101: Chapter 101 Hands are not accessories to the toolbox

The moment the white line fell, the world before Lin Jin's eyes seemed to stretch into an extremely thin line.

What it locked onto was the toolbox.

At least on the surface.

The Old Path Identification Screw on the edge of the toolbox vibrated wildly, making a dense clicking sound.

Lin Jin's first reaction was to protect the box.

Inside it was the rule correction wrench, the Old Path Identification Screw, the clues left by Lin Shoushan, and the sealed mark they had just brought out from the first floor of the White Tower.

But just as his fingers were about to tighten around the toolbox handle, a sentence Chen Ye had shouted last night when practicing until his voice went hoarse suddenly flashed through his mind.

“The thing that is locked onto isn't necessarily the thing it wants to hit!”

“What the Protection Role fears most is you subconsciously protecting the wrong thing!”

Lin Jin's fingertips suddenly froze.

At the same instant, the Hand of Rules popped up a stinging prompt.

[Target: Maintenance Position Lin Jin's Right Hand]

[Pseudo-Locked Target: Toolbox]

[Glitch: Maintenance tools defined as the core of the Maintenance Position; the Maintenance Position's hand defined as an auxiliary attachment of the tools]

[Danger: If the Maintenance Position actively protects the box, the hand will be judged as the cost of protecting the tools]

[Recommendation: Disconnect auxiliary definition]

As expected.

Chen Ye had not yet transmitted the warning into the arena.

But his judgment had already landed in Lin Jin's mind three seconds in advance.

Lin Jin did not protect the box.

With a twist of his wrist, he directly let go of the toolbox strap.

The toolbox fell from his side.

Yet the white line bent in mid-air, actually chasing after his right hand.

The White Shield Sample took a step forward, its giant silver-white shield blocking the most optimal position.

“Accept protection to prevent the Maintenance Position from being injured.”

Its shield light spread out, almost perfectly covering Lin Jin's right side.

As long as Lin Jin retreated into it, this instance of protection would be recorded by the White Tower.

[Times White Shield Sample Protection Accepted: 0/3]

Lin Jin saw that line of small text.

So he did not retreat.

He pressed his right hand down to his side, grabbed the broken chalk with his left hand, and fiercely drew a short line on the outer side of his palm.

[The hand is not an appendage of the toolbox.]

The white line pierced down instantly.

Shen Tingxue's ice arrived as well.

She didn't seal the white line.

The white line was too fast; sealing it directly would be judged as substitute protection.

What she sealed was the 'definition line' between Lin Jin's right hand and the toolbox that had not yet been completely broken.

The frost was as thin as a needle, pinning onto the outer side of Lin Jin's wrist.

Zhou Heng's Thunder Spear hit the ground almost at the same time.

The Buffer Barrier-Breaking Nail was not striking at the white line, but pinning down the very point where the white line bent.

“Breaking the barrier isn't blocking for him.”

“It's interrupting the incorrect path!”

The lightning light exploded.

The white line veered off by half an inch.

Half an inch wasn't enough to dodge completely.

But it was enough for Lin Jin to pull his right hand out of the definition of 'toolbox appendage'.

Slash!

The white line grazed the back of his hand.

His flesh split open into a long, thin bloody gash, and black pollution threads seeped out from the wound, only to be suppressed in time by Shen Tingxue's ice.

Lin Jin let out a muffled groan and fell to one knee.

But his hand was still there.

No serious injury.

It wasn't severed.

And it wasn't judged as the cost of the maintenance tools.

Three seconds later, Chen Ye's hoarse roar finally reached the arena.

“Lin Jin! Don't protect the toolbox!”

“What it's really hitting is your hand!”

By the time his voice fell, the white line had already shattered into several segments.

Inside the observation cabin, Chen Ye's face was deathly pale.

He had seen that line fall with his own eyes just now, but he could only wait for three seconds.

During those three seconds, he had almost cracked the cabin wall from slamming it.

Only when he saw that Lin Jin was only injured on the back of his hand did he let out a heavy sigh of relief, leaning his entire body against the transparent cabin wall.

“Damn it...”

“Scared the life out of me.”

Zhou Heng glanced at Lin Jin's hand.

“Can you still repair?”

Lin Jin grit his teeth and gripped the chalk back in his hand.

“Yes.”

Shen Tingxue said coldly:

“The pollution in the wound is rising.”

Lin Jin nodded.

“I know.”

As he spoke, he looked toward the White Shield Sample at the edge of the arena.

“Was what you provided just now protection, or inducement?”

The White Shield Sample replied calmly:

“I provide the optimal protection position.”

“If accepted, damage can be reduced.”

Lin Jin sneered.

“And at the same time, it counts toward the necessity of a temporary substitute.”

The White Shield Sample did not deny it.

White characters flashed above the arena.

