Caught in a trap, the enemy was prepared

The moment his right leg touched the ground, that familiar creaking sound entered his ears. Ye Mo frowned, but didn't stop. His Steel Bone Transformation left hand dug several deep marks into the metal wall of the ventilation duct, and he slid down like a slippery fish. He had already removed a corner of the exhaust grille above his head, and the dark opening looked like an open mouth, waiting to swallow him.

He landed hard, his foot slamming onto the floor of the armory's top platform, sending a shiver down his right knee. This damn leg had been acting up ever since God of Thunder's arrival; now it was like a faulty spring, making three cracking sounds with every step. But he couldn't care less. The moment he landed, he crouched down and ran his hand over the ground—no warmth, no vibration, not even the most basic residual energy.

It's so clean.

The moment those three words popped into his head, the system notification stopped. It wasn't the usual "beep" warning; it was complete silence, like a radio that had been unplugged. He tried poking at the Gene Spiral Tower in his consciousness. The second-level ability nodes were still there, but his perception module felt like it had been blindfolded; he couldn't see anything clearly.

"Something's not right," he whispered in the Mind Stone link. "It's too clean."

Before the words were even finished, the surrounding stone walls exploded with a deafening roar. It wasn't an explosion; the entire rock seemed to come alive as it shattered into fragments, and dozens of dark figures poured out of the cracks, their movements so synchronized as if they had rehearsed a hundred times. They wore dark bone armor and held bladed spears in their hands, the tips of which glowed with a ghostly blue light. As soon as they landed, they formed a semicircle, blocking all escape routes.

Ye Mo reacted quickly, rolling on the spot, his left arm's Steel Bone instantly transforming into an arc-shaped shield, blocking in front of him. The next second, three spears pierced the shield, the force so great that his entire body slid back half a meter. He gritted his teeth and held on, looking up to see the dome above him spinning—the previously unremarkable stone slabs shifted, revealing an intricate network of purple energy beneath, like a net tightening ever tighter.

"Thor! Emma Frost! Where are you?" he roared, his voice echoing through the empty hall.

A few seconds later, Emma Frost's voice suddenly cut in, so urgent it was almost distorted. "I'm at the bottom, but they've already erected a barrier... I can't get into the system!"

Ye Mo's heart skipped a beat. Their entire plan was based on "information asymmetry"—he would draw fire, Emma Frost would hack into the command chain to paralyze the defenses, and Thor would strike at the heart of the enemy. Now that Emma Frost was blocked outside, it was as if they had cut off an arm.

Before he could reply, the central platform began to rise. A black stone pillar slowly rose, supporting a figure. Malekith, draped in Cloak like dark mist, walked steadily, a knowing smile on his face.

"You thought they were trackers?" he began, his voice sharp as sandpaper scraping iron. "But they're actually prey."

Ye Mo didn't reply, his fingers secretly reaching for the Vibranium disc at his waist. This disc was a scrap he'd swiped from Klaue; it could be used as a fuse for low-temperature control, but the situation was unclear, and using it rashly would only reveal his hand.

Malekith waved his hand, and the passageways on both sides split open again, releasing even more Dark Elves. This time, they weren't scattered mobs, but rather a standard three-person squad in rotation: the front row with shields, the middle row with spears, and the rear row charging up for an attack. They advanced rapidly, encircling the center of the hall and forcibly forcing Ye Mo inside.

"The plans have changed," Thor's voice came from the west.

Immediately following a deafening crash, Mjolnir smashed through a stone wall. Thor leaped out, sweeping two enemies away with a single blow, landing back-to-back with Ye Mo. His armor was somewhat charred, and there was a bloodstain on his forehead, clearly indicating that his breakthrough had not been easy.

"It's not that we changed," Ye Mo caught his breath, "It's that they never intended to hide in the first place."

"So what are you planning to do now?" Thor asked, tilting his head and lightly tapping the ground with the hammer handle, sending up a crackling electrical arc.

"What else can we do? Fight." Ye Mo grinned, but the smile didn't reach his eyes. His right leg was about to give way; every time he exerted force, it felt like a wire was sawing back and forth inside. He looked down and saw that the edges of the Vibranium patch were starting to get hot, and the roll of tape was almost melting.

There was still no response from Emma Frost; the connection was broken by only a faint fluctuation, like a walkie-talkie with a poor signal. He knew she hadn't given up, but trying to force her way through this Mental Barrier would only backfire sooner or later.

The energy net overhead lowered further, casting cage-like shadows of purple light patterns on the ground. The Dark Elves didn't rush to charge, but instead split into four groups, slowly approaching in a diamond formation. Their weapons began to charge, the blue flames at the tips of their spears turning deep purple, and a burnt metallic smell filled the air.

Ye Mo stared at the nearest soldier and suddenly noticed something was wrong with the soldier's footwork—every seven steps, his right shoulder would sag slightly. He narrowed his eyes; this wasn't fatigue, it was a synchronized signal. These people weren't fighting independently at all, but rather pawns being manipulated by a unified system.

"Thor, when I make a move, you do it too," he whispered. "Don't worry about the direction, just smash it."

"What are you up to now?" Thor frowned.

"If we can't escape, we have to try another way." Ye Mo stretched his shoulders, and his Steel Bone emitted a low-frequency hum. He closed his eyes, and his consciousness crashed into the second level of the Gene Spiral Tower, forcibly activating his ability to Wall Phasing. His body began to become translucent, and fine silver patterns emerged under his skin.

