The struggle for code at the communications foundation, chaos magic's lateral breach
Jean Grey stood quietly in front of the French windows, holding a glass of water that hadn't cooled down yet.
Downstairs, the Ninth Armed Technical Brigade of the Department of Technology had completed the fan-shaped encirclement of the Starport Communications Tower. The silver-gray exoskeleton armor gleamed with a cold metallic luster under the starlight, and all the safety mechanisms on the Gauss Rifle were engaged.
There was no noise, no warning. Only the dull thud of tactical boots on the synthetic ground.
The confidential Communicator on the desk lit up with a red light, and its piercing buzzing broke the deathly silence of the room.
Qin walked back to the large desk, sat down, and pressed the answer button.
"Special Envoy." The voice of the leader of the Ninth Brigade came through the Communicator, its tone heavy with official business. "The Department of Technology has been ordered to investigate the underlying Trojan horse in Starport Communications. The Liaison Office is requested to immediately hand over the physical keys to the server room and evacuate any unauthorized personnel."
Qin didn't reply immediately. She reached out and tidied the pile of documents that had just accumulated on the table, her tone calm. "Is checking for Trojans routine maintenance, or an emergency precaution?"
The supervisor on the other end paused, clearly not expecting to be questioned about procedures, "The Security Upgrade Special Order was personally signed by the minister. The situation is urgent."
"Since it's an emergency response, according to Article 7 of the ' Management Committee Network Security Management Measures,' System Crash Warning Log must be issued and jointly approved by the Liaison Office and the Stability Maintenance Office." Qin looked at the audio ripples on the screen. "Where's the log?"
The supervisor was speechless.
Just then, the audio waveform on the screen suddenly distorted. The originally blue interface was instantly torn apart, Scarlet block forced its way into the communication channel, accompanied by a faint crackling sound.
A half-body image of Wanda Maximoff slowly appeared on the screen.
"The Special Envoy has quite the airs of an official." Wanda's voice was undisguisedly cold. As she spoke, Scarlet Chaos Magic overflowed from the Source Code, causing the temperature in the office to drop several degrees.
"An unknown Data Stream has appeared in the underlying protocol." Wanda stared at the piano on the other end of the screen. "I suspect someone has abused their power to intercept and tamper with the Management Committee's highly classified communications. This concerns central security; by the time you finish going through all those red tape procedures, the data will have already been wiped clean."
Qin sat upright on the back of the chair, meeting Wanda's gaze.
She knew perfectly well what was going on. The so-called low-level Trojan horse and the unknown Data Stream were all excuses. Lynn had left the central command under the guise of Border Patrol, and his whereabouts were a mystery. Wanda suspected that Lynn had secretly left her, the Special Envoy, a coded message through the Liaison Office's confidential frequency.
Wanda wasn't investigating the Trojan horse at all; she was investigating Lynn's movements. She wanted to use this opportunity to forcefully breach the Liaison Office's Defense Line and seize absolute control of Starport Communications.
"Minister, you jest." Qin's expression remained unchanged, even a slightly formulaic smile playing on her lips. "The Liaison Office manages the central information exchange; every piece of data entering and leaving is backed by irreversible physical records. If the Minister suspects any problems, he is free to send auditors to investigate at his leisure."
Qin leaned forward slightly, emphasizing her words: "They forcibly surrounded the communications tower with an armed brigade without even giving us a heads-up. Is this an attempt to find loopholes, or to seize territory?"
The moment the words "take over territory" were uttered, Wanda's eyes grew even more sinister.
"The Special Envoy has just taken over the Liaison Office; he probably doesn't yet understand the difficulties the Technology Division faces." Wanda avoided this accusation and instead changed the subject, "Chaos Magic has already locked down the abnormal port of the underlying protocol. Without my people getting in, this vulnerability can't be patched. If a leak really occurs, can the Special Envoy bear the responsibility?"
Before he could finish speaking, several backup terminals on the desk simultaneously emitted sharp alarms. The screens were covered with distorted Scarlet code, and even dark red static sparks began to seep from the gaps in the physical keyboards.
This is a lateral transgression of Chaos Magic on the physical level. It doesn't harm people, but it's an extremely tyrannical form of military intimidation.
In the past, Qin would have unleashed her Phoenix Force long ago, burning all that obstructive code, along with the entire building's servers, to ashes.
But now, she didn't move.
She knew all too well that once she expended any energy here, she would be completely at Wanda's mercy. Lynn had taught her that in this vast and rigorous system, the most powerful weapon was never pure strength, but rules.
