Anomaly 077 is the "shipping route" itself - the key secret to the outer barrier, hidden deep in those strange traits of his "anomaly" from the very beginning!

In the upper echelons of the spirit realm, the process of the collapse and reorganization of the sea is still repeating around the mirrored Lost Country, and the scenery of a distant foreign land continues to flash through Duncan and Agatha's vision like a picture of poor contact, and the obsession from the "Sea Song" is constantly driving the ship, trying to guide the Lost Country to its "destination......

However, in the relatively stable, closed-loop sheltered sea area within the Curtain of Eternity, the power of Anomaly 077 simply cannot be properly effected - so the course collapses and dislocations over and over again, and in the process of this collapse, a huge amount of power is accumulated.

Once the Lost Country does shift in space, this force will find an outlet in the reality dimension and turn into a violent storm.

Duncan raised his arm into the distance, and the flames rose from the surface of the sea, igniting him with enough power to brew a storm, quickly dissipating in a harmless burn.

He then broke off the "connection" with Agatha and returned directly to the reality dimension.

The sailor was still standing in front of the steering wheel of the bridge, clutching the dark rudder, as if he was so tense that he was ready to "rattle" at any moment—noticing that the captain's gaze turned back to him, he immediately spoke: "Captain, look at my ......"

Duncan nodded, "You can let it go." ”

As soon as the words fell, the sailors on the bridge suddenly "soared" almost from the front of the rudder, as if what he was holding just now was not the steering wheel but a hot magma, and the dry corpse ran to the farthest place from the rudder on the bridge in the blink of an eye, and then while holding the railing on the edge of the platform, he looked nervously at the nearby ropes and buckets, and occasionally glanced at the steering wheel he had just held in his hand, but his eyes were full of nervousness and even horror.

Seeing Anomaly 077's nervous and guarded appearance, Duncan's heart suddenly had a very complicated feeling - for some reason, he suddenly thought of Captain Carani's figure standing in the chaotic mist, the hazy vision of standing on the platform with the rudder of the ship in the mirror world just now, and the long trek of the Sea Song in the dislocation of time......

The ugly, shriveled corpse cowered in the corner of the bridge, nervously looking at everything around him—the "first mate" who had held out in Time Trek to the end seemed to have been eroded, and all that remained was the journal left by the captain of the Sea Song and the "route" that had merged with him.

Duncan stood in silence for a long time, and finally exhaled softly and walked towards the sailor with a dodging look.

"Captain, I'm done......" said the sailor cautiously, as if he was afraid that he would have to "take the helm" again because he had not done something right.

"It's done this time," Duncan said, staring into the sailor's eyes with an extraordinarily serious expression, "but it's just a test, and after we're in the depths of the Veil of Eternity, I'll need you at the helm again—officially until we get to where the Sea Song once were." ”

The deep furrows in the sailor's face suddenly crumpled, and he subconsciously ducked backwards, but there was nowhere to hide because there was a railing behind him—but soon he noticed the solemnity in Duncan's eyes, which made him hesitate to stop dodging.

"The Lost Country needs your navigation," Duncan said in an extraordinarily sincere tone, "Listen, you haven't lost the 'route' left behind by Captain Carani, it's you, you're the route itself—your 'abilities,' the transcendental phenomena you've set off, are actually the effects of this route, and now we need it—I need your help." ”

The sailor hesitated, it was the first time he had seen this terrifying ghost captain like this, and this sincerity was directed at himself, which made him feel an unspeakable ...... Touch, he seemed to have not felt this kind of touch in a long time.

"I ...... Okay," muttered the sailor, not daring to speak too loudly, "this ship is not something ordinary people can touch, and I feel like it's going to eat me when I touch it......"

"You have the qualifications to take the helm." Duncan said calmly.

The sailor seemed a little surprised, a little stunned in his surprise.

"I know it's a lot of pressure on you—there's probably not a lot of people in the world who would dare to steer the Lost and not feel the psychological pressure, but you're the first mate of the Sea Song, and you've done a long voyage unimaginable to mortals, and you're qualified to take the helm here," Duncan paused, then nodded solemnly, "If you wish, I'll grant you the position of helmsman as captain of the Lost Homeland during the border voyage." ”

At this, he stopped abruptly, as if thinking of something, and added very seriously: "Of course, you can still refuse, and you don't have to worry about any consequences—I will think of other ways, even if you want to go back to the White Oak now." ”

The sailor listened in amazement, he had understood the captain's intentions, but he still needed a little time to think about it—he seemed to have a lot to hesitate about.

