"Alice! Watch your head!"
The beautiful morning on the Lost Homeland began with the captain's powerful roar on the deck.
Duncan stood outside the captain's room, raised his hand and pointed at the head of a puppet hanging on a nearby beam. His eyes twitched for a long time before he finally saw a puppet body wearing a dark purple Gothic skirt stand up from the side in a panic and take off the head hanging in the air.
With a crisp "pop" sound in the air, the doll lady put her head back on and trotted over: "Hehe..."
"Hey, what are you doing hanging your head on my door so early in the morning?" Duncan stared at the cursed puppet that did something weird every now and then. To be honest, who wouldn't be scared if they pushed open the door and saw a head floating in the wind at the door so early in the morning? Fortunately, he had been on this ship for a long time and his nerves were stronger than before, otherwise he would have fainted. "Don't tell me you were on the lookout - there were pigeons on the sentry!"
"I washed my hair this morning..." Alice shrank her neck and answered carefully, "My hair couldn't get dry, so I thought of hanging it up high to let the wind blow..."
Duncan: “…”
Alice glanced at Duncan carefully: "Captain... are you angry?"
"You... make sense." Duncan held it in for a long time, and finally could only utter these words from his bronchi. While suppressing the trembling of the muscles on his face, he had to admit that, at least from the lifestyle of Alice, "Abnormal 099", there was nothing wrong with hanging her head higher to get some fresh air - the capstans on the ship even took naps as a habit, and the buckets for cleaning the deck would roll to the stern every afternoon to bask in the sun. To live on this ship, one had to be open-minded.
From this perspective, Alice, the puppet who has adapted to life on the ship, has now really "become one" with the ship...
"Captain, I'm glad you're not angry!" Alice laughed immediately. She seemed to have adapted not only to the life on this ship, but also to or understood the captain's temper. She still stood in awe of this powerful ghost captain, but she was no longer simply afraid of him like she was at the beginning. She seemed to be much more relaxed now, and even dared to bargain with the captain, "Then I can still hang my head in the future..."
"No - anywhere except the door to the captain's room, find a place yourself," Duncan glanced at the puppet, "I don't want to see the crew's head hanging on the door, or the headless body dangling in front of the door when I push the door open."
Alice could only lower her head obediently: "Oh, okay."
Duncan was still looking at her, his expression thoughtful.
"Captain?" Alice was a little scared by the look in his eyes, "Why are you staring at me..."
"I just suddenly thought of a question," Duncan said while thinking, "Your hair will fall out, right? Does it also fall out when you wash your hair? Then... can you grow hair?"
Alice was stunned for a moment, her expression looking like Ai the pigeon that was suddenly stuck.
After a long time, she suddenly opened her eyes and looked at Duncan in astonishment: "I... I... I haven't thought about this question at all! Captain, you..."
The second half of her sentence was almost tearful, and she didn't dare to say the last few words. She actually wanted to ask, "Captain, are you a devil?", but she was afraid that if she said that, Mr. Goat Head would scold her for underestimating the captain's power and over-beautifying the image of the first disaster at sea...
Duncan didn't care what Alice said at the end. His thoughts had already diverged: "Look, although you can walk, jump and talk, your body is still like a real puppet. You don't need to eat or drink water, and you can force your joints back if they fall off. So can I understand it this way? Your hair is a non-renewable resource. If you wash it too much, you will become bald... The same goes for combing your hair too much?"
Alice was about to cry: "Captain, why did you think of such a terrible thing..."
Duncan: "Actually, I've been wanting to ask you this since you cooked that bowl of fish head soup."
Although Alice was sad, she was stunned for a moment after hearing this: "But I only cooked fish soup..."
Duncan said confidently: "Nonsense, there is fish head and soup in it, why is it not fish head soup?"
Alice: "...Captain, you are reasonable."
The beautiful morning on the Lost Homeland began when everyone recognized each other's rationality.
