The spaceship hatch had just descended halfway when Ye Mo's foot landed on the metal ramp. The ground didn't shake, but his knee buckled and his calf muscle twitched. This wasn't his fault—the brief moment he closed his eyes during the six-hour flight wasn't nearly enough to clear the buzzing rhythmic patterns from his mind.
"Aren't you really going to get some sleep?" Emma Frost followed him down the stairs. Her voice wasn't loud, but it was so penetrating it was like a needle piercing her eardrum.
"Sleep?" Ye Mo stood up straight and shook his arms. "The deduction process we just finished is still fresh in our minds. Stopping now is like pouring out boiling water."
He laughed after he finished speaking. It sounded quite inspiring, but he was actually just afraid that he would actually fall asleep and die if he closed his eyes. After fighting for more than 30 hours straight last time, he lay on the sofa in Tony's lab for three days. The first thing he asked when he woke up was, "What year is it?" Since the awakening system, he has come up with an ironclad rule: abilities can be activated by trial and error, but once the state is interrupted, the cost of restarting is ridiculously high.
The base entrance was just 300 meters ahead, hidden underground in an abandoned substation. The iron gate was rusty, with a "High Voltage Danger" warning sign on its surface, clanging in the wind. Ye Mo walked over and pressed his hand on an inconspicuous protrusion on the right side of the door frame. The fingerprint verification was successful, a ring of blue light lit up the door crack, and it slid open silently.
The interior wasn't the cool-toned, high-tech style I'd imagined; instead, it resembled a renovated old boxing gym. Sandbags, reaction targets, and mannequins lined the walls, and a small Force Field generator in the corner was beeping its standby light. Three rows of adjustable lights hung from the ceiling, all of them illuminated, reflecting light off the floor.
"You chose this place to train because it's rustic enough." Emma Frost walked in, closed the door behind her, and with a slight flick of her finger, an invisible Mental Barrier instantly covered the entire area. The sounds of the wind and electrical noise outside vanished instantly, and even the air became quieter.
"Down-to-earth is more reliable." Ye Mo off his hoodie and threw it on the bench, revealing his right arm wrapped in bandages. "Besides, fancy places are distracting. Look at those high-tech training rooms, with holographic projections and AI sparring partners all the time, making it look like a movie. We're practical fighters; we need our muscles to memorize the moves, and before our brains even have a chance to react, we've already made our move."
Emma Frost didn't reply. She simply walked to the isolation pod, opened the glass door, and sat inside. She closed her eyes, slowed her breathing, and spread her mental energy like a spider web, establishing three layers of sensing zones within the base: a ten-meter precision control layer to lock onto every detail of Ye Mo's movements; a fifty-meter mid-range early warning layer to monitor environmental fluctuations; and a two-hundred-meter long-range detection layer to maintain low-power scanning and prevent external interference from intruding.
"Speak when you're ready." Her voice came from inside the cabin, as calm as an automated broadcasting system.
Ye Mo loosened his shoulder blades, making a soft cracking sound. "It's starting."
He didn't shout any slogans or warm up for long before rushing straight to the central training area. With his first step, the Steel Bone in his feet slightly remodeled, cushioning the impact. He accelerated with his second step, and then vanished with his third—his entire body passed through a solid wall and reappeared on the other side.
This is a basic application of the " Shadowcat Wall Phasing " fragment, which he has mastered for a long time. But today he wants to try a new combination: Wall Phasing + Self-Healing Regeneration + Fire Core detonation, a three-stage combo.
The problem lies in the second link.
The moment he successfully Wall Phasing, he immediately activated the " Self-Healing) " module, attempting to repair the cellular-level tears and damage inflicted during the passage. However, the system feedback was delayed by 0.5 seconds. In that short time, the simulated attack program had already determined that he had "exposed a weakness," and a virtual energy blade grazed his ribs, leaving a burning sensation.
"Damn!" Ye Mo staggered half a step, raising his hand to cover his side, where the skin was red and faintly showed signs of scorching.
