This breakfast tasted like wax - and tasted worse than wax.
After a not-so-satisfying breakfast, Duncan's mood did not improve at all as his stomach was filled. Instead, he became a little annoyed because some of the information that Goat Head inadvertently mentioned triggered a bunch of messy guesses.
He looked at Ai, the pigeon strolling leisurely on a nearby shelf, and felt that the fanciful thoughts in his mind were becoming more and more outrageous.
He has always believed that this pigeon that speaks in "Earth language" was born because it has the soul of an Earth human. He believes that when he was walking in the spiritual world, the individual "Zhou Ming" reacted with the brass compass, giving birth to a strange bird like Ai.
But what if... that's not the case
What if, as Goat-Head said, this pigeon was just some kind of phantom that ran out from a "deeper" place and then happened to condense into a form next to him
Then the "Earth language" that Ai Yi occasionally uttered had nothing to do with "Zhou Ming's" memory, but became a projection of a certain period of history recorded by this world itself...
The possibilities behind this disturbed Duncan.
Alice stood up, and her voice interrupted Duncan's wandering thoughts: "Do you need me to wash the dishes?"
Duncan looked at Miss Doll in surprise, and the latter scratched her hair awkwardly: "I think since I'm already on the ship, I should find something to do, otherwise I'll be like a freeloader..."
"But you don't even eat," Duncan reminded her, "but it's a good idea that you have this intention - take the dishes to the bathroom and talk to the sink. If it doesn't mind, you can wash them."
After saying this, he stood up without waiting for Alice to reply, and walked towards the door of the captain's room while saying casually: "I'm going to patrol the deck. Don't disturb me if you don't have anything else to do."
The pigeon that was walking on the shelf immediately fluttered onto Duncan's shoulder and left the room with him, leaving Alice staring at the goat-head in front of the navigation table.
"Is the captain in a bad mood?" After hesitating for a moment, Alice asked Goat Head carefully.
The goat-head said in a deep tone: "The captain's mood is like the weather in the vast ocean. Don't speculate, just accept it."
Alice didn't wait for the goat-head to continue speaking before quickly asking, "By the way, the captain just asked me to discuss this with Shuichi... How do we discuss it?"
"It's simple. If you go to wash something and get splashed with water, it means the sink doesn't like you. By the way, do you know how to wash dishes? If not, I have some theoretical experience..."
Before Goat Head finished speaking, Alice quickly cleared the tableware and rushed to the door, shouting, "No need, I will learn. Thank you, Mr. Goat Head, goodbye!"
The captain's room suddenly became quiet, leaving only the black goat head on the table, staring with empty eyes in the direction where everyone left.
After a long while, a sigh came from the navigation table: "I wish I had legs..."
Then its eyes returned to the chart.
The fog around the Lost Homeland was still slowly dissipating, and the captain's assigned task of steering the ship still had to be completed well.
Under precise control, this huge and "living" ghost ship sensitively adjusted the angles of each sail and continued to sail on this boundless sea. Goat Head hummed a ship song that had been passed down from who knows when - the rough and hoarse "humming" that sounded like noise echoed in the captain's room:
“Sails hoisted, sails hoisted, the sailor who left home kept on going;
“In the storm and the noise, we are only a plank away from death;
"Take the jib, spread the mainsail, let go the cables, hold on to the gunwale! We are in the middle of the sea!
“Stay away from the fish, stay away from the fish, the sailor must cross the route where the offspring are entrenched;
"Stay away from the fish, stay away from the fish! We want to land safely - strong wine and fire are just ahead..."
Duncan walked around the warehouse where supplies were stored, then around the kitchen, and finally returned to the deck in the middle of the Lost Homeland.
No matter how much he searched, he couldn't find anything on the ship that tasted better than jerky and cheese.
The good news was that he didn't have to eat maggot-infested biscuits like the sailors on Earth in the Age of Sail had to do. The bad news was that there weren't even any maggot-infested biscuits on this ship.
