Ye Mo stood at the end of the conference table, his hands in the pockets of his black hoodie, his gaze still fixed on the still-on projection screen. Scott remained seated, his fingers unconsciously rubbing the edge of his wristband; the faint blue light around it was off, but he could feel it silently operating in the background. Emma Frost's fingertips were still resting on her temples, maintaining a low-intensity Mind Stone connection scan, as if confirming the strength of some invisible bond.
The air still carried the lingering warmth of their intense discussion, and the hum of the equipment was almost inaudible, yet the three of them were not completely relaxed—no one moved, and no one spoke first.
Finally, Ye Mo pulled his hands out of his pockets, casually tossed them upwards, and stretched dramatically, his knuckles cracking a few times. "Oh my god, finally finished writing," he drawled. "I feel like a programmer working overtime until dawn, all I need is a cup of instant coffee and some instant noodles."
Scott chuckled, pointing to the title [ Hive Breach Protocol_V1.0 ] on the projector. "You have the nerve to say that? You absolutely refused to change that name." He even mimicked Scott's tone, "'It's better than calling it the Trio Action Plan,' I say, Professor Ye, shouldn't you get your chuunibyou treated?"
Ye Mo glanced at him sideways. "I'm being particular about naming conventions, don't you understand? You think just randomly coming up with 'Operation Plan A' makes you seem professional? What's the difference between that and a supermarket promotional flyer?"
Emma Frost, who had been keeping a straight face, twitched at the corner of her mouth upon hearing this. She finally lowered her hand from her temple, lightly shaking her wrist as if she had unloaded an invisible burden. "You two," she said casually, a hint of amusement in her voice, "One writes the code, the other executes the bugs; you work together quite well."
Ye Mo immediately turned to look at her. "Hey, is that a compliment or an insult?"
"The literal meaning." Emma Frost glanced at him, her eyes clear. "When you were discussing that just now, it was like you'd rehearsed it dozens of times. One question had barely surfaced before another was already on the table, without even a pause."
Scott's eyes lit up. "Oh--you mean we're like partners?"
"More than that," Emma Frost said with a slight smile, "It's that kind of tacit understanding like an old married couple. The man charges ahead recklessly, the woman cleans up the mess from behind, and the other frantically patchs things up in the middle."
The meeting room fell silent for half a second.
The three of them burst into laughter at the same time. Ye Mo laughed so hard that he took half a step back and bumped into the edge of the control panel, quickly grabbing it to steady himself; Scott slapped his thigh and almost slipped off his chair; Emma Frost, unusually, couldn't hold back her laughter, her shoulders trembling slightly and her eyes welling up with tears.
The laughter came suddenly, as if shattering the stone that had been pressing on their chests. No one was staring at the screen anymore, no one was thinking about the details of the agreement, and no one was concerned about response levels or combination libraries. At this moment, they were not tactical analysts, executors, or mental support units; they were just three ordinary people who had just finished pulling an all-nighter and incidentally saved the world.
Ye Mo smiled and shook his head, walked to the terminal, swiped his finger to manually close the projection interface. "Alright," he said, "Data saved, system archived, this phase of work is officially over."
"Shouldn't we celebrate?" Scott stood up, stretched his shoulders and neck, and cracked them a couple of times. "Like, a coffee? I know the vending machine downstairs recently changed its flavor; apparently it's 'caramel hazelnut latte'."
Emma Frost stood up, straightened the collar of her white coat, and spoke with her usual calm tone, though the heat in her eyes hadn't subsided. "Are you sure that wasn't just another round of biochemical experiments? After drinking that 'vanilla cream cocktail' you mentioned last time, I dreamt I turned into a hamster."
"That was an accident!" Scott raised his hand. "Besides, you were just dreaming; you didn't actually bite into the running wheel."
Ye Mo put on his silver half-rimmed glasses, adjusted the frames with a flourish, and said in a serious tone, "According to the system prompt, the most suitable drink at present is hot chocolate. We recommend adopting this suggestion."
"Huh?" Scott's eyes widened. "The system can handle this?"
"Of course." Ye Mo said without changing his expression. "It just reminded me: 'The team's emotional fluctuations are trending towards a positive peak; it is recommended to consume an appropriate amount of sugar to maintain neurotransmitter stability.'"
Emma Frost looked at him. "So now you even blame the system for what you drink?"
"This isn't about shifting blame, it's about making a scientific decision," Ye Mo said matter-of-factly. "Besides, I didn't ask it to help me find a partner."
