Rhodes Island does not exist.

-

Thank you segment.

Thank you for the monthly pass, Little Butter Milkshake.

Chapter 39, The Strategies of the Benevolent

Plan ahead.

No, it's less about being prepared and more about the rain already starting.

The PhD student stood nervously in the elevator descending to the eighth floor.

He planned to talk to the refugees.

Even with the situation at this point, he still firmly believed that he could save them.

He still firmly believes that his beliefs and spirit can offer redemption to these people filled with hatred.

He always believed it.

"Doctor, Kroos said Rhodes Island might be in some danger recently, and asked me to stay by your side to protect you, but I can't see exactly where the danger is..."

The Lancet-2 emitted the distinctive humming sound of the machine from the doctor's right side.

“She’s just worried about me, you don’t need to worry about it too much.” The doctor smiled. “But it’s a good thing to have you come with me, so that you can help me look after the patients while I’m making my rounds on the eighth floor.”

“This is my duty, after all, I’m too clumsy to do anything but treat patients…” lancet-2’s voice deepened.

"Being able to save lives is one of the greatest jobs in the world. You did a great job." The doctor reached out his right hand and touched the top cover of the Lancet-2.

"Waaaaah, Doctor..."

lancet-2 is extremely grateful.

But being a robot, she couldn't shed tears; she could only squeeze out a little medical spray.

"Ding."

The door on the eighth floor opened in front of the two of them.

In that instant, the doctor seemed to sense an aura completely different from when he had been here before.

Hostility, resentment, illness, prejudice, hatred.

Countless negative emotions stagnated in this densely populated hall, forming a chaotic sludge that accumulated and brewed into a vicious swamp.

The once orderly and neatly arranged hospital beds have now been divided according to racial and social power, turning this huge communal ward into a place for group gatherings.

Although the original design here already separated the infected from the non-infected, the boundary back then is now so blurred that it's practically invisible. Now, just standing at the elevator entrance, you can tell at a glance which side is the Reunion Movement and which side is the Ursus refugees.

The Doctor was stunned.

Before coming here, he had hoped that he could use his own abilities to ease the conflict between the two parties, or at least make the atmosphere less awkward.

However, once he actually arrived here, he realized he was completely wrong.

"I……"

The elevator doors closed and opened again in front of the doctor. Lancet-2 didn't dare to make a sound and disturb the doctor who was standing there dumbfounded. She could only hold the elevator buttons for him.

Fortunately, at a height of 1.49 meters, she was able to barely touch the elevator button with her medical tube; otherwise, she would have had to use her body to block the elevator door.

What should I do...?

The doctor fell into self-doubt.

Every step he takes now is incredibly difficult, because he doesn't even know where to go.

If he steps to the left, it means he has chosen the path of refugees. If he steps to the right, it means he has chosen the path of the reunification movement.

Because all the patients' eyes were on him, he felt in his heart that all the patients were watching him.

As the leader of Rhodes Island, everything he does represents Rhodes Island, so everyone is watching him.

"calm."

"calm."

He was talking to himself.

Kal'tsit's words still echoed in his ears.

"You cannot betray yourself."

He took a deep breath.

He closed his eyes, then opened them.

"Doctor?" Lancet-2 asked cautiously, afraid of interrupting the Doctor's train of thought.

"I'm fine now." The doctor calmed his chest and looked straight ahead. "Let's go, we have something to do."

"Yes, yes, Doctor!"

The wheels rolled with each step.

In those few seconds, the doctor convinced himself.

What he is doing now is not betraying his beliefs and ideals, but correcting the mistakes he has made.

There is no doubt that making this decision was a mistake, but the most important thing after making a mistake is to admit it and then fix it.

You can choose not to admit your mistake, but you must at least fix it.

Under the watchful eyes of countless people in the hall, the doctor pressed the button on the communicator in his ear and dialed a number.

"Amiya?"

After the electrical hum subsided, the doctor spoke.

“Ah, Doctor, I’m here. Why did you call me? Is there something you need to do?” Amiya asked from the other end.

"Yes, I need your help with something very important. Please come to the eighth floor," the doctor replied.

“Okay, since it’s the Doctor’s request, I’ll be right there,” Amiya said earnestly on the other end of the line, then hung up.

The electrical current crackled and popped.

“Lancet-2.” Then, the doctor called to the robot beside him.

"Yes, Doctor, I'm here." She responded immediately in a mechanical voice, her entire body pure white.

"Stay close to me. When Amiya arrives, we'll give the wounded and patients on the eighth floor a physical examination together."

The doctor's gaze became calm, and even his tone of voice became completely still.

He didn't want to betray the original intention of his good deeds, but he would never let Rhodes Island fall into the abyss because of his good intentions.

Because it is his responsibility, he must do something about it.

"Ah, Doctor, you've come."

At this moment, Ace, who was in charge of security on the eighth floor, also noticed the doctor's visit. He came over with his usual hammer and greeted the doctor.

