61: Chapter 61, Lesson One: Revising a Testimony Twenty Years Late

[First Lesson Maintenance Target: Teacher Xu Wenzhou]

[Fault Type: Unfinished Testimony from Twenty Years Ago]

The words on the blackboard finished appearing, stroke by stroke.

The classroom was so quiet that one could hear the sound of chalk dust falling.

Teacher Xu Wenzhou stood in front of the podium, his expression shifting from rigid to pale.

Chen Ye had been quite excited, but seeing Teacher Xu Wenzhou like this, he slowly stopped smiling.

Zhou Heng frowned.

"What does this mean?"

"Can a Homeroom Teacher also be a maintenance target?"

Lin Jin looked at the blackboard and tapped his fingers lightly on the desk.

"Yes."

"As long as he has a fault."

Zhou Heng said coldly:

"People are not tools."

Upon hearing this, Chen Ye looked at him with some surprise.

"Oh."

"You can actually speak like a human?"

Zhou Heng's face darkened.

Lin Jin did not mock him.

Instead, he nodded.

"That's why we can't repair him like we would a door."

"If a person is a maintenance target, the first step isn't to take action."

"It's to confirm whether he is willing to be repaired."

Teacher Xu Wenzhou looked at Lin Jin.

In that instant, his eyes were complex.

It was as if he hadn't expected Lin Jin to say that.

The words on the blackboard changed again.

[Target detected with self-closure, broken testimony, and residual old gag order from the Department of Education]

[If not handled, the temporary Homeroom Teacher's credibility is insufficient]

[If forcibly handled, the target may suffer a mental breakdown]

The corner of Chen Ye's mouth twitched.

"This blackboard is too blunt."

Shen Tingxue looked at Teacher Xu Wenzhou.

"You can refuse."

Her voice was calm.

"But if you refuse, we cannot completely trust a single word you say regarding the 104 Incident, the Department of Education, or No. 9 Forbidden Zone."

Teacher Xu Wenzhou gave a bitter smile.

"You are more like an Inquisitor than Lin Jin."

Shen Tingxue said indifferently:

"I just don't like being led by incomplete testimony."

Qin Shanhe sat in the last row and had not interjected throughout.

He looked at Teacher Xu Wenzhou, without any coercion in his eyes.

But he didn't speak for him either.

This matter was something no one else could do for him.

Teacher Xu Wenzhou remained silent for a long time.

So long that the chalk words on the blackboard began to flicker slightly.

Finally, he raised his head.

"If I agree, what do you want to ask?"

Lin Jin said:

"We won't ask if you regret it."

"We won't ask if you are afraid."

"We won't force you to perform a confession."

"We will only repair the gaps in the testimony."

Teacher Xu Wenzhou's Adam's apple bobbed.

"Gaps in the testimony?"

Lin Jin nodded.

"First, who exactly issued the sealing order twenty years ago?"

"Second, what exactly did Qin Shanhe sign?"

"Third, who was the person with the abnormal file in the 104 Incident?"

Upon hearing the third question, Teacher Xu Wenzhou's expression clearly changed.

Zhou Heng instinctively sensed something was wrong.

"The person with the abnormal file?"

Lin Jin glanced at him.

"It was written in the 104 Incident records."

"One person missing, three contaminated, two dead, one person with an abnormal file."

"The one missing was Shen Qingshuang."

"Lin Shoushan was dragged into the relevant port of No. 9 Forbidden Zone by the reclamation chain."

"Teacher Xu Wenzhou came out alive."

"That leaves the person with the abnormal file, who hasn't been clarified yet."

The atmosphere in the classroom suddenly turned cold.

Teacher Xu Wenzhou slowly closed his eyes.

"You will regret hearing this name."

Chen Ye sighed.

"Teacher Xu, you really have said that line too many times."

Teacher Xu Wenzhou opened his eyes.

This time, he did not run away again.

"Fine."

"I agree to repair the testimony."

As he spoke, a grayish-white circle appeared on the floor in front of the podium.

An old wooden chair rose from the center of the circle.

