Rhodes Island does not exist.

Page 34

"Answer my question first: what are you doing right now?!"

"—You should know better than anyone what I'm doing... I'm protecting Rhodes Island, isn't that how you see it?"

"All I see is you breaking your oath to Rhodes Island."

"Oaths? You're still thinking about oaths at a time like this? We're about to die! Rhodes Island is about to fall! What's the point of worrying about noble acts of kindness now?!"

"No, I absolutely cannot tolerate you doing something like this—"

"Gavial, let the doctor calm down."

The illusory dream swept through my mind like dust.

The moment the doctor stepped into the room, he seemed to see arguments, conflicts, contradictions, and violence.

But now they have all become nothing.

The dusty, empty room was cluttered with discarded medical equipment and empty medicine bottles, as if someone had actually worked here but left everything behind in their haste to leave.

"Warfarin..."

From the fragments that had just flashed through his mind, the doctor gleaned only this one piece of information.

That was probably a woman's name, and she seemed to have a close relationship with him. However, it seemed that there was some irreconcilable conflict between them, which led to the fierce conflict that I just remembered.

The doctor decided to walk around the room.

He walked forward along the central axis and saw dried bloodstains scattered on the floor and in some corners, some of which had grown into dark brown crystals in the air, like tiny flowers.

But for some reason, he sensed an extremely dangerous aura emanating from those crystals.

It was like the glass tube filled with amber liquid that I had once seen in the collector's room.

Originium leachate—that's what Ghost Shark said.

That was a highly poisonous substance that could kill the Doctor instantly, and the Doctor did indeed die once because of it.

Therefore, if that liquid is an extract of Originium, then these crystals in front of him might be Originium itself. The Doctor reasoned in his mind.

Since it's Originium, it must be dangerous.

But what exactly is Originium?

Ghost Shark only told him that Originium was dangerous and highly poisonous, but never told him what Originium actually was or where its danger came from.

It's just like a foolish parent trying to teach their child basic values of right and wrong.

If we only talk about the properties without discussing the principles, it will arouse people's curiosity.

The Doctor is now caught up in this curiosity about Originium.

"Although Originium contains toxins, seawater can neutralize these toxins, and I..."

The doctor checked his pockets.

Three bottles of sea water.

But one of the bottles was empty.

Wait, that's not right.

The doctor frowned slightly, as memories of the past flooded back like a tidal wave.

When I went out, I asked Ghost Shark for four bottles of seawater. On the tenth floor, I encountered a strong monster and lured it away with one bottle of seawater as bait. After that, I never used seawater again.

Therefore, I should have three full bottles of seawater.

What does it mean if this bottle is empty?

The doctoral student fell into confusion and self-doubt.

When did I use that bottle of seawater? Did I lose my memory after drinking it and going insane, or did someone else use it?

If it's someone else, who is that person?

The PhD student couldn't answer these questions.

What confused him even more was that although he could recall using seawater to lure the giant monster into the elevator, the details before and after that event were completely blurry, as if...

It was as if dealing with that strange person wasn't even something I was doing.

He felt that some important parts were missing from his memory, and because of these missing parts, his memory seemed to be becoming disjointed.

He had had similar thoughts before in the Hall of the Midnight, such as where the information about the store on the sixth floor came from, and why he was on the thirteenth floor—these gaps in his memory made him suspicious.

However, while the absence of seawater is puzzling, we cannot ignore what he is currently planning to do.

The doctor put the seawater bottle back in his pocket, picked up his pickaxe, and walked towards the nearest cluster of Originium.

The problem with the seawater will naturally be resolved in the future.

But instead of focusing on problems that can't be solved right now, we should concentrate on the things at hand.

Thank you segment.

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

Chapter 53, Chapter Fifty-Three: All is Peace in the World

Tiny, glistening petals bloom on the dark red, dry ground.

Using the light from the corridor behind him, the Doctor bent down, holding a glass bottle filled with seawater, and gently sniffed the scent of Originium.

