Ye Mo had just loosened the iron grating at the end of the drainpipe by a crack when the red light from the device jumped from once every seven seconds to once every three seconds. His fingers paused on the screw, and the arc of electricity in his palm snapped out, as if someone had grabbed his throat.
The system did not provide any notification.
There wasn't even a cooldown countdown timer.
This is scarier than a siren going off ten times.
"It knew we were coming," he whispered. "It's waiting for us to open the door."
Before the words were finished, a muffled thud came from above, like a heavy object hitting a metal plate. Immediately afterwards, the entire drainpipe trembled slightly, and the sound of the water changed—the slow dripping turned into a rapid gurgling, as if something was crawling underground.
Ye Mo immediately withdrew his hand and took half a meter back. Tony muttered something behind him, while Emma Frost raised her hand and made a "stop" gesture.
Just as the three were preparing to reassess the route, the " Gene Spiral Tower " interface in Ye Mo's mind suddenly activated on its own. An unprecedented frequency of fluctuation flashed and disappeared, so fast it was like an illusion. But he remembered the data: 0.7 Hz, non-electromagnetic, non-biological, and not belonging to any recorded variant ability category.
"Change routes," he suddenly said. "Don't take those last ten meters."
"Why?" Tony frowned. "Didn't you say this was the source?"
"Yes, but it isn't now." Ye Mo stared at his palm, the arc of electricity failing to reappear. "The signal source has moved. That vibration just now... came from the east, carrying a low-frequency resonance, just like the energy remnants from Jane Foster's lab that day."
Emma Frost's eyes narrowed. "Jane? Isn't she working on an observation project in New Mexico?"
"Logically, yes," Ye Mo had already changed direction and started climbing back, "But three days ago she sent Bruce an encrypted email saying she had detected unusual gravitational ripples, the source of which pointed to this city. I didn't take it seriously, assuming it was just another disturbance from cosmic dust."
"When did you start paying attention to scientists' emails?" Tony followed behind, his tone teasing.
"The system has marked the energy map in the attachment." Ye Mo said without turning his head, "It matches what I'm sensing now."
The three quickly exited the drainpipe and climbed over the outer wall of the substation. The city's edge was deathly silent at four in the morning, with the wind whistling mournfully through the abandoned factory area. Ye Mo no longer relied on the system, but instead used muscle memory and environmental feedback to determine the path—he remembered the map of this area, and there was an old reactor workshop in the eastern part of the oil refinery, which had once been a temporary research station for the military, but was later closed due to excessive radiation.
"Jane wouldn't come to a place like this on her own," he said. "Unless she was lured here."
"Or they were brought here," Emma Frost added.
They hurried along the wall, avoiding blind spots in the surveillance cameras and collapsed road surfaces. The closer they got to the eastern district, the colder the air became, and their breath was thick with white mist. A wrecked research vehicle lay overturned in a ditch by the roadside, its license plate illegible, but the antenna array mounted on its roof was still there, swaying slightly, as if someone had just touched it.
Ye Mo crouched down to examine the tire tracks. There were two fresh, parallel drag marks on the muddy ground, pointing towards the reactor workshop.
"There have been people coming in and out in the last twelve hours," he said. "The vehicles weren't moving fast, but they were carrying a considerable amount of weight."
Emma Frost reached for the car door handle, closed her eyes for a moment, then abruptly pulled her hand away. "Mental remnants... confusion, pain, and... fear. This isn't her will."
"Jane's in trouble." Ye Mo stood up, his voice low. "We need to hurry."
The door to the reactor workshop was half-collapsed, with rusty iron sheets hanging from the hinges and swaying gently in the wind. It was pitch black inside, with only a few broken skylights letting in a faint ray of morning light. Ye Mo walked at the front, a multi-tool knife clutched in his work pants pocket, and his silver glasses were polished to a shine, reflecting the blurry outline ahead.
On the central platform, a figure sits quietly on a rusted metal frame.
It was Jane Foster.
She was wearing that familiar dark blue research coat, her hair was disheveled, her hands were folded on her knees, and her head was slightly lowered, as if she were asleep. But her skin had a very faint purplish-black halo that flickered with her breathing, like some kind of living circuit being circulated and recharged.
Ye Mo stopped five meters away from her.
The palm attempted to generate an electric arc again, but failed.
The system remained silent.
He took a half step back and whispered to Emma Frost, "Don't get too close, something's wrong with her."
Emma Frost nodded, slowly approaching, her eyes slightly closed, her mental energy probing out like a thin thread. The moment she touched the edge of Jane's consciousness field, Jane shuddered violently, her fingers under her gloves clenching spasmodically, and cold sweat beaded on her forehead.
"Rebound!" she gritted her teeth and retreated. "It's not interference, it's an attack! There's something guarding inside..."
Ye Mo immediately stepped forward, standing between the two, his gaze sweeping around. The workshop floor was covered in cracks, but there were no signs of a struggle, no bloodstains, and no weapons left behind. Jane's clothes were intact, with no signs of external injury. However, her breathing was extremely shallow, and her chest was barely rising and falling. Her pulse could not be detected without using a microcurrent sensor.
"Not unconscious," he whispered, "But occupied."
"Possession?" Emma Frost gasped for breath. "Who did it? Loki? Or Hydra's new experimental subject?"
