91: Chapter 91 External Confirmers Are Not the Final Answer

"External Confirmation Person —"

"Lin Shoushan."

After Chen Ye read these three words aloud, the entire Reading Room fell silent, as if frozen solid.

It wasn't Shen Tingxue's ice.

It was the reaction of everyone present, all pinned in place by the White Tower in that instant.

Lin Jin stood where he was, his fingers clenching little by little.

He did not speak.

Because he could not be the first to speak.

This matter involved Lin Shoushan, and it also involved Shen Qingshuang.

Both he and Shen Tingxue were highly associated persons.

What the White Tower wanted to see most was for him to immediately defend his father, or for Shen Tingxue to immediately take this line of text as a verdict.

Chen Ye sat at the reading seat, his expression even uglier than before.

"Let me state this first."

"I'm just reading the words."

"It doesn't mean I agree with them."

Zhou Heng said coldly:

"No one is blaming you."

After he finished speaking, he looked at Lin Jin.

Lin Jin's complexion was very pale.

It wasn't the paleness from overusing the calibration wrench just now, but another kind of cold, white pallor that suppressed his emotions.

Shen Tingxue looked at the third item on the light book.

She gripped the Ice Key, her fingertips turning white inch by inch.

But she did not move.

She did not look at Lin Jin.

Nor did she ask "why."

This made the Reading Room feel even more oppressive.

The lights of the White Tower began to flicker gently.

As if waiting for someone to lose control.

[Strong association emotional fluctuation detected]

[Does any associated person wish to apply for an additional explanation?]

As soon as this line appeared, Lin Jin spoke immediately:

"No application."

Shen Tingxue said almost simultaneously:

"No application."

The two voices collided.

The White Tower's lights paused for a moment.

Chen Ye let out a long breath.

"Good."

"Not falling for the trap yet."

Zhou Heng stared at the light book and said:

"According to the rules."

"Chen Ye read the first sentence."

"The second sentence is to be reviewed by a teammate."

"Lin Jin cannot review it."

"Shen Tingxue cannot either."

Lin Jin nodded.

"You do it."

Zhou Heng glanced at him.

Without saying more, he walked in front of the light book.

He lowered his head to look at the folded note behind the third item.

The White Tower text slowly unfolded.

[Detailed record of the third item]

[Ice-type Lockdown Role: Shen Qingshuang]

[Replaced content: Evacuation eligibility]

[Recipient: White Tower First Floor]

[External Confirmation Person: Lin Shoushan]

[Confirmation statement excerpt: Shen Qingshuang is currently not permitted to evacuate.]

As soon as this sentence appeared, Shen Tingxue's gaze finally moved.

Chen Ye looked up abruptly.

"Not permitted to evacuate?"

"This sentence is just too..."

He didn't finish.

Because everyone could guess the second half of the sentence.

If Lin Shoushan had truly confirmed that Shen Qingshuang was not permitted to evacuate, then Shen Qingshuang's later disappearance, being dragged into Port No. 9, and leaving behind the remnants of the Ice Key were no longer just a matter for the Department of Education and the White Tower.

Lin Shoushan was also involved.

Zhou Heng did not rush to reach a conclusion.

He continued reading.

"Note."

"This excerpted statement was entered into the White Tower First Floor reward storage record by the Regulatory Supervisor seat."

"Regulatory Supervisor judgment: Evacuation eligibility replacement established."

Reading up to here, Zhou Heng paused.

He looked up at the corroborating witness seat where Teacher Xu Wenzhou was located.

"Teacher Xu Wenzhou."

"Do you remember this part?"

Teacher Xu Wenzhou's face was pale.

He looked at those lines on the light book, his breathing obviously becoming rapid.

The armrest of the corroborating witness seat lit up, as if waiting for him to testify.

Teacher Xu Wenzhou closed his eyes.

"I remember a little."

"After the White Tower First Floor ended, there was indeed evacuation eligibility."

"Everyone had it."

"That was part of the reward."

Chen Ye frowned.

"Rewards include evacuation eligibility?"

Teacher Xu Wenzhou nodded.

"After passing the first floor, the White Tower would give the team a chance to exit."

"You could choose to continue upward, or leave with the real rewards from the first floor."

"But..."

His voice tightened when he said this.

"But there was a problem with Shen Qingshuang's evacuation eligibility."

Shen Tingxue finally spoke.

"What problem?"

Teacher Xu Wenzhou looked at her, his eyes filled with guilt and fear.

"She had sealed the cold wave on the first floor at the time."

"If she evacuated, the cold wave would be released again."

"The White Tower prompted that her ice-type lockdown had become a temporary stability anchor for the first floor."