Of course, he didn't smell anything.

Because Originium has no odor.

Instead, the salty smell of seawater wafted through the cork on the small bottle, blocking the doctor's nasal passages.

"Well."

The Doctor observed the Originium on the ground for a while, but was unable to glean any useful information.

This thing just grows on the ground, as if it had become part of the building.

Since we can't observe anything, we should touch it.

With some hesitation, the doctor hovered his right hand, with all five fingers intact, over the Originium crystal.

He was not unaware of the potential dangers of this action.

After all, he himself had been killed by Originium once, so this thing was the most poisonous of poisons to him.

However, there are exceptions.

As he pondered, two ideas came to mind.

One of them was about how he died last time—Originium leachate pierced his flesh as the glass tube broke, causing him to die from poisoning.

First of all, Originium leachate is a concentrated product, and it involves contact at the blood level, so the severity is definitely many times greater than touching Originium crystals with your hands.

Secondly, there is the neutralizing effect of seawater.

Ghost Shark said that seawater can neutralize the toxins of Originium, so even if something really happens to him because of Originium, there are ways to make amends and save him.

That's what the PhD student thought.

But ultimately, why does he have such a deep obsession with Originium?

Even he himself couldn't explain this.

If you really had to answer him, he could probably only give the standard answer, "Because the Originium is there."

"call."

Clearing his mind of all distractions, the doctor took a deep breath.

Before doing anything he considers important, he always takes a deep breath first.

Then, with a determined look in his eyes, he slowly lowered his right hand toward the cut surface of the crystal.

Ice cold.

A bone-chilling cold.

The icy air stings the nerves.

The instant the Doctor's finger touched the Originium crystal, he seemed to feel a sharp, tiny sewing needle pierce through the area where his finger touched the Originium, and travel upstream along his blood vessels, completing a brief internal journey in a very short time.

Or to put it more simply, it was "like being electrocuted".

After the current left the body, a bone-chilling cold, mixed with wind, frost, snow, and rain, followed.

"Ha ha……"

His heart rate increased instantly, and the blood in his body seemed to be ignited by the cold air, boiling and surging in every inch of his veins.

Although the doctor withdrew his finger the moment he sensed something was wrong, this did not eliminate the effects of that touch.

Because from the moment he established a connection with Originium, Originium had already penetrated his body through his skin.

"This...is not good..."

His rapid breathing was uncontrollable.

The doctor's body trembled constantly as he alternated between cold and heat.

seawater.

You must drink seawater.

The toxins need to be neutralized immediately, otherwise I might die again like last time.

The Doctor realized that he had indeed underestimated Originium.

Fortunately, unlike last time when he died without even a moment to react, he still had the strength to detoxify.

"Quickly, hurry up..."

His left hand, which was holding the seawater, trembled incessantly due to his physiological reaction, while his right hand struggled even to open a bottle cap.

"As long as I can drink this... as long as I can drink this..."

His right index finger and thumb trembled so frequently that they kept brushing past the bottle cap, and each attempt to open the bottle looked like a circus act.

Like a clown.

But the effects of Originium are not over yet.

This is not all that Originium has—or rather, these are not even the main effects of Originium.

Alternating hot and cold, muscle spasms, electric shock sensations... all of these are simply the effects of toxins, in other words, side effects of Originium.

Since there are side effects, there must be some effect as well.

Although it is said that every medicine has some degree of toxicity, the primary function of medicine is not to poison, but to cure diseases.

The same applies to Originium.

"What's this?"

As the doctor continued trying to unscrew the bottle cap, he suddenly heard several indistinct voices.

Someone was talking in the room, someone was talking in his ear.

"Doctor...I...have..."

"...Thank you for your help."

"You...sleep...this...?"

The sound was intermittent, making it almost impossible to piece together its original meaning, but even so, the doctor heard his own name.

"What exactly happened?" he couldn't help but ask himself.

But Originium won't give him time to think.