The tug-of-war over interdimensional extradition letters, the Liaison Office's mountain of paperwork
Daylight broke.
There is no true day and night in the Negative Zone, but the biological clock and the work and rest schedule uniformly promulgated by the Management Committee have made everyone used to starting a new day's work at a certain fixed time.
Lynn finished the last sip of coffee in her cup.
Without sugar or milk, the bitter liquid slid down his throat, calming his chaotic thoughts.
Last night, Wanda and Sylvie's first "private confrontation" ended in an eerie calm. Wanda didn't take any action, but instead drew an insurmountable line for the new "advisor" in her own way.
This was within Lynn's expectations.
He needed Sylvie's intelligence, and he also needed Wanda's checks and balances. A controllable structure with internal tensions was far more stable than a monolithic one.
The red internal terminal on the table emitted a short beep.
It's Gwen Stacy.
"Director, received."
On the phone, Gwen Stacy's voice was devoid of any emotion, as professional as ever.
"The Multiverse Coordination Committee, in the name of the Chief Judge, has sent an official letter."
Lynn leaned back in her chair, tapping her fingers lightly on the armrest.
"Read."
"Yes." Gwen Stacy cleared her throat and began reading in standard official document format, "Letter Regarding the Request for the Negative Zone Management Committee to Immediately Hand Over the Fugitive Class A Time Variant for Interdimensional Extradition Letter. To His Excellency Lynn, Director the Negative Zone Management Committee Multiverse Coordination Committee Class A wanted Variant, No. L-1190, registered with the Multiverse Coordination Committee. This act constitutes a serious violation of the Sacred Timeline Stability Act and several memoranda previously signed by both parties. Now, in the name of the Chief Judge, I hereby order you to hand over this Variant to the TVA Enforcement Team within twelve standard hours. Failure to comply within the stipulated time will result in the Coordination Committee's Discipline and Supervision Department and Adjudication Office reserving the power to take all necessary measures."
After the message was read aloud, silence fell on the other end of the phone, awaiting Lynn's instructions.
The wording of the official letter was even harsher than expected.
Skipping all the wrangling and issuing an ultimatum in the name of the Chief Judge, they even skipped the formalities of "negotiation" and "communication."
This shows that the internal pressure at TVA has become so great that they can no longer care about procedural decorum.
"Knew."
Lynn's tone remained calm.
"This official letter falls under the category of interdimensional diplomatic affairs, and according to regulations, it is handled entirely by the Liaison Office."
"Yes, Director."
"Director Gwen should be clear about our principles," Lynn added calmly. "Negative Space is a place that values rules and procedures. All work must be carried out within a compliant framework. We must treat correspondence from external organizations with particular care, attention, and caution, and leave no room for error."
Gwen Stacy on the other end of the phone immediately understood the deeper meaning behind Lynn's words.
Being meticulous means scrutinizing every single word.
Being meticulous means checking every single cited bill.
Prudence means that every step of the process must be followed without exception, and no necessary procedure should be omitted.
"I understand, Director." Gwen Stacy's voice held a subtle increase in efficiency. "The Liaison Office will immediately establish Special Task Force to conduct Compliance Review of this letter."
"Very good."
Lynn hung up the phone.
He picked up his empty coffee cup and walked to the huge floor-to-ceiling window. Outside, the Eternity gray sky of the White Bone Hall, composed of countless dead souls, stretched out before him.
The tug-of-war has begun.
TVA wanted to use the highest-level command to make a final decision.
What Lynn had to do was drag this heavy hammer that had come down into the quagmire called "bureaucracy".
Negative Zone Management Committee, Liaison Office.
This is the least "Negative Zone" in the entire Management Committee. There are no grotesque skeleton decorations, nor wandering ghosts. Bright lights, uniform alloy desks, and staff moving back and forth in a hurry make this place look more like a efficiently operating modern office building.
The atmosphere was tense yet orderly.
An electronic letter bearing the seal of the TVA Chief Judge is displayed on the central main screen.
Gwen Stacy stood in front of the screen, her expression serious.
"The First Working Group will verify the letter number against the issuing unit's registration information to confirm whether the issuing authority has exceeded its authority."