[Times White Shield Sample Protection Accepted: 0/3]

[Maintenance Position Lightly Injured]

[Serious Injury Judgment: Not Established]

Chen Ye's voice only came through three seconds later.

“Great!”

“It didn't count!”

“Keep staying away from the right side of the White Shield; its shield surface will direct the rifts toward you!”

Lin Jin looked up.

“Heard you.”

Of course, he only heard it three seconds later.

But they had already begun to act according to the rhythm of the three-second delay.

The three in the arena no longer waited for the prompts to appear before moving.

Whenever Chen Ye shouted the next line, they would count down three seconds in their minds, treating it as the landing point of the future.

This was very awkward.

It was like fighting a delayed storm.

But they had already begun to adapt.

By the fourth wave of rifts, the White Tower had clearly sped up.

Six cracks split open in the ground at the same time.

Four of them were fake, while two were real.

The White Shield Sample raised its shield and stood in the middle, its silver-white shield face expanding to perfectly cover the intersection of the two real cracks.

“It is recommended to accept protection.”

“The current impact intensity exceeds the tolerance threshold of a shieldless three-person formation.”

Chen Ye's voice came with a delay.

“The center line collapses in three seconds!”

“Don't go behind the shield!”

“Beneath the White Shield's feet is the inducement point; the actual safe spot is half a step to its front-left!”

Zhou Heng's face darkened.

“Half a step to the front-left?”

That was almost pressing against the edge of the White Shield's protection, yet not behind the shield.

A slight deviation, and it would be judged as accepting protection.

Shen Tingxue looked at Lin Jin.

Lin Jin nodded.

“Go.”

Zhou Heng moved first.

With seventy percent of the Thunder Spear's power, the Buffer Barrier-Breaking Nail forced a narrow foothold half a step to the White Shield's front-left.

Shen Tingxue's ice line connected, freezing the outer edge of the foothold into a translucent low-temperature boundary.

Enduring the pain in his right hand, Lin Jin tapped the ground with the wrench in his left hand, repairing the misaligned seam that was about to collapse beneath the foothold.

The three of them slid past almost brushing against the outer edge of the White Shield's light.

The silver-white shield light lit up, grazing their backs.

The White Tower characters flashed immediately.

[Detected proximity to the White Shield Sample's protection range]

[Count as accepting protection?]

Chen Ye roared in the observation cabin:

“They didn't go behind the shield!”

“They didn't touch the shield light!”

“That's called passing by!”

Only three seconds later did the people in the arena hear this.

But the collateral records were faster than his voice.

Gu Changye's external monitoring locked onto the trajectories at the same time.

“Processing Bureau records: The squad did not enter the White Shield Sample's protection range.”

Qin Shanhe also spoke up:

“Academy records: This action belongs to an evasion route and does not count as accepting protection.”

Inspector Han Su's monitoring projection followed:

“Department of Education monitoring panel records: Approaching the protection range must not be equated with accepting protection.”

The White Tower characters struggled for a moment, then finally turned gray.

[Times Accepted: 0/3]

Chen Ye pumped his fist fiercely in the observation cabin.

“Beautiful!”

Three seconds later, Zhou Heng heard this and replied coldly:

“You're really slow with the praise.”

Chen Ye immediately shouted:

“Don't be stubborn! In three seconds, your right knee position will be targeted!”

Zhou Heng's expression changed.

By the time this sentence reached him, the rift had already formed.

Beneath his right knee, a thin white thorn line was about to drill out from the ground.

Zhou Heng instinctively wanted to pierce straight through with his Thunder Spear.

But Chen Ye's voice, which he had practiced all night, drove into his mind like a nail.

Don't pierce straight through.

Don't take the straightest path.

Zhou Heng forced the spear tip half an inch aside, the lightning light curving into an arc.

The white thorn line was not shattered head-on, but was swept aside by the curved lightning light, flying past and grazing his kneepad.

No hit.

The White Shield Sample raised its shield once more.

“Barrier Breaker Position reaction delay.”

“It is recommended to accept protection.”

Zhou Heng sneered.

“I suggest you keep it.”

He pressed his Thunder Spear down, pinning the deflected white thorn line directly into the ground.

“Barrier Breaker Position is uninjured.”

Rule Five above the White Tower flashed once.

[Serious Injury Judgment: Not Established]

As the fifth wave began, the course arena suddenly darkened.

All rifts disappeared.

The ground turned into a flat, grayish-white expanse.

There was no warning.

There was no wind pressure.

There were no cracks.

Chen Ye sat up straight in the observation cabin.

“This isn't a normal impact.”

“It's looking for the source of the protection judgment.”

Lin Jin looked up.

“What do you mean?”

Of course, by the time he heard this, it was already three seconds later.

And inside the arena, the White Tower characters had already emerged.

