Ye Mo turned off his phone screen and casually stuffed it into his hoodie pocket. The remaining crumbs from the half-eaten fried dough stick were still stuck to his fingertips. He wiped them on his trouser leg and turned to push open the narrow alley behind the pancake stall. A northwest wind blew in, carrying a damp, cold, earthy smell, causing the hood of his hoodie to flutter backward.
Instead of taking the main road, he climbed up the piles of debris in the alley. This was the base of an abandoned water tower, about two kilometers away from the warehouse where Klaue was hiding. For an ordinary person, this height would be quite a challenge, but for someone like Ye Mo, who had spent years in the Marvel Universe and whose physical abilities had been enhanced multiple times by the Gene Spiral Tower, climbing over the rusty iron railings was as easy as stepping over his own doorstep.
He crouched down on the highest platform, finding an angle from which he could see inside the warehouse through the broken window. All around was quiet, save for the occasional bark of a dog in the distance. Ye Mo closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and regulated his breathing. The cold notification sound in his mind rang again, this time without any visual effects, only a stream of data-like stinging sensation.
[Ding! Host's mental fluctuations have stabilized. " Telepathy " auxiliary scan recommended. Warning: This ability fragment has low stability; forced use may cause migraines or temporary dizziness.]
"Enough talk," Ye Mo muttered to himself, his fingers unconsciously rubbing the edge of his silver half-rimmed glasses in his pocket. "Let's get started."
He wasn't actually wearing glasses; they were just a prop to appear refined. At that moment, his consciousness was like a net cast out, silently extending towards the warehouse two kilometers away. This wasn't magic; it was more like a forced connection of neural synapses. He could feel his temples throbbing, as if someone was hammering nails into them.
The process of his mental energy penetrating the wall was not smooth. The air in the warehouse was murky, mixed with the smell of engine oil and blood. These physical interferences caused Ye Mo's mental ripples to distort slightly. He gritted his teeth, forcibly steadied his mind, and focused his attention on the remaining fragments of emotion.
Greed. Fear. And that arrogance of wanting to control everything.
These emotions were like a tangled mess, swirling in Ye Mo's consciousness. He untangled this mess and caught a few key fragments of images. They were memories that kept replaying in Klaue's mind: a figure wearing a voice-changing mask, a tin table filled with black metal boxes, and that cold, impersonal "Deal."
Ye Mo frowned. The scene continued to advance, and he saw Klaue's arm wound being bandaged, and the black box being opened, revealing an instrument shimmering with a ghostly blue light. This was followed by a detailed analysis of Wakanda's defense system, and an action plan highlighted in red: "Sonic Jammer Prototype," "Elite Squad Support," and "Autonomy Request."
This chaotic information flooded his brain, and Ye Mo felt a sudden darkness engulf him, nearly causing him to fall off the railing. He abruptly opened his eyes, gasping for breath, his back instantly soaked with cold sweat. Although his body was as exhausted as if he had run a marathon, his gaze became unusually sharp.
He took out his phone, quickly swiped his finger across the screen, and brought up an encrypted communication channel. The signal strength was full, but the latency was very high. This was a skip-transmission protocol specifically set up to prevent eavesdropping.
" Emma Frost, wake up." Ye Mo lowered his voice and spoke very quickly, "I have something to show you. Don't ask why, just log on right away."
A few seconds later, a slight static sound came through the earpiece, followed by Emma Frost's cool but slightly tired voice. "I'm here. Your mental state is very erratic. What happened?"
" Klaue hasn't given up; he's made contact with Hydra." Ye Mo said, quickly processing the information he'd just intercepted in his mind. "They've acquired a new type of sonic shielding technology and an elite squad. Klaue wants Wakanda's Vibranium, Hydra wants the resource channels. It's a deal, and it's already halfway done."
There was a two-second silence on the other end of the phone. Emma Frost was clearly processing this information as well. " Hydra? That organization that specializes in creating chaos? Are you sure your source is reliable? After all, Telepathy is easily influenced by subjective emotions."
"I used Vibranium Sense for verification," Ye Mo pointed to his chest. "The genetic barrier I activated in the mine is extremely sensitive to energy fluctuations. The faint radiation frequency emitted by the prototype sonic jammer on Klaue perfectly matches the abnormal fluctuations I sensed. This isn't an illusion, nor is it speculation; it's solid evidence."
Emma Frost sighed, her tone becoming more serious. "If that's the case, the situation is worse than we imagined. T'Challa has agreed to let us participate in optimizing the defense system, but if Hydra intervenes, ordinary defenses simply won't hold. We need to inform T'Challa of this immediately."
"I think so too." Ye Mo stood up, dusting off his pants. "Waiting passively will only cause the situation to spiral out of control. Now that we know the script, we can't let the audience down. I need to contact T'Challa directly."
"Are you really going to take this risk?" Emma Frost warned. "Straightforwarding to higher-ups or skipping standard procedures could attract the attention of S.H.I.E.L.D.. or other powerful organizations. Do you know how complex the international situation is right now?"
"Trouble always comes faster than death." Ye Mo's lips curled into a cynical smile as he adjusted his silver-rimmed glasses. "Besides, I have the system's backing. As long as I can prove the intelligence's authenticity, T'Challa has no reason to refuse. Furthermore, we're now Wakanda's 'special advisors,' so we have to give him that much face."
Emma Frost shook her head helplessly. Even through the screen, Ye Mo could almost see a hint of a smile flash in her violet eyes. "Alright, since you've decided, I'll cooperate. I'll monitor the surrounding mental fluctuations to prevent anyone from eavesdropping. Hurry up, Klaue might make a move at any moment."
Don't worry, it'll be ready soon.
Ye Mo hung up the call and picked up his phone again. The light from the screen illuminated his face, revealing a young yet slightly weathered look. He opened his contacts and found the entry containing T'Challa's emergency contact number.
My finger hovered over the dial key, pausing for a moment.
At this moment, a tense atmosphere filled the air. The city lights in the distance were dim, and the wind howled nearby. Ye Mo knew that making this phone call meant that they were completely drawn into the eye of this storm. No longer bystanders, no longer passersby, but true participants.
But he did not hesitate.
Press down with your thumb.
The call screen changed, and the circle waiting for the call to connect began to spin. Ye Mo gripped his phone tightly, his knuckles turning slightly white from the force. His gaze pierced through the dark night sky, looking towards the unknown battlefield in the distance.
The screen lights up, indicating that the connection request was successfully sent.