However, just when everyone didn't know what to do next, a ray of light appeared in the dark skyline in the distance. It was the searchlight of a steamship, and a ship was coming.
"We've been rescued!! There's a boat coming! Hey!! We're here!!" The crew members waved their clothes excitedly.
However, as the light got closer, Charles looked more and more familiar with the ship.
"Wait, isn't this our ship? Where did they go just now?"
Charles immediately turned his head to look at the Pope and asked suspiciously: "Did you give them other tasks before you set out?"
Charles always expressed doubts about the Pope, and it was hard to say that the abnormal situation of the ship had nothing to do with him.
"There is absolutely no such possibility! Even if God appears, they will not leave!" The Pope argued vigorously.
At this moment, everyone on the shore saw two landing boats being lowered and approaching this side, and the crew members were shaking their hands and shouting to them.
However, when Charles, who had excellent eyesight, saw their appearance clearly, his pupils shrank slightly, and he hurriedly urged: "Hurry up, everyone hide immediately! Quickly!!"
Although the crew didn't know why, they immediately did as they were told. The captain's orders had to be executed unconditionally.
Everyone quickly hid in the woods and carefully looked at the person coming through the gaps between the leaves.
They soon saw a group of people coming ashore. The white triangles on their heads and the long robes they were wearing made it obvious that they were believers of the Church of Light.
The believers pointed at the footprints on the beach and argued about something towards the woods on Charles' side.
Charles knew them; they were the believers whom the Pope had ordered to explore the island for the first time! One of the boys had even reported back to him on board.
Soon after these believers explored the outer forest a little, they quickly returned.
"I seem to understand something." The Pope suddenly flew over, clapped his hands on the messy beach, and the footprints on the beach disappeared instantly.
When he returned to the woods and hid again, two more wooden boats were soon launched to the island.
The people on the boat this time were very familiar to them, and the people on the boat were themselves.
"This... What on earth is going on..." Dipper stared at himself in the distance with wide eyes, his expression very surprised.
Not only him, but the other crew members also felt that their brains were not enough at this time. Another wave of them got off the ship? How many waves of people were there on this island
Charles was not among the confused crowd, but he showed a hint of excitement on his face. He understood the overall situation. "That's right, Dipper, have you heard of the endless Ouroboros
"What snake?"
Charles didn't explain anything. He looked at himself in the distance, checking the beach, and muttered, "The snake's head must bite the tail to form a perfect ring."
“There’s someone there!!”
The sudden sound made everyone in the woods shrink their heads instantly, thinking that they had been discovered by someone outside.
But they soon saw that all the people who got off the boat quickly rushed to other places.
My past self did not notice them, but was seduced by the Pope who was wearing black clothes. Everything that happened before was still happening on the island.
Charles, who had just landed on the island, was attracted over there. Only two landing boats were left, swaying left and right with the waves on the beach.
"Let's go! Let's go home!" Charles rushed to the landing boat and took everyone on board and left.
As the crew shouted and rowed the boats, Charles and others gradually left this strange island.
"Captain, we robbed their ship, what should we do with them?" Dipper was worried about himself on the island.
Then, the Pope pointed his index finger at the air, and a bright yellow spot appeared. "This is us outside the bubble. We humans only have one spot at any time."
The Pope's finger quickly moved, and along the small dot, a perfect circle appeared in front of everyone.
"But once we got to this island, the situation was completely different. We became a circle."
"Think of all the people we've met before as one whole. If we escape, it means they escape. If part of the circle is out, they'll be brought out with it."
Charles looked at Dipper who still didn't understand. "On this island, time has no meaning. The moment we set foot on this island, a new ring has been formed. If you really can't figure it out, don't think about it. All you need to know is that we escaped."
In Charles's vision, their ship hit a huge colorful bubble and returned to the side of the Narwhal again.
"Woo~!" The Narwhal let out a low whistle, as if celebrating the return of Charles and the others.
The moment they stepped onto their ship again, the crew members excitedly kissed the cold deck with their mouths. They were back alive again.
With a "creaking" sound, as the anchor winch started to turn, the anchor that had fallen into the sea mud was pulled up, and thick black smoke spewed out of the chimney again.
Two ships, one large and one small, began to turn away from the island.
Bandage was at the helm of the Narwhal; his helmsman had left and he was now alone at the helm.
Normally, there would be at least two people in the cockpit, and Dipper would be here soon.
The door suddenly opened, and the person who came in was not Dipper, but Captain Charles, holding a thick book in his hand.
“Thank you…” Bandage took the notebook.
Charles said with a hint of enlightenment: "Actually, I think this is a good thing. At least you can figure out who you are."
Bandage thought for a while and then said to him, "Captain... do you remember the person who committed suicide on Tianshui Island?"
Charles immediately thought of that man, the fish slave who committed suicide upon learning that his hometown, Yingdao, had sunk.
"Yeah, I remember. What happened?"
"That's my father..."
The atmosphere in the cockpit seemed to freeze in an instant, and Charles didn't know how to respond for a moment.
After a long while, Charles finally spoke up: "What are you going to do when you go back? Are you going to live as a bandage? Or are you going to live as West?"
Charles stood beside him and looked ahead at the dark sea illuminated by the searchlight.
Thinking back to the time when he was chatting with himself, Bandage was at a loss. "I need to think about it carefully..."
"Well, think about it carefully. But no matter what your choice is, I respect you. Tell me if you have any problems, and we can all work together to find a way to help you solve it."
Charles patted his hand on the shoulder.
43-1=42
(End of this chapter)