JARVIS's evidence of the script's origins completely shattered the illusion that the United Nations was merely going through the motions.
The United Nations, which originally intended to deceive the public with a mere formality and a verbal verification, was firmly put to the test by solid technical evidence.
The malicious cleanup scripts unearthed from the internal network, the pre-planted permission vulnerabilities, and the timeline spanning several terrorist attacks were all laid bare.
This planned terrorist attack was not an accidental security lapse, but the result of a long-term, deliberate plan by insiders.
Public opinion is completely out of control.
International media outlets were quick to launch attacks, and public panic and anger erupted. The repeated explosions and casualties, the pointless lockdown and security measures imposed on the entire city, and the wanton manipulation of public safety—all these issues were brought to light and attributed to the failure and internal strife within the United Nations counter-terrorism system.
Netizens from various countries have collectively petitioned for a thorough investigation into the Vienna office staff and severe punishment for those behind the abuse of power and the murder of innocent people.
International criticism shifted from the SSC, suspected of providing false intelligence, to the United Nations.
The SSC headquarters, however, remained unusually calm.
They did not take advantage of the other side's passive situation to continue building momentum, nor did they release more evidence to relentlessly pursue the matter; they all chose to remain silent.
Lynn halted the delivery of JARVIS's evidence, and Tony also shelved all plans to speak out publicly; everyone was waiting for the United Nations ' response.
They knew very well that at this point, the United Nations would never actually dig out a top official to expose their own dirty laundry. Those officials were best at handling these kinds of scandals, and rarely did they conduct a thorough investigation. More often than not, they would weigh the pros and cons, compromise, and find someone to take the blame.
The protracted investigation lasted for half a month.
Over the past two weeks, the United Nations independent investigation team has appeared to be very active, conducting visits, collecting evidence, and checking internal network records. They have also publicly announced the progress of their investigation daily, creating the illusion of a thorough investigation. In reality, however, they have consistently downplayed the seriousness of the issues, deliberately avoiding top-level personnel and focusing only on minor problems of grassroots maintenance staff.
Everyone can see that this is a carefully orchestrated delaying stunt. The United Nations is waiting for public opinion to cool down, for the public to forget, and for this storm to pass naturally.
But SSC didn't give them that chance.
Every three days, JARVIS would release a piece of peripheral evidence, such as an internal network log that had been tampered with by a script, or a record of an abnormal operation. These were not fatal, but enough to continuously stir up public opinion and keep the matter at the top of the global trending topics, making it impossible for it to fade away.
The United Nations ' patience has finally reached its breaking point.
They must give the world an explanation; someone must stand up and take responsibility for this self-directed panic, the numerous security lapses, and the farce of recklessly manipulating public safety.
The most suitable, irresistible, and least likely to implicate the top leadership has already been identified.
Thaddeus Ross, Secretary of State.
He was the one who represented the United Nations, personally visiting the SSC several times to convey control opinions, forcefully pushing for regulatory agreements, relentlessly emphasizing the risk of superpowered individuals going out of control, and strongly advocating for comprehensive restrictions on the SSC. He was the key liaison between the two sides, and also the most familiar and most suitable high-level figure to take the blame in the eyes of the public.
On the seventeenth day after the incident broke out, the United Nations officially announced that it would hold a global live-streamed press conference.
The press conference was of extremely high caliber, with hundreds of media outlets from around the world in attendance, and the live broadcast covered all major platforms. Without any build-up or pre-event hype, Thaddeus Ross walked onto the stage alone, looking tired and tense, his usual toughness and arrogance gone, replaced by a heavy, suppressed aura.
He didn't deny it or make excuses; he immediately admitted to everything.
"I take full responsibility for the recent failure of early warning systems to detect terrorist attacks in Europe, the resulting public safety panics, and the serious dereliction of duty by the United Nations counter-terrorism system."
Thaddeus Ross's voice was steady, yet undeniably hoarse, as he faced the cameras and countless questioning eyes, frankly admitting his mistake.
"This series of incidents stemmed from my excessive concerns and extreme judgments. For a long time, I have been wary of the potential risks of unchecked superpowers, fearing that if the powers of the SSC members were out of control, they would bring irreparable disaster to the world. This worry gradually made me lose my rationality, violate objective rules, and make a series of wrong decisions."
He methodically took all the blame upon himself, lightly attributing the conspiracy orchestrated at the top to his own poor decision-making.
