On the first floor of the antique shop, Nina sat anxiously on a chair next to the counter. From time to time, she stood up to look outside the window. All she saw was the empty street under the street lights. Then she checked the door to make sure it was still closed.
Several times she had the urge to go out and take a look, but she stopped before her hand reached the door handle, recalling in her mind her uncle's instructions before he hurried out - don't leave the door, stay at home and wait for him to come back.
"Uncle is such a fool... He insisted on going out after dark, even though there was a curfew..." Nina sat back behind the counter again, muttering to herself, "If the night watchmen find out, I will definitely be detained, and it's so dangerous..."
I don't know how many times she has muttered this.
Then, she finally heard some movement at the door, the sound of footsteps suddenly sounded, followed by the sound of the door lock turning -
Nina suddenly looked up towards the door and saw it being pushed open. The bell hanging on the door rang crisply and pleasantly, and the familiar figure finally appeared in her sight.
"Nina, I'm back." Duncan looked at the girl who was walking quickly from the counter with a smile on his face. "Look, it's not too late."
Nina rushed over in two or three steps and bumped her head against Duncan's chest, followed by a string of complaints: "You said it was not too late! What time is it now! It's so dangerous to go out during curfew, and you didn't even tell me what you were going to do, and just let me wait at home..."
Nina's complaints were like a storm at sea, which never stopped. But suddenly, she noticed a small figure hiding behind Duncan, and her complaints stopped immediately.
Shirley, carrying a small box, lowered her head and came out from behind Duncan. She waved to Nina nervously and said, "Nina... and me."
Duncan turned around and closed the door of the store to prevent anyone from noticing what was happening here. Nina widened her eyes after seeing Shirley's appearance: "Shirley?! You... why are you here, and with your uncle... Wait, there's so much blood on you!"
"Ah, don't worry, don't worry," Shirley waved her hands hurriedly. Although the injury on her back had not completely healed, she still tried her best to smile as brightly as before in front of the other party. "It's just a small problem. I'm fine..."
"This is not a small problem at all!" Nina hurriedly took the suitcase from Shirley's hand, and quickly checked the blood on her body. She soon noticed the damaged parts on Shirley's clothes and was immediately shocked. "You... You are seriously injured. You must find a doctor quickly! You..."
"I'm really fine, calm down!" Shirley quickly grabbed Nina's hand, looking helpless, "Have you forgotten that I'm not an ordinary person..."
Nina opened her mouth and seemed to want to say something, but suddenly she heard Duncan cough beside her.
"Ahem," Duncan interrupted the increasingly chaotic conversation between the two girls and looked at Nina. "Don't ask so many questions for now. You don't have to worry about Shirley's injury. Take her upstairs to take a shower and change clothes. I'll explain the details later."
Nina's eyes flickered between Shirley and Duncan, and she agreed vaguely. Shirley rubbed her stomach, a little embarrassed: "Um... is there anything to eat... I want to eat something first..."
Perhaps she had incurred too much damage during the recovery process, and now she only felt hungry - in comparison, the pain in her body was not so urgent.
"Ah, yes!" Nina was stunned for a moment, then immediately realized, "I happened to have cooked for one more person tonight... I'll go heat it up for you!"
Nina quickly ran up the stairs, the sound of her footsteps gradually faded away, while Shirley stayed behind, a little dazed. She looked around and saw a familiar shop on the first floor, shelves full of fake antiques, a not very clean window, and Mr. Duncan standing next to her with a smile on his face.
After being stunned for several seconds, she murmured softly: "I'm back..."
"Yes, you're back again," Duncan smiled, bent down to pick up Shirley's small box, and walked forward. "We'd better take this opportunity to discuss how to explain your injuries and come up with a reasonable reason for you to stay here permanently. But I don't think we need to think too hard about the reason. Nina should be happy to see you stay."
Shirley was watching blankly from behind, then suddenly came to her senses and quickly caught up with Duncan. She reached for her suitcase and said quickly, "I can do it myself! I..."
Duncan smiled and shook his head, then looked forward.
