Duncan fell silent in thought.

This was the first time the Goat Head had told him so much about the subspace, and it was the most candid exchange he'd had with the Goat Head.

Before today, the Goat Head had always shown great resistance to the subspace, avoiding related topics whenever possible, and never directly answering his probing questions. At that time, its attitude seemed not only to be worried about the stability of the Vanishing Sea, but also about the stability of "Captain Duncan."

But today, its attitude softened—after the captain ran to the subspace, closed the door, and then ran back as if nothing had happened.

It seemed it had finally put its mind at ease and dared to say what it knew.

The Goat Head said it didn't know much and didn't guarantee the truth of a series of intelligence, but for Duncan, even what it had said was enough for him to ponder for a long time. It not only exceeded his current understanding of the subspace, but might even exceed the research depth of scholars in the civilized world.

After thinking for a long time, Duncan looked up, looking thoughtfully at the Goat Head's eyes: "...You knew so much."

"More or less, I knew something... but I didn't intentionally hide it from you," the Goat Head's voice sounded a little nervous. "The less you know about things related to the subspace, the better, because in many cases, knowledge itself is pollution, but now it seems that the great Captain Duncan obviously doesn't need to worry about this..."

"Just take it as sincere praise," Shirley said casually, then looked up and down at the Goat Head, and asked unwillingly, "Is that really all you know? Are there any more details? Such as the identity of this pale, one-eyed giant..."

"Then you're really embarrassing me," the Goat Head said a little helplessly. "To tell you the truth, my memory... actually had some problems, and many things were forgotten 'over there'. Now all I have left are those superficial impressions."

Duncan's voice finally came from the shadows: "He's reciting the alphabet, don't disturb his studies."

Duncan didn't react.

The dim sunlight shone through the window, illuminating the simple and elegant furnishings of the captain's room, and a hazy luster spread in the dust. "It's nothing, just came out to see the weather."

Shirley didn't speak again.

In Pland, at the antique shop, Shirley, who was sitting in front of the counter supervising Agou, Alice, and Duncan as they practiced the alphabet, suddenly raised her head, and then, under the surprised gaze of several "students," quickly walked out of the store and came to the open space in front of the antique shop, looking up at the sky.

The Goat Head's tone was a little hesitant: "Then this... is this a good thing? That means the Anomaly 001 has a certain self-repairing function. Even if there is a small problem, it is consciously ensuring that the world can run smoothly..."

"I missed today's sunrise," Zhou Hou said suddenly. "Did the sun rise as usual today?"

"Yes, the sun rose on time at sunrise," the Goat Head replied immediately. "It seems that the previous delayed sunrise was just an accident, and Anomaly 001 is still running."

"Sunset?" The Goat Head recalled for a moment, and then opened his mouth uncertainly, "The sunset time should be accurate, it wasn't affected, so what's the problem... Ah!"

On the outer ring of this double rune, under the shining light, there was a slightly brighter spot. If you looked at it carelessly, it seemed that there was a faint... gap here.

"...Adventure, adventure, how can there be so many adventures to take?" Shirley looked at the girl, who had always been preoccupied with the "thrilling and exciting new life" since she learned about the Vanishing Sea, with a wry smile. "Don't be afraid that the world will be in chaos, isn't world peace good?"

Agou: "...He's really getting into it?!"

"...For existences like Anomaly 001, as long as there is a problem once, fear will be forever imprinted in people's hearts. Those who noticed the '15 minutes' will probably never greet the sunrise so calmly again," Shirley shook her head gently, then seemed to suddenly remember something, "Wait, do you remember what time the sunset was yesterday?"

...

Because Zhou Hou took Nina back...

When they arrived at the door, Agou's last murmur fell into the former's ears. Because he knew that the other party would never answer questions that directly pointed to the Goat Head itself, and that might point to "Captain Duncan"—this involved the stability of the Vanishing Sea in the real dimension.

"...It patrolled the sky faster than usual yesterday," the Goat Head belatedly realized. "Anomaly 001--can consciously adjust its operation mode?"

