113: Chapter 113 records can be organized, but cannot be changed.

[Echo Transcription Initiated]

[Target: low-stimulation audit protocol]

[Transcription Direction: Pending Review = Overdue Debt]

[If transcription is completed, the seven-day audit will be converted into a seven-day repayment period]

The phantom of the White Tower at the end of the corridor flickered by.

But everyone could hear that rustling sound of a pen touching paper.

It wasn't like a blade, nor was it like thunder.

It was simply the sound of a pen tip scratching across paper.

So light it was almost gentle.

Yet, for the first time, Inspector Han Su's expression changed completely.

Because it was his original words that were being altered.

He had just said:

[Status: Pending Review does not constitute overdue debt]

But the transcribed record was becoming:

[Status: Pending Review can be considered overdue debt]

Only four characters had been changed.

Yet the meaning was completely inverted.

Chen Ye stared at that line of text, his scalp tingling.

"This is even more disgusting than hitting someone directly!"

"It can even change what other people have said?"

Shen Tingxue's fingertips sent Ice Line rapidly sealing off that passage of text.

But as soon as the ice touched the edge of the text, the line split into two layers.

One layer was the original audio.

One layer was the transcription.

The transcription layer, like a more formal document, was covering the original audio layer.

The White Tower prompt lit up accordingly.

[Echo Scribe duty: Organize multi-party statements into sealable records]

[Transcribed records take precedence over oral original audio]

Zhou Heng sneered.

"Organize?"

"Changing 'does not constitute' to 'can be considered'—that's called organizing?"

Lin Jin did not act immediately.

His right hand was still aching, and his mental state didn't allow for another brute-force strike.

Furthermore, this time, he couldn't just block one sentence.

If the Echo Scribe source could truly alter three-party records, then all their previous records could potentially be re-transcribed.

They needed to reclaim the boundary between "records" and "transcription."

Lin Jin walked up to the altered line of text, gripped the chalk in his left hand, and wrote beside it:

[Original Audio Boundary]

Article 1.

[Original audio records are the content actually spoken by the speaker.]

Article 2.

[Transcribed records are an organization of original audio records and must not alter the original meaning.]

Article 3.

[Transcription must not, under the pretext of simplification, summarization, formalization, or sealing format, alter core meanings such as affirmation vs. negation, approval vs. rejection, or pending review vs. debt.]

Article 4.

[When original audio and transcription conflict, the original audio prevails, and the transcription enters a state of dispute.]

Article 5.

[Any three-party confirmed record must retain three layers: original audio, speaker verification, and Collateral Evidence Seat records; it must not be overwritten by a single-layer transcription from the White Tower.]

As the chalk fell, the "can be considered" in the transcription layer paused slightly.

But the White Tower did not stop.

[White Tower Record Room is the first-tier official sealing node]

[Oral original audio must be transcribed by a scribe before it can enter the official archives]

Inspector Han Su stepped forward.

His inspection projection was visibly brighter than before, as if he had utilized higher authority.

"The Education Bureau Inspection Seat reaffirms the original audio."

"What I said was: Status: Pending Review does not constitute overdue debt."

"Not 'can be considered'."

"Not 'defaulted'."

"Not 'extended'."

"Not 'overdue debt'."

With every negation he spoke, a silver seal dropped from the inspection projection.

Lin Jin immediately looked at Qin Shanhe and Gu Changye.

Qin Shanhe said in a deep voice:

"Academy original audio record."

"I confirm, Inspector Han Su said it does not constitute overdue debt."

Gu Changye followed up:

"Abyss Processing Bureau original audio record."

"The Processing Bureau confirms the same original words."

Shen Tingxue raised her hand, and Ice Line froze the three original audio seals into transparent Echo Anchors.

Zhou Heng drove his Thunder Spear down, pinning the Echo Anchors beneath the transcription layer.

"Barrier Breaker Position verification."

"There is a conflict between the transcription layer and the original audio layer."

Chen Ye also shouted with a hoarse voice:

"Protection Role verification!"

"Listen to whose words belong to whom!"

