A signal!

The bridge suddenly became quiet. Even Lucrecia, who usually seemed cool and calm, slightly widened her eyes. A "signal" appeared "outside the border" that had already crossed the six-nautical-mile critical line. It would be difficult for anyone to remain calm, let alone in this situation where they were already lost!

How could there be a signal in this place? Who sent it? Was it a real "event" or... another sinister trap created by this thick fog for uninvited guests?

"Be prepared for protection!" Lucrecia spoke instantly, and her figure flashed to the side of the control console. At the same time, she reached out and pulled a rod between the devices. Luni beside her also reacted immediately. The clockwork puppet quickly pressed several buttons on the platform, then took a step back, grabbed the spring on her back, pulled it out slightly, and turned it in the opposite direction three times.

With a slight cracking sound, exquisite cracks suddenly appeared on Luni's arms, legs and neck, and runes gradually lit up under her skin, and her eyes began to glow slightly dark red. At the same time, the sound of machinery running came from all over the bridge, and many grids and pipe nozzles that were originally hidden turned out from the floor and walls. The smell of incense and a strange low hum surrounded everyone.

Shirley stared at the scene in amazement. After a moment of silence, she belatedly exclaimed, "...Wow...you actually have such a powerful thing?!"

Nina couldn't help but stare at the clockwork puppet in a defensive state with wide eyes: "...How did you change just now?"

Lu Ni shivered at Nina's seemingly burning (or maybe not) gaze, and heard a sound of parts colliding inside her body: "The mistress won't let outsiders tear me apart..."

"When exploring the border all year round, you have to be prepared for unexpected situations," Lucrecia said with a sigh, looking at the Deep Demon and the Sun Fragment who seemed to have no sense of danger at all. "Be alert, I'm going to connect this signal - the voice on the other end of the radio may not be human, or even a 'voice'... Never mind, you shouldn't be too afraid of this."

After she finished speaking, she took a deep breath and placed her hand on the communication device - there was a click.

An intermittent voice mixed with serious noise, as if it had been interfered with and distorted by countless layers, came from the loudspeaker: "... Calling... hissing... This is... the hissing... lighthouse, calling... voyageurs, waiting for you... hissing... to return. Repeat, this is... hissing..."

The hoarse and monotonous calling sounded like a ghost echoing in the cracks of time and space, repeating over and over again.

Everyone on the bridge was stunned, even Lucrecia was a little surprised.

"Lighthouse?" After a long while, Shirley muttered to herself, and then suddenly froze, as if she remembered something, "Wait, I remember! When we set out, the last stop..."

Lucrecia suddenly recalled what the pope had said to them at the last mobile port of the Deep Sea Church before the fleet crossed the curtain.

[“The three warships will stay near the lighthouse, waiting for your return... This mobile port will stay here, and my avatar will also stay here until you come back..."]

"...The lighthouse is still there. They are actually still waiting there?!" Shirley's eyes widened. She might not be a good student, but her memory was always good. "The whole world has almost come to a standstill!"

Lucrecia did not speak. Although she recalled the situation when she set out, she still did not let her excitement affect her calmness. She first confirmed whether there were any traces of distortion or tampering in the signal, and confirmed that this was not a collective hallucination "reflected" in the border waters due to the influence of the minds of the people on the bridge. Then she confirmed the defense situation of the Brilliant Star, and then she picked up the microphone on the communication desk and put it to her mouth: "Navigator received, this is the Brilliant Star, we are trying to return from the critical line, the navigation on the ship has failed, please increase the antenna power of the lighthouse."

She put down the phone and waited patiently.

However, the communication device was buzzing, and after a few seconds, the monotonous repetitive content was still transmitted: "This is... buzzing... lighthouse, calling... voyagers... buzzing..."

Lucrecia's brows gradually furrowed. She tried to contact the other party again with a serious expression, but there was still no reply from the other party. Moreover, after repeating the content again, there was no more voice, only a disruptive hissing sound.

"Can't the other side hear us?" Nina opened her eyes wide with curiosity. "Are they being disturbed?"

"I don't know, but it's certain that the signal came from the 'Lighthouse'," Lucrecia said with a frown, turning her head to look at Luni, "Can you track the direction from which the signal came?"

"It's not strong enough, but we can track a general direction," Luni responded quickly while operating the equipment next to her, "Should we go in this direction?"

