Rhodes Island does not exist.

"This is the doctor." He answered the call, swallowing the honey cake in his mouth.

"This is Provence," a familiar voice came. "Good news from the observatory has reached the doctor."

"What good news?" the doctor asked.

"The natural disaster cloud is trending eastward and is expected to leave the vicinity of Chernobog within three days." Provence's voice carried a hint of joy. "Then Rhodes Island can be operational again."

“That’s certainly good news…and I think there’s probably nothing better. Thank you, Provence.” Hearing Provence’s words, the shadow on the Doctor’s brow immediately faded a little.

Three days.

If things really do develop as Provence predicted, then Rhodes Island will be able to escape its current preconceived despair.

Time can solve all problems, whether for better or worse.

"Oh, right, Provence." The doctor suddenly remembered something.

"exist."

"Whenever you have some free time, come down from the observation tower at the top and take a break. Kal'tsit said Red misses you a lot," the Doctor said.

"Ah...no need, haha...really no need."

Provence's tone clearly carried a hint of resistance and fear.

It seems that Hong did something to her that she doesn't want to think about.

“Well… the real reason is that Kroos told me that the connection between Rhodes Island and the observation tower has become loose, probably because of the dust storm.”

"Uh, is there no way to fix it?" Provence said, a little sadly.

“This won’t work.” The doctor shook his head. “The density of Originium dust is too high. Even wearing the highest level of protective clothing would be suicide.”

"That drone... oh, right, it'll definitely be shot down by the Originium Dust Storm." Provence sighed.

“That’s how it is.” The Doctor sighed as well. “So Kroos said that instead of risking repairing Rhodes Island’s external suspension system and observation tower, it would be better to bring the people in the observation tower back.”

“Okay, I understand. I’ll go check on the looseness myself in a bit. Don’t worry, Doctor. If there’s a problem, I’ll contact you again and have someone come pick me up,” Provence said in the voice message.

"Then be careful, call over." The doctor hovered his hand over the communicator to his ear.

"Call ended," came the confirmation voice from the other end.

The doctor pressed the button.

A static flickered, and then silence fell on the other side of the headphones.

All resources are finite, including electricity. Therefore, the doctor cannot treat communication with the disaster messenger as a long, drawn-out phone call.

Moreover, his relationship with Provence wasn't really the kind where they could have long phone conversations... I guess.

In his view, he might not have this kind of relationship with any other operator, or could not have this kind of relationship.

Even Amiya and Kal'tsit are like that.

In fact, he himself couldn't explain why he thought that way.

Perhaps it was because he was afraid of developing a close relationship with the operators that went beyond friendship, because in his view, excessive intimacy would inevitably bring sadness of equal weight.

This is Terra, a world in chaos.

The infected fight against the uninfected, while Oripathy lurks in the shadows, eroding the life of every organic being.

Rhodes Island is a relief organization, and its operators walk on the edge of life and death.

During his years in charge of Rhodes Island, many operators have genuinely expressed their affection for him, but the Doctor has skillfully avoided them all.

It wasn't that he didn't want to form that kind of relationship; he just didn't want those operators to misplace their temporary feelings on him.

Kal'tsit said the following to him regarding this matter.

"If you feel it's appropriate, you can agree to anyone's request at any time, but even if you do agree, you can't possibly invest all your feelings in that person."

"Because what you love is your cause, the concept of Rhode Island itself, and not just a particular individual. So I will not comment on your actions in this regard."

The Doctor thought Kal'tsit's words made sense.

Even though he's sitting right next to Exusiai eating apple pie.

"Thinking about it, it's been a long time since I've seen Provence." Exusiai's halo glowed faintly as she gazed at the ceiling and muttered to herself.

"You can talk to her when she comes back in a while," the doctor said.

"Ah... no need for that. After all, I'm not that familiar with her. We're just fellow sniper operators, so it's natural for me to care a little." She smiled.

"Then why did you say that?" the professor asked.

