Technical barriers in the tracing investigation, the Department of Technology and the Stability Maintenance Office's

Technology Integration Department, Laboratory Zero.

This is the quietest place in the Negative Zone Management Committee, with only the faint buzzing of the ultra-high-performance computing server cluster running.

Wanda stood alone in front of the enormous holographic screen.

On the light screen, the energy spectrum curves, desensitized by Gwen Stacy, floated silently like solidified red electrocardiograms.

They have no coordinates, no time, and no event context.

They are just a string of cold data.

But Wanda's fingertip was hovering over the crest of one of the curves.

A barely perceptible wisp of Scarlet magic, like a living red thread, emerged from her fingertips, silently seeping into the light screen and entwining the Data Stream.

Her eyes were closed.

The cold data, under the influence of Chaos Magic, began to be reconstructed.

It's no longer just numbers and graphics.

It's a feeling.

A familiar kind of energy, a mixture of despair, protection, and the final silence of death.

The ruins of Sokovia, the cold metal body of Ultron, and the blinding laser beams.

And, the not-so-broad back that was blocking her way.

Fragments of memory were forcibly awakened by this energy.

Wanda's body trembled slightly.

She suddenly opened her eyes, and deep within them, Scarlet light surged and churned.

not enough.

These desensitized data are like a severed nerve; they cause her excruciating pain, yet she can't pinpoint the source of the pain.

She needs to be complete.

She needs those coordinates.

Wanda turned around and, without a moment's hesitation, strode out of Laboratory Zero.

She did not submit any applications through the Internal Communications system.

S-1 Data Center.

The physical storage center for all core information of the Management Committee.

The physical defense level here is second only to Lynn's White Bone Hall.

The corridor was brightly lit, and the cold white light shone on the smooth Alloy Wall, reflecting a chilling aura.

Wanda passed through the first three access gates without any hindrance.

Her position Technology Minister grants her extremely high access privileges here.

But she stopped in front of the last circular gate leading to the Core Server array.

This door requires joint authorization from the Liaison Office, the Stability Maintenance Office, and the Director's Office to open.

This is both a technical Bastion and a procedural Bastion.

Wanda did not touch the authorization panel next to the door.

She raised her hand, her palm facing the heavy gate.

Scarlet Chaos Magic began to gather in her palm, preparing to deconstruct this dual physical and rule-based barrier from the most direct, Underlying Logic.

Just as her power was about to touch the surface of the gate.

"Zzz--"

In an instant, all the lighting in the entire data center switched to glaring red alarm lights.

A sharp yet silent alarm, in the form of an information stream, simultaneously flooded the highest command systems of the Stability Maintenance Office and the Liaison Office.

Stability Maintenance Office, Director's Office.

Hela is reviewing a report on the rotation of equipment for border patrol teams.

A blood-red dialog box suddenly popped up on the screen in front of her, taking up the entire screen.

[Alert: Unauthorized access attempt encountered at the S-1 Data Center core gate.]

[Visitor Identity: Wanda Maximoff, Minister of the Technology Integration Department.]

Hela stared at the name on the screen, and the last trace of warmth vanished from her icy blue eyes.

She closed the report and stood up.

"Enforcement Team, assemble."

Her voice wasn't loud, but it instantly carried to every corner of the Stability Maintenance Office.

S-1 Data Center, in front of the core gate.

Wanda's power was interrupted by the alarm; she frowned slightly, but did not stop.

She was well aware of what her actions meant.

But she had to get those coordinates.

Just as she was about to ignore the alarm and continue to force her way through, she heard a series of uniform, metallic footsteps coming from the end of the long alloy corridor behind her.

The footsteps grew louder as they approached, eventually stopping a short distance behind her.

Wanda did not look back.

She could feel that familiar, cold, and deathly aura, like Eternity winter night.

"Minister Wanda."

Hela's voice was like Blade chilled to the bone.

According to Chapter 3, Section 7 of the Management Committee's Internal Safety Regulations, any unauthorized access to the S-1 Core Server will be considered a top-level security threat.

Wanda slowly turned around.

Hela stood there, dressed in the black uniform of the Stability Maintenance Office, with twelve members of the Undead Law Enforcement Unit behind her, armed with conceptual weapons and clad in heavy armor.

They were like a black wall, completely blocking the corridor.

"I'm carrying out Task Force assignment," Wanda's voice was equally cold. "I need the complete raw data to complete the technical analysis assigned by the Director."

"I've read the Task Force's operating procedures." A mocking smile curled at the corner of Hela's lips.

"The procedures are very clear: all access to raw data must be requested by the Executive Deputy Team Leader Director Gwen Stacy, and ultimately approved by the Director's Office."

Your current actions are an overreach of authority and a violation of regulations.

"It's too slow," Wanda said. "The Living Tribunal is still watching us; I don't have time for those tedious procedures."

"So, this is your reason for disregarding the Management Committee's rules and regulations?" Hela took a step forward.

"The duty of the Stability Maintenance Office is to uphold these rules and regulations. Today, no one is allowed to pass through here."

As soon as she finished speaking, the Undead Law Enforcement Unit behind her immediately dispersed, forming a standard tactical formation to completely take over the perimeter of the data center.

The dark muzzle of the gun wasn't pointed at Wanda, but at the circular gate behind her.

This is a statement of attitude.

What they are preventing is data breaches.

Two destructive forces thus formed a direct confrontation in a narrow corridor, under the guise of "compliance."

The air seemed to have been sucked out.

The beeping sounds of the server seemed to have faded away.

The air around Wanda began to distort, and Scarlet lightning flickered in her eyes.

Hela's knuckles turned slightly white from gripping the sword hilt so tightly.

Tensions were high.

Just then, a communications officer from the Undead Law Enforcement Unit quickly approached Hela and whispered an urgent report.

"Director, the energy fluctuation readings here are rising rapidly, approaching the critical value for outward radiation."

"Once the threshold is crossed, even with the rules and regulations of the jurisdiction, it won't escape the notice of the court envoy who is still observing from the outside."