Turning procedural justice against its masters: the bait-coordinate trap
The voice on the phone abruptly stopped.
Gwen Stacy hung up the call, but the deathly silence in the hall was even heavier than before.
That report from the Mortal World struck everyone's heart like an invisible hammer. The true weight of the phrase "drawing the firewood from under the cauldron" was only now revealed.
Hela's chilling aura was almost tangible. She stared at Lynn on the Throne, finally unable to bear it any longer.
"This is completely different from the enemies we've dealt with before. They don't brandish their weapons, yet they're undermining our foundations. I still believe we should use the most direct method to make them understand the cost of provocation."
Her implication was clear: physical removal.
"The price?" Lynn finally moved. He slowly rose from his Throne, walked to the Holographic Projection, and looked at the cold "United Nations Investigation Order" on the screen.
"The price is that, starting today, all our assets will be frozen, and all our external cooperation will be terminated. Everything we've built in the Mortal World will be labeled 'illegal,' making us pariahs."
His voice wasn't loud, but it left Hela with nowhere to vent her anger.
"Then we'll establish order ourselves!"
"What will you use to build it? Your Undead Legion to collect taxes, or Wanda's Chaos Magic to print money?" Lynn turned to her, his tone calm yet carrying an undeniable rebuttal. "Hela, power isn't everything. When your enemy chooses to play against you on a board of rules, flipping the table is tantamount to admitting defeat."
Hela's lips moved, but she ultimately remained silent.
She can destroy an army, but she cannot destroy a legally binding document with global validity.
The atmosphere in the main hall was so heavy it was suffocating.
Wanda frowned, her mind racing as she tried to find a way to break through the other party's veil of "legitimacy" through magic, but to no avail.
Qin leaned against the door, her pale face showing deep thought. She understood that this was a psychological and legal battle; the other side's goal was to force them to make the first move, thereby solidifying the charge of "endangering world security."
Gwen Stacy stood there, her palms sweating as she gripped the Communicator.
Her meticulously crafted "inspection preparation" plan appeared utterly inadequate in the face of the other party's unpredictable and unconventional approach. This made her doubt her own abilities for the first time.
"My plan had flaws," she proactively took responsibility, "I underestimated their determination and efficiency in exploiting conventional rules."
Lynn's gaze shifted from the Holographic Projection to Gwen Stacy's face.
He offered neither criticism nor comfort.
Your proposal is fine.
Lynn's voice made Glenn abruptly raise his head.
"The core of inspection preparation is 'procedure.' Since they want to discuss procedures with us, we'll discuss them in more detail."
Lynn walked back to the Throne, sat down again, and relaxed completely, as if the urgent phone call was just a minor incident in his work.
He looked at Gwen Stacy.
"The Liaison Office is now formally responding to the United Nations Special Investigation Team on my behalf."
Gwen Stacy immediately stood up straight, like a soldier awaiting orders.
The response is as follows: First, we respect the United Nations World Security Council resolutions and are willing to actively cooperate with the investigation team's audit work, which is our responsibility and obligation as part of the global order.
Upon hearing this, a look of surprise flashed in Hela's eyes. Wanda and Jean also looked puzzled.
Actively cooperate? Isn't that tantamount to inviting trouble?
Only Gwen Stacy, after her initial surprise, had a glimmer of light in her eyes. She vaguely grasped something.
"Second," Lynn continued, his voice steady, "Given the large number of asset categories involved, the sensitive data, and the fact that some physical assets are stored in high-security facilities, in order to ensure the safety, efficiency, and completeness of the audit work, and to avoid the loss of state-owned assets due to oversights during the handover..."
He paused deliberately here, tapping lightly on the bone armrest with his fingers.
"... We propose that this asset inventory and physical verification be conducted at a location designated by us with the highest level of security. Specifically, the Abandoned Subway Station in Queens."
The words had barely left his mouth.
The main hall was completely silent.
Hela's astonishment turned into realization. The red light in Wanda's eyes gradually faded, replaced by understanding. The corners of Jean's mouth even curled up in a barely perceptible arc.
Gwen Stacy's breathing stopped for a moment.
She finally understood.
This is an open strategy.
A trap that the other party cannot refuse, set using their own rules.
If the other party uses the guise of a "legitimate audit," you should respond with a "compliant handover" procedure. The reason should be plausible and unassailable. "You want to check my accounts? Fine. But for security reasons, and to ensure the completeness of the accounts, we have to go to a place I specify."
Are you going or not?
If you don't go, you are unilaterally disrupting the "legitimate audit" process, and the responsibility lies with you.
If you go, that will be exactly what I want.
"I understand." Gwen Stacy's voice trembled slightly with excitement. "I'll get on it right away!"
