99: Chapter 99 Name is not a professional slot

[Chen Ye]

When those two characters lit up on the silver-white school badge, the training area fell dead silent, as if someone had slammed the mute button.

The towering S-Class Defense Sample stood in the white light, holding a silver-white giant shield.

His voice was steady, sounding even more like a "qualified Protection Role" than the real Chen Ye.

"Tomorrow's class."

"Protection Role Chen Ye is absent."

"I will temporarily act on behalf of Protection Role Chen Ye."

Chen Ye's fingers clenched tightly around his shield.

A low, muffled thud echoed from the surface of the shield.

It was not a skill reaction.

It was his hand gripping so hard that the shield's handle was vibrating.

"Say that again?"

The S-Class Defense Sample looked at him.

"I will temporarily act on behalf of Protection Role Chen Ye."

Chen Ye let out a laugh.

It was a short, cold laugh.

"You acting on behalf of my protection duties, I can tolerate."

"You entering the class with the identity of a White Tower sample, I can tolerate that too."

"You saying you're a better fit than me, I can even write that down on my tab for later."

He walked over step by step, stopping in front of the cordon.

"But you put my name on yourself."

"Who gave you the nerve?"

The sample showed no emotional fluctuation.

"Class records require a Protection Role identifier."

"The current squad's Protection Role is Chen Ye."

"A temporary substitute acting on behalf of the Protection Role's duties should use the corresponding identifier."

Just as Chen Ye was about to start cursing, Lin Jin reached out and pressed down on his shoulder.

"Don't argue on its terms."

Chen Ye's chest heaved.

"It literally slapped my name onto itself!"

"Which is exactly why we can't just say 'you don't deserve it'."

Lin Jin stared at the school badge, his voice terrifyingly calm.

"We have to make it clear."

"Exactly where it's wrong."

Shen Tingxue had already raised her hand to seal the outer layer of the sample's school badge, preventing those two characters from solidifying any further.

Zhou Heng held his Thunder Spear horizontally in mid-air, its tip pointing at the connection line between the school badge and the White Tower's class permissions.

"Hurry."

"The name is being written into the class records."

Lin Jin didn't use the rule correction wrench.

He walked to the storage box and wrote on the ground with chalk:

[Name Boundary]

Line one.

[Chen Ye is the name of a natural person, not a Protection Role post number.]

Line two.

[The Protection Role may temporarily be unable to enter the field, but Chen Ye's personal identity is not vacated due to his absence from the scene.]

Line three.

[A temporary substitute may act on behalf of partial defense functions, but shall not inherit, occupy, or use the name Chen Ye.]

Line four.

[Class records may note "defense functions assumed by the sample," but shall not note "Chen Ye is acted on behalf of by the sample."]

Line five.

[Names, teammate address, and mutual verification targets do not fall within the scope of what can be substituted.]

Having written up to this point, Lin Jin stopped and looked at Chen Ye.

"The last rule, write it yourself."

Chen Ye looked down at the chalk on the ground.

He fell silent for a second, then bent down to pick it up.

His handwriting wasn't very neat, even a bit crooked.

But he wrote with heavy strokes.

[My name is Chen Ye.]

[I am not a slot called the Protection Role.]

[No one can plug my name into someone else just because I'm temporarily not on the front line.]

As these lines were written, the school badge on Chen Ye's chest suddenly lit up.

The light wasn't like Lin Jin's gray-gold, Shen Tingxue's icy blue, or Zhou Heng's thunderous purple.

It was a heavy, shield-like light.

It wasn't dazzling.

But it stood firm.

The Mutual Verification Contract unfolded along with it.

[All squad members are independent individuals and shall not be redefined by class, bloodline, archives, or sample numbers.]

[No member shall be treated as a sacrificial node for the survival of the team.]

[The contract does not bind obedience, only mutual verification.]

The contract's text descended onto Chen Ye, then pressed back from him onto the temporary school badge on the S-Class Defense Sample's chest.

The characters [Chen Ye] on the sample's badge flashed violently.

The White Tower's class permissions immediately issued a rebuttal.

[Temporary substitutes must use the class post identifier]

Lin Jin looked up.

"A post identifier is fine."

"But it cannot be his name."

Qin Shanhe said coldly:

"The Academy confirms."

"Student names belong to their personal identity records and must not be occupied by class carriers."

Gu Changye also spoke:

"The Abyss Processing Bureau confirms."

"A rule sample occupying a real student's name poses a risk of identity contamination."

Inspector Han Su's monitoring projection paused for a moment and said:

"The Department of Education's monitoring seat records."

"Temporary class carriers shall not use the name of an enrolled student as their own identifier."

With the three-party confirmation delivered, the school badge on the S-Class Defense Sample's chest finally let out a click.

The characters [Chen Ye] cracked apart.

But the White Tower did not back down completely.

New text emerged.

[Class identifier must be generated]

[Please designate a temporary substitute identifier]

Chen Ye sneered.

