Confidence rekindled, a field test

At 6:41 a. m., the last light in the lab had just gone out, and the green glow of the energy-saving mode flickered in Ye Mo's eye. He stood motionless in front of the control panel, his fingers still resting on the power button, his knuckles white. The backlash from last night's tough battle felt like a rusty wire stuck in his ribs, pulling at him with every breath.

Scott paused in his action of stuffing the terminal into his tactical bag, then looked up at him. "Are you still able to stand?"

"I won't die." Ye Mo released his grip, his shoulder swaying slightly as he turned but regaining his balance. "The system is telling me it's time for my coffee."

"The system again?" Scott laughed, this time without rolling his eyes. "Last time it made you eat chili peppers on an empty stomach to detoxify, and you threw up like a cat whose tail had been stepped on."

"That was a misjudgment." Ye Mo walked to the data station and pulled up the test curve from earlier. "The new model ran successfully, the neural synchronization rate improved by 12%, and the error band narrowed to the edge of the safe zone. This isn't luck."

Scott didn't reply. Instead, he pulled out his portable terminal from his bag, swiped his finger a few times, magnified the last segment of the waveform that had shrunk in the seventh circle, and displayed it on the main screen. The green line in the image had been rising steadily, but began to tremble slightly at the end of the sixth circle. However, it quickly stabilized after the new parameters were introduced.

"Look here," he said, pointing to the point of oscillation decay. "Before, I'd have to force myself to quit here, otherwise the suit would malfunction. The fact that it can hold up now shows that the feedback damping is really effective."

Ye Mo stared at the screen for three seconds. "So?"

"So I want to test it in real combat." Scott's voice wasn't loud, but every word was like a tightly screwed-in bolt. "Not running laps around bottles on the training field, but real environmental variables—obstacles, distractions, unexpected situations. I'm not looking to fight anyone, I just want to know if I can still trust this gear."

The air was still for a moment. A cool airflow passed through the ventilation duct, causing the dust particles inside the isolation chamber to swirl slightly.

Ye Mo looked up at him. "You know you almost turned into quantum soup yesterday."

"I know," Scott nodded. "I also know you're having trouble even lifting your arm, and your eyes are so dark you look like you've been punched twice. But that's precisely why I don't want to drag this out any longer. We've fought this far so that we can take the initiative, instead of waiting for someone to point a gun at our heads before we react."

After he finished speaking, he took off his gloves and gently placed them on the control panel. The movement was very light, as if he were afraid of disturbing something.

"I'm not a high school student; I won't rush to blow up the Heavenly Palace just because I succeeded once." He looked at Ye Mo. "But I need to know if this system actually works. It's not about the data saying it works; it's about me believing in it."

Ye Mo didn't move or speak. He knew Scott was telling the truth, and he also knew that once this guy made up his mind, there was no stopping him. Just like last night in the underground pipe network, even though his right leg was cramping, he still carried Emma Frost up the last thirty meters of the vertical ladder.

He reached out and touched the main control interface. The fingerprint unlock brought up a 3D map—the structural diagram of the B7 underground training area slowly unfolded, with gray-blue lines outlining passages, bunkers, power nodes, and emergency exits.

"Okay," he said, "I'll set up a venue for you."

Scott's eyes lit up, but he didn't say anything.

Ye Mo's finger slid through the air, marking the obstacle generation points. The first layer, located thirty meters from the entrance, was a high-speed rotating array of alloy blades, simulating a city ventilation shaft; the second layer was a particle interference source, releasing low-frequency pulses to disrupt the stability of the Pym Particles; the third layer was a dynamic trap, where the ground would suddenly collapse in a scaling state, forcing users to make rapid displacement judgments at a microscopic scale.

"No enemy units," Ye Mo said while operating the system. "In the first round, only environmental variables are enabled. You'll be facing spatial compression, signal interference, and time pressure, not someone chasing you around with a stun gun."

"Understood." Scott nodded. "Purely technical test."

"Three strict rules." Ye Mo turned to look at him, "The maximum depth is 3.2 centimeters, not even a second more; a single session cannot exceed 47 seconds, the countdown will automatically trigger the recovery protocol when it reaches zero; if a red alert is triggered, exit immediately, without hesitation."

"No problem."

"Have I finished speaking?" Ye Mo sneered. "Third, all sensors are tracking your vital signs in real time. If your heart rate exceeds 140, your brain waves show abnormal fluctuations, or your muscle tension becomes unbalanced—if any of these exceed the limit, the system will automatically terminate the program, whether you like it or not."

Scott grinned. "You're treating me like a lab rat."

"You were always like that," Ye Mo said, pulling up the surveillance panel, "And you walked right into the trap. I didn't force you to wear that outfit."

"You have to give me some dignity, right?" Scott muttered as he put on his suit modules. "At least don't let the cameras capture me falling."

