Before the smoke and dust had even cleared, Ye Mo moved.
Before his mind was fully clear, with his right hand still pressing against the scorching cooling valve, he pushed off the ground with his left hand, rolling out from behind the ice wall ruins. His back slammed into a half-buried rock ridge, causing him to gasp in pain, but at least he was out of that dead end where he could have been engulfed by the purple flames at any moment.
Ronan's footsteps were still in the distance, each step a resounding thud, like a hammer striking the earth. Ye Mo knew he had at most thirty seconds—whether that was enough depended entirely on whether the next group could get the job done efficiently.
" Raccoon!" His voice was hoarse, like sandpaper grinding iron. "Now!"
As soon as he finished speaking, a gray shadow darted out from behind the pile of rubble. Four mechanical arms extended simultaneously, their claws gripping a welding torch, wire strippers, and half a disassembled spaceship circuit board. Upon landing, it rolled and slid, stopping precisely in front of a sheltered rock hollow. Rocket Raccoon shook the dust off its shoulders, pressed its ears back, and its eyes shone with an alarming gleam.
"I've been waiting for you to say that!" he roared louder than anyone else, " Star-Lord! Lantern! Gamora! Dynamite! Groot! Hold the stage steady! Don't just stand there, I'm about to start my show!"
Star-Lord knelt on a sloping metal plate high above, his helmet visor pulled up to his head. He held a modified flashlight in his hand, snapped it shut, and a beam of light slanted down, illuminating the crevice. A long-extinguished lollipop dangled from his mouth as he chewed, saying, "With a temper like yours, who would dare be your vice-captain?"
"Vice-Captain? I'm too short to be the captain!" Raccoon cursed as he dismantled a scrapped thruster casing. "If anyone wastes three seconds of my time talking nonsense, I'll stuff them into a bomb as a trigger!"
Gamora had already crouched down, tugged at her belt, and three miniature explosive modules landed in her palm. She quickly fiddled with them, checking the fuse status. "Only two and a half are usable left, and the energy source is unstable." She spoke calmly, but her brow furrowed slightly, clearly calculating the time as well.
"Half a bit more is fine too!" Raccoon grabbed it and threw it into the work area. "Anyway, in the end it's about voltage, not sentimentality! Groot! Come here! Be my support!"
Groot growled, "I am Groot," and his tree-trunk-like body leaned forward. Several thick roots burst from the ground, entwining around a tilted alloy plate and creating a three-square-meter platform. As soon as the platform was stable, the Raccoon dumped a pile of parts onto it, lit the welding torch, and with a sizzle, sparks flew everywhere.
Ye Mo dragged himself over and leaned against the rock wall to catch his breath. His ribs still hurt, but it was a little better than before. He stared at the pile of messy parts, his mind racing—if this thing followed the circuit logic of Earth, the detonation module would be missing a buffer voltage regulator, otherwise it would burn out as soon as it was powered on.
" Raccoon!" He reached into the inside pocket of his hoodie and pulled out a palm-sized black chip. "This can be used as a temporary capacitor. It was taken from the shuttle's main control panel. It's rated at 300 volts and can withstand short-term overloads."
The Raccoon glanced up, its eyes lighting up. "Hey, the time traveler finally did something decent!" It snatched the device and shoved it into the main control slot with a click. "Alright, you get points for this. I'll carve you a 'Best Tool' medal later."
"Forget the medal, just staying alive is enough." Ye Mo took a breath; the cooling valve on his right hand was still hot, and when he looked down, the casing had turned red.
No, this won't do, it'll explode if it continues.
He immediately pressed the valve to the ground, down with his left palm, and activated the last fragment of the "molecular deceleration" ability. Cold air seeped from his fingertips and spread along the metal surface. The temperature slowly dropped, and the red light on the valve body gradually weakened.
"What are you doing?" the Raccoon asked, glancing at him.
"Cool it down," Ye Mo replied briefly. "Your circuit board can't withstand high temperatures. I'll create a low-temperature zone for you; it'll only take five minutes at most."
"Five minutes is enough!" The Raccoon grinned, his hands moving in unison, switching from the welding torch to tweezers, then to a screwdriver, all the while yelling, " Star-Lord! Turn the light five degrees to the left! Gamora! Hand me that blue capsule on the right! Groot! Stop shaking! Do you think you're some kind of welcoming gatekeeper?!"
