Chapter 481

Chapter 481: Deeper in the Deep Sea

In that instant, strange and chaotic sensations suddenly flooded into Duncan’s mind. Just like during his past “Spirit Realm walks”, he felt his “viewpoint” split in two, and a brand?new shell became a new “end” through which he sensed the world. But… it still felt a bit different from before.

In his new “viewpoint”, restless streams of light filled everything like interference. Bands of light and shadow, bright and dark, spread through the water like scanning lines. He saw the distant “original landmass” shrouded in darkness, the countless Humanoid Husks floating around it, and at the same time he also saw the inconspicuous submersible—it was hovering above the Deep Sea floating island at a slant, maintaining a forward?tilted angle, pale light extending out from its front and slowly fading into the water.

All of this was wrapped in flickering, half?real light and shadow. Even in places beyond the submersible’s searchlights, he could still “see” outlines and faint glimmers. It was a completely new way of seeing.

Outside the porthole, in the Deep Sea, the shell that had suddenly begun to move slowly raised an arm and touched its own featureless head.

Of course, Duncan did not find his eyes—this body he had just taken over had no such organs. In fact, it did not even have fully formed hands and feet. The bare ends of its limbs touched the smooth, flat face, and a rough, dull, oddly numb sensation came back to him.

Then, all of a sudden, Duncan had a feeling… Following that feeling, he controlled his new shell, stretched out both arms, and pressed hard on the body’s “face”.

The pitch?black, mud?like face with its smooth surface squirmed. Within a few seconds, the front of the face split and formed two eyes.

His vision became much clearer at once.

Somewhat clumsily, Duncan controlled this Rough Husk body and slowly swam to the front of the submersible, using his newly formed eyes to look inside.

He and himself stared at each other. The feeling was both novel and eerie.

Inside the submersible, Agatha could not help letting out a delayed cry: “Ah!”

Only then did she realize what had happened. She jerked her head toward Duncan, who was standing at the console: “You… really startled me.”

“You should learn to get used to it,” Duncan said inside the submersible without looking back, still watching the state of the machinery. “People around me are always a bit too easily spooked.”

Agatha still had not recovered. Her whole body stayed tense, her “gaze” darting quickly back and forth between Duncan and the “human shape” outside the hull. Only one thought filled her mind—

[People in this world really did have good reason to fear Captain Duncan. Even in this endless Deep Sea, what he had just done so offhandedly was far too uncanny and terrifying.]

But after hesitating for a long time, she still did not dare say what was in her head aloud. She could only forcefully change the subject: “…What are you going to do next?”

“This temporary shell can see in the dark. I am going to keep checking what’s ahead,” Duncan said casually. At the same time, he had already begun to pull a series of levers and cranks on the console, and with his movements, the machinery bay of the submersible once again filled with strained noises on the verge of failure. “As for us… we need to rise a bit. This machine is about to give out. It can’t stay at its maximum depth for long.”

Amid the low roar of the ballast tanks struggling to pump out water, the submersible began to slowly rise. Yet Agatha still could not help staring out the porthole at that “human shape” slowly receding in the light.

A faint wisp of fire suddenly appeared in the water. The shell carrying Captain Duncan’s will waved toward them, then turned around and, wrapped in drifting spirit form flame, slowly sank into the depths of the darkness.

Cold. Dark. Lonely. Silent.

Duncan’s consciousness slowly adapted inside this temporary shell in its uncanny state. He turned the body, swam, moved forward through the darkness, and kept approaching the main island of Frostholm floating in the Deep Sea.

The submersible’s light had already receded, and darkness once more ruled this part of the Deep Sea. Yet the ghostly green fire of his spirit form spread slowly through the water. That faint glow, together with this body’s strange sensing abilities, let Duncan always make out his surroundings and the direction he was heading.

All around him, countless Humanoid Husks floated in the icy water.

It was like an extremely grotesque gathering. Rough Husks in the shape of “people” clustered on all sides, near and far, frozen and blind, rising and falling slightly with the currents. Only the one shell with eyes was moving through this silent, eerie “crowd”.

Duncan did his best not to touch the “human shapes” drifting near him, yet he still inevitably brushed past them at very close range.

Every time he passed them, he could not help imagining strange and terrifying things—as if there were countless pairs of eyes here, countless souls waiting to wake, curiously watching him, this uninvited guest, ready to reach out to him at any time.

But in the end, nothing happened.