"The Second Working Group reviewed all the bill provisions cited in the review letter, comparing them word for word with the original versions in our database, focusing on whether there were any misinterpretations of their scope of application."
"The Third Working Group drafted the first reply letter."
The order was given swiftly, and all working groups immediately began operating at high speed.
In less than ten minutes, the first official letter from the Negative Zone Liaison Office was delivered to TVA's contact email address.
The letter was very concise and polite.
"Dear Coordination Committee: Your letter has been received. Our preliminary investigation has confirmed that the person mentioned in the letter, ' No. L-1190,' cannot be found in our personnel system. To facilitate our subsequent investigation, we kindly request that you provide detailed identification information for this person, including but not limited to: name, gender, physical description, energy Spectrum, and their original Timeline coordinates. Sincerely, Liaison Office, Negative Zone Management Committee."
This reply, like a precise Tai Chi push, steadily sent the ball back.
Half an hour later, TVA's reply arrived, tinged with impatience and anger. It included a brief profile of Sylvie, highlighting her Chaos Magic energy characteristics.
The Liaison Office's second reply came almost seamlessly.
"Dear Coordination Committee: Thank you for providing the supplementary materials. Our Technology Integration Department has preliminarily determined that your description of ' Chaos Magic energy characteristics' is too broad. In accordance with Article 17 of Annex III of the ' Negative Zone Internal Security Regulations,' to avoid misjudgment of the target during the investigation and prevent unnecessary diplomatic disputes, we require you to provide detailed spectral and frequency fluctuation data for this energy characteristic. We will then establish a precise screening model based on this data. Sincerely, Liaison Office the Negative Zone Management Committee."
This time, TVA remained silent for an even longer period.
An hour later, an encrypted data packet containing detailed energy spectrum information was sent.
The Liaison Office office staff could even sense the anger of the other party's technical staff from the way the data packet was encrypted.
However, what they received was the third reply from the Negative Zone.
"Dear Coordination Committee: Thank you for providing the technical data. The case file for ' No. L-1190 ' has now been formally established. According to the ' General Rules for Negative Zone Interdepartmental Workflows,' this case file requires joint approval from the Liaison Office, the Technology Integration Department, the Stability Maintenance Office, and the Legal Affairs Office before a formal internal investigation can be initiated. The case file is currently in the approval process and is expected to take fifteen standard working days. During this period, we will suspend receiving any new correspondence related to this case. If you have any questions, please inquire about the progress after fifteen working days using the case file number. Sincerely, Liaison Office, Negative Zone Management Committee."
After the official letter was sent, TVA completely went silent.
The Liaison Office office was quiet.
Everyone stared at the sent official letter on the main screen, a sense of absurd yet exhilarating accomplishment rising within each of them.
Using the other party's most prized "rules," they created a mountain of documents and meetings, completely drowning TVA's aggressive ultimatum in the cumbersome approval process.
Gwen Stacy watched all this, and a barely perceptible smile finally appeared on her tightly pursed lips.
She turned around and dialed Lynn's internal line.
"Director, we've at least secured fifteen days."
at the same time.
Lynn was walking down a spiral staircase made of Black Basalt.
This is the lowest level of the White Bone Hall; the air is cold and silent.
At the end was a heavy, unmarked alloy door.
He didn't knock; he just stood quietly in front of the door.
The door slid open silently inward.
Inside the door was a spacious room, its walls made of a special material capable of absorbing all energy. In the center of the room stood only a table and two chairs.
Sylvie was sitting in one of the chairs.
There was no Scarlet magic or deadly threat before her, but her posture was more tense than when she was with Wanda.
Because standing opposite her was the man who had saved her from the clutches of the TVA hounds, and then thrown her into the Witch's cage.
Lynn walked in slowly and sat down in another chair.
He didn't look at Sylvie, but spoke to himself.
"The Liaison Office, using their most effective methods, managed to buy you some time."
"Not much, but enough for us to talk."
He finally raised his head, his gaze landing on Sylvie's eyes. Her eyes were calm, yet more penetrating than the Pruning Baton in a TVA.
"Now, it's your turn to prove your worth."
"A true pledge of allegiance that outweighs the risk of offending TVA, and makes me willing to keep you, this troublesome entity, in the Negative Zone."