Ye Mo's hand was still gripping the metal crossbar of the landing gear tightly, while Ronan's bloodstained hand was only half an inch away from the edge of the hatch, but was abruptly stopped. The two stared at each other across a ladder, one panting like a broken bellows, the other's eyes cold enough to freeze. The air was filled with the smell of ozone and rust, and the hum of the spaceship's engines grew more and more urgent, as if counting down.
"Don't let him into the cabin!" Ye Mo suddenly turned around and shouted, his voice tearing through the night wind.
Almost the instant the words left his mouth, Star-Lord burst out from around the corner of the mine tunnel, his dual pistols already raised to his chest, muzzles pointed directly at the back of Ronan's head. As he crouched low and approached, he whistled, "Hey buddy, that outfit of yours uses up a lot of fabric, doesn't it?"
Rocket Raccoon leaped out, a modified electromagnetic cannon slung over his shoulder, his other hand frantically plugging data cables into the scanner. "Power readings are normal, but the main control system is locked," he squinted at the screen. "This damn ship is harder to handle than constipation."
Groot slowly followed from behind, stretched out his tree-trunk-like arm, twisted the broken cable into a ball, and threw it aside. He then gently pushed Ye Mo backward with a thick branch—a small movement, but the meaning was clear: you're exhausted, step aside.
Gamora was the last to arrive. Her toes barely touched the gravel as she slid to the side of the ship, her fingers tracing a circle on the bulkhead. "The self-destruct safety latch is still active," she said without looking up. "Unauthorized boarding within ten seconds will cause the core to explode."
"So we have to get in before then." Ye Mo wiped the sweat from his forehead; his head was still spinning. He had used Spatial Perception three times in a row, and now he could only see afterimages. But he didn't say anything; he just put his silver glasses back on to cover his slightly unfocused pupils.
Star-Lord grinned. "Then what are we waiting for? Let's go all out!"
"Wait." Ye Mo raised his hand. " Ronan hasn't moved, which means he's gambling—either his backup is arriving soon, or he knows there's someone inside. If we all rush in, what if we run into an ambush..."
"So what are you planning to do? Write him a letter asking if he's willing to surrender?" Rocket rolled its eyes, flicked its tail, and loaded the bomb into the launch tube.
"I have a way." Ye Mo ignored him and turned to Gamora. "You're most familiar with the structure of Kree warships. How many escape routes are there usually at the main entrance?"
"Two standard exits and one emergency shaft," she pointed to the bottom of the spacecraft, "Right next to the engine room, usually used for evacuating senior officers."
"Let's go that way then." Ye Mo nodded. "The front is too conspicuous, and the hatch is closing; in five more seconds it will be completely locked. We'll infiltrate from the side and below, which will both avoid the self-destruct mechanism and allow us to flank from behind."
"Sounds promising." Star-Lord holstered one of his guns and patted Rocket on the shoulder. "Same as always, you lead the way."
"Screw your rules!" Rocket cursed, but still charged forward with his gear. " Groot! Block the nozzle! If this thing suddenly takes off, we'll all be roasted!"
Groot nodded, and two thick roots instantly pierced the ground. Then, his body expanded, and he stood like a tree in front of the spaceship's anti-gravity engine, forcefully blocking the incoming airflow.
Rocket crouched down, took a small black ball, about the size of a thumb, from his backpack, and pressed it against the seam of the side wall. "Miniature concussion grenade, detonates in three seconds, won't trigger the alarm system," he said, then pressed the remote control.
With a muffled "boom," the metal plate cracked open, creating a gap just big enough for a person to crawl through. There was no fire, only a wisp of smoke drifting out.
"Let's go!" Ye Mo shouted in a low voice.
Four figures moved swiftly along the wall. Gamora the first to slip through the gap, landing silently. Star-Lord followed closely behind, his gun constantly scanning forward. Rocket, carrying equipment, followed, muttering, "Can you guys stop making me do all this dirty work like demolishing walls? I'm a weapons expert, not an engineering crew!"
Ye Mo was the last to enter. As soon as he bent down to pass through the hole, he felt his feet go soft—the floor had actually collapsed half an inch!
"Don't move!" He reacted incredibly fast, grabbing Gamora's tactical belt and pulling her back while shouting, "It's hollow underneath! A trap!"
Before he could finish speaking, a metal mesh, carrying a high-voltage current, suddenly fell from above, nearly engulfing Star-Lord. He rolled away, cursing, "Whose renovations are so unsportsmanlike?!"
"That's not all." Ye Mo closed his eyes and reactivated his Spatial Perception.
Three seconds.
In an instant, streaks of red light appeared in the vision, interwoven in the passage ahead, like a spider's web of death. There were also three heat source signals, motionless, positioned precisely in the only path.
