Preventive measures

Ye Mo opened his eyes, his fingers still resting on the edge of the control panel. The signal stream had disappeared, but his mind was still buzzing, as if he had just run five kilometers.

"They moved," he said. "Not by issuing commands remotely, but by someone driving a car to deliver the new orders."

Tony stood in front of the main control screen, his armor partially removed, helmet in hand, his brow furrowed so deeply it could trap a fly. "A four-minute assault? The ventilation shaft in Sector B?" He sneered. "They really dare to pick on the weak."

"They thought there were fewer surveillance cameras there, and the passageway was straight, making it suitable for a raid." Ye Mo cracked his neck twice. "But they didn't know we already knew."

"Then let them stop dreaming." Tony put his helmet on the table, turned around and brought up the 3D structure map of the base. A flash of red light revealed the ventilation duct above the storage room in Sector B, like a straw inserted into the wall.

"Set up defenses first." Ye Mo walked to the projection and gestured with his hand. "I'll block the way, you set the trap."

"Okay." Tony nodded. "Same as always, you use ice, I use electricity."

Ye Mo didn't speak, and walked directly towards Zone B. The corridor lights were stable, and his footsteps were clear. As he walked, he placed his palm against the wall, and the cold air spread from his fingertips, quickly forming a thin layer of frost on the metal surface. This was not ordinary icing; it was the result of his precise control using his Ice Manipulation Ability —the temperature, thickness, and direction of expansion were all according to tactical requirements.

Upon reaching the ventilation shaft entrance, he crouched down and placed his palm on the ground. White mist began to rise from the ground, and a few seconds later, a faint cracking sound came from underground. The ice spike array activated, and thirty sharp ice spikes were buried beneath the passage. Any enemy who stepped on them would have their feet pierced instantly.

"If they come in barefoot this time, they win." Ye Mo stood up, a smirk playing on his lips.

Tony followed behind him, carrying a black toolbox. "I added a miniature thermal camera to the vent, connected to JARVIS. If any living thing approaches, the system automatically records and triggers an alarm." He tucked the device into a corner. "Plus your ice spikes, every one of them who comes in will be crippled."

"That's not enough." Ye Mo looked up at the ceiling. "They're equipped, they might have ice-breaking tools. We need to make sure they can get in but can't get out."

He raised his hand, a wisp of cold air gathering at his fingertips, and flicked it gently. Instantly, several extremely thin ice threads stretched out in the air, almost invisible to the naked eye, yet capable of breaking and triggering when a heat source moved. This was a new technique he had recently mastered— the Sensor Net, specifically designed to catch fast-moving targets.

"The entire passage is now a trap box," he said. "There are spikes on the ground, nets overhead, and I've set up ice-sealing mechanisms on the walls. With just a thought, I can freeze the whole passage solid."

"Perfect." Tony clapped his hands. "Now it's my turn."

Back in the control room, Tony sat in the control chair, his fingers flying across the keyboard. He had implanted a new defense program into the armor system—a dynamic encrypted firewall. Any attempt to illegally access the armor's core data would be immediately detected and traced back to its source.

"Before, it was passive defense; now it's active engagement," Tony said, opening another hidden interface. "I also added an emergency disconnect module. In case of another hack, the armor can automatically cut off all external communications, retaining only the local control system."

"Then wouldn't you become a human tin can?" Ye Mo asked, leaning against the door frame.

"Even a tin can is better than being remotely controlled." Tony glanced at him. "Want to get one for yourself too?"

"My body has a built-in firewall." Ye Mo shook his wrist. "Telepathy and Ice Manipulation are both active; anyone trying to intrude will have to get past me first."

The two exchanged a glance, neither of them smiling, but the atmosphere eased somewhat.

"Come on, let's do a simulation." Tony pulled up the virtual battlefield model. "Suppose Hydra team storms in through the B site ventilation shaft, carrying heavy breaching tools and EMP weapons, how would you stop them?"

Ye Mo closed his eyes, his consciousness sinking into Telepathy mode. He simulated the enemy's movement route in his mind: descent, landing, splitting up, advancing... every movement appeared clearly.

"The first wave involved stepping on ice spikes, injuring at least three people," he said. "The second wave involved going around them, triggering the ice threads overhead and revealing our position. The third wave involved forcibly breaking through the ice, slowing us down by more than three seconds."

"Three seconds is enough for me to get there." Tony controlled the virtual armor model to enter the battlefield, "Heat cannon to suppress the front, Force Field to interfere with the EMP launchers, and then kick the commander away."

