Fish

The breakfast tasted like chewing wax—and felt worse.

After finishing a rather unsatisfying breakfast, Duncan's mood didn't improve at all as his stomach was filled. Instead, certain intel inadvertently mentioned by Goat Head had sparked a jumble of messy speculations, leaving him somewhat agitated.

He glanced at Ai Yi, the pigeon leisurely strolling on a nearby shelf, and felt his chaotic thoughts becoming increasingly absurd.

He had always believed that this pigeon, which spoke "Earth language," was born because he himself possessed a soul from Earth. He thought that while he was performing Spirit World Walk, the individual "Zhou Ming" had reacted with the brass compass, thus giving birth to a strange bird like Ai Yi.

But what if… the situation wasn't like that at all?

What if, as Goat Head said, this pigeon was merely some phantom that had escaped from a "deeper" place, and it just happened to coalesce into a form beside him?

Then Ai Yi's occasional bursts of "Earth language" would have nothing to do with "Zhou Ming's" memories, but would instead be projections from some recorded history of this world itself…

The possibilities behind this made Duncan feel uneasy and restless.

Alice stood up, her voice interrupting Duncan's rambling thoughts: "Do you need me to wash the dishes?"

Duncan looked at Miss Doll with some surprise. She awkwardly scratched her head: "I feel like since I'm already on the ship, I should find something to do. Otherwise, I'll just look like someone freeloading…"

"But you don't eat at all," Duncan reminded her. "However, it's good that you have this intention—take the plates to the washroom and talk to the sink. If it doesn't mind, you can wash them."

After saying this, he stood up without waiting for Alice's reply, walking towards the captain's cabin door while casually saying, "I'm going to patrol the deck. Don't disturb me if there's nothing important."

The pigeon, which had been walking on the shelf, immediately fluttered onto Duncan's shoulder and left the room with him, leaving Alice staring blankly at Goat Head across the navigation table.

"Is the Captain in a bad mood?" After a moment of hesitation, Alice cautiously asked Goat Head.

Goat Head replied in a deep tone: "The Captain's mood is like the weather on the Boundless Sea. Don't try to guess it, just accept it."

Before Goat Head could continue, Alice quickly asked again, "By the way, the Captain just told me to discuss it with the sink… How do I discuss it?"

"It's simple. You go wash things. If you get splashed with water, it means the sink doesn't like you. Speaking of which, do you know how to wash dishes? If not, I have some theoretical experience…"

Before Goat Head could finish speaking, Alice quickly cleared the tableware from the table. Then, rushing towards the door, she shouted, "No need, I'll learn. Thank you, Mr. Goat Head, goodbye!"

The captain's cabin fell silent, leaving only the dark Goat Head on the table, gazing with empty eyes in the direction everyone had left.

After a long while, a sigh came from the navigation table: "If only I had legs…"

Then its gaze returned to the sea chart.

The mist around the Lost Homeland was still dissipating at a steady pace. The helming task left to it by the Captain still had to be completed properly.

With precise control, the massive and "living" ghost ship agilely adjusted the angles of its various sails, continuing its voyage on the Boundless Sea. Goat Head began humming a sea shanty that had been passed down from an unknown era—its rough, hoarse, noise-like "humming" echoing in the captain's cabin:

"Hoist the sails, hoist the sails, sailors far from home press onward; In the wind and waves, in the clamor, we are but a plank away from death; Furl the topgallants, spread the mainsail, cast off the lines, grip the gunwale! We've reached the middle of the sea! Stay away from the fish, stay away from the fish, sailors must cross the routes where their spawn dwell; Stay away from the fish, stay away from the fish! We must reach the shore safely—liquor and hearth lie ahead…"

Duncan made a round in the supply storage room and then in the kitchen, before finally returning to the mid-deck of the Lost Homeland.

No matter how many times he searched, he couldn't find anything more edible on this ship than dried meat and cheese.

The good news was that he didn't have to eat maggot-infested biscuits like the sailors of the Age of Sail on Earth. The bad news was that there weren't even maggot-infested biscuits on this ship.

