Rhodes Island does not exist.

"Ding, ding, ding."

The still-sharp pickaxe, battle-hardened yet still sharp, struck the stone brick wall, producing a crisp echo.

That's right, he's planning to carve words on the wall.

Moreover, it's not the kind of graffiti that simply leaves a mark or symbol.

He plans to carve a number at intervals to divide his journey into segments.

Since there's no way to retreat, let's figure out a way forward.

-

Thank you segment.

Thank you for the monthly pass.

Chapter 65, Section Sixty-Four: Deep Sea Tales, Part Two

"About ten years ago, back when there was no Rhodes Island or the Tower of Babel, and you weren't even born yet, I had the privilege of visiting Iberia once."

The doctor stared at the ceiling, his thoughts drifting back to the past.

Although Amiya was bothered by the statement that "she wasn't born yet," she didn't interrupt the Doctor and simply listened quietly.

“Iberia back then was almost no different from it now,” the doctor said slowly. “The golden city, situated on the coast, remained unmoved, while the other city-states surrounding it moved with the natural disasters, just like any other region on this land.”

“I’ve heard that Iberia is a very scary place, and most of the ghost stories and eerie tales told at night in the Rhodes Island women’s dormitory are about Iberia… So are those eerie tales true?” Amiya suddenly remembered something and asked.

"Aren't there a few Iberian operators on Rhodes Island? Why don't you ask them?" The Doctor glanced at Amiya.

“If you’re not very close to someone, it would be really bothersome to ask them this kind of question suddenly, right?” Amiya touched her rabbit ears. “Besides, it’s not really appropriate to use Originium Arts to read minds about this kind of thing.”

"Rumors and gossip can be more troubling."

The doctor shook his head and looked back at the sky, which was blocked by the roof.

“Everyone thinks Iberia is a terrifying place, so naturally they will project this prejudice onto Iberian agents in their daily lives… And the more this happens, the less likely they are to seek their personal verification,” the Doctor sighed. “This creates a vicious cycle.”

"So, Doctor, you mean... we should take the initiative to ask those Iberian operators about what's going on there, instead of letting things get worse?" Amiya asked after thinking for a moment.

"No, that's not what I meant."

As he said this, the doctor suddenly chuckled softly.

"Perhaps this principle applies elsewhere, but for Iberia... it may not be so."

"Huh... what does that mean?" Amiya was a little confused.

"What I mean is, if you were to actually ask those native Iberian agents about things related to Iberia, the answers you would probably be even more terrifying than the ghost stories and tales circulating in the dormitories."

"Uh……"

Amiya's expression became subtle.

For a moment, she was even unsure whether the doctor was joking or reasoning with her.

“Rhodes Island has not yet established an office in Iberia. You are the commander now, so you must know this.” As Amiya was trying to figure out the true meaning of the Doctor’s words, the Doctor suddenly spoke up.

“Hmm? Ah, yes.” Amiya nodded. “I received a report like that during the handover. It said—”

"Because of some special reasons, right?" the doctor said.

“Yes, and I’ve heard that not only Rhodes Island, but it seems that all outsiders are prohibited from setting foot in the Iberian city-states, let alone establishing offices there,” Amiya replied.

"Now that you know this, do you still think I was joking?" the Doctor asked, smiling as he looked at Amiya.

Amiya fell silent.

"What is the largest ethnic group in the Iberian population?" the Doctor asked again while Amiya remained silent.

“It’s the Agor people,” Amiya answered quickly.

She never makes mistakes on common-sense questions.

“You asked me about Agor at first, and then you asked me about Iberia just now.” The doctor let out a long breath. “Since you can ask these two questions, you must know about the close connection between Iberia and Agor, or even if you don’t know, you can deduce it.”

“...Yes.” Amiya nodded quietly.

"So, before you asked me your question, you had already privately researched some information about the Agor civilization, right?" the doctor said.

“…Yes.” Amiya nodded again.

"Then why are you asking me? Do you want to confirm if the information you received is true, but you don't want to go to Dr. Kal'tsit?" The Doctor looked at Amiya with a serious and sharp gaze.

“This is only part of it.” Amiya nodded, but unlike the previous two times, she shook her head again this time. “Doctor, the HR department received an email from a headhunter a couple of days ago. Since you and Dr. Kal'tsit were not there at the time, it was sent directly to me.”

"Go on," the doctor gestured.

“The recruiter said he found an Agor in a small town thousands of kilometers away from Iberia, and that he thought they might be able to recruit her to Rhodes Island,” Amiya said. “But he also said that the Agor was very strange, so I went to investigate information about the Agor and Iberia… It’s just a pity that most of this information is incomplete, and some of it is suspicious, so…”

"Wait a minute." The doctor frowned. "Let me ask you something first: is that woman from the Agor tribe, or someone from the Agor?"

These two definitions must not be confused.

Although there is only a one-word difference, the gap between them is as significant as that between Kaspersky and Pakistan.

