A closed-door talk in the Director's office, the thinking of new and veteran cadres
The office door was closed.
The heavy bone door shut out everything outside, leaving only two elongated shadows under the lamplight.
Lynn sat behind his large desk, his fingers unconsciously tapping lightly on the surface, producing a dull, rhythmic sound.
He did not answer Wanda's question immediately.
That's a very insightful question.
It bypassed the organizational structure, the work process, and all the rules and regulations just established at the meeting, pointing directly to the most fundamental and original issue: affiliation.
The question of where someone sleeps is essentially asking who the lady of the house is.
Lynn's tapping stopped.
He raised his eyes and looked at the Technology Minister was standing in front of the table, his body slightly tense due to his emotions.
"Minister Wanda."
He addressed me by my official title.
These three words acted like an invisible barrier, pulling the slightly aggrieved personal issue back into the realm of work.
Wanda's lips moved, and the Scarlet Energy in her eyes seemed to be suppressed, slowly receding.
"You knocked to come in just now," Lynn said calmly, as if stating a fact.
Wanda nodded.
"That's good," Lynn said. "It shows that you accept the Management Committee's rules and respect the organizational procedures of superiors and subordinates. This is the most basic quality of a department head."
He offered no criticism, only praise.
But every word of praise subtly reinforces the barrier called "rules".
"So, as the head of the Technology Integration Department, what you should be reporting to me now isn't the accommodation arrangements for newly acquired assets." Lynn leaned forward slightly, his gaze calmly fixed on her. "That falls under the purview of the Logistics Support Office Department."
"What you should report is the 'Preliminary Study and Control Plan for Strategic-Level Living Asset K-01 '."
"What you should apply to me for is dedicated research funding for this asset and a permit to build a high-standard Isolation Laboratory."
"You should also submit a detailed hourly KPI assessment sheet, personally designed by you, specifically for this new ' Associate Researcher '."
Lynn spoke slowly, but every word landed clearly in Wanda's ears.
Her expression gradually changed amidst this series of businesslike actions.
The anxiety and unease that belong to women are being replaced by the sense of power and responsibility of a department head.
Lynn observed the changes in her and knew that the time was almost right.
He stood up, walked around the desk, and went to Wanda, straightening her slightly disheveled collar.
This gesture was affectionate, yet maintained a sense of propriety.
She studies materials.
Lynn lowered his voice, adding a touch of reassurance.
"And you are a core member."
"Materials can be produced in many copies, consumed, and replaced. But the Management Committee's Department of Technology will always, and always will, belong to your ' Wanda '."
Do you understand?
Wanda looked up and met Lynn's eyes.
In those eyes, there was no hint of her fear or evasion, only a clear, unwavering certainty.
The turbulent, almost out-of-control Chaos in her heart was gently soothed by an invisible hand.
"I... I understand." Her voice no longer trembled.
"Very good." Lynn took a step back, returning to a safe distance between leader and subordinate. "Now, go draft your proposal. I'm giving you one night to work on it; I want it on my desk first thing tomorrow morning."
"Yes, Director."
Wanda turned around, opened the door, and went out.
This time, her back was ramrod straight.
Lynn watched as the door closed again, and the office returned to silence.
He returned to his seat and remained silent for a moment.
He picked up the Internal Communicator on the table and pressed a button.
"Have Asset K-01 come to my office."
A few minutes later, there was another knock on the door.
Thump, thump.
The voice was very soft, tinged with hesitation and reverence.
"Enter."
The door was pushed open, Wanda-838 walked in.
She was wearing a makeshift gray uniform, and the violent, destructive aura emanating from her had been suppressed to a minimum, replaced by an almost fanatical devotion.
She walked three steps away from the desk, stopped, and then knelt down on one knee without any hesitation.
"Mine..."
She was about to speak when Lynn interrupted her.
"Stand up."
Lynn's voice wasn't loud, but it carried an undeniable authority.
Wanda-838 was stunned and looked up at him in confusion.
"In the Negative Zone Management Committee, there is no kneeling or bowing." Lynn leaned back in his chair, his fingers interlaced in front of him. "Here, there are only superiors and subordinates, only organization and Discipline."
Wanda-838 stood up hesitantly, her hands nervously gripping the hem of her clothes, like a new recruit receiving her first speech.
"You're lucky," Lynn said, looking at her. "The Management Committee deemed your existence valuable. That's why you survived."
"Everything I have belongs to you," she declared immediately.
"No." Lynn shook his head. "Your existence belongs to the Management Committee. Your value is determined by the organization. And I am the highest-ranking person in this organization."
He deliberately drew a clear line between "the organization" and "me".
"Your current role is that of a probationary Associate Researcher at the Multiverse Chaos Energy Research Institute. Your direct supervisor is Minister Wanda of the Technology Integration Department."
Upon hearing the title "Minister Wanda," Wanda-838 visibly stiffened.
"Remember your identity, and remember your responsibilities." Lynn's gaze sharpened. "Obeying organizational arrangements, not overstepping your authority, not provoking others, and efficiently completing your research tasks are the only conditions for you to remain here and enjoy 'humanitarian asylum'."
"If you can't do that," Lynn's tone remained unchanged, "the Management Committee's asset destruction process Illuminati's."
These words were like a bucket of ice water, extinguishing all of Wanda-838's unrealistic fantasies.
She finally understood her current situation.
She is not a princess who has been rescued, but a living asset that has been labeled, to be observed and utilized.
What determines her fate is not the personal likes or dislikes of the man before her, but rather the cold rules and value judgments.
"I... understand, sir." She uttered these two words with difficulty, using a title appropriate for secret agents.
"Very good." Lynn nodded, satisfied with the form of address. "The Logistics Office will arrange your accommodations and work area. Now, you can go out."
"Yes, sir."
Wanda-838 gave a less-than-perfect military salute, turned around, and slowly walked out of the office.
The door closed again.
Lynn leaned back in his chair and let out a long sigh.
He was finally left alone in the office.
He rubbed his throbbing temples; dealing with internal conflicts was far more mentally taxing than dealing with external enemies.
He sat quietly for a while, allowing his mind to detach from the highly tense "Commissar" state.
He then opened the Data Pad in front of him.
On the screen, what was playing was the entire process of the Illuminati remotely erasing Wanda-838, which Gwen Stacy had recorded earlier.
The precise Blue Data Stream from Earth-838 was repeatedly slowed down on the screen, with each energy rhythm meticulously labeled.
Lynn's gaze fell on the document that Gwen Stacy had named "Emergency Intervention Report on Asset K-01".
The report's appendix includes a loss assessment jointly issued by the Department of Technology and Technology and the Liaison Office.
The content includes: the conceptual structural damage to asset K-01 itself; the conversion of Phoenix Force and Chaos computing power mobilized by the Management Committee to implement "humanitarian asylum"; and the psychological Impact and lost work time caused to the participants by the incident...
Lynn's fingertips slowly slid across the screen, finally stopping at a string of astronomical numbers.
A cold, indifferent smile curved at the corners of his lips.
He picked up the Communicator.
"Connect with the Liaison Office, Director Gwen Stacy."
After a brief busy signal, Gwen Stacy's voice came through.
"Director."
"Director Gwen Stacy," Lynn said calmly, glancing at the list of claims on the screen, "prepare a Diplomatic Note to Illuminati sent to Earth-838."
Tell them the bill is due.