The sealing order for Zero Storage Room, the Liaison Office Chief's by-the-book seizure

The Nibelung docked at its Negative Zone homeport at 3:45 AM.

The dull thud of the docking rings locking echoed into the hold as the Anti-Gravity platform, supporting the Archive Cabinet, slowly slid out of the cargo hold. Three Seals, Scarlet, one jet black, and one pale gold, gleamed coldly under the berth lights.

Hela stepped onto the pier first, her hand on the hilt of her sword.

"The Stability Maintenance Office has taken over the escort." Without turning her head, she added, "Martial law along the route, clear Corridor Three."

Just as the Undead Guard behind her was about to line up, Wanda's voice came from the other side of the platform.

"The cabinet's seal is primarily based on Chaos Magic. If there are any energy anomalies during transport, the Stability Maintenance Office office won't be able to handle them." The red light at her fingertips hadn't faded. "The Department of Technology's escort is even more secure."

Jean Grey descended the gangway, her steps slow and deliberate.

"The Recognition Layer contains Residual Echo of the mind," she said. "I'm not comfortable with either of them escorting you. The Special Envoy's Office is willing to take over."

The three groups stood still on the pier, none of them moving.

The guards, the technical team, and the Special Envoy's entourage—three groups of people—met in mid-air, separated by a cabinet. The stevedores at the berth stopped what they were doing and quietly backed away.

Gwen Stacy was the last one to come down.

She held a black envelope in her hands, walked to the center of the three parties, stood still, and opened the envelope.

"Director's Order," she said, "S-014. Attendance is pending."

Hela frowned. Wanda's gaze fell on the envelope. Jyn didn't speak, she just looked at her.

Gwen Stacy unfolded the inner pages and read them aloud, word by word.

"This order is hereby issued: The evidence Archive Cabinet retrieved from the abandoned TVA lines shall be immediately sealed in Zero Storage Room. During the sealing period, no department or person of any rank may access the cabinet under the guise of escorting, inspecting, or assisting in security. Opening the cabinet requires the personal signature of the Director and joint signatures from all three parties; none of them can be missing. This order shall be supervised and executed by the Liaison Office."

After reading it aloud, she turned the document around to face the three of them.

At the bottom, Lynn's signature was written with a very heavy, forceful stroke.

The pier fell silent for a few moments.

"Zero Storage Room," Hela spoke first, her voice low. "I remember that place is directly under the Director's Office; even my Stability Maintenance Office has no authority over it."

"The Director remembers clearly too," Gwen Stacy said, gathering the order. "That's why this order was issued."

"I've been escorting these cabinets all the way here," Hela stared at her, "And they were put into Zero Storage Room as soon as they arrived at port. Liaison Office Chief, whose order is this?"

"Whoever's name is on the order, that's their decision." Gwen Stacy met her gaze. "If the Director you all, he wouldn't have sent you to retrieve it. If the Director trusts you all—"

She paused.

Why make things difficult for the Director with this simple procedure?

Hela tapped her fingers twice on the hilt of the sword, then said nothing more.

Wanda took half a step forward.

"I set the seal," she said. "When the cabinet is put into storage, I want to see the seal in place with my own eyes. This isn't contact; it's verification."

"Article Three of the Supplementary Provisions of the Order." Gwen Stacy turned a page. "The sealer may verify the seal's placement through the observation wall in the outer room of the storeroom and keep a record. If the Minister requires verification, the Liaison Office will arrange it immediately."

Wanda stared at the appendix for a couple of breaths.

The appendix was written in great detail. So much so that every word she wanted to say was cut off beforehand. She looked up at Gwen Stacy, Gwen Stacy expression was calm, but who was holding the document in her hand very firmly.

"The Director has thought this through very well." Wanda withdrew the red light from her fingertip, her voice calming. "Verification isn't necessary. The video recording is there; they can't escape."

Jean Grey spoke last.

"I only have one question," she said, "Was this order signed before arriving in Hong Kong, or after arriving in Hong Kong?"

Gwen Stacy glanced at her.

"The Director signed it before the Vanguard set sail," she said. "It's sealed in the Liaison Office's safe and carried with the team."

Qin smiled, but the smile didn't reach her eyes.

"So he had it all planned out," she said. "He knew the three of us would fight over this cabinet on the pier."

