Cross-checking old files, tracing the undercurrents of a mysterious note

The office door was closed, cutting off all outside noise.

Lynn remained seated behind the tea table, her posture unchanged.

He lowered his eyes, his gaze falling on the still-damp tea stain on the corner of the table.

B-15.

Jean Grey, in an almost declarative manner, laid this hidden card in the open. She not only knew the mysterious messenger, but even the code words the messenger used to transmit messages.

Her decision not to ally with Natasha but to confront him directly was itself a statement.

What she wanted was not short-term gains, but the right to directly participate in the game.

Lynn picked up her cup of tea, which had long since gone cold, but didn't drink it. Instead, she ran her fingertips along the warm, smooth surface of the cup.

A moment later, he pressed the Internal Communicator on the corner of the table.

"Gwen Stacy, come here for a second."

The sound was calm and even.

A short while later, Gwen Stacy, the Liaison Office Chief, pushed open the door and entered. She saw Lynn sitting behind the tea table, looking as if the silent confrontation had never happened.

"Director."

"Sit down," Lynn said, gesturing to the seat opposite her.

Gwen Stacy sat down as instructed, her gaze questioning.

"There's something I need the Liaison Office's Archives Division to handle." Lynn placed her teacup back on the table with a crisp click. "I need to retrieve all the original official correspondence between TVA and our unit, focusing on all archived, sealed, and even discarded drafts from the last ten years or so.

This is an extremely large workload, and involves very high-level permissions, including many "dead files" that should not have been retrieved according to procedures.

Gwen Stacy run down her spine, but she didn't ask why.

What are the specific screening directions?

"Handwriting." Lynn took the note labeled "Forty-Second Time" from the drawer, placed it on the table, and pushed it towards the table. "Use this note's handwriting as a sample for cross-referencing across the entire database. Pay close attention to the depth of the indentation, the spacing between characters, and the usage habits of specific words."

He didn't explain where the note came from, and Gwen Stacy didn't ask.

She simply picked up the note, used a high-precision scanner on her Personal Terminal to create a 3D model of it, and entered all the microscopic data into the system.

"Clear."

"This matter is classified as Top Secret Mission S-004, and only you are aware of it. All access records will be temporarily concealed using Backup Regulations A-03."

"Yes, Director."

Gwen Stacy stood up to accept the order, took the entered data, and turned to leave.

The office returned to silence.

Lynn leaned back in her chair and closed her eyes.

Jean Grey's warning, Natasha's Probe, Wanda's loss of control, Hela's covetousness, and now there's another mysterious figure hiding in the upper echelons of TVA and connected to the Management Committee.

This net is tightening more and more.

Time passed in silence.

Three hours later, a soft sound came from Lynn's Private Terminal.

It's Gwen Stacy's encrypted communication.

He opened the file, and a comparison report appeared before him. The report was very long, listing tens of thousands of samples with a similarity of more than 60%, but all of them were excluded.

Until the last page of the report.

The two documents were placed side by side.

On the left is a 3D model of the note.

On the right is a yellowed electronic draft of a letter with a "void" watermark.

Gwen marked more than a dozen details in the report with red lines. The same character "" is slightly raised when the pen is closed, and the "" part on the left side of the same character "" is written a circle smaller than the "inch" on the right side. The most important thing is that the depth of the physical indentation of the handwriting in the two documents is almost exactly the same.

This indicates that the writers were not only the same person, but that their state of mind and effort were remarkably similar when writing these two documents.

Lynn's gaze fell on the title of the draft official letter.

The draft bill to request the extradition of the high-risk Time Variant ' Mobius ' has been scrapped.

The signing date was ten years ago.

"Found it." Lynn tapped the screen lightly with his fingertip, zooming in on the signature area of the document.

His movements were light, yet they seemed to carry immense force.

The name of the signatory who was responsible for drafting this obsolete document has long been worn away by time.

However, the department headings below it remain clearly visible.

That line of black lead type, printed in the first-generation standard font of the Management Committee, was cold and glaring.

Stability Maintenance Office. Chapter 614: The Stability Maintenance Office's Routine Military Meeting, A Covert Warning Using Force

The following day, the routine military meeting of the Stability Maintenance Office was held in the main conference room of the Nibelung.

The atmosphere was tense and somber.

Hela sat in the main seat, her face so gloomy it seemed to drip water. Since returning from the exploration mission, her Fleet had been idle in port under the pretext of "equipment maintenance" and "personnel rest," with no substantive tasks other than monotonous patrols every day.

"So, those useless bastards in the Logistics Department still haven't replenished the damaged Energy Core?" Hela's voice was filled with suppressed anger as she glanced at the adjutants present.

