The Chaos Furnace's third shutdown, Wanda refuses to meet the inspection envoy
The Department of Technology's core experimental area has five underground floors, including the zero-level buffer corridor.
The red warning light overhead rotated twice per second, but no alarm sounded.
The acoustic damping panels along the entire corridor were at full power, suppressing the low-frequency aftershocks of the giant reactor fifty meters away as they stopped, creating a muffled sound that made one's eardrums throb.
Thomas, the special envoy of the Internal Affairs Inspection Office, stood in front of the third airtight explosion-proof door, glanced at his watch, and then looked down to straighten the silver balance scale collar insignia on his dark black uniform.
Behind him followed two Level 2 Inspectors carrying energy sampling boxes; the pointers of the radiation dosimeters on the side of the boxes were bouncing back and forth at the edge of the yellow zone.
A faint, dark red light shone through the circular observation window on the left side of the explosion-proof door.
The special high-lead quartz glass, which is three meters long and forty centimeters thick, is covered with dense ice cracks.
Wanda stood three steps inside the observation window in front of the Control Console.
She wore a loose, gray-white experimental robe, unbuttoned, with her arms hanging naturally at her sides, her back pressed against the outer shell of the Chaos Magic Main Reactor, whose screen had long since been turned off.
She didn't look at Thomas outside the door; her gaze was fixed on the lead-gray power transmission pipeline at her feet, which connected to the "Zero Storage Room" on the sixth underground floor.
A small service passage on the side of the airtight door slid open, creating a gap about half a meter wide.
Claire, the Minister of the Department of Technology, came out carrying a stack of operation logs covered in red seals. She pressed the mechanical lock on the service door with her back hand, then turned to face Thomas and bowed slightly.
"Mr. Thomas, according to the minister's instructions, the core laboratory is conducting the 79th magic zeroing test. Level 1 silence is in effect throughout the area; no unauthorized personnel are allowed to enter."
Thomas didn't look at the logbook in Claire's arms. Instead, he took half a step forward, his boots stopping directly above the yellow warning line on the blast door.
"Secretary Claire, what I have in my hand is not a routine inspection form, but a 'Special Verification Order for Seal Damage in Zero Storage Room ' jointly issued by the Internal Affairs Inspection Office and the Management Committee Joint Conference."
Thomas pulled a hard-sided document folder with three embossed seals from his briefcase and held it up to Claire's nose.
"In the past twelve hours, the energy peak in the fifth underground level of the Department of Technology exceeded the Class A threshold three times, directly causing the main reactor to shut down three times. The central control center has reason to suspect that you have illegally Impact the bottom seal of Zero Storage Room without prior notification."
The two second-level inspectors behind him stepped forward at the same time and placed their hands on the pulse restraint device around their waists.
Claire took a half step back, her back pressed against the cold metal frame of the blast door, clutching the folder in her arms tighter, a fine layer of sweat beading on her forehead.
"Sir Envoy, the reactor shutdown is due to the aging of the third set of valves in the cooling circuit. The Minister is personally investigating the source of the fault and it is truly inconvenient for him to open the door to receive you."
"Valve aging?"
Thomas sneered, raised his right hand, and pointed to the alarming ice cracks on the observation window.
"What kind of cooling valve malfunction could cause hundreds of cracks in the explosion-proof quartz glass mixed with Vibranium powder? Claire, you're just an office secretary. Even if you're protecting your superior, you should consider whether you're qualified to take the blame for trespassing."
Claire's lips moved, her face pale, but she did not move aside.
Thomas ignored the secretary, turned around, and pressed the forced connection button on the internal intercom microphone next to the window.
"Minister Maximoff, Director Lynn is out and has not returned. Currently, the daily defense of the Management Committee is being managed by Director Hela and the Joint Conference. Please open the third airtight door immediately and cooperate with the Inspection Office to complete the on-site sampling of Zero Storage Room. Otherwise, I will apply for the energy supply to the entire Department of Technology building in accordance with Article 40 of the ' Management Committee Wartime Technical Safety Regulations.'"
The electrical noise traveled through the loudspeaker into the observation window.
Wanda remained standing in front of the extinguished reactor, not even lifting an eyelid.
She knew very well that Thomas was just a stepping stone pushed out by the Stability Maintenance Office and a few old-fashioned committee members.
Lynn had been away from headquarters for over sixteen hours to the XN-734 ruins. The patrol teams at the outer Starport had just changed shifts when the Internal Affairs Inspection Office rushed over to check the seal on Zero Storage Room. They were simply trying to take advantage of Lynn's absence to test how much power the Chaos Reactor in her hands still had.
