Ye Mo's fingers were still clutching the Vibranium fragment; the battery level was 3%. He looked down at Emma Frost's face; her breathing was shallow, but her pulse was steadyer than before. He didn't move, nor dared to move, fearing that if he loosened his grip, she would never wake up again.
He stuffed the shards back into his pocket, raised his hands, and gently pressed them against the wound on the back of her head. The bleeding had mostly stopped, but her skin was still cold. He knew he couldn't let her body temperature drop any further, or her brain would be damaged.
He took off his hoodie and covered her with it, then slowly lifted her up a little so that her head rested on his knees. This position can reduce intracranial pressure, Bruce had mentioned before.
He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and began to regulate his breathing. The surging energy from earlier was still coursing through his veins, causing his muscles to twitch occasionally. He needed to suppress this force first, otherwise a slight tremor in his hand might hurt her.
He silently repeated the system notification: "Calm down, now is not the time to go crazy."
If once wasn't enough, he tried twice, and after three tries, her heartbeat finally slowed down. The flush in her vision faded, and the veins on her arms slowly receded. He opened his eyes, his fingers finding her neck; her pulse was beating stronger than before.
"You're really tough," he said in a low voice. "You're alright after taking that hit. No wonder you're the White Queen."
As he spoke, he probed her consciousness with Telepathy. He used to use this to eavesdrop on other people's thoughts, but now he did it the other way around, sending gentle vibrations into her mind. The frequency had to be low, not stimulating her nerves, like a light pat on the shoulder.
A few seconds later, he felt a response.
It wasn't language, nor images, but a vague feeling—like someone grabbing a rope in the dark.
His lips twitched slightly. "Okay, you can hear me."
Next came treating the injury. He tore off the bottom half of his T-shirt, folded it into a square, and pressed it back onto the wound on the back of her head. He examined the skull with his fingers; there was a crack, but it hadn't collapsed—a stroke of luck amidst misfortune.
He remembered that Shadowcat had said that Mutants have a faster metabolism and recover more than twice as fast as ordinary people. As long as the core nerves are not damaged, they can survive the first two hours.
The biggest fear now is that she will fall into a deep coma and lose her mental strength.
He continued to maintain contact through Telepathy, recalling the first aid knowledge Bruce had taught him: keeping the airway open, monitoring pupil response, and preventing secondary brain injury.
He lifted her chin to make sure her airway was open, then leaned close to her ear and called her name: " Emma Frost, wake up."
No response.
He shouted again, "The mission isn't over yet, you dare to lie down and try?"
This time, her eyelids trembled slightly.
Ye Mo felt a sense of relief. He had thought he really wouldn't be able to persuade them anymore.
"That's right, stop pretending to be dead," he said. "When you open your eyes, I'll buy you coffee, the unsweetened kind."
He didn't actually know if she liked coffee, but someone had to say it.
Time passed slowly, and her breathing became more and more steady. He kept touching her wrist, counting her pulse. Every sixty beats, he would mentally count them. When he finished counting on the fifth round, her fingers suddenly twitched and hooked onto one of his fingers.
Ye Mo was stunned.
He didn't dodge or move, just let her hold him.
"If you don't wake up," he said, "I'll take a picture of you sleeping and send it to Tony."
She didn't let go, but the corners of her mouth seemed to twitch upwards slightly.
Ye Mo chuckled, his voice a little hoarse. "Alright, you win."
He looked up and glanced into the distance.
Abomination was still lying on the ground, his chest rising and falling, not completely unconscious. He could get up at any moment, and he was now almost incapable of fighting again. He only had 3% of his Vibranium fragments left, his Wall Phasing Technique was still on cooldown, his Steel Bone State was unstable, and his Regenerative Phasing was out of control.
But he can't leave.
He had to stay with her until she could stand up on her own.
He looked down at her and noticed that her eyelashes trembled again, this time more noticeably. He quickly drew his attention back and continued to send out Mind Stone waves, adjusting the frequency even lower, as gently as rocking a baby.
