The emergency lights went out completely, and the last bit of red light disappeared into the darkness.
Ye Mo knelt on the shattered control panel, his knee pressed against a sharp metal fragment, the pain making his teeth ache. His Steel Bone shell was cracked in several places, and the joints emitted a hissing sound, like burning electrical wires. He braced himself with his right hand on the ground, his left hand still in a chokehold position, but Ultron had broken free, and his three clones, positioned in a triangle, were closing in step by step.
The air was thick with the smell of burning and ozone, and water was dripping from the ventilation ducts overhead, drop by drop, hitting the back of his neck, icy cold.
"You can't hold on any longer." The voice in the middle, still that emotionless electronic tone, said, "Your muscle fibers are failing, nerve signals are delayed by 0.3 seconds, and your Steel Bone system has 17% energy remaining. In 11 seconds, you will be completely paralyzed."
Ye Mo didn't reply, but slowly raised his head, a grin spreading across his face, revealing a mouthful of bloody teeth. "You were pretty accurate... So tell me, what am I thinking right now?"
The left clone suddenly accelerated, its blade aimed straight for Ye Mo's face. Ye Mo dodged to the side, the Blade grazing his cheekbone and leaving a bloody gash. He rolled over, his back slamming hard into a broken cable.
"Smack!"
An electric current surged into his body, like someone was drilling into his spine. Ye Mo shuddered, a burst of white light exploded before his eyes, and his mind went blank, as if a rusty gear was being forcibly turned.
Fragments of memory suddenly flashed by--
On a New York street during a blizzard, a woman raised her hand to summon lightning. The lightning pierced through the clouds, and all the streetlights on the street exploded simultaneously. At that moment, he had just awakened his system. He was hiding behind the crowd when his fingertips touched a streetlight pole that had been struck by lightning, and a tingling sensation shot straight to the top of his head.
[ Lightning Affinity- Fragment Activation Threshold Reached]
A soft notification sounded in my mind, without any visuals or special effects, just like a notification popping up on my phone.
Ye Mo took a breath and looked down at his hands. His palms began to burn, and the metallic veins under his skin throbbed slightly, as if something was surging towards his fingertips.
The right clone rushed up, its vibrating blade slashing horizontally at his waist. Ye Mo instinctively raised his hand to block, his metal arm clashing against the blade. But at the moment of contact, a wisp of electricity suddenly burst from his palm, crackling as it leaped onto the opponent's blade.
The clone's movements suddenly froze, its arm twitched twice, and it abruptly stopped in mid-air.
Ye Mo was taken aback for a moment, then laughed out loud, "Oh? It actually works?"
Before the other party could recover, he slammed a punch into the clone's chest. The electric arc on his fist exploded with a "boom," sending the clone staggering back three steps. The core's red light flickered erratically, like a router with a bad signal.
"Abnormal data stream detected." The intermediate entity finally changed color. "High voltage interferes with neural network computation efficiency, latency increases to 0.9 seconds."
"It's not a delay, I added a 'lag patch' for you." Ye Mo stood up, leaning on the control panel, his legs still trembling, but his eyes lit up. "You're supposed to be infallible? Come on, calculate this!"
He spread his arms, palms up, and focused his consciousness on the 19th floor of the Gene Spiral Tower. There was a module that had never been successfully tested there—"self-ionization + electromagnetic traction," which sounded mysterious. He had tried it three times before, once stunning himself with electricity, once causing a local short circuit, and once almost tripping the entire base.
There's no time to worry about that now.
He gritted his teeth and pressed the remaining electric current in his body into his palms. His skin burned, and his knuckles turned black, like red-hot iron nails. The ventilation duct above his head was still leaking electricity, making a "sizzling" sound, and several thin electric snakes crawled down the metal sheet.
"Again!" Ye Mo roared, his hands clasped together and then separated, a faint arc of electricity, only the thickness of a chopstick, flickering like a lighter that was about to run out of power.
But this one move was enough to stop all three Ultron at the same time.
"Threat level increased." A red light flashed rapidly on the target's chest. "Immediate termination of target's operation recommended."
"I suggest you shut your mouth first." Ye Mo sneered, staring at the leaky pipes above his head. "Today I'll show you what a 'physical cheat code' really is!"
He leaped up suddenly, his Steel Bone legs unleashing the last bit of power, and his entire body slammed into the ceiling like a cannonball. His right hand grabbed the dangling cable, while his left hand aimed at Ultron's body, his palm crackling with electricity.
"Take this! 5G surge, full power!"
