97: Chapter 97: When a protective position is absent, the team cannot be absent.

[Event Name: When the Protection Role Is Absent]

The moment these words appeared, the air outside the training area seemed to drop a level.

Chen Ye stood by the testing chair, his hand still resting on his shield.

Just moments ago, he had been joking around, claiming he was more normal than the other three.

Now, the White Tower's first itemized cost hit him right over the head.

[Target: Protection Role Chen Ye]

[Account: Defense deficit generated after the team rejected the S-Class Defense Sample]

[Payment Method: Within seven days, the Protection Role must bear a strike of damage "originally meant to be borne by a more compatible sample"]

[If payment is refused, the damage will be transferred to a random teammate]

Chen Ye stared at the gray receipt, falling silent for a long moment.

Then he looked up, his voice slightly raspy.

"So what it's saying is, I'm too weak."

"Since we didn't swap me out for that S-Class Defense Sample back then, I have to make up for the deficit now."

The moment those words left his mouth, Lin Jin immediately frowned.

"Don't play along with its narrative."

Chen Ye froze for a moment.

Lin Jin walked over to him.

"It says you're weak, so you accept being weak."

"It says there's a deficit, so you accept the bill."

"It says you have to make up for it, so you want to shoulder it yourself."

"With every step you take along its narrative, it can make this receipt a bit more real."

Chen Ye opened his mouth.

"But it called me out by name."

Zhou Heng said coldly,

"Being named doesn't mean you're in debt."

Shen Tingxue was also staring at the receipt.

"It rewrote our refusal to replace you as purchasing a higher level of defense but failing to pay."

"This is a matter of how the account is defined."

Chen Ye looked down at his shield.

"But if I don't accept it, it says it will transfer it to a random teammate."

Zhou Heng said directly,

"That is still its threat, not your debt."

Lin Jin nodded.

"If you actually say 'I'll shoulder it myself,' it will immediately write this bill off as a voluntary payment by the Protection Role."

"By then, you won't be solving the problem."

"You'll be signing off on it."

Chen Ye's fingers slowly tightened.

He wasn't afraid of taking damage.

What he feared was the phrase "transferred to a random teammate."

What does a Protection Role fear most?

Fearing most that they fail to block, resulting in others getting hurt in their stead.

The White Tower had seized upon exactly this point.

It didn't even need to say much.

Just writing "If payment is refused, transfer to teammates" was enough to make Chen Ye instinctively want to step forward.

Qin Shanhe looked at the gray receipt, his face very grim.

"We cannot accept this receipt."

Gu Changye also said,

"The Processing Bureau's testing results show that it is still in a trial delivery state."

"A cost event has not yet been formally generated."

Inspector Han Su's monitoring projection spoke up:

"Department of Education monitoring seat records: A trial delivery of bill details does not equate to the team acknowledging the account."

Lin Jin looked at the containment box.

"Then let's audit it."

Chen Ye was taken aback.

"Audit what?"

Lin Jin said,

"Audit the account."

He walked up to the containment box and stared at the gray receipt inside.

"The White Tower says there is a defense deficit."

"Where did this deficit come from?"

"Who provided the S-Class Defense Sample service?"

"Who signed a replacement contract?"

"Who confirmed that Chen Ye's defense was absent?"

"Since none of these exist, on what grounds is it collecting payment?"

White characters flashed on the receipt.

[S The first-level protection sample is the optimal adaptation scheme for the first layer of the White Tower.]

[The team rejected the optimal plan, leading to a decline in defense stability]

[The decline in stability created a deficit]

Lin Jin sneered.

"Optimal plan?"

"We already confirmed this when we cleared the first floor."

"Higher compatibility does not equal the right teammate."

"The right to refuse replacement is part of the clearing evaluation."

"Isn't it a bit late for you to rewrite a clearance choice as a reason for debt now?"

Shen Tingxue raised her hand, and frost settled on the outer layer of the receipt.

"Lockdown Role Shen Tingxue certifies."

"The White Tower did not provide actual defense services from the S-Class Defense Sample."

"Refusing to use a service that never occurred does not constitute a deficit payment."

Zhou Heng followed up:

"Barrier Breaker Position Zhou Heng certifies."

"Protection Role Chen Ye undertook defense duties on the first floor of the White Tower, withstanding pressure exceeding his professional class threshold by 187%."

"The Protection Role was not absent."

Chen Ye was stunned.

He looked at the test report.

[Pressure sustained in the White Tower this time: Exceeded professional class threshold by 187%]

Just now, he had only seen "unsettled defense deficit."

But he had almost overlooked the preceding sentence.

It wasn't that he hadn't blocked.

He had blocked to an extent that exceeded the limits his level was supposed to withstand.

Yet the White Tower turned around and labeled the results of his desperate struggle as a "deficit."

Chen Ye suddenly let out a laugh.

"Damn."

"I worked way beyond my quota, and it's still docking my performance pay."

Lin Jin glanced at him.

"That's a surprisingly accurate analogy."

Chen Ye raised his shield and walked to the containment box.

He didn't say, "I'll shoulder it myself."

This time, he said word by word,

"Protection Role Chen Ye certifies."

"My rejection of the S-Class Defense Sample was not a rejection of my defense duties."

"I was with the team the entire time on the first floor of the White Tower."

"I was not absent."

"Nor do I owe the White Tower a stronger version of myself."

The surface of the shield lit up.

The Pressure Angle Correction Fragment let out a low hum, as if testifying on his behalf.

