The red dot in the northwest direction is still moving.
Ye Mo stared at the screen, his fingers tapping lightly on the edge of the control panel. The signal was like a slippery fish, scanning at low frequencies, hopping through frequencies, changing nodes every twelve seconds, impossible to catch its tail. He closed his eyes, lowered his consciousness, and followed the mental ripples left by Emma Frost.
Tony stood in front of the holographic projection, not even looking up. " JARVIS, activate the quantum decoding module, highest priority. I want to dig up this thing's entire ancestry."
"Executing." The system voice was steady. "The signal path is complex, with multiple relays and decoys. Estimated restoration time is seven minutes."
"Seven minutes?" Ye Mo opened his eyes. "I can't wait that long."
He took a deep breath and tuned the frequency in his mind to the same resonance mode as during training. Back then, there were three people connected, but now it was just him alone. However, he remembered the feeling—synchronized thinking, anticipating reactions, as if he had pre-programmed other people's actions into his own brain. He tried to simulate that rhythm, using Telepathy to "listen" to the brainwaves behind that encrypted frequency.
There was nothing at first.
There was only static, like the crackling sound of a radio tuning. He gritted his teeth and pressed on, sweat beading on his forehead. Just when he was about to give up, a ripple appeared.
Cold, fiery, and a little restless.
He recognized the taste.
" Obadiah," he whispered, "It's him."
Tony looked up abruptly. "Are you sure?"
"No mistake." Ye Mo didn't open his eyes. "Every time this guy sees me, he seems to want to weld me to the lab table to extract my bone marrow. His emotions are too familiar. Besides, his heart rate is high and his breathing is rapid; he's clearly in a hurry to push things forward."
"Okay, we have Anchor." Tony quickly adjusted the parameters. " JARVIS, using the target biosignal as a reference, reconstruct the routing map in reverse! Filter out all unrelated relay nodes!"
The red dot on the screen began to jitter, and the previously scattered trajectories were gradually eliminated, leaving only clear lines. Three minutes later, the cursor stopped at a coordinate.
In the suburbs of New York, in an abandoned military industrial area, lies the former secret research and development center of Stark Industries.
"The site of a project that was shut down ten years ago." Tony sneered. "He really knows how to pick a location; he moved his headquarters quite far away."
"But he didn't change his mind." Ye Mo opened his eyes. "This kind of place should have been blown to smithereens long ago. The fact that he chose this place shows that he knows this place very well. It's possible that someone inside the area handled the engineering modifications."
"Or..." Tony squinted, "He never really went far."
The two exchanged a glance but neither spoke.
Ye Mo closed his eyes again, this time no longer chasing the signal, but directly "pushing" his senses in that direction. He knew he couldn't read people too far away, but Obadiah was different—they had fought too many times, and the other's mental imprint was already engraved in his mind. Like two magnets, even if there was a wall between them, they could sense each other's polarity.
He approached little by little, his consciousness like a thin thread traveling through the data stream.
Then he heard it.
Fragments of conversation, interspersed within the encrypted signal, sounded like Echo coming from the conference room.
"... Start the fusion process in three days... Mr. X's ability sample must be completely extracted... The armor core synchronization rate must reach over 80%... Otherwise, the plan will fail..."
Ye Mo suddenly opened his eyes, his breath catching in his throat.
"Three days," he said. "They're planning to make their move in three days."
Tony's expression changed. "A fusion procedure? Who should we fuse with? Me? You? Or both of us going to the operating table together?"
"I don't know." Ye Mo rubbed his temples. "The information is incomplete, but I heard the word 'sample.' They don't just want to steal your armor; they also want to copy my abilities."
"So you're a living experimental subject?" Tony raised an eyebrow. "Congratulations, you've been upgraded to a rare species."
"I think so too," Ye Mo said, a slight smirk playing on his lips. "But the date they chose wasn't very convenient."
"How?"
"In three more days, the nineteenth floor of my Gene Spiral Tower should be unlocked." He cracked his knuckles. "Perfect for testing out my new skills with them."
Tony snorted, turned around, and pulled up the base's defense map. " JARVIS, integrate the intelligence from earlier into a combat plan. Mark the enemy's stronghold structure, possible ambush points, and communication blind spots. Also, check if that R&D center has any recent power or supply dispatch records."
