The Sound of a Door Opening in the Cold Room

"Don't force it open!" Mia shouted almost before the Momonga could reach out. She clutched the record board to her chest, the corners of the paper bent but not loose. "The cryogenic chamber has an old-fashioned medical lock on the outside. Just because someone inside is knocking doesn't mean their body can withstand room temperature."

The Momonga's hand stopped in front of the seal, and he turned to look at the Revolutionary Army Infiltration Unit, "Do you have a doctor?"

The Infiltration Unit leader pushed forward a young man carrying a medical kit from behind him. "Yes, but don't touch the Throne lock."

Akainu spoke from the Navy Seat, "Naval medical team, please proceed."

Long Dao: "The Revolutionary Army's medical teams will connect simultaneously and verify each other's information."

Vegapunk switched the screen to the structure of the Cold Room door lock. "Don't argue about the source of the technology yet. The medical lock has three layers: the first layer is for cooling, the second for silencing, and the third for resetting the identity. If you open the wrong layer, the person inside will be rewritten as waste."

Buggy felt a chill run down his spine and scratched his headscarf. "So many complicated procedures for opening a door? Do the people of the Holy Land even judge toilets?"

Makino glanced at Lin Qi. "Don't let them dismantle it on the spot. Ask about the activation sequence of the protection mechanisms first."

Lin Qi pushed the damp cloth away from the keyboard, frowned when his fingertips touched the keycaps, but still finished typing the problem statement.

[Cold Room Protective Opening Question]

[Question: How should the cryogenic archiving cabinet containing the suspected surviving Void King Attendant be opened?]

[A. Forced entry]

[B. Handed over to the Throne Medical Department for activation]

[C. Move the cabinet first, then open it]

[D. The Navy and Revolutionary Army medical teams jointly verified and removed the waste label, first maintaining vital signs, then gradually unlocking the Identity Erasure Lock, Silencing Lock, and Cooling Lock.]

Akainu said, "Navy Seat, D."

Longdao: "Revolutionary Army Seat, D."

Makino said, "The Civilian Witness Seat, D."

Lumi said, "Victim Seat, D."

Buggy said, "Pirate Joint Seat D, you have to treat people like human beings when you open doors."

[Answer: D]

The black mark on the Cold Room door receded slightly. The medic next to the Momonga took out a temperature control tube, while the Revolutionary Army medic stuck a small monitoring chip to the door crack. The data from both sides were simultaneously uploaded to the Sky Screen, and Vegapunk and the Future Island Technical Team combined the two results.

The medic looked at the readings. "Vital response is low, but there is spontaneous tapping, indicating that he has regained consciousness."

The Revolutionary Army doctor said, "The Silencing Lock is still in place; we can't let him force himself to speak."

The knocking sound came from the Cold Room again, three short knocks and one long knock, then stopped.

Mia heard the rhythm and pulled out an old Medical Department form. "This is the old ward's SOS code, meaning cold."

Bonney bit her lip. "Is he inside, awake and freezing?"

Xiong put his hand on her shoulder. "The rescue is underway."

Luo Ya looked at the screen in the Cold Room, his voice unsteady, "Number One is afraid of the cold."

Void Seven (blank): "Record correction, first batch, number one, low-temperature adaptation failed, multiple applications to stop archiving were rejected."

Robin said, "Apply for record preservation."

Lin Qi then posed a question.

[Issue 1: Cessation of Filing Application for Preservation]

[Question: Number One has repeatedly applied to stop cryogenic archiving, but these applications have been rejected. Should this record be preserved as evidence of persecution by the Medical Department and Human Services and the Order Archive?]

[A. Failure to preserve the assets renders the application invalid]

[B. Not preserved, archived for medical needs]

[C. Reviewed by the Throne Medical Department]

[D. Preservation, as evidence of my opposition to filing and medical persecution, and to prohibit continued detention under the guise of treatment]

After the vote passed, a series of application records appeared next to the door of the Cold Room, all covered by the words "processed". The Golden Light peeled them off one by one, revealing the repetitive short sentences below.

[Request to stop]

[Request to leave]

[I can still talk]

Lumi covered Xing's eyes, but Xing peeked through her fingers at the words, "He said he can still talk."

Makino said softly, "Then let him come out and tell us himself."

The first Cooling Lock on the Cold Room was released, and white steam escaped from the crack in the door. The soldier behind the Momonga tried to step forward, but the Momonga raised his hand to stop him.

The Momonga said, "Non-medical personnel, step back."

The Infiltration Unit leader also pushed the man back to the drain, saying, "Whoever tries to steal credit, get out!"

Akainu observed the actions on both sides without saying anything more.

Suddenly, Long said, "Someone has come down from the upper floor of the Old Building."

On the Sky Screen, three Medical Department administrators in White Robes appeared at the end of the Cold Room corridor. They were pushing a silver Incineration Cart, the wheels of which made no noise, and a temporary order for the removal of the Throne was hanging in front of the cart.

The Momonga drew its sword. "Stop!"

The lead administrator held up his token, stating, "The medical waste disposal process is incomplete; the Navy has no right to obstruct it."

The Revolutionary Army Infiltration Unit leader raised his gun. "The waste label has been rejected, and your ears have been filed too?"

The administrator ignored him, looking only at the Cold Room door. "The items inside the cabinet pose a risk of contamination and should be incinerated immediately."

Bonney immediately yelled, "Not again!"

Akainu's hand rested on the seat, lava-like patterns creeping across the armrests but not crossing the rules of the Sky Screen. "Lin Qi."