A few minutes later, a voice suddenly rang in my mind:
[High-intensity emotion-driven ability usage behavior detected, meeting the criteria for ' Deep Empathy ']
The treatment was successful, earning Emma Frost Thaddeus Ross's deep trust.
The Gene Spiral Tower's emotional energy module has been replenished, unlocking the ' Emotional Resonance Amplification ' secondary function.
Ye Mo was taken aback.
This is neither a combat reward nor a mission completion. This is the first time the system has given feedback because of "saving someone" rather than "killing someone".
He looked down at Emma Frost, his voice low. "Did you hear me? You believe me, and I believe you."
She didn't open her eyes, but the hand that was gripping his fingers tightened its hold.
He knew she would wake up soon.
He reached out and gently brushed the blood-stained strands of hair from her forehead, as if afraid of breaking something. Then he said, "If you dare to die, who will be there to complain about Tony's color scheme in his PowerPoint presentations?"
She opened her eyes as soon as she finished speaking.
A crack.
Her gaze was somewhat unfocused, but she was definitely looking at him.
Ye Mo didn't say anything, he just looked at her.
Her lips moved, but her voice was so soft it was almost inaudible. "Your... PPT... isn't good either..."
Ye Mo was taken aback, then laughed out loud, "You really dare to say that."
She tried to raise her hand, but only managed to do so after two attempts. Her fingertips touched the side of his face, as if to confirm if he was really her.
Ye Mo grasped her hand and placed it back in his own palm. "Don't move around, you just woke up."
She didn't pull away, but lay on his lap, her eyes slowly focusing. After a few seconds, she whispered, "I... am I alright?"
"You won't die," he said. "Just don't take that kind of attack head-on next time. You're in Diamond Form, not bulletproof glass."
Her lips twitched again, and this time it was a genuine smile.
Although it was only for a moment, Ye Mo saw it clearly.
He breathed a sigh of relief, leaned against the broken wall, and relaxed completely. Only then did he realize that his whole body ached, especially the old wound on his back, which burned fiercely.
But he didn't show it.
He just looked down at her and said, "If you keep pushing yourself like this, I won't save you next time."
She said, "Then why... did you stop just now?"
Ye Mo paused.
He could have stepped on her, killed the Abomination outright. But he turned back because he saw her move her finger.
He paused for a few seconds, then said, "I don't know."
That's not the truth.
He knew.
But he didn't want to say.
Emma Frost looked at him, her eyes gradually clearing. She didn't press him for answers, but simply nodded gently, as if she understood everything.
Silence fell between them.
A fire was still burning in the distance, and the smell of smoke mixed with the metallic stench drifted over. But none of them moved.
Ye Mo placed one hand on her wrist to check her pulse, while his other hand still clutched the Vibranium fragment in his pocket. The battery level remained unchanged at 3%.
I don't know if it's enough.
But he knew one thing—
If Abomination stood up now, he would immediately shield her behind him.
Even if only one breath remains.
He looked down at her and found that she was staring at him.
"What?" he asked.
She said, "The ash on your face... suits you quite well."
Ye Mo rolled his eyes. "You're already being sarcastic as soon as you wake up. Looks like you're really alright."
She wanted to laugh, but as soon as she raised the corners of her mouth, she frowned, clearly suffering from a headache.
"Don't force yourself," he said. "You can sleep a little longer."
She shook her head. "I don't want to... faint again."
Ye Mo didn't say anything, but simply pulled the hoodie over her shoulder.
She closed her eyes, her breathing gradually becoming steady. Her hand was still in his, and she didn't let go.
He didn't relax either.
He knew the battle wasn't over yet.
He knew that Abomination was still breathing.
He knew anything could happen in the next second.
But all he wanted now was for her to sleep a little longer.
He looked up at the distant horizon; dawn was approaching.
His fingers gently caressed the back of her hand.
Then he whispered, "Hold on tight, don't let go."