At three in the morning, the air still carried the damp smell of last night's downpour. Only Ye Mo and Emma Frost were at the 24-hour jianbing (Chinese crepe) stall by the roadside.
Ye Mo sat in a folding chair, holding a bowl of freshly cooked tofu pudding. The steam rose onto his face, causing his usually half-closed eyes to open slightly. He stirred the broth in the bowl with a spoon, casually listening to the occasional sound of taxi tires screeching against the pavement. Emma Frost sat opposite him, a cup of black coffee in front of her. She held the cup with both hands, her fingertips lightly tracing the ceramic rim. Her gaze wasn't on Ye Mo, but rather pierced through the night, looking at the dark horizon in the distance.
The scene looked peaceful and serene, as if they weren't desperate criminals who had just risked their lives to retrieve Vibranium from Africa mine, but rather an ordinary couple who had just finished overtime and were taking a breather. But Ye Mo knew that this tranquility wouldn't last long. His body was honest; every muscle was screaming about exhaustion, a consequence of continuous high-intensity combat and long-distance travel. But to make matters worse, that damned " X-Gene Resonance System " in his mind started ticking incessantly like an alarm clock.
At first, it was just a slight stinging pain, like a needle gently pricking near his temple. Ye Mo didn't pay attention, thinking it was just neurasthenia caused by staying up too late last night. He picked up a piece of fried dough stick, took a bite, and was about to put it in his mouth when the stinging sensation suddenly intensified, turning into a continuous, rhythmic pulling force.
He was very familiar with this feeling. Whenever something big happened, or something powerful was lurking nearby, this resonance from the Gene Spiral Tower would give an early warning. However, this time the frequency was a bit strange. Unlike the sharp alarm sound before, it was a deep, resonant vibration, like the heartbeat of the earth.
Ye Mo paused. He put down the fried dough stick in his hand, picked up the tofu pudding and took a sip, using the swallowing motion to conceal the change in his expression. He looked up and casually glanced around. The streetlights at the corner were dim, a few drunkards staggered past, and the convenience store clerk was yawning. Everything seemed perfectly normal.
But Ye Mo's senses had already blocked out the noise from the outside world. He closed his eyes and sank his consciousness into the Gene Spiral Tower in his mind. At the bottom of the tower, the layer representing " Vibranium Sense " glowed faintly, and a clear, directional force rose from the bottom of his heart, following some unseen veins, pointing straight south—to the distant Africa continent.
Something's not right.
Ye Mo opened his eyes, his gaze instantly sharpening. He glanced at Emma Frost across from him. Emma Frost seemed to sense his gaze, turning her head with a slight frown. "What's wrong? Is the food not to your liking?"
"No." Ye Mo shook his head, a familiar nonchalant smile playing on his lips. "It's just that the city's nightlife is too boring, making me want to find some excitement somewhere else."
Emma Frost didn't respond immediately. Her mental tentacles had already quietly spread out, cautiously probing into the depths of Ye Mo's consciousness. She didn't forcefully invade, but merely probed at the edge, and then caught that familiar, uniquely Ye Mo- like fluctuation signal. Her expression changed slightly, her originally languid posture instantly tensed, and Diamond Form light flashed in her eyes before quickly receding.
"Is it in the direction of Wakanda?" Emma Frost asked in a low voice, a hint of seriousness in her tone.
"Hmm." Ye Mo nodded, put down his chopsticks, and wiped his mouth with a tissue. "The fluctuation was very clear, it was near the border. And... it didn't feel good. It was like someone was doing something big underground, making quite a commotion, but deliberately hiding it very well."
Emma Frost was silent for a moment, then picked up her coffee and took a sip. The bitter taste made her more alert. "Are you sure it's not your imagination? After all, we just finished a tough battle, and we might be a bit mentally exhausted."
"My intuition has never been wrong." Ye Mo stood up, slapping the coins on the table—just enough to pay the bill. "If it's just my imagination, then consider it a vacation in Africa. If not... humph, that'll be interesting."
He took Emma Frost's hand, his grip light but firm. Emma Frost stood up, and the two walked out of the food stall one after the other, disappearing into the quiet, chilly morning street.
The SUV was parked in a dark alley two blocks away. The engine started very quietly, almost drowned out by the wind. Ye Mo stepped on the gas, and the black car, like a Beast awakening, silently glided onto the main road, then accelerated and sped towards the highway.
There was no music or conversation in the car. Ye Mo gripped the steering wheel, his eyes fixed on the road ahead, but half of his attention was focused on the senses in his mind. The traction force was getting stronger and stronger, and his sense of direction was constantly being corrected as the vehicle moved.
"How much further?" Emma Frost leaned back in her seat, closing her eyes to rest, but her ears were as sharp as radar.
"At our current speed, and with the shortcut I've chosen, we should reach the border area in about four hours." Ye Mo glanced at the navigation on the dashboard. "However, I don't plan to go straight in. That place is a powder keg right now; barging in recklessly will only make us targets. We need an observation point, a place where we can clearly see the situation but are not easily spotted."
Emma Frost nodded in agreement. She knew Ye Mo's style of doing things: cautious, meticulous, and never fighting unprepared battles.
The car sped along the highway, the scenery outside the window gradually changing from the neon lights of the city to the desolate countryside, and then to rolling hills and dense forests. Time passed little by little, the sky turning from deep blue to gray-white. The darkness before dawn was the deepest and most suitable for movement.
