125: Chapter 126 002 Leaving the Warehouse, the First Hammer Breaks the Dean's Seat

[Current Recipient of Tool 002: Teacher Xu Wenzhou]

[Retrieval Status: Confirmed by Self]

[Remarks: Teacher Xu Wenzhou has recovered the ownership of his stripped testimony]

[But the person who restored his testimony was not Teacher Xu Wenzhou.]

As the last line of blood-red words flashed on the transfer order, the sound of locking echoed from all the filing cabinets on the Thirteenth Floor simultaneously.

Silvery-white seals grew wildly from the walls.

[Leak of Director's death file detected]

[Archives Tower has entered self-verification lockdown]

[Without the approval of the current Director, no evidence may leave the tower]

Gu Changye sealed the original imprint left by the young Lu Chengyuan into the Processing Bureau's evidence box, then turned and slashed at the maintenance door.

The blade fell, but the maintenance door did not budge in the slightest.

Instead, a tower exit application rapidly surfaced on the door.

[Applicant: Gu Changye]

[Item Carried: Lu Chengyuan's death evidence]

[Exit Responsibility: If the evidence causes turmoil in the Department of Education system, the applicant shall bear the consequences]

"It wants us to sign an exit responsibility agreement."

Chen Ye supported his shield, his face pale, but he didn't stop talking.

"Does this crappy tower need someone to take responsibility even when it farts?"

"Then we won't use its door."

Lin Jin gripped the blood-stained nut thrown by his father and looked up at the ceiling of the Thirteenth Floor.

The crescent-shaped notch on the inner side of the nut was aligned perfectly with an inconspicuous old pipe.

The silvery-white wall covered most of it, but beneath the plaster, several rusty wrench scratches could still be seen.

The path Lin Shoushan had once taken.

Lin Jin stepped onto the Director's desk, inserted an ordinary wrench into a crack in the wall, and pried outward with force.

The silvery-white plaster crumbled and fell off in a whole chunk.

What was revealed behind it was not an Archives Tower corridor, but an old-fashioned fire maintenance ladder extending downward along the tower's outer wall.

"The Archives Tower can seal documents."

Lin Jin climbed out of the gap.

"But it can't seal a ladder that wasn't entered into the system twenty years ago."

Wind rushed in from a height of a hundred meters.

Chen Ye poked his head out to take a look, and his face instantly turned pale.

"I suddenly feel like signing a responsibility agreement isn't entirely off the table."

Zhou Heng kicked the back of his shield.

"Go down."

The four of them descended rapidly along the maintenance ladder.

Gu Changye brought up the rear with the Processing Bureau's containment officers.

Just as they left the Thirteenth Floor, dense silver words lit up on the outer wall of the entire Archives Tower.

[Illegal possession of death records]

[Illegal destruction of the Director's appointment files]

[Illegal refusal of identity copy verification]

One charge after another chased them as they spread downward.

Lin Jin did not look back.

He only stuffed the 0001 iron badge into the innermost layer of his clothes.

Right now, the most important thing was not to argue innocence with the Archives Tower.

It was the academy.

It was Teacher Xu Wenzhou.

And that 002 Wrench that could kill positions.

By the time the black car rushed back to the academy, the horizon was already showing a pale dawn.

Yet, in the entire Jiangcheng First Combat Academy, not a single light was on.

It wasn't a power outage.

The psionic lights in the teaching buildings, dormitories, and training grounds were all intact.

However, a gray label had appeared on every single light fixture.

[Lighting Equipment]

[Currently no responsible teacher]

[Suspended from Use]

The defensive array at the school gate had also stopped.

The dean's mark on the array disc, which originally belonged to Qin Shanhe, had been split right down the middle into two halves.

One half remained in the academy's array.

The other half had fallen to the ground, looking like a useless piece of iron.

Qin Shanhe stood before the array disc.

He had no serious injuries on his body, but the web of his right hand was covered in blood.