"I don't know," Ye Mo shook his head, "But it's definitely not human-made. The system couldn't even capture a fragment, which means this thing isn't in the mutant ability database."
Emma Frost steadied herself against the wall. "We have to get her out of here. If we stay, she'll drain her life force."
"How should we carry her?" Ye Mo stared at Jian. "Touching her might trigger a counterattack, but carrying her might injure her internal organs. Besides... look at her feet."
Emma Frost looked in that direction.
Beneath the metal frame where Jian sat, a tiny crack appeared in the ground, spreading out in a spiderweb pattern. Within the crack, a faint flow of dark purple energy could be seen, like the pulsation of underground blood vessels.
"This place... is alive," she said.
"So we have to hurry." Ye Mo took off the hood of his sweatshirt, tore off a small strip of reflective film from the lining, and gently tossed it three meters in front of Jian. The film floated down and turned to Ashes with a "whoosh" the moment it hit the ground.
"There's an energy field." He squinted. "Not a barrier, but something that grows spontaneously."
"Then don't move." Emma Frost took a deep breath. "I'll use my Diamond Form to lift her out. Minimizes physical contact and reduces risk."
She spread her arms, and her body instantly transformed into a shimmering diamond-shaped structure, hard and translucent, reflecting the faint light of the sky. She walked forward slowly, each step cautious, until she stood at a safe distance.
"Ready?" she said.
Ye Mo nodded, his right hand resting on his waist, ready to activate " Regenerative Phasing " to withstand any impact.
Emma Frost reached out, her fingertips just touching Jane's shoulder—
boom!
The ground suddenly cracked open!
The spiderweb-like patterns expanded instantly, and blackish-purple energy surged like magma, rushing towards the ceiling and then rapidly falling back, forming a huge spherical Force Field that completely enveloped Ye Mo, Emma Frost, and Jane. The top was seamlessly connected to the walls, and the bottom extended deep into the ground, making it airtight.
Ye Mo instinctively activated " Regenerative Phasing " and rushed towards the edge of the barrier.
Bang!
The impact felt like hitting a massive steel plate; a dull, jagged pain shot through his ribs, and he was thrown back to his original position, coughing as he lay on the ground.
"No!" he looked up. "It's not a physical barrier, it's a rule-level blockade. My abilities have been completely negated."
Emma Frost, now back in human form, was pale. " The Mental Scan also bounced back, this time even more violently, like a needle pricking my temple."
She raised her hand and wiped the corner of her mouth. There was no blood between her fingers, but there was a trace of clear, sticky fluid, which was physiological exudate caused by excessive mental stress.
Ye Mo got up, walked to the barrier, and reached out to touch it.
Its surface was smooth and cold, without texture or seams, and felt like glass, yet unlike any known material. He tried scratching it with his fingernail, but it left no mark.
"I can't get out," he said. "The phone signal is gone too. Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS—all cut off."
Emma Frost looked towards the central platform.
Jane remained seated, but her posture changed—she slowly raised her head and opened her eyes.
The pupils were completely black, without irises or light reflection, resembling two deep wells.
Her lips curled slightly upward, her movements stiff, unlike those of a human.
"You... shouldn't have come." Her voice rang out, but it wasn't her usual tone; it was low, overlapping, and echoing, as if many people were speaking at once. "The container isn't stable yet... interference... will trigger collapse."
Ye Mo stared at her, without backing down.
"Is Jane inside?" he asked.
"She is asleep," the voice said. "We share a body. She provides the vessel, we provide the power. Balance is about to be achieved."
"Who are 'we'?" Emma Frost asked coldly.
"Indescribable." Jane slowly turned her head, her gaze fixed on Emma Frost. "You are too weak. Your Mind Stone are like candles, flickering in the wind. They'll be extinguished with a single breath."
Emma Frost didn't speak again, but quietly took half a step back, getting closer to Ye Mo.
Ye Mo lowered his voice. "Can she still be saved?"
"I don't know," Emma Frost whispered back, "But as long as she has a heartbeat, there's a chance."
"Then let's wait." Ye Mo stared at the constantly flowing purplish-black aura around Jian's body. "This thing is adapting to her body; the rhythm is unstable. This means it hasn't fully taken control yet."
"But we can't get out either," Emma Frost reminded her.
"I know." Ye Mo touched his glasses and suddenly smiled. "Those with thick skin are never afraid of getting sleepy. At worst... we'll just wait for it to give itself away."
Jane—or rather, the possessed one—suddenly raised her hand.
Spread your fingers and turn your palm down.
The dark purple energy within the cracks in the ground surged, forming a ring of ripples that slowly approached the three of them.
Ye Mo immediately stepped in front of Emma Frost and whispered, "Don't move! This might be a test!"
The ripples stopped two meters away from them.
Then, it slowly sank and disappeared underground.
Everything returned to quiet.
Only Jane remained seated high up, her eyes vacant, a strange smile playing on her lips.
Ye Mo slowly exhaled, and tried to condense an electric arc in his palm again.
Still a failure.
He looked up at Emma Frost, who gently shook her head.
The system is not responding.
There is no contact with the outside world.
Our escape route is cut off.
They are trapped.
Meanwhile, the things inside Jane's body are slowly awakening.