A desperate counterattack at the hearing, a perfect reversal through procedural justice
Negative Zone, first conference room.
The air was stagnant, carrying a stuffy feeling that even the fresh air system couldn't dispel.
This enormous circular conference table is usually only used when receiving the highest-ranking external visitors. Today, it has been temporarily requisitioned as the venue for an asset inquiry hearing.
Lynn sat to one side of the main seat. In front of him was only a glass of water and a data viewing terminal.
Opposite him were Ravonna and her Audit Team.
At the top of the long table sat an elderly man with a stern face, dressed in the uniform of the Coordination Committee Inspector. He hadn't uttered a single word since he entered, simply closing his eyes to rest, as if everything around him was irrelevant.
But the fact that he's sitting here is itself an attitude.
A deterrent representing the highest level of procedural credibility.
Ravonna's gaze swept across the cold tabletop and landed on Lynn's face. Her eyes held an undisguised air of confidence.
Last night's standoff and intimidation are now history. Today, before this inspector, all means will be ineffective; only the evidence will speak for itself.
And she had irrefutable evidence.
Time's up.
The inspector opened his eyes, his voice calm and even, and announced the start of the hearing.
Ravonna stood up, and without further pleasantries, gestured directly to the technicians behind her.
A huge screen of light unfolded in the center of the conference table.
"Ladies and gentlemen," Ravonna's voice echoed in the quiet meeting room, "In the past twenty-four hours, the Audit Team has conducted an emergency data tracing investigation into the anomalies in the Negative Zone Management Committee's accounts."
On the light screen, Data Stream began to scroll rapidly.
"We discovered that at the same time the Management Committee's accounts were emptied, a massive flow of assets with highly consistent energy characteristics appeared out of nowhere in the Coordination Committee's regulatory blind spot."
Ravonna raised her hand and pointed to a segment of abnormal data signature marked in red on the light screen.
"After comparing with historical archives, we confirmed that this signature has a 97.3% similarity to the bad debt data left over from the recently liquidated ' Battleworld ' project."
As she finished speaking, a slight commotion arose in the conference room.
The members of the Audit Team all had knowing looks on their faces.
For the first time, the inspector's gaze was lifted from the documents and fell on Lynn, his eyes filled with scrutiny.
This is almost a settled conclusion.
To cover its own deficit, Negative Zone misappropriated the messy accounts of the Battleworld. Now that the truth has come out, it's pulling a fast one and trying to muddy the waters.
Ravonna was very satisfied with the effect. She looked at Lynn, her tone carrying a condescending questioning tone.
"Director Lynn, do you have anything to explain regarding this evidence?"
All eyes were on Lynn.
Lynn did not answer immediately.
He picked up the water glass in front of him, took a sip, and then gently placed the glass back in its place with a crisp clinking sound.
This action caused a brief pause in the tense atmosphere.
"Special Envoy Ravonna's report is very professional," Lynn said, his tone as calm as if he were commenting on a trivial document. "The Audit Team's efficiency is also admirable."
He first affirmed the other party's statement.
Ravonna's brow furrowed almost imperceptibly. She didn't like this rhythm.
"But," Lynn changed the subject, "the Special Envoy seems to have misunderstood a fundamental problem."
He did not look at Ravonna, but instead turned his gaze to the overseer in the main seat.
"Your Excellency, sirs. Today's situation is indeed very serious. However, its nature is not one of asset irregularities, but rather a premeditated frame-up targeting an agency under the Coordination Committee, and is of an extremely malicious nature."
Frame someone.
These four words caused the temperature in the conference room to drop several degrees.
Ravonna's face darkened. "Director Lynn, you have to be responsible for your words. Are you implying that the Discipline Inspection Department is fabricating evidence?"
"I didn't say that," Lynn shook her head. "I was just stating a fact."
He turned to Gwen Stacy beside him.
Gwen Stacy nodded and connected a separate data disk to the public port on the conference table.
