A hell-level probationary assessment, the shadow Yandere's ultimate pledge

The meeting room in the White Bone Hall was now empty.

Lynn returned to her office, where the air still carried the chill of Hela and the faint, Chaos aura of Wanda.

He picked up the tea that had long since gone cold from the table and took a sip.

Appointing Natasha as Director of the Internal Affairs Inspection Office and presenting her with an almost impossible assessment task was a move that served as both a warning and a test, but also a way for him to forcibly add a new weight to the already unbalanced scales of power.

Lynn knew perfectly well that Ravonna was a spy planted by the He Who Remains. But removing a spy is never an easy task. If they made too much noise, they would alert TVA; if they made too little noise, they wouldn't be able to remove her completely.

Now, he handed over this dirty job, the job that most tested one's skills and sense of proportion, to Natasha.

Once she succeeded, she had a foothold and the capital to rival Hela and Wanda; only then was her weapon truly sharpened.

If she loses, her time as "acting Director" will be over. Lynn can use her lack of ability as an excuse to take back or transfer the power of the Inspection Office to someone else, thus giving an explanation to all parties.

This is the ultimate pledge of allegiance.

Lynn put down his teacup and turned on the data screen in front of him. It displayed the official document that had just been approved regarding the establishment of the Internal Affairs Inspection Office.

He needed to see where this new knife would strike with its first blow.

It was just past one o'clock in the afternoon.

An urgent request was sent to Lynn's desk through the Liaison Office's internal process.

Issuing unit: Internal Affairs Inspection Office (in preparation).

Issued by: Acting Director, Natasha Romanoff.

The letter was concise, requesting access to all personnel files, financial accounts, and energy usage Management Committee of the "C-11 Logistics and Energy Distribution Center," "S-4 Redundant Data Processing Station," and "Border Jump-Lane Maintenance Office Three" under the Management Committee for the past three months.

The reason is that, based on a preliminary screening of the historical data of the "Red Room," it was found that the energy flow and personnel scheduling of the above three secondary departments at specific time points exhibited abnormal characteristics that highly matched the TVA's unconventional operation mode, requiring a compliance review.

Lynn's fingertips lightly traced across the light screen.

Fast and accurate.

These three departments seem completely unrelated: one is in charge of logistics, one is in charge of data corruption, and one is in charge of waterway maintenance. They are all marginal units with little lucrative opportunities and unclear responsibilities.

But Lynn knew very well that these three places were precisely the gray areas where information, energy, and personnel could most easily leave traces when entering and leaving the Negative Zone, and where tampering was most likely to occur.

Natasha didn't launch a high-profile investigation into tough targets like the Stability Maintenance Office or the Department of Technology; instead, she started with the most inconspicuous weak points.

Her sword, sheathed yet ready to strike, strikes with thunderous force in silence.

A barely perceptible smile curved the corners of Lynn's lips.

He only signed his name in the approval opinion section of the official letter.

"Read."

Neither approved nor rejected. Within the system, the top leader's "reading" is itself a statement of attitude. It means "I understand, follow the rules," thus passing the buck back to the rules themselves.

Sure enough, less than ten minutes after the official letter was issued, communication requests from the heads of the three departments bombarded Gwen Stacy's Liaison Office.

Gwen Stacy presented a briefing.

The three officials spoke vehemently, protesting that the Inspection Office had overstepped its authority by conducting such a broad investigation without presenting clear evidence, which they claimed severely disrupted the department's normal operations. They demanded that the Director intervene and suspend the Inspection Office's "brutal enforcement."

Lynn looked at the briefing calmly.

He didn't reply, he just kept looking at the time.

Another twenty minutes passed.

The second document was issued from the Inspection Office, and this time, it was directly copied to the terminals of all Standing Committee Member members.

An inspection order regarding the activation of the "Emergency Response Contingency Plan for Major Internal Security Risks of the Management Committee".

