Deep Sea Embers

Chapter 225 “The Late Sunrise”

After putting away his new “collection”, Zhou Ming did not leave the room directly as usual; instead, he sat on the chair opposite the shelf and fell into deep thought while staring at the models.

He was trying to summarize and understand what these “collections” represented.

For a long time now, this bachelor apartment and the world opposite the door were isolated from one another. Aside from the door itself, only he could pass through the two worlds.

In a sense, the “models” of the Vanished and Pland that appeared in the room are equivalent to breaking this rule – they are clearly related to the world opposite the door, and their properties clearly carry “supernatural attributes”.

Supernatural attributes should not be a concept on this side…

In addition, the emergence of these two collections had a common rule he could see – they are things that have, at some point, completely burned by the ghost fire and “controlled” by his own consciousness.

Zhou Ming quietly pondered, summing up the rules little by little, and finally, he believed that “burning” and “control” should be the two necessary conditions for the emergence of these collections.

For example, the original White Oak had also been burned by the flames of the Vanished, but he didn’t take the initiative to control that ship back then. To be precise, he did not exert any influence or “instructions” on the White Oak, so after the burning, the ship did not form a corresponding “model” in the room except for leaving a strong marking.

Meanwhile, he had actively controlled and purified the city-state after it had burned, effectively meeting the two requirements of producing a model on this side.

So… what use can this transformation provide me? What’s the meaning behind these models and this collection?

Zhou Ming’s gaze fell on Pland’s “model”, slightly closing his eyes to perceive what he suspected.

The breeze blowing through the port area in the southeastern parts of the island, the delicate waves battering the beach, and the rumbling noise of the steam factories in the upper city.

Then, he reopened his eyes with an understanding light.

It’s as he theorized. Unlike in the past, he’s now able to see and feel everything within the city-state. In essence, this model had given him the authority to control the entire island at will. The same authority as with the Vanished and its properties.

Zhou Ming rubbed his chin thoughtfully, realizing what this implied and the possibilities this included. For example, he could order all the bells to ring at will or sink into the sea at a whim. If worse, he could even tell the island to enter the spirit realm…

Zhou Ming subconsciously stopped rubbing his chin when his brainstorming reached this point. Reason? He just got another idea, a very terrifying idea.

What if I ordered the city-state to sink into subspace?

Zhou Ming’s eyes locked in place, shuddering at himself for even having such evil thoughts.

Make no mistake, he wouldn’t actively send an entire city into a plane of existence that’s feared even by demons. But what if? Let’s say he did it by accident. At a whim? A careless remark if he somehow got drunk? A person without control wouldn’t know what they’re doing!

Zhou Ming started to gasp heavily, finding it hard to breathe at the immense authority he suddenly found himself with. Then, with wobbly legs, he slowly stood up from the chair and stared at the two models on his shelf with a look of fear and awe.

It’s no wonder the world feared the Vanished. How can any single person wield such power?

Zhou Ming took one last deep look at his collection, gripped the desk’s corner, and swung around. He needed to get away from this suffocating room and calm himself.

Back over in the mapping room of the captain’s room, Goathead was still controlling the vessel when he overheard the movement from the forbidden door. Creaking its head in that direction, the wooden sculpture saw the familiar figure of Duncan appearing: “Ah! The great captain is back for his loyal first mate! Your exploits are known to everyone, and your great power makes the Boundless Sea…”

Duncan did not say anything; instead, he sat down at the mapping table and silently stared at the poor sculpture.

This eerie awkwardness actually managed to shut Goathead up for a bit. However, a blabbermouth will always be a blabbermouth. After a minute of calm, he couldn’t resist and asked: “Um… Captain, aren’t you going to tell me to ‘shut up’ like usual?”

Duncan continued to look indifferent: “I suddenly got an idea: how long can you babble for if I don’t.”

Goathead immediately got all energetic when he heard this and ignored the mocking undertone of Duncan’s words: “Then you’ve come to the right place. Your loyal first mate is well-versed in the various recipes of the Boundless Sea. I can go from day to night just on this one topic if you like, and if you are interested, I can also classify the one hundred and thirty-seven butter biscuits…”

“Okay, shut up,” Duncan quickly interrupted the other party, shaking his head helplessly, “I thought you would at least have the concept of shame.”

Goathead shook its head, creating a crunching sound around the neck as a result. Its dark face had now completely locked onto Duncan’s with those obsidian bead eyes: “Captain, you seem to have something on your mind? We’ve just accomplished an unprecedented feat. What else can affect your mood?”

“An unprecedented feat,” Duncan muttered softly, then shook his head. “You can feel it too, right? The connection between Pland and the Vanished now.”

“Of course!” Goathead immediately replied, not forgetting to tout about the feat, “I never thought there would be such a day – your greatness is astounding, and your hunt this time is an entire city! So what’s next? Are we going to Lunsa first or Cold Port? Or Frost is good too…”

Duncan waved his hand, silencing the wooden sculpture.

“I’m not interested in ‘hunting’ for the time being. I only want to tell you that I don’t have the energy to continuously stare at such a large place. If you sense something that shouldn’t be in that city, warn me and provide me with the details. Of course, your main job is still to man the ship.”

“Gladly!” Goathead immediately said, “This is a breeze for me, and I will definitely live up to your expectations…”

Duncan nodded slightly, then swept his gaze over the wall and the window port.

Before he knew it, the night had passed.

After a few seconds, Duncan suddenly jerked around: “What time is it?!”

Goathead was startled, unsure of why the captain was acting out: “It should be… morning. It’s time for the sun to rise.”

“…… The sun hasn’t risen yet,” Duncan said in a deep voice, his expression unusually serious. Then he turned his head sharply and stared at the ticking clock hanging on the wall, “… Sunrise should’ve happened fourteen minutes ago.”

Goathead momentarily fell into silence as Duncan stared daggers at the mechanical device that might’ve been misaligned without his knowledge.

The “sun” of this world, the super vision 001, rose and set with a precision unseen in any other object of this world. As far as Duncan knew, this had never changed since he came to this weird and dangerous world. Yet, today’s sun did not rise in time…

Ordinary people may not have noticed this change, but Duncan definitely did, and this disturbed him…

“Perhaps… we only need to wait a while…” Goathead voiced his opinion then, seemingly apprehensive about the subject. “You see, the weather at sea is always elusive. Maybe something had blocked it…”

Duncan ignored what Goathead was saying. He was still looking at the clock, but in the next second, a subtle golden light appeared at the edge of his field of vision – it was coming through the porthole.

He promptly swung around, walked up to the round window, and pushed it open to stare off into the distance.

The sun has risen, and the huge light body bound by the double runed ring gradually rose into the sky as usual, dispelling the cold and pale atmosphere left by the rift during the night.

Today’s sunrise is fifteen minutes later than usual.

Why?

Is it the aftermath of Pland’s disaster? Or is it related to the Creeping Sun Wheel? Worse, related to Nina’s awakening and control?

Duncan returned to the table and grew cranky at whatever was eluding his knowledge. He knew these emotions were uncalled for, but after experiencing the historical pollution of Pland, he couldn’t just ignore a sign like this. It’s definitely a prelude to something bigger, but what…

“Maybe it’s just the weather at sea. You see? Isn’t the sun still rising?” Goathead chimed in from the side after noticing the poor mood of the captain, “Sometimes a wide area of dense fog can refract the light, resulting in…”

“The sun is also fifteen minutes late in Pland,” Duncan interrupted Goathead, but softer in his voice since he knew he was being harsh. “It’s sunny over there, and the sea is calm. The late part isn’t the light, but the sun itself.”

“Damn it…”