An encrypted cross-dimensional request, the boss's remote micromanagement

The air in the Engine Room became heavy as hundreds of Scarlet compound eyes lit up.

Hela's hand gripping the sword hilt was bulging with veins. She didn't care about these mechanical creations, but she could sense that the Energy Core of each guard was inextricably linked to the rules of the entire Engine Room. To take action here was tantamount to declaring war on the entire defense system of the Battleworld.

This is a dead end.

Wanda's breathing quickened, and the crimson glow of Chaos Magic flickered at her fingertips, a mixture of wariness and helplessness. She looked at Gwen Stacy, waiting for her nominal leader to come up with a solution.

Gwen Stacy's gaze swept over the motionless mechanical guards, finally settling on the Supreme Adjudicator's inorganic visor.

Her heart was pounding, but her face showed no sign of it.

She knew that Hela's threat of force was a trump card, but playing it hadn't brought her to the top; instead, it had cornered her. Now, it was her turn to play her card.

"Your Judge."

Gwen Stacy opened her mouth, the sound not loud, but exceptionally clear in the buzzing Engine Room.

"I request a pause in the on-site agenda for this Joint Drill."

The Supreme Adjudicator's mechanical head remained still, seemingly evaluating the statement.

Gwen Stacy didn't wait for a response and continued, "Given the armed standoff that has occurred on the Contingency Plan, the situation has escalated. In accordance with the emergency response guidelines in the Inter-Dimension Civil Service Assignment Charter, as the head of the delegation, I must seek confidential instructions from my direct superior regarding the current situation."

Every word she spoke hit the nail on the head.

This is not a retreat, but rather a compliant way of passing the buck back to the leader. At the same time, it also serves as a reminder to the other party that any subsequent conflict will be attributed to the fact that the reporting procedures have been followed.

"We need a cross -Dimension communication line that meets the highest level of security requirements," Gwen Stacy added.

The Supreme Adjudicator remained silent for a full ten seconds.

Its system seems to be rapidly weighing the pros and cons. Refusal would mean that the Battleworld unilaterally violated the rules of procedure agreed upon by both parties, and there would be no basis for discussing the rules later. Agreeing, on the other hand, would mean handing this uncontrollable variable back to the person in charge of the Negative Zone, whom they only know by name and have never seen.

"Can."

The Supreme Adjudicator finally gave his reply.

"During communication, the ' Hive ' Defense Protocol will not be disengaged. The communication channel will be monitored to ensure no unauthorized data exchange occurs."

A suspended silver sphere emerged from behind the Judge, unfolded in front of Gwen Stacy, and formed a simple optical interface.

Gwen Stacy took a deep breath and began entering a long, complex encryption key.

Hela and Wanda both looked at her, their expressions different. In Hela's eyes, besides wariness, there was a hint of scrutiny. Wanda, on the other hand, stared intently at the control panel. She knew that this phone call would determine the fate of the three of them, as well as Erik in the nutrient tank.

The channel was established quickly.

There was no video, only slightly distorted audio after multiple layers of encryption.

"Speak."

One word: calm, composed, devoid of any emotion. That was Lynn.

"Sir, this is Gwen Stacy." Gwen Stacy spoke calmly, reporting the situation in the most concise language, "We request the removal of E-734 Variant for humanitarian treatment. The Battleworld faction, based on the 'principle of reciprocity,' demands equivalent computing power compensation. The compensation plan is to extract Wanda Advisor's core energy sequence."

She paused for a moment.

"Deputy Commander Hela, citing 'ensuring the safety of our VIPs,' issued a warning of force against the plan, triggering the Engine Room's highest defense mechanism. Currently, our side and the Battleworld Mechanical Guard are in a state of armed standoff, and negotiations are suspended."

Objective, calm, without any personal judgment, simply stating the facts.

There was a few seconds of silence on the other end of the phone.

"Understood." Lynn's voice remained calm. "Hela did the right thing. When reasoning fails, we need to let the other party know we have the power to overturn the table. You also did the right thing; the table can't be overturned easily, we need to pull it back and continue the discussion."

This light-hearted comment made Hela raise an eyebrow, while Gwen Stacy secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

"Regarding compensation," Lynn continued, "Agree to them."

What?

Wanda looked up at Gwen Stacy abruptly, her eyes filled with disbelief. Hela also frowned.

Gwen Stacy tightened her grip on the Communicator, but she didn't interrupt; she knew her superior hadn't finished speaking.

"But the approach needs to be changed." A barely perceptible hint of amusement lingered in Lynn's voice. "You should reply to the Judge like this: ' The Negative Zone reserves the right to pursue legal action against the Battleworld for forcibly detaining our personnel and causing their lives to be in critical condition. However, out of humanitarian considerations and the spirit of technological exchange, we are willing to provide Battleworld's Engine Three with one instance of free technical assistance.'"

Technical assistance?

Gwen Stacy's mind raced.

"This isn't compensation, it's an investment." Lynn's voice seemed to penetrate the encrypted signal, resounding directly in her mind. "We'll help the Battleworld optimize their computing power structure, filling the gap created by their separation of Erik. In exchange, they must ensure Erik's safety and hand him over to us intact."

Gwen Stacy's pupils contracted slightly at that moment.

She understood.

This is not compromise, this is infiltration.

They transformed extortion into a legitimate "Technology-for-Equity," and packaged a deadly Trojan virus as a timely and helpful technical assistance plan.

Let the enemy themselves treat the backdoor program as a system Patch, gratefully installing it into their own heart.

What a brilliant, open strategy!

Gwen Stacy felt a chill run down her spine, but more than that, she felt a shiver of fear at the sight of a higher-level scheme. It turned out that the leadership had planned this all along.

"Wanda will handle the specific technical details. She knows how to do it."

"Yes, sir," Gwen Stacy voice.

Gwen Stacy.

Just when Gwen Stacy thought the call was about to end, Lynn called her name again.

"There's one more thing."

Please give instructions.

"The Firewall Code used for this compensation was generated by Wanda using the ' Phoenix ' signature we reserved in the Negative Zone."

Phoenix?

Gwen Stacy was stunned.

That's Jean Grey's power signature. Why use Jean's code?

Is this a signal being sent to someone within the Battleworld? Or is it foreshadowing something deeper for Qin, who will remain behind?

Countless thoughts flashed through her mind, but she couldn't grasp a definite answer.

All she knew was that this game was far bigger than she had imagined.

"Understood."

Gwen Stacy suppressed the turmoil in her heart and answered in a calm voice.

Communication was thus cut off.

The light screen went out, and the control panel reverted to its original unremarkable silver sphere, slowly retreating behind the Judge.

Engine Room, there were still those hundreds of cold, Scarlet compound eyes and that tightly closed alloy door.

But Gwen Stacy's state of mind was completely different.

She already held a key in her hand, a key that could break the deadlock.