The Mutants Committee's Eyes and Ears, the Dark Phoenix's Veiled Report
Within the Negative Zone, there is no time, only Eternity stillness and a chilling will.
Jean Grey floated in the center of a Nebula constructed of psychic filaments. This was the new territory Lynn had designated for her— the Global Mutants Affairs Management Committee, a power center that did not exist in the physical world, yet was omnipresent. Her consciousness was her office, and the global network of Mutants Psychic Network was the mountain of documents piled on her desk.
Following Lynn's instructions, her primary task was to integrate all undiscovered and unregistered Mutants resources worldwide and establish a comprehensive database down to the Genes level, laying the foundation for the subsequent "evolutionary ascension" plan.
This is a massive undertaking, yet Qin finds joy in it.
This represents Lynn's trust in her, a reliance on her that transcends Hela's "military power" and Wanda's "domestic power," and is forward-looking.
Her mental tendrils, like the most precise Probe, swept across the Hydra Base beneath the Siberia snowfields, recently "cleaned out" by Hela and Wanda. She was providing mental reassurance and ability assessments to the rescued Mutants Survivor —part of her job.
Suddenly, Qin stopped moving.
In the vast and complex symphony of the Mind Stone, she keenly detected a discordant note.
That didn't come from Mutants.
The source points to the North America continent, specifically towards New York. It is an area tightly covered by Scarlet Chaos Energy, theoretically the territory of Wanda's "Data Mountain".
An abnormal energy surged forth.
It was extremely faint, shrouded Veil layers of Chaos, but Jean's Phoenix Force was extremely sensitive to the nature of energy. She could "taste" the texture of that energy.
Part of it is indeed Wanda's signature chaotic and destructive Chaos Magic. But beneath this outer shell lies a completely different core—cold, pure, and filled with a mechanical, inanimate logical expansionist desire.
It's like a high-speed Chip residing inside a warm, fleshy heart.
Qin's brows furrowed slowly.
Her first thought was to use her Psychic Power to tear through that layer of Chaos disguise and see what Wanda was up to. But the scene of her losing control and going berserk in the Negative Zone because of Gwen Stacy and being suppressed by Lynn's Thunder was still vivid in her mind.
Lynn disliked things getting out of control, and even more so, she disliked chaotic infighting.
He established this separation of powers not so that they would continue to tear each other apart like Beast, but so that they would learn "rules".
He wants to see the struggle conducted within the rules.
The Dark Golden Flames that once belonged to the Phoenix slowly subsided in Jean Grey's eyes, replaced by an unprecedented, profound calmness. She couldn't launch a direct attack; that would be too reckless and would only further lower her standing in Lynn's eyes.
She needed a pretext, a plausible pretext that would allow her to stand on the moral and procedural high ground.
A moment later, Qin's consciousness withdrew from the mental Nebula. She straightened her long red dress made of energy, ensuring every detail was flawless, and then issued a request for an audience with the supreme Bone Throne in the Negative Zone.
"My lord."
Lynn was leaning back on the Throne with his eyes closed, his fingertips rhythmically tapping the armrest. As if he had already anticipated the arrival of the lyre, he slowly opened his eyes.
"Any progress on the work in Siberia?" His voice was flat, devoid of any emotion.
"Yes, my lord." Jean bowed slightly, her posture humble and elegant. "The mental assessments and ability classifications of the first batch of 342 Mutants Survivor been completed. This is a preliminary integration report; please review it."
A gentle stream of mental energy transmitted a well-structured and organized report to Lynn's mind. The report was detailed, including descriptions of each Mutants's abilities, Jean's predictions of their future potential, and preliminary suggestions for their inclusion in different combat or logistical roles.
The work was done impeccably.
"Very good." Lynn's tone finally carried a hint of approval. "Your efficiency is excellent, Jean. The value of this report far exceeds my expectations."
Qin blushed slightly upon receiving the praise, but she controlled her emotions well, not showing her usual overjoyed expression. She knew this was just an appetizer.
"It's my honor to share the Lord's burdens." Following Lynn's words, she subtly steered the conversation toward her true purpose, "However, in integrating the global Mutants Mind Stone network, especially in screening for Hydra's lingering mental pollution, I've noticed a... small technical problem."
