Deep Sea Embers

The captain's words were like the cool night wind, passing through the increasingly dim stairs. Alice subconsciously crossed her arms and followed Duncan closer. As she went further down, she finally saw what the captain said: " What does "the light is black" mean.

There are indeed lights in the lower cabin - at least in terms of structure and layout, the cabin she saw also has the same support pillars as above, and oil lamps that will not go out are hung on the support pillars. Those oil lamps are burning, but The burning flame of the lamp instead causes the area near the oil lamp to appear dimmer than the distance away.

Yes, the closer you are to the oil lamp, the dimmer the light. The oil lamp itself is almost shrouded in shadow, and you can only vaguely see some outlines. However, the farther away from the oil lamp, the light gradually increases—— The brightness in the most corner of the cabin is even close to that of the upper cabins.

I saw this on the stairs before - from the visual effect, it was as if these lights were actively releasing darkness, neutralizing and annihilating the original light in the cabin.

Alice stared at the cabin, which was in a dark state as a whole, and after a long time she said, "Is this... is this reasonable?"

"You, an unreasonable doll, are here to tell me about rationality?" Duncan glanced at Alice, who was obviously nervous. "Under the surface of the boundless sea, the most unreasonable place is the rationality of things."

When he said this, his expression was quite indifferent, as if this evil situation was already a minor disturbance that he was used to, but in fact, his reaction in his heart was exactly the same as Alice's - even the undead doves on his shoulders suddenly flapped their wings. He expressed his true feelings: "Is it true? Is it true? Is it true..."

Duncan ignored the chattering of the pigeons on his shoulders, and instead carefully observed the cabin that he had never set foot in. At the same time, he adjusted the angle of the lantern in his hand, trying to understand the environment here through the changes in light and shadow.

Below the waterline of the Lost Home... the lights in the cabin are "reverse phase".

The lamp does not seem to emit light, but absorbs the original light in the space, just like... some kind of "mirror of the world."

However, the spiritual glow released by the lantern in Duncan's hand followed the normal lighting rules: the area around the lantern was very bright, and the further away it became, the darker it became.

Is there any rationale behind this? Is this just the influence of The Expanse, or is it mixed with the characteristics of Homeless itself? Is the "bright environment" in the cabin real? If those "light-absorbing" oil lamps were extinguished, would this become a brighter place?

For a moment, Duncan actually had this bold idea in his mind. He was really thinking about what would happen if the oil lamps on this floor were extinguished. However, the next moment, he abruptly stopped this obvious The thought that something is wrong.

He couldn't turn off the lights here - even if it seemed like these lights were causing the entire cabin to be dark, there must be a reason why they were lit here!

It suddenly occurred to him that in the city-state of Puland, the information he received was that "burning flames can drive away strange dangers" - in this statement, it is actually the "flame" itself that has the effect, not the light emitted by the flame. , does this mean that under certain circumstances, the light and darkness in this world will be "inverted", and under such inverted conditions, the only thing worthy of belief is the "flame" itself?

Does this also indirectly explain why the light emitted by the "electric lamp" has no exorcism effect - because it is just light, it lacks the element of "flame".

"Captain?" Alice's voice suddenly came from the side. Miss Doll's voice was filled with nervousness and concern, "Is there anything unusual here?"

"Nothing unusual." Duncan replied calmly without changing his expression, while slowly walking forward.

Those "light-absorbing" oil lamps were burning quietly on the support pillars on both sides, and some scattered ropes were piled around the pillars. When Duncan walked between them, the oil lamps hanging on the pillars made a slight crackle. There was a sound, and the rope on the ground slowly wriggled backwards to make way for the captain.

For some reason, Duncan suddenly thought of a sentence:

Light and shadow are illusions brought by the deep sea. Under the sea level that is no longer credible, only the flame itself still loyally guards the wealth of the Lost Home.

He looked at the quietly burning lights and nodded slightly, as if to express recognition and gratitude.

So the next second, all the oil lamps in the entire cabin became more powerful visible to the naked eye, and each glass lampshade

The entire cabin is darker...

