Rhodes Island does not exist.

The image on the screen seemed to be frozen in place, completely still.

Even the doctor began to doubt whether what he was watching was a video or a still image.

So he spoke again.

"Increase it to thirty-two times."

It doubled again.

The numbers began to grow exponentially.

Although this is just a snap of the fingers for the interlocking circuit.

"Om."

The sound from the video resembled the buzzing of mosquitoes and flies, but it was only similar in sound and did not last as long as they did, which was annoying.

"Skadi, is this speed okay?" The doctor asked the female hunter beside him, his eyes fixed on the screen.

“I’m fine,” Skadi nodded. “In fact, I think most people are fine, since nothing on the screen has actually moved at all.”

"That's true." Looking at the unchanging image in front of him, the doctor gave a wry smile.

So he opened the interlocking circuit again.

"Could you show me all the surveillance footage from all the entrances and exits? I need it all from the same time period, of course," the doctor requested. "I'd like it to be divided into different sections and displayed all at once on the screen."

"Oh, no problem. I've already rearranged the order. I can find whichever section you want to see." The locked circuit waved its hand and then snapped its fingers again.

As the crisp sound of collision rang out, the scene in front of the doctor was immediately divided into six pieces, each with an exit.

“Hmm… I recognize the entrance to the third area.” Skadi’s gaze fell on one of the places, and then she said, “That’s the staircase connecting the sixth and seventh floors. Going up from there leads to the library.”

"Presumably, at the time of this recording, the library shouldn't have been reduced to ruins yet," the doctor said.

“It’s hard to say,” Skadi shook her head. “After all, we don’t know how long the time span is, or what time it is on the screen.”

"Anyway, it was some time ago, right?" the locked circuit thought for a moment and said abruptly, "But I don't know how long that period of time was."

“It’s enough time to fill all the tombstones here.” The doctor’s eyes swept over the huge memory cells.

"No, not at all." The locked circuit waved its hand. "Not all the memory is full; at least a third of it is empty."

"Two-thirds is huge enough," the doctor chuckled.

"Well, that's roughly it?" The locked loop thought for a moment and agreed with the doctor. "But if you want me to quantify this period of time, I really can't."

"Weren't those videos already organized? Their numbers should be written down, right?" the professor asked.

"The numbers are a mix of letters and numbers, I can't understand them," the interlocking circuit said helplessly. "Besides, I never look at them."

"So how did you organize it?"

"Go with your gut."

-

Thank you for the monthly pass.

Chapter 239, Part Two Hundred and Thirty-Seven: Welcoming the Light and Waiting for Your Return

The first six video clips have finished playing.

As the six most original video recordings stored here, they didn't even capture the slightest movement of any living or dead creature, let alone the doctor.

Throughout the six videos, which lasted approximately six hours, the only sounds the Doctor and Skadi could perceive with their senses were the distorted wind sounds produced by the high-speed playback; the images on the screen were completely still.

"You could call it soundonly, it's perfectly fine too," the professor remarked.

Ultimately, the Doctor and Skadi watched these videos at 128x speed.

“After all, that was only the first day.” Closed-loop shrugged. “You can’t expect much foot traffic in this godforsaken place.”

“I thought things would be different in the past,” the doctor said.

“But you don’t even know how long ago this so-called past is,” Skadi interjected.

"Alright, let's continue watching." The professor gestured towards the locked circuit. "Let's release the next video as well. Also, for efficiency, I'd like to increase the speed."

"Should we accelerate further?" The locked circuit looked puzzled. "I think 128 times is fast enough, isn't it?"

"Skadi, what do you think?" The doctor turned to Skadi for her opinion.

“Don’t worry about me.” Skadi shook her head. “Just do what you want and don’t care about my opinion.”

“Alright, let’s raise it to 256 times then,” the doctor said to the locked-loop circuit. “Thank you for your help.”

"Hey! Don't say that, I should be thanking you!" The locked circuit waved its hand. "I already said you're helping me, don't be so polite, you're my friend!"

"...Alright, if you insist." The Doctor didn't say anything about the locked circuit's reaction, he just smiled.

"So, here's the next section."

The locking circuit struck an elegant pose, then snapped its fingers lightly.

The image on the screen flickered.

-

The video recording numbers changed over time.

从001到005，从005到008，再从008到00f。

However, all of these videos are just repetitive and monotonous.

The tedious journey seemed endless, peeking out from the screen and tormenting the Doctor and Skadi's nerves.

Perhaps from the beginning, the doctor was filled with joy, surprise and curiosity about these videos from the past, but all he could think about was that it all had to end as soon as possible.

"This part is finished too, what, still nothing?" Looking at the doctor's slightly gloomy face, Locked Circuits spoke with concern, wanting to give her friend some support.

"No, it's still the same as before." The doctor sighed weakly. "There's nothing there, I can't see anything."

"Even though the speed has increased to 512 times, how can you still see clearly?" The locked circuit found it somewhat unbelievable.

"Yes, you can think of it as one of my abilities." The Doctor rubbed his eyes, which had just been glowing green, and glanced at Skadi beside him. "Are you alright?"

"Me? What could possibly happen to me?" Skadi asked, puzzled.

"No, it's nothing." Seeing that Skadi was still the same as usual, the Doctor had nothing more to say. "I was just worried that you might not be able to keep up with the playback speed."

“Doctor,” Skadi said sincerely, “I think I’ve already given my opinion on this matter—just do what you think is best and don’t worry about me.”

