The future of all the White Oak crew members.

This question, which everyone had been ignoring, was finally brought to the forefront.

There are no walls that don't let wind through in this world, and Frost is not a closed city-state. The abnormal changes of the White Oak itself—especially its reflection in the sea—couldn't possibly be hidden from other captains and ports.

Even without the special identity of "Lost Country Fleet member," it is now a "ghost ship" entangled in supernatural 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 briefly loses contact on the sea must undergo extremely strict quarantine when returning to port, and may even be refused entry if there is any abnormality, not to mention a ship that has been transformed into a "supernatural item."

I'm afraid that other than Pland and Frost, no other city-state would dare to accept the White Oak in its current state.

What's more, the owner of the Lost Country might not allow his "servants" to leave the fleet and continue to act freely in the civilized world. Based on this, what would the future of the White Oak and its crew look like?

To be with the abnormal, to survive in the anomalies, to be far away from the civilized world, to wander in the depths of the fog, storms, other realms, and strange seas, to glide across the sea like a ghost during the day, and to sink into the cracks of the subspace at night—that's what the books say about the Lost Country.

Laurence looked worried. Having drifted on the boundless sea for most of his life, he didn't seem ready for this change.

After all, he was not "Captain Duncan," who had long been away from the civilized world, nor was he a sea pirate like Tirian who had a fleet to cut off the sea. He still had a ship of sailors, and they all had their own families and friends, and they all still had families to support.

Leaving the legal routes on the boundless sea, he didn't know how to support his ship of sailors, let alone how to face their relatives and friends—after all, the Lost Country Fleet didn't seem to have things like "wages," let alone a perfect employee care system...

After a brief thought, Duncan broke the silence, "Frankly, even without the relationship of the Lost Country Fleet, and without the abnormal reflection brought by the Black Oak, your business wouldn't be much better in the future..."

Laurence didn't react for a moment, "Ah? Why do you say that?"

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

Laurence's expression suddenly became a little stiff, and after holding back for a long time, he uttered a strange sentence, "Occasional cargo losses are unavoidable. The White Oak has purchased high-value insurance, which is enough to compensate the employer's losses and subsequent breach of contract fees..."

"The current maritime insurance even dares to insure this?" Duncan raised his eyebrows. "Then there's no need to worry about these two losses..."

Speaking of this, he paused, as if suddenly thinking of something, "Wait, how much is the compensation for encountering the Lost Country? What about being transformed into the Lost Country Fleet? How much is the compensation?"

"This is not covered, it belongs to "force majeure". In fact, the previous anomaly 099 out-of-control incident was also in the scope of rejection, because the loss of the doll coffin was related to the Lost Country. Later, I looked for..." Laurence said, his expression a little sluggish, probably not expecting Captain Duncan to suddenly come up with such a question, but then he reacted, "You...

...why are you asking this?"

As soon as Duncan heard the other party's reply of "this is not covered," a look of disappointment appeared on his face, and then he waved his hand, "It's okay, I'm just asking."

Laurence thought about it, and seven or eighty classic cases of insurance fraud popped up in his mind, and he didn't dare to speak.

Duncan was silent for a few seconds, and then changed the subject, "Also, you probably don't need to worry too much about the future of the White Oak—even if you become a member of the Lost Country Fleet, you may not be far away from legal routes and legal ports from now on."

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

Duncan looked at him with a smile that was not a smile, "Do you think the Lost Country will always be far away from the civilized world?" "You mean..."

Duncan smiled and said, "I have regained my humanity. You should have heard rumors about this. Since I have humanity, I will of course be interested in the civilized world again. During this period of time, I have been actively contacting the city-states of the civilized world, first Pland, then Frost, and I also contacted the Deep Sea Church and the Death Church in the process. Frankly, I consider myself to have achieved a lot."

Laurence subconsciously recalled the various events surrounding the "return journey" of the Lost Country during this period of time, and his expression gradually became subtle.

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

Laurence: "......"

"That's not important," Duncan waved his hand, "What's important is that the Lost Country Fleet will return to being a member of civilization. You and your crew may be the bridge that allows the Lost Country to further establish communication with the civilized city-states."

