A cool response to the anomaly alert, a special consultant's bid to exploit the crisis

Lynn tapped her fingertips lightly on the cold desk surface.

Just for a moment.

On the floating light screen in front of him, two red warning boxes were flashing silently side by side. One was labeled "Hela, Director the Stability Maintenance Office," and the other was "Wanda, Minister of the Technology Integration Department." Both of their heart rate curves and energy fluctuation indices had fallen below the safety threshold set by the Management Committee, showing an extremely unstable and chaotic state.

More importantly, his real-time communication link with the investigation team was lost three minutes earlier.

The office was quiet.

It was so quiet that you could hear the faint sound of the breeze from the central air conditioning system rustling through the mountains of paper documents.

Something happened.

Lynn knew very well that the worst had happened. It wasn't that the external enemies were so powerful, but that the two core pillars that held this power structure together were showing signs of collapsing from within at the same time.

He was about to pick up the Internal Communicator on the table and connect directly to the Liaison Office Chief, Gwen Stacy's, private line.

The office door was pushed open silently.

Special consultant Ravonna Renslayer walked in.

She held a document bound in a blue folder in her hand, a perfectly professional smile on her face, and walked steadily, seemingly unaware of the somber atmosphere in the room.

"Director."

Ravonna gently placed the folder on Lynn's desk and pushed it a suitable distance away. Not an inch more, not an inch less.

"These are some preliminary opinions from TVA regarding the follow-up disposal of the abandoned Red Room Abandoned Dimension. I have compiled them into a memo and would like to report them to you in person."

Her gaze seemed to casually sweep over the two glaring red warning boxes in front of Lynn, but her tone remained unchanged.

"The Coordination Office just detected a violent energy leak in the Red Room Dimension. The investigation team seems to be encountering some trouble. TVA's rapid response force can provide necessary support at any time, provided that a compliant intervention authorization is obtained."

At this point, the true intentions were finally revealed.

Lynn looked away from the flashing alarm and onto the blue folder. He didn't reach for it.

He leaned back in his chair, his hands clasped together, looking very relaxed.

"Thank you for your thoughtfulness, Advisor Ravonna."

His voice was flat, devoid of any emotion.

"The investigation team is conducting an S-rank internal reconnaissance mission. Signal delays or data packet loss during cross -Dimension communication are both compliance losses clearly defined in the ' Cross-Dimensional Operations Safety Regulations '."

Lynn paused, picked up the teacup on the table, and the lid touched the rim of the cup, making a crisp, light sound.

"I appreciate the high level of enthusiasm from the TVA staff. However, there's no need to activate the rapid response force over a small amount of compliance costs. If word gets out, people will think that our Negative Zone Management Committee can't even handle a routine on-site investigation."

These words, while seemingly gentle, were actually firm, directly using the issue of face within the system to deflect Ravonna's outstretched hand.

Ravonna's smile remained unchanged.

"The Director's considerations are thorough. However, every procedure has its flexibility. If the situation gets out of control and causes irreversible asset damage or casualties, the responsibility..."

She didn't finish her sentence, but her meaning was clear.

Lynn put down her teacup.

"As the Director of the Management Committee, I will naturally take full responsibility for this matter."

He leaned forward slightly, his gaze calmly fixed on Ravonna.

"However, since Advisor Ravonna and TVA are so interested in the Red Room, I have a favor to ask."

"Please go ahead, Director."

"In order to better clarify historical issues and completely eliminate potential safety hazards," Lynn said, speaking slowly but clearly, "We hope that TVA can assist in providing all the original records of the editing work done on the Timeline of the Red Room, especially the final approval document jointly signed by the Time-Keepers."

He looked at Ravonna, a faint smile playing on his lips.

"I think this will be of great help in assessing on-site risks and determining the cause of residual energy. This also falls under the scope of information sharing stipulated in our memorandum, right?"

The air in the office seemed to freeze for a second.

For the first time, a very subtle stiffness appeared on Ravonna's smile, but it quickly returned to normal.

She knew very well that the document was one of TVA's top secrets, and it involved far more than just a simple editing operation. Lynn's move was essentially using a legitimate reason to turn the tables and precisely kick the ball back into TVA's restricted area.

"Of course." Ravonna nodded, her demeanor still impeccable. "I will forward the Director's request to the relevant departments of the Discipline Inspection Commission in the form of an official letter. I believe they will respond as soon as possible, following due process."

"Thank you for your trouble," Lynn said.

Ravonna picked up the memo on the table and nodded slightly to Lynn.

"Then I won't disturb the Director's work any longer."

She turned and quietly left the office, considerately closing the door behind her.

The moment the door closed, all expression vanished from Lynn's face. He stared at the two still-flashing red warning boxes, his brow furrowed.

Bureaucratic maneuvering can only delay things temporarily.

He forcefully suppressed the internal conflict between Hela and Wanda, but in doing so, he gave the enemy lurking in the shadows a perfect opportunity to sow discord between them.

Now, he is deaf and blind.

Just then...

A notification tone, completely different from regular communication and carrying a slight electrical quality, rang out from the Encrypted Communicator on his left.

This Communicator bypassed all the official networks of the Management Committee; it was a dedicated line among dedicated lines.

Lynn picked up the Communicator.

On the screen, there is only a simple black spider icon made of lines.

He pressed the answer button.

A woman's voice, languid yet carrying a hint of dangerous laughter, rang out clearly.

"Director, do you need any help?"