Ashes Of Deep Sea Chapter 262

Chapter 262: Chapter 266: Thought Proliferation

Fenna stood up and approached the statue of the Goddess in the small prayer room, which was placed on a high pedestal, surrounded by bright, quietly burning candles.

“We should convey this warning to the Storm Cathedral, and it would be best to pass it on to other churches and City-States as well,” came the voice of Bishop Valentin from behind, “but that involves the source of the warning. To be sufficiently convincing, we must present reasons compelling enough for the other Three Gods Church to believe. Merely saying 'a saint had a revelation in a dream' won't be enough.

“The Pontiff is already aware of your connection with Captain Duncan, and she has not issued any admonition regarding this, which seems to be a tacit approval. However, if the other churches learn of the real situation… their reaction would be hard to predict, especially the Death Church.”

“The influence of the Vesland Thirteen Islands…” Fenna muttered softly, “The Death Church's caution towards the Homeloss is extraordinary.”

“Exactly, the Vesland Thirteen Islands, the sacrifices dragged into the Subspace by the Homeloss, one century ago the largest group of island City-States under the control of the Death Church, for the followers of the Grim Reaper, those thirteen islands' status is equivalent to Plunder today for the Deep Sea Church,” Valentin sighed, “It's troublesome, after a hundred years, it's not just a matter of hatred, but a natural distrust of humans towards a 'disaster out of control.' If they knew the source of this warning, they might think of it more as a conspiracy.”

Fenna was silent for a moment before abruptly speaking up, “The Storm Cathedral will be arriving soon, maybe the Pontiff has her own considerations regarding this.”

“Let's hope so,” Valentin muttered with some uncertainty, “Regardless, the Four Gods Church has already taken notice of the anomaly 001. It's just that our level of concern

Fenna slowly nodded and then raised her gaze, looking at the statue of the Storm Goddess Gomona, before softly murmuring a prayer, “…may You protect us.”

On the aft deck of the Homeloss, Duncan had just finished inspecting the entire ship and was ready to retreat to his room for rest.

The Homeloss required a thorough inspection periodically, especially the parts of the ship submerged in the Endless Sea–the cabins needed the captain's intimidation and reassurance to ensure stability.

During this inspection, Duncan also specifically checked the status of the “Door to Subspace” in the ship's hold, confirming that the door remained firmly closed.

This brought him some peace of mind.

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In contrast to this “peace,” a sense of unease weighed on his heart: he still hadn't figured out how he managed to enter the “other side” of the door by simply sleeping in his bedroom last time.

Entering the Subspace in a daze, spending half a day on another Homeloss within the Subspace, although he eventually found a way back safely, until he could determine the mechanism by which he entered the Subspace, he could never be completely at ease.

And the time he entered the Subspace was right after anomal 001 acted up.

The “Sun” malfunctioning, unsettling dreams, entering the Subspace–the proximity of these events made it hard not to speculate on whether there was a hidden connection behind them.

Standing in front of the captain's quarters, Duncan, holding a lantern in one hand, took a deep breath in the chilly night air.

Perhaps it was this “unease” that had compelled him to send a warning during the prior “Dreamscape Communication” with Fenna, although he was still not certain how much his strange and bizarre dreams reflected reality. Yet, after so many encounters with Transcendent phenomena, he had at least one insight: it might be nothing if an ordinary person had a dream, but if he, “Captain Duncan,” had a dream… it should never be dismissed merely as a dream.

Now, he only hoped that his warning could prompt the Four Gods Church to focus more attention on Anomaly 001.

He knew he was no expert in the Transcendent realm, even if he wanted to investigate Anomaly 001, he wouldn't know where to start, and what he could do… was to attract those real experts to the issue.

A warning from “Captain Duncan” was undoubtedly a reason for many to take the matter seriously.

Collecting his thoughts, Duncan placed his hand on the doorknob of the captain's quarters. But before opening the door, he suddenly recalled another matter.

The Abyssal Plan that Valentin had mentioned to him.

Duncan's brow furrowed slightly in thought, then he pushed open the “Door of the Displaced.”

A swirling mist appeared within the doorframe.

He stepped through.

