"You saw the shadow of the Lost Homeland?!" Duncan did not hide his surprise at all.

"Yes," Lucrecia glanced at Duncan and nodded in a subtle tone. "After being lost in the fog for three days, I saw a silhouette that looked very much like the Lost Homeland passing through the thick fog in the distance. Where it passed, the thick fog seemed to become thinner for a short time, revealing the appearance of normal sea areas. I... hesitated for a long time, but there was no other choice at the time, so I mustered up the courage to sail towards the silhouette, but it suddenly disappeared just as the Brilliant Star was about to approach... Then, I returned to the normal sea area."

After Lucrecia finished speaking, she looked at Duncan with a strange look for several seconds before adding, "That was in 1862. You have been in the warp for sixty-two years."

Duncan was silent for a while, turned around and looked at the sea in the distance to hide the change in his eyes, and said calmly: "I don't remember this."

"I know," Lucrecia nodded, "So I have always been wondering whether what I saw at that time was the real Lost Homeland, or just an illusion caused by fatigue, or... it was also some kind of 'special phenomenon' at the border.

"That was the first and only time I crossed the 'six-mile' limit. After that, I never went that deep again, nor did I see a similar 'phantom' again."

Duncan remained silent, his mind in turmoil.

From Lucrecia's narration, he finally realized for the first time how strange and dangerous the endless fog called "the border of civilization" and "the eternal curtain" was. However, he also had countless guesses and...curiosity about the incredible phenomena that appeared in the fog.

Obviously, entering the fog is extremely risky. Even a seasoned frontier scholar and great explorer like Lucrecia, who was well prepared, almost got lost in the veil forever. Even in the relatively "safe" six-mile calm zone, all kinds of strange and dangerous "entities" and phenomena could take the explorers' lives at any time.

But those strange and dangerous "entities" just caught Duncan's attention.

The "shadow" that is suspected to be left after the crash of the New Hope is just one of them. How many "remnants" like the New Hope are there in the fog in the six seas of the border? Are they all the "core residues" left after the annihilation of various worlds? What mechanism allows these residues to remain until now? These "entities" surround the entire Infinite Sea in the fog, so what is outside this "ring"? What is left there?

Duncan had a vague feeling that these "entities" that were strangely "empty" in Lucrecia's perception might help him understand the crisis at the bottom of the world, and even help him find a "way out" to solve the "bottom-level pollution" of all things...

The gaze from the side made Duncan end his thoughts. He raised his head and saw Lucrecia standing beside him, looking at him quietly. There seemed to be a hint of worry in her complicated eyes.

"…You're going there again, aren't you?"

Lucrecia asked quietly.

"...This ship is heading for the border," Duncan patted the armrest beside him, "The Annihilation Cultists have a hideout in the border fog. No matter what, I will go and solve this problem."

"I'm not referring to this time. Those cultists won't hide in deep places. It might be easy for you to destroy their nest. I mean after this." Lucrecia looked into Duncan's eyes. "After solving this nest, you will focus on the fog, right? You will investigate the 'entities' and 'visions' I described to you, even... investigate beyond six miles."

Her gaze brought some pressure. For the first time, Duncan felt that the gaze of this "sea witch" was a little difficult for him to resist. But after a moment of silence, he nodded: "If the situation requires, I will go."

Lucrecia pursed her lips.

But she did not persuade or stop him. After a long silence, she suddenly said, "Take me with you this time. My experience can help you."

Duncan was a little surprised. He looked at the "witch" and spoke softly after a few seconds: "...What if the end of the fog is the warp?"

"Then I need your experience."

Duncan didn't speak for a while. He turned around and looked at the sea in silence. After a long while, he exhaled slightly and said, "Let's talk about it later. I do have this idea, but I don't have to go into the depths of the fog right now. At least, before that, I have to get rid of the cultist's nest hidden in the border and make contact with the Church of the Four Gods."

Lucrecia nodded slightly.

At this moment, the sound of footsteps and strange metal clanging came from not far away, interrupting the communication between the two.

Duncan looked up in the direction where the sound came from, and saw Alice walking towards him happily - the puppet lady was holding a large wooden box in one hand, and in the other hand she was holding a bunch of kitchen knives, spatulas and iron spoons that she had looted from somewhere. She strung the things together with wire, and walked towards him happily and ostentatiously as if she was returning with spoils of war, making a clanging noise all the way on the deck.

