Rhodes Island does not exist.

However, there is a fountain in the circular plaza that is still in relatively good condition.

Of course, there is no water in the fountain; only its outer shell is intact.

“Nickname.” The Doctor didn’t stop, but continued to follow Skadi. “That depends on how nice the nickname sounds, I think.”

“If it’s an unpleasant nickname, it will definitely be offensive. So it’s more like a nickname than a nickname.”

“Nicknames, nicknames, code names…aren’t they all the same thing?” Skadi suddenly stopped and stood at the edge of the circular plaza, gazing at the dried-up fountain. “Including our names themselves.”

“That’s true,” the doctor nodded. “Just like my current name, Doctor, it’s just a code name.”

"In that case, wouldn't it be fine if we just used nicknames or code names?" Skadi turned around and glanced at the Doctor with her red eyes.

"what are you saying?"

“I was talking about Rhodes Island’s rules—the language ban.” Skadi held up two fingers. “Since you mentioned earlier that my name is forbidden, I think it’s fine as long as you don’t say my name and use a different nickname.”

"...How did you come up with this method?" The doctor tilted his head.

"Try it."

"No, why would you suddenly think of something like this—"

"Try it."

"Try...what?"

“Give me a nickname,” Skadi said. “Or don’t think of it as a nickname, but think of it as a code name or a secret code that we can all understand.”

"Is this really necessary?" the doctor frowned.

“In order to defy the rules, any attempt is necessary.” Skadi shook her head. “Don’t forget that we are now facing the entire Rhodes Island as our enemy.”

“We need to escape from here, but we need to understand why we came here in the first place.” Although her tone was calm, the doctor understood that there was an inexpressible cadence in that simple tone.

“In order to achieve our goal and regain our original memories, we must start planning now,” Skadi said.

"So, this nickname...?"

"It's part of the plan."

Skadi made an "X" with her hands in front of her chest, meaning no room for argument, no doubt.

"Alright... let me think about what nickname to give you." The doctor lowered his head and pinched his upper lip, focusing his thoughts on the name of the woman in front of him.

"How about Levini?" Then, for some reason, the Doctor suddenly blurted out a name that had nothing to do with Skadi.

"No." Skadi rejected the proposal almost instantly.

"Yeah, I don't think it'll work either." The professor scratched his head. "But weren't you a little too quick to dismiss it?"

“I don’t know why, but I feel like it’s my instinct making me resist this name.” Skadi waved her right hand. “Besides, this name has nothing to do with me, does it?”

“Indeed.” The doctor nodded. “Then I’ll think about it some more.”

“Actually, you don’t have to limit yourself to my current name. Any name you can think of that can be related to me is fine,” Skadi suggested.

"But asking me to name you is really putting me in a difficult position." The Doctor gave a wry smile, then walked behind Skadi and sat on the bench by the dried-up fountain, leaning back and sighing. "If I really had the talent for naming things, would I still be using the codename 'Doctor' all this time?"

“I think it’s great, it’s quite mysterious. It doesn’t matter if I don’t change it, and besides… your codename shouldn’t have any language restrictions, right?” Skadi asked.

“I don’t think so,” the doctor shook his head. “But I really don’t know what nickname to give you. Your original name is nice enough.”

“Don’t offer such shallow praise at a time like this,” Skadi clicked her tongue softly. “I didn’t choose to work with you to make jokes.”

"Then let's extract all your features and merge them." The doctor stood up and looked Skadi up and down. "The result of the fusion will be your nickname."

“How do you plan to fuse them? Tell me,” Skadi asked.

“It’s simple. Just pile up the elements that make you stand out, like—” The doctor’s gaze swept over Skadi’s entire body like a scanner before he spoke, “The cold-blooded greatsword assassin.”

A cold-blooded female assassin wielding a greatsword.

"puff."

A wisp of air escaped from Skadi's tightly closed lips.

Despite her usually serious demeanor, she couldn't hold back any longer.

She smiled.

“Wow, that’s quite rare.” The doctor raised an eyebrow. “I thought you’d never smile again.”

"What a weird name. It sounds like a third-rate cult film." Skadi immediately composed herself and returned to normal, completely ignoring the doctor's question and changing the subject, "I was hoping you could come up with something more valuable."

"But you smiled, didn't you?"

The doctor stared at her.

-

Thank you segment.

Chapter 167, Chapter 166: Tossing and Turning

Ultimately, the doctor couldn't come up with a second nickname that would be more suitable for Skadi, and the matter was shelved by Skadi.

Of course, personally, the Doctor really hoped that Skadi would accept the title of "Cold-blooded Greatsword Assassin".

Unfortunately, Skadi doesn't seem to like it much.

So the two of them continued to wander around on the sixth floor.

“They also sell clothes here.” Skadi’s gaze drifted to a shop window on the street, where a mannequin was wearing a refreshing beige dress.

"The shop windows I've encountered before were mostly empty," the doctor thought, recalling the scenery he had seen along the way.

The shelves selling audio-visual products were empty, the dolls selling clothes and accessories were naked, and there were no shops selling food and daily necessities at all.

“I didn’t see any shops with actual stock when I came from the other road,” Skadi replied. “Looks like we might be getting close to our destination.”

"You mean a supermarket or something like that? The one I mentioned before?" the professor asked.

“Ah.” Skadi nodded. “Although the roads and layout of the six floors are constantly changing, the shops themselves remain unchanged. Only the roads leading to them and their locations change.”

“So, if stores actually start selling goods begin to appear, then it means we’re close,” Skadi said.