"Due to my excessive fear of the risk of things spiraling out of control, I continuously pressured the counterterrorism department to strictly review the intelligence transferred by the SSC. Even when I knew there were security risks, I still insisted on making decisions and refused to evacuate in advance to avoid the risks. Several tragedies and public panics were caused by my own stubbornness and incompetence, and had nothing to do with the overall United Nations mechanism or other high-ranking personnel."
Finally, he bowed deeply in apology, offering a formal confession to the world and to the SSC team, and expressed his willingness to accept all punishments within the United Nations and fully cooperate with subsequent rectification efforts.
The entire press conference was clean and efficient, without any unnecessary words or dragging anyone into it, perfectly achieving the effect the United Nations wanted.
One person takes the blame, everyone gets away with it; the system is flawless, and the higher-ups are innocent.
Public opinion was appeased.
The public saw that someone had admitted their mistakes and someone had been punished, and their anger was vented. The media obtained key materials, and the storm seemed to be coming to an end. The United Nations successfully preserved the face of the system and the power at the top, using a Secretary of State to ensure the smooth resolution of the entire crisis.
After watching the entire live stream, everyone in the SSC meeting room fell silent.
Sam frowned, his tone tinged with resentment. "A classic case of sacrificing the pawn to save the king. They pushed everything onto Thaddeus Ross, easily whitewashing their systemic corruption and deliberate machinations."
James Rhodes nodded slightly, his expression grave. "They don't want to solve the problem at all; they only want to get rid of the person who exposed it. They're trying to cover up all the inside story and all the conspiracies with just one press conference."
Natasha leaned against the window, her tone calm and insightful. "This is the standard way international politics works. Sacrifice a mid-level core to preserve the entire system—stop the damage, silence the culprits, and clean up the mess—all in one smooth motion."
Steve remained seated, his expression calm yet clear-headed. "He took the fall for someone else. The one who truly orchestrated the whole scheme, laid the groundwork beforehand, and controlled all the traps remains unscathed, lurking in the shadows."
Everyone saw through the situation, but they also knew that the moment Thaddeus Ross took responsibility, the difficulty of thoroughly uncovering the real culprit and shaking the top leadership of the United Nations had increased immeasurably.
Just as things were calming down online and everyone thought the storm was about to end, Tony made his move.
Stark Industries' official account unexpectedly launched a live stream without prior notice.
There was no venue, no media, no setup; only Tony, alone, sat in his empty office, the camera focused directly on his calm, sharp features.
First, Secretary Thaddeus Ross issued a public apology.
He started by smoothly responding, giving no opportunity for outsiders to find fault, then his tone suddenly sharpened, "But that's not enough."
"This security crisis cannot be summarized by personal paranoia. He avoided the main issues throughout and did not mention the pre-installed cleanup script at all."
One person's flawed judgment cannot explain the multi-layered control over the internal network. One person's folly cannot explain the numerous precise traps set against SSC.
Tony's eyes were sharp, and his words were forceful, tearing away the fig leaf of the United Nations.
"We do not accept a hasty conclusion where one person takes the blame. So-called individual mistakes are essentially the system's excessive control over power, disregard for human life, and abuse of authority. Thaddeus Ross's apology can only hold him accountable for his personal transgressions."
"If the United Nations intends to hastily close the case with a press conference and a scapegoat, continuing to use this inefficient, bureaucratic, and even corrupt control mechanism, and continuing to use ordinary people's lives as bargaining chips in political games, then the SSC will absolutely not accept it."
The live stream lasted less than three minutes, with no extra words or phrases; the screen was turned off immediately after the stream ended.
The entire internet was shaken once again, and the public opinion storm that had just subsided was stirred up a second time.
The United Nations is now in a complete dilemma.
Continuing to stubbornly resist means the turmoil will never end, internal scandals will continue to be dug up, and international credibility will completely collapse.
Agreeing to negotiations would mean compromising with the SSC, giving up previous absolute control, and contradicting oneself.
The stalemate lasted all day, but the United Nations finally succumbed to the overwhelming public pressure and had no choice but to make an official announcement.
We will restart special negotiations with SSC, appoint new neutral negotiators, discard all old intermediaries, disclose the core principles of the negotiations in full, and accept supervision from the entire internet.
The United Nations has learned its lesson this time.
Instead of sending a hardline hawkish official or a seasoned diplomat skilled in sophistry, they selected a senior diplomat with a strong background in international security cooperation, a neutral reputation, and a pragmatic style as their sole negotiator. Without any coercive stance, the diplomat took the initiative to go to the SSC headquarters to begin talks.
The entire negotiation process was broadcast live on the internal network, with only the details and wording being shielded from the media to ensure absolute fairness and transparency, and to prevent any private deals or underhanded operations.
