Preparations for Battle

The red light came on, and the car came to a stop. Ye Mo's hand was still pressed against the windshield; the icy mark hadn't melted, but instead, the car's heater had created a thin mist around it. He withdrew his hand, a thin layer of frost forming on his fingertips.

Tony didn't get out of the car right away. "You really intend to let them make the first move?"

"No." Ye Mo pushed open the car door, letting in a blast of cold air. "We moved first, but they thought they had won."

The underground parking garage entrance slowly closed, and after the car lights went out, the passageway plunged into brief darkness. Footsteps echoed as the two walked side by side toward the core training area of the base. The lights automatically turned on the moment the metal door opened.

Ye Mo stood in the center of the arena, his hands outstretched. A chill emanated from his palms, and the ground quickly froze. Ice crystals extended and piled up, and ice spears burst forth from the ground, forming an array. Next came ice shields, their curved surfaces facing outwards, nested layer upon layer. Finally, an ice bow hovered in mid-air, its arrows formed of ice crystals, ready to be fired at any moment.

Tony stood at the control panel adjusting the armor, glanced at it, and asked, "How long can this thing last?"

"Look how fast you hit it." Ye Mo wiped the sweat from his forehead. "This ice contains residual Telepathy; whoever touches it will reveal their location. It's like a living alarm."

"Sure," Tony grinned. "As soon as the enemy touches their weapon, you'll know where they're standing, then I'll send them home with a missile."

"Almost." Ye Mo cracked his knuckles. "But we need to practice our teamwork. You rush in too fast, and I can't cover you."

"Let's begin now." Tony activated the propulsion system, and the armored shoulder guns hummed as they warmed up. "Let's do a combat simulation."

An alarm sounded, and target drones rose from all sides, moving at high speed. Ye Mo raised his hand, and an arc-shaped ice wall rose from the ground, blocking Tony's front. Tony used the momentum to charge forward, his thrusters spewing flames as he passed through the edge of the ice wall, firing his shoulder cannons in rapid succession, instantly exploding three target drones.

"Good rhythm," Tony said, landing, "But half a second too slow."

"Don't suddenly accelerate," Ye Mo said, catching his breath. "I need to build up my Ice Manipulation, and you're charging forward like a mad bull."

"Then you'll have to keep up." Tony took off again. "Nobody waits for you to be ready on the battlefield."

The second round began. This time, Ye Mo anticipated the attack and the ice wall rose even faster, advancing in a stepped pattern. Tony used the momentum to jump, turning in mid-air and firing his palm cannon with pinpoint accuracy. A target drone hidden on top had just peeked out when it was pierced by an ice spike and then blasted to pieces by Tony's cannon.

"That's more like it." Tony landed, some components of his armor removed. "Where did that ice spike come from?"

"It split off from the ice wall." Ye Mo sat down to regulate his breathing. "I split my Ice Manipulation into two streams, one as cover, the other as an ambush. While you draw fire, the other will launch a sneak attack."

"That's interesting." Tony leaned against the control panel. "Next time, try making the ice surface slippery; I can accelerate by rushing across it."

"You want me to build you an ice rink to turn it into a ski resort?"

"No." Tony's eyes lit up. "It's to make the enemy think I'm going to attack in a straight line, then I'll glide across the ice and change direction to attack their flank."

Ye Mo laughed, "Your brain is dirtier than Hydra's."

"Thank you." Tony nodded. "I've always taken the insidious route."

The third round of simulation began. This time the difficulty was increased, the number of target drones doubled, and jamming signals were added. Ye Mo closed his eyes and relied on his Ice Manipulation to sense airflow and determine the direction of attack. The ice wall was no longer a single piece, but rose in segments, forming a moving barrier. Tony no longer charged headlong into the target, but instead glided at low altitude, using the ice wall as cover to approach the target.

In one coordinated attack, just as Ye Mo erected his ice wall, Tony was already flying close to it, his thrusters releasing heat that created a cloud of white mist. In the instant the enemy's vision was obstructed, Tony burst through the mist and smashed the main control target drone to pieces with a powerful punch.

Click.

A notification sounded in his mind, "Significantly improved combat coordination detected. Fourth level of the Gene Spiral Tower unlocked."

Ye Mo's body trembled slightly, and his consciousness sank into the depths. Another layer of the Spiral Tower lit up, and a new ability path emerged—"Ice Manipulation + Thermal Vision" could be used to try activating "Temperature Maze," but he would need to experiment and combine them himself.

He opened his eyes, and a slight smile appeared on his lips.

"What's wrong?" Tony took off his helmet. "Why are you suddenly laughing like a naughty student?"

"It's nothing," Ye Mo stood up. "I just felt that our fighting style might give them a surprise."

