Ye Mo's finger was still on the confirmation button on the main control panel, and the "heartbeat" signal on the screen was still beating steadily. He didn't move, nor did he check the chip data again. The operation just now was too smooth, so smooth that it didn't feel like a test, but more like a test—not a test of the base's defense, but a test of whether the three of them could keep up with each other's rhythm.
He pulled up the battle replay, which was divided into three frames: the left side showed the moment he cut off the power, the right side showed the pop-up window of Tony activating the swarm of drones, and the middle showed the timeline of Emma Frost's mental energy release. The three waveforms reached their peaks almost simultaneously in the same millisecond.
The system automatically marked. " Silent Defense Line V1.0 Practical verification completed."
He stared at the line of text for two seconds, and his lips twitched slightly. He had come up with this name on the spot, but the system had actually accepted it.
"Are you planning to sit here until dawn?"
The sound came from behind. Tony pushed open the door and came in, wearing a wrinkled loungewear jacket and carrying two paper cups of coffee. He placed one on the edge of the control panel; the words " Stark Industries Employee Benefits" were printed on the cup. He held the other cup himself, the straw crookedly bitten.
"I've already had JARVIS set all the unusual frequencies to alarms tonight," he said. "If anyone tries to get attention again, I'll just wake them up with ' New York, New York ' as their notification sound."
Ye Mo didn't reply, but switched the screen to the external surveillance. The trampling marks on the grass were still there, and the footprints left by the intruder when they fled had been covered with a thin layer of frost.
"Aren't you afraid that next time it won't be some lowly henchman?" he asked.
"I was scared," Tony shrugged. "That's why I rushed back in the middle of the night. You thought I was just bringing you coffee?"
Then the door opened again. Emma Frost walked in, holding a tablet with a set of brainwave maps on the screen.
"Those two people's mental Anchor are starting to become disordered," she said. "The dream interference is taking effect; persistent sleep disturbances are expected within the next seventy-two hours."
She walked to the control panel, placed the tablet aside, and glanced at Ye Mo's face. "But we can't maintain safety solely through fear."
Ye Mo nodded. He knew what she was talking about. It was easy to scare them away once, but as long as someone was watching this place, there would be a second and a third time. Relying solely on ambushes and countermeasures would eventually lead to a leak.
He opened the Gene Spiral Tower's access log and found that the response had automatically generated a new record. "Tripartite collaborative defense mechanism activated." The thirteenth energy level was slowly charging, with the progress bar stuck at 67%.
"That battle just now..." he paused, "... you moved without my order."
Tony grinned. "Because you set up the chessboard long ago; we were just the ones making the moves."
Emma Frost continued, "And you know what we'll do."
The air fell silent for a moment. The three of them looked at the panoramic map simultaneously. Lights came on one after another, and blurry figures moved in the training area. The sound of a maintenance technician tightening screws in the tool shed came through the ventilation duct, faint but clear.
This is no longer a base for one person.
Ye Mo raised his hand, deactivated the main console's alert mode, and a permission sharing window popped up. He then entered Tony and Emma Frost's identification codes.
"From now on, you can intervene directly in these low-level responses," he said. "You don't need to wait for me to give the signal."
Tony didn't immediately accept the invitation. He stared at the screen for a few seconds, then suddenly asked, "And what about you? Going back to the shadows to be Mr. X?"
Ye Mo shook his head. "I'm no longer the person who just wants to live a peaceful life." He looked up at the two of them, "But I need you where I can see you."
Emma Frost didn't speak, but reached out and gently placed her hand on the back of his hand, which was resting on the console.
"We're all here," she said.
Tony sighed and placed his hand on top, "Fine, count me in. But next time, let me capture one myself in my armor, don't always make me a remote support."
The system notification sounded the instant the three hands were placed together:
"The crisis was successfully resolved, and the team spirit of Gene Spiral Tower has been strengthened."
Ye Mo's internal energy flow accelerated, and the warmth in the thirteenth layer intensified, as if something was reorganizing inside. He didn't delve into it or check the ability tree. This moment was more important than unlocking any skill.
He knew that this base had finally come to life.
Tony yawned and let go of her hand. "I'm going back to catch up on my sleep. You guys keep watch, make sure nothing else goes wrong."
After he finished speaking, he turned and walked out, his steps a little hesitant, and his back view looked half a head shorter than usual. He stopped at the door and looked back at the panoramic screen.
"Oh, right," he said, " JARVIS just updated the Swarm Protocol, and now they can automatically identify 'suspicious but non-hostile' targets, such as lost deer or curious reporters."
"Received," Ye Mo said.
After the door closed, Emma Frost prepared to leave. She walked to the entrance of the passageway and suddenly turned back.
"Are you really not going to sleep?" she asked.
"Not tired yet," he said.
She didn't say anything more, just nodded and walked towards the rest area.
He was the only one left in the control room. The vital signs distribution chart on the screen flickered silently, each dot representing a person in hibernation. Frostmark was in the lower left corner, breathing steadily; the South Africa youth was snoring, his rhythm regular; the maintenance technician was still awake, probably organizing the equipment list.
He turned on the internal broadcast system, lowering his voice. "Routine testing complete. Everything at the base is normal. Everyone, get some rest."
After speaking, he brought up the " Silent Defense Line V1.0 " protocol, clicked "Set as Default Response Template," then added Emma Frost and Tony's editing rights in the permissions section and saved.
The sky outside was turning white, and the morning light slanted in through the observation window, illuminating the cold cup of coffee on the control panel. He took off his glasses, rubbed his temples, and muttered, "So... having someone to share the burden with really makes a difference."
He put his glasses back on and ran his fingers over the surface of the Vibranium fragment. The temperature was much higher than before; it was no longer just heat, but a resonant tremor.
He put it into the storage compartment and locked the buckle.
A notification pops up in the lower right corner of the screen: The Wisdom Response Team has submitted a draft of the core energy design scheme, which is pending review.
He opened the folder and saw the blueprints uploaded by the quantum physicist, with a comment next to them. "I suggest using Vibranium for the resonant cavity; it can improve efficiency by 37%."
Just as he was about to reply, a new notification popped up on the Gene Spiral Tower interface. "High-frequency Mental Resonance signal detected, source unknown. Establish connection?"
He stared at the prompt for two seconds, without immediately selecting "yes" or "no".
The indicator light on the left side of the console started flashing blue, at the same frequency as the signal band of the chip from last night.
He reached out and pressed the mute button. The "heartbeat" signal on the screen suddenly accelerated, and the interval between beats shortened from three seconds to one second.
He sat up straight, his finger hovering above the confirm button.
The indicator light is flashing faster now.