The rewards of battle

The reporter had just rushed to the street corner with his camera when Tony instinctively raised his hand to strike a pose. Suddenly, he felt a tight grip on the back of his neck and was pulled back behind a telephone pole.

"Stop acting," Ye Mo said in a low voice. "Now is not the time to be trending." He pulled the MK-9X fragment from his hoodie pocket, rubbing his knuckles against the etched serial number. "You said this was provocation, and I agree. But we need to figure out what kind of battle we're fighting first."

Tony rubbed his neck, which was still sore from being pulled, but didn't argue. He glanced down at the mud on the soles of his armored shoes, then looked around. S.H.I.E.L.D.. agents were setting up a cordon, and several uniformed agents were beginning to disperse the crowd. The ice on Broadway was still melting, and water was flowing into the sewers with a splashing sound. In the distance, fire trucks were still spraying water, and the fire on the theater's exterior wall had finally been extinguished.

He stopped smiling. "Okay, go ahead."

Ye Mo leaned against a telephone pole, his old right leg injury still burning. He rubbed his knee as he spoke, "In the first wave of attack, you used flamethrower to suppress the three on the left, and I used an ice wall to block the retreat on the right—that worked because you activated your thrusters half a second faster than me."

"That's because my armor's response time improved by 0.3 seconds," Tony interjected.

"It's not important." Ye Mo shook his head. "The key is the rhythm. You move, I follow, without hesitation. You used to always observe for three seconds first, but now you've learned to trust my predictions."

Tony didn't speak, stared at a crack in the ice on the ground for two seconds, then suddenly laughed, "So you mean I've become smarter?"

"You mean we've become more in sync," Ye Mo corrected. "Our Steel Bone Body can withstand blows, but what truly stopped Storm from swerving was my Telepathy prediction ten seconds in advance that she would veer off course—it's not about how strong our abilities are, it's about our improved teamwork."

Tony's eyes lit up. "So, according to you, we're now... a tactical duo?"

"At least it's better than blowing up the lab last time." Ye Mo glanced at him. "But don't get cocky. The Taskmaster can copy actions. What if he's watching the whole thing from the shadows next time?"

His smile froze instantly. The wind swept across the street, lifting Ye Mo's hat brim and scattering a few charred pieces of paper from the ground.

Just then, a notification sound rang in my mind:

"Experience summary complete. Thirteenth floor of the Gene Spiral Tower unlocked."

Ye Mo's pupils contracted slightly, but his face remained unchanged. He knew that this time the system's recognition wasn't due to the absorption of ability fragments, but rather for his proactive summarization of combat patterns—this was the true certification of his growth.

He looked up at Tony: "Let's go back to base."

"So soon?" Tony cracked his knuckles, which hummed slightly. "Aren't you going to wait for Natasha? She should be here soon."

"Let her do her thing, we'll do ours." Ye Mo stuffed the fragment back into his pocket and adjusted his glasses. "You said you'd treat us to dinner, but I remember there's half a steak in the base's the Fridge. Let's reinforce the defenses first, then we can talk about adding the ice storm."

Tony grinned. "Alright, Mr. X, I'll do as you say this time."

The two turned and walked towards the parking area. Tony's armored footsteps were heavy, while Ye Mo walked with a slight limp. As they passed an overturned police car, Ye Mo suddenly stopped.

"What?" Tony turned around.

"Those three main Mutants just now," Ye Mo, staring at the wreckage of the police car, "The Wind Controller led the attack, the Rock Man provided cover, and the Electric Controller disrupted communications—a clear division of labor, well-trained. They weren't a hastily assembled group."

"You mean someone's directing you from behind?"

"Not only that." Ye Mo bent down to pick up a fragment with a circuit board attached, "Their ability release rhythm was too synchronized, like it had been simulated and practiced. And..." He paused, "They never intended to win in the first place."

"Um?"

"They created chaos to lure us in, then deliberately exposed weaknesses so we could subdue them. It wasn't like an attack; it was more like a test."

Tony squinted. "Testing what?"

"Let's test our reaction patterns." Ye Mo straightened up. "Let's test our teamwork, our attack sequence, our limits. Even... let's test if we'll leave any survivors."

The air fell silent for a moment.

