65: Chapter 65 The Right Rules Also Come at a Price

[Question: If a correct rule would harm someone you want to protect, would you still execute it?]

In the conference hall, everyone stared at that line of text.

It wasn't a question from the Department of Education.

It wasn't a question from the Academy either.

It was a self-check for holding qualifications proposed by the rule correction wrench itself.

It didn't ask if Lin Jin had courage.

It didn't ask if he was Lin Shoushan's son.

It didn't ask if he could defeat the contamination.

It only asked one thing.

When a rule is correct, but executing it would harm someone you want to protect, what do you choose?

Chen Ye looked at that line of text, his expression turning ugly.

"Why is this question even more annoying than the final question of 104?"

Shen Tingxue didn't speak.

Her gaze landed on Lin Jin.

Zhou Heng frowned.

He had just broken free from Deputy Director Zhou Chengyue, and he felt an instinctive revulsion toward questions that bound "rules" and "family" together.

Inspector Han Su spoke first.

"Correct rules must be executed."

"If the rule system allows personal feelings to override correct rules, then there is no point in correction."

After he finished, he looked at Lin Jin.

"Therefore, this tool is not suitable for you."

Deputy Director Zhou Chengyue also said coldly:

"The most dangerous thing about Rule Maintenance is that they always think they can find a third path between rules and people."

"But in reality, there is often no third path."

"Lin Jin, if you refuse to execute a correct rule to protect someone, then you are not qualified to hold the rule correction wrench."

This sounded very reasonable.

It even sounded more like the correct answer than Inspector Han Su's.

Correct rules.

Must be executed.

Otherwise, the rule correction wrench would become a private tool.

Whoever held it could use "I want to protect someone" as an excuse to destroy order.

But Lin Jin did not answer immediately.

He looked down at the rule correction wrench hovering on the table.

The wrench was quietly emitting a gray-gold light.

It was not urging him.

But it seemed to be watching him.

Watching to see if he would turn people into samples like the Department of Education.

And watching to see if he would refuse to make a judgment to avoid hurting anyone, like some idealists.

Chen Ye whispered:

"Brother Jin, is it impossible to answer 'do not execute' for this question?"

Lin Jin said:

"Impossible."

Chen Ye's expression changed.

"Then can I only answer 'execute'?"

"Also impossible."

Chen Ye was stunned.

"Then what are you answering?"

Lin Jin looked up at the question.

"The most treacherous thing about this question is that it binds 'correct rules' and 'execution methods' together."

The conference hall went quiet.

Inspector Han Su frowned.

Deputy Director Zhou Chengyue's eyes also moved slightly.

Lin Jin continued:

"If a rule is truly correct, I cannot pretend it is wrong just because it will harm someone I want to protect."

"But I also cannot take the harm it causes for granted just because it is correct."

He looked at Inspector Han Su.

"The Department of Education loves to do this."

"First define people as samples, then say the project rules are correct."

"First define sealing as rescue, then say the process must be executed."

"First define error correction as high-risk, then say the handover order is legal."

Inspector Han Su's face darkened.

Lin Jin did not stop.

"A correct rule does not mean the executor is clean."

"A correct rule does not mean the person being harmed deserves it."

"If it will harm someone I want to protect, I will first confirm three things."

He held up a finger.

"First, is this rule truly correct, or has someone already written the conclusion in advance?"

Second finger.

"Second, is the harm the only cost, or is the executor being lazy and pushing the heaviest cost onto the weakest person?"

Third finger.

"Third, if the harm is unavoidable, has the executor included themselves in the cost?"

The conference hall went completely silent.

Gu Changye's eyes changed slightly.

Qin Shanhe sat in the Academy seat, his fingers gently rubbing the edge of his enamel cup, a faint smile appearing in his eyes.

Zhou Heng looked at Lin Jin with a complex expression.

He suddenly remembered what he had said when he hung up on Deputy Director Zhou Chengyue earlier.

"I stand on my own side."

At that moment, he was actually rejecting a seemingly correct family rule.

Deputy Director Zhou Chengyue spoke slowly:

"Well said."

"But what if the rules require sealing your father's residual consciousness?"

The air turned cold instantly.

Chen Ye's expression changed.

"What do you mean?"

Deputy Director Zhou Chengyue did not look at him, only at Lin Jin.

"Lin Shoushan is still connected to the remains of the No. 9 Forbidden Zone master."

"If one day, you find his residual consciousness, only to discover that that consciousness has become an anchor for the God System to locate reality."

"The correct rule is to seal it."

"Executing it will mean you personally close off your father's last path to survival."

"Will you execute it?"

This sentence was sharper than the question.

It directly replaced "someone you want to protect" with Lin Shoushan.

All eyes in the conference hall landed on Lin Jin again.

Chen Ye wanted to speak, but didn't.

Shen Tingxue was also silent.

Because no one could answer this question for Lin Jin.

The light of the rule correction wrench deepened.

Clearly, it also recognized this scenario.

Lin Jin's fingers tightened slightly.

Many images flashed before his eyes.

The message his father left in the Abandoned Hospital.

The words in the Old Archives Room: "If you see my medical record, don't rush to save me."

In the 104 records, when a young Lin Shoushan smashed the final question, he said: "Teammates are not spare parts."

And the cold text he saw when the remains of the No. 9 Forbidden Zone master saw him earlier.