On the back of the chair was written:

[Testimony Seat]

Teacher Xu Wenzhou looked at that chair, the corner of his mouth twitching slightly.

"Twenty years ago, I sat in it once too."

Lin Jin asked:

"Where?"

"The Department of Education's temporary interrogation room."

Teacher Xu Wenzhou walked off the podium and sat down in the Testimony Seat.

"They made me repeat the process of the 104 Incident seven times."

"Every time I repeated it, they deleted a part."

"What remained in the end was the set of records you saw in the School History Sealing Room."

After he finished speaking, a circle of silver-gray thin lines suddenly appeared on his neck.

The thin lines were like a collar, choking his throat.

The Hand of Rules unfolded.

[Target: Teacher Xu Wenzhou]

[Fault: Broken Testimony]

[Additional Restriction: Old gag order from the Department of Education]

[Gag order effect: Key figures, key departments, and key instructions cannot be fully spoken]

[Maintenance Plan 1: Forcefully remove the gag order]

[Risk: Mental breakdown, testimony contamination]

[Maintenance Plan 2: Classroom testimony repair process]

[Required collaboration: Sealing Position to stabilize emotions, Protection Position to block external echoes, Barrier Breaker Position to shatter key sound seals]

Lin Jin looked at the three of them.

"Divide the work."

Chen Ye immediately patted his shield.

"What do I block?"

"Block the door."

Lin Jin said.

"Once the gag order backlashes, it might draw in external surveillance phantoms."

Chen Ye nodded and sat down at the classroom door, holding his shield.

"Fine."

"Whoever comes in, I'll smash."

Lin Jin looked at Shen Tingxue again.

"You control the temperature."

"Don't let the emotional contamination within the testimony spread."

Shen Tingxue nodded.

Frost spread from her fingertips, forming a thin white line around the Testimony Seat.

Finally, Lin Jin looked at Zhou Heng.

Zhou Heng frowned.

"Why are you looking at me?"

"You are the Barrier Breaker Position."

Lin Jin said.

"When he can't speak the keywords later, use your Lightning element to break the sound seal."

Zhou Heng said coldly:

"Why should I take orders from you?"

Lin Jin looked at him.

"Because you don't want to be a temporary Barrier Breaker Position forever."

"If you perform well tonight, maybe the word 'temporary' can be removed."

Zhou Heng's face darkened further.

"You think I want to remove it?"

Lin Jin said indifferently:

"Then just sit there."

"Wait for the blackboard to record you for non-cooperation."

Zhou Heng instinctively looked at the blackboard.

The blackboard very cooperatively displayed a line of text.

[If the Barrier Breaker Position refuses to execute class tasks, it will record one class collaboration failure]

Zhou Heng gritted his teeth.

"Fine."

"I'll do it."

Chen Ye couldn't help but laugh.

"Young Master Zhou, welcome to the group."

Zhou Heng said coldly:

"Shut up."

Lin Jin did not delay any further.

He walked to the front of the Testimony Seat.

"Teacher Xu Wenzhou."

"First question."

"Twenty years ago, who issued the 104 sealing order?"

Teacher Xu Wenzhou opened his mouth.

"The Department of Education's Special Career Development Division..."

Before he could finish, the silver-gray thin lines on his throat tightened abruptly.

His voice stopped abruptly.

Cold sweat instantly broke out on his forehead.

Shen Tingxue raised her hand, frost suppressing the turbulent emotional fluctuations around him.

Lin Jin looked at Zhou Heng.

"Break it."

Zhou Heng snorted coldly, lightning gathering in his palm.

A phantom of a slender Thunder Spear pierced toward the silver line in front of Teacher Xu Wenzhou's throat.

Not piercing him.

But piercing that sealed syllable.

Crack!

The silver line burst open a small section.

Teacher Xu Wenzhou coughed violently, finally managing to say the second half of the sentence.

"The Deputy Director."

"Lu Chengyuan."

The blackboard immediately recorded it.

