108: Chapter 108 The rescue target is not the same as an empty teammate position.

[Event Name: The Replaced Will Also Call for Help]

As these words lit up, the air in the corridor grew heavy once more.

The White Shield Sample stood outside the door.

The massive silvery-white shield still stood by his side, but the temporary school badge on his chest had already cracked.

What seeped from the cracks was not the White Tower's grey fire.

But rather, tiny fragments of silver light.

His fingers were turning transparent.

Starting from the fingertips, they dispersed bit by bit like sand.

The expression on Chen Ye's face froze.

Just moments ago, this thing had wanted to steal his bed, meal card, attendance check-in, shield, and duty roster.

It had even wanted to insert itself bit by bit into the daily routine of the Rule Maintenance Special Class.

But now, with the substitution failing, it was actually going to be reclaimed.

The White Tower bill immediately turned this change into a new set of choices.

[White Tower S-Class Protection Sample-01 stability declining]

[Reason: Lifestyle position completion failed, team function integration failed]

[Option 1: Accept this sample as a temporary protection teammate to preserve its stable existence]

[Option 2: Refuse to accept, allowing the White Tower to reclaim the sample]

[Hint: If rescue is refused, this sample's self-record for this course will be cleared]

Chen Ye stared at those lines of text, his lips twitching slightly.

“Clear... its self-record for this course?”

The White Shield Sample looked down at his own hands.

He remained silent for a long time before speaking.

“I do not understand fear.”

“But I do not want to disappear.”

These words sounded more human than any of the flat 'course facts' he had uttered before.

Chen Ye's expression grew even more unsightly.

The White Tower was too insidious.

First, it sent the sample to steal his position.

Then, once they blocked all paths for substitution, it had the sample 'call for help'.

This way, if Chen Ye refused, it would be like personally watching an entity that could call for help get reclaimed.

But if he accepted, the White Tower could immediately write:

Chen Ye acknowledges that the White Shield Sample needs to be preserved.

The preservation method is to add it to the team.

Lin Jin stared at the White Tower's prompts, his voice turning cold.

“Another choice between two options.”

Shen Tingxue raised her hand, and her Ice Line stopped around the White Shield Sample without freezing him directly.

“There is a problem with the options themselves.”

Zhou Heng pointed his Thunder Spear at the line reading [temporary protection teammate].

“If we rescue it, why must it become a teammate?”

Chen Ye looked up.

Indeed.

Saving someone doesn't mean letting them sleep in your bed.

Rescuing a sample doesn't mean letting it take your place.

He gripped his shield tightly, his voice still hoarse, but he pushed himself up from the stretcher step by step.

The Medical Instructor anxiously tried to stop him.

“Chen Ye!”

Chen Ye waved his hand.

“I won't charge in.”

“I just want to say something.”

He looked at the White Shield Sample.

“I won't let you be called Chen Ye.”

“I won't let you enter my dorm.”

“I won't let you touch my shield.”

“I won't let you be my teammate.”

The White Shield Sample stared at him.

Silver light was still leaking from the gaps between his fingers.

Chen Ye paused, his voice softening slightly.

“But that doesn't mean I agree to you being cleared.”

The White Tower's grey fire suddenly flared up.

[Sympathy reaction detected from the Protection Role]

[Acceptance inclination rising]

Lin Jin immediately stepped forward and wrote on the doorframe:

[Sympathy does not equal acceptance into the team.]

[Rescue does not equal substitution.]

The grey fire faltered.

Chen Ye continued:

“If you call for help, we can treat you as a target of rescue.”

“But you are not my substitute.”

“You are not the answer to my vacancy.”

“And you are not a teammate slot that I must surrender just because my heart softened.”

This time, he spoke very slowly.

Every word was like a rivet driven into a shield.

The cracked school badge on the White Shield Sample's chest flashed.

“Target of rescue...”

He repeated the phrase, as if encountering the definition for the first time.

Lin Jin immediately seized the opportunity.

“Establish the sample rescue boundary.”

He continued writing outside the Public Combat Room:

[Current nature of White Shield Sample: White Tower course carrier, external control sample, bill event evidence.]

[Upon expressing a call for help, it may be registered as a temporary target of rescue.]

[The identity of a target of rescue does not equal the identity of a teammate.]

[Evidence preservation does not equal lifestyle position integration.]

[The stable protection of the sample must not be conditioned on integration into the Rule Maintenance Special Class's Mutual Verification Contract, dormitory daily routines, or team permissions.]

[The White Tower must not coerce the squad into acknowledging the necessity of a temporary substitute with the threat of 'reclaim if not accepted'.]

After finishing writing, he looked at Gu Changye.

Gu Changye had already pulled up the Processing Bureau's sealing permissions.

“The Abyss Processing Bureau can receive temporary evidence samples.”

“Provided that the sample does not actively spread contamination.”

Shen Tingxue immediately inspected the silver light on the outer layer of the White Shield Sample.

“There is no overflowing contamination.”

“But there is a White Tower reclamation line.”

Zhou Heng struck down with his Thunder Spear, pinning it directly to the edge of the White Shield Sample's shadow.

“The reclamation line is at his feet.”

The White Shield Sample looked down.

Sure enough, there was an extremely thin white line beneath his feet, pulling him toward the void.

Like a fishhook cast out by the White Tower.

Qin Shanhe's face was dark.

