Rhodes Island does not exist.

Then, the second piece.

The third piece.

The embedded armor plates are beginning to deform, become fragmented, and fall off under the strangulation and biting of slugs. What was once as strong as a mountain is now being devoured by termite-like invaders.

"Squeak..."

All the white beds around were shaking because of the slugs' behavior. Their intense craving for food even made them pull their own beds closer to the huge, strange creature.

The sound of the metal bed legs scraping against the ground was sharp and piercing.

"laugh--"

As the skin and muscles disintegrated, the blood vessels hidden beneath the thick, tough flesh finally revealed themselves, overflowing with crimson fluid. The hot, slippery liquid swam down the taut lines, but ultimately did not reach the ground; instead, it disappeared into the slugs' mouthparts.

As for the doctor, he could only watch as the mountain gradually disintegrated before his eyes, unable to offer any assistance.

What can he do to help?

The battlefield has become the dining table. If he's not a diner at the table, he'd better not sit down, let alone start eating. Otherwise, any unnecessary actions will only result in a struggle for food.

So now he can only watch from the sidelines.

"Boom!"

"Ding!"

Countless metal parts and armor plates began to fall as flesh was lost, scattering blood and rust on the ground, where they were then licked clean by another group of slugs who had failed to get any food.

At this moment, the hall was filled with the sound of beds scraping against the floor, so much so that even the huge, strange roar was drowned out by the vast sea of ​​sound.

Its body can no longer be observed by the eyes.

Because the slugs swarming in from all directions had already filled every part of its body that could be covered by its mouthparts, it was now like the metal rod in the middle of a Turkish kebab, while the slugs were like the stacks of kebab.

"I never imagined it would turn out like this."

The doctor gazed at everything before him and uttered a seemingly incoherent remark.

-

Thank you segment.

Thank you for the monthly pass, Ah Lianya "baba".

Chapter 149, Part 148: Reunion with Xiao Ai

The doctor did not leave early.

Although he wasn't the main character at the buffet, he stayed as the organizer.

"Crench, crunch."

Most of the slug monsters had dispersed and returned to where they belonged. A small number of them, having eaten their fill, gathered around the Doctor, rubbing against him with their soft limbs like kittens cuddling.

As for those sounds, they were made by a few slugs that arrived late.

Geographically speaking, since their beds were located at the southernmost end of the entire eighth floor, by the time they arrived, the enormous, mountain-like monster had already left almost nothing edible. Therefore, they could only scavenge the remaining bones or the blood-stained armor plates to satisfy their appetites.

"I don't know if you are satisfied."

The doctor sat on one of the hospital beds, staring helplessly at the almost dried bloodstain, and shook his head.

There once lived a great anomaly there.

"Susu..."

Upon hearing the doctor's words, the strange creatures surrounding him nuzzled against him again, seemingly expressing their gratitude and satisfaction with the banquet.

"I see, that's perfect then." The doctor smiled slightly. "However, such opportunities may not come again in the future, since the kind of strange thing we just encountered isn't something you can just abduct at will."

But the slugs clearly didn't care; they just kept cuddling up to the professor. They were probably trying to say that nothing else mattered except the professor.

"But I really didn't expect you guys to actually eat it directly." The doctor's expression was somewhat bitter. He recalled his own initial attempt to use them. "It seems I underestimated you."

"Ccrunch."

"Ding."

Not far away, a few slugs that were still nestled in the pile of metal plate wreckage poked their heads out and spat out two screws.

It looks like they've almost finished eating over there.

The slugs on the eighth floor finally devoured every part of the strange creature that could be eaten.

That being said, the doctor felt that for these strange creatures, there was probably no part of their bodies that they couldn't eat, except for those metal armor plates.

"Now that you've finished eating, I should be going." The professor stood up amidst the enthusiastic slugs, casually patting a few of the slugs closest to him, and said with a wry smile, "I'll come back to see you next time... although I'd like to say that, I'd rather there never be a next time."

"By the way," the professor continued before the slugs could react, "have you ever thought about leaving here? Or rather, are you even able to leave the eighth floor?"

The slugs swayed their bodies, as if shaking their heads.

“Ah… that’s true.” The doctor smiled somewhat sheepishly, his gaze lingering on the bed they were connected to. “I think I asked a stupid question.”

"Then forget it, just pretend I didn't ask." The Doctor picked up the pickaxe he had placed on the bed, then stretched his limbs in front of the bed. "See you next time, my friends."

The figure in the black coat stepped over the dried blood and disappeared on the other side of the door.

Inside the room, the mollusks swayed rhythmically from side to side, watching the person carrying the mission depart.

Then, everything returned to calm.

-

The journey after that was much simpler.

After eliminating the enormous monster blocking their path, the doctor took the elevator from the ninth floor to the tenth floor. After passing through the long corridor on the tenth floor, there was a direct path leading to the thirteenth floor—the Hall of Midnight.

"I have some unpleasant memories from the Polar Night Hall last time."

He sighed, recalling what Exia had said to him and the scolding he had received in the small room.

He was convinced that he must have done something to cause the people in the Hall of Midnight Suffering pain, but his memories had been sold in exchange for his life, so he probably owed those phantoms an apology before he could regain them.

