Chapter 220

Chapter 220: Group

Anyone who encountered the Vanished would inevitably form a “connection” with Duncan. From another angle, Duncan, this “outsider”, also needed to build such connections widely in this world. Only by gaining as many channels of knowledge and help as possible could he learn more about this world, learn about the supernatural field, and even… learn about himself.

The reason Morris and the others were brought onto the ship might have been just the urgency of the situation at the time. But even if they had not boarded today, Duncan already planned to expand his “influence” in this world. In his eyes, the few people now gathered on the Vanished just happened to be excellent candidates.

Morris, an outstanding historian, a learned scholar, and a believer of the God of Wisdom, held precious knowledge. That was what Duncan lacked most right now. At the same time, this old gentleman was also a “social elite” with a certain status and network in the human world. At the right time, that would also be very useful.

Shirley and Dog, a controlled Abyssal demon and the summoner who had a symbiotic pact with that demon, had fighting power. They also held knowledge about the Abyssal Deep and even some knowledge related to Subspace. This knowledge happened to complement Morris, the “human scholar”. Besides that, the pair had a special way of sensing. They could detect traces left by supernatural power at no cost or at a very small cost.

Nina, his well-behaved and adorable niece.

And, incidentally, the current vessel of the Sun fragment.

Duncan’s gaze slowly swept across the long table. Around it, some faces were tense, some stiff, and some simply filled with curiosity.

They did not seem to notice that a very special “group” had already faintly taken shape during this dinner. What tied this group together was the shared identity they all had at this moment:

crew members of the Vanished.

“My earlier promise still stands. Your status as crew members of the Vanished will not restrict your personal freedom. I do not need forced loyalty, and I do not need any sacrificial rites or offerings and the like. None of that has any meaning to me,” Duncan said slowly. His voice was low, and the gentle sound of waves drifted in through the porthole not far away. “But since the link between you and me has already been established, this link can be seen as the foundation for a loose team.”

“To be honest, I had stayed away from the civilized world for many years. Morris should know this very well. The Vanished had not had contact with any city-state in the past century. In the civilized world there are many terrifying stories about me and about this ship. I admit those stories have a basis in fact, because for many years… this ship was in a runaway state.

“But as you can see, I took back my humanity and stabilized the Vanished again. And now… I am very interested in the civilized world a century later.”

Duncan spoke unhurriedly. These were words he had carefully prepared earlier while fishing. He needed to recruit crew members, but the terrifying history of the Vanished meant that any new recruit coming aboard would not be in a good mood about their new post. So he needed a set of reasonable, gentle, and proper reasons to calm the emotions of these new recruits. The first step was to build an image of a rational and friendly captain.

The Vanished had once been in a runaway state, but now the captain had reclaimed his humanity and regained control of the ship. That was the premise for the team to exist.

As for whether the new recruits believed it or not… that was their problem.

He had to admit, fishing really was a relaxing pastime that was good for thinking. Duncan felt he really should thank nature for its gift… or thank the Deep Sea Spawn instead.

Hearing Duncan’s explanation, a thoughtful look appeared on Morris’s face. He still did not quite dare to believe that the voice he heard was truly real. In fact, he did not even dare to believe that the Vanished he saw now was truly the real ship. But when he recalled the friendly attitude Duncan had always shown, he slowly began to persuade himself.

At the very least, if this explanation was true, the friendly behavior of this Subspace shadow would seem a bit more reasonable and believable.

Shirley was still thinking, as if she had not fully understood what was going on. But Dog, sitting beside her, had already reacted. The Abyssal Hound took a bold glance at Duncan and asked: “So that means you need us to be your retainers, to help you do some things in the world?”

“Only when it is needed,” Duncan said with a smile. “When I need it. Besides, I do not think this relationship counts as retainers. You are crew members, so just call me Captain. Or you can keep addressing me the way you did before.”

Shirley and Dog both answered with a simple “Oh”. Not far away, after a brief pause to think, Morris suddenly spoke: “Then how will you contact us? Ah, of course, I know you have an avatar in the city-state of Pland, but I mean…”

“I know what you mean,” Duncan said, nodding lightly before Morris could finish. “If I want to find you, I will naturally find you at once. And if something happens and you need to contact me, you can call my name or the name of the Vanished near a smooth mirror surface. I can hear it. Besides, fire can strengthen my power, so if you are in danger, you can light a flame after calling my name.”

