As the morning light slanted in through the cracks high in the ruins, it shone on Ye Mo's face as he dozed off against a box. His eyelids were burning from the sun, so he raised his hand to shield them, then sat up straight. He moved his left arm a few times; the Regeneration area no longer hurt, and even the scabs had fallen off cleanly.
He looked down at his palm; the crack had completely healed, leaving only a faint mark. Good, he could use his hands again.
He stood up, dusted off his pants, tossed the hood of his sweatshirt behind his head, and walked straight to the open space in the center of the training field. The concrete ground had several cracks, and half a charred cable lay beside it. The traces of last night hadn't been cleaned, but it served as a marker.
He took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and his heart raced—not from nervousness, but from his body pre-loading its sensory abilities. 0.3 seconds later, he opened his eyes, simultaneously activating Regeneration, and lunged forward.
With a "whoosh," the simulated bullet grazed the back of his neck and struck the spot where he had just been standing, creating a small cloud of gray smoke.
"It's done." He grinned, wiping away sweat. "This time, I didn't rely on the system's reminder; it was all thanks to the pattern Emma Frost mentioned last night."
In the corner, Emma Frost opened her eyes, glanced at him, and nodded slightly without saying a word. She sat cross-legged, hands on her knees, and slowly spread her mental energy, scanning the emotional fluctuations of the three like a searchlight: Captain America was calm, Bucky was deep but steady, and Black Widow... was a little irritated.
"Why are you scanning me?" Black Widow asked without looking up, twirling a dagger in her hand.
"The testing scope," Emma Frost said calmly, "And to confirm if you're planning to secretly add extra training again."
"Did my extra training bother you?" Black Widow rolled her eyes. "Besides, who told you to scan my head?"
"It's because your emotions are fluctuating too much." Emma Frost frowned. "Your heart rate is 0.8 beats per minute faster, and your pupils are constricting abnormally—typical early signs of stress buildup."
"So what? You're going to give me psychological counseling?" Black Widow sneered.
"If I really wanted to read you, you'd be reminiscing about your childhood right now," Emma Frost said calmly. "But I'm not interested. I'm just helping the captain monitor the training load."
Captain America walked over and clapped his hands. "Alright, stop arguing. Training isn't an argument contest. Bucky, get up."
Bucky was sitting against the wall. The robotic arm's cooling fan had just stopped. Hearing the sound, he slowly opened his eyes and pushed himself up. "I'm awake."
"I've seen you with your eyes closed for ten minutes." Captain America handed him a bottle of water. "Get back on the field when you've rested enough. Don't wait until someone calls your name three times."
"I didn't wait." Bucky took the water, unscrewed the cap, and took a sip. "I'm fixing some programs."
What program should I call?
"Parry delay compensation." Bucky pointed to his right shoulder. "During our last sparring session, I had a 0.4-second stun when you changed your third move. It must be a remnant of an old command."
Captain America raised an eyebrow. "You remember all this in such detail?"
"I don't remember anything else, only these," Bucky said in a low voice, but without flinching. "Either remember the movements, or remember the pain. Choose one."
Captain America paused for two seconds, then patted him on the shoulder. "Let's deal with it now."
The two walked to the shooting range and got into position. Captain America attacked first, thrusting his shield horizontally, and Bucky blocked, the movements fluid. In the second round, Captain America suddenly changed his rhythm, advancing his third move by half a beat. Bucky's arm froze, and as expected, he was momentarily stiff.
"This is it," Emma Frost suddenly said.
Bucky immediately changed tactics, dodging to the side, but he was a fraction of a second too slow and was thrown off balance by Captain America's Feint.
"Again." Bucky steadied himself and assumed a fighting stance once more.
This time, Emma Frost spoke half a second earlier, "Prepare, the high-frequency signal is about to be triggered."
Bucky's eyes narrowed, his muscles tensed. Captain America struck again, in the same rhythm, the third move closing in—
"They're here!" Emma Frost called out softly.
