A deeper conversation

Tony stared at the monitor screen, his fingers tapping lightly on the table. The temperature in the southeast corner ventilation shaft was still dropping; 0.3 degrees was already strange enough, but now it had dropped another 0.1 degrees. He didn't show any emotion, but quietly highlighted that data in red and casually pulled up the airflow records for the past twelve hours.

Ye Mo leaned back in the metal chair in the corner, his right hand resting on his knee, his fingertips still trembling. The sharp pain he had felt earlier felt like someone had stabbed his temple with a needle. Although it had subsided, his head still felt heavy. He closed his eyes, his breathing slow; he wasn't asleep, but waiting for his body to react.

"If you don't sit there and don't move, I'll put you in the freezer as food supplies," Tony said without turning his head.

Ye Mo opened his eyes, his voice a little hoarse. "Then you'll have to turn off your armor's cooling system first, otherwise I'll die from the heat before I even freeze."

Tony chuckled and turned around. "You know you're about to fall apart? You were pretty aggressive building that wall earlier, blocking four sections in one go. Are you trying to apply for a Guinness World Record?"

"Someone has to do the work." Ye Mo stood up, supporting himself on the armrest of his chair. His legs were a little weak, but he didn't lean against the wall. "Your fake weakness trap was well-designed. As soon as the drone exploded, I knew you would flank from the left."

"Oh?" Tony raised an eyebrow. "So you reinforced the right side beforehand?"

"You're the same." Ye Mo walked to the control panel and pointed to the defense trajectory map on the screen. "When you were controlling the drone, your shoulder moved first. I could tell what you were going to do just by seeing the projection shift."

"Wait a minute." Tony stared at him. "You could even tell that?"

"Every time you raise your hand, your shoulder blades push forward slightly, with a 0.2-second delay," Ye Mo said, leaning against the table. "I noticed it from our very first simulated match."

Tony paused for two seconds, then suddenly burst out laughing, "So you weren't cooperating with me at all, you were just waiting for me to make a move?"

"You're pretty much the same," Ye Mo said, looking at him. "You said you were testing it, but you actually planned to personally test its limits. You never believed the system could withstand it."

The two looked at each other and smiled simultaneously.

The air seemed to have loosened up a bit.

Tony picked up his water glass, took a sip, and his tone suddenly lowered. "To be honest, I didn't initially plan for you to be involved this much. I thought you were just a temporary helper who could Ice Manipulation."

"Turns out I'm thick-skinned and fearless?" Ye Mo smirked.

"It turns out you dared to rush into Hydra's ambush to save Emma Frost, dared to withstand the wind blades in the storm, and even dared to use yourself as bait to lure Taskmaster attacking." Tony put down his cup. "You weren't reckless; you calculated that I could catch you."

Ye Mo didn't speak, but looked down at his hands. That day, when he and Emma Frost were rescuing someone by Wall Phasing, they were almost stuck between the steel bars. It was Tony who used his armor to break through the wall from the outside and pulled them out.

"I didn't believe you from the start either," he said. "At first, I thought you were just a rich, well-equipped chatterbox. Then you pulled me out of the cave, taught me how to use the tactical system, and even let me touch the core code of the MK Series... That's when I realized you're a bit different."

"After all, there aren't many people on Earth who would dare let me operate the control panel with my back to them," Tony chuckled. "But you always stand behind me, pointing out the flaws without saying a word."

"Because your code is too fancy, and you like to include corny jokes in your comments." Ye Mo rolled his eyes. "What was that 'If the armor explodes, please scatter my ashes in Hawaii ' thing last time?"

"That's an Easter egg! An artistic expression!"

"You have zero will to survive."

Laughter echoed through the training area for a moment, then gradually quieted down.

Looking at the defense test data that had just been completed on the screen, Tony suddenly said, "You know what? We're like ice and fire."

Ye Mo raised an eyebrow. "Are you cold or are you enthusiastic?"

"Neither," Tony shook his head. "It's you who takes control, I give way; you defend, I attack. You lay traps, I lure the enemy in; you block the way, I cover the rear. You calmly plan, I boldly execute. One of us is like an ice wall blocking the way, the other like a flame advancing—a perfect match."

Ye Mo didn't respond immediately. He looked at the transparent ice wall, where two figures were reflected. One was wearing overalls, and the other was wearing half-rimmed glasses. Standing together, they didn't look like a boss and assistant, but rather like partners.

