The wind seeped in through the cracks in the ruins, carrying the smell of rust and burnt plastic. Ye Mo leaned against the broken wall, his eyelids as heavy as if they were made of lead. The Regeneration backlash was still gnawing at his bones, each bite like a slow-motion chainsaw tearing at his nerves. He didn't open his eyes, but his palms remained pressed against the ground— the Vibration Sense were still connected to that invisible thread underground.
The humming in the pipes continued, so regular it was drowsy. Two minutes ago, he "heard" Black Widow's footsteps slide into the freight elevator shaft, light, steady, with almost no backlash—typical traces of Red Room training. She went in, following the planned route, the rhythm was right. But now, that thread started to tremble.
"No." He opened his eyes abruptly, his voice extremely low, as if afraid of disturbing a snake underground. "There are two more footsteps in the West District pipeline area; it's not the usual patrol frequency."
Captain America immediately turned his head, his shield already held horizontally in front of his arm. Emma Frost, who had been meditating with her eyes closed, suddenly opened her eyes, her eyelashes fluttering, and her pupils glowed with a faint silver-gray—she was attempting to scan.
"The interference... is too strong." She gritted her teeth, beads of sweat forming on her forehead. "They've activated Mental Barrier; the consciousness waves are just noise, we can't pinpoint the exact location."
"That means we've been discovered." Bucky's robotic arm flashed blue light, and the cooling fan restarted, emitting a low hum. " Hydra doesn't add manpower for no reason."
Ye Mo's throat went dry. The last words Black Widow spoke before she left were, "Don't wait for me to turn around." At that time, she stood at the boundary between light and darkness, her back as sharp as a drawn sword. Now that sword might be stuck in a crack in the wall, waiting for someone outside to pull it out.
He glanced down at his watch—the screen was black.
It's not that there's no power, it just shuts off completely.
The next second, three orange-red fireballs exploded in the western sky, followed by muffled "bangs," like someone slamming a pressure cooker onto concrete. EMP stun grenades. Old trick, but effective.
As the electromagnetic pulse swept past, a "ding" sounded in Ye Mo's mind, and the system notification abruptly stopped. He subconsciously touched the back of his neck, but it was empty; there was no vibration feedback, no cooling countdown—everything was gone.
"Take cover!" Captain America roared, veins bulging on his neck.
The four scattered instantly. Ye Mo rolled behind a half-collapsed concrete pillar, but his ears weren't idle. The aftershocks of the EMP explosion were still reverberating underground. He pressed his ear to the ground and listened—damn it.
The footsteps from the direction of the freight elevator shaft became disordered. They were no longer the stealthy, light steps, but rapid, heavy stomping. There were at least six people, and the sound of guns dragging on the ground was mixed in. To make matters worse, the sound of metal clanging came from the underground maintenance compartment, as if someone was trapped in the ventilation duct and was banging their body against the metal sheet.
That was a distress signal that Black Widow had pre-programmed.
It's not voice, it's not communication, it's vibration frequency.
Two long and one short.
It's stuck; it needs interference.
Ye Mo's scalp tingled. He had set the signal himself; it was a directional transmission within ten meters, relying on the vibration waves when Wall Phasing to transmit the coded message. Now that it had returned, it meant she was still alive, but it also meant she couldn't move.
"She's in trouble." He climbed to Captain America's hiding place, panting, "Two long and one short. She's in the maintenance bay, surrounded."
Captain America's face was ashen. The original plan was to wait for Black Widow to upload the virus and disable the alerts before they split up. Now, they were blocked before they even got inside, meaning the enemy had already drawn their guns before they even opened the first door.
"Can you pinpoint the exact location?" Captain America asked.
"No." Ye Mo shook his head. "The signal only lasted half a second, and then it was all static. But I 'heard' her hitting the ventilation duct. The location should be about fifteen meters down the west freight elevator shaft, sandwiched between B2 and B3. Those old-fashioned maintenance cabins, if the door is locked from the outside, you have to use a cutting machine."
"Twelve people," Emma Frost suddenly spoke, her voice as thin as paper. "I just pieced together a scan... I saw afterimages... She's in the mezzanine, surrounded by at least twelve armed men, heavily equipped."
She coughed after she finished speaking, blood seeping from the corner of her mouth, and then she slid down.
Bucky grabbed her shoulder, so firmly that she frowned. "You can't use it anymore," he said.
"I know," Emma Frost sneered, "But you need to know she's still breathing."
The atmosphere instantly turned gloomy. Twelve people surrounded them, EMP cleared the area, communications were cut off, and the only means of communication left were physical codes and Vibration Sense. Meanwhile, their ace agent was stuck in an iron pipe so narrow that even a dog couldn't squeeze through, waiting for the people outside to use a welding torch to cut open her coffin lid.
