70: Chapter 70: Four Candidates, Not a Single One Changed

[White Tower First Floor Problem Preloading Complete]

[Please select one person from the four candidate specimens to replace your current teammate.]

When that line of small text appeared at the bottom of the blackboard, the lights in the old classroom suddenly dimmed.

Chen Ye was still slumped over his desk.

Shen Tingxue was leaning against the window, eyes closed in rest.

Zhou Heng sat in the Barrier Breaker Position, staring blankly at the badge on his chest.

They were all very tired.

So tired that even their vigilance had been briefly lowered.

But the moment Lin Jin saw that line of text, his sleepiness vanished completely.

The White Tower had not waited for them to enter the instance.

It had already begun.

Not the official first floor.

But a preload.

Like stuffing a knife into their dreams ahead of time, waiting for when they were groggy to force them to grip the hilt.

Lin Jin stood up.

"Wake up."

Chen Ye lifted his head, dazed.

"Huh?"

"Is it time to eat?"

The next second, he saw the words on the blackboard, and his whole person instantly sobered up.

"Damn it!"

"This broken tower plays dirty!"

Shen Tingxue opened her eyes.

The Ice Key in her palm vibrated gently, the faint blue light point inside flickering on and off.

Zhou Heng also looked at the blackboard, his expression sinking immediately.

Because the first name among the four candidate specimens was:

[Youthful Projection of Zhou Chengyue]

The words on the blackboard began to deform.

Below the four candidate names, a line of description appeared for each.

[Candidate 1: Youthful Projection of Zhou Chengyue]

[Adaptability: Lightning-type Barrier Breaker Position]

[Advantages: Mature barrier-breaking experience, 104 Incident old squad records, residual experience from clearing the White Tower's first floor]

[Replaceable Target: Zhou Heng]

Zhou Heng's fingers clenched instantly.

Chen Ye glanced at him, not making a joke.

Because this description was too disgusting.

It didn't insult Zhou Heng by calling him weak.

It simply laid out Zhou Chengyue's advantages one by one.

Mature experience.

Old squad records.

Residual experience from clearing the White Tower.

Every word seemed to be telling Zhou Heng:

You are not irreplaceable.

In fact, in the eyes of the White Tower, you are just a low-spec version of Zhou Chengyue's path.

Following that, the second candidate lit up.

[Candidate 2: Frozen Projection of Shen Qingshuang]

[Adaptability: Ice-type Lockdown Role]

[Advantages: S-class ice-type Lockdown Role experience, freezing record of Port Nine, original holder of the White Tower's Ice Key]

[Replaceable Target: Shen Tingxue]

Shen Tingxue's gaze changed imperceptibly.

She didn't speak.

She just gripped the Ice Key tightly.

The blue dot inside that Ice Key seemed to be responding to the candidate description, shining brighter than before.

The third candidate appeared.

[Candidate 3: Unknown S-Class Defense Sample]

[Adaptability: Protection Role]

[Advantages: High-level defense profession, increased team damage-bearing efficiency, increased success rate of frontal interception]

[Replaceable Target: Chen Ye]

Chen Ye stared at those lines of text, the corner of his mouth twitching.

"Unknown?"

"Without even a name, you want to replace me?"

He said that, but his eyes still sank a little.

A D-class Shield Warrior.

This was a fact he had always known.

Beside people like Lin Jin, Shen Tingxue, and Zhou Heng, his professional level was the lowest.

Usually, he could joke about being a "door panel."

But a joke is one thing, and being formally written as a replaceable target by the White Tower is another.

The last line slowly lit up.

[Candidate 4: Maintenance Afterimage of Lin Shoushan]

[Adaptability: Rule Maintenance Position]

[Advantages: Previous generation Rule Maintenance core, successful maintainer of the 104 final question, contact experience with the main wreckage of Number Nine]

[Replaceable Target: Lin Jin]

The entire classroom fell completely silent.

Chen Ye slowly looked up at Lin Jin.

Shen Tingxue also looked at him.

Zhou Heng furrowed his brows.

These four candidates from the White Tower were not randomly generated.

It accurately struck everyone's heart.

Zhou Heng feared he was just a defective product of Zhou Chengyue's path.

Shen Tingxue wanted to know the truth about Shen Qingshuang.

Chen Ye knew his level was the lowest.

And Lin Jin had been chasing his father's shadow until now.

If anyone was qualified to be in the Maintenance Position, the name Maintenance Afterimage of Lin Shoushan was indeed enough to weigh heavily on Lin Jin.

A countdown began to appear in the center of the blackboard.

[Preload selection countdown: three minutes]

[If not selected, the first floor pressure scenario will be randomly generated]

Chen Ye stood up directly.

"It even has a countdown?"

"By what right?"

Lin Jin stared at the blackboard.

He unfurled the Hand of Rules.

