209: Chapter 210 Those who want to quit don't need to prove they still deserve to live.

[Applicant: Cheng Du]

[Current Career Relation: God Head Maintenance Channel Old Keeper]

[Application: Quit Long-term Keeper Status]

[Note: I want to sleep, I am no longer responsible for the whole world staying awake.]

This application was like a nail driven into everyone's eyes.

The Main Control Room was dead silent.

Cheng Du stood beside the rest station, his one eye fixed on the screen, his face looking terrible.

Not regret.

It was just that he had lived too long, guarded for too long, and suddenly saying those words aloud made him feel as if he didn't know how to stand anymore.

Chen Ye opened his mouth but didn't dare to joke.

Lin Jin looked at that note, his fingers slowly tightening around the new tool.

Before he could speak, the global review window suddenly exploded.

[Application to Quit: 3.72 million]

[Application to Switch: 1.96 million]

[Application to Postpone Review: Unable to count]

[Continue to Hold: Constantly changing]

Behind every application was a person's career relationship.

Some had been forced into the blacksmith career by their families for twenty years.

Some had been pushed onto the front lines by schools, scared to sleep from injuries.

Some were Healers, having saved many people, only to be bound for half their lives by the phrase "You can save them."

Some were just ordinary delivery workers, wanting to ask: If I stop delivering, do I still count as useful?

The system had no emotions.

It just coldly popped up processing options.

[Execute exit immediately?]

[Batch Confirm / Batch Reject / Postpone Processing]

Three buttons hovered in the center of the Mainframe.

Each one looked like a trap.

Batch confirm, and the world would fall into chaos.

Batch reject, and everyone's right to choose would become a joke.

Postpone processing, and it might turn into new procrastination and control.

Just then, the Nanling Hospital screen suddenly flashed red.

A Healer pressed [Apply to Quit] with trembling hands.

She didn't wait for the process.

She hadn't heard the discussion from the Jiangcheng side either.

She just cried and said:

"I don't want to be woken up to save people anymore."

The Healing Emblem on her chest immediately dimmed by half.

The maintenance light screen for a critically ill patient in the ward shook violently, and the blood pressure curve dropped.

The Nurse screamed:

"The healing field is down!"

The Healer's face was pale; she wanted to put her hand back, but the system prompt already suppressed her:

[Exit application triggered]

[Career relationship being stripped]

She was shaking so hard she couldn't stand.

"I didn't mean to hurt him!"

"I just want to quit!"

The family members outside the ward also broke down.

"Then what about my dad?"

"You can't leave at a time like this!"

The God Head was isolated, the mother-end had lost its center.

But that familiar phrase appeared again.

You cannot leave.

Because others still need you.

Lin Jin slammed the new tool onto the Mainframe.

"Change the status of all exit applications first!"

Cheng Du roared:

"Change them to what?"

Lin Jin stared at that Healer's screen.

"Received."

Ye Guizhou stamped it almost simultaneously.

[Exit application received]

[Received does not equal immediate stripping]

[Does not equal rejection]

[Does not equal continued forced service]

He Zhibai quickly typed:

[Exit requires transition; transition costs must not be pushed back onto the applicant alone]

Luo Wensheng added:

[Applicants to quit shall not be judged as betraying, derelict, or harming others for submitting an application.]

Over at Nanling Hospital, the emblem on the Healer's chest stopped stripping away.

The healing field didn't return to its original strength, but it didn't collapse further either.

Fang Ning immediately connected:

"Switch the ward to temporary maintenance!"

"Healer, step back to the auxiliary position, Nurse, take over life monitoring, standby equipment online, contact the second Healer to take over!"

The Healer knelt down, crying.

"I can still do auxiliary work, I just can't handle the night shift alone anymore."

The Director of Obstetrics grabbed her shoulder.

"Then write down auxiliary."

The ward's Record board generated quickly:

[Exit Applicant: Healer Zhou Lan]

[Current Status: Applying to quit main healing position]

[Transition Arrangement: Maintain minimum auxiliary light screen within 15 minutes, second Healer takes over, equipment maintenance online]

[Transition period shall not be extended to permanent duty]

[Patient care responsibility transferred to The Hospital's on-duty system]

The blood pressure curve stabilized.

Not pretty.

But it didn't drop.

Zhou Lan wasn't forced back into the main healing position.

Seeing her trembling hands, the family members finally understood: she wasn't pushing the patient to death; she was crawling out of a position that would drag her to death.

On the Mainframe, a new process began to take shape.

Lin Jin looked at Cheng Du's application at the very top of the screen.

"Process the first one first."

Cheng Du's Adam's apple moved.

"I don't need special treatment."

"You are not special," Lin Jin said.

"You are the old fault that is the hardest to dismantle."

Cheng Du laughed.

"That's a nasty compliment."

Lin Jin didn't smile.

He expanded Cheng Du's career relationship chart.

It was densely packed with old lines from the past twenty years.