Duncan shook his head, then temporarily arranged for Zhou Hou, Duncan, and Alice to study on their own, and instructed Nina to supervise them. He himself took one last look at the sky inside, then stood in front of the window and fell into thought.

Anomaly 001--something really went wrong. He stared at the sun, at the runes on the edge of this ancient anomaly. He carefully distinguished them, and finally confirmed that he was not mistaken.

Agou was stunned: "Homework? What homework?"

So he took a light breath, stood up, and signaled a temporary pause to this topic.

Nina, who was originally helping to tutor Agou and others to recognize characters, ran out worriedly: "Uncle Duncan, what's wrong?"

For some reason, the figure of the pale giant who died on the edge of the celestial fragment appeared in Duncan's mind again. Nina frowned and repeated, then tugged at the chain that was fused with her arm from the angle blocked by the door frame: "Duncan, are you listening to me?"

Shirley said in a deep voice: "At least it consciously accelerated yesterday to ensure that the sunset was carried out at the correct time."

After a long time, until the strong human body felt a little dizzy, Shirley closed her eyes and lowered her head.

Because I know a truth--when a huge, ancient, and unguarded system suddenly stops using its reserve resources for self-repair, it often does not mean that the problem will be solved, but rather that the problem has accumulated to a signal of a safety critical point!

"Homework is definitely something he won't write, and he will be more angry about it," Shirley looked at Agou, who was suddenly stiff, with a smile. "Go back and copy the alphabet ten times."

"He's figured it out," Duncan withdrew his gaze from the window. "The sun's sunrise was delayed by seventeen minutes yesterday, but it set on time, which explains one thing."

The Goat Head's attitude seemed very optimistic, but I didn't feel relaxed at all because of Anomaly 001's "self-adjustment". On the contrary, after confirming that the sun had actively accelerated one day, I felt more relaxed.

The Goat Head indirectly said another thing--it really wasn't a "crew member" that was there as soon as the ship ended, but came from "the other side," from the subspace!

Duncan stared at the Goat Head's eyes for a long time, then he withdrew his gaze.

Shirley couldn't help but come to the window, completely opened the window, and looked up at the sky, the huge light body that was shining on the world, and the two circles of runes surrounding this light body.

Shirley raised her head and gently rubbed Nina's hair.

The light emitted by Anomaly 001 was very bright, but it wasn't dazzling Shirley barely managed to look directly at it.

Really?

However, Duncan didn't answer him.

Agou was about to cry: "This... why don't you just beat me up."

Agou was agitated: "Yes, yes, yes, I'll go copy the alphabet now!"

Nina stuck out her tongue embarrassedly, while Agou, who had sneaked over to see what was going on at the door of the shop because of curiosity, was a little dazed after hearing Shirley's words. He was stunned for a long time before turning his head and muttering to Duncan, who was hiding in the shadows: "The captain said he hates world peace."

Was it that the Vanishing Sea "brought" something out during its departure from the subspace, and then this thing transformed into the Goat Head? Or did that Goat Head consciously hitch a ride and escape the subspace? Was this a transaction?

But suddenly, Zhou Hou's gaze froze.

Shirley came up with many questions for a while, but in the end, she didn't ask them directly.

"Look at the weather? Nina looked up at the clear sky in confusion. Wouldn't it be enough to take a look outside the window in the store? The sky is so clear, is something going to happen again?"

"Nonsense, Mr. Shirley is going to check the homework later, even Big Sister Alice is more serious than her!"

The subspace is full of wreckage after the old world shattered but these seem to be just wreckage · The Goat Head seems to come from the subspace, and it has reason, can think, knows how to communicate, so are there similar things to it in the subspace? Or is it that if it definitely returns to the subspace, the Goat Head will become like that, becoming something similar to that pale giant? That's why it resists "going back" so much?

Nina said, then suddenly lowered her voice and said: "Did you think of something on the ship? Are we going on an adventure?"