On how PhDs become human evil

Respectfully serving Bai Jie and Chen two glasses of water, Reimu Hakurei smiled and said, "Let me introduce myself. I am Reimu Hakurei, the current shrine maiden of the Hakurei Shrine in Gensokyo."

"Manage Gensokyo?" Bai Jie was taken aback. "If I remember correctly... Yukari Yakumo said that she is the master of Gensokyo."

"Oh ho ho ho, that old lady must have Alzheimer's. Don't be fooled by her claim of being seventeen; she's already 'poof'!"

Before Reimu could finish speaking, a gap tied with a ribbon appeared above her head, and a whole bunch of things were dumped on her head at once. And, if it was just his imagination, Bai Jie seemed to see a plate of fried tofu.

Climbing out of the garbage heap, Reimu Hakurei glared at the gap: "Yukari Yakumo, you moldy old hag, what are you doing! Throwing garbage into my house again? My house isn't a garbage dump!"

"Oh dear, Reimu, what are you talking about? I don't know anything about this."

Holding a parasol, Yukari Yakumo emerged from the gap with a smile on her face, her expression one of girlish charm. Anyone who didn't know her would surely mistake her for a beautiful young woman.

However, as everyone knows, a period of chaos lasts for a year.

After opening the gap and collecting all the trash, Yakumo Yukari tapped the small fan in her hand and said, "Alright, young man, you've already spoken to the city management of Gensokyo. Now I'll take you to your house."

"Hey? Did you come all this way to pick us up?"

“Well, Rhodes Island’s location is a bit tricky. If you two walk or fly there, you’re bound to run into that person. If a fight breaks out, the cleanup will be a real hassle.”

After Yakumo Yukari said that, Bai Jie and Chen began to recall the location of Rhodes Island that Kal'tsit had told them about—adjacent to a large flower field, and separated by a river from a bamboo forest.

"Flower field... Is there someone in the flower field?" Chen asked.

Nodding, Yukari Yakumo smiled and said, "Yuuka Kazami is the foremost great youkai in Gensokyo, and she's extremely warlike. She sees everyone who steps into her flower field as an enemy. As for her fighting strength... you'd be a 30/70 chance against her, you'd be 30."

"...Please lead the way."

After a moment of silence, Bai Jie said this. He was not afraid. As a human evil, Bai Jie could be said to be immortal. The only way to kill him was to eliminate the evil of all mankind. Therefore, if it were a life-or-death battle, Bai Jie was confident that he could wear down his opponent.

Even so, Yukari Yakumo still said that she couldn't beat Yuuka Kazami, so there's only one answer—she can't even wear Yuuka down.

"We like people like you who are reasonable, no wonder you're a Doctor from Rhodes Island. Well then, we'll take Reimu with us, okay? We'll come back to see you in a few days when you're starving."

"Get lost, you old hag! I can survive by picking mushrooms even without your help!"

————————————————————

Rhodes Island is located north of the Sunflower Fields. Although geographically you don't need to pass through the Sunflower Fields, the mountain path will definitely pass by the entrance to the Sunflower Fields if you walk there.

Therefore, to avoid unnecessary disputes, Bai Jie and Chen chose to follow Yakumo Yukari to Rhodes Island.

However, looking at Rhodes Island in front of him, Bai Jie couldn't help but wonder if he had come to the wrong place.

A small sun that pierces the sky like the Tower of Babel, twelve giant robots that stand around Rhodes Island like statues of gods... Is this really Rhodes Island?

"I forgot to tell you, Rhodes Island is currently shrouded in a magical barrier in another dimension. After all, Rhodes Island is so big that it would take up too much space in Gensokyo."

Another dimension? Has Rhodes Island already developed the technology to stay in imaginary space for extended periods?

"The sun over there is a nuclear power plant developed jointly by Rhodes Island and Kappa. It is the energy center of the entire Rhodes Island. Recently, they have started laying cables into the Human Village. Soon, the Human Village will be able to enter modern society."

A nuclear power reactor? In this Gensokyo that resembles ancient Japan, they actually managed to develop something like that? The kappa must be monsters!

"By the way, the original purpose of building the nuclear reactor was to make those twelve robots over there move. I think they were called Gundam, right? According to that kid Ifrit, they were built with an alien fleet as the hypothetical enemy."