"Captain!" The silly puppet came to Duncan, raised a bunch of "treasures" strung together with wire in his hand and dangled them in the air, "Look! I have my own spoils too!"

Duncan hadn't reacted to the serious conversation he had just had with Lucrecia for a moment. This cheerful and silly beauty interrupted all his thoughts. He stared blankly at the string of things in Alice's hand for a long time before he finally reacted: "...You looted the kitchen?"

"Yes, yes," Alice nodded slightly and said proudly, "Goat Head said that after occupying the enemy ship, we must plunder the treasure house as soon as possible, and get enough spoils before the ship sinks. I just followed those toy soldiers to drill into many places in the ship, and finally found the ship's kitchen..."

At this point, she recalled a little, and said with emotion: "This ship is really not very good. The things on the ship don't seem to be very smart. When I was collecting the spoils, the things in the kitchen didn't resist. I was ready to fight with this kitchen knife..."

Lucrecia listened to the puppet's chatter in amazement, while Duncan beside her finally couldn't help but speak after a moment of silence: "...Alice."

"ah?"

"Not everyone needs to fight with kitchen utensils when cooking..."

"I know that the kitchens in the city-state won't hit people, but isn't this on a ship?"

"...and not all ships have buckets, mops, pots and pans that can hit people."

Alice's eyes widened in surprise.

Two seconds later, the puppet exclaimed, "Is it so magical?"

Duncan: “…”

At this moment, Lucrecia noticed the strange wooden box in Alice's other hand: "What is this? Is it your trophy too?"

"Yes," Alice realized immediately and nodded repeatedly. "I found it in a strange cabin. There was only a wooden box in such a large room, and there were several iron chains around the box. I pulled most of the chains off, but the lock on the box was strange. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't open it. I didn't know what was inside, so I took the box with me..."

As she spoke, she handed the large wooden box in her hand to Duncan: "Would you like to take a look?"

When Duncan was halfway through Alice's story, he already had a strange intuition in his heart. He took the heavy wooden box with a black surface covered with many complex patterns, and glanced at the lock, only to see that it was just an ordinary-looking iron lock, as if the most incompetent thief could open it with a piece of wire - but it was such a lock that stopped the powerful puppet.

Duncan knew Alice's strength. She could swing the coffin boards to row a coffin on the sea at the speed of a speedboat, and she could also use her strength to break the chains used to imprison the wooden box. Duncan could even imagine Alice running into the cabin and breaking the chains with brute force, but being helpless with the last broken iron lock on the box.

The child is not smart, but he is strong (×)

The child is strong, but not smart (√)

It seems that this box should be what I am looking for.

"Anomaly 132 - Lock," Lucrecia came closer and quickly figured out what the iron lock was that Alice couldn't open with brute force. "It needs a special 'key' to open it. The key is a secret code that only the locker knows. Once locked, it becomes indestructible, and it will also make the container locked by it indestructible - even if it is just a paper box. This anomaly is one of the rare harmless anomalies. Although the number is not high, it has a special function and can be used to assist in sealing some dangerous items. In 1876, it was stolen from a transport ship during a pirate attack... I didn't expect it to fall into the hands of these cultists."

After telling the information about the iron lock, Lucrecia thought for a moment and spoke uncertainly: "The cultist who performed the 'locking' operation last time is dead, and the secret key has been lost, but I can try to crack the puzzle of this lock with other means. Although it is 'indestructible', I heard that it has a loophole..."

A light "click" sound was heard suddenly, interrupting the "witch"'s next words.

Lucrecia looked at the wooden box in Duncan's hand in astonishment.

The lock had opened of its own accord.

"It looks like it doesn't want you to try," Duncan said to Lucrecia with a smile, "or maybe it knows that if you try and it doesn't work, then it's time for me to 'try' it myself."

Lucrecia was stunned: "… Makes sense, my thinking is limited."

Duncan smiled and shook his head, then put the large wooden box on the ground, removed the opened padlock, and carefully opened the lid.

A dark wooden carved goat head lay quietly in the box.