Lucrecia turned her head and glanced in the direction of Maurice.

After exchanging glances, they both nodded slightly at the same time.

This is the "guiding anchor" for returning home - the "wood" that floats from the other side of the border line.

"We'll at least get back to around 1902," Lucrecia whispered to herself.

The Brilliant Star began to slowly adjust its course. After patrolling for a long time along the six-nautical-mile critical line and increasing the sensitivity of the antenna as much as possible to determine the direction of the signal, it finally found the most likely "gap" in that boundary line.

Then the whistle sounded, and with an unswerving determination, the ship covered with the phantom of the Lost Homeland, the voyager that had drifted at the end of the world for so long, plunged into the fog of home.

When crossing the critical line, no one "felt" anything. Only Lucrecia, who had been exploring the border waters for many years, could vaguely perceive the "change" that was difficult to describe in words.

Her expression was tense, and she was highly aware of everything around her, paying attention to the movement of the communication device.

Back? Back to around 1902?

Fortunately, fate did not continue to play tricks on those returning home. Almost at the moment of crossing the boundary, Luni happily reported: "Madam, the signal has been significantly enhanced - we have successfully returned to the inner side of the curtain, and we just received the time signal at the same time. Our time is accurate!"

Lucrecia finally breathed a sigh of relief - the last time she felt this kind of relief and joy from the bottom of her heart was when her brother contacted her and told her that "father has indeed regained his humanity."

The cheers of Shirley and Nina could also be heard on the bridge, as well as the quiet cheers of Rabbi who finally dared to breathe in the corner and the little doll Nel.

"Keep moving towards the signal," Lucrecia ordered, and then she picked up the microphone of the communication device and called the lighthouse again, "This is the Brilliant Star. We have successfully crossed the critical line and are moving towards the lighthouse. Are you all right?"

However, after calling twice in a row, there was still only a rustling noise in the communication device - although the signal had been strengthened to a level that did not affect communication at all, there was still no response from the lighthouse.

It was as if the voice calling us to return home was just a dream.

Lucrecia's expression gradually became more serious, and the atmosphere on the bridge, which had just been relaxed for a while, became serious again.

Lucrecia put down the phone and shook her head: "...something seems to be wrong with the lighthouse. Let's go over there first."

The "lighthouse" standing deep in the thick fog at the border, near the six-nautical-mile critical line, which could penetrate the critical line to a certain extent, finally appeared in the sight of the Brilliant Star.

It was still lit, and the blessed light was shining, a little dimmer than when it set out, but still penetrating the thick fog.

When they saw the light, everyone relaxed a little - there was a signal and the light was still on, which at least showed that someone was maintaining the lighthouse in the recent period.

But why is it so quiet?

After what seemed an unusually long voyage, the Brilliant Star finally arrived near the lighthouse.

At first glance, Lucrecia saw that the three huge Deep Sea Church warships were still quietly docked in the port of the mobile platform below the lighthouse. The various lights on the sides of the warships were still on, and they were obviously still operating normally - but there was no movement due to the approach of the Brilliant Star.

It was as if there were people on those ships maintaining normal operation of the facilities, but no one responded to the return of the voyagers.

"I just saw a figure swaying on the upper deck of the lighthouse," Shirley came to the deck and looked up into the distance while whispering, "There are people up there, but no one seems to be paying attention to us... Can't they see us?"

"Could it be that all this is just an illusion..." Nina muttered a little worriedly.

"...What if we are phantoms?" Shirley muttered even more frighteningly.

Lucrecia didn't pay attention to the two girls whispering and threatening each other. She also noticed that there seemed to be people moving around in the lighthouse facility. After a brief consideration, she quickly made a decision:

"Fanna and I will go up to check the situation. The rest of you stay on the boat. Before we come back, do not leave the boat and do not trust any voice or figure that comes over the communicator. Luni, keep an eye on the boat."

Luni immediately bowed slightly: "Yes, mistress."

After some simple preparations, Lucrecia and Vanna boarded the origami boat and quietly boarded the strangely silent lighthouse.

The surroundings were very quiet. A cold wind blew across the harbor, bringing with it a "cold" that seemed to be able to penetrate the flesh and blood, gradually paralyzing the heart and blood vessels.

Lucrecia and Vanna stepped onto the pier and looked around in the night and mist.

There are many human figures moving in the fog.

But no one paid any attention to them.