Base explosion, rapid escape

00:21.

Ye Mo's knees were still stuck in the rubble, his right hand bracing against the ground, blood and molten metal mingling between his fingers, dripping stickily down. He could hear the sound of steel bars twisting above him, like someone sawing sheet metal, one cut after another, growing more urgent. Flames climbed up the edge of the control panel, crackling, and thick smoke had already reached the ceiling and was beginning to sink to the ground.

He blinked, his vision a little blurry.

A system notification suddenly sounded in my head, "Telepathy module cooldown complete."

"Thanks," he muttered, unsure whether he was thanking the system or talking to himself.

The next second, he closed his eyes, poured all his remaining mental energy into that module, and his consciousness swept across the entire base's frequency band like a thin thread, transmitting only one sentence:

"The base is about to explode! Evacuate immediately! Repeat, evacuate immediately!"

The moment the signal was sent, it felt like he'd been hit on the head with a hammer. His vision went black, his ears were ringing, and he almost collapsed. He gritted his teeth and held on, a metallic taste rising in his throat, and a trickle of blood seeping from the corner of his mouth.

"Just a little longer... just a little longer..." He gasped for breath, using his left hand to push himself up from the ground. His left leg was still stiff, and the wound on his right shoulder had reopened, feeling like knives were twisting inside with every movement. But he didn't have time to worry about that, and turned to walk back the way he came.

The passageway has changed.

The corridor, which had been barely passable just moments before, was now half collapsed, broken steel beams lying haphazardly in the ground, and firelight shone through the cracks, casting flickering Telepathy while intermittently sending out commands:

"The right-hand corridor has collapsed; please use the B3 maintenance route instead!"

"Elevator shafts are dangerous, use the stairwell! Tony, don't force your way into the main passage!"

With each word he spoke, his brain felt like it was being electrocuted. He simply stopped talking and switched to sending coordinates via a directional frequency band to save energy. But the mental strain was too great; after three attempts, he got stuck on the fourth, and his vision blurred.

"Alright... you guys figure it out yourselves." He leaned against the wall, catching his breath, and then continued to move forward.

On the other side, Tony was stuck in the half-collapsed corridor.

With only 17% of his armor remaining, the thrusters could only fire twice in short bursts, and the palm cannons were charging at an incredibly slow pace. He had just blasted open a concrete slab blocking his way when a beam fell from above, nearly knocking him into the ground.

"Hey Ye Mo, did you modify a bicycle map for this navigation?" he cursed as he used his shoulder to brace against the falling steel frame and struggled to move forward.

A text message suddenly popped up in my headphones. "[Turn right 3 meters ahead, ventilation duct leads to B3.]"

He looked up and saw that the ventilation opening was ridiculously small; even Hawkeye would have to shrink itself to fit through it.

"Are you serious? This armor isn't a foldable phone." He muttered, but still brought out the palm cannon and fired a shot at the edge of the vent, tearing a large chunk of the metal.

"Fine, at least you still have some humanity left."

He retracted the thruster, bent down, and crawled inside.

On the other side, Captain America is stuck in a broken stairwell.

His shield was caught in a twisted steel bar, leaving him suspended in mid-air with a five-meter-deep pit below, still flaming. He tried twice to pull it out but failed, so he gave up, drew his tactical knife, cut the straps, and jumped down lightly.

His feet went numb from the impact of the landing, but he didn't stop. He turned and ran towards the exit. Just as he rounded the corner, he heard a loud crash from above. The entire floor collapsed, blocking the original route.

"Damn it," he cursed under his breath, pulling out his communicator. "Attention everyone, main passage closed. Use the emergency staircase on the east side instead!"

No one replied.

The signal is being jammed.

He looked up at the ceiling; the smoke was getting thicker, making it hard to breathe. Just as he was pondering his next move, a location coordinate popped up in his earpiece, along with a brief message: [East staircase not collapsed, proceed immediately.]

He stared at it for two seconds, then a slight smile played on his lips, "I knew you were still awake."

They immediately turned around and left.

Thor's situation isn't easy either.

Earlier, in order to disrupt Ultron's resonant core, he had unleashed all the energy of Mjolnir. Now, the hammer lay on the ground like an ordinary lump of iron, and he himself was in no better shape, his divine power exhausted, his limbs feeling as heavy as if they were filled with lead.

He was inching forward, holding onto the wall, when he suddenly heard a muffled thud above him. The entire passageway shook violently, and rubble rained down. Looking up, he saw a load-bearing pillar slowly tilting, about to crash down.

He had no time to dodge, so he simply stood still, raised his arms, and forcefully supported the two-ton steel pillar.

"Huff--" He gasped for breath, his feet having already left two shallow dents in the ground.

"Thor!" Hawkeye's voice came from above. He was trapped on the second-floor platform; the stairs were broken, and he couldn't get down.

"Stay put!" Thor roared, gritting his teeth as he braced himself against the steel pillar, inching his way to the side until he had the pillar leaning against another wall. The moment he let go, his entire arm trembled.