"Continue with the original plan?" Ye Mo asked tentatively. "I'll go to the east wing power distribution room and see if I can remotely cut off the power?"
Captain America stared at him, his eyes assessing his worth. "She's trapped now. If we go and pry open another node, we're basically just leaving her hanging. What do you think?"
Ye Mo opened his mouth, but didn't say anything. He knew the answer. If he were locked up in that kind of place and heard his teammates discussing "whether to save him first," he would probably bite through the ventilation duct and crawl out to beat them up on the spot.
"Change plans." Captain America sheathed his shield, stood up, and said, "Save them first."
As soon as the three words were spoken, everyone switched actions in unison. Ye Mo immediately pushed himself up, his knees trembling, but he ignored it. The Regeneration backlash was still there, and his ability wasn't fully cooled down yet, but who cared about the system notification at this moment?
"I can use ' Vibration-Sensing Phasing ' once more," he said. "It can help me scout through Wall Phasing and pinpoint her exact location and the method of containment."
"You just used it once." Emma Frost looked up, her eyes sharp. "Using it again will damage your central nervous system."
"I know." Ye Mo grinned, his smile a little crooked, "But I'm thick-skinned, I can handle it. Besides—" He patted his temple, "The system won't allow it, what can I do? I can't exactly say I wanted to be on it, can I?"
No one laughed.
Bucky had already moved to the front of the group, his robotic arm entering combat mode, the joints emitting a faint hydraulic hum. "I'll lead the charge," he said. "You stay five meters behind me, and send the signal immediately after Wall Phasing."
"Okay." Ye Mo nodded. "Once I get through, three taps on the wall with the vibration signal mean it's safe, two taps mean danger, and one tap means... uh, I'm done for."
"Stop talking nonsense." Bucky raised his hand, signaling him to shut up.
Captain America glanced one last time in the direction Black Widow had disappeared and whispered, "Keep your distance. Be ready to retreat at any moment. We're not going to die; we're going to get her out."
The four began to move.
The ruins were littered with rubble and twisted steel bars, requiring caution with every step. Ye Mo walked in the middle, his left hand gripping the wall, his right hand pressed against his trouser seam—where a tactical knife was hidden, which he had taken from the body of the traitor. He didn't have a gun; guns were too noisy, and every sound now could trigger Black Widow's advance.
The closer they got to the west district, the colder the air became. It wasn't just the night wind, but a chilling aura formed from murderous intent. Ye Mo could sense something moving ahead, not a person, but a machine—a tracked reconnaissance unit, crawling along the wall, its cameras rotating like cockroach eyes.
"Stop." He suddenly leaned down. "At three o'clock, against the wall, there's a metal box being moved."
Bucky followed his gaze, and the robotic arm slightly adjusted its angle. " The Scavengers Type III, Hydra's new toy," he whispered. "It has thermal imaging and acoustic detection; stepping on it will trigger an alarm."
"Then let's go around." Ye Mo squinted. "There's a drainage ditch on the left, it's half collapsed, we can crawl through it."
"Are you sure?" Emma Frost asked breathlessly, "There might be a trap in the ditch."
"Not sure," Ye Mo shrugged, "But it's better than being used as a barbecue grill."
They changed course and crawled through the ditch. The mud and water mixed with engine oil, and the smell was pungent. Ye Mo crawled at the front, his work pants covered in black stains, and his hoodie hood slipped down to the back of his head, revealing a layer of fine sweat on his forehead. He dared not wipe it, afraid that any movement would disturb the machines above.
He finally reached the outer wall of the freight elevator shaft. The wall here was thin, with fireproof foam sandwiched in the middle, making it the best spot for him to slip through.
"This is it." He stood against the wall, taking a deep breath.
"Are you alright?" Captain America asked.
"It has to work." Ye Mo closed his eyes and mobilized the gene fragments. His consciousness sank into the third layer of the " Gene Spiral Tower," and the runes of the Wall Phasing Technique lit up, with Vibration Sense wrapped around them. When the two came into contact, there was a "click" in his brain, like a key being inserted into a lock.
[Ability Combination Activation: Vibration-Sensing Traversal) -- Allows penetration through non-metallic walls and the ability to sense internal vibration sources while moving through them]
"It's done." He opened his eyes and raised his hand to press against the wall.
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.
Before him lay a narrow corridor, with faded safety signs plastered on the walls. He crouched down against the wall, his heart pounding. Thirty meters ahead was the entrance to the maintenance bay, its iron gate tightly shut, two guards standing back to back, assault rifles in their hands.
He raised his hand, ready to knock on the wall to send a signal.
Just then, a muffled thud came from the ventilation duct overhead.
It sounded like someone had slammed into the inner wall.
Immediately afterwards, a hoarse but clear female voice came from the tube:
"I'm saying... can you guys please stop this meeting? I'm practically roasted alive!"