Chapter 18 The Crew of the Vanishing Sea

Those who encounter the Vanishing Sea are bound to establish a "connection" with Duncan, and from another perspective, Duncan, as an "outsider," does indeed need to establish such connections extensively in this world—only by mastering as many knowledge channels and assistance as possible can he further understand this world, the realm of the extraordinary, and even...understand himself.

The reason Maurice and the others were brought aboard might have been due to the urgency of the situation at the time, but even if they hadn't boarded today, Duncan had plans to expand his "influence" in this world, and in his opinion, the few people gathered on the Vanishing Sea were actually good candidates.

Maurice, an outstanding historian, scholar, and follower of the God of Wisdom, possesses valuable knowledge, which is currently Duncan's most scarce resource. At the same time, this old gentleman is also a "high society" figure with connections and status in the human world, which can be very useful at the right time.

Shirley and Agou, a controlled gloom imp and a summoner symbiotic with a demon, possess both combat power and knowledge about the Gloom domain and even some knowledge related to the subspace. This knowledge complements Maurice, the "human scholar." In addition, this duo has special perception methods that can detect traces of extraordinary power at little to no cost.

Nina, a well-behaved and lovely niece.

And incidentally, the current carrier of the sun fragment.

Duncan's gaze slowly swept across the long table, around which several faces showed nervousness, restraint, and innocent curiosity.

They didn't seem to realize that a very special "group" had already begun to form implicitly during this dinner, and what held this group together was their common identity at this moment:

The crew of the Vanishing Sea.

"My previous promise still stands. The status of Vanishing Sea crew members will not restrict your personal freedom. I don't need mandatory loyalty, nor do I need any sacrifices or offerings—none of that means anything to me," Duncan said slowly, his voice low and gentle, while the soft sound of the waves came from the porthole not far away. "But given that a connection has been established between you and me, this connection might be regarded as a...loose foundation for a team.

"Frankly, I've been away from the civilized world for many years—Maurice should be well aware that the Vanishing Sea hasn't had contact with any city-states in the past century. In the civilized world, there are many terrifying stories about me and this ship. I admit that these stories have a factual basis, because for many years...this ship was out of control.

"But as you can see, I have regained my humanity and restabilized the state of the Vanishing Sea, and now...I am very interested in the civilized world after a century."

Duncan spoke unhurriedly, and these were the words he had carefully considered while fishing—he needed to "recruit crew members," but the Vanishing Sea's terrible background meant that the newcomers wouldn't have a good attitude, so he needed a reasonable, gentle, and legitimate reason to appease their emotions. So, the first step was to establish a "rational and friendly" captain image.

The Vanishing Sea was once out of control, but now the captain has regained his humanity and control of the ship. This is the prerequisite for the team's establishment.

As for whether the newcomers believe it...that's their problem.

It must be said that fishing is indeed a relaxing activity suitable for cultivating the mind and thinking—Duncan felt that he should thank nature's gifts...or thank the Deep Sea Spawn as well.

Hearing Duncan's statement, Maurice's face immediately showed a thoughtful expression. He still couldn't believe that what he was hearing was the real voice. In fact, he couldn't even believe that the Vanishing Sea he was seeing was the ship's true form, but recalling Duncan's friendly attitude all along, he finally began to gradually...convince himself.

At least, if this statement was true, this subspace shadow's friendly behavior would become somewhat reasonable and believable.

Shirley was thinking, seemingly not fully understanding the situation, but Agou, sitting next to her, had already reacted. The gloomhound boldly looked at Duncan: "So, you need us...to be your kinsmen, to help you do some things in the world?"

"It's just a possibility," Duncan said with a smile. "When I need it. Also, I don't think this relationship counts as 'kinsmen'—you are crew members, so just call me Captain, or use the old title."

Shirley and Agou said "Oh." Maurice, not far away, suddenly said after a brief thought, "Then how will you contact us? Ah, of course, I know you have an avatar in Pland City-State, but what I mean is..."

"I understand what you mean," Duncan nodded gently before the other party finished speaking. "If I want to find you, I will naturally find you immediately. And if you encounter something and need to contact me, you can directly call my name or the name of the Vanishing Sea near a smooth mirror. I can hear it. In addition, fire can enhance my power. If you encounter danger, you can light a fire after calling my name."

