Chapter 804: Agatha the Sharp
After leaving the border curtain and embarking on this long "journey to the end of the world", the crews of the Lost Home and the Brilliant Star have gradually formed a new and tacit connection. Sometimes, the people on the two ships will interact with each other. We go to visit, and sometimes we exchange information. In most cases, Ai serves as a bridge for communication between the two ships - and these connections and the "daily life" based on the connections seem to be quietly becoming a way to maintain the relationship on the ship. The anchor of everyone’s “humanity.”
Because they are far away from the civilized world, far away from people and society, travelers have a special need for communication between people. When the fog at the end of the world covers everything, it is particularly important to be able to confirm each other's existence in the fog.
Nina, Shirley and others who were originally gathered in the restaurant almost ran away in the blink of an eye, all carrying their own knives, forks and rice bowls (Shirley still brought her big rice bowl without hesitation) and happy people. In a good mood, the scene soon became quiet, and in the end, only Duncan was left sitting at the dining table, looking at the remaining pot of thick and bubbling "soup" and a pile of charred suspects on the table with a helpless smile. food.
After a while, he shook his head and couldn't help but mutter: "I don't know how Maurice solved the problem of eating when he was exploring everywhere when he was young... Could it be that he relied on his digestive system to resist?"
As soon as he finished speaking, he saw Agatha's figure suddenly reflected on a shiny spoon on the edge of the dining table: "I've heard him say this - one-third of the time it's dry food, and one-third of it is dry food. In one case, you eat whatever you find, and in the remaining one-third of the cases, you transform yourself into a cast form, drink engine oil, eat boiling gold, and hand over your physical body to the gods..."
Duncan: "...like something he can do."
Agatha shrugged: "Actually, I can still understand all this, but the old man said that the most extreme time he was trapped in a deep crack was for several weeks. After he came out, he felt that the taste of the death bird was pretty good - this is credible There is a question mark in my mind about the extent.”
Before Agatha finished speaking, the question mark in her heart had already been transferred to Duncan's forehead - the latter listened in stunned silence and couldn't help but said: "Bite the deep devil?! No... that thing has flesh. ?"
Agatha spread her hands and walked from the back of the spoon to the table knife next to it: "Who knows? He told me last time after drinking. You also know that drunk old people tell about their adventures. Experience is usually only the last one that can be trusted.”
Duncan's mouth trembled and he decided not to dwell on this topic.
He raised his head and looked at the porthole not far away - through the open window panel, he could see that the uniform gray-white background still extended infinitely outside the Lost Home, as if the whole world had melted into that boundless area. In the endless gray.
"What are you thinking about?" Agatha's slightly magnetic voice came from the side. At some point, her figure was reflected on the lampshade of a hanging lantern next to her. In the flickering firelight, her face looked a little... Vague.
"...We have been away for a long time," Duncan was silent for a few seconds and suddenly said softly, "Do you still miss Hanshuang now?"
"Yes," Agatha said without hesitation. She looked at Duncan with only honesty in her eyes. "I will not hide my true thoughts from you - nor can I ignore the memory and feelings of the past few decades. The weight accumulated in my heart, although those memories and feelings are just a fake... I will still recall the days in the frost. Sometimes I wake up from a trance, and I even think that I am still in that cathedral, waiting. Meeting with Bishop Ivan."
She paused here, then breathed softly and looked into Duncan's eyes.
"You have other plans for us, don't you?"
Duncan looked at the "gatekeeper" reflected in the lights with some surprise: "...Why do you think so?"
"I can feel that you have a plan. You are 'cruising' along the borders of this world, and every place where the Lost Home goes, there is some kind of... mark left behind," Agatha said slowly, "I don't know what it is, it's beyond my understanding, but in the world of reflection, I can clearly see something left in the wake of the Lost Home, from the Storm Goddess' node to the Wisdom. God’s node, and the current route…
"You are 'surrounding' the whole world in a certain way, and in those 'imprints' surrounding the world, I smell...the breath of end.
"You are going to do something big. This 'tour' along the end of the world is just the first step. When you complete the arrangements at the border, that's when the plan will finally be launched, and I can feel it... …You don’t seem to want us to follow you to the end.”
Duncan fell silent and stared silently into Agatha's eyes.
