Chapter 1 Proceeding in the Mist

The White Oak was still moving forward in the light fog, its powerful steam core driving its large and efficient propulsion system, allowing it to quickly pass through this fog-covered sea.

The sky darkened a little at some point, and the cold wind on the sea made people even more uncomfortable. Lawrence tightened his coat, feeling that he had been on deck long enough, and turned back to the bridge.

A young priest in a long robe with black background, silver trim, and blue patterns was praying beside the machine, gently shaking the incense burner in his hand, causing the smoke to linger around several control panels. Seeing the captain, he stopped and politely nodded to Lawrence.

He was Jansen, the chaplain on this voyage. Lawrence was not familiar with this young clergyman—in fact, most captains who undertook "abnormal item" transportation missions often had to deal with unfamiliar clergymen. The chaplains on their ships were directly assigned by the city-state church and frequently replaced. A chaplain usually only completed two or three voyages with the ship, and this replacement system was, of course, for safety reasons.

After all, ships carrying dangerous goods were inevitably affected by extraordinary forces, and as the ship's "supernatural barrier," the chaplain would bear almost all the pressure from supernatural interference, including the pollution from the items on board, and the mental stress of the crew during the voyage—even the real-world impact of every crew member's dreams at night would be reflected in the chaplain's daily prayers and rituals.

The chaplain was also mortal. Bearing pressure under specific supernatural influences for a long time would inevitably lead to assimilation and influence. After several ocean voyages, they would lose their sensitivity to supernatural pollution and might even become a rift for sub-space invasion. Therefore, under normal circumstances,

The chaplain accompanying the ship had to return to shore after a period, undergoing a period of purification and spiritual reshaping in a specific church. Most of them could recover and were then assigned to other ships as chaplains, while some with hidden mental problems could only stay away from the sea, spending the rest of their lives as land-based clergymen, continuing to serve the church.

Therefore, in a sense, these respectable priests... were also consumables in navigation.

But then again... who wasn't a consumable in navigation?

"Mr. Jansen, how are the machines?" Lawrence nodded to the young priest in front of him, asking with concern.

"Operating well, Captain," the young priest said, his voice calm. "I just went to the lower mechanical compartment, and the entire power system and steam pipes are all normal."

Lawrence nodded with satisfaction, exchanged a few casual words with the young priest, and then came to the wide window in front of the bridge, looking at the scene outside.

The deck was gray, the sky outside was a little dark, and chaotic, blurred clouds enveloped the sky. Diffuse light floated between the clouds, weakly scattering on the sea—the weather wasn't good, but it wasn't far from Frost, so they shouldn't be trapped by storms or other bad situations before reaching the city-state.

Lawrence suddenly frowned and looked at a crew member sitting at a control panel not far away: "Is there still no response from Frost to our signal?"

"No," the crew member responsible for monitoring the telegraph system shook his head. He was wearing headphones, holding a pencil in one hand, and a small machine in front of him was lit with an orange light. "There's no feedback on the signal—but in terms of location, we're already within the distance where we can directly contact the port of Frost."

"...Something's not right," the old captain finally felt a trace of unease. He looked up at the distance again, his expression gradually becoming serious. "At this time, at this location, we should be able to see the coastline of Frost..."

He suddenly turned his head and looked at his first mate: "Has the route been confirmed?"

"Just confirmed, our position is correct."

Lawrence frowned, and after a moment, he suddenly took a light breath: "I'll go confirm it myself again, prepare the Star Observation Room."

Hearing the captain's words, the first mate hesitated for a moment, but before he could speak, the young chaplain Jansen walked over and said to Lawrence, "Captain, you're not really fit to enter the Star Observation Room at your age..."

Lawrence turned his head to look at the young priest, without saying anything.

He knew what the other party meant—entering the Star Observation Room required enduring a certain amount of pollution. The light and shadows from the deep and the interlayer of the spirit world would put pressure on one's mind, and as an old captain who had drifted in the boundless sea for most of his life, his mind was no longer as normal and complete as when he was young, and he might lose himself in the process of observing the stars.