Bucky instantly switched to defensive mode, forcibly interrupting the old program response, and used his left arm to block the shield bash, while simultaneously using his right arm to counter-attack, forcing Captain America back half a step.
"Success." Captain America stepped back, a slight smile playing on his lips. "Though the movements were a bit rough, the reflexes were on point."
"Next time I can counterattack directly." Bucky stretched his shoulders. "With just a 0.5-second warning, I can bypass the residual commands."
"Then you should thank me." Emma Frost closed her eyes and continued scanning, "Otherwise, you'd have to fall three more times to figure out the pattern."
"No need for thanks." Bucky glanced at her. "Don't remind me too soon one day and scare me half to death."
"I scared you?" Emma Frost opened her eyes. "When you dreamed about the Hydra instructor yesterday, I was almost knocked unconscious by your mental backlash."
"What did I dream about?" Bucky frowned.
"You shouted, 'Reporting, sir, mission accomplished,'" Emma Frost said expressionlessly. "And then you saluted."
Bucky's face darkened, and he turned to leave. "Training continues."
On the other side, Ye Mo was practicing a surprise attack with Black Widow. He was on defense, while Black Widow was simulating an enemy assassin, ready to launch close-range suppression at any time.
The first time, Black Widow charged in from the left. Ye Mo sensed the change in her footsteps, activated his Regeneration in advance, took a punch, and then used a chokehold to successfully subdue her.
The second time, Black Widow swerved to the right. Ye Mo reacted a little slower, and before he could cover his entire body with Regeneration, he felt a dull pain in his ribs as she elbowed him away.
"You're too slow to change your moves." Black Widow stopped attacking. "I could have finished that off with three more strikes."
"I know." Ye Mo took a breath. "The problem isn't with perception, it's with the timing of the switch. I need to determine whether your attack is genuine or Feint before deciding whether to use Wall Phasing or Regeneration. There's a delay in between."
"No one gives you time to analyze on the battlefield," Black Widow flicked her wrist. "It's either quick or you die."
"So I have an idea." Ye Mo straightened up. "Let's use code words. If I sway to the left, it means I'm Wall Phasing; if I take a step back, it means I'm activating Regeneration; if I raise my hand to touch my glasses, it means I'm going to set a fire."
"You're wearing ordinary glasses," Black Widow sneered, "And you touch them more often than you breathe."
"Then let's change it to touching the bridge of my nose," Ye Mo quickly adjusted. "Or—one cough is like Wall Phasing, two coughs are like Regeneration."
"You have a cold?" Emma Frost interjected from a distance.
"Mute!" Ye Mo yelled, turning around. "If you disturb me again, I'll play 'The Most Dazzling Ethnic Trend' on repeat in your dreams tonight!"
"You try it." Emma Frost didn't even lift her eyelids. "I can make you dream about wearing floral shorts and dancing in the square right now."
"Stop! Stop!" Captain America quickly intervened. "You two are here to train, not to expose each other's secrets."
Black Widow sheathed her dagger and stood opposite Ye Mo: "Okay, use code words. But they must be simple, no more than two words."
"Okay." Ye Mo nodded. "Then—'left' represents Wall Phasing, and 'stop' represents Regeneration."
"Okay," Black Widow nodded, "But I'll only do it once. If you mispronounce it, I won't hold back."
"Don't worry." Ye Mo stretched his shoulders and neck. "Even if my mind is in a mess, I wouldn't dare to joke with my life."
The third sparring session began. Black Widow closed in, Ye Mo sidestepped, shouting, "Left!"
Before she could finish speaking, the person had already passed through the wall and appeared three meters behind her.
"The response is satisfactory." Black Widow turned around and nodded in approval.
The fourth time, Black Widow feinted, but Ye Mo didn't move and whispered, "Stop."
The next second, Black Widow's true form leaped down from above, her knee slamming into Ye Mo felt a tightness in his chest, his Regeneration instantly activating. He withstood the impact, grabbed her ankle, and pulled her down.
