Chapter 797: Chapter 794 “Don’t Speak of a Will Too Soon Chapter 797: Chapter 794 “Don’t Speak of a Will Too Soon The colossal illusion quietly dissipated, leaving only fading streaks of light deep within the murky, dusky clouds, and by the helm, the puppet suddenly blinked her eyes as if her soul had just returned to its shell, bringing her expression back to life.

She looked up, seemingly staring into the void at a figure that was quickly vanishing, then excitedly raised her hand and waved vigorously, “Goodbye! Goodbye!”

“Who are you talking to?”

Duncan’s voice came from the side. Alice turned her head and saw the captain and Miss Fenna standing beside her, both wearing somewhat strange expressions on their faces. Fenna, in particular, kept looking up at the sky as if there was some unbelievable spectacle still floating there.

“Navigator Two!” Alice exclaimed jubilantly, not concealing the events that had just occurred, “I felt like I was ‘connected’ with Homeloss just now, and then I bumped into a ram, Agatha shattered all over the place, but she pieced herself back together, and after that, I saw Navigator Two, it said it came to say hi to me, and I saw a big ship flying among the stars, I also had a dream, it was so incredible! I was flying so fast! And and…”

Miss Puppet was obviously over the moon, and once she started talking, she bombarded Duncan and Fenna with an avalanche of words, dense as a rain shower that Duncan’s piling questions got utterly overwhelmed before he found a chance to speak, leaving him completely bemused by the puppet’s tirade…

And what was even more astonishing was that Miss Puppet had rattled on and on, somehow managing to keep each sentence disconnected from the others, with absolutely no logic in the progression, such that even Duncan and Fenna’s combined comprehension failed to discern the meaning behind Alice’s words–of course, this was somewhat related to the fact that Fenna was an athlete…

“Stop, stop, stop. Calm down and start from the beginning,” Duncan finally had to interrupt the excited puppet’s incessant chatter. He first took over Homeloss immediately to prevent any accidents should Alice continue to be linked with the ship, and then, while sizing her up, he asked, “Do you feel anything unusual about yourself now?”

“On me?” Alice finally halted, and upon hearing the captain’s question, she looked down at herself in confusion and shook her head honestly, “Nothing, I feel quite good… but for a while just now, I couldn’t feel my body, that startled me…”

“Couldn’t feel your body?” Duncan frowned slightly, while thinking of the enormous illusion that had appeared behind the high-altitude clouds after Alice took the helm, the numerous “threads” that had connected to her, and the vague “consciousness” that had suddenly emerged within Homeloss, he nodded thoughtfully, “For a short period, your consciousness might indeed have left your shell… Now, tell me exactly what you saw.”

He paused, then added, “Take it slow, one thing at a time, no need to get excited.”

“Oh.” The puppet nodded obediently upon hearing this, then calmly began to organize her thoughts and vocabulary, recounting her recent experiences in detail to the captain.

This included the incident of smashing Agatha to pieces–she still felt quite embarrassed about it.

“You don’t need to worry too much about Agatha; she often falls apart. Sometimes she can split right there on the spot if Sherry doesn’t do her homework,” Duncan listened to the puppet’s narrative, casually waved his hand, “But the appearance of Navigator Two… That’s an unexpected situation. Never thought it would leave such a communicative path in your navigational key.”

As he spoke, he couldn’t help but size up Alice again several times, as if to confirm whether the automaton had undergone any changes or suffered any damage.

“Captain, are you worried?” Alice’s response was sharp, and she immediately waved her hand, “Don’t worry, I am in great shape, and Navigation Unit Two has no ill intent, although I don’t remember anything about it, I can feel that it is friendly.”

“I’m not worried that it has ill intentions, I am just concerned that its mere existence may affect you–after all, strictly speaking, both of you were once part of New Hope, and now there is a significant deviation between your ‘state’ and your ‘essence’. Nobody knows if this change might pose hidden risks,” Duncan said, waving his hand, “But it seems I needn’t worry about it now, since even Navigation Unit Two says that you are fine just the way you are, then I’m relieved.”

Alice scratched her head, hesitated, and then looked at Duncan with a mix of anticipation and hesitation, “Captain, I feel that I have mastered the tricks of the helm and navigation, so when are we setting off next? I have promised Navigation Unit Two that I would be the first to find it.”

“In one day,” Duncan nodded gently, “Goat-head and I are adjusting the state of Homeloss based on the feedback we just received. We will depart in a day. Before that, everyone should rest well and prepare for the next action, and moreover…”

As he spoke, he suddenly lifted his head to glance in the direction of the entrance to the midsection deck cabin but didn’t continue.