"The evacuation eligibility needed to be re-confirmed."

In the Reading Room, the air grew colder.

Lin Jin closed his eyes.

He had already guessed where the trap was.

The White Tower had bound Shen Qingshuang's "evacuation" to "team-wide safety."

If she left, the cold wave would leak out.

If she didn't leave, she would lose her evacuation eligibility.

Then the White Tower would demand an External Confirmation Person.

To confirm whether she could evacuate.

Chen Ye's voice was heavy.

"So Lin Shoushan said she was not permitted to evacuate?"

Teacher Xu Wenzhou's face was pained.

"That is the sentence I heard."

"But I am not sure about the context."

"Because the subsequent records... are interpreted by the Regulatory Supervisor seat."

A line of text lit up on the corroborating witness seat.

[Corroborating witness memory: Fragment incomplete]

[Testimony credible, but context missing]

Lin Jin stared at this line of text and finally spoke.

"The third item cannot just be read by the excerpted statement."

"Requesting to read the full confirmation context."

The White Tower responded immediately.

[Full context involves high-pollution imagery]

[Recommendation: Read by a relative of the External Confirmation Person]

As soon as this sentence came out, Chen Ye slapped the table.

"Here it is!"

"It wants you to read it again!"

Shen Tingxue said coldly:

"Refuse."

Lin Jin nodded.

"Refuse."

He looked toward the corroborating witness seat.

"Teacher Xu, can you apply for a corroborating witness reading?"

Teacher Xu Wenzhou's face was extremely pale, but he nodded anyway.

"I can try."

Lin Jin looked at him.

"Read only the facts, do not explain the motives."

Teacher Xu Wenzhou took a deep breath.

"Understood."

The corroborating witness seat lit up with a gray light.

[Corroborating witness seat applies to read full confirmation context]

[Corroborating witness permission: Prove reading process]

[Allowed to read pre-imagery text]

The light book's third item expanded deeper.

A passage of gray-white text emerged.

Teacher Xu Wenzhou read word by word:

"When the White Tower First Floor evacuation eligibility was reset, Ice-type Lockdown Role Shen Qingshuang was in a temporary stability anchor state."

"White Tower prompt: If the Ice-type Lockdown Role evacuates, the first-floor cold wave will flow back within twelve seconds, contaminating all members who have not evacuated."

"White Tower prompt: If the Ice-type Lockdown Role remains, the safe evacuation of the remaining members can be guaranteed."

"White Tower requirement: The External Maintenance Position must confirm whether the lockdown state can be lifted."

Teacher Xu Wenzhou's voice trembled significantly as he read to this point.

"External Maintenance Position, Lin Shoushan, performs confirmation."

The next line of text slowly lit up.

[Lin Shoushan confirmation: Shen Qingshuang is currently not permitted to evacuate.]

Shen Tingxue kept her head down, not speaking.

The Ice Key in her palm emitted a very faint cracking sound.

It felt as if something was blocking Lin Jin's throat.

This sentence still existed.

Even with the context, it could not be erased.

Lin Shoushan had indeed confirmed that Shen Qingshuang was currently not permitted to evacuate.

But the context also proved that this was not simply selling someone out to the White Tower.

This was the White Tower pinning the entire team's evacuation on the Ice-type Lockdown Role.

Zhou Heng suddenly said:

"There is more later."

Everyone looked at the light book.

Behind the third item, there was still a small section covered by white light.

Chen Ye asked:

"Can it be read?"

Blackboard prompt:

[Subsequent text involves Regulatory Supervisor seat judgment after external confirmation]

[Reading risk: Medium]

Lin Jin said:

"Still, have the corroborating witness read it."

Teacher Xu Wenzhou nodded and continued reading.

"Lu Chengyuan judgment: External Maintenance Position has confirmed the Ice-type Lockdown Role is not permitted to evacuate."

"White Tower First Floor record: Shen Qingshuang evacuation eligibility replacement established."

"Recipient: White Tower First Floor."

"Note: Evacuation eligibility converted to lockdown residency eligibility."

Chen Ye's expression turned dark instantly.

"This isn't right, is it?"

"What Lin Shoushan confirmed was that she could not evacuate at that time."

"Lu Chengyuan directly judged it as evacuation eligibility replacement established?"

Shen Tingxue finally looked up.

Her gaze was very cold.

"This is the problem."

Lin Jin looked at that record.

The stone in his heart did not fall.

Instead, it became heavier.

Because Lin Shoushan was not completely without responsibility.

His confirmation at the time was a key link for the White Tower and Lu Chengyuan to take away Shen Qingshuang's evacuation eligibility.