"That's why I've been able to win time and time again," he said softly.

Tony held out his hand. "Next battle, we'll be even more invincible."

Ye Mo looked at the hand, and without hesitation, grasped it. "On the condition that I don't build four more walls."

At that very moment, a notification sound rang directly in his mind:

"Teamwork level increased; fifteenth level unlocked in the Gene Spiral Tower."

His body trembled slightly, and his pupils contracted.

"What's wrong?" Tony asked.

"The fifteenth floor has opened," Ye Mo said softly. "Not because of the fight, nor because of absorbing energy fragments... it's because of what we just said."

Tony paused for a moment, then laughed, "So the system finally acknowledges that you're more than just a fighting machine?"

"It recognizes cooperation." Ye Mo leaned against the console. "Before, it only looked at damage output, but now it's starting to look at teamwork efficiency."

"So you're going to be promoted to commander?" Tony patted him on the shoulder. "Isn't the next step going to be wearing a suit and holding a press conference, saying, 'Dear friends from the media, today we are going to announce a strategic plan'?"

"You'll have to treat me to steak first."

Tony smiled and turned to check the surveillance footage. He swiped his finger across the holographic interface and refocused on the ventilation shaft in the southeast corner. The temperature had stabilized, but the airflow curve was a bit off—the amount of dust deposited at the air inlet was 17 percent less than normal.

Just as he was about to zoom in for a closer look, Ye Mo suddenly raised his hand.

"Don't move," Ye Mo said in a low voice, "Someone's listening in."

"Where?" Tony didn't turn around.

"It wasn't a physical intrusion." Ye Mo closed his eyes for a moment. "It was residual signal. When we were talking just now, there was a high-frequency Shockwave in the air, like a miniature receiver transmitting data."

Tony's finger froze in mid-air.

"What is the frequency?" he asked.

"It's not cracked yet." Ye Mo opened his eyes. "But it's similar to the Hellfire Club's encryption method, though more covert. It might be a new model."

"So..." Tony began slowly, "Someone has been listening to our conversation all along?"

"Not necessarily the whole time." Ye Mo walked to the main control panel and quickly brought up the communication frequency band scanning program. "But from the moment I mentioned 'false weakness,' there was signal leakage."

Tony stared at the waveform on the screen, his brow furrowing deeper and deeper. "The base's shielding system is new; even JARVIS confirmed it has no vulnerabilities. If it were internal equipment, it should have been installed long ago."

"Or..." Ye Mo suddenly looked up, "It's something that can penetrate ice walls."

"What can penetrate ice?" Tony countered.

"Low temperature won't have any effect." Ye Mo stared at the transparent wall. "Sound waves won't work, and electromagnetic waves will be interfered with, unless it's some kind of biological signal carrier, like a neural pulse simulator."

"You mean, that temperature drop just now... wasn't a malfunction?" Tony whirled around. "Someone was using body temperature regulation to disguise an environmental change and secretly connect to the listening node?"

"Possibly." Ye Mo walked towards the ice wall and placed his palm on it. "Moreover, this person knows our rhythm and knows when we will let our guard down."

Tony grabbed his armor gloves and, while putting them on, said, "Then we'll have to check every inch of pipe, every sensor interface."

"No rush." Ye Mo suddenly grabbed his wrist. "If the other party only wants to listen and not fight, it means he needs more information. He'll come again."

"So he's waiting for us to keep talking?" Tony sneered. "Fine, next time I'll give him a few feints and see if he takes the bait."

"You can praise me a bit more," Ye Mo grinned, "Just say I'm the smartest partner you've ever had, so he'll think he has an opportunity."

"I'm serious?" Tony looked at him. "You really are the most difficult yet most reliable guy I've ever met."

Ye Mo smiled but didn't reply.

The two stood side by side, their eyes fixed on the monitor screen. The data stream flowed smoothly, the lights were quiet, and there was no extraneous sound in the base.

But they all knew that their conversation over the past few minutes might have been overheard by someone.

Tony tapped his fingers lightly on the table, his rhythm steady.

Ye Mo stood beside him, her right hand hanging at her side, her fingertips slightly numb.

From the direction of the ventilation shaft, a very faint wisp of white mist was slowly seeping out from under the door crack.