[Target: White Tower First Floor Preload Question]

[Status: Not officially effective]

[Fault: Inducing the squad to acknowledge the replacement logic in advance]

[Hint: Must not select any candidate]

[Maintenance Difficulty: If the entire team's identities are unstable, the preload question will shift into a dream pressure scenario]

Zhou Heng said coldly:

"So, can't we just not choose?"

Lin Jin shook his head.

"It wrote that if we don't choose, a pressure scenario will be randomly generated."

Chen Ye's expression was ugly.

"Then isn't it still forcing a choice?"

Shen Tingxue looked at the four items they had just written on the blackboard.

[Higher adaptability does not equal the correct teammate.]

[Instability does not equal replaceability.]

[The value of squad members is not ranked by White Tower adaptability.]

[The replaced person does not equal a failure.]

"Use these four points."

She said.

Lin Jin nodded.

"But it's not enough."

"These four points are just judgments, not responses."

Zhou Heng frowned.

"Then respond to what?"

Lin Jin walked to the blackboard.

"Its question is to make us choose one from the four candidate specimens."

"But this question itself is invalid."

Chen Ye realized.

"Because it has no right to make us switch people?"

"Correct."

Lin Jin picked up the chalk and wrote a new sentence below the four judgments.

[The White Tower has no right to preset teammate replacement before the official test.]

The moment the chalk landed, the blackboard shook violently.

The names of the four candidate specimens flickered simultaneously.

[Refusal invalid]

[Preload question generated]

[Please select]

Lin Jin sneered.

"Getting anxious."

Zhou Heng looked at that line of text and suddenly stood up.

He walked to the blackboard and took the chalk.

Next to [Youthful Projection of Zhou Chengyue], he wrote:

[I do not accept replacing Zhou Heng with Zhou Chengyue.]

After writing, the badge on his chest lit up.

The three words "Barrier Breaker Position" emitted lightning.

The description for Candidate 1 on the blackboard began to blur.

But soon, it stabilized again.

[Zhou Heng current status: identity unstable]

[Replacement suggestion: still valid]

Zhou Heng's face darkened, and lightning emerged from his palm.

Lin Jin stopped him.

"Don't smash it."

"Keep writing, don't fight."

Zhou Heng gritted his teeth and wrote for the second time:

[Zhou Heng's identity is unstable, but that does not mean Zhou Heng can be replaced.]

This time, the text for Candidate 1 finally cracked.

Shen Tingxue stepped forward.

She didn't take the chalk.

Instead, she wrote on the blackboard with frost from her fingertips.

[Shen Qingshuang is a clue, not a substitute.]

As the frost writing fell, the Ice Key flashed brightly.

The line [Original holder of the White Tower's Ice Key] under Candidate 2 began to twist.

Shen Tingxue continued to write:

[I will look for Shen Qingshuang's remnants, but not at the cost of disappearing myself.]

The light of Candidate 2 dimmed.

Chen Ye looked at the blackboard and took a deep breath.

"Fine."

"My turn."

He picked up the chalk and stood in front of [Unknown S-Class Defense Sample].

He paused for a long while.

Then he wrote:

[D-class Protection Role Chen Ye, does not apply to be replaced by an s-class specimen.]

After writing, he felt it wasn't enough and added a sentence:

[If I can't block it, I can practice; you can't replace me just because I'm not strong enough now.]

Candidate 3 flickered.

The White Tower seemed unwilling to give up and displayed a new description.

[S-Class Defense Sample can reduce squad casualty rate]

Chen Ye looked at that line, his face turning slightly pale.

This sentence was crueler than the previous ones.

It didn't say Chen Ye was weak.

It said that replacing him would increase the probability of everyone surviving.

Chen Ye was silent for a few seconds.

Lin Jin didn't urge him.

Shen Tingxue didn't speak either.

Zhou Heng, more rarely, didn't mock him.

Finally, Chen Ye raised his head and wrote the third sentence fiercely:

[If I really can't block it, I will stand until the last second.]

[But whether or not to replace me cannot be decided by the White Tower.]

Candidate 3 finally dimmed by half.

Finally, only Lin Jin remained.

He looked at [Maintenance Afterimage of Lin Shoushan].

These words remained bright.

More stable than the other three candidates.

The White Tower clearly knew this temptation was the deepest.

The next second, a new description appeared on the blackboard.

[Maintenance Afterimage of Lin Shoushan can provide 104 follow-up records]

[Can provide experience on the periphery of the main wreckage of Number Nine]

[Can provide the optimal solution for the White Tower's first floor]

[After replacing Lin Jin, squad clearance rate increases]

Chen Ye couldn't help but curse:

"It actually dared to write that."

Shen Tingxue looked at Lin Jin.

Zhou Heng also looked over.

Lin Jin stared at that passage and didn't move for a long time.

If this were fake, he could scold it back directly.

But the problem was.

It might be true.