Dozens of instructors were gathered behind him.

Everyone's class emblem was flickering unsteadily.

"Dean!"

Just as Chen Ye called out, the identity stone next to the school gate suddenly lit up.

[Detected Address: Dean]

[The connection to the current Dean position has been severed]

[The address has no valid corresponding target]

Qin Shanhe's face was terrifyingly dark.

"Shut up."

Chen Ye immediately changed his tune:

"Boss Qin!"

The identity stone fell silent.

Zhou Heng looked at the cracked dean's seal.

"Did Teacher Xu Wenzhou do this?"

"It was done by the wrench in his hand."

Qin Shanhe bent down to pick up that half of the dean's seal.

"After he rushed into the F-Class training cabin, his first strike smashed the academy's main array."

"He didn't hurt me."

"But he smashed and severed the connection between me and the deans seat."

Gu Changye frowned.

"Why?"

Qin Shanhe stared at the tool transfer order in Lin Jin's hand.

"He said he wanted to prove whether the 002 Wrench was still useful."

Chen Ye's eyes widened.

"Testing a tool on the Dean?"

"He wasn't Teacher Xu Wenzhou at the time."

Qin Shanhe's voice was heavy.

"At least, the one speaking wasn't him."

A loud boom suddenly echoed from deep within the academy.

*Boom—*

In the direction of the F-Class class training cabin, a rust-red pillar of light shot into the sky.

Wherever the pillar of light passed, all position marks in the academy began to flicker.

[Homeroom Teacher]

[Instructor]

[Grade Director]

[Student Council President]

[Dormitory Administrator]

Even the sign at the cafeteria entrance that read "[Chef on Duty Today]" fell to the ground with a clatter.

The people didn't disappear.

But the invisible lines between people and their positions were all being pried by some force.

Qin Shanhe looked at Lin Jin.

"If he swings it one more time, the entire academy's position system will fall apart."

Lin Jin had already rushed out.

"People won't die just because their positions are severed."

Shen Tingxue followed by his side.

"But the academy will be paralyzed."

Zhou Heng added:

"And not all position connections are forced."

Lin Jin nodded.

This was the most dangerous aspect of the 002 Wrench.

It could sever dead-man occupancy like Lu Chengyuan's.

But it could also sever the normal connection established between Qin Shanhe and the academy.

It did not judge good or evil.

It was only responsible for cutting.

Outside the F-Class training cabin, the ground had already cracked like a spiderweb.

The cabin door was not smashed.

The old sign on the door that read "[Low-Level Class Equipment Warehouse]" had the words "Low-Level" shaved off right from the middle.

Inside the warehouse, thousands of dust-covered pieces of equipment floated in midair.

Rusty hammers, broken-toothed saw blades, leaking blowtorches, damaged measuring rulers...

These tools, which had been deemed by the academy as "too low in value, awaiting disposal," were all emitting low hums at this moment.

Teacher Xu Wenzhou stood in the center of the warehouse.

His clothes were still the same ones from last night.

But his back, which was originally slightly hunched, was now straight as a rod.

In his hand, he held a black iron wrench nearly a meter long.

The head of the wrench had no fixed size.

The jaws on both sides were like some living creature, slowly opening and closing.

[Rule Maintenance Tool 002]

[Function: Sever Position Definition]

[Current Adapter: Teacher Xu Wenzhou]

At Teacher Xu Wenzhou's feet lay a torn, old contract.

It was the very record of his testimony ownership being stripped twenty years ago.

The imprint belonging to Lu Chengyuan on the contract had already been smashed to pieces by a single strike from the 002 Wrench.

Lin Jin stopped ten meters away.

"Teacher Xu."

Teacher Xu Wenzhou raised his head.

His eyes were still those same eyes.

But the voice that came out was as old as if it were ground out of a rusty pipe.

"You came slower than Lin Shoushan."