[Testimony 1: Source of the 104 sealing order — Deputy Director of the Department of Education's Special Career Development Division, Lu Chengyuan]

Qin Shanhe sat in the last row, his hand gripping the cup tightening slightly.

Lin Jin continued asking:

"Was Lu Chengyuan at the scene at that time?"

Teacher Xu Wenzhou gasped for air.

"Not outside the 104 door."

"But his surveillance projection was in the School History Sealing Room."

"The final authority of the sealing array was not with the academy."

"It was in his hands."

Zhou Heng frowned.

"Why can the Department of Education control the Forbidden Building of the academy?"

Teacher Xu Wenzhou glanced at him.

"Because from the day 104 was built, it was never just a simple academy classroom."

"It is a Rule training point approved by the Department of Education."

"The academy provides students and the venue."

"The Department of Education provides projects, sealing authority, and accident handling procedures."

Chen Ye cursed at the door.

"Simply put, they treat students as experimental materials."

Teacher Xu Wenzhou said in a low voice:

"Yes."

As this word fell, the temperature in the classroom dropped by a few more degrees.

Lin Jin asked the second question.

"What did Qin Shanhe sign?"

Teacher Xu Wenzhou looked at Qin Shanhe in the back row.

Qin Shanhe did not avoid his gaze.

Teacher Xu Wenzhou's voice was somewhat hoarse.

"It was not a sealing confirmation form."

Qin Shanhe's eyes flickered slightly.

Teacher Xu Wenzhou continued:

"After 104 was sealed back then, Dean Qin rushed outside and demanded to forcefully open the door to save people."

"The Department of Education brought out a document."

"They told him that as long as he signed it, they could initiate the external rescue process."

"The document title was —"

The silver lines on his throat tightened again.

This time, it was more ruthless than before.

Teacher Xu Wenzhou's entire face turned red.

Without waiting for Lin Jin to remind him, Zhou Heng had already pierced out with lightning.

Crack!

The second segment of the sound seal shattered.

Teacher Xu Wenzhou coughed violently, coughing until the corners of his eyes turned red.

"104 Incident Temporary Rescue Authorization Confirmation》."

Lin Jin's eyes sank.

"Later it was changed to Academy Confirmation of Sealing?"

Teacher Xu Wenzhou nodded.

"Yes."

"Dean Qin signed for rescue authorization."

"But in the School History Sealing Room, the signature was merged into the sealing confirmation chain."

"That's why the file shows the academy confirmer is Qin Shanhe."

Chen Ye turned to look at Qin Shanhe.

"Dean, didn't you notice back then?"

Qin Shanhe was silent for a moment.

"By the time I noticed, the file was already sealed."

"I couldn't enter the School History Sealing Room."

"All the external files I could check stated that I confirmed the sealing."

The old man's voice was very calm.

But the calmer it was, the more one could hear the things that had been suppressed for twenty years.

Lin Jin looked at Teacher Xu Wenzhou.

"Third question."

"In the 104 Incident, who was the person with the abnormal file?"

Teacher Xu Wenzhou suddenly fell silent.

The silver lines on his neck did not tighten.

This meant that this question was not something he couldn't say.

It was that he himself didn't want to say it.

Zhou Heng suddenly had a bad premonition.

"Why are you looking at me?"

He noticed Teacher Xu Wenzhou was looking at him.

Lin Jin also turned his head to look at Zhou Heng.

In the classroom, everyone's gaze fell on him.

Zhou Heng's face sank bit by bit.

"Does it have to do with me?"

Teacher Xu Wenzhou closed his eyes.

"In the last combat team of 104, there was a Barrier Breaker Position."

"Lightning element."

Zhou Heng's fingers tightened slightly.

Teacher Xu Wenzhou continued:

"His name is Deputy Director Zhou Chengyue."

Zhou Heng stood up abruptly.

The chair scraped against the floor, making a harsh sound.

"Who did you say?"

Teacher Xu Wenzhou looked at him.

"Deputy Director Zhou Chengyue."

"Twenty years ago, a Barrier Breaker Position in the Rule Maintenance Special Class."

