Ye Mo had just stepped out of the gates of Tony's estate when his phone suddenly vibrated. JARVIS's message was still lit on the screen: Sir, please come to the main hall. There is new intelligence to discuss.
He did not reply.
Clutching the metal fragment, he walked along, lightly rubbing its edge with his fingertips. Ever since it had finished absorbing energy last night, it had remained slightly warm, like a hand warmer in his palm. Now it suddenly trembled, as though a phone had switched to vibrate.
A notification immediately sounded in his mind: [High concentration of mutant energy fluctuations detected. Direction: southeastern district. Distance: approximately two kilometers.]
He stopped.
The southeastern district? It was at least eight hundred meters off his planned shopping route. The shopping streets were crowded, with eyes everywhere; heading over recklessly could easily attract attention. But the metal fragment began heating up again, at almost exactly the same frequency as it had inside the safe last night.
And Tony had only just mentioned the alloy smuggling in Afghanistan that morning.
He stuffed the metal fragment back into his pocket, turned, and headed east. The shopping assignment had not specified an exact route anyway. Taking a look along the way hardly counted as disobeying orders.
Passing an electronic components store, he went inside to buy a few data cables and an adapter, then emerged carrying a plastic bag. At that very moment, Thermal Vision activated automatically. In his eyes, the people on the street turned into overlapping red, yellow, and green heat signatures, like patrolling soldiers on a game map.
At the mouth of an alley to the southeast, two abnormal heat sources were moving rapidly, one behind the other, clearly chasing someone.
He quickened his pace.
Turning into a narrow alley, he saw an overturned trash can smoking beside a pile of garbage, as though a small explosion had just occurred. Ten meters farther ahead, several people in black surrounded a woman in a white dress. Her back was against the wall, her hands shone silver, and the air warped with heat, like the heat haze rising off asphalt in summer.
Ye Mo crouched at the corner and narrowed his eyes, scanning the area.
Their movements were coordinated, their equipment uniform. They were no street thugs. The metal armband worn at their leader's waist actually bore markings identical to those on the fragment in his hand.
The system notification sounded again: [High-level mutant psychic field detected. Contact can activate the "Telepathy" gene fragment.]
Here it is!
He quickly assessed the situation. There were five of them, fully armed. Although the woman had defensive abilities, her stamina was clearly nearing its limit. He had no chance in a head-on confrontation; he had to find a way to draw them away.
He picked up a small stone and fixed his gaze on the fire hydrant cabinet thirty meters away. As it happened, a cleaner in orange work clothes was passing by, pushing a cleaning cart.
The stone flew out, striking the hydrant's glass cover with precision.
With a crash, the glass shattered, and a shrill alarm sounded. The cleaner jumped in fright and let go. The cleaning cart rolled down the slope and knocked over a roadside advertising board with a tremendous clatter.
Everyone in black turned at once.
Now!
Ye Mo rushed out and seized the woman in white by the wrist. "If you don't want to get caught, come with me."
She froze, instinctively trying to pull free, but he was already dragging her into another concealed passage. Shouts and hurried footsteps came from behind them as someone reacted and gave chase.
The two of them wove through the alleys. As he ran, Ye Mo used Thermal Vision to scan the intersections ahead, avoiding possible ambush points. They gradually shook off their pursuers, and the footsteps slowly faded away.
Finally, they slipped into an abandoned underground garage. Its iron gate was half collapsed, and the interior was piled with rusted parts and scrapped vehicles. He leaned against the wall, panting, and confirmed that no one had followed them inside.
"Who are you?" The woman shook off his hand and straightened up. "Why did you help me?"
Her voice was as cold as ice water.
Ye Mo did not answer. First, he shut off Thermal Vision. His eyes ached a little from the sustained, intensive use during their escape. He took out the metal fragment and held it in front of her.
"Do you recognize this?"
She stared at the alloy, her pupils abruptly contracting.
"How do you have that?"
"I asked you first." Ye Mo tapped the metal fragment against his palm twice. "I picked this up in a cave in Afghanistan. It carries some kind of energy I can't describe. Last night, I used it to unlock a new ability called 'Metal Assimilation.' Today, it heated up again and led me to you."
She fell silent for several seconds, her gaze slowly passing over his face as though reading something.
"You're wondering whether you can just search my mind," Ye Mo interrupted. "You can, but think it through-if you try anything, I'll go straight to the entrance of the Hellfire Club, record this piece of metal and everything you've said, and post it online."
