The winch spun, the steel cable taut, and the metal "iron cage" emitted a continuous creaking noise as it descended. Darkness permeated the outside of the cage, but the dim gas lamps embedded in the shaft wall dissipated the darkness in the depths of the mine, bringing a limited but necessary sense of security.

Agatha stood at the edge of the elevator, her "gaze" passing through the guardrail towards the continuously descending shaft. A night-like black cloth covered her eyes, also concealing most of her facial expressions, making it almost impossible to guess what she was thinking.

"It's so deep here..." A voice suddenly broke the silence in the elevator. Alice stood nervously behind Duncan, looking up at the gas lamps rising past the walls of the shaft on both sides, and said with some fear, "I feel like we're about to pass through the city-state and fall into the sea..."

"The continuous descent creates this illusion," Maurice's voice came from a corner of the iron cage. The old scholar was curiously observing the internal structure of the large elevator, saying without turning his head, "In fact, we should only have descended two or three hundred meters."

"Oh—" Alice drawled, not knowing if she could understand the concept of "two or three hundred meters." Anyway, the doll's face showed an expression that said, "That sounds amazing."

Duncan ignored the conversation between Alice and Maurice. He strode to Agatha, who was standing silently at the edge of the carriage, and turned to look at the "Gatekeeper," "You seem preoccupied."

"...I just can't help but have many thoughts since going down the well," Agatha said after a moment of silence, her tone complex, "It is said... 'the other me' stood in this position, leading the members of the exploration team into the depths of the Boiling Gold Mine from this shaft..."

Her voice was hoarse, with a hint of hesitation.

"'She' at that time... seemed to have realized the truth about herself. According to the details described by the several guardians who went down the well with her at the time, she had an unusual and resolute attitude, but no one knew why..."

"If that 'fake' really restored most of your thoughts and memories, it's not unimaginable that she could perceive her true situation," Duncan said lightly, "Even a copy can possess a tenacious will and a noble spirit."

Agatha didn't speak for a moment, seemingly immersed in complex and heavy thoughts. After a long time, she suddenly broke the silence: "I was just wondering... what she was thinking at that time, and what she was recalling... Did she ever feel fear, or regret? She has my memories, but only a few days of real life. Would she resent all this?"

Duncan turned his head and quietly watched Agatha.

After a moment of observation, he slowly opened his mouth: "If it were you, would you resent it, or regret your decision?"

"No."

"Obviously, neither would she."

"But..." Agatha continued, "But... I think I would still have some regrets. When dying in the darkness, I would think of the city-state under the sunlight, and the familiar people and things in the city. If I were a copy, I would also regret not being able to cross the gate of Bartok, because I don't know if I have a soul. I..."

She stopped, took a light breath, and her tone seemed to carry a hint of sadness: "Yes, if it were me, I would feel regret."

Duncan looked at her. After a long time, he withdrew his gaze and turned to look at the dimness rising around him, and the lights in the dimness: "So, she would too."

Agatha was silent for a moment, as if talking to herself, or as if asking softly: "What will we see down there..."

"I don't know, so it's necessary for us to come down and confirm the situation." As Duncan said this, he glanced at the figures in the carriage – Alice, Maurice, and Vanna, who was standing in the middle of the elevator with her arms folded and her eyes closed to rest. Besides these three, plus Agatha and himself, there was no one else here.

"You didn't bring any of your subordinates, only called us. Is that out of caution?"

"I don't know what will happen below. It may be the pollution left by the ancient gods, or it may be the spreading 'truth.' In an unknown situation, bringing ordinary guardians and priests will only increase uncontrollability," Agatha said frankly. "You and your followers are obviously not afraid of these things."

Duncan listened and just smiled, saying nothing.

At this moment, the speed of the carriage's descent began to slow down rapidly. Accompanied by the creaking sound of the automatic mechanism and the final clanging sound of the "iron cage" hitting the bottom, the elevator finally reached the bottom of the mine.

"We're here," Agatha raised her head, glanced at the situation outside, took the lead in opening the gate and walking out, while subconsciously reminding the people behind her, "Be careful, this place has only been initially cleaned - the emergency disposal personnel evacuated a few hours ago. Next, we are going to the real 'unknown darkness'."

As she said this, she suddenly stopped and turned to Duncan with some embarrassment: "Of course, these reminders may be a bit redundant for you..."

Duncan waved his hand, indicating that he didn't mind, and at the same time glanced at the situation in the depths of the alley - only a few gas lamps released dim light in the darkness, making the alley ahead even more shadowy. Suspicious piles were everywhere, surrounded by an unsettling and strange atmosphere. It was not a reassuring scene.

"I shouldn't have let Nina go back to the ship so early," he said casually, "If she were here, it would be perfect for such a dark place."

