The heavy metal door slammed shut behind him, shutting out the sounds of the wind and rain outside as distant background noise. Ye Mo didn't turn around, not even giving T'Challa a moment to catch his breath. His body was like a fully drawn bow, his muscles taut, his gaze fixed on the deep corridor ahead.
"Don't stop." Ye Mo's voice was low, coming through the mask with an undeniable coldness. "Something's wrong here. It's too quiet."
Emma Frost followed half a step to his left, her face paler than before, a hint of weariness flashing in her violet eyes. The mental shock of breaking down the door had exhausted her, and now she could only rely on her weak senses to maintain alertness to her surroundings. She didn't speak, but simply nodded slightly, indicating that she could still keep up.
T'Challa up the rear, his Vibranium Suit reflecting a cold gleam in the dim emergency lights. He didn't sheath his twin swords, but gripped them tightly in his palms, his knuckles white from the force. As the King of Wakanda, he had an instinctive aversion to this deathly silence. This place didn't resemble a functioning military base; it was more like a giant tomb, every inch of air thick with the aura of death.
The three moved quickly down the corridor. The floor was covered with a thick sound-absorbing carpet, completely swallowing their footsteps; only the sound of their heartbeats echoed in their ears. Ye Mo's " Vibranium Sense " played a crucial role at this moment. Deep within his consciousness, the metal pipes hidden in the walls, floors, and even ceilings were clearly visible, like glowing blood vessels. He could feel the energy fluctuations flowing within these metals—a signal that the defense system was on standby.
"There's an infrared sensor behind the third pillar on the left." Ye Mo suddenly stopped and raised his hand to signal the two to stop.
T'Challa immediately stopped, his figure flashing like a ghost behind a load-bearing pillar. Emma Frost also quickly concealed herself, quietly releasing her mental energy to try to scan the blind spots ahead.
"How did you find them?" T'Challa asked in a low voice, a hint of surprise in his tone. At this distance, those tiny sensors were completely invisible to the naked eye.
"Something's not right about the sound." Ye Mo pushed up his glasses, a mocking smile playing on his lips. "Although there's no sound, I can feel the electricity 'singing' inside the metal. That thing's in a dormant state right now, but it'll scream the moment you touch it."
He pointed to an airtight door on the left. "Go to the right, that's the backup passage. The energy fluctuations there are relatively stable; it's probably for maintenance, so it won't trigger an alarm for now."
T'Challa glanced at Ye Mo, offered no questions, and turned to walk towards the passage on the right. Trust was forged on the brink of life and death; after their previous collaborations, he had grown accustomed to Ye Mo's seemingly absurd yet remarkably accurate judgments.
Passing through the backup passage, the view suddenly opened up. It was a huge circular hall with a ten-meter-tall cylindrical device standing in the center, surrounded by complex robotic arms and laser emitters. The air was filled with the smell of ozone, the residual odor from the operation of high-energy electronic equipment.
"This is the sample storage area?" Emma Frost looked around, a hint of seriousness flashing in her eyes.
"More or less." Ye Mo narrowed his eyes, his gaze sweeping over the surveillance cameras on the ceiling and the pressure sensors on the floor. "However, the defense level here is several levels higher than outside. Look at the angles of those laser emitters; they're overlapping. Anyone who steps within three meters of the central area will trigger an all-around attack."
Before he could finish speaking, a piercing alarm suddenly went off.
"Buzz--!"
A red light instantly illuminated the entire hall, and the previously silent robotic arm began to slowly rotate, emitting a teeth-grinding grinding sound. Countless red laser beams intertwined in the air, forming an impenetrable net that enveloped the entire hall.
"Damn it! The automatic defense system has been triggered!" T'Challa under his breath and lunged towards the cover on one side.
Almost simultaneously, dozens of miniature missiles were launched from launch ports in the ceiling, trailing long plumes of flame, heading straight for the three people.
"Get out of the way!" Ye Mo roared, activating " Vibranium Sense " at the same time. In his vision, the missile's trajectory was marked as red arrows, clearly displayed in his mind.
He grabbed Emma Frost's arm and pulled her behind a large cooling tank on the left. At the same time, T'Challa leaped high into the air, his Vibranium claws slashing through the air in two golden arcs, deflecting two approaching missiles.
Explosions echoed one after another, shockwaves rolled, and dust flew everywhere. Ye Mo tightly shielded Emma Frost, using his body to block the flying metal fragments. A faint golden light shone on the surface of his skin; this was the primary defense mechanism activated by the Gene Spiral Tower. Although it couldn't withstand missiles head-on, it was enough to resist the cutting of the fragments.
