The capstan rotates, the steel cable is taut, and the metal "iron cage" keeps making creaking noises as it moves downward. Darkness permeates outside the iron cage, and there are dim gas lamps embedded in the side walls of the shaft, which dispel the darkness deep in the mine and bring a limited but necessary sense of security.

Agatha stood on the edge of the elevator, looking through the guardrail at the vertical shaft that continued to extend downward. The black cloth like the night sky covered her eyes and most of her facial expressions, making it almost impossible to guess what she was thinking.

"It's so deep here..." A voice suddenly broke the silence in the elevator. Alice stood nervously behind Duncan, looking up at the gas lights rising from the walls on both sides and said with a little fear, "I feel like we're about to pass through the city and fall into the sea..."

"Continuous descents will give you this illusion," Morris' voice came from a corner of the iron cage. The old scholar was curiously observing the internal structure of the large elevator and said without turning his head. "In fact, we should have only descended two or three hundred meters now."

"Oh——" Alice stretched out her voice. It was unknown whether she could understand how deep "two or three hundred meters" was. Anyway, the puppet had an expression on its face that said "This sounds really amazing."

Duncan paid no attention to the conversation between Alice and Morris. He walked over to Agatha, who was standing silently at the edge of the car, and turned his head to glance at the "gatekeeper". "You look very worried."

"...I just can't help but have a lot of thoughts in my mind since I went down the mine." Agatha was silent for two seconds, then spoke in a complicated tone, "It is said that...'another me' was standing at this position at the time, leading the members of the exploration team from this shaft into the depths of the boiling gold mine..."

Her voice was hoarse and hesitant.

"'She' seemed to have realized the truth about herself. According to the details described by several guards who went down the well with her, she had an unusually resolute attitude at that time, but no one knew why..."

"If that 'fake' really restored most of your thoughts and memories, then it is not unimaginable that she can perceive her true situation," Duncan said calmly, "Even a replica can have a strong will and a noble heart."

Agatha didn't speak for a while, as if she was immersed in complicated and heavy thoughts. After a long time, she suddenly broke the silence: "I'm just wondering... what was she thinking at that time, and what was she remembering... Did she ever feel fear or regret? She has my memories, but only a few days of real life. For all this... will she feel resentment?"

Duncan turned his head and looked at Agatha quietly.

After watching for a while, he slowly spoke: "If it were you, would you feel resentful or regret your decision?"

"Won't."

"Evidently, neither does she."

"But..." Agatha continued, "But... I think I will still have some regrets. When I die in the dark, I will think of the city-state under the sun, and the familiar people and things in the city. If I were a replica, I would still regret that I could not cross Bartok's gate, because I don't know if I have a soul. I..."

She paused, took a breath, and her tone seemed to be a little sad: "Yes, if it were me, I would feel sorry."

Duncan looked at her for a long time before he looked away. He turned his head to look at the rising darkness around him and the lights in the darkness: "So, she will too."

Agatha was silent for a moment, as if she was talking to herself, or as if she was asking softly: "What will we see down there..."

"I don't know either, so we need to come down to confirm the situation." Duncan said, looking back at the figures in the car - Alice, Maurice, and Vanna who was standing in the middle of the elevator with her arms folded and her eyes closed. Apart from the three of them, plus Agatha and himself, there was no one else here.

"You didn't bring any men with you, and only called us. Was it out of caution?"

"I don't know what will happen down there. It could be the pollution left by the ancient gods, or the 'truth' that will spread. In an unclear situation, bringing along ordinary guards and priests will only increase the uncontrollability," Agatha said calmly. "You and your followers are obviously not afraid of these."

Duncan listened, just smiled and said nothing.

At this moment, the descending speed of the car began to slow down rapidly. Accompanied by the creaking sound of the automatic mechanism and the clanging sound of the "iron cage" touching the bottom, the elevator finally reached the bottom of the mine.

"We're here," Agatha raised her head, took a look at the situation outside, and was the first to open the gate and walk out. As she walked, she subconsciously reminded the people behind her, "Be careful, this place has only been cleaned up initially - the emergency personnel evacuated several hours ago. What we are going to next is the real 'unknown darkness'."

As she spoke, she suddenly stopped, turned around and said to Duncan awkwardly: "Of course, these reminders may be a bit redundant for you..."

Duncan waved his hand to show that he didn't care, and at the same time took another look at the situation deep in the alley - there were only a few gas lamps emitting dim light in the darkness, making the alley ahead even more shadowy, suspicious piles of objects could be seen everywhere, and there was an unsettling and weird atmosphere. It was really not a reassuring scene.

"We shouldn't have let Nina go back to the ship so early," he said casually, "It's a good idea for her to come over in such a dark place."