Those silent human shapes just stayed silent. They had no mind and no soul, like hollow dolls piled together out of mud.

Duncan passed through these empty shells and reached a cliff on the edge of the “Deep Sea floating island”.

He stopped and studied the terrain in front of him.

This should be the southeastern coast of Frostholm. In the world above the surface, there was the harbor, warehouses, and the customs office near this stretch of shore. A pretty little Cathedral stood on the sea cliff, and hardy trees, evergreen in winter, lined the path leading up to the Cathedral.

But here, on the rugged coast, there were only bare rocks with a strange, pitch?black sheen, like rough models that had not yet been painted.

Duncan raised his head and looked toward the center of the Deep Sea floating island.

Between darkness and faint light, he could just make out some huge structure there, like a mountain peak or a giant pillar running through the island.

He thought of the scene Martha had shown him when they spoke before—

Countless minds, falling into the sea, had cast one last glance toward that dark abyss before they faded. The shared impression they had formed in their terror was a giant pillar running through a vast entity floating in the Deep Sea.

Now it seemed that the huge entity shown in that vision was this “original Blueprint” of Frostholm before his eyes. Then what about the giant pillar that pierced the island? Was it the Abyssal Lord who had “intruded” into the Mortal Realm? Or… the so?called replica?

Duncan thought for a moment, then set off swimming toward that “pillar”. But after only a short distance, he stopped again, feeling a bit troubled.

It was too far. It would be like crossing half a city?state.

A horse could die of exhaustion just trying to reach that distant mountain—let alone here in the Deep Sea, where movement was so hard.

Even if this body was unaffected by the crushing pressure of the Deep Sea, swimming all the way there would still be a slow and exhausting job.

As Duncan pondered, a thought slowly emerged.

After hesitating for a few seconds, he raised one arm in the water and gave it a light wave, deciding to try and see.

Ghost?green flame spread out with his motion and, in the blink of an eye, gathered into a spinning doorway. When the doorway opened, a skeletal bird wrapped in blazing fire burst out of it and circled Duncan, squawking loudly:

“Who is calling the fleet! teleportation successful! teleportation successful! Open up, delivery service!”

Duncan stared in stunned surprise, eyes wide.

AI flapped its wings beside him. In this Deep Sea, under the weight of hundreds of millions of tons of seawater, it still moved as lightly and freely as if it were flying in the sky. Its sharp female voice, unique and sounding like some kind of pitch?shifted synthetic tone, was just as noisy as ever, clear enough to drill straight into a person’s head.

The Deep Sea environment might as well not exist for AI!

Duncan had only intended to try, summoning AI to see if she could be of any use. After all, this pigeon’s “teleportation” ability had already shown unbelievable usefulness many times. But this was the Deep Sea, completely different from the surface. He had been ready to teleport AI back to the ship at once if she could not adapt to the environment. Yet what he saw now… was completely beyond his expectations.

He just stared, dumbfounded, as the pigeon flew around him as if it were in open air, squawking noisily. It moved through the water like a projection untouched by the environment. After staring for quite a while, he finally reached out a hand to stop the bird.

AI obediently landed on Duncan’s arm and tilted her head curiously: “Whatcha doing, whatcha doing, whatcha doing?”

Duncan was about to speak when he suddenly realized this body did not seem to have a mouth. Even if it had one, he did not know how to speak directly in the Deep Sea. So he focused his mind instead, trying to pass his thoughts to this pigeon spirit—

“This is the Deep Sea. Do you feel any discomfort?”

He fixed his gaze on AI’s eyes, wondering if she could understand him and waiting for her answer.

AI tilted her head again.

“GG, you came surfing too!” the bird suddenly flapped her wings in excitement. Sparks of ghostly green light scattered from between her bone wings. “Skywing 3G, so fast! Skywing 3G, so fast!”

Duncan’s expression shifted a little. He listened to the pigeon spirit’s noise, deep in thought, and did not speak for a long time.

Only when AI gradually quieted down and pecked his arm curiously did she speak again: “Application not responding?”

That finally jolted Duncan out of his thoughts, and his mind quickly returned to the matter at hand.

There was serious work to do.

He raised his head and looked at the distant, chaotic darkness ahead. Focusing his mind again, he tried to pass his command to the pigeon spirit beside him—

“Take me to that place.”

“Order received! Order received!” AI reacted at once. As always, she flapped her wings in excitement, making roaring flames surge around them. “Mission will be accomplished!”