Forced freezing of cross-dimensional access privileges, the Stability Maintenance Office's lawful use of force
The red glow of the physical security alarm cast an ominous hue over every inch of the White Bone Hall.
A sharp buzzing sound replaced the brief silence that had just passed.
Before the communications officer had even finished speaking, Lynn had already moved. Without the slightest hesitation, he strode towards the outside of the hall.
"Wanda, keep balancing the books, don't stop."
His voice pierced through the cacophony of the alarms, reaching clearly into everyone's ears.
"Hela, come with me."
No. 1 External Physical Port Array Zone.
This is the Negative Zone connecting the negative space to the outside world. The enormous circular metal door, like a sleeping Beast, stands silently in the vast alloy hall.
At this moment, the atmosphere in this area, which is usually frequented only by technicians, has frozen to a freezing point.
Ravonna stood in the center of the hall, her face expressionless. Behind her, more than ten Audit Team members dressed in the Discipline and Supervision Department uniforms were installing a silver-white portable instrument on each port base with great efficiency.
After the instrument is started, it emits a low hum, and the space around the port begins to ripple slightly like water.
This is a forced Spacetime Anchoring. Once completed, these ports will be completely frozen at the physical level, severing all connections with the outside world.
Opposite them stood a black Defense Line, unmoving.
Hela stood at the forefront, her hands holding no weapon, which hung casually at her sides. Behind her, two rows of Undead Guard spread out in standard tactical formations, a dark green glow flowing through the gaps in their cold armor. They did nothing, simply standing there silently, yet they created a suffocating pressure.
I'll say it again.
Ravonna's voice rang out, cold and formulaic, amplified throughout the entire hall.
"We are implementing the Emergency Freeze Protocol in accordance with the Supreme Chairman of the Coordination Committee. Any form of obstruction will be classified as armed resistance to law enforcement."
A faint hint of sarcasm curled at the corner of Hela's mouth.
Article 3, Section 7 of the "Negative Zone Emergency Defense Regulations" states that the Stability Management Committee Director's Office has the right to take all necessary measures to stop any external actions that attempt to physically damage or restrict core strategic facilities without the written approval of the Management Committee Stability Maintenance Office's Office.
She spoke slowly, but every word was sharp and chilling.
Now, take your toys and leave.
"It seems you have chosen the most unwise path." Ravonna's eyes turned cold. She raised her hand, as if preparing to give her final command.
The atmosphere of confrontation was tense, ready to erupt at any moment.
Just then, a series of unhurried footsteps came from the back passage.
Lynn walked in.
Gwen Stacy was the only one following behind him.
His appearance subtly eased the tense atmosphere. The Audit Team slowed down, and the eerie light in the eyes of the Undead Guard dimmed slightly.
All eyes were focused on the head of the Negative Zone Management Committee.
Lynn didn't look at Hela or Ravonna. His gaze swept over the silver-white instruments being installed, his brows furrowing slightly, his face showing just the right amount of confusion and bewilderment.
"Special Envoy Ravonna, what are you doing?"
His tone was very calm, as if he were asking about a trivial matter.
Ravonna turned to him, her voice still firm. "Director Lynn, you should have received the notification. We've detected signs of a large-scale illegal transfer of assets within the organization. According to regulations, all external ports must be frozen immediately."
"Oh? Asset Transfer?" Lynn's confusion deepened. "Has the Special Envoy made a mistake? All our departments are working overtime to cooperate with the Audit Team. We're so busy sorting out the accounts, we don't even have time for any Asset Transfer."
He spoke as he stepped forward.
Gwen Stacy followed closely behind, took a document from her briefcase, and handed it to Lynn.
Lynn took the document, glanced at it, and handed it directly to Ravonna.
A hint of apology even appeared on his face.
"Special Envoy, I'm so sorry. There might have been a small problem with our coordination; the Liaison Office didn't communicate with you in a timely manner."
Ravonna looked down at the document.
The title is very long and written in black and white.
"Recordation document regarding periodic system maintenance and security upgrades for external physical ports A-3 to A-9 in the Negative Zone".
The document number and issuance date are all included.
The issuance date was yesterday.
That is, the day before the Audit Team arrived.
The document was sealed with the bright red official seal of the Negative Zone Management Committee Director's Office and Lynn's flamboyant handwritten signature.
Ravonna's pupils contracted almost imperceptibly.
"According to the official document that has already been submitted to the Coordination Committee Technical Supervision Division, starting early this morning, the Security Engineering Office under the Stability Maintenance Office will conduct a 48-hour complete closure maintenance operation in this area."
Lynn's tone was so sincere, as if he were explaining a misunderstanding.
"You see, Director Hela brought people here not to confront the Audit Team, but to clear the area. After all, we're about to conduct High-Energy Operations, and if anything goes wrong and someone injures a member of the Audit Team, we can't bear the responsibility."
His words were perfectly flawless.
They transformed an armed standoff into a compliant and legal security clearance operation before equipment maintenance.
Hela's toughness was like a red face.
His official documents are white-faced.
Their voices rang out in perfect harmony, a flawless performance.
Ravonna gripped the document tightly, her knuckles turning white from the pressure. She knew perfectly well that she had been tricked. The other party had calculated her every move, using a flawless procedural document to block all her paths in advance.
She is now in a dilemma.
Forcibly freezing it? That's blatantly obstructing a registered and compliant "equipment maintenance" application; she's the one who actively violated the rules.
Withdraw? Then the "emergency freeze" she orchestrated today, which involved tearing off all pretenses, would become a complete joke.
The hall was deathly silent.
All members of the Audit Team stopped what they were doing and looked at their leader.
Ravonna's chest heaved violently, which she forcefully suppressed. She raised her head, staring intently at Lynn, and said, word by word:
"Director Lynn, that's a brilliant approach."
"You flatter me, Special Envoy. We've been following the rules." Lynn smiled and gestured for the team to proceed. "For everyone's safety, please have the Audit Team temporarily evacuate the work area. We will cooperate fully with the Special Envoy as soon as maintenance is complete."
Ravonna slammed the document onto a nearby instrument case and turned to leave.
"Let's go!"
The Audit Team quickly dismantled the instruments, packed up the equipment, and followed her out of the hall in a disheveled state.
The crisis seems to have passed.
Hela walked over to Lynn and whispered, "They won't let this go."
"I know." Lynn's smile slowly faded as he watched the Audit Team disappear in the direction they had gone. "We only managed to preserve one secret passage and buy ourselves a little time."
He had barely finished speaking.
A completely different alarm suddenly blared through the sky.
That wasn't an alarm coming from inside the Negative Zone.
It was a grand resounding echo originating from a higher Dimension, carrying a sense of judgment.
The Highest Access Privileges alarm for the White Bone Hall was forcibly triggered from the outside.
Lynn's wrist Communicator vibrated wildly, Wanda's Holographic Projection suddenly popped up, and panic appeared on her face for the first time.
"Boss! Coordinates: White Bone Hall! We've been locked onto!"
Meanwhile, on the tactical light screen in the hall, a huge hourglass symbol made of golden quicksand and sharp swords covered the entire screen.
Below the hourglass symbol, a line of Scarlet text slowly emerged.
[WARNING: Highest level of armed resistance detected at the target unit. The Coordination Committee's ' Adjudicators ' class Time Weapon has been activated.]
[Target: The White Bone Hall]
[Execution Option: Timeline Reset.]