Laurence understood Duncan's intention, and a look of surprise appeared in his eyes—this development method seems to be different from what is said in the book?

But soon, he woke up from this brief surprise, and more realistic questions came to his mind, "I understand what you mean. You want to "normalize" the relationship with the city-states, so the first step is to let us "fleet members" return to normal routes, but... you have also seen the current White Oak. I am afraid that most city-states will not accept a ship that has been invaded by supernatural power..."

"But as far as I know, there are still some special cases of "mutated" ships, and the city-states and legal routes allow them to dock and pass."

Laurence: "......Ah?"

"The Sea Fog, and the Brilliant Star, the degree of supernatural alienation of these two ships is almost second only to the Lost Country, and the former has now become the flagship of the Frost Navy again, and the latter is an honorary member of the Explorer's Association, enjoying unlimited passage rights on the border routes," Duncan spread his hands, "I have also heard of some legendary exploration ships with names and surnames. They have been eroded and transformed by supernatural forces, and have more or less some strange and terrifying characteristics, but their captains hold some special documents, rely on the endorsement of large forces, and can still pass on the boundless sea."

Speaking of this, Duncan paused, and then continued with a serious face: "And strictly speaking, every "Cathedral Ark" of the Four Gods Church belongs to a ship that has been eroded and transformed by supernatural power. Can't you still sail freely? Facts have proved that the standards of the church and the city-states are very flexible on the line of "supernatural alienation."

Laurence was stunned by Duncan's series of words, and was almost really caught in it. Fortunately, he heard the Four Gods Church at the end and woke up, and his expression became complicated: "This... the Cathedral Ark cannot be generalized, it is protected by the gods, it is different... but other situations are indeed as you said, there are special cases."

The old captain licked his somewhat dry lips and tried to organize his words: "But the reason why special cases are special is because they are difficult to achieve—your pair of children spent half a century to gradually make this world accept them, and even so, there are still many city-states that hold cautious or even hostile attitudes towards the Sea Fog and the Brilliant Star. As for the other legendary exploration ships you mentioned..."

"Alas, of course I know them, such as the "Tulip" that was lost in the spirit world for twelve years, and the "Dust Song" that passed through the strange sea and all survived... They did return to the civilized world in the end, but the process of their acceptance was not easier than that of your pair of children.

"Extremely strict inspections, long-term surveillance, church recognition, the Four Gods Church must use the highest safety standards to confirm whether a ship that has experienced "supernatural alienation" is safe. The severity and difficulty of this process is unimaginable—even if it passes a series of assessments, those legendary exploration ships will always be under the surveillance of the church, and they will have to be re-inspected every once in a while. The passes in the hands of those legendary captains... are not so easy to get."

Laurence couldn't help but sigh long at the end, but Duncan showed a thoughtful look when he heard half of it. When the other party finished speaking, he asked curiously, "That is to say, it's okay if there is a church to guarantee it? What are the requirements for this pass?"

"In short, the "patron saint" behind the ship's power must descend to approve it. The White Oak belongs to the Explorer's Association, and the Explorer's Association is protected by the Deep Sea Church. The Storm Goddess Gomona is the patron saint of maritime explorers—If the White Oak wants to return to the route legally, at least one Deep Sea Saint is willing to swear before the goddess to guarantee this, and personally carry out the inspection of the ship in question under the guidance of the oracle, and finally a city-state judge will issue a pass."

Speaking of this, Laurence sighed again: "Strictly speaking, that "gatekeeper" Ms. Agatha actually meets the identity standards. She is both a saint and the "gatekeeper" of the city-state, and because of a series of events, she has become your envoy. Unfortunately... she is not from the Deep Sea Church..."

Duncan looked at him: "I also have Deep Sea Church saints." Laurence: "...Ah?"

"Deep Sea Church saints, right?" Duncan looked at the frowning Laurence with a serious face, "Saints are responsible for inspection, and judges issue passes—can the saints and judges here be the same person?"

Laurence suddenly felt a little stuck in his head, and only subconsciously answered: "It seems... there is no restriction in this regard..."

"Oh, then you go and do your own thing first, I'll go find out about the pass for you." Laurence blinked, not reacting.

And when he wanted to ask something, Duncan's figure had disappeared on the deck with a rising flame.