Deep Sea Embers.

Chapter 504

Lawrence walked into the bridge, and Gus, the first officer, greeted him immediately. Many crew members stood behind the first officer, looking at their captain with some expectation.

Lawrence glanced at these subordinates and friends who had been with him for many years, and took a long time to take a light breath, with a smile on his face: "We can go home, now we are leaving."

The expression on the chief mate's face was visible to the naked eye, but then he couldn't help asking: "Then... what about the Lost Homelander?"

"The Lost Country will embark on another journey," Lawrence nodded slightly, and said to everyone, "Captain Duncan will go to the south to do more important things-he ordered the White Oak to return to the ship according to the original voyage plan." On the normal route to the civilized world, according to the plan, we will first go to Cold Harbor to resupply and complete the purchase order, and then return to Purdue."

"What about in the future?" Gus, the first mate, listened to the captain's words, but still had an uneasy expression on his face. Obviously, like everyone on board, this frosty journey was too unexpected for him. It's been too long, and when the news of returning home came, he still couldn't believe that everything would really return to the way it was before, "We..."

"We will still make a living on this sea. The White Oak has been granted passage, and the civilized world's waterways will continue to be open to us. The only change is... From now on, Captain Duncan will always watch us all, "Lawrence said calmly, "When the Lost Home comes an order, as a member of the fleet, we have to respond—but at least not now, sailors, now we can go home."

The bridge was quiet for more than ten seconds, and then someone finally clapped their hands. Gradually, more people clapped their hands, followed by long-delayed cheers.

The news that he could go home spread throughout the ship and reached the ears of every sailor in an instant.

This long and unexpected journey is finally over. A thrilling and bizarre adventure will be deeply imprinted in everyone's mind. The joy of returning home has diluted all worries about the future. The new boiling gold catalyst is sent into the steam core, and the mechanical The cabin began to roar, and the siren sounded through the boundless sea, as if even the entire ship began to cheer for the next journey home.

Lawrence came to the edge of the front deck, quietly looking at the sea with waves in the distance. There was no reference on the endless sea, and it would even give people the illusion that the ship was still in place, but the undulating direction of the waves and the head-on blowing The coming sea breeze told him that the White Oak had sailed.

He looked down at the side of the ship, and saw the dark cloud-like silhouette of the Black Oak reflected under the undulating sea surface. The front of the ship was shrouded in darkness, and the sparse lights seemed to be full of shadows.

Martha's voice came from the small mirror on her chest: "Everyone is very happy - it seems that the time has come to go home and the familiar life will come back, but you should remind them that not everything will go back In the past, we have established a connection with the Lost Home, no matter how much freedom that Captain Duncan gave us, this connection with the warp is destined to change many things... We should prepare for this curse and blessing .”

Lawrence was silent for a moment, then said softly, "Like the changes that occurred on the Bright Star or the Sea Fog?"

"They will no longer age and die, but they will gradually deviate from the category of living people. This ship will slowly transform into a living creature. Some parts of it will suddenly seem to learn to think and start to operate automatically. Black oak The existence of this "strange reflection" on the White Oak will gradually infect the White Oak with all kinds of frightening rumors—soon, some people will be afraid of this newborn "ship of the curse", and the church issued a A passport does not solve this kind of problem..."

Martha spoke unhurriedly, as if she was not deducing the future for Lawrence, but stating the past that had already happened—in her huge and heterogeneous collective memory, she outlined what the White Oak would face next. destiny.

But Lawrence just listened quietly until Martha's words fell, and he said in a low voice: "Maybe your deduction is correct, those changes will happen gradually, but at least it's not today, today is the day when the girls and boys go home ——

"They'll be back in the warmth of Plante before the year's over, hugging family and friends, telling them as human beings about this incredible adventure, and I'll do everything I can to keep the White Oak alive on all the busy lanes, To engage the Church, the Explorers' Guild, and the city-state's caravans—not just to fulfill Captain Duncan's orders, but to make the ship a revered symbol before it becomes a dreaded curse. "

There was no response from the small mirror.

But Lawrence felt a breeze blowing beside him - in the small area of ​​mist that suddenly diffused, a hazy shadow came out of the mist, hugging him gently from behind.

The touch is illusory and soft, like a dream.

"Old man—"

"what happened?"

"very handsome!"

……

The chaotic clouds as thick as lead covered the sky, the turbid and gloomy sky replaced the bright and warm sunshine before, and the hazy mist covered the entire sea as far as the eye could see, and on the sea under this mist, The dark, hair-like strands of shadows are quickly gathering together, and finally turning the entire sea into pitch black.

