Armor Complete, Ready to Strike Back

The lab lights were still flickering, like energy-saving bulbs that were about to run out of power, turning on and off. Ye Mo leaned against the lab bench, the crack in his Steel Bone left shoulder still oozing pale red tissue fluid, like a plastic shell that couldn't be glued back together with cheap glue. He tried to move his fingers, trying to prop himself up, but his joints made a "squeak" sound, and he almost gave up on the spot.

Tony stood in front of the control panel, his brows furrowed deeply as he stared at the red error message on the screen. "Core module encapsulation failed; verification parameters missing."

"I'm saying," Ye Mo's voice was hoarse like sandpaper grinding against sheet metal, "You're not really stuck on this step, are you? You've got everything else sorted out, and then you get stuck on this last parameter? Isn't that like fighting a game boss with only 1% health left and you just can't kill it?"

Tony didn't turn around, his fingers flying across the keyboard. "Quiet, I'm doing reverse engineering. That energy fluctuation just now was too weird; it interfered with the quantum calibration system, causing a data gap."

Ye Mo squinted and thought for a moment, then his heart skipped a beat—could it be the energy field he had triggered when he used "Group Healing" earlier? That thing had even alarmed the system, so it wouldn't be surprising if it interfered with the armor program.

He didn't say anything, afraid that Tony would turn around and hit him with a wrench.

After a dozen seconds, Tony suddenly exclaimed, "Heh!" and pulled up a waveform graph. "Found it. Just three minutes ago, a non-standard bio-energy pulse, frequency 0.7 Hz, lasting four seconds, peak value exceeding the safety threshold by three times. This thing wasn't emitted by equipment, it was... a person?"

Ye Mo coughed twice. "Maybe. I was saving people at the time, who knew the energy would be running wild."

Tony turned to look at him, his eyes like he was looking at an idiot who had just defused a bomb and then lit the fuse. "Next time you're rescuing someone, can you at least give me a heads-up? You almost drove this armor crazy."

"How was I supposed to know you were monitoring the energy within me?" Ye Mo rolled his eyes. "Besides, the system notification didn't even go off, how could I know it was about to explode?"

Tony, too lazy to argue with him, simply dragged the waveform into the algorithm model and began reverse compensation calculations. The data stream on the screen scrolled wildly, like a ticket-buying page during the Spring Festival travel rush. Five minutes later, a crisp "beep" broke the silence.

"Done." Tony typed Enter, a smile playing on his lips. "Encapsulation protocol activated, Anti-Extremis Core Module locked."

As soon as he finished speaking, the suit of armor on the central platform of the laboratory suddenly lit up. The silver-blue streamlined shell slowly closed, and fine patterns appeared on the surface, like a circuit board being energized, with rings of cold light gleaming. Two diamond-shaped heat dissipation vents appeared on the shoulder armor, and the reactor on the chest was no longer a simple golden ring, but was embedded with a layer of translucent crystal, with blue light circulating inside like a data stream.

"This is... the Anti-Extremis Armor?" Ye Mo stood up, leaned on the platform, took a few steps closer, and reached out to touch the surface of the armor. It felt cold to the touch, but he could feel a slight vibration in the inner layer, like some kind of living thing breathing.

"It's not just about defense." Tony put on his gloves and stood on the platform. "It can identify and neutralize the high-temperature resonant frequency of the Extremis Virus, while simultaneously increasing its output power. Simply put—it's not afraid of burning, and it can attack even more fiercely."

He pressed a button on his wrist, and the armor automatically deployed, fitting him perfectly. The metal parts clicked shut, the mask rose, revealing Tony's face that screamed "I'm the best!"

"Come on, give it a try." Tony stretched his shoulders, the armored joints emitting a deep hum. He walked to the test wall and activated the high-temperature environment simulating Extremis Soldier. The wall temperature instantly soared to eight hundred degrees Celsius, and the air began to distort.

A semi-transparent membrane structure immediately formed on the outer layer of the armor, spreading out like water ripples, quickly isolating the high temperature. Internal sensors showed that the body temperature stabilized at 37 degrees Celsius.

"Heat-resistant phase membrane, normal activation." Tony nodded, then raised his right fist and activated the amplifier. A red light appeared around the front of the gauntlet, and after charging for a second, he threw a punch.

"Bang!"

The concrete wall was blasted open, leaving a hole a meter in diameter, with debris flying everywhere. The armored fist was completely undamaged, without even a scratch.

Ye Mo whistled. "That punch, if it landed on Killian's face, would probably make him change his surname on the spot."

