Rhodes Island does not exist.

"Then what's the first one?" Skadi asked the Doctor, expressing her curiosity.

"Left foot steps on right foot, then falls down." The locked circuit stuck out its tongue in a cute way.

Skadi truly regretted her ill-timed curiosity.

"So, since you don't know how to use the screen on the wall, what are you going to use?" The Doctor bypassed Skadi's question about the locked circuit and went straight to the point.

"Of course it's... another screen."

After saying that, the interlocking circuit clapped its hands.

"Buzzing..."

As the lockout circuit was closed, a drone with an external robotic arm suddenly emerged from the sea of ​​tombstones and flew toward the doctor and his group.

The two robotic arms are holding a display screen.

“Now that all our friends are back, we can do many things that we couldn’t do before.” The interlocking loop took the display screen from the drone and patted its head with a smile. “Thank you, my friend.”

Having received praise from the locked loop, the drone, like a kitten or puppy waiting to be petted, raised its mechanical tail, wagged it, and returned to the towering tombstones.

Perhaps their homes lie within those tombstones.

Will bionic birds have data nests?

"These individual screens are connected to all the storage devices in this room. If you want to watch a recording, you can just retrieve it from there. It's very convenient." Locked Circuit said, swiping his finger across the screen, preparing to demonstrate to the Doctor and the others.

But then, as if sensing something was wrong, she withdrew her right hand and hid the screen behind her back.

"No, no, no." She shook her head repeatedly, like a child who had done something wrong.

"What's wrong?" the doctor couldn't help but ask with concern.

Even though he knew the blind girl in front of him would be alright.

"We shouldn't be doing this now!" Locked Circuit slapped its forehead. "We're finally back, we should be having a tea party first! Our friends are all waiting for us!"

"Didn't we say we'd watch it together at the tea party?" The Doctor remembered what he'd just said about the locked circuit.

"Yes, yes, but that's after the tea party starts." Closed Circuit quickly reached out and grabbed the Doctor's sleeve. "Hurry up, hurry up! The tea party doesn't wait for anyone, let's start now!"

"..."

Seeing the two people ahead of her looking rather carefree, Skadi followed closely behind without saying a word.

The three of them then repeated the route they had taken before, only this time they were probably a little rushed.

"Wait a minute?"

As they drew closer to the throne of the locked circuit, the Doctor finally sensed something amiss.

He stopped and turned to look at Skadi behind him.

"Can you smell a strange odor?"

“I smelled it about five minutes ago,” Skadi replied. “What’s wrong?”

"Ha...right, I forgot your five senses are much more sensitive than the average person's." The doctor chuckled dryly. "Then can you identify what this tastes like?"

“I don’t know. It might sound familiar, but if you want me to tell you exactly what it is, I probably can’t answer.” Skadi paused for a moment, then shook her head.

"This smells like tea. Have you never drunk tea before?" The closed circuit in front overheard their conversation and turned around with a slightly surprised expression. "It's incredible that you find this smell unfamiliar."

"I don't know, I really can't recall the taste of tea." The doctor shook his head. "But, is this bittersweet, slightly fragrant taste tea?"

“Yes, yes, that’s the characteristic of tea,” the closed loop said with a grin.

“I originally thought tea parties were just a form of gathering, but I didn’t expect there would actually be tea,” Skadi said. “After all, when I came before, all the cups here were empty.”

“Because there hasn’t been a tea party here for a long time since the Reapers came.” Closed Circuit shook its head somewhat sadly, then quickly returned to its cheerful mood. “The fact that we can have a tea party again is all thanks to the two of you, so you are the main characters at this tea party!”

"Actually, the tea party doesn't matter what it is, as long as we can watch the recording."

The Doctor sighed.

-

Thank you segment.

Thank you for the blade and monthly pass from Que Genjin.

Chapter 237, Part 235: The Misty Rain Always Turns Upside Down

In fact, from the very beginning, the Doctor and Skadi never expected to be able to sit down quietly and enjoy the tea party with the closed circuit.

After all, her mental state is obvious to all, so anything related to her is bound to have something abnormal about it.

However, to their surprise, the tea party went surprisingly smoothly.

Apart from the fact that the chairs on both sides of the long table were filled with ugly plush toys suspended by drones.

