A special receipt for an interdimensional delivery, the mind of the Management Committee Director

The air in the Director's Office in the White Bone Hall was stagnant.

Lynn's fingertips traced silently across the smooth, mirror-like surface of his desk. He wasn't looking at any documents; his gaze was fixed on the Eternity emptiness outside the window, but his focus wasn't there.

Hela walked for forty-two hours.

Wanda submitted that request to access the energy report thirty-one hours ago.

Time is moving forward at a perceptible, heavy pace. Every step treads on the edge of a precipice called out-of-control.

The Internal Communications terminal on the corner of the desk silently lit up, breaking the deathly silence of the office.

Instead of a red emergency alert, it displayed a green line indicating the highest priority of internal document processing.

From: Director of the Stability Maintenance Office, Hela.

Subject: Report on the interim results of classified field mission A-74.

Attachment: A technical sample and a receipt agreement.

Lynn's gaze finally shifted from the window to the line of text. His expression remained unchanged; he simply picked up the teacup on the table and took a sip of the now-cold tea.

They've arrived.

He opened the attachment.

What popped up on the screen was not detailed data about the sample, but a separate, extremely strictly worded acceptance agreement.

The agreement is very short, with only one core clause.

"To ensure the absolute safety of the Command Center, the handover, unsealing, and inspection of this sample must be personally completed by Comrade Lynn, Director the Negative Zone Management Committee."

Below the terms and conditions, there is a line of small print annotation.

"Any form of proxy signing, transfer, or authorized opening is considered a violation."

Lynn stared at the screen, her fingers lightly tapping the table.

This was an official letter from the Director of the Stability Maintenance Office, yet it concealed the most personal emotions. Hela did not choose to confront him directly, but instead chose to use the system as a weapon to issue him an ultimatum.

She handed him a bomb, packaged in the most compliant manner, and sealed off any possibility that he might pass it on.

She wanted him to open it himself.

She wanted to see with her own eyes how he would confront the lie he had created.

Should it be destroyed?

The thought only flashed through Lynn's mind for a moment before he rejected it. To destroy it would be tantamount to admitting it. Against an opponent of Hela's caliber, any attempt to cover it up was the clearest confession.

Moreover, this "physical evidence" also has extremely high research value for him.

"Director."

Gwen Stacy's voice came through the Communicator, carrying a hint of barely perceptible tension.

"The Liaison Office has received a cross-dimensional express delivery handover instruction from the Director the Stability Maintenance Office. The S-01 special energy sample encapsulator has arrived at C-7 Portal. Should it be executed according to the agreement?"

"Execute according to the agreement." Lynn's tone was flat and indifferent.

"Clear."

Communication cut off.

Lynn leaned back in her chair and closed her eyes.

He quickly reviewed the situation in his mind. Hela's intention was clear: to use this "evidence" that belonged only to the two of them to corner him and conduct a trial in their private sphere.

She knew he wouldn't dare to make it public.

She knew he would have to face this "relic" from the past alone.

Ten minutes later, there was a knock on the office door.

Two Undead Guards, belonging to the Director's Office's direct guard, carried in a hexagonal encapsulator that shimmered with an eerie light. They placed the encapsulator gently on the alloy table in the center of the office, then bowed and withdrew, closing the door behind them.

Throughout the entire process, not a single word was superfluous.

Lynn stood up and walked to the encapsulator.

He could sense what lay quietly inside—an energy that didn't belong to this universe, yet carried his "death."

It's enough to ignite everything.

He reached out his hand, but didn't touch the complicated power button.

His fingers gently traced the cold metal casing of the packaging unit.

Hela wanted to see how he would handle the situation.

Then he'd give her an unexpected ending.

Lynn turned back to his desk and picked up the physical pen used for signing the highest-level instructions. Instead of signing the agreement, he pulled out a blank Red-Headed Document issuance form from the file rack beside him.

The pen fell, but what it wrote was not his own name, but a businesslike instruction.

Subject: Arrangements regarding the handling of a sample of an unknown high-risk technology.