"We have to name it too?"

Shen Tingxue said calmly:

"It's not a name."

"It's a serial number."

Zhou Heng nodded.

"The more objective the number, the better."

Lin Jin wrote down:

[White Tower S-Class Defense Sample-01]

Chen Ye thought about it and added another line.

[Abbreviation: White Shield Sample]

He looked up at the towering figure.

"You are not Chen Ye."

"You are the White Shield Sample."

"Did you hear that clearly?"

The S-Class Defense Sample looked down at the school badge on his chest.

The characters on the badge rearranged.

[White Tower S-Class Defense Sample-01]

[Class Abbreviation: White Shield Sample]

[Identity: External Control]

[Permissions: Access to the squad's Mutual Verification Contract is prohibited]

The sample fell silent for a few seconds.

Then he looked up.

"Identifier updated."

"However, I will still assume defense functions tomorrow."

Chen Ye glared at him.

"You do your job."

"Just don't touch my name."

The sample replied:

"Confirmed."

These two words still sounded completely devoid of emotion.

Yet Chen Ye still felt the thorn in his heart loosen slightly.

Only slightly.

Because tomorrow's class was still there.

The bill incident was still there.

The White Tower would still judge him as "temporarily absent" three minutes before the class started.

Gu Changye had the Bureau seal the Name Boundary record just now into the bill audit materials.

Qin Shanhe, on the other hand, directly pulled up the underlying permissions of tomorrow's class.

"The class has been changed to a temporary mandatory class."

"I can cancel the normal teaching arrangements, but I cannot directly delete the cost event."

Inspector Han Su said:

"I will apply to restrict the Special Career Development Division's permission to audit the class."

Zhou Heng sneered.

"Can you restrict Lu Chengyuan?"

Inspector Han Su did not dodge the question.

"Not necessarily."

"But the restriction record itself is useful."

Lin Jin nodded.

"Make sure every time he reaches his hand in, he leaves a trace."

Shen Tingxue looked at Chen Ye.

"Right now, the most important thing is how you will be absent tomorrow."

Chen Ye was taken aback.

"How else can I be absent?"

"By being locked in the medical observation cabin, obviously."

Lin Jin shook his head.

"It wants to make you completely absent."

"We need to change it to a physical absence, but not a squad absence."

Chen Ye frowned.

"Be specific."

Lin Jin pointed at the class prompt.

[Three minutes before the class starts, Protection Role Chen Ye shall enter the medical observation cabin]

"It restricts you from holding a shield, entering the dungeon site, or providing defense skills."

"But it doesn't restrict you from judging, recording, or warning."

"So tomorrow, you won't be a spectator."

"You are the off-field defense judge."

Chen Ye thought about it.

"I watch you guys get beaten up from the outside, and then yell at you to dodge?"

Zhou Heng said coldly:

"You'd better call it accurately."

Chen Ye glared at him.

"Don't sound so punchable."

Shen Tingxue said seriously:

"This is no joke."

"You're usually on the front line, so you're the first to feel the angle of impact, changes in pressure, and attack rhythm."

"If you can voice these judgments tomorrow, we can prove that the value of the Protection Role isn't just in the shield."

Lin Jin chimed in:

"It will also prove that even when the Protection Role is temporarily absent from the field, the team can still collaborate based on his judgments."

"This way, the White Tower cannot deduce that 'absence' equals 'replaceable'."

Chen Ye held his shield and fell silent for a long time.

He usually blocked a lot but spoke little.

Watching his teammates enter the field from the outside, not holding a shield, not rushing forward, and only directing with his mouth—this was harder to bear than getting beaten up.

But he also knew that the White Tower just wanted him to suffer.

It wanted him to panic and say, 'I'll go in and tank.'

It wanted him to feel guilty and admit, 'I'm not as good as the S-Class sample.'

Chen Ye took a deep breath.

"Fine."

"Tomorrow, I'll be the off-field mouth-shield."

Zhou Heng raised an eyebrow.

"What on earth is that?"

"A mouth-shield."

Chen Ye said with a straight face.

"The person isn't there, the shield isn't there, but the mouth is still there."

Lin Jin nodded.

"It sounds terrible, but the meaning is correct."

Shen Tingxue rarely let out a faint curl of her lips.

"Try not to make any wrong calls tomorrow."

Just as Chen Ye was about to talk back, the S-Class Defense Sample suddenly spoke.

"Off-field defense judgments cannot replace on-field defense strength."

"If the on-field members take damage exceeding the threshold, the class will automatically judge Chen Ye's off-field judgment as a failure."

Chen Ye looked at him.

"Can you shut up?"

The sample paused.

"I am only stating class facts."

Lin Jin looked in the direction of the dungeon hall.

"The class rules haven't been fully displayed yet."

"Make them display."

Qin Shanhe immediately used his Dean permissions to forcibly pull up the pre-load details of tomorrow's class.

