42: Chapter 42: The Acceptance Letter - Two Rules Inside the Envelope

When Lin Jin picked up the letter.

The sound-activated light in the hallway flickered again.

It wasn't the ghastly white light of The Hospital.

But the normal, dim yellow of an old stairwell light.

From downstairs came the sound of an old man coughing after closing his door.

In the distance, an electric scooter alarm beeped briefly.

Everything had returned to reality.

But Lin Jin knew that what had just happened had not truly disappeared.

It had just been repaired back.

Or rather.

It had been temporarily driven out of this building.

Chen Ye leaned against the wall, taking a heavy breath.

"The Hospital is truly haunting."

"Doing rounds in the instance, and still doing rounds after coming out."

"What, is the dean short on performance quotas?"

Lin Jin looked down at the envelope, not responding.

The envelope was white.

The paper was thick.

The edges were neat.

It didn't look like something from The Hospital.

The front read:

[Jiangcheng First Combat Academy]

[Rule Maintenance Special Class Admission Notice]

The handwriting was neat, the ink steady.

It didn't look like a temporary printout.

It seemed more like it had been prepared long ago and only delivered to his doorstep tonight.

But the small line of text on the back was clearly not official Academy content.

[Don't be late. Old Man Qin will really punish you by making you clean the toilets.]

Lin Jin stared at that line of text, silent for several seconds.

Chen Ye leaned in to look.

"Did your dad write this?"

"Looks like it."

Lin Jin said.

"But I'm not sure."

Shen Tingxue walked back from the stairwell.

She had just confirmed that the neighbors downstairs hadn't been dragged into the rule field.

Hearing this, she looked at the envelope.

"Don't be in a rush to open it."

Lin Jin nodded.

"Yeah."

Of course, he wouldn't just tear it open.

After being tricked so many times in the Abandoned Hospital, he was now instinctively wary of any paper documents.

Medical records.

Reports.

Registration forms.

Checkout slips.

Hospitalization applications.

These things were more dangerous than monsters.

Whoever signed them was doomed.

Whoever acknowledged them got recorded.

An admission notice might not just be a notice.

Lin Jin placed the envelope flat on the hallway windowsill.

The Hand of Rules slowly unfolded.

[Target: Jiangcheng First Combat Academy Admission Notice]

[Status: Unopened]

[Source: Unknown Delivery]

[Attached Rule Residue: Low]

[Danger Level: E]

[Prompt: Official rule document exists inside the envelope]

E-level danger.

Not considered high.

But the words "official rule document" made Lin Jin narrow his eyes.

The Academy's admission notice was actually a rule document.

But thinking about it, that was normal.

In the world of Professionals, the Academy was not an ordinary school.

Especially a place like Jiangcheng First Combat Academy, which itself undertook functions like instance training, professional registration, team formation, and reserve training for the Forbidden Zone.

The admission notice wasn't ordinary paper.

It was more like an enrollment contract.

"Is there a problem?" Shen Tingxue asked.

"The danger isn't high."

Lin Jin paused.

"But opening it might trigger enrollment confirmation."

Chen Ye's eyelids twitched.

"No way?"

"There's a procedure for opening an admission notice too?"

Lin Jin looked at him.

"The Hospital can even change room numbers on doorplates; is it strange for an Academy admission notice to have some rules?"

Chen Ye thought about it.

"Not strange."

"It's just exhausting to hear."

Shen Tingxue looked at Lin Jin.

"Then are we still opening it?"

Lin Jin didn't answer immediately.

He glanced at his door.

The 502 doorplate had returned to normal.

The security door was tightly closed.

The projection that had just disguised itself as Lin Shoushan had dissipated.

But on the floor beneath the door crack, there was still a faint gray mark left.

That was the trace left after the round-checking rule had been repaired away.

He had just come out of the Abandoned Hospital today.

The contamination hadn't been cleared completely.

The round-checking marker was still there.

And tonight, The Hospital had chased him to his doorstep.

If he didn't enter Jiangcheng First Combat Academy as soon as possible, it would be hard to fully handle these lingering problems with what he currently had on hand.

Furthermore, the second wrench was also at the Academy.

He would have to open this notice sooner or later.

The only difference was how to open it.

Lin Jin raised his wrench and gently pressed it against the envelope seal.

[Target: Admission Notice Seal]

[Status: Rule Seal]

[Method of Opening: Unsealed by the recipient themselves]

[Warning: If not unsealed by the recipient, the notice becomes invalid]

Unsealed by the recipient.

Lin Jin reached out.

Chen Ye immediately became nervous.

"Do you want me to block it?"

Lin Jin glanced at him.

"You're going to block an admission notice?"

"What if a dean jumps out of it?"

"Then you won't be able to block it."

"That's hurtful."

Lin Jin smiled.

After smiling, he took a deep breath and opened the envelope.

No black blood.