"Oh?" Lynn's gaze fell on her face.
Qin's wording became extremely cautious, as if she were a department technical head reporting potential safety hazards to the top leader.
"In the North America region, particularly in network nodes overlapping with the Hydra data centers, I discovered a very active energy source that has not been flagged by any known archives."
She paused, observing Lynn's reaction. Seeing that he made no comment, she continued, "The entropy increase pattern of this energy is very peculiar. Its outer fluctuations are somewhat similar to the Chaos data that Wanda was responsible for sorting out. But its core... has an added touch of mechanical, cold texture, like... a Logic Virus with self-replicating capabilities."
That was a very skillful way of speaking.
Instead of mentioning that "Wanda is hiding something," she characterized the problem as an "unmarked energy source" and a "Logic Virus."
Instead of attacking Wanda directly, she established a connection by saying that she "somewhat resembles Her Excellency Wanda," and then pointed out the anomaly by saying that she was "mechanically cold."
Ultimately, she attributed it all to a seemingly reasonable guess.
"My personal assessment is that this is very likely some kind of self-destructing backdoor program left at the bottom layer of the network by Hydra before its demise, specifically designed to simulate and detonate Chaos Energy in an attempt to destroy itself. I'm somewhat worried that this backdoor program might cause unpredictable interference to Her Wanda's data processing work, or even... endanger her safety."
She raised her head, her bright green eyes filled with concern for her colleagues and a sense of responsibility for the project's safety.
"For the sake of departmental coordination and overall security, I feel it is necessary to report this discovery to you."
His words were perfectly watertight.
This not only demonstrated the meticulousness of their work and their sense of responsibility beyond their job duties, but also cleverly packaged Wanda's overstepping of authority as a "safety hazard" that required the attention of higher-level leaders.
She wasn't complaining; she was thinking of the whole team.
The Negative Zone was deathly silent.
Lynn looked at her quietly, his deep eyes revealing neither whether he believed her nor not.
Qin's heart skipped a beat at that moment. This was the first time she had tried to use such "political" tactics to achieve her goal, and she was unsure how Lynn would judge it.
After a long while, a subtle, enigmatic smile finally appeared on Lynn's lips.
"Qin, your observation is very keen, and your sense of responsibility at work is commendable."
He first gave positive feedback, which eased Qin's tense nerves a little.
Then, Lynn changed the subject.
"The security risk you mentioned is indeed something we need to take seriously. We must guard against Hydra's methods." He completely accepted Qin's suggestion about a "Hydra backdoor," as if he firmly believed it.
"Since you were the one who first discovered this energy anomaly, and it involves detailed analysis at the energy level, that's precisely your area of expertise."
Qin's heart began to race; she sensed that her opportunity had arrived.
"How about this?" Lynn leaned forward slightly from the Throne, and the invisible pressure emanating from him made Jean subconsciously hold her breath.
"You may temporarily set aside some of your current resettlement work. I authorize you to immediately establish a ' Special Joint Inspection Team '."
"Go and 'assist' Comrade Wanda in conducting a thorough, comprehensive technical security check of the area under her responsibility for technology and order integration."
Lynn deliberately emphasized the word "assist".
Deep within Qin's pupils, a cluster of Dark Gold flames flashed and disappeared.
"You must find this so-called ' Hydra backdoor' for me, assess its risk level, and then, together with Comrade Wanda, prepare a joint rectification report and submit it directly to me."
Lynn saw through it, but didn't say anything.
He neither investigated Wanda's cover-up nor directly rewarded Qin's "informant" behavior.
He simply gave Qin the sharpest sword of authority with the most "procedural" approval, and then threw her and Wanda, without bias, into the same boiling oil pot.
What he wanted to see was not informing, but fighting.
A more exciting battle unfolds within the rules.
"Yes, my lord."
Qin lowered her head deeply, concealing the uncontrollable, cold yet fervent smile on her face.
She knew she had won.
The next second, her figure disappeared before the Throne, carrying an unquestionable "leadership directive," and charged towards the "Data Mountain" shrouded in Scarlet Chaos.