Rhodes Island does not exist.

The doctor suddenly remembered that he had delegated part of the kitchen management responsibility to Exusiai.

"Hi, boss."

Red-haired Sarkaz stood at the elevator entrance and waved to the Doctor.

Although she was slender and tall, her position essentially blocked the doctor's view of the cafeteria.

The doctor realized that she might have done it on purpose.

“Hello, Aneng.” The doctor nodded to her and tried to use body language to naturally get her to move aside.

But Exusiai's body did not move.

"Exusiai?" The Doctor stood in front of Exusiai, who was clearly deliberately blocking his way, his eyes filled with suspicion. "Why won't you let me pass?"

"Huh? What?" Exusiai maintained a slightly strange smile on her face while hurriedly waving her hands and saying, "How could that be? I was just... just curious why the boss would suddenly come to a place like the cafeteria."

"Why can't I come?" the doctor asked in return.

“Because of that, you see,” Exusiai explained, adjusting her position relative to the Doctor, “Rhodes Island has been without food for days, hasn’t it? There’s no food to cook in this kitchen either, and nobody comes here anymore, so there’s absolutely no need…”

"You're hiding something from me." The Doctor stared at Exusiai.

He had never looked at his operators with that gaze before, so even Exusiai trembled for a moment at the unfamiliar look in his eyes.

"I, we..."

Exusiai's momentum waned, but she straightened her back because of the responsibility she had to bear. "You really can't go in! Ever since you entrusted this place to me, I've been using it as my temporary dormitory, so... there are really things I can't show you!"

"I see." The Doctor nodded. "Are you using the excuse of an operator's personal privacy to restrict me?"

The more composed the Doctor was, the more flustered Exusiai became.

"Boss, please!" Exusiai practically begged him on her knees, "Don't go in, okay?"

"No." The doctor shook his head, his tone resolute and leaving no room for argument. "On the contrary, your resistance makes the truth of the matter even more suspicious."

"Besides, I have all the permissions for Rhodes Island, why can't I enter?" The Doctor shook his head again, his expression gradually turning icy. "One last time, Exusiai, get out of the way."

He did not call her "A-Neng".

This is an order, not a greeting.

Their relationship has now returned to that of superior and subordinate.

"boss."

-

Exusiai finally gave up resisting.

She seemed to realize that continuing to persist was pointless, and it was better to face reality sooner rather than later.

Anyway, the other party is that doctor.

But is it really a good thing?

Is this really okay?

Even if the other party is that doctor, would he still choose to forgive them after seeing everything in the kitchen?

do not know.

Everything is unknown.

At that moment, Exusiai suddenly remembered her identity.

She is merely an operator of Penguin Logistics and does not belong to Rhodes Island. Her relationship with the Rhodes Island Doctor is at most one of cooperation, not superior-subordinate.

If that's the case, why should I listen to him?

Exusiai couldn't answer that question.

She still couldn't answer the question until the doctor passed her by and walked towards the kitchen.

What exactly does a PhD mean to her?

"Beep beep beep, beep beep beep, beep beep beep—"

Just as she was thinking, worrying, and fearing, a ticking sound suddenly came from the doctor.

That was the voice from the communicator in the Doctor's ear; she had heard it countless times while working alongside the Doctor on the battlefield.

"It's me, Doctor."

The doctor answered and responded.

-

The voices transmitted through the electrical current were mixed with background noise.

The moment the communication was established, the doctor sensed something was wrong on the other end.

So he spoke up in response.

"It's me, Doctor."

The other party also spoke quickly, getting straight to the point without any self-introduction.

"The Reunion Movement is attacking the fourth floor."

That sound belonged to w.

It is full of distinctiveness, full of charm, and full of violence.

"Is the situation serious?" The doctor, who was on the thirteenth floor, immediately thought of the area below the ninth floor. "How is Grandpa Patriot?"

"We don't know how serious it is yet. Also, Patriot, that old man, just fainted."

The doctor seemed to hear W click his tongue on the other end.

"He collapsed?"

"Yes, I guess it's because they haven't eaten for three days. Although they look as tall and strong as mountains, they're actually all bark and no bite; they're completely empty inside." When discussing Patriots, W, unusually serious, didn't crack a joke. "I suspect those scattered Reunion fighters seized this opportunity to launch their attack..."

"boom!"

A huge explosion came from the other end of the channel.

The same shock traveled along the Rhodes Island pillars up to his feet on the fourth floor.

"What happened?" the doctor immediately shouted in the other direction.

But all he received in response was silence.

Fortunately, the silence did not last long.

“…I set up an enemy bomb on this side.” W’s voice sounded sickly. “They probably won’t want to advance any further for a while, but this won’t delay them for long.”

"I'll be right down." The doctor immediately turned and headed towards the thirteenth floor.

