The future of the White Oak crew.

This issue, which has been ignored by everyone, has finally been brought to the table.

There is no impenetrable wall in the world, and Frost is not a city-state that is closed to the outside world. The abnormal changes of the White Oak itself - especially its reflection in the sea, certainly could not be hidden from the eyes of other captains and ports.

Even without the most special identity of "a member of the Lost Homeland Fleet", it has now become a "ghost ship" haunted by extraordinary powers and in a strange state.

The city-states have always treated the ships and personnel entering the vast ocean with the most stringent safety standards. A ship that has temporarily lost contact on the sea must undergo extremely strict isolation and inspection when returning to the port, and will even be denied entry if there is any abnormality, not to mention a ship that has been transformed into a "supernatural object".

I'm afraid that apart from Plande and Frost, no other city-state would dare to accept the White Oak now.

What's more, the owner of the Lost Homeland may not allow his "servants" to leave the fleet and continue to move freely in the civilized world - based on this, what will the future of the White Oak and its crew look like?

Living with the anomaly, surviving in visions, far away from the civilized world, swimming in the depths of fog, storms, strange lands and strange seas, passing through the sea like a ghost during the day, and sinking into the cracks of the subspace at night - at least that's what the records about the Lost Homeland in the book say.

Lawrence looked worried. Having wandered on the vast ocean for most of his life, he seemed not ready for this change.

After all, he is not "Captain Duncan" who has long left the civilized world, nor is he a big pirate like Tirian who has a fleet to rule the sea. He still has a ship of sailors, and they all have their own families, friends, and families to support.

Leaving the legal route on the vast sea, he didn't know how to feed his crew, let alone how to face their relatives and friends - after all, the Lost Home Fleet seemed to have neither "salary" nor a complete employee care system...

Duncan broke the silence after a brief thought: "To be fair, even if there is no relationship with the Lost Home Fleet and no reflection of the changes brought by the Black Oak, your business in the future will not be much better..."

Lawrence didn't react for a moment: "Ah? Why do you say that?"

Duncan spread his hands and said, "Think about the previous anomaly 099, and then think about the current anomaly 077..."

Lawrence's expression suddenly became a little stiff. After a long pause, he said with a strange expression, "Occasional cargo losses are inevitable. The White Oak has purchased a high amount of insurance, which is enough to compensate the employer for the losses and the subsequent liquidated damages..."

"Nowadays, marine insurance companies dare to cover even this?" Duncan raised his eyebrows. "Then we don't have to worry about the two shipping losses..."

He paused for a moment, as if he suddenly thought of something. "Wait, how much compensation would be paid if the Lost Homeland was encountered? What if it was transformed into the Lost Homeland Fleet? How much compensation would be paid?"

"This is not compensated. It is a case of 'force majeure'. In fact, the previous abnormal 099 out of control incident is also rejected because the loss of the puppet coffin is related to the Lost Hometown. Later, I found..." Lawrence said with a dull expression. He probably didn't expect Captain Duncan to suddenly ask such a question, but then he reacted, "Why... do you ask that?"

As soon as Duncan heard the other party's reply, "No compensation for this," he showed disappointment on his face, and then waved his hand: "It's okay, I'm just asking."

Lawrence thought about it, and seventy or eighty classic cases of insurance fraud popped up in his mind, but he didn't dare to speak.

Duncan was silent for a few seconds, then changed the subject: "Also, you may not have to worry too much about the future of the White Oak - even if you become a member of the Lost Home Fleet, you will not necessarily be away from legal waterways and legal ports from now on."

This time Lawrence was really a little surprised. He looked at Duncan in astonishment, as if he did not understand the intention of this "subspace shadow" for a moment.

Duncan looked at him with a half-smile: "Do you think the Lost Homeland will be away from the civilized world forever?"

"You mean..."

Duncan smiled and said, "I have found my humanity again. You must have heard the rumors about this. Since I have my humanity back, I will of course be interested in the civilized world again. During this period of time, I have been actively contacting the city-states in the civilized world, first Plande, then Frost, and in the process I also contacted the Deep Sea Church and the Death Church. To be fair, I think I have achieved a lot."

Lawrence subconsciously recalled the various events that had occurred during this period of time surrounding the "return voyage" of the Lost Homeland, and his expression gradually became subtle.

Duncan noticed the change in the other person's expression, and his eyes trembled slightly. Then he tried to control his expression and tone: "Of course, I admit that the noise during these contacts may have been a bit loud."