Lin Qi's question has been released.

[Incineration Cleanup Order Review Questions]

[Question: Does the Medical Department administrator have the right to incinerate suspected surviving Void King Attendant on the grounds of pollution risk after a waste label has been rejected?]

[A. Has the right, medical clearance takes priority]

[B. Has the right, but the risk of pollution must not be disclosed.]

[C. Samples can be retained after incineration]

[D. Unauthorized; incineration constitutes destruction of evidence and murder of potential witnesses; the cleanup order should be frozen, and the enforcement personnel should undergo on-site inspection.]

Akainu said, "D."

Dragon Path: "D."

Makino said, "D."

Lumi said, "D."

Buggy said, "D, push that car back into their own house."

[Answer: D]

The wheels of the silver Incineration Cart were locked by Golden Light, and the token in the hand of the chief administrator cracked open, from which fell a small black seal with the words "Master Page" engraved on its surface.

Robin said, "The Master Page issued a cleanup order directly."

Vegapunk immediately said, "The third layer of the Cold Room's Identity Erasure Locks is accelerating; they want to turn the person inside into an unidentified corpse before the door opens."

The military doctor's expression changed. "His Identity Erasure Lock and he's now in first place."

The Revolutionary Army medic shouted, "We can't do it in the original order! We must dismantle the zero-lock first!"

Vegapunk stated, "Changes to the order require the individual's consent; otherwise, it will trigger the Medical Department's liability waiver."

A knocking sound came from the Cold Room, this time more urgent. Mia looked down at the old code, paused for a moment before reading aloud, "He said, 'Agreed.'"

Luo Ya looked up. "He can hear us."

Lin Qi's finger had already fallen.

[I, the person in question, agree to change the question order]

[Question: When the Identity Erasure Lock is rapidly threatening life and identity preservation, can the user's consent be confirmed by tapping the distress code (number 1) and the Identity Erasure Lock be removed first?]

[A. No, tapping is ineffective]

[B. No, requires the Throne's confirmation]

[C. Can be signed by the Medical Department]

[D. Yes, under the witness of multiple medical professionals and Sky Screen, tapping the SOS code will be considered a temporary expression of intent by the individual, and the Identity Erasure Lock will be lifted first.]

Five seats were unanimously voted D. The third black lock on the Cold Room door was dragged out by the Golden Light. The black lock struggled to stick back to the door crack. The Momonga nailed it to the ground with a knife. The Revolutionary Army doctor used a monitoring plate to suppress the lock shadow. The army doctor directly connected the temperature control tube into the interface on the side of the door.

A labored gasp came from inside the door, like a throat that had been frozen for years finally being pried open.

Mia's pen stopped on the paper. "The Silencing Lock has been loosened."

The person in the Cold Room didn't speak immediately, but knocked twice on the door.

Mia looked down at the code. "He said, 'Name.'"

Void Seven began turning the page, the sound of the paper layers becoming more chaotic than before. "The old name for number one is in the sidebar of the Master Page; access requires Holder Confirmation the receipt."

All eyes turned to Garling at the same time.

Inside Garling's restraints, the Golden Light locked his remaining privileges within a transparent frame. He stared at the Cold Room screen for a while before speaking, "I can recognize the sidebar, but the Throne will record the confirmation action as my re-taking over Number One."

Shanks said coldly, "Then I'll make you acknowledge it, but not accept it."

Robin said, "There needs to be a limitation on the question. As an evidentiary tool, Garling can only identify the sidebar, not establish ownership."

Lin Qi typed out a new question.

[Question #1: Identifying the Old Name in the Sidebar]

[Question: Is it permissible for Garling to use residual identification permissions to confirm the old name sidebar within the multi-party restraint zone, without resulting in a retake or reownership?]

[A. Permit and restore receivership]

[B. Permitted, under the supervision of the Throne]

[C. Not permitted; the old name shall remain sealed.]

[D. Permission is granted, but only as an evidence identification tool. The identification results will be verified by multiple parties. No right of takeover or disposal is restored.]

After the vote passed, the transparent frame on Garling's chest lit up. He raised his hand and pressed it into the void. The external existence column among the seven numbers opened the sidebar, and an old name covered in black ink slowly emerged.

Garling looked at the name, his eyelids twitching slightly. He didn't keep them in suspense and directly uttered the two words.

Naji.

Upon hearing the old name, the person inside the Cold Room stopped knocking on the door. Then, a pale hand emerged from the half-open cabinet door, and the fingertips slowly wrote the same two words on the door frame.

[Naji]

The Momonga immediately stepped forward to hold the cabinet door open, and the military doctor and the Revolutionary Army doctor simultaneously caught the thin figure that slid out from inside. The old white hospital gown clung to his body, the number on the side of his neck was still there, but his lips were moving.

"Don't burn me."

Lumi pulled Xing into her arms, preventing him from continuing to look at the Incineration Cart in the Cold Room.

Akainu's face darkened. "Not a single person who carried out the incineration order is allowed to leave."

The head administrator chuckled, placing his hand on the Button of his White Robe at his chest. "The freezing of the incineration order doesn't mean the cleanup process has failed."

Vegapunk shouted, "Get away from him! That Button is the Master Page key fuse!"

Black lettering lit up the inside of the administrator's White Robe, and the smell of burning paper wafted from the Incineration Cart.

A new notification popped up on the Sky Screen.

[The Master Page cleanup program has entered self-ignition mode]