An adjutant, steeling himself, stood up to report, "Director, the Logistics Department replied that the spare cores in stock are not up to par, and the new cores are still in the application process; the Department of Technology hasn't approved them yet."

"The Department of Technology?" Hela sneered. "It's that woman Wanda again, holding us back."

Just then, the conference room door was pushed open from the outside.

Lynn walked in slowly, under the astonished gazes of the officers from the Stability Maintenance Office. He was alone, carrying only an electronic document in his hand.

"Director." Hela stood up, her tone carrying a barely perceptible hint of wariness.

"No need for formalities, I'm just here to observe." Lynn waved his hand and walked straight to an empty Observer's seat at the conference table, sitting down. "Let's continue the military meeting."

Hela sat down again, and the atmosphere in the meeting room became even more oppressive.

Lynn ignored everyone's gazes and simply opened the electronic document in her hand, as if she were casually flipping through it.

"Where were we? Oh, the Energy Core." Lynn seemed to remember something, looking up at Hela. "The Fleet being idle isn't necessarily a bad thing. We can use this time to practice new formations."

He turned on the projector of the electronic document, and a complex array diagram appeared on the central Holographic Projection.

"This is..." Hela frowned as she looked at the unfamiliar formation diagram.

"The Liaison Office salvaged this from a discarded TVA operational Contingency Plan. It's incomplete, but quite interesting." Lynn's fingertip traced across the formation diagram, highlighting several key nodes. "This formation seems to be specifically designed to counter some kind of Spatial Pruning Technology. The Stability Maintenance Office Fleet has strong firepower, but its mobility and Magic Array adaptability are weaknesses. Using this to practice will be beneficial."

He spoke casually, as if he were assigning a routine training task.

But Hela, who was present, suddenly narrowed her eyes.

Countering Spatial Pruning Technology.

Isn't that exactly what TVA's time -Pruning experts excel at?

Lynn was telling her that there had been changes in the TVA leadership, and that he had already mastered the means to counter the opponent's core tactics.

Hela instantly understood Lynn's intention. This wasn't eavesdropping; it was a warning, a hint. He was both telling her not to engage in any internal strife and that the real enemy was outside.

The resentment and anger in her heart were instantly replaced by a stronger fighting spirit.

"This Magic Array is quite interesting." Hela's arrogance faded, and her gaze became focused. "However, achieving this energy flow requires extremely high energy output from each warship. I need the Department of Technology's assistance in fine-tuning the Magic Array."

"That makes perfect sense." Lynn nodded and closed the electronic document. "I'll have Gwen Stacy send a coordination letter. For specific technical details, you can talk to Minister Wanda directly."

He stood up, as if he had finished his business.

"The drills must be expedited; I don't want to see my Fleet just sitting in port rusting away."

After saying that, Lynn turned and walked out.

Hela watched his retreating figure with a complex expression. She knew she had been tricked, yet she had willingly fallen into the trap.

Because what Lynn gave her was what she longed for most—a real battle.

She picked up the Communicator and connected with her adjutant.

"Notify all personnel to cancel leave and enter Level 1 combat readiness. Also, connect me to the Department of Technology; I need to discuss the Magic Array adjustment with Minister Wanda."

Chapter 615: Compliance Conflicts in Magic Array Debugging, Accidental Leak of Zero Storage Room

The coordination meeting between the Stability Maintenance Office and the Department of Technology was highly contentious.

"I need to access Zero Storage Room to retrieve the stored backup energy source to support the Magic Array's debugging," Hela stated directly, getting straight to the point.

"Rejected." Wanda, sitting at the other end of the conference table, answered just as decisively. "The S-rank Asset Management Regulations stipulate that any asset transfer in Zero Storage Room must be personally signed by the Director with S-001 warrants. Your application is not compliant."

"This is a Magic Array drill personally supervised by the Director; it's an urgent military requirement," Hela insisted, not backing down an inch.

"Even urgent military needs require procedures," Wanda explained. "You can submit an application, which will be approved by the Liaison Office and then reported to the Director's Office. The normal process takes seven working days."

"By the time you finish your procedures, TVA's Fleet will already be at our doorstep!"

The two confronted each other in the meeting room, neither willing to back down. In the end, the coordination meeting ended in discord.

But Hela did not give up.

Half an hour later, she appeared at the entrance of Zero Storage Room with a team of fully armed soldiers from the Stability Maintenance Office.

Wanda was already waiting there, followed by technicians from the Ministry of Department of Technology and bodyguards.

"Hela, do you want to break the rules and use force?" Wanda's voice was icy.

"I'm just here to perform my duties." Hela produced a document. "According to the ' Work Safety Regulations,' I have the right to conduct routine inspections of the security facilities surrounding the warehouse."

