Joint assessments for critical posts, cutthroat competition at the Chaos Research Institute

For the first time, Hela's voice carried a businesslike, "cooperative" tone.

"Regarding these evaluation criteria, I think we need to meet now to discuss them."

This is not a discussion, but a notification.

Wanda's eyes flickered with Scarlet before settling back to calm. She turned her head to look at Hela, her face expressionless.

"Can."

One word: decisive and efficient.

The chaotic energy in the office miraculously subsided the moment that word was uttered. The tense confrontation dissipated, replaced by a colder, more procedural atmosphere.

Lynn leaned back in his chair, neither moving nor speaking.

He was like a backdrop to the conversation, an emotionless approval machine. But he knew that he was the fulcrum that kept the scales balanced.

Hela and Wanda showed no sign of leaving the office.

Hela sat down in the visitor's chair opposite Lynn's desk with an elegant yet undeniably assertive movement. She placed the Data Pad on her lap and lightly tapped the screen with her fingertip.

"Since this is a joint research project, let's do it here. It will also make it convenient for the Director to provide guidance at any time."

Wanda did not sit.

She simply stood beside Hela, arms crossed, her gaze fixed on the screen.

"Can."

It's the same word again.

Lynn's office instantly transformed into a makeshift interdepartmental Joint Conference room.

"I'll lead the background check," Hela said coldly. "The first step is a loyalty stress test. I suggest setting up 372 high-pressure scenario simulations, including but not limited to extreme options such as betrayal, treachery, and sacrifice, to assess whether their loyalty to the Management Committee will waver under any circumstances."

Her fingers swiped rapidly across the screen, inputting one assessment detail after another.

"Secondly, psychological stability assessment. Place them in a conceptual-level mental Labyrinth, introduce over a thousand sources of mental contamination, and observe their emotional threshold and breakdown point. Any tendency to lose control exceeding 0.01% is considered unqualified."

"The third requirement is background verification. They must proactively submit a detailed report on all the core secrets of the Earth-838 Illuminati, which will then be cross-verified by the Stability Maintenance Office. Any concealment or omission will result in immediate disqualification."

With each item Hela mentioned, the Aura of Death in the office grew stronger. These so-called "assessments" were more like a list of crimes prepared for the execution of a prisoner, each one leading to certain doom.

Wanda listened in silence the whole time.

After Hela finished speaking, she slowly opened her mouth, her voice equally cold. "I'm in charge of the technical assessment."

Her gaze never left the screen.

"First, the stability of Chaos Energy output. It is required that, under simulated conditions, it maintains energy output continuously for 72 hours, with a fluctuation rate not exceeding one part in ten million. During this period, the Department of Technology will conduct more than 10,000 random high-frequency disturbances."

"Second, instruction compliance assessment. It will be given 130 million logically conflicting instructions and required to filter, sort, and execute the optimal solution within three seconds. Any hesitation or logical error will result in failure."

"Third, research output KPIs." Wanda paused, finally raising her eyes to glance at Lynn before quickly looking away again. "Given that the Chaos Energy Research Institute has just been established, it is required to independently complete a comprehensive review of the existing defense system of the Negative Zone within seven working days and submit an optimization plan of no less than 500 pages. The plan must be feasible, and the optimization efficiency must be no less than 15%."

This is no longer an assessment.

This is pushing people to their limits.

After listening, Hela's lips curled into a barely perceptible smile, seemingly quite satisfied with the standards proposed by Wanda.

In just ten minutes, the two of them, talking back and forth, jointly devised a test plan that could only be described as Hell. This plan would be impossible for even the Management Committee's top technical experts and most steadfast warriors to complete, let alone a newly surrendered and mentally unstable "living asset".

They turned this plan into a compliant, doomed death sentence.

After the plan was finalized, silence fell over the office once again.

Hela and Wanda both turned their attention to Lynn.

Lynn picked up the teacup on the table and took a sip. The water had gone cold.

He dragged the Data Pad in front of him and read it through from beginning to end, scrutinizing every single word.

