Deep Sea Embers

The future of the crew of the White Oak.

This issue that has been ignored by everyone has finally been brought to the table.

There is no impenetrable wall in the world, and Frost is not a city-state that is closed to the outside world. The abnormal changes of the White Oak itself-especially its reflection in the sea, of course, cannot be hidden from the eyes of other captains and ports.

Even without the most special status of "Lost Fleet Member", it is now a "ghost ship" surrounded by extraordinary power and in a strange state.

The city-states have always treated ships and personnel entering the boundless sea with the strictest safety standards. A ship that has lost contact on the sea for a short time will go through extremely strict quarantine inspections when returning to port, and even a slight abnormality will Being denied entry to port, not to mention a ship that has been alienated into a "supernatural item".

I am afraid that apart from Prand and Frost, no other city-state dares to accept the current White Oak.

What's more, the owner of the Lost Home may not necessarily allow his "servants" to leave the fleet and continue to move freely in the civilized world-on this basis, what will the future of the White Oak and its crew look like?

Work with abnormalities, survive in visions, stay away from the civilized world, wander in the depths of fog, storms, strange lands, and weird seas, skim the sea like ghosts during the day, and sink into the cracks of the subspace at night—anyway, the book is about That's what the records of Lost Homeland say.

Lawrence looked worried. He seemed not ready for this change after spending most of his life adrift on the Great Sea.

After all, he is not the "Captain Duncan" who has long been far away from the civilized world, nor is he a big pirate like Tirian who has a fleet to occupy the sea. He also has a ship of sailors, and they all have their own families, friends, and The family needs to be raised.

Leaving the legal channel on the boundless sea, he didn't know how to support his crew, let alone how to face their relatives and friends—after all, the homeless fleet seemed to have neither "salary" nor Perfect employee care system...

Duncan broke the silence after a short thought: "In all fairness, even without the relationship of the Lost Fleet and the reflection of the changes brought about by the Black Oak, your future business should not be much better..."

Lawrence didn't react immediately: "Ah? Why do you say that?"

Duncan spread his hands: "Think about the previous anomaly 099, and then think about the current anomaly 077..."

Lawrence's expression suddenly became a little stiff, and he held back for a long time before he said with a strange expression: "Occasional cargo losses are inevitable. The White Oak bought high-value insurance, which is enough to pay the employer's losses and subsequent liquidated damages..."

"The current marine insurance can even cover this?" Duncan raised his eyebrows, "Then there is no need to worry about these two shipping losses..."

Speaking of this, he paused for a moment, as if he suddenly thought of something: "Wait, how much is the compensation for encountering the Lost Homelander? What about being converted into a Lost Homeland Fleet? How much is the compensation?"

"This does not pay, it belongs to 'force majeure', in fact, the previous anomaly 099 out of control incident is also in the scope of refusal of insurance, because the loss of the coffin of the doll is related to the Lost Homeland, and then I looked for..." Lawrence said, with a slightly expression on his face He was dazed, probably because he didn't expect Captain Duncan to ask such a question suddenly, but then he reacted, "You...why do you ask such a question?"

As soon as Duncan heard the other party's answer of "this is not a compensation", his face showed disappointment, and then he waved his hand: "It's okay, I'll just ask."

Lawrence thought for a while, seven or eighty classic cases of fraudulent insurance appeared in his mind, and he didn't dare to speak.

Duncan was silent for a few seconds, and then changed the topic: "Also, you may not have to worry too much about the future of the White Oak—even if you become a member of the Lost Fleet, you may not be far away from the legal waterway. and legal ports."

This time Lawrence was really a little surprised. He looked at Duncan in astonishment, as if he didn't understand the intention of this "shadow of the subspace" for a while.

Duncan looked at him with a half-smile: "Do you think the Lost Country will stay away from the civilized world forever?"

"what do you mean……"

Duncan smiled: "I have regained my humanity. You should have heard the rumors about it. With humanity, I will of course be interested in the civilized world again. During this time, I have been actively communicating with the civilized world. The contact with the city-state was first with Purdue, then with Frost, and in the process, I also came into contact with the Church of the Deep Sea and the Church of Death. In all fairness, I think the results are quite fruitful.”

Lawrence subconsciously recalled the various events surrounding the "return voyage" of the Lost Homeland during this period, and his expression gradually became subtle.

Duncan noticed the change in the other party's expression, the corners of his eyes trembled slightly, and then tried to control his expression and tone: "Of course, I admit that the movement during these contacts may be a little louder."

Lawrence: "..."

