Strength Enhancement, Overpowering the Enemy

The pulsating sound of the green tissue echoed in the laboratory, one beat, two beats, three beats... like some kind of countdown, or like a metronome that had stopped working. Ye Mo stared at the lump, his ears ringing, not from the aftershocks of the concussion gun, but from the sudden system notification in his mind.

[Can stimulate Strength Enhancement, temporarily boosting strength.]

He almost burst out laughing—this thing usually keeps quiet, but it knows how to pick its timing when it matters.

The dull pain in his ribs lingered, like a small saw ripping back and forth inside; the aftereffects of his Steel Bone Transformation weren't going away anytime soon. But he couldn't worry about that now. Killian had one hand pressed against the frozen container, while the other hand was already gathering heat, his palm glowing with an incandescent light. The thermometer had long since exploded, and the air was distorted like a sauna. Tony hovered in mid-air, the red glow of his armor sweeping across the scene, the shoulder cannons buzzing as they charged, but he knew that if he delayed any longer, the enemy would really set the thing on fire.

"Tony!" Ye Mo growled, "Press down on his upper body! Don't let him complete the gesture!"

Before he finished speaking, he moved first. He took a deep breath, his lungs burning, but he didn't care. His consciousness rushed directly into the fifth level of the "Gene Spiral Tower." The grayish-brown gene chain called "Muscle Source Amplification Fragment" was hanging in the corner. When he picked it up before, there wasn't even a complete description. All he knew was that he had scraped it from a crack in the wall of an abandoned Mutants training camp—a place full of experimental subjects with severed arms and legs, where no one had survived.

Now it seems that survival depends on this kind of junk.

As soon as the nerve signal was connected, adrenaline surged to its peak. His muscles swelled instantly, his blood vessels bulged like old tree roots wrapped around his arm, and his skeletal structure automatically adjusted its weight-bearing mode, making his previously sluggish movements smooth. He looked down at his arm; the sleeve of his work clothes was taut, the thread snapped open, and the veins under his skin throbbed as if they were about to burst.

"Damn, this feels... like I've taken ten doses of steroids." He grinned and stomped his left foot on the ground.

Mars flew as his shoes scraped against the metal floor, propelling him forward like a cannonball. He was so fast that afterimages blurred at the edges of his vision. Killian had barely turned his head when his fist was already upon him.

His right fist clenched tightly, arcs of electricity uncontrollably spilling from his knuckles, crackling and popping—not intentionally released, but purely due to an overload of power causing energy leakage. This punch landed solidly on his chest, exploding with a muffled thud, like a drum striking a tin bucket.

Killian was sent flying, his back slamming hard into the east-facing load-bearing wall. The concrete wall cracked with a spiderweb pattern, and pieces fell down in a flurry. He slid half a meter before regaining his footing, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth, but his eyes remained focused, shining even brighter, as if something he shouldn't have touched had been ignited.

"Interesting." He wiped his mouth, his voice hoarse. "You actually managed to turn the tables?"

Before he could finish speaking, Tony made his move.

The twin energy cannons on his shoulders charged rapidly, the red light condensing into a beam that locked onto the target without hesitation. A high-energy pulse shot out with a "boom," precisely piercing Killian's left shoulder. His clothes were burned through, his flesh charred black, and the blood dried up before it could even flow. He staggered to his knees, his knees hitting shards of glass without any reaction. He simply slowly raised his head, his eyes filled with rage mixed with madness, showing no sign of backing down.

"You think... this will stop evolution?" He gritted his teeth and stood up, his right hand on the ground, his left hand pressing against the wound. Heat surged, and Regeneration began beneath his charred skin. "I am no longer human. I am the origin of a new species."

Ye Mo was panting heavily, his muscles still trembling. He knew very well that he couldn't maintain his Strength Enhancement for long. But now was not the time to think about that. He took a step forward, stopping on the pile of rubble by the wall, his eyes fixed on Killian.

"You're right," he grinned, "You're definitely not human."

He paused, then added, "At most, it's a high-temperature, spontaneously combustible, human-shaped gas cylinder, and the kind that's nearing its expiration date."

Tony chuckled softly in mid-air, "There's no need to be so blunt when you're insulting someone."

"Just stating the facts." Ye Mo shrugged, the electric arc in his right arm throbbing again. "Look at his appearance, he's like a sauna wherever he goes. Won't he get an alarm from the security checkpoint on the spot?"

Killian didn't respond, but simply raised his right hand, palm facing upwards. Heat surged, all the moisture in the air evaporated, and even the mold in the cracks in the ground began to smoke. He walked forward step by step, and with each step, a black mark was burned into the cement floor with a "hiss".

"I don't need to convince you," he said. "Once it's fully awakened, you'll be begging me to let you join."

Ye Mo's head throbbed with pain. "This 'new human leader' script again? Dude, have you been watching too many shady movies? You really think you're a savior? You're just a dumping ground for failed projects, and a temporary one at that."

"Shut up," Tony interrupted. "Don't give him a chance to spout nonsense."

Before the words were even finished, the armored vehicle swooped down, its palm cannon fully charged, and slammed into Killian's face with a "bang." The opponent raised his hand to block, a thermal barrier formed, the energy beam exploded in flames, and the shockwave overturned several experimental tables.

