Chapter 404 A Question

That massive illusion dissipated without a sound, leaving behind only trails of gradually dimming light in the depths of the chaotic and obscure clouds. Beside the ship's wheel, the doll suddenly blinked, as if its soul had returned to its body, and its expression became lively once more.

She raised her head, as if still looking at a rapidly disappearing figure in the void, and waved her hand happily towards it twice: "Goodbye! Goodbye!"

"Who are you talking to?"

Duncan's voice came from the side. Alice turned her head and saw the captain and Miss Vanna standing beside her, both with strange expressions on their faces. Vanna even looked up at the sky from time to time, as if some incredible sight was still floating there.

"Navigator Two!" Alice said happily, not hiding what had just happened. "I felt connected to the *Ghost Ship* just now, and then I crashed into the Goathead, and Agatha shattered into pieces, but she put herself back together, and then I saw Navigator Two. It said it came to say hello, and I saw a big ship flying among the stars, and I had a dream, a great dream! I flew so fast! And and..."

The doll was obviously extremely excited, and a whole bunch of things came tumbling out of her mouth, overwhelming Duncan and Vanna. Her words were so dense that not a drop of water could penetrate them. Duncan had been gathering a bellyful of questions, but he couldn't find a chance to speak and was stunned by the doll…

And what was even more amazing was that the doll rattled on and on, and yet managed to make sure that every sentence was unrelated to the others, with no logical connection between the preceding and following sentences. Duncan and Vanna put their comprehension skills together and still couldn't summarize what Alice was saying – of course, it also had something to do with the fact that Vanna was a sports student…

"Stop, stop, calm down first, sort it out from the beginning," Duncan finally had to interrupt the excited doll's rambling. He took control of the *Ghost Ship* as soon as possible to prevent any accidents from happening if Alice continued to connect with the ship, and then he looked her up and down as he spoke, "Do you feel anything wrong with your body now?"

"My body?" Alice finally stopped. After hearing the captain's words, she looked down at herself in confusion, and shook her head honestly, "No, I feel fine... But just now I couldn't feel my body for a while, and I was startled at that time..."

"Couldn't feel your body?" Duncan frowned slightly. At the same time, he thought of the huge phantom that appeared behind the high-altitude clouds after Alice took the helm, the countless "threads" connecting to her, and the vague "consciousness" that suddenly appeared inside the *Ghost Ship* in his perception. He nodded thoughtfully, "For a while just now, your consciousness may have indeed left your body... Now tell me exactly what you saw."

Speaking of this, he paused and added: "Take your time, one thing at a time, don't get excited."

"Okay." The doll nodded honestly when she heard this, and then calmed down, trying to sort out her thoughts and words, and told the captain exactly what she had just experienced.

Including the matter of smashing Madam Agatha into pieces – she still felt very embarrassed about it.

"You don't have to worry too much about Agatha. She cracks open often. Sometimes Shirley doesn't do her homework and she can crack open on the spot," Duncan waved his hand casually as he listened to the doll's story. "But the appearance of Navigator Two... This is an unexpected situation. I didn't expect it to leave such a communication path in your navigation key."

As he spoke, he couldn't help but size Alice up and down several times, as if to confirm whether the doll had any changes or damage.

"Captain, are you worried?" Alice's reaction was very keen. She immediately waved her hand, "Don't worry, I'm in great condition, and Navigator Two doesn't have any malice. Although I don't remember its affairs, I can feel that it's very friendly."

"I'm not worried that it's malicious, I'm just worried that its existence itself will have an impact on you—after all, strictly speaking, you were all once part of the *New Hope*, and now there is too much deviation between your state and your essence. No one knows whether this change has hidden dangers," Duncan said, waving his hand, "But now it seems that there is really no need to worry about this. Since even Navigator Two says you are fine like this, then I am relieved."

Alice scratched her head, hesitated and said "Oh", and then looked at Duncan with some expectation and hesitation: "Captain, I feel that I have mastered the tricks of steering and navigation. When will we set off next? I promised Navigator Two that I would be the first to find it."

"One day later," Duncan nodded lightly, "Goathead and I are adjusting the state of the *Ghost Ship* according to the feedback just now. We will set off in one day. Before that, everyone should rest well and prepare for the next operation, and..."

As he said that, he suddenly raised his head and glanced at the direction of the entrance to the mid-deck cabin, but did not continue.

Alice also raised her head and glanced, and then seemed to suddenly remember something: "By the way, Captain, where did the Sailor go? He was steering before. I thought he would definitely come and take a look..."

"Oh, don't worry," Duncan smiled strangely when he heard this, and then raised his eyebrows, "He should be appearing soon."

Alice didn't understand, and just nodded confusedly.

But the Sailor did not come to the deck, and when everyone else rushed over to ask what was going on with the illusion that had appeared in the sky just now, he did not appear.

When Alice prepared dinner for everyone in the evening, and everyone was gathering in the restaurant, he still did not appear.

When the captain summoned everyone and announced that the next voyage target was the "node" where the God of Wisdom, Rahm, was located, he still did not appear.

It wasn't until long after dinner that Duncan and Vanna were strolling on the deck, and Alice was beside him, that the doll couldn't help but ask again: "Captain, where did the Sailor go?"

Duncan stopped. He leaned against a nearby mast, looked up at the empty deck, and suddenly turned to Vanna and said, "Do you remember the question I asked you?"

Vanna was stunned for a moment, and quickly recalled it, but just as she was about to open her mouth, a somewhat hesitant footstep suddenly interrupted what she wanted to say.

Vanna turned her head in surprise and saw a hunched and hesitant figure appearing on the misty deck – the terrifying dried corpse was moving towards them with small steps. Although its face was wrinkled and its features were squeezed together, its awkward and bewildered expression was particularly obvious.

"Captain..." The Sailor came to Duncan, raised his hand in a particularly tangled manner to say hello, and then looked at the doll standing next to Duncan with a strange expression, "Well, I have a question..."

"Alice has already taken the helm," Duncan said, "You should have noticed the movement on the deck." The Sailor's expression froze, and he hesitated and said, "Then..."

"Your helmsman authority has been temporarily transferred to Alice, and she will be responsible for navigation next."

The Sailor looked stiffly at Alice, then at Duncan, and finally pointed at himself: "Then my mission..."

"Completed," Duncan said casually.

Vanna's expression was a little dazed: "...I thought the person you said had to experience multiple deaths referred to when they were forgotten..."

"I'm referring to social death—this usually dies several times, and dies once every time you remember it," Duncan folded his arms and said calmly, "So remember this lesson—don't say your last words too early, it's very embarrassing if you don't die."

Vanna's expression continued to be dazed: "..."

Duncan ignored Vanna's subtle expression, and just looked down at the Sailor, who was now simply squatting on the deck, picking at the cracks on the deck while muttering, "I knew it... your expression was not right at the time, I didn't dare to think too much... I knew it..."

Duncan finally laughed.

He was in a good mood now.