But in many cases, only older captains had enough experience to see the slightest clues of the ship's deviation from the subtle changes in the starlight—something that the mentally strong young navigators could not do.

"I'll finish it as soon as possible," Lawrence finally said after a few seconds of eye contact, his expression very serious. "I suspect the ship has deviated, but there's a malfunction in the Star Observation Room. I have experience in calibration."

Confirming Lawrence's firm attitude, the chaplain could only sigh and step aside: "...You are the captain, and the captain is the law on the ship—I will prepare protection for you."

Lawrence nodded and glanced back at the bow of the ship.

In the direction where he expected to see the coastline of Frost, there was still only the vast and endless sea, and the boundless mist.

He withdrew his gaze and walked towards the passage leading to the Star Observation Room.

Leaving the bridge, passing through a corridor, and stepping on a staircase extending to the lower level of the White Oak, after passing through several connecting compartments and doors, was the location of the Star Observation Room.

At the bottom of the ship's hold.

Lawrence stood in front of the door, and the chaplain Jansen began to busy himself. The young clergyman added special spices and holy oil to the incense burner, reciting obscure scriptures while shaking the chain in his hand, causing the scent of incense to gradually fill the air around Lawrence. Then, he took out a ritual knife depicting many storm runes and used it to cut through the air in front of Lawrence, symbolizing the protection of the storm goddess Gomona descending upon this place.

The navigator of the White Oak had already arrived upon hearing the news. This was a young man with a slightly pale face. He seemed a little uneasy. Seeing that the captain was going to personally enter the Star Observation Room to confirm the route, he was so nervous that he almost tore off the buttons on his clothes.

"Relax," Lawrence noticed the navigator's reaction, a smile appearing on his face, reassuring the young man in return. "It's not necessarily your fault. The spirit world and the deep are full of unpredictable changes, and the spirit world lens is not always reliable. Stellar deviation is normal—you lack experience, which is normal."

"I... I have repeatedly confirmed that there is no problem with our route," the young navigator said subconsciously. "But..."

Lawrence waved his hand: "I'll figure out what's going on."

"Captain, the blessing is complete," the chaplain's voice sounded from the side at this time. "You can enter the Star Observation Room—but please remember, do not stay too long, do not stare too long. If you have not come out after fifteen minutes, I will go in to find you."

"Ten minutes will be enough." Lawrence straightened his clothes and said calmly.

Then he took a light breath and stepped to the metal door depicting storm runes and inlaid with holy silver threads, pushing it open and entering.

A dimly lit cabin came into view.

Lawrence casually closed the metal door behind him and roughly confirmed the situation in the Star Observation Room.

There were no windows in this room. The metal door was the only way in and out. There were no extra facilities in the entire room. The only furnishing was a cylindrical device about one meter in diameter in the center of the room.

It looked like an altar, but its cylindrical base was surrounded by a large number of cranks, connecting rods, and mirror devices. Next to it was a small platform for people to stand on, which was the navigator's position, and at the top of the cylindrical device was a transparent component that was concave inward.

That was a crystal lens, supported by a very complex set of connecting rod brackets. The crystal lens was bowl-shaped, and its interior seemed to be empty—but when the line of sight was focused on it, it seemed that there were sparkling waves in the lens.

The waves seemed to be full of seawater.

Lawrence

Stepped to the small platform next to the cylindrical device and looked at the lens in front of him.

A ship sailing on the vast boundless sea, with almost no reference markers on the sea surface, and the city-states are isolated islands, once you miss your destination, the voyager will be lost in the boundless sea—then navigation becomes a very important knowledge.

Anomaly 001 - the sun is a very useful sky marker. Using the sun to confirm the direction of the ship is of course one of the navigation techniques, but the sky does not always allow you to see the sun, and sometimes the sun alone cannot provide sufficiently accurate navigation and positioning. In this case, how to accurately judge whether you are sailing on the correct route?

The answer is of course—to look at the stars.

Star observation is an essential skill for modern ocean voyages. Lawrence lowered his head, slowly lowered his body, and immersed his entire face in the recessed structure of the large crystal lens.

The stars are in a very deep place—to see them, you not only need sophisticated equipment, but also a sound mind.