The Technology Integration Department's Counterattack, Stark Industries' Unauthorized Move

Lynn stopped in her tracks.

But he didn't turn around.

The deathly silence in the Negative Zone became even denser because of this abrupt pause, pouring into Wanda's ears like mercury and pressing down on her every heartbeat.

She knelt there, her head tilted back, her eyes a mixture of morbid fanaticism and humble pleading, a desperate sacrifice.

Time seemed to be stretched to infinity.

Every second felt like a slow, agonizing torture of her will.

Lynn finally turned around slowly.

His face was expressionless, showing neither interest in this "more important intelligence" nor displeasure at being interrupted. He simply looked calmly at Wanda kneeling on the ground, his gaze like that of someone examining a tool, assessing whether it was still worth repairing.

He did not walk towards her, but turned and walked back to the Throne, where he sat down.

The cold touch of the bone armrest came from his fingertips. He leaned back in his chair, his whole body shrouded in shadow, with only his eyes shining calmly in the darkness.

This silent action reaffirmed the insurmountable distance.

"Explain."

A single word, uttered from the Throne, devoid of any warmth.

Wanda felt as if she had been granted a pardon, her taut nerves nearly snapping. She dared not rise, but instead trembled as she reached out her hand. A ball of Scarlet Chaos Energy gathered in her palm, eventually forming a complex and precise three-dimensional data model that floated before the Throne.

That was not a simple written report.

Instead, it is a dynamic briefing composed of countless Data Stream, energy characteristic analyses, resource mobilization paths, and highly encrypted engineering blueprints.

"Following the Ultron Crisis, Stark Industries neither sealed away all related technologies as required, nor ceased its research into unknown supernatural powers."

Wanda's voice was suppressed, trying to remain calm, but she still couldn't hide a slight tremor from her eagerness to perform.

"He secretly launched a high-risk project by utilizing the remaining resources and channels of S.H.I.E.L.D.., as well as some of the authority delegated by Nick Fury during the cleanup efforts."

The data model kept changing as she explained.

A brand-new humanoid armor design was enlarged, its structure unlike any of Stoker's previous works, filled with bizarre lines of non-Euclidean geometry. The Energy Core was no longer the Arc Reactor, but a complex matrix that attempted to simulate, distort, and even rewrite the rules of physics on a small scale.

Project codename: ' Anti-Deity Armor '.

"Its core logic is not physical confrontation, but a countermeasure at the level of rules. According to my analysis of early data, the design goal of this armor is to create a 'rule vacuum' or 'logic black hole' to neutralize, shield, or even... erase extraordinary forces within the target area."

Wanda paused, then looked up at the shadow on the Throne.

Its hypothetical enemy is not aliens, nor robots.

It's you.

The data model was finally fixed on an energy characteristic comparison chart. On the left is the dissipation fluctuation of Hela, Jyn, and her own power during the Washington, D.C. incident; on the right is the counter-waveform being simulated by the core matrix of the "Anti-Deity Armor".

The evidence is conclusive.

Lynn stared quietly at the report.

He was not angry.

There wasn't even the slightest surprise.

Tony Stock, the man hailed as a genius and futurist by mortals, is at heart an arrogant engineer who attempts to establish order for the universe using logic and the screws of machines. After witnessing firsthand how mortal technology crumbles like a sandcastle before absolute power, what will he do?

It's not about surrendering, not about fear, but about trying to understand, then replicating, and finally surpassing.

He will try to build a cage for "God".

This is very much in line with his personality.

What interested Lynn was another inconspicuous Data Stream in the report—the underlying signatures of the mobilization instructions for the hidden resources used to support project research and development belonged to Nick Fury.

That one-eyed bald man, while professing submission, was secretly still playing his old tricks of checks and balances. He handed over the mess of S.H.I.E.L.D.. to himself, but secretly handed Stock a knife, attempting to preserve a sliver of humanity's dignity and honor under the new order.

ridiculous.

Lynn tapped her knuckles lightly on the armrest.

The suspended data model Oblivion in an instant.

The Throne room returned to darkness and silence.

Wanda's heart leaped into her throat once more as the model disappeared. She wondered if her "pledge of allegiance" was heavy enough to make up for the points she had just lost.

"Mr. Lynn, I..." she began urgently, a destructive urge surging within her again, "I'm going to New York right now, I'll make him..."

"No need."

Lynn interrupted her.

He rose from his Throne, walked slowly down the steps, and stopped in front of Wanda.

He didn't tell her to get up.

"A snake trapped in a hole will only bite frantically. But a snake that thinks it's well hidden will follow the path you've laid out for it and crawl into the trap you've prepared."

Lynn's voice was soft, yet it carried a chilling, all-knowing quality.

"If he wants to build it, let him build it."

"I'm even somewhat looking forward to it."

He looked down at Wanda, and a flicker of emotion finally appeared in her eyes, which shone in the darkness. It wasn't approval, nor forgiveness, but rather a cruel, mocking look.

"The Technology Integration Department needs a long-term, in-depth, non-intrusive technical observation report on the ' Anti-Deity Armor ' project. I need to know every technical milestone, every iteration, and... where its limits lie."

He gave her a new task.

An opportunity to make amends.

"Do you understand?"

"Understood!"

Wanda answered emphatically, her voice filled with the ecstatic joy of something lost and then regained. She knew she had made the right gamble. Not only had she not been completely marginalized, but she had also been given a secret mission that went directly to the highest levels of government.

"Go."

Lynn waved her hand and didn't look at her again.

Wanda bowed respectfully, then transformed into a cloud of Scarlet mist, disappearing into the hall with a sense of relief at surviving the ordeal and an intense fervor for her new mission.

Lynn was the only one left in the entire Negative Zone.

He returned to the Throne.

An external enemy, a clear target, is sometimes more effective than any appeasement or reprimand. Stock's project can serve as a long-term KPI assessment hanging over Wanda, Jean, and Hela.

Whoever can handle this threat better will receive more resources and attention.

Involution will therefore continue indefinitely.

Lynn was very satisfied with this situation.

Just as he was about to immerse his consciousness into the system to analyze the gains and losses of the moment, a sudden Mind Link request appeared in his perception.

It's Gwen Stacy.

Lynn connected to the link.

"They're all gone?" Gwen Stacy's voice rang out directly, tinged with a barely perceptible mockery.

"Is something the matter?"

"I saw that the Technology Integration Department just applied for the highest priority monitoring access to Stark Industries." Gwen Stacy spoke quickly. "Wanda got a new assignment, right?"

This woman who suddenly appeared was far more astute than he had imagined.

"What do you want to say?" Lynn's voice remained calm.

"Stark Industries is in New York, isn't it?" Gwen Stacy's voice radiated an air of unwavering confidence. "That's my territory. When it comes to understanding Stock Technology, especially those gadgets hidden behind firewalls, nobody here knows better than me."

She paused for a moment, then threw out her chips.

"Let me go to New York."

"I can get his real trump card for you."