Chapter 604

Chapter 604: Duncan’s Way of Solving the Problem

The image in the mirror slowly faded, but Duncan still stood in front of it and stayed deep in thought for a long time.

He had never hidden his situation with his avatar form from Lucretia, nor had he concealed the powers linked to those avatar forms. His messenger Ai could move quickly between the beacons formed by his avatar forms, and his power and main consciousness could switch between avatar forms in an instant. This ability was powerful and convenient, but in Lightwind Harbor he had not arranged any such avatar form.

One reason, of course, was that he really had not found a “suitable” vessel. But he had not told anyone the more important reason.

He looked at the mirror in front of him and studied the face he now wore.

He did not know when it had begun, but he had already become completely used to this face that had once been so strange, this powerful body, this stern and gloomy look. It had become the “name” under which he lived in this world.

A soul named Zhou Ming occupied this shell, just as it occupied the other two bodies in Pland and Frostholm. As time passed, he had adapted to all of them, and adapted very well.

He also believed that even if he gained new long-term avatar forms, he would quickly adapt. Whether there was one, ten, or even more, he could adapt.

He found that his mind was far tougher and more… strange than he had imagined. Holding several identities and several lives at the same time did not put much burden on him. The split personality and mental problems he had once worried about had never appeared.

But he still, without thinking, held back the urge to create new avatar forms and suppressed the idea of finding a corpse in Lightwind Harbor to serve as a beacon.

What Duncan worried about was not losing himself because he had too many avatar forms. He knew that the leftover feelings and memories he picked up when he occupied these bodies had only the tiniest influence on him. Those weak wills could not shake his mind in the slightest.

He worried about something else.

If he slowly turned “occupying corpses” into a habit and treated holding many fates in his hands as just a casual “way to get things done”, then someday something worse than “losing himself” might happen. After he had occupied dozens or even hundreds of living lives, would he still handle the “aftermath” of those avatar forms as carefully as he did now?

By then, there might be another Nina, but he would no longer be a responsible Uncle Duncan.

Humanity slipped away without people noticing.

So after he realized this, he decided he must treat the matter of adding new avatar forms with extra care from now on, unless the situation was truly suitable or absolutely necessary.

Of course, temporarily occupying some cultists’ bodies for investigation did not count in this caution. Those were single-use, “daily-disposable” consumables.

A thin layer of black smoke quietly rose in the mirror, and Agatha’s figure appeared deep inside the smoke.

Seeing the captain looking into the mirror, Agatha quickly shrank back, pulling her image into one corner of the mirror. Then she looked at Duncan and asked: “Are you still thinking about that ‘suggestion’ Miss Lucretia just gave you?”

“…Maybe she still has some doubts about me,” Duncan sighed softly. “There was a bit of testing in her suggestion. But that is not what I am thinking about now.”

Agatha nodded and did not keep asking. She changed the topic instead: “What plans do we have next?”

“It is very simple. The Vanished will keep sailing north on this side until we pass the northern channel of Lightwind Harbor. We will see whether the dream of the Nameless One still appears when we open such a long distance, and see whether that reflected Vanished still shows up in Atlantis’s dream. Vanna and the others will keep acting according to the earlier plan. Right now, the most important thing to watch is Rabby. That rabbit is hiding on the ship of the Annihilators, and those cultists will hold a gathering before nightfall today. I am very curious… what they plan to do at that gathering.”

As he spoke, Duncan let out a soft breath, and there was a hint of expectation in his expression: “Next, we just wait for more news from Lucretia.”

Agatha listened in silence. When the captain finished, she finally could not hold back and raised a question she had been curious about for a long time: “Then if the dream of the Nameless One really appears again without being affected, how will you go to that ‘reflected Vanished’ sailing in the dark fog? Your true body is staying on the ship right now, and that ‘vine’ will only appear in Lightwind Harbor…”

Duncan smiled as he looked at Agatha in the corner of the mirror: “Do you remember? Last time, the dream of the Nameless One ended early exactly because I touched the vine from the mortal realm and entered that dark space. I took the helm of the reflected Vanished as an ‘outsider’. After I came back to the mortal realm, I told you I had an idea to solve this problem.”

Agatha frowned in confusion and said: “The idea you mentioned…”

Duncan kept smiling and turned his head to look at the view outside the window. In the mirror in front of him, he slowly lowered his head and looked at Agatha, who shared the same mirror surface with him.

