The Department of Technology's Inadvertent Leak, the Special Observer's Political Quagmire
The room was quiet.
Ravonna shut down her Personal Terminal; the pale blue light faded, leaving only a lingering image deep within her pupils.
Darkness and silence, like a tide, surged in from the corner, enveloping her.
She sat motionless in the chair, her back ramrod straight, her hands resting flat on the cold metal tabletop. This was a habit she had developed during her training at TVA; no matter how turbulent her heart was, her body had to remain absolutely still and stable.
But at this moment, she could feel a slight tremor in her fingertips.
TVA executives are funding Hydra.
Ke'er was the front man in the deal.
And she was that foolish hunting dog that stumbled headlong into the dark tent.
This conclusion was not a guess, but a cold, hard fact that she had personally unearthed from the bottom-level logs of TVA. She thought she was holding a sword that would pierce into the Negative Zone, but she found that the hilt was branded with the emblem of her own master, and the blade was already pointed at her own throat.
The humiliation had faded, replaced by a deeper chill.
She knows too much.
Those who dare to make deals with Hydra will never allow a "Special Observer" who knows the secret to leave the Negative Zone alive.
what to do?
Should she escalate this damaging information to a higher level? The intricate power structure of TVA flashed before her eyes; every node could potentially be connected to this illicit money. Who would be the safest recipient of this death warrant? And who could guarantee that the person in the higher position wasn't part of this dark network?
To remain silent and keep this to oneself? Impossible. Her access to the underlying logs cannot be erased; those people will find out sooner or later. Once they confirm what she knows, silencing her will be the only option.
She was trapped in the center of an invisible vortex. One step forward meant an Abyss, one step back meant a mountain of knives and a sea of fire.
In the midst of this suffocating silence, the Negative Zone Public Terminal on the table emitted a soft notification sound.
bite.
The sound wasn't loud, but it was like a needle piercing the stagnant air.
Ravonna's gaze slowly shifted over there.
This is a new official document notification awaiting review. Sender: Technology Integration Department.
She didn't click on it immediately. Her fingers remained flat on the table, as if assessing the potential risks hidden behind the soft sound. In this vast Bastion called Negative Zone, any seemingly ordinary little thing could be the beginning of a meticulously planned scheme.
She remembered Lynn, the Director of the Management Committee, and the official, even slightly approving, expression on her face when he approved her access to all the files in the meeting room.
He already knew.
He knew Ke'er's identity, knew about that historical resolution, and might even... know about TVA's shady dealings.
He let himself investigate, like a chess player watching with great interest as his opponent walked step by step into the trap he had set.
Ravonna's breathing became heavy. She finally reached out and opened the document.
The title is very formal, carrying an impeccable air of bureaucracy.
Letter regarding the provision of supplementary technical materials for the "Special Inspection of Historical Safety Hazards".
The main text is equally concise. In essence, to cooperate with the Inspection Group, the Technology Integration Department, with a rigorous and responsible attitude, conducted a second review of the Historical Energy Data related to the Sokovia Ruins, and now submits a supplementary analysis chart for future reference.
There is only one attachment.
Ravonna's gaze lingered on the words "rigorous and responsible" for a moment before she opened the attachment.
A technical chart titled "Spectral Analysis of Energy Decay and Abnormal Fluctuations in the Sokovia Ruins" was displayed on the light screen.
The charts were complex, filled with curves, data, and technical annotations incomprehensible to the average person. The main curve was a gently downward trajectory of energy decay, consistent with the normal physical behavior of the region After the Age of Ultron. Everything looked so... normal.
It's like the 300TB of junk data she was drowning in a few days ago—professional, detailed, but utterly worthless.
Ravonna frowned slightly. She didn't believe the Technology Integration Department would send such a thing out of the blue.
With patience, like the most demanding auditor, she began to review the annotations under the charts line by line. Her fingers slowly slid across the screen, zooming in on the charts and examining each data point.
Suddenly, her fingers stopped.
Below the main decay curve, there is an inconspicuous secondary energy fluctuation curve that is almost drowned out by background noise. It is very weak and its spectral characteristics are extremely unstable, like a residual trace of some kind of signal transmission.
Below the chart is a small note. "Note: Weak and irregular Secondary Energy Flow characteristics were detected. Due to the low signal strength and discontinuous path, the system determined it to be environmental interference and has marked it for archiving."
Path discontinuity?
Ravonna's pupils suddenly contracted.
Her gaze was fixed on that faint curve. To an ordinary person, it was indeed a few discontinuous points, completely irregular. But she had just seen the illicit money transaction path between TVA and Hydra! That truncated and encrypted path that laundered money through countless intermediary nodes!
She immediately matched the chart in front of her with the black-gold path she had memorized.
The first point, a match, is an energy transfer station in the Battleworld.
The second point, the coincidence, is the entrance to the black market in a certain Border Dimension.
The third point, the fourth point...
In her eyes, the seemingly "discontinuous" curve was perfectly connected by an invisible line.
It precisely outlines the complete path of that 300 billion in illicit funds, disappearing from TVA's accounts, undergoing layers of disguise, and ultimately flowing into Hydra's secret accounts.
Everything is presented in this "unintentionally leaked" "supplementary technical material".
A chill, even more biting than when the truth was discovered, instantly spread throughout Ravonna's body.
She understood.
This is not supplementary material at all.
This is a warning letter.
A warning letter from Lynn, the Director the Negative Zone Management Committee.
He not only knew Ke'er's background, but he also knew all about the shady dealings of TVA's top management! He personally delivered this evidence, which was enough to ignite the entire TVA, to her in the most compliant and inconspicuous way.
Instead of reporting it directly to the TVA Commission for Discipline Inspection, he handed this hot potato over to her.
This plunged Ravonna into the deepest part of the Political Quagmire.
She was no longer the discoverer who possessed the secret and could waver between "reporting" and "remaining silent." She became the Messenger, carrying a bomb, being watched by both sides.
If she dares to make any move, Lynn can release this chart at any time, nailing her and the TVA executives behind her to the pillar of shame. And those people at TVA, once they know of the chart's existence, will absolutely stop at nothing to silence her forever.
She was put in a very difficult position.
She became a key pawn used by Lynn to check and balance the TVA executives, a disposable pawn that could be sacrificed at any time.
Ravonna leaned back in her chair, feeling all the strength drain from her body. Looking at the calm chart on the screen, she experienced for the first time the true meaning of utter despair and helplessness.
Just then, the Private Terminal belonging to TVA that she had placed on the table suddenly emitted an extremely faint notification sound, completely different from the Negative Zone document system.
A short beep signaled the highest priority encrypted communication.
The information does not originate from Negative Zone.
It's from TVA.