Over the past twelve hours, she did indeed use the reactor's low-energy output three times to flush the sealed door of Zero Storage Room on the sixth basement level.
It wasn't to release what was locked inside, but because she smelled a lingering scent of "K-7" anti-counterfeiting paper in the dissipating magical energy around the warehouse—a scent that belonged to her but should never have been there.
Someone had touched her things and even diverted dirty water to the entrance of Zero Storage Room.
But she will investigate this matter herself; it's not up to the Internal Affairs Inspection Office to interfere.
Wanda slowly raised her right hand and gently pressed the red button on the Control Console in front of her.
Her calm yet slightly hoarse voice came through the loudspeaker below the observation window.
"Special Envoy Thomas wishes to come in and take samples; may he."
Thomas, standing outside the door, relaxed and was about to raise his hand to signal his subordinates to prepare to open the box.
The sound from the loudspeaker then blared again.
"Test No. 79, 'Magic Zeroing,' is currently in a high-risk decompression phase. The concentration of free Chaos radiation in the laboratory is currently four hundred times the lethal dose for humans."
Wanda turned her head and looked at Thomas outside the door through the thick, cracked glass.
"According to Article 12 of the Supplementary Rules for Safety Management of High-Risk Laboratories, if inspectors forcibly enter the testing area without wearing heavy lead armor, they must sign a ' Casualty Disclaimer ' on the spot. As long as the Special Envoy signs now, Claire will immediately open the airtight door for you. As for whether you and the two inspectors behind you can walk out after you go in, the Ministry of Department of Technology will not be responsible."
Thomas's hand, which was reaching for the access card slot, froze in mid-air.
The two second-level inspectors behind him changed their expressions abruptly, and simultaneously looked down at the sampling box in their hands—the radiation pointer on the side of the box had somehow reached the end of the red zone, making a rapid clicking sound.
"You... you are deliberately creating a high-risk environment and resisting law enforcement!"
Thomas withdrew his hand and took a large step back, avoiding the fan-shaped area directly opposite the observation window.
"I have already sent a copy of the reactor shutdown report to the Director's Office. Every step of the operation complied with the Level 3 emergency Contingency Plan."
Wanda's voice came through the loudspeaker, completely flat.
"If the Special Envoy believes the Department of Technology has violated regulations, he can simply cut off the power right now. However, once the main reactor loses external power to maintain the cooling Magnetic Field, the residual Chaos Energy in the reactor core will penetrate the partition between the fifth and sixth underground floors within three minutes. At that time, if the items sealed in Zero Storage Room escape, will you, Special Envoy Thomas, be responsible for containing them, or will the entire Internal Affairs Inspection Office be risking their lives to fill the void?"
The only sound in the corridor was the crisp sound of the radiation dosimeter tapping its dial.
Claire, head bowed, pulled a blank "Casualty Disclaimer" from the bottom of the folder and handed it to Thomas with both hands.
"Sir Envoy, the pen is on the right side of the clip, please see..."
Thomas stared intently at the disclaimer, his chest heaving violently.
He took this job to show off in front of Director Hela, not to help those high-ranking committee members wade into the stagnant waters of Chaos radiation, and he certainly wouldn't dare take the blame for detonating the Zero Storage Room.
"Okay, very good."
Thomas slammed the document folder shut, the plastic clips making a cracking sound from the excessive force.
"Minister Maximoff, I will write down your exact words in the inspection report and present it to the Joint Conference! Let's go!"
Thomas turned and walked away, the hem of his black uniform swung in a stiff arc. The two second-level inspectors, as if granted a pardon, quickly followed with their sampling kits, the sound of their boots striking the ground fading away around the corner of the corridor.
Claire breathed a sigh of relief, wiped the cold sweat from her forehead, turned and bowed slightly to the observation window, then retreated to the service corridor and locked the door again.
Inside the observation window, the Main Control Room returned to silence.
Wanda withdrew her right hand from the call button, ignoring the commotion outside the door.
She slowly lowered her head and raised her left hand, which had been hanging by her side and hidden in the sleeve of her large lab coat.
On his left hand, he wore a protective glove made of dark red, special dragon skin.
On the outer edge of the glove, around the base of the thumb, a piece of leather the size of a fingernail was missing, revealing the pale skin underneath. The fibers at the gap showed rough edges, as if forcibly torn off by some kind of spatial turbulence.
Wanda gently traced the gap with her right index finger, her gaze passing through the heavy lead plate beneath her feet, looking towards the deathly darkness of the sixth underground level.