Rhodes Island does not exist.

“I didn’t do anything, I was just staring.” Skadi used her keen senses to see the content on the screen even from such a distance.

"Staring at...?" the doctor asked, "Staring at what?"

“Staring at us.” Skadi shrugged. “In other words, she’s staring intently at the camera.”

“Wait a minute.” The Doctor realized Skadi’s choice of words. “You just said ‘her’? Is she a woman?”

“Without a doubt,” Skadi nodded. “Everything about her appearance is feminine, no doubt about it.”

"I see."

With his questions answered, the doctor felt somewhat relieved.

"You think she's staring at the cameras, but to me, she's staring right at me!" the nearby interlocking circuit screamed. "Those cameras are my eyes, and she's making eye contact with me! She's looking at me!"

This statement isn't some kind of crazy talk.

After all, all the cameras on the sixth floor are indeed like eyes that close the loop, and if those cameras are equipped with other sensors and functions, then they are also like part of her organs.

That's probably why her face is completely bare except for her mouth.

Weird.

Thinking of this, the doctor couldn't help but sigh softly.

The lavender we encountered earlier was almost entirely composed of eyes, and its closed circuit consisted only of a mouth.

If we apply the current state of the locked-loop system to lavender, it can probably only be explained as follows: she desperately needs eyes or vision to help her solve certain urgent problems.

Just like the Five Elements theory used by the people of Yan when naming their children, if a child is lacking a certain attribute, they will add that attribute to their name to make up for it.

And it's probably the same on Rhodes Island.

"If you're really that afraid of her, why don't you just not look at her?" Just then, Skadi's voice, which was talking to the locked circuit, interrupted the Doctor's thoughts.

"I wanted to do that too, and that's what I did!" The locked circuit nodded frantically. "Otherwise, why do you think I would hide myself in my plush friend's mountain? Because I hate her!"

"That's really ostrich-like behavior," Skadi shook her head and complained.

“So, the locked circuit.” The doctor joined their conversation, looking at the locked circuit’s mouth and saying, “I want to know why you are so afraid of her? You always express your fear of her to us, exaggerating her horror, but you don’t tell us the reason. That’s a bit unreasonable.”

"Are you all idiots?! Are you mentally challenged?!" the locked circuit screamed hysterically. "You walked all the way from the edge of the sixth floor to here, didn't you notice anything wrong with the way you went?"

"What?" The doctor was more surprised that she could speak in an organized manner than by her question.

"On your journey, haven't you encountered not a single anomaly?" the closed loop retorted. "Don't you find that strange?"

"This……"

Thinking about it that way, it's true.

They were so focused on finding a store that they overlooked this fact.

"Because she killed all the monsters!" the Closed Circuit shouted. "I'll be next! So I have to hide, I absolutely have to hide!"

Chapter 209, Chapter 208: Centipedes and Moss Lie Beneath the Stone of Truth

Let's review everything that has happened up to this point.

Sitting at the long table used for the tea party, the doctor crossed his hands to support his chin and used his hood to cover himself in the shadows.

Beside her stood the silent Skadi and the noisy, clamorous closed circuit.

Judging from the fact that she makes a lot of noise, she really is just like a child.

"First, let's talk about the intelligence on the sixth floor."

Now that we've arrived at the core area of ​​the sixth floor, it means that all the adventures on the sixth floor can at least come to a close here.

Therefore, organizing all the information obtained can also begin from this step.

“I learned from Specter that I left behind food, and food must have a source.” The Doctor sorted out the initial lines in his mind and gradually stretched them out. “Then I met Specter and got information from her about the shop on the sixth floor.”

This is very important.

Because people need a goal to strive for or simply to support their lives, no matter what the circumstances.

The shops on the sixth floor are such a target.

Escaping Rhodes Island is too far, uncovering the truth is too broad, and doing nothing is too casual, but finding a source of food is a very practical and valuable endeavor.