"The point isn't about beating people up." Tony withdrew his fist, turned to look at him, "It's that it can withstand viral attacks and even fight back. This means we don't have to be passively attacked anymore."

Ye Mo didn't rush to reply. He stared at the armor's reaction frequency, especially the synchronization rate between energy output and biological signals. Although the punch just now was powerful, he noticed a 0.3-second delay when the armor released energy, as if the system needed to recalibrate.

"Are you sure it won't lag in actual gameplay?" he asked.

"There's always an adjustment period the first time," Tony shrugged. "But if I dare to wear it into the sky, I dare to let it pierce the enemy's head. The question is, you—can you still keep up?"

Ye Mo looked down at his hands. His Steel Bone weren't repaired yet, his Regeneration system was overloaded, and walking felt like stepping on cotton. His Group Healing ability was also on cooldown, and he didn't know when he could use it again.

But he cannot back down.

"If I don't go, who will?" He smirked. "I can't let you go and get yourself killed alone. Besides, isn't this kind of tough battle what I'm all about?"

Tony stared at him for two seconds, then suddenly laughed, "Fine, you've got guts. So what are you planning to do now? Wait until I fly off to find Killian, and you'll be cheering me on from behind?"

"Stop messing around." Ye Mo turned and walked to the equipment cabinet, opened the drawer, and took out a black hooded sweatshirt to put on. The clothes were a little wrinkled, but he didn't care. Next came cargo pants, sneakers, and finally, he put on his silver half-rimmed glasses—the lenses were cracked, but he felt they made him look more imposing.

"I'm not going to refuel." He tied his shoelaces, looked up, and said, "I'm going to find him."

Tony raised an eyebrow. "With your body like this, you can still track?"

"I'm not running away with Steel Bone." Ye Mo patted his temples. "I have a brain. Besides, although the system doesn't speak, it remembers things. I can still catch some of the energy traces left by Killian and his gang. As long as he's still using the Extremis Virus, I'll have a way to locate him."

Tony paused for two seconds, then nodded. "Okay, you're in charge of finding them, and I'll take care of beating them up."

"The division of labor is clear." Ye Mo walked back to the center of the laboratory, looking up at the fully dressed Iron Man. "But we need to make this clear—no reckless charges. Killian isn't stupid; he definitely has a backup plan. We need to find out where he is and how many men he has before we make our move."

"So you want to search first, instead of attacking directly?" Tony crossed his arms. "But what if he manages to gather another batch of Extremis Soldier while we're searching?"

"Then we need to find him even faster." Ye Mo said calmly, "If we don't make a move, he'll think we're still breathing. But once we start moving, he'll panic. And if he panics, he'll give himself away."

Tony stared at him, then grinned after a few seconds. "Your brain is worth more than this armor."

"Stop flattering me." Ye Mo waved his hand. "Hurry up and check our equipment. We need to leave before the next wave of attacks. We can't stay at the base any longer. Those previous attacks were just probes; the real trouble is yet to come."

Tony nodded and activated the flight system. The thrusters on the back of his armor slowly deployed, emitting a low hum. He leaped into the air, hovering two meters above, looking down at Ye Mo: "Ready?"

Ye Mo took a deep breath and stretched his shoulders. His Steel Bone still ached, but he was used to it. He walked to the laboratory door and glanced back at the medical area—the wounded were all asleep, breathing steadily. Emma Frost sat in the corner with her eyes closed, probably recovering her mental strength.

He looked away and opened the metal door.

"Let's go," he said. "Don't let that madman create a second batch of Extremis Soldier."

Tony chuckled, increased the power of his thrusters, and slowly rose into the air. Ye Mo followed closely behind, his steps slow but firm. They walked through the corridor toward the base exit. The lights still flickered, and the alarms sounded intermittently, but the atmosphere had changed.

The strategy has shifted from defensive to offensive.

Tony adjusted his posture in mid-air, the armored engine humming steadily. He looked down at Ye Mo: "This time, we'll take the initiative."

Ye Mo looked up, his glasses reflecting a cold light. "Yes, this time, we're going to find him."

The two walked out of the base's main control room one after the other and entered the side corridor. The night was deep outside, and the wind swept Ashes across the ground. Ye Mo stopped and took the Vibranium fragment out of his pocket. It lay quietly in his palm, neither hot nor vibrating.

But a response will come soon.

He knew.

As long as Killian is still active, this fragment will guide him.

He gripped the shards tightly, adjusting his glasses with his other hand.

"Let's go," he said. "Don't delay."