“Just as you asked, that operator is from Agor.” Amiya lowered her voice instinctively, afraid that someone might overhear the conversation. “Or he might be from Agor, but in any case, it’s impossible for him to be completely unrelated to Agor.”

"Where's the evidence? How did the headhunter find out?" the Doctor asked.

“I got it from the locals,” Amiya said frankly. “They said that the Agor woman is a well-known bounty hunter in the area. Although she doesn’t seem like someone who hides things in daily interactions, she always gives off a mysterious vibe, and you can’t figure out what she’s thinking. It just so happens that the headhunter operative also has connections with the local bounty hunter organization, so he joined their organization and hung around for a while. That’s when he realized how mysterious the Agor woman is.”

"What's so mysterious about it?" the doctor asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Sometimes, when the night is quiet and all is still, that Agor woman will start to sing when she is alone,” Amiya said. “The melody and the way she sings are probably unique in all of Terra.”

"You mean... a lament from Agorian tradition?"

The doctor was clearly very familiar with the relevant historical records about Agor, so he immediately understood what Amiya was referring to.

"Mm." Amiya nodded almost silently.

-

Thank you segment.

Thank you Xia Xiaomai for the monthly pass, thank you.

Chapter 66, Section Sixty-Five: Remember not to fill in the wrong answer sheet.

There must be a demon in the abnormal situation.

Upon realizing that something was following him, the doctor devised a strategy to deal with it.

go ahead.

But it's not about blindly moving forward.

After all, he had already repeated this meaningless journey for ten minutes, and he couldn't keep repeating it for another ten minutes.

So he did something—carve words.

He carved a number at intervals on the outer wall to divide the journey he had traveled into segments.

The doctor did not believe that his journey was the true length of the spiral staircase, and that there must be some trap within it that could lead him into a loop. Therefore, he chose to record the information in segments.

"Click-click-click—Ding!"

Tiny sparks flew out from the crack in the wall. The doctor, looking slightly exhausted, hung his pickaxe at his side and exhaled two breaths of hot air.

Two numbers are engraved on the wall.

【16】.

He divided his journey into segments based on time and his physical sensations, with each segment spaced about half a minute apart.

In other words, eight minutes have passed since he started counting.

During those eight minutes, he did not encounter any of the digital imprints he had left behind.

"Take a break."

The professor leaned against the curved inner wall, taking a short rest while contemplating the essence of this spiral staircase.

First, what exactly do those eyes following him represent? Are they blocking the road or delivering a message?

What would happen if I turned around and looked into their eyes?

A jumble of thoughts surged uncontrollably from the doctor's neurons.

After all, even the most composed person would start to overthink after wandering in this endless spiral staircase for eighteen minutes.

"Hey, even though I can't look you in the eye, if you understand what I'm saying, please make a sound to show you understand and that you mean me no harm, okay?"

The doctor leaned against the wall and opened his mouth to the air.

Having already come this far, the Doctor wouldn't dare risk doing anything that could send him straight back to "where the dream began," such as turning around and making eye contact with the monster, or directly touching it.

Where dreams begin? Don't be ridiculous, it's more like where nightmares begin.

However, the only response he got was silence.

The stifling air inside the spiral staircase seemed to ferment, silently observing the perplexing behavior of the man in black.

"Well, it seems I was too naive." The doctor shook his head. "Not all weirdos are as friendly and affectionate as those adorable little ones on the eighth floor."

Whether he's friendly or not is another matter, but he's definitely clingy.

"Then... let's continue."

Thinking this to himself, the doctor straightened up from leaning against the wall and stretched his muscles.

Just as he was getting up, he suddenly felt his left hand, which was supporting him against the wall, touch something.

It was a very subtle feeling, like suddenly touching some irregular dents on a smooth glass surface. Even someone with a dull sense of touch could detect this obvious change.

But for the PhD student, the feeling was more than just subtle.

"This is……"

His fingers found some meaning in those dents.

It is possible for someone who has never learned Braille to be able to distinguish the characters using only their sense of touch.

—As long as the characters are simple enough.

For example, single-stroke letters like l and o, or early childhood education characters like 人, 口, and 丁.

Or perhaps, it's a number like 1, 2, 3...

The doctor's heart skipped a beat.

He felt like he had touched a number.

Moreover, these are the most basic numbers in the entire number table.

【1】.

A rough vertical bar.

No matter how he rubbed his fingers, it could only be the number 1.

For a moment, the doctor felt a little scared.

He was afraid to move his fingers away from the wall, afraid to see the numbers hidden beneath his palm.

How could this be?

Why is this happening?

It shouldn't be like this.

His left hand was pressed tightly against the inner wall, his eyes fixed on the number he had just carved on the opposite outer wall, his heart filled with turmoil.

The number [16] engraved on it at this moment is like a mocking expression, silently insulting itself.

"Take it away."

"It has to be removed eventually."

"This matter cannot be covered up forever."

"Just like spoiled food, if you don't throw it away and instead keep it hidden, it will only rot more thoroughly and become beyond saving."

So, take your hand off and accept reality.

An inner voice echoed, persuading the doctor to listen.