Above Dungeon Hall No. 3, lines of white text unfolded one by one.

[Team Practical Combat Adaptation Class]

[Theme: Team Response in the Absence of the Protection Role]

[Location: Dungeon Hall No. 3 - Simulated Rift]

[Rule 1: Three minutes before the class starts, Chen Ye shall enter the medical observation cabin and is forbidden from entering the site]

[Rule 2: The White Shield Sample will enter the edge of the site as an external defense control]

[Rule 3: If the on-field squad accepts protection from the White Shield Sample three times, it will be deemed as acknowledging the necessity of the temporary substitute]

[Rule 4: If the on-field squad refuses the sample's protection, they must bear the rift's impacts on their own]

[Rule 5: If any on-field member suffers a severe injury, the defense deficit is automatically established]

After reading this, Chen Ye's face darkened.

"That's incredibly underhanded."

Standing to the side, the White Shield Sample said calmly:

"Accepting protection can reduce damage."

Zhou Heng sneered.

"Accepting it three times means acknowledging you're necessary."

Shen Tingxue said:

"If we refuse protection, we have to take the impact head-on."

Lin Jin looked at Rule 5.

"The key point is severe injury."

"It doesn't need us to lose."

"As long as someone is severely injured, it can write down that Chen Ye's defense deficit is established."

Chen Ye gripped his shield even tighter.

"Then tomorrow I must call out all the impacts in advance."

Lin Jin nodded.

"And we must trust your judgment."

Zhou Heng glanced at Chen Ye.

"Don't call out nonsense."

Chen Ye gritted his teeth.

"You'd better not rush in blindly tomorrow."

Shen Tingxue raised her hand, and low-temperature thin threads formed a circle connecting the four badges.

"We practice tonight first."

"Off-field judgment, on-field execution."

Chen Ye was startled.

"Now?"

Shen Tingxue looked at the dungeon hall's rules.

"You can't bring a shield tomorrow."

"But you still can now."

"While you can still feel the pressure on the shield's surface, memorize the impact angles."

Qin Shanhe nodded.

"The Academy is opening Training Ground No. 1."

"Low-intensity simulation, no overloading allowed."

Chen Ye looked at them, then at the shield in his hand.

A few seconds later, he raised his shield.

"Come on."

"Tonight, I'll teach you everything I can."

"Tomorrow when I'm not at the front, don't go crashing in like fools without a shield."

Zhou Heng snorted.

"Who are you calling a fool?"

Chen Ye stared at him.

"Mostly you."

The training ground opened quickly.

The four of them entered the field.

Lin Jin, Shen Tingxue, and Zhou Heng stood before the Simulated Rift.

For the first time, Chen Ye did not stand at the very front.

He stood to the side and slightly behind, raising his shield to feel the first wave of impact, then shouted loudly:

"Thirty degrees to the left is a false pressure!"

"Don't retreat! If you retreat, the second wave will target your feet!"

Shen Tingxue immediately changed the direction of her ice lines.

Zhou Heng instinctively wanted to rush forward, but forced himself to hold back his Thunder Spear.

Lin Jin crouched down to repair the pressure cracks.

The first wave of impact passed.

No one was injured.

Chen Ye's eyes lit up.

"Again!"

The second wave of impact was even more chaotic.

Chen Ye's voice also began to quicken.

"Zhou Heng, don't charge straight through!"

"Shen Tingxue, don't seal the ice completely, leave half an inch!"

"Lin Jin, the crack by your right foot is a fake opening, don't repair it!"

The three adjusted according to his judgments.

Once.

Twice.

Thrice.

Chen Ye's calls grew steadier and steadier.

He suddenly realized that the things he had blocked in the past didn't just remain on the shield.

They also remained in his eyes.

In his muscle memory.

And in his judgment of the impact's direction every time he was forced back half a step.

These things wouldn't disappear just because the White Tower locked him in a medical observation cabin.

As they trained past midnight, Qin Shanhe forcibly called a halt.

"That's enough."

"If you keep practicing, tomorrow you really will be absent due to medical reasons."

Exhausted, Chen Ye sat on the ground, but he grinned.

"I feel like we can do it tomorrow."

Lin Jin nodded.

"It's not that you can do it."

"It's that we can do it."

Chen Ye was taken aback, then laughed and cursed:

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, you guys can do it."

But just as they were preparing to leave the training ground, the direction of Dungeon Hall No. 3 suddenly lit up again.

The White Shield Sample stood at the entrance.

On his silver-white giant shield, new supplementary class rules emerged.

[Rule 6: There will be a three-second transmission delay for the off-field defense judge's warnings]

[Description: When the Protection Role is absent, the team cannot enjoy real-time defense feedback]

The smile on Chen Ye's face instantly froze.

Three seconds.

In actual combat, three seconds was more than enough for an impact to land.

The White Shield Sample looked up, his voice steady.

"During tomorrow's class."

"By the time you hear his warning, the damage will have already arrived."