50: Chapter 50: Retrieving the Items Inside Without Opening the Door

【Second test initiated】

【Candidate, please approach the door of Classroom 104 and, without opening it, retrieve the item left inside】

After these words appeared, the entire corridor went silent.

Chen Ye stared at the meeting minutes, his face full of confusion.

"Retrieve items from inside without opening the door."

"Who came up with this question?"

"Can't they come and do it themselves?"

No one laughed.

Because the door to Classroom 104 was right in the middle of the corridor.

The black seal had tightened again.

The door plate was stable.

The chalk dust had stopped seeping out.

Yet, because it had gone quiet, it looked even more like a coffin that had been sealed shut again.

The young voice inside the door had also vanished.

It was as if that "It's been twenty years already" from just moments ago had exhausted its last bit of strength.

Shen Tingxue looked at Teacher Xu Wenzhou.

"What is the 'item left inside'?"

Teacher Xu Wenzhou didn't answer immediately.

His complexion was terrible.

Ever since Classroom 104 was repaired back into a "sealed existence," he seemed to have been dragged down by some shadow from twenty years ago.

It wasn't until Shen Tingxue asked a second time that he spoke in a low voice:

"A toolbox."

Lin Jin raised his eyes.

"Whose?"

Teacher Xu Wenzhou was silent for a moment.

"Lin Shoushan's."

The air suddenly went still.

Chen Ye instinctively looked at Lin Jin.

Shen Tingxue's gaze also fell upon him.

Lin Jin didn't speak.

He only tightened his grip on the rusty wrench in his hand.

Father's toolbox.

Inside Classroom 104.

And the second test required him to retrieve it without opening the door.

This was no longer an ordinary test.

It was more like someone was intentionally placing the things Lin Shoushan had left behind in front of him.

Making him touch them.

Making him choose.

Making him unable to resist opening the door.

The Hand of Rules slowly unfolded.

【Test Target: Item left inside Classroom 104】

【Suspected Item: Old toolbox】

【Related Object: Lin Shoushan】

【Current Restriction: Cannot open the door to Classroom 104】

【Warning: Forcing the door open will trigger a restart of the Classroom 104 practical lesson】

Lin Jin looked at the prompt, his eyes growing cold bit by bit.

"It wants me to open the door."

Chen Ye frowned.

"Who?"

Lin Jin looked at the door to Classroom 104.

"The test itself."

Shen Tingxue nodded.

"Or rather, something else has mixed into the test."

Qin Shanhe had said the Forbidden Building test would be dangerous.

But he would never design a question that forced Lin Jin to directly open a sealed accident door.

The correct solution to the first test was to restore Classroom 104 to a "sealed existence" state.

Yet the second test immediately demanded the retrieval of the item left inside.

This wasn't contradictory.

But it was very dangerous.

If the candidate was lured by the "item left inside" and opened the door directly, all previous efforts would be wasted.

Teacher Xu Wenzhou suddenly spoke:

"That's why I said, give up."

"There is no correct answer to this question."

"Lin Shoushan's toolbox was left inside back then specifically to seal Classroom 104."

"You can't take it out."

Chen Ye sneered.

"If you say it can't be taken out, then there's probably a way."

Teacher Xu Wenzhou glanced at him.

"There is a way."

"But the cost is high."

Lin Jin asked:

"What way?"

Teacher Xu Wenzhou pointed to the door of Classroom 104.

"Make the person inside hand it over."

The corridor went silent again.

Chen Ye's expression changed.

"Doesn't that still mean talking to what's inside?"

"Yes."

Teacher Xu Wenzhou's voice was very low.

"There are only two ways to retrieve items without opening the door."

"Either you break the sealing rules and take it from the outside."

"Or you make the 104 Incident echo hand it over from the inside."

"The former will open the door."

"The latter will make the 104 Incident echo recognize you again."

He looked at Lin Jin.

"Do you dare let the person inside know that you are Lin Shoushan's son?"

This sentence carried heavy weight.

The 104 Incident echo inside the door was stuck twenty years ago.

The people inside didn't know how much time had passed outside.

If they knew Lin Jin was Lin Shoushan's son, it was highly likely they would treat him as the new Lin Shoushan.

Making him complete the unfinished practical lesson from back then.

Lin Jin didn't rush to answer.

He walked to the front of the door of Classroom 104.

He didn't get too close.

He stopped three steps away.

The Hand of Rules swept across the door gap.

【Target: Classroom 104 sealed door】

【Status: Stable】

【Interactable Areas: Door gap, door plate, seal, post-class return slot】

Lin Jin's eyes suddenly moved.

