Sensing an Anomaly

The vending machine at the end of the corridor was still humming. Ye Mo had just swallowed the last bite of hot chocolate, and the warmth in his stomach hadn't completely dissipated when Hank Pym's modified multi-purpose off-road vehicle stopped at the loading and unloading area at the base entrance.

As soon as the car door opened, the gray-haired scientist, without even getting out, hurried towards the living area, carrying a stack of blueprints taller than himself and a holographic projection panel. The reflection on his glasses swayed with each step, and he muttered about the damping coefficient of the hydraulic rod, completely unaware that the two young men following behind him were watching him with helpless expressions.

"Hank," Scott stepped forward, blocking his path, "Shouldn't we have breakfast first? Or at least a cup of coffee before discussing the project?"

Hank stopped, adjusted his glasses, and his eyes gleamed with the fervor typical of scientific researchers. "Breakfast can wait, but space utilization can't! The current base layout is too primitive, consisting entirely of living and office areas, lacking systematic training grounds. Your battle yesterday was too risky; it relied on luck and individual talent, which isn't a sustainable strategy."

Emma Frost stood to the side, arms crossed, and added coldly, "He's right. We need a place that can simulate all sorts of extreme environments, instead of practicing our movements in the hallway like we are now."

Ye Mo interjected, his tone calm yet carrying an undeniable force. "Besides, if we're going to build it, we need to build it professionally. Forget all that fancy decorations; I need efficiency."

Hank's eyes lit up, as if he had heard some beautiful music, and he immediately waved his hand to unfold the holographic projection panel in his hand. A blue screen unfolded in front of the three of them, densely marked with various data streams and structural diagrams. "I knew you guys knew your stuff! Take a look at this preliminary plan. I've transformed the abandoned storage area on the west side into a three-story training ground. The first floor is for basic physical fitness and combat, the second floor is for special ability adaptation, and the top floor is for psychological stress resistance and tactical review."

Scott peeked inside and frowned. "Wait, what's with this second floor? Is it divided into sections?"

"Of course." Ye Mo pointed to a red square in the projection, "Ordinary people practice martial arts, but we're different. As Ant-Man, your size changes drastically, so the gravity environment must be adjustable. If gravity remains constant when you shrink, your inertia will be out of control; if there isn't enough support when you enlarge, the ground will collapse. Therefore, this layer needs to be equipped with a variable gravity generator and a molecular stabilization field."

Hank nodded vigorously. "That's right, I've calculated it. Introducing Pym Particles generator for fine-tuning is entirely feasible. However, the cost is a bit high..."

"Money isn't the issue, safety is." Emma Frost interrupted him, lightly tapping the other side of the projection with her finger. "And this area, the Telepathy isolation zone. While my abilities are primarily for support, my mental state is easily disrupted during high-intensity combat. If there are other Mutants or mental weapon simulations in the training room, I need to ensure my mind is absolutely sealed off. Otherwise, a moment of distraction will be a fatal weakness."

Ye Mo smoothly continued, "Besides that, I also need a 'variable injection' module. Training can't just be rote memorization and repetition of movements; it must have randomness. For example, sudden changes in light, noise interference, or even simulated enemy Feint to deceive. The system prompt tells me that human neural reflexes have inertia, and only by breaking this inertia can one survive in actual combat."

Hank listened with great interest, his electronic pen flying across the air as he jotted down notes. "Feasible, very feasible. We can use existing holographic projection arrays combined with sound wave simulators to achieve dynamic scene switching. As for your 'variable injection,' I can write a random algorithm to make the training process unpredictable."

Scott scratched his head, a mixture of excitement and worry in his eyes. "Can I fly? I mean, can I hover like a helicopter after shrinking down? I think that would be really cool."

Emma Frost glanced at him, her tone completely flat. "If you want to smash yourself into a pulp in the training room, I don't mind watching."

"Hey, I was just kidding!" Scott raised his hands in surrender, then became serious. "But it would be great if there was a simulated air resistance area. My maneuverability varies a lot depending on the size of the vehicle; sometimes I can't even turn properly."

Ye Mo nodded, his gaze sweeping over the entire design. "Integrate these requirements. Furthermore, the safety protection mechanisms must be in place. An automatic emergency braking system, Energy Absorption barrier, and real-time vital sign monitoring are all indispensable. We want to push the limits, not create accidents."

