The Destroyer's fist stopped ten centimeters in front of Ye Mo's face.
It wasn't that it stopped; Emma Frost had interfered with its visual system again. This time, the attack was even shorter, only half a second, but it hit the critical point of attack just right. The vibration wave from the mechanical arm swept across Ye Mo's face, scraping his skin and filling his nostrils with the smell of burning metal.
He didn't move.
His left arm was dislocated, and the Steel Bone up to his elbow; his Regeneration abilities were still on cooldown. He could only stand against the wall, using his body to block Emma Frost's retreat. Thor was to his right, gripping the deformed steel bar; his hand was split open, and blood dripped down the bar.
None of the three retreated.
The Destroyer retracted its arm, flashing blue light, seemingly reassessing the threat level. Its attack had used 73% of its power; the target should have been instantly vaporized. But the person remained standing, forming a triangle that blocked all of its advance.
Ye Mo took a breath and closed his eyes.
System data swirled in his mind: [ Steel Bone Structure ] Stability 31%, another melee attack might ruin his entire arm; [ Telepathy ] Synchronization rate with Emma Frost 87%, still able to transmit short commands; Thor's muscle activity still has room for explosive growth, but he's currently wielding steel bars, not a hammer.
He opened his eyes and growled, " Emma Frost! Three seconds of visual interference— Thor, wait for her signal, then strike her joints!"
Emma Frost bit her tongue, the taste of blood bringing her to a moment of clarity. She focused her mind and precisely aimed the last bit of interference at the Destroyer's right eye sensor. Not a complete suppression, just one strike, enough to create an opening.
Thor saw it.
He rushed forward, leaped up, and slammed the steel bar into the gap in the Destroyer's right elbow. That was where the drive shaft was connected; it had been jammed there before and was already showing signs of loosening. This time, he pressed down with all his might.
Click.
The metal emitted a grating scraping sound, and the Destroyer's right arm froze.
Ye Mo immediately rammed into its old injury from the side. That piece of armor had already been kicked twice by him, and the seams were deformed. Now, with another heavy blow, the entire plate armor dented inward by an inch, and a plume of black smoke spewed out of the heat dissipation vent.
The Destroyer took a half-step back for the first time.
The three didn't chase after them; they were all panting.
Ye Mo leaned against the wall, his left hand dangling, the dislocated bone throbbing intermittently. He looked down at his right hand; the outer alloy shell of the Steel Bone had shattered three layers, revealing the interwoven flesh and metal tissue beneath. The Regenerative Phasing hadn't healed yet, and now even the slightest movement felt like knives were churning inside.
He looked up at the Destroyer.
The blue light on his chest was still flashing, but the rhythm had changed. It wasn't as stable as before; it was more like... a stutter.
"After each heavy strike," Ye Mo suddenly said, "There will be a 0.8-second energy recirculation."
Emma Frost leaned against the overturned car, pinching her temples with her fingers. "Are you counting its breaths?"
"It's not breathing, it's the rhythm of energy recharge." Ye Mo stared at its chest. "It attacks twice, then pauses. We attack when it pauses, before it can react."
Thor wiped the dust off his face. "You mean, instead of waiting for it to finish, we should interrupt it first?"
"Yes." Ye Mo nodded. "Attack twice, stop—attack again. We need to strike before it charges."
Emma Frost understood. She didn't speak, but quietly compressed her mental energy into a thin line, releasing a weak shockwave in advance. It wasn't for attack, but to disrupt its rhythm.
The Destroyer raised his left arm, energy gathering in his palm.
The first shot was fired, hurtling towards Thor.
Thor dodged to the side, the steel bar blocking his path.
The second attack followed immediately, aimed straight at Ye Mo's face.
Ye Mo didn't dodge; he knew there would be a 0.8-second pause after this move. He waited.
As expected, after the Destroyer fired its second attack, a flash of blue light appeared on its chest, and it entered a brief recirculation state.
Now!
Emma Frost's mental shock followed immediately, and the double delay slowed the Destroyer's movements by half a beat.
Thor seized the opportunity, charged forward again, stepped on its knee joint, and used the momentum to leap up, inserting the steel bar into the shoulder heat dissipation seam from above. This time, he inserted it deeper, the metal jammed, triggering a local overheating alarm.
The Destroyer let out a mechanical hiss, its arms vibrating at an increased frequency, entering a high-speed combo mode.
But the moment it raised its hand, Ye Mo had already moved.
He tried using the Wall Phasing Technique, a basic version that only allowed a portion of his body to temporarily merge with the ground. He stepped into the crack with his right foot, slid out diagonally, and circled behind the Destroyer.
A powerful kick landed squarely on the groin.
The armor plate already had cracks, and now it was kicked, causing the entire piece to peel off, revealing the flashing circuit board underneath.
