Chapter 1 A Breakfast Tasting Like Wax

The breakfast tasted like wax – and the texture was even worse than wax.

After finishing a less than satisfying breakfast, Duncan's mood didn't improve at all despite his stomach being filled. On the contrary, he became slightly agitated due to some information Goathead mentioned unintentionally, which stirred up a pile of chaotic guesses.

He looked at A Yi, the pigeon leisurely strolling on a nearby shelf, and felt that the wild thoughts in his mind were becoming increasingly outrageous.

He had always believed that this pigeon, who spoke fluent "Earth language," was born because he had the soul of an Earthling, believing that during his spirit realm walk, the individual "Zhou Ming" had reacted with the brass compass, thus giving birth to a strange bird like A Yi.

But what if… the situation wasn't really like that?

What if, as Goathead said, this pigeon was just some kind of phantom that had run out from "deeper" places, and then happened to condense into a form beside him?

Then the "Earth language" that A Yi occasionally blurted out would have nothing to do with "Zhou Ming's" memories, but would become a projection of some history recorded by the world itself…

The possibilities behind this made Duncan feel disturbed.

Alice stood up, her voice interrupting Duncan's wild thoughts, "Do you need me to wash the dishes?"

Duncan looked at the doll girl in surprise. The latter scratched her head awkwardly, "I thought that since I'm on board, I should find something to do, otherwise I'll look like a freeloader…"

"But you don't eat at all," Duncan reminded her, "but it's good that you have the intention – take the plates to the water room, discuss it with the sink, and if it doesn't mind, you can wash them."

After saying this, he stood up without waiting for Alice's reply, and walked towards the door of the captain's room while casually saying, "I'm going to inspect the deck, don't bother me unless it's important."

The pigeon, which had been strolling on the shelf, immediately fluttered to Duncan's shoulder and left the room with Duncan, leaving Alice staring at Goathead in front of the navigation table.

"Is the captain in a bad mood?" After a moment of hesitation, Alice carefully asked Goathead.

Goathead's tone was deep, "The captain's mood is like the weather in the boundless sea, don't speculate, just accept it."

Before Goathead could continue, Alice quickly asked, "By the way, the captain just told me to discuss it with the sink… how do I discuss it?"

"Simple, you go wash things, and if you get splashed with water, it means the sink doesn't like you – speaking of which, do you know how to wash dishes? If not, I have some theoretical experience…"

Before Goathead could finish speaking, he saw Alice quickly clean up the tableware on the table, and then ran towards the door while shouting, "No need, I'll learn, thank you Mr. Goathead, goodbye!"

The captain's room suddenly became quiet, leaving only the dark Goathead sitting on the table, staring at the direction everyone left with empty eyes.

After a long time, a sigh came from the navigation table, "How good it would be if I had legs…"

Then its gaze returned to the sea chart.

The mist around the Sh郷 (Lost Home) was still slowly dissipating, and the task of steering the ship that the captain had left it still had to be completed properly.

Under precise control, the huge and "living" ghost ship nimbly adjusted the angle of each sail and began to continue sailing on this boundless sea. Goathead began to hum a sea shanty that had been passed down from who-knows-when – the rough and hoarse "humming" echoed in the captain's room like noise:

"Raise the sails, raise the sails, the sailors who leave home continue forward;

"In the wind and waves, in the noise, we are only a plank away from death;

"Lower the jibs, raise the mainsails, release the ropes, grab the rails! We have come to the middle of the sea!

"Stay away from the fish, stay away from the fish, the sailors must cross the routes where the offspring reside;

"Stay away from the fish, stay away from the fish! We want to reach the shore safely – liquor and a stove are ahead…"

Duncan wandered around the warehouse where supplies were stored, then wandered around the kitchen, and finally returned to the mid-deck of the Lost Home.

No matter how many times he searched, he couldn't find anything on this ship that was more palatable than jerky and cheese.

The good news was that he didn't have to eat maggot-infested biscuits like the sailors of the sailing era on Earth, and the bad news was that there weren't even maggot-infested biscuits on this ship.

