Rhodes Island does not exist.

“And death is something that should never be taken for granted,” the doctor said in a deep voice.

“Although the vast majority of people cannot get used to death, or even experience it,” Skadi remarked from the side.

“That’s why they fear death and try so hard to survive in order to avoid it,” the doctor sighed. “That’s the standard for ordinary people, and I have to be like that too.”

"If you deviate from the standards of ordinary people and step into a subhuman realm, it will be very difficult to recover." The doctor murmured, gazing up at his pitch-black future.

"So you've decided that you'll never go back to where you used to be, right?" Skadi asked.

"Correct."

"So, why?"

Skadi stared at the Doctor. "At first, I was so shocked by your actions that I didn't even have time to ask you why you did it. But now that your resolve is unshakeable, I can finally ask you why you made this decision."

“As I mentioned before, I want to establish a base here.” The doctor’s gaze stretched towards the end of the street. “A base that can exist as a form of resistance.”

“Rebel? Rebel against the woman you live with?” Skadi asked. “Don’t forget that her authority covers almost the entire Rhodes Island, and she might even be monitoring our every word right now.”

“It’s alright.” The doctor shook his head. “These words were meant for her.”

"Including those things you said before?"

“Every single word.” The doctor nodded. “I’m not afraid of being listened to by her, nor am I afraid of what kind of traps she might use against me. I’m only afraid that she will ignore me, silence me, and do things all by herself.”

"Why?"

“Because when someone like her starts to fall silent, it means she’s serious,” the doctor chuckled. “By the way.”

“What?” Skadi asked.

"Everything I just said," the doctor paused for a moment, then said, "was all a joke."

"Huh...? Wait a minute, what do you mean by 'joking'?"

Skadi completely failed to understand the meaning of that sentence.

“All of it,” the Doctor said. “I don’t actually intend to stay away from the fourth floor, nor do I intend to betray Rhodes Island or distance myself from that woman. Of course, I also won’t give up the chance to be resurrected and pay the price.”

“No, wait…” Skadi was confused. “So you’re not planning to stay here like this?”

"Maybe I'll stay on the sixth floor again. After all, it's very close to the supermarket, so the convenience is incomparable," the Doctor replied with a smile. "But a short stay isn't a permanent one. I'll definitely go to deeper levels of Rhodes Island to explore things I don't know in the future, and bring back myself and what I discover perfectly and completely."

"So let's prepare a place for us to stay, preferably close to the supermarket, haha," the doctor said to the locked circuit.

“Okay, then you can be my neighbors.” Closed Circuit seemed quite happy, and even bit the Doctor’s arm with its teeth. “But I would rather have roommates than neighbors, so that my big room won’t look empty. It’s more lively when there are more people… Awoo awoo.”

Unfortunately, she ended up biting into a lavender vine. But perhaps because her mouth was so big, even while nibbling on the thorny lavender, she didn't show any expression other than happiness.

However, the happier the locked circuit looked, the more complicated Skadi's expression became.

She couldn't imagine what had just happened.

Why would the doctor suddenly propose such a hypothesis? And why, after proposing it, was he able to retract his previous statements without batting an eye?

However, what she didn't expect was yet to come.

As the three were walking along the road, the doctor suddenly stopped. At the same time, the doctor made a gesture as if he had just realized something and shouted at the top of his lungs.

"I was wrong. I really shouldn't have made such a rash move."

His tone was filled with regret.

"You?" Skadi's sensitive nerves were touched. After what the doctor had just said, Skadi was now completely confused about what the doctor was trying to do.

But the doctor himself knew.

“I still have to sever the connection with the fourth floor.” He said through gritted teeth, “I shouldn’t get used to death like this, especially since the price she’s demanding will eventually tear me apart… I don’t want that to happen.”

“However, the privilege of resurrection should not be given up so easily.” The doctor then said, “If a corpse can be used to explore or search unfamiliar environments, then I must use this behavior to make my death a stepping stone for the death of the latter.”

Jumping back and forth repeatedly.

