Chapter 369: Chapter 373 “To Frost Chapter 369: Chapter 373 “To Frost It was an island with a winding coast and rocky cliffs, enveloped in a layer of fog that cast vague and indistinct shadows, making it difficult to discern the situation above. One could barely make out the uneven terrain, as well as the eerie silhouettes hidden in the mist, resembling jagged boulders or collapsed buildings.
Its appearance was exceedingly abrupt, as if it had materialized out of thin air near the White Oak.
“What is that?” The first mate stared in astonishnt at the silhouette of the island that had appeared on the distant sea surface. The tension and fear brought on by the sudden recollection of the concept of “sun” had not yet faded when he now saw an island erge so suddenly that even he, a seasoned sailor who had dealt with the Endless Sea for many years, sounded a bit shaken, “An island… Is there such an island near Frost? Is there such an island on our planned course?”
“There’s no such thing as a planned course anymore, White Oak is sailing through an area of mariti anomaly—we’ve drifted away from the real world, so seeing anything would be normal,” Captain Lawrence’s steady voice ca through, as if with the power to soothe one’s mind. Though he was astounded only a second ago by the disappearance of the “sun,” the veteran captain now seed to have completely cald down, “As for the island… there is a ‘Dagger Island’ near Frost, but I’m not sure if it’s the sa one… It doesn’t quite match the chart.”
“What should we do?” the first mate turned, “Shall we approach it? Or steer clear of it?”
Lawrence fell silent, swiftly weighing his options in his mind.
The island had appeared suddenly, precisely when he and the first mate had abruptly beco aware of the concept of “sun.” Was its appearance related to cognitive distortion?
Was the island shrouded in real thick fog, or was it an illusion brought on by a cognitive bias?
Was the island fixed in place? Could the White Oak truly distance itself from it? If the island’s ergence was “intentional,” then no matter how the White Oak tried to escape, it might continue to appear in front of the ship.
But regardless, from a precautionary standpoint, they should not rashly get closer.
“Circle around it,” Lawrence said in a deep voice, “Turn to the left, and move away at full speed.”
“Yes, Captain!”
The first mate dashed towards the bridge, and monts later, a loud blast of the steam whistle rang out above the White Oak. Lawrence felt the ship beneath his feet turning, the steam engines deep within the hull roaring with surging power.
Many sailors had already spotted the suddenly appearing island. So approached the edge of the deck, looking nervously at the distant island shrouded in fog. Under everyone’s watchful eyes, the island was gradually left behind by the White Oak and slowly faded into the distance.
Lawrence breathed a sigh of relief, turned around, and walked toward the bridge.
His footsteps suddenly halted.
A figure appeared in his view—a woman wearing a captain’s uniform, with curly long hair cascading down her back, arms crossed over her chest, and a faint smile seeming to play across her face.
“Do you rember what I told you?” the figure spoke, her tone filled with profound resignation, “You really should retire. Don’t wait until I show up on your ship and then start regretting… Lawrence, you’ve gotten old.”
“Martha…” Lawrence called out the na instinctively and imdiately reached into his pocket, wanting to fetch the bottle of dication.
At the sa ti, a wave of astonishnt also flooded his mind—why so soon? Why had the effects of the dication worn off so quickly? It had only been a day since Martha last appeared… Had the duration of the dication’s effects beco so short?
He felt his palm trembling, his arm trembling, and finally touched the bottle of dication. But just as he was about to open it, a hand suddenly rested on his arm.
Martha had co to his side at so point, her hand pressing on the old captain’s arm, a look of concern on her face.
“The dication no longer works, you know that,” Martha said softly, “You take it now, and I’ll leave for a little while only to reappear later. You take a whole bottle, and I’ll leave for a bit longer, but I’ll still show up… Lawrence, the dication is useless.”
“I… I don’t understand…” Lawrence blinked hesitantly, looking at the most familiar face in his mory, yet only feeling a chill spreading in his heart, “I know my own condition, and that psychiatrist is a skilled expert, but why didn’t it… ”
“Your mind is being affected, Lawrence. Don’t you feel it? This sea area is affecting you,” Martha said gently—perhaps it was Martha’s voice, or perhaps it was Lawrence’s own subconscious speaking. Clearly, in his subconscious, the experienced captain had begun to recognize so of the truth, “The longer you stay here, the more your mind will deteriorate. Be careful, Lawrence, you’re already in the middle of the sea…”
“How should I leave this place?” Lawrence spoke without thinking, and unconsciously, he had released the grip on the bottle of dication.
