Wordplay in the disclaimer, the Department of Technology's low-level tracing
Disclaimer.
The four words came through Ke'er's Communicator, devoid of any warmth.
The atmosphere, which had just eased slightly due to the concession of "video visitation," froze again.
Hela's brow furrowed into a knot.
For her, any form of paperwork is more frustrating than a tough battle.
With a professional smile on his face, Mobius took a thin Data Pad from his briefcase and handed it to Gwen Stacy with both hands.
"Commander Stacy, this is standard procedure. It's to ensure the technical integrity of the communication process and to avoid potential misunderstandings later on."
Gwen Stacy didn't answer immediately.
She simply stared quietly at the Data Pad that was faintly lit.
"Wanda," she whispered.
Wanda understood, stepped forward, took out a separate, old-fashioned Interface Converter from her equipment box, and plugged it into the port of the Data Pad.
"Routine safety check." Wanda's tone was flat, as if she were just doing a trivial task.
Mobius's smile froze for a moment, but he quickly recovered.
"Of course, of course. Rigor is a good thing."
A few seconds later, Wanda nodded to Gwen Stacy.
"Clean."
Gwen Stacy then reached out and took the Data Pad.
Hela impatiently crossed her arms and gestured to Gwen Stacy hurry up.
Gwen Stacy ignored her urging, her fingertips lightly sliding across the virtual screen of the Data Pad, reviewing the so-called "Video Visitation Technology Risk Avoidance and Liability Waiver Statement" word by word.
The document was short, but it was filled with meticulously crafted official jargon, and was riddled with phrases like "given that," "to ensure," and "to avoid."
Hela's patience was slowly wearing thin.
Gwen Stacy's gaze, however, lingered on the third item of the seventh section of the screen.
Her finger stopped there.
[... The visiting party voluntarily relinquished all rights to physical extradition and subsequent prosecution of this individual in exchange for this non-standard video visitation opportunity...]
This line of small print is hidden within numerous disclaimers concerning signal interference, information distortion, and force majeure.
Without careful examination of each word, it's easy to dismiss it as a typical technical disclaimer.
But Gwen Stacy saw it.
This is no longer a word game.
This is a trap.
A legal trap that uses the small concession of "video visitation" as bait in an attempt to obtain their core objective.
Once the document is signed, it means that Negative Zone has legally and completely relinquished its right to bring Erik Lehnsherr back.
Hela noticed the change in Gwen Stacy's expression and leaned closer, her gaze falling on the screen. When she saw the contents of the text, a chilling killing intent instantly emanated from her.
"They're asking for it."
Mobius instinctively took a half step back, feeling the temperature around him drop several degrees.
Gwen Stacy raised her hand and gently pressed down on Hela's arm, which she was about to raise.
She looked up at Mobius calmly and handed the Data Pad back.
"This is unacceptable to us."
Mobius seemed to have anticipated this, a troubled expression on his face. "Commander Stacy, these are standard terms and conditions for the Core Zone. I... our Foreign Affairs Office has no authority to modify them."
"Then it cannot be signed." Gwen Stacy's answer was crisp and decisive.
"Then... then video visitation might be..."
"Deputy Director Mobius," Gwen Stacy interrupted him, "We're here in good faith to resolve this issue, not to sign an unequal treaty."
She paused, her tone softening slightly, but her stance remained firm.
"This clause contradicts our diplomatic mandate for this trip and is inconsistent with the supplementary provisions regarding the protection of the rights of detainees in the Interdimensional Extradition Treaty No. 7. If you insist, I can only submit this document to the Multiverse Coordination Committee for record-keeping as evidence of your lack of sincerity and deliberate obstruction."
These words instantly shifted the pressure back onto the other party.
Mobius broke out in a sweat again.
He was just a messenger; he couldn't bear that responsibility.
"In that case," Gwen Stacy suggested, seemingly considering his needs, "To avoid wasting both of our time, please send an electronic copy of this document to our encrypted channel. I need to discuss it with my team and draft a revised version before sending it back to you."
"This..."
"This is the most procedurally just approach." Gwen Stacy gave him no chance to hesitate. "Or, does Deputy Director Mobius wish for us to discuss this sensitive document involving multiple parties right here, in front of your security forces?"
Mobius glanced at Hela's barely concealed expression and immediately made his choice.
"Okay, okay! I'll arrange it immediately! Please have Commander Stacy provide the receiving channel."
"Wanda," Gwen Stacy gestured.
Wanda stepped forward and handed a Data Interface to Mobius.
At that moment, the communication networks of both sides established an extremely brief, officially authorized connection.
The data transfer progress bar flashed across the screen.
It all happened in no more than three seconds.
Wanda withdrew the connector and retreated silently behind Gwen Stacy.
Her fingers tapped rapidly on the terminal of her wrist, making no sound.
"The document has been received. We will study it as soon as possible and provide feedback in an hour," Gwen Stacy said, turning and walking into the guesthouse.
"Please make sure you keep your deputy in check," Mobius whispered behind her.
Gwen Stacy did not turn around.
Back in the room, the Alloy Door had just closed.
Hela's anger could no longer be contained. "An hour? Why waste time talking to them! I'll just storm in and see who dares to stop me!"
"And then?" Gwen Stacy turned around, looking at her calmly. "Break in, only to find Erik is gone, or that we've completely fallen into their trap of rules, becoming invaders at the hands of the entire Battleworld?"
"That's still better than signing this humiliating treaty here!"
"So we didn't sign," Gwen Stacy said calmly.
She looked at Wanda, who had remained silent. "How is it?"
Wanda raised her head, her eyes gleaming with an unusual light—the excitement of a top-notch technologist who had just captured their prey.
"We've caught them by the tail."
She projected the terminal on her wrist onto the center of the room.
A series of complex Data Stream cascaded down like waterfalls, and finally, a red beacon was firmly locked onto a vast, Labyrinth network structure.
"In the three seconds of the connection just now, I used the authorization of the official channel to implant a Chaos Beacon Trojan, disguised as a data verification code, into their Foreign Affairs Office's underlying communication system."
Wanda's voice carried a hint of pride.
"They thought we were just receiving files, but actually, it was their firewall that opened the door for my 'key'."
Hela's anger subsided, and she looked at the structural diagram on the light screen, somewhat puzzled.
"Could this lead to Erik?"
"We can't find it directly," Wanda shook her head. "But this beacon allows me to trace back to the physical location of 'Director Ke'er,' who just communicated with Mobius, and... the server node he accessed when retrieving Erik's file."
She tapped her finger lightly in the air.
The network structure changed instantly, with countless data threads flowing like rivers into the sea, ultimately converging on a separate data block marked "Top Secret".
"By analyzing the access logs and encryption rules of the data blocks, I reverse-engineered the actual physical coordinates of the detained target."
A three-dimensional structural diagram slowly emerged in the center of the room.
But it was not a prison, nor was it any known architectural form.
It was a huge sphere that was slowly pulsating, composed of countless energy channels and rule Runes.
At the very center of the sphere, a faint but extremely stable life signal is being connected by countless Probe.
"Coordinates found."
Wanda's voice carried a hint of solemnity.
But something is very wrong.
Erik Lehnsherr is not in any prison.
He was imprisoned inside the core Rule Engine of the Battleworld.