This wasn’t the first time Zhou Ming had crossed through this door to the "other side." A few days ago, he had woken up to find himself trapped in his room by some strange "phenomenon." A thick fog had covered the entire world, and that was when he discovered this bizarre place on the other side of the door.
After all, that door was now the only exit from his "room."
He still remembered the confusion and helplessness he felt when he first opened the door and found himself on the deck. He also vividly recalled the shock and panic when he looked down and saw that he was in a different body. But since then, in search of a way to break free from this situation, he had bravely explored "this side" several times. Although he still didn’t understand what had happened to him or what this strange ship was that appeared outside his "door," he had at least gained some experience and had a preliminary understanding of the ship.
Like before, Zhou Ming forced himself to shake off the dizziness from crossing the door as quickly as possible. He then checked the condition of this body. He examined the short gun in his hand, comparing all the details from memory, and finally confirmed that the items he carried were the same as when he last left the deck.
“Looks like every time I cross through this door, my body 'seamlessly switches'... If only I could set up a camera on the deck, then I could confirm whether my body changes when I push open the door to the captain's cabin and return to my apartment...
“Unfortunately, items from the two 'worlds' can’t pass through the door, and I can’t bring a camera over...
“However, the phone I left in the apartment recorded the scene when I crossed through the door from that side. I did walk through that black fog... So my body really does 'change' when passing through the fog?”
Zhou Ming mumbled to himself. He knew that standing on the deck and talking to himself might look a bit silly to outsiders, but he needed to make some noise on this empty, eerie ghost ship... He needed some evidence to prove he was still "alive."
A salty sea breeze blew across the deck, rustling the mysterious black and blue captain's uniform he wore. Zhou Ming sighed softly, but instead of walking toward the deck, he turned around to look at the door behind him.
He placed his hand on the doorknob.
Turning the knob, he only needed to push the door inward, and he would see a thick, gray-black fog. Passing through the fog, he would return to his single apartment, where he had lived for many years.
He pulled the door open with force.
The heavy oak door creaked as it opened, revealing a dimly lit cabin. In the faint light, he could see exquisite tapestries hanging on the walls, shelves filled with various decorations, and a large navigation table in the center of the room. There was also a small door at the back of the room, with a wine-red carpet in front of it.
Pushing the door open would take him back to his apartment, while pulling it open led to the captain's cabin—clearly the "normal facility" on this ship.
Zhou Ming stepped into the captain's cabin. As he passed the doorway, he habitually glanced to the left—a full-length mirror was fixed to the wall, clearly reflecting what "Zhou Ming" looked like now.
He saw a tall man with thick black hair and a dignified short beard. His deep-set eyes gave off an intimidating aura. He looked to be over forty, but his strong appearance and commanding gaze blurred that sense of age. The well-made captain's uniform further highlighted the man's special identity.
Zhou Ming moved his neck a bit and made a silly face at the mirror—he thought of himself as a friendly person, but the image in the mirror didn’t quite match his personality. He quickly gave up on this attempt, feeling that the reflection not only didn’t look friendly, but resembled a psychopathic serial killer more than a dignified captain…
While Zhou Ming was making these faces, a faint scratching sound came from the direction of the navigation table. He looked over, not surprised to see a wooden goat head statue on the table slowly turning its face toward him—this lifeless piece of wood seemed to come alive at that moment, its obsidian eyes staring at him.
A flash of panic from his first encounter with this bizarre scene crossed his mind, but Zhou Ming merely smirked. He walked toward the navigation table, and the wooden goat head continued to turn its neck. A hoarse, gloomy voice came from it: “Name?”
“Duncan,” Zhou Ming replied calmly, “Duncan Abnomar.”
