Rhodes Island does not exist.

"Including the floor where you were warmly received by the slug monsters?" Skadi looked at the Doctor with even more strange eyes.

Hearing Skadi's words, the Doctor's heart tightened slightly.

indeed.

If the strange truths within Rhodes Island are revealed, then we'll have to seriously consider the motives behind those slug monsters we encountered before, lurking under hospital beds and nesting in white sheets.

Perhaps their enthusiasm for me is a way of sending out a distress signal?

The doctor had this idea in his mind.

At the same time, images of those blood-soaked slug monsters baring their fangs and claws appeared in the air.

He began to think.

Humans always have an unusual sympathy for creatures that appear fragile and vulnerable.

If a pitiful young girl collapses on the roadside in dire need of help, there will almost certainly be people willing to lend a helping hand, and in considerable numbers.

However, if the person has a ferocious appearance, a large frame, and terrifying hair covering their entire body, even if they are seriously injured, lying on the ground bleeding profusely, there will still be people who are unwilling to help and will stand by and watch.

Humans are ultimately creatures that only look at appearances.

This is one of the weaknesses of human nature.

The slug monsters that entangled the eighth floor were fully exploited by this weakness and were regarded as demons and monsters.

The doctor has personally experienced this.

The overwhelming sense of fear, like a tidal wave, and the visually oppressive feeling, make it hard to believe that the eighth floor is a good place, let alone expect those strange creatures to be welcoming.

Unless you put "enthusiasm" in quotation marks.

But why did these original humans eventually turn into this state?

Was it because they died on Rhodes Island?

The answer is probably pretty close to ten.

While pondering, the doctor began reading Day Thirty-Six.

Day 36

Each biological tank was filled with a proportionate amount of bizarre corpse parts to ensure fairness in the control group.

What I need to do next is wait for them to be restored to their original appearance, and then select and choose the unique organs.

As for those that are thrown away, they should be put to good use, for example, by being used as daily supplies.

After all, on Rhodes Island, human behavior shouldn't be bound by public order and good morals—that's my opinion.

The only thing I need to overcome is my own psychological capacity to accept it.

But okay, I admit, this is actually quite difficult to overcome, and cannibalism also brings a lot of risks, such as prions, so I will not choose or accept this approach until I have no other choice.

The very act of resurrecting the dead already challenges the ethical boundaries of most people; I can't stand by and rejoice when that boundary collapses.

Right now, all I need to do is focus on doing the task at hand well.

Although I don't know if this will succeed, I still believe in it.

The diary ends here.

All the following pages were blank, with no new content.

The ink in this last diary entry had clearly dried out and changed color long ago, showing that it had been through many hardships.

"Look."

Skadi nudged the Doctor with her elbow and pointed to the wall with her right hand.

“There are many duplicate organs over there… Although I don’t understand medicine, they all look pretty much the same, just different sizes.”

“Indeed.” The doctor looked in the direction she was pointing and nodded. “After all, they are different races. For example, the smallest piece belongs to the Durin race.”

“So this proves that the collector actually disappeared before he completed what he called the selection and sorting,” Skadi deduced. “His records did not disappear without a reason, but there was a cause for it.”

"And since then, this room has never been locked again, until now?" the doctor continued, following her words.

Skadi nodded.

In other words, this forbidden room has remained unclaimed and open, but has not received any visitors other than the Doctor and Skadi.

"The collector vanished like a mystery." The doctor bit his lip and glanced at all the biological tanks displayed in the room. "He just handed this place, filled with dark secrets, into our hands."

“And we don’t even know what the collector intends to do with these organs,” Skadi sighed.

“No.” But the doctor shook his head. “We know.”

"what?"

"Think about it carefully, why did he pick out the extra organs and parts, and why did he only keep the non-duplicate ones?"

"PhD."

Skadi spoke softly.

"You mean... Frankenstein's Bride?"

"Do not."

"I meant Frankenstein's monster."

Chapter 13. We live our lives in fear, from infancy to the grave.

Undoubtedly, the collector intends to create something that violates ethics, or rather, life itself.

Moreover, if we look at it from the perspective of the doctor's less-than-sound ethical viewpoint, a person with a certain level of intelligence and skills but who is not mentally sound might ultimately use their talents for the sake of novelty.

But in the end, the collector failed to do so.

Because he left the room without saying goodbye.

Judging from the dried ink stains remaining on the notebook, this place has probably not been visited for several dozen days.