Her gaze sharpened.
"I'm not one of them." Ye Mo put away the metal fragment. "And I'm not some hero here to save you. I just want to know whether that energy coming from you is the same thing as what's in this scrap of metal."
She sneered. "Do you know what kind of place the Hellfire Club is? You dare mention that name?"
"A little," he said. "Rich people playing power games, using mutants as pawns. You used to be their 'White Queen,' and now you want out. But they won't let you go."
She did not deny it.
"What about you?" She stared at him. "How could an ordinary person identify the pursuers' weak point within five seconds? How could you predict which way they'd move in the alleys? And how did you happen to be there?"
"The system told me." Ye Mo shrugged. "Whenever I encounter mutants or a site with related energy, a notification sounds in my head. Like just now-[Contact with target can activate a Telepathy ability fragment.] Pretty convenient, except I can't choose the timing."
She frowned. "You're talking nonsense."
"Then explain this." He took out the metal fragment again. "Why does it start resonating whenever it gets close to you? Why is the symbol engraved inside your ring exactly the same as the one on this?"
She looked down at her right hand.
The silver ring on her ring finger did indeed bear fine markings identical to the pattern on the metal fragment.
Silence hung in the air for several seconds.
"How did you survive?" she finally asked. "An ordinary person exposed to mutant energy of this level would have gone mad long ago."
"I don't know," Ye Mo said frankly. "I woke up in the mountains of Afghanistan, my phone was almost dead, and there was a system in my head. Later, I met Tony Stark, and I've been with him ever since. I just want to figure out who I am and why I'm here."
She looked at him, her expression complicated.
Suddenly, her temple twitched slightly, as though she had received some sort of message.
Her expression changed.
"They've located me," she said. "Someone will be here within three minutes."
Ye Mo immediately looked around. The garage had only one exit, and the iron gate at the entrance was too heavy to push open or lock shut.
"You can turn into a diamond form, right?" he asked. "You can take an explosion head-on without a problem?"
"What are you planning?"
"Create chaos." He walked toward a scrapped pickup in the corner and pulled open the driver's door. "This vehicle's battery should still work. I'll short the wires to create sparks. Get ready to rush out."
"You're insane! That'll attract the attention of the entire street!"
"Then don't let them get close." Ye Mo had already started pulling apart the wiring. "You can read minds, can't you? Once they come in, predict their movements. I'll throw off their rhythm; you handle breaking through."
She gritted her teeth. "You have no idea what they're looking for!"
"I know." Ye Mo looked back. "You're running, and they want to take you back. And I have something you shouldn't have. So either we run together, or you wipe my memory right now and find your own way to survive."
She stared at him for three seconds.
At last, she nodded.
Ye Mo quickly yanked out two wires, exposing the copper. He remembered learning in college physics that short-circuiting a lead-acid battery would produce high-temperature sparks.
Just as he was about to connect them, footsteps sounded outside.
More than one set.
He raised a hand, signaling her to crouch.
They both held their breath.
Several figures flashed past the iron gate, the sound of tactical boots crunching over gravel clearly audible.
"The signal last disappeared in this area," a male voice said. "Search carefully."
Ye Mo slowly brought the two wires closer together.
A single spark would be enough to ignite the gasoline on the ground.
His hands hovered steadily in midair.
The woman suddenly reached out and pressed down on his wrist.
He looked up.
Her lips moved slightly, her voice barely audible. "Don't move."
A silvery-white sheen spread over her eyes, like a mirror covered in frost.
The next second, the footsteps outside changed direction, gradually fading into the distance.
"I made them think we headed toward the river," she said. "It'll only hold for a minute."
Ye Mo immediately resumed. The instant the wires touched, the battery spat out a burst of sparks, igniting the fuel that had leaked onto the ground.
Flames roared upward, and thick smoke rapidly spread.
"Go!"
He grabbed her hand and rushed toward the exit.
Firelight shone on her face, and silver light moved beneath her skin, as though she might fully transform at any moment.
They had barely rushed out of the garage when police sirens sounded in the distance.
At the end of the street, a black SUV came speeding toward them.
Ye Mo pulled her into a side lane.
She did not struggle again.
Their figures quickly disappeared into the depths of the city.
In his pocket, the metal fragment was still faintly warm.