Chapter 182: Chapter 186: Local Products from the City-State
On the first floor of the antique store, Nina sat anxiously on a chair next to the counter. She occasionally got up to glance outside the display window, only to see the deserted street under a streetlamp before she would check the door again to ensure it was still securely closed.
She had the urge to go outside several times, but stopped herself just before her hand touched the doorknob, recalling her uncle’s hurried instruction before he left—do not leave through this door, stay home and wait for his return.
“Uncle really…” Nina sat back behind the counter once again, muttering to herself, “He insists on going out after dark even though there’s a curfew… If the night patrol guards find him, they will surely detain him again, and it’s so dangerous…”
She did not know how many times she had muttered this.
Finally, she heard some slight noises at the door—footsteps suddenly sounding, followed by the noise of turning the door lock—
Nina abruptly looked towards the door and saw it being pushed open. The bell hanging at the entrance chimed clearly and pleasantly, and that familiar figure finally appeared in her sight.
“Nina, I’m back,” Duncan said, looking at the girl who was quickly walking from beside the counter, a slight smile on his face, “See, it’s not too late.”
Nina rushed over in a few steps and crashed into Duncan’s chest, immediately followed by a flood of complaints: “Not too late! What time is it now! It’s so dangerous to go out during the curfew, and you didn’t even tell me what you were going to do, just let me wait at home…”
Nina’s complaints were like a storm at sea, ceaseless as they whipped up, but suddenly, she noticed a small figure hiding behind Duncan, and her complaining stopped abruptly.
Sherry, carrying a small suitcase and lowering her head, emerged from behind Duncan, somewhat nervously and awkwardly waving at Nina: “Nina… and me.”
Duncan turned around and closed the shop door tightly to avoid any nosy passersby noticing their situation, while Nina, after getting a good look at Sherry, widened her eyes: “Sherry?! You… how did you come, and you’re with uncle… wait, there’s so much blood on you!”
“Ah, don’t worry, don’t worry,” Sherry quickly waved her hands, although the wounds on her back had not completely healed, she still tried to show a bright smile as usual, “Just ran into a little trouble, I’m fine…”
“How is this a little trouble!” Nina frantically took the small suitcase from Sherry’s hands, quickly checking the bloodstains on her, and soon noticed the torn spots on Sherry’s clothes, suddenly turning pale with fright, “How… how badly are you hurt! We must find a doctor right away! You…”
“I’m really okay, hey calm down,” Sherry quickly grabbed Nina’s hand, her face helpless, “You forgot that I’m not a normal person…”
Nina opened her mouth as if she wanted to say more, but suddenly heard Duncan coughing by her side.
“Cough, cough,” Duncan interrupted the increasingly chaotic conversation between the two girls, his gaze resting on Nina, “Don’t ask so many questions now, Sherry’s injuries shouldn’t be a concern—take her upstairs first to take a bath and change clothes; we’ll explain everything afterwards.”
Nina’s gaze shifted back and forth between Sherry and Duncan, confusedly agreeing while Sherry rubbed her stomach, somewhat embarrassed: “Um… is there anything to eat… I’d like to eat something first…”
Perhaps because too much energy was consumed during the process of recovering from her injuries, she felt very hungry now—compared to this, the pain from her wounds didn’t seem so urgent.
“Ah, yes there is!” Nina startled for a moment, then quickly reacted, “Just so happens we prepared extra dinner tonight… I’ll go heat it up for you!”
Nina quickly ran up the stairs, and the sound of her footsteps gradually faded away. Sherry stayed behind, slightly dazed, and looked around to see the familiar first-floor shop filled with fake antiques, a not so clean display window, and Mr. Duncan standing nearby with a half-smile.
After several seconds of being stunned, she softly muttered, “I’m back…”
“Yes, you’re back,” Duncan said with a smile, bending down to pick up Sherry’s small suitcase and began walking forward, “We’d better discuss how to explain your injuries now and think of a reasonable reason to let you stay here regularly—though I don’t think that reason needs to be very hard to come up with, Nina would probably be very pleased to have you stay.”