No screaming.

No Faceless Dean.

Only a thick, black-and-gold notice, and a folded thin piece of paper.

The moment the notice was unfolded, the air in the hallway vibrated slightly.

A pale golden light pattern spread out from the surface of the paper.

As if verifying his identity.

Then, text slowly emerged.

[Jiangcheng First Combat Academy Admission Notice]

[Admitted Party: Lin Jin]

[Profession: Repairman]

[Professional Rating: F]

[Admission Track: Rule Maintenance Special Class]

[Reporting Time: Tomorrow, 9:00 AM]

[Reporting Location: Jiangcheng First Combat Academy East Gate]

[Note: Late arrivals will be deemed to have automatically forfeited their qualification for the Special Class entrance test]

Chen Ye saw the last line and immediately laughed.

"You really can't be late."

"Cleaning the toilets would be the light punishment."

Lin Jin looked at the notice, but his heart didn't feel light.

Because below the notice, there were two more rules.

[Rule 1: Upon receiving this notice, the admitted party will receive temporary protection from the Academy before the entrance test]

[Rule 2: Temporary protection is only effective on the enrollment route approved by the Academy]

Chen Ye paused.

"What does that mean?"

Shen Tingxue looked at the two rules, her eyes narrowing slightly.

"It means that from now until reporting tomorrow, if he acts according to the route approved by the Academy, the Academy's rules will protect him."

"But if he leaves the route range, the protection becomes invalid."

Lin Jin nodded.

"Right."

"In other words, the Academy knows that someone, or something, will make a move before I report."

The air was silent for a moment.

The smile on Chen Ye's face also faded.

"Then what is the Academy-approved route?"

Lin Jin opened the folded thin paper.

On the paper was a simplified route map.

From the old residential complex where Lin Jin lived to the East Gate of Jiangcheng First Combat Academy.

The route was drawn very clearly.

But strangely, it didn't choose the shortest route.

Instead, it bypassed two main roads, passed through an old urban area, went through an Old Bus Station, and finally reached the Academy's East Gate.

Next to the entire route, a line of text was written.

[Enrollment Route: Old City Safe Passage]

[Please depart before 8:00 AM tomorrow]

[Prohibited from taking vehicles not designated by the Academy]

[Prohibited from entering hospitals, clinics, abandoned buildings, or underground passages along the way]

[If you hear someone calling you a patient, do not turn around]

After reading it, Chen Ye's face turned green.

"Why is this enrollment route even scarier than instance rules?"

Shen Tingxue frowned.

"Old City Safe Passage..."

"This isn't an ordinary route to school."

Lin Jin also saw it.

The Academy hadn't given him a traffic route.

It was a rule-based route to avoid contamination tracking.

Especially the prohibition against entering hospitals, clinics, abandoned buildings, or underground passages.

These places were prone to creating similar anchors with the Abandoned Hospital rules.

And the last one—

If you hear someone calling you a patient, do not turn around.

This meant the round-checking marker from the Abandoned Hospital might still appear on the road tomorrow.

Chen Ye couldn't help but say:

"How about we just go to the Academy gate and wait tonight?"

Lin Jin shook his head.

"The rule says to depart before 8:00 AM tomorrow."

"Which means we can't leave tonight."

"If we leave early, we might not be within the protection range."

Chen Ye scratched his hair.

"So troublesome."

"Isn't this just like escorting a prisoner?"

Shen Tingxue looked at Lin Jin.

"You can't stay here alone tonight."

Lin Jin glanced at his door.

He really didn't want to stay alone tonight either.

Not because he was afraid.

But because there was no need to take the risk.

The Hospital had just come once; no one could guarantee it wouldn't come a second time.

But going to someone else's place wasn't appropriate either.

The Academy route started from his home.

If he left here to spend the night, it was hard to say if the route would still be effective tomorrow.

Lin Jin thought for a moment.

"We'll stay at my place tonight."

Chen Ye immediately widened his eyes.

"Huh?"

Lin Jin looked at him.

"Didn't you just say I should go sleep at your place?"

"That's my place."

"Now it's my place, isn't it the same?"

Chen Ye looked at the security door, then at the hallway.

"Your place was just checked."

"I think it's quite different."

Shen Tingxue was direct.

"I'll stay too."

Chen Ye was stunned.

"You're staying too?"

Shen Tingxue said calmly:

"The pre-enrollment protection rule only applies to Lin Jin."

"But the Abandoned Hospital can affect the surroundings through his round-checking marker."

"Someone needs to keep watch tonight."

Chen Ye looked at her, then at Lin Jin.

"Then I'll stay too."

"I'll guard the door."

Lin Jin didn't refuse.

Because he really needed them.

He took out the key and opened the door.

Inside the door, it was pitch black.

No lights.

No people.

And no hand with scars.

But as soon as the door opened, a faint smell of mold and old furniture wafted out.

