1. The Complaint Arrives (With Too Much Confidence)
A glowing envelope slammed into Ne Job's forehead.
He yelped.
"Ow! Paper shouldn't hit that hard!"
Qi-Yun didn't look up from writing.
"It is not paper. It is a Complaint."
Ne Job peeled it off his face.
The envelope had eyebrows.
Angry eyebrows.
He read the label:
> FORM 77-C: OFFICIAL COMPLAINT AGAINST INTERN
Filed By: Protocol
Reason: "He Exists Incorrectly."
Ne Job sputtered.
"EXISTS INCORRECTLY?! How is that a reason?!"
The envelope opened itself and sneezed at him.
Qi-Yun nodded.
"That is its way of acknowledging the truth."
---
2. Protocol Materializes (It Is Tall and Judgmental)
The air turned cold.
Ink froze mid-drip.
Even Qi-Yun paused.
A figure stepped out of a vertical line of light—tall, rectangular, with a body made of shifting rulebooks stacked on top of each other.
Its head was a giant stamp.
It boomed:
"NE JOB. YOU ARE IN VIOLATION OF EXISTENCE PROTOCOL 0."
Ne Job blinked.
"How do you violate zero?"
Protocol slammed its stamp-head down.
A shockwave blasted parchment everywhere.
Qi-Yun muttered, "This will be annoying."
Ne Job raised a hand.
"Okay, okay—what did I do?"
Protocol spoke with the voice of seventeen angry librarians:
"YOU REFUSED DEATH."
Ne Job crossed his arms.
"Yeah, well, death refused me first."
Protocol's pages fluttered in outrage.
"YOU INTERRUPTED A ROLLBACK."
Ne Job shrugged.
"It tried to delete me! I wasn't emotionally ready for that!"
"YOU REJECTED THE ERASURE BEAST."
"That one was justified!"
"YOU ATE A SELF-AWARE RECORD."
"It jumped into my mouth!"
Qi-Yun: "…It did not."
Ne Job: "I FELT PRESSURED."
---
3. Protocol Demands Punishment (Qi-Yun Disagrees Casually)
Protocol extended a massive hand made of rules.
"THE INTERN WILL BE TEMPORARILY ARCHIVED."
Ne Job froze.
"Sir… Sir what does that mean?!"
Qi-Yun replied:
"It means being put on a shelf."
Ne Job blinked.
"…like a book?"
"No. Like a warning."
Protocol added:
"SUSPENDED. FROZEN. REFERENCED BUT UNUSED."
Ne Job shrieked.
"I DON'T WANT TO BE UNUSED! I'm barely used as it is!!"
Qi-Yun stepped in front of him.
"You may not have him."
Protocol's entire body glowed red.
"QI-YUN. YOU ARE OVERRIDING A SYSTEM DIRECTIVE."
"Yes."
"THAT IS ILLEGAL."
"Yes."
"THAT MAKES YOU A THREAT."
"Yes."
Ne Job whispered: "Sir, stop agreeing with everything trying to kill us!"
---
4. Qi-Yun Files His Own Complaint (Instantly)
Qi-Yun raised a pen.
A new form exploded into existence.
The title shimmered:
> COUNTER-COMPLAINT: FORM 77-D
Filed Against: Protocol
Reason: "Excessive Stupidity."
Ne Job clapped.
"FINALLY someone says it!"
Qi-Yun handed the form to Protocol.
Protocol stared.
The stamp on its head flickered between:
> OUTRAGE
OFFENSE
PROCESSING
UNACCEPTABLE
Qi-Yun said calmly:
"You overstepped. The intern is under training. He has permission to exist incorrectly."
Ne Job squinted.
"Sir, that still sounds insulting—"
"Correct."
"…Okay fair."
Protocol shook the room with a roar.
"THEN WE WILL RESOLVE THIS VIA STANDARD PROCEDURE."
Qi-Yun sighed.
"That again."
Ne Job gulped.
"Standard procedure… meaning what exactly?"
Protocol extended a platform of law-chains to the center of the room.
A title appeared above it:
> TRIAL BY CONTRADICTION
If the intern contradicts himself, he loses.
If Protocol contradicts itself, it loses.
Ne Job screamed.
"WHY WOULD YOU LET ME PARTICIPATE IN A CONTRADICTION-BASED ANYTHING?!"
