Alice doesn't really understand the world.
But at least, she had heard countless whispered conversations in the wooden box filled with fear and tension. From the mouths of the crew members and guards who were extremely nervous because they were responsible for escorting abnormal objects, she established the most basic understanding of certain "unusual things".
If something is obviously unreasonable but actually exists, then first follow the existing safety rules, and then consider research and analysis while maintaining a safe distance. This is the way to survive.
Alice actually had no real sense of the fact that she was "Anomaly 099". She didn't know what she could do or what she had done to make humans so afraid and wary of her. She didn't know how an intelligent "anomaly" should think in order to be "normal" - at this moment, she was just thinking like a human being.
Since Goat Head said there are only six crew rules, then there are six. Since Goat Head mentioned the seventh rule, then remember the seventh.
But she still had some questions that she couldn't help asking: "Just now I tried to push the door of the captain's room, and it did open outwards. Why should it be emphasized in the rules for something so obvious?"
The wooden goat head stared into Alice's eyes quietly. After two full seconds, he spoke more concisely than ever before: "Sometimes, it can open inwards."
"That… "
"If you see a door opening inwards, never go in. On the entire Lost Homeland, only the captain is qualified to do so."
This was the first time since a while ago that Goat Head spoke in such a serious and even intimidating tone. He was not so serious even when he was introducing the crew rules just now.
Alice was startled by the other party's particularly serious tone.
But then, the goat-headed man's tone became cheerful again, and he spoke happily as if the serious topic just now had never happened: "Okay, the necessary introduction process for new crew members has ended. Now let's talk about something else... Oh, by the way, ma'am, what are you doing in the captain's room? If you don't know how to use the facilities on the ship, then there is no need to trouble the great Captain Duncan. If you want to find someone to chat with, then you have come to the right person. I am very good at finding topics and know countless great deeds about this ship... You are not interested in great deeds? Then I can introduce you to the most famous dishes on the vast sea. I know a thing or two about cooking..."
As soon as the Goat Head opened his mouth, he got into the mood. Alice tried to interrupt him several times but never got the chance. By the time she realized that something was wrong, it was too late.
Anomaly 099, the puppet Miss Alice, faced the second greatest terror on the Lost Homeland today, besides Captain Duncan.
At the same time, in the dormitory separated from them by only a wall, Duncan was quietly listening to the noise coming from the chart room.
He had just woken up, and his soul returned to the Lost Homeland from a distant body. He did not hear the initial conversation between Goat Head and Alice, but he heard the "crew rules" and the conversation about "the captain's room door opens outwards."
Important intelligence, unexpected gains.
Before Duncan had time to digest the information he had just collected from the cultists, he accidentally overheard the conversation between Goat Head and Alice. No matter whether it was those weird and strange "crew rules" or the information revealed in Goat Head's words at the end, they were extremely important to him.
Sure enough, when he pushed open the door of the captain's room and returned to the "opposite side", Goat Head knew that for him, this action meant returning to his bachelor apartment, but for the Lost Hometown, it seemed to mean "the captain has left temporarily."
Goathead had no doubts about this and regarded it as something Captain Duncan would normally do.
So... the "real Captain Duncan" of this ship once opened the door of the captain's room and went to a mysterious "world"? And this happened more than once, so much so that it not only became a matter of course in the eyes of the Goat Head, but also became part of the crew rules of the Lost Homeland
This news was good for Duncan, as it meant that he wouldn't have to worry too much when he returned to the "other side" later. Even if there were new crew members on the ship, he could use this method to disappear from everyone's sight without worrying about someone following him and discovering his "secret."
But on the other hand, Duncan had inevitable thoughts in his mind - this was related to the "6+1" crew rules that Goat Head deliberately mentioned.
What do these crew rules mean? What are the basis for these codes that sound bizarre, dangerous, and even contradictory? Some of its items sound like they are intended to emphasize the authority of the captain, but the real situation is obviously more than that. Those strict behavioral restrictions are more like allowing people on the ship to survive in a dangerous environment and allowing the crew to avoid invisible dangers through certain established rules.
Duncan frowned slightly, thinking about his true position in these rules. Judging from the content of the rules, he, the "captain", seemed to be the only individual with the greatest freedom and initiative. He did not need to worry about the "invisible risks" on the ship. He was even the arbiter of many risk ranges. But... the premise of all this was that he had to be the "real Captain Duncan."
This is the most worrying part.
But he suddenly remembered his exploration activities on the Lost Homeland during this period of time, and the fact that he was walking around the cabin freely.
Goat Head had never reminded himself about the crew rules. He regarded himself as the real Captain Duncan. He had never encountered any "strange dangers" when he was on the ship, and it was impossible for a second "captain" to jump out and impose any restrictions on his activities.
From this point of view, the dangers mentioned by Goat Head in the "Crew's Code" seemed to be nothing to worry about.
Duncan exhaled lightly and continued to listen attentively to the noise coming from the chart room.
After half a minute, he hated himself for not being able to turn off his ears.
The Trash Talking Doll and the Noisy Goat Head started a conversation. The latter was obviously having an overwhelming advantage. The crackling nonsense was surging in the chart room like waves on the vast ocean. Even Duncan, who was hiding in the dormitory and observing secretly, couldn't stand it.
He felt that he had to go out quickly to rescue the poor doll lady. Alice, who lacked social experience, was obviously no match for Goat Head, but after a little hesitation, Duncan stopped.
He had just finished a wonderful "soul journey" and there was still a lot of information to be sorted out and more experience to be summarized. He had to figure out what had just happened to him and whether this process was controllable. As far as he was concerned, this ability to project his spirit to distant places would be the most useful means for him to collect land intelligence in the future.
Normally, he would have to worry about whether he would attract unnecessary attention from Goat Head if he stayed in the room studying his new abilities for too long, but now that there was Alice outside who could distract that noisy guy's attention... it couldn't be better.
Duncan silently said sorry to the doll lady in his heart, then looked down at his right hand. The next second, his expression froze.
The brass compass, which was slightly larger than a pocket watch, disappeared at some point.
But he clearly remembered that until not long ago, the compass was still tightly held in his hand!
Duncan's eyes suddenly became stern, because he found that he had not noticed the changes in his hands at all, and this kind of laxity and negligence appeared for the first time since he came to this strange and weird ghost ship.
The next second, he clenched his right hand, and a ball of dark green flame quietly appeared between his fingers. Then he stood up from behind the desk, ready to use the connection between the spiritual flame and supernatural things to check whether there were any abnormal signs in the entire dormitory.
But just as he stood up, Duncan's movements suddenly stopped. A subtle connection emerged from the bottom of his heart. He subconsciously looked in the direction where the connection came from. In the corner of his eye, he saw a few feathers that looked real and illusory falling from the air.
Duncan looked in surprise at where the feather fell, and saw a phantom quickly emerging and condensing in front of his eyes. In just two or three seconds, the phantom condensed into a snow-white...
Pigeon.
The missing compass was hanging on the pigeon's chest, and a familiar obsidian knife was lying quietly at the pigeon's feet.