The Duncan in the mirror bent down and tapped the now shrunken image of Agatha, who was only about the size of a palm: “This is my idea.”

Agatha froze for a moment. In the mirror world, she lifted her head and saw that the captain had also entered the mirror world. After staring blankly for two or three seconds, she finally let out a soft cry – and then shattered across the floor.

The Duncan inside the mirror sighed helplessly, bent down, and picked up Agatha piece by piece. As he put her back together, he muttered: “You should try to use more flexible thinking when facing life on this ship. When it comes to adaptability, you should learn more from Morris or Vanna – the former can even accept Shirley’s homework notebook now…”

…

Lucretia sat in front of the mirror, spacing out for a while. She did not know how much time had passed before she heard Rabby the rabbit’s voice coming from the nearby scrying crystal: “Mistress, are you worried that Old Master is angry with you?”

Lucretia turned her head: “Why do you say that?”

“Because the suggestion you made at the end sounded like you were testing Old Master, testing whether he still keeps a normal person’s understanding and ‘humanity’. Old Master might care about that…”

“I did not mean to test Father. I just… did not think that much,” Lucretia said casually. Then she frowned and looked at the faint image in the scrying crystal. “But you, you even had the free time to listen in on my conversation with Father – you sound very free.”

“Rabby is easing stress, Rabby is in danger~~ Rabby must finish the task Mistress gave in the best state~~~” The sharp and annoying tone of the stuffed rabbit doll came at once from the scrying crystal. “There are only scary cultists here. They are stupid and ugly. Rabby has to talk with Mistress to keep the right state, to avoid~ eating them~~ all up~~~”

Lucretia ignored the ridiculous, eerie parts of Rabby’s chatter and said with a blank face: “Whatever. I don’t care how you plan to finish the task. If that ‘Saint’ really finds you, don’t expect me to come save you.”

“But Mistress will surely come. Rabby knows~~ you will find Rabby again in the spirit realm, then sew Rabby into a new little doll~~ can it be a little bear next time?”

“You talk too much.” Lucretia casually tapped the scrying crystal.

The rabbit finally quieted down.

…

The massive Visions 001 was slowly sinking. sunlight turned into brilliant evening glow across the waves. The light coming in through the window seemed gentle. After a whole day of rest, the Death-Omen Bird’s condition had finally improved a lot.

The time for the gathering was almost here. He could already hear footsteps now and then outside the cabin, and the sound of comrades greeting one another.

The tall, thin man with a harsh face got up from the bed and listened to the sounds outside.

He had spent almost the whole day lying on this bed to adjust his own state and the Death-Omen Bird’s state. Now he had had enough of lying there.

The Annihilator named Richard let out a long breath, walked to the wardrobe in the corner, and took out the black hooded robe he needed to wear to the gathering.

He did not actually like this kind of robe. Most dark cultists were used to this outfit and believed that clothes that covered the whole body helped settle the mind and helped them draw closer to the Lord’s enlightenment in meditation, but he had never thought so.

This kind of robe was not comfortable to wear, and it was not fit for moving around in the city-states at all. It had an old, stubborn feel. Wearing it made a person feel like one of those exiled prisoners from hundreds of years ago, hiding in holes in the ground and slowly rotting. Its “settling the mind” effect was even more laughable.

How could a truly devout follower need a robe to focus his mind and draw closer to the Holy Lord?

But now, Richard found that he had started to like this outfit.

It did not feel so bad to hide his whole body among his comrades.

He put the robe on and pulled the hood down as far as it would go until it covered his eyes. As a feeling of ease rose in his heart, he sighed softly, then walked to the door.

Before he opened the cabin door, a sudden breeze blew through the room. It felt as if a light body had leaped and pounced over. Richard felt a slight weight on himself, as if something had hung onto his shoulder.

A light voice spoke by his ear: “You took Rabby’s cotton… Now, let us set out.”

“All right, let us set out.”

Richard muttered softly. As his vocal cords and windpipe vibrated, he seemed to feel something in his chest itching, warm and soft…

It was only cotton.

The cotton was growing.

He smiled with relief and reached out to open the door.

Figures wearing the same black hooded robes were walking along the corridor, heading to the gathering hall deep in the ship. They spoke in low voices about the dream of the Nameless One, the Saint, allies, and news about the Ender.

Then Richard and Rabby set out.