The future of all the crew of the White Oak.

The question that had been overlooked by everyone was finally brought to the forefront.

There are no walls that don't let wind through in this world, and Frost is not a city-state sealed off from the outside. The abnormal changes of the White Oak itself—especially its reflection in the sea—could not be hidden from the eyes of other captains and ports.

Even without the special identity of "member of the Lost Fleet," it is now a "ghost ship" haunted by extraordinary powers and in a strange state.

The city-states have always treated ships and personnel entering the Boundless Sea with the strictest safety standards. A ship that has been briefly out of contact on the sea must undergo extremely strict quarantine inspections when returning to port, and may even be refused entry if there is any abnormality, let alone a ship that has been transformed into an "extraordinary item."

Perhaps other than Pland and Frost, no other city-state would dare to accept the White Oak as it is now.

What's more, the owner of the Lost Fleet may not allow his "servants" to leave the fleet and continue to operate freely in the civilized world—based on this, what will the future of the White Oak and its crew look like?

Living alongside anomalies, surviving in strange phenomena, far from the civilized world, wandering in the depths of mist, storms, strange realms, and eerie seas, gliding across the sea like a ghost during the day, sinking into the cracks of the sub-space at night—that's what the books say about the Lost Fleet.

Laurence looked worried. Having drifted on the Boundless Sea for most of his life, he didn't seem ready for this transformation.

After all, he is not "Captain Duncan," who has long been far from the civilized world, nor is he a great pirate like Tirian, who owns a fleet and can carve out a territory at sea. He still has a ship full of sailors, and they all have their own families and friends, and they still have families to support.

Leaving the legitimate shipping lanes on the Boundless Sea, he didn't know how to feed his crew of sailors, let alone how to face their relatives and friends—after all, the Lost Fleet didn't seem to have things like "wages" or a sound employee care system…

After a brief thought, Duncan broke the silence: "Frankly speaking, even without the relationship with the Lost Fleet, and without the abnormal reflection brought by the Black Oak, your business wouldn't be doing very well in the future, would it..."

Laurence didn't react for a moment: "Huh? Why do you say that?"

Duncan spread his hands: "Think about the previous Anomaly 099, and then think about the current Anomaly 077..."

Laurence's expression suddenly stiffened, and after holding it back for a long time, he uttered strangely: "Occasional cargo losses are inevitable. The White Oak has high insurance coverage, which is enough to compensate the employer for the loss and subsequent liquidated damages..."

"The current marine insurance even dares to cover this?" Duncan raised his eyebrows. "Then there's no need to worry about these two shipping losses..."

Speaking of this, he paused, as if suddenly thinking of something: "Wait, how much does it pay to encounter the Lost Fleet? How much to be converted into the Lost Fleet?"

"This is not covered, it belongs to "force majeure." In fact, the previous Anomaly 099 out-of-control incident was also in the scope of refusal, because the loss of the Doll Coffin was related to the Lost Fleet. Later, I looked for..." Laurence said, his expression a little dull, probably not expecting Captain Duncan to suddenly come up with such a question, but then he reacted, "You...

...why are you asking this?"

As soon as Duncan heard the other party's answer of "This is not covered," a look of disappointment appeared on his face, and then he waved his hand: "It's okay, I'm just asking."

Laurence thought for a while, and seven or eighty classic cases of insurance fraud emerged in his mind, and he didn't dare to speak.

Duncan was silent for a few seconds, then changed the subject: "Also, you may not have to worry too much about the future of the White Oak—even if you become a member of the Lost Fleet, you may not be far away from legitimate shipping lanes and legitimate ports."

This time Laurence 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 half-smile: "Do you think the Lost Fleet will always be far away from the civilized world?" "You mean..."

Duncan smiled and said, "I have regained my humanity. You should have heard rumors about this. Since I have humanity, I will naturally be interested in the civilized world again. During this time, I have been actively contacting the city-states of the civilized world, first Pland, then Frost, and in the process, I also contacted the Deep Sea Church and the Death Church. Frankly speaking, I think the results have been quite fruitful."

Laurence subconsciously recalled the various events that had occurred around the Lost Fleet's "return voyage" during this period, and his expression gradually became subtle.

Duncan noticed the change in the other party's expression, his eyes twitched slightly, and then he tried to control his expression and tone: "Of course, I admit that the commotion during these contacts may have been a bit loud."

Laurence: "......"

