Alongside the long table, Lawrence carefully observed the behavior of everyone present, while cautiously controlling his own expressions and muscles. He pondered how he could naturally blend into this special gathering without seeming like… an outsider.

Many stories about legendary investigators and adventurers flooded his mind, then receded like seawater across a beach, leaving behind only a jumble of thoughts without providing any useful reference.

After pondering for a long while, he mustered his courage and whispered to Agatha, who was closest to him:

"When will Captain Duncan arrive?"

"I don't know, he said he's waiting for everyone to be here," Agatha replied in a low voice, "Just be patient."

"Are there any rules for later?" Lawrence asked softly, "It's my first time attending a gathering…"

"Mine too." Agatha folded her hands in front of her chest, looking as if she was praying silently, but she was also carefully observing the situation in the cabin like Lawrence.

Although she recognized the faces around the table, this ship was indeed her first visit.

"But I don't think there's any need to be nervous. We've interacted in the city-states, everyone is very friendly." Lawrence said "Oh," but he still couldn't sit still, and couldn't help but look at Vanna, who was one seat away. This Pland judge was somewhat of an acquaintance. "Your Excellency Judge, this is my first time attending a gathering. If I do anything out of line later, please help me…" Before he could finish speaking, and before Vanna could say anything, Shirley on the opposite side of the table suddenly interjected:

"What? You want her to watch out for you in case you do something out of line? Let me tell you, old man, when she does something out of line, it's way bigger than you! I remember that time she used a diving chop…"

"Cough, cough." Vanna coughed loudly, interrupting Shirley's rambling. While Lawrence was stunned by this, Nina across the table put down her book, looking around and muttering, "I'm hungry, when are we going to eat…?" Shirley shook her head: "It's still early for dinner." Nina was taken aback:

"Ah? Then why did we come to the dining room?"

"The Captain said there was something important to discuss, didn't you hear?"

"Didn't hear… I was too busy reading. Uncle Duncan said to gather in the dining room, so I brought my book." Nina's head swayed back and forth. "Does anyone have anything to eat?" Alice stood up. "I have cookies, and salted fish jerky," she said happily, while taking snacks from the pockets of her skirt.

"Anyone want some?" Nina and Shirley pounced on her excitedly. Ah Gou, however, was pulled to the side by his chain, and while pawing at his draft paper, he shouted, "Hey, Shirley, you could have said something before you got up! My coordinate diagram is all messed up…" Lawrence stared blankly at the scene, watching the atmosphere in this gloomy and solemn gathering instantly become lively. He hesitated, turning his head to look at Maurice, the only one still sitting upright, who took the pipe from his mouth and nodded friendly at him: "Just get used to it, it's like this every day on the ship—if you're hungry, just tell Alice, she's in charge of everyone's food." Lawrence felt his brain grind halfway around, and he managed to say,

"Uh… I'm not hungry." As soon as he said this, the corner of his eye suddenly caught a glimpse of a faint green light near the dining room door, and he tensed up instantly. But just as he was about to remind everyone, the door opened, and it wasn't the owner of the Forsaken that walked in.

Tirian appeared at the door, carrying a briefcase and staggering slightly, with a hint of confusion on his face as he looked at the scene in the dining room.

Shirley had climbed onto the table, Ah Gou was hanging in mid-air, Nina was clinging to Alice, and Alice, the living doll with the face of the Frost Queen, was now raising her hands high, one hand full of cookies and the other full of fish jerky. The gatekeeper of Frost and the judge of Pland were sitting opposite each other at the table, expressionlessly covering their foreheads with their hands.

Tirian's appearance attracted everyone's attention, even Shirley, who was stuffing fish jerky into her mouth, stopped.

Several gazes from around the long table fell on the newly appointed governor of Frost, the synchronized attention even making the "Iron Vice Admiral," who was used to seeing big storms, subconsciously take a half-step back. But Tirian had seen the current atmosphere of the Forsaken before, and he quickly reacted and composed himself.

He adjusted his expression, walked towards the long table, and greeted everyone present in a friendly manner. He was polite and graceful, making it impossible to tell that he had spent the past half-century as a sea pirate rampaging in these frigid seas.