This was the home he was familiar with.

The living room wasn't big.

Old sofa.

Low coffee table.

An electric fan by the wall that had been repaired many times.

On the balcony were some toolboxes left by his father.

Everything was about the same as when he left in the morning.

Only on the dining table, there was one more thing.

An old iron box.

Lin Jin remembered very clearly.

Before he left in the morning, there was no iron box there.

Chen Ye immediately raised his shield.

"What is this now?"

Lin Jin didn't approach.

The Hand of Rules unfolded.

[Target: Old Tool Iron Box]

[Status: Sealed]

[Source: Unknown]

[Attached Aura: Lin Shoushan]

[Danger Level: Low]

Lin Shoushan's aura.

Lin Jin's heartbeat quickened slightly.

He walked over.

The surface of the iron box was covered in dust.

As if it had been there for many years.

But on the lid, there was a newly pasted note.

The handwriting was familiar.

Slanted to the right.

With a bit of impatient sloppiness.

[Open before going to school]

Chen Ye swallowed hard.

"Is this your dad too?"

Lin Jin didn't answer.

He reached out and opened the iron box.

Inside, there was no second wrench.

Only a rusty screw.

An old photo.

And a broken student ID card.

In the photo.

A much younger Lin Shoushan stood at the gate of Jiangcheng First Combat Academy.

Next to him was Qin Shanhe, whose white hair wasn't as white.

And several young people wearing the same old uniforms.

On the back of the photo was a line of text:

[Rule Maintenance Special Class, Last Batch]

Lin Jin picked up the broken student ID card.

The name on it was half worn away.

But it could still be clearly seen.

[Lin Shoushan]

[Class: Rule Maintenance Special Class]

[Status: Not Graduated]

Not graduated.

Lin Jin's eyes darkened.

His father didn't leave the Academy after graduation.

He might have entered the No. 9 Forbidden Zone directly after some incident at the Academy.

And that rusty screw was slightly hot at this moment.

The Hand of Rules popped up a prompt.

[Detected old maintenance material]

[Name: Forbidden Building Door Hinge Screw]

[Source: Jiangcheng First Combat Academy Forbidden Building]

[Description: Can be used to open the side door of the old classroom in the Forbidden Building]

Lin Jin slowly gripped the screw.

He understood.

This wasn't the second wrench.

But it was the key to the place where the clue for the second wrench was located.

Tomorrow's entrance test.

I'm afraid that from the moment he stepped into the Academy, it wouldn't just be an ordinary test.

Chen Ye looked at the photo and suddenly said in a low voice:

"Your dad was quite handsome when he was young."

Lin Jin glanced at him.

"Is that the point?"

Chen Ye nodded seriously.

"Find some light topics when nervous."

Shen Tingxue was looking at the young people in the photo.

Her gaze stopped on one of the blurry figures.

"This person..."

Lin Jin looked over.

"Do you know them?"

Shen Tingxue frowned.

"It looks like someone I saw in the old files at home."

"Who?"

Shen Tingxue looked up.

"An Ice-type S-rank Professional who went missing twenty years ago."

"A branch member of the Shen family."

The air instantly went silent.

Lin Jin looked at the photo.

Rule Maintenance Special Class, Last Batch.

Lin Shoushan.

Qin Shanhe.

And the missing S-rank Professional from the Shen family.

It seemed that the events back then involved more than just the Lin family.

And not just the Maintenance Department.

Shen Tingxue withdrew her gaze, her voice slightly cold.

"Tomorrow, I have to go even more."

Lin Jin nodded.

"Then we'll go together."

Outside the window.

The night was very deep.

The city lights in the distance remained.

But Lin Jin knew that from tonight on, he would never be able to return to the life of an ordinary student.

He packed away the admission notice, the old badge, the 105 file copy, and the Forbidden Building door hinge screw.

Then he looked at the door.

"We'll take turns keeping watch tonight."

Chen Ye immediately put his shield by the door.

"I'll take the first shift."

Shen Tingxue sat by the window.

"I'll take the second shift."

Lin Jin was about to speak when his phone suddenly vibrated again.

The three of them looked at the screen at the same time.

This time, it wasn't a text message from The Hospital.

It was a message from Qin Shanhe.

[Don't take the main gate tomorrow morning.]

[Bring the screw your dad left behind.]

[Also, don't trust the first teacher who comes to pick you up.]

Lin Jin stared at the last line of text.

His brows slowly furrowed.

The night wind blew outside the window.

The sound-activated light in the hallway suddenly lit up.

Outside the door.

A soft knocking sound came.

Knock.

Knock.

Knock.

Three times.

Then, a gentle, unfamiliar voice sounded outside the door.

"Student Lin Jin."

"I am a teacher from the Jiangcheng First Combat Academy Admissions Office."

"Dean Qin sent me to pick you up."