Ye Mo's fingers were still in his pockets, the chip still hot. He and Emma Frost stood at the edge of the forest, the aircraft just 300 meters ahead, hidden behind rocks. The wind blew from behind, carrying the smell of scorched earth and a pungent metallic odor.
"Let's go," he said.
The two quickened their pace, crossing the ravines and crushing the fallen branches. When they reached the aircraft, Ye Mo first checked the outer shell to make sure it was undamaged before opening the hatch. Emma Frost sat in the co-pilot's seat, and he walked around to the pilot's seat. Just as he was about to close the door, he suddenly pulled out a chip from his pocket.
It was still hot, and the runes glowed faintly.
"Faraday cage needs to be used immediately," he said. "This thing isn't recording data right now; it's communicating with my lightning abilities."
Emma Frost nodded. "Have you tried turning off the system?"
"Tried it. Can't turn it off." He put the chip into his bag. "It's already connected, like a plug in a socket, you can't unplug it."
The aircraft started up, its engines humming softly. He entered the base coordinates and engaged autopilot. The aircraft ascended, skimming the treetops, and landed at the underground entrance thirty minutes later. The elevator platform slowly sank, the surrounding rock walls closed, and the last ray of light was cut off.
The base lights came on.
This was a semi-underground facility, with the main control room connected to the training area, the shielded room, and the medical corner. Ye Mo went straight to the energy shielded room and took out a silver-gray metal box from the cabinet—a Faraday cage. He put the chip inside, closed the lid, and pressed the lock button. The indicator light turned from red to green.
"We've lost contact," he said.
Emma Frost stood in front of the monitoring console and pulled up the signal graph. "External electromagnetic interference has reached zero, and residual internal fluctuations are decaying. It should be completely silent in about ten minutes."
"That's enough." He took off his coat and threw it aside. "Now it's time to test whether this new thing will obey you."
He stood in the center of the shielded room, his hands hanging down, eyes closed, taking a deep breath. His palms began to heat up, and a current surged up his spine, stopping at his fingertips. An electric arc appeared, a small cluster of blue-white sparks, spontaneously dancing as before.
He didn't move.
Wait for it to stabilize.
Three seconds later, he slowly opened his palm and concentrated his mind. The arc of electricity flickered, but instead of dissipating, it condensed into a ring and circled around his palm.
"It's done." He opened his eyes. "It didn't explode the first time."
Emma Frost looked at the screen. "Frequency synchronization increased by 19%, neural conduction delay decreased. Are you adjusting the output using your breathing rhythm?"
"It's not that I adjusted it, it's that it's started recognizing me." He raised his hand; the electric ring was still there. "In the battle just now, I collided with Thor's lightning. The system captured that waveform, and now it's like a copied installation package, running locally."
He tried to reduce the force, and the electric ring shrank, eventually shrinking into a small spot of light that stopped in the center of his palm. When he applied more force, the spot of light expanded again, becoming a short, pulsed discharge.
"We can control the intensity," he said, "But the direction isn't right yet."
Emma Frost brought up the simulated target area projection. "Let's go to the training ground and try out the actual output."
He nodded, put on protective gloves, and went into the next room. It was a ten-meter-long enclosed space with three metal targets at the far end. The one furthest away was a copper-core structure, specifically for measuring conductivity.
He stood behind the line, raised his hand, and aimed at the bullseye.
First strike.
An electric arc shot out from the palm, heading straight for the target. With a loud bang, the copper plate was pierced, but the aftershock swept across the side wall, cracking the cement. The lighting system flickered and automatically switched to backup power.
"It's overloaded," Emma Frost said.
"I know." He shook his hand. "My fingers feel numb, like I've been stung a hundred times."
He stood up straight and switched to short bursts of electricity. Each burst consisted of a weak current lasting half a second, with a two-second interval. The screen showed that after each release, his heart rate rose five to eight beats per minute, and his muscle fatigue index slowly accumulated.
On the fifth burst, the current hit the bullseye precisely without overflowing.
"It's safe," he said.
