A sudden challenge at the departmental meeting, behind the technical report
The air in the main conference room was somewhat oppressive.
The Fourth Quarter meeting of the Negative Zone Management Committee on energy allocation and infrastructure planning has been going on for almost an hour.
Lynn, seated at the head of the table, unconsciously ran his fingertips along the rim of his teacup. The tea had gone cold, but he didn't ask his secretary to refill it.
His gaze swept calmly across both sides of the long conference table.
On the left are the Liaison Office Chief, Gwen Stacy, the deputy Director of the Stability Maintenance Office, and the head of the Logistics Support Department.
To my right sat several heads of subordinate units, taking turns reporting on their work.
At this moment, the speaker was the Director of the Data Management Center, a middle-aged man wearing gold-rimmed glasses. His voice was flat and straightforward, like a calm river, as he reported on the progress of cleaning up redundant server data in the previous quarter.
Some people in the room were taking notes attentively, some had their eyes slightly lowered as if they were thinking, and others simply sat upright, maintaining the proper posture of a participant.
Everything was in accordance with the procedures.
Lynn shifted his gaze from the speaker's face to the agenda spread out in front of him. He knew that this calm was merely a facade.
Hela has been gone for more than 72 hours.
Wanda stormed into the Liaison Office forty hours earlier.
Beneath the calm surface, the undercurrents were already raging. What he needed to do now was to maintain order as much as possible before the water boiled over completely.
"... This concludes the work summary for the Data Management Center at this stage. Next, we will strictly follow the Director's instructions and continue to deepen our work..."
The spokesperson's briefing was nearing its end.
Just then...
The heavy double doors to the conference room were pushed open from the outside.
There was no knocking.
Everyone paused for a moment, and the reporting stopped abruptly. All eyes turned to the doorway.
She is Wanda, the head of the Technology Integration Department.
Instead of the black uniform issued by her department, she wore a well-tailored Scarlet long dress, which made her stand out conspicuously in the room filled with black and gray tones.
Her face was expressionless as she walked straight to the conference table.
The department heads present subconsciously bowed slightly, wanting to greet her, but were stopped by her unapproachable aura.
Wanda ignored everyone else, her gaze fixed on Lynn, who sat in the main seat.
She gently placed a thin paper document on the table in front of Lynn. The movement was light, but in the quiet conference room, the soft sound was exceptionally clear.
"Director."
Her voice was cold and flat.
"The preliminary analysis report for the Emergency Blind Test of the S-01 Unknown Sample that you approved is out."
Lynn's gaze slid over the cover of the report, then he looked up at Wanda. He didn't touch the report.
"Minister Wanda, this is the Management Committee's departmental meeting." His voice was equally calm, devoid of any emotion. "According to Confidentiality Regulations, discussions involving S-rank samples are not appropriate to take place in this setting."
He paused, his tone carrying an unquestionable official air.
"After the meeting, come to my office; we'll have a private meeting."
This is the most compliant and effective way to handle the situation, bringing the unexpected situation back onto a controllable procedural track.
However, Wanda showed no intention of leaving.
"No need, Director." She looked at Lynn and said, word by word, "Because the contents of this report have gone beyond the realm of mere technical matters."
She extended her finger and lightly touched the cover of the report.
"The underlying energy logic of this sample sent back by the field Field Operations Group of the Stability Maintenance Office is completely consistent with that of a historical energy remnant that our department has marked as 'permanently sealed'."
The air in the conference room seemed to have been half sucked away.
The other officials present all looked puzzled. They didn't understand the Underlying Logic, but they could tell that the words "historical legacy" and "completely consistent" must involve some hidden past events.
In particular, this matter involves both the Department of Technology and the Stability Maintenance Office, two of the most powerful departments.
Lynn's eyes finally showed a subtle, almost imperceptible change.
He knew what Wanda meant.
Sokovia.
He was about to speak, using his authority Director to forcefully end the topic.
The conference room door was pushed open once again.
If Wanda's intrusion broke the rules, then this time, it has shattered them.
Stability Maintenance Office Director Hela, walked in expressionlessly, dressed in military uniform and wearing a long dark green cloak. Behind her were two Undead Guards holding Long Halberd, who stopped at the door and stood on either side like statues.
The temperature in the entire conference room instantly dropped several degrees.
Hela's gaze lingered on Wanda for a moment, then swept over the glaring report on the table, and finally landed on Lynn's face as well.
"Director, I'm sorry to interrupt the meeting." Her voice was colder than ice. "I just finished a field assignment, and there's an urgent matter that I need to report to you in person."
Lynn looked at her without saying a word.
Hela took two steps forward and walked to Wanda's side. She didn't look at Wanda beside her, but pointed to the technical report on the table.
"I suspect Minister Wanda's report is about this sample."
She withdrew her hand, her voice not loud, but clearly reaching everyone's ears.
"This sample was personally extracted by me from the core ruins of the Bifrost in Asgard."
In short.
The entire conference room fell into complete silence.
Asgard.
Bifrost.
These two words represent the same thing to all the senior Management Committee of the management committee present.
A heroic and tragic sacrifice.
A taboo name.
Wanda's body trembled almost imperceptibly. She turned sharply to look at Hela, her Scarlet pupils churning with unbelievable horror.
The other responsible persons looked at each other as if they had heard something unbelievable, not daring to utter a sound.
The procedural Bastion Lynn used to cover up the truth were shattered in public by Hela in the most direct and brutal way.
Two women, one holding fragments of memory from Sokovia and the other holding physical evidence from Asgard, at this moment, at the Management Committee's regular meeting, completed their first information exchange regarding the truth of "his" death.
All the blame ultimately fell on the man who sat in the main seat, remaining silent throughout.
Lynn leaned back in his chair, his fingers interlaced under the table. He could feel two invisible forces, powerful enough to tear space apart, pressing down on him from both sides.
He became the center of the storm.
Hela gave no one time to react. She stepped forward, closing in on the conference table, her gaze sharp as a knife, piercing Lynn.
"Director."
She spoke again, this time using the formal tone of Director of the Stability Maintenance Office when performing official duties.
"Given that this unknown energy appeared simultaneously at the core sites of two S-rank historical events and severely impacted the mental state of two core members of the Management Committee, its very existence constitutes a top-level safety hazard."
She spoke slowly, but every word was like a nail, driven into the hearts of everyone present.
"I hereby cite Article 7, Paragraph 3 of the 'Regulations on Information Security and the Protection of the Right to Know by the Negative Zone Management Committee '."
Hela's voice suddenly rose, carrying an undeniable authority.
"We formally request that you immediately reveal the final ownership of this energy sample and explain the truth behind the relevant historical events."