The shelling stopped.
Ye Mo was still standing.
He crossed his arms over his chest, his Steel Bone forearms charred black, cracked in several places, revealing the mangled flesh beneath. A burnt smell emanated from him, like the molten plastic from a short circuit. His right leg was half a foot deep in the ground, his left toes barely touching the ground, supporting his body.
My ears are ringing, and I can't hear anything outside.
The scene before my eyes was doubled, and everything looked like it was being viewed through frosted glass.
But he didn't fall.
The Destroyer's main cannon went out, and the blue light on its chest flickered erratically, as if it were recalculating its attack parameters. The blast had stunned even itself—the target had clearly been hit by three high-energy impacts, and should have been reduced to ashes by now, but it was still standing, its posture unchanged.
Thor lay sprawled on the ground, the shockwave from the explosion having thrown him off balance. He looked up and saw a wounded figure standing in the firelight, back to him, arms outstretched, blocking the Destroyer like a wall.
This man just took three shots for him.
He didn't dodge a single shot.
Emma Frost leaned against an overturned car, blood trickling from the corner of her mouth, her fingers pinching her temples. Her Mental Network was still functioning, but it was nearing its limit. She knew that if she forced it to shut down again, her brain might shut down on the spot. But she gritted her teeth and persevered, staring at the sensors on the Destroyer's head.
We must not let it lock onto Thor.
The Destroyer raised its right arm, palm aimed at Ye Mo. This time it wasn't the main cannon, but a high-frequency oscillating pulse, fast and penetrating, specifically designed to strike the seams of hard armor.
Ye Mo wanted to move, but his body wouldn't obey him.
The Regeneration capacity was still cooling down, and the Steel Bone Structure was becoming unstable. Every bone was getting hot, as if it was about to explode from the inside.
He had no choice but to tough it out.
Just as the pulse was about to fire, the Destroyer's arm suddenly tilted five degrees.
The beam grazed his shoulder and pierced the ground, blasting a crack in it.
It was Emma Frost's final interference.
She coughed up blood and almost knelt down, managing to steady herself by holding onto the car body with one hand.
"No... don't die," she whispered.
Ye Mo heard it.
He moved his chin, spat out a mouthful of blood mixed with metal fragments, and whispered, "It's not over yet."
The sound wasn't loud, but everyone present heard it.
Thor paused for a moment.
How can this person, so badly injured, still speak?
He watched as Ye Mo took three powerful blows for him, and now he could barely stand, yet he was still saying, "It's not over yet."
He suddenly remembered his words when Odin banished him. "You are no longer worthy to be called God of Thunder."
Back then, no one helped him, no one believed him. But now, a stranger is using his own flesh and blood to shield him from gunfire.
Thor slowly got up and picked up the deformed steel bar.
He walked to Ye Mo's right and stood beside him.
"You are not alone," he said.
Ye Mo didn't turn around, he just nodded.
The Destroyer began to circle around, attempting to break through from the side.
It determines that the current tactic has failed and decides to switch to melee mode.
With arms outstretched, a high-frequency vibrating blade popped out from the elbow, the Blade humming as it sliced through the air.
It charged toward Thor.
Thor lifted the steel reinforcement barrier.
clang!
The shock made his hand go numb, and he took two steps back.
The Destroyer pursued relentlessly, unleashing a second sweeping strike.
Ye Mo took a sudden step forward, his Steel Bone right arm meeting the shockwave blade.
Metal clashed, Mars flew.
The first layer of fibers broke.
The second layer collapsed.
Cracks appeared in the third layer.
But he didn't back down.
Using the impact, he spun around and kicked off the ground, channeling the force into the earth and blasting out a ring of craters, forcing the Destroyer to take a half step back.
Emma Frost seized the opportunity and unleashed a wave of collective shock.
An invisible mental shock swept across the battlefield, directly penetrating the Destroyer's signal processor.
The Destroyer's movements faltered, and a flash of blue light appeared.
Thor immediately rushed forward, leaped up, and inserted the steel bar into the heat dissipation slit in its shoulder.
