The green light was still flashing, the red frame was still lit, and the Winter Soldier's mechanical arm slowly retracted, the long blade shrinking into the wrist with a soft "click". He stood there, like a machine on standby, the white mist from the heat sink condensing into fine frost in the cold air of the power distribution room.
Ye Mo didn't move, and neither did Captain America. The two stood back to back, their breathing extremely low, as if afraid of disturbing something.
Three seconds later, Emma Frost's voice came from behind her. "I'm here."
She didn't run in; she appeared silently in the shadows, without even making a sound. Her silver-grey eyes were fixed on Bucky's head, her brows slightly furrowed, her lips barely moving, but her voice pierced directly into their minds. "He's resisting! There's noise in the signal!"
Ye Mo's eyes twitched. He knew that Emma Frost's Telepathy couldn't read minds, but it could detect abnormal fluctuations in neural currents. Now that she said "there's noise," it meant that the control program and Bucky's own consciousness were fighting—this thing wasn't a monolithic entity.
"Then don't let it close." Ye Mo said in a low voice, sliding his right foot forward half a step, reloading his Steel Bone Transformation state, his bones emitting a faint "creaking" sound, like the sound of an old house floor being stepped on.
In that instant, Bucky moved.
The sweeping and slashing movements were faster than before, clearly indicating that the remote end had detected the interference and activated the enhancement protocol. The green light frequency increased, and the red frame flashed almost in a continuous line.
Ye Mo raised his arm to take the hit head-on, his Steel Bone right arm colliding with the mechanical arm, exploding in a burst of sparks with a "bang." The impact made his hands go numb, and his feet left two marks on the ice.
Captain America immediately flanked, slamming the edge of his shield into the hydraulic joint. The strike was precise, causing the robotic arm to momentarily malfunction, but only for a split second—the next second, Green Light jerked, the system reset, Bucky retaliated, forcing Captain America to retreat.
"I can't hold out for more than a few rounds." Captain America gasped for breath; the edge of his shield was already curled.
"No need to endure it all." Ye Mo wiped his face. His Regeneration abilities were still circulating within him, but they had clearly slowed down. A dull, jagged pain shot through his old left shoulder wound, as if a wire was pulling back and forth inside. "We won't compete with him on endurance; we'll compete on rhythm."
He stared at Bucky's movements, replaying the five rounds of combat in his mind. Before each attack, the opponent had 0.3 seconds to anticipate and charge up, and the green light always flashed 0.2 seconds faster than the red box—this gap was the opening.
" Emma Frost!" he suddenly said, "Next time, before he raises his hand, you'd better interrupt me for a second."
"The interference window is getting shorter and shorter." Emma Frost stood at the entrance of the power distribution room, beads of sweat forming on her forehead. "Just now it could hold for 1.2 seconds, now it's at most 0.8 seconds."
"Enough," Ye Mo gritted his teeth. "If he falters even for a moment, Captain America can cut in."
Before he could finish speaking, Bucky charged forward again, aiming straight for Ye Mo's face. Instead of retreating, Ye Mo advanced, concentrating his Steel Bone Transformation into his right arm, forcefully blocking the blade with his forearm. The sound of metal scraping against metal was as piercing as an electric drill scraping a wall. He used the force to twist, locking the mechanical arm to his side, creating a stalemate.
"Now!" he roared.
Emma Frost closed her eyes, and her mental energy pierced Bucky's brain like a needle, implanting a false sense of "threat on the left." Bucky's mechanical arm instinctively deflected, and his attack trajectory was skewed by half an inch.
Captain America seized the opportunity, sweeping his shield across the back of Bucky's knee. The blow was solid, and Bucky staggered to his knees, only managing to stay upright by bracing himself against the ice with his mechanical arm.
"Works!" Ye Mo gasped for breath, his Regeneration ability taking the opportunity to repair the torn muscle fibers in his left shoulder, but at a noticeably slower pace than before. He looked down at the back of his hand; the blood vessels under his skin were an unnatural bluish-purple—the system indicated it was cooling down and would need to be deactivated after one more use.
Emma Frost didn't let up, continuing her short-pulse interference, sending a " Danger Sense " message into Bucky's brain every two seconds. Bucky started to lose his rhythm; his previously precise combos became hesitant, and he even suddenly stopped midway through a straight strike, as if he had scared himself.
"He's struggling," Emma Frost said, her voice strained. "The signal is encrypted; the next interference... only 0.5 seconds."
"0.5 seconds is enough." Ye Mo flexed his wrists, his gaze locking onto the narrow slit behind Bucky's neck—the control device was there, hidden in the seam of the armor, untouchable by conventional attacks.
He needs to get close.
But here's the problem: the robotic arm has a defense radius of only two meters; charging in would be suicide. Its Regeneration capabilities are currently in a low-efficiency phase, and it might not be able to withstand a single blow.
"Wait until he looks up," Ye Mo suddenly said. "Every time he gets up, he raises his arm to protect his head first; there's a 0.4-second blind spot in that movement."
Captain America immediately understood. "You go into the blind spot, I'll hold them off?"
"Yes." Ye Mo bent his knees and half-squatted, focusing his Steel Bone Transformation on his legs and left arm. " Emma Frost distracts me for a second, Captain America bumps me on the shoulder, I slide along the ground, heading straight for the back of your neck."
"What are the chances of success?" Captain America asked.
"I don't know." Ye Mo grinned, blood still smeared on his teeth, "But it's better than standing here waiting for him to upgrade the agreement."
The three took their positions. Emma Frost closed her eyes and focused, her fingertips trembling slightly—the intense mind-reading had given her a splitting headache, but she didn't call for a stop. Captain America gripped his shield tightly, his left shoulder throbbing from the impact, but he stood ramrod straight.
Bucky slowly raised his head, and the robotic arm began to lift the head guard.
Now!
Emma Frost unleashed her strongest interference pulse, her mental energy slicing into the nerve flow like a knife. The red frame shook violently, and Bucky's movements became noticeably jerky.
Captain America charged forward, slamming his shoulder into the chest armor with such force that he himself was jolted back half a step.
Ye Mo shot out like an arrow, gliding close to the ground, his sneakers leaving two deep marks on the ice. He stretched out his right hand, his target clear—the gap behind Bucky's neck.
One meter... half a meter... thirty centimeters...
His fingertips almost touched the armor.
Just then, the green light flashed wildly, the red frame went bright, the robotic arm suddenly swung back, and a large amount of white mist spewed out of the heat dissipation vents, clearly indicating that the system was undergoing an emergency restart.
Ye Mo didn't stop, continuing his charge. He knew this was his last gamble; his Regeneration abilities were already at a low point, and another injury would mean certain death. But he couldn't stop—if he missed this chance, he might not have another.
His right hand was only half a foot away from the control module.
He leaned forward, his arms fully extended, his fingertips almost touching the cold metal.
Bucky remained kneeling, his body supported by a robotic arm. The red frame on his back was flashing erratically, the cooling system was overloaded and spraying mist, and his neck control device was exposed. He was unaware that someone was approaching from behind.
Emma Frost stood to the side of the entrance, cold sweat trickling down her forehead, but she remained Mind Stone, her eyes fixed on the changes in Bucky's brainwaves.
Captain America slowly rose from the side, his left shoulder bruised and his breathing labored, trying to hold off any potential counterattack.
Ye Mo's hand stopped in mid-air, just half an inch away from the target.