[God Head Maintenance Channel Old Keeper]

[Custodian of the first batch of maintenance Records]

[God Body disintegration warning source]

[The 72 Stations bypass original data anchor]

[Builder of Mainframe rest stations]

[Abnormal sleep-wake monitoring]

Each line seemed to say:

You cannot leave.

If you leave, what will others do?

Cheng Du looked at those lines, the mockery on his face receding bit by bit.

He whispered:

"I used to be kept here by these things."

"Less one line today, sleep less once tomorrow, hold on for another night the day after."

"Holding on, holding on, twenty years passed."

Lin Jin raised his hand and clicked on them one by one.

"Separate them first."

"Which ones are data?"

Cheng Du looked for a few seconds.

"Maintenance Records, original valve diagrams, God Head old fault logs."

Luo Wensheng took over:

[Data can be copied, backed up, and used for training; the person does not need to stay awake continuously.]

"Which ones are positions?"

"Anomaly warning, The 72 Stations data verification, Mainframe night duty."

Qin Shanhe immediately said:

"Shift scheduling."

"It cannot be borne by Cheng Du alone."

"Which ones are physical?"

Cheng Du was silent.

After a long time, he said:

"Staying awake."

"It hurts."

"I'm afraid something will happen as soon as I close my eyes."

"Every time the God Head line vibrates, my brain automatically wakes up."

Fang Ning's voice softened on the other side.

"This is a trauma response."

"It is not a job capability."

He Zhibai wrote:

[Trauma response shall not be registered by the system as a professional function.]

Ye Guizhou stamped:

[Pain received]

[Does not constitute authorization for continued duty]

Lin Jin looked at Teacher Xu Wenzhou.

Teacher Xu Wenzhou raised 002.

This time, the line to be cut was not just one.

It was a whole mass of old definitions tangled around Cheng Du.

[As long as he understands it best, he should continue to guard it]

[As long as he can wake up, he should be the one to wake up first]

[As long as he has guarded it before, it is assumed he can still guard it]

The new tool's six slots lit up.

Chen Ye bore the pressure, Shen Tingxue cooled, Zhou Heng guided the energy, Luo Wensheng recorded, Ye Guizhou handled the handover, He Zhibai verified.

Lin Jin pressed the tool onto the mass of old lines.

"Cut."

Teacher Xu Wenzhou brought down 002.

Snap!

The first layer of lines broke.

The Mainframe fiber optic cables on Cheng Du suddenly loosened by a circle.

He stumbled, almost falling.

The second layer of lines counterattacked.

The Mainframe sounded an alarm.

[Cheng Du's exit will reduce fault warning accuracy by 47%]

[Recommend rejecting exit]

Lin Jin said coldly:

"Recommendation received."

Ye Guizhou stamped.

[Recommendation shall not veto the applicant's exit application]

He Zhibai wrote:

[Cost of reduced warning accuracy enters public system for supplementation: training, rotation, backup, automatic alarms, temporary downgrading]

Qin Shanhe had already started calling names:

"Jiangcheng Temporary Maintenance Squad first phase night warning training, sign up."

Old student Meng Huai raised his hand.

Fang Ning raised her hand.

Intern Liang Yu raised her hand from the Hai City receipt.

The Beiyuan Old Miner grumbled:

"I don't understand the God Head, but I can read mine pressure, count me in for a night shift."

Teacher Song Qing from Qinghe County wrote:

"I can watch for cracks on the blackboard, pre-awakening cache night anomalies can be reported."

Names filled the new schedule one by one.

None of them could replace Cheng Du.

But adding many people together could mean Cheng Du didn't have to stay awake alone anymore.

The third layer of lines finally loosened.

Cheng Du's application status turned gray-white.

[Quit long-term keeper status: Executable]

[Reserved options:]

[1. Full exit, no longer bear warning obligations]

[2. Switch to voluntary consultant, requires personal confirmation each time]

[3. Decide after rest period]

Cheng Du looked at the three items, his eyes suddenly turning red.

He cursed, but his voice was hoarse.

"Why are there still options."

Lin Jin said:

"You are not a deserter."

"You are a person."

Cheng Du stared at the third item for a long time, then finally raised his hand and pressed:

[3. Decide after rest period]

A new status lit up.

[Cheng Du quit long-term keeper status successfully]

[Entered rest period]

[Cannot be automatically woken up during rest period]

[Emergency inquiries require confirmation by three people, and he is allowed to refuse]

[Rest period after can choose full exit, switch to consultant, or continue rest]

The Mainframe rest station suddenly lit up for real.

It wasn't locking him in.

It popped up a very ordinary bed card.

[Cheng Du, resting]

[Do not wake up unless he wakes up himself]

Cheng Du looked at that card and stood for a long time.

Then, he slowly sat on the edge of the bed.

Like the first time he didn't need to stare at the world.

"I'll sleep for a while."

No one said "Thank you for your hard work."

That was too light.

Qin Shanhe just dimmed the lights outside the rest station.

Chen Ye muttered:

"The old man finally looks like a person."

Cheng Du closed his eyes and cursed:

"Say that again and I'll get up and beat you."