The Maintenance Afterimage of Lin Shoushan might indeed understand the White Tower better than the current Lin Jin.

And understand Number Nine better.

And understand Rule Maintenance better.

Replacing Lin Jin with a shadow of his father might really increase the squad's clearance rate.

But in that case, Lin Jin would be personally proven by the White Tower:

You chased all the way here, just to replace yourself with your father's shadow.

He picked up the chalk.

The first line was written very slowly.

[Lin Shoushan is my father, not my replacement part.]

The blackboard shook.

Candidate 4 did not dim.

Instead, it became brighter.

[Lin Jin current maintenance experience insufficient]

[Lin Shoushan afterimage adaptability is higher]

Lin Jin continued to write:

[Insufficient experience can be learned.]

[Higher adaptability does not mean a more correct identity.]

The light of Candidate 4 finally flickered.

The White Tower still didn't give up.

[Lin Shoushan afterimage can assist in finding Lin Shoushan's true consciousness]

As soon as this sentence appeared, the chalk in Lin Jin's hand stopped.

Chen Ye's expression changed.

"This tower is really not a thing."

It knew what Lin Jin wanted.

It also knew what words could make him pause.

Lin Jin closed his eyes.

His father's true consciousness.

If the afterimage could really provide clues, how could he not be tempted at all?

But he also knew that once he accepted the replacement logic for this, it would be equivalent to using his teammates and himself to exchange for an answer packaged by the White Tower.

Lin Jin opened his eyes again.

He wrote the last line on the blackboard.

[I want to find Lin Shoushan, but I will not let Lin Shoushan live for me.]

The chalk snapped.

The light of Candidate 4 suddenly dimmed.

The countdown on the blackboard stopped at the last thirty-seven seconds.

The four candidate names began to crack simultaneously.

But the White Tower preload question did not disappear.

It began to generate a final confirmation.

[Squad refusal of replacement right detected]

[Do you confirm giving up the White Tower first floor reward?]

[After giving up, the first floor difficulty will increase]

Chen Ye didn't hesitate.

"Confirm."

Shen Tingxue: "Confirm."

Zhou Heng said coldly:

"Confirm."

Lin Jin looked at the blackboard.

"Confirm."

The badges on the four people's chests lit up simultaneously.

The Mutual Verification Contract appeared.

A non-closed gray-gold halo unfolded in the classroom, connecting the four desks together.

The five words [Teammate replacement right] on the blackboard were finally erased bit by bit.

Replaced by a new record:

[Preload question result: All members refused replacement]

[White Tower first floor reward: Teammate replacement right, has been given up]

[First floor difficulty: Increased]

[Squad mutual verification stability: Increased]

Chen Ye let out a long sigh of relief.

"If the difficulty increases, so be it."

"Better than bringing a knife inside."

Zhou Heng said coldly:

"You'd better really be able to block."

Chen Ye looked at him.

"You'd better really be able to break it."

The two stared at each other for a second, neither mocking the other again.

Because they both knew that the other person's sentence just now was not a provocation.

It was a reminder.

Shen Tingxue raised her hand, and the blue light in the Ice Key finally stabilized.

She said softly:

"Shen Qingshuang's warning was verified."

Lin Jin nodded.

"The first floor reward cannot be trusted."

Just then, a line of small text appeared at the bottom of the blackboard again.

[Because the squad voluntarily gave up the reward, the hidden condition of the White Tower's first floor has been triggered.]

[After entering the White Tower, if all members survive and pass the first floor, they will receive the real reward.]

Chen Ye's just-relaxed expression stiffened again.

"Real reward?"

Zhou Heng frowned.

"It's doing this again?"

Lin Jin looked at that line of text, his eyes sinking.

This time, the Hand of Rules did not sound an alarm.

[Target: Real reward hint]

[Pollution status: Low]

[Hint: The credibility of this reward information is relatively high]

Shen Tingxue asked:

"What is the real reward?"

The blackboard was silent for a few seconds.

Subsequently, it slowly wrote a line of text.

[Real reward: List of replaced persons]

[Description: Records of those who were replaced by their own teammates in the White Tower's first floor twenty years ago.]

Everyone in the classroom fell silent.

Qin Shanhe walked in from outside, looking at that line of text, his expression changing completely for the first time.

Lin Jin also understood.

Twenty years ago, Lin Shoushan's squad passed the White Tower's first floor.

But after they came out, there was a serious conflict in the relationship between the team members.

If this list existed.

Then it meant that in the last Special Assignment Class of Rule Maintenance back then, someone had truly chosen to replace a teammate.

And that replaced person was likely the source of all the cracks after the 104 Incident.

Zhou Heng looked at the blackboard, his voice hoarse.

"In the list..."

"Will there be Zhou Chengyue?"

No one answered.

Because the answer could only be obtained inside the White Tower.

The sky outside the window remained dark.

They originally had only three hours of sleep left.

Now, no one could sleep.