Chapter 2: The Captain of the Lost Home
It was not the first time that Zhou Ming had passed through the door to the "other side". Since waking up a few days ago and finding himself trapped in his room by some kind of "anomaly", he had discovered this strange place on the other side of the door, which was now the only exit from his room.
He remembered his initial confusion and helplessness when he first opened the door and saw the deck outside, and even more so when he first saw his changed body in the mirror. But since then, in order to find a way out of his predicament, he had bravely explored the "other side" several times and had gained some experience and preliminary knowledge of the ship that appeared outside his door.
As usual, Zhou Ming forced himself to shake off the dizziness that came with passing through the door as quickly as possible. He checked the pistol in his hand and confirmed that he was carrying the same items as when he left the deck last time.
"...It seems that the body 'seamlessly switches' every time I go through this door... It would be great if I could put a camera on this side of the deck, so I could confirm if my body changes when I go back to my apartment through the captain's cabin door... But unfortunately, objects from the two 'worlds' cannot pass through the door, and there's no way to bring the camera over... But the phone that I left in the apartment did record the scene when I passed through the door over there. I did pass through the black mist, so it's true that my body changed when I passed through the black mist."
Zhou Ming muttered to himself. He knew that he might look a little ridiculous talking to himself on the deck of this eerie ghost ship, but he had to make some noise to prove to himself that he was still "alive".
A salty sea breeze blew across the deck, rustling the black and blue captain's uniform on his body. Zhou Ming let out a soft sigh, but instead of walking towards the deck, he turned around and looked at the door behind him.
He put his hand on the doorknob.
Turning the doorknob, he would see a gray-black mist behind the door, and passing through the mist, he would return to his bachelor apartment where he had lived for many years. He exerted force on the door and pulled it open.
The slightly heavy oak door creaked open, revealing a slightly dim cabin. In the dim light, he could see the exquisite tapestries hanging on the walls, the shelves holding numerous ornaments, and the large navigation table in the center of the room. A small door was located at the deepest part of the room, with a wine-red carpet in front of it.
Pushing the door would take him back to his bachelor apartment, pulling it would lead him to the captain's cabin – the latter being the "normal facility" on this ship.
Zhou Ming stepped into the captain's cabin. As he passed by the doorway, he habitually looked to his left – there was a full-length mirror fixed on the wall, reflecting the current appearance of "Zhou Ming".
It was a tall man with thick black hair and a dignified short beard. His sunken eye sockets and imposing presence seemed to exude an aura of authority without him needing to show anger. He appeared to be in his forties, yet his heroic appearance and oppressive gaze blurred the sense of age. The exquisitely crafted captain's uniform he wore only served to emphasize his special status as the mirror image showed.
Zhou Ming stretched his neck and made a face in the mirror. He thought of himself as an amiable and friendly person, but the image in the mirror didn't quite match his temperament. He quickly gave up on the attempt, as the reflection didn't seem any friendlier but instead resembled more of a deranged serial killer.
As Zhou Ming did these movements, a faint clicking sound came from the direction of the navigation table. Without surprise, he looked towards the sound and saw the wooden goat head figurine on the table turning its face towards him. In that moment, the lifeless wooden block seemed to come alive, and the obsidian eyes embedded in the wooden face gazed at him hauntingly.
Memories of the panic from the first time he saw this eerie scene flashed through Zhou Ming's mind, but he only raised the corners of his mouth. He walked towards the navigation table, and the wooden goat head turned its neck slightly, and a hoarse and gloomy voice emanated from its wooden cavity, "Name?"
"Duncan," Zhou Ming calmly replied, "Duncan Abernomal."
The wooden goat head's voice instantly turned from hoarse and gloomy to friendly and enthusiastic, "Good morning, Captain, it's nice to see you remember your name. How are you feeling today? How is your health? Did you sleep well last night? I hope you had a good dream. Also, today is a good day to set sail. The sea is calm, the wind is favorable, and it's cool and comfortable. And there are no annoying navies or noisy crew members. Captain, you know, a noisy crew member..."
