The light from the purple net hovered in mid-air, like a laggy projector screen, just a centimeter away from pressing down on Ye Mo's head. He didn't move; the Steel Bone Shield was still in front of him, its metallic surface glowing red-hot, the edges already curling and peeling like tin foil that had been baked.
Emma Frost slumped onto the pile of rubble, her fingers digging into the cracks in the ground. Blood dripped from her nose down her chin onto the collar of her hoodie, leaving a small dark red stain. Her eyelids were too heavy to lift, but her consciousness was still clinging tightly to the mental link— Malekith hadn't fully recovered yet, and his earlier question, "Why didn't you save her back then?" had clearly struck a nerve.
Thor stood at the edge of the western crevice, Mjolnir raised high above his shoulder, crackling arcs of electricity illuminating the entire ruins. The ground beneath his feet was already cracked, and the stone beneath his shoes was slowly sinking.
Time seemed to be stretched to its limit.
Then, Ye Mo moved.
He kicked the metal crate beside him with a loud bang, bursting out from behind cover. His Steel Bone arm transformed into a double-edged shield, held horizontally in front of his chest. "Sis!" he roared, his voice booming, "One more round! I'll take that as a cheer for me!"
This sounds like a joke, but it's actually a code.
Emma Frost understood. She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and when she opened them again, her pupils were silvery-white. Her mental energy, like needles, pierced Malekith's consciousness channel once more. This time, she didn't play games; she directly poured in high-intensity noise, as if someone were drilling into his brain.
Malekith's mental link trembled violently, the purple grid instantly became unstable, and its descent speed decreased sharply.
Now!
Thor roared and slammed Mjolnir into the ground. A thunderous storm descended from the heavens, and three thick bolts of lightning struck precisely the three stone pillars supporting the electric grid. With a deafening roar, one of the pillars exploded on the spot, and the other two developed spiderweb-like cracks.
A section of the power grid structure collapsed, and the energy flow began to become disordered.
"Go!" Ye Mo shouted, turning around and rushing towards the central platform. But after only two steps, he heard the sound of air being cut behind him— the Dark Elves ' ranged archers reacted extremely quickly, immediately adjusting their firepower, and a rain of arrows mixed with black magic bullets poured down.
He didn't dodge; instead, he slowed his pace and straightened his body even more.
"You guys are so accurate, why don't you go compete in the Olympic archery competition?" he shouted as he ran, his Steel Bone shield spinning to block, Vibranium fragments embedding themselves in the gaps in his arms, using the Vibration Sense the trajectory of each arrow. One grazed his shoulder, taking a piece of metal with it; another pierced his calf, but he simply didn't pull it out, letting it dangle as he continued charging forward.
Emma Frost seized the opportunity to switch targets, no longer focusing on Malekith's physical body, but instead locking onto his Mind Stone communication network with the frontline troops. She constructed a false command, implanting a delayed signal. "The southern defense line has been breached. Main force, return to defense immediately." As soon as the message was sent, the Dark Elves formation at the frontline immediately fell into chaos, with several groups even turning around and running in the opposite direction.
Thor seized the opportunity, leaping to the central platform and striking the ground three times with the tip of his hammer, destroying three key energy nodes each time. On the last strike, he compressed the lightning energy to its limit, holding it back until Ye Mo slammed his Steel Bone elbow into the back of the hammer, using the force to unleash an overload pulse.
boom--!
The last intact power grid pillar exploded into fragments, the entire defense system collapsed with a roar, the purple light dissipated, and the residual ions in the air crackled.
"It's done!" Ye Mo gasped for breath, wiped the dust off his face, and looked up ahead.
An Obsidian wall stood at the end of the passage, its surface covered with cursed runes and gleaming with a dark, eerie light. Anyone who approached it would feel dizzy and their will would waver. He tried to Wall Phasing, but as soon as he put his hand inside, he was thrown back by a recoil force, his Steel Bone joints creaking under the strain.
"No, this thing has its own seal." He stepped back and leaned against the broken wall. "Trying to dismantle it would probably flatten half the spaceship."
Emma Frost took a breath and shook her head. "I can interfere with communications, but I can't sever magical connections of this level. Malekith can control it remotely, but this wall is a physical array; it must be destroyed from both inside and outside."
Thor walked over, hammer tip on the ground, sweat dripping from his forehead. "Then give him another 'mental attack.' You distract him, I'll smash the wall."
Ye Mo grinned. "You're the one who understands things best."
Emma Frost closed her eyes and re-established the mental link. This time, she didn't waste any words and directly projected the scene—a collapsing palace, a little girl reaching out for help, and Malekith standing motionless in the distance. She amplified her emotions tenfold; fear, regret, and anger intertwined, like a mental tsunami crashing into the other's consciousness.
Almost at the same second, the runes on the Obsidian wall flickered.
