In Duncan's eyes, the complex and chaotic dark shadows have "collapsed" again into the heroic female adventurer. In the depths of the mirror, the layers of superimposed silhouettes are no longer trembling in disorder.

Duncan watched the scene quietly and did not speak for a long time.

Martha in the mirror remained still for a while after she regained focus - just like the freeze before the movie officially started. After two or three seconds, the lively spirit of a living person returned to her face. She looked down at herself in a daze, and then raised her head belatedly: "You... did what?"

Duncan temporarily stopped thinking and shook his head gently: "Nothing, just welcome."

Then he paused, sorted out his thoughts, and then said, "If you are always 'Martha' from now on, are you still going to tell Lawrence the truth?"

"Perhaps... he already knew it," Martha hesitated for a moment, then spoke slowly, "I once told him something indirectly. I told him that I was a personality pieced together from Martha's memories. With Lawrence's sharpness and experience in the supernatural field, plus the fact that I had revealed a lot of unnecessary information, it shouldn't be difficult for him to deduce... Since 'Martha' can hold one memory, it can hold countless memories. After all..."

The female adventurer paused for a moment, and a complicated smile appeared on her face: "After all, when I was in that Mirror City, I seemed to know too much."

"How did he react?"

"He... doesn't care," Martha shook her head, "but I don't know if he ever will."

Duncan looked at her quietly for a moment, then suddenly laughed.

"You care about these things, but it seems that I really don't have to worry about them," he said in a relaxed tone. "Then put them aside, ma'am. There are countless dark and strange things on this vast ocean, so any bit of warmth is worth cherishing - Lawrence understands this very well."

In the mirror, the female adventurer showed a thoughtful look, and Duncan outside the mirror paused for a moment before continuing: "What else do you know about the deep sea below the Frost?"

"Deep sea..." Martha frowned, and she immediately gathered her thoughts, sorting out her vast memories while slowly speaking, "I do have some... 'memories' about the deep sea, but most of them are dark and blurry, mixed with the fear of sinking and the absurd hallucinations caused by the cold and suffocating. These things probably can't be used as a practical reference, but..."

Duncan raised an eyebrow: "But?"

Martha in the mirror thought for a moment and opened her hands.

Her figure suddenly disappeared in the mirror, like a mark of ink that spread out in an instant. Black lines spread rapidly on the mirror surface, and then, a shadowy object emerged from the darkness.

A huge shadow seems to be floating in the endless void, like an isolated island, or a mass with irregular edges. Countless tiny objects can be seen around the shadow, like "debris" broken off from the surface of the irregular mass, floating around the isolated island.

And in the center of the floating "island", one can see something like a huge pillar, extending infinitely upward and downward in the darkness, as if penetrating the shadow and then penetrating the entire nothingness.

Martha's voice came from the depths of the mirror:

"I went through all the memories that pointed to the deep sea. The huge fears that countless devoured spirits experienced during the sinking process were superimposed into this scene. I don't know how to interpret this scene. It looks like a large floating object in the deep sea, with a huge 'pillar' running through it. But due to the lack of reference, I don't know how big the object is, nor how big the pillar is."

Duncan stared at the scene in the mirror for a long time without saying a word.

However, what emerged in his mind were countless pieces of information related to the Abyss Project - the submersible that never returned, the crazy deep-diving advance team, the crazy descriptions of the bottom of the abyss, and... the huge cavity deep in the boiling gold mine, and the tentacle of the ancient god that crossed the boundary between reality and illusion and pierced deeply into the Frost City-State.

There is indeed an entity in the deep sea.

The illusion in the mirror disappeared, and Martha appeared in front of Duncan again: "This is all I know. Although I have kept a lot of memories, there are not many that can point to the deep sea when I am relatively sober. You..."

"It's alright, ma'am," Duncan said softly, interrupting the female adventurer, "I'll go and see for myself."

※※※

On the deck, Alice and the mummy "sailor" had already found the second bug, and the two "people" continued to poke at it.

But such a game is obviously not as interesting as fighting with the pots and pans in the kitchen.

"I'm starting to feel bored," Alice threw away the stick in her hand and looked up at the deck which was quite unfamiliar to her. "Why hasn't the captain come back yet..."

The "sailor" shuddered when he heard the doll lady mention the word "captain". He raised his head and hesitated for a long time before speaking: "You are usually not afraid of him?"

