned for a moment, and subconsciously wanted to ask the other party what he meant by this sentence. However, before he could open his mouth, he felt a slight push in his chest.

The force was very gentle, but it made him feel dizzy instantly. He felt himself falling on his back. In the moment before he lost consciousness, he felt someone holding him up from behind. Martha's gentle voice rang in his ears:

"Take a nap, my love - it's going to be an incredible journey."

Lawrence fell into a deep sleep, but he felt that he had only slept for a moment, and then he suddenly opened his eyes and subconsciously shouted, "Martha!"

However, what reached his ears was the voice of the first mate Gus: "Captain, are you awake?"

Lawrence finally woke up completely. He tried to prop himself up, gasping for breath as he was suddenly awakened from a deep sleep. Then he looked around and realized that he was lying on the bed in the captain's room - First Mate Gus was standing beside him with a worried look on his face, and there were several sailors nearby.

In a further corner, he saw a familiar figure - it was Anomaly 077. The mummy was waving a noose around his neck while no one was paying attention, but after realizing Lawrence's gaze, he instantly retracted the rope and pretended nothing had happened.

"What am I doing..." Lawrence took a deep breath, rubbed his forehead and muttered. For a moment, he couldn't tell whether he was in a dream or reality. The things that happened not long ago rose and fell in his memory like an illusion.

"You are back on the White Oak. The Sailor brought you back," the first mate said immediately, pointing to the mummy not far away. "You have been unconscious for several hours."

"I remember... I remember exploring the Black Oak and seeing Martha on it... Did these things really happen?" Lawrence rubbed his forehead hard, then raised his eyes again, "What about the Black Oak? Where is it now?"

"Your memory is correct. You did go to that ship. The 'sailor' also told us that you met Ms. Martha on it," said the first mate Gus, who helped Lawrence up. But his face looked a little strange when he was halfway through his words. "As for where the ship is now... Captain, the situation is a little strange now. I don't know how to explain it to you..."

"Weird?" Lawrence frowned. "What do you mean?"

"We have lost control of our ship. Neither the rudder nor the propeller works. The White Oak is drifting like a ghost ship. As for the Black Oak... I'll take you to see it."

Listening to the first mate's worried words, the expression on Lawrence's face instantly became solemn. He pushed away the other's hand that was supporting him, and followed the sailors out the door.

At the same time, he also noticed changes in himself and others——

The faint burning spirit flame had gone out at some point, and everyone's bodies had now returned to their living state. The surrounding floors and walls no longer showed the same burning flames as the Lost Homeland - everything here seemed to have returned to normal.

The first mate noticed the captain's gaze and explained, "The flames died down a few hours ago, shortly after you returned."

Lawrence nodded silently. Rather than the ghost flame that had already subsided, he was more concerned about what had happened that caused his usually calm first mate to show such a hesitant and at a loss expression.

Soon, he and the sailors left the cabin and came to the deck of the White Oak.

It only took him a split second to realize the... weirdness of his surroundings.

It was damp and cold, as if soaked in sea water. There was no light in the sky at all. Only strange shadow-like masses were floating in the sky. There was no wind around, but a cold flow touched every inch of skin. From time to time, strange traces of turbulence could be seen nearby, just like tiny bubbles in the air.

Lawrence felt the discordant environment around him in astonishment, and vaguely realized what was happening. When the first mate Gus brought him to the edge of the ship, he further confirmed his guess.

"The Black Oak is there."

The first mate stood at the edge of the ship's side and pointed at the sea directly below.

Lawrence lowered his head and saw the "sea" slowly rising and falling. The ripples stirred up by the White Oak during its journey slowly spread around with a distorted and strange texture, and on the distorted mirror-like surface of the sea, he saw the "reflection" of the White Oak.

It was a dark ship shrouded in thick fog and shadows, with a few ghostly lights on board. It was "reflected" below the White Oak, sailing through the waves.

At this moment, Lawrence finally understood what Martha meant by her last words.

Now, the White Oak is a reflection of the Black Oak.

"Captain..." First mate Gus noticed the changes in Lawrence's expression. His years of following experience allowed him to keenly judge that the old captain might have known what was going on. "What's going on? Why did our reflection in the sea become the shape of the Black Oak? And the ship is out of control..."

"We are not out of control - we are just following the Black Oak," Lawrence exhaled lightly with a faint smile on his face. "Let everyone have a good rest and recharge their energy. We are heading to a place where all problems can be solved."

"A place where all problems can be solved?" The first mate blinked in confusion. "Where are we going?"

"We're heading for the Frost."

※※※

Night is gradually enveloping the city-state.

Two figures were quickly walking through the streets that were already under curfew.

One figure was particularly tall and burly, wearing a long black trench coat that reminded people of nightfall. The other figure was particularly short, and although he was wearing a thick winter coat, his thin figure could still be seen underneath the coat.

A gust of cold wind blew, and the thin and short figure sneezed loudly: "...A-choo!"

Duncan lowered his head and looked at Shirley who was rubbing her nose. "I asked you to wear a scarf but you refused to do so. The night in Frost is much colder than in Plande."

"It's so cold..." Shirley subconsciously tightened her clothes. Although the clothes were enough to resist the surrounding temperature, she still felt the biting cold wind. She was born and raised in Plande, so she was obviously not very adaptable to the frosty climate. "I kind of regret coming out..."

Duncan looked at the girl with a half-smile: "Didn't you say that as long as you don't do your homework, you can do anything?"

When Shirley heard this, she immediately tilted her neck back and said stubbornly in the cold wind: "Yes, I said it!"

"My only stubbornness is my mouth," Duncan sighed helplessly, then raised his head and looked towards the alley in the distance, "Let's go. I don't want to deal with the night watchman yet."

Shirley quickly used her short legs to keep up with Duncan's pace. As she walked forward with great effort, she couldn't help but ask curiously, "What are we going to do?"

"Confirm someone's condition." Duncan said casually as he walked forward.

"Someone's situation?" Shirley looked up at the burly captain beside her. "Who?"

"Gatekeeper, Agatha." Duncan said calmly.

His eyes looked beyond the night sky, toward the end of the street ahead.

A small cluster of dark green flames burned in his field of vision, flickering on and off, as if separated by a thick veil.