Duncan quietly looked at Alice, who was also looking at Duncan with a justified expression. After a moment, Duncan rubbed his brow, feeling a strange emotion welling up within him, a sense of incongruity that lingered.

How could the same face express such drastically different temperaments?

"Captain," Alice blinked curiously at Duncan's reaction, drawing closer to ask,

"Why aren't you saying anything? Did I say something wrong?"

"No, it's not your fault." Duncan shook his head, shaking off the chaotic thoughts. Then, he suddenly raised his eyelids, looking at the doll before him with a solemn and serious expression.

"Alice, have you ever been curious about the connection between you and the Frost Queen?" Alice paused, scratching her head as if thinking hard before replying uncertainly, "I... was curious, but then I thought about it, and it didn't seem that important, so I stopped thinking about it." Duncan was a little surprised, "Not important?"

"The Frost Queen is the Frost Queen, and I am me. Even if the Queen is great, that's her business, and I don't understand much," Alice said earnestly.

"I have things I'm good at, and I like my current life, which is good. Besides, Mr. Morris told me that everyone in this world might find someone who looks almost exactly like them, so I'll just think of the Frost Queen as someone who looks exactly like me, even though I'm actually a doll." Duncan listened quietly to the doll, watching the natural and contented look in her eyes when she mentioned her current life, and was suddenly touched.

Perhaps she was just a special, flawed copy created by the ancient god in the deep sea, or perhaps she was just the result of Lei Nuo's soul falling into the deep sea and the bizarre fusion of that guillotine, or perhaps she held even more secrets, secrets even Lei Nuo could not imagine. But as Alice herself said, it was not important. She was not smart, but she was happy. She had many things she did not understand, but she never felt nervous or afraid because of these overly complex things.

She was born and lived in a world full of oddities, but this odd world was the most ordinary thing in the world to her.

"Normal." She explored this world full of novelty and unknowns, full of curiosity and expectation, including everything about tomorrow, like a child opening her eyes in the sunlight.

The number of living beings in the world was countless, but even the bravest warriors, the most learned sages, and the most devout believers could not view the world with the same perspective as Alice.

Duncan suddenly had the feeling that in this bizarre world where everyone was filled with fear and everything was twisted, Alice, the doll, was more like a human than anyone else.

Just like in another world, in that world without anomalies or phenomena, without gods or oddities, he had seen ordinary humans walking calmly in the sunlight.

"Captain?" Alice's curious voice rang out again.

"Why are you spacing out again?"

"It's nothing," Duncan shook his head.

"I just suddenly think you're actually very wise." Alice was slightly stunned by the Captain's praise, and a happy look gradually appeared on her face: "Hehe." She did not know why the Captain suddenly praised her for being "wise," and did not even think she could have any wisdom, but since the Captain praised her like that, it must be something to be happy about.

After praising her, Duncan pondered briefly, then slowly reached for something beside him – a cold sensation came from his fingertips, it was the brass key.

In Deep Sea Embers, the submersible was slowly ascending, and there was still some time before "recovery." Frost Queen Lei Nuo had revealed a lot of information to him, but there were still many gaps or ambiguities in that information that he needed to verify.

The brass key – a rational End Times Evangelist had given it to Lei Nuo, and even with the latter's ability, she had ultimately failed to figure out the true "essence" of this key. At the same time, Alice, this flawed copy that seemed to be born entirely by "coincidence," had a corresponding keyhole – was it still a coincidence at this point?

Did that End Times Evangelist foresee all of this? Or did the ancient god's tentacles sleeping in Deep Sea Embers retrieve Lei Nuo's memories when creating "Alice" and leave the keyhole on Alice? Perhaps he should try it.

"Alice," Duncan suddenly looked up at the doll before him with a solemn expression.

"Come with me."

"Ah?" Alice was stunned for a moment, but immediately reacted and got up to follow.

"Oh, okay."

"Keep a good watch on the helm," Duncan instructed the goat-headed man as he rose from behind the chart table, then took a light breath and turned to walk towards the Captain's Quarters.

