ASHES OF DEEP SEA

Chapter 216: Chapter 220 “Group

Those who encountered the Homeloss would ineѵitably establish a “connection” with Duncan, and from another perspective, Duncan, the “Outsider,” indeed needed to build such connections within this world as well—only by mastering as many channels of knowledǥe and support as possible could he further understand this world, the Transcendent realm, and even… understand himself.

Morris and others were brought aboard perhaps out of urgency, but even if they hadn’t boarded today, Duncan had plans to expand his “influence” in this world, and in his view, the few individuals now gathered on the Homeloss were indeed suitable candidates.

Morris, an outstanding historian and scholar, a Believer of the Wisdom God, possessed valuable knowledge, which was exactly what Duncan was currently lacking. Moreover, this gentleman also had a certain network and status in the civilized world as a “high-society” figure, which could prove very useful when the time was right.

Sherry and A Dog, a controlled Profound Demon and the Demon Symbiosis Summoner, possessed both combat power and knowledge about the Abstruse Domain and even some Subspace knowledge. This knowledge complemented that of Morris, the “Human Scholar.” In addition, this duo had a special sense, able to detect traces left by Transcendent forces at no or minimal cost.

Nina, the well-behaved and adorable niece.

Incidentally, the current vessel for the Sun Shard.

Duncan’s gaze slowly swept over the long table, where the faces around it were tense, restrained, or filled with innocent curiosity.

They seemed not yet to realize that a very special “team” was forming in this dinner, and binding this team together was their current identity:

The crew members of Homeloss.

“My previous promise still stands, the identity of being a crew member on Homeloss will not restrict your personal freedom. I don’t need forced loyalty, nor any sacrifices or tributes—none of that means anything to me,” Duncan said slowly, his voice low and the gentle sound of waves emanated from the porthole nearby, “Yet considering the connection that has already been established between us, this connection could perhaps be regarded as the foundation of a… loose team.

“Frankly, I have been away from the civilized world for many years—Morris should be well aware that Homeloss hasn’t had any contact with any City-State in the past century. There are many thrilling and terrifying stories about me and this ship in the civilized world. I admit some basis in fact, for in many years…this ship has been out of control.

“But as you can see, I have reclaimed my humanity and re-stabilized the condition of Homeloss, and now… I am quite interested in the civilized world a century later.”

Duncan spoke unhurriedly; these were thoughts he had pondered deeply while fishing earlier—he needed “to recruit crew members,” but the ominous background of Homeloss meant the newcomers wouldn’t be in the best state of mind upon joining, hence he needed a rational, gentle, legitimate reason to soothe the newcomers’ emotions. So, the first step was to establish an image of a “reasonable and friendly” captain.

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Homeloss had been out of control, but now the captain had reclaimed his humanity and regained control of the ship, which was the premise for the team’s formation.

As for whether the newcomers believed it… that was their problem.

It must be said that fishing indeed was a leisure activity conducive to nurturing the body and mind, and conducive for contemplation—Duncan felt he should indeed thank nature’s gifts… or perhaps the thanks could go to the offspring of The Abyss.

Hearing Duncan’s words, Morris’s face immediately displayed a thoughtful expression. He still couldn’t believe that what he heard was real, and indeed still couldn’t believe that Homeloss was the true appearance of the ship, but recalling Duncan’s consistently friendly attitude, he gradually began to… convince himself.

At least if this was true, the friendly behavior of the Subspace Shadow would become a little more credible.

Sherry was still pondering, not fully grasping the situation, while A Dog, seated next to her, had already caught on. The Abyssal Hound boldly glanced at Duncan: “So you mean, you need us… to be your followers, to do some things for you in the world?”

“Only possibly,” Duncan replied with a smile, “when I need it. Besides, I don’t think that relationship should be considered as ‘followers’—you are crew members, so just calling me Captain will suffice, or you may use the same names as before.”

Sherry and A Dog uttered an understanding “oh,” and after a moment’s thought, Morris suddenly spoke up: “How will you contact us then? Ah, of course, I know you have an incarnation in the Plunder City-State, but what I mean is…”

“I understand what you mean,” Duncan interrupted gently nodding, “If I want to find you, naturally I’ll find you immediately. If you encounter situations that require contacting me, you can just call my name or the name of Homeloss near a smooth mirror, and I can hear you. Additionally, flame can augment my power, so if you’re in danger, you can light a flame after calling my name.”