Morris listened, his expression a little complicated. After all, he was still a believer of the God of Wisdom, yet now he had half willingly joined a heretical group like this and was even learning knowledge from a Subspace shadow. That made him feel somewhat uneasy. But what made him even more uneasy was that the charm bracelet on his wrist, with its remaining four stone beads, did not react at all.

The Lord did not see. The Lord did not care. The Lord thought he was right. No matter which answer it was, it made the old gentleman feel complicated inside.

After hearing Duncan’s words, Nina’s eyes widened a little. She even looked a bit excited: “That sounds amazing!”

Duncan gave her a light look and said: “You do not need any extra fire…”

Nina did not react for a moment. “Huh? Why?”

Then, before Duncan could answer, she suddenly understood. She waved her hands in a hurry and said: “Oh, I get it, I get it, I can…”

“Do not change here!” Duncan saw the air around Nina already starting to twist a little and quickly cut her off. “Before you can fully control the power brought by the Sun fragment, you are not allowed to try to switch your form in enclosed spaces or in crowded places!”

Nina’s head drooped at once. “Oh…”

Duncan watched the air around the young lady slowly return to normal and felt the heat fade away. Only then did he let out a soft breath of relief.

With the help of this Flame Usurper bearer, the Sun fragment inside Nina was already under control. But clearly, the young lady herself still did not fully realize how powerful the force sleeping inside her really was. No matter how mature and sensible she might be, she was still only sixteen or seventeen. For someone that age, the fresh rush brought by first touching supernatural power was not so easy to suppress.

If there was a chance, he still needed to let her get used to her power more out here on the wide, empty Boundless Sea. On one hand, that would make the Sun fragment more controllable. On the other, it would make her understand just how dangerous that star-born flame really was.

“We might add new members in the future,” Duncan thought for a moment, then said. “So let us treat a dinner like today as the standard process for a new recruit joining. I think it will help deepen the bonds between team members.”

Morris subconsciously glanced at the plate before him and felt that he was seeing the truth hidden behind a warm, cozy scene once again.

Dining together under the gaze of a Subspace shadow, sharing the flesh and blood of a Deep Sea Spawn, and learning rituals and spells to summon supernatural power, this…

The whole set really gave him a strong sense of deja vu.

But what else could he say? He was already a member of this ship. He had already accepted Mr. Duncan’s protection. The flesh of the Deep Sea Spawn, the key part of this ritual, already sat before him. At this point, quitting was impossible. He could only, like the pigeon beside him that had been gobbling fries since just now, calmly accept the fate of “it really is delicious”…

The old gentleman let out a soft sigh in his heart and fully accepted this sudden turn in his fate, while silently comforting himself. From today on, he was like those legendary scholars whose names were worthy of the history books, stepping onto a one way road toward the abyss of truth. There was probably nothing left in this world that could still strike him as strange or sinister.

As he was thinking this, he suddenly heard Miss Alice, who had been silent not far away, break the silence. The beautiful lady had been standing quietly behind Duncan the whole time, and only now did she seem to realize something: “Ah, Captain, does that mean I will not be the only crew member here anymore?”

“You only just realized?” Duncan tilted his head and glanced at the doll. “Of course you are no longer the only crew member here. And before they leave later, you still have to teach them the crew rules, just like Goathead taught you back then.”

Alice froze for a moment, finally understanding what was going on. Then she belatedly smiled and clapped her hands happily. “Great! Then from now on I will…”

The next second, maybe because she was too excited, a familiar sound reached Duncan’s ear. “Pop!”

A head still wearing a golden wig dropped down right beside him and rolled to the middle of the table in full view of everyone.

The table went silent at once, until Shirley’s scream broke it. “Aaah, the head fell off, the head fell off! It fell, it fell, it fell!”

The scene instantly became chaotic. Shirley and Nina shouted in shock, Dog was cursing, and Alice’s stammering cries for help rose again and again. Mixed in with it was AI’s loud cooing. Morris watched all of this with a blank expression and suddenly felt that it might take him much longer to fully get used to this new team…