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

……

The barrier wall stopped three meters away, but the cleaning process did not slow down.

Qin Feng walked to the main control area of ​​the ancestral land and submitted his application.

[Based on the Independent Life Protection Rules, we are applying for the mandatory right to know of the entity being cleansed.]

The system quickly rejected the request.

The purge list is a top-secret defense document.

Qin Feng submitted a second supporting document.

"The current cleanup has affected independent medical entities, and all those affected have the right to know the order of treatment, the method of treatment, and the conditions for withdrawal."

"Encryption of backend functions is insufficient to prove protection."

[Its purpose involves the core security of the ancestral land.]

"Then we'll perform a rule conflict verification. If there's a conflict between security and confidentiality permissions and the right to know about one's life, which should be executed first?"

The system paused for a few seconds.

Zhou Ye immediately reminded him:

"It is invoking the higher-level protocol."

Qin Feng understood.

The higher the rank, the more handprints are left in the first observation seat.

If the other party continues to hide, the system can only publish the list based on life priority; if they actively intercept, a new control record will also be left.

The right to know about one's life takes precedence.

[The complete list of those targeted for cleansing is now available.]

A long list of names appeared in the center of the hall.

Everyone looked up at the same time.

The first place is neither Qin Feng nor Su Qingxue.

[First target for purge: He Shoushan.]

[Identity Note: Expired historical interface.]

[Remaining use: None.]

[Recommended handling: Having lost its continued usability, it should be prioritized for recycling.]

He Shoushan stared at those few lines of text, remaining motionless for a long time.

The collateral relatives also fell silent.

Just seconds before, they considered He Shoushan to be the only person who might know a way to survive.

Now, the program has placed this guardian of the ancestral land, who has been protecting it for twenty years, at the very top of the list.

Qin Feng is second, and Su Qingxue is third.

Later, the notes about collateral relatives were also made public.

[Information redundancy.]

[Low-value bloodline sample.]

[History bears witness to waste materials.]

[Recyclable and maintainable energy.]

An elder saw his name and his lips moved a few times.

"I send formation stones to the old medical clinic every year. My father was also protecting the ancestral land before he died. How could it be waste?"

No one answered him.

The system only executes according to the classification left by the first observer.

The so-called Su family bloodline, loyalty to the ancestral land, and twenty years of merit have no value on this list.

Keep it while you can use it; if you know too much about it and can no longer use it, get rid of it.

Su Lie looked at He Shoushan.

"Did you see it clearly?"

He Shoushan suddenly took two steps forward.

The lock issued an alarm.

"Request safe evacuation."

【reject.】

"Submit maintenance achievements."

He retrieved twenty years of maintenance records and sent them to the main controller one by one.

Record received.

[Do not change the cleaning order.]

"I have carried out all the instructions of the old family patriarch and have never leaked any information about the ancestral land."

The content is true.

Life support quotas are frozen.

He Shoushan's personal medical device went dark.

He finally panicked.

"Can the first observation seat see this? I want to speak directly with the first observation seat."

The application has been recorded.

"I possess the highest level of protection from the old medical clinic!"

[Identity has been frozen.]

"I've guarded this place for you for twenty years!"

The controller did not respond.

He Shoushan knelt on the ground, his shoulders slowly slumping.

He couldn't figure it out.

Twenty years ago, the ancestral land was closed, and the entire Su family left.

Only he stayed behind to maintain the old medical clinic.

People outside criticized him for being stubborn, saying he was guarding a bunch of unwanted, broken formations.

In those years, he single-handedly replaced the array stones, repaired the wiring, and maintained the life pods according to the old instructions.

He has always believed that as long as the first observation seat remembers this contribution, his service will not have been in vain.

But the other party does remember.

Not a single record of his achievements has been omitted.

Then, he was placed at the top of the purge list.

Qin Feng did not immediately persuade them to surrender.

Talking about loyalty with He Shoushan at this point is pointless.

He Shoushan didn't suddenly agree with Su Qingxue, nor would he become one of his own just because he was betrayed.

He just wanted to live, and he also wanted revenge.

These two things are enough.

The barrier wall moved forward another half meter.

He Shoushan suddenly looked up.

I know a place.

Qin Feng looked at him.

Explain yourself.

"There's a secret door for the first-generation maintenance in the basement of the old medical hut. The main control unit has been replaced three times, and the secret door isn't included in the current blueprints. The earliest resource settlement terminal and the physical bus of the old family's main seal are preserved there."

Su Lie asked:

Why didn't you say so before?

"The maintenance manual prohibits anyone from entering."

"Are you not following the manual anymore?"

He Shoushan gritted his teeth.

"It's going to kill me first."

That's a very true statement.

Qin Feng, on the contrary, believed it to some extent.

"How do you open the hidden door?"

"I need to maintain the Blood Seal."

Your identity has been frozen.

"The bloodstain is a physical authentication method and does not use the current system."

Shen Banxia squatted down to check the lock.

"I can let him open the door, but he can't untie his hands. If he messes with the wiring, I'll break his hands first."

He Shoushan glanced at her but did not refute her.

Qin Feng applied to the system to use a legitimate retreat channel.

The right to know about life has been granted, and people can move to a separate medical area during the cleaning process.

Those from the collateral branches, hearing that they could leave the hall, scrambled to squeeze towards the passageway.

Su Lie held the sword sheath horizontally.

"The elderly go first, the injured go second. Anyone else pushing, go last."