Ye Mo's fingers tapped lightly on the steering wheel, the rhythm subtly overlapping with the frequency of the Vibranium sensation in his mind. He could sense that the fluctuation was not from a single source, but rather presented a complex network structure, as if a huge net was being woven underground. At the center of the net, the energy concentration was extremely high, and it was clearly aggressive.
"Interesting," Ye Mo muttered to himself. "This isn't ordinary digging. This is activating something."
Emma Frost opened her eyes and looked at the scenery rushing past the window. "You mean, someone is trying to awaken a dormant Vibranium vein? Or some kind of ancient device?"
"Anything is possible." Ye Mo sneered. "Whatever it is, anyone who dares to pull such a stunt on Wakanda's territory is either out of their mind or has someone backing them up. Either way, we have to go and see."
A four-hour drive might be a long time for ordinary people, but for the two with superpowers, it was just a blink of an eye. By the time the off-road vehicle's tires rolled over the last dirt road and reached a secluded high ground, it was already fully light.
The terrain here is treacherous, surrounded by tall trees that form a natural barrier. Looking down from above, one sees a deep canyon, shrouded in mist, obscuring the view at its bottom. A faint smell of sulfur mingles with the earthy stench in the air, a scent that sends chills down one's spine.
Ye Mo stopped the car, opened the door, and got out. The morning breeze was a bit cool, causing the hood of his black hooded sweatshirt to flutter slightly. He took a deep breath, mobilized the gene fragments within his body, and activated " Vibranium Sense " once again.
This time, the perspective is completely different.
In his perception, the entire world had turned into black and white. The earth was gray, the vegetation was black, and the lines emitting a faint blue light were the Vibranium veins flowing underground. And deep in the canyon ahead, a blinding white ball of light was pulsating violently, each pulsation accompanied by a tremor of the earth.
Around the ball of light, countless thin black lines, like tentacles, were constantly extending downwards, trying to grasp something deeper. The ends of those lines were connected to regular artificial structures; clearly, these were man-made energy guiding devices.
"See that?" Ye Mo pointed downwards, his voice low. "Down there, there are at least three large energy sources operating simultaneously. They're extracting Vibranium energy from the ground, trying to convert it into some controllable form. But this energy is very unstable and could go out of control at any moment."
Emma Frost walked to Ye Mo's side and also felt the unsettling energy fluctuation. Her face turned pale, and her fingers gripped the hem of her clothes tightly. "This energy fluctuation... if released in the city, it would be enough to destroy half a city block. Have they gone mad?"
"There are plenty of lunatics in this circle." Ye Mo withdrew his gaze, took out binoculars from his backpack, and carefully observed the area below. "Look over there, there are several people in camouflage patrolling back and forth. Their equipment looks very professional, not like ordinary mercenaries. Moreover, their positions are very regular, as if they are protecting some core area."
Emma Frost took the binoculars, examined them carefully, and then handed them back to Ye Mo: "We need closer information. At this distance, we can only see the surface; we can't determine the exact number of enemies or their firepower."
Ye Mo nodded, put away the binoculars, turned and went back to the car, taking out two sets of black tactical bodysuits and masks from the trunk. "Change. We're going down to take a look. Remember, keep quiet and don't reveal your identities. If things don't look good, we'll retreat; we won't linger."
Emma Frost changed into her gear, her Diamond Form abilities flowing through her body, ready to handle any unexpected situations. Ye Mo also tidied his own gear, stuffing his silver half-rimmed glasses into his pocket and putting on a pair of goggles.
The two walked slowly down a secluded path along the edge of the highlands, one after the other. The gravel under their feet made a slight sound, but their controlled footsteps barely attracted any attention.
The further down he went, the stronger the energy fluctuations in the air became. Ye Mo could feel the hairs on his skin standing on end—an instinctive warning. He stopped and listened intently.
A faint mechanical hum carried on the wind, like a large generator operating at low load. At the same time, the Vibranium -inducing traction reached its peak, guiding him toward a rock face ahead.
There appears to be an entrance behind the rock face.
Ye Mo gestured for Emma Frost to stop, and the two hid behind the rocks, peering inside through the cracks. They saw that the interior of the rock wall was brightly lit, and a wide tunnel stretched deep into the depths, with cold metal pipes installed on both sides, through which a blue liquid flowed, emitting a chilling aura.
"It's an underground base," Ye Mo said in a low voice, "And it's quite large. It seems that although Klaue has fallen, his remaining followers haven't given up and have instead found a new backer here."
Emma Frost clenched her fists, a cold glint in her eyes. "Shall we go in?"
Ye Mo didn't answer immediately. He closed his eyes, feeling the vibrations of the Gene Spiral Tower within his body. That vibration was no longer a simple warning, but a call to something. It seemed to be telling him that the answer he had been searching for was there, as well as an impending crisis.
He opened his eyes, looked at Emma Frost, and a resolute smile appeared on his lips.
"Now that we're here, there's no reason for us to leave empty-handed," Ye Mo said. "Let's go see what these guys are up to."
The two exchanged a glance, and without a word, they tacitly adjusted their breathing, their figures flashing as they disappeared into the shadows of the rock wall, heading deeper into the unknown tunnel.