There are no words to describe the shock Zhou Ming felt at this moment.

The knocking sound on the door was not loud and was a very common noise under normal circumstances. However, when it sounded in this single apartment, every knock was like a roar that shook the earth and sky, hitting Zhou Ming's ears like a hammer!

His eyes widened for a moment, almost thinking that it was an illusion after a series of events and disappointments, but then he came to his senses and realized that the knocking sound was a real sound - and it was still continuing.

He rushed to the door like a gust of wind and reached out to press the door handle, but just as he was about to turn the handle, he suddenly hesitated for two seconds.

Can the door really be opened? Is this a reckless act that leads to a trap?

If it were during the initial days when he was trapped in this room, he would not have such worries at this moment, because at that time he only thought that the thick fog was some kind of strange "phenomenon", and he still firmly believed that his familiar hometown was still outside the fog. However, now, Zhou Ming already knows what happened in his world - his hometown had long been reduced to ashes, and the only thing left in the entire universe was his own little house, and in the depths of the boundless fog... there were only ashes after the extinction of all things.

After the world ends, who will come knocking on your door?

Anyway, no matter how you think about it, it is unlikely that he is a normal "living person".

Zhou Ming was weighing the pros and cons with caution, and the knocking sound was still repeated patiently, with an interval of three to five seconds between each knock. It did not sound hurried, yet fully reflected the patience and persistence of the person knocking on the door, as if it was a polite yet stubborn visitor who insisted on coming to visit.

...If I open the door, it might be a trap, but if I don't open the door, I might miss this "visit" - no matter who is outside the door, this is a unique event, and I have to figure out what it is.

Countless thoughts flashed through Zhou Ming's mind. Finally, he took a deep breath and made up his mind. Then he pressed the door handle with one hand and gently stroked the door frame with the other hand.

The translucent illusory flames flowed and spread on the door frame, forming a burning hazy barrier.

After taking precautions and being extremely alert, he exerted force with his hands, suddenly turned the handle, and opened the door at an extremely fast speed.

There was no one outside the door, only the black fog that kept swirling, expanding and shrinking, as usual.

Zhou Ming was breathing heavily, feeling his heart pounding. He stared at the empty black fog with wide eyes, and it took a long time for him to come back to his senses.

Was it because I was a step too late to open the door? Did the visitor who knocked on the door lose patience? Was it really just a coincidence that the visitor left the moment I opened the door?

Zhou Ming frowned. He was sure that the knocking sound was still repeated until he opened the door. Even if the other party really lost his patience, he should not leave so instantly.

He hesitated in his heart, and suddenly, a voice interrupted his thoughts.

There was a knock on the door - the knock on the door came into his ears again.

Zhou Ming's eyes suddenly widened, staring at the swirling black fog in front of him. He finally realized that the knocking sound actually came from the black fog.

The sound sounded very close, as if it was right next to the surface of the fog and could be touched with the hand. However, even if he opened his eyes wide, Zhou Ming could not see anything in the fog. He stretched out his hand into the thick fog again, but could only feel an empty and cold touch - there was nothing in there.

Only the knocking sound kept repeating, still with great patience.

Zhou Ming slowly withdrew his hand that was reaching out for the black fog and stood quietly at the door, listening to the knocking that seemed like it would never stop, calming the storm in his head.

There was a visitor who was trying to open the "hut" on the other side of the black fog, but he was blocked by the outer shell of the "cocoon".

After thinking silently for a long time, Zhou Ming suddenly raised his head. He thought of something, turned around and ran quickly to the desk.

He hurriedly gathered a few things - whiteboard markers, paper, a tape measure, a ball of thread, and many other odds and ends - and then wrapped them all in a plastic bag and carried it to the door.

Then he found a piece of paper and wrote a line of words on it in the common language of the vast sea: "I heard it, who are you?"

He taped the note to the opening of the plastic bag, and then threw the bag towards the swirling black mist without hesitation.

The plastic bag filled with sundries was swallowed up by the wriggling mist in the blink of an eye and disappeared into the depths of darkness.

Zhou Ming opened his eyes wide and looked in the direction where the bag disappeared. Even his breathing subconsciously slowed down a lot. He had never been so nervous waiting for "something" to happen. Even when the fire in Plande started, he was not so tense.

The knocking on the door stopped. The second after the bag of debris passed through the black fog, the "dong dong dong" sound stopped abruptly.

