Bird

Alice did not understand much about the world.

But at least, countless times from within the wooden crate, she had overheard hushed conversations laced with fear and tension. From those crew members and guards whose nerves were especially taut from the responsibility of escorting anomalies, she had built a basic understanding of certain "extraordinary matters."

If something clearly defies common sense yet undeniably exists, the first step is to strictly follow existing safety protocols, and only consider research and analysis while maintaining a safe distance—that is the way to survive.

Alice had no real sense of being "Anomaly 099." She also did not know what she could do, or what she had done, to make humans so fearful and wary of her. She did not know how a sentient "anomaly" should think to be considered "normal"—at this moment, she was simply thinking like a human.

Since Goat Head said the crew rules were only six, then six it was. Since Goat Head mentioned a seventh rule, she would remember that seventh rule.

But she still had some questions she couldn't help asking: "Just now, I tried pushing the Captain's Cabin door, and it did open outward—such an obvious thing, why specifically emphasize it in the rules?"

The wooden Goat Head stared silently into Alice's eyes. After a full two seconds, he spoke with unprecedented brevity: "Sometimes, it can open inward."

"Then..."

"If you see the door opening inward, never enter. On the entire Lost Homeland, only the captain has the right to do so."

This was the first time since earlier that Goat Head had spoken in such a serious, even intimidating tone. Even when introducing the crew rules, he had not been this grave.

Alice was startled by his unusually solemn manner.

But then, Goat Head's tone lightened again, as if the serious topic had never occurred. He cheerfully continued: "Alright, the necessary introduction process for a new crew member is over. Now let's talk about something else... Ah, right, lady, was there something you needed in the Captain's Cabin? If it's about not knowing how to use the ship's facilities, there's no need to trouble the great Captain Duncan. If you're looking for someone to chat with, you've come to the right place. I'm very good at finding topics and know countless great tales about this ship... Not interested in great tales? Then I can introduce you to the most famous dishes on the Boundless Sea. I know a thing or two about cooking..."

Once Goat Head got going, he was in his element. Alice tried several times to interrupt but found no opening. By the time she realized something was wrong, it was too late.

Anomaly 099, the doll Miss Alice, had faced the second greatest terror aboard the Lost Homeland, after Captain Duncan.

At the same time, in the Bedroom just one wall away, Duncan was quietly listening to the commotion from the Chart Room.

He had just woken up, his soul returning to the Lost Homeland from a distant body. He had not heard the beginning of Goat Head and Alice's conversation, but he had caught those "crew rules" and the talk about "the Captain's Cabin door opening outward."

Important intelligence, an unexpected gain.

Duncan had not yet finished digesting the information he had gathered from those cultists when he accidentally overheard the exchange between Goat Head and Alice. Both the strange and eerie "crew rules" and the information Goat Head had revealed at the end were extremely important to him.

Sure enough, when he pushed the Captain's Cabin door inward to return to "the other side," Goat Head had known. To him, this action meant returning to his single apartment, but to the Lost Homeland here, it seemed to mean "the captain has temporarily left."

Goat Head had no suspicion about this and regarded it as a normal behavior of Captain Duncan.

So... had the original "real Captain Duncan" of this ship also pushed open the Captain's Cabin door and gone to some mysterious "world"? And this had happened more than once, to the point where it not only seemed natural to Goat Head but had even become part of the Lost Homeland's crew rules?

This news was good for Duncan. It meant he wouldn't have to worry too much about returning to "the other side" in the future. Even if new crew members joined the ship, he could openly disappear from everyone's sight this way without fear of anyone following and discovering his "secret."

But on the other hand, Duncan couldn't help but feel some inevitable concern—related to the "6+1" crew rules Goat Head had deliberately mentioned.

What did these crew rules really mean? On what basis were these bizarre, dangerous, even contradictory rules established? Some of them seemed designed to emphasize the captain's authority, but the truth was clearly more than that. Those strict behavioral restrictions seemed more like a way for people on the ship to survive in a dangerous environment, to avoid invisible threats through established protocols.

Duncan frowned slightly, pondering his true place in these rules. Judging by their content, he, as the "captain," seemed to be the only one with maximum freedom and initiative. He didn't need to worry about the "invisible risks" on the ship, and he himself was the arbiter of many danger zones. But... all of this was predicated on him being the "real Captain Duncan."

That was the most worrying part.

But then he suddenly recalled his explorations on the Lost Homeland over this period, the fact that he had freely moved around the ship.

Goat Head had never reminded him about the crew rules. He treated Duncan as the real Captain Duncan, and Duncan had never encountered any "eerie danger" while moving about the ship. Nor was there any possibility of a second "captain" jumping out to impose restrictions on his movements.

From this perspective, the dangers Goat Head mentioned in the "crew rules" seemed indeed irrelevant to him.

Duncan let out a soft breath and continued listening to the sounds from the Chart Room.

Half a minute later, he wished he could turn off his ears.

The chatterbox doll and the noisy Goat Head were in full conversation, with the latter clearly holding the overwhelming advantage. The crackling nonsense surged through the Chart Room like the wind and waves of the Boundless Sea, and even Duncan, hiding in the Bedroom to observe, couldn't take it.

He felt he should go out and rescue the poor Miss Doll. Alice, lacking social experience, was clearly no match for Goat Head. But after a moment's hesitation, Duncan stopped.

He had just finished a strange "soul journey" and had much information to organize, experiences to summarize. He needed to understand what had happened to him and whether the process was controllable—from the looks of it, this ability to project his spirit to distant places would be his best tool for gathering intelligence on land in the future.

Normally, he would worry that spending too long in his room studying his new ability might draw unnecessary attention from Goat Head. But now, with Alice outside to occupy that chatterbox's attention... it couldn't be more perfect.

Silently apologizing to Miss Doll in his heart, Duncan looked down at his right hand. The next second, his expression froze.

The Brass Compass, slightly larger than a pocket watch, had disappeared without him noticing.

And he clearly remembered that until recently, he had been holding it tightly in his hand!

Duncan's eyes sharpened instantly, because he realized he had completely failed to notice the change in his hand. This lapse in attention was the first time since he had come aboard this strange, eerie ghost ship.

The next second, he clenched his right hand, and a faint green Spectral Flame quietly flickered between his fingers. Then he stood up from behind the desk, ready to use the connection between the Spectral Flame and supernatural objects to check the entire Bedroom for any anomalous traces.

But just as he rose, Duncan suddenly stopped. A subtle connection emerged from the depths of his heart. He instinctively looked toward the direction from which it came. In the corner of his eye, a few illusory feathers drifted down from the air.

Duncan stared in surprise at where the feathers fell, seeing a phantom rapidly materialize and coalesce before his eyes. In just two or three seconds, the phantom formed into a pure white...

Pigeon.

The missing compass hung around the pigeon's chest, and a familiar Obsidian Dagger lay quietly at its feet.