The small bottle fell to the deck, shattering with a crisp sound, half of the dication spilling out, mixing indistinguishably with the water pooled on the deck.
Lawrence looked down, staring blankly at the broken dicine bottle.
Martha was still supporting his arm, speaking softly, “Go to Frost…”
Lawrence was startled as if jolted awake from a dreamscape. He lifted his head, only to find that there was no one beside him—just a lingering warmth on his forearm.
A rush of hurried footsteps suddenly ca from not far away, and Lawrence looked up to see his First Mate quickly approaching.
“Captain, we’ve ‘shaken off’ that island,” the First Mate spoke rapidly, but then he lifted his head, looking around curiously as if searching for sothing, “Who was with you just now? Was that also a sailor from our ship?”
“You’re mistaken, I was alone…” Lawrence began unconsciously, but then, halfway through, he realized sothing, and he suddenly looked up at the First Mate, “What did you say? Who was with just now?!”
“Yes, just now, standing next to you, appeared to be a lady—but I didn’t see clearly,” the First Mate said, sowhat perplexed, “Or could I have been mistaken?”
Lawrence’s eyes widened, a look of round-eyed terror even seed to frighten the First Mate, who, after a few seconds, suddenly spoke, “You could see her?!”
The First Mate swallowed reflexively, uncertain as to why his captain reacted so: “…I definitely saw her.”
As soon as these words fell, the experienced sailor seed to have thought of sothing, and his face tensed, “Wait, was that an illusion just now? Was I affected?”
“That was indeed an illusion… but theoretically, it’s an illusion only I should be able to see,” Lawrence’s expression turned extrely grim. He waved his hand to indicate that the First Mate didn’t need to panic, but his mind was in disarray, “It shouldn’t be, shouldn’t be…”
The seasoned captain lifted his head, looking around dazedly as though attempting to spot Martha’s figure.
And in his mind, everything seed to blend together—reality, hallucinations, mories, delusions…
Here, where reality and illusion seed to have lost all distinction, an illusion that only he was supposed to see was also seen by another; what of the false beca real, but what of the real then?
Was this sea real? Was the White Oak real?
What in the world was this place?
Lawrence’s mind was in turmoil, but suddenly, a sailor’s shout ca from a part of the deck, breaking his reverie.
A sailor had spotted sothing on the sea surface.
Lawrence exchanged glances with the First Mate, and they both ran swiftly towards the side of the ship, and soon, they saw what had caused the sailor’s exclamation—
An island appeared in front of them on the side of the White Oak, with winding coastlines and towering rock cliffs, encompassed by mist…
That island had appeared again.
“…That island moves…” the First Mate swallowed nervously, his worst suspicion becoming reality before his eyes, “It’s caught up with us…”
“It’s also possible that we have been going in circles, and this sea is filled with ‘curtains’ that can temporarily blind our vision,” Lawrence spoke with a low voice, his gaze fixed upon the island, “Or perhaps, ‘Frost’ is now right beside us…”
The First Mate looked at the captain in amazent, not understanding why the captain would suddenly ntion “Frost,” but he quickly composed himself and asked, “Captain, what do we do this ti? Continue to steer clear of it?”
Lawrence fell silent, thinking rapidly for a mont.
The words Martha had softly spoken into his ear still echoed in his mind—
“Go to Frost.”
Of course, that island wasn’t the Frost City-State, but its repeated appearances near the White Oak might already be a kind of “guidance.”
Not long ago, he had led the White Oak in a hasty ‘escape’ from the eerily atmospheric Frost City-State, only to beco trapped in this unfamiliar sea area, and now, “Martha” was directing him to “go to Frost.”
And before him, another mysterious and even more eerie island had erged—an island that had appeared beside the White Oak twice in a row.
What was the right choice to make?
“…We approach the island.”
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