Chapter 189

Chapter 189: Alice’s Test.

After that, Duncan got no more useful information from the Enders.

They just sat silently on the deck, breathing in the sea breeze of the Boundless Sea as if savoring every second. To Duncan’s questions they either answered with an empty, indifferent gaze, or with mad, twisted laughter.

But the last words they had spoken were already burned deep into Duncan’s mind.

These fanatics who followed Subspace, whose minds were broken and whose sanity score was probably already in the negatives, seemed to have gained knowledge that should never have existed at all through their crazed faith – truths that in theory had never leaked out.

They had “seen” that “Captain Duncan” carried an anomalous “humanity” inside, and that this “humanity” had been “picked up”. What did that even mean? Could they really tell that the soul inside this body was no longer the original owner’s?!

And these cultists had also said they were not hiding in the city-state… but in history cursed by the curse. What did that mean? Were these mad Enders not in normal space-time most of the time, and that was why they could avoid the city-state Guardians even while acting so bizarrely?

Duncan silently turned his gaze on the Enders who were grinning strangely. Thoughts surged in his heart, and at the same time he watched over the state of the entire ship, sensing whether there were any changes in the Vanished.

Goathead was still dutifully steering in the captain’s cabin, apparently paying no attention to what was happening on deck.

Every part of the Vanished was operating as usual. The words of the Enders had no effect on the ship.

Alice sat hugging her own head on a big wooden barrel nearby, idly tidying her hair. The doll’s brain had long since failed to keep up with the conversation between the captain and the cultists, so she had wandered off early.

After who knew how long, Duncan finally let out a quiet breath.

He had spent a bit too long on these cultists, to the point that he could almost feel himself being affected by their mad babble.

He had already gotten plenty of useful information out of them, and it did not look like there would be any more. There was no need to keep bothering to care about these madmen.

Just as his expression shifted, one Ender suddenly lifted his head. In his muddled eyes, the empty, illusory sails of the Vanished were reflected. He mumbled like in a dream, “Is it time to get off the ship?”

“There was never a place for you on this ship,” Duncan said flatly. “But before I throw you overboard, you can still be of some use.”

All three Enders raised their heads and slowly pulled their mouths into strange smiles.

Although they had been wildly ecstatic when they first came aboard, even going so far as to kiss the deck, now, hearing Duncan’s words, they showed no sign of disappointment or fear.

At first, Duncan had thought they would at least struggle a little, try to force their way into staying on this ship, even find a way to use it to reach the “promised land” of Subspace they yearned for. But there was nothing like that. Only a strange numbness filled their eyes.

It was as if, in some unseen moment, most of their personality and memories had slipped out of these bodies, or as if they had suddenly heard some far-off “calling” and calmly accepted their fate.

Duncan frowned, not bothering to guess what these already-crazed cultists were thinking. Instead he turned his head toward the doll staring into space not far away and said, “Alice, come here.”

The doll reacted at once. She deftly picked up her head, stuck it back onto her neck, hopped down from the barrel, and trotted over to Duncan. “Captain, you called me?”

“…Can you stop pulling your head off all the time?” Duncan grumbled with a frown. “Your joints aren’t that sturdy to begin with, and every time you take it off your intelligence seems to drop with it.” He shook his head, then pointed at the three cultists. “I’m going to have you run a little test.”

“A test?” Alice blinked. “What kind of test?”

“To see whether that uncontrollable ‘Guillotine’ ability of yours is still there.” Duncan raised an eyebrow. “Don’t tell me you’ve already forgotten about it.”

“I did forget!” Alice nodded with complete confidence. “I only just remembered when you brought it up!”

She paid no attention to the subtle shift in Duncan’s expression and turned to the “Enders”, waving at them. “Hello, I forgot to introduce myself just now. I’m Alice, the ship’s… cook?”

“You should tell them your other identity,” Duncan said casually. He spoke to Alice, but his gaze rested on the cultists. “Anomaly 099.”

