Chapter 105 Will It Have Meaning?

Nina stood on the deck and raised her right hand towards the sky. A blazing flame suddenly erupted from her palm, transforming into an arc of light that pierced the thick fog. This ray of sunlight flickered above the Vanishing, conveying greetings and respect to those who were going to die on another timeline.

Did the Sea Song see it? Did they know what was happening at this moment on another timeline? Were they on their way to their deaths, or were they already on their way back? In this brief moment when the lights flickered and the two timelines intersected, did they understand their fate?

The window of time convergence gradually closed, and the silhouette of that ship began to rapidly fade and blur, once again abstracting into chaotic lines and shadows. It briefly surfaced, then gradually sank back into the endless darkness of the Deep Sea Embers.

In the pilothouse, the shriveled and withered body of Anomaly 077 seemed to tremble slightly in the wind. He gripped the Vanishing's helm tightly, staring at the direction of the Sea Song. For a moment, he opened his mouth as if wanting to shout, but all words dissipated in his broken and withered throat.

Then he raised his hand, wanting to salute the ship he had once served on and his former colleagues—he had relearned that salute gesture these days, taught by Vanna, which required drawing the undulating trajectory of a wave across his chest, representing the protection of the storm and the blessing of peace—but in just an instant, he seemed to be electrocuted and pressed his hand back onto the dark helm, gripping it tightly.

Outside the Vanishing's hull, dangerous and chaotic ripples briefly appeared in the uniform gray-white "inner wall," but they vanished and calmed in the blink of an eye.

He couldn't let go—he was at the helm.

The window closed, and the last shadow of the Sea Song disappeared beyond everyone's sight—in all possible time branches, this was the last time it appeared in the mortal world's view.

Until the end, the "Sailor" did not release the Vanishing's dark helm.

Slightly heavy footsteps came from the side, and the Sailor turned his head with some slowness, seeing a tall figure come to the pilothouse, standing calmly beside him.

He was stunned for a moment, subconsciously wanting to stand up straight: "Captain..."

Duncan reached out and pressed his hand on the gaunt shoulders of the dried corpse: "Are you alright?"

"...You see, I'm holding on tight," the wrinkles on the dried corpse's face trembled slightly as he looked down at the helm in his hands. "I only let go for a moment...the ship didn't veer off course...and then I didn't let go again...didn't let go..."

Duncan said nothing, only placed his hand on the dried corpse's shoulder and pressed down hard again.

Then he withdrew his hand, preparing to turn and leave, but at that moment, he heard the voice of Anomaly 077. The Sailor muttered softly, as if talking to himself, "Will it have meaning?"

Duncan stopped and quietly looked at his helmsman.

"Will all of this have meaning?" The Sailor seemed to finally muster his courage. He looked up, looking into Duncan's eyes, his gaze not so much seeking an answer as wanting to grab a lifeline in the storm. "The Sea Song, those people on the border, the constables and guardians in the city-state who are still trying to maintain order, and...us, will all of this have meaning?"

Duncan was silent for a few seconds, then nodded calmly: "...Yes."

He turned and walked towards the deck. Just as he was about to leave the pilothouse, the Sailor's voice came from behind him: "Vanishing crew rule number one, right?"

Duncan didn't answer again, just waved his hand lightly and left the pilothouse.

He went through the stairs and came to the quiet stern deck, while calling out in his heart: "Lucille."

The Sea Witch's response came immediately: "Yes, I'm here."

Duncan hesitated for two seconds before speaking softly in a calm tone, "I remember you mentioned something—you once accidentally sailed past the six-nautical-mile boundary and became lost in the depths of the Eternal Veil, and at that time, you safely returned to the inner sea because you saw a phantom of the Vanishing, following it."

Lucretia suddenly became silent, and it took a long time to break the silence: "Yes, I...always thought it was a phantom of the Vanishing that briefly surfaced from the subspace..."

Duncan said nothing more. From the tone of Lucretia's response, he knew that the intelligent "witch" had also thought of the same thing he had just thought of.

Just now, the appearance of the "Sea Song" suddenly strongly reminded Duncan of a fact that he had known before but had not deeply considered—

Beyond the six-nautical-mile boundary on the border, time is discontinuous and non-directional, and the causality of things is in a state of constant change. A ship that has already returned can still sail in the past. And in Lucretia's memory, her ship, the "Brilliant Star," was once lost beyond the six-nautical-mile boundary. In desperation, a phantom of the Vanishing suddenly appeared and led her back to the real dimension.

She always thought it was the Vanishing returning from subspace, or the "projection" of the Vanishing cast into the real dimension from subspace.