The doctor noticed that even though she didn't stop walking while talking, her gaze remained fixed on the mannequin in the fashion store window.

Dresses, spring suits, women's blouses... countless garments that clashed horribly with her current hunter outfit were laid out openly. If one truly wanted them, they could simply take them for free without even trying them on.

She probably wanted to wear it, the doctor thought.

After all, looking at her like this is like looking at those children who go out to buy groceries with their parents but linger in front of the toy shelf, unwilling to leave. Despite knowing her great strength, one can't help but feel a pang of pity.

However, the doctor will not let his ideas remain just ideas forever.

Are you interested in those clothes?

Faced with Skadi's hypocrisy, the Doctor delivered a direct shot.

"Ok?"

Skadi looked away from the shop window and asked the Doctor with a slightly surprised expression, "Why did you bring this up?"

“Because you’ve been looking at it.” The doctor pointed to the shop window with his missing hand. “If you’re interested, why not try them on? As long as those clothes aren’t a trap.”

“No need,” Skadi shook her head. “Don’t say such useless things; it’s meaningless.”

“You don’t have to care about me,” the doctor tried to get Skadi to confront her own thoughts.

“No, that’s not what I’m concerned about.” Skadi glanced at the shop window she had just been looking at, her tone as calm as ever. “I just glanced at them with my eyes when I was looking at them.”

"Visually assessed... what?"

“Clothing size.” Skadi’s eyes were no longer fixed on the road ahead. “The clothes in the shop window don’t fit me. I can’t wear them even if I want to.”

"So you really intend to wear it?" The Doctor felt his direct question had missed its mark.

“Not really,” Skadi shook her head. “But if the size really fits, I’d probably be happy and then wear it as my own.”

"Does that mean clothes that don't fit can't be considered your own?" the doctor asked, puzzled.

“Of course not, even if you had these clothes in your closet, you wouldn’t be able to wear them, would you?” Skadi retorted.

"But that's on the premise that you actually wear it."

“No, Doctor, you’re completely wrong.” Skadi shook her head. “As long as a piece of clothing can be worn and placed in one’s own closet, it’s considered worn. Whether or not it’s worn outside doesn’t really matter.”

"Because the most important thing is that sense of possession that is just right for you."

Her crimson eyes met the doctor's.

The shop windows were shrouded in a thin mist under the streetlights, giving the clothes displayed inside a dreamlike filter.

Like a young girl.

"I don't understand what possessiveness is."

The Doctor, carrying his pickaxe, looked away from his eye contact with Skadi and strode towards the filter-covered shop window.

"It doesn't matter to me whether it's mine or not, as long as it can be used by me."

He raised the pickaxe in his hand.

"If you don't want these clothes, then they're just ordinary unclaimed items. In that case—"

The heavy blow of the pickaxe struck, stirring up a gust of black iron wind.

"Boom!"

The thick glass, under the chisel, spreads out intricate patterns from points to lines, and from lines to surfaces, like a complete spider web.

Then, the spider web was burned to ashes in the wildfire.

Broken glass shards flew everywhere, filling the gaps in the shop window.

The four silent models stood still, unmoved by the loud noise and the destruction before their eyes.

The glistening dregs were embedded in their clothes, like Cinderella's gown.

"What are you planning to do?" Skadi looked at him with interest, her eyes showing a hint of curiosity.

“The fabric of the clothes has many uses.” The doctor calmly brushed away the glass shards that clung to the clothes like diamond dust with his sleeve, then removed the clothes from the doll. “But I thought you would ask me if I wanted to wear them.”

"What, wearing women's clothes? So you have a cross-dressing fetish? Then I respect your choice—"

"No, no, no, that's not true." The doctor quickly shook his head. "I just think these clothes are also part of the supplies, and they can be used for many purposes."

“For example?” Skadi stared at the clothes in his hands.

“It can be torn up and used as bandages, disassembled and used as bags to hold food, and maybe it has other uses as well.” He shook the dress in his hand. “Even though it’s in this unknown Rhodes Island, the quality of the dress is surprisingly good.”

“I see, you’re a pragmatist.” Skadi nodded. “I think your idea is very good, but what are the other uses you just mentioned?”

"I gave it to the nun in my room as a gift." The Doctor brushed the lint off the dress and hung it to dry under the streetlamp. "Isn't the color quite nice? It would be such a waste to actually take it apart and turn it into bandages or pockets..."

However, before the doctor could finish speaking, Skadi quickly took two steps forward and snatched the dress from his hand.

"What's this?" he asked in surprise.

"Since you're going to give it away anyway, wouldn't it be better to give it to me?"

Chapter 168, Chapter 167: The Watcher

In the end, Skadi kept the dress whose size she didn't know if it would fit, while the other clothes were disassembled by the Doctor into pockets and bandages.

"Don't you find it troublesome?" the Doctor asked, glancing at Skadi who had casually draped her clothes over her shoulder.

“The fabric is good, the clothes are light, and it’s not much trouble to just drape them,” Skadi replied. “Even if there’s an unexpected battle, there’s no need to worry too much.”

“I just doubt whether you’ll actually need this garment,” the doctor said. “After all, you don’t look like you’re going to wear it.”

"Maybe, who knows."

Skadi shrugged.

The two continued walking along the street, passing one street corner after another.

Strangely enough, although the doctor knew he was in a maze full of branching paths, he didn't dislike wandering around aimlessly.

However, he still cannot explain the reason behind it.

There's a road sign ahead.

Skadi stopped and looked up. "It's written in Ursus, Doctor, take a look."

"Row."