The light screen in the center of the conference table flickered, and the data that Ravonna had just displayed was replaced by a brand new interface.
That was a technical log.
A cold, precise low-level log that records the time, source address, and operation instructions.
"Just last night, the firewall of the Negative Zone Core Database detected a covert intrusion with extremely high privileges," Gwen Stacy's voice rang out, clear and calm.
"The intruder bypassed all conventional verifications and attempted to forcibly graft an external bad debt data package, amounting to 300 billion Energy Unit, onto our newly initialized ledger through the Source Code."
On the screen, a line of red code was magnified.
That was the grafting instruction.
At the source of the instruction, a clear address representing the internal server of the Audit Team was prominently displayed.
"Fortunately, our technicians detected this illegal and malicious attack in time and successfully intercepted it, while also capturing this data packet."
Gwen Stacy raised her head and looked directly at Ravonna face had turned somewhat pale.
"And the data signature of the bad debt data packet we intercepted is exactly the same as the one the Special Envoy just showed in the report."
The conference room was deathly silent.
If Ravonna's evidence was a sharp knife, then Gwen Stacy's logbook is a heavy hammer.
With one hammer blow, the knife was smashed to pieces.
Everyone understood.
It's not that the Negative Zone is transferring assets, but rather that the Audit Team is fabricating a false accusation.
The inspector's face had turned ashen. His gaze shifted back and forth between Ravonna and Lynn, the temperature in his eyes dropping to freezing.
Ravonna's body trembled slightly. She wanted to speak in her defense, but found that any words would seem pale and powerless in the face of such irrefutable technical evidence.
However, Lynn had no intention of ending it there.
He stood up and straightened his collar.
"Your Excellency the Inspector General."
He took two steps forward, stood in the center of the conference table, facing the overseer at the head of the table, and bowed slightly.
"I am Lynn, Director the Negative Zone Management Committee. In accordance with Article 117, Paragraph 3 of the ' Multiverse Coordination Committee Oversight Regulations'."
His voice was not loud, but it was firm and resounding.
"Hereinafter, we formally file a complaint against Ravonna Renslayer, Special Envoy the Discipline Inspection Department Coordination Committee."
"Firstly, there is suspected dereliction of duty and abuse of power. The unauthorized use of Time Weapon severely disrupted the normal work order of subordinate organizations."
Secondly, they are suspected of forging official documents from the Multiverse, maliciously altering and falsifying core accounting data, attempting to create false evidence, frame others, and distort the truth.
Lynn raised his head, his gaze sharp as a sword, piercing directly at Ravonna, whose face had turned deathly pale.
"The above two charges are supported by conclusive evidence and followed proper procedures. We earnestly request the Inspectorate Office to immediately establish a special investigation team to conduct a thorough investigation."
The ball was kicked back cleanly and decisively.
Along with that black pot that could crush anyone.
Ravonna staggered, grabbing the back of the chair behind her to avoid falling to the ground.
She lost.
They suffered a crushing defeat.
On a stage that he himself had built, a stage that emphasized procedural justice, he was surrounded and plunged into the Abyss by the other side using the most irrefutable procedural justice.
The inspector's gaze lingered on Ravonna's face for a good ten seconds.
That look in his eyes was like looking at a dead person.
He slowly stood up.
"A major unexpected situation has occurred during this hearing."
"Adjournment."
After saying that, he didn't even look at anyone else, turned around, and quickly left the meeting hall with his entourage.
As the inspector left, the invisible pressure in the room instantly collapsed. The members of the Audit Team looked at each other, and then, without prior arrangement, silently moved away from their team leader.
Ravonna stood there all alone, as if abandoned by the whole world.
Lynn didn't even look at her, turning around to leave with Gwen Stacy.
Just then, a young member of the Audit Team quickly caught up and blocked Lynn's way.
His face was filled with fear and unease.
"Director Lynn, please wait a moment."
He lowered his voice, almost pleading.
"Special Envoy Ravonna... would like to speak with you privately."