"Search has begun," JARVIS responded. "Initial findings: three abnormal power supply peaks occurred in the area over the past 48 hours, with unknown sources; all surrounding surveillance cameras are offline; drone aerial footage shows several new mobile sentry posts on the perimeter."
"They're definitely preparing something big." Ye Mo stood up and walked to the projector. "We can't let them make the first move."
"You want to take the initiative?" Tony asked, looking at him.
"It's not an attack, it's reconnaissance." Ye Mo pointed to the map, "First, send a swarm of miniature drones in to infiltrate and photograph the internal layout. Once the location of the command center is confirmed, I'll use my Wall Phasing Technique to get in and verify it a second time."
Are you alone?
"I'm not going to fight," Ye Mo laughed. "I'm going to eavesdrop. Besides, my Steel Bone Body has just been formed; I won't die from taking a couple of hits."
Tony stared at him for a few seconds, then suddenly laughed, "Well, you're getting bolder and bolder. You used to always say 'safety first' and 'run if you can,' but now you're trying to sneak into someone's lair."
"People always change," Ye Mo shrugged, "Especially when you find that your enemy is eyeing your bones every day."
"Then I'll cooperate with you." Tony opened the armor's settings interface. " MK Series, stealth mode activated, EMP shielding fully engaged. While you go in, I'll be on standby outside, ready to provide backup at any time."
"Don't get too close," Ye Mo warned. "Since they dared to use frequency hopping relays, they must have deployed electronic decoys. If you approach rashly, your armored system might be locked onto in reverse."
"Don't worry, I'm not that stupid." Tony tapped a few keys on the keyboard. "But you, don't think you can mess around just because you have a new ability. Last time you Ice Manipulation and created a tornado, you looked pretty cool, but you almost got shredded to a pulp."
"That was an accident." Ye Mo waved his hand. "I'll be more careful about the angle next time."
As the two were talking, Ye Mo suddenly shuddered.
A surge of heat rushed up his spine and instantly spread throughout his body. He stood still, but his fingers trembled slightly.
Tony sensed something was wrong. "Not again?"
Ye Mo nodded, closed his eyes, and sensed it for a moment. "The nineteenth floor is open."
"So soon?" Tony frowned. "You just said a few more days."
"It's probably because the intelligence gathering is complete." Ye Mo opened his eyes, his gaze brightening. "As soon as the system notification sounded, I felt like a new path opened up in my mind, as if I could process more signals simultaneously."
"Can it be used?"
"I don't know yet." He stretched his shoulders. "It could be an enhanced version of Mental Resonance, or it could be a precursor to Group Interference. We'll have to try it to find out."
"Then don't just stand there." Tony pushed an encrypted file towards him. "This is a draft action plan that JARVIS just compiled. Take a look and see if there are any loopholes."
Ye Mo took the tablet and quickly scanned it. The entry route, evacuation route, communication codes, emergency codes... everything was listed clearly.
He nodded. "Okay. I'll start preparations after the drone takes off."
"Remember," Tony stared at him, "You're going to gather intelligence, not to be a target. If anything seems amiss, get out of there."
"I know." Ye Mo put the tablet back on the table. "I'm not Peter; I won't just walk into the line of fire because I'm hot-blooded."
"That's for the best." Tony turned and walked towards the armor support. "I'm going to check the thruster stability. Call me if you make any progress."
Ye Mo sat back down at the console, his fingers once again resting on the control panel. The red dot on the screen remained frozen in the location of the abandoned research center, like a buried landmine.
He stared at it, motionless.
JARVIS's voice rang out. "The swarm of micro-drones is ready and awaiting launch command."
Ye Mo pressed the confirmation button.
"Emission."
Outside the window, an almost invisible black shadow silently rose from the top of the base and flew away in a silent direction to the northwest.
The only sound in the control room was the clicking of keyboards.
Ten minutes later, the first frame was transmitted back.
The corridor was dimly lit, the metal doors were tightly closed, and faded safety signs were posted on the walls.
Ye Mo zoomed in on the image, carefully examining every corner.
Suddenly, he discovered a small receiving device beneath the surveillance camera.
He zoomed in and zoomed in again.
That's a custom model from the Hellfire Club, with a self-destruct function.
His finger hovered over the screen.
Just then, Tony's voice came from behind. "So, what did you see?"