"Don't use a scribe's pen to change someone else's words!"

The sentence was crude, but it struck at the heart of the matter.

The White Tower transcription layer trembled violently.

[Echo Transcription Dispute]

[Speaker verification intervention]

[Transcription priority lowered]

That line of tampered record finally began to fade.

[Can be considered] the four characters were suppressed by a grey-gold light, revealing the original [does not constitute] beneath them.

Lin Jin did not stop.

"Establish Echo Scribe protection boundary."

He continued to write beside the entry for Luo Wensheng:

[Echo Scribe Boundary]

[If Luo Wensheng possesses residual will, she shall be registered as a suspected victim and source of testimonial evidence, and must not be registered as a White Tower transcription tool.]

[The Echo Scribe's duty is to preserve original audio, not to alter meanings for the Inspection Seat.]

[Scribe transcription may organize format, but must not alter the speaker's intent.]

[The White Tower Record Room must not forge, delete, or reverse three-party records in the name of Luo Wensheng.]

[If a transcription dispute occurs, it must be verified by the original speaker, recorded by the Collateral Evidence Seat, and confirmed by all three parties.]

When he wrote the three characters "Luo Wensheng," the third line of the list lit up softly.

A very soft echo emanated from the list.

It was not the mechanical sound of the White Tower.

It was a girl's voice.

Very light, very cautious.

"I didn't write that sentence."

Everyone looked at the list simultaneously.

On the blank file, the ink on the third line became a little clearer.

[Luo Wensheng — B-rank Echo Scribe — Status: Received]

[Note: Three-party record transcription source]

The girl's voice sounded again.

"I only record what other people have said."

"I don't change it."

She seemed very afraid that this sentence would be caught by the White Tower; her voice was intermittent.

"They said, formal records need to be shorter."

"Need to be more accurate."

"Need to be easier to seal."

"But..."

"But you can't write in words that weren't said."

The grey fire in the sealing box flickered gently.

The White Tower phantom appeared once again, and the rustling sound of pen strokes became hurried.

[Echo Scribe residue exhibits subjective bias]

[Her testimony must be transcribed by the Record Room]

Chen Ye almost sat up from the stretcher in anger.

"You still want to transcribe what she said herself?"

Shen Tingxue's Ice Line tightened suddenly.

"Original audio protection."

She sealed the few sentences of original audio Luo Wensheng had just spoken into an ice-blue Echo Orb, suspending it beside the list.

Gu Changye immediately recorded:

"Abyss Processing Bureau confirms: Luo Wensheng's residue provides original audio testimony, temporarily exempt from White Tower Record Room transcription."

Qin Shanhe also spoke up:

"The Academy confirms: As a prospective student and suspected victim, Luo Wensheng's testimony must not be handled unilaterally by the White Tower."

Inspector Han Su's inspection projection said coldly:

"The Education Bureau Inspection Seat confirms: The system to which the subject under investigation belongs must not unilaterally transcribe witness testimony."

After the three parties suppressed it, the White Tower's pen strokes paused for a beat.

But the next second, it turned to overwrite the low-stimulation audit protocol.

[Status: Pending Review does not constitute overdue debt]

Beside this original text that had just been restored, another "official summary" appeared.

[Summary: The team has obtained a seven-day extension]

Lin Jin's eyes turned cold.

"Summaries aren't allowed either."

He immediately wrote:

[Summary Boundary]

[Summaries must not replace the original text.]

[Summaries must not include meanings of debt, extension, overdue debt, guarantee, payment, or automatic deduction not present in the original text.]

[Anything involving rights and obligations, attribution of harm, attribution of identity, or settlement of costs must retain the original text; it must not be stored as a summary only.]

[Erroneous summaries must not enter official archives.]

Inspector Han Su's original audio fell once again.

"Inspection Seat confirms: Not an extension."

Qin Shanhe said:

"Academy confirms: Not an extension."

Gu Changye said:

"The Processing Bureau confirms: Not an extension."

The three voices were like three nails, shattering the words "extension."

The transcription layer finally collapsed.