"Ah... I know." The doctor rubbed his temples. "I just can't control the urge to care about people."

“Then you need to change it,” Skadi replied. “It’s not a good habit. After all, there are many people in this world who don’t want to receive unwarranted concern. For these people, unwarranted kindness is actually no different from malice.”

"You're right." The doctor thought for a moment and nodded.

"So, should I speed it up?" Seeing that the conversation between the two had ended, the usually carefree Closed Circuit finally took a moment to consider the atmosphere. "If you want to play it, I can start now."

"No, let's not release it yet. Let's rest for a bit." The doctor shook his head. "Are you two hungry? Would you like something to eat?"

“I don’t need to eat,” the locked circuit said, raising a hand. “So you can exclude me.”

"Too."

After all, you are an oddity, the doctor thought.

But she can only think it in her mind; she can't say it out loud. Even if she's probably aware of her own limitations, it's still the same.

This is a matter of etiquette.

"Let's eat something first," Skadi nodded slightly in response to the doctor. "The advantage here is that it's close to a supermarket, so we won't lack food or water for the time being."

"If even here there is no food or water, then the entire Rhodes Island will probably cease to exist," the Doctor said.

“Probably.” Skadi stood up.

"Why did you stand up?" the doctor asked, noticing Skadi's movement.

“Weren’t we going to the supermarket? Since it’s time to eat, let’s go together.” Skadi slung her greatsword over her shoulder and tightened the leather strap. “Or are you going to help me get it back? There’s really no need for that. After all, I also have things I want to eat and things I don’t want to eat, so I need to decide for myself.”

“Alright, let’s go together.” The Doctor thought about it and felt that this was probably not wrong, so he stood up and left the table with Skadi.

"Take care, don't say it's my fault for being impolite. After all, I don't need it, so I don't have any reserves. But you're my friends, so I'll probably prepare some in the future. Maybe, or perhaps not, hahaha." Closed Circuit let out her signature strange laugh again, and the logic in her words seemed to have lost its integrity, returning to its usual state.

The Doctor and Skadi left amidst her strange laughter.

"Oh right, right." Seeing the two leave, the locked circuit suddenly seemed to remember something and called out to the two who were walking away.

"What's wrong?" The doctor turned around and looked at the locked circuit.

"While you're gone, I'll continue playing those videos. That way, it'll be some kind of help to you, okay?"

The locked circuit grinned, and although her enormous mouth made her smile look slightly exaggerated and terrifying, the doctor realized that she was truly sincere when she said those words, so he nodded and said, "Then I'll leave it to you."

"okay.

Having verbally agreed, the interlocking circuit immediately snapped its fingers.

Sound and images appeared simultaneously with her snap of her fingers.

Upon hearing the sound appearing at 512 times the normal speed, the doctor suddenly stopped in his tracks.

Chapter 240, Part 238: Where Does the Tide Go?

Artyom began to understand what his stepfather meant by "the feeling of the tunnel." Artyom knew that beyond that vaguely existing boundary, where the firelight illuminated, where the red flames and trembling shadows intersected, there seemed to be more people, other people. But at that moment, he wasn't sure. It seemed that just ten paces away where the firelight could illuminate, life had abruptly ended, and before them there was nothing but death and a dark, empty void; if you shouted, only a dull echo would feign an answer, deceiving you.

He kept running until a small, reddish campfire appeared ahead.

It's hard to describe the comfort this brought him, because it let him know that he was indeed in the real world, and that there were real humans around. It didn't matter what their relationship to him was. They might be murderers or thieves, members of a faction or revolutionaries—it didn't matter. What mattered was that they were all flesh and blood like him. He had no doubt that he could take refuge with these people, thus escaping the invisible, gigantic monsters that wanted to devour him. Or rather, it was a refuge for his own chaotic mind.

—Dmitri Glukovsky, Metro 2033

-

The things that appear before my eyes make no sense whatsoever.

The doctor, dressed in a black overcoat, stood in the simple room. Before him lay only a plain sofa, an old television, and an unsettling woman.

The reason it's considered illogical is that he couldn't remember how he got there, nor did he know where he was.

He had never seen the woman before, although her aura seemed to give him a vague impression.

The doctor then began to look at her.

Her body was covered from head to toe in a jet-black nun's habit, revealing only her long, gray hair and face with red eyes.

The woman smiled and looked at him.

"Nice to meet you, Doctor."

She began by saying this.

-

At first, the doctor had no idea what the woman in front of him was saying.

He could understand every single word and syllable she uttered, but when they were put together into sentences, he could hardly comprehend their meaning.

And whenever he showed this confused expression, the woman would kindly explain it again in detail.

"This is Rhodes Island, and I am your guide on Rhodes Island—Specter."

“On Rhodes Island, you can do whatever you want, but only if you are able to do it.”

she says.

But the doctor frowned.

"Rhodes Island? I came from Rhodes Island. This place looks completely different from the Rhodes Island I remember. Or is it just called Rhodes Island, but is actually a different place?"

He looked at the woman in front of him who called herself Ghost Shark and asked her a question.

But Ghost Shark did not answer his question directly.

You will find out.

She simply spoke slowly, with that enigmatic yet alluring smile.

"Then, if I want to leave here, is that possible?" the doctor asked.

“Of course you can.” Ghost Shark nodded. “However, you came with a purpose and a mission. Do you really want to leave here like this before you complete your mission?”

"A mission...?" The doctor fell into deep thought.

Because he was new to the place and his memory was still hazy, the doctor was not yet ready to face everything.