The future of the entire crew of the White Oak.

This issue, which has been ignored by everyone, is now finally on the table.

There are no impermeable walls in the world, Frost is not a city-state that is locked off from the outside world, and the anomalous changes in the White Oak itself, especially its reflection in the sea, certainly cannot be hidden from the eyes of other captains and harbors.

Even without the most special identity of "member of the lost fleet", it is now a "ghost ship" entangled in extraordinary power and in a strange state.

The city-states have always treated ships and people who step into the infinite sea with the strictest safety standards, and a ship that has been temporarily lost on the surface of the sea has to go through extremely strict quarantine and scrutiny when returning to port, and even the slightest abnormality will be denied entry to the port, not to mention a ship that has been alienated into a "transcendent object".

I'm afraid that no other city-state would dare to accept the White Oak as it is today, except for Perand and Frost.

What's more, the owner of the Lost Country does not necessarily allow his "minions" to leave the fleet and continue to operate freely in the civilized world - on this basis, what will the future of the White Oak and its crew look like?

Spend time with anomalies, survive in visions, stay away from civilization, wander in the depths of mist, storms, alien lands, and strange seas, skim the sea like a ghost during the day, and sink into the cracks of subspace at night—that's what the books say about the Lost Country anyway.

Lawrence looked worried, and after most of his life on the seas, he didn't seem ready for this change.

After all, he wasn't "Captain Duncan" long since he was far from the civilized world, nor was he a great pirate like Tirion who had a fleet to divide the seas, he also had a shipload of seamen, and they all had their own families, friends, and families to raise.

Leaving the legal waterways of the boundless sea, he didn't know how to feed his shipwreck, let alone how to deal with their relatives and friends······

Duncan broke the silence after a brief thought: "In all fairness, even if there is no relationship with the Lost Fleet, and without the abnormal reflection brought about by the Black Oak, your future business should not be much better...

Lawrence didn't react for a moment: "Huh? Why? ”

Duncan stretched out his hands: "Think about the previous Anomaly 099, and then think about the current Anomaly 077······"

Lawrence's expression suddenly stiffened a little, and he held back for a long time before he said with a strange expression: "Occasional freight losses are inevitable, and the White Oak has bought a high amount of insurance, which is enough to compensate the employer for losses and subsequent liquidated damages...

"The current marine insurance even dares to insure this?" Duncan raised his eyebrows, "Then don't worry about these two losses...

Speaking of this, he paused for a moment, and seemed to suddenly think of something: "Wait, how much is the compensation for the loss of the homeland?" What about being transformed into a lost fleet? How much to lose? ”

"This is not compensated, it belongs to the" force majeure ", in fact, the previous abnormal 099 out of control event is also in the scope of the refusal of insurance, because the loss of the puppet coffin is related to the loss of the homeland, and then I found ······" Lawrence said, his expression a little glazed, probably not expecting Captain Duncan to suddenly ask such a question, but then he reacted, "You...

··· Why do you ask? ”

Duncan showed disappointment on his face as soon as he heard the other party's reply of "this is not compensated", and then waved his hand: "It's okay, I'll ask."

Lawrence thought about it, and seventy or eighty classic cases of insurance fraud popped up in his mind, but he didn't dare to speak.

Duncan was silent for a few seconds, then changed his words: "Also, you probably don't have to worry too much about the future of the White Oak - even if you become a member of the Lost Fleet, you will not necessarily be far from the legal shipping lanes and legal ports from now on. ”

This time Lawrence was really a little surprised, he looked at Duncan in astonishment, as if he didn't understand the intention of this "subspace shadow" for a while.

Duncan looked at him with a smirk, "Do you think the Lost Country will be far from civilization forever?" "What do you mean...

Duncan smiled: "I have found my humanity, you should have heard this rumor, since I have humanity, of course I will also regain interest in the civilized world, for this time, I have been actively in contact with the city-states of the civilized world, first with Prander, then with Frost, and in the process with the Church of the Deep Sea and the Church of Death, in all fairness, I think I have achieved a lot." ”

Lawrence subconsciously recalled the events that had taken place around the "return journey" of the Lost Land during this time, and his expression gradually became subtle.

Duncan noticed the change in the other party's expression, the corners of his eyes twitched slightly, and then he tried to control his expression and tone: "Of course, I admit that the movement of these contact processes may be a little bigger. ”

Lawrence: "......"