Chen Ye raised his shield.

"Who are you?"

"A maintenance echo that didn't manage to die completely."

The old voice replied calmly.

"The first Maintenance Worker of the Reality General Ledger Entrance."

"The original owner of Maintenance Record 0001."

Lin Jin reached for the iron badge in his bosom.

"Are you inside the 002 Wrench?"

"Only a fragment of a work record remains."

"No body, no name, and it isn't worth looking for a name anymore."

The old voice looked down at Teacher Xu Wenzhou's hand.

"This man's testimony was stripped, leaving a gap between his body and his testimony."

"I am using this gap to say a few words."

Teacher Xu Wenzhou's fingers suddenly twitched.

His own voice squeezed out with difficulty.

"Lin Jin..."

"Don't come near."

The next second, the old voice overrode him once again.

"He is afraid I will occupy his body."

"Reasonable."

"But I do not need a corroborating witness from twenty years ago."

The 002 Wrench slowly turned toward Lin Jin.

"What I want is the The Seventh Seat Candidate."

Shen Tingxue raised her Ice Key.

"Then you've got the wrong person."

"There is no mistake."

The old voice said.

"The seal on his chest has already cracked."

"The Rule Maintenance Seat has seen him."

"And the six chairs have seen you all as well."

Zhou Heng lowered the tip of his spear.

"So you brought out the 002 Wrench because you want Lin Jin to complete the tool?"

"Complete it?"

The old tools in the warehouse vibrated simultaneously.

For the first time, a hint of sarcasm entered the old voice.

"You treat the things left behind by the Rule Maintenance Seat as complete."

"The rule correction wrench in Lin Jin's hand only proves that a certain definition is wrong."

"The 002 Wrench will directly sever the position corresponding to the wrong definition."

"One is responsible for judging errors."

"The other is responsible for execution."

"Combined, they are indeed the complete rule maintenance tool."

Chen Ye cursed:

"That doesn't sound like anything good."

"Tools are neither good nor bad."

"Only the people holding them are."

The old voice raised the 002 Wrench.

Qin Shanhe's broken dean's seal suddenly flew in from the distance, landing between the jaws of the wrench.

"With this strike, I smashed the deans seat."

"Qin Shanhe did not become a useless person."

"He can still protect students, make decisions, and bear the consequences."

"So, is it Qin Shanhe who is acting as the dean—"

"Or is it the position of dean that defines who Qin Shanhe is?"

Qin Shanhe walked in from outside the door.

"Save your grand theories."

He looked at Teacher Xu Wenzhou.

"Put the wrench down."

The old voice ignored him.

The 002 Wrench turned toward Shen Tingxue again.

Behind the Ice Key, the empty chair of the White Tower's Second Observation Position loomed indistinctly.

"This strike can smash the Second Observation Position."

Shen Tingxue did not move.

The 002 Wrench turned toward Zhou Heng.

Behind Zhou Heng, the reconstructed old position phantom of Deputy Director Zhou Chengyue emerged.

"This strike can smash the inheritance position the Zhou Family prepared for you."

Finally, the 002 Wrench pointed at Chen Ye.

The outline of the White Shield Sample appeared beside Chen Ye.

"This strike can make it so the Protection Role never has the qualification to fill the vacancy again."

Chen Ye's hand gripping the shield tightened.

Every single condition struck precisely at the problems they wanted to solve the most.

As long as Lin Jin took the 002 Wrench.

Those position pollutions that had troubled them for so long could be chopped away blow by blow.

But Lin Jin only looked at Teacher Xu Wenzhou.

"Why bring it out now?"

The old voice fell silent for half a second.

"Because Lu Chengyuan's position proxy shell has been exposed."

"Because the Reality General Ledger Entrance won't hold out for long."

"Because Lin Shoushan will die."

Lin Jin's gaze suddenly darkened.

On the surface of the 002 Wrench, the real-time maintenance records of the basement level surfaced.