But...now there was a new possibility.

Duncan strolled to the edge of the deck, holding the railing and looking at the uniform gray-white outside the hull, his gaze seeming to penetrate this layer of "inner wall," looking towards the boundless chaos and mist beyond the route, in a state of spatiotemporal confusion.

In the depths of that mist, the Vanishing, captained by Duncan Abnomal, might still be sailing far away—he might have just set off, or he might be about to return. He might have just learned some truths about this world, or he might...

He had just hung a lamp at the end of the world, hanging it at the door of a sleeping Vanishing person.

...

"Chī——," the sound of a match being struck broke the silence in the living room. A small flame approached the oil lamp on the table, and the light became bright, enveloping the room in a not-too-bright but still warm glow.

Heidi bent down to light the oil lamp on the table, looked up to confirm the corners of the living room, and then came to her mother's side.

The light of the oil lamp was certainly not as good as the electric light, but due to a malfunction of a group of generators in the eastern district, the Political Affairs Office had just issued an order for power control—now the city-state's overall power grid supply was very tight, and the power load had to first meet the needs of important factories, shelters, and containment and sealing institutions, so daily home lighting could only use the more power-saving "traditional methods."

"I don't know when the power will be restored..." Heidi muttered softly.

"That depends on the repair of the generators," her mother's voice was still as calm and peaceful as usual, as if nothing could make the old woman flustered. "Did the notice say anything about the damage to the generators?"

"The specific damage wasn't mentioned, but I heard that the malfunction was not related to machines being possessed, it should just be a normal operational problem," Heidi said. "It should be repaired in a few days. According to past experience, it will be two or three days at the earliest, and a week at the latest...Tsk."

The mental physician tsked, obviously not in a good mood.

"Gas lamps and oil lamps can still be used, the situation is not bad, is it?" Her mother smiled, then casually picked up a piece of paper on the table and handed it to Heidi. "This is the 'News Report' that was just delivered this morning. Read it to me, my eyes are blurry and I can't see it clearly."

Heidi reached out and took the "newspaper" that her mother handed over.

Now it was the long night, and ordinary "reading" behavior had been listed as a dangerous act. Libraries and book markets everywhere had long been closed, and even most newspapers had suspended publication during the night—but even so, people had a basic need to obtain information, so under the supervision of the city hall, something called the "News Report" appeared in the city-state.

It was a simplified version of the newspaper. The paper itself had been exorcised and blessed by the cathedral, and the content of the newspaper had been carefully processed, controlling the length and depth of reading to avoid accidents of knowledge pollution. At the same time, the newspaper was also printed with many sacred prayers and rune decorations to protect the reader's mental safety.

While having so many protective measures, these newspapers also strictly controlled the "distribution" range—it was not sold publicly, but directly sent to people with reading qualifications through specific channels. These people had to have basic knowledge of mysticism and the skills to deal with "small troubles."

This set of procedures and regulations was very troublesome, but in any case, the modern city-state was built on the basis of modern civilization—information had to be transmitted in the city-state, read by qualified people, and then spread to ordinary people who were not qualified, but were still members of the city-state. Although Heidi was not a formal member of the city hall, she had been dealing with the managers of this city, and she could more or less understand what those who managed this city were thinking.

The night was long, and difficulties were inevitable—but they had to delay the process of "human" decline in the night as much as possible, in order to avoid... "the degeneration of civilization."

Heidi opened the paper, calmed her mind, and read the contents to her mother:

"...The fault of the generator has been located, and the repair work is proceeding rapidly. Engineers estimate that they can complete the replacement and repair of all equipment within two days...

"The problem of poor food distribution in the northern district has been resolved, and the city-state's food reserves are now sufficient...The lighting system is operating normally, and the production of the vertical farm has not been affected...Mushroom production has increased...

"A confrontation has occurred in the northern sea. Cold Harbor and Morpheus Harbor navies have gathered near a 'Sun Shard.' The Death Church fleet has intervened, and the situation has not yet escalated..."

Heidi read the short messages one by one, occasionally stopping to whisper prayers and recite the name of Lahm, the god of wisdom. Suddenly, she stopped.

"Is there any special news?"

Her mother's gentle voice came from the side.

Heidi was stunned, her eyes still fixed on the last message on the newspaper. After several seconds, she breathed a sigh of relief.

"...A briefing from the Deep Sea Church: The border exploration fleet is once again carrying out 'transgression' operations. The Vanishing and the Brilliant Star have crossed the six-nautical-mile boundary..."

(End of this chapter)