[Detected continuous intervention from off-field protection judgment]

[Although the Protection Role is not in the arena, they still provide protection value to the team]

[Protection Role absence judgment obstructed]

[Adjusting event target]

Chen Ye's face changed drastically.

“It's coming for me!”

Before his words could even reach the arena, the medical observation pod suddenly lit up with a red light.

[medical observation pod pressure test initiated]

[Purpose: Verify the pressure-bearing overload state of the Protection Role]

[During the observation period, the Protection Role must not use protection skills]

Inside the transparent cabin walls, grayish-white impacts surged toward Chen Ye from all directions.

Chen Ye had no shield.

And he couldn't use skills.

His face instantly changed.

“Damn!”

Qin Shanhe said angrily:

“Stop!”

Gu Changye also immediately ordered:

“The medical observation pod must not be converted into a pressure test cabin!”

But the White Tower bill event had already connected to the course scenario, and cold white characters flashed outside the observation cabin.

[When the Protection Role is absent, the Protection Role themselves must also verify their pressure-bearing state]

[If the Protection Role cannot withstand the pressure test, it proves the necessity of a higher-adaptation sample]

Only now did the three in the arena finally hear Chen Ye's “It's coming for me” from earlier.

Lin Jin's face turned icy cold.

The White Tower is too insidious.

Finding that Chen Ye's off-field judgment was still effective, it directly dragged the 'absent' Chen Ye into the pressure test.

He couldn't enter the arena.

He couldn't hold a shield.

He couldn't use protection skills.

Yet he had to bear the pressure.

This was equivalent to rewriting the Protection Role from an 'off-field judge' into a 'shieldless test subject'.

Lin Jin turned around, about to rush toward the observation cabin.

The White Shield Sample took a step forward, blocking him with its giant silver-white shield.

“Members in the arena are not allowed to leave.”

“It is recommended to accept the White Shield Sample's protection to complete the course.”

Lin Jin looked up.

“Get lost.”

The White Shield Sample did not budge.

Shen Tingxue raised her hand, her ice line sealing the boundary between the arena and the observation cabin.

“Lin Jin, don't rush.”

“If you rush out, the course will judge the squad formation as collapsed.”

Zhou Heng grit his teeth.

“Then what do we do?”

Inside the observation cabin, Chen Ye was slammed by the first wave of pressure, his back crashing against the cabin wall.

He let out a muffled groan, blood seeping from the corner of his mouth.

But he clenched his teeth hard, not crying out in pain.

The White Tower characters began to generate.

[Protection Role Chen Ye showing a trend of failing to bear pressure without a shield]

[Necessity of White Shield Sample increased]

Lin Jin stared at the observation cabin, his mind spinning rapidly.

We can't go out.

We can't let the White Shield protect us three times.

We can't let Chen Ye endure shieldless to the point of serious injury.

And we can't use the rule correction wrench to smash it by force.

Then there is only one way left.

Lin Jin suddenly looked up, staring at the school badge on Chen Ye's chest.

“Chen Ye!”

“Listen to me!”

It would take three seconds for the voice to reach the observation cabin.

Chen Ye was pressed down to one knee by the second wave of pressure when Lin Jin's voice finally sounded in his ears.

“What you are using now is not a protection skill.”

“It's protection judgment!”

Chen Ye was stunned for a moment.

Lin Jin continued to shout.

“It forbids you from using protection skills.”

“But it didn't forbid you from reading the pressure!”

“Report the observation cabin's pressure to us!”

Chen Ye's eyes suddenly lit up.

He understood.

The White Tower had locked him in the pressure cabin because it wanted him to fail to bear the pressure without a shield.

But as long as he could convert the pressure he was bearing into judgments and transmit them back to the team, proving that he could still provide protection value even under pressure, he could suppress the definition of 'absence'.

Chen Ye grit his teeth and looked up, his voice hoarse.

“The pressure is coming in from the left shoulder!”

“In three seconds, it will shift to the right ribs!”

“The corresponding impact in the arena will loop around from behind the White Shield!”

These words were swallowed by the sound transmission talisman.

Three seconds later, the three in the arena heard it.

At almost the exact same instant, a grayish-white impact really looped around from behind the White Shield.

If they had stood behind the White Shield's shield, that hit would have definitely counted as accepting protection, and they would have been hit from behind.

Shen Tingxue froze half an inch behind the White Shield in advance.

Zhou Heng's Thunder Spear curved in an arc, breaking the pressure.

Lin Jin repaired the landing point.

The attack in the arena was avoided.

Inside the observation cabin, however, Chen Ye was slammed by the pressure, coughing up a mouthful of blood.

[Protection Role Lightly Injured]

[Serious Injury Judgment: Not Established]

Lin Jin's gaze was frighteningly cold.

“Continue!”

