The laboratory lights were still flickering, the edges of the blue membrane shield glowing faintly, like an energy-saving light bulb about to run out of power, its light flickering on and off, barely holding on to its last breath. Ye Mo's hands were still pressed tightly against the control panel, his knuckles white, cold sweat dripping from his chin onto the panel with a soft "plop" sound. His vision blurred in waves, his ears were ringing, and it felt like a broken fan was spinning in his head, each rotation bringing a dull ache.
Scott, hiding behind the obstacle array, was panting as if he had just finished a marathon. His right knee joint was still smoking, and the zoom system had malfunctioned twice, almost trapping him in the wall. He glanced at the monitor screen—the countdown had stopped at 51 seconds, and the core equipment temperature curve had finally stabilized, but the heat dissipation vents on the Yellowjacket's arms had started running at high speed again, and that familiar low-frequency hum sounded once more.
"Not again?" Scott swallowed hard, his hand reaching for the controller. "Is this guy some kind of sentient power bank?"
Before the words were even finished, the entire glass curtain wall suddenly shattered!
It wasn't an explosion; it was kicked apart from the outside. A cold wind carrying debris rushed in, and a figure leaped into the main hall, leaving two shallow marks on the floor as they landed. The person straightened up, their long silver-white hair fluttering in the air, and then their entire body rapidly crystallized, a translucent, diamond-like shell instantly covering their entire body from fingertips to shoulders.
Emma Frost Thaddeus Ross has arrived.
Without even glancing at Ye Mo, she fixed her gaze on the Yellowjacket, raised her hand, and delivered a side kick, deflecting the opponent's charged sonic cannon. With a boom, the energy beam grazed the ceiling and blasted away half of the ventilation duct.
"You've held out for too long." Her voice was cool, yet carried a hint of barely concealed urgency. "Now it's my turn to hold them off."
Ye Mo didn't reply; his mind was blank. He felt a tightness in his chest, as if someone was pressing a sandbag down on his breathing. But instinctively, he moved his hand away from the control panel, staggered back two steps, and slid down to the ground against the wall. The blue shield flickered but didn't disappear— Emma Frost had reconnected.
Her Diamond Body stood before the shield, like a towering piece of bulletproof glass, reflecting a cold light. The Yellowjacket squinted at her, his tone disdainful. "Another Mutants? You think this flashy outfit can withstand my attacks?"
Emma Frost ignored him, only slightly turning her head and glancing at the direction Scott was hiding out of the corner of her eye.
That one glance, without a word, conveyed the message perfectly: Your turn.
The Yellowjacket, of course, wouldn't give her a chance to pass on a signal. The spikes on his right arm armor suddenly popped out, and he activated his high-frequency vibration punch, charging forward like an out-of-control bulldozer. His fist slammed into Emma Frost's left shoulder with a crisp "clang," sending Mars flying. She swayed, her feet carving a half-meter crack in the ground, but she didn't retreat.
"That's it?" she sneered. "I was way stronger than you in high school gym class."
As she spoke, she suddenly stepped forward, grabbing the other man's wrist with her left hand and striking his elbow with her right. The Yellowjacket tried to break free, but she held him firmly. Emma Frost used her core strength, leveraging the weight and momentum of her Diamond Body, to violently swing him around—
"Bang!"
The Yellowjacket was swung up and slammed into a pile of collapsed training racks. The metal supports shattered and parts flew all over the ground.
Scott's eyes widened. "Holy crap... Valkyrie possession?"
He was about to peek out to see what was going on when Ye Mo's voice suddenly came through the earphones, hoarse like sandpaper grinding an iron bar:
"The ventilation interval at the left rear is 0.8 seconds each time. Can you use it?"
Scott looked down at the controller; the data stream was scrolling and refreshing, and the Yellowjacket's energy fluctuation curve was clearly visible—after each charge, there was indeed a brief delay at the back vents, fluctuating between 0.7 and 0.9 seconds, just enough time for a shrunken Ant-Man to crawl in and do something.
"It works." He grinned, his fingers rapidly swiping across the control panel. "But this thing has to be timed perfectly; a fraction of a second off and I'd be roasted ant."
"Then don't be bad." Ye Mo's voice was weaker, as if he was panting as he spoke, "Didn't you say you hated pretentious people the most? Now your chance has come."
Scott took a deep breath, and the suit system recalibrated the micro-propulsion module, setting the zoom frequency to the highest level. He stared at the battle on Emma Frost's side—she was engaged in close combat with the Yellowjacket, their fists and feet clashing with metallic clang, each block leaving cracks in the ground. Although her Diamond Body was resilient, it was not invincible; she already had a diagonal scratch on her left shoulder, and some micro-cracks on the surface of her crystal layers.
But she didn't back down at all.
Instead, they fought even harder.
Emma Frost forced her opponent back with a spinning kick, then created distance, crossing her arms in front of her chest in a defensive stance. The Yellowjacket roared, bringing his arms together, and the cone-shaped sonic cannon condensed again, the golden light in his palms growing brighter and brighter.
"You want to kill me instantly?" Emma Frost scoffed. "Did you ask me if I agreed?"
Instead of retreating, she charged forward, heading straight for the burst of energy.
boom--!
A burst of white light illuminated the entire main hall as if it were daytime. The shockwave overturned the remaining equipment racks, and the blast forced Scott to the ground, making it difficult for him to breathe. When the light subsided, Emma Frost was seen with her arms crossed in front of her face. Her Diamond Body had taken 80% of the impact from the front, and the fabric on her back was completely torn, but her body was unharmed.