"Now!" Ye Mo roared, rushing behind Thor and slamming Steel Bone right arm into the back of the hammer with all his might. Thor swung his hammer in response, compressing lightning energy to the size of a needle tip, precisely hitting the weak point of the wall.
Boom!
The walls were blown apart, rubble was scattered everywhere, and the passage was wide open.
The three stood before the breach, panting heavily. They looked at each other, but none of them spoke.
Ahead lay a deep, dark passageway, the air thick with the stench of decay and residual energy. The walls pulsated slightly, like the veins of a living being. Further in, a faint, crimson glow flickered, the very essence of Aether.
Ye Mo looked down at his left arm. Nearly half of the Steel Bone layer had peeled away, revealing the charred muscle tissue underneath. The Regeneration ability was still cooling down, and even the slightest movement made him wince in pain. He took out the fingernail-sized piece of Vibranium from his pocket, weighed it between his fingers, and casually tucked it into the tattered pocket of his hoodie.
"I'll go first," he said.
Emma Frost didn't object, but slowly stood up, leaning against the broken pillar. Her face was still pale, but her eyes were clear. "I can hold on for a while longer, at least enough to warn of a large-scale ambush."
Thor stepped to her other side, hammer tip pointing forward, a torn corner of his cloak fluttering gently in the air. "Then let's not waste any more time," he said in a deep but firm voice, "The enemy won't let us advance so comfortably forever."
The three regrouped, with Ye Mo in front, Thor in the middle, Emma Frost at the rear, and slowly advanced along the broken passage.
After walking less than twenty meters, fine cracks began to appear in the ground, and each step caused a slight tremor. The pulsation of the walls on both sides increased, as if they had sensed the intruder.
"Something's wrong." Emma Frost suddenly stopped. "The heartbeat rhythm has changed; it's not just a simple defense mechanism... it's more like it's sending a signal."
Ye Mo raised his hand to signal a pause, then crouched down and touched the crack with his fingertips. The temperature was high, and there were faint energy fluctuations, like some kind of biological nerve transmitting information.
"This ship is alive," he whispered. "And it already knows we're in."
Before the words were finished, the red light ahead suddenly intensified, and a deep hum came from the depths of the tunnel, as if some kind of machine was starting up.
Thor gripped the hammer handle tightly. "Whatever it is, we can't just let it power on smoothly."
"Wait." Emma Frost suddenly raised her hand. "Don't make any rash moves. That sound... it's not an attack preparation, it sounds more like a self-check procedure after the alarm is off."
The three stood still, listening as the buzzing gradually subsided and eventually became steady.
A few seconds later, the red light returned to its original dim state, as if nothing had happened.
"It's either a trap," Ye Mo narrowed his eyes, "Or there's something wrong with them internally."
"Whichever it is," Thor sneered, "We have to keep going."
Ye Mo nodded and was about to take a step when he suddenly felt the tremor beneath his feet start again—this time from above.
He looked up abruptly and saw a crack in the dome above, from which black liquid slowly seeped out, dripping onto the ground with a corrosive hissing sound.
"Should we evacuate or not?" He turned to look at Emma Frost.
Emma Frost closed her eyes and sensed for a moment, then shook her head. "It's not a hostile fluctuation... more like... a leak?"
"Then we definitely need to check it out." Ye Mo stretched his shoulders, the metallic scraping sound clearly audible. "Whose roof leaks after the alarm goes off? Isn't this just making it obvious that we need to investigate?"
Thor grinned. "Maybe they're inviting us over."
"Then we'll have to bring some gifts with us." Ye Mo picked up a piece of gravel from the ground, weighed it in his hand, and threw it towards the crack above his head.
The stone pierced through the liquid and struck the structure higher up, producing a hollow echo.
Immediately afterwards, the lights in the entire corridor suddenly turned on, and a dim yellow light shone from the inside of the walls, illuminating a metal door fifty meters ahead. There were no markings on the door, but there was a fresh crack in the center, as if it had been forcibly broken open from the inside.
The three exchanged a glance.
"This job is getting more and more interesting," Ye Mo said, taking the lead and stepping forward.
Emma Frost followed, her steps slightly unsteady, but she didn't call for a stop. Thor brought up the rear, the tip of his hammer dragging on the ground, leaving a shallow scratch.
As they approached the door, the cracked metal door suddenly slid open automatically, revealing a pitch-black interior with only a faint red light floating silently in the distance.
Ye Mo stood at the doorway, raising his hand to block the hot wind that was blowing in his face.
The wind carried the smell of rust, and a familiar energy fluctuation—on the same frequency as Aether, but more chaotic, like a runaway signal source.
He glanced back at his teammates.
Emma Frost nodded, indicating that no ambush had been detected.
Thor raised his hammer, ready for battle at any moment.
Ye Mo took a deep breath and stepped across the threshold.
The moment all three entered, the door behind them closed silently, completely isolating them from the outside world.
Outside the passage, the black liquid that had fallen to the ground was still slowly spreading, its surface rippling, as if some kind of creature was awakening.