But he didn't stop. He turned around, rushed towards the wall, punched a hole in it, and pulled Hawkeye down from above.

"Thanks." Hawkeye landed with a limp, his left arm scraped and bleeding, and his ears were ringing from the explosion, making it hard to hear clearly.

"Don't talk, let's go." Thor slapped him on the shoulder, and the two rushed toward the exit one after the other.

Black Widow's situation is slightly better.

She wasn't trapped, but she lost contact with her team and wandered alone through a maintenance passage filled with thick smoke. Mars fell from the ventilation ducts from time to time, burning the back of her neck. She covered her mouth and nose with a damp cloth and felt her way forward, relying on the structural diagrams she remembered.

Just as she was about to find the connection point, a violent tremor suddenly came from above, followed by the entire ceiling collapsing.

She reacted extremely quickly, rolling to hide under the steel frame, but the exit was completely blocked.

"Damn it," she muttered, looking up at the crack where a sliver of light shone through.

She pulled out her rope gun, aimed it at a high beam, fired the grappling hook, pulled hard, and after confirming it was secure, began to climb.

I had just climbed halfway up when a message suddenly popped up in my earpiece: [There is a ventilation shaft ten meters above, leading to the main exit].

She looked up; the distance wasn't far, but there was a burning section of cables in between.

"I'll give it my all." She gritted her teeth and quickened her pace as she climbed.

Ye Mo was already close to the entrance of the main passage.

With each step he took, his legs felt like they were being pierced by nails. The frost on his left leg hadn't faded yet, and the wound on his right shoulder kept bleeding. His work pants were covered in black and red stains. He leaned against the wall and traced a line on the metal surface with his finger to make sure he wasn't veering off course.

Suddenly, the ground shook violently.

The alarm sound changed.

It was no longer the regular "beep" sound, but a continuous shriek, like the lament of some system before it completely lost control.

He looked up at the countdown projection above him—

00:07.

"Damn it!" he cursed under his breath, dragging his leg forward.

But after taking only two steps, the entire wall in front of him collapsed with a roar, completely blocking his way.

He stopped, panting heavily, and looked up. There was a huge steel frame blocking the exit like a gatekeeper, firmly blocking the passage.

"Tony! Are you out there?!" he roared, his voice hoarse and barely audible.

"Here! But this thing isn't moving an inch!" Tony's voice came from outside, accompanied by the roar of the armored thrusters.

Ye Mo looked down at his hands; they were still usable.

He concentrated the last bit of lightning energy in his palm, squatted down, and placed his palm on the metal plate on the ground. The current spread rapidly along the conductor, triggering a small electromagnetic pulse that disrupted the gravitational balance of the nearby metal structures.

The steel frame overhead trembled slightly, shifting by a dozen centimeters, revealing a gap that was just big enough to squeeze through.

"Now!" Ye Mo roared.

Without a word, Tony activated his thrusters and was the first to rush out. After landing, he immediately turned around and used his palm cannon to clear the surrounding obstacles.

"Captain America! Quick!"

Captain America emerged right after, his shield transforming and retracting, and casually pulled Thor up with a hand.

After Thor came out, he didn't leave. Instead, he turned around and stood still, bracing himself against the walls on both sides with his hands, using his body to hold back the constantly falling rubble, making a passage for the people behind him.

"Natasha! Hawkeye!" he roared.

Black Widow jumped down from the ventilation duct, rolled on the ground, and pulled Hawkeye up with her. The two of them scrambled out of the duct.

Ye Mo was the last one.

He practically crawled out, and as soon as he rolled out of the passage, he collapsed onto the grass, his chest heaving violently, his mouth filled with the taste of blood.

The instant he detached from the building—

Boom!!!

The entire base was blown to pieces in the flames, and the shockwave swept across the open space like a giant wave, knocking everyone to the ground. Debris, metal fragments, and burning debris flew everywhere, and the heat wave hit us, making our skin sting.

Smoke and dust filled the air, and the firelight illuminated half the sky.

Ye Mo lay on his back, gazing at the towering flames, unwilling to move.

The wound on my right shoulder reopened, and blood trickled down my arm, pooling in a small puddle beside me. My left leg was still stiff, and my head was buzzing, like a swarm of bees having a meeting inside my brain.

He raised his uninjured hand and wiped his face; his fingertips were covered in ash and blood.

Not far away, Tony sat on the ground, his mask open, his face covered in soot, inspecting the power core of his armor. Captain America stood on higher ground, one hand on his deformed shield, his gaze sweeping around to confirm safety. Thor knelt on one knee, hands on the ground, meditating, Mjolnir lying quietly beside him. Black Widow crouched beside Hawkeye, swiftly examining the abrasions on his left arm.

No one spoke.

Only the crackling of the flames and the lingering echo of a distant alarm could be heard.

Ye Mo closed his eyes briefly, then opened them again.

He is still alive.

They are all alive.

He tried to smile, but the movement aggravated his wound, causing him to gasp in pain.

On the grass, a drop of blood fell from his fingertip, landing on the scorched earth and spreading out in a small patch of dark red.