Chen Ye immediately shut up.

On the Mainframe, Cheng Du's exit processing was complete.

Immediately after, more applications flooded in.

This time, the system no longer gave the three traps of "Batch Confirm / Reject / Postpone".

A new review process unfolded.

[Exit application received]

[Step 1: Personal current willingness confirmation]

[Step 2: Immediate stripping risk assessment]

[Step 3: Transition arrangement]

[Step 4: Job handover or downgrading]

[Step 5: Living, medical, identity support]

[Step 6: Review after exit, can choose not to respond]

Inspector Han Su's application was ranked at the front.

[Current Career: Job-Slayer]

[Application: Postpone review]

[Note: I need to finish judging the sword in my own hand.]

Gu Changye's window lit up.

[Current Career: Terminal Processor]

[Application: Switch]

[Note: I don't want to treat 'ending' as the only way to handle things anymore.]

Tang Qi's window flickered.

[Current Career: The Rejector]

[Application: Reserve until the seven-day order return processing, then review]

[Note: I still have a debt to settle.]

Shen Tingxue looked at her Ice Phoenix emblem.

She didn't immediately choose to continue.

Nor did she quit.

She pressed [Postpone review].

[Note: Ice Phoenix is a power I can use, but I still need to reconfirm if it's the path I want to continue walking.]

Zhou Heng pressed [Continue to hold], then added a line:

[Continuing does not mean the Thunder Spear family owns my path.]

Chen Ye stared at his D-rank Shield Warrior page, scratching his head for a long time.

Lin Jin asked:

"What are you choosing?"

Chen Ye looked at the broken shield and grinned.

"Continue."

He paused and then wrote seriously:

[I will continue to be a Shield Warrior.]

[But shields can be repaired when broken, and people can withdraw when tired.]

Thirteen looked at his page.

There was no clear career there.

Only:

[Unregistered Life]

[Homologous Fragment]

[Identity Pending]

He wrote coldly:

[Continue to be pending.]

The system did not sound an alarm this time.

It just wrote back:

[Pending valid.]

Lin Jin lowered his head and looked at his own window.

[Current Career Relation: Repairman]

[Historical Risk File: Rule Maintenance Seat candidate]

[Current Work Order Relation: Jiangcheng Temporary Maintenance Squad technical assistance]

[Please choose: Continue / Postpone / Switch / Quit]

Chen Ye leaned over.

"Why don't you rest too?"

Lin Jin glanced at him.

"If I rest, will you fix the Mainframe?"

Chen Ye immediately took a half step back.

"Then you should probably continue."

Lin Jin didn't press continue immediately.

He looked at the three words "Repairman".

For eighteen years, this career had been a shell.

It was a disguise.

It was a mockery.

It was also the identity he had truly used all the way to now.

But they had just established the rule: a career is not fate, nor is it paying off a debt.

He couldn't not review himself just because he had always used the Repairman as a weapon.

After a long time, he pressed [Continue].

Then he added a line:

[Continue to be a Repairman.]

[But do not accept Divine Seats candidate write-back.]

[Do not accept National Mainframe.]

[Do not accept single-person permanent work orders.]

[When rest is needed, I can hang a 'pause maintenance' sign.]

Ye Guizhou stamped.

[Continue received]

[Additional boundaries valid]

The new tool vibrated gently.

This time, there was no golden light to acknowledge the owner.

Only the low hum of rust color.

The global review wave continued.

Some quit.

Some kept.

Some postponed.

Some cried when they realized they could switch.

Some looked at the empty emblem after quitting and asked blankly how to live tomorrow.

work order no. 002 did not pretend these problems didn't exist.

It just wrote:

[Quitting a career does not equal quitting life.]

[Switching careers does not equal erasing the past.]

[Retaining a career does not equal never regretting.]

[Postponing review does not equal avoiding choices.]

[Social function gaps should be solved through training, rotation, downgrading, public costs, and public support; they must not be pushed back onto individuals for lifelong service.]

Jiangcheng didn't win easily.

They just broke a huge "must be so" into many "can be confirmed again".

Just as the review process gradually stabilized, the calibration disk in the old Awakening Hall suddenly made a very faint sound.

The Old Calibrator lowered his head and saw an old option that had never lit up before pop up at the bottom.

[National Class Transfer System underlying review: Continue to exist?]

[Option 1: Retain Career System]

[Option 2: Close Career System]

[Option 3: Switch to long-term manual maintenance and voluntary access mode]

The whole hall went quiet instantly.

The Mainframe also quieted down.

Because this time, the question was no longer whether one person wanted to keep their career.

It was whether the whole world wanted to continue to have "careers" at all.

Below the three options, there was another line of small print.

[Must be participated in by all responsive professionals, representative of the unawakened, representative of the quitters, representative of the non-professionals, and representative of those harmed by the Career System.]

[No single city, single institution, or single maintenance squad may answer on behalf of others.]

Lin Jin looked at that line of words and slowly let out a breath.

"Finally asked at the root of it."