Rhodes Island does not exist.

"Hmm... it says 'food section' above." The doctor calmly read the words.

“Really? Congratulations! It seems we’ve found our target for coming to the sixth floor.” Skadi nodded. “Now we just need to follow the signs.”

"Ah, that's true," the doctor replied reluctantly.

"What's wrong?" Skadi frowned, noticing the Doctor's low spirits. "Weren't you looking for this place? Why do you seem less than happy now that you've found it?"

“It’s not because of that. I don’t know if you’ve sensed it, but the doctor’s tone was slightly low and questioning. It’s like someone is watching us.”

"Now?" Skadi asked.

“It’s not just now.” The doctor shook his head. “Actually, I’ve had this feeling ever since we left that abandoned fountain square. But at that time, it wasn’t very strong, so I didn’t pay much attention to it. But now… this feeling of being watched has reached a point where I have to pay attention to it.”

"Strange." Skadi instinctively reached her right hand over her shoulder towards the greatsword behind her back, while simultaneously squeezing her eyes to observe her surroundings. "Why didn't I notice any of what you were talking about?"

"You don't feel anything at all?" the doctor asked, slightly surprised.

After all, in his eyes, Skadi was the epitome of fighting prowess.

From the moment the Doctor first met Skadi, the astonishing power she displayed in every gesture made him acutely aware of the gap between them.

However, this hunter, who was stronger than himself, said he did not detect that aura.

unreasonable.

“Tell me more,” Skadi said, looking at the Doctor. “I don’t know exactly what you’ve been feeling, but I hope you can share everything you’ve been feeling. After all, this is Rhodes Island, and we’re in constant danger.”

"Hold on."

The doctor closed his eyes.

He felt the prying eyes around him and tried to trace their origin.

Although he didn't know why he was able to do this, or what kind of ability it was, since he could do it, he had to do it.

"It seems to be very close to us." The doctor put down the bag he was holding, which was tied up with his clothes, and then slowly pointed to the place where the spying aura was coming from.

The finger finally stopped on the sign of an abandoned record store.

Like other shops along the way, this store had only a display window and shops, but the interior was completely empty.

Ultimately, from the outside, it's just another shop that looks no different from any other.

But the doctor pointed to it.

"Are you sure this is the place?" Skadi took the greatsword from behind her and placed it in front of her, assuming a fighting stance.

"Not inside the store, but this sign," the doctor said definitively. "And it's probably right behind this sign."

"You mean there's something hidden behind the sign?" Skadi examined the area the doctor had marked, looking it up and down. "Then we can just cut it down, right?"

"Be careful," the doctor advised.

“I understand.” Skadi nodded slightly, then drew her greatsword in a tidal wave of turquoise light.

The light blue line flashed by, leaving its afterimage on the signboard.

Then, a scraping sound, like metal being cut, slowly arose, followed by the gradual disintegration of the signboard into two pieces that slid down.

Skadi severed the magnificent signboard with a single sword strike.

Thus, what was hidden behind the signboard was finally exposed under the streetlights.

"Your intuition is really accurate..." Skadi couldn't help but exclaim as she held the greatsword in her hand.

As for PhDs.

"What...what is this...?"

A jumble of chaotic memories began to churn in his mind.

"What's wrong? Calm down." Skadi's tone rose two octaves from its usual indifference. "What happened?"

"I, I'm fine."

The doctor shook his head, forcing himself to calm down, and then refocused his gaze on what had been hidden behind the sign.

That was a surveillance camera.

"Just now... what was that?"

Although he tried to shake off the memories that had suddenly flooded back, it was still not so easy for the current Doctor.

"Did you remember something?" Skadi focused her attention on the Doctor rather than the suspicious surveillance camera in front of her. "Don't rush, slow down your breathing."

"It seems so." The doctor rubbed his temples, his voice slightly weak. "But I can't organize them into useful intelligence... Anyway, don't worry about me for now, let's focus on what's in front of us."

"More importantly, how did you realize there were surveillance cameras behind us?" Skadi asked. "And you said you had this feeling the whole way, so does that mean our movements on the sixth floor were actually being monitored the whole time?"

“That’s the only way.” The doctor nodded, adjusting his breathing. “I’ve never had this feeling on other floors, so I think… this is probably a specialty of the sixth floor.”

"If only we could follow the camera to find the person watching us," Skadi muttered, staring into the camera's eyes. "I just don't know what this machine is made of."

"...Maybe."

The doctor made a faint sound.

"What can?"

“Maybe I can give it a try.” The doctor took a deep breath, his face no longer as pale as before. “For some reason, I feel like I might be able to do it.”

-

Thank you segment.

Thank you for the blades and monthly tickets from "This is Infecting Adolf Kazami II".

Chapter 169, 168. Extending Parallel Lines

Originium Arts.

Although he has lost his memory, the Doctor still knows that there is Originium, Infected, and Non-Infected in this world, as well as something called Originium Arts.

At first, this common sense seemed too distant for him, who was unrelated to these things.

However, it seems that it may not be so far away now.

Ever since he died on the tenth floor from Originium leachate and found Originium on the third floor, he felt that the distance between himself and this indescribable thing had been getting closer and closer.

There must be some kind of relationship between seawater and Originium.

After all, those strange creatures flock to the seawater but avoid the source stones like the plague.

What about him?

The doctor was somewhat curious about this.

And this curiosity was gradually growing in his heart.