The pale and cold light of the Creation of the World shines on the boundless sea, and the softly rising and falling waves reflect the tiny light of scales. The cool sea breeze at night blows across the deck, blowing the hem of the captain's uniform.
Duncan stood on the deck of the Lost Homeland, looking at the three "End Preachers" in front of him who had not yet regained consciousness but whose bodies were gradually returning to human form.
It turns out that these twisted guys can actually become normal people
Footsteps came from not far away. Duncan looked back and saw Alice's long silver hair blowing in the night wind. A Gothic doll in a long skirt ran over in the night, shouting happily as it ran: "Captain, Captain, I just heard from Mr. Goat Head that you sent something to the deck again? You bought something from the human city-state again..."
Alice stopped shouting in astonishment. The puppet who came out to watch the fun stopped beside the captain and looked at the three "humanoid creatures" lying on the deck with a confused look on her face.
After a long pause, the puppet turned to look at Duncan blankly: "Captain... Is this also a local specialty of the human city-state?"
“… I guess so,” Duncan thought for a moment, “Anyway, I’ve never seen them anywhere else, they just keep popping up in the city-state.”
Alice uttered an incomprehensible "oh" and raised her hand to scratch her hair. She felt an itchy head - as if a brain was about to grow, but it didn't.
"Looks like... it should be a person, right?" The puppet beeped. "Captain, why did you bring three of these things up here? They shouldn't be bought, right?"
"I didn't buy it. I picked it up on the road." Duncan casually responded to the puppet with a fragmented mind, while paying attention to the three "subspace believers" who had almost completely restored their human form. He noticed that one of them had shown signs of awakening and he breathed a sigh of relief.
It seems that Ai Yin's teleportation process is as reliable as ever. These cultists are still alive and well and can even wake up.
So... is it okay to let Ai Yin transport ordinary people onto the ship in the future
Duncan thought about it in his mind, and his mood gradually became better.
He had always wanted to find some cultists to serve as "experimental subjects" to test Ai Yin's ultra-long-distance teleportation ability, the special environment on the Lost Homeland, and Alice's guillotine power, but he never found an opportunity.
The Sun Cultists in the city-state were almost wiped out in a round of attacks by the Deep Sea Church, and are now all stuffed into churches in various places. The idle cultists among the people have fled or hidden, and they cannot be found after a long search - he had originally put aside the idea in this regard for the time being, but he did not expect to encounter such a situation tonight.
Several End of the World preachers who worship the Warp suddenly appeared out of nowhere.
What else can Duncan say? He can only thank nature for the gift...
While he was thinking about this, the "gifts from nature" on the deck finally woke up gradually.
One of the End Preachers suddenly twitched his body, and a hoarse and low murmur came from his throat. Then his skinny arms suddenly supported his body. This Warp worshipper sat up and looked at the unfamiliar environment around him in astonishment.
The gentle waves and cold sea breeze stimulated his nerves that were alienated by the influence of the subspace. A gentle and low voice came from the side: "You are awake."
"Here..." The cultist slowly turned his head, and the figures of Duncan and Alice were reflected in his cloudy eyes. His brain worked slowly, and it took him several seconds to regain his ability to think. The next second, he finally stood up, faced Duncan with hostility, and took a half step back, "Who are you?!"
"Oh, that's right, you haven't seen me before," Duncan laughed. As he watched the other two End of the World Preachers slowly wake up, he spoke in a low voice, "Welcome to the Lost Homeland - you can call me Captain Duncan."
"... Lost Homeland?!" The first cultist who woke up was stunned for a moment. He obviously knew the name. After a brief moment of surprise, his eyes widened, "This is... This is the ghost ship that returned from the subspace?!"
"Yes, it seems that you understand the situation, so our communication will be simple," Duncan nodded, "First, I have some questions..."
Before he finished speaking, he saw the cultist on the opposite side suddenly raised his hands high. A kind of ecstasy seemed to fill the mind of the madman, making him shout loudly: "Oh, Warp! You have finally opened the door to us! Eternal life in doomsday! Salvation in disaster! All annihilation, all resurrection! The promised ark has arrived... The promised ark has arrived!"
Duncan couldn't continue the conversation.
What's wrong with this cultist's brain? !