Two groups of people confronted each other in front of the warehouse, the atmosphere tense and ready to fight.

Natasha, accompanied by personnel from the Internal Affairs Inspection Office, appeared at just the right moment not far away, silently recording everything with a recorder in hand.

Just as the two sides were deadlocked and conflict was about to break out.

A slight hissing sound suddenly came from inside the warehouse.

Immediately afterwards, a glaring red light flashed on the warehouse door, and a piercing alarm blared throughout the area.

[Alert: Minor leak detected in backup energy valve in Zone B-7, leak level: Gamma. Cause: Aging pipeline and worn-out seals.]

The cold, mechanical sound clearly reached everyone's ears.

"Leak?" Wanda's expression changed.

Hela frowned as well.

The tiny amount of leaked energy, though not powerful, flowed precisely through the floor ventilation ducts, washing over the entire bottom of the warehouse.

It just so happened that the water washed over the Archive Cabinet that had been sealed up by the three parties.

More precisely, it washed over the extremely precise miniature Probe that Natasha herself had placed at the bottom seam of the Archive Cabinet.

This was a perfect "accident".

An unexpected event, orchestrated by Lynn himself and using the most righteous excuse of "outdated equipment," is about to destroy the opponent's darkest scheme.

Flawless.

"All personnel, evacuate immediately according to procedures!" Wanda decisively issued the order.

At that very moment, Natasha, on the other end of the monitoring room, was wearing listening headphones.

The instant the energy leak washed over the Probe, a violent flow of energy surged back along the signal frequency band of quantum entanglement.

"Well!"

Natasha let out a muffled groan, feeling as if her brain had been struck hard by a red-hot iron hammer. Her vision went completely black, and all that remained in her headphones was the deafening crackling of electricity.

The Probe was destroyed.

Chapter 616: The Internal Affairs Inspector's Mute Bitterness, A Safety Review of His Own Misdeeds

The atmosphere at the Management Committee's routine safety meeting was exceptionally serious.

Lynn sat in the main seat, his face ashen.

Natasha sat in her seat, her face somewhat pale, but she maintained the composure of the Director of the internal affairs inspection team. Only the throbbing veins on her forehead betrayed the pain she was enduring.

The energy backlash from the destruction of the Probe caused her considerable mental trauma.

"Regarding the energy leak that occurred in Zero Storage Room yesterday afternoon, I would like to hear the Internal Affairs Inspection Office's opinion." Lynn's voice was soft, yet it lowered the temperature in the conference room by several degrees.

Natasha took a deep breath, stood up, and prepared to give her prepared report.

However, Lynn did not give her a chance to speak.

"A routine safety inspection report, a warning about the risk of aging sealing rings— the Internal Affairs Inspection Office submitted these three days in advance." Lynn projected a report onto the screen. "But what happened after the report was submitted? What measures did you take? Did you urge the Logistics Department to replace them, or did you report them to the Department of Technology for technical evaluation?"

"Nothing like that." Lynn answered himself, his gaze sharp as a knife, piercing Natasha. "You just filed the report and then sat in your offices waiting for the accident to happen."

Natasha's lips moved, but she couldn't utter a single word.

How could she explain this? That she was focused entirely on eavesdropping on the secrets of Zero Storage Room and didn't pay any attention to this routine risk report?

"Routine inspections are just a formality, risk warnings are treated like worthless paper. Is this the work style of our Internal Affairs Inspection Office?" Lynn's voice suddenly rose. "If what leaked yesterday wasn't backup energy, but something else, who will take responsibility?"

The entire conference room fell silent.

All eyes were on Natasha, whose face was growing paler.

"Acting Director Natasha," Lynn tapped the table, "I need a 30,000-word in-depth self-examination report on this incident. Every instance of negligence, every person's responsibility, must be clearly written down. Handwritten, not delegated to anyone else."

"Get it on my desk within three days."

Natasha clenched her fists, her nails digging deep into her palms.

Not only did she lose her most important listening tool and suffer an energy backlash, but now she also has to write a self-criticism to cover up her mistakes and prove the legitimacy of that "accident."

This is utterly devastating, like killing someone by breaking their spirit.

"Yes, Director." She squeezed out the three words through gritted teeth and sat down again.

"Meeting adjourned." Lynn stood up, not even glancing at her, and left the meeting room directly.

As everyone gradually left, only two people remained in the large conference room.

Wanda didn't leave.

She sat motionless in her seat, her Scarlet eyes fixed on the empty chair where Lynn had just sat, lost in thought.

Chapter 617: A Solitary Standoff in the Conference Room: The Extreme Tear Between Reason and Madness

Only Wanda and Lynn remained in the empty conference room.