Morris listened, a complex expression on his face. After all, he was still a Believer of the Wisdom God and yet he was half willingly joining such a “heretical group,” even learning knowledge from a Subspace Shadow, which made him somewhat uncomfortable. But what made him even more uncomfortable was… the charm bracelet on his wrist, with its remaining four pebbles, showed no reaction whatsoever at that moment.

The Lord didn’t see, the Lord didn’t care, the Lord thought what you did was right—whichever answer it was, it all made the old man’s emotions quite complex.

Nina’s eyes widened slightly after hearing Duncan’s words, her face even showing a bit of excitement, “That sounds so cool!”

Duncan glanced at her indifferently, “You don’t need any additional flames…”

Nina was momentarily puzzled, “Huh? Why?”

Then, before Duncan could answer, she realized and quickly waved her hands, “Oh, oh I get it, I get it, I can…”

“Don’t transform here!” Noticing the air around Nina starting to distort subtly, Duncan quickly interrupted, “Until you can master the power of the Sun Shard, do not attempt to switch your form in enclosed spaces or crowded areas!”

Nina immediately drooped her head, “Oh…”

Duncan watched as the air around the girl gradually returned to normal and felt the heat dissipate before he let out a soft sigh of relief.

With the help of this “Usurping Flame,” Nina’s Sun Shard had come under control, but evidently, the girl herself had not fully realized the power dormant within her—no matter how mature and sensible, she was only sixteen or seventeen, and for someone of that age, the novelty and rush of first touching Transcendent power was not so easily suppressed.

There would be an opportunity to let her familiarize herself more with her powers on the open and vast Endless Sea—on the one hand to enhance the controllability of the Sun Shard, and on the other to make her realize just how dangerous that stellar-born fire could be.

“We may add new members in the future,” Duncan thought for a bit and then said, “Let’s make gatherings like today a standard procedure for welcoming newcomers. I think it will help to foster relationships among team members.”

Morris subconsciously glanced at his plate in front of him, feeling as if he had glimpsed some reality beneath the warm atmosphere—

Dining under the watch of the Subspace Shadow, sharing the flesh of deep-sea offspring, learning the rituals and incantations to summon Transcendent forces, this…

This whole set-up indeed had a strong sense of déjà vu.

But what could he say? He was now part of this ship, had accepted Mr. Duncan’s protection, and the flesh of the deep-sea offspring, now a key part of this “ritual,” lay before him; it was certainly not the time to back out, so he could only accept his delicious fate calmly, just like the pigeon next to him that had been eagerly devouring fries since earlier…

The old man sighed silently in his heart, fully accepting this abrupt turn in his destiny, while also reassuring himself—that from today onwards, he, like the legendary scholars who had made history, was on a point of no return journey to the Abyss of truth, and there was probably nothing left in the world that could surprise or bewilder him.

As he was thinking this, he suddenly heard Miss Alice, who had been quiet until now, break the silence—the beautiful lady had been standing quietly behind Duncan, and only now seemed to realize something, “Ah, Captain, does this mean that from now on I won’t be the only crew member here anymore?”

“You’re just realizing this?” Duncan looked at the doll with a slight tilt of his head, “Of course you won’t be the only crew member here anymore. Moreover, before they leave, you’ll need to teach them the crew rules, just like Goat-head taught you.”

Alice was momentarily stunned, finally understanding the current situation. She then smiled belatedly, clapping her hands in delight, “That’s great! So from now on I will…”

The next second, perhaps due to her excitement, a familiar sound rang by Duncan’s ear, “Boing—”

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

The table fell silent for a moment, until Sherry’s cries broke the quiet, “Ahhh—her head fell off, her head fell off! Fell, fell off!”

Chaos ensued, with screams from Sherry and Nina, scolding from Ah Dog, and Alice’s stuttering calls for help intermingled with Ai Yi’s loud cooing; Morris watched all this expressionlessly, suddenly feeling like adapting to this “new team” was going to take a bit longer…

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