We had no choice

The instant the billboard crashed down, Ye Mo's pupils contracted. Sparks splashed against his face, but he had no time to feel the pain. He grabbed Emma Frost's arm and rolled to the left. Electricity swept across the spot where they had just stood, instantly scorching the ground black.

"Left! There's a passage!" he growled.

Emma Frost asked no questions and immediately followed him into a gap between sheets of twisted metal. In Thermal Vision, a faint airflow still lingered in the mostly buried ventilation duct, indicating that it still led outside. They crawled forward on their hands and knees as their pursuers' footsteps and the crackle of radios sounded behind them.

"Targets have entered the abandoned duct. Team B, seal the exit."

"Activate Shockwave. Suppress mutant abilities."

Before the words had faded, a low-frequency vibration spread through the ground. Emma Frost grunted, cold sweat beading on her forehead. The Diamond Form that had only half-emerged across her body instantly collapsed.

"They brought an anti-mutant device." She gritted her teeth. "I can't take another hit."

"Then don't take one." Breathing hard, Ye Mo glanced back at her. "Cover me for three seconds."

He closed his eyes and concentrated. Only a few minutes had passed since he last used Mind Control. His brain hurt unbearably, as though someone had stirred it with a red-hot iron rod, but he endured the discomfort and quietly reached into the edges of his pursuers' consciousness.

The man wearing a collar was crouched on the ground, checking for residual energy. Ye Mo quietly implanted a false instruction into his perceptual circuits-"High-energy reaction detected at the south perimeter wall."

The man snapped his head up. "South! After them!"

Three of them immediately changed direction and rushed away. Only the barefoot woman hesitated for a moment, looking down at the blue light rising from her palm.

"No... the signal's fake."

But before she could warn them, Ye Mo kicked open the rusted-shut iron door ahead and pulled Emma Frost out with him.

Cold wind struck their faces. They fell onto the concrete ground of another factory compound. A broken crane boom hung overhead, and a few streetlights flickered in the distance.

"Are you insane?" Emma Frost pushed herself into a sitting position. "Interference at that level will damage your brain."

"The system didn't say it would break." Ye Mo grinned. "Just that I might temporarily have trouble hearing JARVIS nag."

Emma Frost rolled her eyes. "Can't you save someone normally for once? Do you have to gamble with your life?"

"Well, I won, didn't I?" He shook the hot metal fragment in his hand. "Besides, I had a backup plan."

He pressed the metal fragment against the exhaust vent of a nearby boiler. Residual heat spread through the pipes, creating the illusion of several moving heat sources. Sure enough, less than a minute later, the humming drones turned that way.

"Let's go." Ye Mo stood and adjusted his glasses. "There's an abandoned subway entrance three kilometers ahead. We'll go underground."

Emma Frost did not move. "The wound on my back is starting to go numb. It feels like something's crawling through my blood vessels."

"A toxin reaction." Ye Mo frowned. "We'll deal with it once we're safe. For now, you'll have to hold on."

She nodded and formed her Diamond Form again. Her entire body became crystal clear, like a walking sculpture.

"You cover the rear," he said. "I'll plan our route."

They moved swiftly along the edge of the factory. As Ye Mo ran, he scanned the sky out of the corner of his eye-three small drones circled in a triangular formation, casting down a pale red scanning grid.

"Zigzag," he directed quietly. "Four steps between each turn. Push forward while they switch frequencies."

Emma Frost followed his instructions. Every turn fell precisely within a blind spot in the scan. They passed through a corridor piled with scrap and skirted a half-collapsed electrical room. The subway entrance was almost within reach.

Suddenly, a silver streak shot toward them from the side.

An electromagnetic pulse dart flew straight at Ye Mo's chest.

Emma Frost reacted instantly, throwing herself at him and knocking him down. The silver dart grazed her shoulder blade, cutting a deep gash. Blood immediately poured out.

"Fuck!" Ye Mo rolled over and pinned her beneath him. "Are you trying to get yourself killed?"