"Main Text: Today, we received an unknown technology sample that was surveyed and extracted by Classified Field Mission Group A-74. The sample's energy composition is unknown, its logic is unclear, and it poses an extremely high potential risk. To ensure the absolute security of the Management Committee's jurisdiction and to complete the risk assessment as soon as possible, we hereby decide:"

"First, immediately transfer the S-01 packaged sample to Laboratory Zero of the Technology Integration Department."

"Second, under the leadership of Comrade Technology Integration Department Minister Wanda, a team of top-level technical experts will be organized to conduct an emergency 'blind analysis' of the sample. The entire analysis process must be recorded to ensure data integrity."

"Third, the Technology Integration Department is required to produce a complete sample energy composition analysis report within twelve hours and submit it to the Director's Office."

After writing it down, he signed his name and affixed the seal of the Management Committee Director.

A calculated scheme.

Hela used rules to confine him to the "private" realm, so he used higher-level rules to forcibly pull the matter back onto the track of "official business."

Didn't you want me to handle it personally?

This is how I handle it.

I entrusted it to the most professional department, using the most compliant procedures to conduct the most scientific evaluation.

This is the most correct and blameless way for a Management Committee Director to handle a "high-risk unknown sample".

Lynn placed the signed Red-Headed Document on the packaging device and pressed the Internal Communications.

Gwen Stacy.

"Director, I'm here."

"You personally bring your people here and hand over this S-01 sample, along with my approval document, to Minister Wanda of the Department of Technology of Science and Technology."

Gwen Stacy paused noticeably on the other end of the communication.

"Yes, Director."

Lynn cut off the communication.

He moved a chess piece from one chessboard to another.

Now, the pressure is on Wanda.

A "blind test" sample, personally delivered by the Director of the Stability Maintenance Office and approved by the Director the Management Committee. Wanda's curiosity and expertise will lead her to use every means to analyze it.

When she analyzes the results, those results will no longer be Hela's private evidence, but rather an official technical report from the Department of Technology.

How will a report on the Death Energy of "him" from the Asgard Ruins collide with Wanda's own memories of Sokovia?

Lynn didn't know.

But he knew that when two equally proud women held two completely different pieces of "evidence" pointing to the same man, the conflict between them would far exceed their questioning of him.

He successfully created a firewall for himself.

Technology Integration Department, Laboratory Zero.

Wanda looked at the S-01 Encapsulator that Gwen Stacy had personally escorted over, and the Red-Headed Document signed by Lynn on it, a complex look flashing in her eyes.

"Blind test analysis?" she read the words from the document softly.

"Yes, Minister." Gwen Stacy's expression remained as professional as ever. "The Director has requested it as a top priority."

Wanda nodded and didn't ask any more questions.

She waved her hand, and the encapsulator was steadily grasped by the robotic arm and sent into the laboratory's core ultra-high precision analytical platform.

She stood in front of the massive data wall and issued the instructions.

"Initiating ' Chaos ' protocol-assisted parsing, starting the scan."

A deep blue beam of light focused on the encapsulator from all directions and began to penetrate layer by layer.

Data Stream refreshed on the wall like a waterfall.

"Outer shell material analysis... unknown alloy."

"Internal energy shielding layer analysis... Death Force signature code, encrypted."

"Cracking encryption... Successful."

"Starting scan of core samples..."

On the data wall, a completely new and never-before-seen energy spectrum curve slowly emerged. Its structure and logic completely overturned Wanda's understanding of all known energy forms.

It's like a ghost from another universe.

Wanda's brow furrowed slightly, her pure technical curiosity fully ignited.

However, just as she was about to zoom in on the spectral details, a sudden, intense mental tremor gripped her heart.

Not through magic, not through Telepathy.

It was a kind of déjà vu that was forcibly awakened at the soul level.

She felt as if she had returned to the ruins of Sokovia, seeing the silver-haired figure rushing towards her and feeling the blue laser beam that pierced the heavens and earth.

And, the not-so-wide back that shielded her, providing her with an absolutely safe haven.

This aura of energy...

It was exactly the same as when he finally vanished.