The Cross-Dimensional Consultant's Complete Allegiance, the Temporal Loom's Underlying Core
The meeting room was absolutely silent.
On the Central Holographic Display, the golden ripple that once represented the ultimate judgment has completely disappeared. In its place is a ring-shaped barrier made of Scarlet Code, quietly suspended on the digital boundary of the Negative Zone, stable and silent.
Beyond the barrier lies darkness, representing nothingness.
Within the barrier lie unharmed network nodes.
It was as if nothing had happened.
Lynn picked up the cup of tea, which had long since gone cold, and then put it down.
He raised his head and glanced at the core members present.
The murderous intent in Hela's eyes had faded, replaced by a coldness mixed with contemplation. Gwen Stacy was writing something down rapidly, her fingertips tracing calm lines on the virtual screen. Jean Grey's face was somewhat pale, but her eyes were unusually bright, the lingering effect of the Phoenix Force being activated.
Wanda, the main operator of the "system maintenance" just now, has reopened her eyes. The Chaos energy in her Scarlet eyes has slowly subsided, and they have regained their usual depth.
"Meeting minutes, Comrade Gwen Stacy, please prepare them." Lynn's voice broke the silence. "The successful response to this 'extreme weather disaster' fully demonstrates the effectiveness of our emergency Contingency Plan and the collaborative capabilities of our various departments. Comrade Wanda, as the technical advisor, performed outstandingly and is awarded a first-class merit."
He paused, then added calmly, "The relevant commendation notice will be distributed to all staff tomorrow morning."
Hela and Jean Grey's gazes lingered on Wanda for a moment, then quickly shifted away.
"Meeting adjourned," Lynn said.
Hela was the first to stand up. Without saying a word, she turned and left the conference room. To her, the battle was over, and she didn't care about the rest.
Jean Grey and Gwen Stacy also stood up, nodded slightly to Lynn, and quickly followed him out. They still had a lot of follow-up work to do.
Wanda didn't move.
She simply watched Lynn quietly, as if waiting for something.
Lynn's gaze, however, passed over her and landed in the shadows at the farthest corner of the conference room.
Sylvie was still sitting there.
From the moment that "firewall" was erected until TVA's cut order was silently resolved, the expression on her face remained frozen in extreme shock and bewilderment.
Her brain seemed to have been forcibly formatted by those completely illogical scenes.
She had witnessed the power of TVA, that absolute violence that used time as a weapon and regarded the universe as worthless. She had also thought that the skills she had mastered—jumping through Timeline, hiding, and creating chaos—were the ultimate form of resistance.
Even today.
Until she witnessed firsthand how a final verdict, capable of erasing countless Timeline, was casually defined as an "extreme weather disaster" and then easily resolved by a "compliant firewall."
The people here feel no anger, no fear, not even the joy of victory.
Only a calm process and a cold report.
This is no longer a contest of strength.
This is a higher- Dimension Dimensionality-Reduction Strike on TVA, using rules, order, and a self-contained bureaucratic logic.
Lynn stood up and slowly walked to Sylvie.
"Advisor Sylvie," he began, his tone still businesslike, "Do you have any additional comments on our handling of this 'systemic risk'?"
Sylvie's body trembled slightly, and she suddenly came to her senses.
She looked up at the man in front of her.
His face was expressionless, and his eyes were as calm as a bottomless ancient well.
Sylvie suddenly understood.
All her previous attempts to test, scheme, and use someone else's strength against her were utterly laughable in the face of this man.
She thought she was working with a group of outlaws.
But in reality, she stumbled into a system that was even larger, more rigid, and more... rule-bound than TVA itself.
Her throat moved, and her voice was a little dry.
"I... have no objection."
"Very good." Lynn nodded. "Then, I hope you can demonstrate your value as a ' Cross-Dimensional Risk Assessment Consultant ' more clearly."
These words struck Sylvie's heart like a cold hammer.
She knew the moment of truth had arrived.
She took a deep breath and stood up from her seat. Her movements were no longer as casual and arrogant as before, but rather carried an unprecedented solemnity.
She didn't look at Lynn, but instead looked at Wanda was standing to the side.
I need to speak with him alone.