Hank put down his pen, looked up at the three men, and his eyes gleamed with the unique light of an engineer. "Don't worry, on my turf, safety is always the top priority. I'll design this system to military standards; even if a hole is blown inside, the people outside will be unharmed."

Ye Mo remained silent for a moment, the images of the previous battle flashing through his mind: Darren's Yellowjacket armor, the explosion in the laboratory, the sense of urgency that hung in the balance... If there had been more advanced training facilities back then, perhaps the outcome would have been different. He took a deep breath and pulled his thoughts back to reality.

"Then it's settled," Ye Mo said. "The framework of the plan is like this. Hank, you'll be in charge of the technical implementation and procurement. Emma Frost and I will be responsible for developing the training syllabus and safety specifications. Scott..."

Scott puffed out his chest. "I'll handle the testing! I guarantee I'll cooperate!"

"No," Ye Mo's lips curled up slightly, revealing a barely perceptible smile, "You're in charge of providing the 'negative example.' After all, only through failure can one learn how to improve."

Scott paused for a moment, then sighed with a wry smile, "Well, looks like I'm going to get yelled at again."

Emma Frost chuckled softly, turned and walked to the control panel, beginning to retrieve the base's spatial structure data. "I'll first mark the locations of the load-bearing walls in the construction area to prevent Hank from making any mistakes during the renovation."

Hank pumped his fist excitedly. "Great! With your help, this project will definitely be completed ahead of schedule. I'll go contact the suppliers right now and see if they have any variable gravity modules in stock."

Watching the two busy at work, Ye Mo finally felt a weight lifted from his heart. The establishment of the training room was not merely an expansion of physical space, but a crucial step for the team to move from loose cooperation to standardized combat. It meant that they would no longer rely solely on improvisation, but had a platform for systematically improving their skills.

He walked to the window and looked at the gradually brightening sky outside. Sunlight streamed through the glass onto the metal floor, casting a faint golden glow. The base remained quiet, but there seemed to be a hint of tension and anticipation in the air.

"Ye Mo." Emma Frost's voice came from behind, calm and clear, "What are you thinking about?"

Ye Mo turned around, took off his silver half-rimmed glasses, and casually placed them on the table beside him. "Thinking about the days ahead, I'll probably be busier than before."

Scott leaned over and patted him on the shoulder. "What are you afraid of? We're the Avengers Reserve Team, we'll deal with anything that comes our way."

Ye Mo smiled, put his glasses back on, concealing the fleeting depth in his eyes. He didn't speak, but simply picked up his terminal, saved the finalized training room plan, and marked it as [highest priority].

The progress bar on the screen slowly advanced, indicating that the file had been backed up to the cloud and local server. Ye Mo lightly tapped the screen to confirm that all parameters were correct.

"Let's go," Ye Mo put away his terminal, turned, and walked towards the door. "Let's check out the construction site. Hank was right, time waits for no one."

The three walked out of the conference room side by side, and the lights in the corridor turned on one by one, illuminating their path. Ahead, a new training room was being prepared in full swing, and their story would begin a new chapter in this space.

The lights in the training area weren't completely off yet, and the air was filled with the mixed smell of coolant and ozone. Scott had just finished a set of high-intensity miniaturized jump tests and was slumped on a rest chair, panting heavily. Sweat streamed down his face, dripping onto the metal floor with a soft sound. Emma Frost, on the other hand, sat cross-legged on a meditation mat nearby, her eyes closed, radiating an indescribable sense of tranquility, as if the surrounding noise was irrelevant to her.

Ye Mo stood in front of the control panel, his fingers rapidly tapping on the virtual keyboard, checking the training data from just now. Everything was normal, all indicators were within the expected range, and could even be described as excellent. However, just as he was about to turn off the main power, a very faint buzzing sound suddenly rang out deep in his mind.

That wasn't a system notification tone, nor was it a sound from the outside world; it was a tremor that acted directly on the nerve endings.

