Ye Mo stared at the silver virus box on the screen, his finger swiping across the terminal. Once that thing was activated, the entire production line would become Obadiah's puppet. He turned to Tony, "We can't wait any longer, we have to act now."
Tony nodded, grabbed the portable thruster from the table, and strapped it to his right arm. " JARVIS is suppressed, but he can still maintain local communication. We'll take the underground passage and avoid the main road's surveillance."
The two quickly left the control room. The corridor lights flickered, clearly indicating that the system had been tampered with. Just as they turned into the maintenance corridor in Area B, Ye Mo suddenly raised his hand to stop Tony.
"Stop."
Three meters ahead, a nearly invisible metal wire stretched across the passage through a crack in the paving stones. He crouched down, took out Vibranium fragment from his pocket, and gently touched it; the wire instantly emitted a faint red glow.
"The trigger line is connected to a high-energy pulse device." Ye Mo retrieved the fragment. "Someone's waiting for us to come to them."
Tony squinted. "Then let's not go through the front door."
They changed their route to the outskirts of an abandoned industrial area. This area used to be an early experimental workshop, but now the pipes are rusted, the walls are cracked, and even surveillance cameras have been abandoned. But it is precisely in places like this that people can easily hide.
As soon as Ye Mo entered the open factory area, his right Thermal Vision automatically activated. On the elevated platforms on both sides, three high-temperature signals remained stationary.
"There's an ambush up there," he said in a low voice. "A sniper, with Negasonic Teenage Warhead."
Tony looked up at the crisscrossing steel beams overhead. "There's no way around it; we have to force our way through."
"No," Ye Mo shook his head, "They're waiting for a direct confrontation. Let's go down below."
The two moved close to the wall. Just as they were about to cross the central work area, the ground suddenly shook. Several steel plates flipped up, and four thugs wearing black exoskeletons leaped out of the underground passage, surrounding them in an encirclement formation.
"Quickly enough," Ye Mo sneered. " Obadiah really thinks we're just sitting around doing nothing."
The leader removed his helmet, revealing a scarred face. A small bronze box hung around his neck, emitting a rhythmic hum.
"Anti- Mind Stone interference device?" Ye Mo frowned.
The other person grinned, "I heard you can control people's minds, too bad you can't use it today."
Before he could finish speaking, the three men pounced at the same time. Ye Mo closed his eyes, expanded his consciousness, and instantly locked onto the neural signals of two of the thugs, forcibly taking control.
"Change direction and attack the one on the left!"
The two men who were being controlled suddenly turned around and started punching and kicking their companion. In the chaos, one fell to the ground, and the other crashed into the mechanical arm support. But in the instant Ye Mo was distracted, the scarred leader rushed forward and slammed a metal pipe into his abdomen.
A sharp pain exploded within me.
Ye Mo staggered backward, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth. That wasn't an ordinary blow; the exoskeleton enhanced his strength and precisely avoided vital points, all to incapacitate him.
"Cough..." He squatted down, leaning against the wall, his breathing becoming labored.
"How dare you touch my friend?!" A furious roar exploded.
Tony slammed into an approaching thug, rushed to Ye Mo's side, and ripped off his jacket, pressing it to Ye Mo's wound. He knelt on one knee, charging the wrist cannon in his left arm, which flashed red light.
"None of you are allowed to get close to him."
As soon as he finished speaking, the cannon fired. The energy beam struck the nearest enemy in the chest, instantly overloading the exoskeleton and causing it to smoke. The second shot hit the support frame, triggering a chain reaction collapse that forced the other two back.
"Can we still walk?" Tony asked through gritted teeth.
Ye Mo caught his breath, reached out to support himself, but his legs gave way and he fell back down. "Almost."
"Don't be reckless," Tony said, tugging at his shoulder. "I'll cover you."
Just then, the scarred leader raised his communicator and whispered a few words. In the distance, the sound of machinery whirring came, and several automated patrol turrets emerged from a corner, their cannons aimed at the two men.
"Suppressive fire is coming." Ye Mo wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth. "We need to get into the underground pipes."
