Chapter 1 Tirian felt surrounded by darkness. Within it, his senses ebbed and flowed, as if guided by unseen forces, traversing a dimension between reality and illusion.

He tried to open his eyes several times but could only faintly perceive a dim green light and shadows swirling rapidly in the darkness. After much effort, he recognized it as a view overlooking the city.

*Had something carried him into the sky?*

The thought barely formed in his mind before he lost consciousness again.

When he regained sensation in his body, he had been placed in a stable location. Beneath him, he felt a cold, hard surface, like a cold cement floor. Dim lights surrounded him, like the cheap electric lamps used for illumination in warehouses. A blurry figure sat beside him, seemingly looking down with curiosity.

Tirian's mind finally cleared.

But he didn't immediately open his eyes. Instead, he continued to feign unconsciousness, cautiously sensing his surroundings. He tried to discern his location from the air's humidity, the subtle sounds, and the slight friction of his clothes.

Before he could even hear the faint sounds of traffic and confirm that he was likely near a street, the familiar voice he had heard before losing consciousness suddenly spoke beside him, "You're awake. Your eyelids are moving."

Tirian was startled. Knowing he couldn't hide any longer, he reluctantly opened his eyes.

Immediately, he felt a jolt. The person before him surprised him.

"You said your name was Ye Xuicui," the silver-haired man on the chair said with a smile. "Ah, he must have said that you disguised your hair a bit because the captain said your appearance might cause trouble in the city."

"Clap clap clap clap—"

But he saw only a warehouse filled with shelves and wooden crates. Shelves of varying heights were stacked with archaic objects of unknown age and origin. Weathered wooden crates were piled somewhat haphazardly against the walls. There were no windows in sight, so he couldn't see what was outside. The only door was behind the chair occupied by the 'Male King.'

"Ye Xuicui is a friendly little automaton, not as terrible as the world believes—at least, he is around the captain," Hanshuang casually said, "And you, I thought he would first mention Duncan, the Male King. After all, as far as I know, he served that king even longer than he was in the Forsaken Fleet."

After the initial shock and excitement, the first thing the now calm sea pirate thought of wasn't doubt. He thought of the blond man he had seen before and what that man had said to him. He frowned. "You're not Lei Nora, Your Majesty. Who are you really?"

"...Shouldn't I clap?" Alice shrank back, cautiously looking at the captain in the mirror. "Doesn't he think what the captain said is right..."

Hanshuang observed his actions.

Tirian's gaze returned, finally settling on 'Duncan, the Male King.'

Tirian instinctively lowered his eyelids slightly, as if trying to avoid direct eye contact with his father.

At the same time, he asked in a deep voice, "Then why didn't you?"

"...I still don't fully trust your 'humanity.'"

Hanshuang was silent for a few seconds before speaking in a low, heavy voice, "Do you know what my original plan was?"

The silver-haired, waist-length-haired 'Duncan, the Male King' sat calmly on the chair beside him, watching Tirian, who lay on the ground. Tirian stared in disbelief for several seconds before abruptly sitting up.

When Tirian heard his father mention the Storm God's name, a strange expression appeared on his face. However, his attention was quickly drawn to Alice, who looked exactly like Duncan, the Male King. After frowning in thought, he suddenly remembered something, and his expression changed abruptly. "The Explorers Association issued a warning to all captains on the Boundless Sea, mentioning that construct 023 had lost control..." Tirian gradually realized something. He watched the figure in the mirror warily.

"You want to learn information about Her Majesty, Lei Nora, from me?"

Hanshuang watched Tirian calmly.

"You're resisting, unwilling to mention it?"

It seemed to be just a warehouse, making it impossible to determine its location within the city.

A sudden headache almost made Tirian lie down again, but the pain stimulated his mind, finally shaking off the last bit of dizziness after his unconsciousness. First, he confirmed that he wasn't still confused, and then he looked around to determine where he was.

He suspected that everything his father said was true, suspected that his father could do these things, and knew that he would definitely fall for it—even if he sensed something was off in some detail, he would definitely reveal a lot of information before that!