Lynn nodded, then turned his gaze to Wanda.
"How's the data camouflage going?"
"Report: All irregular records have been cleaned up. The new ledgers are flawless; even the most skilled accountant on Earth wouldn't be able to find any problems," Wanda replied immediately.
"Very good." Lynn's gaze finally settled on Hela. "Stability Maintenance Office, continue with the original plan. Remember, your mission is 'maintaining order,' not 'preparing for battle.' If they want to audit, let their people in. You, just keep out all the flies that want to watch the show."
"Yes." Hela bowed and accepted the order. This time, her voice was devoid of violence, only filled with anticipation for the upcoming spectacle.
Half an hour later.
Abandoned Subway Station 14-B, Queens.
Several black sedans with special license plates silently stopped outside the cordon set up by Hela.
The Man with Gold-Rimmed Glasses at the head of the group stepped out of the car, glanced at the Undead Soldiers standing around like statues, and his eyes remained completely calm.
He received a reply from Gwen Stacy.
He had no reason to refuse this "proposal." In fact, he even somewhat admired his opponent's "procedural thinking."
But this does not affect the final result.
In his view, this was nothing more than a prey's futile struggle before being captured. Regardless of the location of the audit, their ultimate goal was to establish a "Time Anchor."
Once the Anchor is successfully established, the entire Timeline of the region will be theirs.
He led his "audit team" across the police cordon and into the subway station entrance.
Inside the station, the lights were on.
But there was no one there.
In the center of the platform, hundreds of silver-white metal boxes were neatly stacked, looking like storage boxes for some kind of high-tech equipment.
"It seems our 'partner' is quite sincere," a capable-looking woman, the Man with Gold-Rimmed Glasses's deputy, said in a low voice.
The Man with Gold-Rimmed Glasses pushed up his glasses, a barely perceptible smile appearing at the corner of his mouth.
"Let's get started. First, assess the spatial stability here, then establish the base station."
The "base station" he mentioned is actually the "Time Anchor Point D".
"Yes."
A technician immediately took a sophisticated instrument from his briefcase. The instrument unfolded, emitting a low hum, and a pale orange beam of light shot towards the dome of the subway station, beginning to scan and locate the structure.
Everything went as expected.
The Man with Gold-Rimmed Glasses had even begun to devise how to write the report on the "successful takeover of the Variant."
However, just as the orange beam of light touched the dome...
Buzz--
A faint, almost imperceptible noise came from the core of the instrument.
The technician's expression froze.
"Sir... the reading... the reading is abnormal!"
The smile on the Man with Gold-Rimmed Glasses froze. He immediately looked at the instrument's screen.
On the screen, all the Data Stream turned into a chaotic snowflake. The value representing spatial stability was plummeting into negative values at an unbelievable speed.
"What's going on?!"
"I don't know! The physical rules here... are being tampered with! Our equipment can't decipher the Underlying Logic here!"
The technicians' voices were tinged with panic.
At that very moment, all the lights in the entire subway station were tinged with an eerie Scarlet.
The air seemed to have turned into thick glue.
The Man with Gold-Rimmed Glasses looked up abruptly. He saw that the entrance and exit of the subway station had, at some point, ceased to be passageways to the outside world and had instead transformed into a Chaos mass of colors that was constantly twisting and spinning.
They were locked in a cage built with "Erroneous Logic".
"Initiate Emergency Translocation Protocol! Get out of here immediately!" the Man with Gold-Rimmed Glasses ordered sternly.
His deputy immediately pressed the button on the device in his hand, but the orange light gate that should have opened instantly did not even produce a spark.
The connection with TVA headquarters was completely severed.
Cold sweat beaded on the forehead of the Man with Gold-Rimmed Glasses.
He finally realized that from the moment they stepped into the subway station, they had fallen into a trap tailor-made for them. The other party had no intention of negotiating with them at all, but instead, in the very realm of rules they were most proud of, they had outmaneuvered them in a way that the other party couldn't comprehend.
Despair instantly enveloped him.
He stared at the Surveillance Camera hidden in the corner, his eyes filled with madness and resentment.
He suddenly pulled an inconspicuous, silver, square metal piece from the inside pocket of his suit.
This is a last resort.
A top-level alert that should never be used unless absolutely necessary.
He stared intently at the camera, as if trying to pierce the screen and brand his resentment onto the face of the person sitting behind the scenes.
Then, with all his might, he pressed the red button in the center of the metal plate.
A signal that disregarded all space and rules instantly pierced through the area sealed by Chaos Magic and shot into the unknown depths beyond time.
That was a top-level alert that directly called out "Kang the Conqueror".