Ye Mo stood by the ruins, motionless.
Tony was already far away, and the sound of the armor taking off could no longer be heard. Emma Frost was still asleep, her breathing more steady than before. He glanced in her direction, then turned his gaze to Bruce.
"You just thanked me," Ye Mo said. "Actually, I should be the one saying that."
Bruce looked up at him, his eyes slightly dazed.
"If I had met you on my first day here, I probably would have been slapped into the ground by the Hulk." Ye Mo smiled. "You didn't dodge, you didn't hit me, and you even listened to what I said. That shows you're not completely heartless; you've just been suppressing it for too long."
A breeze blew by, carrying a slightly burnt smell and the coldness of metal. Bruce looked down and rubbed his hands together; his knuckles turned white.
"It's not that I don't want to trust people," he said, "It's that I'm afraid that if I do, I'll implicate them."
"Have you ever considered that we don't necessarily need your protection?" Ye Mo took two steps forward. " Tony built the armor to save people, not to be a lone wolf. Emma Frost can read minds, but she never uses it recklessly. She took that punch because she chose to do it, not because you were worth it."
Bruce didn't say anything.
"You always feel like you're a ticking time bomb," Ye Mo said in a low voice. "But a bomb doesn't care about its teammates, and it doesn't yell 'Run!' before transforming. You do. That's not something a monster would do."
The drone in the distance was still flying, getting smaller and smaller, like a metal dragonfly crawling northward. Sunlight shone on the collapsed wall, revealing several twisted steel bars through the cracks.
"Do you know what I'm most afraid of?" Ye Mo suddenly asked.
Bruce looked up.
"I'm afraid the system will suddenly stop working one day," he said. "It's not that I'm afraid of dying, it's that I'm afraid no one will know I'm in trouble. I'm afraid I'll collapse on the street, my phone will run out of battery, the signal will drop, and I'll end up being dragged away as a homeless person."
He paused.
"So now that someone is willing to listen to me, willing to scold me when I do something stupid, I feel—I'm still alive."
Bruce looked at him, his lips moving.
"You said you didn't deserve to be saved." Ye Mo stared at him, "But you just agreed to come with us. You knew the Arctic might be a trap, but you still stepped forward. What is that if not courage?"
"I just... don't want to run away anymore," Bruce said softly.
"That's right." Ye Mo nodded. "Nobody wants you to have a perfect ending. What we need is for you to be able to shoulder the burden together. Whether you Hulk or go out of control, we can handle it. But you have to speak up first, you have to let us know you need help."
The wind blew up the hood of his sweatshirt, and he pulled it down to cover his head.
"I don't pretend to be a hero," he said. "I'm a coward sometimes too. Last time before fighting the Abomination, I crouched in a corner for five minutes before daring to come out. But I came out because I knew someone was backing me up. You can do that now too."
Bruce slowly raised his head and looked into Ye Mo's eyes.
"Do you really think I can do it?" he asked.
"It's okay if we can't do it," Ye Mo shrugged. "At worst, we'll both crash. Anyway, Tony's armor repairs quickly, Emma Frost's mental energy recovers fast. If you really blow up, we'll clean up the mess and find another way next time."
He smiled.
"Besides, you're not the only one who's changing. Look at Tony, he gets malfunctions even when he's wearing armor, Emma Frost gets headaches when she uses her powers, and every time I activate a new ability, it feels like my brain's being drilled. Nobody's born with these abilities."
Bruce's lips twitched, as if he wanted to laugh but didn't.
"Do you remember the first time you saw me?" Ye Mo continued, "You were hiding in the corner of the lab, your clothes were torn, and your face was covered in blood. I didn't urge you to stand up, nor did I say any of that nonsense like 'Go for it, you can do it.' I just sat across from you, cleaning my equipment."
"I remember," Bruce said softly.
"At that moment, I thought, this person is just like me, cornered." Ye Mo put his hands in his pockets, "But we didn't fall because there are still people watching. As long as someone is still waiting for you to come back, you're not useless."
The sunlight moved onto Bruce's face. He blinked, and his fingers slowly loosened.
"I always thought that only by completely suppressing it could I be considered a normal person," he said.
"You're wrong," Ye Mo interrupted him. "Normal people aren't without emotions, they're just brave enough to face them. You're fighting your fear every day, which is much harder than suppressing the Hulk."
He took a step closer.
"You don't need to become what others expect you to be. You just need to be yourself—a man who is afraid, hesitant, and makes mistakes, but who will still stand up for himself. That's enough."
Bruce closed his eyes and took a deep breath.
When he opened his eyes, they had changed. Not entirely relaxed, but no longer evasive.
"You said you could catch me," he said, his voice steadyer, "But what if I lose control again next time?"
"Then let's have another fight." Ye Mo grinned. "Anyway, it's not the first time I've been knocked flying. Last time, I was smashed into a wall by the Abomination, broke three bones, and was back to normal after two days. I have Regeneration abilities now, so I'm not afraid of pain."
"I'm not joking." Bruce stared at him.
"Neither do I." Ye Mo looked directly back at him. "If you really lose control, I'll stop you. Emma Frost will stop you. Tony will ram you in his armored vehicle. But we won't abandon you. Because you're not the enemy."
The wind stopped for a moment.
A piece of charred paper drifted down from the sky, grazing the back of Bruce's hand. He didn't flinch.
"You said you have a system," he suddenly said, "But it never tells you what to do?"
"Yes." Ye Mo nodded. "It just watches me choose. Sometimes I choose the wrong one, but it doesn't remind me. But it's always recording."
"What should be recorded?"
"It records whether I've stayed true to myself." Ye Mo rubbed his temples. "Like now, it's telling me—trust deepens, and emotional resonance within the Gene Spiral Tower is enhanced."
He closed his eyes and felt something loosen deep within his consciousness. A warm current slowly spread, like new flesh sprouting from an old scab.
Bruce looked at him.
"Do you really believe I can control myself?" he asked.
"I don't believe you can completely control it," Ye Mo opened his eyes, "But I believe you will try your best. That's enough."
He reached out his hand.
Unlike last time, this time there was no long pause.
Bruce raised his hand and shook it.
Palms pressed together, without force or hesitation.
"I'm not here to rescue you," Ye Mo said. "I'm here to find my teammates."
Bruce nodded.
The two let go of each other's hands and didn't say anything more.
Ye Mo turned to look north. The sky was clear, and the drone was just a small dot in the distance.
"We should get ready to leave," he said.
"Hmm," Bruce responded, without moving.
Ye Mo didn't urge him.
They stood on the edge of the ruins, their shadows stretched long by the sunlight, close together.
A few seconds later, Ye Mo suddenly reached out and patted Bruce on the shoulder.
"Oh, by the way," he said, "If it's cold over there, don't force yourself. I have hand warmers in my bag, I bought them during last year's Singles' Day sale, they're still unopened."