Chen Ye raised his hand to wipe the blood from the corner of his mouth, staring at the pressure flow inside the observation cabin.

He had no shield.

But he still had his eyes.

He still had his muscle memory.

And he still had the three-second pre-judgment he had practiced all night.

“The second wave isn't hitting my chest!”

“It wants to press down on my knees!”

“Don't jump in the arena!”

“The ground will rebound in three seconds!”

Three seconds later, the ground in the arena indeed rebounded.

The three of them did not jump, but instead lowered their bodies to anchor their stance.

The impact grazed past above their heads.

The White Shield Sample's shield-raising action missed.

[Times Accepted: 0/3]

[Arena Serious Injury Judgment: Not Established]

[Off-field Protection Judgment: Effective]

The White Tower characters began to grow chaotic.

[Protection Role absence judgment obstructed]

[Still providing protection value under shieldless state]

[Necessity of S-Class Defense Sample decreased]

The third wave of pressure slammed onto Chen Ye's shoulders again.

The pain made his vision turn black.

But he smiled.

“See that...”

“A mouth-shield is also a shield.”

The White Tower seemed to be thoroughly enraged.

Inside the medical observation pod, the pressure suddenly spiked.

[Pressure test intensity increased]

[Purpose: Complete protection deficit settlement]

Qin Shanhe roared:

“This is a violation!”

Gu Changye also said sternly:

“Processing Bureau judges this to exceed the scope of medical observation!”

For the first time, the voice of Inspector Han Su's monitoring projection carried a distinct chill.

“Department of Education monitoring panel records: The White Tower bill event is rewriting medical observation into damage settlement.”

“This behavior is a violation.”

But the pressure had already fallen.

Chen Ye's body was pressed downward.

He grit his teeth, the school badge on his chest glowing almost blindingly bright.

Lin Jin knew they couldn't let him keep holding on like this.

He raised his hand and pressed down on the Mutual Verification Contract.

“Protection Role absence response protocol, initiate Article Two.”

Shen Tingxue and Zhou Heng reacted at the same time.

[Members in the arena may temporarily share protection duties, but this must not confirm the entry of a temporary substitute into the squad.]

Lin Jin looked up.

“We will share it.”

Chen Ye's eyes went wide in the observation cabin.

“No!”

Only three seconds later did the three in the arena hear it.

But they had already moved.

Shen Tingxue extended her ice line from the arena to the outside of the observation cabin, not entering inside, but only freezing the pressure conduction layer.

Zhou Heng's Thunder Spear pinned down the rule base beneath the observation cabin, not destroying the cabin itself, but only diverting the pressure.

Lin Jin pressed his left hand to the ground, repairing the 'damage settlement line' that the White Tower had secretly connected between the observation cabin and the dungeon arena.

They weren't bearing the damage for Chen Ye.

Rather, they were dismantling the channel through which the White Tower changed medical observation into damage settlement.

Watching the actions of the three, Chen Ye's eyes suddenly grew a bit warm.

He cursed in a hoarse voice.

“I told you not to be fools...”

Three seconds later, this curse reached the arena.

Zhou Heng said coldly:

“Too late.”

Shen Tingxue said calmly:

“We've already shared it.”

Lin Jin grit his teeth and snapped the last incorrect settlement line.

“Team protection.”

“Doesn't rely on just one person.”

Boom!

The pressure inside the observation cabin dropped abruptly.

The White Tower characters were suppressed by a grayish-gold light.

[medical observation pod pressure test: Violation]

[Damage Settlement Line: Disconnected]

[Protection Role Chen Ye: Lightly Injured]

[Serious Injury Judgment: Not Established]

[White Shield Sample Acceptance Count: 0/3]

[Off-field Protection Judgment: Effective]

[In-field members sharing protection duties: Effective]

[Necessity of Temporary Substitute: Not Established]

The temporary school badge on the White Shield Sample's chest suddenly dimmed.

A fine crack appeared on its giant silver-white shield.

[Settling the first cost event]

[Event Name: When the Protection Role is Absent]

[Settlement Result: Protection Role is absent from the field, but team protection is not absent]

[Protection Deficit Accounts: Rejected]

Chen Ye leaned in the observation cabin, drenched in sweat, with blood still at the corner of his mouth.

Yet looking at that line of [Rejected], he suddenly smiled.

“I told you...”

“A mouth-shield is also a shield.”

Lin Jin had just breathed a sigh of relief when the White Tower bill suddenly ignited with a final speck of grey fire.

[First itemized line successfully rejected]

[Cost bill balance adjusted]

[Detected that the squad substituted single-point pressure on the Protection Role with in-field sharing]

[Generation direction of the second itemized line updated]

[Candidate Targets: All Teammates]

[Event Name Pre-loading—]

The grey fire slowly spelled out five new characters.

[Who Gets Hurt for Whom]