"So the MK-9X isn't a provocation," Tony said slowly, "It's a report card."

"Yes." Ye Mo nodded. "They've obtained the data; the next step is to optimize their opponents."

"For example... how to upgrade the Taskmaster?"

"Or create a new unit that can counter both ice and fire."

Tony paused for a few seconds, then suddenly raised his hand to activate the wrist projector. An encrypted signal analysis diagram popped up on the screen. "You previously said the signal source pointed to the logistics support center, and I had JARVIS dig deeper—that logistics personnel wearing the anti-detection headset was only transferred three months ago, and their file is empty."

"Fake identity."

"Eighty percent." Tony shut down the projector. "And his privileges are ridiculously high; he can access the MK Series core controller."

Ye Mo sneered, "There's more than one mole."

"Should we arrest them now?"

"No." Ye Mo shook his head. "If we touch him now, the person behind him will be cut off. We need to follow the trail, not nip it in the bud."

Tony nodded. "Then let him continue acting."

"But he needs to know we're on defense." Ye Mo patted his armored shoulder plate. "From today onwards, all your tactical commands will go through the new channel; the old system will only send decoy information."

"You've even got into intelligence warfare now?"

"I learned it from Natasha." Ye Mo smirked. "She said the safest secret room is one where the enemy thinks no one knows it exists."

Tony laughed out loud, "You really will copy anything."

"As long as it works, that's fine."

The two walked to the gray-green armored vehicle. Ye Mo opened the car door and found that Emma Frost's coat, which she had covered with when she was unconscious, was still on the passenger seat. He picked it up, shook off the dust, and casually draped it over the back seat.

"You and the White Queen seem to be getting quite close lately," Tony asked casually as he climbed into the driver's seat.

"Just partners." Ye Mo fastened his seatbelt. "She took a knife for me, I saved her, so we're even."

"It's a tie?" Tony started the engine. "Judging from the way she looked at you, it doesn't seem like a tie."

"Why do you care so much?" Ye Mo closed his eyes and leaned back in his seat. "Drive."

The car drove away from Broadway and through several blocked streets. The city gradually returned to order, and streetlights came on one by one.

"Seriously," Tony broke the silence, "When did you unlock that Steel Bone Body yours?"

"When the Wind Controller unleashed its first wave of wind blades."

"System automatically activated?"

"I guess so." Ye Mo opened his eyes. "At that moment, I only had one thought in my mind—I couldn't back down. The next second, my bones started to harden, like they were filled with molten iron."

Does it hurt?

"It hurts." Ye Mo touched his ribs, "But it's better than being torn apart."

"That's impressive," Tony nodded. "Next time, see if you can withstand my palm strike?"

"Would you like to give it a try?"

"Just kidding." Tony raised his hands. "I don't want the system to hold a grudge."

"The system won't hold grudges," Ye Mo said calmly, "But it will record every correct choice."

Tony raised an eyebrow. "Like what?"

"Like now," Ye Mo looked out the window, "We didn't celebrate, we didn't give interviews, and we didn't wait for S.H.I.E.L.D.. to take over. We went straight back to base—that's the right thing to do."

The car quieted down. The engine sounded steady, and the streetlights flashed quickly across the windows.

A few minutes later, the car stopped at the entrance of the underground parking garage. When Ye Mo got out of the car, his right leg was still a little stiff. He held onto the car door for a couple of seconds before he could stand up straight.

"Are you alright?" Tony asked.

"I won't die." Ye Mo flexed his knees. "The thirteenth floor just opened; I need to try out the new ability."

What's on the thirteenth floor?

"I don't know." Ye Mo walked towards the elevator. "I'll find out after I try it."

Tony followed and pressed the B3 button. Just as the metal door closed, he suddenly said, "You said we've become more in sync."

"Um."

"So, will we be even more invincible in the next battle?"

Ye Mo didn't answer immediately. The elevator descended, and a slight feeling of weightlessness came over him.

He looked up at the scratches on his glasses and said softly, "As long as the Taskmaster hasn't given up... we can't let go."

Tony laughed, "Okay, then keep holding on."

The elevator light flashed; the doors were about to open.

Ye Mo rested his right hand on the edge of the door frame, and a sudden sharp pain shot through his fingertips—a sign that some kind of power was about to awaken within him.