Alice also looked up in the direction he indicated, and as if suddenly recalling something, asked, “Right, Captain, where did ‘Sailor’ go? He was at the helm before, I thought he would surely come and see…”

“Oh, don’t worry,” Duncan replied with a strangely amused smile, then raised his eyebrows, “He should appear very soon.”

Alice didn’t understand the reason but nodded in confusion.

But Sailor did not come to the deck. When others rushed to inquire about the apparition that had appeared in the sky just now, he was absent too.

When Alice had prepared dinner for everyone in the evening and everyone had gathered in the dining room, he still hadn’t shown up.

Even when the Captain had assembled everyone to announce that the next voyage destination was the “Node” where the God of Wisdom Rahm resided, he was nowhere to be seen.

It wasn’t until long after dinner had ended, as Duncan and Fenna strolled on the deck with Alice following beside, that the automaton couldn’t help but ask again, “Captain, where did Sailor go?”

Duncan stopped, leaned against a nearby mast, looked up at the empty deck, and suddenly turned his head to Fenna and said, “Do you remember the question I asked you?”

Fenna was startled for a moment, quickly recollected, and just as she was about to speak, a hesitant footstep suddenly interrupted what she was about to say.

Fenna turned her head in surprise and saw a hunched and hesitant figure appear on the deck shrouded in the mist–a ghastly mummified corpse shuffled over in small steps from the opposite side, its wrinkled face so contracted that all features were squeezed together, yet the awkward and bewildered expression was still distinctly visible.

“Captain…” The sailor approached Duncan, lifted his hand in a conflicted greeting, then looked strangely at the puppet standing beside Duncan, “Um, I have a question…”
“Alice has already taken the helm,” Duncan said, “You should have noticed the stir on deck.”

The sailor’s expression froze, then he hesitated to speak, “Then…”
“Your helmsman privileges have temporarily been transferred to Alice, and she will be in charge of navigation from now on.”

The sailor, with a stiff expression, glanced at Alice and back at Duncan, and finally pointed to himself, “Then my task…”
“Is completed.” Duncan said offhandedly.

The sailor couldn’t hold it in anymore: “…Then why haven’t I disappeared?”

Duncan crossed his arms, looking expressionlessly at the mummified corpse, “Did I say you would disappear?”

The sailor: “…?”

The mummy stared blankly for several seconds, finally sensing something was wrong, and the already wrinkled features twisted even more: “Ah… Ah? Wait… That’s not right! My task is already done… I even feel like the shackles binding me are gone, the connection with my shroud is severed… Why am I… still here?!”

“Because you boarded the ship, you fool,” Duncan glanced indifferently at the other, “Did you think it’s so easy to resign from Homeloss? This ship has been soaked in Subspace for a hundred years! Subspace can’t even claim things from this ship, and yet you think you can leave?”

The sailor: “…”

This poor mummy finally came to a realization and acknowledged that he had been overlooking something very crucial.

Duncan, however, didn’t stop there, continuing to speak to himself: “To be fair, the things you said today were quite heartfelt.”

The sailor’s expression visibly became more animated–starting to appear constrained and uneasy, his eyes darting away.

“I’m moved, and I’ll make sure to pass on the ‘confession’ to Lawrence…”
The sailor began trying to pick at the deck of Homeloss with his toes.

“…However, the debts you owe to the mate, sub-mate, and stoker of the Oak Wood and others, you’ll have to settle yourself. You said it yourself, gambling is harmful, and so is betting–don’t say you don’t have personal assets, I’ve inquired, Lawrence paid you a salary as a formal crew member.”

The sailor finally lost his composure, his toes nearly sparking flint on the deck, “Enough, please, no more…”
Duncan shrugged his shoulders, turning his head towards Fenna.

“So now you understand what I meant when I told you that phrase?”

Fenna had a slightly dazed expression: “…I thought you were referring to being forgotten by others when you mentioned experiencing death multiple times…”
“I was referring to a social death–the kind you can die multiple times from. Each time you remember, you die a little on the inside,” Duncan folded his arms, his face indifferent, “So remember this lesson–don’t give your last words too early. It’s pretty awkward if you don’t actually die.”

Fenna’s expression remained blank: “…”

Duncan paid no attention to Fenna’s subtle expression, just looking down at the sailor who by now had simply squatted on the deck, picking at the cracks while muttering to himself: “I knew it… Your expression was off, and I didn’t dare think more about it… I knew it…”
Duncan finally began to laugh.

He was in a great mood now.