After confirming that Alice showed no reaction to any of the "keywords" and had no knowledge about the ability of "decapitation," Duncan decided to share what he had just learned with this confused cursed doll.
At this point, he had a faint guess: perhaps the key to the anomaly 099 - the Doll's Coffin, was not Alice herself, but rather her "coffin."
The sea was calm, and the ship swayed gently with the waves. In the flickering light of the oil lamp, the ghostly captain slowly began to tell the story of the Doll's Coffin—almost scaring the doll into curling up.
Duncan looked expressionlessly at Alice, who was sitting in the corner of the bed, leaning against the wall with her head in her hands. "Is it really necessary to be this nervous?"
"This... this sounds really scary!" Alice's tone changed, sounding like an ordinary girl who had just heard a ghost story. "What with the indiscriminate decapitation, and stopping only when everything in the area is dead, and expanding territory... I had no idea about any of this!"
"I believe you really didn't know," Duncan glanced at Alice, "but this is indeed the information about anomaly 099 - the Doll's Coffin."
Alice held her head and stiffly looked at Duncan. "So...?"
"I have two guesses now. First, the 'decapitation' incident might be an ability you activated unconsciously. Since you are an anomaly, your power is likely just a passive area effect. Even in your previous 'sleeping' state, it wouldn't stop the decapitation effect from happening."
As Duncan spoke, he slowly got up from his chair and approached the ornate wooden box, tapping it lightly with the tip of his sword.
"Second, the 'decapitation' power of the Doll's Coffin may not come from you, but from your 'coffin.'"
"Coffin... you mean my box?" Alice's eyes widened as she instinctively followed Duncan's gaze to the wooden box by the bed. It seemed like she was just realizing something. "You mean...?"
"The full name of anomaly 099 is 'Doll's Coffin'... In other words, you and your box together make up the complete 'anomaly 099.' When I first met you, I instinctively thought you were the 'dominant part' because I didn't know the full name 'Doll's Coffin' back then," Duncan stroked his chin, thinking aloud. "Now that I think about it, the emphasis in 'Doll's Coffin' seems to be on the latter part?"
Alice blinked, her mind working hard, and finally clapped her hands. "Oh! I'm just an accessory to this box!"
Duncan looked at the clueless doll with a straight face. "...You don't have to say it with such pride."
Alice, however, seemed not to catch the teasing tone in Duncan's voice. She glanced at her wooden box with a worried expression. "So, does that mean... my box has been decapitating people all along? But I've lived in it for so long and never felt it was so evil or dangerous... and I haven't sensed any special power from it..."
"Of course, you can't judge since you are part of the anomaly 099," Duncan frowned. "And touch your neck. I suspect the reason your head falls off from time to time is because you sleep too long in that box!"
Alice immediately felt that the captain had a point, her expression becoming complex. But then she looked confused again. "But if that's the case... if 'decapitation' is an inherent attribute of my coffin, why hasn't its power activated during all this time on the ship?"
As soon as she said this, she met Duncan's deep gaze. The slow-witted doll felt a heavy pressure hit her—she had become complacent after staying on the ship for a while and suddenly remembered who this captain was.
Duncan continued to watch her silently until Alice curled up even smaller before he said, "The only other humanoid being on this ship besides you is me. Are you implying...?"
"I don't mean anything!" Alice almost jumped up, waving her hands. "What I meant was about the box..."
"I'm not saying I want to do anything to you," Duncan said helplessly, looking at her. "You are a crew member of the Lost Home, and I am your protector in the endless sea. You don't need to be so scared—can you sit still? It makes it seem like I'm going to do something to you."
Alice finally responded with an "oh" and slowly moved back to the edge of the bed. Meanwhile, Duncan's thoughts shifted due to Alice's interruption—no matter whether the main part of the Doll's Coffin was the doll or the coffin, anomaly 099 had been on the Lost Home for so long that it had already exceeded its testing cycle, and it remained harmless... Clearly, this was due to some kind of suppression.
So, was it the ship that was suppressing it, or was it himself as the "captain"?
Duncan looked down at his hands.
He knew he possessed considerable power, a power that allowed him to completely take over the life of a cultist named "Ron," and it was strong enough to make Alice, a high-level anomaly, tremble at first sight, and even made "A Dog," a deep demon, tuck its tail. He still didn't know the true nature of this power, but it didn't stop him from gradually realizing his uniqueness.
On the other hand, the Lost Home was ranked fifth among the anomalies in the endless sea—an "anomaly," not just any oddity.
This meant that as long as one was within the range of the Lost Home, there was a 24-hour continuous "field" that constantly affected everything within it.
With the suppression from both the captain and the ship, anomaly 099 was naturally harmless. But if he really planned to take Alice to the Prand City-State... things could very likely spiral out of control.
Therefore, he needed to clarify a series of issues—was the main entity of the effect of anomaly 099 the doll Alice, or the wooden box? Was the suppression of anomaly 099 coming from him as the captain, or from the Lost Home? If he separated Alice from the box, would the effect of anomaly 099 still occur? If the suppression came from him, how far did that suppression reach?
His thoughts expanded—
If the decapitation effect came from the "coffin," would it be safe for him to take Alice alone to the Prand City-State? If the "coffin" was an anomaly that could be separated, could his flames also affect it individually? If he could completely control the box with fire, would that mean he had control over the previously uncontrollable decapitation effect? Just like using fire to control Ai Yi and the brass compass?
Duncan's mind was filled with questions, which gradually formed a complex testing plan. But in the end, he felt frustrated to realize one thing:
He lacked many necessary conditions for testing.
The Lost Home was not a suitable testing ground because the powers of the ghost ship would interfere with the accuracy of the results, and he had no suitable testing targets—because the decapitation effect of anomaly 099 was quite lethal... lethal to the "tester."
Duncan raised his head and looked at Alice, who was sitting obediently by the bed. The doll was gazing worriedly at her beloved wooden box, all her inner turmoil seemingly written on her face.
Noticing the captain's gaze, Alice suddenly broke the silence, saying softly, "Since the day I became conscious... I've always lived in this box. It's my bed, my home, and my shelter. When I sleep inside, I feel very safe."
Duncan remained silent, quietly observing the doll in front of him.
"I now understand why those humans are so afraid," Alice said, gently stroking her wooden box. "They are afraid of 'us.'"
"I originally planned to take you to the Prand City-State during my next journey to the spirit world," Duncan said in a deep voice. "I need a helper there."
Alice's eyes seemed to light up for a moment, but then they dimmed again. "Ah, that might not be possible..."
"The plan is postponed, but not canceled," Duncan's expression and tone remained steady. "We just need more time to confirm your... 'your' powers and understand the conditions for the 'decapitation' effect to activate. Human city-states on land can seal or even utilize various anomalies through clever methods, and here on the Lost Home, we can do even more."
Alice looked at Duncan with confusion. From the calm and deep gaze of the captain, she realized this was not just empty comfort.
"You have a plan?"
Duncan thought for a moment, raised his fingertip, and ignited a flickering flame.
"First, we might need a little fire."
(End of Chapter)