[Echo Transcription Failed]

[low-stimulation audit protocol original text retained]

[Status: Pending Review: Does not constitute overdue debt]

Chen Ye let out a heavy sigh of relief.

"I feel now that listening to other people's original words is truly so important."

Zhou Heng glanced at him.

"If you added less embellishment, it would be even more important."

Chen Ye just wanted to retort, but was pulled back by the pain in his chest and had to hold it in.

Luo Wensheng's echo sounded again.

"You... can hear the original words."

Lin Jin looked at the list.

"Yes."

"But we haven't found you yet."

Luo Wensheng said softly:

"I am in the Record Room."

"Not my body."

"It's my ears."

Shen Tingxue frowned slightly.

"Ears?"

Luo Wensheng's voice was even lower.

"They took my ears."

"Made me listen to everyone speak."

"Made me write."

"If I didn't write the wrong characters, they would use my hand to write."

"If I didn't write the wrong meaning, they would use my pen to write."

"Later, I only had my ears left."

No one spoke in the corridor.

The anger on Chen Ye's face slowly turned into distress.

Su Yan was treated as a door.

He Zhibai was made into an account ledger.

Luo Wensheng was dismantled into ears, a hand, and a pen.

They are not functions.

They were all originally people.

Lin Jin took a deep breath and wrote below the entry for Luo Wensheng:

[Luo Wensheng record note: Her original audio testimony indicates she did not consent to the tampering of records.]

[Her "ears," "hand," and "pen" are suspected of being dismantled and used by the White Tower Record Room.]

[Subsequent retrieval target: White Tower First Floor Record Room.]

[Key item: Luo Wensheng's pen.]

When he wrote the last line, Luo Wensheng's voice added softly:

"The pen is not the key."

Lin Jin's movements paused.

"Then what is?"

Luo Wensheng was silent for a few seconds.

"The pen will be held by others."

"The hand will be pressed down by others."

"The ears will be forced to listen."

"You must find..."

Her voice was suddenly drowned out by the White Tower's pen strokes.

[Warning: Record Room core anchor leaked]

[Initiating transcription loss prevention]

Lin Jin said immediately:

"Testimony protection!"

Shen Tingxue's Ice Line sealed the sound.

Zhou Heng's Thunder Spear pinned the list.

Chen Ye strained to push his shield light over.

Gu Changye, Qin Shanhe, and Inspector Han Su simultaneously confirmed original audio protection.

The sound of pen strokes was suppressed by half.

Luo Wensheng used her last bit of voice to say hurriedly:

"Don't look for the pen."

"Look for my name."

"Every time I write something wrong, they erase my name."

"As long as the name is still there, the record can return to me."

The voice disappeared completely.

A new status appeared below the third line of the list.

[Luo Wensheng original audio testimony: Sealed]

[White Tower Record Room transcription backdoor: Marked]

[Key item correction: Luo Wensheng's name]

[Retrieval target: White Tower First Floor Record Room]

Chen Ye looked at that line, "Name," and his throat moved.

"It's the name again."

"When the name is gone, the meal card can be snatched, the bed space can be replaced, and the records can be changed."

Lin Jin nodded.

"Therefore, the name must be guarded."

The White Tower grey fire did not continue to surge.

But in the Academy's old archive system, the fourth line of the un-enrolled list suddenly began to light up on its own.

It wasn't them actively reading it.

It was because after the Record Room was marked, the hidden chain was brought out.

The first thing to appear on the fourth line was not a name.

It was a red warning.

[This entry has been transcribed multiple times]

[Original name missing]

[Current functional name: Scapegoat Signatory]

Zhou Heng's expression turned cold instantly.

"Scapegoat Signatory?"

Shen Tingxue looked at Lin Jin.

"This might be what it intends to use next."

The next second, the grey fire in the sealing box lit up with a new billing notice.

[Fourth formal transaction detail generating]

[Event name: Whoever signs, takes responsibility]

[Target: All current boundary records of the Rule Maintenance Special Class]

[Hint: If the signature cannot be self-verified, the responsibility for all records will be defaulted to the writer, Lin Jin.]