Sherry, dazedly watching from behind, suddenly perked up and quickly took a few steps to catch up with Duncan, reaching out for her own suitcase while hurriedly saying, “I can do it myself! I can…”
Duncan smiled and shook his head, looking ahead.
The pale, cold glow of the Creation of the World shone on the vast, boundless ocean, the gently undulating waves reflecting the fragments of light, the cool night breeze blowing over the deck, fluttering the hem of the captain’s uniform.
Duncan stood on the deck of the Homeloss, watching the three “Doomsday Preachers” who still hadn’t regained consciousness but were slowly transforming back into human form.
Could these twisted creatures actually turn into normal people?
Footsteps approached from nearby, and Duncan turned to see Alice’s silver-white hair fluttering in the night breeze—her gothic doll dress flapping as she ran over, excitedly shouting, “Captain, captain, Mr. Goat Head just told me you brought more stuff onto the deck? Did you buy something else from the human City-State…”
Alice stopped abruptly mid-sentence, puzzled, as the lively doll came to a halt next to the captain, gazing confusedly at the three “humanoid creatures” lying on the deck.
After a moment of stunned silence, the doll cluelessly turned her head towards Duncan, “Captain… is this also a specialty from the human City-State?”
“…Suppose so,” Duncan thought for a moment, “I haven’t seen them anywhere else, they just keep popping up in the City-State.”
Alice murmured vaguely, scratching her head, feeling an itch—a sensation of her brain wanting to develop, but unable to.
“They look… human, right?” the doll muttered. “Captain, what are you doing bringing three of these things onboard? They can’t be something you bought, right?”
“Not bought, picked up on the way.” Duncan responded offhandedly to the scattered thoughts of the doll, while he kept an eye on the three Heretics from Subspace, almost completely returned to human form. He noticed one of them showing signs of awakening, which finally eased his mind.
It seemed Ai Yi’s teleportation process was as reliable as ever; these heretics were still alive, and even capable of waking up.
So… could Ai Yi start transporting regular people to the ship as well?
Duncan began to consider this, his mood gradually improving.
He had always wanted to find some heretics and use them as “experiment subjects” to test Ai Yi’s long-distance teleportation capability, the special environment of the Homeloss, as well as Alice’s guillotine power, but had never found the opportunity.
The Sun Cultists in the City-State were almost entirely captured in a sweep by the Deep Sea Church and now crammed into various churches, while scattered cultists fled and hid. He had given up looking—yet he hadn’t expected to encounter this situation tonight.
A few heretics worshiping Subspace had inexplicably appeared.
What else could Duncan say? He could only be grateful for nature’s gift…
And while he was pondering, the “gifts of nature” on the deck finally began to wake up.
One of the Doomsday Preachers suddenly twitched his body, a hoarse and low murmur coming from his throat, followed by his skinny arm suddenly propping up his body. The worshiper of Subspace sat up, staring bewilderedly at the unfamiliar surroundings.
The gentle waves and cold sea breeze stimulated his altered nerves influenced by Subspace, and a gentle, deep voice came from the side, “You’re awake.”
“This place…” The heretic slowly turned his head, his cloudy eyes reflecting the figures of Duncan and Alice. His brain sluggishly processed thoughts, and after several seconds, he suddenly stood up, facing Duncan with hostility and taking a small step back, “Who are you?!”
“Oh, right, you haven’t seen me before,” Duncan smiled, watching the other two Doomsday Preachers gradually awaken, his voice low as he spoke, “Welcome aboard the Homeloss—you can call me Captain Duncan.”
“…Homeloss?!” The first awakened heretic paused, clearly recognizing the name. After a brief moment of astonishment, his eyes widened, “Is this… is this on that Ghost Ship that returned from Subspace?!”
“Exactly, it seems you know the situation. That makes our conversation simple,” Duncan nodded, “First, I have some questions…”
Before he could continue, he saw the heretic suddenly raise his arms high, ecstasy seemingly flooding his mind, causing him to cry out, “Subspace! You have finally opened your doors to us! Eternal life amid apocalypse! Salvation amid disaster! All destruction, all revival! The Ark of Promise has descended… The Ark of Promise has descended!”
Duncan’s next words were instantly stifled—
What in the world was wrong with this heretic’s brain?!