Lawrence: “…”

"That's not important," Duncan waved his hand. "What's important is that the Lost Home Fleet will return to civilization. You and your crew may be the bridge that allows the Lost Home Fleet to further establish exchanges with civilized city-states."

Lawrence understood Duncan's intention, and surprise appeared in his eyes - this development seemed to be different from what was said in the book?

But he soon came to his senses from this brief surprise, and a more realistic problem came to his mind: "I understand what you mean. You hope to 'normalize' the relationship with the city-states, so the first step is to let us 'fleet members' return to the normal route, but... you have seen the White Oak now. Most city-states may not accept a ship infected by supernatural power..."

"But as far as I know, there are still some 'mutated' ships that are special cases. The city-states and legal waterways allow them to dock and pass through."

Lawrence: “…Ah?”

"The Sea Mist and the Brilliant Star are almost second only to the Lost Homeland in terms of their degree of extraordinary transformation. The former has now become the flagship of the Frost Navy again, and the latter is an honorary member of the Explorers' Association and enjoys unlimited rights of passage in the border waterways," Duncan spread out his hands. "I have also heard of some legendary exploration ships with names and surnames. They have been eroded and transformed by extraordinary forces and have more or less some strange and terrifying features, but their captains hold certain special certificates and rely on the endorsement of major forces, so they can still pass through the vast sea."

At this point, Duncan paused for a moment, then continued in all seriousness, "And strictly speaking, every 'Church Ark' of the Four Gods Church is a ship that has been eroded and transformed by supernatural powers. Can't it still sail freely? Facts have proved that when it comes to 'supernatural alienation', the standards of the church and the city-state are very flexible."

Lawrence was stunned by Duncan's words and almost got confused. Fortunately, he woke up when he heard about the Church of the Four Gods. His expression became complicated. "This... The church ark cannot be generalized. It is different if it is protected by the gods... But other situations are indeed as you said, there are exceptions."

The old captain licked his dry lips and tried to organize his words. "But the reason why special cases are special cases is that they are difficult to achieve. Your two children have spent half a century trying to make the world gradually accept them. Even so, there are still many city-states that are cautious or even hostile to the Sea Mist and the Brilliant Star. As for the other legendary exploration ships you mentioned...

"Well, of course I know them. For example, the Tulip, which had been lost in the spirit world for twelve years, and the Dust Song, which had passed through the sea of ​​strange phenomena and all the crew members survived... They did return to the civilized world in the end, but the process of their being accepted was not much easier than that of your two children.

"Extremely strict inspections, long surveillance, and the church's approval, the Four Gods Church must use the highest safety standards to confirm whether a ship that has undergone 'supernormal transformation' is safe. The severity and difficulty of this process is unimaginable. Even if they pass a series of assessments, those legendary exploration ships will always be under the church's surveillance and will have to be re-inspected every once in a while. The passes in the hands of those legendary captains... are not so easy to get."

Lawrence couldn't help but sighed at the end, but Duncan looked thoughtful when he was halfway through. When the other party finished speaking, he asked curiously, "So, it's enough to have the church as a guarantor? What are the requirements for this pass?"

"In short, the 'patron saint' behind the ship must give his approval. The White Oak belongs to the Explorers' Association, which is protected by the Deep Sea Church. The storm goddess Gemona is the patron saint of sea explorers. If the White Oak wants to return to the waterway legally, at least one deep-sea saint must be willing to swear in front of the goddess to guarantee this and personally inspect the ship after receiving the oracle. Finally, a city-state judge will issue a pass."

At this point, Lawrence sighed again: "Strictly speaking, the 'gatekeeper' Ms. Agatha actually meets the identity criteria. She is both a saint and the 'gatekeeper' of the city-state. And because of a series of events, she became your messenger. Unfortunately... she is not from the Deep Sea Church..."

Duncan looked at him: "I also have saints from the Deep Sea Church."

Lawrence: “…Ah?”

"A saint from the Deep Sea Church, right?" Duncan looked at Lawrence, who was frowning, seriously. "The saint is responsible for inspection, and the inquisitor issues the pass. Can the saint and the inquisitor here be the same person?"

Lawrence suddenly felt a little stuck in his head, and he just answered subconsciously: "It seems... there is no restriction in this regard..."

"Oh, then go and take care of your own business first. I'll go and find out about the pass for you."

Lawrence blinked and didn't respond.

By the time he wanted to ask something, Duncan's figure had disappeared on the deck along with a burst of flames rising into the sky.