"Sorry, it took me a little longer to get things organized, I've kept everyone waiting," Tirian said, as he walked to the empty seat beside the long table. He placed the heavy briefcase in his hand on the table, then looked around,

"Has Father arrived yet?" Almost as soon as Tirian finished speaking, Duncan's voice suddenly appeared in front of the long table:

"I'm here." The next second, a ball of eerie green flame ignited out of thin air at the end of the long table, rising and bursting. The flame fell towards the long table, and Duncan's figure condensed and appeared from the flame, sitting on his chair at the long table.

The next second, accompanied by a few faint "whooshing" sounds, all the lights in the cabin were dyed with a layer of eerie green light.

A low, unsettling creaking sound came from the depths of the ship. Maurice's face changed slightly, he could feel it, the "atmosphere" of the ship itself was changing. The Captain was adjusting the Forsaken to some kind of defensive posture! Then, he heard the Captain's voice ring out in the flames: "The matter I am going to discuss today is extremely special and dangerous, therefore, it requires the highest level of protection. The Forsaken will now submerge into the spirit world. During the gathering, members with firm beliefs, please pay attention to your mental state at all times. If you hear any secrets pointing to the gods, if you hear or see any 'revelations,' report to me immediately." Vanna, Maurice, and Agatha subconsciously looked at each other, but after only a moment of hesitation, Duncan's gaze fell on Tirian,

"Did you bring the crystal ball?"

"I brought it." Tirian said immediately, then raised his hand and opened the heavy briefcase he had brought. The crystal ball containing extraordinary power and the complex lens device were presented before everyone's eyes. Then, he began to operate the complex structure on the lens base, placing all the lenses in the correct position.

The next moment, the crystal ball began to brighten little by little. After a moment of waiting, a hazy figure appeared in the faint light, then the figure quickly became clear.

Lucretia's figure appeared in the crystal ball, appearing for a moment, then the picture flickered and suddenly disappeared.

Nina, who was curiously peering at the side, was immediately confused, turning her head to look at Tirian: "Is it broken?" Tirian scratched his chin awkwardly: "She fell off her chair." Before he could finish speaking, the sound of rustling and objects being pushed aside came from within the crystal ball. Lucretia finally reappeared in the center of the picture, the "Sea Witch" looking at the scene on the crystal ball side with a hint of horror and tension. The next second, she glared at Tirian: "Brother! What are you doing?!"

"I asked him to bring the crystal ball to the Forsaken, Lucy," Before Tirian could speak, Duncan's voice came from the side, "But I didn't expect him not to give you a heads up. Don't be afraid, just saying a few words to your father won't cause you to be plagued by curses." Lucretia in the crystal ball looked strange, obviously not prepared for this sudden meeting and conversation, and seemed a little restless, but soon she realized the unusually solemn atmosphere here, and the slight uneasiness in her heart was immediately suppressed, replaced by an effort to restore her composure: "Father, long time no see… Sorry, I didn't mean to."

"It hasn't been that long, don't mind it, I understand your reaction." Duncan smiled, then raised his head, gesturing to the other figures around the long table,

"Let's give a brief introduction first, Lucy. What you see are the new crew members of the Forsaken, and the new Captain of the Forsaken Fleet." He introduced the people around the long table one by one, those whose names were mentioned rose to greet her, and finally, he pointed to the figure in the crystal ball: "This is my daughter, Lucretia, many of you should know her, so I don't need to introduce her much, right?"

"The famous frontier adventurer," Maurice nodded immediately, "and the Sea Witch with great achievements in the field of mysticism." "It's an honor to meet you, madam." Lucretia nodded modestly: "I've also heard of your name, even in Light Breeze Port and Mokha, the senior professors at the Academy of Truth are always citing many of your results and opinions when discussing problems." After regaining her composure, the "Sea Witch" appeared dignified and composed, sitting upright in the crystal ball, exuding an air of confidence and elegance in her every move, not at all like someone who had just fallen off her chair.

"Alright, the introductions and greetings end here," Duncan interjected into the topic at the right time, "Let's get down to business." His gaze swept over everyone present, everyone had arrived, even the Goat Head who couldn't move from the captain's room was listening to the movements here with his permission. Duncan took a light breath, breaking the silence: "In short, Agatha and I successfully conducted a deep dive beneath Frost, the specific depth of the dive has exceeded the Abyssal Plan of half a century ago. During the deep dive, we witnessed many terrifying scenes and learned the truth that is enough to subvert the understanding of many people."

"First, we confirmed the bottom structure of the city-state, there is some kind of extremely huge biological tissue there!"