The Dispute over Classification at the Office Meeting, Lynn's Response to the Unexpected Incident
That will had no form, yet it was heavier than any bone mountain in the Negative Zone.
The moment it descended, all the surging energy—whether it was the Scarlet Chaos, the pitch-black death, or the dark gold spiritual fire—quietly extinguished like a extinguished candle flame.
The air became buoyant again, but it was as cold as ice.
Hela, Wanda, and Jean Grey stood frozen in place, maintaining their confrontational stance, none of them daring to move an inch. They felt no anger, only a pure, irritating frustration at being completely ignored by a higher being.
Lynn appeared among them, as if he had always been there.
He did not walk towards the distant Bone Throne, but stood on the ground that had been pockmarked by the clash of energies.
There are no meeting rooms in the Negative Zone, but when he stands here, this space becomes a meeting room.
"Let's have a meeting." Lynn's voice was flat, revealing neither joy nor anger.
He glanced around, his gaze lingering on each person's face for less than half a second.
"Regarding the sudden mass incident on Sixth Avenue in Manhattan and the subsequent interagency law enforcement conflict, several leaders of the Joint Working Group shared their perspectives."
He used the terms "mass incident" and "law enforcement conflict," which, while understated, precisely defined the scope of this murky situation.
Hela first concealed her aura, straightening her uniform collar as if she were not the one who had just unleashed the Undead Legion and spoken with such threatening words.
"Boss, let me say a few words first." She took half a step forward, a subtle movement that put her in a favorable position to give the report among the three people.
"Our department's Stability Maintenance Office's patrol team arrived at the scene strictly in accordance with the emergency Contingency Plan. At that time, the Department of Technology's on-site investigation had triggered an unexplained high-energy reaction, constituting Class A security hazard. To prevent the situation from getting out of control and causing secondary damage to the surrounding area, our department intervened in accordance with regulations and prepared to take over the physical evidence; this is our duty."
Hela spoke slowly and clearly, completely confining her actions within the bounds of "stability maintenance" and "regulations," and completely disavowing any intention to steal credit.
"As for the subsequent conflict," she glanced at Wanda, "It was mainly due to the Department of Technology's misunderstanding of the Stability Maintenance Office's normal performance of its duties, and its failure to actively cooperate, which led to a temporary standstill in the on-site handling work."
Wanda's face paled slightly.
Hela's words directly shifted the majority of the blame onto her.
Before Lynn could respond, Wanda immediately retorted.
"I cannot agree with Minister Hela's statement." Her voice was a little strained, but her logic remained intact.
"First, all our actions on-site were within the controllable range of the technical investigation. The so-called 'high-energy response' was precisely the key step in our extraction of core physical evidence. Second, the Stability Maintenance Office forcibly overstepped its authority and intervened without any communication with our on-site commander. This is not fulfilling our duties; it is violent interference, which seriously undermined the procedural integrity of the evidence extraction."
She paused, then looked directly at Lynn.
"I admit that I personally lost control of my emotions during the subsequent communication process. But the cause was that the Stability Maintenance Office attempted to bypass the work process and forcibly seize the original samples belonging to the Technology Division. I have on-site energy records to prove this."
The ball was kicked back again.
Jean Grey had remained silent until this moment, when she finally spoke, her voice clear and impartial, like an arbitrator standing aside.
"All three parties share responsibility for this matter."
From the moment she opened her mouth, she placed herself on an equal footing with the other two.
"Minister Hela's assessment of the risks was too radical, while Minister Wanda's adherence to procedures was somewhat rigid. As for me, as the head of the Management Committee, when I noticed friction between departments, I failed to mediate effectively in a timely manner, instead resorting to the forced preservation of physical evidence. Although the intention was good, the methods used were indeed inappropriate."
She proactively took on some of the "leadership responsibility," adopting a very humble attitude, but cleverly extricated herself from the vortex of conflict, transforming herself into a peacemaker who considered the overall situation.
"I suggest that we disregard individual responsibility for this incident and instead compile a report as soon as possible, focusing on reviewing the loopholes in the cross-departmental collaboration mechanism."
After the three finished speaking, the Negative Zone fell into a deathly silence.
They were all waiting for Lynn's Final Judgment.
Lynn listened to all the reports, his face remaining expressionless. He neither criticized nor praised anyone, as if their heated arguments had meant nothing to him.
He simply extended his hand.
Jean Grey immediately understood, and the Vibranium container, enveloped in Dark Gold energy, flew steadily into Lynn's palm.
Lynn didn't open the container; she just weighed it in her hand.
"You all seem to have misunderstood one thing."
He finally spoke, breaking the silence.
The key point of this matter is not whose responsibility it is, nor is it any kind of collaborative mechanism.
His gaze swept across the faces of Hela, Wanda, and Chin.
"The key point is, what is that orange light gate?"
This question left all three of them stunned.
All their arguments just now revolved around merit, responsibility, and procedure, but they subconsciously ignored the root of the problem.
"I'll define this."
Lynn's voice suddenly became unquestionable.
"This is not a simple energy fluctuation, nor is it some unknown scientific phenomenon."
"This was an unregistered and illegal border crossing."
The words "illegally crossing the border" struck the three men like four heavy hammer blows.
This characterization completely changed the nature of the incident. It transformed from a technical issue requiring research and analysis into a law enforcement issue requiring action and punishment.
"Therefore, the Joint Working Group's primary task at present is not writing reports or analyzing samples, but law enforcement."
Lynn looked at them, her eyes as cold as Scalpel.
"I'm giving you a hard target."
"Within forty-eight hours, I want to see an illegal border crosser lawfully 'detained' and brought here."
"I want to live."
"I want the interrogation report."
The entire Negative Zone seemed to freeze, even the flow of energy.
Capture one alive?
Where to capture them? How to capture them? Who are they, what do they look like, what are their abilities? We know absolutely nothing. This is simply an impossible task.
"Leader..." Wanda instinctively wanted to speak, to explain the difficulty involved.
But Lynn's next word made her swallow all her words back.
"Otherwise," he paused, his gaze becoming extremely imposing, "the Joint Working Group is to be disbanded on the spot. This operation is classified as a major failure, and 'unsatisfactory' will be recorded in all of your quarterly performance reports."
"No exceptions."
After saying that, he didn't look at them again, turned around and walked into the void, his figure gradually fading away as if he had never existed.
All that remained was that cold command and that despairing 48-hour countdown.
The Negative Zone was deathly silent.
The three leaders, who had been at loggerheads just moments before, now looked at each other in bewilderment. The hostility and scheming in their eyes had faded, replaced by a shared, immense pressure.
For them, the "unsatisfactory" rating was more unacceptable than any physical punishment.
That means their value in Lynn's eyes will be completely negated.
Hela's face was so dark it seemed to drip water.
Jean Grey's brows furrowed tightly.
Wanda looked at her empty palm and felt a surge of unease.
Forty-eight hours hung like a death knell over their heads. Now, they had to put aside all prejudices and selfishness to find a way to break the deadlock that didn't even exist.