The deep sea is something to be feared.
Alice is a doll, but she still has eyes that are smart enough to express emotions and facial expressions that are difficult to explain with common sense, so Duncan can clearly detect from her expression the fear and resistance to the deep sea... or certain "things" in the deep sea. When he thinks of the spirit world and the so-called border visions he had seen at sea before, he can easily realize that the vast ocean he is in is definitely hiding great terror.
However, the Lost Homeland was sailing on this boundless ocean, and the mechanical ship that had previously collided in the spirit world was also sailing on this ocean.
This made him curious about something more distant—what does the land in this world look like? Or, does this world have normal land
However, the puppet in front of her could not answer her questions. Alice was in a drowsy state for most of her memory. According to Duncan's judgment, it should be the effect of some kind of seal... or "suppression".
He still remembered what he had observed in the cabin through the Lost Homeland's vast perception when he crossed paths with the mechanical ship. Those mysterious runes, the arrangement with strong religious symbolism, and the symbols engraved on the outside of Alice's "coffin" all indicated one thing:
As a "cursed doll", she must be deeply feared in "civilized society".
Duncan looked at the doll lady in front of him meaningfully, and the latter gave him a calm and peaceful look in return.
"Let me confirm again. You have no memory of where you came from, nor do you remember your past experiences, correct?"
"I don't remember," Alice answered seriously. "I've been lying in this big box ever since I can remember. I don't know why, but it seems that there are always a group of nervous people around me. They are afraid that I will get out, so they use various methods to seal the box. To be honest, now that I think about it, I suddenly feel that the circle of nails you nailed on the lid of my box was quite friendly... Although you added eight more shells later, at least you didn't pour more lead into it, right?"
This time, Duncan ignored Alice's trash talk and continued to ask, "Where did your name come from? Who gave you this name? If you really never left the box and never came into contact with other people, why do you have a name? Did you give it to yourself?"
Alice was suddenly stunned.
She seemed to be really confused, and remained in a daze for more than ten seconds. Just when Duncan was worried that the doll had a "freeze" setting, the doll resumed its activities: "I... don't remember. I knew from the beginning that my name was Alice, but I didn't give it this name myself. I..."
She muttered to herself in confusion, holding her head with both hands subconsciously. This made Duncan's eyes jump, and he quickly called for a stop: "Okay, forget it if you don't remember, you don't have to pull my head off..."
Alice: “…”
After that, Duncan asked the puppet lady in front of him many more questions, but unfortunately, most of them were fruitless.
Just as Miss Doll herself said, she had spent most of her time since she became conscious in that "coffin", in a state of alternating between deep sleep and semi-wakefulness. She knew very little about the outside world, and the only knowledge she had came from the conversations she heard outside the coffin while half asleep and half awake. These trivial pieces of knowledge could hardly help Duncan piece together the outline of this world.
But even so, Duncan was not without gain - in his conversation with Alice, he at least confirmed a few things:
In this world, there exists a power structure called "city-state". This word appears repeatedly in Miss Doll's narration and almost constitutes the whole of her journey. The original destination of her journey this time is a city-state called "Pland".
It seemed a prosperous place, and the sailors in conversation said that it "held an important place on many routes."
Secondly, Alice also has the nickname "Anomaly 099", and this seems to be some kind of "official" name in the civilized world. As for the name "Alice" that she mentioned herself, so far it seems that no one else knows it except herself and Duncan.
Finally, Alice had been transferred from one city-state to another, and it seemed that she was not the only "abnormal" being transferred in this way. During some journeys, she had heard those in charge of "escort" mention words like "other sealed rooms" in their conversations.
Based on this, Duncan boldly speculated that perhaps this action of constantly moving the "anomaly" to another location is itself a necessary means to seal the anomaly and prevent it from "escaping".
It is obvious that the team responsible for transporting Anomaly 099 this time is in bad luck - because of the sudden appearance of the Lost Hometown, the "puppet" they were escorting has escaped.
I just don’t know what’s so scary about this strange cursed doll, and what kind of damage she will cause if she escapes.
After all... she looked pretty harmless when she was on the Homelander.
To be honest, Duncan was quite disappointed.
He thought he had finally found an intelligence channel that could help him understand this world, but he didn't expect that the guy lying in the coffin was as confused as himself.
But when his eyes once again swept over Alice who was still sitting quietly on the wooden box, the disappointment faded a little.
At least, he now has someone to talk to on the Lost Homeland—even though she looks like a doll, even though it was scary when her head fell off, even though she definitely has more secrets, even though she occasionally spouts some trash talk.
But she is more normal than that noisy goat-head.
And speaking of weird and dangerous things... This vast ocean, this Lost Homeland, and the strange things on this ship, which one looks safe
Even from the perspective of others, he, "Captain Duncan", seems to be the most dangerous one in the vast ocean.
Duncan exhaled, and unconsciously, his expression relaxed a little, and asked in a casual manner: "I want to know, what would you do if I threw you overboard again?"
Alice blinked. "Are you stuffing shells in there again this time?"
"No."
"Then hammer in the nails?"
"Uh… no."
"Lead?"
"No... Well, I mean, if I refuse you to stay on the ship..."
"Then I'll row back," Alice said calmly, sitting demurely. "I don't want to be swallowed by the sea. At least I have a place to stay on your ship."
Duncan was so shocked by the doll's frankness that he didn't know whether to call her honest or shameless. After careful consideration, he blurted out, "You could have been more tactful..."
"You already know the answer, don't you?" Alice said with a smile, "But if I come back again, I might try to hide somewhere in the cabin so that you won't find me, and I won't run onto the deck again. I've only been awake for a short time, and I didn't think things through when I came back a few times before, but now I have experience..."
Duncan interrupted her: "My senses are all over the ship. I can even tell where each wave hits the hull."
Alice's next words were immediately held back: "Ah..."
Duncan continued calmly, "And I can also choose to destroy you directly, using a more thorough method to prevent you from continuing to harass me and my Lost Homeland."
Miss Doll seemed to have never thought of this possibility. She subconsciously opened her eyes wide, and then there was a click near her neck...
The headless puppet caught his head in a panic and began to press it against his neck. Duncan's atmosphere suddenly failed. He could only sigh with a helpless smile. After Alice put the head back, he continued, "However, I suddenly think that it is not a bad thing to have one more crew member on this ship. If you can behave yourself on this ship, I can arrange a seat for you."
"Why didn't you tell me earlier! I was so scared that my head fell off!"
Duncan couldn't help but twitch his eyes: "So what's wrong with your neck?"
Alice looked innocent: "I don't know! I don't have many opportunities to 'go out' normally, so how would I know why my body has such problems..."
Duncan looked at Alice silently for a few seconds, then said seriously, "It seems that long-term bed rest is not good for the cervical spine."
Alice: “…”
Looking at the speechless doll lady, Duncan's mood suddenly improved a little.
"Well, anyway, there's a new crew member on the Lost Homeland - come with me, I'll find you a place to rest."