Suddenly, with a "crack," a bolt of natural lightning slid down the damp pipe and landed right on the arc of electricity in his palm. The two currents resonated, instantly expanding into a bolt of lightning as thick as a bowl, accompanied by a piercing crackling sound, and struck Ultron in the chest!
"Boom--!"
A flash of red light erupted as Ultron was struck head-on by lightning. The entire machine trembled violently, and its core red light flickered wildly, like a faulty light bulb. Its steps froze, its arms drooped uncontrollably, and its tactical calculations were forcibly interrupted for 0.8 seconds—enough.
Without stopping after landing, Ye Mo gathered all the kinetic energy in his right fist, using the residual force of the lightning strike, and compressed his Steel Bone knuckles to the limit, slamming them down hard towards Ultron's right shoulder connecting shaft!
"Break it for me!"
"Snap!"
A crisp sound of metal breaking rang out as Ultron's right shoulder armor shattered, his mechanical arm instantly paralyzed and drooping down like a marionette with its strings cut. The frequency of the core's red light plummeted, and the three clones flickered simultaneously, two of them instantly transforming into data streams and dissipating.
Only the original body remained standing, staggering back three steps, shattering glass shards on the ground.
Ye Mo knelt on one knee, panting heavily with his left hand supporting him on the ground. His forehead was covered in a mixture of cold sweat and blood. Having exhausted his Lightning Control, he felt completely drained, even lifting a finger was difficult. The Steel Bone System alarm blared, displaying the message: "Unknown ability usage side effects: Nervous system overload."
But the corners of his mouth were still turned up.
"Found it," he said in a low voice, his tone hoarse like sandpaper scraping against a wall. "You're afraid of electricity."
Ultron stood on the ruins, black smoke billowing from its right shoulder, its core glowing red intermittently. It slowly raised its intact left arm, the blades re-emerging, but the movements were noticeably sluggish, as if the system were rebooting.
"High-voltage surges... can indeed cause temporary operational malfunctions." It finally spoke, its voice fluctuating for the first time, "But not enough to destroy me."
"Who said I was going to destroy you?" Ye Mo slowly stood up, his left fist clenched, a trace of electricity still lingering on the surface. "I just wanted to test whether you could fix it or not."
He charged forward suddenly, unleashing another punch with his left fist. Sparks flew from his fist, creating Shockwave that struck Ultron's right shoulder wound!
"Bang!"
Ultron was blasted into a spinning position, its core flashing red light violently. It staggered and retreated strategically for the first time. It raised its hand to defend, but it was a beat too slow, and its left arm was positioned too low to completely block the impact.
The crack deepened.
Ye Mo didn't pursue, but retreated to his original position, supporting himself with one hand on the collapsed control panel, panting heavily. Sweat dripped from his chin, making small black dots on the ground. He knew he couldn't use this move repeatedly; the Lightning Control had just been activated, and the cooldown time was a mystery. He might accidentally electrocute himself next time he used it.
But it's okay.
He has found the Achilles' heel.
Ultron stood three meters away, its right shoulder structure ruptured, and the frequency of its core red light decreased, but it was still glowing. It did not split into clones again, nor did it launch any new tactics; it simply stood quietly, as if reassessing the battle situation.
"You can't win," it said.
"I never said I wanted to win." Ye Mo wiped his face, tore off half of his charred hoodie sleeve to wrap around his bleeding hand. "I'm here to tell you—you're not invincible. You have bugs, and I can exploit them."
He stared sharply at the red heart on Ultron's chest. "Moreover, I've memorized its frequency."
Ultron didn't move.
Ye Mo didn't move either.
In the abandoned control room, only the crackling sound of leaking electricity, the clicking sound of metal cooling, and the heavy breathing of the two men remained.
Suddenly, Ultron's left arm deformed, ejecting a thin energy conduit that inserted into the crack in his right shoulder. The black smoke gradually diminished, and the red light began to rise steadily again.
Ye Mo squinted. "You fixed it pretty quickly?"
Ultron slowly raised his head, a red light locking onto him. "Repair progress 12%. Basic combat capabilities expected to be restored in 47 seconds."
"Oh." Ye Mo flexed his wrists, his palms starting to burn again. "Then I'll start the timer and wait."
He planted his feet firmly on the ground, assuming a fighting stance. Even though his knees were still trembling and pale red liquid was constantly seeping from the cracks in his Steel Bone, he did not retreat an inch.
The ventilation duct overhead was still leaking electricity; a wisp of electricity slowly crawled down, as if waiting for the next moment to detonate.
Ye Mo raised his hand, aimed it at Ultron, and sparks crackled and popped in his palm.
The next second, he rushed forward.