The white words on the receipt began to shake.

[Actual pressure record of the Protection Role: Exists]

[Protection Role absence determination: Invalid]

[However, the defense deficit still exists]

Zhou Heng frowned.

"It's still not letting go."

Lin Jin stared at the last line.

"Because it's not actually chasing after past debts."

"It is generating a future event."

Shen Tingxue understood too.

"When the Protection Role is absent."

"It wants to manufacture a scenario where Chen Ye is absent, and then prove that we need the S-Class Defense Sample."

Chen Ye's face fell.

"So it's not saying I was absent before."

"It wants to make me absent in the future."

The receipt inside the containment box suddenly lit up with new, fine characters.

[Cost event generation logic: The defense deficit must be settled "when the Protection Role is absent"]

[Event Condition: The Protection Role is unable to participate in team defense]

[Settlement Options: 1. Bear the damage originally meant to be borne by the S-Class Defense Sample; 2. Allow temporary replacement; 3. Compensation by a random teammate]

After reading it, Chen Ye's expression turned completely cold.

"It really wants to tear me out of the team."

Lin Jin spoke up immediately:

"Establish event boundaries."

He picked up a piece of chalk and wrote on the outer layer of the containment box:

[The absence of the Protection Role does not equate to the Protection Role being replaceable.]

The second line.

[The Protection Role's inability to participate in a specific defense does not equate to the invalidation of their team identity.]

The third line.

[The team may temporarily share defense duties, but this must not validate the substitution of the S-Class Defense Sample.]

The fourth line.

[No damage may be forcibly transferred to a random teammate under the pretext of "originally meant to be borne by a more compatible sample."]

The fifth line.

[If a cost event occurs, the scenario, source of damage, determination conditions, and exit methods must be listed in advance, and the team must be allowed to face it together.]

Having written up to this point, Lin Jin paused.

Chen Ye looked at him.

"Keep going."

Lin Jin looked at him.

"You say the last rule."

Chen Ye was taken aback.

Holding his shield, he fell silent for a moment before slowly speaking.

"The value of a Protection Role is not judged by whether they can always stand at the very front."

"My absence on one occasion does not mean I am replaced."

"My inability to withstand a blow once does not mean the team should replace me."

As he said this, his gaze grew much steadier than before.

"If there really comes a time when I am not around..."

"...the team cannot just stuff someone else in to impersonate me just because I'm missing."

The Mutual Verification Contract lit up.

The school badge on Chen Ye's chest emitted a heavy shield-light.

Shen Tingxue's Low-Temperature Fine Threads wrapped around the shield's surface.

Zhou Heng's thunder nail pinned down the edge of the receipt.

Lin Jin's Old Path Identification Screw turned slightly, pressing gray-gold characters onto the gray receipt.

The receipt shook violently.

[Event boundary being established]

[The Protection Role absence event cannot be determined as a teammate replacement event]

[S-Class Defense Sample temporary substitution option: Restricted]

[Random teammate compensation option: Restricted]

Just as Chen Ye was about to breathe a sigh of relief, the receipt suddenly spat out one last line.

[Event still needs to be generated]

[Reason: Defense deficit audit incomplete]

[The first cost event will be delivered in a suitable scenario within seven days]

Lin Jin frowned.

"It's still coming."

Gu Changye said in a deep voice,

"But the options have been restricted."

"It cannot directly make you bear unknown damage, nor can it forcibly transfer it to a random teammate."

Shen Tingxue looked at the receipt.

"It will find a scenario that looks reasonable."

Zhou Heng said coldly,

"Like an instance, training, or a practical combat class."

Qin Shanhe's expression shifted.

He raised his hand to pull up the academy course schedule.

In the next second, a new notification popped up on the projection.

[Rule Maintenance Special Class temporary course adjustment]

[Tomorrow's Course: Team Practical Combat Adaptation Class]

[Theme: Team Response When the Protection Role Is Absent]

[Location: East Training Area, Dungeon Hall No. 3]

[Course Observers: Department of Education, Special Career Development Division]

Chen Ye stared at the notification, the expression on his face freezing bit by bit.

"Tomorrow?"

"Didn't it say within seven days?"

Lin Jin stared at the last line, [Department of Education, Special Career Development Division], his eyes turning instantly cold.

"Within seven days."

"Tomorrow naturally counts as within seven days."

Shen Tingxue said coldly,

["Lu Chengyuan stuffed the billing event into the academy curriculum."]

Zhou Heng's Thunder Spear vibrated.

"He wants to turn this bill into an open class."

The receipt inside the containment box also showed a new remark at this moment.

[First cost event preloading complete]

[Event Name: When the Protection Role Is Absent]

[Trigger Method: Course scenario]

[Special Rule: Protection Role Chen Ye will be determined as temporarily absent three minutes before the course begins]

Chen Ye suddenly gripped his shield tightly.

"On what grounds is it determining me as absent?"

The next line of characters slowly emerged.

[Reason: Protection Role pressure overload, mandatory isolation and observation required.]

At the same time, the medical testing chair blared a piercing alarm.

[Abnormal vital signs detected for Protection Role Chen Ye]

[Immediate isolation and observation recommended]

Outside the training area, a white light suddenly flashed in the direction of Dungeon Hall No. 3.

A tall, unfamiliar figure slowly appeared at the entrance of the instance hall.

He held a massive silvery-white shield, and a nameless temporary school badge hung on his chest.

Written on the school badge was:

[S-Class Defense Sample]

[Temporary substitute, has arrived at the academy]