"A substitute?"
Edwina's light blue eyes subtly swept over Lex: "That's possible. Important figures often find one, or even several, substitutes to prevent various accidents."
"Besides being able to die in place of their master in certain situations, allowing the master to escape, sometimes, if the master dies but the substitute remains, the substitute will be used as a pawn during periods of stabilization."
"They are used to appease subordinates and deter enemies, until a new successor appears, at which point the substitute will withdraw from the stage in various forms."
Lex walked to the desk and saw a notebook covered in white dust under the skeleton's hand. It seemed he was still recording something before his death.
Lex, also wearing gloves, brushed away the dust from the notebook and saw some nautical records written in Ancient Feysac.
It turned out to be a logbook.
Lex picked it up, shook off the dust, and put it into his backpack to read carefully later.
"Who cares if it's a substitute? We're not here for archaeology, nor to research the identity of the Nether Queen's Descendant. Don't forget, we're here to find the Treasure Trove."
Danitz turned around and then spread his hands, saying, "So, where's the Treasure Trove?"
"Usually, the Captain would store valuable items together in one room, but we haven't found any similar collection rooms along the way."
Edwina looked around and said, "So I think the collection room should be connected to the Captain's Cabin, with the two rooms separated by a secret door."
"There should be a mechanism to open the secret door in the Captain's Cabin. You can check the bookshelves, display cases, candlesticks, and any other places you find suspicious."
Jodeson and the others nodded, immediately scattering to inspect the items Edwina had just mentioned.
Iceberg Admiral walked to the desk and carefully fumbled on it, finding a secret compartment in a drawer, but it only contained a flintlock pistol and nothing else special.
She put away the pistol. Suddenly, she looked at the golden ship's wheel on the wall.
Edwina approached the wheel, placing her hands on either side, gently shaking it, trying to get a feel for it.
She tried pushing inward, but the golden ship's wheel showed no abnormality.
She then tried pulling outward, and with a soft 'click,' the wheel clearly lifted a bit.
Edwina's eyes lit up. She tried turning the wheel clockwise, and a 'clack-clack-clack' sound came from inside the wall. Then, a gap appeared in the wall where two display cases stood. With this gap as the center line, the wall, along with the display cases, slid inward and opened to the sides.
A dark entrance was revealed before everyone's eyes.
"Everyone, prepare. Danitz, release your 'Provocation'." Iceberg Admiral tried letting go and found that the wheel wouldn't reverse, so she stepped away from the wall with relief.
Danitz immediately released an aura that repulsed non-human creatures. After a moment, no monsters rushed out from within.
Edwina then said, "Danitz, you stay outside and provide support. The rest of us will go in with me to take a look."
Danitz didn't object, telling Iceberg Admiral, "Leave it to me. I'll keep watch here and won't let anything else get in."
Edwina's arrangement was very reasonable; at least one person stayed outside the door, so if anything happened, there would be someone to assist.
So Jodeson and another Beyonder raised their torches and were the first to enter the secret room. Then they took out candles, lit them, and placed them into the room's candlesticks, illuminating the secret room.
Just as they entered the room, the snake-head statue on the opposite wall, which seemed to be merely decorative, suddenly had a faint, grayish-white light flicker deep within its two eyes.
Entering the secret room, Lex heard a cheer from ahead, followed by Jodeson's voice: "Captain, we found the right place."
"Look, so many Beyonder materials! This cabinet is full of magical items, and there's all this gold, these jewels! This is practically a Treasure Trove!"
Lex quickened his pace, taking a few steps forward, and indeed saw box after box in the room. Some boxes were open, others were closed.
The open boxes contained countless gold bars, gold coins, or gold and jewel ornaments overflowing.
Next to the boxes were cabinets, displaying various-sized boxes and glass bottles, all containing Beyonder materials.
Several other shelves held magical items such as gloves, daggers, firearms, and sleeve needles.
It was indeed as Jodeson said: this secret room was practically a Treasure Trove. If everything inside were taken out, the Golden Dream's haul would be immeasurable.
At this moment, Lex saw a self-portrait. It depicted a handsome but melancholic man. He wore a crown adorned with Feathered Serpent motifs, featuring four gems with elegant vine patterns spreading between them.
The man held a golden Feathered Serpent scepter, seated on a throne, his eyes filled with loneliness, seemingly unhappy.
Lex frowned. He seemed to have seen this man somewhere before. Suddenly, he slapped his forehead, remembering that he had seen this man in Damir Port, when he and Bishop Miller ventured deep into the primeval jungle to resolve a curse, deep within that underground temple, in the golden hall, on a wall mural.
However, in that temple, aside from the first mural, this man was not the main character in the other murals, which was why Lex hadn't immediately recalled him.
It wasn't until just now, through that crown, that he connected the two paintings.
"If this person before me is the Nether Queen's Descendant, then that evil entity in the underground temple of Damir Port, that woman, could she be his student, 'Kardashian,' who later left the South Continent to follow her teacher?"
Lex suddenly realized, only now understanding why there was a woman from the South Continent in the underground temple of Damir Port. If it was 'Kardashian,' then it made sense.
Beneath that self-portrait, Lex saw a scepter, cast in gold, depicting the image of a Feathered Serpent, with an emerald decorating its end.
Soon, this scepter went into Lex's backpack.
He walked further and saw a golden coffin, standing upright, with character reliefs on its surface. The relief lines were clear, the colors vibrant, and the overall impression was solemn and majestic.
Jodeson looked at Edwina: "Captain, do you think the Nether Queen's Descendant's body might be inside?"
Iceberg Admiral shook her head: "I don't know, but I know there's no need to open it, and no need to take it. The other items have already made our trip worthwhile."
As she spoke, Edwina's gaze was drawn to an item not far away.
It was a black iron key, and that alone would have been fine, but this key was extremely large.