But the one who truly changed "currently not permitted to evacuate" to "evacuation eligibility replacement established" was Lu Chengyuan.

This was precisely the tactic they had seen too many times along the way.

Excerpt the facts.

Rewrite the definitions.

Take a situational judgment and turn it into a permanent replacement result.

The White Tower lit up once again.

[Does Shen Tingxue wish to apply to revoke Lin Jin's teammate Mutual Verification Contract eligibility?]

[Reason: Lin Jin's paternal confirmation chain has a direct association with Shen Qingshuang's evacuation eligibility replacement]

Chen Ye stood up abruptly.

"Are you sick?!"

Zhou Heng also raised his Thunder Spear.

"It's starting to break up the team."

Lin Jin did not move.

He didn't even look at Shen Tingxue.

Because this question had to be answered by Shen Tingxue herself.

Shen Tingxue lifted her eyes and looked at that line of text.

Her voice was very soft, yet as cold as an ice blade.

"Lin Shoushan needs to be investigated."

"Lu Chengyuan needs to be investigated."

"The White Tower First Floor needs to be investigated."

"But Lin Jin is not Lin Shoushan."

She paused.

"I do not apply to revoke the teammate Mutual Verification Contract eligibility."

The Mutual Verification Contract lit up.

[Lockdown Role Shen Tingxue confirms: Do not define current Maintenance Position Lin Jin by the paternal confirmation chain]

[Mutual verification relationship stable]

The White Tower's suggestion to break up the team was suppressed by a gray light.

Only then did Lin Jin slowly let out a breath.

"Thank you."

Shen Tingxue glanced at him.

"It's not for you."

"It's so the White Tower doesn't get to vent its anger for me."

Lin Jin nodded.

"That's a very good reason."

Chen Ye sat back down at the reading seat, muttering softly:

"Can you two not be so calm during such terrifying moments?"

Zhou Heng snorted coldly.

"If we weren't calm, we'd have been broken up."

The third item of the light book continued to expand.

[Dispute note can be established now]

Lin Jin immediately said:

"Establish."

He did not touch the wrench, but instead applied for the note using the reward isolation protocol the team had already established.

"First, Lin Shoushan's confirmation statement exists, but the context was the White Tower cold wave backflow emergency state."

"Second, what Lin Shoushan confirmed was 'currently not permitted to evacuate,' which is not equivalent to confirming 'evacuation eligibility permanently replaced.'"

"Third, Lu Chengyuan rewriting the situational state confirmation into evacuation eligibility replacement established constitutes an overreach of definition."

"Fourth, Shen Qingshuang's evacuation eligibility was received by the White Tower First Floor, and this eligibility should enter the scope of subsequent recovery."

Shen Tingxue followed up:

"Fifth, Shen Qingshuang did not voluntarily give up her evacuation eligibility."

Zhou Heng also said:

"Sixth, External Confirmation Person Lin Shoushan needs to be held accountable, but it must not be judged directly by the White Tower's excerpted statement."

Chen Ye thought for a moment and added one sentence:

"Seventh, you are not allowed to use this to break up our team."

The White Tower paused for a moment.

Subsequently, a gray-gold note appeared below the third item.

[Dispute note established]

[Shen Qingshuang evacuation eligibility replacement: Significant definition dispute exists]

[Object for recovery: White Tower First Floor]

[Lu Chengyuan definition overreach: Marked]

[External Confirmation Person Lin Shoushan responsibility: Pending review of full imagery]

The Ice Key in Shen Tingxue's palm vibrated gently.

A tiny ice-blue coordinate flew out from the third item and fell into the Ice Key.

[Shen Qingshuang evacuation eligibility residue coordinate: Recorded]

Shen Tingxue closed her eyes.

When she opened them again, her gaze was steadier than before.

"Continue."

Chen Ye swallowed his saliva.

"Still continuing?"

Shen Tingxue said:

"The list hasn't been read through."

Zhou Heng looked at the light book.

"The fourth item."

Chen Ye turned the page.

Before the fourth page was fully unfolded, the lights in the Reading Room suddenly dimmed.

It was as if something heavier than the previous three items had been dragged out of storage by the White Tower.

Gray-black rust marks appeared on the edges of the light book.

Lin Jin's heart skipped a beat.

Because those rust marks were very similar to his rusted wrench.

Chen Ye looked at the fourth item, his expression changing bit by bit.

This time, he did not look at anyone.

He just read it out in a dry voice.

"The fourth item."

"Maintenance Position, Lin Shoushan."

"Replaced content —"

He paused for a moment.

"Right to go home."

At the end of the Reading Room, the second storage box suddenly lit up as well.

[Lin Shoushan supplementary clause original document association item detected]

[Link reading?]