The deep sea is something to fear.

Alice was a doll, but she still possessed expressive, lively eyes and inexplicable changes in expression. Duncan could clearly sense from her expression the fear and resistance towards the deep sea... or rather, certain "things" within the deep sea. Combining this with the spiritual realm and the so-called border anomalies he had seen at sea before, he could easily realize that the vast ocean he found himself in definitely concealed great terrors.

Yet, the Vanishing Shadow sailed on this boundless ocean. The mechanical ship he had encountered in the spiritual realm was also sailing on this ocean.

This could not help but pique his curiosity about things further afield—what were the lands of this world like? Or rather, did normal lands even exist in this world?

However, the doll before him could not answer his questions. Most of Alice's memories were hazy. Based on Duncan's judgment, it should be the effect of some kind of seal... or "suppression."

He remembered the state of the cabins he had observed through the Vanishing Shadow's vast perception as it passed the mechanical ship. The profound and mysterious runes, the religiously symbolic arrangements, and the symbols inscribed outside Alice's "coffin" all pointed to one thing:

This "cursed doll" of hers was certainly deeply feared in "civilized society."

Duncan gave the doll miss a meaningful look, and she returned it with a candid and serene gaze.

"Let's confirm again, you don't remember where you came from at all, nor can you recall any of your past experiences, correct?"

"I don't remember," Alice replied earnestly. "Since I had memories, I've been lying in this big box—though I don't know why, there always seemed to be a group of nervous people around me. They were afraid I would come out, so they used all sorts of methods to seal the box. To be honest, looking back now, I suddenly think that the circle of nails you nailed on my box lid was quite friendly... although you added eight cannonballs later, at least you didn't pour lead into it, right?"

This time, Duncan ignored Alice's trash talk and continued to ask, "Then where did your name come from? Who gave you this name? If you really never left the box and never came into contact with other people, why do you have a name? Did you give it to yourself?"

Alice suddenly froze.

She seemed to be truly lost in confusion, remaining in a daze for more than ten seconds. Just when Duncan was worried that the doll might also have a "crash" setting, the doll miss resumed her activities: "I... don't remember. I've known that my name is Alice from the very beginning, but I didn't give myself this name. I..."

She muttered to herself in confusion, subconsciously supporting her head with both hands. This made Duncan's eyes twitch, and he quickly called a halt: "Alright, forget it if you don't remember, you don't have to tear your head off..."

Alice: "..."

After that, Duncan asked the doll miss many more questions, but unfortunately, most of them yielded no results.

Just as the doll miss herself had said, she had spent most of her conscious time in that "coffin," passing out in a state of slumber and semi-awakening. She knew very little about the outside world. The only knowledge she had came from the conversations she heard outside the coffin in her half-dreaming state, and this fragmented knowledge could hardly help Duncan piece together the outline of this world.

But even so, Duncan was not without gain—in his conversation with Alice, he at least confirmed a few things:

There was a power structure in this world called "city-states." This word appeared repeatedly in the doll miss's narrative, almost forming the entirety of her journey, and the original destination of her journey this time was a city-state called "Pland."

That seemed to be a prosperous place, with sailors saying in their conversations that it "holds an important position on many routes."

Secondly, Alice also had a designation, "Anomaly 099," and this seemed to be some kind of "official" term in the civilized world. As for the name "Alice" she herself mentioned, so far, it seemed that no one other than herself and Duncan knew about it.

Finally, Alice had been transferred from one city-state to another, and it seemed that she was not the only "anomaly" being transferred in this way. During some journeys, she had heard those responsible for "escorting" her mention words like "other containment sites" in their conversations.

Based on this, Duncan boldly speculated that perhaps this action of constantly transferring the "anomalies" was itself a necessary means of sealing the anomalies and preventing them from "breaking free."

And what was obvious was that the team responsible for transporting Anomaly 099 this time was out of luck—because of the Vanishing Shadow that appeared out of nowhere, the "doll" they were escorting had broken free.

He just didn't know what was so terrible about this strange cursed doll and what kind of damage her escape would cause.

After all... she seemed quite harmless while staying on the Vanishing Shadow.

Frankly, Duncan was quite disappointed.

He originally thought he had finally found an intelligence channel that could help him understand this world, but he didn't expect that the guy lying in the coffin was as confused as he was.

But when his gaze swept over Alice, who was still sitting quietly on the wooden box, this disappointment faded a little.

At least, he now had someone to talk to on the Vanishing Shadow—although she seemed to be a doll, although it was terrifying when her head fell off, although she must have more secrets, although she would occasionally spout some trash talk.

But she was more normal than that noisy goat head.

And speaking of weirdness and danger... this boundless sea, this Vanishing Shadow, these strange things on the ship, which one looked safe?

Even from an outsider's perspective, he, "Captain Duncan," seemed to be the most dangerous one on the boundless sea.

Duncan breathed a sigh of relief. Unconsciously, his expression relaxed a little, and he asked with a casual attitude, "I want to know, what would you do if I threw you off the ship again?"

Alice blinked her eyes: "Are you still going to stuff me with cannonballs this time?"

"No."

"Then are you still going to nail me down?"

"Um... no."

"Pour lead in?"

"No... cough, what I mean is, if I refuse to let you stay on the ship..."

"Then I'll paddle back," Alice sat upright, speaking frankly, "I don't want to be swallowed by this ocean. At least there's a place to stay on your ship."

Duncan was shocked by the doll's candor, so much so that he didn't know whether to call her honest or thick-skinned for a moment. After considering it again and again, he blurted out, "You could be a little more subtle..."

"You already know the answer anyway, don't you?" Alice said with a smile, "But if I come back, I might try to hide somewhere in the cabin so you don't find me, and I won't run to the deck so carelessly. I haven't been awake for long, and I didn't consider everything carefully the last few times I returned, but now I have experience..."

Duncan interrupted her: "My perception covers the entire ship, and I can even determine the position of every wave that hits the hull."

Alice's following words were immediately stifled back: "Ah..."

Duncan continued with a calm expression: "And I can also choose to directly destroy you, using a more thorough method to prevent you from continuing to pester me and my Vanishing Shadow."

The doll miss seemed to have never thought of this possibility. She widened her eyes subconsciously, and then a clicking sound came from near her neck...

The headless doll hurriedly caught her head and began to fumble around, trying to put it back on her neck. Duncan's atmosphere was instantly ruined, and he could only sigh with a wry smile. After Alice put her head back on, he continued, "However, I suddenly think it's not a bad thing to have another crew member on this ship—if you can be honest on this ship, I can arrange a position for you."

"You should have said so earlier! I was so scared my head fell off!"

Duncan finally couldn't help but twitch the corner of his eye: "So what exactly is going on with your neck?"

Alice looked innocent: "I don't know! I don't usually have so many opportunities to 'come out and move around'. How would I know why my body has such a problem..."

Duncan looked at Alice silently for a few seconds, and said with a serious expression: "It seems that long-term bed rest is not good for the cervical spine."

Alice: "..."

Looking at the doll miss who was speechless, Duncan's mood suddenly improved a little.

"Alright, in short, there's a new crew member on the Vanishing Shadow—come with me, I'll arrange a place for you to rest."