The wind was still blowing, Ashes swirled and rolled past the six people's feet. Ye Mo stood still, his glasses cracked like a spider web, but he didn't take them off, staring at the open space in front of him through the blurry lens. The light from earlier had emanated from his chest, which was still burning hot, as if someone had stuffed a red-hot piece of iron inside.
Tony glanced down at his wrist terminal; the screen flashed blue twice. " Ultron's signal's gone," he said. "Not jammed, completely lost."
"It's playing dead." Captain America slammed his shield on the ground, the metal clashing against the rubble with a dull thud. "Programs don't shut down on their own; they just hide and rebuild."
Thor gripped Mjolnir tightly; an arc of electricity leaped across the Hammerhead before extinguishing. "Then let's wait for it to come out. I want to see if the data stream can withstand a thunderbolt."
Black Widow finished checking the chamber, clicked the magazine shut—a soft sound, but exceptionally clear in the deathly silence. Leaning against a section of broken wall, her gaze swept across the surrounding ruins. "We can't wait too long. Next time it comes, it won't just send mechanical soldiers."
Hawkeye had already climbed to the high point of the broken wall on the right, the bow half-drawn, the arrow tip aimed at a collapsed roof three hundred meters away. "Clear view, no movement. But I feel... it's listening."
Ye Mo twitched his fingers; his palms were still a little numb. The system notification had barely finished saying "Neural chain damage 12%" when he retorted, "Stop rambling, I don't have time to cultivate right now."
He took a step forward, his left arm frame still slowly repairing itself, emitting a faint metallic scraping sound. His right leg could barely support him, but he walked with a limp, as if stepping on cotton.
"Everyone," he began, his voice still hoarse but much steadyer than before, "I know you all want to rush in and fight, and so do I. But I have to be honest—we can't beat Ultron right now."
No one answered.
Tony glanced up at him, a hint of surprise in his eyes.
"It's not that we lack strength," Ye Mo continued, "It's that our tactics are wrong. We've been using the 'superhero' approach: whoever is stronger goes first, whoever is faster goes first, whoever is more ruthless wins. But Ultron isn't a person, it's a program. What are programs most afraid of? Not brute force, but logical traps."
"You mean..." Captain America frowned, "We have to lie to it?"
"No," Ye Mo shook his head, "It's letting itself deceive itself. Its attacks follow a fixed rhythm: first scouting, then probing, and finally a full-scale assault. It's like playing a game and clearing a dungeon; even the boss has a cooldown. As long as we seize that opening, we can ambush it."
Tony suddenly laughed, "So you mean, we have to act? Put on a fake tactic for it?"
"Pretty much." Ye Mo shrugged. "The system told me that AI is most easily misled by behavior that seems reasonable but is actually full of loopholes. Because it can analyze and deduce, but it won't question whether 'this person is acting.'"
"So how do you plan to act?" Black Widow asked.
"In the first phase, Captain America and I will act as bait," Ye Mo said, pointing to himself and Captain America. "We'll push forward, creating the illusion of conflict to lure it into revealing its outpost deployments. In the second phase, Tony and Thor will provide aerial suppression, using high-intensity energy to disrupt its master node and force it to lose focus. In the third phase, you two will find an opportunity to infiltrate the backend and disrupt its synchronization protocol."
Hawkeye leaned out from above. "Where is this 'backer' you're talking about?"
"I don't know," Ye Mo said honestly. "But it definitely has a temporary central hub operating in some hidden node right now. What we need to do isn't to find it, but to force it to expose itself."
Tony stroked his chin. "Sounds like fishing."
"It's just fishing." Ye Mo nodded, "Except the fishing rod is our own, the bait is our own, and we even drew the fishpond ourselves."
Thor grinned. "Interesting. I like this kind of fight."
Captain America didn't laugh. He stared at Ye Mo for a few seconds before speaking, "You just used the 'system notification' three times. Does such a thing really exist?"
"Otherwise what?" Ye Mo shrugged. "Why do you think I always come up with crooked ideas at crucial moments? Thick skin and good luck? Brother, it's high-tech decision-making assistance."
Tony snorted, "I knew it! You always use 'the system said' as an excuse. Last time you were defusing the bomb, you said the system warned you not to cut the red wire, but you just guessed, didn't you?"