Click.
Metal got stuck, triggering a localized overheating alarm.
The Destroyer let out a mechanical screech, trying to shake off Thor.
Taking advantage of the opportunity, Ye Mo kicked it in the dent in its waist.
That punch was delivered by him earlier.
Now, after being hit again, the armor seams have loosened further.
The Destroyer finally stopped its attack, took a few steps back, and pulled its arms back to protect its core, entering a brief defensive state.
The three of them stood there, panting, without moving.
They won a round.
But everyone knows this is just the beginning.
Ye Mo looked down at his hands. His Steel Bone right arm was cracked all the way to his elbow; another blow might ruin his entire arm. His left arm was still hanging down, the bones hadn't set properly, and the Regenerative Phasing cooldown had forty seconds left.
He closed his eyes, and a system notification flashed through his mind: [ Steel Bone Structure ] stability has dropped to 31%, it is recommended to stop using it.
"Shut up," he thought to himself.
When I opened my eyes, the Destroyer had already relocked its target.
This time it was aimed at Emma Frost.
It's gotten smarter. It takes care of the support units first.
Emma Frost had just used the shockwave, and her mental energy was almost exhausted, causing her to react a beat slower.
Ye Mo rushed forward and stood in front of her.
The vibrating blade cleaved down.
He used his remaining Steel Bone arm to block.
clang!
His entire right arm exploded through a layer of alloy shell, revealing the flesh and blood inside. Pain instantly spread throughout his body, but he gritted his teeth and didn't cry out.
Emma Frost took the opportunity to retreat, leaning against the wrecked car, cutting her palm with her fingers to stay awake with the pain.
She re-weaves her Mental Network, this time not launching a direct attack, but instead continuously releasing weak interference signals to disrupt the Destroyer's visual calibration.
The Destroyer's attacks began to malfunction.
It turned towards Thor.
Thor gripped the steel bar tightly; this time, he didn't back down.
He knew his opponent was fast, and a direct confrontation wouldn't work. He focused on the Destroyer's joint movements, dodging to the side the moment it threw a punch, while simultaneously using a steel bar to wedge its elbow.
Although it didn't stop the attack, it did buy half a second of time.
In that half-second, Ye Mo had the opportunity to crash into it from the side, interrupting its combo rhythm.
The two worked together successfully.
The Destroyer hesitated in battle upon its first appearance.
It began assessing the new threat level.
Ye Mo straightened up, his knees slightly bent, and he braced himself on the ground, panting. His Steel Bone made a faint cracking sound, but he looked up and stared directly at the Destroyer, his gaze unwavering.
Emma Frost calmed down a bit, walked over and stood behind him, placing a hand on his shoulder blade, offering him her last bit of emotional support.
Thor stood on the left, gripping the bent steel bar tightly, and together with them blocked the Destroyer's advance.
Three people, all wounded, stood in a triangular formation.
The Destroyer stood opposite, its chest flashing with blue light, its attack patterns constantly switching, yet it hesitated to make a move.
For the first time, it realized that the enemy before it was not easy to kill.
In the distance, amidst the ruins, a boy peeked through a crack in the wall and witnessed this scene.
He saw the man in the black hoodie, covered in wounds, standing at the front, shielding others from gunfire.
He whispered to the person next to him, "Is that person... Mr. X?"
No one answered.
But more and more people began to whisper about it.
"Is that guy in the hoodie playing for us?"
"Is he crazy? That's a robot!"
"But he really didn't fall..."
The sound was very soft, but it carried.
Amidst the fear, some began to believe—perhaps there was still hope.
The Destroyer finally made a decision.
It abandoned its ranged attacks, activated its berserk mode, and charged towards the three people with its arms vibrating at a high frequency.
Ye Mo raised his hand, using his still-usable Steel Bone arm to shield himself.
Thor lifted the steel bars, ready to fight it out.
Emma Frost closed her eyes and launched one last interference attack.
The three of them went to meet them at the same time.
The Destroyer's fist was only ten centimeters away from Ye Mo's face.