Tony nodded, hoisted Ye Mo onto his back, and ran towards the nearest maintenance well. Behind them, artillery fire roared, and energy beams grazed the walls, sending Mars flying. He kicked open the well cover, shoved Ye Mo inside, and jumped down after him.
The pipes were dark and damp. Tony turned on his wrist light, the beam illuminating the winding passage ahead. "There's an exit fifty meters ahead, leading to the factory's core area."
"Let me catch my breath." Ye Mo leaned against the wall, his hand pressed against his abdomen. "That attack just now damaged my internal organs."
Tony examined his wound, his brow furrowing. "Not much blood loss, but you can't stay like this for long. Can you still use your powers?"
"Let's try." Ye Mo closed his eyes, his consciousness sinking into the Gene Spiral Tower. The [ Steel Bone Body - Basic Defense] module lit up, and he mobilized his remaining energy, commanding the system to forcibly activate it.
The bones began to harden, and a metallic sheen appeared from the chest to the ribs. Although it only covered half of the body, it was enough to support movement.
"Alright." He stood up, leaning against the wall. "We'll split up. You draw attention from the front, and I'll sneak into the control room through the Wall Phasing."
"No," Tony refused flatly. "You're not in the right condition to act alone."
"I didn't say 'alone'," Ye Mo said, catching his breath. "I'll use Telepathy to scan the inside. As long as I confirm that Carl Rein is still operating the virus box, you activate the jamming program, and I'll find an opportunity to sever the connection."
Tony stared at him for two seconds, then finally nodded. "Okay. But if you can't hold out, retreat immediately. This is not negotiable."
"Okay, I know." Ye Mo smiled. "You're even more long-winded than my mom."
The two continued forward. The pipe gradually narrowed, and the air became stifling. They encountered two barriers along the way, both of which Tony burned through with his wrist cannon. As they approached the exit, Ye Mo suddenly stopped.
"Etc."
He closed his eyes and extended his mental energy. Thirty meters ahead, someone was moving around in the control room. A familiar figure was bending over to connect a wire— Carl Ryan.
"Found it." Ye Mo opened his eyes. "The virus box has been connected to the main server and is in the countdown synchronization phase."
"How long?"
"Less than ten minutes."
Tony immediately opened an encrypted channel, " JARVIS, can the remaining nodes be forcibly powered off?"
After a brief silence, the mechanical voice responded, "Okay, but there's only a seven-second window. And after restarting, the system will default to safe mode, and all production lines will shut down."
"Enough." Tony clenched his fist. "Ready to execute."
"I'll go through the side wall," Ye Mo said, stretching his shoulders. "You're drawing their attention."
"How do we attract them?" Tony raised an eyebrow.
"Just shout something like ' Iron Man is here,'" Ye Mo pushed up his glasses. "Isn't that how you usually start things off?"
"Hey, that's with special effects," Tony scoffed. "Remember, seven seconds, no more, no less."
"Don't worry, I passed math." Ye Mo walked towards the exit, "Wait for your signal."
Tony took a deep breath and kicked open the iron gate in front of him. Bright light flooded in, and he strode out, firing three shots into the ceiling with his wrist cannon.
" Stark Industries prohibits unauthorized intrusion! Lay down your weapons and accept punishment!"
The alarm still hadn't sounded, but all the surveillance cameras turned to him. A few seconds later, the control room door opened, and two guards rushed out. Tony went to meet them and exchanged fire; the battle erupted instantly.
Taking advantage of the opportunity, Ye Mo pressed himself against the outer wall. The metal layer beneath his skin flowed, and his arm turned into a liquid, slowly seeping into the wall. Regenerative Phasing were activated, and his entire body merged into the reinforced concrete like mercury.
Ten seconds later, he appeared in the control room. Carl Ryan turned his back to him and operated the terminal, the silver box flashing blue light.
Ye Mo approached step by step.
Five meters to go.
Four meters.
Suddenly, the floor vibrated slightly. He looked down and noticed a thin thread embedded in the grout between the floor tiles, connecting to the bottom of the computer.
trap.
He tried to back away, but it was too late. The entire room suddenly lit up with red light, and the alarm system activated. Carl Ryan turned around sharply, his face not showing panic, but rather a smile.
"I've been waiting for you for a long time, Mr. X."