Only she knew that the shock had made her internal organs tremble.
"It's your turn," she thought to herself, her gaze sweeping towards the flank once more.
Scott is ready.
He shrunk to thirty centimeters, his suit went into silent mode, and moved silently forward along the crack in the ground. The Yellowjacket had just recovered from the intense confrontation and was about to turn around to chase Emma Frost when the ventilation vents on his back started flashing rhythmically, like a heartbeat.
0.8 seconds.
Scott seized the opportunity, accelerated sharply, and slid close to the ground. Just as the opponent finished charging, he squeezed into the gap below the heat sink.
Inside were densely packed energy conduits, flowing with red light, and the temperature was extremely high. He dared not linger, and quickly crawled along the main power supply line, his target being the core control node at the back of his neck.
If they could plant a jamming chip there, even if it only caused him to lag for two seconds, Emma Frost would have a chance to retaliate.
Meanwhile, outside, Emma Frost was still toughing it out.
She stopped simply defending and began to actively pressure him. A straight punch forced the Yellowjacket to retreat, followed by a left sweeping kick that forced him to raise his arm to block, exposing an opening in his waist. She immediately followed up, kneeing him in the seam of his abdominal armor.
A soft "click" sounded.
The armor is loose.
The Yellowjacket grunted, quickly leaping backward to create distance, a hint of fear finally appearing in his eyes. "Your body... isn't some ordinary mutant ability."
"Smart." Emma Frost flicked her hand, causing the diamond's surface to tremble slightly, repairing part of the crack. "It's a pity you discovered it too late."
She took a step forward, exuding an imposing aura. "Now, it's my turn to make a move."
The Yellowjacket gritted his teeth, recharging his arms. This time, instead of a sonic cannon, he unleashed a high-frequency vibration punch combined with particle beams, attacking quickly and densely. Emma Frost, relying on her Diamond Body, took the damage head-on, blocking and closing in at the same time, each step perfectly timed with the gaps in her opponent's rhythm.
She is not winning.
She's stalling.
To buy Scott time.
To give Ye Mo a chance to catch his breath.
This also allowed them to regain a slight advantage in this battle.
Ye Mo leaned against the wall, still clutching the data cable connector in his hand, the energy curve on the screen constantly fluctuating. He stared at Scott's location signal, seeing that tiny red dot slowly moving upwards, approaching the nape of his neck.
"Hurry up..." he urged in a low voice, his throat parched.
Suddenly, the Yellowjacket seemed to sense something, abruptly turning around and delivering a spinning kick to his back. Emma Frost had anticipated this, dodging to the side while simultaneously grabbing his ankle and pulling hard.
"Bang!"
The Yellowjacket lost his balance and knelt on one knee.
At that very moment, Scott's signal point flashed – Target location reached.
"Now!" Ye Mo roared into the communication channel.
Without hesitation, Scott pressed a button, and the interference chip popped out, precisely fitting into the gap of the control node.
The Yellowjacket suddenly paused, and a faint alarm sounded inside the armor.
He glanced down at the control panel, his expression suddenly changing.
"You..."
Before he could finish speaking, Emma Frost had already rushed in front of him and delivered an uppercut to his chin.
"Shut up," she said. "Having so much fun fighting, you've forgotten who you are, haven't you?"
She gave him no chance to react, forcing him to retreat with three consecutive punches. Each punch landed on a weak point in his armor, causing the internal structure to creak. The Yellowjacket tried to retaliate, but his movements were noticeably sluggish, as if the system was rebooting.
Scott seized the opportunity to exit the body, reverting to his original form. He hid behind a load-bearing pillar, panting, "It's done... the chip is working. He can only maintain basic functions at most; he can't charge up his ultimate attack."
"That's enough." Ye Mo leaned against the wall and slowly stood up. Although his legs were still trembling, his eyes were clear. " Emma Frost, don't kill him, leave him alive."
Emma Frost snorted and didn't answer, but her attack clearly slowed down the next second, and she switched to a suppressive style of play, forcing the Yellowjacket to defend passively.
She stood in the center of the main hall, her Diamond Body gleaming coldly under the flashing lights, like a statue that refused to fall. The scratches on her shoulder were still there, but no longer spreading. Her breathing was steady, her eyes sharp, firmly locked onto her opponent.
Scott adjusted his suit, checked the remaining battery power in the propulsion system, and quietly moved towards the rear tunnel entrance. He knew the real assault hadn't begun yet, but now, the opportunity had been created.
Ye Mo leaned against the control panel, his left hand still holding the data cable, his right hand supporting his forehead, staring at the monitor screen. His face was pale, his lips were dry, but the corners of his mouth curled up slightly.
"Alright, White Queen," he whispered, "That was cool."
Emma Frost heard her, but without turning around, she simply raised her hand slightly, making a "continue" gesture.
The Yellowjacket stood opposite, his armor alarms blaring and his cooling system malfunctioning, clearly still recovering from the disruption. He stared at Emma Frost, his eyes dark, but he didn't charge forward again.
He knew the situation had changed.
Ye Mo slowly sat down, closed his eyes briefly, and then opened them again.
Scott stood close to the wall, his fingers resting on the controller.
Emma Frost stood in the center, her Diamond Form completely still.
The fighting continues.