The high-frequency scanning sound still lingered in the distance, like the hum of a mosquito, slowly circling the ruins. Ye Mo's ears twitched, but he didn't open his eyes. He tapped his knee twice with his fingers—three long taps followed by one short tap, a safety signal.
"They believed it." Black Widow put away the modified communicator, a slight smirk playing on her lips. "I just sent them a message: 'Target cleared, awaiting further instructions,' with some background sound effects, like explosions and screams... They didn't even check it."
" Hydra is probably having a victory celebration meeting right now." Ye Mo opened his eyes, grinned, and then frowned. The dull pain of the Regeneration backlash shot from his ribs all the way to the back of his neck, as if someone was using an electric drill to grind granite into his spine.
Emma Frost sat against the wall, her eyelids drooping, her face still as pale as paper. She raised a hand to rub her temples, her voice so soft it was almost inaudible. "I can continue monitoring, but not for long. Every fifteen minutes... a maximum of five seconds."
"Enough." Captain America stood before the breach in the wall, clutching a charred circuit board—the chip casing he'd retrieved from the mole. He looked up, his gaze sweeping over the four men. "We don't have much time. We need to plan every step carefully."
Bucky crouched at the east ventilation shaft entrance, the blue light on his robotic arm flashing faintly, the cooling fan humming softly. He stared at the ground and suddenly spoke, " Sea Wolf Cape Base, I've done three missions there. The main control room is on level B3, but there are three backup nodes—the east wing power distribution room, the west cargo elevator shaft, and the maintenance bay on the underground helipad. Hydra likes to have backup plans."
"So Black Widow can't just rush straight to the control room." Ye Mo stroked his chin. "She has to cut off the signal relay first, otherwise she'll be recognized as soon as she walks in."
"I can use the freight elevator shaft." Black Widow had already changed into a dark gray tactical uniform, tucking her long hair into her collar. "There are fewer surveillance cameras there, and..." She paused, " Hydra people are used to being lazy; they often use copied cards to fudge the biometric authentication for the maintenance tunnels."
"What's the first thing you do after you go in?" Captain America asked.
"Find the terminal, upload the virus, and disable the automatic alarm system." She pointed to the miniature interface behind her ear. "I brought Fury's old-version permission emulator; it can last three minutes."
"Three minutes is too short." Ye Mo shook his head. "You need to confirm first whether the countdown to the ' Scavengers Protocol ' is really seven hours. What if they're deliberately creating a smokescreen?"
"Then someone has to sneak in and take a look first." Captain America looked at Ye Mo, "Don't you have the ability to Wall Phasing?"
"Yes, it is," Ye Mo said with a wry smile, "But it's not fully cooled down yet. Last time I used ' Regenerative Phasing ' and risked the backlash. If I use it again now, I'm afraid it won't just Wall Phasing, it'll turn me into a sieve."
A notification popped in his head: [ Shadowcat - Wall Phasing (Fragment Lv.3) Cooldown Remaining: 8 minutes 47 seconds].
"Wait nine minutes," he said. "I'll just scout ahead a bit; I can't stay long."
"Then let's set a route." Captain America picked up a metal bar and drew a simple map on the ground. " Black Widow will infiltrate through the freight elevator shaft, her target is the West Node; Ye Mo will Wall Phasing into the East Wing power distribution room in nine minutes to check the control panel status; Emma Frost will scan for enemy consciousness fluctuations every fifteen minutes and immediately raise an alarm if any anomalies are detected; Bucky will be responsible for perimeter support, and should anyone be trapped, he will immediately create chaos."
"What can I do besides wait for it to cool down?" Ye Mo raised his hand.
"You can also sense vibrations." Bucky looked up. "There are resonant conduits underground in the base used to transmit energy. If you're pressed against the wall, you can 'hear' people moving around inside. It's more accurate than surveillance."
Ye Mo's eyes lit up. "That's right! I absorbed a Mutants's low-frequency Vibration Sense fragment before, but I've never tried combining them." He closed his eyes, quickly searching his mental search for ability modules: [ Wall Phasing + Vibration Sense ]? Would that work?
The system remains silent.
He clicked his tongue. "The system's playing dead; looks like I'll have to test it on-site."
"Don't risk your life," Emma Frost whispered. "Your mental state is dropping drastically."
"I know," Ye Mo shrugged. "I'm not Tony, I don't like to risk my life. I just... like to shift blame. The system won't allow it, what can I do?"
No one laughed.
The atmosphere was too tense.
Black Widow checked the pistol's silencer and swiftly sheathed the dagger in her leg strap. She looked up. "I need a signal to go."
"Use Ye Mo's senses," Captain America said. "He 'heard' the pipe vibrations were normal, which means the enemy hasn't noticed anything unusual. That's the time to launch."
Ye Mo nodded, sat down with his back against the broken wall, closed his eyes, and placed his palms on the ground.
The vibration gradually increased.
Like the hum of an old the Fridge running, regular and steady. He followed the frequency deeper and could vaguely make out footsteps—two people, patrolling slowly, every thirty seconds, probably a shift change.
"The pipelines in the east section are normal." He opened his eyes. "Two patrolmen just changed shifts; the next patrol is in two minutes."
