Martha disappeared, as if she had never existed in the first place.
However, the warm touch still lingers on her temples, and the slightly lemony scent still lingers in her nose - she seems to have never been here, but has never left.
Lawrence felt his fingers trembling a little. He lowered his head and tried several times before he put the small bottle cap back on. It took him a long time to put it back in his pocket. He felt his heart pounding - even when he encountered a big storm, his heart had never beat like this.
Reason came slowly, as if waking up from a long dream, he realized that he had just brushed shoulders with madness, and even almost fell into a state of continuous delusion. For a captain who had been drifting on the vast ocean for most of his life, once he fell into this state, it would be impossible to regain his reason. But at this moment, he had neither the relief of surviving the disaster nor the lingering fear of having faced madness head-on.
He only felt a faint sadness and regret.
This kind of indifferent sadness and regret is even more of a warning sign - it means that deep down in his heart he is no longer so resistant to "madness" itself.
Lawrence took a deep breath and tried his best to get rid of the thoughts that were entangled with his reason. He looked around and saw that the White Oak was right under his feet, and there was a ship full of people waiting for him to take them back to Plande.
Now is not the time to go crazy.
"I really should retire..." The old captain sighed, slowly walked towards the stairs in front of him, but he suddenly stopped after taking a few steps, with a solemn look on his face.
He recalled the scene when "Martha" appeared just now - although he knew that this kind of "memory" was very dangerous and might cause the other party to appear again, he couldn't help but recall it, because he suddenly realized that some of the words "Martha" said to him just now were very worrying: "Lawrence, be careful, you are in the middle of the sea."
"If I were you, I wouldn't have any extra questions at this point, but would leave right away... Your vigilance has dropped..."
Lawrence subconsciously repeated these two sentences in his mind. Although he knew that they were hallucinations caused by his disordered memory and shaken cognition, he still couldn't help but regard these two sentences as some kind of warning - Martha might not exist, but did he feel some kind of danger deep in his intuition? These two sentences... ..are they a warning from his subconscious mind
The old captain looked around and carefully observed the "White Oak" again. Everything he saw was normal. Then he raised his head and looked at the Frost City-State next to him.
Everything was normal in the Frost City-State. The nearby port area looked calm and peaceful. Lights had begun to light up in the city area not far away. Further away, the tall sea cliff overlooked the sea, presenting a hard and powerful outline in the dim sky.
But a faint sense of disharmony arose, like the tide gradually rising in his heart, unstoppable, and along with this sense of disharmony, Lawrence suddenly heard the gentle sound of waves coming to his ears - overlapping with the sound of waves around the White Oak. At first he couldn't distinguish it, but he soon realized that the sound was ringing directly in his mind.
The sound of the waves... ..is it a warning? Is it the blessing of the storm goddess Gemona taking effect? !
Lawrence's eyes narrowed, and he immediately gave up his plan to go to the shore. He turned abruptly and rushed towards the bridge. The cold night wind whistled past his ears, irritating his nerves like a knife.
"Captain?" The first mate on duty on the bridge was surprised to see Lawrence suddenly appear. He stood up from his chair and walked quickly to the captain. "Aren't you going to the shore..."
“Something has changed,” Laurence said quickly. “I don’t think it’s right. How long have we been here? Has anyone sneaked ashore?”
"No," the first mate said immediately, "you have ordered everyone to stay on board, and everyone is quite obedient. Besides, we have been docked here for several hours."
“It’s good that no one has come ashore,” Lawrence nodded quickly, then glanced at the bridge and said, “Light the steam core and we’ll leave this port.”
"Ah.Ah?" The first mate was stunned. "Leave this port? We just..."
Lawrence interrupted him before he could finish. "Something is wrong here. I can't explain it, but I feel terrible. Remember the problem in the observatory? And earlier, we couldn't get in touch with Frost. From that time on, everyone's vigilance dropped. Something... is affecting all of us."
He spoke quickly, and at the same time he knew how abnormal the order he gave was - except for a little intuitive violation, he had no evidence to prove the correctness of his order. The White Oak had just experienced a long voyage, and both people and machines needed to be repaired at this time. In this case, his order to leave the port was like nonsense.