"You'd better hurry," W replied, "otherwise I can't guarantee..."

Sizzle.

The wire broke.

"W?" the doctor called out in vain.

But no one answered.

"Boss, what happened?" Exusiai approached at the right moment, her eyes filled with concern.

"Exusiai, there's a mission, are you still capable?" Looking at Exusiai in front of him, the Doctor couldn't help but recall the moments when he went to the battlefield with her.

"Okay! Ready at any time."

She patted the repeating gun at her waist, her smile as always.

-

Thank you segment.

Thank you for the monthly pass and the razor blade.

I got vaccinated yesterday and feel good today.

Chapter 199, Chapter 198: A Couple's Journey

"boom!"

The fast food restaurant's door looked heavy but was actually dilapidated. When Skadi's right foot kicked the door frame, it instantly collapsed inward along with the hinges.

In the end, it wasn't opening the door at all; it was more like dismantling it.

"Ah." Skadi's gaze fell on the two door panels she had kicked over, and a hint of embarrassment flashed across her face.

"Is this what you meant by 'entering the door'?" The Doctor stood behind Skadi and said approvingly, "Very efficient."

"I feel like you're making fun of me." Skadi turned around and glanced at the Doctor.

“No, I’ve never been good at this kind of thing.” The doctor shook his head.

“Really? Then you can go in and take a look.” Skadi propped the greatsword she had taken down with one hand and pointed into the restaurant with the other.

"Being respectful is worse than obeying orders."

The doctor shook his head, picked up his pickaxe, and stepped over the two door panels that Skadi had kicked down.

A faint green glow flickered in his eyes.

Bright yellow and pure white spotlights are placed close to the ceiling inside the restaurant, creating a cheerful and harmonious atmosphere, perfect for a family meal.

The strangely shaped dolls were strung together with ropes and hung from hooks, like garlic and chili peppers hanging upside down in front of a door in a rural area of ​​Yan.

"It's actually quite childlike."

Skadi walked behind the Doctor and gave a sharp critique.

"Oh, really?" the doctor replied casually. "Kids might like them, although these toys... aren't exactly cute."

This is indeed the case.

The dolls hanging from the hooks on the ceiling all had hideous faces and distorted shapes, making them seem more like sacrificial offerings of some cult than toys at first glance.

But... these things are made of plush.

It's clear that the person who made them tried very hard to make them cute, but ultimately failed.

what a pity.

However, the spirit of hard work has been conveyed.

“It seems like this place is full of similar things.” Skadi’s gaze swept across the store, and after taking in the countless upside-down doll strings, she said, “Is this some kind of decorating style here?”

“I don’t know, but since there are obvious signs of artificial objects and decorations, it proves that someone or something must live here.” The doctor looked along the central axis of the ceiling to the other side of the wall with his eyes that were flashing with green light. “By the way, my eyes are very bright right now.”

“After all, the wiring for all those surveillance cameras is now concentrated here.” Skadi followed the doctor’s gaze.

Although she can't see anything at all.

"And what about you?" the professor asked. "Did you sense anything strange or a similar atmosphere here?"

“Not for now.” Skadi shook her head. “Besides, I’m not radar; my senses aren’t as sharp as you think.”

"I just thought you might have similar skills." The doctor slowly closed his eyes, letting his consciousness wander along the converging lines, sensing everything around them. "But maybe I can try to see if I can trace back to the source by following the lines of those surveillance cameras."

"Why didn't you use such a convenient ability sooner?" Skadi frowned.

"Because it's unusable," the doctor replied. "It seems usable now because all the lines are clustered together; I'm just hitching a ride."

"However, although I don't mean to offend you, but..."

Skadi stretched out her left hand and pointed to a small door behind the fast food counter that read "staffonly," saying, "There's only one room here. No matter how much you probe, we have no choice."

“I already knew that.” The doctor opened his eyes, restoring his vision to normal. “I was just checking in advance to see if there was any danger behind the door. You wouldn’t want to open the door and encounter a pitfall, a flying knife, a spiked trap, a strange attack, a barnacle, or a blackboard eraser, would you?”

"The first few are fine, but what about the last two? They're obviously wrong." Skadi's吐槽 (tu cao, a Chinese internet slang term for sarcastic or critical comments) skills have improved.

"Don't worry about the details." The doctor picked up his pickaxe and walked towards the counter.

"So what? Is it safe behind the door?" Skadi asked, following the Doctor.

"Let's call it safe for now," the doctor nodded. "At least I didn't see any reaction coming from behind the door... But just in case, it's better to prepare an empty gasoline can."

"Why?" Skadi tilted her head.

"Just in case there really is a barnacle behind the door," the professor replied seriously. "If you have an empty gasoline can, rolling it directly behind the door might trigger a barnacle bowling achievement."