But after thinking about it for a long time, he finally made up his mind, and after showing an almost terrifying smile, he nodded slowly: "Okay, then I'll do my best." ”

At the moment when his words fell, many subtle sounds suddenly came from all around—

The ropes near the bridge were rustling, the barrels stacked on the back deck were swaying gently, the tight sail ropes on the mast creaked, and in the depths of the cabin, some ancient, massive structure seemed to whisper something softly—

All the voices gradually converged, like ...... Applause and welcome.

The sailor listened in amazement to the movement around him, looking a little dazed and bewildered, but gradually, he seemed to understand it all—the crumpled skin suddenly stretched out on his face, and he smiled, just like the moment when he had first accepted his promotion on the Sea Song a long, long time ago.

Duncan also laughed, he reached out and patted the sailor on the shoulder: "Very well, just do your best - now go back and rest, we are still far from the assembly point on the border." ”

The sailor left the bridge, and seemed a little dizzy as he walked to the deck, and after a while his staggering figure faded into the night.

Duncan shook his head, retracting his gaze from the middle deck, and out of the corner of his eye, he saw the puppet crouching not far away.

Alice crouched on the edge of the bridge, complaining to a ball of rope coiled on the ground, "You weren't so welcoming when I got to the ship...... You just applauded......"

The rope squirmed slowly on the ground, and a piece of rope head emerged from it, clattering against the railing next to it, as if to explain something.

"The induction ceremony of the helmsman? What is that? Alice's eyes widened in surprise, "And this?" Then I don't have an induction ceremony...... Has it been held? When?

“…… Yes? That time in the kitchen!? Don't say it sooner! I thought you were going to fight when you blocked the door...... Good guys, I almost demolished the kitchen that day and had dinner delayed......"

Duncan was going to talk to Alice, but when he saw this scene, he immediately stopped, and he watched with a blank face as the doll communicated back and forth with a piece of rope, and after a long time, he turned his head a little stiffly.

The girl's communication with the things on the ship seemed to be getting more and more outrageous......

And at this moment, his heart suddenly moved, and then he heard the voice of the goat's head in his head: "Captain, you have authorized a temporary helmsman?" ”

"Think it's wrong?" Duncan returned to the helm and replied inwardly as he took control of the Lost Land and dived into the spirit realm, "Do you mind if an 'outsider' takes over this position?" ”

"No," replied the goathead at once, "the captain has the authority to appoint and dismiss any crew member and to add or remove duties on board, and the helmsman you approve is the helmsman approved by the Lost Country, but ...... I'm a little worried about what will happen to that 'sailor' after he completes this mission. ”

Duncan didn't speak for a moment.

"It seems you've thought of it," said the goathead unhurriedly, "he is the one who should have disappeared into the torrent of time, like the ashes of firewood, and he should have disappeared into this world on the day he returned to the Infinite Sea—but Captain Kalani's journal turned into a shroud, binding his body, and the final mission of the Sea Song became a 'course', fixing his humanity, and he became an eternal corpse......

Now, he had only one last mission left to finish – the last one Captain Karani had left him.

"And now, captain, you have entrusted him with the duties of helmsman...... He had a chance to complete his mission. ”

In the cool sea breeze at night, Duncan looked at the dark sea in the distance, and it took a long time before he finally broke his silence: "I know—in fact, the 'sailor' himself knows. ”

The goat's head did not speak.

"We have a ...... to sail away"

Duncan suddenly whispered, he remembered a book he had just read, and remembered the sentence in the book of the famous "mad poet" Pueman—

"We're going to have a voyage at last

"At the end of time......"

……

The door to the room closed softly, and the dry corpse returned to the room, slowly sitting down on his bed—the cabin was brightly lit and warm, but he had not felt the temperature since a long, long time ago.

He lay down slowly in this cold and empty world, and the messy and broken memories of the Sea Song swirled in his mind, as distant as another person's life.

He muttered softly, Captain Kalani's favorite verses—they glistened in faded memories like the sand glowing at night:

“…… The dusty sails will rise again,

"Carry us to places we have forgotten for a long time.

"On that most suitable day,

"Pack up and hit the road......

"We're all going to be sailors,

"Go to a foreign country when the wind blows."

The sailor rolled over, his dehydrated eyes slowly closing.

He still couldn't sleep.

But he had a smile on his face.

The day of return is near.

(End of chapter)