The wooden goat head's voice instantly changed from hoarse and gloomy to warm and friendly: “Good morning, Captain! I’m glad to see you remember your name—how are you feeling today? Did you sleep well last night? I hope you had a good dream. Also, today is a great day to set sail! The sea is calm, the wind is favorable, and it’s cool and comfortable. Plus, there are no annoying navy ships or noisy crew members. Captain, did you know that a noisy crew member…”
“You’re noisy enough already,” Zhou Ming said, feeling a headache coming on. Even though this wasn’t his first time dealing with the strange goat head, he glared at it fiercely, forcing the words out through clenched teeth, “Be quiet.”
“Oh, oh, oh, of course, Captain! You prefer quiet. Your loyal first mate, second mate, head sailor, sailor, and lookout knows this very well. Staying quiet has many benefits. There was once a doctor in the field of… or maybe it was philosophy or architecture…”
Zhou Ming felt not only his head throbbing but even his bronchial tubes starting to shake: “I mean, I order you to be quiet!”
As soon as he said the word "order," the goat head finally fell silent.
Zhou Ming let out a small sigh of relief and walked over to sit at the navigation table—now, he was the "captain" of this empty ghost ship.
Duncan Abnomar, a strange name with a complicated surname.
The moment he first crossed through that layer of black-gray fog and stepped onto this ship, he had known these things. He knew that in "this side," his body was named Duncan, that he was the owner of this ship, and that this ship was on a journey far beyond imagination—he knew all this, but nothing more.
The memories left in his mind were vague and thin, containing only the key points mentioned above, while all other details were completely blank. It was as if he knew this ship had an astonishing sailing plan but had no idea where it was headed. The original owner of this ship—the real "Duncan Abnomar"—seemed to have died a long time ago.
What remained in Zhou Ming’s mind felt more like the strongest, most profound "impression" left by a ghost captain after his complete death.
Instinct told Zhou Ming that there were big problems behind this "Captain Duncan" identity, especially with the supernatural phenomena on this ship (like the talking wooden goat head). The mystery surrounding Captain Duncan could even mean dangers he had never imagined. But he had to carry this name to move safely on the ship.
Because just like the wooden goat head, certain things on this ship were constantly trying to confirm the "identity of the captain."
Even the ship itself was always confirming the captain's identity.
It felt like some kind of insurance measure, as if the captain could forget his name at any moment. If he forgot his name, something extremely terrible and dangerous might happen, which is why there were "checks" set up all over the ship.
Zhou Ming didn’t know what would happen if "Captain Duncan" forgot his name, but he believed that if he said the wrong name, it would definitely lead to bad consequences.
After all, even the wooden goat head on the navigation table didn’t seem like a friendly fellow.
But if he carried the name Duncan Abnomar, then everything on this ship seemed quite amiable.
At least they didn’t look very intelligent.
Zhou Ming—perhaps he should start calling himself Duncan—ended his brief moment of reflection and turned to look at the open sea chart on the table.
However, there were no recognizable routes, marks, or land on the chart. Not even an island was visible. The rough, thick parchment only showed large, swirling gray-white blobs that seemed to obscure the original routes. The only thing visible in the center of the sea chart was a silhouette of a ship, faintly seen through the fog.
Duncan (Zhou Ming) had no sailing experience in his decades of life, but even someone unfamiliar with sea charts would know that a "normal" sea chart didn’t look like this.
Clearly, just like the wooden goat head on the table, this sea chart was also some kind of supernatural item—though Duncan hadn’t yet figured out its usage.
It seemed that the goat head, which had been quiet for a long time, finally noticed the captain's attention on the sea chart. It began to make scratching sounds again, twisting its neck slightly. At first, it was restrained, but soon the scratching noise became impossible to ignore—eventually, it started shaking its whole head like it was in a vibrating mode.
Duncan feared that if this thing kept going, it would start a fire on his navigation table. He finally couldn’t help but glance at it: “Speak.”
“Yes, Captain! I must emphasize again, today is indeed a great day to set sail. The Lost Homeland is always waiting for your orders! Shall we raise the sails?”
(End of Chapter)