Then he paused and added, "Nor do I want to use this 'farce' to disrespect the monarch he once served—although he and you are not strangers, from our previous 'brief encounter,' Lei Nora should be a respectable person."

Incredibly useless.

Hearing the captain's righteous reply, Alice immediately applauded—though she barely understood what the captain was saying.

"...Yes, we meet again," Tirian said hesitantly. Although they had met once before, the feeling of talking to his shrewd and rational father again still made him feel awkward. "Why do it this way? Is he worried about contacting me in the cathedral?"

If, when the other party first mentioned "appearance," Tirian was only a little confused, then upon hearing this title again, the first thing that came to his mind was a huge sense of vigilance and crisis. Because he also confirmed that this was not a harmless joke, nor was it a ridiculous trap set up by some captain who hated him—behind all of this, it was very likely that his terrifying father was standing.

He saw Duncan, the Male King, Lei Nora—exactly as he remembered, and not the blond man with the distinctly different hair color.

"Relax," the voice in the mirror said, "Construct 023 is under control now."

Why else? Because Alice couldn't memorize such a long speech, couldn't act in such a long scene, and would be terrified by the slightest scare. Once she forgot her lines, she would undoubtedly ask for help... one segment per second.

The next second, a faint green flame rose around the edge of the mirror. Tirian seemed to hear a faint crackling sound in his ears. Then, he saw the mirror suddenly turn white, and a strange yet imposing figure gradually emerged from the darkness.

A wave of weariness washed over him. He sighed. "...As long as you're not depressed."

"Your original plan?"

Obviously, as one of the most experienced captains on the Boundless Sea, and with his keen interest in information about Duncan, the Male King, Tirian was quite certain of construct 023's characteristics.

He mentioned the captain again.

Because even just now, after seeing "Blonde Alice" and knowing that the person in front of him was unlikely to be Lei Nora, he almost thought the other party was Duncan, the Male King, resurrected from the dead!

At the same time, Tirian suddenly realized a detail in his father's words. He was deeply shocked.

Tirian was immediately startled, looking at Ye Xuicui, who had a harmless expression, as if only now noticing the inhuman qualities hidden in the other's overly exquisite and perfect face, as well as the ornaments that were clearly used to cover joints. The next second, he subconsciously touched his cuffs.

Tirian slowly stood up, watching the silver-haired man who called himself "Ye Xuicui" warily, and said in a deep voice, "Hanshuang...is it really you?"

"Tirian, we meet again," Hanshuang's voice came from the mirror.

"The cathedral isn't suitable for reminiscing, but it's not suitable for discussing private matters either—some things, he doesn't want Gomona to overhear," Hanshuang said unhurriedly, his gaze sweeping over Alice, who was beside him. "You've already seen Alice. You must have many questions to ask now."

Tirian suddenly felt a chill run down his back.

"You've seen Her Majesty, Lei Nora?! 'Let Alice directly pretend to be Duncan, the Male King, Lei Nora, pretend to be resurrected, perform a play of a ghostly projection, or even directly intervene in his dreams—that would be very difficult for you,' Ye Xuicui stared into Tirian's eyes. 'I can't guarantee that you can tell the difference between truth and falsehood, and be guided to say a lot of things, while I can easily get the information I want in that way.'"

Then Ye Xuicui and Tirian both looked at the doll with strange expressions.

"Of course, it's because I don't want to interact with my son in a deceitful way—even if he has forgotten many things." Hanshuang's expression was solemn, and his voice was low and heavy.

"As you can see," Hanshuang smiled, "I'm right in front of you."

"Yes, I found him first," Alice rose from the chair and slowly walked to an antique mirror beside her. "Captain, he's awake."

"...The automaton in the container awakens and moves freely outside, and you call that 'under control'?" Tirian said to Ye Xuicui while warily watching Alice's movements, feeling a chill on his neck. "How did you do it, making this 'construct' with such a late serial number work for you, and even suppressing its beheading instinct?"