In the captain's room of the Lost Homeland, Duncan, who was sitting by the window with his arms folded across his chest and his eyes closed, slowly opened his eyes.
He glanced at the familiar furnishings in the room, sensed the condition of his body, and breathed a sigh of relief.
Now, he transferred his main consciousness to the Lost Homeland again, and the body that remained in the Pland City-State remained in the antique shop. He was controlling that body with a little unfamiliarity to tidy up the shop on the first floor and hang a sign saying "Closed" at the door.
Duncan in the captain's bedroom slowly stood up from his chair, moving his hands and feet while looking at the desk not far away. He saw the pigeon Ai strolling on the edge of the desk, and the sun mask that had been sent here before was still lying quietly on the table. In the afterglow of the setting sun coming in through the window, the golden surface of the mask was glowing with psychedelic colors, as if there was an illusory flame flowing in its golden lines.
Manager Duncan in front of the antique shop hung a wooden sign indicating that the shop was closed for the night, then turned around and greeted a neighbor who was just returning home. With a faint smile on his face, he talked to this "old neighbor" about today's weather and recent business.
His expression in front of the antique shop was a little stiff and his speech was a little slow, but his neighbors did not suspect anything - it was surprising enough that a gambler who was addicted to alcohol not long ago was now living a serious life. In comparison, a little bit of slow reaction was nothing. How could a person whose body was ruined by alcohol be in good spirits?
In the captain's bedroom, Duncan smiled. After controlling his "remote interaction shell" to complete a social attempt, he casually picked up the sun mask on the table.
There are still many things to do in the city-state of Plande, but not everything can be completed overnight, especially after dark when the city-state has a strict curfew system. It is best to leave one's human body in the store at night to avoid attracting attention - the time after dusk is best left to the "real body" of the Lost Hometown.
He planned to take this opportunity to study the mask he had obtained from the Sun Priest.
The mask feels cold to the touch, and seems to be made of pure metal. It feels heavy and substantial.
Looking at the golden thing in his hand, Duncan's mind suddenly became active. The first thing he thought about was whether this thing was pure gold - if it was, then after studying it, he could melt it down and maybe sell it for a lot of money...
Although he is no longer under financial pressure in the city-state for the time being, money is something that one can never have too much in human society. What if he needs it in the future?
The wool on those sun cultists is varied, and can be used to extract intelligence, reported in exchange for bounties, or to obtain extraordinary items that are destined for you. If there are any extra extraordinary items that are of no use, it is normal to process them a little and sell them...
This is called three-dimensional development and sustainable profiteering.
After pondering for a moment, Duncan suddenly stroked his chin and sighed thoughtfully: "The Sun Cultists are full of treasures..."
Ai, who was walking, suddenly stopped, tilted his head to look at Duncan, and said in a sharp female voice: "Be a human being, be a human being!"
"You are just a bird and you have no right to criticize me," Duncan glared at the pigeon, then rubbed his fingertips, ready to summon the spiritual fire to "clean" the mask from the inside out, and then conduct an in-depth "test" on it after gaining the authority.
A cluster of faint green flames ignited at his fingertips. Just as Duncan was about to direct the flames into the mask, he suddenly heard a vague voice. The voice was so faint and ethereal that it seemed to be whispering in his heart:
[“…it might even connect them to the Lost Hometown…”]
Duncan's movements suddenly stopped.
He looked at the pigeon next to him: "Did you hear any sound?"
The pigeon thought for a moment, flapped its wings and sang out of tune: "Listen ~ the sound of the sea crying ~ sighing for someone who has been hurt again ~"
"Stop, stop, stop... I shouldn't ask you!" Duncan quickly held down the pigeon, thinking that the communication process between him and the bird was simply a quantum state, and nothing he said or heard could be measured accurately. After holding down the pigeon, he immediately concentrated his mind, trying to track the brief "perception" that emerged in his heart when the "whisper" just sounded.
He was sure that he had not hallucinated just now! He was sure that he had heard a voice just now, a young and quiet female voice!
