Communication Is Difficult

The pigeon tilted its head, likely sensing Duncan hadn't heard clearly. It quickly repeated itself, its voice even louder than before: "Ai Yi!"

Duncan finally understood what the bird meant. "You mean your name is Ai Yi?"

The pigeon nodded proudly, pacing back and forth on the desk. "Coo coo!"

Duncan couldn't help but rub his temples. He felt that communicating with this bird was even stranger than talking to Goat Head, mainly due to the pigeon's inscrutable way of speaking. "Do you know how you came into being? Or rather... how did you appear here?"

The pigeon thought for a moment, its two eyes drifting vaguely in different directions simultaneously. "Oh dear, the page is gone. Let's try refreshing?"

Duncan: "..."

He found himself completely unable to understand what this bird was thinking. He wasn't even sure if the sentences it suddenly blurted out were related to the current topic.

However, he was absolutely certain that this bird was thinking, and it was communicating with him very... seriously.

It was just that its understanding of "communication" was clearly its own.

Duncan exchanged a few more words with the pigeon that called itself "Ai Yi." The result was that their conversation remained on parallel tracks. They were basically talking past each other. If you tried to find a connection, there was none, but if you tried to say they were unrelated, the pigeon answered every question... and occasionally threw in a sentence or two that seemed to answer Duncan's question.

There wasn't much progress by the end of the conversation. Duncan could only frown and mutter, "What kind of bizarre thing is this..."

He felt it would take him a long time to establish normal communication with this bird, a process that might even be more difficult than getting used to Goat Head's incessant chatter.

The pigeon, meanwhile, squatted on the desk opposite him, blinking its innocent little eyes and occasionally muttering requests for V it 50.

Duncan ignored the bird's ramblings. He curled his fingers and rubbed them together, watching the green flame on his fingertips dance in the air. There was at least one thing he was sure of: although the brass compass had merged with the pigeon before him, in essence, it was still an "Anomaly" that he could control.

The eerie green Spirit Body Fire surged up, and green flames almost simultaneously rose from the gaps in "Ai Yi" the pigeon's feathers. The brass compass hanging on its chest snapped open with a "clack." Beneath the transparent glass cover, the slightly ethereal needle gradually stabilized according to Duncan's will, and the dial, etched with various mysterious symbols, was gradually filled with flames.

Ai Yi showed no reaction throughout the process, simply basking in the Spirit Body Fire as if awaiting Duncan's command.

Before the brass compass was fully activated, Duncan proactively dispersed the flames.

During the test, Duncan silently summarized his findings:

"The compass still works... it just has a strange 'medium' now. I can't determine what effect this pigeon will have for now, perhaps some kind of benefit...

"I still don't know the full story of this compass. It's best not to attempt a second 'traverse' until I'm prepared... Next time I test it, I need to pay close attention to any changes in the compass and the pigeon.

"There's a connection between the pigeon and me. When the Spirit Body Fire is activated, this connection becomes more apparent, and I can even control the pigeon's position to a certain extent... but the control only goes this far...

"'Ai Yi' clearly has its own will and acts according to its own thoughts. The instructions I give it may not always be executed. This is different from other 'items' on the Lost Homeland.

"It can speak, has a certain thinking ability, and can independently judge issues... Compared to ordinary Anomalies, this pigeon's nature seems closer to Goat Head..."

Duncan mentally summarized the current intelligence. Finally, his gaze fell upon the obsidian dagger.

Its blade was like a dry, twisted finger, and the blade was black and reflective.

This was the very item held by the black-robed priest who wore a golden sun mask and presided over the evil sacrificial ritual in the sewer gathering place. Judging by its use, this should be a "ritual blade."

Duncan had arrived at the gathering place, suspected to be beneath the "Pland City-State," via mental projection, and returned the same way. He had thought this process should be entirely mental or spiritual, but now this ritual dagger was lying right in front of him.

After a moment of thought, Duncan reached out and picked up the dagger.

The cold, hard touch was real; this was a tangible item.

Duncan released a bit more Spirit Body Fire, letting the flames envelop the blade. From the hollow, void-like feedback, the extraordinary power that had once been contained within this ritual dagger had indeed dissipated completely.

Just as he had judged at the sacrificial site, this was not a true "Anomaly," but rather a derivative product of some extraordinary power, or a temporary item "infused" artificially.

Although Duncan didn't know the system of "Anomalies" in this world, he guessed that this dagger probably wasn't a very rare item. At least... it looked like it was mass-produced.

"Did you bring this back?" he asked, looking up at Ai Yi resting on the desk, holding up the obsidian dagger. "And was it specifically for me?"

The pigeon stared intently at Duncan with its small red eyes, completely still, showing no reaction to his question.

Duncan: "...?"

He asked again, but the pigeon remained motionless, as if it had suddenly turned into a lifeless sculpture.

The sudden abnormal change made Duncan frown slightly. But just as he was about to use his Spirit Body Fire to stimulate Ai Yi and see if he could forcibly wake it up, the bird suddenly "came alive" again. It hopped twice on the spot and shouted loudly, "Get this solar axe, get this solar axe, get this..."

"Okay, okay, I get it. You don't need to answer every single question I asked," Duncan quickly waved his hand, forcing the pigeon to quiet down while organizing his thoughts. "Do you know how you brought this dagger over? Or rather, can you traverse with 'physical objects,' is that it?"

The pigeon pondered for a moment, then lowered its head and pecked Duncan's finger. "Full discount on the whole order, free shipping on every item."

Duncan: "I... I'll just pretend I understood."

He sighed, feeling that this was the limit of his communication with the bird.

Then he stood up from the desk and looked in the direction of the chart room.

Goat Head and Alice were still out there, their enthusiastic and friendly exchange continuing.

The doll lady hadn't made a sound for a long time, and Goat Head had just begun describing the seventeenth method of making kelp stew.

Duncan felt it was necessary to go rescue his only (and surprisingly, the most normal-looking) crew member.

On the other hand, he had been in the dormitory for too long, and had caused some unusual disturbances in the meantime. He felt it was necessary to show his face and put Goat Head's mind at ease.

However, before leaving, he hesitated and glanced at Ai Yi, who was scurrying around on the desk.

Should he take this pigeon with him? How would he explain it if he did?

Duncan hesitated for only two seconds before decisively grabbing the pigeon and placing it on his shoulder.

He would be operating on the Lost Homeland for a long time, and this pigeon would undoubtedly be with him for the foreseeable future. He didn't know the bird's living habits yet, but as an "Anomaly" with thinking and communication abilities, it would probably be difficult to hide it somewhere like an inanimate object.

The ship had gained a new "crew member," something that couldn't be hidden. If he hid it now, any future exposure would cause significant damage to the image of "Captain Duncan."

Therefore, it would be better to openly bring this pigeon out and simply call it his new "trophy"—he didn't need to explain anything to that Goat Head; a captain didn't need to explain to his First Mate.

The First Mate would figure it out himself.

As for the strange things this pigeon occasionally blurted out (which would undoubtedly be incomprehensible to the locals of this world)... there was no need to explain that either.

Let Goat Head and Alice figure out how to interpret it themselves.

With the fat pigeon perched on his shoulder, Duncan stood up, tidied his appearance and posture, and calmly strode towards the chart room.

The pigeon proudly puffed out its chest, as if announcing, "Authentic good herbal tea, authentic good voice, welcome to..."