Steel Bone Body

The high-pressure ice crystals were distorted into powder by a sweeping air pressure as soon as they were released. Ye Mo's pupils contracted, and while his body was still in the momentum of his forward movement, his old right leg twitched violently, and he swayed half a step in the wind.

The wind controller sneered and suddenly pressed down with both arms.

Three rotating wind blades materialized out of thin air, slicing through Ye Mo's head, chest, and abdomen in a triangular pattern. The wind pressure tore through the asphalt, and the wreckage of a nearby police car was lifted up and slammed into his side. The physical impact and the cutting airflow struck simultaneously, leaving no room for escape.

He didn't back down.

Deep within his consciousness, the tenth layer of the Gene Spiral Tower suddenly activated autonomously, and a combination path never before attempted lit up—"Wolverine Skeletal Enhancement + Shadowcat Density Control." The system named this ability for the first time: Steel Bone Body.

Ye Mo let out a low roar, his entire skeleton instantly reconstructed, his skin gleamed with a metallic gray luster, and his muscle density surged. Three wind blades struck his shoulder blades, chest, and ribs, producing a crisp metallic clang and sparks flying everywhere.

He stood still.

Spiderweb-like cracks erupted on the ice beneath his feet, spreading for ten meters, but he remained as steady as a rock. The wind blades only left a few white marks on his skin, without even breaking it.

The air controller's pupils constricted sharply.

Undeterred, he swung his hands rapidly, unleashing five waves of storm shockwaves in quick succession. Each wave carried the force to overturn an armored vehicle, the air crackling as it was compressed. Ye Mo raised his arms to block, the shockwaves striking his forearms and exploding into bursts of air, making his shoulder joints crack, but he remained rooted to the spot.

The Rock Man struggled to his feet, while the Electric Man coughed, clutching his chest. The way they stared at Ye Mo changed. They had seen Mutants withstand explosions and superhumans endure heavy blows, but they had never seen anyone withstand such a series of attacks with just their physical strength.

Citizens hid behind police cars, some holding up their phones to film, the lenses trembling slightly.

Ye Mo slowly raised his head; the bloodstain at the corner of his mouth had dried. He moved his shoulders and neck, the bones making a metallic clicking sound. The sound wasn't loud, but it pierced through the wind noise.

"You're saying we have no right to decide fate?" he looked at the Wind Controller. "But you can't even touch me."

The wind controller gritted his teeth, clasped his hands together, and the dark clouds above his head rapidly compressed, unleashing a black tornado that plummeted down from the clouds, heading straight for Ye Mo's head. Wherever the tornado passed, the asphalt on the ground was sucked away, exposing the reinforced concrete, and glass curtain walls shattered in patches.

Ye Mo advanced instead of retreating.

He opened his arms to meet the tornado, his Steel Bone Body fully activated. The column of tornado struck his body, and was actually torn apart from the inside. The explosion was deafening, shattering all the windows within a twenty-meter radius, and shards of glass rained down.

At that very moment, a long-lost notification sound rang in my mind:

"The application of the Steel Bone Body has been enhanced, and the eleventh level of the Gene Spiral Tower has been unlocked."

The tower in my consciousness slowly rotated, and the eleventh level emerged, revealing the initial outlines of two new ability paths—magnetic perception and neural acceleration. Before I could examine them closely, the system automatically closed the interface.

The wind controller staggered back two steps, breathing rapidly, sweat beading on his forehead. He tried to forcefully pull up the airflow to escape, but the previous attack had taken too much to handle, and the vortex only lifted him half a meter before collapsing.

Ye Mo took a step forward.

The ground trembled slightly. He didn't speak again, just stood there, his eyes gleaming with a cold light that was a blend of icy blue and metallic. His gaze didn't seem human; it was more like that of some kind of awakened weapon.

The rock man instinctively took a half step back, and the electric controller raised his hand to release lightning, but was glanced at by that gaze, and his fingers froze in mid-air.

The roar of engines could be heard from the distant horizon.

Iron Man's armor returned to its original position, its thrusters emitting faint blue flames as it hovered above Broadway. Tony's voice came through the comms. "That was pretty cool, Mr. X."

Ye Mo looked up at the gaps in the clouds that were gradually opening above the storm.

"Looking good isn't important," he said. "I can handle it now."

The wind controller finally turned around, using the last updraft to take off and try to escape. The other two also dragged their wounded bodies backward, not daring to fight any longer.

Ye Mo stood still, his Steel Bone Body still intact, his skin still gleaming with a metallic gray light. He raised his right hand, and a new ice crystal condensed in his palm, thicker and denser than before.

The wind is still blowing, but it can no longer move him.

In the center of Broadway Square, the frozen lake remained, and the wreckage of police cars lay scattered everywhere. Citizens began to peek out from behind cover, some whispering, "Who's that?"

"I don't know... the one in the hoodie, he just blocked the tornado by himself."

"Is he in cahoots with Iron Man?"

"I think he's a warrior made of ice... Ice Armor Warrior."

The word spread, and no one objected.

Tony landed beside Ye Mo, his armored left arm still smoking, the thrusters whirring erratically. "When did you learn this new skill? I didn't know about it."

"I don't know myself." Ye Mo gripped the ice crystal tightly. "It was automatically triggered by the system when I was about to be knocked away."

"Fine," Tony shrugged. "Next time, give me a heads-up. I thought you were going to sacrifice yourself to move all of New York."

"I don't have that kind of awareness." Ye Mo looked up at the sky, "But now that I can stand, you have a chance to make your move."

"Understood." Tony activated the weapon system. "Now it's our turn to counterattack."

Ye Mo nodded, about to speak, when he suddenly noticed something unusual about the clouds above him.

The previously churning dark clouds began to slowly rotate, forming a giant vortex. At the center of the vortex, a figure was slowly descending from the sky.

She wore a long white robe, her silver hair fluttering in the wind, and she floated down, three meters off the ground. Her eyes were completely white, without pupils.

Ye Mo narrowed his eyes.

This aura... is also that of Mutants, and a stronger one at that.

Tony noticed too. "A new character? Who's the weather manager this time?"

"Not the supervisor," Ye Mo said softly, "But the Queen."

The woman landed, her gaze sweeping across the scene before finally settling on Ye Mo. She didn't speak, but the wind direction instantly changed; the previously chaotic airflow began to flow in an orderly fashion, forming a stable circulation around her.

The wind controller stopped fleeing and bowed.

The woman raised her hand and waved it gently.

A wind blade appeared out of thin air and headed straight for Ye Mo's face.