The inspection order cited the empowerment clauses in the document that Lynn had just approved for the establishment of the Inspection Office, which clearly stated that when a potential risk arises that could threaten the core security of the Management Committee, the Inspection Office has the right to take "temporary control measures" against the department involved after reporting to the Director "information".

These measures include, but are not limited to: sealing all files, freezing all ports, and restricting relevant personnel from leaving their posts.

At the end of the document was the "read" sign that Lynn had just signed.

Natasha used a single word to its fullest extent.

She was telling everyone that her actions had the Director's tacit approval.

Hela's Stability Maintenance Office maintained an eerie silence. Wanda's Department of Technology also made no statement.

The newly established Inspection Office is staffed with key personnel drawn from various departments. Investigating their own people is bound to encounter numerous obstacles.

But Natasha only took one day.

She didn't hold any general meetings or conduct any large-scale surprise inspections.

On her first day in office, she chaired the first plenary meeting of the Inspection Office. At the meeting, she only talked about one thing: work Discipline.

She completely disrupted the two groups of people drawn from the Liaison Office and the Stability Maintenance Office, cross-grouped them, and had them supervise each other. The case files that Group A was responsible for reviewing had to be reviewed by Group B. All data access required the signatures of both groups and were recorded in the entire process.

She used a cold and ruthless internal procedure to bind everyone together, eliminating any possibility of tipping off others.

Then, she calmly walked into the three departments with her entourage and the inspection order in hand.

There were no arguments, no confrontations.

She simply had the technicians physically disconnect the server from all external connections in front of the department head, and then affixed a seal bearing the official stamp of the Inspection Office to the door.

The entire process was like a surgeon performing a precise operation—calm, efficient, and devoid of any superfluous emotion.

All obstacles appear pale and powerless in the face of the two formidable mountains of "Director's tacit approval" and "compliance procedures".

For the next three days, Lynn's office was quiet.

Neither Hela nor Wanda came. They seemed to be watching coldly from the sidelines, waiting to see how this newcomer would end up.

Lynn proceeded with her daily tasks methodically, seemingly having forgotten the assessment task she had assigned.

Until late at night on the seventh day.

A case report was sent to Lynn's private lounge.

The report was thin, only three pages long.

The first page is a case summary, confirming that seven individuals across three departments were found to have unusual communication and energy transfer records with TVA's special consultant Ravonna.

The second page contains a list of evidence. There are no confessions, only irrefutable data and ironclad proof. Communication records, energy spectrum of encrypted channels, tampered navigation logs... every single one clearly points to Ravonna.

The third page contains recommendations for handling the matter: The seven individuals involved, along with all evidence, should be transferred to the Stability Maintenance Office for further processing. An internal investigation into Ravonna Renslayer is also recommended.

The report was signed by Natasha Romanoff, Director of the Internal Affairs Inspection Office.

Seven-day deadline, without the slightest deviation.

A perfect answer sheet.

Lynn turned off the light screen, leaned back in her chair, and closed her eyes.

He knew that from this day forward, the power structure of the Negative Zone Management Committee had been completely altered. Natasha, with her Thunder methods, had demonstrated the sharpness of this "knife" to everyone and had also submitted her most thorough pledge of allegiance to him.

He was pondering how to use this report to engage in a new round of negotiations with TVA and the He Who Remains.

The door to the lounge was pushed open silently.

Lynn opened his eyes.

Natasha walked in. She had changed out of her gray uniform and was wearing a black, tight-fitting combat suit that accentuated her stunning curves.

In her hand, she held a paper copy of the case closure report, with a black hard cover and the badge of the Internal Affairs Inspection Office embossed on it.

Without saying a word, she walked straight to Lynn and gently placed the report on the table.

Then she turned and walked back to the door.

Lynn thought she was leaving.

But she didn't.

She simply reached out and pressed a button on the access control system.

Click.

A soft sound rang out, unusually clear in the quiet lounge.

The door was locked from the inside.