"That was indeed what the system said," Ye Mo said seriously. "It just said 'it suggests cutting the yellow line,' but I deliberately cut the blue one, and then half the lab blew up. Can you blame me for that?"
After a two-second silence, everyone suddenly burst into laughter.
The laughter was soft, even a little dry, as if forced out by someone who hadn't laughed in a long time. But it was definitely a laugh.
The atmosphere relaxed a bit.
Captain America finally nodded. "The plan is acceptable. But I'll add one point—everyone must maintain real-time communication, and if any anomalies are detected, immediately return to your original positions. We're not gambling with lives, we're gambling with strategy."
"Agreed." Tony raised his hand. "Leave the remote monitoring to me. The armor can still operate at full capacity for three more hours."
"I'll guard the left flank." Thor straightened up, Mjolnir rising half a meter. "If it dares to emerge from underground, I'll teach it a lesson in Asgard hospitality."
Black Widow had moved to a different position, disappearing into the shadows of the ruins, with only her eyes visible. "I can launch a surprise attack at any time, as soon as it shows an opening."
Hawkeye adjusted the bowstring angle from his vantage point. "I can cover an 800-meter fan-shaped area; no moving target can escape my arrow."
As Ye Mo watched them each express their opinions, the tension in his heart finally eased slightly. He took a deep breath; his lungs still ached a little, but it was much better than before.
"Then it's settled," he said. "Operation codename is ' Dismantle the Clock.' Not defusing the bomb, but dismantling its timing logic. We won't let it follow the script; we'll disrupt its rhythm."
"Wait a minute." Tony suddenly raised his hand. "You mentioned a three-phase operation, so what about yourself? You said you were bait first, then you said you were going to interfere. Whose side are you on, anyway?"
Ye Mo smiled and pushed up his cracked glasses, "I'm a bug. The kind that gets stuck in its program."
No one asked anymore.
The six people gradually changed their positions. They were no longer in a haphazardly formed circle, but began to arrange themselves according to a new tactic.
Captain America took five steps forward and stood on a flat concrete slab, shield held horizontally across his chest. Tony's armor clicked softly, slowly rising two meters into the air, its shoulder cannons deploying and charging. Thor leaped onto a high platform, Mjolnir hovering above his head, its bolts crackling with electricity. Black Widow vanished completely into the shadows, her breathing inaudible. Hawkeye readjusted his bow, fine-tuning the arrow tip, locking onto a point in the air.
Ye Mo remained where he was.
He looked up at the sky.
The clouds were still thick, blocking out the sunlight, but the wind was cleaner and no longer carried the smell of burning. He looked down at his hands; his fingertips were still a little pale, and the color hadn't fully returned. The heat in his chest was also dissipating; he estimated that in a few more minutes, the " Life Resonance Wave " would completely cool down.
The system notification sounded again, "Warning: Only three capability modules remain available. It is recommended to retain the emergency combo skills."
"Shut up," Ye Mo said in a low voice. "I'm the tactical core now, not a standby battery."
He moved his shoulders, and the metal skeleton made a slight "click" sound. His left arm was 78% repaired, and his right leg's support had recovered to 63%. Not perfect, but enough.
"Everyone," he began, his voice low but heard by everyone, "This isn't about winning."
He paused, his gaze sweeping over his teammates.
"So that it will never come back."
The words were spoken, but no one responded or moved.
But their eyes changed.
I was a little tired and hesitant just now, but that's all gone now. In its place is a relentless determination, as if I know there are mountains of knives and seas of fire ahead, but I still have to step over them.
Captain America glanced back at him and nodded.
Tony made an OK sign in the air.
Thor let out a low growl, and lightning exploded.
Black Widow loads her gun.
The Hawkeye sight lights up with a red dot.
Ye Mo stood still, the wind ruffling the corner of his hoodie, revealing the slowly extending metal structure on his side. He didn't move or speak, but simply put his hand into his pocket, his fingertips touching a spare chip—his last trump card, which even the system didn't know about.
The last wisp of black smoke rose from the ground in the distance and dissipated in the wind.
The six people stood in the center of the ruins, their positions unchanged, but their formation was now complete.
The communication channel is in listening mode and remains silent.
We're just waiting for a signal to strike immediately.
Ye Mo squinted, then suddenly felt a tingling sensation behind his left ear.
He raised his hand to scratch, only to find that the skin there was slightly hot, as if something was awakening from within.