Listening to Yakumo Yukari's description, Bai Jie's heart began to go numb. He had only been away from Rhodes Island for a few decades. If we take into account the different time flow rates of the two worlds, only a dozen years had passed on Rhodes Island. In just over a decade, Rhodes Island had transformed from a mobile city into an alien fortress.

Isn't Rhodes Island essentially a pharmaceutical company? Is it really okay to have such high combat stats?

"Huh? Isn't this the Doctor? You finally remembered to come back to Rhodes Island?"

Upon suddenly hearing this voice, Bai Jie realized that he and Chen had arrived at the entrance of Rhodes Island, and the person who had just spoken to him was Fen, a former vanguard member of the Rhodes Island reserve team.

but--

"Fen? You're Fen?" Bai Jie looked at the beautiful woman with a mature and sophisticated aura in front of him, somewhat bewildered. "Impossible. In my memory, Fen was just a little girl who was less than 1.6 meters tall. You're almost 1.7 meters tall."

“It’s been almost ten years, I should have grown a bit by now,” Finn said with a smile. “Well, I received a call from Dr. Kal’tsit a while ago, saying that you would be coming back soon, Doctor. Come with me, I’ll show you and Officer Chen around Rhodes Island now—by the way, thank you for bringing the Doctor here, Purple Sister!”

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P.S.: Last night before bed, someone suggested I change the book title. They were upset about the mostly negative reviews in my review section. I want to thank this reader, Dark Tan, first. Then I read the reviews and thought about it until 2 or 3 AM, finally deciding to change the title. The awkward thing is, the editorial department is closed today and tomorrow, so I'll have to deal with the title change on Monday—I'm really terrible at naming things, so any suggestions?

P.S.: Although I've said it many times, I still want to thank everyone for continuing to support this struggling author. Black Hole Shopkeeper, Mysterious Protagonist X, Dark Tank... I remember many readers started reading my books from *Grand Swordsman*, and I'm truly grateful. Please continue to encourage me; I will do my best to improve and bring you a better reading experience.

Section 181.3. Rhodes Island, Broken in Every Way

In Bai Jie's memory, Rhodes Island was mainly divided into two parts—infrastructure and research area.

The infrastructure mainly includes staff dormitories, trading posts, manufacturing stations, processing plants, meeting rooms, training rooms, power plants, and other facilities. Bai Jie spends 80% of his time on Rhodes Island here.

The research area is where Warfarin and other research fanatics reside. And since Rhodes Island is, after all, a pharmaceutical company, there are a lot of crazy people in the medical department. They even did things like giving Skadi a sedative tea and then dragging her to the research lab to study her body structure.

Of course, this didn't actually happen, because before Warfarin could even prepare the tea, Kal'tsit had already taken her down on the spot—I mean literally, on the spot. If you're thinking otherwise, go stand in the corner.

The above is Rhodes Island as Bai Jie remembers it, but what about Rhodes Island now—

"Fujiwara no Mokou! Come on, let's hurt each other again!"

"You little fire dragon, you've got some nerve! Today I'm going to show you who's boss!"

In the Rhine Lab's research lab, separated by a specially made glass panel with its high-temperature and impact resistance reinforced to the extreme, Ifrit and Fujiwara no Mokou were swinging flames at each other. Fire dragons and phoenixes were flying around the training room, and both sides seemed to be holding nothing back. Even through the special glass, Bai Jie could feel an illusion of being unbearably hot.

Upon seeing Bai Jie arrive, Himer and Seria, who were taking notes, temporarily put down their work.

"Doctor, you're finally back! I thought you weren't planning on returning to Rhodes Island," Saria said with a smile. "It's been a long time, Inspector Chen too. I heard from Hoshiguma that you two got married, right? Congratulations!"

"What... Hoshiguma really does spill everything..." Bai Jie sighed and chuckled. "Speaking of which, what's Ifrit doing over there? Testing maximum firepower?"

“Yes, since arriving in Gensokyo, Ifrit’s abilities have been constantly strengthening, and it hasn’t stopped even after more than ten years. Although it’s only improving a little bit every day, it’s still a significant improvement over time,” Himer said. “She went berserk again a few years ago, but luckily Saria was there at the time.”

.......

Ifrit: Whoosh! My power is about to explode!

Saria: This brat is at it again.

Ifrit: Saria, do you think you can still stop me?

Ifrit used [Taunt], Saria used [Iron Fist Judgment], and the invincible little dragon fell!

Saria: Ifrit, you can jump all you want, I'm still your dad!

.......

