Chapter 495

Chapter 495: the Vanished’s Eerie Yet Playful Mood

On one side of the long table, Lawrence carefully watched every move everyone made, while also cautiously controlling each of his own expressions and every muscle. He wondered how he should blend naturally into this special gathering without looking like… an outsider.

Stories about legendary investigators and legendary adventurers flooded into his mind, then rolled back like sea water over sand. They left behind a mess of stray thoughts, but nothing that was actually useful.

After letting his thoughts run wild for quite a while, he finally gathered a bit of courage and quietly asked Agatha, who sat closest to him: “When will Captain Duncan probably get here?”

“I do not know either. He said we have to wait for everyone to arrive,” Agatha answered in a low voice. “Let’s be patient.”

“Are there any rules for later?” Lawrence asked softly again. “This is my first time at one of these meetings…”

“It is my first time too.” Agatha folded her hands over her chest. She looked as if she were praying silently, but like Lawrence she was carefully watching everything in the cabin. Although she knew the faces around the long table, this was indeed her first visit to the ship. “But I do not think you need to be nervous. We have worked with each other in the city-state. Everyone is very friendly.”

Lawrence made a small sound of understanding, but still could not sit still. He could not help glancing past her to Vanna, who sat one seat farther away – the Pland Inquisitor counted as something of an “acquaintance” of his: “Lady Inquisitor, this is my first time at a meeting. If I do anything rude later, please help me out…”

Before Vanna could answer, Shirley across the table suddenly cut in: “Huh? You want her to watch out for you being rude? Old man, let me tell you, when she loses her manners the noise she makes is way bigger than you. Back then she did a jumping chop and…”

“Ahem.” Vanna started coughing loudly at once, cutting off Shirley’s story. While Lawrence was still stunned, Nina across the table put down her book, looked around, and muttered: “I’m hungry. When are we eating?”

Shirley shook her head: “Dinner is still a long way off.”

Nina blinked. “Huh? Then why are we in the dining room?”

“The captain said there was something important to discuss. You did not hear?”

“I did not… I was busy reading. Uncle Duncan said to gather in the dining room, so I just brought my book over,” Nina said, her head swaying back and forth. “Who has food?”

“I have biscuits! And salted dried fish!” Alice jumped to her feet at once, happily pulling snacks from the pockets of her dress. “Who else wants some?”

Nina and Shirley pounced on her at once in excitement. Dragged by his chain, Dog tilted to the side, scratching at his chart paper with his paws while he shouted: “Hey, Shirley, at least say something before you get up! You made me skew my plotted course…”

Lawrence stared, dumbfounded, as the atmosphere in this gloomy, solemn meeting hall suddenly turned lively. He hesitated, then turned to glance at Morris, the only one still sitting upright. Morris took the pipe from his mouth, gave Lawrence a friendly nod, and said: “You will get used to it. The ship is like this every day. If you get hungry, just tell Alice – she is in charge of everyone’s meals.”

Lawrence felt his thoughts creak and turn halfway around. He spoke with some effort: “Uh, I… am not hungry.”

No sooner had the words left his mouth than he caught, from the corner of his eye, a flash of eerie green light near the dining-room doors. He tensed up at once, nerves jolted. But just as he was about to warn everyone, the doors opened, and the one who walked in was not the master of the Vanished.

Tyrian appeared in the doorway with a suitcase in hand, his steps a little unsteady, staring blankly at the scene in the dining room.

Shirley had climbed onto the table. Dog hung in midair. Nina was hanging off Alice. And Alice – the living doll who wore the face of Frostholm’s Queen – now held both hands high, one stuffed full of biscuits, the other crammed with dried fish.

The Gatekeeper of Frostholm and the Inquisitor of Pland sat expressionless on the far side of the table, quietly covering their foreheads with their hands.

Tyrian’s arrival drew everyone’s attention. Even Shirley, about to stuff more dried fish into her mouth, paused. Several gazes along the long table fell on Frostholm’s newly appointed governor all at once. The neat, unified stare made even the “Steel Vice Admiral”, who had weathered countless storms, step back half a pace without thinking.

But this was not Tyrian’s first time seeing the Vanished’s current atmosphere. He recovered quickly, adjusted his expression, and walked toward the long table while greeting everyone warmly. He was polite and well-mannered; no one looking at him now would have guessed that for the last half century he had roamed this Frost Sea as a pirate lord.

“Sorry, it took a bit of time to get my things together and kept everyone waiting,” Tyrian said as he came to an empty seat at the long table. He set the rather heavy suitcase on the table, then looked around. “Has Father not arrived yet?”