From that point on, the Doctor began to work toward this goal, and in the process, he learned a lot of unexpected information and experienced many unforeseen events.

An infinite staircase, a polar night hall, slug feeding areas, Originium remains, and lavender.

If we take finding the shop on the sixth floor as the main plot, then everything encountered above is a side plot on the main plot.

However, from the doctor's own perspective, these side quests have been completed quite well so far.

But it's only considered "good" at best.

After all, apart from those slugs, he hadn't accomplished a single side quest.

They found Originium and some memories of the past, but knew almost nothing about the third floor; they went down to the lower level through the Midnight Hall, but were inexplicably berated by a phantom; they escaped the strangely arranged Infinite Corridor, but lost a temporary friend.

Looking back now, everything was so bumpy and stumbling, just like him.

Thinking of this, the doctor's gaze fell on the little finger of his left hand—there should have been a little finger there.

Never mind, let's continue sorting things out.

He shook his head, trying to get his thoughts back on track.

What happened next?

Later, he encountered a strange ambush in the area near the sixth-floor entrance, and then met Skadi again while she was being rescued.

Thank you for this encounter.

Otherwise, the Doctor would still be living in oblivion of Skadi's existence.

Looking back now, forgetting Skadi is completely unacceptable.

After the Doctor and Skadi joined forces, the two embarked on a journey to find the store on the sixth floor, and in the process, they learned that the sixth and seventh floors were actually connected.

Then, the two discovered they were being monitored while almost strolling around. Taking advantage of this opportunity, they used the Originium Arts that the Doctor had recalled to trace back to the end of the surveillance system and find the core area where they were now located, which resembled a graveyard.

With that, everything has been sorted out.

The doctor turned around and focused his gaze on the screens that covered the entire wall.

The woman who was previously at (382, 654) has now moved to (381, 628) and is still moving forward.

The Doctor couldn't identify where she was in the background, since his eyesight wasn't as good as Skadi's and he couldn't observe everything on a more microscopic level.

But he doesn't need to observe.

What he should be doing now is asking questions.

Ask a question about the locked circuit.

“Locked-out circuit.” He then spoke, untying his crossed hands, turning his twisted upper body around, and shifting his gaze to the faceless little girl. “I have a question for you.”

"Ahhh—ahhh?"

When the doctor called her name, the closed circuit immediately stopped her hysterical screaming and became as docile as a kitten.

Good cat.

“We already know why you are afraid of this woman, but does she have a name?” the doctor asked.

"A name? What is a name? Why would I need to know that? How would I know?" Locked Circuit tilted its head, its enormous mouth curving upwards. "What does her name have to do with me? What does it have to do with her wanting to kill me?"

She's starting to lose her ability to think again.

but it does not matter.

After several conversations, the doctor has now figured out how to establish communication with her.

The key to establishing communication is: don't try to have a full conversation with her, but rather try to get the information hidden in her words.

If you can obtain relatively complete information and intelligence from her, then communicating with her can be considered a success.

Therefore, all you need to do is guide them.

We just need to lure out the intelligence.

So the doctor asked the question in a different way.

"She's probably on her way here now, and if I'm not mistaken, then you're definitely her target. And as you said before, you hoped we could help you."

"Well, since you want us to help you, I at least hope that you can tell me everything you know about that woman."

The doctor stared at her.

This is a threat.

Although the Doctor wasn't sure if her initial remarks about friendship and power were just ramblings made up when she lost her mind, her hysterical state was probably not a pretense.

"Her, her name, her name is Reaper, Reaper!"

This time, the locking loop finally revealed something of value.

"Thank you. Only through cooperation can we become friends, don't you agree?" The doctor smiled and nodded at her, verbally promising her the favor he had done for her. "So, where did she come from?"

