Chapter 58: Chapter 58: The Hold
Duncan had always been curious about what made this self-proclaimed “Alice,” a Gothic doll, so special and dangerous that her escorting sailors were so nervous and that she held the anomalous title 099 in a world brimming with dangerous and bizarre phenomena.
Indeed, a doll capable of moving autonomously and possessing reason was certainly eerie, and the sight of her occasionally clutching her head and running haphazardly or acting separately was truly horrifying. But in Duncan’s view, this was far from sufficient to meet the criteria for a “higher-tier designation,” especially when compared to the intelligence he had learned from Nina:
Anomalous 196-Blood, a dangerous anomaly sealed in the underground sanctuary of the Plunder Church. Its main body equated to the total blood volume of an adult male. This anomaly exhibited certain cognitive traits, moving and spreading on its own, and actively attempting to replace the blood of nearby suitable “hosts” before escaping in their bodies. The method to halt its spread was to keep it divided in twenty-two blood vials and frozen—however, if anyone within a ten-meter radius bled, the seal broke immediately, and the blood of those bleeding would be replaced by Anomaly 196, which would also take over the host’s sanity.
This anomaly ignored any countermeasures below those of saints and would unconditionally kill suitable hosts.
As one of the most dangerous anomalies managed by the Plunder City-State, the information regarding Anomalous 196-Blood was always available to the public to ensure that if the anomaly were to leak into the city district, the authorities could quickly locate and deal with it.
Duncan didn’t know what the term “saint” implied, but from the name alone, he knew it corresponded to some incredibly powerful transcendent level—perhaps the Judge named Fenna mentioned in the newspapers was one such saint. And how many such saints capable of combating Anomaly 196 could there be in the entire Plunder City-State?
This was only Anomaly 196, ranking close to two hundred—whereas Alice’s designation was Anomaly 099.
Within the top hundred.
Although, according to Nina, the ranking of anomalies and phenomena might have some uncertainties, and it wasn’t always possible to make a clear comparison of strength and weakness between different anomalies and phenomena, generally speaking, the higher-ranked anomalies and phenomena tended to be more dangerous or more bizarre and uncontrollable in their “traits.” Otherwise, they were those that had caused astonishing destruction or had led to significant historical events, thereby securing their unique top-tier designation through historical notoriety.
However, a designation within the top hundred implied traits and levels of danger that were extremely problematic for the civilized world, or it meant stirring up some astonishing act in history. But this cursed doll named Alice…
Duncan glanced back at Alice, who was obediently following him. Noticing the captain’s gaze, she immediately lifted her head and returned a harmless yet somewhat timid smile, “Hehe…”
Expecting this creature to understand her own danger was unlikely—Duncan thought it might be better to consult the historical archives of the Plunder City-State.
But how could an antique store owner from the Lower City District access such “classified information”? The “antique industry connections” left by the heretic Ron were obviously no good, as most items in that store had histories not extending beyond last week…
Duncan mused silently while continuing his walk; the eerie green spiritual fire burned quietly in the lantern he carried, gradually permeating deeper into the cabin, and the ambient light altered by the bizarre environment of the cabin’s bottom mixed with the light from the lantern, creating a dizzying and hallucinatory array of lights and shadows.
To outsiders, this scene would likely appear extremely eerie and terrifying.
Yet, Duncan felt a faint calmness in his heart; his power seeped into the light of the lantern, like a trickle of water, gradually infiltrating the depths of the ship’s cabin that had been sealed for who knows how many years. This previously unknown structure of the ship’s base was becoming clearer in his mind and giving off a subtle “touch”—
The last uncontrolled area of Homeloss was getting back on track, and Duncan could increasingly feel that, with his exploration, the slight “agitation” manifested by various things in the cabin around him was gradually settling.
Indeed, as Capricorn had said, the bottom of Homeloss had some “anomalies” due to long immersion in the Endless Sea, but as long as the captain personally came down to soothe it, the order on the ship would gradually be restored.