"I'm not afraid," Alice turned her head and looked at the ugly corpse with a puzzled look on her face. "I like being with the captain, why should I be afraid of him?"

"That's the subspace! Do you understand what the subspace is?" The mummy had a horrified expression on his face. "I feel like my sanity is going to 'drop' when I look at him. How dare you stick with him all day long? I think you should be the one with number 077. You are much more evil than me."

Alice scratched her hair, ignored the mummy, and looked up curiously at Lawrence not far away.

Lawrence was with his first mate, Gus.

"Suddenly, everyone's flames were under control," First Mate Gus opened his palm and showed it to his captain, showing a small flame dancing quietly in the palm. At the point where the flame touched the palm, one could vaguely see the translucent texture of flesh and blood transformed into a spirit body, while outside the range of the flame was a normal flesh and blood body. "Do you have any clues?"

"I don't know either," Lawrence frowned slightly. He snapped his fingers, watched the spiritual fire jump on his fingertips, and then waved his hand, and the fire dissipated silently. "The change occurred shortly after Captain Duncan boarded the ship... Maybe there is a connection?"

"Maybe... but no matter what, it's a good thing after all," said the first mate Gus. "Before, the flames on everyone's bodies always appeared suddenly, as if they were stimulated by something, but we could never find the reason. To be honest, it's quite nerve-wracking - some people are even worried that we will never be able to go ashore and move around normally in the future. After all, not every city is as 'worldly' as Frostbite and Plande..."

"In the future..." Lawrence's tone was filled with emotion and thought. He subconsciously clenched his fist and opened it again, feeling the power of the fire flowing calmly in his body. At the same time, he thought about the future of himself and all the members of the White Oak. "It's time to think about the future..."

He lowered his head and rubbed his fingers, and the spiritual fire flowed through his fingertips like water.

A deep and majestic voice came from behind him: "Is it fun?"

Lawrence and Gus shuddered at the same time, and flames two or three meters high shot up from their bodies...

The next second, Lawrence quickly suppressed the flames on his body and turned his head to look in the direction where the sound came from - Duncan was standing there, looking at this side with a subtle expression on his face.

Duncan sighed silently.

As soon as he came out, he saw Anomaly 077 and Anomaly 099 squatting on the deck poking bugs, and the captain and first mate of his new ship playing with fire at the door - those who knew that this was the Lost Homeland Fleet, and those who didn't would think that this ship was heading to a kindergarten... What kind of people are gathered around him?

"Captain Duncan!" Gus straightened his body instantly, brushing off the last spark on the corner of his clothes while speaking hurriedly, "I...we are studying how to control the power of fire to prevent the same situation as the Frost City from happening again in the future..."

"Same situation? You mean the captain and a whole corps of marines were arrested by the local sheriff, and finally my messenger went to the police station to rescue them?" Duncan pressed his forehead and waved his hand, "Forget it, as long as you are happy..."

As he was talking, Alice ran over and grabbed his arm and shook it hard, shouting, "Captain! You're finally back! Are you done?"

"We're done. Stop shaking. Don't pull any of your joints off again," Duncan said as he held down the overly excited doll lady. He then looked at Lawrence and nodded gently. "Don't worry. Martha is doing well. I have officially accepted her as a member of the Lost Home Fleet."

Lawrence was stunned for a moment, and then he sensed a hint of solemnity and profound meaning in Duncan's words.

"You... see that she is..."

"If you don't want to care, she doesn't have to care. As for me... I don't mind," Duncan said lightly, with a hint of smile in his eyes. "The Endless Sea is huge, and the Lost Home Fleet has always dealt with all kinds of strange things. It's no big deal to have another harmless ghost ship."

Lawrence opened his mouth but said nothing. In the end, he just took a deep breath and bowed his head deeply in front of Duncan.

"Anyway, welcome to join my fleet," Duncan laughed and patted Lawrence on the shoulder. "Speaking of this, I seemed to hear you guys talking about... the future? What are your plans?"

"In the future..." Lawrence hesitated, with a complicated expression, "I am indeed thinking about this. Do you think... can we return to the normal port like before?"

Listening to Lawrence's words full of hesitation and entanglement, Duncan sighed softly.

The future of the White Oak...is indeed a question.