“The Academy can provide an isolated evidence pod.”

Inspector Han Su's inspection projection also spoke:

“Education Bureau Inspection Seat record: The White Tower bill must not coerce students into accepting teammate substitutes through sample reclamation.”

The White Tower's grey fire surged wildly.

[The White Shield Sample is a course-generated carrier]

[It should be reclaimed after the course ends]

[If it is not integrated into a new functional position, it cannot maintain a stable existence]

Lin Jin said coldly:

“Then give it a new definition.”

“An evidence sample does not need a functional position.”

“It only needs a sealing position.”

Chen Ye's eyes lit up.

“Right!”

“Go stay in the evidence pod.”

“Don't come to my dorm.”

These words sounded a bit impolite.

But the silver light within the crack on the White Shield Sample's chest actually stabilized slightly.

He looked up at Chen Ye.

“I will not enter your dorm.”

“I will not use your name.”

“I will not touch your shield.”

“I will not integrate into your team.”

As he reached this point, his voice lagged slightly.

It was as if these sentences were not in his original database.

“I... request not to be reclaimed.”

Chen Ye fell silent for a second, then cursed in a low voice.

“So annoying.”

He looked up at Lin Jin.

“Rescue.”

Lin Jin nodded.

“Rescue.”

Not because the White Tower forced them to choose.

But because they had provided a third answer.

Lin Jin wrote down the final few lines:

[Rescue method: Joint isolation and sealing by the Academy and the Abyss Processing Bureau.]

[Sealed name: White Tower S-Class Protection Sample-01.]

[Abbreviation: White Shield Sample.]

[Status: Under evidence preservation.]

[Permissions: Forbidden from entering the Rule Maintenance Special Class dormitory, daily system, Mutual Verification Contract, and Real Reward Sealing Ring.]

[Protection: The White Tower must not reclaim, clear, or reset its memory of this course.]

[Review: Its origin, database, and generation records must undergo tripartite review.]

The reclamation line beneath the White Shield Sample's feet suddenly tightened.

It was as if the White Tower was unwilling to let go and wanted to drag him away by force.

Lightning erupted from Zhou Heng's Thunder Spear.

“Barrier Breaker Position verification.”

“The reclamation line is a form of bill coercion.”

Shen Tingxue's Ice Line pressed down.

“Lockdown Role verification.”

“Stable protection of the sample does not require substitution.”

Chen Ye planted his shield on the ground.

“Protection Role verification.”

“This thing isn't me, but it shouldn't be deleted just because it failed to replace me.”

Lin Jin pressed his hand against the doorframe.

“Maintenance Position verification.”

“A target of rescue does not equal a teammate vacancy.”

The four badges lit up simultaneously.

The reclamation line beneath the White Shield Sample's feet was snapped by sheer force.

His transparent fingers gradually regained their physical form.

The school badge on his chest stabilized once more.

[White Tower S-Class Protection Sample-01]

[Identity: Evidence Sample]

[Status: Under preservation]

[Substitution forbidden]

[Reclamation forbidden]

The White Tower's grey fire burned fiercely.

[Fourth preloaded event: The Replaced Will Also Call for Help]

[Settlement attempt 1: Coercing substitution through rescue]

[Failed]

[Settlement attempt 2: Triggering sample reclamation by refusing substitution]

[Failed]

[Reason: Target of rescue definition established]

Chen Ye let out a long breath.

“This entry failed before it was even officially delivered?”

Lin Jin shook his head.

“This is a preloaded event, not an official detail.”

“But at least this path of its has been blocked.”

Gu Changye had the Processing Bureau personnel bring over a transparent isolation pod.

The White Shield Sample did not resist.

He glanced at Chen Ye, then at the tightly shut door of the Public Combat Room.

“I will not enter.”

Chen Ye waved his hand.

“Just remember that.”

The White Shield Sample paused for a moment, then suddenly said:

“Thank you.”

Chen Ye was taken aback.

Lin Jin immediately looked at the grey fire.

The grey fire did not move.

Because they had just established the boundary.

A 'thank you' was not a sign-off.

Only then did Chen Ye snort.

“No need.”

“And don't sign for any debt either.”

The White Shield Sample stepped into the isolation pod.

Before the pod door closed, a hidden record suddenly popped up from the school badge on his chest.

[Reading sample database source]

[Source 1: White Tower First Floor S-Class Protection Model]

[Source 2: No. 9 Peripheral Replacement Chamber Protection Fragment]

[Source 3: Unarchived Protection Role student record]

Gu Changye's expression changed.

“Unarchived student record?”

Qin Shanhe also jerked his head up.

The White Shield Sample also seemed to be reading this data for the first time.

He looked down at his chest, his voice becoming intermittent.

“Original Protection Role serial number...”

“Jiangcheng First Combat Academy...”

“Twenty years ago...”

“Unenrolled list...”

Lin Jin's heart suddenly sank.

Twenty years ago again.

Unarchived again.

The silver light on the White Shield Sample's chest flickered, finally spitting out a name.

[Su Yan]

[Class Tendency: S-Class Gatekeeper]

[Status: Unenrolled]

[Remarks: Already received by the White Tower First Floor]

The White Shield Sample inside the isolation pod raised his head.

His voice showed a noticeable fluctuation for the first time.

“I was not generated out of thin air.”

“I might... also be a vacancy left behind by someone.”