The world turned into a strange phantom that lost its color, and the Lost Homeland raised its spiritual sail in the dark sea, and the invisible "wind" agitated the sail, making the ship begin to sail at a speed far exceeding the real world. across the sea.

On the platform at the tail of the Lost Home, Duncan was in charge of the steering wheel himself, and the voice of the goat's head came into his mind: "It has sunk safely into the spirit world, and the Lost Home is currently sailing in the shallow area stably."

Duncan hummed, then turned his head and nodded to Nina who was standing not far away and looked at him steering curiously: "We have sunk safely to the spirit world."

Nina nodded half-understanding. For her, navigating a ship—and it was a sailing ship from a century ago—was something she couldn’t understand at all.

Fan Na, who was standing on the other side, couldn't help covering her forehead after hearing Duncan's words: "Uh, no matter how many times I hear it, I still feel that the words 'safety' and 'spiritual world' are really evil when you say them together. In the world, there really is such a saying as 'safely sinking into the spirit world'..."

Duncan just smiled when he heard the words: "This requires a little skill, but in the state of the spirit world, we can sail at an extremely fast speed, and we don't have to worry about hitting most obstacles in the real world—after all, we need to travel from the cold It is a long journey for Shuang to arrive at Qingfeng Harbor."

"Qingfeng Harbor... I've only seen this place in books," Nina said with a hint of longing in her eyes, "the books say that it is a city-state built by elves, and it is also one of the most important 'parishes' of the Academy of Truth." One, second only to 'Moco', I heard that there is the world's most advanced difference engine and steam core, and the mechanical technology and mathematics are very developed..."

"What is said in the book is true, but the book often ignores one point - Qingfeng Harbor is not only leading in technology, it is also one of the important strongholds of the Explorers' Association," Morris said to Nina with a smile, "Because the entire city-state is close to the border of civilization, countless pioneering fleets and explorers use Qingfeng Harbor as a supply point and a hub for information exchange-and those explorers who come and go have brought people from the city-state to the city-state. There are all kinds of food in the entire civilized world, so Qingfeng Harbor has the reputation of being a gourmet city..."

Nina was full of curiosity and thirst for knowledge when she listened to the knowledge that she couldn't find in books. At the end, her eyes lit up suddenly: "Are there sweet pancakes over there?"

"There should be," Morris thought for a while, then nodded, "Plender's business is prosperous, and many merchants have established air routes from the central sea to the south, and the food of Plender will naturally spread there. "

Nina became happy, she climbed onto a big wooden barrel next to Duncan, sat on it and swayed, her legs dangling around the edge of the wooden barrel: "It's so good... there are delicious food, and the most sophisticated machinery, I'm starting to look forward to..."

Duncan glanced at Nina who was dangling on the wooden barrel, and then at the deck around the wooden barrel—a few ropes trembled slightly in the space between the rudder and the wooden barrel, looking embarrassed and humble.

Obviously, these ropes think that Nina, the "crew" is too close to the "rudder" at the moment—but they are also afraid of the sun's brilliance.

After all, it is a 6000 ° big than the pocket.

"Don't dangle on the barrel, and be careful not to fall," Duncan shook his head and said to Nina, "Also, don't get so close to the rudder, it's not safe."

Nina came to her senses immediately, quickly said "Oh", jumped onto the deck and retreated to a safe distance.

The ropes around the rudder let go—they were safe.

Nina was only quiet for a while, then suddenly thought of something else.

"We went over to see that...Ms. Lucrezia, right?" She leaned against the fence on the edge of the bridge, blinking at Duncan, her tone slightly nervous, "Is she easy to get along with?" ?”

"...It should be okay," Duncan said with a subtle expression, and when he tried to think about this issue from Nina's perspective, the subtlety became more serious, "Lucrecia is a researcher who is obsessed with research. She is a scholar, and there seems to be nothing bad to talk about other than that-she has always been like this when she is in front of me, but I really don't know what she usually looks like."

"Actually, I'm a little nervous," Nina stuck out her tongue. "I heard that she was called the 'Witch of the Sea'. Captain Lawrence said that she was a cold and eccentric witch, and she would treat those who disturbed her research. cursed people, many famous adventurers are very afraid of her..."

While holding the steering wheel, Duncan turned his head and glanced at Nina.

"Tirion is still a fearsome great pirate—don't you think he's still polite in your presence?"

"...It seems to be the same."

(End of this chapter)