"These lunatics have turned this place into a meat grinder!" T'Challa scrambled to his feet from the rubble, dusting himself off, his eyes dark and menacing.
Ye Mo stood up, brushed the dust off his work pants, and his smile widened. "This is nothing! The real show is just beginning."
He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and focused all his attention on the Gene Spiral Tower in his mind. The barrier of the seventh level trembled again, and the power of Vibranium Sense was amplified infinitely. In the three-dimensional model of the hall, he saw the core logic of the defense system: it was an automated program based on thermal imaging and motion trajectories, whose priority was "eliminating threats," not "identifying individuals."
However, every system has vulnerabilities.
Ye Mo opened his eyes, his gaze falling on the massive cylindrical device in the center of the hall. " T'Challa, Emma Frost, listen to me. This system is powered by the main cable overhead, and the control center is inside that cylinder below. If we can cut off the power or interfere with the control signals, we can disable them."
"How?" T'Challa asked, his twin swords poised to strike.
"Create chaos." Ye Mo pointed to a group of high-voltage transformers in the corner of the hall. "I'll draw their fire, and you guys take the opportunity to approach the control center. Remember, don't charge in a straight line; use cover and take a zigzag route. I'll use Vibranium Sense to tell you where it's safe and where it's dangerous."
Emma Frost frowned. "You mean we're going to our deaths?"
"No, it's about breaking the deadlock." Ye Mo smiled, a sly glint in his eyes. "Believe me, I'm tough as nails. Besides, if we don't do this, we won't even get the samples, let alone save the world."
T'Challa nodded and said nothing more. He knew this was the only way at the moment.
Ye Mo took a deep breath and suddenly rushed out of the cover. He did not choose to dodge, but ran wildly towards the laser net. His movements were agile and unpredictable. Every turn he made was exactly to avoid the blind spots of the laser beams, and every pause was to be in the blind spot of the missile tracking.
"Hey! You turtle shell over there!" Ye Mo shouted, his voice echoing through the hall, "Come at me if you dare!"
This tactic of provocation worked. The defense system seemed to have identified Ye Mo as the main threat, and all the laser beams and missiles began to concentrate on him.
"Now!" Ye Mo silently chanted in his heart, while simultaneously sending a command to Emma Frost through Telepathy (though very weak, he forcibly activated it).
Emma Frost understood immediately. She grabbed T'Challa's shoulders and used Telepathy to briefly disrupt T'Challa balance, causing him to make an illogical jump and avoid the deadly laser beam.
Amidst the chaos created by Ye Mo, the two darted like fish through a dense barrage of fire, gradually closing in on the central control hub.
Ye Mo felt the heat behind him growing stronger. A missile grazed his back, and the blast wave knocked him to the ground. He rolled a few times, regained his balance, and a trickle of blood escaped from the corner of his mouth. But he didn't back down; instead, he laughed even more wildly.
"It's not over yet!" He got up and continued running, drawing heavy fire.
Finally, T'Challa and Emma Frost reached the vicinity of the control center. T'Challa raised his twin blades, ready to cut the main cable. However, at that moment, an even stronger laser beam locked onto them.
"Watch out!" Ye Mo shouted, rushing forward without hesitation and using his body to block the attack.
A flash of golden light, Ye Mo was thrown back by the enormous impact, crashing heavily into the wall. He felt several ribs break and had difficulty breathing, but he still stared intently at the direction of the control center.
" T'Challa! Do it!" he roared.
Without the slightest hesitation, T'Challa plunged his Vibranium claws into the cable connector. Sparks flew, and blue light burst forth. The lights in the entire hall went out instantly, leaving only the emergency red lights flashing.
The defense system has stopped working.
Ye Mo leaned against the wall, panting heavily. He looked at T'Challa and Emma Frost, both of whom were also injured, but their eyes were filled with the joy of victory.
"Well done," Ye Mo said weakly, but a smug smile remained on his face. "Looks like our teamwork was pretty good."
T'Challa stepped forward and helped Ye Mo up. "What do we do next? The sample is still inside."
Ye Mo pointed to the cylindrical device. "Open it. Then, let's find a comfortable place and have a good talk about the next steps."
The hall was deathly silent, broken only by the crackling of electricity. Ye Mo looked at the miniature listening device in his hand; its indicator light was still flashing, as if telling the secrets hidden behind this base.