"The video is encrypted and archived; only I can view it." Ye Mo glanced at him. "Don't worry, I won't be live-streaming it."

The suit fit perfectly, and the controller clicked into the chest module with a crisp "click." Scott took a deep breath and moved his shoulders and neck in place, his joints cracking.

"How is the device compatibility?" Ye Mo asked.

"Smoother than last night." Scott clenched his fist and then relaxed it. "After the new model was calibrated, the scaling rhythm matched my breathing, unlike before when it always felt like the suit was trying to take control."

"That's the neural feedback kicking in." Ye Mo activated the tracking system, and a series of values began to refresh. "But don't forget, this is just a theoretical optimization. In real-world environments, the intensity of interference sources can double, and sensor delays can cause misjudgments. You'll have to rely on instinct."

"That's why I need to train." Scott walked steadily toward the entrance to the training area. "You said that only those who make the most of their time within the rules can survive."

Ye Mo watched his retreating figure without replying. He knew Scott remembered every word he had said, including those "system prompts" he used to deceive people.

On the main control interface, the initialization progress bar for the training area slowly advances: [Environment calibration in progress... 67%]

"You really think it can work?" he suddenly asked.

Scott stopped and turned to look at him. "What do you think?"

"I think your brain is more reliable than the suit." Ye Mo walked to the control panel, his finger hovering over the "Initialize" button. "But if something else happens, I might not be able to get you back."

"I know," Scott nodded, "So this time, I won't rely on you."

Ye Mo stared at him for two seconds before finally pressing the confirm button.

[Initialization complete]

[Simulated battlefield ready]

[Countdown to enter buffer zone: 30 seconds]

The alarm lights turned from yellow to green, and the passage gate slowly opened, revealing the pitch-black corridor inside. A faint hum of electricity could be heard in the air; it was the sound of the interference source heating up.

Scott stood at the entrance, his breathing gradually slowing, a faint silver light shimmering on his suit.

Ye Mo sat in front of the control panel and brought up all the monitoring screens. On the left was a 3D terrain map, on the right was the vital signs curve, and in the middle was the real-time video. His fingers rested next to the emergency stop button, his fingertips were a little cold.

"Remember the rules," he said. "Three point two centimeters, forty-seven seconds, red alert terminates."

"Got it." Scott raised his hand and gave an OK sign.

Countdown to zero.

The gate closed, and the lights in the passageway gradually illuminated the first array of rotating blades ahead. The speed was slowly increasing, and the metal edges gleamed coldly in the cold light.

Ye Mo stared at the screen and saw Scott's figure shrink in the shot. The luster of his suit flowed smoothly without any flickering or breaks. The neural synchronization rate was stable at 89%, and the energy fluctuations were below the threshold.

First hurdle passed smoothly.

In the second stage, the particle interference source was activated, and noise instantly appeared on the waveform. Scott's movements were delayed by half a beat, but he quickly adjusted his rhythm and used the wall as cover to complete the displacement.

"Keep your breathing steady," Ye Mo whispered, even though he knew the other person couldn't hear him.

In the third challenge, a ground collapse trap is activated. Scott maneuvers and dodges on a microscopic scale, successfully reaching the final platform after three consecutive jumps.

[Mission completed for this phase]

[Time taken: 41 seconds]

[No security mechanisms were triggered]

Ye Mo breathed a sigh of relief, his shoulders slumping slightly involuntarily.

Scott stood in the center of the platform, slowly returning to his original form, his forehead covered in sweat, but a smile playing on his lips.

"How was it?" he asked the hidden camera. "I didn't cross the line, did I?"

Ye Mo didn't answer, but instead recalled all the data and replayed it. From scaling to displacement, from signal interference resistance to physiological load, every frame ran within the safe zone.

"We've passed the basic mode," he said. "Now, let's increase the difficulty."

"I'm always ready." Scott wiped the sweat from his brow. "But could you slow that damn fan down a bit next time? I almost thought I was going to be crushed in a meat grinder."

"That's the lowest speed." Ye Mo turned off the playback. "Do you think everyone can Wall Phasing with their eyes closed like the system prompts?"

"Come on," Scott laughed and shook his head. "If you really had a system, you would have told me I should drink some water now."

Ye Mo didn't laugh. He simply brought up the 3D map of the training area again and began marking new obstacle combinations. This time, he added multi-band interference superposition and sudden magnetic field reversal.

Scott stood at the entrance to the buffer zone, his suit still on, his eyes shining with an astonishing light.

The initialization interface on the main console popped up again, and the progress bar began to fill.

Ye Mo's finger hovered over the start button again.

Scott stood at the entrance of the passageway, his back straight.

The training ground has not yet been activated, and all settings remain in the "pending confirmation" state.