The Foreign Affairs Director's Countdown to Silencing Witnesses, a Communications Channel Override
The stalemate Engine Room felt like a piece of metal being stretched out, groaning under the strain.
That absolute will belonging to Kang, though momentarily halted by Gwen Stacy's procedural protest, did not dissipate. It hung like a dark cloud over everyone's heads, silent, scrutinizing, and brewing for the next Thunder.
The eerie red light in the Supreme Adjudicator's eye sockets, representing a system error, was still flickering irregularly.
All of this was being observed by another pair of eyes.
At the other end of the metal tunnel, Jean Grey's brows furrowed tightly.
She didn't personally experience the crushing force of that will, but her keen Psychic Power detected a completely different energy flow.
It is not as grand and ancient as Kang's will; on the contrary, it seems somewhat wretched and hasty.
This energy flow is extremely well concealed, bypassing the main power lines in the Engine Room and quietly connecting to the outer structural wall of the Engine Room through a backup, almost abandoned physical line. Its target is not the core, but the physical support that holds the entire space together.
Self-destruct.
Moreover, it involves physical self-destruction that bypasses all normal procedures in pursuit of speed.
The face of that person immediately flashed into Qin's mind: Ke'er, the head of the Foreign Affairs Reception Office.
This bureaucrat from the Administrative Faction, upon discovering that his conspiracy had been exposed and might even involve the arrival of a higher-level will, chose the most extreme and foolish way to protect himself—to silence them.
The delegation, the Supreme Adjudicator, and the evidence of his own dereliction of duty will be buried in the ruins of these rules.
Once all those in the know have disappeared, he will have the opportunity to blame everything on "technical malfunction" and "malicious sabotage by the Negative Zone Delegation."
The Security Team behind Qin felt the cold aura emanating from her and instinctively tightened their grip on their weapons.
"Director?"
Qin did not turn around.
Her gaze pierced through the thick Alloy Wall, as if she could already see Ke'er's face, twisted with fear and madness.
Stop him directly with Psychic Power?
No. That would be tantamount to firing the first shot in the Core Zone of Battleworld. No matter how justified the reason, it would give others a handle to use against Gwen Stacy, rendering all of her previous efforts futile.
Physical intrusion?
That wouldn't do either. That would be immediately classified as an armed invasion.
You must use the rules to defeat someone who tries to break them.
"Connect us to our own Technician," Qin said in a low but exceptionally clear voice, "Immediately."
One of the accompanying personnel quickly operated the terminal on his wrist.
An encrypted communication line was established.
"Director, you're online."
"I need you to do one thing." Jean spoke rapidly, her logic terrifyingly clear. "Use the Mutants Management Committee's emergency communication protocol to find the public broadcast frequency of the Battleworld Foreign Affairs Reception Office. Yes, the one they use to announce meetings and post lost and found notices—the one with the lowest access level and the widest coverage."
The Technician on the other end of the phone paused for a moment, clearly not understanding why they should interfere with the other party's internal administrative channel at this time.
"Don't ask why, just execute the order." Jean's tone left no room for argument. "Mr. Lynn authorized the Mutants Management Committee's ' Cross-Dimensional Information Security Protocol ' to have the highest priority access control in the event of an extreme security threat involving our personnel. Use this to pry open their public broadcast."
"Yes, Director. Give me thirty seconds."
Qin stared toward the Engine Room, her Psychic Power locked onto the rapidly forming self-destructive energy stream.
Twenty seconds.
Energy flow has begun to accumulate at several key nodes in the structural wall.
Ten seconds.
The buildup is complete, and the final countdown to activation has begun.
"Takeover successful!" came the Technician's voice.
"Very good."
Qin took a deep breath and, speaking into the wrist Communicator in an unusually calm, even utterly emotionless tone, said:
"This is the Negative Zone Management Committee, Expert Rescue Team. We are now issuing an emergency safety notice to all employees of Battleworld."
Her voice, transmitted through the Mutants Management Committee's domineering information source, instantly covered the Battleworld Foreign Affairs Office, and then spread to every corner of the area through the Foreign Affairs Office's Public Address System.
The clerks processing documents in the office, the mechanical guards patrolling the corridor, and even the logistics staff complaining about the food in the break room all heard the sudden female voice.
"According to our technical monitoring, Ke'er, the director of the Battleworld Foreign Affairs Reception Office, is sending an illegal backup self-destruct command to Engine Three via his Personal Terminal. The command code is: Delta-7-Omega."
Engine Room, Ke'er, who was hiding in a maintenance tunnel and staring intently at his handheld terminal, froze instantly.
He looked up abruptly at the public address system above the corridor, his eyes filled with disbelief and horror.
How is that possible?
How could she know?
How dare she...
The sound of the piano did not stop, but continued to resonate steadily throughout the area.
"I reiterate that this directive, which was not approved by the Adjudication Office and was not reviewed by the Security Committee, constitutes a serious violation of authority. Its purpose is suspected of being to cover up evidence of dereliction of duty and to premeditatedly murder multiple parties, including the Negative Zone Delegation."
"In accordance with the Battleworld Internal Security Regulations and the Joint Drill Memorandum signed by both parties, any unit or individual receiving this notice shall immediately cease carrying out all oral and written orders from Director Ke'er."
"All automated security systems should immediately classify the command code Delta-7-Omega as the highest level of malicious attack code and sever all physical and data links to it."
"Announcement complete."
The words had barely left his mouth.
The countdown on Ke'er's handheld terminal froze at the last second.
A line of glaring red text popped up on the screen: [The command was aborted by the superior broadcast system without authorization; execution privileges have been revoked.]
The self-destructive energy that had been building up on the structural walls of the Engine Room vanished without a trace, as if its spine had been ripped out.
Ke'er's underhanded dealings were exposed to everyone in the most direct way by Jean Grey.
He's finished.
In the Battleworld, where procedures are extremely important, being publicly stripped of administrative legitimacy is tantamount to sentencing a bureaucrat to political death.
Ke'er's body trembled violently, and cold sweat soaked his back.
He stared at the cold text on the terminal, and listened to the hurried footsteps of the internal Discipline guards already echoing in the corridor. The color drained from his face instantly.
In despair, a surge of mad ruthlessness welled up in his heart.
Since it's not feasible procedurally...
Let's use the most basic method!
Ke'er lunged at a dusty red physical suitcase on the wall of the access tunnel and flung open the lid.
Inside, there is a dense network of physical wiring connecting the Engine Room's structural supports.
With red eyes, he stretched out his trembling hands and, without the slightest hesitation, used all his strength to rip off the thickest cables.
The piercing alarm instantly resounded throughout the entire Battleworld.
This time, it's not a program alarm.
Rather, it represents the highest level of warning that the physical structure is undergoing an irreversible and catastrophic collapse.