Joining Forces to Face a Formidable Enemy
At exactly eighty seconds, Ye Mo suddenly opened his eyes and nodded sharply at Captain America.
Captain America raised his hand, and the charge gesture fell decisively.
The four of them stood up in unison, just about to leave—
From the hole in the south electrical box, a dark figure rolled in, landing on one knee. He spun around, raised his gun, and surveyed the area. His voice was low but clear. "The west passage is cleared. The enemy is reinforcing through the gap in the east wall."
It's Black Widow.
Captain America's eyes widened, then a slight smile appeared on his lips, "Perfect timing."
Ye Mo grinned. "A script with five people is always more lively than one with four."
Black Widow holstered her gun and strode forward. "The communications were cut off?"
"Disable all frequencies," Captain America responded briefly, "Using gestures and ground markings."
"Understood." She nodded, quickly scanning the route map on the ground. "Is the east wall the main attack direction?"
"Yes." Ye Mo pointed to the diagonal lines on the plaster, "They anticipated our repositioning and laid out an electromagnetic net in advance, with firepower covering all three exits."
"Then let's not let them guess our next move," Black Widow sneered. "We'll just run right into them."
Captain America raised his hand, spread his fingers, and then clenched them tightly—the charge began.
The five charged out of the stronghold in a wedge formation, with Ye Mo positioned in the center at the rear, his eyes closed, his senses activated once more. But just as he reached the end of the passage, a notification sounded in his mind, "Spatial Perception is cooling down; unable to perform precise calculations."
"Damn it." He cursed under his breath, forcing his eyes open and relying on his memory to judge the distance.
Bucky charged ahead, his mechanical arm instantly deploying an alloy shield that clattered bullets, sending Mars flying. Captain America followed closely behind, his Vibranium Shield flying out of his hand and precisely slicing through the feed belt of an enemy heavy machine gun.
"Three to the left, two to the right!" Ye Mo roared, using his spatial memory from the previous round to report his positions.
Emma Frost instantly switched to Diamond Form, transforming into a crystal-clear white stone statue, and stood firm against the explosive impact of a shoulder-fired Rocket. The blast wave sent debris flying, but she remained completely still.
Under the cover of smoke, Black Widow moved swiftly along the wall, cutting into enemy territory in two strides. With a flash of her tactical dagger, she severed the communications relay line.
The five men briefly regained their footing, but in less than five seconds, the footsteps outside intensified again, and more Hydra agents surged in from the three passages, gun barrels flashing, the electromagnetic network reactivated, and a teeth-grinding buzzing filled the air.
"They've increased their intensity!" Black Widow retreated to the defensive line, changed her magazine, and her gun started spitting fire.
Captain America stood at the forefront, his shield deflecting a burst of bullets. "Emma Frost, how much longer can you hold on?"
Emma Frost gritted her teeth, her voice emanating from the diamond-like form, carrying a metallic quality. "If it explodes again, I'll turn into shards of glass."
Ye Mo's nose started bleeding again. He raised his hand to wipe it, his face covered in red blood. "The system said I can exert my power three more times—I don't believe a word of it."
Bucky's robotic arm issued an overheating alarm. He glanced down and said coldly, "East wing encirclement. Complete the encirclement within thirty seconds."
"Then let's not wait for them to surround us!" Captain America roared, "Let's break through one end first!"
He hurled his shield with a sudden throw. Ye Mo, fighting off the dizziness, used muscle memory to predict the rebound trajectory and pointed. "Behind the western cover, two people with pulse guns!"
Black Widow threw out a smoke bomb and disappeared into the white mist.
Seeing this, Emma Frost took a half step back, using physical defense instead of mental probing to buy the team a breather.
The five men formed a circular defensive line back to back, amidst a cacophony of gunfire, explosions, and the clanging of metal. Although they failed to break through, they successfully halted the rout and temporarily stabilized the situation.
Ye Mo leaned against the broken wall, breathing heavily, blood dripping from his nose down his chin, leaving small red dots on the cement floor.
Black Widow stepped back to his side and handed him a bottle of hemostatic gel spray. "Can you still hold on?"
He took it, sprayed it into his nostrils, and grinned. "The system says I have three chances left to unleash my power—who's more reliable, the one between us?"
She didn't smile, she just nodded.
Captain America yelled from the front, "Bucky! East Wing!"
Bucky nodded, the robotic arm's cooling fan restarted, a flash of blue light appeared, and it entered combat mode.
Emma Frost leaned against the wall, her diamond-like form shimmering slightly, like a light bulb with a faulty connection.
Ye Mo looked up, gazing into the depths of the smoke-filled passage.
The battle has only just begun.