An Anomaly During the Video Visit, a Distress Signal in Encrypted Lip Language

There were no windows in the room.

The pure white Alloy Wall shut out all external reference points.

Time becomes blurred here.

Gwen Stacy, Hela, and Wanda stood in a triangle, waiting silently. On the wall in the center of the room, a huge light screen replaced the physical door that Mobius and the others had left through, and was now in standby mode, emitting a soft glow.

The disclaimer, which contained hidden traps, was temporarily shelved by Mobius after Gwen Stacy suggested procedural revisions, citing the need for review by the Core Zone's Legal Department department.

Instead, a video visit was arranged as an "exception".

Hela stood in the shadows of the corner with her arms crossed, her face expressionless, but her tightly pursed lips betrayed her impatience.

Wanda stood to one side of the light screen, the terminal device on her wrist silently unfolding, several pale red Data Stream swirling around her fingertips, ready to perform low-level analysis on the upcoming video signal at any moment.

Gwen Stacy stood at the very front, perfectly positioned, directly facing the center of the light screen. She adjusted her glasses, the lenses reflecting the faint glow of the screen.

The light screen flickered.

There was no warning.

The screen lights up.

The background remains pure white, and a man dressed in the same white uniform without any markings sits upright in a chair.

It's Erik Lehnsherr.

He looked to be in good spirits, with a rosy complexion and his hair neatly combed. However, his eyes were somewhat vacant, staring blankly at the camera as if he were looking at an inanimate object.

"Erik." Hela's voice was low, tinged with suppressed anger.

Erik on the screen seemed not to hear; his lips moved, uttering a flat, emotionless tone.

"I hereby declare that I, Erik Lehnsherr, have voluntarily come to the Battleworld to undergo thought correction and behavioral therapy."

His voice, amplified through the loudspeaker, filled the entire room; clear and standard, yet sounded like it had been machine-generated.

"During this period, my comrades in the Battleworld gave me meticulous care, which made me deeply aware of the mistakes I had made in the past and the enormous harm these mistakes had caused to the peace of the Multiverse."

Hela clenched her fists.

A slight clicking sound came from the joint.

Wanda frowned slightly, glanced at the data feedback on her terminal, and then gently shook her head at Gwen Stacy.

The signal is stable, with no frame skipping, no energy interference, and the image quality is original and lossless.

From a technical standpoint, this video is flawless.

"My thoughts have been Purification, and my soul has been elevated. I voluntarily choose to remain here to continue learning the advanced theories of the Battleworld and completely transform my worldview. I request that my colleagues in the Negative Zone cease their concerns for me and refrain from interfering in the internal affairs of the Battleworld."

Erik recited the entire passage in one breath without pausing, as if he were reading a document he already knew by heart.

After he finished speaking, he fell silent, still with that empty expression, staring at the camera.

"You bastard!"

Hela finally couldn't hold back and let out a low shout. She took a step forward, her body surging with Death Energy, as if she would tear the light barrier in front of her to shreds in the next second.

"He's been taken into custody."

"Isn't that obvious!" Hela turned and glared at Gwen Stacy. "Do you even need to tell me? I'm going to tear him out of here!"

"Calm down." Gwen Stacy's voice wasn't loud, but it made Hela stop what she was doing.

Gwen Stacy didn't look at Hela; all her attention was focused on the silent man on the screen.

She had been observing Erik from the moment he uttered his first word.

Her brain, like a high-speed analyzer, broke down and compared every detail of Erik.

His blinking frequency was 12 percent slower than normal.

He spoke without any of his usual hand gestures, his hands resting flat on his knees, completely still.

His facial muscles, except for the opening and closing of his lips, were almost completely stiff, without any micro-expressions that matched his emotions.

All of this points to one conclusion: the person in front of us is a puppet being precisely manipulated.

However, none of these are sufficient to constitute evidence.

The Battleworld could easily say that this is a sign of their successful "recuperation".

Gwen Stacy's gaze fell on the pauses in Erik's speech.