A flash of Scarlet light crossed Wanda's eyes, carrying a hint of scrutiny and warning.
"Comrade Wanda," Lynn's voice wasn't loud, but it carried undeniable weight, "Go to the Technology Division first and prepare a complete analysis report on the 'abnormal band' data we intercepted this time. I need to see it later."
Wanda gave Sylvie a deep look before nodding to Lynn.
"Yes, Director."
She turned and left, her Scarlet cloak tracing an arc in the air. The conference room door closed silently behind her.
Now, only Lynn and Sylvie remain.
"Your pledge of allegiance." Lynn didn't sit down, but simply looked at her calmly. "I hope it carries enough weight."
Sylvie's lips pressed into a straight line.
Instead of answering directly, she asked a question in return.
Do you know why TVA can cut Timeline?
Lynn didn't speak, she just looked at her, waiting for her to continue.
"Because of the ' Temporal Loom '." A complex emotion flashed in Sylvie's eyes, a mixture of hatred and helplessness. "A machine that forcibly weaves together the possibilities of countless universes into a so-called ' Sacred Timeline '."
"It's powerful, but not invincible. It's overloaded and on the verge of collapse."
She paused here, observing Lynn's reaction.
Lynn's expression remained unchanged.
"These are not enough to solve our current problems," he said incisively.
Hill gave a self-deprecating smile.
"Certainly."
She raised her hand, and the TVA terminal on her wrist, under her operation, projected a complex 3D Star Map composed of countless codes.
"This is something I spent my entire life stealing from the depths of TVA's database."
Her fingertip lightly touched a corner of the Star Map, inconspicuously out of the way.
A string of previously unseen, shimmering Source Code was extracted and isolated.
"The underlying maintenance key for the TVA Temporal Loom."
Sylvie's voice was soft, yet every word carried immense weight.
"With it, you can't control the knitting machine, but you can bypass all firewalls and see its raw operating logs, and all... maintenance records."
Lynn's gaze fell on the key, and his pupils contracted almost imperceptibly.
But he still didn't say anything.
Sylvie knew that wasn't enough.
She took a deep breath and played her last and most important card.
"This ' Omnidirectional Pruning Order ' is procedurally irregular."
These words finally stirred something in Lynn's eyes.
"Go on."
"Any highest-level decision by the TVA, especially orders involving total cuts, must go through a ' Three-Reading Procedure ' by the three Time-Keepers of the Supreme Court, and leave behind complete and tamper-proof meeting minutes."
"But I'm quite certain," Sylvie said, her tone brimming with absolute confidence, "That this order bypassed the procedure. It was an overreaching command issued directly by the ' He Who Remains ' using the Originalist Faction."
"Where's the evidence?" Lynn asked.
"The evidence is in the original logbook of the knitting machine," Sylvie said, pointing to the key. "With that, we can access all the recent meeting minutes of the Supreme Court. You'll find that the censorship order regarding Negative Zone simply doesn't exist."
Silence fell over the meeting room once again.
Sylvie looked at Lynn; she had given up everything.
She bet Lynn would understand the value of this "pledge of allegiance".
After a long while, Lynn finally spoke.
"How long will it take the Department of Technology to decipher and trace this key?"
He asked a technical question.
Sylvie was taken aback, then realized what was happening.
He accepted.
The heavy weight that had been hanging over her heart finally lifted. In its place came a sense of belonging that even she herself found unfamiliar...
"No analysis needed," Sylvie quickly composed herself and assumed the role of "advisor." "I understand the operating logic of this key. Give me authorization, and I can operate it myself."
Lynn looked at her for a few seconds, then nodded.
"Can."
He turned around, walked back to the head of the table, and picked up the Internal Communicator on the table.
"Notify the Liaison Office, the Department of Technology, and the Stability Maintenance Office to convene an emergency meeting in three minutes."
His voice, transmitted through the electric current, reached every core section of the Negative Zone.
"Issue,"
Lynn's fingertips tapped lightly on the cool tabletop, as if setting the first note for the symphony to come.
"A feasibility report on submitting a ' Cross-Dimensional Appeal Letter ' to the TVA Disciplinary Committee and the Multiverse Coordination Bureau."