"It doesn't matter," Duncan waved his hand, "the important thing is that the Lost Fleet will return to being a member of civilization, and you and your crew may be the bridge for the Lost to further establish communication with the civilized city-state." ”

Lawrence understood Duncan's intentions, and surprise came to his eyes—it didn't seem to unfold in a different way than the book says?

Soon, however, he came to his senses from this brief moment of surprise, and a more realistic question came to his mind: "I see what you mean, you want to 'normalize' relations with the city-states, so the first step is to get us, the 'fleet members', back to normal course, but······ As you can see with the White Oak today, most city-states probably won't accept a ship infected by supernatural powers······"

"But as far as I know, there are still some "deviant" ships that are exceptional, and the city-states and legal shipping lanes are allowed to dock and pass. ”

Lawrence: "······ Yes? ”

"The Sea Mist and the Bright Star, these two ships are almost second only to the Lost Land in their transcendent alienation, and the former is now back to being the general flagship of the Frost Navy, and the latter is an honorary member of the Explorers' Guild with unlimited right of passage in the frontier waterways," Duncan spread his hands, "I have also heard of some legendary expedition ships with names and surnames, they have been eroded and transformed by extraordinary powers, and have more or less strange and terrifying characteristics, but their captains are holding certain special credentials and relying on the endorsement of great powers, It is still passable on the boundless sea. ”

Speaking of this, Duncan paused for a moment, and then continued with a serious face: "And strictly speaking, every 'church ark' of the Church of the Four Gods belongs to a ship that has been corrupted and transformed by extraordinary power, can't it still sail at will?" It turns out that on the line of "transcendent alienation", the standards of the church and the polis are very flexible.

Lawrence was stunned by Duncan's words, and was almost really entwined in it, but fortunately, when he finally heard the Church of the Four Gods, the spirit suddenly came to his senses, and the expression on his face became complicated: "This ······ The Church Ark is certainly not a generalization, protected by the gods, not the same······ But there are exceptions to other cases, as you mentioned. ”

The old captain said this, licking his somewhat dry lips, and tried to organize the language: "But the reason why the exception is special is because it is difficult to achieve that it has taken half a century for your sons and daughters to gradually accept them, and even so, there are still many city-states that are cautious and even hostile to the Sea Mist and the Bright Star, as for the other legendary expedition ships you mentioned······

"Well, of course I know them, like the Tulip, which was in the Spirit Trek for twelve years, and the Dust Song, which passed through the Sea of Visions and survived······ They do end up returning to civilization, but their acceptance is no less easy than that of your children.

"Extremely strict inspections, lengthy surveillance, and the approval of the Church, the Church of the Four Gods has to use the highest safety standards to confirm the safety of a ship that has undergone "transcendent alienation", the process is unimaginably rigorous and difficult - even if they pass a series of tests, those legendary expedition ships will always be under the surveillance of the church, and they will have to be re-checked every once in a while, and the passes in the hands of those legendary captains will be re-checked······ It's not that easy to get. ”

Lawrence couldn't help but let out a long sigh at the end, but Duncan showed a thoughtful look when he heard it halfway, and when the other party's voice fell, he asked curiously: "In other words, just have the church as a guarantee?" What are the requirements for this pass? ”

In short, the "protector" behind the ship's power is to be recognized, the White Oak belongs to the Explorers' Guild, and the Explorers' Guild is protected by the Church of the Deep Sea, and the storm goddess Grimana is the protector of the sea explorers.

Speaking of this, Lawrence sighed again: "Strictly speaking, that "gatekeeper" Lady Agatha actually meets the identity standards, she is both a saint and the "gatekeeper" of the city-state, and because of a series of events, it is a pity that she has become your messenger······ She's not from the Deep Sea Church... ...”

Duncan looked at him, "I also have the saints of the Deep Sea Church." Lawrence: "····· Yes? ”

"Saints of the Deep Sea Church, huh?" Duncan looked at Lawrence with a sad face on his face, "The saint is in charge of the inspection, and the inquisitor issues the pass - can the saint and the inquisitor here be the same person?" ”

Lawrence suddenly felt a little stuck in his head, and only subconsciously replied: "It seems to ······ There are no restrictions on this······"

"Oh, then you go and get busy with yourself first, I'll go and ask you about the pass." Lawrence blinked, unresponsive.

By the time he could ask something, Duncan's figure had disappeared from the deck with a burst of flames.