Chapter 1 Duncan's Discovery

Duncan, the captain of the Vanishing, slowly opened his eyes, who was sitting in his cabin with his arms crossed, eyes closed in rest.

He glanced at the familiar furnishings of the room, sensed the condition of his body, and breathed a slight sigh of relief.

He had now transferred his main consciousness back to the Vanishing, leaving the body in Pland City in the antique shop. He was rather unfamiliar with controlling that body as he tidied up the shop on the first floor and hung a "closed" sign on the door.

Duncan in the captain's cabin slowly stood up from his chair, stretching his limbs as he looked at the desk not far away. He saw the pigeon Aye tiptoeing around the edge of the desk, while the sun mask he had brought back earlier still lay quietly on the table. In the afterglow of the setting sun that shone through the window, the mask's golden surface shimmered with a psychedelic color, as if illusory flames were flowing within its golden patterns.

Duncan, the shopkeeper in front of the antique shop, hung up the "closed for the evening" sign and turned to greet a neighbor who was just returning home. He had a faint smile on his face as he discussed the weather and recent business with this "old acquaintance."

His expression in front of the antique shop was a bit stiff, and his speech was slightly slow, but the neighbor didn't suspect anything. A gambling addict who had been wallowing in alcohol not long ago was now living a serious life, which was surprising enough. Compared to that, a little slowness in his reactions was nothing. How much energy could someone have whose body had been ruined by alcohol?

In the captain's cabin, a smile appeared on Duncan's face. After completing a social interaction with his "remote interaction shell," he casually picked up the sun mask on the desk.

There were still many things to do in Pland City, but not everything could be accomplished overnight, especially since the city had a strict curfew after nightfall. His human body was better off staying in the shop to avoid attracting attention. The time after dusk was best left to the Vanishing's "main body."

He planned to take this opportunity to study the mask he had taken from the sun priest.

The mask was cold to the touch, seemingly made of pure metal. It was heavy in his hand, with a considerable weight.

Looking at the golden object in his hand, Duncan's mind suddenly became active. His first thought was whether this thing was made of pure gold. If it was, melting it down after studying it might fetch a good price...

Although he was temporarily free from financial pressure in the city, money was always welcome in human society. What if he needed it in the future?

The sun cultists could be fleeced in many ways. They could be used to extract information, reported for bounties, or yield extraordinary items that resonated with him. If there were any surplus extraordinary items that couldn't be used, selling them after a little processing was perfectly normal...

That was called diversified development, sustainable wool-pulling.

After pondering for a moment, Duncan suddenly stroked his chin and sighed thoughtfully, "Sun cultists are treasures from head to toe..."

Aye, who was strolling around, suddenly stopped, tilted her head, glanced at Duncan, and screeched in a sharp voice, "Be a person, be a person!"

"You're just a bird; you have no right to talk to me," Duncan glared at the pigeon, then rubbed his fingertips together, preparing to summon the spirit flame to "cleanse" the mask from the inside out, before conducting an in-depth "test" after gaining authority over it.

A faint green flame ignited on his fingertip. Duncan was about to guide the flame into the mask when he suddenly heard a vague voice, so weak and ethereal that it seemed to be whispering in his heart:

"... might actually connect them with the Vanishing..."

Duncan's movements suddenly stopped.

He looked at the pigeon beside him, "Did you hear anything?"

The pigeon thought for a moment, then flapped its wings and sang loudly off-key, "Listening~ to the sound of the sea crying~ regretting whose heart has been broken~"

"Stop, stop... I shouldn't have asked you!" Duncan quickly pressed the pigeon down, thinking that his communication with this bird was simply t/

This was very necessary.

Uncontrolled anomalies in the Boundless Sea do not disappear from the eyes of the world forever. Although the deep sea devours everything, it never swallows the "anomalies" that fall into it. Those anomalies that escape control often wander the edges of the civilized world in more bizarre and unpredictable ways, like wolves prowling around a farm, chasing and threatening the safety of seafarers. Almost every year, seafarers lose their lives due to encountering uncontrolled anomalies.

As custodians and sealers of anomalies, every church should inform all captains who might encounter anomalies under their name after they lose control. No one thinks this will damage the "face" of the church, because this is the church's responsibility and obligation.

Timely notification of loss of control may save a ship that unfortunately encounters an anomaly in the future, or allow a lost anomaly to be resealed and contained.

Under normal circumstances, this notice would be issued to port units within twenty-four hours of the loss of control, but this notice involving "Anomaly 099" was late.

Because this loss of control not only involved Anomaly 099 – the Doll Coffin, but also involved Phenomenon 005 – the Vanishing.

The Pope and bishops had to carefully consider the contents of the document to ensure that the information was disclosed accurately while avoiding attracting the attention of the ghost captain of the Vanishing when people read the document.

Vanna's face was ashen as she read the document word by word, confirming whether the words in the document conformed to the sacred and invisible structure of prayer and whether it could avoid the gaze of the ghost captain of the Vanishing.

And on the window glass beside her, in the gaps of light and shadow that she and the regional bishop could not detect, Duncan was craning his neck to peer at the contents of the document.

Ghost captain was shocked.jpg.