Rhodes Island does not exist.

The ceiling was old and yellowed.

An old sofa with clearly visible sponge and springs.

And—a disturbing woman with whom a cognitive relationship has been established.

The red-eyed woman spoke as she saw the doctor get up from the sofa.

"Welcome back, Doctor."

-

Thank you segment.

Thank you for the blades and monthly passes, thank you.

Chapter 22, Part 22: So, what is the price?

"Welcome back, Doctor."

Ghost Shark bowed deeply to the doctor and began to speak.

The doctor recognized the woman in front of him and knew where he was, but he didn't remember clearly what had happened before.

Lost memories, like mist, swirl and gather in the mind.

Therefore, it will take time to recall them all.

"Ghost Shark, what happened to me?" So he decided to solve the problem in the quickest and easiest way—by asking the woman in front of him who clearly knew everything.

“Ah, yes, yes.” Ghost Shark greeted you with a smile. “During your recent search, you were killed by a highly poisonous creature, and thus you are being reshaped here.”

"So I'm dead?" The doctor rubbed his temples, still feeling a little dizzy.

Memories gradually returned to my mind.

He encountered a female hunter who called herself Skadi on the road, and while traveling with her, he entered a room where he encountered something strange.

So he died at the hands of a monster?

No, probably not.

what.

It is a glass tube filled with liquid.

During the fight, the glass tube broke, causing the liquid inside to flow into the wounds caused by the glass shards.

In other words, the substance inside that glass tube was the culprit behind his death.

“Specter.” Having regained some of his memories, the doctor asked again, “Could you explain in detail the cause of my death?”

"Originium leachate entered your body," Ghost Shark replied respectfully. "And Originium is a deadly poison, so you died."

Be concise and to the point.

Even elementary school students can understand what she's saying.

As a guide, she performed her job exceptionally well.

"So you mean I have to be careful about this thing called Originium from now on, right?" the professor asked.

“That’s right.” Ghost Shark nodded.

“Okay…” The doctor sighed, then sat up abruptly from the sofa and straightened his coat.

The traces left at the time of death have disappeared.

"Oh, right, You—"

But just as the doctor was about to ask the Specter some other questions, he suddenly realized that the Specter was staring at him with a rather horrified expression.

Such a contrast made him swallow back the words he was about to say.

After all, the Specter has always only had one face.

But now she looked like a monster from the abyss, her deep red eyes reflecting a nauseating scene, her curved lips displaying an arc that no ordinary person could achieve, and the expression on her entire face was extremely distorted. Being stared at by her was like being stared at by a million huge eyes, making one tremble and feel disgusted.

"Doctor, you've forgotten something."

Her voice was no longer as sweet as it used to be; instead, it sounded like an old, distorted radio, tearing, splitting, stretching, expanding, and finally squeezing out a shape before forcibly filling the doctor's ear canal.

The Ghost Shark of today is a completely different and unfamiliar entity.

“Given that you had your memory erased last time, I can make an exception and remind you this once,” Ghost Shark’s voice writhed.

Everything around them was wriggling.

The wallpaper in the room began to show reddish-brown mold spots, which then began to spread rapidly in all directions. The television screen began to display indescribable and eerie images, and the windows, which had been sealed shut with wooden strips, began to shake at an almost trembling frequency.

Everything around us is changing.

The ghost shark's voice is changing.

"You—it's time to pay the price."

cost?

The doctor was deeply shaken, as if struck by thunder.

He remembered.

She mentioned this when she last woke up in front of the Specter.

She said she had died, but had been reborn because she paid a price.

So what about this time?

Clearly, he hasn't paid the price yet.

He's currently in a state of indebtedness to Ghost Shark. In other words—his life was a loan. If he doesn't repay this debt, his life will be taken back.

"I understand, I'll pay! I will pay! It's just a price, I'll give it to you! Just tell me what you want!"

Under the oppressive pressure of the cramped environment, the doctor shouted at the Specter.

In an instant, everything returned to silence.

The mold has shrunk back, the window frame is calm, and the television screen is filled with static.

As for Ghost Shark—she's as beautiful as a painting.

Of course, she has always been as beautiful as a painting.

Just seconds ago, the painting was called "Guernica." Now, it's called "Mary Magdalene."