"Well, I feel like I haven't seen many familiar faces lately." Exusiai frowned slightly, looking bored. "Some of them have to take care of the wounded, and some have to work shifts in logistics. As an unofficial staff member, I'm obviously just bored and have nothing to do but come to the kitchen every day to help bake pancakes."

“Making biscuits is quite a big deal.” The Doctor finished his apple pie and wiped his hands. “Every biscuit you make means one more operator can have a meal, which is a remarkable thing in the current environment.”

"But we don't have enough flour, do we?" Exusiai's gaze sharpened as she scrutinized the Doctor, her pupils seeming to hold needles.

"How do you know about this?" the doctor asked, puzzled.

It was less confusion and more shock, but he couldn't show it on his face.

After all, this kind of intelligence can be considered top secret in the current environment.

“That’s easy to guess, isn’t it?” Exusiai shrugged. “I’m in charge of baking pancakes in the kitchen every day, so I know exactly how much flour is allocated each day.”

“Recently, the proportion of flour-based products in the staple foods at Rhodes Island’s cafeteria has been decreasing and showing no signs of recovery… I think even if I’m not a baker, I can probably see some clues from this change.” Nengtian looked at the Doctor with a serious expression and said, “Boss, do we really have enough food?”

How should a PhD student answer this kind of questioning?

He didn't want to tell the truth, but he couldn't lie and tell the girl in front of him that he didn't lack anything.

Therefore, he could only choose a compromise strategy.

"We didn't buy enough flour last time we resupplyed, but we bought too much rice, so the flour shortage is normal given the current situation," the doctor said, spreading his hands. "Or is it that you can't stand rice?"

"No, how could that be? I can eat anything, I'm not picky."

Exusiai's expression softened as well.

“Not being a picky eater is a virtue of Sakta, really.”

-

Thank you segment.

Thank you for the monthly pass.

Chapter 38. Be careful of people using umbrellas on sunny days.

Taking all factors into consideration, the doctor ultimately decided to increase the number of security personnel assigned to the tenth-floor warehouse.

Although he knew that without certain permissions, he wouldn't be able to enter the main gate even if he reached the tenth floor, for some reason, the worry in his heart kept nagging at him, so he had no choice but to do it.

“Rhodes Island is short of everything right now, except manpower… but that’s not entirely true.” The Doctor muttered to himself, “The number of people is proportional to the number of wounded and sick people who need care, but since the patients in the communal wards can join Rhodes Island’s logistics support department after they recover, we should be able to keep up.”

"Wait a minute... the logistics department?" The doctor felt that something was not quite right.

Warfarin had submitted a similar report during a previous meeting in the conference room.

Looking back at the time, it was indeed a matter of course—where else could a newcomer who joined Rhodes Island temporarily go if not to intern in the logistics department?

Unless you're a warrior born like Yelena or Bozokasti... no, even warriors as disciplined and individually skilled as them still need to learn Rhodes Island's laws and regulations from instructors before joining Rhodes Island's executive branch, to avoid problems on the battlefield.

Far away.

In short, if newly recovered refugees or members of the Reunion movement were to join the logistics department as manpower, they would inevitably come into contact with intelligence about the current situation on Rhodes Island. And if these people, who cannot yet be trusted, learned of this intelligence, they would very likely tell their former comrades.

In this way, the rumors will spread like wildfire, and the entire Rhodes Island will be caught in a vortex of gossip.

"There are just more and more problems..."

The conflict between the infected and the uninfected, the premeditated murder, the shortage of medicine and food, and the lingering cloud of natural disasters.

Thinking about all that had happened recently, the doctor felt overwhelmed.

Whenever he was troubled by these things, he would re-examine his decision to help refugees and think about what Kal'tsit had said.

Because these acts of kindness and the establishment of the moral system stemmed from your original intentions, if you regret your good deeds, you are essentially trampling on your own ideals.

If you want to refuse, it's best not to agree in the first place; otherwise, changing your mind afterward would be considered betrayal.