"This is the third time." Emma Frost opened one eye. "Every time you Wall Phasing and immediately use Self-Healing, but the system needs warm-up time to load. It's like an old-fashioned computer booting up; you can't expect to get to the desktop as soon as you press the power button."
"I know," Ye Mo said, catching his breath, "But on the battlefield, there's no time to wait for it to slowly load."
"Then you need to load it in advance," she said. "For example, 0.3 seconds before Wall Phasing, pre-start the Self-Healing module. Put it in standby mode, and trigger it the moment you complete the passage."
Ye Mo frowned. "But wouldn't that be a waste of resources? What if I change my mind and don't want to wear it anymore?"
"Then learn to control the output," Emma Frost said calmly. "You think your ability is a switch, but it's actually a faucet. You can turn it all the way up, or you can just open it a crack. Try it."
Ye Mo nodded, took a few steps back, and stood still again. This time, he did not act immediately, but stood still and let his consciousness sink into the Gene Spiral Tower. In the second layer of the ability zone, the " Self-Healing " fragment glowed with a faint green light. He tried to inject a very low-power energy stream into it to keep it active but not releasing it.
Three seconds later, he sprinted again.
0.3 seconds before Wall Phasing, the Self-Healing module quietly preloaded. The instant he passed through, his body cells began to repair themselves automatically, almost seamlessly. When he reappeared on the other side, even Emma Frost raised an eyebrow.
"It's done?"
"Not over yet." Ye Mo gritted his teeth, suddenly raised his right hand, and a ball of high-temperature flame condensed in his palm, which he then shot out towards the target in front of him. The fire dragon roared and burned the simulated enemy to Ashes.
"Triple action complete." He breathed a sigh of relief, his legs almost giving way and he nearly collapsed to his knees.
"But your heart is racing," Emma Frost warned. " The Fire Core's output is overloaded, almost triggering a nerve backlash."
"I know... I just can't control myself." Ye Mo wiped away his sweat. "Every time I unleash a powerful move, it's like riding a motorcycle off a cliff; I twist the throttle all the way to the floor and can't stop."
"Because you lack rhythm," she said. "Did you use that ' Energy Pulse ' technique that Thor taught you?"
"I used it, but it didn't feel as natural as his." Ye Mo smiled wryly. "His hammer has a built-in metronome, mine is all in my head."
"Then stop imagining things." Emma Frost stood up and stepped out of the isolation pod. "I'll give you a signal."
She raised her hand, and a subtle mental fluctuation entered Ye Mo's mind: [High-risk simulated attack will occur in three seconds].
Ye Mo immediately got into the zone.
[Two seconds]
He mobilized the fragments of the Fire Core and began to accumulate energy.
[One second]
The Self-Healing module remains preloaded, Wall Phasing path has been planned.
[Now]
He instantly passed through the Wall Phasing, simultaneously detonating the Fire Core. Flames spread along his trajectory, forming a fan-shaped area. The target vaporized on the spot.
"An error of 0.2 seconds," Emma Frost assessed. "Much better than before."
"It's alright," Ye Mo grinned, though his voice trembled with exhaustion. "At least I didn't blow myself up."
The two exchanged a glance, neither of them laughing. This level of improvement might only mean surviving for two more seconds in a real battle.
Over the next three hours, they refined the process repeatedly. Ye Mo adopted a "three-stage trial and error method": first, statically test the dual-capability fusion curve, then move at low speed to verify stability, and finally simulate a full-speed impact in actual combat. For each failure, the parameters were recorded, and the preload timing and output threshold were adjusted.
Emma Frost wasn't idle either. She discovered that her Telepathy would experience brief tremors after high-intensity use, as if her brain had been hit by a heavy hammer. So she switched to the "layered scanning method," dividing her mental energy into three independent levels, reinforcing the Anchor layer by layer to prevent a collapse caused by full-scale expansion.
She experienced a moment of speechlessness, lasting seven seconds. During this time, her eyes were fixed, her fingers twitched, and she was completely unresponsive to her surroundings.