Maurice listened, with a somewhat complicated expression on his face. He was, after all, a follower of the God of Wisdom, but at this moment, he was semi-voluntarily joining such a "heretical group" and even learning knowledge from a certain subspace shadow. This made him a little awkward, but what made him even more awkward was...the protective bracelet with the remaining four stones on his wrist had no reaction at all.

The Lord didn't see, the Lord didn't care, the Lord thought you were doing the right thing—whichever answer it was, it made the old gentleman's mood quite complicated.

Nina, after hearing Duncan's words, widened her eyes slightly, with a hint of excitement on her face: "Sounds amazing!"

Duncan heard this and glanced at her lightly: "You don't need any extra fire..."

Nina didn't react for a moment: "Huh? Why?"

Then, before Duncan could answer, she reacted again and quickly waved her hands: "Oh, oh, I understand, I understand. I can..."

"Don't transform here!" Duncan interrupted quickly when he saw that the air around Nina was already faintly showing signs of distortion. "Before you can skillfully master the power brought by the sun fragment, you are not allowed to try switching your form in enclosed spaces and crowded places!"

Nina immediately lowered her head: "Oh..."

Duncan watched the air around the girl gradually return to normal, felt the heat dissipate, and then breathed a sigh of relief.

With the help of this "Black Arsonist," the sun fragment in Nina's body had been brought under control, but obviously, the girl herself had not fully realized how powerful a force was sleeping in her body—no matter how mature and sensible she was, she was only sixteen or seventeen years old after all. For young people of this age, the novelty and impulse brought by the first contact with extraordinary power were not so easy to suppress.

Given the opportunity, he still had to let her familiarize herself with her power on this open and empty boundless sea. On the one hand, it was to enhance the controllability of the sun fragment, and on the other hand, it was to make her realize how dangerous the flame originating from the star really was.

"We may add new members in the future," Duncan thought for a moment and then said, "Then let's treat today's dinner as the standard procedure for new members joining. I think this will also help enhance the feelings between team members."

Maurice subconsciously glanced at the plate in front of him, feeling as if he had once again seen the truth under a warm atmosphere—

Having dinner under the gaze of a subspace shadow, sharing the flesh of Deep Sea Spawn, learning the rituals and incantations to summon extraordinary power, this...

This set of things really filled him with a strong sense of déjà vu.

But what else could he say? He was already a member of this ship, had already accepted Mr. Duncan's protection, and the flesh of the Deep Sea Spawn had already been placed in front of him as a key part of this "ritual." It was definitely impossible to withdraw at this time, so he could only accept the fate of being "surprisingly good" like the pigeon next to him that had been devouring French fries since just now...

The old gentleman sighed lightly in his heart, completely accepting this sudden turn in his fate, and also silently comforted himself—from today onwards, he would be embarking on a one-way journey to the abyss of truth, just like those legendary scholars whose stories would be recorded in history. There was probably nothing in this world that could make him feel more bizarre and evil.

As he was thinking this, he suddenly heard Miss Alice, who hadn't spoken for a long time, break the silence—this beautiful lady had always been standing quietly behind Duncan, and at this moment, she seemed to have just realized something: "Ah, Captain, then does that mean I'm not the only crew member here anymore?"

"You just realized that?" Duncan tilted his head slightly and looked at the doll. "Of course, you're not the only crew member here anymore. And before they leave later, you have to teach them the crew rules, just like Goat Head taught you."

Alice was stunned for a moment, finally understanding the current situation, and then belatedly smiled, clapping her hands happily: "Okay! Then in the future, I will..."

The next second, perhaps because she was too excited, Duncan heard a familiar sound in his ear: "Boop—"

A head still wearing a golden wig fell down beside him and rolled to the middle of the table in full view.

The dining table was instantly silent until Shirley's exclamation broke the silence: "Ahhh—the head fell off, the head fell off! Fell, fell, fell off!"

The scene was suddenly chaotic. Shirley's and Nina's exclamations, Agou's cursing, and Alice's stammering cries for help rose and fell, interspersed with Ayou's loud "Goo-Goo-Goo." Maurice looked at everything blankly, suddenly feeling that it would probably take a longer time for him to fully adapt to this "new team"...