Nemo suddenly felt a palpitation.

At that moment, he felt as if the fearsome "Ghost Captain" before him was not simply making a promise, but stating a... "preordained fact" that would take shape on some future day.

He didn't know where this feeling came from, only that he couldn't help but lower his head, and with a sense of awe that he couldn't quite describe, he said, "As you say."

Duncan nodded, then shifted his gaze as if unintentionally to Old Ghost, who was standing not far away, leaning against the wall as if in a daze.

The old man was no longer muttering about the Frost Queen, nor was he babbling about the Second Waterway or rebels. He was just standing there in a daze, as if his mind was wandering in some forgotten time and space.

In the old man's chaotic memories... did the Frost Queen still rule this place?

Duncan withdrew his gaze, called out to Alice, who was also daydreaming beside him, and walked towards the secret passage exit with Vanna and Maurice.

Before long, they returned to the surface, and after leaving the "Golden Flute" tavern, they arrived on the bustling streets of Frost City.

The setting sun was gradually approaching the rooftops of distant buildings, and the magnificent and mysterious double rune rings were just touching the edges of several spires in the upper city. Visually, it was as if the spires built by mortals were supporting the chains that bound the sun, causing the solar disc to hang in the sky above the city.

Dusk was approaching, and curfew was near. Due to the stricter curfew order, everyone was hurrying back to their homes or the nearest "Night Shelters," and Duncan and his group, still strolling leisurely through the hurried crowd, seemed quite out of place.

But not many eyes noticed them; everyone was too busy.

"What do you think about this?" Vanna came to Duncan's side and said in a low voice—because of their similar height, she could get very close.

Duncan remained calm. "You mean the source of those 'fakes'?"

"They seem to have appeared out of nowhere—neither Maurice's nor my methods of investigation can find corresponding traces, and even you haven't been able to find any clues," Vanna nodded lightly. "And we've always believed that even these strange 'fakes' must move in some 'normal' way. There must be a source, and there must be a process of movement."

Duncan slowed his pace and tilted his head slightly. "You're suggesting that those fakes might have some kind of spatial power that allows them to ignore the barriers of reality and appear directly in specific places?"

"That's my suspicion."

Duncan remained noncommittal. After a few seconds, he suddenly said, "Have I ever told you about what happened when Alice first came on board the ship?"

"No," Vanna blinked. "Did something happen when she first came on board?"

"The doll's coffin kept returning to the Forsaken—I threw her into the sea three times, and she and her wooden box returned to the ship three times," Duncan said unhurriedly. "Guess how she came back?"

Vanna thought for a moment, then said uncertainly, "Relying on... the power of the curse? Some kind of 'return' ability of Anomaly 099? Is it also a spatial power?"

"No, she rowed back with the coffin lid. She rowed very fast," Duncan said calmly. "Then she climbed directly up the stern hull with great force—because she rowed too fast, I didn't catch her the first two times. I only caught her on the third try."

Vanna: "..."

The young inquisitor and Maurice next to her simultaneously turned their heads, looking at the doll miss who was looking around with an indescribable gaze. Noticing the gazes, the latter turned her head and gave a harmless smile.

"I don't rule out the possibility that those 'fakes' could appear directly in the city-state through some kind of space teleportation. But logically, if they really could teleport directly into the city, why would the *Seahawk* have to sail all the way from the outer seas instead of appearing directly in the port?" Duncan said lightly. "I'm more inclined to believe that the fakes still need normal means of transportation, and that the fake in the sewer only seems to have 'appeared out of nowhere' because we overlooked something, just like a normal person would never have imagined that the real reason for a cursed doll's repeated 'return' is that she rows very fast and is very strong."

He paused, then continued thoughtfully, "...It's even possible that the place where Crow 'accidentally entered' was also due to this kind of 'oversight'."

Maurice, who had been silent the whole time, suddenly reacted. "Some kind of 'channel' that exists but cannot be observed? Or a 'rift' that opens from time to time?"

