Rhodes Island does not exist.

"Doctor, remember what I said before."

Her voice rose and fell, as if she, too, was walking briskly, just like the doctor.

"I hope you can live, even if you are the last person on Rhodes Island, I hope you can live."

-

Thank you segment.

Thank you, Ah Lianya, for the monthly pass.

Chapter 186, 185.

Rhode Island, 16th floor, at the connection point of the observation tower.

Under the watchful eyes of the merchants, the starving and delirious refugees slowly surged toward the tower's gate, just like a queue waiting to board a plane.

This hard-won order was something he temporarily established.

"Don't easily believe that the other party is truly well-intentioned just because they say nice things. Don't let your guard down, even when handing over resources."

The businessman gave instructions again and again, and by the end, he even felt that these words were not spoken to them, but to himself.

"Hey."

Gazing at the harsh reality, the businessman couldn't help but sigh.

How much longer can we hold onto this remote control?

Right now, he can barely rely on bombs to threaten Rhodes Island and keep them from attacking for the time being. But what about after that?

The supplies inside the tower will soon be consumed by the refugees, and the sandstorm will eventually dissipate. But what will they face once the sandstorm truly ends?

"What a pointless survival game..."

As he pondered these matters, a sense of sorrow welled up in the businessman's heart.

In this zero-sum game, a lose-lose situation is almost inevitable. And what he did was simply to tilt the scales of this lose-lose situation even further toward Rhodes Island.

Since we're going to lose anyway, as long as our side doesn't lose too badly, that's fine.

Since we're going to die anyway, you won't have it easy either.

Just like what someone in the refugee group said not long ago.

"Even if I die, I want to die with a full stomach."

If one side dies from overeating and the other side dies from starvation, then the side that dies from overeating undoubtedly wins.

Relatively speaking.

Thinking this, the businessman unconsciously lowered his hand that was holding the remote control, allowing his already aching muscles to relax. At the same time, what came into his view was the Rhodes Island troops slowly retreating opposite him.

retreat?

My sensitive nerves suddenly tensed up at that moment.

-

Rhode Island, eighth floor, communal ward.

The doctor repeatedly poked at the elevator buttons with his finger, but the display screen remained completely black.

He forgot that Rhodes Island had lost power.

Realizing this, he immediately turned around and ran towards the stairwell of the maintenance passage, his legs sprinting and his mind racing.

The communicator was filled with static.

Amidst the buzzing noise, the words Provence left behind not long ago still echo.

"Doctor, do you know that when I started my job, Miss Closure showed me a design plan for the observation tower? In that plan, she detailed the various functions of the observation tower and how to use the related equipment, including emergency measures that would be needed in case of dire circumstances."

"In the section on emergency measures, it describes in detail that the connecting corridor between the observation tower and the sixteenth floor is part of the observation tower, not part of the sixteenth floor of Rhodes Island. Therefore, when the observation tower and the sixteenth floor are separated, the connecting corridor will also be separated, disconnecting from Rhodes Island from the entrance at the end of the corridor."

"The design drawings also specifically indicate the distinction between the inner and outer parts of the observation tower's separation mechanism."

"The external separation device is non-mandatory and controlled by Rhodes Island's internal network. In other words, if Rhodes Island's internal network is disconnected, the separation device will be unusable, but the internal one is not."

"The internal separation device is called the manual separation device. For safety reasons, only personnel inside the tower can activate it, and once activated, it will irreversibly separate the entire observation tower from Rhodes Island."

"—So, when those people gather in front of the observation tower, ready for me to distribute supplies, that's when I'll sever the connection between Rhodes Island and the observation tower. As for the Doctor... I'd like to ask you to tell Instructor Dobermann and the others to retreat a bit, so they won't get caught in the Originium Dust Storm after we separate."

Thump thump thump thump.

Hard-soled shoes tapped against the metal stairs.

The doctor climbed up the maintenance corridor, his mind blank.

The communicator in my ear beeped with a channel connection notification.

“Doctor, I’m ordering the special operations team at the back to retreat to avoid alerting the thugs, but… what’s going on? What is Miss Provence planning to do? And Dr. Kal’tsit just arrived too, did she call her, Doctor?” Dobermann’s questions kept coming.

“Provence plans to sever the connection between the observation tower and Rhodes Island.” The Doctor suppressed his tone, which was teetering on the edge of losing control, and answered Dobermann’s question. “As for Kal’tsit, even if you ask me, I don’t know. There is no superior-subordinate relationship between her and me. All her actions are independent.”

"Provence wants to disconnect? Why?" Dobermann was quite surprised. "Also, although I wanted to ask when Dr. Kal'tsit came earlier, it's not too late to ask now—do you have some other plan that you're hiding from us?"

“No.” The Doctor shook his head. “I have no reservations about Rhodes Island. Kal’tsit and Provence’s actions were personal, which is why I’m heading to the sixteenth floor right now.”