Obviously, the "visitor" on the other side of the black fog received the "gift" he sent and responded to it - but then Zhou Ming waited for a long time and did not get any further response.

Apart from the fact that the knocking on the door stopped, no further information came.

Until the end.

The goat head on the navigation table suddenly felt something, and immediately turned its neck with a creaking sound and looked towards the door of the captain's room - a tall and majestic figure opened the door and walked in, his footsteps slightly heavy.

"Name?"

"Duncan Abnomer."

Duncan slowly walked to the chart table, sat down in the armchair, and took a long breath, as if he wanted to expel all his fatigue and messy thoughts with this breath of foul air.

The goat-head instantly noticed the captain's condition. It had been preparing an aria that would take almost five minutes to greet the captain and discuss the unique climate of the border, but it suppressed all of it at once. After hesitating for a moment, it spoke cautiously: "Are you... okay? You look upset?"

Duncan glanced at the goat head and said casually, "Someone knocked on the door and was stood up."

Goat Head thought about it carefully: "...Is this related to Ai Yi?"

Duncan waved his hands, already accustomed to such irrelevant situations.

"It seems that it has nothing to do with Ai," Goat Head was used to it. After realizing that the captain didn't want to talk more, he quickly adjusted his mentality and changed the subject. "We are about to pass through the thick fog of the Eternal Veil. Captain, are we going to return directly to Breeze Harbor next, or do we have other arrangements?"

"…Return to Breeze Harbor. During this time, I need to sort out my thoughts and discuss some things with the popes. They should all stay in the city-state during this period."

"Okay, Captain," the goat-headed man said immediately, then he opened his mouth again, obviously hesitating for a moment before continuing, "Also, what do you think of the report from Vanna and Morris?"

"You mean the 'figures' they witnessed before evacuating Sanctuary Island?"

“Yes,” said Goat Head, “They are wearing tattered robes and look like the phantoms of the End Preachers, but they have no contact with anyone, as if they are independent of another dimension of time and space… This sounds different from the End Preachers we are familiar with. They appeared on the Holy Island… I always feel that this is unusual.”

Duncan pondered for a moment, then casually took out a palm-sized piece of photographic paper and placed it on the chart table to examine it carefully.

This was what Morris had handed to him during the meeting in the cabin before - the only piece of evidence the old scholar had collected when he witnessed those suspicious figures that suddenly appeared on the Holy Island.

The image on the photographic paper was not very clear. A kind of fine stripes covered the entire picture like some kind of interference or veil, but one could still make out the black door deep in the cave and the vague white figure next to the black door.

The facial features of the white figure in the tattered robe were blurred, and one could only judge from his posture and position that he seemed to be observing something carefully - observing the black door, or something behind the black door.

"...In the past, the preachers of the end of the world that appeared before people were either madmen who had lost their minds and only knew how to spread their doomsday theories crazily, or they were still rational scholars who tried to convey information or guide some things to the witnesses," the goat-headed man muttered to himself. "This is the first time that such phantoms that don't communicate with people at all have appeared. They seem to be busy with their own things and don't notice the fierce fighting nearby. It's like..."

Duncan said softly, "It's like a traveler in a hurry, on his way."

The goat-head was stunned for a moment: "You mean..."

"It's just a sudden association." Duncan raised his head. "They seem to be absorbed in their work and have no reaction to their surroundings at all. Perhaps... what we are seeing is the End of Time survey team traveling through the time stream for observation. This is what they look like on the 'road.'"

The goat-headed creature opened its mouth and said, "...In other words, what Vanna and Morris saw were the phantoms left behind by the Cretans when they traveled through time? But there has never been any eyewitness record of this before..."

"Perhaps this has something to do with the special environment at the border, or perhaps..."

Duncan paused, was silent for a moment, and then shook his head.

"Or maybe this is another omen."

The goat-head didn't react for a moment: "Another omen?"

"The end-of-time survey team that set out from the beginning of the deep sea era once reached the 'end of time', which is the end of the shelter," Duncan said calmly, looking into the eyes of the goat-headed creature. "That means..."

He didn't say anything else, but the goat-headed man had already reacted: "That is to say, we will see them at the end of time. Doomsday is the only moment when our time stream and theirs truly converge..."

Duncan did not speak, but just looked quietly at the photo on the chart table, looking at the hazy figure standing next to the black door, seemingly observing something carefully.

He didn't know if it was an illusion, but he felt that the hazy figure seemed to become a little clearer.