After a brief sensation of dizziness and spatial disorientation, Zhou Ming opened his eyes to his familiar bachelor apartment where everything remained unchanged.

As usual, he first checked the windowsill, desk, and other spots to ensure everything was as before, then he walked to the end of the room.

On the simple shelf, the intricate “models” of the Homeloss and Plunder still sat quietly in their original positions.

Zhou Ming approached and directly picked up the “model” representing Plunder, holding the collection, which wasn't light nor too heavy in his hands, and sat down at the nearby desk to closely inspect its “base” structure.

Before this moment, he had never considered the matter–it must be admitted that “beneath the City-State” was not just a blind spot in the thoughts of many people in this world, but also in his own.

He saw only an extremely smooth base.

Below the sea level of Plunder City-State, the corresponding part on the model came to an abrupt halt, its base as smooth as if sliced by a sharp blade.

Zhou Ming stared at the base of the model, falling into deep contemplation.

If it was simply a “model,” this neatly trimmed base would undoubtedly be normal, but he knew this “collectible” was no ordinary model; it should be a “reflection,” a “projection,” of the real Plunder within this room–the thing it presented… should be the complete appearance of Plunder!

No matter what lay beneath the City-State, whether it was an infinitely long column or a thin base, it should have some structure, not like now, where everything below the sea surface just stopped abruptly.

Was it because he hadn't burned the City-State thoroughly enough with flames before? Or was it because…

He had “overlooked” this part?

Zhou Ming slightly furrowed his brow, his fingers unconsciously tapping the edge of the desk, then he steadied himself, placed his hands over the model, and his mind began to spread out.

Inside an antique shop in Plunder City-State, Duncan, having just wished Nina and Sherry goodnight, walked back to his room silently. He came to the window and quietly gazed out at the peaceful night view of the district, with its scattered night lights.

The night had deepened, almost all the inhabitants of the City-State had returned to their homes, and the streets were extremely quiet, with only a few specks of light moving in the darker alleys–these were the patrolling guards and the glow from the lanterns they carried.

Duncan closed his eyes slightly.

A clearer, more direct perspective of the entire Plunder City-State appeared directly in his mind.

The crowded residential areas, the steam factories operating day and night, the quiet commercial districts, the damp streets close to the sea, the gas lamps along the road, the pipe system crossing the City-State…

In some part of the City-State, a team of guards emerged from an alley, ready to check the next set of gas and steam nodes.

A young team member holding a lantern looked at the silent street ahead and muttered with a hint of sentimentality, “It looks like another peaceful night is ahead… To be honest, I'm not quite used to these quiet nights.”

“Don't let your guard down,” said the team leader, glancing at his subordinate, “Anything can happen under the cover of night, look out for the darkest places.”

“Yes, I understand,” replied the guard quickly, straightening up, but he couldn't help adding, “But don't you think it has been really quiet recently? I've heard that the recent night patrol records for the whole city don't even have a single…”

A trace of pale green light suddenly flickered at the edge of their vision and then disappeared, causing the team member to involuntarily stop.

It seemed as if the light from a distant gas lamp had changed for a moment, but it was so brief and subtle, almost impossible to capture.

“Did you just see something flash by?” the guard instinctively placed his hand on the runic steel sword at his waist and said in a low, serious voice, “The gas lamp seemed to flicker.”

“I saw your lantern flicker a bit too,” another team member chimed in.

The guards instinctively turned their eyes to the team leader.

But the team leader was frowning deeply, as if pondering something. Several seconds passed before the experienced guard shook his head: “Continue the patrol–just report any incidents to the Church afterwards.”

The team of guards left the place.

However, similar incidents were happening all over the city.

Green shadows passing through flames, invisible gazes flashing in the dark–Duncan's thoughts flowed through the entire City-State and then gradually sank deeper into the City-State.

With that transcendent and clear “perception,” Duncan allowed his consciousness to sink, bit by bit, exploring the structure of the City-State beneath the sea surface.

Back in the apartment room, Zhou Ming suddenly opened his eyes.

A faint friction sound reached his ears.

He picked up the “collectible” in front of him, staring intently at the base of Plunder City-State.

Rough and complex new structures… were beginning to “grow” from the base of this “model.”

Chapter end

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