"It's possible that she was startled by something in the dark, and a sneeze at several thousand degrees blasted the entire mine tunnel," Morris couldn't help but mutter, "I don't recommend that you take Nina into any dark and narrow space - she's still young and easily startled."

Duncan shrugged. "Children have to grow up. She's almost graduated from high school."

Morris's expression froze for a moment, and the corners of his mouth trembled several times before he spoke carefully, "Captain, normally, high school graduates would choose to celebrate their adulthood with a party or a trip, rather than exploring a mine that has been eroded by the ancient gods as a 'graduation gift'..."

Duncan laughed happily, and then seemed to remember something. He suddenly turned around and asked Vanna, "How did you spend your coming-of-age ceremony when you turned 17?"

He just asked casually, hoping to use it as a reference when celebrating Nina or Shirley's coming-of-age ceremony one day.

Vanna didn't expect the topic to suddenly focus on herself. The beautiful warrior was stunned for a moment, and a hint of embarrassment quickly emerged on her face. Then she took a step forward and muttered softly: "...preparing for the make-up exam for the postponed school year..."

Duncan: “…”

The atmosphere seemed a bit awkward, and Duncan could only spread his hands helplessly. However, Agatha, who was walking in front, suddenly turned around and seemed to be casting an incredible "look" at him.

"What's wrong?" Duncan asked casually.

"...No matter how many times I watch it, I always feel that the way you get along with your followers is really amazing. You, who have regained your humanity, are really the opposite of the you in the legend of the past century. I think I can understand why Captain Lawrence of the White Oak and his men are such an interesting group of people."

Duncan didn't react to the other party's first few words, but his expression immediately became subtle after hearing the latter part. As soon as Agatha finished speaking, he spoke: "I emphasize again, although all the members of the White Oak are my subordinates, I am really not familiar with them..."

Agatha nodded: "Yes, you are not familiar with them - you have emphasized this before."

Duncan didn't hear any seriousness in the other person's tone, so he could only sigh helplessly: "How was it resolved in the end? I mean Lawrence's 'cargo list'."

"Frost needs supplies now, and we never break a contract. Now that the goods have arrived, of course we have to pay for them," Agatha said, but then shook her head, "But we can only pay part of it."

"oh?"

"The most critical 'cargo', Anomaly 077, is out of control and cannot be delivered," Agatha explained. "The contract requires the White Oak to deliver the sealed 'sailor' to the Frost Relic Hall, not a jumping mummy...

"But then again, the mummy seemed to be eager to be 'delivered'. When he heard that he was included in the list of goods to be delivered to Frost, he almost cried with joy. Unfortunately, we don't know how to deal with an anomaly that has been out of control for a long time and cannot be sealed again. It would be better to hand it over to you to deal with it personally."

"It's an abnormality that has been out of control for a long time..."

Duncan muttered subconsciously and turned his head to look beside him.

Alice also turned her head and found that the captain was looking at her. A look of joy immediately appeared on the doll lady's face: "Hehe..."

Duncan sighed, "Well, I do have some experience."

Agatha also subconsciously looked at Alice, and a complicated expression seemed to appear on her face.

By now, she had learned the true identity of this "Miss Doll" from Duncan. As a native Frost person, she certainly knew how special it was that "Anomaly 099" was so brazenly active in Frost City.

She had countless questions to ask, and a strong curiosity and inexplicable uneasiness were stirring in her already cooled chest - but facing Captain Duncan who seemed to care little about anything, she never found a chance to speak.

"I think……"

Agatha seemed to have finally made up her mind and broke the silence. However, just as she was about to ask some questions about Alice, a sudden feeling of palpitations made her stop abruptly.

Almost at the same time, everyone in the team stopped.

Agatha turned her head and looked towards the deepest part of the long and deep alley. Under the thick black cloth, her vision that had been sublimated in the flames was shaking, trembling, and twisting, as if an invisible wind was blowing towards her, and countless chaotic sounds mixed in the invisible wind, impacting her perception.

She felt her mind was being disturbed. Some huge existence deep in the alley... no, strictly speaking, it was the remnant left by some huge existence that was resonating with her reason. She couldn't "see" clearly what was there, but she could feel... there was a faint echo in the huge and unparalleled remnant.

The faint echo was quietly calling her over.

"What's that over there?"

The blind priestess asked, and she subconsciously stretched out her hand, as if trying to stabilize her shaky body.

A slightly large hand with clearly visible feminine features reached out from the side - Vanna reached out to support Agatha and looked up at the vast darkness at the end of the alley.

“It seems like a hole,” Vanna whispered, with a hint of nervousness in her tone, “a huge…hole.”