"Ah, that's not a bad idea, but—"

The doctor's eyes suddenly returned to their original state.

Immediately afterwards, a layer of filth appeared in his eyes.

He's been talking to himself ever since he started.

But this time, he uttered a question tinged with a wry smile.

"If you can see this, please tell me whether I'm planning to go back to the fourth floor or not, and what my final answer will be. You can't get any useful information just by looking at the surface."

-

Thank you segment.

Thank you to Fu Hua's classmate 楠鸢荟阙根筋othuyeg祼筿蟊sega桑 for the monthly pass and the knife, thank you.

Chapter 235, Part 233: The Moon Rises Beyond the Clouds and Encircles the Mountains

Skadi thought the Doctor might have gone mad.

Although he looked normal, the things he said didn't sound like something a normal person would say.

What she didn't know was that all the words the doctor had just blurted out were actually a conversation with Ghost Shark.

He was conducting an experiment.

To test whether Ghost Shark can really hear what everyone on Rhodes Island is saying.

If so, then what he just said would have had some value.

However, the doctor did not intend to explain.

After all, once something like this is explained, it loses its original purpose.

So to put it bluntly, those seemingly chaotic words were actually just a smokescreen.

-

The three continued on their way back.

"So, is there anything you're interested in?" the closed loop asked. "About your residence."

“No, I don’t plan to live outside.” The doctor shook his head and looked at the locked circuit, saying softly, “If possible, I’ve decided to take your suggestion and live in your fast food restaurant. It’s quite spacious there, and with a little tidying up, it’s habitable.”

"What do you mean 'it can be lived in after a little cleaning'? I already live there!" The interlocking circuit seemed a bit unhappy. "Isn't that like saying my place is dirty and messy?"

"Yes."

The doctor did not embellish his statement, but simply nodded honestly.

"...Haha, you're absolutely right!" After pausing for about half a second, the interlocking circuit burst out laughing. "After all, I've never cleaned it before."

As they chatted casually, a familiar road sign slowly appeared in front of them.

This means they've returned to the entrance of that supermarket.

“Don’t forget your promise to us.” Glancing at the road sign, the doctor said to the interlocking circuit, “Record the video.”

"I know, I know!" The locked circuit waved its hand. "Even if you didn't mention it, I would still show it to you. After all, it's like making you do the work. If someone can help me with the work, of course I'd be happy to."

"The easiest jobs are those with help, the most useful money is the money you get without working, and the most delicious food is the food you don't have to cook for yourself," the doctor muttered to himself.

"What are you talking about?" Skadi asked with a slightly puzzled look.

Ever since the doctor said those nonsensical things, she had been looking at him with a strange gaze.

“I’m just saying a proverb,” the doctor replied. “Although I don’t know where I heard it from, I remember the words surprisingly clearly.”

“It’s pretty cheesy,” Skadi commented, “and it doesn’t make any sense.”

"Probably." The doctor shrugged. "I don't know why I memorized such boring proverbs but forgot the truly important things. Maybe that's just how the human brain is."

The three of them walked into the food section and stopped in front of the supermarket that had the sign "Gregorian Warehouse".

The food packages they had collected were still placed next to the supermarket entrance, unchanged from before.

"Since we're going to stay here, do you think we still need these packages?" Skadi glanced at the two large bags and asked the Doctor.

"Probably not needed anymore." The doctor shook his head. "But let's just leave them there. Maybe we'll need them someday."

"There will still be time to repack by then, right?" Skadi replied.

“Indeed.” The doctor nodded.

"Don't think about the future, come in, come in." Locked Circuit stood excitedly in front of the two slightly loose doors of the fast food restaurant, waving to the doctor and his companion.

Skadi hadn't told her that she had kicked those two doors apart.

Looking back now, being too rude when entering a room might not have been a good thing, since you never know if the space behind that door might become your home in the next moment.

So Skadi essentially kicked down her own door.

Just like in the novel "And Quiet Flows the Don" by a famous Ursus writer—don't forget to spit in the well, because you might come back here to fetch water later.