At the same time as the voice rang out, he also vaguely sensed a "connection". This connection was much weaker than the connection between him and the "remote body", but it definitely existed!
Duncan put the matter of the golden mask aside for the moment and glanced at the spiritual flame that was still burning quietly at his fingertips.
That faint connection also seemed to be based on the burning of fire.
He closed his eyes slightly, feeling the "sense of direction" that the fire gave him. In the darkness that followed, he seemed to see a faint light emerging before his eyes.
The faint light vaguely appeared to be a "window" and there seemed to be a figure swaying in the window, but he could not see or hear clearly what was happening on the other side of the window.
But even so, Duncan somehow sensed the guidance of the fire - he opened his eyes, and looked in the direction where the faint light had appeared in the darkness, and suddenly saw a mirror hanging next to the door.
It was just an ordinary oval mirror with a simple, dark wooden frame. It was not an extraordinary item, just like the ones used in many ordinary people's homes.
But Duncan could feel that his flame now needed a medium to strengthen the weak connection that was suddenly established - considering the vague scenes he saw in the darkness and the vague direction he sensed, a mirror might be suitable.
Mirrors occupy a very important position in many mystical rituals. They are regarded as a symbol of "insight" and can also be used to extend the mind's perception ability to observe the truth that was originally invisible and unknowable.
Duncan came to the mirror and casually touched the mirror with the flame in his hand.
The green spirit fire was like flowing water, spreading on the glass mirror. A light and shadow channel with a faint green glow was instantly established. The next second, the faint light window that Duncan saw in the darkness appeared on the mirror with incomparable clarity!
He moved closer curiously.
In the slightly rippling light, he saw a room illuminated by lights. An unusually tall lady was standing near the window. She was reading something in the afterglow of the skylight. She seemed unaware that someone was observing the scene in the room through the glass next to her.
Vanna scanned the document, confirming its contents word by word.
This was a notice jointly discussed and drafted by the bishops of various city-states, and was personally reviewed and approved by His Holiness the Pope, who was seated in the Storm Cathedral. The deliberation process of the notice was completed remotely in a state of psychic resonance, and the entire process was watched and protected by the Goddess to ensure that the text of the notice would not be disturbed by any abnormalities or visions during the drafting process.
This extremely special notice document has only one function: to inform every sailor sailing on the vast ocean that a superior anomaly has escaped the control of the civilized world.
This is very necessary.
Anomalies that lose control in the vast ocean will not disappear from the eyes of the world forever. Although the deep sea will swallow everything, it will never swallow the "anomalies" that fall into it. Those anomalies that are out of control often roam around the edge of the civilized world in more bizarre and difficult to prevent ways, just like wolves roaming around pastures, chasing and threatening the safety of sailors. Almost every year, sailors on long voyages die due to out-of-control anomalies.
As the custodian and sealer of anomalies, each church should inform all captains who may encounter anomalies under its name after they get out of control. No one thinks that this will damage the "face" of the Holy See, because this is the responsibility and obligation of the church.
Timely notification of loss of control may save a ship that has unfortunately encountered an anomaly one day in the future, or make it possible for an out-of-control anomaly to be re-sealed and contained.
Under normal circumstances, such a notice would be issued to port units within twenty-four hours of the out-of-control incident, but this notice involving "Abnormal 099" was a little late.
Because this out-of-control incident not only involves Anomaly 099 - Puppet Coffin, but also Anomaly 005 - Lost Hometown.
The Pope and the bishops must carefully consider the content of the document to ensure that the information disclosed is accurate while avoiding attracting the attention of the Lost Hometown when people read the document.
Vanna's face was as gloomy as she read the document word by word, confirming whether the words in the document conformed to the sacred and invisible prayer structure and whether they could avoid the gaze of the ghost captain of the Lost Hometown.
On the window glass beside her, in the gap of light and shadow that neither she nor the regional bishop could detect, Duncan was leaning forward to peek at the contents of the document.
The ghost captain was shocked.jpg