"Maybe she would be startled by something in the dark, and a sneeze of several thousand degrees would blow up the entire mine," Maurice couldn't help but mutter, "I don't recommend that you take Nina to any dark and cramped spaces - she's still young, easily startled."

Duncan shrugged: "Children always have to grow up. She's almost graduating high school."

The expression on Maurice's face stiffened for a moment, and his mouth twitched a few times before he carefully chose his words and said, "Captain, under normal circumstances, high school graduates would choose to celebrate their adulthood with a party or a trip, not by exploring a mine that has been eroded by ancient gods as a 'graduation gift'..."

Duncan laughed happily, then seemed to remember something and suddenly turned his head and asked Vanna, "How did you spend your seventeenth birthday?"

He just asked casually, wanting to have a reference when celebrating Nina or Shirley's coming-of-age day.

Vanna didn't expect the focus of the conversation to suddenly fall on her. The beautiful and strong girl was stunned for a moment, and a little embarrassment quickly appeared on her face. Then, she took a step forward and muttered in a low voice: "...Preparing for the make-up exams for the delayed school year..."

Duncan: "..."

The atmosphere seemed a bit awkward. Duncan could only helplessly spread his hands. Agatha, who was walking in front, suddenly turned her head back, seemingly casting an unbelievable "gaze."

"What's wrong?" Duncan asked casually.

"...No matter how many times I see it, I feel that the way you interact with your followers is really amazing. You, who have regained humanity, are completely different from the legendary you of the past century - I think I can understand a little why Captain Lawrence of the White Oak and his subordinates are such an interesting group of people."

Duncan didn't react much to the first few sentences, but his expression immediately became subtle when he heard the latter part. As soon as Agatha finished speaking, he said: "I want to emphasize again that although everyone on the White Oak can be considered my subordinates, I'm really not familiar with them..."

Agatha nodded: "Yes, you are not familiar with them - you have emphasized that before."

Duncan didn't hear a serious attitude in the other party's tone, and could only sigh helplessly: "How was it finally resolved? I mean Lawrence's 'goods list'."

"Frost needs supplies now, and we never violate contracts - since the goods have arrived, of course, we will pay," Agatha said, but shook her head again, "But only part of it can be paid."

"Oh?"

"The most critical 'goods', Anomaly 077, is out of control and cannot be delivered," Agatha explained, "The contract requires the White Oak to deliver the 'Sailor' in a sealed state to the Frost Relic Hall, not a lively dried corpse...

"But then again, that dried corpse seems to want to be 'delivered' himself. When he heard that his name was on the list of goods to be delivered to Frost, he almost cried with joy - unfortunately, we don't know how to deal with an anomaly that is in a long-term uncontrolled state and cannot be re-sealed. It is better to hand him over to you to deal with personally."

"A long-term uncontrolled anomaly..."

Duncan muttered subconsciously and turned his head to look beside him.

Alice also turned her head, and when she found the captain was looking at her, the doll lady immediately showed a happy expression: "Hehe..."

Duncan sighed: "Okay, I do have some experience."

Agatha also subconsciously looked at Alice, with a complex expression on her face.

Today, she had learned the true identity of this "Doll Lady" from Duncan, and as a native of Frost, she certainly knew how special it was for "Anomaly 099" to be walking around in Frost City so blatantly.

She had countless questions to ask, and a strong curiosity and inexplicable unease stirred in her already cooled chest - but facing Captain Duncan, who didn't seem to care about anything, she never found a chance to speak.

"I think..."

Agatha seemed to have finally made up her mind. She broke the silence, but just as she was about to ask some questions about Alice, a sudden feeling of palpitation made her stop abruptly again.

Almost at the same time, everyone in the team stopped.

Agatha turned her head and looked at the deepest part of the long and deep alley, and under the thick black cloth, her vision, which had already sublimated in the flames, was shaking, trembling, and twisting, as if invisible winds were blowing towards her, and countless chaotic sounds were mixed in the invisible winds, impacting her senses.

She felt that her mind was being disturbed. Some huge existence in the depths of the alley... No, strictly speaking, it should be the remnants left by some huge existence, resonating with her reason. She couldn't "see" what was there, but she could feel... in that vast and unparalleled echo, there was a faint reverberation.

That faint reverberation was softly calling her to go over.

"What's... there?"

The blind goddess official asked, subconsciously reaching out her hand, as if to stabilize her somewhat shaky body.

A slightly wide hand, but one that could clearly feel feminine lines, reached out from the side - Vanna reached out to help Agatha, and looked up at the vast darkness at the end of the alley.

"It seems to be a void," Vanna said in a low voice, with a hint of tension in her tone, "A huge... void."