Taking advantage of the opportunity, Ye Mo charged forward again. This time, he didn't use his fists, but instead leaped up by pushing off the ground with his left foot, slamming his knee into the opponent's abdomen. Killian leaned back to dodge, missing the target by half an inch, but Ye Mo had anticipated his dodge. The moment he landed, he spun around and slammed his right elbow into the neck.

Thump!

It hit him squarely, and Killian's head snapped to the side, a cracking sound echoing in his neck. He staggered back two steps, leaning against the container. The ice cracked open with a loud "crack," releasing a larger fissure, and green liquid seeped out, dripping onto the ground and hissing as it corroded.

"Alright, stop pretending." Ye Mo stopped, hands on hips, panting. "Your physique looks intimidating, but it's really nothing special. Regeneration is fast, but you lose a bit of intelligence every time you're reborn, right? Otherwise, why do you talk more and more as you fight?"

"You..." Killian coughed, clutching his neck, blood seeping from between his fingers, "You have absolutely no idea what Extremis means."

"I don't understand?" Ye Mo sneered. "I know it makes you unafraid of pain, death, or social security lapses, but I also know one thing—you're standing here right now only because of sheer willpower. If you were truly invincible, that elbow strike would have dislocated your cervical spine."

Tony adjusted his position in mid-air, re-locking his shoulder cannon. "Did you hear that? Your partner said you're down to your last breath."

"I'm not his partner," Ye Mo waved his hand. "I was just passing by and happened to be beating someone up."

"You're pretty accurate at spotting people," Tony retorted.

Killian didn't speak again, but instead slammed his hand back onto the container's surface. The ice vibrated violently, and the green tissue's pulsation suddenly accelerated, changing from three beats per minute to a continuous, frantic beat, like a heart operating at an overclock. A faint light shone through the cracks, casting distorted shadows on the wall.

"It's coming out," Tony said in a deep voice.

"Then let it out." Ye Mo flexed his wrist; the muscles were still bulging, but they were already starting to ache. "I'll test how long this enhancement can last."

Before the words were even finished, the container shattered with a "bang." Ice splattered everywhere, green slime sprayed out, and the pulsating tissue rose into the air, hovering in mid-air. Limb outlines began to differentiate on its surface, like some kind of rapidly developing embryo.

Killian looked up at it, a near-reverent expression on his face. "Welcome to the new world."

"Fuck your new world." Ye Mo cursed, then rushed forward and delivered a straight punch to the edge of the group.

"Smack!"

It felt like hitting a rubber ball; the reaction force made his hand go numb. The tissue deformed slightly, then returned to its original shape, and the pulsation rhythm remained unchanged.

"Physical attacks ineffective?" Tony frowned.

"Not necessarily." Ye Mo shook his hand. "We might need to find a weakness in the rhythm. That punch just now, it paused for 0.1 seconds."

"You mean... it's afraid of losing its rhythm?" Tony reacted extremely quickly.

"Yes." Ye Mo stared at the mass. "It's currently maintaining structural stability through regular pulsations, just like an engine maintains balance through its rotational speed. If we disrupt its rhythm—"

"How about some weird, meme-worthy background music?" Tony chimed in.

"Like a punch that beats faster than my heartbeat." Ye Mo took a deep breath, his muscles tensing again. His strength was still there, but it was beginning to wane. He knew time was running out.

He stared at the mass of tissue, waiting for the next pulsation.

One... two... almost there.

Just as the third blow was about to sound, he suddenly threw out his right fist, faster than before, and smashed into the center point with a whooshing sound.

Thump!

The entire laboratory shuddered. The tissues contracted sharply, the pulsation stopped abruptly, and the suspended state swayed slightly.

"Got it!" Tony immediately seized the opportunity, charged his shoulder cannon, and blasted it toward Killian's chest with a "boom".

The explosion threw him several meters, knocking over a pile of instruments and sending dust billowing everywhere.

Ye Mo stood still, his chest heaving, sweat dripping from his chin. The Strength Enhancement was fading, and the muscle soreness was getting stronger, like being hit repeatedly with a baseball bat.

"How are you?" Tony descended two meters, his armor slightly overheating and triggering an alarm. "Can you still fight?"

"Sure." Ye Mo wiped his face. "But if the system gives me another limited-time trial card next time, let me know in advance, don't make it feel like opening a blind box."

"You should be grateful," Tony glanced at him. "So many people want to get one but can't."

Amidst the smoke and dust, Killian slowly rose to his feet. His left shoulder was charred and unhealed, and his chest was dented from the explosion, yet he still managed to stand. Heat surged once more, and lava-like patterns spread beneath his skin, making him resemble a high-temperature light bulb about to explode.

"You... can't interrupt the process," he said in a low voice, hoarse but firm. "It has learned to adapt. Next time, it won't stop."

Ye Mo looked at him, then at the green tissue that had begun to pulsate again, and his breathing gradually became steady.

"Alright," he said, "Then let's do it one more time."

He straightened up, raised his fists, and arcs of electricity danced at his fingertips. His muscles were exhausted, but his fighting spirit remained undiminished.

Tony hovered in mid-air behind him, and the sound of the shoulder cannon charging rang out again.

The two stood at an angle, facing Killian and the strange organization.

In the center of the laboratory, heat waves rolled in, and the battle continued.