Miss Doll left in a trance. She seemed to have something important to think about regarding her future life. Duncan's mood became cheerful. He enjoyed the sea breeze and had a simple breakfast - the fish fillets that Alice had baked yesterday, chopped cheese, and liquor from the city-state of Plande. It was not very delicious, but it was the best meal on the Lost Homeland.
In the chart room of the captain's cabin, Goathead looked at the cheerful Duncan curiously: "Captain, what happened to Miss Alice? I noticed that she returned to the cabin absent-mindedly and bumped into the door twice when she returned to her room... She seemed to be worried about something?"
"She is facing a major life challenge. I think you won't have to worry about her fighting with strange things on the ship for a long time." Duncan shook the wine glass in his hand with a mischievous smile on his face, "But I am really curious about one thing..."
"Ah? What are you curious about?"
"Will the Cursed Doll really become a bald doll if all its hair falls off?" Duncan discussed with the Goat-Headed Man seriously. "For such a supernatural thing, shouldn't there be some kind of supernatural power to ensure... well, to ensure a certain state? Unfortunately, before I could discuss this with Alice, she ran away."
Goat Head: “…”
Duncan looked at this usually noisy guy curiously and asked, "Why are you silent?"
The goat-head held it in for a long time before finally saying, "You really are worthy of being the most terrifying natural disaster in the Infinite Ocean... I would never be able to ask such a question even if you kill me."
Duncan shrugged and stood up from behind the navigation table.
"I'm leaving again," he said to the goat-headed man, snapping his fingers. A cluster of green flames burst out of thin air, and Ai, a pigeon in the form of a dead bird, descended from the flames and landed on his shoulder. "As usual, you are in charge of the helm."
"As you command, Captain, I will not disappoint you with your faithful omissions!" The goat-headed man immediately agreed with a raised tone, and then asked curiously, "Captain, you seem to be... very keen on walking in the spirit world recently? Is there something on land that interests you?"
Duncan did not answer immediately. Instead, he thought for a moment before speaking: "I recently discovered that after a century of development, the world has become a little more interesting."
This was his response after careful consideration: this sentence did not reveal any clear information, nor did it expose his lack of knowledge. At the same time, it reasonably laid a clue, which would make his frequent attention to the land world more normal in the future. If necessary, it could also serve as a "reasonable motivation" for the Lost Homeland to return to the civilized world.
And this answer should not be too contrary to the image of "Captain Duncan".
The biggest natural disaster in the vast ocean can also be a fun person - because fun people are compatible with everything.
As expected, the goat head did not react abnormally, as if all the decisions made by Captain Duncan were taken for granted in its eyes. "Oh, you are right. After all, after so many years, those weak city-states should have come up with something that interests you. It is normal for you to want to relieve your boredom... In this case, should the Lost Homeland make preparations? Which one do you plan to invade? Plande? Lent? Or the Frost further north?"
Duncan nodded secretly in his heart when listening to the first half of Goat Head's words, thinking that this number one lackey really knows how to guess the boss's intentions and set the stage. However, when he heard the second half, his blood suddenly turned cold - this guy's cooperation directly turned into adding fuel to the fire. He had to interrupt quickly: "When did I say I would invade the city-state? Something interesting just happened, wouldn't it be a pity to destroy it?"
"Ah... Yes, you are right. My suggestion was too rash," the goat-head immediately changed his words. "In fact, I thought you were planning to sail over there in the future... Of course, since you don't have this idea, then this suggestion should be invalidated. In fact, this is also good. After all, the big city-state still has some strength. It is a bit risky to approach rashly..."
"Don't mention invading city-states casually in the future," Duncan glanced at Goat Head and added another layer of insurance. "We have been out of touch with the world for a hundred years. Now I have to regain control of the changes in civilized society. This may involve many long-term changes. Don't make any unnecessary plans before I give clear orders."
"I will follow your orders, Captain."