"squeak--"

Walking through the familiar, narrow corridor, the doctor pushed open the door at the end of the corridor.

The aroma was irresistible, and the intense scent of honey cakes began to rampage through the doctor's senses.

Although the doctor already knew that the honey cake did not exist in reality and was only a fictional product, he still could not ignore the fact that the aroma was even more real than the real thing.

"You're here again."

A familiar voice sounded.

A phantom named Exia coalesced in front of the Doctor, forming the outline of a woman.

"Have you died again? If so, perhaps I should introduce myself first. You can call me..."

“No, no need. I remember you, Miss Exia, right?” The Doctor interrupted the female phantom’s words with a pause gesture. “I didn’t come back because I died.”

“Ah, is that so?” Exia nodded. “That would be wonderful. After all, death is something we should never get used to, and I hope you won’t get used to it either.”

"Who knows?" the doctor shrugged. "I've already forgotten about it once, and I can't even guarantee whether I was used to it before."

“Don’t worry about it,” Exia said. “Just do what you’re supposed to do and fulfill your mission. As for the past, leave it to the past you; those fragments are no longer relevant to you.”

"But what if I regain my past memories?" The Doctor stared at Exia. "Miss Exia, I know you know me from the past, so could you tell me about my past self...?"

“No.” Exia’s tone was firm, as if she were talking about something that could not be questioned. “I can answer your questions, but I cannot reveal all of your past.”

“...Yes, actually I always felt you would refuse.” The Doctor gave a wry smile. “And I also guessed that there seemed to be some kind of rule restricting speech on Rhodes Island.”

For example, the last time he tried to say the name of the ghost shark.

and many more.

Tell me the name of the Specter?

Why did he mention Ghost Shark's name, and to whom was he going to say it?

My memories became jumbled again.

This is not the first time.

He had experienced this chaotic feeling once before when he was on the eighth floor, and now the feeling was coming back again.

"You don't look well." Noticing that the Doctor was seemingly lost in thought, Exia's voice held a hint of concern. "Do you need to rest?"

"No, no need, I'm in a hurry." The doctor waved his hand. "I'm just a little dizzy, I'll be fine in a bit."

"……I hope so."

Chapter 150, Chapter 149: A Grapevine in Front of the Door

"Before you left here last time, did you ignore my advice and go to those small rooms?"

After the doctor caught his breath, Exia asked.

“Yes…” the doctor nodded.

"How do you feel?" Exia smiled.

"Ha." The Doctor looked at Exia with a complicated expression. "I don't know how to say it. My feelings are all mixed up, but I don't regret it."

“After all, you’re just a blank sheet of paper with a few drops of ink on it right now,” Exia said. “The memories you lack prevent you from understanding the intense emotions they felt.”

“But… I’m not saying this to make you try to understand them.” Exia shook her head. “Being unable to understand them is a kind of happiness. Before you regain your memories, cherish this hard-won happiness.”

Ignorance is bliss.

“Well then, since you said you’re in a hurry, please proceed.” Exia stepped aside slightly to make way for the red carpet in the lobby that led directly to the elevator, and presented it to the Doctor.

"Sorry, see you next time."

The doctor nodded, picked up the pickaxe upside down, and quickly left.

“It’s better not to see each other again.” Exia gazed at the doctor’s retreating figure and sighed. “What you should have accomplished is not here. A prisoner imprisoned in a cage should not give up the desire to escape just because he has become accustomed to prison life.”

-

The elevator has been repaired.

Or perhaps the elevator was never broken in the first place.

Looking at the few marks he had left on the wall during his last battle with the monster, the doctor felt a slight sense of reality.

The elevator descends.

"Didn't any monsters attack this time?"

Gripping the pickaxe tightly, the doctor stood in the center of the elevator, on high alert.

He didn't want any monsters to attack him, but the journey from the thirteenth floor to the third floor was a bit long, so the Doctor felt uneasy unless something happened.

After all, emptiness is also a kind of terror.

However, the doctor never got to witness a second attack.

The elevator landed smoothly.

The brightly lit third floor appeared before him once again.

"It's like coming home... never mind, anyone who considers this kind of place home is probably a bit crazy."

The elevator doors behind him slowly closed, and the doctor walked towards the room on the second floor—room number one.

The room was still arranged exactly as the doctor left it, and the words made up of countless limbs were still on the ground, oozing a viscous, putrid liquid.

The crack connecting to the second floor is open in the wall, waiting for the doctor to re-enter.

"I hope it didn't wait too long for me."

The doctor bent down and crept into the cave, moving quickly forward by feeling along the wall.

-

When the doctor finally reached the second-floor foyer, which connected to the spiral staircase, through the crack in the wall, he found someone already waiting at the entrance.

Well, calling him a person might not be quite right; he's still an oddity after all.

"You're a bit late. Does it really take this long to get here from the return point?"

The monster resembled a grapevine covered in eyeballs, its branches forming its body, the vines its limbs, and the eyeballs replacing the grapes, constantly rolling and staring at the doctor, maintaining a dynamic balance.

Its appearance is slightly different from the strange staircase the doctor had seen before, but because its features are quite distinctive, it is not difficult to identify its identity.