[Current Entrance Maintenance Worker: Lin Shoushan]

[Body Integrity: 31%]

[Estimated Sustainable Time: Forty-eight hours]

Chen Ye's face changed.

Shen Tingxue also looked at Lin Jin.

The old voice said slowly:

"Take the 002 Wrench."

"Complete the rule maintenance tool."

"Go back to the basement level and chop away the position of 'Reality Entrance Maintenance Worker'."

"Then your father will be able to leave."

Lin Jin stared at that line showing forty-eight hours.

The wound on his right hand burned hot once more.

The candidate patterns newly sealed on his chest were also starting to stir restlessly.

This was not a lie.

The 002 Wrench indeed had the potential to save Lin Shoushan.

But Teacher Xu Wenzhou had just smashed and severed the deans seat.

Once this tool went out of control, it might also judge relationships like "father," "teammate," and "student" as position connections that needed to be severed.

"Lin Jin..."

Teacher Xu Wenzhou's own voice struggled out once more.

"Don't touch it directly."

"He restored my testimony not to save me."

"But to make you believe that the 002 Wrench can save people."

The old voice did not deny it.

"Yes."

"I need him to serve as proof."

"And I also need you to make a choice."

Teacher Xu Wenzhou's right hand suddenly lifted.

The 002 Wrench broke free from his palm and hovered in front of Lin Jin.

At the same moment, the rule correction wrench in Lin Jin's toolbox began to vibrate on its own.

Even though it hadn't been taken out, a gray-gold light still penetrated the lid of the box, echoing with the 002 Wrench from afar.

[Rule Correction Tool Resonance]

[Missing Modules: 39%]

[Corresponding Tool Detected: 002]

[Merge?]

Lin Jin did not reach out.

"Who said I want to merge them?"

The old voice said calmly:

"You can choose not to accept it."

"But Lin Shoushan will only have forty-eight hours left."

The warehouse was so quiet that only the metallic vibrations could be heard.

In the next second, Teacher Xu Wenzhou suddenly bit the tip of his tongue.

Blood welled up from the corner of his mouth.

The intense pain allowed him to briefly regain control of his body.

He held onto the 002 Wrench with all his might, roaring at Lin Jin:

"Don't listen to him!"

"The 002 Wrench wasn't thrown out from the Rule Maintenance Seat!"

"It was intentionally left behind by the Rule Maintenance Seat!"

"It has waited twenty years just for the Seventh Candidate to pick it up!"

For the first time, anger appeared in the old voice.

"Teacher Xu Wenzhou!"

Teacher Xu Wenzhou's arms creaked from the vibrations of the 002 Wrench, but he still did not let go.

"Back then, the real Lu Chengyuan had me hide the 002 Wrench, not for a candidate to use it!"

"But for me to—when the The Seventh Seat appeared—"

"Destroy it!"

As his voice fell, the rust-red pillar of light above the warehouse suddenly burst apart.

In the sky, the shadows of six black chairs manifested simultaneously.

There were no gods.

There were no human figures.

There were only six vacant positions, looking down upon the academy.

The seventh chair slowly unfolded behind Lin Jin.

The White Tower, the Archives Tower, the Department of Education, and all class emblems in the academy lost their luster at this very moment.

A cold system voice echoed through the entirety of Jiangcheng.

[Rule Maintenance Seat Reclamation Program Initiated]

[Lost Tool 002: Located]

[Seventh Candidate: Located]

[Candidate's Independent Identity Anchor: Located]

Lin Jin abruptly raised his head.

The Mutual Verification Contracts on the chests of Shen Tingxue, Zhou Heng, and Chen Ye were actually locked onto by the six black chairs at the same time.

The final line of the prompt turned blood-red.

[Reclamation Targets This Time: Tool 002, Candidate Lin Jin—]

[And all witnesses proving "Lin Jin is still Lin Jin."]