Emma Frost seized the opportunity to launch another interference attack, this time in three waves, each faster Bobby the last. The Destroyer's head sensors began to malfunction, its attack direction shifted, and it punched into the nearby ruins.
The three stood back to back, catching their breath briefly.
Ye Mo wiped the blood from his face. "It's afraid of breaking its combo... Let's interrupt it."
Thor nodded. "You're in charge."
Emma Frost leaned against the car, blood still at the corner of her mouth. "I can still manage the tricycle... don't make me work for nothing."
Ye Mo glanced around.
There were figures behind the cracks in the wall. More than one. They had been hiding in the ruins during the battle, and now they were peeking out stealthily. A boy was pressed against the broken wall, his eyes wide open.
He suddenly raised his voice. "System notification -- We recommend activating a combo skill!"
There was actually no system notification. He was speaking to those outside, meaning: we still have a plan we haven't used yet.
The boy paused for a moment, then whispered to the person next to him, "He still has a trump card up his sleeve?"
The old man next to him shook his head. "It's not their trump card... they're cooperating."
Ye Mo didn't turn around, but he knew someone was watching. He deliberately straightened up and slammed the broken steel bar to the ground with a dull thud.
The Destroyer stood opposite, its blue light flickering on and off, its attack patterns constantly shifting, yet it hesitated to strike. Its combo had been interrupted three times, its logic program was starting to malfunction, and it needed to recalculate the optimal strategy.
Ye Mo stared into its eyes. "It's thinking about how to attack us."
"Then don't let it finish thinking about it." Thor flexed his wrist; although his hand was cracked, he didn't let go.
"Attack twice, stop—attack again," Ye Mo repeated. "This time I'll take the lead; you guys find opportunities to finish them off."
The Destroyer finally moved.
It no longer used ranged attacks; it charged straight at them, its arms vibrating at a high frequency, its Blade slicing through the air as it lunged directly at the center of the three.
Ye Mo remained motionless.
Once it was within ten meters, he waved his hand sharply. "Now!"
Emma Frost intervenes.
Thor turned sideways to lure him in, deliberately exposing a weakness.
The Destroyer fell for the trap and turned to Thor, unleashing his first attack.
clang!
The steel bars blocked the vibrating blade.
The second blow followed immediately.
Just as it was about to recharge, Ye Mo disappeared.
It wasn't teleportation, but a basic version of Wall Phasing Technique. He sank half his body into the ground, bypassed the Destroyer's feet, and appeared behind it.
He punched the heat sink.
Metal fragments flew everywhere.
Emma Frost simultaneously launched a mental attack, causing a brief delay in its core processor due to the dual interference.
The Destroyer staggered, emitted its first abnormal alarm sound, and its attack frequency dropped by twelve percent.
It took a step back, retracted its arms to protect its core, and entered a defensive assessment state.
The three of them didn't chase after them; they all stood there, panting.
Ye Mo's right arm was already burning hot, and the Steel Bone Structure was about to give way. He could feel the bones slowly softening, and his Regeneration abilities hadn't recovered yet. If he got hit again, this arm might have to be amputated.
But he smiled.
"It was scared," he said.
Thor, leaning on the steel bar, asked, "What did you say?"
"It's afraid of being interrupted," Ye Mo said, panting. "It's not that it doesn't know how to fight us, it's that it's afraid we'll interrupt it."
Emma Frost leaned against the car, her fingers still trembling. "Then keep interrupting."
From behind the crack in the wall in the distance, the murmurs gradually grew louder.
"Did they agree on this beforehand?"
"Wasn't that guy in the hoodie shouting out rhythms the whole time?"
"They're not just shooting randomly... they really have a plan."
Watching Ye Mo's retreating figure, the boy suddenly said, "He's not afraid because he knows the other two will move."
The old man nodded. "War is not a one-person affair."
Ye Mo didn't hear these words, but he could sense that the atmosphere had changed. Just now everyone was thinking about how to escape, but now some people were starting to stare at the battlefield, waiting to see what would happen next.
He raised his still-mobile left hand and gripped the broken steel bar tightly again.
The Destroyer stood opposite, its blue light flickering intermittently, seemingly reloading its combat modules. Its armor was damaged in several places, its cooling system was malfunctioning, and its attack rhythm had been disrupted.
But it hasn't collapsed yet.
Ye Mo didn't intend for it to collapse now.
All he needs to do is let everyone know – we can fight.
He looked at Thor, "Next round, I'll bait him, you cut in from the left and hit his knee."
Thor nodded.
Emma Frost closed her eyes and began to gather the last bit of her mental energy.
The Destroyer raised its arm, and energy once again gathered in its palm.
Ye Mo gripped the steel bar tightly and stood firmly with his feet apart.
The instant the Destroyer fired its first shot, he charged forward.