"You're coming to the sixteenth floor?"

“Well, I’m trying to stop Provence as much as possible. Her communicator has been disconnected since just now,” the doctor said as he climbed the stairs. “But even so, you should continue to retreat, just in case. We’ll talk about anything when I get back.”

"Then Dr. Kal'tsit...?"

"Have her retreat with you, and say it was my order." The doctor glanced at the sign with the number 11 on it and said to the other end of the communicator, "Also, the order of retreating from back to front is correct, this will not arouse the other side's suspicion, you did a good job."

"Thank you, Doctor. I'll do as you say." Dobermann acknowledged the doctor's instructions and disconnected from the channel.

But just as the Dobermann disconnected, another connection lit up again.

"PhD."

It's Provence.

“I’m standing right now next to the manual disengagement device inside the observation tower.” She spoke firmly and decisively, her voice clear and resolute. “My hand is already on the lever, but before I pull it down, I really do want to apologize to you.”

"Don't use death as an apology; I will not accept it." The doctor's feet landed on the steps, expressing his attitude.

“No, no.” Provence’s words were accompanied only by a smile. “I wanted to apologize for deceiving you before, and also for the refugees I deceived.”

"How did you deceive those refugees?" the doctor asked.

"Because I said I would hand over the supplies to them."

"Then when did you deceive me?"

“At the beginning.”

The doctor seemed to hear the other person utter those three words and then take a deep breath with a trembling voice.

"I said I liked you, but that... was actually a lie. I'm sorry. I'm the kind of woman who will play with people's feelings even on my deathbed, so feel free to hate me."

"Besides...didn't I just say that I also lied to those refugees because I didn't actually give them the supplies?"

"The truth about that is that there were no supplies in the observation tower to begin with."

"Well, I didn't have one, so... please wish me a happy birthday and then accept my gift."

【Click.】

Chapter 187, One Hundred and Eighty-Six: The Remnants of a Smile

【Click.】

That's the sound of pulling down the lever.

what?

What just happened? What exactly did Provence say? What did he mean by "like"? What did he mean by "deception"? What did he mean by "manipulation"?

what gift?

Everything was thrown into chaos.

Normal thoughts were now all blocked in the narrow gaps of the brain's nerves, blocked by that simple click.

Even so, the doctor understood at least one thing, something he had to understand.

Rhodes Island and the Observatory will begin to separate completely at this moment.

-

Rhode Island, 16th floor, at the connection point of the observation tower.

When the merchant realized that the Rhodes Island troops in front of him were beginning to retreat, a sense of unease rose in his heart.

But this sense of unease could not be conveyed to the refugees who were pouring into the corridor.

Because things have come to this point, there is no going back.

In their eyes, all that awaited them was food and water; everything else was irrelevant to them.

Indeed, even among them, some still retained the rationality of businessmen, believing that the matter was not so simple.

But what can we do?

They were skeptical, but they had no choice, for they had waited far too long for this moment.

The corridor quickly filled with people, who soon reached the other end and began banging on the closed door.

The first shaking began at this point.

"squeak--"

With a metallic scraping sound, the merchant felt a vibration beneath his feet.

The vibration made him instinctively tighten his grip on the remote control.

Because he couldn't associate the tremor with anything truly dangerous, he could only think that Rhodes Island had sent reinforcements again.

If they're sending reinforcements, why would they make it look like they're retreating?

The second shaking began at this point.

This time, the merchant could no longer regard the tremor as a simple sound of stairs, because he could feel that he was standing at the very center of the tremor, to the point that even his center of gravity began to shift.

Something must have happened.

Something big must have happened!

With that thought in mind, the merchant immediately looked away from the Rhodes Island troops facing him and turned his gaze toward the connecting corridor where the refugees were pouring in.

"laugh--"

The instant he turned his head, he felt a sharp, needle-like sting on his face. At the same time, a numb sensation began to appear in the area of ​​the sting.

What's this?

Experiencing pain he had never encountered before, he opened his eyes wide, trying to discern the source of the pain from his surroundings.

"Click."

But then, a small crack appeared in the lens on his nose.

This time, however, with the help of the crack in his glasses, he finally saw the source of the pain that had just caused his face.

It was a tiny crystal, its obsidian-like sheen standing out against the dim corridor.

As a businessman from Chernobog, he was very familiar with this stuff.

Originium fragments.

So, why are Originium fragments here?

The answer is already coming.

"Click."

"boom!"

The second and third Originium fragments flew like bullets as he arrived at his answer, shattering his right-side lens, grazing his cheekbone, and embedding themselves in the wall behind him.

The sudden change in vision caused by losing one of his lenses made his world spin instantly, and the urge to vomit surged like a storm and waves, crashing against his brain.

But he knew this was just the beginning.

Because in his vision, where blur and clarity overlapped, he saw a beam of light.