Even without Himer's detailed explanation, Bai Jie could easily imagine the situation at the time. Ifrit was already short-tempered, and in her berserk state, she would attack anyone she saw without discrimination. It would be strange if she didn't get a lesson from Saria.

"You two have it tough too," Bai Jie patted them on the shoulders. "Speaking of which, where are White Owl and Mel? I haven't seen them."

"The White Owl went to the Kappa's place three months ago as a technical exchange person. As for Mel, she should be with Alice in the Magic Forest. The two of them are very close."

Alice's hobby is making dolls.

Mel's hobby is building mechanical otters.

There doesn't seem to be anything wrong with the two of them getting together.

"Hahaha! Fujiwara no Mokou, what's wrong with you! Did you not eat today?"

"You're the one! What's with this weak, limp flame? You're a disgrace!"

It seems like the people next door are having quite a bit of fun.

After giving Saria and Himer an encouraging look, Bai Jie pulled Chen away from Rhine Lab.

......

Kalan Trading, Rhode Island Branch.

"Oh, you're back, my ally."

When Bai Jie arrived, SilverAsh was sitting there watching TV with Chu Xue and Ya Xin. Upon seeing Bai Jie, SilverAsh immediately waved.

“My place is a bit messy, please make yourself a seat—Horn Peak, make tea for my ally and his wife.”

"Yes, sir."

Chen sat down on a sofa next to the three of them, and before he even warmed his seat, he looked at the television with a strange expression and asked, "Enciodes—"

"Just call me SilverAsh, Superintendent Chen. You are the wife of my ally, so you are my friend. It would be too formal for friends to use each other's full names."

"Alright then, SilverAsh... why are you watching your own cat tree video?"

Chen's question caused a moment of silence, and Silver Gray's amiable smile gradually froze, a hint of embarrassment appearing between his brows.

As Chen said, the video playing on the TV was one of SilverAsh's dark histories—a cat tree.

(Although the author believes that SilverAsh doesn't own a cat tree, he happened to see one while watching a construction project today... so he couldn't help but write it down. Please forgive him.)

Moreover, if Bai Jie remembered correctly, he was the one who saw the video in the control center and then took a screenshot of it. He never expected that SilverAsh would see it.

"Pfft, pfft, pfft!" Ya Xin covered her mouth and laughed. "This was found when everyone was cleaning out the warehouse. I don't know who took it, but Sister Chu Xue kept it like a family heirloom. Brother gets scolded by Sister Chu Xue if he tries to take it."

"This is one of the few embarrassing records of my elder brother. How can we not keep it safe? Checking it every day is a must."

As Chuxue said this, the smile on Yinhui's face had completely faded, leaving only an intense sense of entanglement and embarrassment.

Logically speaking, one should be angry when their dark history is exposed in public. However, SilverAsh dotes on his two precious little sisters. The guilt of abandoning them years ago still haunts him. Therefore, he spoils them as much as he can and would never dare to hit them or even be harsh with them!

"Ahem!" SilverAsh coughed twice to break the somewhat awkward atmosphere. "Encia, Enya, in front of our allies, we should restrain ourselves a little. The dignity of the Shiva Ash family must be maintained."

"But elder brother, do you think you still have any authority in front of us?"

A critical hit!

Silver-edged gray, completely still!

Seeing that SilverAsh could not rise again, Snowfall clasped her hands together and smiled at Bai Jie and Chen, saying, "I'm sorry, Doctor, you saw your brother's embarrassing side. I will talk to him properly later."

People have always thought that SilverAsh is the most powerful member of the Shiva Ash family, but now Bai Jie realizes that the cunning and ruthless Snowflake is actually the boss. She can bring SilverAsh down with just her words.

(Boss Yin, your CEO persona has really crumbled.)

(After all, more than a decade has passed.)

P.S.: A friend of mine complained to me about failing to get Blackrock Spire in two FGO CBA rerolls and failing to get it in the Lucky Bag rerolls. She was exclaiming "YLSnmsl!" (a vulgar expression of frustration). Now she's switched to Arknights, bought all the bundles, and even spent money on a reroll, but still can't get Blackrock Spire. She's frustrated again and said she'll spend another 128 RMB tomorrow. Sometimes I really feel that having a group of rich friends makes me feel inferior.

P.S.: I've drafted a new title—"The Omnipotent Doctor of Rhodes Island." What do you all think? The synopsis is still being drafted.