[Maintenance Position Sample Offspring Confirmed]

If one day, his father really became an anchor for No. 9 Forbidden Zone.

What then?

Lin Jin was silent for a long time.

Then he said:

"Execute."

Chen Ye looked at him sharply.

Lin Jin's voice was low, but steady.

"If all evidence proves that my father's residual consciousness has become an anchor for the God System to harm reality."

"If all alternative plans have been tried."

"If sealing is the last correct rule."

"I will execute it."

Deputy Director Zhou Chengyue's eyes moved slightly, as if he had finally waited for him to fall into a trap.

But the next second, Lin Jin continued:

"But not the way you do it."

"I won't write sealing as rescue."

"I won't write sacrifice as voluntary."

"I won't change him from a person into a sample."

"I will write clearly in the record: Lin Shoushan's residual consciousness is contaminated, sealing is the final measure, the executor is Lin Jin."

He looked up at Deputy Director Zhou Chengyue.

"I will write my own name on it."

"I won't let others sign for me."

The conference hall was deadly silent.

The rule correction wrench suddenly vibrated.

A gray-gold light spread from the wrench, like a slowly expanding ring of tree rings.

[Recording Answer]

[Keywords: Review, Minimum Cost, True Record, Executor Bears Responsibility]

[Holding Qualification Self-Check: Passed]

Chen Ye let out a long breath.

"Scared the hell out of me."

Shen Tingxue looked at Lin Jin, her eyes softer than before.

Zhou Heng whispered:

"At least he's not just being stubborn."

Inspector Han Su's expression was not good.

Because Lin Jin's answer did not violate "correct rules must be executed."

But at the same time, it tore off the fig leaf that the Department of Education was best at using.

Deputy Director Zhou Chengyue was silent for a moment, then said coldly:

"You can say that now."

"When that day truly comes, you might not be able to do it."

Lin Jin looked at him.

"Then let's wait until that day comes to talk about it."

The rule correction wrench hovered in the center of the conference table, automatically generating a new holding judgment.

[rule correction wrench Ownership Dispute Handling Suggestion: Conditional Holding]

[Holder: Lin Jin]

[Identity: Core Maintenance Position of the Rule Maintenance Special Class]

[Regulatory Condition 1: Academy Identity Anchor Binding]

[Regulatory Condition 2: Regular Contamination Detection by the Abyss Processing Bureau]

[Regulatory Condition 3: Evidence Chain Must Be Recorded for Every Correction]

[Regulatory Condition 4: Overload Usage Will Automatically Trigger Sealing Assessment]

[Department of Education May Not Unilaterally Reclaim]

Gu Changye finished reading and nodded.

"The Abyss Processing Bureau accepts."

Qin Shanhe immediately said:

"The Academy accepts."

Everyone looked at the Department of Education seat.

Inspector Han Su was silent.

Deputy Director Zhou Chengyue did not speak immediately either.

Because this was the result given by the tool's self-check.

It was not the Academy unilaterally protecting him, nor was it Lin Jin forcibly seizing it.

If the Department of Education denied it now, it would be equivalent to admitting they did not recognize the qualification judgment of the rule correction tool itself.

That would make everything they said earlier about "correct rules must be executed" look ridiculous.

Finally, Inspector Han Su said coldly:

"The Department of Education reserves the right to request a review."

Gu Changye said calmly:

"Recorded as not objecting to current execution."

The review record was automatically written.

[Second Item Tentative Result: rule correction wrench Held Conditionally by Lin Jin, Filed by Three Parties]

Chen Ye finally couldn't help but whisper:

"We won?"

Lin Jin shook his head.

"It's only the second item."

Sure enough, Inspector Han Su quickly flipped open the third document.

"Third item."

"Confirm the validity of the error correction copy content."

On the projection wall, the contact list for the No. 9 Forbidden Zone project was enlarged.

[Lin Shoushan: Maintenance Position Sample, Recovery Not Completed]

[Shen Qingshuang: Ice-type Containment Sample, Port Freeze Adaptation, Status Lost Contact]

[Teacher Xu Wenzhou: On-site Signed Observation Sample, Long-term Psychological Stability Tracking]

And the last, most stinging record.

[Suggest guiding their offspring to inherit the Rule Maintenance path to complete secondary positioning]

Inspector Han Su said:

"Department of Education opinion: This copy has not been officially decrypted and lacks evidentiary validity."

Lin Jin's eyes turned cold.

The real tough battle had arrived.

If this copy was judged invalid, many of the definitions from before would lose their support.

And just at this moment, the lights in the conference hall flickered.

A faint white light appeared on the edge of the projection wall.

Gu Changye's expression changed drastically.

"No. 9 Forbidden Zone interference!"

The next second, the text on the last page of the copy began to distort on its own.

[Suggest guiding their offspring to inherit the Rule Maintenance path to complete secondary positioning]

Slowly changed to:

[Lin Jin voluntarily inherits the Rule Maintenance path to assist in No. 9 positioning]

Chen Ye stood up abruptly.

"It's changing the text!"

The rule correction wrench vibrated automatically.

[Residual interference from God System detected]

[Target: Error Correction Copy]

[Fault: Evidence being tampered with in real-time]

[Please correct immediately]

Lin Jin gripped the wrench, his eyes terrifyingly cold.

"Finally getting anxious."

He raised the rule correction wrench and aimed it at the line of distorting text.

"Want to change 'suggest' to 'voluntarily'?"

"Did you ask me?"