The Team Gave Chase and Entered the Base

The wind had just swept across the sharp edges of the rocks. Ye Mo was still crouching on the high ground, his fingers gripping the edge of the communicator. The coordinates on the screen had already been sent. He didn't move. The heat behind his ear was still there, like a red-hot wire drilling into his forehead. But he knew he couldn't rub it now; touching it might interfere with his senses.

Three minutes later, a golden-red Arclight pierced the night sky.

"Tony's here," he said softly, his eyes fixed on the half-open metal door at the base entrance.

The Arclight swooped down, landing steadily three hundred meters away. The armor retracted its thrusters with a soft "click." Tony removed his helmet and wiped his face. "Your positioning was pretty accurate. Five meters off, and I would have crashed into a mountain."

"The system told me the scenery here is nice." Ye Mo tugged at the corner of his mouth, without getting up. "Where is everyone else?"

The words had barely left his mouth when a slight tremor ran through the ground. A modified off-road vehicle sped up from the forest path, its tires crunching over the gravel before coming to a stop at the bottom of the slope. Captain America got out, shield slung over his shoulder, and glanced up at the high ground. "What's going on?"

"The door is closed, but the bio-lock was brute-forced, meaning Ultron has already gone in. There's a lot of activity inside; the automated defense system is probably running its procedures." Ye Mo finally stood up, brushing the dirt off his pants. "I've marked three stealth routes; you can choose whichever you prefer."

"I'll ride the skies." Thor's voice came from the clouds. Thunderclouds hung low as he descended on a storm, his Thunder Hammer on his shoulder, kicking up only a cloud of dust upon landing. "The enemies of Asgard shouldn't be hiding in iron boxes."

Black Widow and Hawkeye practically sprang from the ground. One emerged from the drainpipe on the left, gun pointed skyward; the other lay prone on the opposite hillside, bow nocked. They exchanged a glance, neither speaking, but their understanding was unwavering.

"Everyone's here." Hawkeye pressed his headset. "Captain, I'm at your command."

"No." Ye Mo took a step forward, his half-rimmed glasses sliding down slightly. He adjusted the frame with his knuckles. "This time, listen to me. I figured out the terrain, the traps, the sources of signal interference myself. You guys are in charge of clearing obstacles and providing cover; I'll lead the way."

Captain America glanced at him and nodded. "Agreed. You know the situation best."

Tony snorted. "I thought you were going to say, 'The system told me to do this.'"

"The system is currently warning me that my left leg is low on power." Ye Mo rolled his eyes. "Why don't you try hopping in on one leg?"

Thor laughed and slammed his hammer into the air, "Then let's not talk about it! Let's charge in!"

"Wait!" Ye Mo raised his hand. "The door triggered an invisibility Force Field after it closed. Forcing our way in head-on will activate an alarm. Tony, scan the frequency."

Tony raised his palm, and his palm cannon unfolded into a scanner, its blue light sweeping across the metal door. "Damn, this thing has dual-node power; cutting off one won't help. We have to disconnect the control boxes in the left and right rock walls simultaneously."

"I've located it." Ye Mo pointed to both sides, "The left one is embedded in 30 centimeters of concrete, and the right one is hidden above the drainpipe. The blast window has only two seconds; any delay will trigger a chain reaction of shocks."

Black Widow narrowed her eyes. "Who's going?"

"You and Hawkeye." Ye Mo handed over two miniature concussion grenades. "Time them for 0.8 seconds. Stick them in place and then retreat. I'll count to three, then detonate them together."

The two took it and disappeared in a flash.

Ye Mo took a deep breath and stared at the crack in the door. "Tony, prepare to take over the fire. Captain America, protect the middle. Thor, the air is yours."

"Clear."

"Receive."

"As you wish."

Two seconds later, the rock walls on both sides exploded simultaneously.

The concrete crumbled, metal fragments flew everywhere, followed by a muffled "hum," and the ripples in the air vanished instantly— the Force Field dissipated.

"Charge!" Ye Mo roared.

