Rhodes Island does not exist.

After walking about half a flight of stairs, the doctor arrived at the section of the giant, bizarre stomach.

As for how he determined that this was the stomach, the answer is quite simple—because it was filled with unrecognizable corpse remains and viscous liquid that was almost ankle-deep.

"But why are there corpses piled up here? The strange creatures don't even leave behind a body after they die; they just turn into a pool of dark blood." The doctor stared at the remains with obvious biological characteristics, a few questions rising in his mind.

However, considering that the building itself already had enough questions, the doctor decided not to delve any further and instead focused his attention on the corpses beneath it.

Among the mounds of corpses, a sharp metal horn protrudes, telling the story of its original form and its current fate.

"The gift that Kroos once gave me has ended up in a place like this... I really don't know what happened when Rhodes Island was being rebuilt."

As the doctor sighed, he crouched down and reached out his hand towards the mountain of corpses, landing on the small piece of metal beneath it.

Light-colored bones and dark, rotting tissue intertwined, entangling this old memory within him. If he wanted to pull it out, he would first have to clean up the pile of corpses that had buried it beneath.

However, these are all easy to discuss for PhD students.

"Hmm... this bone should be from the Ursus race. The Ursus skeleton is quite distinct from other races, so it's relatively easy to identify. As for this one, it's probably from the Saffra race..."

As he excavated the small hill, the doctor used his professional knowledge to describe the races of the remains, just like a real doctor.

As he recited about half of Terra's race, the treasure he had buried deep within this mountain of corpses finally revealed its true form.

A battle-hardened pickaxe.

Strangely enough, it has been soaked in this flesh and blood for who knows how long, but it has not rusted at all. If you look closely, you can even find that the old look on it was already there before it was buried.

However, the landfilling of this waste did not create any new traces for it, nor did it even cover up its previous traces.

"Ah, welcome home."

Pulling the pickaxe from the mountain of corpses and holding it back in his hand, the doctor felt an indescribable sense of security as he felt the weight of the metal.

"Then that completes the task."

After shaking off the grime that had clung to the pickaxe and then casually wiping it a couple of times with the hem of his coat, the doctor gripped the pickaxe and swung it around a couple of times.

Then, he turned around, walked back the way he came, and finally left the strange body inside the staircase.

"call."

After escaping the strange body, the doctor found the slightly fishy smell of the stairwell air surprisingly refreshing.

Although he didn't react strongly to the smells from the strange body just now, he would probably refuse to experience it again if given the chance.

After all, being able to tolerate something doesn't mean you like it.

"Alright, now look at me." The Doctor held the pickaxe upside down and raised his other arm, which was not holding anything, and waved it in front of the almost completely frozen staircase monster.

“I have nothing to do with you anymore, and if I had to say, I even helped you remove a foreign object from your body. You should be thanking me.” As he spoke, the doctor raised the hand holding the pickaxe and waved the metal object in front of the strange creature. “Having something like this in your stomach must have been uncomfortable, right?”

Unfortunately, the Staircase Monster is neither free to answer the Doctor's questions nor possesses the intelligence to do so.

So in the end, the PhD student was still talking to himself.

"Alright, I don't care if you heard what I said or not, but I'm going to release you now." The Doctor lowered his hand from the pickaxe and instead made a gesture with his other hand, showing the monster five fingers. "You can see my hand, right? When all five fingers of this hand are retracted, I'll give you your freedom, five."

As the sentence ended, the professor retracted his little finger.

"Gurgle..." An unsettling wriggling sound came from inside the strange mouth, it was hard to tell whether it was really responding to the doctor or just normal bodily activity.

"Four." The doctor put his ring finger away.

The strange creature did not react at all.

"Three." The doctor retracted his middle finger and took a step back.

"Two." The professor put away his thumb.

The strange body remained still, and the doctor had only one finger left.

"……one."

The last index finger is tucked in.

-

Thank you segment.

Thank you for the monthly pass from Fisbook's Silent Apprentice Wind Greetings.

Chapter 247, Land of Memories

"Roar---"

As the last index finger retracted, a deafening roar erupted from that strange throat, carrying sound waves and long-fermented gas from its abdomen as it rushed towards the Doctor.

But that's about it.

The strange creature did not make any other move.

The roar represents its attitude, but not its courage.

As it unleashed this earth-shattering roar, its massive body did not move forward an inch.

"Yes, be obedient."

The doctor smiled, looked up and examined the beast that had no eyes, and gently stroked its sharp teeth with his left hand.

“When I was a traveling healer in Sargon, I rescued a few fanged beasts in the wilderness. They were just like you back then. Although they didn’t trust humans at all and kept yelling at me, they would very sensibly leave after yelling.” The doctor looked at it and said, “Although I don’t understand animal language, I guess it probably wasn’t anything unpleasant, just like you.”

"Gulu..."

Bubbles surged in my throat.

The enormous monster did not repeat its previous roar, but instead clenched its jaws, making a face that looked both unwilling and helpless.

“That’s right.” The doctor patted its teeth. “Your usual habitat is on the bottom floor of this staircase, right? If you behave, I might be able to bring you something to eat… or rather, would you like some?”