What's more, leaving the port requires coordination with the port authorities. Reigniting the steam core without reporting is a serious violation of regulations. He must take responsibility for his decision.
But a sharp warning sign was beating in his heart, and the increasingly strong sound of waves echoed in his mind. Ge Mona's blessing was warning him not to continue to contact the "Port" or even say a word.
The first mate stared at the captain in front of him. After nearly half a minute, he suddenly stood up and said loudly, "Yes, Captain!"
On board a ship, the captain's word is law.
An insane captain can lead to the death of the entire ship - but there is a higher probability that an experienced captain can save the entire ship from danger.
The order was quickly issued to the entire ship. The confused sailors were urged into action, and soon they were ready to set sail again with a reflex-like skill.
New boiling gold catalysts were injected into the steam core, and a low mechanical vibration sound awakened in the depths of the White Oak. The sailors quietly removed the fixed ropes on the side of the ship and retracted the gangplank to the deck. Lawrence stood on the bridge and carefully observed the movements on the dock through the wide glass boat.
Some figures were moving around on the dock. Under the dim gas light, the figures were blurry and unreal. Some loading and unloading vehicles were passing by a little further away, leaving long and thick shadows on the road.
They seemed to have completely failed to notice that a ship had reignited its steam core in the night, nor that any "thing" had suddenly appeared to intercept the White Oak as it was about to sneak away.
The situation was better than expected. In Lawrence's worst guess, he was even worried that the moment the steam core reignited, hundreds of sea monster tentacles would suddenly appear in the surrounding sea water and drag the White Oak directly into the water.
“Maintain blackout, and don’t sound the whistle,” Lawrence said quickly to the first mate beside him, then stepped to the bridge and took the steering wheel himself. “I’ll steer the ship myself—keep the boilers at high pressure, and be ready to overload at any time.”
"Yes, Captain."
Although there were still doubts in their hearts, everyone on the ship carried out the old captain's orders without hesitation. Lawrence could feel that the steel behemoth under his feet was slowly moving.
The entire ship was in a blackout state, and the propellers under the water began to turn. The White Oak was gradually leaving the port. The sound of the sea water being stirred was heard, and everyone became nervous. Everyone's eyes were looking towards the city-state next to them that was shrouded in the night.
Lawrence felt his palms were sweaty.
But the city-state still did not have any unusual reaction - even though the unusual movements of the White Oak could no longer be concealed, no one came to check the situation.
He looked at the radio communication station next to him again, and the telegraph machine was silent as death.
In theory, the Port Authority should have sent an emergency call at this time, and the port officials on duty would question the reason why the White Oak suddenly left the port - but nothing happened.
This actually strengthened Lawrence's confidence and made him believe that his judgment was correct.
There's something wrong with this place!
The power of the steam core was increased by one level, and the speed of the propeller gradually increased. The White Oak left the dock area faster and faster. The open sea began to appear in front of the bridge, and the water was sparkling.
Lawrence took a deep breath and gripped the steering wheel tightly: "Increase to full speed!"
A gray wind swept across the courtyard and condensed into shape in the lobby of the cathedral. Agatha stepped out of the gray wind. She quickly passed through the porch and hall and came to the "Meditation Temple" where the city-state bishop Ivan was.
The statue of Bartok, the god of death, stood quietly at the end of the church. The dark coffin was placed horizontally on the platform at the feet of the statue. The lid of the coffin was opened. Bishop Ivan, who usually rested in the coffin, stood aside and looked up in the direction of Agatha.
The bishop, who was wrapped in bandages like a mummy with only one eye exposed, was wearing a black robe with gold edges and holding a staff in his hand. After Agatha approached, he took the initiative to speak: "I have heard about Dagger Island."
"I can see that you are going to preside over the meeting yourself," Agatha nodded, but she was a little worried, "Can you handle it?"
Bishop Ivan raised his hand, and grayish-white mist seemed to slowly float out from the gaps in the bandages.
"It's enough if either your body or your mind can hold on."