"Did you get this tea from the supermarket?" Skadi took a sip and was slightly surprised after noticing any unusual taste.

“Yes.” Locked Circuit nodded, deftly picking up the delicate stem of the cup with two fingers, and then letting the amber liquid flow into his mouth down his wide lips.

"It's pretty good," the doctor praised.

"Oh, young boss, it's truly delightful that you can appreciate the flavor of the tea." Closed Circuit put down the teacup and clapped its hands with a hint of pleasure. "In that case, I'd be happy to share even higher-grade teas with you, hehehe."

"Ah, thank you so much." The doctor raised his hand in thanks. "So, regarding the video, may we begin watching it now?"

"Don't worry, I'm looking for it too." The locked circuit shrugged. "The amount of stored data is just too large. It would be tiring to slowly go through it by date. But I think it will be soon, so you don't need to rush. It will be done in a little while."

“I can understand.” The doctor replied with a wry smile, glancing at the tombstones piled up like mountain peaks.

"So, before we find the first piece of stored data, let's enjoy the tea party in front of us first. Come on, come on, all our friends are here today, so let's all be more enthusiastic."

The locked loop clapped its hands, signaling the surrounding drones to use their robotic arms to lift the teapot and refill the tea for the doctor and the others.

“After watching the video, our next step is to go and see where the Reapers came from, which is the seventh floor.” Skadi picked up her teacup and drank it down in one gulp, ignoring the steam rising from the surface. “When I was wandering around there before, all I saw were charred building ruins and ashes everywhere, so I think there must be many secrets buried there.”

"The previous theory was that the seventh floor was completely destroyed by the Reapers, right?" The Doctor put down his teacup and looked at Skadi.

“Yes, after fighting her, I’ve pretty much confirmed the validity of that theory.” Skadi nodded. “The only trace left by someone skilled in using high-energy stone explosives would be ashes.”

"So why did she do that?" The doctor's expression turned puzzled. "Her destructive behavior seems more like a mission than an instinct or desire—not something she wanted to do, but something she had to do."

“I’ve been thinking about that too,” Skadi’s voice was low. “And at the same time, I’ve been wondering if my forgotten goal has anything in common with hers. If I remember my goal, then perhaps I’ll end up like her…”

"If that's the case, then I hope that when you think about your goals or mission, you can tell me what kind of mission it is."

The doctor said to her with a smile.

"Are you more concerned about the cause of the destruction than the destruction itself?" Skadi sighed.

“Of course.” The doctor nodded. “If we act without asking why, it’s tantamount to giving up any possibility of communication and negotiation.”

"No wonder you were able to reach an agreement with that weirdo named Lavender... Sigh." Skadi couldn't help but shake her head as she listened to the Doctor's words.

“After all, in a place like Rhodes Island, increasing the number of friends is more important than reducing the number of enemies.” The Doctor glanced at the Locked Circuit listening with great interest beside him. “Which is wiser, subtraction or addition? I think you can figure it out.”

“I don’t know.” Skadi shook her head. “Maybe I don’t have your abilities. When I see something strange, I only have one thought in my mind: to kill it.”

"It's alright, it doesn't matter." The doctor thought for a moment and replied, "Addition or subtraction is just a choice, as long as you feel it's suitable."

"Huh...?" Hearing the doctor's words, the locked circuit suddenly curled up the corners of its mouth. "Didn't you just say that addition is wiser than subtraction? Why did you stop insisting here? Oh~ I know, you like this female hunter, so you went along with her."

"I just think that things shouldn't be taken too absolutely." The Doctor looked at the closed circuit and smiled. "But I didn't expect that you, who have been living in seclusion here for so long, would know about these kinds of inflammatory remarks that you like or dislike."

"Huh? I don't know anything. I'm just telling the truth." Closed Circuit finished his tea and waved his hand. "I always say what I think, so you can't blame me."

"Then why are you going along with me?" However, after hearing what the closed circuit had said, Skadi suddenly turned to the Doctor and took over the question from before, "Is the reason simply that you think things shouldn't be too absolute?"

“Indeed.” The doctor’s tone and expression remained completely calm. “Or, for another reason, do you prefer the closed-loop one? If you think that’s better, then that’s fine too.”

"what?"