He would pause very briefly, about 0.5 seconds, between each passage he recited.

In that half-second pause, his lips will make a very subtle, almost imperceptible pursing motion.

This gesture seemed completely out of place with his stiff face.

At first, Gwen Stacy thought it was her imagination.

The second time, she began to have doubts.

The third time, she was almost certain.

This was not an unconscious action.

This is a form of encryption.

An Encrypted Lip Language invented by early members of the Brotherhood of Mutants to transmit information while under close surveillance.

It combines the rhythm of Morse Code, but its expression is the opening and closing of the lips, the pursing of the lips, and the subtle shape changes on the lips when the tip of the tongue touches different positions of the teeth inside the mouth.

This encryption method was abandoned long ago as the Brotherhood grew, and is only recorded in the oldest archives.

Gwen Stacy, while working in the Liaison Office and organizing all the historical files related to Earth's superpowered organizations, read about it.

Her brain raced, translating every subtle movement of Erik's lips into individual characters.

"Regulation."

"But."

"Same."

"Change."

Gwen Stacy's pupils contracted slightly behind her glasses.

Rule Assimilation.

These four words are far more terrifying than "mind control".

Mind control can be broken. But Rule Assimilation means that the Battleworld is trying to rewrite Erik from an independent life form into a part of their world's rules.

It's like embedding a brick into a wall.

She continued reading.

After reciting the last paragraph, Erik fell into a long silence.

His hands remained flat on his knees.

But his right index finger began to tap his kneecap gently at an extremely slow and rhythmic frequency.

once.

pause.

twice.

pause.

This was another early form of encryption Brotherhood: Tapping Code.

Hela and Wanda only saw the surface calm, but in Gwen Stacy's eyes, each tap represented a clear instruction.

"Cut."

"Break."

"Anchor."

"Point."

Cut the Anchor.

Gwen Stacy instantly understood Erik's intention.

He was beyond saving; he was being devoured by the Rule Engine of the Battleworld. His distress signal wasn't "Save me," but "Kill me."

He requested that Negative Zone sever all "Anchor" related to him, which likely included himself.

Because once assimilation is complete, the Battleworld can use the former Magneto, this powerful Mutants, to reverse-locate and contaminate all Mutants communities related to him, and even the entire Negative Zone.

He chose to protect his people in the most resolute way.

Gwen Stacy's heart sank.

She realized the true difficulty of this trip.

What they are facing is not a simple kidnapping and extortion, but a set of civilized rules that are trying to devour everything.

Hela's anxiety deepened as Gwen Stacy remained silent. "What are you looking at? Gwen Stacy, if you can't do it yourself, let me do it!"

Gwen Stacy did not answer.

She simply looked at the screen and slowly tapped her left wrist lightly with her right index finger.

Just once.

This is the highest level of response in the Brotherhood's encryption system, indicating "received, instruction confirmed".

On the screen, a barely perceptible flicker seemed to cross Erik's empty eyes.

Then, that slight fluctuation was replaced by an even deeper, deathly silence.

It's done.

Gwen Stacy silently recited it in her heart.

She successfully completed the intelligence exchange with Erik under the strict surveillance of the Battleworld.

However, the very next second after she finished responding...

A sudden change occurred.

"Drop--"

A piercing alarm sounded without warning.

The image on the screen instantly became filled with distorted snowflakes.

A domineering, cold, and irresistible energy appeared out of thin air and forcibly cut off the video signal.

Wanda's expression changed, and all the Data Stream on her terminal instantly turned into a chaotic red.

"A higher-level energy has intervened! I've been kicked out!"

At this moment, Hai'er's anger was replaced by a more primal vigilance. She could sense that the energy contained a pure, undisguised will to destroy.

The shimmering light of the snowflakes eventually faded into darkness.

The next second, a striking hourglass symbol made of golden sand slowly appeared in the center of the screen.

At the top and bottom of the hourglass are two crossed swords.

The sand in the hourglass is slowly falling.

The entire room was bathed in the golden light emanating from the symbol, creating an atmosphere of solemnity.