"The person with the abnormal file in the 104 Incident."

"He is also one of the current Deputy Directors of the Department of Education's Special Career Development Division."

The classroom was deathly quiet.

Chen Ye opened his mouth.

This time, even he didn't speak immediately.

Zhou Heng's expression became extremely ugly.

"Nonsense."

Teacher Xu Wenzhou did not refute him.

He just continued:

"After 104 was sealed, Deputy Director Zhou Chengyue's student file was removed from the academy system."

"External records show he never entered the Rule Maintenance Special Class."

"Later, he re-registered as a special trainee of the Department of Education."

"Everyone thought he was a survivor of the incident."

"But I know, he is not an ordinary survivor."

Lin Jin asked:

"What did he do?"

Teacher Xu Wenzhou's voice was very low.

"The experimental team contract for the 104 practical class initially required a Barrier Breaker Position to actively connect."

"Deputy Director Zhou Chengyue was the first person to sign the connection agreement."

"He was also the only person completely taken away by the Department of Education after the incident."

Zhou Heng's breathing became heavy.

"Impossible."

"My second uncle never said any of this."

Lin Jin looked at him.

"Deputy Director Zhou Chengyue is your second uncle?"

Zhou Heng gritted his teeth and did not answer.

But his reaction already explained everything.

On the blackboard, the chalk wrote automatically.

[Testimony 3: Person with abnormal file in 104 — Deputy Director Zhou Chengyue]

[Identity: Barrier Breaker Position of the Rule Maintenance Special Class twenty years ago]

[Current Identity: Deputy Director of the Department of Education's Special Career Development Division]

[Relation: Zhou Heng's second uncle]

Lin Jin looked at the words on the blackboard, his heart sinking bit by bit.

No wonder Zhou Heng was automatically pulled into the Rule Maintenance Special Class.

It was not a coincidence.

The previous generation's Barrier Breaker Position was also from the Zhou Family.

And this person is currently in the Department of Education.

Teacher Xu Wenzhou suddenly looked up at Zhou Heng.

"Zhou Heng."

"You had better go home and ask."

"Why exactly does your Zhou Family insist that you become a Thunder Spear Knight."

Zhou Heng's face was livid.

"Shut up."

His lightning uncontrollably crackled in his palm.

Chen Ye stood up immediately, placing his shield between Lin Jin and Zhou Heng.

"Calm down."

"Don't start fighting on the first day of the class meeting."

Shen Tingxue also raised her hand, frost suppressing the surging lightning intent in the classroom.

Zhou Heng stared fixedly at Teacher Xu Wenzhou.

"If you say one more word about my family, I will now —"

Lin Jin suddenly spoke.

"Zhou Heng."

"If you really want to prove he is lying."

"Then stay and investigate."

Zhou Heng looked at him abruptly.

Lin Jin said:

"If you quit the special class, you will only ever hear the truth from others."

"If you stay, you can see for yourself."

Zhou Heng's chest heaved violently.

A long while later, the lightning in his palm slowly extinguished.

He sat back down.

But that face no longer had any of its previous arrogance.

Only the coldness of suppressed anger remained.

The words on the blackboard changed again.

[Homeroom Teacher credibility initially repaired]

[Teacher Xu Wenzhou testimony completeness: 43%]

Chen Ye's eyes widened.

"Only 43%?"

Teacher Xu Wenzhou gave a bitter smile.

"Do you think twenty years of messy accounts can be repaired in one class?"

Lin Jin looked at the blackboard.

"What is the next gap?"

The blackboard paused for a second.

Then it wrote down a new question.

[Unfinished Testimony 2: Before Lin Shoushan entered No. 9 Forbidden Zone, whom had he met?]

Teacher Xu Wenzhou's expression changed instantly.

Qin Shanhe also raised his head abruptly.

And outside the classroom door, a soft knock suddenly sounded.

Knock.

Knock.

Knock.

A woman's voice came from outside the door.

"Teacher Xu Wenzhou."

"This part of the testimony."

"You had better not say it."