He opened his eyes and pointed to the left wall. "There's a hidden compartment over there; you can go around it. The floor is hollow underneath; stepping on it will trigger a laser fence."
"How did you know?" Star-Lord frowned.
"Just a guess," Ye Mo, a slight smirk playing on his lips. "It was a system notification."
Gamora didn't ask any questions. She simply drew her short blade and pried a few times at the seam in the wall, revealing a narrow repair passage.
"You go first," she said to Star-Lord.
Star-Lord shrugged and ducked inside. Rocket followed closely behind, muttering as he climbed in, "Couldn't we pick a cleaner ship next time? This smells like a three-year-old can of food."
Ye Mo was about to follow when he suddenly heard a muffled thud behind him.
Looking back, Ronan had finally climbed onto the landing platform and was staggering towards the hatch. He hadn't even picked up his scepter from the ground; he was relying solely on his willpower to stay upright.
"He's going in!" Star-Lord poked his head out of the tunnel.
"It's too late to stop him," Ye Mo shook his head. "But we can get in. In his current state, he can't take off immediately; he definitely needs to stabilize his injuries and deactivate the self-destruct mechanism first—that's our window of opportunity."
"You make it sound so easy," Rocket scoffed. "Inside is the Kree's high-tech graveyard; a single button could send us back to the Stone Age."
"That's why we need to be careful." Ye Mo finally crawled into the passage, moving forward as he whispered, "Our goal now isn't to capture him, nor to steal the gems, but—to find him alive."
The group passed through the mezzanine and landed through the maintenance hatch at the other end. This was already the second level inside the spaceship. The corridors were arranged in a circular pattern, the lights flickered, and the walls were covered with flashing Kree warning signs.
"I don't understand these scribbles." Rocket looked up and asked, "Can you translate them?"
"It says 'Unauthorized entrants will be removed,'" Gamora said calmly.
"Wow, that's pretty thoughtful." Star-Lord whistled. "They even prepared a welcome speech."
Ye Mo didn't speak, and closed his eyes again.
Spatial Perception has been activated again.
Three seconds.
This time, he "saw" something further away in his consciousness—the energy fluctuations of the scepter were hidden in the lower two levels and were slowly moving towards the engine area. Two blocked doors along the path were closed, but the ventilation ducts were still passable. In addition, there was a control console thirty meters to the right front; if he could hack into it, he might be able to temporarily paralyze the local defense system.
He opened his eyes and pointed to the stairwell diagonally below. "He's down there, heading towards the engine compartment. We need to hurry, but he's taking the main route; we can take the ventilation duct, which is a shortcut."
"You saw it again?" Gamora asked.
"It comes from a feeling," Ye Mo said. "Like how you can tell where the kitchen is just by the smell of food."
"Fine," Rocket sighed, "Anyway, I've never starved to death since I listened to you."
The five men quickly reached the ventilation shaft cover. Groot used a branch to pry open the screws, and Ye Mo was the first to crawl inside. The pipe was narrow, so they could only crawl forward, their clothes rustling against the metal walls. After crawling for more than ten meters, a low-frequency vibration suddenly came from ahead.
"Gravity Reversal Trap!" Ye Mo stopped abruptly. "The floor ahead will suddenly lose its balance, reverse direction, and you'll be flung up to the ceiling."
"How did you know?" Star-Lord asked, crouching behind him, his tone slightly suspicious.
"Because I just 'experienced' the abnormal airflow." Ye Mo turned around, "Don't believe me? Try crawling forward one step and see?"
No one moved.
Finally, Gamora spoke first, "Let's take a detour, use the right-side branch."
They changed course to the right, winding their way through several turns, and finally jumped down from an air vent, landing outside a long main control corridor. At the end was a heavy alloy door, through which purple light emanated—the very aura of the Power Stone.
Right in front of the gate, two fully armed Kree guards were patrolling back and forth, their energy rifles on their shoulders ready to be used at any time.
"Finally found the real target." Rocket grinned, quietly setting up his sniper rifle.
"Wait." Ye Mo pressed down on his gun barrel. "If we act now, the entire bridge will be sealed off when the alarm goes off. We'll be trapped here."
"Then what do you suggest we do?" Star-Lord asked in a low voice.
Ye Mo looked at the door, then closed his eyes again.
The last Spatial Perception.
Three seconds.
He "saw" the scene behind the door: Ronan sat with his back against the control panel, his left hand covering the wound on his thigh, his right hand barely gripping the scepter. A line of text appeared on the screen in front of him. "Authentication failed, self-destruct program countdown: 07:12".
He hasn't been deactivated from his insurance.
"He's still alive." Ye Mo opened his eyes, his voice low. "And he hasn't dealt with the self-destruct system yet. We still have time."
"So?" Gamora asked.
"So—" Ye Mo took a deep breath, his gaze sweeping over his teammates, "We have to sneak in silently before he finishes fixing it."