There were no pleasantries or formalities at the start; both sides went straight to the core issues.
The United Nations representative attempted to retain some pre-approval authority to maintain the basic control framework, speaking in a mild tone but with a firm stance, "We acknowledge the loopholes in the previous regulatory mechanisms and recognize the bureaucratic lag in the system. However, public safety requires bottom-line constraints; completely unleashing superpowers always carries potential risks. We suggest retaining the pre-approval authority for emergency reporting, while routine operations remain subject to oversight."
Tony immediately refuted the claim, his tone calm, his logic rigorous, and his stance unyielding. "The loopholes in pre-approval have been proven by countless lives lost."
"The casualties in London and Berlin were not due to our inaction, but rather to your delayed approvals, procrastinating verifications, and rigid mechanisms. Those sitting in their offices are not qualified to anticipate on-site crises, obstruct frontline rescue efforts, or use procedural justice to hold lives hostage."
Steve spoke up at the opportune moment, reiterating the core bottom line with a mild but firm tone. "We accept oversight, but we will never accept regulation. Oversight is post-event verification, transparency, and accountability for mistakes. Regulation is pre-emptive binding, depriving us of judgment, and restricting our actions; the two are fundamentally different."
For the next two hours, the two sides engaged in an intense verbal battle.
The United Nations representative repeatedly pulled back and forth, attempting to retain some of the power of preemptive intervention, and constantly emphasizing the authority of the international order and the risks to public safety.
SSC members took turns arguing their case, using real disaster examples and irrefutable evidence to refute the opposing bureaucratic rhetoric.
Lynn remained largely silent throughout the negotiations, only steer the talks back to the core issues and avoid any linguistic traps when the other side attempted to blur the lines between oversight and regulation or to use deceptive tactics.
The two sides went back and forth, sometimes reaching a stalemate, sometimes each making small concessions, and the negotiations gradually found a balance.
The United Nations has come to the stark reality: after this ordeal, they no longer have the confidence to forcibly bind the SSC. They are at a disadvantage in terms of public opinion, evidence, and morality; continuing the stalemate will only damage their credibility further, and ultimately they have no choice but to make a complete compromise.
Both parties finalized new cooperation guidelines, which were implemented item by item without ambiguous wording or linguistic traps. All terms were made public and subject to global oversight.
The core rules of the new protocol are clear and explicit.
First, all prior approval and reporting mechanisms should be completely abolished. The SSC should have full autonomy in decision-making, be able to assess the crisis level, choose the timing of intervention, and decide on the method of intervention on its own, without needing review or approval from any United Nations department, thus completely freeing itself from passive constraints.
Second, the core principle of monitoring but not regulating is established. The United Nations retains the power of post-event supervision, data verification, and public disclosure, but has no right to interfere in any frontline operation, question on-site emergency judgments, or hold accountable those who make decisions under emergency conditions.
Third, routine record-keeping of actions. After each proactive action, the SSC must submit a complete action briefing within 24 hours, including the cause of the crisis, the intervention process, the results of the response, and the situation of casualties and material losses. The entire process must be open and transparent, and the briefing must be archived and made public by the United Nations, thus being accountable to the public in all countries.
Fourth, the use of recording devices is autonomous. Members are not required to wear recording devices during operations, and their personal wishes and operational needs are fully respected. However, at least one person must carry a recording device for each operation to facilitate subsequent investigations.
The entire new set of rules completely overturned the previous unequal control agreement. The old control agreement that restricted their actions in every way was now invalid. The decision-making power for the operation was returned to the SSC itself, and all constraints were placed after the operation was completed.
The negotiations concluded with the United Nations representative confirming all terms on the spot, signing them, and archiving them. The entire process was publicly accessible and transparent, with no hidden conditions attached.
As I walked out of the negotiation hall, the sunlight streaming through the window shone into the corridor, dispelling the gloom that had lingered over SSC for months.
Sam let out a long sigh of relief, his tone much lighter. "After all this trouble, you should have just agreed earlier. Why did you have to make such a fuss?"
Steve stood by the window, gazing at the clear sky outside, and the long-suppressed heaviness and gloom in his eyes completely dissipated.
He doesn't need privileges, exemptions, or arbitrary power.
This time, through forbearance, perseverance, and strategic maneuvering, they regained the initiative that rightfully belonged to justice.
Tony leaned against the corridor wall, his sharpness and edge of the past few days gone by, a relaxed smile playing on his lips, "Let them catch their breath... This concession is only temporary."