Ye Mo immediately stopped training and squatted down in front of her. "Hello? Emma Frost? Can you hear me?"
She blinked slowly, her lips moved, and she managed to utter two words: "... It's nothing."
"You say you're in trouble?" Ye Mo frowned. "My brain was practically flat just now."
"It's just overload." She stood up, leaning against the wall. "I can adjust it back."
"Are you sure you can?" Ye Mo stared at her. "We're not in a superhero movie here. If you really break down, I can't carry you out."
"Then you'll have to practice carrying me too," Emma Frost sneered. "Otherwise, are you planning to make me retire on the spot next time we encounter Mind Blast of Malekith's level?"
Ye Mo was stunned, then laughed, "Fine, you're ruthless."
He stood up, took off his glasses and placed them aside, took a deep breath. "Come on, this time I'll take the initiative and let you test your limits."
"Are you sure?" Emma Frost narrowed her eyes. "I won't hold back."
"I couldn't be more eager." Ye Mo assumed a fighting stance. "Let me see just how tough you really are."
The next second, he focused his mind and launched a mild mental shock—not an attack on his thoughts, but a probe wave simulating an invasion of enemy consciousness. Emma Frost immediately reversed the chains, channeling the wave into a pre-set buffer layer, while simultaneously activating the automatic alarm mechanism.
The intensity of the fluctuations gradually increased, from level one to level five, and then to level seven. When the level eight impact arrived, her temples throbbed, and blood seeped from the corner of her mouth.
"Stop," she said suddenly.
Ye Mo immediately withdrew his power.
Emma Frost lowered her head, panting, and pressed her fingers to her temples. "Level eight is the critical point. Any higher and I'll temporarily lose my ability to fight. You can use this as a reference for future battles."
"You really think you're some kind of instrument to be calibrated." Ye Mo handed over a towel.
"We are weapons by nature." She took it and wiped away the blood. "The difference is, I don't want to be the kind that gets out of control."
Night fell, and the area outside the base was completely dark. The lights inside remained on, casting long shadows of the two men.
They didn't stop. The second round of enhancement had already begun. Ye Mo tried to solidify " Wall Phasing + Regeneration + Fire Core " into an instinctive reaction to reduce thinking delays; Emma Frost further optimized the three-layer scanning model to ensure that each layer could operate independently without interfering with each other.
In the final test, Ye Mo Wall Phasing at full speed, detonating the Fire Core while simultaneously activating his Self-Healing ability, and accurately hitting the moving target. The entire process took 1.8 seconds, with an error controlled within 0.15 seconds.
"It's done." He leaned against the wall, panting heavily. "This time it really went smoothly."
Emma Frost opened her eyes and nodded. "The data is stable, and the pace is controllable. We can enter the battle log."
Her voice was a little weak when she spoke, but her eyes were clear.
Ye Mo looked at her and suddenly said, "You know what? Just a moment ago, a thought flashed through my mind."
"What?"
"If it weren't for your mind-reading and predictions, and if you hadn't timed things perfectly for me, I probably would have died the first time Wall Phasing."
"You're not much different now," Emma Frost glanced at him sideways. "Don't get too emotional too soon."
"I'm serious." Ye Mo smiled. "Our teamwork is like a jigsaw puzzle. You keep an eye out for the loopholes, and I'll fill in the gaps. Neither of us can escape alone."
"Then you'd better remember this." Emma Frost stood up and walked towards the isolation pod. "To be continued tomorrow."
She lay down, closed her eyes, and spread her mental energy out again, maintaining a minimal Perception Network.
Ye Mo sat on the bench, looking up at the light, his consciousness still connected to the Gene Spiral Tower. Fire Core, Self-Healing, Wall Phasing... these fragments slowly rotated in his mind, like gears gradually meshing.
The base was quiet, with only the low hum of the equipment running.
His breathing gradually became steady, his muscles relaxed, but his nerves remained tense, ready to respond to the next training session at any moment.
The lights are still on, the people haven't left, and the battle isn't over yet.