Chapter 1

The raging green flames were gradually receding, and the surrounding sea was beginning to calm down.

After confirming with the Goathead that the *Vanishing Hitchhiker* had left the dangerous waters and could navigate on its own, Duncan removed his hand from the dark, heavy helm. He looked down, his gaze falling on his body, which had returned to flesh and blood, and the deck of the *Vanishing Hitchhiker*, which had returned to its original state after the green fire had subsided.

But deep down, he had a feeling—many things were different.

He could feel that the moment he gripped the helm of the *Vanishing Hitchhiker*, something had changed. The green flames had connected him to the ship, and even to the sea, and even though the flames had receded, he could still feel this invisible connection, feel every detail of the great ship beneath his feet.

Duncan slowly closed his eyes. He heard a faint murmur coming from the deep, dark corridors of the *Vanishing Hitchhiker*, a murmur that carried an inexplicable sense of intimacy. He saw that the lantern in the captain's cabin had been lit at some point, its pale light flickering within the glass shade. He heard the sound of waves lapping against the hull, and beneath the waves, he seemed to sense a deep gaze, but when he tried to find the source of that gaze, it seemed to consciously conceal itself…

Duncan opened his eyes and breathed a sigh of relief. The ghostly sails on the *Vanishing Hitchhiker*'s mast billowed. He walked towards the stairs leading to the deck, and the ropes beside the stairs writhed and moved aside.

He understood—only after choosing to take the helm had he become the ship's true captain.

"Captain, we are surfacing from the edge of the spirit world and will soon return to the real world," the Goathead's voice came from beside him, but this time not through the copper tubes used for communication on the ship, but directly into Duncan's mind. When it spoke of serious matters, it sounded much more solemn and less noisy. "We were lucky. At the deepest point, we only 'dangled' in the lower levels of the spirit world for a moment and were barely affected by the abyssal depths."

The real world, the spirit sea, the abyssal depths, and the subspace that seemed to lie even deeper… These strange words that had appeared before him one after another floated in Duncan's mind. He knew that these words pointed to the reality of this bizarre world, but he still didn't know what they truly meant.

However, listening to the Goathead calling him "Captain," Duncan vaguely felt that there was a subtle change in the other's tone. He even suspected that even if he were to reveal his identity as "Zhou Ming" at this moment, the Goathead would still obey his orders—this was the change that had occurred after he had taken the helm and successfully recovered from the "green fire."

But after hesitating for a moment, he still didn't rashly try to test this, nor did he ask the Goathead about the spirit world, the abyss, or the subspace.

If it had been a few days ago, he would have been anxious and uneasy, eager to understand his situation, but now he didn't seem to be in such a hurry.

This world had other "people," other ships, a society with order, and other civilizations, which gave him hope for the future, and even some "plans" that were still quite vague.

Lost in thought, Duncan recalled the details of the encounter with the ship that had suddenly emerged from the fog, recalling the ship's conspicuous smokestacks, and the mechanical structures that had appeared directly in his mind when it crossed paths with the *Vanishing Hitchhiker*.

"That was a mechanically powered ship… while the *Vanishing Hitchhiker* looks like a sailing warship from a previous era…" Duncan muttered to himself, "But it wasn't entirely a mechanical ship…"

There were some inexplicable cabins on that ship, arranged as if they were the site of some kind of ritual. He could also see strange patterns and symbols on the ship's keel, like decorations, but exceeding the necessity of decoration.

"Goathead," Duncan suddenly said, he didn't know the Goathead's name, so he subconsciously spoke the name in his mind directly. "When we 'crossed paths' with that ship, the person who looked like the captain was yelling at me. What did he say?"

The Goathead didn't seem to care about the captain's name for it. It readily accepted it and quickly replied, "The wind and waves were too strong. I couldn't hear."

"You couldn't hear either?" Duncan frowned. "...I felt like his expression was as tragic as if he was preparing to die with me. What he shouted must have been quite important."

"Wanting to die with you is a normal reaction for humans, especially sailors at sea. There's no need to be alarmed. And there's no need for you to bother paying attention to their cries before they try to shake a tree with an ant," the Goathead replied as a matter of course. Duncan, who was walking up the stairs to the deck, almost stumbled. He twitched his lips in astonishment. "Wanting to die with me is a normal reaction for humans?"

As soon as he said this, he felt it was a bit inappropriate, because it seemed to expose a loophole in his identity as "captain," exposing his lack of knowledge about "himself." Perhaps the green fire had consumed too much energy, or perhaps the feeling of being integrated with the *Vanishing Hitchhiker* had weakened his vigilance. In any case, this made Duncan a little nervous for a moment—but the Goathead didn't seem to notice at all.

"They fear you. That's normal," the Goathead's tone even seemed a little proud. "Anyone who sails the boundless sea should fear you, just as they fear the ancient gods and the shadows in subspace. Speaking of shadows, you know, a prominent engineer… or perhaps an agriculturalist or gourmet once said a word…"

Duncan rationally did not take up the topic, because he was worried that he would not be able to make it up if the topic continued (and more importantly, he really didn't want to pay attention to the Goathead, because as long as someone responded to it, the extent of its noisiness would increase exponentially). And in the next second, he was distracted by something else on the deck.

"...What the hell is this thing?" Duncan stood at the edge of the deck, staring in astonishment at the thing in front of the captain's cabin door.

It was a wooden box more than a person's height, and it looked very well-made. Unknown dark wood was seamlessly spliced together and riveted and reinforced with metal that looked like gold. On the edges of the box, one could see intricate patterns engraved, like words, or like deliberately distorted pictographic symbols—this box was definitely not something that belonged to the *Vanishing Hitchhiker*! Duncan hadn't seen it when he left the captain's cabin before!

The Goathead's voice fell silent for a moment, and then sounded, "...I don't recognize it, but it should be loot…"

"Loot?!" Duncan didn't react for a moment. He walked around the box twice. "How does this thing look like a coffin, but more exquisite than an ordinary coffin… Wait, loot, do you mean this thing was 'taken' from that ship just now?!"

"A successful hunt, Captain," the Goathead's tone was quite serious, mixed with a hint of flattery. "Your voyages are always fruitful. This is normal."

Duncan subconsciously opened his mouth, wondering if he hadn't intended to take anything from the other ship. What kind of hunt and "fruitful voyage" was this?

But then he thought that he was afraid that saying this would not fit his "captain" image. More importantly, the mechanical ship had already disappeared into the depths of the sea fog. Recalling the white-bearded captain's wide-eyed, desperate expression, he figured that there was no way to return this thing, so he could only swallow all the words back into his stomach.

He stood in front of the ornate wooden box that looked like a coffin and noticed that the lid seemed to be loose, looking like it could be opened with a single push.

After hesitating for a moment, he put his hand on the lid of the wooden box—at least, he had to figure out what he had brought onto the ship during his "spirit world cruise."

His body was stronger than he had imagined, and the lid was not as heavy as he had thought. He almost only used a little force, and the dark box lid rose a crack, and then he completely lifted it open.

Duncan looked into the box, dumbfounded.

"A person?"

Inside the wooden box, a beautiful young woman lay quietly—long silver-white hair spread like mercury inside the box, her face was exquisite and flawless, and faintly carried a noble and detached air. She wore a gorgeous purple-black court gown, her hands folded in front of her, as if she was in a long slumber.

Perfect like a doll.

"No, this is really a doll!"

Upon closer inspection, Duncan suddenly noticed the inhuman joint structure of the other party.