"Thank you for your cooperation." Ghost Shark smiled gently, a smile that seemed to hold an undeniable light.

The doctor had previously failed to realize how precious this light was.

"However, the price is your choice, not mine to demand." Ghost Shark's voice was as gentle as the ocean tide. "As I said before, any intact part of you will do—like your memories."

"No."

The doctor took a deep breath to clear his mind from the hallucinations he had just experienced.

He knew he couldn't afford to lose his memories this time.

Because he met Skadi and learned that there were other people on Rhodes Island.

He doesn't want to forget Skadi.

Therefore, he cannot abandon his memories.

"You chose to pay for your memories the last few times. Are you going to change your mind this time?" Specter Shark was still smiling, as if she didn't care what the Doctor chose at all.

And in fact, she really didn't care.

"I'll give you my left pinky finger." The doctor raised his left hand to the woman with the sweet smile before him. "I'm using the pinky finger of my left hand as the price to exchange for my life."

He was resolute and fully aware of the consequences of his actions.

Ghost Shark nodded.

"Since you are so resolute, I will not ask any further questions."

"I'll take your payment now."

Ghost Shark, with her smiling face intact, pulled out a long-handled electric circular saw from beneath the hem of her nun's habit.

"squeak--"

The saw blade whirred.

The doctor's gaze froze.

The saw blade, manipulated by her arm, approached the doctor's fingers, and then blood splattered.

The gushing blood was spun around by the saw blade, splattering torn flesh and bone marrow onto random lucky areas of the room, including the doctor.

As for the doctor, before he could even react to where Ghost Shark had pulled the circular saw from, his little finger had already left him.

Before he screamed repeatedly in shock and pain, the last thing he saw was his nine fingers and the nun beside him with her signature smile.

Chapter 23, Part 23: Daily Life in a Humble Abode

The wound on my little finger was covered with bits of flesh and bone fragments, some of which were still embedded in the skin, like scattered streetlights in the city at night.

Intense pain struck.

Cold sweat beaded on the doctor's forehead, trickling down his face.

"The wound will heal soon." Ghost Shark took out a small bottle from the inside of his clothes, pulled out the stopper, and tilted it slightly.

The doctor was very familiar with that thing.

It was the seawater she gave me before she left last time.

The murky liquid flowed down the bottle neck and spilled onto the wound on the doctor's little finger.

"hiss--"

This time, the doctor almost fainted.

However, it was indeed effective. Soaked in seawater, his wounds, which had been brutally torn open, were visibly healing back to their original state.

The torn flesh heals, the embedded bone fragments fall out, and the torn tissue is remodeled.

The complete repair is accompanied by excruciating pain that is unbearable for most people.

“Please do not imitate my behavior outside.” Ghost Shark smiled slightly at the doctor. “Because the healing effect of seawater is only effective in this room, or rather… only effective for the damage I have caused. Under normal circumstances, it can only provide the effect I have told you before—mental relief.”

Ultimately, can that really be considered a form of relief?

Having already used it, the doctor couldn't help but begin to question Ghost Shark's statement.

It was just another toxin used to alleviate one kind of toxin—but embarrassingly, I actually needed it.

“However, there is one exception.” Ghost Shark narrowed his eyes, as if he had thought of something. “If you are affected by Originium poison, seawater can neutralize the poison.”

"Ah." Upon hearing this, a thought suddenly came to the doctor's mind.

If he hadn't wasted that bottle of seawater on the eighth floor, perhaps he wouldn't have died from the Originium later.

So rather than wasting a bottle of seawater, I should say I wasted a finger.

Thinking this, he looked down at the wound on his hand—it had already been restored to a whole piece of skin.

But since the decision has already been made, we can only accept it.

From now on, I will only be able to live with nine fingers.

"Oh right, Ghost Shark."

Shaking his left hand, which no longer hurt, the doctor asked the woman in front of him a question.

"You say."

"It's about this seawater." The doctor took a deep breath. "Could you give me a few extra bottles before I leave this time?"

It takes courage to ask this question.

After all, he had only recently witnessed the hidden side of this polite and beautiful woman.

He didn't want to see that grotesque face again.

Surprisingly, Ghost Shark nodded.

"Seawater is not a limited resource. If you want, you can take as much seawater with you when you go out—as long as you think you can hold it all and it won't hinder your activities."