"Has anything particularly noteworthy happened on the eighth floor lately?"

The doctor's gaze swept over the injured people around him who were staring at him, and he deliberately emphasized the word "obvious" in his mouth.

Seeing that the doctor realized they were looking at him, the injured patients tacitly looked away from each other.

Whether it's the Reunification Movement or the Ursus refugees, they only reached a simple consensus on this matter.

“Aside from the murder case a couple of weeks ago, nothing major has happened,” Ace said after thinking for a moment. “At most, there have been some minor conflicts, but none of them have led to any further incidents.”

"Friction?" the doctor murmured, savoring the word.

“Yes, it’s just friction.” Ace nodded.

"It's like gently sliding the head of a match back and forth on the matchbox without producing any sparks, right?" the professor made an analogy.

“Your analogy is really strange.” Ace shrugged, holding the hammer, somewhat unsure how to respond. “But I guess that’s about it.”

“There’s only friction, no sparks.” The doctor nodded.

At that moment, the elevator doors behind the doctor slid open to both sides.

"Ah, Doctor, I've arrived. Were you waiting for me here?" Amiya asked with an innocent smile.

"Yes, come on, Amiya, we have something to do."

-

Thank you segment.

Thanks to the arrogant person for the monthly ticket. Also, I received a lot of recommendation tickets yesterday, so thank you all for your recommendations as well.

Chapter 40: Those who disagree at meetings will be fired the next day.

Are refugees more combat-ready, or are the wounded from the Reunion Movement more combat-ready?

The answer is obvious.

Otherwise, refugees wouldn't be called refugees.

"Your injury is healing very quickly, and the infection is under control." The doctor gave the injured former Reunion Movement member a warm smile. "If all goes well, you should be fully recovered in about four days. Congratulations."

"Um, um... thank you."

Just moments ago, the injured doctor was being scrutinized at the entrance of the hall with a watchful eye, but now he sits timidly by the bed like a submissive puppy.

This is the eighty-seventh bed visited by the doctor.

Just as attentive as he had been to the eighty-six beds he had previously examined, his voice was completely genuine, and his examination process was meticulous.

So much so that even the refugees on the other side of the hall began to straighten up and look up at the situation on the doctor's side, hoping that he would finish his visit to the Reunion Movement soon so that he could come to their side as soon as possible.

Meanwhile, those on the Reunion side eagerly anticipate that they will be the next person the doctor visits, and pray that time will slow down.

"Doctor... the atmosphere in the hall is completely different from when I first arrived." Amiya's slightly surprised voice came through the communicator at a slightly faster pace. "The emotions in this hall are gradually changing from the initial hatred and hostility to... calming down?"

“Don’t worry about that, Amiya.” The Doctor shook his head. “What you need to do is listen to their thoughts and use that to find their leader.”

This is the doctor's plan.

His initial plan was for him to visit the wounded in the communal wards one by one to check on their conditions, and for Amiya to read their thoughts while he examined and treated them, and find their potential thought leaders in the hall.

After all, every organized action must have a mastermind. Since these two forces have been able to intensify their antagonism to this extent, it means that there must be some eloquent people behind the scenes plotting something.

But what the doctor didn't expect was that his mobile clinic, which he had originally intended to use as a cover, seemed to have an unexpected effect, to the point that this effect even overshadowed what he had originally planned to do.

"Doctor, could you stay with me a little longer?"

Just as the doctor finished his examination and was about to leave, the integration movement of the 90th bed suddenly reached out its crystal-covered hand and grabbed the doctor's right arm.

Upon seeing this, the ward security guards, led by Ace, immediately leaped towards the doctor's location, intending to stop the dangerous incident that was unfolding.

After all, the doctor himself is not infected, so close contact with an infected person inevitably carries a great risk.

But what the doctor did was—he reached out his other hand and grasped the hand of the Reunion Movement member.

The security guards stopped.

The air in the hall seemed to freeze.

It's actually quite strange.

When those Reunion Movement members were still wandering on the ice fields and wilderness, they did encounter kind-hearted people, but they encountered far more hypocrites and discriminators.

Therefore, when someone makes such a grand gesture of caring for infected people in front of them, they often regard it as a performance or a show. If it happens in front of such a large public, it will be seen as a means of winning over the hearts of infected people.

But this time it's different.

When the doctor took the hand of one of their compatriots with his other hand, they didn't sense any artificiality or falsehood whatsoever. It was as if they genuinely agreed with the actions of the person called "the doctor."

"Woo..."

The girl from bed number 90 in Glensburg, who was involved in Integrative Medicine, felt the warmth emanating from the doctor's hands and burst into tears.

The black crystals on her arm glittered under the light of the chandelier in the communal ward.

"Thank you... thank you."

"Ever since I moved in here, I've been living a very depressing life... Waaah... I really don't know what to do."

She lowered her head, her arms trembling.

Even Amiya, who was listening nearby, was stunned by the overwhelming emotions displayed by the injured man.