Ye Mo's movements abruptly halted, his fingers hovering in mid-air. He frowned slightly and quickly activated the passive perception module of the "X-Gene Resonance System." This was a radar-like function, capable of detecting subtle energy fluctuations in the surrounding environment. Typically, these fluctuations originated from the release of abilities by nearby Mutants or the operation of some high-energy device.

At this moment, no other Mutants in the base were using their abilities, and Hank's devices had already been shut down.

The fluctuation was extremely faint, like a taut string being gently plucked, disappearing in an instant. If Ye Mo hadn't been in a state of intense concentration, he wouldn't have been able to detect its existence at all.

"What's wrong?" Scott noticed Ye Mo's unusual behavior, looked up and asked, his face still flushed.

Ye Mo did not answer immediately, but closed his eyes and focused his perception again. This time, he clearly felt that the fluctuation did not come from above or the side, but from below—more precisely, from a certain location deep within the foundation.

The fluctuation frequency exhibited a strange regularity, fluctuating in intensity like breathing. Ye Mo quickly searched his mind for all known Mutants ability characteristics and the experimental materials Hank Pym might use. Pym Particles... these subatomic particles capable of altering the size and mass of matter are themselves an extremely unstable energy source. If handled improperly, or if a tiny crack appears in the storage container, this specific frequency resonance will occur.

"Scott, Emma Frost." Ye Mo opened his eyes, his tone becoming serious, no longer containing any hint of jest.

Scott immediately stood up, his playful expression fading, and looked around warily. "What happened?"

Emma Frost opened her eyes as well, a hint of seriousness flashing in her pale purple pupils. She didn't speak, but instead activated her Telepathy, scanning the entire base's structural diagram and energy distribution. A few seconds later, her expression also turned grim.

"The source of the signal fluctuation isn't in the construction area to the west, nor is it in the current training room," Emma Frost's voice was icy. "It's underground. And the signal strength is slowly increasing."

Ye Mo nodded, walked to the main control panel, and pulled up the deep structural diagram of the base. On the screen, the red dot representing the intensity of the fluctuation was located in the abandoned area at the bottom of the base. It was originally Hank's reserved experimental space, but it was not mentioned as a key construction area in the previous chapter, so it seemed particularly mysterious.

"Something's not right." Ye Mo pointed to the red dot, then turned to the two of them. "This fluctuation isn't coming from the training room upstairs, but from downstairs. Moreover, its characteristics closely match the unstable resonance of the Pym Particles."

Scott swallowed hard, and asked nervously, "Where is down there? Hank didn't mention any underground labs."

Ye Mo adjusted his glasses, his gaze behind the lenses sharp as a knife. "Whatever it is, we must go down and investigate. If it really is a particle leak, the consequences would be unimaginable. Waiting here will only increase the risk; we must proactively investigate."

Emma Frost stood up and straightened her collar. "I'll scan first to rule out the possibility of an ambush by hostile forces. Scott, you shrink your size and come with me into the ventilation duct to scout the road ahead. Ye Mo, you're in charge of tracking the fluctuations and guiding the direction."

"Understood." Scott took a deep breath, his body rapidly shrank to the size of a palm, and jumped onto Ye Mo's shoulder.

The three acted swiftly, avoiding blind spots in the surveillance cameras, and moved towards the underground area along the pre-designated safety passage. The elevator doors slowly opened, and a deep humming sound came from the dark passage. The vibration reached its peak at this moment, making Ye Mo's eardrums itch.

Ye Mo took the first step, followed closely by Emma Frost, while Scott clung to Ye Mo's shoulder, gripping the fabric of his hoodie tightly. The elevator descended slowly, but each floor brought with it an increasingly intense sense of unease.

When the elevator doors opened again, a blast of cold, rusty air rushed out. The end of the corridor was pitch black, with only the faint glow of the emergency indicator lights. Ye Mo stopped, glanced back at his companion, and his expression turned grave.

"Are you ready?" he asked in a low voice.

Emma Frost nodded, a faint light gathering at her fingertips, ready to respond to any unexpected situation. Scott clenched his small fists, his eyes resolute despite his fear.

Ye Mo didn't say anything more and stepped into the darkness. The sound of his footsteps echoed in the empty passage, each step like a beat to his heart. In the darkness ahead, something seemed to be waiting for them, and that eerie fluctuation was becoming clearer and closer.