On the *Enterprise*, Frank Lee rolled up the sleeves of his shirt, gave his pen a good shake, and wrote with a smile: "My dear friend, Germán Spargo, I'm pleased to share some good news. Using the flesh of the *Bishop of Roses*, I've successfully cultivated a completely new type of mushroom that can reproduce continuously as long as there's fish available. This means we won't have to worry about running out of mushrooms during long voyages. Moreover, it pairs wonderfully with beef—delicious! The only drawback is that it can't fish or catch fish on its own and requires human assistance. However, I believe this isn't a major issue, since Nina mentioned that this way it won't pollute the oceans. Well, I'll just assume she's right." "I've sent you some dried mushrooms—just provide water and fish, and they'll quickly return to normal and begin self-replicating. I hope you'll enjoy my gift..." After a long, winding explanation, Frank folded the letter, placed it in an envelope, and tucked in three dried mushrooms. He then applied glue to seal it shut. After completing these steps, he took out the notecard that克莱恩 had given him, carefully followed the instructions, and began preparing the ritual to summon the messenger. For Frank, this was not particularly complex, and within a short time, he arranged the altar and created the spiritual wall. Finally, he placed a Ruun coin solemnly in front of the candle. After lighting the candle and reciting the incantation softly, he fixed his gaze on the flame, watching it expand until it stepped forth as a headless lady holding four heads. Frank was first startled, then fixated with intense enthusiasm on the four bright, golden-haired, vivid-eyed heads of Renette Tiniel, murmuring in wonder: "How did you do it? How is it so perfectly identical? And if planted in the soil, will more grow?" The four heads held in Renette Tiniel's hands turned their eyes to different directions, finally converging on Frank Lee's face. Suddenly, the soil contained in various vessels throughout the room erupted and piled up before Frank. Frank then rose into the air, expression stunned, rolled over in mid-air, and landed headfirst into the heap of soil. His legs struggled vigorously outside, yet he could not pull himself free for a while. Only then did two of Renette Tiniel's heads extend forward, each seizing a letter envelope and a gold coin. When she had finally vanished completely, Frank Lee finally found the perfect point of leverage, lifting himself clear of the earth and collapsing onto the floor. "That was incredible..." Frank first breathed a sigh of relief, then wiped the mud from his mouth and lips into his mouth, chewing thoughtfully before murmuring softly, "A bit too tart..." At that moment, Gathelya, the "Star General" who had just completed her offering in the captain's chamber, seemed to sense something. Subconsciously, her deep violet eyes turned toward Frank Lee's room, where she caught a faint, slightly crude image of a handmade, ethereal doll. The doll had no head! The image flashed briefly, and Gathelya's eyes instantly closed, a searing pain like that of fire burning within her, causing two tears to flow uncontrollably. Her brows furrowed slightly, and she murmured hesitantly, "An ancient evil?" … After distributing the meteorite crystal and the spinal fluid from the Black Hunted Ankylosaurus to the "Magician" and the "Justice" lady, Caine returned to the real world, settled into the armchair, allowing his body to gently sway as he pondered where to go next: "With news of Germaine Sparrow's appearances and the matter of the 'Mad Captain' Conner Victor, the pirates should remain absent from Bayam's public venues for some time—either already aboard their ships or hidden in their concealed locations, making them hard to locate. "That means I no longer need to be here. The resistance's affairs can be managed through the 'Sea God's' responses and Daniz's communications." "Well, let's head to the 'Seaweed Bar,' get a fake ID, buy a ticket on the Black Ship, and go to Conner's City in the Dizzy Gulf... Not only is it the largest port there, but it's David Raymon's hometown. When I first freed this Red Glove from 'The Crawling Hunger,' I promised him I'd visit this beautiful seaside city, tell his daughter that the hatred has ended—by the way, and also make arrangements to return the extraordinary properties of 'The Nightmare' to the Church. 'Hah! How truly hypocritical people are—planning to return the 'Nightmare's' properties while simultaneously plotting to steal the seal from behind the Charnel Gate of Saint Samuel's Church...' Shaking her head, Caine closed his eyes and restored his spiritual awareness through sleep. After an indeterminate length of time, he suddenly felt a sense of anticipation, opened his eyes, and quickly activated his spiritual vision. Then, he saw Renette Tynicor stepping out of the void. The messenger girl wore a rich black gown similar to her previous appearances, one of her heads clutching a letter. Who sent it? Danyz, the Admiral of the Ice, Frank, or Anderson? Klein took the letter, nodded politely, "Thank you." He was exceptionally courteous to his own powerful and enigmatic messenger, not wanting to one day end up killing her himself. "You...?" "Would...?" "Like...?" "To receive a reply...?" Rynette Tynicol's four heads in turn gently opened their mouths, releasing the words. Klein tore open the envelope, extracted the paper, and read it through. The contents astonished him so much that he nearly forgot to respond to the messenger girl, while Rynette Tynicol remained calm and patiently waited beside him. One day, Frank Lee will utterly destroy the world—absolutely must be controlled, never given the chance to advance! What a fool! How deeply does he love