"Woo?"

Perhaps it was because it was indeed intelligent and could understand some normal human language, because after hearing the doctor's sweet and tempting words, the huge beast immediately stopped the strange noises surging in its abdomen, and instead moved its huge mouth, which occupied the entire corridor, back a few places and let out a submissive cry.

"Alright, let's go back then. Wait for me." The Doctor nodded slightly to the beast, then shrugged. "Anyway, if nothing unexpected happens, I'll probably be the only living person left on Rhodes Island, so you'll only be able to wait for me."

"Woo." As if it understood the doctor's words, the beast responded again, shaking its bloated body.

The chunks of flesh that made up its enormous body were also trembling up and down with the movement, making the scene look quite comical.

"If you understand, then go back. Don't keep blocking the stairs." The doctor chuckled twice and waved at it. "Go back, go back to where you belong."

He really wanted to say that if it kept blocking the area, it would only make the surrounding air stink, but he was worried that it would be unhappy if it understood, so he withheld those comments and only kept the imperative sentences.

"Goooo..."

After hearing the doctor's words, the beast actually began to retreat and slowly moved towards the lower level.

It's probably because it's too big to turn. Although it comes at a very high speed, when it reverses, it just looks clumsy.

"call……"

The doctor stood there watching the strange creature depart until it completely disappeared from his sight before he finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Although he was confident that he could tame the beast, the unfortunate size difference between the two species still put him under some pressure.

But at least the result was good, and that's enough.

"So, should we go up to the eighth floor and take a look next?"

The information he had obtained when facing that ferocious beast had become his current objective.

Although the stairwell connects eight floors, only two of them can actually be used as passageways—the fourth and eighth floors.

As for the areas below the fourth floor... the doctor didn't want to think about it, but there was no doubt that those areas had become the lair of ferocious beasts.

And a place that can accommodate and house such strange things is probably not a pleasant place.

If possible, it's best not to go exploring.

Although that place shouldn't pose much of a threat to the doctor.

"It's definitely much more comfortable after it quiets down." As he climbed upwards, feeling the sudden tranquility around him, the Doctor experienced a sense of comfort and peace of mind.

It can only be said that the confrontation with the beast just now did consume some of his mental energy, making his mind quite tired.

The more mentally exhausted you are, the more you realize the importance of quiet.

"arrive."

Standing in front of the entrance on the eighth floor, the doctor slowly raised his hand, hovering it in the air less than half a meter from the door panel.

What's behind the door?

Should we use Originium Arts to investigate?

From a life safety perspective, it is probably necessary.

In Rhodes Island, the adage "better safe than sorry" should be a timeless truth.

However, faced with such an eternal question, the doctor hesitated.

"This is the eighth floor. If it's the same layout as the old Rhodes Island, then this should be where the wards are." His hand hovered, his eyes under the hood slightly closed, deep in thought.

"So, what will the communal wards be like in Rhodes Island? Will the patients become mindless monsters who can only stagger forward, just like those on the fourth floor?"

This is why he was unwilling to use Originium Arts to investigate.

He wanted to use his own eyes to see what was behind the door.

So he chose to push open the door in front of him.

"squeak--"

The old, dilapidated hinges let out a mournful wail as he pushed them with his hands.

The white space, starting from the crack in the door, slowly expanded and opened in his field of vision, eventually covering every inch of the area in front of him.

"This place... really is..."

He saw an endless expanse.

The so-called eighth floor is probably closer to a "region" than a "floor".

Although he knew all his past experiences and understood that the eighth floor was essentially a large ward consisting of a vast space, the sheer size of the space still far exceeded his expectations.

"squeak……"

So the doctor walked through the door, closed the two fireproof doors behind him, and stood at the beginning of the eighth floor, letting his vision expand infinitely.

What lay before him was a vast hall that resembled an underground parking garage.

The part he was leaning against was a small, flat corner embedded in the wall within this vast expanse of space.

Compared to this space, my own size is pitiful, just like the communal hospital rooms I remember.

Even so, there were still some things on the eighth floor that matched his memories.

—Those were the white hospital beds scattered throughout the room, like neatly planned streets.

Chapter 248, Item of a Last Wish

Some wishes are called last wishes.

The doctor walked past the pure white hospital beds, his fingers gently stroking the wrinkle-free sheets, his heart filled with complex emotions.

Last wishes are often the final obsessions that some people have before they die, or things they have tried their whole lives to achieve but failed to do, or simply the traces they want to leave behind.

"This place really looks like a cemetery."

Standing before a pristine white hospital bed, the doctor gazed up at the impossibly high ceiling and let out a long sigh.

In fact, this is a cemetery.

But in his eyes, this place was far more complex than that.

Because he can still see.

You can see children laughing and playing, refugees who are barely breathing but still smiling, and brave people who choose to face the end of the world with equanimity, even though they know it is inevitable.

What happened to those people in the end?

There's no need to say anything.

Otherwise, the doctor wouldn't be the only one standing here now.

"Ah, that's..."

Standing before the hospital bed and looking up, the doctor saw a square pillar connecting the top and bottom of the floor, in the center of the countless beds that stretched forward, which was also the center of the entire floor.