Just as he was about to rush forward, the wall suddenly lit up with a red light. He froze, tried again, but only made it halfway through the Wall Phasing before his chest felt like it had hit a rubber wall, and he was violently thrown back. He groaned, fell to his knees, and tasted blood in his throat.

"Reinforced?" Thor glanced back at him.

"More than that." Ye Mo wiped his mouth. "The entire building has been solidified by energy. I can only penetrate ten centimeters at most right now; any more and I'll be crushed into a meat patty."

"Then we have no choice but to fight." Thor straightened up, Mjolnir raised high, arcs of electricity crackling along the chains of the hammer as he wound his arm. "Anyway, this isn't the first time I've taken on a hundred men single-handedly."

"You had an audience applauding then." Ye Mo propped himself up to stand, his left arm's Steel Bone re-deploying into battle mode. "Now I don't even have a single boo."

The first attack came. It wasn't spears, but ground spikes—more than a dozen Obsidian spikes burst from the ground, precisely positioned in their path of movement. Thor smashed three spikes with a single blow, Ye Mo jumped and rolled, but his right leg couldn't keep up, causing him to stumble upon landing.

Immediately following, a second wave of attacks arrived. Three Dark Elves leaped up simultaneously, their spears conjuring black flames as they thrust forward in a triangular, locked-on trajectory. Ye Mo had no time to parry and could only take the hit head-on. His Steel Bone shield blocked two spears, while the third grazed his ribs, leaving a deep gash.

As soon as the blood started to ooze, the wound began to feel numb. He looked down and saw that the flames were climbing up the trail of blood, like something alive. He quickly swatted it out, but a small patch of his skin had already turned black.

"Corrosive black flames?" Thor slammed his hammer away the enemy, frowning. "They're quite good at upgrading their equipment."

"Stop talking nonsense, figure out how to escape!" Ye Mo kicked away an approaching enemy, picked up the fallen spear, and threw it backhand. The spear spun in the air and embedded itself in a soldier's shoulder. The soldier groaned but didn't fall. Instead, he reached out, pulled it out, and continued charging.

"These people aren't afraid of pain." Ye Mo's heart sank.

Emma Frost's mental link re-established, but this time it lasted less than two seconds. "They... have a collective consciousness link... I can't interfere... beware of Mental Resonance attacks..."

The link cut off before the speaker could finish speaking.

Almost simultaneously, all the Dark Elves stopped in their tracks. They stood in concentric circles, spears planted in the ground, hands clasped over their chests. A low-frequency hum filled the air, like the fluttering of a million bees inside a skull.

Ye Mo's temple throbbed, and the scene before his eyes instantly distorted. He saw himself lying on the operating table, his Steel Bone being removed one by one; he saw Emma Frost standing on the throne of the Hellfire Club, coldly looking down at him; he saw Thor raise Mjolnir, but then smash it down on his head.

The hallucination came and went quickly. He shook his head; cold sweat was already streaming down his temples. This wasn't an ordinary mental shock; it was a targeted attack on his memory weaknesses.

"Don't look them in the eye!" he yelled at Thor, "Fight with your eyes closed!"

Thor immediately did as instructed, using the electro-optical properties of Mjolnir to determine their location. With a single sweep of the hammer, two enemies fell to the ground. But the fallen warriors were quickly dragged away by their comrades, and new ones took their place, keeping the formation perfectly intact.

They were forced closer and closer to the central platform. It was a circular stone platform, no more than ten meters in diameter, surrounded by enemies on all sides. Ye Mo leaned against Thor, his breathing growing heavier and heavier. His right leg was almost useless; every time he braced himself, it felt like stepping on shattered glass. Cracks were also appearing in the Steel Bone of his left arm, and its Regeneration ability couldn't keep up with the damage.

Malekith stood on the edge of the platform, hands behind his back, looking down at the hunt. He didn't give the order to end it, as if he were admiring the last struggle of a trapped beast.

Ye Mo looked up at him, then suddenly laughed, "You're keeping us around just to see how long we can last?"

Malekith didn't answer, but the corners of his mouth turned up slightly.

"Fine." Ye Mo wiped the blood from his face. "Then I'll play along to the end."

He bent down, picked up a piece of gravel, and casually tossed it to his left. The instant the stone hit the ground, all the Dark Elves ' gazes shifted for a mere tenth of a second.

Now!

He rammed into Thor: "Jump!"

Thor reacted swiftly, using the momentum to leap into the air, and Mjolnir into the dome's electric grid. At the same time Ye Mo activated his Wall Phasing- penetrating ability, determined to tear open even the smallest gap.

The electric grid was more robust than expected. The hammer blows only caused the light patterns to flicker briefly before returning to normal. Ye Mo's body was stuck in the wall, as if it were encased in cement, unable to move.

He heard the Dark Elves ' footsteps approaching again.

I heard Thor's muffled groan as he landed.

I heard Emma Frost weakly calling his name through the link.

Then, all voices were drowned out by the new wave of attacks.

They were forced back to their original positions, surrounded by enemies on all sides. Malekith slowly walked down the platform, black mist swirling around him. He raised his hand, as if to announce the end.

Ye Mo leaned against the edge of the stone platform, his right leg completely numb, and only half of the Steel Bone in his left hand remained. He looked up at the purple light filling the sky and suddenly remembered what the system had said when it first sounded its notification sound on the day he transmigrated.

[X-Gene Resonance detected; initial ability fragment successfully acquired]

At that time, he thought he was just an unlucky guy.

Now he understands—sometimes, bad luck is the norm.

Malekith's hand slowly fell.