Before leaving the temporary shelter of the cave, Duncan tore some ragged cloth from the nearby corpses to wrap around himself.
This was not because he couldn't stand the cold and dampness of the cave, but rather to cover his exposed heart. Even though the gaping hole in his chest had no effect on his "survival," as a fundamentally normal person, walking around with a gaping hole was just too eerie. Covering himself provided some comfort and reduced the bizarre sensation of the "draft."
Furthermore, Duncan considered the possibility of suddenly encountering others in this underground space. Having a gaping hole in one's chest might not be conducive to conversations with strangers...
Thus, with his "wound" hastily tended to, Duncan cautiously left the gloomy, damp cave and entered the connected passage, slowly heading deeper.
The temporary body he occupied was not "convenient." Not only did the fatal damage to the chest affect its flexibility, but Duncan could distinctly feel the body's frailty. The overly thin limbs could hardly walk quickly, paling in comparison to the "phantom captain's" powerful body that clearly surpassed that of ordinary humans.
Duncan couldn't see the full appearance of this temporary body, but judging from what he could see, he guessed it belonged to a young man—a young man who had become weak due to long-term severe malnutrition. Though a powerful phantom captain's soul currently controlled this body, it seemed that the soul's strength could not break the physical limits imposed by the frail form.
Unfortunately, there was no choice for now. Duncan could only control this barely functional body, exploring the dark passage slowly. He knew that with this temporary body's condition, he'd be helpless in the face of any danger. All he could do was pray that this shell would last a little longer.
The passage was deep, damp, and dark, but there seemed to be hidden vents allowing faint air currents to flow nearby. Every now and then, torches or oil lamps hung on the walls, indicating that people had been active here.
After traveling a long distance down the passage, Duncan suddenly noticed that the path opened up, and traces of human construction appeared in his line of sight. At the end of the passage, he saw a fork in the road, with smooth walls and a high, semi-circular arch. The brick-paved floor was dark and damp, with two channels of nauseating wastewater flowing along both sides.
On the walls on either side, there were openings resembling drainage pipes, some of which discharged wastewater into the channels below, flowing into the darker distance.
"...Sewers?"
Duncan quickly realized that he was facing an extensive sewer system. The previous cave, filled with numerous corpses, seemed to be a natural cave structure connected directly to the sewer.
A vast sewer system, a natural cave connected to the sewers, and hidden corpses.
In an instant, countless conjectures arose in Duncan's mind. At the same time, he carefully observed the intricate details of the "sewer" before him.
It was massive, expertly constructed, and seemed to be reinforced with steel and concrete, potentially serving as an underground shelter if needed.
The city above this sewer system must have been quite large, and its technology must have developed to a certain level. Technology doesn't exist in isolation; behind each engineering product is the simultaneous support of countless related industries and technologies. Even a simple sewer system could reveal construction, planning, materials, and maintenance levels to Duncan, as well as the corresponding residents' way of life.
This was enough to provide Duncan, who was currently suffering from a severe lack of information, with valuable data from the civilized world.
Duncan walked along the sewer, stopping suddenly after a short distance, his gaze falling on the nearby wall.
Embedded in the wall was a lamp with a glass cover and a sturdy metal cage around it. Compared to the torches and oil lamps in the cave earlier, this wall-mounted lamp was much brighter. The frosted glass encased a steady, bright flame that illuminated a considerable distance within the sewer.
Duncan approached and examined it carefully. For him, everything from outside the derelict ship, especially modern civilization's creations, held a great appeal.
After observing for a while, Duncan finally understood what this light source was: a gas lamp.
But this gas lamp seemed different from those he had seen in records. Besides the difference in style, the most noticeable feature was the slender symbols he saw on the glass cover.
These symbols appeared to have been added during the production of the lamp, curving and twisting like hieroglyphics. Duncan didn't recognize them, but they reminded him of the mysterious runes he had seen on the mechanical ship and Alice's "coffin."
Though the content was different, they shared a similar... "quality."
It was something sacred and ritualistic.
Duncan stepped back and looked further down the sewer, noticing a brightly burning gas lamp on the wall at regular intervals.
As an underground facility seldom visited except for necessary maintenance, the lighting equipment in the sewer seemed somewhat excessive. On the shell of each gas lamp, there might be similar mysterious "runes."
This gave Duncan a feeling as if these densely distributed gas lamps were combating something in the unvisited darkness beneath the city, and the "human civilization" they represented was fighting against something.
Duncan followed the path illuminated by the gas lamps, keeping an eye on any valuable clues on the surrounding walls, ground, and arches. Suddenly, he noticed something unusual out of the corner of his eye.
He stopped between two gas lamps in a relatively dim section of the sewer. He looked up at an angle, noticing something drawn with dark red paint high on the wall, near the sewer arch.
Duncan squinted, trying to discern the image outlined by the rough lines. He saw pairs of hands reaching for the sky, as if worshiping something. Above those hands, there hung a radiant sphere emitting brilliant light.
Below this scene of worship and adoration, there was a row of crooked text. The brushstrokes quivered with intense fanaticism and anticipation. The letters were not of any Earthly language, but Duncan instinctively understood:
"The false sun shall fall, and the true sun god shall rise from blood and fire! All life returns to the sun, and all order returns to the sun!"
Duncan stood silently in the sewer, gazing at the area where the light from the gas lamps was the dimmest, looking at the dark red graffiti, and the blood-soaked sun that seemed to be worshiped fanatically.
It was as if he was staring at another world for a long time.
He watched for a while until the sound of footsteps suddenly came from deep within the sewer.
He looked up abruptly toward the source of the noise and saw several hooded figures approaching. Their faces were hidden in the shadows of their hoods, appearing like sinister specters in the depths of the murky sewer.
Duncan didn't hide; in fact, there was hardly any place to hide in this straight sewer tunnel. His current, inconvenient body was even less capable of "blind spot maneuvers" or other advanced tactics. So after briefly pondering his options, he simply stood boldly in the middle of the sewer, calmly watching the hooded individuals, who seemed suspicious no matter how you looked at them.
Since this body was destined to be disposable and couldn't run away, he might as well get some more information before the end.
The next moment, the hooded figures emerging from the depths of the sewer noticed Duncan's presence.