“You really are scared of the deep sea, even just coming to a cabin below sea level scares you this much,” Duncan suddenly said to Alice following him, “Then why insist on coming?”
“I… I didn’t think this through!” Alice forced herself to remain calm, “I thought, no matter where we go, it’s still on the ship… I didn’t have the concept of ‘a cabin below the waterline’! I’m just a doll!”
“You don’t even have a digestive system yet you study cooking—don’t use being a doll as an excuse,” Duncan said offhand, “You need to make up for your lack of knowledge about the ship.”
Disheartened, Alice uttered an “Oh,” while Duncan, after a brief silence, curiously asked, “Why are you so afraid of the deep sea? Or rather… why does the thought of ‘being submerged in the sea’ terrify you? I know the deep sea is dangerous, many people are scared of it, and you’ve said this reason before, but it seems your nervousness is more severe than I expected. You become neurotic just standing in a cabin below the waterline, just by thinking about the surrounding seawater… Stop picking at the lace on your clothing; Homeloss doesn’t have spare clothes for you. If it gets damaged, you’ll have to sew it yourself.”
“Oh,” Alice quickly relaxed her grip a bit, but then unintentionally started pulling on the button again, “I… I had never thought about that before. I’m just scared, is it not okay to be scared?”
Listening to the nervous tone of the doll, Duncan remained noncommittal. He looked towards the end of the corridor and saw a staircase sloping downward that had already come into view.
That was a deeper place, possibly leading directly to the bottom of the hull—the part of the ship that touched the Endless Sea the deepest.
Duncan and Alice stood at the top of the staircase and looked down. With the light emanating from the Spiritual Fire lantern, they did not see the structure of the cabin below, but instead, a door stood in the dark depths.
Upon seeing that door, Duncan couldn’t help but frown.
The structure here was actually quite abnormal. First of all, the path to the bottom of the hull seemed excessively long—the stairs between the upper cabins were continuous and allowed quick access to each cabin level. However, on this level, the stairs leading deeper were located at the end of the corridor, requiring passage through almost an entire warehouse area, which undoubtedly affected the transit efficiency inside the ship.
Secondly, there was an additional door under the stairs.
Duncan hesitated for a moment, still picked up the lantern, and slowly walked down.
Alice was even more hesitant, but eventually followed obediently—now letting herself go back to the upper levels was utterly unthinkable; it was safer to follow the captain.
Soon, Duncan reached the door. He lifted the lantern to illuminate the surroundings and began searching for any text surrounding the door—then a row of letters unexpectedly appeared in his view on the doorframe:
“The last door at the bottom of the hull.”
“What does this mean?” Alice curiously looked at the letters on the doorframe, “The last door at the bottom of the hull… under normal circumstances, shouldn’t the sign on the door indicate the room’s function?”
“Clearly, it’s a warning,” Duncan pondered as he withdrew his gaze from the doorframe, his hand now on the doorknob. He cautioned the doll beside him before pushing the door open, “If we find any other doors inside, don’t touch them.”
Alice nodded nervously and then saw Duncan push open that “last door at the bottom of the hull.”
An unusual pale light was advancing towards them.
They stepped forward, entering a wide-open space.
After clearly seeing the situation opposite the door, Alice’s eyes widened instantly, “This… this…”
She stuttered for a long time before finally mustering a sentence: “Captain! The bottom of the ship is shattered! It’s shattered!”
She shouted loudly, while Duncan did not respond for a moment—he too was staring dumbfounded at the surroundings.
The deepest layer of Homeloss, immersed in the Endless Sea—the hull structure was fragmented!
Everywhere he looked showed the cabin completely split into pieces, numerous gigantic cracks, and faintly glowing voids with hundreds of cabin fragments scattered and floating in the space, yet maintaining some kind of “disordered order,” preserving the hull’s supposed outline and structure.
Beyond the numerous fragments and massive cracks, Duncan could clearly see the “scenery” outside the hull—
It was not the deep, dark Endless Sea he had imagined, but a pale, dim emptiness and numerous, obscure lights darting fast through the nothingness.