Tony's armor thrusters were at full power, and a palm-sized cannon shot blasted into the door hinge, causing the metal door to tumble inward. Captain America charged forward with his shield raised, Thor leaped into the air on his thundercloud, and Hawkeye and Black Widow flanked from the side, firing bullets and arrows in a crisscross pattern, destroying three patrol drones that had risen overhead.

Ye Mo was the last to leap in.

He flipped in mid-air and rolled as he landed, narrowly avoiding the electric net hanging from the ceiling. The net grazed the back of his hoodie as it fell, sparks flying.

"Thanks, system." He patted his chest. "That last shock almost turned my hair into an afro."

No one answered.

They have entered the first level of the base.

Before me stretched a downward-facing alloy tunnel, its walls gleaming with a cold, gray sheen. Every ten meters, a set of infrared sensors slowly rotated. The floor was covered with a grid pattern, beneath which flowed blue liquid pipes. The air smelled of engine oil mixed with ozone, and breathing it for too long was a bit pungent.

"It's eerily quiet." Captain America lowered his voice, shield held horizontally across his chest. "No guards, no patrol vehicles."

"That doesn't mean there's no one here." Ye Mo crouched down, his fingertips lightly tapping the ground. "The vibration frequency is wrong. These pipelines aren't just supplying power; they're transmitting data streams. The entire base is like a living network, and we're crawling on its skin."

Tony brought up the tactical interface. "Signal jamming strength 92%, external communication lost. The armor can only maintain local processing."

"Then let's not rely on high technology." Black Widow holstered her pistol and switched to a silenced dagger. "Use your eyes and your brain."

Hawkeye had already climbed onto the right-hand pipe and was crouching down to observe ahead. "There's a fork in the road five meters ahead. The pressure plate on the left-hand passage has clearly sunk, while the right-hand passage is clean."

"A trap." Thor gripped his Thunder Hammer tightly. "Those who harbor evil will always devise a treacherous path."

"More than one place." Ye Mo closed his eyes, his Spatial Perception activated. In his mind, the entire passage transformed into a three-dimensional map composed of light dots. Red represented danger zones, yellow was buffer zones, and green was the safe path.

He opened his eyes. "Three steps to the left, jump over the crack. Then veer seventy degrees to the right, avoiding the infrared array below the ventilation duct. Every seven steps thereafter, the ground will slightly sink; that's a pre-triggered pressure plate. Stepping on it will trigger the falling spikes from the ceiling."

"Are you sure?" Tony frowned. "What if we're wrong..."

"The system just updated with a 'Stop Talking' prompt." Ye Mo walked forward. "Follow me or not, it's up to you."

He was the first to step out.

Three steps to the left, then jump.

It landed silently.

Deviate 70 degrees to the right, proceed.

Ventilation ducts swept overhead, and infrared rays brushed past my clothes.

Seven steps later, he suddenly knelt on one knee, supporting himself with his left hand, and quickly pulled a conductive probe from his waist with his right hand, inserting it into the crack in the floor. A tiny current surged through it, and the tip of the probe flashed green.

"Pass." He pulled out the probe. "Next, five-second interval, don't get too close."

Captain America was the second to step in, his movements textbook perfect. Then came Black Widow, Hawkeye, Tony, and Thor. The six of them passed through the first trap zone in turn, without triggering a single one.

"Your methods are even more bizarre than S.H.I.E.L.D.. training camp," Hawkeye said in a low voice.

"After all, the system doesn't give you textbooks, it gives you life." Ye Mo continued, "And right now, the back of my left ear feels like I just ate ten pounds of hot pot broth. Do you want to try it too?"

Nobody picked up on the joke.

The passage narrowed, and a second sealed door appeared ahead. Four remnants of mechanical arms lay on the door frame, as if violently torn open, revealing internal wiring interfaces. The door was slightly ajar, letting in even deeper darkness.

"This was left behind by Ultron when he came in." Ye Mo approached and shone his flashlight on the interface. "The bio-lock has been breached, but the firewall is still running its self-destruct program. If we force the door open, it might activate the internal purge mechanism."

"Then don't open it." Tony stepped forward. "Let me see if I can hack in."