Post-class return slot.

He looked at the bottom of the door.

There was indeed a very narrow horizontal slot there.

It had previously been covered by chalk dust and the seal, so no one had noticed.

It looked like the small slot used for submitting exercise books at the bottom of old-fashioned classroom doors.

He crouched down.

The Hand of Rules unfolded more precisely.

【Target: Post-class return slot】

【Status: Blocked】

【Purpose: Return items left in the classroom after class ends】

【Fault: Missing class completion record caused the return process to freeze】

Found it.

This was the correct solution.

It wasn't opening the door.

Nor was it making the person inside hand it over.

It was repairing the "post-class return process."

Since the Classroom 104 practical lesson had already had the completion record filled in, the items left in the classroom should proceed to post-class return.

As long as the return slot was repaired, the item could be sent out by the rules.

The corners of Lin Jin's mouth moved slightly.

"Teacher Xu Wenzhou."

"You missed one method."

Teacher Xu Wenzhou frowned.

"What?"

Lin Jin raised his wrench and tapped it gently on the edge of the horizontal slot at the bottom of the door.

"Class is over."

"The left-behind item should be returned to the lost and found."

Teacher Xu Wenzhou's complexion changed abruptly.

He clearly knew about this slot.

But he hadn't said anything.

Chen Ye immediately cursed:

"You were hiding it, sure enough!"

Teacher Xu Wenzhou didn't refute.

He only stared fixedly at Lin Jin.

"If you fix the return slot, it's equivalent to admitting that Classroom 104 has finished class."

"Those echoes inside won't agree."

Lin Jin said calmly:

"The class completion record has already taken effect just now."

"Even if they don't agree, they have to follow the process."

As his voice fell, a faint friction sound suddenly rang out from inside the door of Classroom 104.

It was like someone was pressing against the back of the door, listening quietly.

The next second, that young man's voice rang out again.

"Who said class is over?"

"We haven't gone out yet."

"Lin Shoushan hasn't come back yet."

"Shen Qingshuang is still inside."

The voice was no longer as calm as before.

Instead, it carried a suppressed resentment.

The seal vibrated gently.

A bit of black chalk dust seeped out from the door gap.

The Hand of Rules immediately issued an alarm.

【104 Incident echo is resisting the class completion record】

【Return process repair difficulty increased】

【Current success rate: 68%】

Shen Tingxue walked behind Lin Jin.

Frost silently covered the ground, blocking the chalk dust from continuing to spread.

Chen Ye held up his shield to block the side, preventing anything from suddenly reaching out from inside the door.

Lin Jin focused on watching the return slot.

【Target: Post-class return slot】

【Fault: Chalk dust blockage, seal permission suppression, 104 Incident echo refusing class completion】

【Maintenance Plan: Dredge the return channel, cite the class completion record as the basis for the process】

He placed the class completion record he had just filled out in front of the door.

He then pressed the class schedule, the grouping roster, and the meeting minutes beside it in order.

The four existence anchors lit up again.

The voice inside the door of Classroom 104 suddenly became urgent.

"Don't write!"

"Class cannot end!"

"If class ends, we really won't be able to get out!"

Lin Jin's fingers paused.

This sentence sounded more like the truth than the one before.

Chen Ye also listened with an ugly expression.

"Do they not know that they have already..."

The word "dead" at the end, he didn't say out loud.

Lin Jin was silent for a moment.

Then he said in a low voice:

"They are not human."

"They are 104 Incident echoes."

"If class never ends, they will only be trapped in the moment the accident happened forever."

Shen Tingxue glanced at him.

"You are saying this to yourself."

Lin Jin didn't deny it.

Because the voice inside the door of Classroom 104 was too real.

So real that even though he knew he couldn't respond, he still felt it was cruel.

But maintenance wasn't about satisfying every voice.

Maintenance was determining which rule was broken.

And then fixing it so it could continue to move forward.

Lin Jin raised his wrench.

"Classroom 104 practical lesson, has been terminated."

"The accident is unresolved, but the class is over."

"Items left inside, process according to the post-class return procedure."

The wrench fell.

Click.

The return slot vibrated.

A segment of black chalk dust was shaken out.

【Maintenance progress: 23%】

Messy footsteps sounded inside the door.

Not just one person.

Several voices appeared at the same time.

"Who's outside?"

"Has the teacher arrived?"

"Don't end the class!"

"Where is Teacher Xu Wenzhou?"

"Did he run away again?"

Teacher Xu Wenzhou's face turned pale.