"Cut the crap." She panted. "Take him out."

Ye Mo turned his head and saw the ambusher leaping down from the top of a shipping container, a second dart in his hand.

He raised his hand and activated Mind Control with all his strength-not to alter instructions, but to directly stimulate the man's muscle nerves.

The instant the man landed, his right leg spasmed. He lost his balance, his hand jerked, and the dart plunged into his own teammate's thigh. A scream rang out, and a third person hurried forward to help.

"Go!" Ye Mo scooped Emma Frost up and charged away.

They stumbled to the subway entrance, lifted the rusted maintenance hatch, and jumped into the shaft. In the darkness, only the wind and the rattling metal ladder remained.

Thud!

Emma Frost let out a muffled grunt as they landed. She released her Diamond Form, her face pale. Blood kept seeping from the wound, its edges tinged an eerie bluish gray.

"Poisoned." She sat down against the wall. "It's not an ordinary shock agent. It's Hellfire's new formula."

Ye Mo tore out the lining of his hoodie to bandage her. "Hang in there. I'll figure something out once we find somewhere safe."

"That move you just used..." She stared at him. "What were the odds of success?"

"I don't know." He lowered his head and tied a knot. "Never calculated them."

"And you dared to use it?"

"I didn't believe you'd let me die on the way." He looked up at her. "Just like you didn't believe I'd abandon you."

Emma Frost fell silent for a moment. "I always thought the strong should live alone. Otherwise, you either burden others or get burdened by them."

"And now?"

"Now I know." The corner of her mouth shifted slightly. "Two people really do run faster than one."

Ye Mo smiled. "Give me a heads-up next time so I can get the applause ready."

The sound of scraping metal came from outside, traveling closer through the pipes. The footsteps were light and orderly, clearly those of a well-trained squad.

"They found us." Emma Frost pressed her wound. "Can you still fight?"

"What do you think?" Ye Mo flexed his wrist. "I'm someone who's had drinks with Iron Man."

"Bullshit."

"Fact." He stood and headed deeper into the tunnel. "Keep up. Don't drop the ball."

Emma Frost watched his retreating figure, then slowly pushed herself up against the wall. She said nothing more and simply followed him in silence.

They entered the pitch-black tunnel one behind the other. Water dripped from the damp walls, and thick dust and broken cables lay underfoot. Collapsed supports blocked their path at intervals, forcing them to stoop and crawl through.

Ye Mo led the way, stopping from time to time to check their direction. His temples throbbed, the ringing in his ears grew worse, and even the sound of his own breathing became indistinct.

"Are you still okay?" Emma Frost asked from behind.

"I'm fine." He waved a hand. "Just a little ringing in my ears."

"You look awful when you lie."

He did not argue. Because he knew she was right. His consciousness had begun to blur, and his vision occasionally doubled. The system notification sound was nearly three minutes late and still had not come.

But he could not stop.

They rounded another bend and reached a fork. The left branch led deeper underground, while the right seemed to lead to an exit on the surface, but it was too dark to tell.

He was about to choose a route when a sharp pain suddenly stabbed through his brain.

Immediately afterward, the metal fragment in his palm began vibrating violently.

[Warning: high concentration of mutant energy approaching. Distance: three hundred meters. Type unidentified.]

The voice had finally returned, but its tone was more urgent than ever before.

Ye Mo looked up toward the end of the tunnel. A tile had fallen away there, exposing the concrete beneath. Something seemed to glow faintly inside a crack.

"What is it?" Emma Frost noticed his unusual reaction.

"There's something wrong up ahead," he said. "But we have no choice."

He stepped forward, his footsteps splashing through the standing water. Every step felt like treading on a taut string.

Emma Frost followed close behind, her fingers unconsciously digging into her palm.

Just as they were about to step into the fork, Ye Mo suddenly stopped.

He saw it-

Deep inside the crack in the concrete lay a metal fragment identical to the one in his hand, vibrating in sync with it at some frequency.