Chapter 60 “Opposite Side Of The Door”
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The silence was suddenly broken by Alice’s voice, filled with curiosity and concern. “Captain Duncan, are we beginning our journey now? Shouldn’t we check this door first? It looks like it might be worth investigating, even if we’re not planning to open it…”
Duncan responded with a dismissive gesture, clearly uninterested. “It’s a waste of time. We’ve already inspected every part of the ship’s lower decks. There’s nothing new to find here.”
Their conversation was abruptly halted by a faint, barely audible tapping sound, prompting everyone to stop and listen intently.
Duncan turned sharply toward Alice, who had staggered slightly, her eyes wide with fear as she frantically searched the room. Her focus finally landed on the ominous wooden door. Trembling, she whispered, “The noise… it’s coming from behind this door…”
Duncan stood frozen, his gaze fixed on the door as the soft tapping persisted, quiet yet clear. Instinctively, he stepped back, his senses warning him of the potential danger beyond.
After a moment of hesitation, Duncan, driven by the eerie silence that followed the tapping, decided to approach the door.
Illuminated by the spectral light of his lantern, sword in hand, he carefully examined the door. He noticed it was slightly open, with a small gap at the bottom right corner just wide enough to look through.
It seemed the door had been quickly closed, left partially open in someone’s haste.
Seizing this opportunity, Duncan leaned in, trying to see through the gap while readying his sword for any danger.
What he saw was completely unexpected.
He glimpsed a small room, its ancient wallpaper peeling, seemingly untouched by time. The room was disordered, with a single bed and a desk that held a computer, oddly familiar.
However, what truly caught his attention was the tall, slim figure fervently writing at the desk. Dressed in a simple white shirt, with disheveled hair and a look of deep concern, the man was engrossed in an old diary he usually kept in the desk drawer. Sensing Duncan’s presence, the man, whom Duncan recognized as Zhou Ming, suddenly looked up and hurried to the door, staring directly at Duncan.
The two faced each other in a silent, tense standoff. Zhou Ming then started to frantically push against the door, trying to escape, but it wouldn’t move. In desperation, he attempted to force it open with a tool, but the lock remained secure.
Eventually, the man inside resigned himself to defeat. Duncan could not make out Zhou Ming’s words; they were muffled and indistinct. Yet, Duncan knew his intentions well, having once felt similar desperation.
Duncan’s eyes then shifted to the doorknob on his side of the enigmatic door, known as the Vanished. It looked so simple to open… just a twist and a push…
But a deep, instinctual fear held him back.
Irritated by Duncan’s hesitation, the trapped man resumed banging on the door, shouting something indiscernible. Then, he quickly wrote a message on a piece of paper and pressed it against the gap in the door.
Duncan read the urgent scribble: “Save me! I’m trapped in this room! I can’t open the windows or the door!”
Instead of feeling compelled to help, Duncan burst out laughing, amused by the ironic plight of the trapped Zhou Ming.
In the next moment, Duncan thrust his pirate sword forward with considerable force, impaling the figure known as “the other Zhou Ming.”
The doppelgänger was pierced effortlessly, his expression unchanged even as he opened his mouth to scream. Duncan, unyielding and resolute, drove the sword deeper, ensuring it completely impaled the man.
This Translation is hosted on bcatranslation.com
“If you can’t concoct believable tales from Earth, avoid such deceit,” Duncan retorted, smirking.
At that instant, Ai, the usually quiet dove, began to flutter her wings and croaked, “This is just an illusion. What are you hiding?”
Almost immediately, the figure behind the door began to disintegrate, melting away like a wax figure until it vanished in an elaborate display of light and shadow. Simultaneously, the illusion of the room faded, revealing its true nature to Duncan: a dark, crumbling cabin filled with dust and decay.
The sword in his hand met no resistance, having struck only air.
Was this “extra door” merely a facade concealing another dilapidated cabin?
Duncan continued his exploration, yet from every angle, it seemed to be just an ordinary cabin.
But was this cabin truly “real”?
Duncan slowly withdrew his sword from the narrow gap, exhaling deeply before cautiously stepping back.
The bizarre encounter left a deep mark on his mind, and he struggled to determine whether it had been merely an illusion or something more tangible. One thing was clear… something exceedingly strange and potentially dangerous was lurking behind that door.
If the illusion was a manifestation of his own memories and perceptions, then the danger it represented was far greater than what his own identity, “Captain Duncan,” could suggest. This realization sent chills down his spine, turning it into a nightmarish scenario.
It was unlikely that anyone else in this world knew about that room, or the identity of “Zhou Ming.”
Yet, the mysterious presence behind the door seemed aware…
As Duncan attempted to calm his escalating anxiety with deep breaths, he reassured himself that avoiding the door was the right decision. It was too dangerous to be opened under any circumstances.
His thoughts were abruptly interrupted by Alice’s voice, “Captain…” Looking up to meet her doll-like face, he saw her expression filled with concern and fear. “Captain, are you alright? What’s behind that door? Why do you look so worried?”
Duncan dismissed her concerns with a shake of his head, “Don’t worry about what’s behind this door; it’s nothing we need. We’ve explored enough. It’s time to go back.”
He tried to close the door firmly, but it resisted as if alive, refusing to shut.
“Huh? Ah… Okay!” Initially startled, Alice quickly regained her composure. “Let’s head back quickly. I must admit, this place is rather creepy. It’s giving me goosebumps…”
With a soft chuckle at her words, Duncan led Alice toward the “Final Door” that opened to the staircase.
Both were eager to leave the unsettling scene behind, especially after their failed attempt to shut the door.
Their journey back through the ship was uneventful. They moved through the dilapidated bilge, the dimly lit cargo hold, and the shadowy staircase and corridors, finally reaching the cabin above the waterline.
While Duncan maintained a composed demeanor, Alice visibly relaxed the moment she stepped onto the deck, as if relieved of a heavy burden.
Noticing Duncan’s continued unease, Alice hesitated before asking, “Captain, are you tired? Would you like me to make some food for you? You haven’t had a proper dinner…”
Duncan, pulled from his thoughts by Alice’s concern, looked at her worried face, which reminded him of Nina when she was anxious.
Realizing his mood was affecting those around him, he tried to brighten his expression and dispel the gloom.
“Just make sure you don’t add anything strange to the pot this time.”
“My head isn’t a strange thing!”
“Especially your head.”
“…Woowoo.”
This story is getting more and more exiting!
How bizarre. Does it have anything to do with the dog?
Cute Alice. And was that really a doppelganger?
Ooooh so maybe his soul and mind are intricately connected to the ship or to the being that is inside that cabin, including his memories of Zhou Ming.
I think its trapped, either by force and thats why it was giving all those illusions