Alice followed Duncan into the bedroom door, clueless as to what was happening. Then, at his instruction, she turned back to close the door.

Turning back, she looked at Duncan curiously.

"Captain? What are we doing next?" Duncan silently held the key in his hand, quietly looking at the doll: "I want to test this key." Alice was surprised when she heard this: "Ah? Didn't you say this key might be dangerous? That it might contain the soul of the Frost Queen or something?" The hidden danger has been eliminated, Duncan said calmly, I eliminated it myself just now.

"Oh," Alice said immediately. Then, she turned around and fumbled for the zipper on the back of her clothes, without the slightest hesitation.

"Then I'll unzip my clothes first..."

"Just expose the keyhole." Although he had been with this blockhead doll for so long, Duncan was a little embarrassed by the other party's unhesitating actions. He subconsciously reminded her.

Then he was a little surprised.

"Aren't you afraid?"

"Captain, you said there were no hidden dangers," Alice said, turning her head. "And you'll personally wind me up, so you'll definitely protect me if something goes wrong, right?"

"Yes, I will protect you." After a brief two or three seconds of silence, Duncan slowly nodded, then raised his finger to point to a round stool next to the bed.

"Sit on this. I'm not sure what will happen after winding you up, so it's best not to stand."

"Oh," Alice agreed and obediently came to the round stool and sat down, her back to Duncan. The clothes on the back of the doll were already unzipped, and Duncan finally saw what the "keyhole" looked like. Right in the center of Alice's white porcelain-like back, the keyhole was embedded, with a circle of fine and beautiful patterns, with a texture like hot stamping, surrounding the keyhole. Duncan lowered his head and looked at the brass key in his hand – the size and shape were completely corresponding. A strange feeling arose in his heart, mixed with a little tension. Duncan took a light breath, controlled the strangeness in his heart, and slowly moved the key closer to the round hole.

"Alice."

"Hmm?"

"Don't be afraid." The wind-up key entered the keyhole smoothly, without any obstruction. Then, a clear, unmistakable "click" sound came to Duncan's ears, as if it was ringing directly in his mind. Something was activated, but it wasn't an ordinary wind-up mechanism. A slight force came from his fingertips.

Duncan instantly realized that the wind-up key was turning on its own. It slowly turned to a horizontal position, and then another "click" sound came. The next second, everything in front of him began to change rapidly. Light and shadow were collapsing and reorganizing, his senses were undergoing transformation and reset. It was that familiar slight dizziness, that feeling of "spiritual world walking."

The feeling of "transfer." Before he could sigh, "Not again," Duncan found that everything around him had stabilized again. He was standing in an ancient, magnificent but also eerie and bizarre mansion. The classical and solemn hall was wide and empty, with tall pillars arranged on both sides, supporting the gloomy roof above like gathering clouds. Narrow and high windows were inlaid in the walls covered with patterns and reliefs, and the windows were covered with black thorns.

There were also chaotic lights and shadows floating outside the thorns, and in this eerie and bizarre mansion, voices could be heard from time to time, whispering, intermittent laughter, the sound of footsteps walking across the floor, and even strange and blurred music, as if a dance party was being held somewhere.

Duncan frowned slightly, his eyes sweeping over the eerie and ancient mansion. Something flashed in the corner of his eye.

Duncan quickly looked over there, but only saw an empty corner. But he was sure he had seen something just now. There was a figure – it looked like a maid in a white dress. The figure had no head, and the neckline of her upper garment was just a bare neck.

Duncan stood in the empty hall for a moment, carefully observing the surrounding environment, sensing the faint, eerie, and unsettling atmosphere floating in the air. Then, he strode toward the staircase at the end of the hall that spiraled upwards.

He needed to figure out what this place was, and why he was brought here after "winding up" Alice. He walked up the spiral staircase, and the steps, which seemed to have been abandoned for countless years, made strange creaking noises under his feet. As he walked, a sense of familiarity suddenly appeared in Duncan's mind.

He stopped abruptly, his eyes widening as he looked at the furnishings and style of the mansion. He knew what that familiarity was – the room where Frost Queen Lei Nuo had slept.