He temporarily put aside those wild thoughts and came to the edge of the deck with the quiet A Yi.

Looking at the boundless sea, he kept calculating in his mind:

"...In any case, we must find a way to replenish the daily necessities on the Lost Home… Although you can't be too particular about the quality of life on a ghost ship, I can't really live like a ghost after all…

"Alice might also need a change of clothes, and there are no dresses suitable for her on this ship.

"We must establish contact with the city-states on land as soon as possible… The Lost Home has been drifting at sea for too many years, and the city-states on land may have developed to a degree that even Goathead cannot predict during this period. Judging from the scenes seen in that sewer before, Pland City-State is at least a strong and advanced city, and the revolvers carried by those cultists can also illustrate the technological development of human society…

"The ancient ghost ship may not be so invincible in the face of a civilized society that has developed for a century. The remaining power of the Lost Home is still there, but it will be difficult to deal with if only the remaining power is left…"

Duncan glanced at A Yi on his shoulder.

Perhaps… after resting and recuperating today, he should try the next "spirit realm walk" again.

"Goo goo?"

A Yi tilted his head, finally making some normal pigeon noises.

Duncan couldn't help but smile, and at this moment, the corner of his eye suddenly noticed a flash of light on the nearby sea.

He was attracted by the movement and subconsciously looked a few more times towards the outside of the ship, and then noticed that there seemed to be something swimming under the nearby water surface.

After a moment of hesitation, Duncan suddenly slapped his forehead.

"Hey! My reaction… this is at sea! There are fish in the sea!"

The sudden "possibility" made Duncan's mood improve greatly. He realized that establishing contact with the land and carrying out stable material replenishment for the Lost Home were not things that could be done overnight, but couldn't this vast and boundless sea itself help?

There are fish in the sea – and he has had enough of the jerky and cheese on the ghost ship!

Duncan's enthusiasm was aroused. He remembered that there was a heavy-duty fishing rod for sea fishing in a warehouse under the deck, and there were also positions on the edge of the deck that could be used to fix the fishing rod. As for the bait… he wondered if the jerky and cheese would work?

In this way, the cursed doll was washing dishes in the water room, the talking Goathead was concentrating on sailing, and the captain of the Lost Home was busy between the deck and the cabin.

Duncan quickly found what he wanted. He carried three heavy-duty fishing rods and a bucket of "bait" back to the deck, and rather awkwardly fixed these things on the edge of the ship. After putting on the bait and casting the rod, he moved an empty bucket from nearby to serve as a chair while waiting.

Duncan actually had no sea fishing experience – all his fishing experience was limited to ponds and a small river in his hometown. He didn't know if his sudden impulse would really catch fish, but anyway, he was idle, so what if?

He treated it as recuperating before the next spirit realm walk, and by the way, he could keep a bit of expectation for future food improvement.

Duncan sat down between the fishing rods, and in the long wait, his mood gradually returned to calm.

The sea conditions today were relatively stable, and there were some clouds in the sky, but there were no signs of a storm.

Duncan sat on the wooden bucket, leaning against a winch used to fix the ropes, and squinted his eyes slightly in the slight swaying of the ship.

Unknowingly, he fell into a state of half-dreaming and half-waking.

He dreamed that he was standing barefoot on the calm sea, the sea was blue, and the sun was warm.

The familiar and "normal" sun in his memory hung high in the sky, bright but not scorching.

He heard the sound of splashing water, and looked around, but saw fish suddenly jumping out of the nearby calm water.

They were a group of golden little fish, looking only the size of a palm. They were spitting bubbles in the air, wagging their tails, just like swimming in the water, slowly circling around Duncan.

These fish swimming in the air approached little by little. Zhou Ming looked at them curiously, looking at their round eyes, looking at their fine scales, looking at their mouths that opened and closed, and the fine lines like ripples that fluttered behind them.

Zhou Ming suddenly felt that these fish were very beautiful, and…

Very fragrant.

It must be very, very fragrant.