Skadi hadn't expected the Doctor to suddenly reverse course and deflect her attack, so she had no choice but to retreat and become timid.

"No, I just want to know the reason, I don't have any complicated thoughts."

"Really? Then you already know the reason, it's what I just said." The doctor took the teapot handed to him by the drone and filled the cup to two-thirds full.

"……Row."

Skadi had nothing to say.

“Actually, if you have any thoughts or requests, you just need to speak them out.” After Skadi’s silence lasted for about two seconds, the Doctor slowly spoke, “If you think I’m wrong, then you can raise your objections. I will accept them, because I am better at listening than speaking.”

"No, it's nothing, just pretend I didn't say anything." Skadi shook her head, avoiding the question.

Just then, the sound of the locking circuit rang out between the two of them at just the right moment.

"They're out! They've found them!"

"What did you find? The video?" the doctor asked sharply.

"That's right, the first record has been found, and the rest are arranged in chronological order. It was really hard to find." The locked circuit pretended to be tired and panted. "So, do you want to see it now?"

Chapter 238, Part 236: The Past Cannot Be Hidden

A separate display screen was suspended by a drone and hung in front of the Doctor and Skadi.

"Its starting date is the first day the camera was set up, and the scene it captured was the outermost entrance on the sixth floor at that time. The number ends with 001, so from any perspective, it is the first recording. So... let's start playing it now."

The locked circuit sat with its legs crossed in front of the two people, its fingers moving lightly across the air as if controlling everything with a remote control.

The Doctor and Skadi remained silent, simply watching the screen.

"呲呲-"

With the appearance of noise, the video finally started moving.

Its image is dull.

Everything seemed to be coated with a thin film of dust, making one feel as if they were in a fog.

The unsettling sound of the wind scraping against the radio equipment was extremely harsh.

"You haven't seen these videos, have you?" the doctor asked the girl behind the screen.

"No, I'm too lazy to look at it." The locked circuit replied matter-of-factly. "There are so many of them, and they're so ugly. Unless I'm really bored out of my mind, why would I bother to look at them... No, even if I were bored out of my mind, I still wouldn't look at them."

"So, you don't know exactly when someone will appear in these videos, right?" the doctor asked again.

“How would I know that?” The locked circuit grinned. “I haven’t really looked at it much.”

“I understand. I just wanted to confirm.” The doctor nodded, turning his gaze back to the screen while taking a sip of his tea. “After all, such a thorough investigation would definitely take a lot of time. I hope to save as much time as possible.”

"I can't help you with that." The locked circuit shrugged. "But if you want to save yourself the trouble, I can help you increase the playback speed. What do you think?"

Her tone was as sincere as that of a normal person.

"Then I'll have to trouble you." However, the doctor naturally hoped that she would be as normal as possible, so he just nodded and let her do it.

"Okay, then remember to call me when you want to adjust the speed. Anyway, you guys have helped me so much, it's only right that I help my friends." The locked circuit seemed quite happy.

Perhaps it's because I feel that I am needed by others.

"Now we can start fast-forwarding," the doctor said, staring at the screen. "Playback speed... let's start at eight times."

"Okay."

The interlocking circuit snapped its fingers.

The timer on the screen suddenly began to recede rapidly like a tide, and the noise was shortened into sharp high notes as the speed increased, flashing in the ears of the two people.

However, the scene itself didn't change much. After all, this isn't a lively place, so it's normal that you can't capture much.

Conversely, if there are any drastic changes in the scene, then you should stop fast-forwarding.

"This entrance looks familiar," the professor remarked, observing the passage of time.

“Because it’s the elevator entrance you came from,” Skadi replied from the side. “It’s just that the place hadn’t been altered by the supernatural at the time, so you didn’t recognize it immediately.”

"I see... Can the locked circuit be accelerated a bit more?" the doctor asked after staring at it for a while.

"Sure," the interlocking circuit nodded. "How many do you need?"

"Sixteen times," the doctor said in a deep voice.

"Have it."

The interlocking circuit snapped its fingers again.

As a result, the time on the timer doubled in speed, and the sounds became sharp, like some kind of strange musical instrument, with even the tones and rhythms seemingly audible.

Even so, the doctor still couldn't capture any useful information from it.