"Since the minister has determined that the computer room has major hidden dangers and must be forcibly taken over, I, as the acting director, naturally cannot stop him." Qin slowly pulled up a blank document template and tapped her fingers on the Virtual Keyboard.
Wanda frowned slightly, seemingly surprised that Qin had conceded so readily.
"However," Qin typed the last character and looked up, "According to Article 12 of Chapter 3 of the Management Committee Confidentiality Act: In cases involving cross-departmental forced takeover of Top-Secret Facility, where there is a conflict of authority between the parties, a third party must be brought in for compliant arbitration."
Qin stared at the flashing red light on the screen, her voice cold and clear.
"The Starport Defense is under the jurisdiction of the Stability Maintenance Office. The Armed Brigade of the Department of Technology surrounded a key communications location without reporting to the defense zone. Director Hela needs to be informed of this."
A draft letter titled "Requesting the Stability Maintenance Office to Intervene in the Arbitration of Communications Security in Starport" appeared in the center of the screen. Qin stamped the letter with the double electronic seals of "Crisis Response Special Envoy" and "Acting Liaison Office Chief" without hesitation and clicked send.
The official letter was sent via the Highest-Priority Intranet Dedicated Line, with a direct copy to the Stability Maintenance Office Director's Office.
"You..." Wanda's image shook violently, and the surrounding Scarlet Code writhed like an enraged swarm of snakes.
Wanda's desire to investigate Lynn's secret telegrams was ultimately driven by personal motives. By involving the Stability Maintenance Office, Jean turned this private matter into a full-blown interdepartmental defense conflict. Once Hela, that woman who values the boundaries of power above all else, got involved, no one could easily fish in this mess.
"The official letter has been sent." Qin picked up her water glass again. "Until the Stability Maintenance Office releases its arbitration ruling, no one can enter the server room. If the minister is dissatisfied, he can appeal to Director Lynn."
He invoked the rules set by Lynn and brought in Hela to act as a check and balance. He used minimal force to achieve maximum effect.
Wanda stared intently at the piano for a full ten seconds.
"Fine," Wanda spat out through gritted teeth, "I want to see what kind of arbitration result the Stability Maintenance Office can come up with for you."
The Scarlet Code on the screen faded instantly, and communication was unilaterally and forcibly cut off. The static sparks on the backup terminal also went out.
The office fell silent again.
Qin put down her water glass and let out a long sigh. Using someone else's strength against them—this bureaucratic procedure was indeed much more effective than simple killing. She not only maintained control of the Liaison Office in a lawful and compliant manner, but also successfully dragged Hela into this conflict.
Hela values Stability Maintenance Office's dominant military position most. If the Department of Technology's armed personnel overstep their bounds in Starport, Hela will definitely intervene with Thunder and decisive action to severely punish Wanda. At that time, the Department of Technology and the Stability Maintenance Office will check and balance each other, allowing her, as the Liaison Office Chief, to sit firmly in her position.
Time passed by, second by second.
Five minutes later.
The confidential Communicator on the table did not receive an official response from the Stability Maintenance Office.
Instead, a low, humming sound, as if even the space itself was trembling slightly, filled the air.
The indoor light suddenly dimmed without warning.
Qin noticed something was wrong and turned to look out the French windows.
Above the Central Hub Starport, a massive, mountain-like black warship silently tore through the clouds and slowly descended. The thick black armor bore the Scarlet emblem of the Stability Maintenance Office.
That was the Nibelung's Escort Ship.
Instead of following port procedures to dock, the warship ignored all no-fly orders and arrogantly hovered directly above the Liaison Office office building.
The massive shadow of the ship completely enveloped the entire block. The Ninth Brigade of the Department of Technology downstairs appeared as insignificant as ants before this steel Beast.
Immediately afterwards, the armor on the warship's belly slowly slid open to the sides amidst a tooth-grinding mechanical grinding sound.
Three robust main and secondary cannons emerged from their barrels, with dark blue Antimatter Energy frantically gathering at the muzzles, emitting a piercing charging shriek.
The gun barrels were not aimed at the armed battalion of the Department of Technology and Technology surrounding the communications tower.
Instead, they locked onto the Liaison Office office building, specifically the floor directly opposite where Qin was located.
Hela did not respond to the official letter, did not intervene as is customary, and showed no interest in engaging in any "third-party arbitration."
She sailed the warship directly onto Qin's head.