“Friend, yes, friend! We’re friends!” Hearing the Doctor’s approval of their relationship, Closed Circuit couldn’t help but get excited, nodding repeatedly, and quickly answered the Doctor’s second question, “She, the Reaper, came down from the seventh floor! Her activity area is the seventh floor! My eyes have been fixed on the connection between the seventh and sixth floors, so there’s no mistake, no mistake!”

Seventh floor.

This keyword flashed through the doctor's memory for a moment.

He remembered Skadi saying that she had also come down from the seventh floor.

"Skadi?" He turned his head to look at the huntress with a calm expression.

"You want to ask me what the seventh floor is, right?" Skadi glanced at the two of them.

"The answer is the library."

Chapter 210, Number Two Hundred and Nine

library.

For PhD students, this is a term that is both unfamiliar and familiar.

“Let’s make this clear beforehand.” Skadi glanced at the Doctor. “The layout and size of the library are actually quite similar to this floor of the shops. After all, as I mentioned before, the structures of these two floors are essentially connected, so in many places, the layout on the floor is the same as the layout on the floor.”

"The library's collection...?" This is what currently piques the doctor's interest the most.

After all, it's a library.

Books represent a collection of information and intelligence. Reading books means acquiring knowledge, and acquiring knowledge can increase one's chances of success within Rhodes Island.

Although he didn't think Rhodes Island, or rather Specter, would really release such useful intelligence so openly.

“I suggest you don’t overthink it,” Skadi shook her head. “That place is called a library just because that’s what it says on the sign; it has absolutely nothing to do with a library.”

"How do you explain that?" the professor asked.

“That place has long been burned to ashes.” Skadi sighed. “The tall bookshelves and the books on them were reduced to black charcoal, their bodies peeling away to ash in the windless, enclosed space. If you were a book lover, you would definitely go crazy if you saw that scene.”

"Didn't you say the seventh floor is the same size as the sixth floor? Such a big place... all of it?"

“I can’t say all of them,” Skadi thought for a moment, “but at least the places I’ve been to are exactly as described: ruins and scorched earth.”

"...Could this be related to the Reaper mentioned in the locked loop?" the doctor asked.

"It's not a matter of whether it's related or not, it must have been her! It must have been her!" Upon hearing the name of the Reaper, the Closed Circuit became excited again. "Every time she came down, she smelled like she was burned! It stank so badly!"

"Speaking of which, the locked circuit." Suddenly realizing something, the Doctor looked at the locked circuit and asked, "You've been showing fear of her, so have you actually met her?"

"Are you kidding me?" Locked Circuit instantly stood up from his chair, took several steps back until he reached the armrest of his throne, and stared at the Doctor with an incredulous look. "How could I possibly face her? I wouldn't even let her set foot in the food area, absolutely not!"

"If you don't even confront her directly, how did you manage to keep her out?" the doctor asked curiously. "Skadi and I didn't encounter the slightest resistance along the way."

"Because you're friends, I let you in!" The corners of the closed-loop circuit's mouth curled into a proud smile, like a minor official taking credit for himself. "Because you're friends!"

"But, but." Then she added, "Originally, there were many strange creatures wandering around the sixth floor, but the reason you didn't encounter them is because every time she came down, she would kill all the strange creatures she encountered, and over time she killed them all without leaving a single one."

"So in a sense, we should thank her," the doctor said thoughtfully.

"No thank you!" Locked Circuit pouted her large lips, her tone laced with reproach and a childlike grievance. "You are my friends, she is my enemy. You must protect me, not side with her!"

"But so far, has anything happened that proves that your relationship is hostile?" Since the Doctor had not been able to obtain any valuable information from the Locked Circuit's words, he began to wonder about the identity of the Reaper that the Locked Circuit had mentioned.

"Why not?" the locked circuit exclaimed. "It's obvious she's a major villain, the kind you'd find in a fairy tale! How could someone like that not be an enemy!"

"You still haven't answered my question." The doctor shook his head and continued, "What I mean is, has she done anything, directly or indirectly, that infringes upon your interests or safety?"