"Now is the time." Black Widow stood up and pulled up her dust mask.
"Wait a minute," Ye Mo suddenly said, "Did you bring a spare communicator?"
"I brought it."
"Set it to one-way reception. Once I detect an anomaly, I'll send you a coded signal using vibration frequency—three short vibrations followed by one long vibration means retreat; two long vibrations followed by one short vibration means the system is stuck and interference is needed."
Can you do it?
"The system says I'm capable." Ye Mo blinked. "It just reminded me that the Vibration Sense can be directional, although it can only transmit up to ten meters, but that's enough."
Emma Frost glanced at him. "You're lying again, saying it was the system."
"How dare I make decisions on my own?" Ye Mo shrugged. "If I give any bad advice, you'll be the first to kill me."
Captain America didn't respond. He walked up to Black Widow and handed her an old-fashioned flare. "Old model, no internet connection needed, light it manually. If we lose contact, stick it outside the West Sector ventilation shaft, and we'll see it."
She took it and stuffed it into her fanny pack.
"The order of operations is set." Captain America surveyed the group. " Ye Mo will scout through the Wall Phasing in nine minutes to confirm the East Wing control panel; Black Widow will simultaneously infiltrate the West Wing, targeting the node terminal; Emma Frost will monitor enemy awareness; Bucky will guard the perimeter; I'll stay here and provide backup at any time. Everyone, maintain physical cipher communication and disable wireless communication."
"Understood," the four replied in unison.
Ye Mo looked down at his watch and began counting down.
Eight minutes forty... eight... sixty...
He closed his eyes, mobilized the gene fragments, and sank his consciousness into the third level of the " Gene Spiral Tower ". The runes of the Wall Phasing Technique slowly lit up, and the Vibration Sense ripples wrapped around them, the two attempting to merge.
[Combination attempt in progress... Not activated]
"Damn it," he muttered under his breath.
[Combo failed, cooldown extended by 1 minute and 12 seconds]
"System, you bastard."
"What's wrong?" Emma Frost asked.
"The combination failed, we'll have to wait another ten minutes." He sighed. "Looks like my brain isn't as smart as your cat's."
"Enough with the nonsense," Bucky said coldly. "If you can't get in, I'll have to. I don't want to go."
"No, no, no," Ye Mo waved his hand, "I'll try again."
He took a deep breath and redirected the flow of energy.
This time, he first adjusted the Vibration Sense to the lowest frequency, like a thin thread gently touching the energy line of the Wall Phasing Technique. The moment the two made contact, he heard a "click" in his brain, as if a socket had been plugged in.
[Ability Combination Activation: Vibration-Sensing Traversal) -- Allows penetration through non-metallic walls and the ability to sense internal vibration sources while moving through them]
"Got it!" he grinned. "This time I can listen to sounds while Wall Phasing, awesome!"
"How many more times can you use it?" Emma Frost asked.
"Once, then I have to rest for half an hour." He scratched his head. "The system said it's a newbie perk, it's disposable after use."
"That's enough." Captain America nodded. "Once is enough."
Time's up.
Ye Mo stood up, stretched his shoulders, and walked to a cement wall on the west side. The wall looked thick, but it actually had a layer of heat-insulating foam in the middle, which he had just "heard" using his senses.
He raised his hand to press against the wall and closed his eyes.
My body began to feel lighter, like a plastic bag being vacuum-sealed, slowly sinking into the wall. Vibration Sense automatically activated during this process.
Three meters to the left, two people are talking rapidly, their voices filled with anxiety.
Five meters ahead, a machine is running at a stable frequency; it must be a server.
Two meters overhead, water drips from the pipes, the dripping motion slow and steady.
He crossed it safely and landed silently.
He was in a narrow corridor with faded safety signs on the walls. He crouched down against the wall, turned on his wristwatch recorder, took a picture of the control panel number and wiring route, and then retreated the way he came.
He swayed as he passed through the wall, only managing to stay upright by grabbing onto it.
"How is it?" Captain America asked.
"East Wing Control Center online." Ye Mo gasped for breath, "Number HS-7X-9T, the same as the mole's chip. There's a countdown timer on the screen, but it's encrypted, the numbers are illegible."
"That's true," Bucky said. " Hydra wouldn't assign real serial numbers to fake devices."
" Black Widow," Captain America turned to her, "Are you ready?"
She was already standing at the exit, her back to the light, and nodded.
"Go ahead," he said. "We'll wait for your news."
Without turning around, she stepped out of the cover, her figure quickly disappearing into the shadows of the ruins.
Ye Mo sat back in the corner, closed his eyes, and regulated his breathing. The pain from the Regeneration backlash was still there, but he had to endure it.
Emma Frost leaned against the wall, breathing softly, her eyelashes fluttering every now and then—she was being scanned.
Bucky crouched at the entrance, the robotic arm entered energy-saving mode, and the blue light was faint.
Captain America stood in the center, holding the hand-drawn route map in his hand, examining it repeatedly.
No one spoke.
Time ticked by, second by second.
Ye Mo opened his eyes and looked in the direction where Black Widow had disappeared.
"I hope she doesn't have to work overtime," he said softly.
No one answered.
Only the wind, weeping softly, cuts through the cracks in the ruins.