"You'll be staying in the space behind this hall."

After welcoming the two into the fast food restaurant, Closed Circuit gestured excitedly and said, "There are some empty rooms connected to the corridor behind the lobby, and people can stay in them. But don't rush now. Didn't you want to watch those old videos? Watch them first, and I'll take care of the rooms for you in no time."

“Okay,” the doctor readily agreed.

"Is it okay? Is it okay?!" Receiving an affirmative reply, the locked circuit was overjoyed. "Great! Let's go! Today is a day to celebrate! I've found new friends, eliminated the enemy, and we'll even have a tea party and watch videos together! It's so exciting, so worth celebrating! Let's go, let's go!!!"

The concept of a locked-in circuit has clearly reached its peak.

However, the Doctor and Skadi are probably already used to it.

At first, they might have been a little confused when they heard the locked circuit speaking, but now they probably wouldn't be surprised no matter what the locked circuit says.

After all, that's just how habits are.

Anything strange or bizarre, once you see it enough, you'll eventually become numb to it. Numbness is just another way of expressing habit. There's no difference between the two; it's just that one sounds better.

"Forward, forward!"

The locked circuit, with its cheerful steps, led the two like a young girl, taking on the role of guide.

The road that the Doctor and Skadi had once traversed with trepidation now seemed as leisurely as a scene from a spring outing.

They didn't seem like hunters who had come to Rhodes Island with a purpose; they looked more like a few pilgrims enjoying the spring scenery in early or late spring.

“Speaking of those videos, they’re piling up in the storage devices.” Locked-loop walked ahead, muttering to himself, “Although I haven’t seen them, just looking at their size, I feel like it definitely can’t be watched in a day or two… You guys don’t plan to watch them all, do you?”

Her questioning tone carried a hint of disbelief.

Although she usually speaks haphazardly, the doctor felt that she must have been sincere in her tone when she said this.

"I don't know if I'll finish reading it," the doctor shook his head, "but I'll definitely have to start from the very beginning."

"Moreover, I think what determines whether we finish watching it is its content, not its length."

Chapter 236, Part 234: Moonlight over the Mountains, Obscuring Clouds and Mist

When the three doctors stepped into that vast space that resembled a cemetery again, the scene was completely different from before.

"Buzzing—"

The drones, their wings spinning, weaved between the tombstones, their tail lights emitting a faint blue glow, leaving trails of comet-like streaks as they flew.

The doctor had seen these drones on the battlefield not long ago.

At that time, the interlocking circuit pipes were called friends.

"Ah, with the Reaper dead, my friends can finally be resurrected." Looking at the drones flying in the air, Locked Circuit suddenly opened its arms as if to embrace them. "Such good things can happen several times in one day. Maybe I'm really about to drown in happiness now, my God."

Upon seeing the closed loop return, the drones swarmed together and rushed toward her, nuzzling against her shoulder blades like puppies and kittens.

Now the PhD student finally understands why this place is so vast and tall.

As a habitat for drones, such a space is indeed quite reasonable.

"Come on, come on, feel the welcome from my friends, come forward!"

The interlocking circuit, brimming with excitement, skipped and hopped ahead, leading the way.

Although Skadi and the Doctor had walked this road made of pipes and steel before, the three of them were now surrounded by enthusiastic drones, making it look more like a wedding venue with a red carpet than before.

It was just a difference in time and atmosphere, yet such a change occurred.

“These storage devices around us are filled with the videos you want to see,” Locked Circuit said, pointing to the tombstones. “So what we’re going to show you later is all taken from these big black cubes.”

“I understand.” The doctor nodded and asked, “You mentioned before that we’ll be using something to watch the videos later, those screens embedded in the wall?”

"No, no, no, the monitor screens on the wall won't move." The locked circuit hurriedly shook its head and denied it. "Those things are my eyes on the sixth floor. I can't risk blindness to let you watch the recordings for me. That would be too stupid, so stupid that it would be second on my list of stupid things."