I lent my brother 500 yuan, and he offered his wife as collateral.

……

On the day of the grand assembly, the inner ring main street was closed in advance.

The shops along the street were not open. But all the windows were lit.

The stewards, managers, and guards stood behind the windows, watching the Su family's convoy head towards the Santa.

Yesterday, the third sequence returned, and Song Wuji died in the control room. Immediately afterwards, the Xiao family gave up three mining areas.

Many people stayed up all night, waiting for today's results.

Whether the Su family can leave the Holy Tower alive will directly affect the cooperation contracts they hold.

Wu Jie sat in the car, watching the whole way, and couldn't help but say:

"These people kept the doors tightly shut, but not a single window was missing."

Shen Banxia held the data box without looking up.

"Watching the fun is free."

"When they came to us to sign the contract yesterday, they were all incredibly enthusiastic. Today, they won't even open the door."

"normal."

Qin Feng looked out of the car.

"They were afraid that Santa would remember who approached the Su family at this time."

Wu Jie touched his earlobe.

"Will they still be open when we come out?"

"Get out alive, and the door will open."

"What if we can't get out?"

Su Lie sat opposite him, checking the invitation and access rules.

"You can stay in the car."

Wu Jie immediately sat up straight.

"I just asked casually. Since I'm already here, I definitely have to go in and identify the person."

……

The convoy stopped in front of the outer gate of the Santa Maria delle Grazie.

Eighteen metal array doors rose one by one. Behind each door stood two rows of guards.

Everyone was wearing Santa law enforcement uniforms and had authority badges hanging from their waists, but none of them wore family insignia.

After checking the invitation, the lead guard's gaze fell on the data box in Shen Banxia's arms.

"High-risk foreign weapons are not allowed to be brought into the core area."

Shen Banxia hugged the box a little tighter.

"This is a copy of the Shen family's life legacy code, not an external array artifact."

"The access control system detected an unknown source of energy and the item needs to be temporarily impounded. You can retrieve it after the morning assembly by presenting the necessary paperwork."

Who keeps it safe?

"The Holy Tower Evidence Collection".

Who is the custodian?

The guard did not answer.

Just extend your hand.

"Please cooperate with the inspection. Refusal to comply will be considered as carrying a dangerous array device to attack the Holy Tower, and your participation privileges will be revoked on the spot."

Qin Feng did not interrupt.

This sounds compliant, but its real purpose isn't to confiscate the boxes.

Shen Banxia would never entrust her family's legacy to someone who wouldn't even give their name!

If she refuses, the Su family will lose their eligibility to attend the meeting.

At that time, Santa Cruz can announce to the public that Su had voluntarily evaded the review.

Su Qingxue opened the monitoring terminal and submitted the entire set of information to the access control system.

"Life evidence number: Shen 2077".

"The emergency read-only authorization number has been linked to the attachments for this conference."

"The data box was completely sealed in three layers, contained no active tissue, and had no external attack programs set up."

The lead guard glanced at it.

"These materials can only prove the source of the physical evidence, but cannot rule out danger."

"We can seize it," Su Qingxue said.

Shen Banxia suddenly turned her head.

"Boss, we can't hand this over."

"Listen to the end first."

Su Qingxue continued filling out the application in the system.

"The detainee shall sign a statement with their real name regarding responsibility for the damage to the Shen family's relics, the loss of codes, and the interruption of historical evidence."

"If the data box is overwritten, read, transferred, or physically damaged during the detention period, the detainer shall bear the death penalty for providing first-degree vital evidence."

"The custodian department will simultaneously take over the entire chain of evidence in the Shen family's old case and accept public supervision."

She pushed the application to the guard.

"You sign, I'll hand it over."

The access control system immediately displayed a red alert.

[A request to seize remaining life evidence has been detected.]

This physical evidence relates to a mass killing case that occurred twenty years ago.

[Any act of seizure without explicit judicial authorization will result in the signatory bearing full responsibility for any damage.]

The loss of code is considered a second death of the historical entity.

[Level-one liability cannot be delegated, and no department with the authority to sign off on it is permitted.]

The lead guard's hand froze in mid-air.

He only received orders to make Su refuse the inspection himself.

No one told him that the data box had completed legal guardianship registration, and no one asked him to take the risk of death by using his identity!

He glanced at the recorder behind him.

The recorder said in a low voice:

"Treat it as a high-risk device."

"Then you sign it," the guard said.

The recorder immediately shut up.

Su Qingxue did not urge them, but simply placed the signing page in front of the two of them.

"You can discuss this internally. The grand assembly hasn't started yet; we can wait."

Several other participating convoys arrived one after another.

The steward of Tianji Pavilion alighted from his carriage and, seeing Madam Su blocking the entrance, asked:

"They won't even cooperate with the inspection upon entering the tower, so what's the point of talking about source verification?"

