The clearance barrier to top secret files, the investigation leader's on-site division
"This report has a problem."
Gwen Stacy's voice was flat, as if she were stating a technical parameter.
She turned the data Recording Board in her hand toward Hela and Wanda, her fingertip pointing to a tiny footnote at the bottom of the screen.
"LNH-001."
She read the code aloud without offering any explanation.
Hela's gaze swept over the string of letters, her expression unchanged.
In Wanda's Scarlet eyes, the Data Stream flickered slightly. She clearly understood the anomaly of the string of letters immediately.
"This is not TVA's archiving format," Wanda said, her voice carrying a hint of technical rigor and indifference.
Gwen Stacy nodded. "This is Director Lynn's habit of handling private memos when he was at S.H.I.E.L.D.."
One sentence made the already tense atmosphere in the control center even heavier.
It's not difficult to forge a flawless TVA report.
However, the forger used a personal seal belonging to Lynn that only a very few people could understand at the end.
This is not an oversight.
This is a provocation.
It is also a clear indication.
"Data." Hela's voice broke the silence. She only said two words before her gaze swept past everyone and landed on a heavy metal door that was physically welded shut at the deepest part of the main control center.
There were no markings on the door, but in her sense of death, there was something behind it.
Wanda's gaze met hers at the same point. "Class A physically partitioned Archives Department. Thirty centimeters thick Vibranium - Titanium Alloy. The interior is an independent inert gas environment."
Her Scarlet fingertips twitched slightly, and several strands of Chaos Energy silently probed the entire structure.
"The report is fake; the clue is inside," Hela said, taking a step forward.
"We can't force it open." Wanda's voice wasn't loud, but it made Hela stop in her tracks.
"A high-intensity energy Impact will instantly disrupt the internal Magnetic Field stability, completely erasing all old storage media within 0.1 seconds," Wanda calmly analyzed. "I need time to reconstruct its lock core code using Chaos Magic, which will allow for lossless opening."
"How long will it take?" Hela asked.
Three minutes.
"It's been too long."
Hela's answer was simple and direct. She seemed to have no patience to play this guessing game with this unknown strategist any longer.
A cold, judgmental aura emanated from her. The icicles frozen in mid-air in the main control center were instantly covered with a deeper layer of dark green frost.
"My method only takes a second." Hela's hand was already on the hilt of the sword at her waist.
"You'll destroy the only clue." Wanda stood her ground, Scarlet energy coalesced into an invisible barrier before her, standing in opposition to Hela's chill.
The atmosphere between the two had transcended a simple disagreement.
This is a clash of two styles of doing things, and even more so, a duel of two wills. Whoever gets what's inside first will seize the initiative for the next step.
"Stop it, all of you."
Gwen Stacy's voice wasn't loud, but it was like a precise Scalpel, cutting into the tense atmosphere between the two.
She stepped between the two, placing herself at the center of the storm.
According to Article 7, Paragraph 3 of the "Cross-Dimension On-Site Preservation Regulations."
Gwen Stacy held up the data Recording Board in her hand, and a line of bolded rules was clearly displayed on the screen.
"When the Joint Investigation Team leaders disagree on the methods for collecting Class A physical evidence, the ' Site Freeze ' procedure will be automatically triggered."
Her gaze first fell on Hela, then shifted to Wanda, her tone devoid of any personal emotion, entirely businesslike.
"Until the two team leaders reach a unified operational plan, or until further instructions are received from the Director's Office, all personnel on site shall suspend all actions. I, as the supervisor, shall officially take over this area."
The ultimate weapon of a bureaucratic system is the rules themselves.
The rules Lynn set up to keep them in check were now being used by Gwen Stacy to keep both of them in check.
Hela's knuckles turned slightly white as she gripped the sword hilt. She could ignore Wanda, but she couldn't openly defy the fundamental regulations of the Management Committee, signed by Lynn and enforced by Gwen Stacy.
The Scarlet Energy in front of Wanda slowly dissipated, and she gave Gwen Stacy a deep look.
The control center was locked in a strange stalemate.
Just then...
A low, teeth-grinding metallic scraping sound came from all directions of the base.
Boom!
Boom!
Boom!
With three loud bangs, several heavy alloy explosion-proof doors, each over a meter thick, crashed down from a hidden groove in the ceiling.
A door completely sealed Hela and the Archives Department within a small area.
Another door blocked the entrance to the main control center, trapping Gwen Stacy and Wanda in the central area.
The third door blocked the corridors leading to other areas.
In an instant, the entire control center was divided into several unconnected cages.
The sudden physical partition caught everyone off guard.
Gwen Stacy immediately picked up the Recording Board, trying to contact the outside world, but the screen only showed a snowy display representing strong interference.
Wanda's eyes blazed with red light as she tried to penetrate the walls with magic, only to discover that the walls were inscribed with some kind of ancient Runes specifically designed to isolate energy.
Hela, trapped in front of the Archives Department, had a terribly grim expression.
She was about to draw her sword and use the most direct method to cleave open this foolish iron gate.
suddenly.
On the wall beside her, an old CRT screen covered in dust and cobwebs flickered without warning.
"Sizzle... sizzle..."
After a faint hissing sound, the screen lit up.
A line of fragmented, flickering green characters slowly appeared on the dark screen.
[... Death Energy... Compatibility... Test Report (Fragment)...]