He temporarily set aside his previous chaotic thoughts and, with a quiet Ai Yi, came to the edge of the deck.

Gazing out at the boundless sea, he kept contemplating:

"…No matter what, I need to find a way to replenish the Lost Homeland's daily necessities… Although I can't be too particular about the quality of life on a ghost ship, I ultimately can't live like a ghost…

Alice might need spare clothes; there are no dresses on this ship that suit her.

I must establish contact with the city-states on land as soon as possible… The Lost Homeland has drifted at sea for too many years. The city-states on land may have developed to an extent that even that Goat Head cannot predict. From the scene I saw in that sewer before, at least Pland City-State is a powerful and advanced large city. The revolvers carried by those cultists also indicate the technological development of human society…

An ancient ghost ship might not be as invincible in front of a civilization that has developed for a century. The Lost Homeland's residual power is still present, but if only the residual power remains, it will be troublesome…"

Duncan glanced at Ai Yi on his shoulder.

Perhaps… after resting and recuperating today, it was time to try another "Spirit World Walk."

"Coo?"

Ai Yi tilted its head, finally making a sound that a normal pigeon would make.

Duncan couldn't help but chuckle. Just then, his peripheral vision caught a flash of light on the sea surface nearby.

Attracted by the movement, he subconsciously looked further over the ship's railing, and then noticed that something seemed to be swimming beneath the water nearby.

After a moment of hesitation, Duncan suddenly slapped his forehead.

"Damn! My reaction… I'm at sea! Aren't there fish in the sea!"

The sudden appearance of a "possibility" greatly improved Duncan's mood. He realized that establishing contact with land and stably supplying the Lost Homeland with provisions wouldn't happen overnight. But couldn't the vast, boundless sea itself help?

There were fish in the sea—and he was sick of the dried meat and cheese on the ghost ship!

Duncan's enthusiasm was ignited. He remembered that in a certain warehouse below the deck, there were heavy-duty fishing rods for sea fishing, and positions on the ship's railing at the edge of the deck could be found to secure the rods. As for bait… he wondered if that dried meat and cheese would work?

And so, while the cursed doll washed dishes in the washroom and the talking Goat Head diligently steered the ship, the Captain of the Lost Homeland busied himself between the deck and the cabins.

Duncan quickly found what he was looking for. He carried three heavy-duty fishing rods and some "bait" back onto the deck. He then awkwardly secured these items to the edge of the ship's railing. After baiting the hooks and casting the lines, he moved an empty bucket from nearby to serve as a chair while he waited.

Duncan actually had no experience with sea fishing—his entire fishing experience was limited to ponds and a small river by his old home. He didn't know if this sudden whim of his would actually catch any fish, but since he was idle anyway, what if?

He could consider it a period of rest and recuperation before his next Spirit World Walk, and it also allowed him to hold onto some hope for improving his future meals.

Duncan sat down among several fishing rods. During the long wait, his mood gradually returned to a state of calm.

The sea conditions today were relatively stable. The sky had quite a few clouds, but there were no signs of a storm.

Duncan sat on a wooden bucket, leaning against a winch used to secure the mooring ropes. He squinted slightly amidst the gentle rocking of the ship.

At some point, he drifted into a state between waking and sleeping.

He dreamt he was walking barefoot on the calm sea surface. The water was azure blue, and the sunlight was warm.

The familiar and "normal" sun from his memory hung high in the sky, bright but not scorching.

He heard the sound of splashing water. Following the sound, he saw fish suddenly leap out of the calm water nearby.

It was a school of little golden fish, only about the size of his palm. They blew bubbles in the air, flicking their tails as if swimming in water, circling around Duncan.

These fish swimming in the air gradually approached. Zhou Ming looked at them curiously, at their bulging eyes, their fine scales, their opening and closing mouths, and the subtle ripples trailing behind them like waves in the water.

Zhou Ming suddenly felt these fish were very beautiful, and...

Very fragrant.

They must be very, very fragrant.