Chapter 1 The Starry Sky, The Sea, and The Frost

Captains sailing the boundless seas, especially those using modern navigation technology, are certainly no strangers to the "stars." That vast expanse of starry sky, suspended between the deep sea and the spirit world, can provide extremely precise navigation for ships. It can guide ships that have strayed into abnormal waters back onto the correct course, and even lead those lost in certain "anomalies" out of danger and back to reality.

Of course, other professions also deal with the "starry sky." Scholars study it, hoping to unlock the deeper mysteries of the world. Diviners observe it to predict the trajectories of worldly fate. Certain secret societies even regard the starry sky as a source of knowledge and revelation. They use dangerous methods that border on madness to peer into the starry sky, hoping to grasp the secrets of demons without falling into the abyss—these dangerous societies often end up as food for the abyssal demons, or become potential "allies" of the annihilation cultists. Therefore, these secret societies are often the focus of crackdowns by city-state churches and authorities. But in any case, the professions most closely related to the "starry sky," and those who most frequently use various spirit world lenses, are still the captains of the boundless seas.

Laurence had drifted on this malicious and vast sea for half his life, so of course he knew many things related to the starry sky, including the methods of observing it and the dangers one must face.

He buried his head deeply into the recessed area of the spirit world lens—it was common knowledge that one had to look down to see the stars—and then began to softly recite the name of the god he believed in, allowing that name to resonate with the blessing the priest had just bestowed upon him.

As the mysterious power gradually spread, and his own spirituality and faith rose, he first heard a subtle sound, as if water were gathering in a basin and approaching him—he smelled a faint, salty sea breeze, and the next moment, he felt his entire face immersed in water.

Newbie navigators observing the starry sky for the first time were easily panicked at this time. The illusion of "drowning" would shake their minds, allowing unnecessary shadows to enter their heads. Therefore, a newcomer's first stargazing had to be assisted by someone. The assistant's main task was to drag the new navigator away from the spirit world lens before they mutated into a pile of writhing minced meat. This "adaptation" process often lasted for several weeks.

But this was not a problem for Laurence at all.

He knew that the "sea water" that submerged him was the power of the Storm Goddess Gomona—a god would not harm his believers. Now, he could open his eyes.

Laurence slowly opened his eyes.

The starry sky and endless darkness filled his eyes at the same time.

He looked down, seeing a darkness without limit, a deep and dark space without end, with chaotic waves surging at the edges of space. It was a slight projection of the spirit world in the deep layers of the world. And in that darkness, there were countless constant and dense point-like lights. They converged into团状 or 絮状 structures of various sizes, some resembling clouds, some resembling whirlpools, and some resembling rivers. These endless light spots spectacularly covered the old captain's field of vision, outlining some kind of mysterious picture that had not yet been recognized by mortals.

And in the depths of that magnificent curtain-like starry sky, in the gaps between certain light spot "clusters," one could vaguely see some chaotic shadows different from the darkness. They seemed to be fragments of land floating in the depths of the starlight, arranged in a radial pattern, with dim and pale "rivers" running between them. Just one glance was enough to make one dizzy and terrified.

That was the "depth" deeper than the spirit world, the terrifying homeland of the abyssal demons—the Deep Sea Abyss.

The starry sky was a curtain floating between the Deep Sea Abyss and the spirit world.

Laurence cautiously controlled his gaze, preventing himself from focusing too much on the depths of the abyss, lest he attract the attention of those chaotic and ignorant demons. At the same time, he concentrated his mind and began to find his position in the starry sky.

He found it, a dim projection, like a wandering and helpless soul, floating somewhere in the middle of the stars.

Laurence stared at that projection, carefully identifying it for a long time, and suddenly couldn't help but frown.

His own position... was in the Frost Near Sea?

The old captain's heart sank, and he began to grope and move his hands. He touched the control lever on the side of the lens device, carefully adjusting the machine. Many small lenses on the side of the cylindrical machine immediately began to operate, adjusting the viewing angle of the "starry sky" in Laurence's field of vision.

After confirming it again and again, he found that he was indeed in the Frost Near Sea—he had already reached a position where he could visually see Frost Island.

Just then, Laurence felt a blur in front of his eyes.