"You're noisy enough," although this wasn't Zhou Ming's first encounter with this creepy goat head, he still felt a shiver in his brain. He almost glared fiercely at the thing, and his voice came out through his clenched teeth, "Quiet."
"Oh, of course, Captain, you like quietness, and your loyal first mate, second mate, boatswain, helmsman, and lookout are very clear about this. Keeping quiet has many benefits. There was once a medical...or maybe philosophical or architectural...," Zhou Ming felt his brain and bronchi both tremble as he listened to the goat head's incessant babbling.
"My point is, I command you to be quiet!" As soon as the word "command" left his mouth, the goat head finally fell silent.
Zhou Ming breathed a sigh of relief and sat down at the navigation table - now he was the "captain" of this empty ghost ship.
Duncan Abernomal, a strange name, a difficult surname.
At the moment he stepped through that layer of black and gray fog and set foot on the ship, he knew this. He knew he was called Duncan on "this side," knew he was the owner of this ship, and knew that this ship was on a journey far beyond his imagination - but that was all he knew.
His retained memories were vague and thin, so much so that only the key passages he mentioned earlier were clear, and all the other details were completely blank. It was as if he knew this ship had an amazing voyage plan, but had no idea where it was headed. The original owner of this ship - the real "Duncan Abernomal" - seemed to have died.
What remained in Zhou Ming's mind was more like a faint impression left behind by a ghost captain after his complete death. Instinct told Zhou Ming that there was a big problem behind the identity of "Captain Duncan," especially in the presence of supernatural phenomena on this ship. The mystery surrounding this Captain Duncan's identity might even imply some kind of danger that he had never imagined before, but he had to carry the name to safely move around the ship.
Because, just like the wooden goat head from earlier, certain things on this ship were constantly trying to confirm the "captain's identity." Even the ship itself was trying to confirm the captain's identity at all times. It felt like some kind of safety measure, as if the captain could really forget his name at any time, and once he did, something extremely terrifying and dangerous would happen. Therefore, "verification methods" were set up everywhere on the ship.
Zhou Ming didn't know what the consequences would be if "Captain Duncan" forgot his name, but he believed that there would definitely be no good consequences if he said the wrong name. After all, even the wooden goat head on the navigation table didn't look like a kind and benevolent creature. But if he carried the name of Duncan Abernathy, then everything on this ship would seem quite friendly and approachable. They didn't seem very intelligent either.
Zhou Ming - or maybe he should call himself Duncan now - ended his brief moment of contemplation and reminiscence and turned his attention to the spread-out nautical chart on the table. However, there were no recognizable routes, markings or land on the chart. He couldn't even see an island. The rough and thick sheepskin surface only had large, constantly undulating white and gray blobs, which seemed to obscure the original navigation lines on the paper. The only thing visible in the center of the nautical chart was a silhouette of a ship, vaguely visible in the fog.
Duncan didn't have much experience sailing out to sea in the past few decades of his life, but even someone who didn't recognize a nautical chart would know that a "normal" nautical chart shouldn't look like this. Apparently, like the wooden goat head on the table, this nautical chart was also some kind of supernatural item - but Duncan hadn't yet figured out its usage rules.
It seemed like the goat head on the table had noticed that the captain's attention was finally on the nautical chart, and it finally made a sound again after being quiet for a long time. It began to make a creaking sound as its wooden neck twisted and turned slightly at first, but soon the sound became too noticeable to ignore. Finally, the whole head began to twitch on its base, as if it was in vibration mode.
Duncan was afraid that it would start a fire on his navigation table if it continued to spasm like this, and couldn't help but look at it: "Speak."
"Yes, Your Captainness - I want to emphasize again, today is a great day to set sail. The Lost Home is waiting for your orders as usual! Shall we hoist the sails?"
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