The Supreme Adjudicator's Official Directive, Legitimizing an Unauthorized Operation
Gwen Stacy couldn't feel her body.
Time and space became a solidified gel, sealing her firmly within it. Her thoughts could still function, but it was as if she were immersed in the deep sea, each idea bearing immense water pressure, sluggish and heavy.
Beside her, Hela remained with her hand on the sword hilt, the surging Death Energy around her frozen into a still black oil painting. The Scarlet Runes on Wanda's fingertips also stopped at the last stroke, their light solidified, no longer flickering.
Everything in the Engine Room came to a standstill.
Only that man, the Supreme Adjudicator who wore the Scales and Hourglass Emblem on his chest, stood there quietly.
The document in his hand was the only "variable" in this absolutely static realm.
Gwen Stacy's gaze was fixed on the document.
The document format was standard for the Negative Zone Management Committee, with the organization's full name printed in the header and a hidden anti-counterfeiting pattern in the footer. Everything was so familiar, so familiar that it felt incredibly eerie in this completely foreign land.
The most glaring thing was the bright red seal at the bottom of the signature, which she knew all too well, and the flamboyant handwritten signature next to it.
Lynn.
How could he...?
No, now is not the time to think about that.
The Judge raised her hand, holding the documents out to them.
A simple action, yet it seemed to contain a certain permission.
Gwen Stacy felt the overwhelming Order Force within her loosen slightly. She could move again.
Hela and Wanda remain imprisoned.
The other party's meaning was very clear: this document was only for the head of the delegation to see.
Gwen Stacy's throat felt dry. She glanced at her immobilized companion beside her, then at the thousands of "Erik" submerged in nutrient solution in the distance.
She took a deep breath and forced her legs, which were stiff from the sudden regain of mobility, to take her first step.
One step, then another.
The high heels clicked crisply and forlornly on the gleaming alloy floor. In the deathly silent Engine Room, the sound was amplified a thousandfold.
She walked steadily, with small steps and a slow pace, perfectly befitting the demeanor of a high-ranking civil servant in a formal setting.
This was a point Lynn specifically instructed her to make during their closed-door conversation before her departure.
No matter what happens, remember your identity. You are the official representative sent by the Negative Zone, and your every word and action represents the face and stance of the Negative Zone.
Gwen Stacy stopped three steps away from the Supreme Adjudicator.
This is a standard social distancing measure that shows respect while maintaining a safe distance.
She didn't look up into the other person's eyes, but nodded slightly, her gaze fixed on the document in the other person's hand, and spoke in a calm, emotionless tone.
"I am Gwen Stacy Stacy, the head of the Negative Zone Battleworld Inspection Delegation. Is this an official document that requires our signature?"
program.
In the face of absolute power, reasoning is a joke, and appealing to emotions is a pipe dream. The only thing that can serve as a shield is procedure.
The Supreme Adjudicator did not answer.
He simply let go.
The document didn't fall; instead, it was lifted by an invisible force and flew steadily to Gwen Stacy, hovering at eye level.
Gwen Stacy extended both hands and solemnly accepted the document.
The paper feels very realistic; you can even smell the faint odor of the printing ink that hasn't completely dissipated.
Her gaze quickly swept to the headline.
Notification of the Emergency Response Contingency Plan for Sudden Security Incidents During the Visit of the Negative Zone Delegation to Battleworld.
Gring's heart skipped a beat.
Contingency Plan.
Notification.
These two words completely overturned her understanding of her current situation. Their actions weren't an illegal infiltration that resulted in being caught red-handed. Instead, it was... a Contingency Plan, unplanned incident?
She suppressed the turmoil in her heart and continued reading.
The main text is logically clear and precisely worded, which is completely in Lynn's style.
The document begins by stating that during a friendly inspection of the core facilities of the Battleworld, as part of the established procedures, the Negative Zone delegation unexpectedly discovered a major security vulnerability in the Battleworld's Rule Engine.
The document then states that, in order to avoid uncontrollable consequences for the stability of the Battleworld and even the Multiverse caused by this hidden danger, the delegation decided to activate the emergency Contingency Plan and temporarily upgrade this inspection into a "joint security exercise" targeting the core engine security vulnerability, based on the authorization of the "Joint Security Joint Security Memorandum" secretly signed by the Negative Zone Standing Committee of Battleworld Rules Faction Negative Space and the senior members of the Battle Realm Rules Joint Security Exercise.
Joint Security Exercise.
Gwen Stacy's fingertips trembled slightly.
She finally understood. From the very beginning, Lynn hadn't expected the key Ke'er provided to be foolproof. He had anticipated that they would be discovered, and even that they would directly alarm the highest levels of the Rules Faction.
Therefore, he prepared this document in advance.
This is not an explanation, but a definition.
It redefined an illegal and highly hostile intrusion into a compliant and benevolent technical exercise through a higher-level "secret consensus" reached by both parties.
This is an unbreakable endorsement of legitimacy.
As Ge Ling continued reading, he noticed a document with the following attachment list. "A High-Level Memorandum Between the Negative Zone and the Battleworld Rules Faction Regarding the Maintenance of Stability in the Multiverse Order."
She didn't need to doubt the authenticity of the memo. Since Lynn dared to write it here, it meant that the memo must exist in the Rules Faction's database in some form at this moment.
This is not an open strategy at all, but Dimensionality-Reduction Strike.
Use the other party's most prized "rules" to provide the most perfect explanation for your own behavior.
When Gwen Stacy looked up from the document, she noticed that the frozen atmosphere around her was quietly dissipating.
The massive Rule Engine in the center began to slowly rotate again.
Tiny bubbles rose again from the pale blue nutrient solution in the container.
Beside them, they could hear Hela and Wanda breathing heavily.
"What... what happened?" Hela's voice carried a hint of lingering shock from surviving the ordeal, as well as a deeper sense of confusion.
Wanda didn't speak. She looked at the documents in Gwen Stacy's hand, then at the still silent Supreme Adjudicator in the distance, her Scarlet eyes filled with disbelief.
They were saved.
It wasn't through force, nor through magic.
It was all based on a single official document.
The Supreme Adjudicator looked at Gwen Stacy, still showing no emotion, as if the order blockade that had just been capable of annihilating everything had nothing to do with him.
He spoke coldly, simply stating a fact.
"In accordance with Article 3, Paragraph 1 of the Joint Security Exercise Plan, the exercise has entered its second phase."
His voice was like the friction of metal, devoid of any human emotion.
Gwen Stacy immediately looked down and turned to the last page of the document.
Her pupils contracted sharply.
At the end of the document, a line of mandatory regulations was clearly marked in bold.
"Phase Two: Post-Drill Review and Evidence Collection. To clarify the responsible party for the security breach, the Negative Zone Delegation is obligated to cooperate with the Battleworld Adjudication Office in handing over key evidence that led to this security vulnerability."
Key evidence?
Gwen Stacy's heart sank instantly.