Lynn didn't go far; he just stood at the door and closed it again after everyone had left.

He turned around and looked calmly at Wanda.

"Did you need something?"

Wanda slowly stood up and walked towards him step by step.

She didn't speak, but the overwhelming, surging Chaos Magic emanating from her body was already distorting the air itself.

Scarlet arc of electricity flickered between her fingertips.

"Sokovia, the forty-first time," Wanda finally spoke, her voice hoarse, each word seeming to be squeezed from the depths of her throat, "Pierced through the heart by a thousand bullets, not even a bone fragment remained."

Her eyes instantly welled up with tears.

"Why did you keep this from me?" She walked up to Lynn, almost touching his face, her eyes red as she questioned him, "You'd rather let Qin know, let Hela know, why did you have to keep it from me?"

"They only see the result. You, however, will see the process." Lynn did not back down. He stared directly into Wanda's eyes, which were about to be consumed by madness, his voice cold and devoid of any emotion.

Do you know what that means?

"It means you'll storm into TVA, you'll overturn the entire Timeline, you'll destroy everything we have now for a 'past' that has already happened and cannot be changed."

"Your power is too great, Wanda. So great that even the slightest emotional fluctuation from you could trigger a disaster. I can't gamble."

Lynn's words were like a cold knife, precisely dissecting the cruelty of reality.

"So, you lied to me? With one lie after another?" Wanda's body began to tremble, and Chaos Magic condensed behind her into a rolling Scarlet storm.

"Yes," Lynn admitted without hesitation, "For the greater good, for the Management Committee, and so that we can stand here instead of being completely wiped out by TVA, I had to lie to you."

"What I need is a Technology Minister who can control Chaos Magic, not a madman who might lose control at any moment due to personal emotions."

Lynn took a step forward, advancing instead of retreating, using his own body to withstand the energy storm that almost engulfed the entire conference room.

He reached out and grasped Wanda's trembling wrist with unwavering strength.

"Look at me, Wanda."

His voice was low, carrying an absolute, unyielding will.

"Take your power back."

Tears finally broke free of Wanda's dam. Madness and reason clashed fiercely in her eyes, while the Scarlet storm behind her raged and subsided at times.

Finally, under Lynn's cold gaze, the Chaos Energy that was capable of destroying everything slowly dissipated, returning to calm.

Wanda seemed to have all her strength drained away, collapsing into Lynn's arms and bursting into tears.

Lynn didn't comfort her; he just stood there quietly, letting her vent her pent-up emotions.

After a long while, the crying gradually stopped.

Wanda pushed Lynn away, wiped away her tears, and regained the composure of Technology Minister.

I need an explanation.

"You will get it," Lynn said, "But not now."

Wanda gave him a deep look, then turned and walked out of the conference room without looking back.

As soon as the door opened, Gwen Stacy appeared in the doorway. She had clearly been waiting for a long time.

Her expression was unusually solemn, and she held a letter sealed with the highest level of encryption in her hand.

"Director," Gwen Stacy's voice was a little hoarse, "An urgent letter from TVA."

The envelope was sealed with a special kind of dark red clay, resembling dried blood.

A very faint smell of blood seeped out.

Chapter 618: The Cross-Dimensional Invitation of the Bloodletter, the New Envoy of the Time Variance Authority

Lynn took the letter from Gwen Stacy.

The envelope was thin, yet its material was exceptionally tough. The dark red clay seal felt cold to the touch, with an unsettlingly sticky texture.

This is not the official seal material used by TVA.

"Sender?"

"Unsigned, it bypassed all outposts and was delivered directly to the Management Committee's main server." Gwen Stacy's expression was serious. "The letter itself is encrypted at the conceptual layer; only your permissions allow you to open it."

Lynn nodded and gently pried open the dark red seal with his fingertips.

The moment the seal shattered, a small patch of Scarlet light, like fragments of memory, escaped and entered Lynn's brow.

It was a very short clip.

A pure white prison cell with no landmarks.

He himself was bound to an X-shaped rack by countless chains gleaming with energy, unable to move.

A blurry figure stood before him, seemingly holding some kind of sharp instrument of torture.

That's the end of the video.

Lynn's expression remained unchanged, as if he had only seen a boring video.

He opened the envelope; inside was only a small card.

The card contained no official TVA jargon, nor any threats or warnings.

There was only one line of handwritten characters, written with strong, elegant strokes.

One coordinate, one time.

He was very familiar with the handwriting.

It was that night that the note slipped under his door bore the handwriting of the words "forty-second time".

The mysterious man who claimed to be "above the B-15" was finally no longer content to hide in the shadows.

He sent a formal invitation.

This brought the behind-the-scenes battle to the forefront.