The eyes of the three Enders finally changed. One of them could not help but glance at Alice, and a sudden seriousness appeared in his expression.

“I thought you were really numb enough to be beyond fear of life and death.” Duncan noted the change but kept his face calm. “In that case, I hope you madmen who fear not even Subspace will enjoy what comes next. What I need you to do is simple: stay near Alice, and then either survive… or die by decapitation.”

Alice listened at his side, then leaned in to mutter, “Captain, when you say things like that you really sound like a villain…”

Duncan gave the doll a speechless look. “…Whose side are you on, exactly?”

“Death means nothing to us…” While Duncan and Alice whispered, one Ender finally spoke up. He glanced at Alice and even took a step forward, a hint of mockery in his eyes. “It is only another pause in this long journey. You dull-witted one who rejected Subspace’s grace, obsessed with the veils of the Mortal Realm, you will never know the Truth beyond life and death…”

Duncan hurriedly tugged Alice’s arm. “Hear that? That’s what a villain sounds like…”

Alice nodded. “Oh.”

Then Duncan ignored the reactions of the Enders. He looked up at the night sky where the World’s Wound hung high and suddenly asked, “How long have they been aboard?”

“Several hours at least, right?” Alice thought for a moment. “My sense of time is pretty accurate!”

“Several hours… which means the check and trigger time for Guillotine has already passed at least once.” Duncan grew thoughtful. His gaze fell on the doll in front of him while his mind recalled the descriptions of Anomaly 099’s properties. “But that’s still not enough to be sure. We’ll wait a bit longer, then run the next round of tests.”

“Next round of tests?” Alice blinked in confusion. “How are we testing it?”

“Right now we can roughly say your Guillotine ability has not triggered, but we still can’t tell whether that is because of the Vanished or because of me.” As Duncan spoke, his eyes swept over the Enders, as if he was making very sure their heads were still attached. “After a few more hours, once we are sure at least one full check-and-trigger cycle of your ability has passed, I want you and these ‘preachers’ to leave the Vanished for a while.”

“Leave the Vanished for a while?” Alice froze. “Go where?”

She lifted her head and looked past the rail. All she saw was endless ocean. The wind and waves were calm; the whole sea was soaked in the pale glow of the World’s Wound, making it look almost like a boundless snowfield. On that endless sea, there was nowhere to set foot.

Duncan thought for a moment.

Now he had found “materials” for Alice’s test, but to keep the process strict he also needed a “testing ground” where he could rule out his own interference. That test site could not be on crowded land, and it had to be outside the Vanished. There really were not many choices.

“We have a few lifeboats in good shape. I’ll lower one into the water and temporarily cut its connection with the Vanished.” Duncan looked into Alice’s eyes. “You will drift on the sea for a while. I’ll keep the main ship nearby and I won’t abandon you.”

The doll listened to the captain’s plan and instantly shrank her neck. “Float on the sea again?! I’m still traumatized! And the visibility on the sea at night is so bad. What if you lose me? What if a gust of wind and waves carries the little boat away? What if the boat capsizes…”

Duncan cut off this embarrassing doll before she could finish. “Stop, stop, there won’t be that many ‘what ifs’. I’ll have AI circling above you to keep watch. And besides, you’re afraid you can’t get back to the ship? Last time you rode the waves back on nothing but a coffin lid. Even eight cannonballs couldn’t keep you down. This time you at least have two proper oars.”

Alice’s muttering was choked off, but only for a moment. She glanced worriedly at the sea nearby, then at the half-human, half-ghost, mindless Subspace believers, and grabbed Duncan’s sleeve hard. “Captain, you promised. You must not lose me later!”

Duncan: “…”

He really felt that the longer he kept this doll on board, the more useless she became. She was worse now than when she had been riding the waves of the Boundless Sea. Back then, at least, she had a bit of foolish courage…