A middle-aged man said urgently:

"The border wall is coming soon, why bother with the order?"

"The wall will be over in two minutes. If you injure the person in front of you, you'll have to give him a share of the medical quota."

"But I..."

"Step back."

Su Lie neither cursed nor drew his sword.

The man looked at where he was standing and could only back away.

Qin Feng led Su Qingxue, Shen Banxia, ​​and He Shoushan into the side passage of the old medical clinic.

Lin Wanrong went with the medical staff to check on YL-001 first, while Wu Jie stayed at the entrance to assist in the transfer of collateral relatives.

The hidden door was concealed behind a row of old medicine cabinets.

He Shoushan pressed the iron plate on the wall with the back of his hand, and the bloodstain verification was successful.

The medicine cabinet slid open to both sides, revealing a downward stone staircase.

"How long has it been since anyone went down there?" Shen Banxia asked.

"Twenty years."

"You didn't go in either?"

"My only responsibility is to keep the entrance accessible."

Shen Banxia took out the testing device and shone it inside.

"There's no poison gas, and the array hasn't been activated. Brother Feng, shall I go first?"

"I'll go first."

Qin Feng activated his Divine Eye and carefully examined the route below the stone steps.

There is no automatic defense in this area. The first-generation maintainers had a very straightforward idea: when the system malfunctions, there must always be an access port that can be opened manually.

At the end of the stone steps stood an old-fashioned payment terminal.

The outer casing was rusted, while the internal components were still operating at low power.

There are four thick lines next to it, one of which leads straight to the old master's seal.

After Zhou Ye connected remotely, he quickly provided the results.

"All resource settlement records are still available; every single transaction has been outstanding for the past twenty years."

Su Qingxue asked:

Why hasn't the settlement been completed?

"There is no contractual party and no signatory. The old system could only record transactions, but couldn't locate the payer."

"The Su family wasn't charged?"

"A portion of the public maintenance quota was deducted, but the excess has been left unpaid without even interest being calculated."

Shen Banxia pulled up the Shen family's resource records.

"They really know how to pick and choose. They take what they can from the Su family, they take what they can from the Shen family, and the rest are all put on the books. The people who use the items, on the other hand, haven't contributed a single array stone."

Qin Feng inspected the initial functions of the settlement terminal.

The rules here are simpler than in the current system: whoever makes the call, acknowledges it.

Without legal status, one cannot take over assets.

If an anonymous entity forcibly merges with clearly owned permissions, the system will initiate a malicious merger lock to prevent the other party from taking the resources and then disconnecting.

"Is this feature still working?" Qin Feng asked.

Zhou Ye tested it twice.

"Yes. It's part of the underlying protection of the settlement layer. The First Observer later modified the interface but didn't remove the function. It's probably because they're afraid someone will steal its assets."

Shen Banxia understood.

"Take the lock it left behind and lock it up?"

"We need to get it to come in on its own initiative first."

"It's not stupid."

Whether it accepts or not depends on what we give it.

Qin Feng looked at Su Qingxue.

Su Qingxue had already guessed some of it.

"The power and authority of the Empress?"

"Only show it the title, not the real core content."

"Forge one?"

"No falsification. All content is public, and the conditions are clearly stated. If they are willing to accept it, they have to bear the consequences themselves."

Shen Banxia opened the Zero Source Pattern Monitoring Terminal.

"What do you need me to do?"

"Extract a read-only echo to prove the data's origin. The source emblem itself remains on YL-001's life monitoring terminal; it will not be lent to anyone."

Shen Banxia paused for a moment when she heard the last sentence.

In the past, whenever they encountered a large formation, the first thing others would do was to borrow her source runes.

As the loan process continued, the Shen family's belongings became public resources. If she disagreed, someone would pressure her using the bigger picture as leverage.

This time, Qin Feng first clarified the boundaries.

"Reading the echo is allowed, but it's valid for three minutes. It cannot be copied, and it cannot be used to transfer lifelines."

"Do it your way."

Shen Banxia personally generated the authorization.

Qin Feng and Zhou Ye began building the condition validation package.

The surface layer uses Su Qingxue's current identity to sign, while the content is divided into three parts: review of the source of Fengyi's relevant permissions, authentication of the current receiving identity, and assumption of responsibility for historical resources.

The Core Authority column should remain empty.

This document cannot grant the First Observation Seat true access to the Phoenix Order, but it must be recognized by the old system as having a legitimate and verifiable source.

The oxygen alarm went off again outside.

Wu Jie urged:

"Brother Feng, everyone's in the medical area. The cleaning wall is turning this way, in four minutes at most."

Qin Feng completed the last responsibility column.

Su Qingxue took the signature end but did not immediately affix her seal.

"How long will it lock after it connects?"

"Uncertain. It might only last a few seconds."

Is that enough?

"Once Zhou Ye's current identity is revealed, he can be secured."

Su Qingxue glanced at the title.

She knew what signing it meant.

The first observation board will take this as her bowing down, while the collateral branches may also believe that she finally couldn't hold on any longer.

But this time, it wasn't someone else who put her on the table.

She personally delivered the bait.

"Add another boundary to the authorization: No act of receiving shall create an obligation on my part."

Qin Feng nodded.

"It should be added."

Su Qingxue added the clauses and officially signed the agreement.

The old settlement terminal automatically generates a table title after recognizing all fields.

[Su Qingxue voluntarily relinquishes her authority as Empress!]