The last sentence was like a knife, stabbing fiercely into him.

Chen Ye glanced at him.

"They said you ran away again."

Teacher Xu Wenzhou gritted his teeth.

"Shut up."

Chen Ye sneered.

"What, true damage?"

Teacher Xu Wenzhou didn't strike back.

He just looked at the door of Classroom 104, his eyes filled with pain and fear.

Lin Jin didn't get distracted.

The second wrench strike fell.

Click.

The return slot opened a little.

It was pitch black inside.

Like it led to a very deep place.

【Maintenance progress: 51%】

【Return process partially restored】

Just at this moment, another voice suddenly came from inside the door.

Cold.

Weary.

Yet it carried a certain aura that made Shen Tingxue tense up instantly.

"The person outside."

"Are you a descendant of the Shen family?"

The frost on Shen Tingxue's fingertips suddenly congealed.

Chen Ye also immediately looked at her.

That voice continued:

"I can feel the aura of the Ice Phoenix."

"People of the Shen family..."

"Do you still remember Shen Qingshuang?"

Shen Tingxue's expression changed noticeably.

This was the first time.

Lin Jin saw her emotions being pried open by the voice inside the door.

The Hand of Rules immediately issued an alarm.

【104 Incident echo is attempting to establish a bloodline connection】

【Target: Shen Tingxue】

【Warning: Do not respond】

Lin Jin immediately spoke:

"Shen Tingxue."

"Don't answer."

Shen Tingxue closed her eyes.

When she opened them again, her gaze had turned cold once more.

"I know."

But the female voice inside the door laughed softly.

"It seems you still remember."

"Then tell the Shen family."

"I didn't die in the forbidden area."

"I was left in Classroom 104."

Shen Tingxue's breathing was slightly disrupted for a moment.

Lin Jin's heart sank.

This was the most dangerous part of Classroom 104.

It didn't just lure Lin Jin.

It also targeted the gaps in everyone's hearts.

For Lin Jin, it was Lin Shoushan.

For Shen Tingxue, it was Shen Qingshuang.

For Teacher Xu Wenzhou, it was the escape from back then.

Every sentence could be true.

But every sentence could not be answered at this time.

Lin Jin's third wrench strike fell fiercely.

Crack!

The return slot opened completely.

【Maintenance progress: 79%】

All the voices inside the door suddenly became sharp.

"Cannot be returned!"

"The toolbox cannot go out!"

"Lin Shoushan said he would come back to get it!"

"He didn't come back!"

"He didn't come back!"

A pitch-black palm suddenly reached out from the return slot.

Not to grab a person.

But to clamp onto the slot opening, not letting the things inside come out.

Chen Ye roared, using the edge of his shield to hold back that hand.

"You have all finished class!"

"Can you stop dragging the class out!"

Shen Tingxue raised her hand, frost sealing the wrist.

Lin Jin seized the opportunity and pressed the Maintenance Badge onto the return slot.

"Maintenance Worker 07's item left behind."

"Retrieved on behalf by related visitor Lin Jin."

The Hand of Rules vibrated wildly.

【Connection verification in progress】

【Lin Shoushan's son】

【Holder of the old Maintenance Department badge】

【Representative retrieval logic established】

Teacher Xu Wenzhou's complexion changed drastically.

"Don't let him retrieve it on behalf!"

But it was already too late.

Lin Jin's final wrench strike fell.

Bang!

A dull thud came from inside the return slot.

That pitch-black palm was forcibly dragged back into the door.

The next second, an old toolbox slid out from the return slot bit by bit.

The box wasn't big.

Black tin.

The edges were full of scratches.

The latch was broken in half.

Two words were written on the lid in white paint:

【Lin Shoushan】

【Second test complete】

【Item left inside retrieved】

The voices in the corridor all disappeared.

The door to Classroom 104 fell back into dead silence.

Lin Jin reached out and pressed his hand on the toolbox.

Cold.

Heavy.

Like pressing down on a past that had been sealed for twenty years.

Teacher Xu Wenzhou stared at that toolbox, his voice hoarse.

"You shouldn't have taken it out."

Lin Jin looked up.

"What's inside?"

Teacher Xu Wenzhou didn't answer.

The toolbox, however, made a "click" sound on its own.

The latch popped open.

The lid slowly lifted a crack.

There was no second wrench inside.

Only a blood-stained old test paper.

Written at the very top of the test paper was:

【Classroom 104 Final Practical Exam Question】

【Question: If the maintenance target itself is your teammate, would you still repair it?】