If you regret it, it's tantamount to trampling on your own ideals.

He's not like that.

But reality always forces him in this direction, forcing him to confront everything he has done.

Excessive pity can also be a sin.

"Ah, Doctor, so you've been here all along."

The door to the command room opened, and Amiya walked in carrying a stack of documents.

"I was just handling some things, what's up?"

Whenever the Doctor looks at Amiya, an extra tenderness appears in his eyes.

Perhaps it's because he does have some extra feelings for Amiya, something he himself can't quite explain.

After all, as mentioned before, he is not good at handling personal relationships.

"Ah, yes, yes, this is the bill Dr. Kal'tsit asked me to bring over." Amiya placed a stack of documents filled with characters on the Doctor's desk, then raised her hand and rubbed her ear.

"bill?"

“Yes, it’s the expenditure for this Chernobog operation.” Amiya nodded. “Dr. Kal’tsit said that unless it’s expressed in tangible numbers, the Doctor won’t know the consequences of his actions.”

"Haha..." The Doctor couldn't help but smile wryly as he listened to Amiya's message. "She's right, but I probably already know now."

"Doctor?" Amiya tilted her head slightly.

"Did you go to the communal ward on the eighth floor on your way here?" the doctor asked.

“I’ve been there. I go there every now and then to check on everyone. Actually, things aren’t that bad. Since most people aren’t seriously injured, they’re recovering quickly. Maybe in another week, about half of them will be able to be discharged,” Amiya said with a smile after thinking for a moment.

The doctor nodded and smiled at the little rabbit in front of him.

Although he really wanted to say, "I just don't know if the current supplies can last for another week," he decided to keep quiet since he was in front of Amiya.

“Oh, there’s one more thing.” Amiya’s expression began to become complicated.

Her once pure face was suddenly stained with the filth of the world.

"What is it?" This significant change also heightened the doctor's alertness.

"Well...Doctor, do you remember that murderer we detained last time, Eugene Petrov?" Amiya asked, her tone hesitant, unsure of how to proceed.

"I met him once and talked to him. What happened to him?" the doctor asked.

"The fact that he committed murder has actually been a hot topic of discussion among refugees and the Reunion Movement, but because it was kept quiet, not many operators noticed it." Amiya leaned forward slightly, close to the Doctor's ear, "But I heard it today."

"You mean your Originium Arts...?" the Doctor asked thoughtfully.

Amiya's Originium Arts are extremely unique, even in the entire Terra continent.

Unlike the elemental energies that ordinary mages manipulate, such as fire, frost, or lightning, Amiya controls the power of the spirit.

In other words, she can transform the mind itself into power, and she can also let her thoughts penetrate into the other person's brain and explore their emotions and memories.

That is, mind reading.

“Well, but I didn’t actually use Originium Arts intentionally,” Amiya explained. “It’s just that there were too many people in the ward, and their obsession with a certain event was so deep that the negative emotions overflowing from their hearts almost filled the entire hall, making it impossible for me to avoid them.”

“I understand you.” The Doctor nodded, reaching out to touch Amiya’s head and her perky ears. “You endured those emotions all the way on the battlefield.”

"Hehe~" Amiya's expression softened considerably after being stroked by the Doctor, but that didn't change the words she was about to say.

"So what did you hear?" the doctor asked.

“There are many, and it’s quite noisy, but the content is very simple,” Amiya continued. “The topics discussed by refugees and the integration movement are also clearly different.”

"That makes sense." The doctor nodded.

“A large portion of the refugees support Eugene’s actions, but a small minority believe that Rhodes Island is restricting their freedom to speak out for justice.” Amiya’s voice lowered slightly.

The Doctor was silent.

"As for the Reunion Movement, about half of them feel resentful, believing that the killing of their compatriots is yet another instance of oppression of the infected by the non-infected. Doctor, I'm thinking..."

"Thank you, you did a great job." The doctor looked up at the ceiling and gently exhaled a breath of suppressed carbon dioxide.

"I will take this seriously."