"It's not important," Duncan waved his hand, "What's important is that the Lost Homes fleet will return to civilization, and you and your crew may be the bridge that allows the Lost Homes to further establish communication with the civilized city-state. "

Lawrence understood Duncan's intentions, and surprise appeared in his eyes-this way of unfolding seems to be different from the book?

But soon, he woke up from this short-term surprise, and a more realistic question came to his mind: "I understand what you mean, you want to 'normalize' the relationship with Zhucheng-state, so the first step is to let us The 'Fleet Members' returned to the normal course, but... You have seen the White Oak today, and most city-states probably won't accept a ship infected by extraordinary power..."

"However, as far as I know, there are still some 'mutated' ships that are special cases. The city-states and legal waterways allow them to dock and pass."

Lawrence: "...Huh?"

"Sea Fog, and Bright Star, the degree of alienation of these two ships is almost second only to the Lost Homeland, and the former has now become the general flagship of the Frost Navy, and the latter is an honorary member of the Explorers' Association , have unlimited right of passage in the border waterways," Duncan spread his hands, "I have also heard of some famous and legendary expedition ships, which were eroded and transformed by extraordinary forces, and they have more or less strange and terrifying features. However, their captains hold some special certificates and rely on the endorsement of powerful forces, so they can still pass through the boundless sea."

Speaking of this, Duncan paused for a moment, then continued with a serious face: "Strictly speaking, every 'Church Ark' of the Church of the Four Gods is a ship that has been corroded and modified by extraordinary power, so it can still sail at will. Is it? Facts have proved that on the line of 'extraordinary alienation', the standards of the church and the city-state are very flexible."

Lawrence was stunned by Duncan's words, and almost got involved. Fortunately, when he finally heard the Church of the Four Gods, Ji Ling woke up suddenly, and the expression on his face became complicated: "This...the Church Ark Certainly it cannot be generalized, the gods are protecting them, they are different... But other situations are indeed as you said, there are special cases."

When the old captain said this, he licked his dry lips and tried to organize his words: "But the reason why the special case is special is because it is difficult to achieve—your sons and daughters have spent half a century to make this world gradually Accept them, and even so, there are still many city-states that are cautious or even hostile to the Sea Fog and the Bright Star. As for the other legendary expedition ships you mentioned...

"Well, of course I know about them, such as the 'Tulip' that has been wandering in the spiritual world for twelve years, and the 'Dust Song' that has passed through the sea of ​​visions and survived...they have indeed returned to civilization in the end world, but their acceptance process is not much easier than your pair of sons and daughters.

"Extremely strict inspections, lengthy monitoring, and the approval of the church. The Church of the Four Gods must use the highest safety standards to confirm whether a ship that has undergone 'extraordinary alienation' is safe. The severity and difficulty of this process are unimaginable. ——Even if they pass a series of assessments, those legendary expedition ships will always be under the supervision of the church, and they will have to be re-examined every once in a while. The passes in the hands of those legendary captains... are not so easy to get. "

Lawrence couldn't help heaving a long sigh at the end, but Duncan showed a thoughtful look halfway through the hearing, and when the other party's voice fell, he asked curiously: "In other words, It’s enough to have the church as a guarantee? What are the requirements for this pass?”

"In short, the 'protector god' behind the forces to which the ship belongs must be recognized. The White Oak belongs to the Explorers' Association, and the Explorers Association is under the protection of the Church of the Deep Sea. The Goddess of Storms, Gomona, is the patron saint of sea explorers— ——If the White Oak wants to return to the waterway legally, at least one saint of the deep sea is willing to swear this guarantee before the goddess, and personally carry out the inspection of the ship involved under the condition of receiving the oracle, and finally a city-state The Inquisitor issues a pass."

Speaking of this, Lawrence sighed again: "Strictly speaking, the 'gatekeeper' Ms. Agatha actually meets the status criteria. She is both a saint and a city-state's 'gatekeeper', and because of a series of In the incident, she became your envoy, but unfortunately... she is not from the Church of the Deep Sea..."

Duncan looked at him: "I also have saints from the Deep Sea Church."

Lawrence: "...Huh?"

"The saints of the Deep Sea Church, right?" Duncan looked seriously at Lawrence, who was frowning. "The saints are in charge of the inspection, and the judge issues the pass. Can the saints and the judge here be the same person?"

Lawrence suddenly felt a bit stuck in his head, and just replied subconsciously: "It seems... there is no restriction in this respect..."

"Oh, then go and do your own thing first, and I'll inquire about the passport for you."

Lawrence blinked, but didn't react.

And when he was about to ask something, Duncan's figure had disappeared on the deck accompanied by a flame rising into the sky.