"You flatter me, Special Envoy." Gwen Stacy closed the envelope. "The Director simply doesn't want you all to let a cabinet ruin your harmony. If harmony is damaged, things will be difficult for the Management Committee."

That's a soft way of putting it, but it's actually quite firm.

All three parties understood—to argue was to disrespect the Director; not to argue meant they would have to swallow their pride.

Hela withdrew her guards first.

"Store it." She uttered those two words, turned around, and went up to the observation corridor on the high pier. She didn't leave; she just stood there and watched.

Wanda retreated to the other side of the platform, crossed her arms, and refused to leave.

Qin straightened her cuffs and decided to sit down on the bench by the berth.

Gwen Stacy nodded to the escort team at the liaison Liaison Office. Eight agents stepped forward, took over the Anti-Gravity platform, and headed towards Zero Storage Room along Corridor Three. She personally accompanied them, not missing a single step.

From the observation corridor, Hela watched the group walk away, then suddenly said to her adjutant, "Make a note of this. From today onwards, the Liaison Office's internal affairs are under my jurisdiction."

The adjutant lowered his head to take notes, not daring to speak.

Natasha was the last to disembark.

She didn't go to the middle of the pier, but came down close to the cabin wall, carrying the evidence box in her hand, which contained forty-one Chip. When the three parties were fighting over the cabinet, she didn't say a word, but just stood in the shadows at the gangway entrance and watched.

Only after the crowd dispersed did she slowly walk towards the passageway.

Gwen Stacy was waiting for her at the entrance of the passageway.

"Acting Director," Gwen Stacy stepped aside slightly, but didn't move aside completely, "The evidence box should be registered and stored along with the cabinet, according to the regulations."

"The Chip is evidence in a separate case." Natasha lifted the box higher. "The Inspection Office needs to examine it first, and then it can be put into storage. Article 17 the regulations— Director Gwen Stacy than I do."

"Article 17 concerns unclaimed evidence," Gwen Stacy said. "These Chip were obtained by the Vanguard during their mission; they are special case evidence and should be sealed under Article Eight."

The two stood three steps apart, each taking one of their own food, their voices low.

Natasha smiled.

"Director Gwen Stacy seems to know the regulations exceptionally well today," she said. "Did the Director give you some instructions?"

"The Director only instructed about the cabinet," Gwen Stacy, looking at her. "The Chip is what I need to register. If the acting Director feels it's inappropriate, he can ask the Director for a decision."

Asking for a ruling is like bringing a trivial matter to Lynn's attention.

Natasha weighed the suitcase in her hand but didn't respond. She glanced over Gwen Stacy's shoulder into the depths of the corridor; the escort team's figures had already turned the corner.

"Register it then." She handed over the box, smiling casually. "Anyway, the inspection application will be submitted by the Inspection Office first thing tomorrow morning. Director Gwen Stacy, let's follow the rules, no one should try to take anyone else's."

Gwen Stacy took the box with both hands.

With a soft click as the box lock closed, her gaze fell on Natasha's left sleeve cuff—that cuff was neatly gathered, with nothing on it.

Lynn's message was clear: There's one more thing.

The item is no longer on my sleeve.

That means it's already on the road, changed hands, or—it's already hidden somewhere no one would expect.

Gwen Stacy carried the evidence box to the warehouse, mentally reviewing every step of the Vanguard's return journey: inspecting the container, loading, boarding the ship, and docking. Natasha only had the time it took to inspect the container.

Inspection of the cabinet.

Her pace slowed slightly.

The Detection Device the seam at the bottom of the cabinet, showing a green light all the way. But the Detection Device was being scanned by her own eyes; whether the light was green or not, it was scanning the cabinet itself—it couldn't detect anything else that had slipped out of her sleeve.

At the end of the passageway, the Alloy Door of Zero Storage Room slowly opened.

Gwen Stacy stood at the doorway, watching the Archive Cabinet being carried into its storage compartment, where Three Seals were placed behind the observation wall. She signed her name in the supervisor's column on the storage form, her handwriting steady.

After signing, she pulled up the inbound process sheet and paused for a long time in the last column, "Check of accompanying accessories".

That column is empty.

According to the regulations, the empty space should be jointly signed by the escorting party and the receiving party as "no attachments".

She picked up her pen, about to write, but her fingertips paused—if there really was something hidden in the seam at the bottom of the cabinet, signing "no attachments" now would reveal tomorrow that the person who signed it was Gwen Stacy.