"That's not important," Duncan waved his hand, "What's important is that the Lost Fleet will return to civilization as a member, and you and your crew may be the bridge that allows the Lost Fleet to further establish communication with the civilized city-states."

Laurence understood Duncan's intention, and surprise appeared in his eyes—this development seems to be different from what is said in the book?

But soon, he woke up from this brief surprise, and more realistic questions came to his mind: "I understand what you mean, you want to "normalize" the relationship with the city-states, so the first step is to let us these "fleet members" return to normal shipping lanes, but... you have seen the current White Oak, most city-states may not accept a ship infected by extraordinary power..."

"But as far as I know, there are still some special cases of "mutated" ships, and the city-states and legal shipping lanes allow them to dock and pass."

Laurence: "......Ah?"

"The Sea Mist, and the Glittering Star, the degree of extraordinary transformation of these two ships is almost second only to the Lost Fleet, and the former has now become the flagship of the Frost Navy again, and the latter is an honorary member of the Explorer's Association, enjoying unlimited transit rights in the border shipping lanes," Duncan spread his hands, "I have also heard of some legendary exploration ships with names and surnames, they have been eroded and transformed by extraordinary forces, and have more or less some strange and terrifying characteristics, but their captains hold some special certificates, rely on the endorsement of large forces, and can still pass on the Boundless Sea."

Speaking of this, Duncan paused, and then continued with a serious face: "And strictly speaking, every "Cathedral Ark" of the Four Gods Church belongs to a ship that has been eroded and transformed by extraordinary power, can't they still sail at will? Facts have proved that on the line of "extraordinary transformation," the standards of the Church and the city-states are very flexible."

Laurence was stunned by Duncan's series of words, and was almost really fooled, but fortunately, he woke up with a激灵 when he finally heard the Four Gods Church, and his expression became complicated: "This...the Cathedral Ark certainly cannot be generalized, they are protected by the gods, it's different...but the other situations are indeed as you said, there are special cases."

The old captain licked his somewhat dry lips and tried to organize his words: "But the reason why special cases are special cases is because they are difficult to achieve—your son and daughter once spent half a century to gradually make this world accept them, and even so, there are still many city-states that hold a cautious or even hostile attitude towards the Sea Mist and the Glittering Star, as for the other legendary exploration ships you mentioned..."

"Alas, of course I know them, such as the "Tulip" that was lost in the spirit world for twelve years, and the "Dust Song" that once passed through the strange sea and all members survived... They did eventually return to the civilized world, but the process of their acceptance was no easier than that of your pair of children.

"Extremely strict inspections, long-term monitoring, the approval of the Church, the Four Gods Church must use the highest safety standards to confirm whether a ship that has undergone "extraordinary transformation" is safe, the severity and difficulty of this process is unimaginable—even if they pass a series of assessments, those legendary exploration ships will always be under the monitoring of the Church, and must be re-examined every once in a while, those legendary captains' passes... are not so easy to get."

Laurence couldn't help but sigh deeply at the end. Duncan, however, showed a thoughtful look when he heard halfway through. When the other party finished speaking, he asked curiously: "That is to say, it's okay to have the Church as a guarantee? What are the requirements for this pass?"

"In short, the "patron saint" behind the ship's affiliated force must descend and approve. The White Oak belongs to the Explorer's Association, and the Explorer's Association is protected by the Deep Sea Church. The Storm Goddess Gomona is the patron saint of sea explorers—if the White Oak wants to return to the legal shipping lane, at least one Deep Sea Saint must be willing to swear before the goddess to guarantee this, and personally carry out the inspection of the ship in question under the oracle, and finally a city-state judge will issue the pass."

Speaking of this, Laurence sighed again: "Strictly speaking, that "Gatekeeper" Agatha is actually qualified, she is both a Saint and the city-state's "Gatekeeper," and because of a series of events, she has become your envoy. It's a pity... she's not from the Deep Sea Church..."

Duncan looked at him: "I also have a Deep Sea Church Saint." Laurence: "......Ah?"

"Deep Sea Church Saint, right?" Duncan looked at the frowning Laurence with a serious face. "The Saint is responsible for the inspection, and the judge issues the pass—can the Saint and the judge here be the same person?"

Laurence suddenly felt a bit stuck in his head, and just subconsciously replied: "It seems... there is no restriction in this regard..."

"Oh, then you go and do your own thing first, I'll go and inquire about the pass." Laurence blinked, not reacting.

And when he wanted to ask something, Duncan's figure had disappeared on the deck with a rising flame.