So, where did he go?

This is a very important question, and it also brings up something the doctor has been wanting to ask.

"Skadi."

He looked at the female hunter beside him and asked, "You've been here for so long, have you met anyone other than me? I mean, normal living people."

Skadi shook her head.

The answer is no.

“I’ve explored many of the levels and rooms here. Some places are mazes that could trap someone for days, some are traps full of malice, and some… like I told you before, are supply areas like abandoned shops.”

“I came with a purpose and a mission, so I will not stay in my comfort zone. I will only take away my necessary physiological needs and then leave.”

"but……"

Skadi paused in her speech.

“If there were other normal people in this space, in Rhodes Island, I think they wouldn’t give up on those safe houses.”

"After all, the supplies there are plentiful, and there are even beds available for sleeping and taking a nap."

"Unfortunately, the place was deserted, and there were very few signs that the supplies had been taken."

Skadi looked at the Doctor.

“Ah, I think that must have been done by my past self,” the doctor said.

“I hope not,” Skadi sighed. “Otherwise, we might really be the only two people left in this place.”

Listening to Skadi's words, the Doctor wanted to tell her that besides the two of them, there was another woman named Specter living with him. However, considering the current situation, he chose to keep unnecessary information hidden.

But since Skadi said she had never seen anyone else, it probably means that she had never been to the fourth floor during her exploration.

Otherwise, she must have met with Ghost Shark.

Just as the Doctor was pondering this matter, Skadi seemed to have discovered something.

"PhD."

Her voice was as soft as water, yet as cold as the deep sea.

"Something seems to have fallen out from where you just took the notebook."

It fell out?

The doctor clearly remembered that the notebook was sandwiched between two biological tanks. In other words, there was actually something else sandwiched between the tanks besides the notebook, but he probably didn't see it when he pulled the notebook out.

“Look, on the ground.” Skadi gently pointed in the direction with her index finger.

A thin glass tube lay on the gray stone bricks in front of a row of aquariums.

The syringe contained an amber-colored liquid, like syrup boiled to perfection.

The doctor crouched down and carefully picked it up.

"How did someone manage to stuff such a fragile glass tube into the gap between two aquariums along with a notebook? Wouldn't it get crushed?" He couldn't help but wonder.

However, considering that it did not break even after falling to the ground, its strength and toughness are probably quite reliable.

So the doctor picked up the glass tube and, using the light from the center of the room, began to observe the amber-colored fluid inside.

“Do you know what this is?” he asked.

“I don’t know, at least I’ve never seen anything like it on Rhodes Island,” Skadi replied. “But it’s definitely not something safe, and…”

"and?"

“And for some reason, my instincts seem to be resisting it, which is why I asked you to pick it up just now.” Skadi’s gaze toward the syringe held an unusual hostility.

“Understood, then I’ll keep it safe.” The doctor nodded. “Even if I wanted to open it for research, I wouldn’t do it in front of you.”

Hearing the doctor's words, Skadi's gaze softened slightly.

It seems she is indeed resisting this thing.

Then... although it was somewhat inappropriate, the doctor could only put the glass tube into the outer pocket of his coat.

After all, you can't just hold it in your hand.

So he had nowhere to put it except in his coat pocket.

"So what do you plan to do now?" Skadi asked, glancing around at the various organs displayed in the room. "Stay and finish the collector's unfinished business, or continue exploring this floor with me?"

"Completing my mission... let's forget about it." The Doctor shrugged with a wry smile. "If I could, I wouldn't really want to get involved in this place, after all... Skadi?"

The doctor's tone changed in the last half of his sentence.

That's the tone of a question.

"What?" Skadi, carrying her greatsword on her back, with her hands hanging at her sides, tilted her head.

"Was the door closed when we came in?" The doctor's tone changed even more noticeably than before.

“No, not at all.” Skadi shook her head. “To ensure we can escape the room at any time, our escape route is naturally…”

She turned her head instinctively.

Their eyes met, and their gazes met, closing in on each other.

The door was closed.

And it was closed without a sound; no one noticed the door making a noise.

If the door had been ajar, one could probably find some excuse, like a loose hinge or some draft, to cover it up.

However, after they came in, they did not leave the door ajar, but kept it fully open.

This means that the door was closed by someone.

Well, the problem is coming.

Who closed the door?

The doctor's scalp tingled.

He now has a desire to speak out.

“Skadi, I think I understand something.”

He said.