He put aside his previous random thoughts for the time being and brought the quiet Ai to the edge of the deck.
Looking out at the boundless sea, he kept thinking:
“… In any case, I have to find a way to replenish the necessities of life on the Lost Homeland… Although I can’t be too particular about the quality of life on a ghost ship, I can’t really live like a ghost after all…
"Alice might need a change of clothes, and there's nothing suitable for her on board.
"We must establish contact with the city-states on land as soon as possible... The Lost Homeland has been drifting on the sea for too many years. The city-states on land may have developed to a level that even the goat-head could not have predicted during this period. From what we saw in the sewer before, at least the Plande city-state is a strong and advanced city. The revolvers carried by those cultists can also illustrate the technological development of human society...
"An ancient ghost ship may not be invincible in the face of a civilized society that has developed for a century. The Lost Hometown still has its power, but if it is just its power, it will be difficult to deal with it..."
Duncan glanced at Ai over his shoulder.
Maybe... I should recharge my batteries today and try my next "spiritual walk".
"Gugu?"
Ai tilted his head and finally made some normal pigeon-like movements.
Duncan couldn't help but smile, and at this moment, he suddenly noticed out of the corner of his eye that there seemed to be a flash of light on the nearby sea.
His attention was attracted by the movement and he subconsciously looked out the side of the boat a few more times. Then he noticed that there seemed to be something swimming under the water nearby.
After hesitating for a moment, Duncan suddenly slapped himself on the forehead.
"Hey! My reaction... We are in the sea! Aren't there fish in the sea?"
The sudden appearance of "possibility" made Duncan's mood instantly improve. He realized that establishing contact with the land and providing a stable supply of materials to the Lost Homeland would not be accomplished overnight, but couldn't the vast ocean itself be of some help
There are fish in the sea—and he's had enough of the jerky and cheese on the ghost ship!
Duncan's enthusiasm was aroused. He remembered that there were heavy fishing rods for sea fishing in a warehouse below the deck, and there was a place to fix the fishing rods on the side of the ship at the edge of the deck. As for the bait... I wonder if the dried meat and cheese will work
Just like that, the cursed doll was washing dishes in the water room, the talking goat head was concentrating on driving the boat, and the captain of the Lost Homeland was busy between the deck and the cabin.
Duncan quickly found what he wanted. He carried three heavy fishing rods and some "bait" back to the deck, and fixed these things to the edge of the boat in a rather unfamiliar manner. After putting on the bait and casting the rod, he moved an empty bucket from nearby to serve as a chair while waiting.
Duncan actually had no experience in sea fishing - all his fishing experience was limited to ponds and a small river in his hometown. He didn't know whether his impulsive action would really catch any fish, but he had nothing to do anyway, so what if
Just treat it as a rest before the next journey into the spirit world, and at the same time, you can also keep an eye on the improvement of food in the future.
Duncan sat down between several fishing rods. During the long wait, his mood gradually calmed down.
The sea conditions today are relatively calm, and there are some clouds in the sky, but there are no signs of a storm.
Duncan sat on the barrel, his back against a capstan used to fix the cable, and squinted his eyes as the boat swayed slightly.
At some point, he fell into a state of half-sleep and half-wakefulness.
He dreamed that he was walking barefoot on the calm sea, the water was blue and the sun was warm.
The familiar and "normal" sun in my memory hangs high in the sky, bright but not scorching.
He heard the sound of splashing water and looked in the direction of the sound, only to see a fish suddenly jumping out from the calm water nearby.
It was a group of golden little fish, which looked only as big as a palm. They blew bubbles in the air and wagged their tails, slowly circling around Duncan as if they were swimming in water.
These fish swimming in the air came closer little by little. Zhou Ming looked at them curiously, looking at their round eyes, their dense scales, their opening and closing mouths, and the fine lines like water waves that were floating slightly behind them.
Zhou Ming suddenly thought these fish were very beautiful, and...
good smell.
It must be very, very fragrant.