The starry sky scene filled with countless point-like lights flickered, suddenly turning pitch black, and then returning to normal.

Laurence was surprised. He instinctively wanted to adjust the control lever again to reset the perspective, but years of experience made him forcibly stop this instinct and suddenly raise his head.

The flickering of the starry sky scene might be a malfunction of the spirit world lens—and whatever the reason, as long as any abnormal phenomenon occurred during stargazing, one must immediately stop gazing.

This was a safety system summarized by countless predecessors with their lives.

Laurence rubbed his brow and looked at his wristwatch, discovering that only a few minutes had passed.

He began to check the entire lens device, preparing to perform another observation after troubleshooting and confirming safety.

But just as he was about to disassemble the machine's casing, a knock on the door suddenly interrupted his actions.

"Captain!" the first mate's voice came from outside the door. "Captain, have you finished your observation? We've received a signal!"

Laurence frowned slightly, hesitated for a moment, put down his work, quickly came to the door, and opened it to see the first mate standing at the door.

"We've received a reply from Frost," the first mate first glanced at the situation in the stargazing room, roughly confirming that there was nothing abnormal in the room before turning his gaze to Laurence. "The near-sea passage permit and port entry permit have been issued."

Laurence frowned slightly, and an inexplicable strangeness arose in his heart. Associating it with the disharmony he had just discovered in the stargazing room, he asked with a serious expression: "Have you seen Frost Island?"

"It's already visually confirmed," the first mate nodded. "The fog on the sea has cleared, and our course has slightly deviated—a very small deviation—but it has been corrected."

Laurence looked back at the stargazing room, his expression looking a little solemn.

"Captain?" The first mate finally noticed the abnormality in the old captain's expression, and his expression became tense. "Did you find anything?"

"Something was wrong with the stargazing room just now... and according to the observation results, we should have arrived at the Frost Near Sea long ago. There shouldn't be a situation where we can't see Frost due to fog or course deviation," Laurence said in a low voice. "You arrange for the mechanic to check the spirit world lens group to see if there is a problem with the equipment. I'll go up and see the situation."

"Yes, Captain."

Laurence quickly left the bottom of the cabin, and followed the stairs and corridors all the way through the layers of cabins of the White Oak, and soon came to the upper deck.

He did not return to the bridge, but directly stood on the bow deck, observing the situation in the distance.

A large city-state was in front of the White Oak. The city-state's coastal buildings and port facilities were clearly visible. The fog had dissipated, and gentle waves were slowly undulating on the sea. The sky was floating with clouds of varying shades, and the sky light shone down from the clouds, illuminating the distant sea and the city-state.

It really did look like Frost, without any abnormalities. Laurence frowned and looked up at the sky again.

Apart from the fact that there were more clouds, there were no abnormalities.

After a moment, he left the deck and returned to the bridge. At the same time, the sailor guarding the telegraph machine had just received another welcome message from Frost Port.

Laurence looked at the note recorded by the sailor—"Port open, welcome to Frost."

Laurence blinked, and suddenly felt that he might be a little too nervous—the small malfunction of the spirit world lens, coupled with the fog that had previously hovered over the sea, amplified his nervousness. In fact, everything here was obviously normal.

"We're docking."

"Yes, Captain."

Duncan and his party left the "Second Waterway" and said goodbye to Nemo in the secret passage connecting the Second Waterway.

Before that, they had searched the collapsed and blocked corridor for a long time, but in the end found no clues. They found neither more "mud" nor any gaps or traces of "mud" seeping into the corridor.

Of course, they did not find the mysterious place that "Crow" had lost his way into.

The clues seemed to be broken.

"Old Gui and I will properly bury Crow. Please tell Captain Tirian that Crow died like a true warrior—he is a member of the Sea Fog Fleet to be proud of."

In the secret passage, Nemo took off his hat and bowed slightly to Duncan.

"I will tell him," Duncan looked at the "informant" in front of him and said with a particularly solemn tone. "Also, the investigation of this matter is not over."

Nemo raised his head to meet Duncan's gaze.

"Crow left very important information. He must have gone to a certain place. That 'fake' could not have appeared out of thin air in the Second Waterway," Duncan said slowly.

"I will investigate it, if necessary—I will search every brick, every tile, every blade of grass, and every inch of soil in this city-state."