Almost the instant the words left Tyrian’s mouth, Duncan’s voice suddenly sounded at the head of the long table: “I am here.”

The next second, a mass of ghost-green flame flared out of thin air at the far end of the table. It surged upward and exploded, then fell toward the table. Within the fire, Duncan’s figure took shape, solidified, and sat down in the chair that belonged to him at the head of the long table.

A moment later, with a few faint whooshing sounds, every light in the cabin took on a layer of eerie green radiance.

A low, unsettling creaking rose up from the depths of the ship.

Morris’s expression changed slightly. He could feel it: the very “mood” of the ship was shifting.

The captain was adjusting the Vanished into some kind of… defensive posture!

Right after that, he heard the captain’s voice speak from within the flames: “What I am going to say today is extremely special and dangerous, so we need the highest level of protection. From this moment on, the Vanished will sink into the Spirit Realm. During the meeting, those of you with firm faith, keep a close watch on your own mental state. When you hear secrets that point toward a God, if you hear or see any ‘revelation’, report it to me at once.”

Vanna, Morris, and Agatha glanced at one another without thinking. They hesitated only for a heartbeat, then nodded slightly.

Duncan’s gaze fell on Tyrian: “Did you bring the scrying crystal?”

“Yes.” Tyrian spoke at once, then lifted his hand to open the heavy case he had brought. Inside lay the scrying crystal that held extraordinary power and the complex lens array device. He began to work the intricate mechanisms on the lens base, setting each lens into its proper place.

In the next moment, the scrying crystal slowly began to glow.

After a short wait, a blurry human shape appeared in the faint light, then quickly came into focus.

Lucretia’s figure appeared inside the scrying crystal – for one brief instant, then the picture flickered and vanished.

Nina, who was leaning over beside it, watching curiously, was instantly baffled. She turned to Tyrian: “Did it break?”

Tyrian rubbed his chin in some embarrassment: “…She fell off her chair.”

No sooner had he spoken than rustling and the sound of clutter being pushed aside came from inside the scrying crystal. Lucretia finally appeared again in the center of the image. The Sea Witch stared at the scene on this side of the crystal with a look of shocked tension, then glared at Tyrian: “Brother! What are you doing?!”

“It was I who told him to bring the crystal to the Vanished, Lucy,” Duncan’s voice came from the side before Tyrian could speak. “But I did not expect him to forget to warn you in advance. Do not be afraid. Talking with your own Father for a few minutes is not enough for the curse to cling to you.”

Lucretia’s expression in the scrying crystal looked strange. She clearly had not been ready for this sudden meeting and conversation, and seemed a little ill at ease. But she quickly sensed the unusually serious mood on this side. Her small unease was pressed down at once and replaced by an effort to regain her composure: “Father, it has been a long time. I am sorry, I did not mean to…”

“It has not actually been that long – do not worry about it. I understand your reaction.” Duncan gave a small smile, then lifted his head and gestured to the others around the long table. “Let us start with a brief introduction, Lucy. These are the Vanished’s new crew members, and the new captain of the Vanished Fleet…”

He introduced the people around the long table one by one. Those he called by name stood up and nodded in greeting. At last he pointed at the figure in the scrying crystal: “This is my daughter, Lucretia – many of you should already know of her, so there is no need to say much more.”

“The famous Frontier Adventurer, the Sea Witch who has made great contributions in the field of occult studies,” Morris said with an immediate nod. “It is an honor to meet you, my lady.”

Lucretia gave a reserved little nod: “I have heard your name as well. Even in Lightwind Harbor and Morka, the senior professors of Truth Academy often quote many of your results and views when they are discussing problems.”

Once she calmed down, the Sea Witch looked dignified and steady. She sat straight within the scrying crystal, every small movement showing confidence and grace.

She did not look at all like someone who had just fallen out of her chair.

“All right, that is enough introductions and small talk,” Duncan cut in at the right moment. “Now for the real business.”

His gaze swept over everyone present.

Everyone had arrived.

Even Goathead, who could not leave the captain’s cabin, was listening in with Duncan’s permission.

Duncan let out a light breath and broke the silence:

“To put it simply, Agatha and I successfully carried out a Deep Dive beneath Frostholm. Our exact depth surpassed that of the Abyssal Trench Project half a century ago. During the Deep Dive, we saw many horrifying scenes and learned truths enough to overturn many people’s understanding.

“First, we confirmed the structure at the bottom of the city-state – there is some kind of enormous biological mass down there…”