Deep Sea Embers

Chapter 2 “The Captain of the Vanished”

This is not the first time Zhou Ming had passed through this door to the “opposite side.”

Since a few days ago, after he found himself trapped in his room by some freaky “phenomenon, he’s been coming through to seek help since it’s the only exit presented before him.

He still remembered the first time the door opened. It was the same wooden planked deck, the exact change to his body, and the courage he mustered to explore this “side” several times for help. But try as he might, no answer came, nor does he understand the strangeness of this ghost ship connected to the “door.” Nevertheless, he’s at least gained some experience to get a preliminary understanding of this vessel.

Like the previous times, Zhou Ming used the shortest time possible to rid himself of the dizzying grog of crossing over. Then he checked the condition of this body for the first time and the gun hanging from his waist. Everything’s like he left it from the last visit.

“It seems my body will ‘seamlessly switch’ every time I pass through the door… If only I could place a camera on this side to see what happens. That way I can confirm whether this body will change too when I go back. Shame, the objects of the two ‘worlds’ aren’t interchangeable…”

“Oh well, at least I know I did walk into the fog and not just drop unconscious from my apartment according to the recording on that side.”

Zhou Ming muttered to straighten his theories. He knew talking to himself on the open deck would appear weird to an outsider, but who’s to mock him anyways? There’s not a soul in sight on this ghost ship, and this was his way of proving he’s still “alive.”

As the salty breeze blew across the deck and hit his blue and black uniform of unknown material, Zhou Ming sighed softly and turned around to face the door again.

Placing his hand on the doorknob to turn it again, he pushed it inward to reveal the grayish black fog from which he came. Beyond this was the familiar apartment that he’s lived in for so long.

But he didn’t go through it this time; instead, he closed the door and pulled it back to reveal the captain’s quarter. Inside was a dimly lit cabin with exquisite tapestries hanging from the walls, a shelf with multiple ornaments, and a large mapping table at the center footed by a burgundy carpet.

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That’s how the “door” worked. By pushing it open, it would lead you back to the apartment while pulling leads into the captain’s room – the latter being the supposed norm.

After entering the captain’s quarter, he habitually looked to the left, where a person’s high mirror was fixed to the wall next to him. There, reflected clearly, was the current appearance of “Zhou Ming.”

It was a tall man with thick black hair, a short and majestic beard, deep eye sockets, and a look that demanded respect. Despite already over forty, his manly appearance blurred his actual age so one might mistake him for someone younger.

Loosening the scruff around his neck, he went ahead and made a silly face in the mirror. Sadly, his temperament with this new self wasn’t working. Rather than being friendly looking, he’s more like a psychopathic serial killer.

Wile Zhou Ming was performing these silly gestures, a slight clicking sound came from the direction of the mapping table. Without surprise, he saw the familiar goat-headed wooden statue on the table turning to face him little by little—the inanimate wooden block seemed to come alive at this moment, and the obsidian eyes embedded in the wooden face glimmered with light.

The panicked memories of the first time he saw this strange scene flashed through his mind again, but Zhou Ming only cocked the corner of his mouth into a grin. He knows what’s coming, and sure enough, a gloomy and hoarse voice came from the wooden mouth: “Name?”

“Duncan,” Zhou Ming said calmly, “Duncan Abnomar.”

The voice of the wooden goat’s head instantly changed from hoarse and gloomy to warm and friendly: “Good morning, Captain. It is good to see that you still remember your name. How are you feeling today, and how are you doing today? Did you sleep well last night? I hope you had a good dream. Today is a good day to set sail. The sea is calm, the wind is right, the temperature cool and comfortable, and there are no annoying navel fleets around. Captain, you know a noisy crew…”

“You’re noisy enough.” Although it was not the first time he had dealt with this strange goat head, Zhou Ming still felt a shiver run through his spine at the moment. Finally, shooting a glare at the thing, he speaks through gritted teeth, “Quiet.”

“Oh, oh, of course, Captain. You like the quietness, and as your loyal first and second mate and lead sailor and normal sailor and scout, I know this very well. There are many benefits to being quiet, and there was once a medical field… or philosophy field or architecture field…”

Zhou Ming suddenly felt a migraine coming up on his temple as it throbbed from this incessant yapping: “My meaning is, I’m ordering you to be quiet!”

The goat’s head finally quieted down as soon as the word “order” came out.

Breathing a sigh of relief, he stepped up to the mapping table and sat down on the chair – he’s now the “captain” of this empty ghost ship.

Duncan Abnomar was an unfamiliar name and an even more foul-mouthed surname. So why does he know this detail? No idea. That’s something this body knew the first time he crossed over. “Over here,” Duncan was on a long journey with most of the details a missing blank.

He did get the distinct feeling that he was on some grand sailing plan but knew next to nothing about the so-called plan or where it was headed. As for the actual ship owner, the real “Duncan Abnomar” seemed to have died a very long, long time ago.

So what exactly was happening with him? Think of a person being imprinted with an “impression.”

Instinct told Zhou Ming there’s a big problem behind the identity of Captain Duncan, especially in the presence of the supernatural phenomena (the talking wooden goat head) on this ship. However, he didn’t have much choice in the matter. Not only does the goat head would try to confirm his identity whenever he crosses over, but the ship itself would also occasionally do the same. This measure could only be described as insidious by the real owner…

It didn’t help either when the goat head on the mapping table looked like some sort of evil gargoyle from the old stories.

But with the cons aside, the ship was quite amiable if he endured the Duncan Abnomar name. It’s not like any of the stuff here looked very intelligent anyways.

Zhou Ming – perhaps Duncan now – ended his brief contemplation in memory lane and unfolded the chart on the mapping table.

There were no identifiable routes, markers, or land on the chart – not even an island. On its rough and thick parchment surface, there were instead large patches of gray-white blobs that were constantly churning and undulating to obscure the original routes mapped on the map. However, there’s one image on it that didn’t get muddled up – the silhouette of a ship looming in the thick fog

Duncan (Zhou Ming) has not much experience in setting sail using the old techniques, but even the dumbasses of modern society would know a “normal” chart couldn’t look like this.

Apparently, like the wooden goat head on the table, the chart was some kind of supernatural object—it was just that Duncan hadn’t yet summed up its use.

Seemingly noticing the captain’s attention had finally focused on the chart, the goat’s head, which had been quiet for a long time on the table, moved again. It started to make clicking sounds like wood rubbing against wood. At first it was still restrained, but that promptly reached the point of being unignorable of vibrating like a sex toy.

“Fine, say it.” Duncan was afraid this seizuring darn thing would put the table on fire at this rate.

“Yes, Captain — I repeat, today is a good day to set sail, and the Vanished is waiting for your orders as always! Are we going to raise the sails?”