"The gatekeeper's eyes can see many things that ordinary people can't see, and after turning into a reflection, I started to see more... Just think of it as a peek into destiny," Agatha said gently He laughed and slowly shook his head, "I once woke up from a nightmare in the dark. When I woke up, I saw this ship sailing in an endless void, and the ship was empty. Only you stood at the stern and steered the ship. ——I talked to you, called your name, and asked about the whereabouts of other people, but you couldn't see me or hear my voice. At that time, I vaguely guessed... Under your influence There seems to be no place for us in this journey.”
Agatha paused briefly and continued: "And now, you suddenly ask me if I still miss Hanshuang...I am even more convinced of my judgment."
Listening to what the other party said, Duncan didn't speak for a long time. He just thought quietly. After a long time, he broke the silence: "It is indeed as you said, the Homeless Ship is on a 'tour' around the world, and here After the tour is over... I want to do something that is enough to restart this 'world'. Before that, you need to leave."
Agatha didn't speak, just looked here quietly - she knew the captain hadn't finished speaking yet.
"This is not an expulsion," Duncan continued after a moment of pondering, "You are my crew, always have been, and I have always arranged a place for you during my journey, but when I take the last step , you have other tasks.”
"Can you tell me what exactly you plan to do?" Agatha asked softly.
"...In the first step, I will destroy the world first," Duncan said calmly after thinking for a long time, "and in this process, you must serve as my 'anchor' and witness for me, because in that At this stage, I may no longer be able to observe everything with my own eyes..."
Agatha listened quietly to the captain's plan and did not speak for a long time. It was not until Duncan finished speaking that a long time passed before she hesitated to break the silence: "No wonder you took the Brilliant Star instead of Let Miss Lucretia go directly on board the Lost Home..."
"There must be a ship responsible for the return trip," Duncan said. "Lucy is a very smart girl. She should also be aware of my subsequent arrangements."
"She may be able to realize it, but you have to tell others the whole plan in person after all," Agatha looked at her captain seriously, "You can always trust us."
"I trust you, but it took me a long time to roughly sort out the ideas of this plan." Duncan calmly met the gaze of the gatekeeper lady. "In fact, it was not until I left Gemona's domain that I figured it out. After understanding the underlying order of the world, it was determined that the 'shutdown' procedure for the entire sanctuary must be implemented to solve the troubles left by the Great Annihilation - and before that, bringing the Brilliant Star was just a matter of caution. Back-up plan'.
Listening to Duncan's explanation, Agatha breathed out softly, and then suddenly showed a smile: "Then I will feel more relieved."
She jumped down from the glass shade of the lantern, and her figure jumped among the shiny cups and plates on the dining table, finally stopping in the water glass in Duncan's hand.
"If you have a careful arrangement, then we can carry it out with confidence and boldness. At any time, the captain's order is better than no order at all."
Duncan smiled and glanced down at Agatha's reflection in the glass, then knocked the glass, causing the lady keeper inside to shatter into pieces.
"That's just right. I have an order now."
Agatha's figure appeared on the porcelain plate next to her: "Please give me your orders."
"Call the sailor over and ask him to tidy up this place." Duncan stood up and waved his hand. "That guy didn't even show his face since he no longer needed to be at the helm. He really thought he had a permanent ticket to the Lost Home." There’s nothing left to do after that.”
There was a smile in Agatha's voice: "Yes, Captain!"
Duncan nodded, turned and left the restaurant.
He was going to return to his captain's cabin and take a nap before arriving at the next "node". Before that, he could also stop by the bridge to check on Miss Doll - although in theory Alice was now It was just an "empty shell" bound to the steering wheel. Except for pretending to sail the ship, everything else was left to her instinct as "Pilot Three", but leaving that fool on the bridge for such a long time was ultimately unacceptable. An unsettling thing.
With such thoughts in his mind, Duncan walked slowly towards the stern deck. However, just as he was about to step onto the stairs to the bridge, he suddenly stopped.
Bang bang bang.
The sound of tapping on the window suddenly reached my ears.
Duncan was stunned for a moment, subconsciously looking for the direction from which the sound came, but the next second he discovered that there were no windows around him at all - the sound of knocking on the glass window was still ringing continuously, but it seemed to be ringing directly in his own body. in mind.
Duncan frowned, then finally reacted.
That voice came directly from my own "cognition"!
He suddenly looked up and saw the "Gate of the Homeless" standing quietly not far ahead...