"Beautiful." Captain America nodded in approval as he watched from the side.
"Not perfect." Ye Mo rubbed his chest. " The Regeneration was 0.2 seconds too late; it hurt so much I wanted to curse."
"You're stronger than yesterday," Emma Frost suddenly said. "Last night you were cramping from the backlash, but now you can use Regeneration three times in a row, which means your control has improved."
"Of course." Ye Mo smirked. "I'm a man who lives off 'system notifications'."
"System notification my foot." Black Widow got up, dusted herself off, and said, "You didn't hear any notification sound when you rushed towards the detonator yesterday."
Ye Mo paused, didn't reply, but just smiled and looked down at his palm.
Training continued. The five took turns performing different tasks, and the pace gradually quickened. Ye Mo tried to combine Vibration Sense with Flame Control, but the flames went out of control as soon as they appeared, almost burning the ceiling, before being extinguished by Captain America's shield.
"Can you be a little more reliable?" Captain America glared at him.
"I thought it would work." Ye Mo scratched his head, "It's probably because the gene fragments haven't fully fused yet."
"Don't try it," Emma Frost warned. "If you blow it up again, the roof will really collapse."
"I'll back down." Ye Mo raised his hands in surrender.
At three o'clock in the afternoon, the sun was setting and dust was flying in the training field. All five of them were covered in sweat, but their movements were still standard. Captain America was practicing the fighting transitions with Bucky, Black Widow was doing stealth approach training on her own, and Ye Mo and Emma Frost were testing a new cooperation mode - Ye Mo was responsible for sensing the direction of the threat, Emma Frost simultaneously relayed it to the others, achieving a silent warning.
During a test, Ye Mo suddenly raised his hand. "Three o'clock direction, someone is approaching."
Emma Frost immediately scanned and confirmed that Bucky was approaching from the flank. She then subtly pushed a stream of information into her mind, and Black Widow instantly turned around, pressing a dagger against Bucky's throat.
"Works." Captain America nodded. "Two seconds faster than he said it."
"The problem is," Bucky pushed the dagger away, "That you two might misjudge the situation one day and end up getting stabbed by your own people."
"We'll try our best," Emma Frost said calmly.
As evening approached, the final round of comprehensive testing concluded. Ye Mo used Regeneration eight times in a row, and when he stood up for the last time, his vision blurred and he staggered.
Black Widow reacted quickly, grabbing his arm and handing him a water bottle. "Stop. If you keep going, you'll be bedridden for three days."
"I'm fine..." Ye Mo stubbornly, but he didn't push away the kettle and tilted his head back to gulp down the water.
Emma Frost closed her eyes to regulate her breathing, sweat beaded on her forehead, and her temples throbbed slightly, clearly indicating that she had expended a considerable amount of mental energy.
Captain America folded his shield, looked around, and said, "That's it for today. Better than yesterday, and the teamwork was smoother. Let's continue tomorrow."
No one objected. The five of them stopped what they were doing and sat around the boxes and wreckage at the edge of the training field. No one spoke; they just quietly drank water, caught their breath, and recovered their strength.
The setting sun shone through the crack, casting five long shadows. Ye Mo leaned against the wall, his left palm facing upwards, his old wound completely healed, his skin smooth as ever.
He looked up at the others: Captain America was inspecting the wear and tear on the edge of his shield, Bucky was leaning against the wall with his eyes closed, his mechanical arm in hibernation mode, Black Widow was playing with a dagger with a clear mind, and Emma Frost was sitting quietly with her eyes closed, her breathing steady.
The room was quiet, but no one felt lonely.
Ye Mo lowered his arm, pulled his hat brim down to cover his eyes, neither sleeping nor leaving, just sitting there, listening to the rising and falling breaths around him.
As darkness fell outside, dust floated in the low beams of light, like snow that would never fall to the ground.