The sixth and seventh times, he hit the same spot three times in a row. The eighth time, he increased the power, the arc became thicker, and while it pierced the bullseye, the wall trembled slightly, but did not crack.
"Control precision improved fivefold," Emma Frost read out, "But there's a 0.8-second cognitive gap after each release, as if the system is reclaiming residual energy."
"That means it's not fully compatible yet." He flexed his wrist. "But as long as it hits, that's fine. At least next time I won't have to rely on the Steel Bone to tank the damage."
He stopped to rest, walked to the rest area, sat down, picked up his notebook, and began to write.
Article 1: The Thunder Power System is a fragmented copy of Thor Force, not a complete inheritance. Currently, it can only simulate basic discharge and has no ability to summon heavenly thunder.
Article 2: The output intensity is controllable, but it cannot store a large amount of charge, and continuous use may lead to exhaustion.
Article 3: The cooling period is about four minutes. Forcibly activating it during this period will trigger a backlash from the nervous system, which will manifest as tingling in the fingertips and temporary loss of sensation.
After finishing writing, he closed the notebook, looked up at Emma Frost, and asked, "Do you think this thing can be upgraded?"
"What do you think?" she asked.
"I think it's like a USB drive; it's plugged in now, but the files inside haven't been unzipped yet," he said. "Once we find the right way to read it, maybe we can unlock more functions."
She handed me a drink. "Don't treat yourself like a power bank."
"I don't want to charge it." He took the drink and said, "I want to know if this thing can turn into a key."
What key?
"It can unlock the next stage." He opened his palm, the last wisp of electricity running through his skin before slowly disappearing. "The system has twenty levels in total, and I've only unlocked the seventh. Lightning Control is just the beginning."
She didn't speak, but pulled up the physiological monitoring chart. "Your adrenaline levels are still high; it is recommended to stop high-intensity testing."
"Try again," he said. "Low power, directional guidance."
He stood up, returned to the training field, and stood five meters away from the target. This time, instead of aiming at the bullseye, he stared at a small indentation on the target surface.
Breathing slowed.
Heart rate is stable.
My palms are getting warm.
An electric arc appeared, as thin as a hair, pushing forward along the path he had set. It veered slightly, but he immediately adjusted his focus, the current changing direction and continuing its journey.
When it hit the target surface, it only left a small charred dot; it did not penetrate.
"It's done." He released his grip, and the electric arc broke.
Emma Frost reviewed the data. "The accuracy is 97%, and the error is within an acceptable range. However, there is a slight oscillation in your frontal lobe area; trying again might affect your judgment."
"That's all for now." He took off his gloves and sat back in his chair. "We'll continue with the micro-stimulation tomorrow to allow the body to adapt."
She stood up to leave. "I'm going to replenish my mental energy."
"Wait," he called after her, "You said... if this ability can really be upgraded, wouldn't it be more than just discharging electricity?"
What do you want it to do?
"For example," he thought for a moment, "To turn the electric current into a barrier, or to let it circulate within the body and be used as an energy source."
"Then you're a human generator," she said.
"That's good too." He smiled. "At least we won't panic during a power outage."
She walked out of the room and closed the door.
He sat alone in the training area, twirling a pen in his hand, staring blankly at the empty target. His palm felt warm again, a flash of electricity appeared for half a second, and then went out on its own.
He looked down at his hands.
It wasn't something he actively triggered.
It moved on its own.
He wasn't surprised; instead, he nodded. "Looks like you're not stupid after all."
He opened his notebook, turned to a new page, and wrote:
Article 4: Possesses a tendency for autonomous response and may have established a preliminary conscious connection.
He paused for a moment, then added:
Next step: Try two-way communication.
An alarm suddenly went off outside.
He looked up.
It wasn't a base intrusion alarm, but a Faraday cage anomaly alert. A red light was flashing on the screen, and a weak electromagnetic pulse was detected inside the cage.
He stood up and walked quickly over.
Inside the cage, the chip lay quietly, its surface runes no longer hot, but it would flash blue light every seven seconds.
It was in sync with the frequency of the electric arc in his palm.
He looked at the light through the glass.
flash.
flash.
flash.
Then, an electric arc reappeared in his palm.