Duncan: "..."

He suddenly regretted boasting too early. He should have waited until he was ready to return before injecting blood into these oil lamps.

Alice followed, and the doll carefully observed the surroundings. She saw large barrels and some crates piled in the corners of the cabin, as well as some closed rooms and corridors leading to unknown places, and whispered He muttered: "This seems to be a warehouse too... Was this once a cargo ship?"

"If it were a cargo ship, the cargo would not be placed so deep - there is a concept called transportation cost," Duncan shook his head and said casually, "These are ocean supplies, for the Homeless Ship itself during its long voyage. Consumed."

Alice blinked: "Ocean supply?"

Duncan said nothing, but stepped forward to inspect some of the goods closest to him.

Some of the barrels contained some kind of grease. It was dark brown and had a sticky texture, but it didn’t have a strong smell. It might be some kind of fuel, but it had obviously been piled here for a long time. Duncan even suspected that the fuel was stored in the Lost Home. They were "inventory" before it became a ghost ship. They might have been used for lighting and exorcism, but after the ship became a ghost ship, many things in the cargo hold were no longer of use.

In another part of the barrel, Duncan saw something familiar.

Cheese that is older than him, bacon that can crack mountains and rocks.

Duncan silently resealed the lid.

On this level, most places are piled with material reserves. Although a considerable part of them seem to be no longer useful on today's ghost ship, it is enough to prove his previous judgment about the Lost Home:

This ship, at least when it was originally built, was prepared for some kind of ocean exploration. It could carry a large amount of supplies, and there were strict safety measures between each supply warehouse to prevent the spread of fire or damage by insects and rats. Supplies.

Considering that there are a large number of artillery and a large ammunition depot on the upper floor of the ship, he can almost guess what kind of ambitious exploration dream this ship once carried in the beginning - it was the most distant route and the most dangerous. The journey requires facing the most dangerous environment and the most dangerous enemies, and such a journey of exploration requires a whole ship of loyal and outstanding sailors and a steadfast captain to complete.

However, now, this exploration plan that may have existed has disappeared with the wind, and the ambitious Homeless Ship has become the most terrifying natural disaster in the boundless sea. The sailors have disappeared, and only a ghost captain is still in control. This ghost ship has lost its purpose.

He and Alice continued to walk forward and entered a corridor after passing several independent warehouses. If the structure of this floor corresponded to the upper floor, then the stairs leading to the lower floor should be deep in the corridor.

"I feel... it's getting more and more gloomy..." Miss Doll crossed her arms and whispered while looking around cautiously, "Have you heard the wind? Why is there the wind in the cabin?"

"I heard it, don't be nervous, it's normal," Duncan said casually, and then glanced at the puppet, "Why are you so timid? You at least have the name Anomaly 099, right?"

As he spoke, he also thought about the information he had previously received from Nina - in this world, there are many lists of "abnormalities" and "anomalies" that are open to the public. These lists can help people avoid The dangers that may be encountered in daily life or the timely identification of some abnormal and out-of-control signs, but this list is not complete. Only those anomalies and anomalies that are "closer to the general public due to controlled threats or special nature" are open to the public. , the anomalies and anomalies that ordinary people have no chance to encounter in life are obviously not among them.

He once tried to ask Nina about Anomaly 099, but the girl had never seen this number in the textbook.

This shows that Alice, the "cursed doll", either has a special secret that has been blocked by the authorities and the church, or... that she is so dangerous that she has always been strictly isolated from civilized society. Therefore, there will be no interaction with ordinary people at all.

No matter which reason it is, it is enough to make this doll lady a little more mysterious in Duncan's eyes.

But after hearing Duncan's words, this mysterious doll just shrank its neck and looked nervous: "It's not like you can be brave just because you have a number. I'm Anomaly 099, and I'm not Courage 099..."

Duncan sighed, thinking that the thing in front of her was probably not the most embarrassing anomaly in the world. It was a shame that the sailors who escorted her before were so nervous...