"Very detailed and rigorous," he commented, setting down his teacup. "It reflects the two ministers' high level of responsibility for the Management Committee's safety."

He picked up the electronic pen and signed his name in the approval section at the end of the proposal.

Let's proceed with this plan.

A barely perceptible hint of relaxation flashed in both Hela's and Wanda's eyes.

"Furthermore," Lynn added, "Considering the high intensity of the assessment, and to demonstrate the Management Committee's humanistic concern, the energy supply and logistical support for asset K-01 will be handled by the administrative office to the highest standards during the assessment period."

This statement is like a drop of water being poured into boiling oil.

Hela and Wanda's expressions froze instantly.

Lynn didn't look at them again, and waved her hand. "The plan will take effect immediately. Thank you both for your hard work."

Hela gave Lynn a deep look, picked up the Data Pad, stood up, and walked out without a word. Wanda followed behind her, and before leaving, her gaze lingered on Lynn's face for half a second, her expression complex and unreadable.

The office door closed.

A war without gunfire has officially begun on another battlefield.

However, the course of the battle took an unexpected turn.

Three days later.

In the office of the head of the Technology Integration Department, Wanda looked at the interim performance report that her subordinate had just submitted, her face so gloomy it was almost dripping with water.

The report shows that the K-01 asset, also known as Wanda-838, demonstrated terrifying obedience and execution capabilities.

Hela set 372 scenario simulations, and she passed them all with the optimal solutions, resulting in a loyalty assessment of "absolutely reliable."

She accepted all a thousand sources of psychological pollution, her psychological stability assessed as "unbreakable."

As for the Illuminati's confidential report, she submitted a two-thousand-page document on the very first day of the assessment process, the level of detail of which startled even veteran agents of the Stability Maintenance Office.

The results of the assessment by the Department of Technology were even more outrageous.

She controlled the volatility to less than one in a hundred million with 72 hours of high-intensity energy output, far exceeding the standard.

She processed over 100 million logically conflicting instructions in just 2.1 seconds, demonstrating near-perfect execution efficiency.

What Wanda found most unacceptable was that research KPI.

In just three days, Wanda-838 not only completed the review of the entire Negative Zone defense system, but also submitted an optimization plan. She didn't even wait until the seven-day period was over.

"Minister..." the Technician beside him spoke cautiously, "The proposal submitted by asset K-01... after our preliminary calculations, not only has extremely high feasibility, but also... she conveniently reconstructed the lowest-level defense code of the Negative Zone."

The Technician swallowed hard, his voice trembling.

"Theoretically, defensive efficiency... can be improved by more than 30%."

Wanda suddenly raised her head, a flash of Scarlet passing through her eyes.

This is no longer an assessment.

They're here to cause trouble.

A tremendous, unprecedented sense of workplace crisis instantly enveloped Wanda.

She was originally the sole authority in the field of Chaos Energy within the Management Committee, and the undisputed core of the Department of Technology. But now, a clone exactly like her, and even more "useful" and "obedient" in some aspects, has appeared.

"Notify all project teams to cancel their vacations." Wanda's voice was icy cold. "We need to conduct a comprehensive review, stress test, and redundancy verification of the K-01 plan! I want the final report within 24 hours!"

"Also, immediately launch the ' Singularity Barrier ' project that we are currently researching!"

"Yes, Minister!"

The Technician, feeling as if he had been granted a pardon, ran out as fast as he could.

The entire Technology Integration Department instantly plunged into an unprecedented frenzy of overtime. What was originally just an emotional competition completely evolved into a brutal internal struggle concerning performance and computing power.

Wanda stood there, her chest heaving violently.

Just then, her office door was flung open, without even the courtesy of knocking.

Liaison Office Chief Gwen Stacy Stacy strode in, her expression more serious and urgent than ever before.

Ignoring the oppressive atmosphere in the office, she walked straight through and pushed open the inner door leading to the Director's Office.

"Lynn!"

Gwen Stacy's voice carried a hint of urgency.

"TVA Commission for Discipline Inspection's expedited Top Secret approval regarding Ravonna's report has arrived!"