Scott immediately perked up. "Wait a minute, have you two ever considered that your relationship is actually more like that of a couple? One of you is always trying to read minds, and the other is always saying, 'The system told me to do this'—isn't that the standard couple's argument routine? 'It's not that I want to bring up the past, it's just that my phone keeps popping up our chat history.'"
Emma Frost raised an eyebrow. "I didn't read his mind."
"But you've thought about it," Ye Mo replied with a smile, "The way you looked at me the next day after I stole some pudding from your the Fridge was more precise than a laser cutter."
"That's why you deserve to be watched," Emma Frost said calmly. "And you even put the empty box back in its place after you finished eating, did you think I wouldn't notice?"
"This is called tactical trace clearing," Ye Mo said, shrugging. "It's a basic survival skill."
"Then try not to leave the spoon on top of the trash can next time," Scott added. "I thought it was a distress signal left by someone."
The three chatted as they walked towards the door, their steps light and their shoulders relaxed. The corridor lighting was softer than the conference room lighting, casting a faint bluish-gray hue on the metal walls. Outside, the sky was already bright, and the sounds of footsteps and walkie-talkies could be heard from inside the base; a new day had truly begun.
Just before leaving, Scott suddenly stopped and looked back at the conference table—it was still arranged exactly as it had been, with sticky notes, terminals, and water glasses still there, like a still-frozen image.
"Honestly..." he said softly, "Today's meeting was worthwhile."
Ye Mo didn't turn around, but raised her hand and patted him on the shoulder twice, her rhythm crisp. "Clearance complete."
Scott paused for a second, then grinned. He knew this was one of their newly agreed-upon codes—one tap meant clearing was complete, two taps meant assistance was needed. Now, Ye Mo had used two taps, but it meant "clearing complete."
He deliberately raised his voice. "You're the one who needs help, aren't you? You always use the system as a shield, I'm starting to suspect that the 'System User Manual' is stuck to your bedside."
Ye Mo shrugged. "The instruction manual is too thick; I only memorized the first chapter: 'How to Elegantly Shift Responsibility.'"
Emma Frost walked last, her hand resting on the doorframe, glancing back at the conference room. All equipment was in standby mode, the projector was completely off, and only a small light in the corner was still on, like an eye that refused to sleep.
She gently pressed the close button, and the metal door slid shut silently, cutting off the last ray of light.
"Level 1 code confirmed," she said softly, her tone calm yet tinged with a smile. "Safe."
In the corridor, the three walked side by side, their footsteps lightly mingling. Ye Mo put his hands back into his hoodie pockets, Scott hummed an old rock tune, and Emma Frost glanced at the two of them from time to time, as if checking something, or perhaps simply finding it amusing.
No one mentioned what to do next, no one asked where the training room would be built, how to debug the equipment, or when the next crisis would arrive. It wasn't necessary at that moment.
They had just finalized a set of operational plans and also just laughed at a pointless joke. The former was about survival, the latter about living like human beings.
As they turned the corner of the corridor, Ye Mo suddenly said, "Oh, by the way, that hot chocolate is on me."
Scott immediately raised his hand. "I want double the marshmallows!"
"You don't want your blood sugar anymore?" Emma Frost frowned.
"Heroes consume a lot of resources!" Scott argued confidently. "Besides, I just crawled inside enemy armor; that kind of maneuver deserves a reward."
"Then remember to bring a straw next time," Ye Mo said. "In case you get stuck, we can deliver coffee to you remotely."
"Aren't you guys afraid I'll get arrogant?" Scott sighed. "I'm already starting to fantasize about being a flying ant."
"Then you'll have to learn how not to hit a wall first," Emma Frost said calmly.
"Hey, my eyesight is great after I shrunk!"
"But your sense of direction is terrible." Ye Mo nodded. "Last time in the third training area, you were supposed to go left, but you plunged headfirst into the simulated ventilation duct and almost triggered the smoke alarm."
"That's a system misrepresentation!"
"The system didn't tell you to close your eyes and jump."
"I want to experience freefall!"
Emma Frost listened to the two bickering without replying, but the corners of her mouth curled up slightly again. Sunlight streamed in through the glass window at the end of the corridor, falling on the tips of her hair and shimmering with a silvery-white light.
They continued walking, their footsteps mingling with laughter, echoing softly in the empty base corridors.
Ahead is the living area, with a coffee machine, sofas, vending machines, and the faint aroma of freshly brewed hot drinks wafting through the air.
The access control system recognized the three individuals, a green light flashed, and the passage opened automatically.
Ye Mo walked in the middle, glanced at his companions to the left and right, and suddenly thought that this kind of morning was not bad.