EXPERT SYSTEMS

On December 5, 2022, submitted.
On December 7, 2022, edited and sent back, requesting that the cover letter clearly state the keywords of the paper.
On December 8, 2022, resubmitted.
On January 31, 2023, major revision (two reviewers, extended deadline until May).
On February 13, 2023, revised major revision.
On February 14, 2023, edited and sent back (the teacher insisted on adding a personal statement by the author, and the editor requested a submission of an author change explanation).
On February 17, 2023, resubmitted major revision and explanation document.
On February 22, 2023, edited and sent back (stated that the reasons for adding the author were not sufficient, exchanged emails and discussed with the editor...).
On February 24, 2023, resubmitted major revision and explanation document.
On March 23, 2023, accepted.

Today, the 26th, the copyright statement was submitted, entering the proof stage.

After submission, they said my similarity rate was too high and even attached a plagiarism report. When I opened it, to my surprise, they checked the similarity of my reference list as well. How could the similarity rate not be high then? They asked me to revise and resubmit, but can I really change the references of 40 articles? I am speechless. What does this journal mean?