Star-Lord adjusted the angle of the lights, Gamora handed over the energy capsule, Groot tensed his roots, and the entire team sprang into action like a tightly wound machine.
Just as Raccoon connected the last wire to the main control module, there was a hissing sound, smoke came out of the interface, and the indicator light turned from green to red.
"Damn it!" He slammed his fist on the stage. "It's burned out again! This lousy voltage is impossible to stabilize!"
Everyone fell silent.
In the distance, Ronan's aura rose again, the purple flames undulating rhythmically and heavily like a heartbeat, drawing ever closer.
"How much longer?" Gamora a low voice.
"I don't know," Star-Lord, staring at the distant dust cloud, "But he's definitely coming."
Raccoon gritted his teeth, disassembling the module again, his fingers trembling. Not out of fear, but out of anxiety. He knew all too well that this thing had almost become scrap metal, and that they had almost all perished here.
Ye Mo looked at him and suddenly said, "What you lack isn't capacitors, it's a feedback Circuit. Your current design is unidirectional power supply; once the load suddenly increases, the current will directly destroy the chip. Add a reverse diode so that excess voltage has a place to dissipate, and you can save the core."
The Raccoon froze, looking up at him. "You know about circuits?"
"I took electronic engineering as an elective in college," Ye Mo said with a wry smile. "Although I failed the course, I still remember the key points."
The Raccoon paused for two seconds, then suddenly laughed, "Alright, even a failing student can be saved." He quickly rummaged through the parts box, pulling out a small black component. "I've got it! A reverse Zener diode! Groot! Use a twig as a support!"
The Groot head has a thin branch that bends down and precisely holds both ends of the component in place.
The Raccoon took a deep breath and lit the welding torch again.
Sizzle... smack!
When the interface is closed, the indicator light flashes twice, changing from red to yellow.
It's done.
"Power supply stable, fuse ready, countdown module activated." Raccoon read the status, his voice trembling with relief. "Just three more minutes of charging, and this thing will blow that armored madman to smithereens."
No one cheered.
Everyone stared at the smoke and dust in the distance.
Ronan's figure was already faintly visible, surrounded by purple flames, his warhammer dragging on the ground, each step leaving scorched cracks in the rocks. He didn't run, nor did he speed up, as if he knew his prey had nowhere to escape.
"Three minutes..." Star-Lord murmured, "Is that enough?"
"It has to be enough, even if it's not enough." Gamora stood up, her hand on the last energy capsule at her waist. "I can supply power anytime."
"Don't rush." Ye Mo remained seated on the ground, his left hand continuing to press down on the cooling valve to lower the temperature, his right hand trembling slightly. "We won't have a bomb-dropping window until he gets another hundred meters closer."
"How did you know?" the Raccoon asked.
"I just observed his footwork," Ye Mo said, narrowing his eyes. "There's a 0.3-second delay with each exertion of force from his right shoulder, indicating that the Power Stone hasn't fully integrated with his body yet. He's currently moving in a straight line, but his next attack will definitely change its rhythm—either a sudden charge or a leaping strike. That will be our only chance."
"So we're waiting for him to make a mistake?" Star-Lord grinned. "Interesting."
"No," Ye Mo shook his head, "We're waiting for him to feel he's certain of victory."
The hollow in the rock was quiet for a moment.
Only the yellow light on the bomb's main control panel flashed, like a heartbeat.
Groot's roots still entangled the workbench, Gamora leaned against the stone wall on guard, Star-Lord knelt high up, keeping a close watch on the enemy, and Raccoon rested his hands on the bomb casing, his eyes unblinking.
Ye Mo slowly raised his left hand, his fingertips still feeling a slight chill. His ability was still cooling down, and the system hadn't made a sound, but he knew he could still move.
As long as those lunatics can get the bomb out, he can hold out until the very last second.
In the distance, Ronan stopped.
He stood in the center of the smoke and dust, slowly raising his warhammer, purple flames rising, like a giant beast about to pounce.
"He's about to make his move," Star-Lord whispered.
"Then let him move," the Raccoon sneered. "Once he moves, we'll make sure he can never move again."
Ye Mo didn't speak, but simply placed his palm back on the ground, maintaining that small area of low temperature.
The yellow light is still flashing.
The bomb is ready; it awaits only the order.