"But there's a blind spot in the surveillance system in Area C," Ye Mo suddenly said, opening his eyes. "They might send someone to flank from the side and attack the control room."

"You're right." Tony frowned. "You really can't see it from that angle."

Ye Mo raised his hand and drew a horizontal line in the air. "I'll add a horizontal ice barrier, cutting diagonally across the maintenance passage to create a cross-blockade. They'll either have to crash into it or change course, and either way, it'll disrupt their rhythm."

"Okay." Tony entered the command to update the defense layout. "That's settled then."

The system notification sounded, "Defense plan confirmed, entering standby mode."

Time ticked by. The lights in the base were dimmed, the alarm system switched to silent mode, and all traps entered a dormant state before activation. The server cluster remained encased in ice, and wireless signals were completely blocked.

Ye Mo sat in front of the control panel, his fingers tapping the table unconsciously. His head was a little throbbing from using Telepathy and Ice Manipulation consecutively, but he didn't say anything.

Tony glanced at him. "Are you still holding on?"

"I won't die." Ye Mo grinned. "Fighting in the middle of the night is perfect for staying awake."

"Don't be reckless when things really get tough," Tony said. "You take charge of controlling the situation, I'll handle the damage dealing."

"I'll listen to you," Ye Mo nodded. "But if they bring something that can fly, I'll have to control the airspace."

"Don't worry, I've left you two homing missiles."

The two were silent for a moment. Tony checked the armor's self-test report one last time, confirming that all modules were normal. Ye Mo then recalibrated the trigger mechanism of the Icebound Door to ensure that the delay did not exceed 0.3 seconds.

"Almost there." Tony stood up and stretched. "Just waiting for them to deliver the groceries."

"What if they don't come?" Ye Mo asked.

"That means they're thinking clearly." Tony put on his helmet, which glowed blue. "Unfortunately, their opponent is Hydra, who's never clear-headed."

Ye Mo also stood up and walked to the main control screen. The screen displayed the status of the entire base area, and all defense nodes were lit up in green. The trap network in the ventilation shaft of Area B was in a state of waiting to be triggered, like an open net, just waiting for the prey to walk into the trap.

"Do you think they might suspect this is a trap?" he asked.

"Definitely," Tony sneered, "But they're greedy. Seeing the ' X-Gene extraction module complete' log and hearing that our defenses are lax, they'll definitely try to grab a piece of the action."

"Then let them come," Ye Ye said softly, "Once they're here, they can't leave."

As soon as I finished speaking, a notification sounded in my mind:

"Preventative measures complete. Seventeenth floor of the Gene Spiral Tower unlocked."

Ye Mo's body trembled slightly. A warm current surged up his spine and then spread throughout his body. He knew that a new ability combination path had been opened, but he had not yet found a suitable fragment to activate it.

"Another promotion?" Tony noticed his expression.

"The seventeenth floor." Ye Mo clenched his fist. "My senses are much sharper now. I can detect changes in energy fluctuations, and I can even pick up on the slightest trace of a shielded signal."

"So, can you become a human early warning aircraft in the future?" Tony laughed.

"Do you want to buy a ticket?" Ye Mo retorted.

"No need, I can afford it." Tony stretched his shoulders, and the armor components automatically engaged. "Next time they come, I don't plan to let them leave alive."

"We never intended for them to live this time," Ye Mo, looking at the screen. "Four in the morning, when it's darkest."

"Then let them see what a true fortress looks like." Tony walked to the window, gazing into the dark passageways deep within the base. "What a real impregnable fortress looks like."

Ye Mo didn't reply, but simply placed his hand on the control panel. The chill spread again, and the final ice barrier quietly formed, stretching across the middle of the maintenance passage. Its surface was as smooth as a mirror, showing no trace of human intervention.

The entire base went on high alert. There were no alarms, no noise, only the soft hum of the machines and the steady breathing of the two men.

Tony turned to Ye Mo and asked, "How many people do you think they'll bring?"

"No fewer than twelve," Ye Mo replied. "Armed to the teeth, and possibly with inside help."

"Then kill them all," Tony said calmly. "Leave no one alive."

Ye Mo nodded, his gaze falling on the main control screen. The monitoring screen of the ventilation shaft in Zone B was completely black, with only the infrared scan displaying stable environmental data.

The next second, a line of small text suddenly popped up in the lower right corner of the screen:

[A weak heat source has been detected approaching]