He reached into the interface, and the armor system began synchronizing. A few seconds later, he frowned. "Damn, this firewall uses dynamic encryption, changing the key every 0.3 seconds. A normal crack would take until next year."

"I have a way." Ye Mo pulled out a tactical tablet; the screen was cracked like a spiderweb, but his fingers swiped rapidly. "During the tracking, I recorded a pulse waveform of Ultron's core. Although short, its frequency characteristics were clear enough. We can simulate its data signature and fool the verification."

"When did you record this?" Black Widow asked.

"During his first EMP sweep," Ye Mo grinned, "You thought I was lying on the ground just to get some grounding? I was using my Steel Bone as a receiving antenna."

Tony stared at him for two seconds. "You're really... both creepy and reliable."

"Thank you for the compliment."

The two worked together to inject the waveform into the system. The tablet emitted a "beep" sound, and the door lock indicator light changed from red to yellow.

"Verifying..." Tony stared at the progress bar, "15%... 10%..."

Suddenly, a "click" sound came from under the door.

Everyone immediately went on high alert.

"It wasn't me." Ye Mo raised his hands. "I didn't touch any other buttons."

"It wasn't me either." Tony shook his head.

The door lock progress bar is stuck at 8%.

"Someone's inside manipulating reverse lock-on." Tony's face changed. "We've been discovered."

"Not necessarily." Ye Mo narrowed his eyes. "It might be an automatic response. With Ultron absent, the system is defaulting to the highest defense level."

"Then let's hurry up." Captain America stepped forward. "We need to go in."

"Give me three minutes," Tony gritted his teeth, "Or you can find an electrician who knows how to fix old-fashioned circuits to do it for me."

Ye Mo didn't speak, but squatted down and placed his palms on the ground again. This time, he didn't just sense the vibration, but actively released micro-amplitude resonant waves, probing the structure behind the door like sonar.

Five seconds later, he opened his eyes. "There's a main control terminal ten meters behind the door, with its own power supply. If we can activate it remotely, we can bypass the door's local verification."

"How do I do it remotely?" Eagle asked.

"Use this." Ye Mo pulled a spare battery from his pocket, disassembled the casing to reveal the internal wires, and said, "Tony, lend me a second of power for your armor. I need to make a makeshift signal amplifier."

Tony paused, then said, "You're planning to save the world with batteries, wires, and duct tape?"

"I asked you the same question last time you modified a particle accelerator using an induction cooker," Ye Mo said while connecting the wires. "And you succeeded."

Tony paused for two seconds, then smiled, "Fine, you win. Here you go."

The current was switched on, and the wires heated up. Ye Mo attached the modified device to the door seam and pressed the start button.

"Drop--"

The soft sound of equipment starting up could be heard in the distance.

The door lock indicator light flashed a few times and then suddenly went out.

The next second, the sealed door slowly opened upwards.

A cold wind blew out from inside, carrying the smell of metal and electricity. Deep inside the passage, it was pitch black, with only a few scattered red dots flashing in the distance, like the pupils of some kind of machine.

"Welcome to Ultron's lair." Ye Mo put on his half-rimmed glasses, and a thermal imaging outline appeared on the lenses. "There are at least twelve moving units inside, moving slowly; they should be patrol logic units."

"Which way should we go?" Captain America asked.

Ye Mo took a step forward and stood at the very front of the line.

"I'll lead the way," he said. "Remember, don't touch the walls, don't step on the gray lines, and lie down immediately when you hear a buzzer."

He stepped into the darkness.

The others followed closely behind.

Tony's armor showed 78% energy, Thor restrained his thunderous aura, Black Widow cleared the surveillance along the way, Hawkeye kept his bow drawn, and Captain America brought up the rear. The six of them, like a knife, slowly penetrated deep into the base.

Ahead, a second sealed door is faintly visible.

Ye Mo stopped and raised his hand in greeting.

He crouched down, his fingertips touching the ground again.

The burning sensation behind my left ear suddenly intensified.

He knew the real hunt was yet to begin.

But the prey is already waiting inside.