Some of the remaining forces of the Yun family also echoed this sentiment.

"The origins of the Shen family's remnant formation are unknown. If it really enters the Holy Tower and something goes wrong, who will be responsible?"

Su Qingxue turned her head to look over.

"I have agreed to the detention."

"The person in charge just needs to sign it."

"If you think it's right to deduct, you can sign it on their behalf."

The Yun family member who was speaking moved his throat slightly.

"This is an internal procedure at Santa Fe; it's not my place to sign it."

"Then don't take the blame for others."

The surroundings became quieter.

The steward outside the Tianji Pavilion wanted to say a few more words.

You can see the line "The historical subject died twice" in the system, and in the end, it didn't move forward.

This responsibility is untouchable!

Once signed, even if only a single piece of code is missing from the data box, the responsibility for all the losses in the Shen family's old case will fall on the signatory.

Everyone knows this involves a lot, but no one knows exactly how much.

The lead guard waited for a while, but his superiors still did not take over.

I had no choice but to withdraw my hand.

"Upon review, the data box's guardianship procedures are complete and it can be brought into the venue as a legitimate attachment."

Shen Banxia did not immediately move forward.

Place the box on the inspection table and verify the seal item by item.

"First layer, inactive."

"Second layer, read-only."

"The third layer is non-transferable and requires both Qin Feng and Su Qingxue to sign in order to trigger a source verification."

Only after confirming that everything was done did she pick up the box again.

Su Lie moved a step to the side, standing between her and the examination table.

His hand never touched the hilt of the knife.

The access control rules are clearly stated: drawing a knife will be considered an unauthorized attack.

If it's really pulled, the legitimate guardianship chain of the Shen family's data box may also be broken.

What he needs to protect today is not his pride, nor his own face.

This box was able to walk completely to the Spirit-Seeking Mirror.

Wu Jie was at the back of the line, his eyes never idle.

The first to make trouble were the remnants of the Yun family, followed by the outer seat of the Tianji Pavilion, and the one responsible for urging the detention was the recorder of the Holy Tower.

The three groups of people had very clear divisions of labor.

One stirred up trouble, one provided the reasons, and one planned to erase the entry record after Su refused.

Wu Jie noted down the seat numbers of the three people on his personal device and said in a low voice:

"Their teamwork is something they've practiced a lot of times."

Qin Feng asked:

How many recorders are there?

"There are two on the surface. There was another person behind us who didn't say anything and kept switching the access control logs."

"Make a note of it."

"I've already noted it down. When we go in later, I'll keep an eye on where they sit."

When it was Qin Feng's turn to pass through the access control, the golden scanning light moved over him and then landed on Shen Banxia's data box.

The access control screen suddenly flickered.

[An external source has been detected.]

[Source-level comparison in progress.]

[The source of the external data is of a higher level than the current access control system.]

The notification appeared for only a very short time.

It was then covered by another layer of existing code.

[Legitimate guardianship attached, passage permitted.]

Neither the guards nor the recorder reacted.

Qin Feng's discerning eye clearly saw the hints in both the front and back layers.

The Santa Access Control system is afraid of the Shen family's data box.

More accurately, the current code is actively masking the source level difference.

The Shen family copy is no longer active; only the first layer of historical code remains.

With just this little bit of stuff, a Source-level being can still overpower the outer security gate of the Holy Tower.

How much of the so-called supreme authority that Santa has held over the years is actually real?

Qin Feng did not point it out on the spot.

If we say it now, the other party can explain it as a malfunction in the access control system.

This erased record will only be useful when the source is verified.

The group passed through the last array gate.

A deep echo suddenly came from the depths of the Holy Tower.

The ground array patterns lit up a few times. The data box in Shen Banxia's arms also vibrated briefly.

She stopped.

"Still the same rhythm as the invitation."

The guard urged:

"The main formation will be adjusted routinely; there's no need to stop."

Qin Feng looked towards the center of the Holy Tower.

The echo was neither a welcome nor a warning.

It's more like a long-dormant interface suddenly receiving familiar code.

The Grand Master quickly relayed the results of his investigation.

[The old code from the Shen family triggered a response from the remaining forces; no anomalies were found.]

Qin Feng finished reading without saying a word.

The other party didn't even conduct any examinations, yet the conclusion came so quickly.

This wasn't the first time they'd heard this kind of echo!

……

Upon entering the assembly hall, the Phnom Penh invitation card unfolds automatically.

Su Qingxue's status is still listed as a core candidate.

But there was no seat for her in the center of the hall.

A recorder pointed to the farthest point.

It was near the closed inspection gate, and the surrounding array patterns were all red.

There were no family nameplates on the table, only an identity document awaiting review.

The next moment, Su Qingxue's name was written in.

[Su Qingxue is the actual controller of the Su Group.]

[Seat adjustment: The last area awaiting review.]

[Away access is temporarily locked!]