"Hard to say, but this matter is definitely related to those cultists," Duncan said. "The things recorded on the paper that Crow brought back concern me. They don't all seem to be crazy 'heretical thoughts,' but more like descriptions of events that happened in the past, using language that modern people can't understand. And this kind of 'record'... has always been to the liking of those cultists.

"Perhaps we should really bring Agou and Shirley over. The eyes of the Abyssal Demon might be able to discover something in dimensions beyond reality."

A gust of gray wind swept into the gate of the port defense office, and the figure of doorkeeper Agatha stepped out of the gray wind.

Colonel Lister, behind his desk, looked up at the doorkeeper miss who had appeared in his office. "You've even skipped the notification this time."

"Sorry, it's an emergency after all," Agatha said, suddenly noticing the dark circles under Lister's eyes. "...Didn't you sleep last night?"

"I'm not the only one who didn't sleep," Lister shook his head with a wry smile. "We spent the whole night trying to decipher the mysterious signals sent by the Mist Fleet. Several cryptographers and mathematicians were about to start hitting each other with chairs—it was the first time I realized that when refined scholars argue, they also greet other people's relatives."

Agatha was silent for a moment, her eyes seeming a little strange. After a moment, she said, "The Cathedral may 'borrow' a few scholars from you later, specifically in the fields of cryptography and mathematics."

Lister was stunned. "Why?"

Agatha said expressionlessly (half of her expression was covered by bandages): "...To decipher another mischievous secret left to us by a mischievous existence."

"Okay, looks like your troubles are no less than mine," Lister sighed, then cheered up. "Let's get down to business. What do you want to know about that you've come to visit so suddenly?"

"About the city's lockdown situation," Agatha said. "The Cathedral shouldn't be concerned with the city's defense issues, but the situation is special now, and I'm really worried."

"I understand," Lister nodded. "Rest assured, the entire Frost City is now completely locked down—even if there are places that aren't properly locked down, with such a large Mist Fleet gathered in the offshore waters, no one would dare to enter or leave casually anymore. We've temporarily frozen all departure permits and informed the surrounding city-states and ships on the outer seas to stay away from Frost City. All port entry applications received so far have also been rejected."

"Good, that way at least the problem won't get bigger," Agatha breathed a sigh of relief. "What about Dagger Island?"

"Still in lockdown, until the Cathedral provides further 'professional advice'," Lister said, his expression slightly solemn. "As of yesterday, the island was still constantly sending back regular reports of 'all is normal,' even though the city-state had stopped supplying the island with materials and cut off all communication. There has been no other reaction from the island."

"Don't let your guard down. The *Seahawk* incident proves that the pollution on that island has a tendency to actively transfer to the city-state... That 'thing' won't just stay quiet so obediently," Agatha said seriously. "The Cathedral is already preparing a force composed of Deathsworn and Penitent Monks, but the activation of powerful holy relics will still take some time."

Lister nodded, then seemed to want to say something else, but before he could speak, a sound of footsteps suddenly came from the hallway, interrupting him.

A port soldier appeared at the office door.

Lister looked up at the soldier, whose face was slightly hurried. "What's wrong?"

The soldier stood up straight and reported quickly, "Reporting, sir, a ship scheduled to dock in Frost City has not arrived on time."

"Has not arrived on time? That's vague," Lister frowned. "All sea routes around the city-state are now blocked, of course no ships will dock."

"Reporting, sir, it's not that it hasn't docked—it hasn't appeared at all!" the soldier quickly explained. "That ship was supposed to arrive today. We were ready to send it a notice of the city-state's lockdown, but it hasn't contacted us. We just contacted Cold Harbor again, and Cold Harbor confirmed that the ship had completed its supply inspection there normally before—but after approaching the offshore waters of Frost City, it has disappeared!"

Hearing this, Lister's expression finally became serious. He took a light breath and stood up from behind his desk. "What's the name of the ship?"

"The White Oak!"