hybridization, how passionately does he adore creating strange and unusual plant hybrids? Well… Silver City has always been short on food. Claryn’s thought flashed like lightning, and a bold idea formed. What if Frank shifted his research focus to foods suitable for Silver City? That way, cattle, fish, mushrooms, the Rose Bishop, the sea, and the world itself would all be safe! Claryn quickly raised his head and said to the messenger lady, “Yes, send the reply right away.” He then stood up from his armchair, walked to the desk, pulled out a pen and paper, and swiftly wrote: “…I have a question: if one consumes the mushrooms you’ve created, then eats cooked fish, and drinks a glass of water, will the mushrooms continue to reproduce?” With that, Claryn moved on to the main point: “…Could you develop a type of wheat that grows without sunlight, or one that feeds on the milk and meat produced by monsters? This seems quite promising!” Following on this topic, Caine wrote several more paragraphs, then folded the letter neatly and handed it to Renette Tynecole, saying naturally, "The postage will be paid by Frank." "Hope..." "He..." "Hasn't..." "Died..." The four heads of the courier said this one after another before one representative finally bit down on the folded letter. Did she hope Frank hadn't died? Caine was startled and was about to ask for clarification when Renette Tynecole had already entered the spiritual realm and vanished. After pausing for two seconds, Caine composed the divinatory phrase and confirmed with the yellow crystal pendant that Frank Lee was still alive. He exhaled silently, gathered up the dried mushrooms, rubbed his temple, and lay back into the armchair. ... After dinner, "The Seaweed Bar." Caine, with his plain, unremarkable face, arrived once again at this place. Unlike before, the patrons in the bar were primarily of mixed-race, with darker skin and wavy hair, and local indigenous people—either belonging to one of Bayam's gangs, secretly serving the resistance, or both—there were few ordinary citizens. The usual international pirates had entirely vanished, leaving only a small number of adventurers sipping strong liquor and discussing maritime rumors. Cain glanced around and spotted Denir, the lean local mentioned by Daniz, who could provide a false identity and a ticket on the black ship. He didn't hesitate, stepped closer and said: "Ticket for second class to Conneret, and a set of identification." Denir looked up at him, paused, then replied: "Twenty pounds in total." "Go to Connecht. A regular second-class ticket would cost about eight or nine pounds... But the black ticket itself is considerably more expensive, not to mention the forged identification they'll provide—twenty pounds isn't unreasonable." Klein calculated it over. "When can I collect it?" "Three-quarters of an hour from now," D'Niel replied smoothly. "You can pay five pounds upfront, and settle the balance once you receive the ticket and identification." "Alright," Klein said, without further hesitation. He pulled out his leather wallet and withdrew five one-pound notes. He wasn't concerned about anyone keeping an eye on his wallet—this might mean he could save twenty pounds, possibly even have some left over. D'Niel had just verified the authenticity of the notes and was about to send someone off when he suddenly noticed the bar had grown extremely quiet! Klein too had sensed it, instinctively turning his gaze toward the entrance. There were two people present. One wore a tailored suit, a black overcoat, with neatly combed brown hair, modest eyes that sparkled with brightness, a light beard around his mouth giving him a refined yet relaxed air. The other wore a long robe with a hood, now quite rare in public settings, his face half-hidden in shadow, making it difficult to discern his features. The relaxed gentleman surveyed the room and seemed thoroughly satisfied with the responses, flipping a silver coin between his fingers as he walked toward Deniel, while the man in the hood followed behind, occasionally pulling out small items from his coat pocket, chewing them with a crisp, satisfying crunch. When the coin stopped moving, the relaxed gentleman reached Deniel, smiling warmly. "Prepare ten tickets for tomorrow's voyage to Port Priz, each belonging to a different ship." "Yes, Mr. Odell," Deniel rose with some hesitation, responding to him. Klein didn't immediately recall the carefree gentleman flipping silver coins between his fingers, as he seemed to have no bounty. It was only when he heard the name Odell that he vaguely felt a sense of familiarity. As he was recalling the name, he noticed the man with the hood pulling out a brown fruit from his pocket, chewing it with a sound that carried clearly. After receiving a positive response, Odell and Klein made no further停留, moving quietly toward the staircase and up to the second floor of the bar. Denier exhaled, turned his head to see Klein's thoughtful expression, and casually said: "Odell, the adventurer who serves the owner of the 'Dawn.'" ...Ah, now I remember—Odell, the 'Silver Coin Serpent'! He has always claimed to be serving the "Mysterious Queen," yet no one has been able to verify it—why don't you ask the "Hermit" lady herself? The last time I heard from him was at Damir Port, where he seemed to be working alongside Old Quin, the intelligence officer of the "Lord of Blood." However, Quin has already been eliminated by the "Hanged Man." Now, Caine remembers several details and asks thoughtfully, "What about the other one?" "Who knows?" Deniel turns to his subordinates and instructs them to prepare identification documents and the appropriate ship tickets. ps: An additional update has been posted—please support us with your monthly subscription over the final three days!