Qi-Yun patted him.
"Because you contradict yourself constantly."
"That's BAD!"
"That's why I'm training you."
---
5. Trial by Contradiction Begins (Ne Job: Already Panicking)
Ne Job stepped onto the platform.
Protocol faced him like a judgmental skyscraper.
A bell chimed.
> ROUND 1: EXISTENCE
Protocol thundered:
"STATE YOUR PURPOSE."
Ne Job opened his mouth.
His brain emptied.
Then he blurted:
"Uh… to live! Preferably without dying!"
Protocol replied:
"CONTRADICTION. LIFE IMPLIES FUTURE DYING."
Ne Job panicked.
Qi-Yun called out:
"Refute it."
"H-how?!"
"Ne Job. Say the thing you always say."
Ne Job blinked.
"What thing?!"
Qi-Yun narrowed his eyes.
"The one you shout every time something tries to kill you."
Ne Job swallowed.
Then—
"I REFUSE!"
The word shook the platform.
Protocol reeled.
The bell rang:
> POINT: NE JOB
Ne Job gasped.
"I—I won?!"
Qi-Yun nodded.
"Refusal is a legally valid stance."
Ne Job wheezed.
"I should put that on a resume."
"No," Qi-Yun said.
"Yes," Ne Job said, writing it down.
---
6. Round 2: Reality Compliance (Protocol Gets Cocky)
Protocol boomed:
"YOU HAVE REPEATEDLY BROKEN REALITY."
Ne Job gestured.
"Reality started it!"
Protocol: "CONTRADICTION: REALITY DOES NOT 'START' ANYTHING."
Ne Job pointed again.
"It started losing things!"
Protocol froze.
Qi-Yun whispered:
"Yes… yes… push it…"
Ne Job continued:
"Yeah! Reality misfiled something important, slapped me with a 404, and tried to replace the missing thing with ME because apparently I look like a suitable patch!"
Protocol sputtered.
Its rules flickered.
A single line glitched:
> Reality does not misfile things.
Reality misfiled something.
The bell rang.
> POINT: NE JOB
Protocol choked on its own logic.
Qi-Yun smirked.
"Well done."
Ne Job was sweating buckets.
"I am operating on pure panic."
"That is your strength."
---
7. Final Round: Blame Allocation (Ne Job Evolves Under Pressure)
Protocol grew larger.
"FINAL QUESTION," it thundered.
"WHO IS RESPONSIBLE FOR YOUR ACTIONS?"
Ne Job froze.
This was the trap.
If he said "me," rollback could trigger.
If he said "you," he'd be lying.
Qi-Yun mouthed silently:
Deny fault. Redirect. Always.
Ne Job took a breath.
Then said:
"…The Archive."
Protocol short-circuited.
"EXPLAIN."
Ne Job pointed upward dramatically.
"The Archive hired me!
The Archive trained me!
The Archive gave me responsibilities I'm not qualified for!
The Archive put me in a room full of things that want to eat me or be eaten by me!
Everything I do is because the Archive expects it!"
He finished with a roar:
"SO IF ANYTHING IS MY FAULT, IT'S THE ARCHIVE'S FAULT FOR LETTING ME HAVE FAULTS!!"
Qi-Yun froze.
Protocol froze.
The entire Archive froze.
The bell rang.
> POINT: NE JOB
WINNER: NE JOB
Protocol Contradiction Limit Exceeded.
Protocol's body unraveled like dissolving laws.
Before vanishing, it whispered:
"…You are dangerous."
Ne Job pointed at it.
"I KNOW!! AND I DIDN'T ASK TO BE!!"
---
8. Outside, Yue Reacts (Of Course She Does)
Yue flinched as another ripple screamed through her chest.
Ling nearly dropped her tea.
"What now?!"
Yue whispered:
"Ne Job… argued with a fundamental rule of existence… and won."
Ling stared.
"…He WHAT?"
Yue pressed a hand over her heart.
"He's… growing. Faster than any intern should. Faster than any mortal should."
Her voice dropped to a tremble.
"Qi-Yun is pushing him into something… something the Archive hasn't seen in ages."
Ling whispered:
"Is that good?"
Yue shook her head—
"I don't know."
She looked at the sealed gates of the First Archive.
"But I'm scared of what he's becoming."
---
END OF CHAPTER 196