"So you were hiding this kind of technology."

A pale blue halo connected the doctor to the surveillance camera.

Skadi stared at the Doctor, who was being carried on her shoulder in an odd posture, and couldn't help but say something.

"I didn't know I had it either," the doctor said with a wry smile. "It's just that I suddenly seemed to have grabbed a few inspirations from the chaotic memories that had just returned, and I didn't expect it to actually work."

"So, what's the plan? Can we trace this line back to where it ends?" Skadi asked.

"I'm trying." The doctor closed his eyes, and the pale blue halo in his hand flickered.

At this moment, although his eyes were closed, he was able to see scenes that he could not normally see even with his eyes open.

That was a clue as thin as a hair.

The cable extends from the end of the surveillance camera, then follows the wall structure of the shop, gradually disappearing into an invisible direction.

This is a technique for observing and analyzing Originium.

The doctor subconsciously thought so.

Perhaps it originally belonged to him, and perhaps he was once able to use it to perfection, but now he has lost his memory, so even simply maintaining this spell has become somewhat difficult.

Skadi lifted the Doctor, who was sitting on her shoulders, with a hint of concern in her eyes.

Her gaze fell on his focused face, trying to glean some subtle information from the changes in his expression, while also worrying whether his unprecedented behavior might lead to some accident.

Just then, the doctor's body moved.

"Phew... No, we need to go deeper, but at least we have a direction now." The Doctor opened his eyes, waking from his previous reverie, and said to Skadi.

“You’ve at least seen a clue,” Skadi said, gazing at his face. The expression on his face didn’t suggest he hadn’t found anything.

"Yes, a thin thread extends from the camera." The doctor nodded. "Following the direction of that thread might lead us to the answer. Also—"

He sighed.

"What's wrong?" Skadi seemed a little concerned about this reaction.

“I saw more than one line just now.”

"More than one?"

"Okay." The doctor nodded. "Anyway, put me down first, and I'll explain everything to you slowly."

"Row."

Skadi crouched down, slowly tilting her back forward. About two seconds later, she felt the pressure on her shoulders ease considerably.

"Thank you for your cooperation." The Doctor dusted off his hands and gave Skadi a grateful smile. "Also, regarding the cameras, there are at least four more cameras on this street."

"Have you figured out the directions?" Skadi asked.

"Yes." The doctor pointed out four general directions with his missing left hand. "When we were tracing the lines, we found that there were other thin threads extending out, and then we found other cameras buried in the streets. In addition to these, I also vaguely sensed that there were invisible threads coming this way from other places."

“That was probably the gaze you felt not long ago,” Skadi said thoughtfully.

“Definitely,” the doctor said. “But this also makes things much easier for us, since these lines are basically all pointing in the same direction, so we just have to follow them.”

As he spoke, he picked up his tied-up bag and pickaxe, looking like a worker who had just returned from the mine.

“The previous road sign pointed to the food area, indicating a right turn about 100 meters ahead, and those thin strands are also extending in roughly that direction.” The doctor looked at the empty street ahead. “So it’s still on the same route as our initial destination. Just follow the road signs.”

“But looking at it this way, the appearance of the road sign seems rather strange.” Skadi didn’t follow the doctor, but stood there and shook her head.

“Think about it.” She looked up at the doctor. “We hadn’t seen any road signs along the way, but now we see a sign pointing to the food area, and the direction of the sign is exactly the same as the source of the camera’s wiring.”

“…Indeed.” The Doctor stopped and turned to face Skadi. “Actually, I have thought about this before, but in my opinion, it’s a good thing.”

"Is it good?"

"Isn't it a good thing to do two things together?" the doctor asked rhetorically.

"Double hours, double pay." Skadi shrugged. "Being tied together means we'll naturally have to do more work, although it's nice not having to run errands twice."

“That’s exactly what I mean.” The doctor’s gaze softened considerably as he looked at Skadi. “But… even though that’s what I mean, I’ll still have to trouble you, since you’re the main fighting force between the two of us.”

"You're still saying that now? I went to all this trouble to rescue you from that monster's belly, so of course I'm not going to mind. As for our combat strength, we both know what we're capable of, don't we?" Skadi shrugged. "Right now, we're the only two people left alive on Rhodes Island. If we don't cooperate, we'll just die even faster."

"All I can say is that I'll try my best not to hold you back," the doctor said with a smile.

"No, it won't happen." Skadi walked to the Doctor's side and patted him on the shoulder.

The doctor realized that this seemed to be the first time Skadi had taken the initiative to make such a physical contact with him.

“Without your Originium Arts just now, we probably wouldn’t have discovered the hidden clues and traps behind this beforehand.” Skadi stood to the side of the Doctor, their faces parallel but looking in different directions.

"After this, I'm sure I'll rely on you even more in this regard."

"So there's no need to say such things, because we all need each other."

Chapter 170, 169. Reverse Investigation

Turn right 100 meters ahead.

That's how it's written on the road sign.

Now, the Doctor and Skadi are standing side by side at the fork in the road indicated by the road sign, gazing at the scenery before them.

“I know what you’re trying to say,” the doctor sighed. “I think we’re thinking the same thing.”

He looked at Skadi, and Skadi looked at him.

The fork in the road in front of us leads to a fairly wide road.

The roadside is lined with rows of unmanned stalls and all kinds of shops.

And naturally, there was nothing on the stall.