"Not scared enough," Tony patted him on the shoulder, "We need to make them kneel."

Training paused. Tony brought up the armor's data panel. "I've added a bio-lock to the MK Series. Without my heartbeat and DNA, no one can activate it. Also, all remote access ports are disabled."

"But they're still doing reverse engineering." Ye Mo frowned. "As long as they get the core parameters, they can replicate the reactor."

"So we can't let them finish testing the ' Titan Forge '," Tony said, staring at the screen. "We have to get started before the testing."

"That's exactly what I was thinking." Ye Mo walked to the wall, placed his palm on the metal plate, and a chill spread, covering the entire wall with ice. "I was wondering if we could use ice as a signal jamming layer. When they test it, some of the energy fluctuations are absorbed by the ice, making the data inaccurate."

"You can even control the temperature?" Tony raised an eyebrow.

"Testing." Ye Mo closed his eyes. "If we can keep the ice at an extremely low temperature and then suddenly release heat, it might cause a temporary energy disorder."

"Okay." Tony nodded. "Then you're in charge of creating chaos, and I'll take advantage of the chaos to implant a virus and paralyze their system."

"Let's do it this way." Ye Mo withdrew his hand, leaving a frost stain on the wall. "But we need to put on a show to make them think the test went smoothly."

"Fishing?" Tony laughed.

"Yes." Ye Mo smiled as well. "You were the bait. You pretended that the system vulnerability hadn't been fixed, making them think they could steal the data."

"Me, the bait?" Tony shrugged. "I thought you were the kind of person who would sacrifice yourself."

"You're more convincing," Ye Mo shrugged. "After all, you're Iron Man; arrogance and carelessness are perfectly reasonable."

Are you praising me or insulting me?

"To be honest."

Tony snorted. "Fine. But I have one condition—buy me a drink after it's all done."

"No problem." Ye Mo nodded. "You pay for the drinks."

"Go to hell."

The fourth round of simulation began. This time, the two no longer acted separately, but formed a fixed tactic: Ye Mo would set up defenses first, with ice walls, ice spikes, and ice mines distributed in various places; Tony would act as the main assault force, using the reflection of light from the ice surface to create visual interference and launch a surprise attack on the enemy's central area.

During a drill, Tony rushed forward too aggressively, and the ice wall failed to rise in time. A target drone struck him in the back, and the armor alarm flashed.

"I told you to wait!" Ye Mo quickly reapplied the ice shield.

"I thought you could keep up." Tony checked the injury.

"I'm not a robot," Ye Mo gasped. "Ice Manipulation has a cooldown period. If you keep charging like this, you'll really get punched through next time."

"Understood." Tony nodded. "We need to set a rhythm."

"Use your breathing." Ye Mo took a deep breath. "I'll inhale to set up my defenses, and exhale as you charge in. How about that?"

"Too slow." Tony shook his head. "Change your heart rate. The sooner your pulse quickens, the faster I'll charge."

Can you hear me?

"The armor has bio-monitoring." Tony pointed to his ear. "When you're nervous, your heart rate spikes to over 120. I can recognize that."

"Okay." Ye Mo nodded. "Then let's rely on synchronized heartbeats."

The fifth round begins. This time, the two stand together. Ye Mo closes his eyes to feel his own rhythm, while Tony puts on his helmet and enters standby mode. As Ye Mo's heart rate increases, the first ice wall rises, followed by an ice spike attack from the flank. At the same moment, Tony activates his thrusters, flying close to the ground, and fires his palm cannons to clear out the remaining targets.

The teamwork was becoming increasingly seamless. The ice wall rose at just the right moment, and Tony moved through it as if he were fighting alone.

The final drill ended, leaving the entire area covered in scorch marks and ice shards. Tony removed his armor components and leaned against the control panel.

"Next step," he said, "Try connecting your ice energy to my propulsion system?"

"Are you going to come up with another new trick?" Ye Mo wiped his sweat.

"I want to freeze the thruster jets for a moment," Tony said, his eyes gleaming. "The enemy sees me fly by, thinking they can predict my trajectory, but I suddenly glide across the ice, change direction, and attack them from behind."

Ye Mo thought for a moment, "We can try. But the Ice Manipulation has to be precise to the millisecond; otherwise, you'll crash into the wall."

"I believe you," Tony grinned. "After all, you're Mr. X."

"Don't give me that." Ye Mo laughed. "If you fall, don't blame me for not warning you."

Just as Tony was about to retort, the alarm suddenly went off.

Ye Mo looked up at the monitoring screen; the temperature in the external ventilation shaft had dropped abnormally, and ice was spreading.

He immediately raised his hand, and a line of ice condensed in his palm, pointing to a certain spot on the screen.

"I didn't do it."