Ye Mo's finger was still hovering above the confirm button, the air seemed to freeze. Tony's words were still echoing in his ears—"If there really is such a net... do you think Emma Frost might be in it too?"
He didn't answer.
It's not that I don't want to answer, it's that I dare not think about it.
But there was no time to hesitate. The plan had already progressed this far; stopping now would mean relinquishing control. He closed his eyes, and a sentence Emma Frost had said after their last training session suddenly popped into his mind, "You always shoulder the responsibility, but don't forget that I can protect you too."
At that moment, she stood on the ice rink, her hair blowing slightly in the wind, her eyes shining like an ordinary Mutants.
Ye Mo opened his eyes, and his fingers fell.
"This time, it's my turn to find you."
A green light flashed on the console, activating the Telepathy microwave pulse mode. A simulated Mutants ability fluctuation signal was released, its frequency precisely hitting the sensitive zone of mental harmonics. This wasn't a real ability, but a " Feint " pieced together by the system based on previously absorbed data, specifically designed to lure users.
Tony returned at this moment, his armor now equipped with a ring of EMP jamming modules, making him look like a mobile signal jammer. He dispatched three stealth drones, targeting the underground node prediction area thirty kilometers outside Long Island. JARVIS simultaneously activated full-band monitoring, marking any access point attempting to resonate with Ye Mo's signal.
"Alright." Tony slapped the control panel. "The bait's out, the net's set, now it's time to see who bites."
Ye Mo stared at the main screen without saying a word.
Five minutes later, the alarm went off.
An encrypted signal flowed back from the city's edge, its source pointing deep into the abandoned subway tunnels of Long Island. A system notification popped up. "High-order mental harmonic response detected, matching rate 87%, suspected to be a pool of Mutants."
Ye Mo immediately brought up the Thermal Vision and mental wave spectrum overlay analysis. In the image, there were multiple weak but regular brainwave resonance points at that location, arranged in a matrix, with a consistent rhythm, as if a group of people were running some kind of program at the same time.
"This isn't a single-unit monitoring system," he said. "It's Hive structure."
Tony leaned closer. "What do you mean?"
"That means they didn't just capture one Mutants," Ye Mo said in a low voice, "It's a group. These people are linked together and used as living sensors. Each one receives external information and then uploads it all at once."
Tony frowned. "Sounds like an old Hellfire Club project."
" Blackbird Project." Ye Mo nodded, "But they've upgraded it. Before, it was about forcibly controlling individuals; now it's about building a network. As long as someone triggers Mutants's ability, they can capture data and even predict behavioral patterns."
Tony sneered, "So every single game we've played before could be recorded and used as teaching material?"
"It's not just us." Ye Mo stared at the coordinates. "Every Mutants who makes a move is recorded. This weather storm in New York, the MK-9X aircraft test, even Taskmaster's combat data... all of these are samples they collected."
Tony paused for two seconds, then suddenly laughed, "No wonder Obadiah thought he was plotting something; he's just a deliveryman, delivering lab reports for others."
Ye Mo didn't laugh.
He knew the key to the problem lay elsewhere.
The real danger is that this network is still operating, and it's getting faster and faster. What they're seeing now is just the tip of the iceberg.
Just as the system was about to lock onto the precise coordinates, a notification sound suddenly rang in my mind:
"Tracking successful. Gene Spiral Tower is now in cooling mode. 24 hours remaining."
Ye Mo's pupils contracted.
They've arrived.
This notification means the system has determined that he has completed a valid tracking operation, indicating that the hidden forces have indeed responded substantially to his signal. Although the other party did not expose the main control terminal, it at least proves that their existence is not an illusion.
"The cooldown period has begun." Tony looked at him. "The next twenty-four hours are crucial?"
"Yes." Ye Mo nodded. "They'll try a second connection to verify if I'm the real variable. If we cut off the signal now, they'll become alert. But if we let it go, they'll think they've won."
"So we have to play dumb."
"It's not just about playing dumb." Ye Mo swiped his finger across the screen, breaking down the signal return path into seven segments. "We need to make them think that this network is secure and can continue to be used. Once they lower their guard and transmit more data, we'll cut it off decisively."
Tony grinned. "You like playing dirty tricks, huh?"
"It's not that I like it," Ye Mo glanced at him, "They forced me to do it."
Tony shrugged. "Fine, I've been a bad person for a long time anyway."
The two rearranged the monitoring protocol. Ye Mo lowered the signal strength to a critical value, ensuring the connection remained intact without alerting the other party. Tony, on the other hand, had JARVIS forge several sets of fake data packets, simulating traces of other Mutants activity, to lure the other party into expanding their scanning range.
"That way, they'll feel like they have a target all over the city," Tony said, pointing to several red dots on the map. "The bigger their appetite, the more loopholes they'll have."
Ye Mo hummed in agreement, his gaze never leaving the main screen.
He knew this tactic was risky. Once the other side detected a problem with the signal, they might immediately cut off the connection or even trace it back. But he also knew that an organization of this caliber wouldn't easily give up a newly emerged "high-value sample."
They will definitely come again.
Time ticked by, and the base was so quiet that only the hum of the equipment could be heard. Ye Mo leaned back in his chair, his eyes open, but his mind was racing, piecing together clues. Why this particular time? Why use Mutants as sensors? Who was behind this?
Just then, the screen suddenly flickered.
A new data stream appeared, originating from deep within the subway tunnel, but it wasn't aimed at Ye Mo. It was scanning the surrounding area, as if checking for any other abnormal signals.
"They're checking the environment," Ye Mo said in a low voice, "They're afraid of being watched."
Tony immediately realized, "Should we send a fake signal to distract them?"
"Don't rush," Ye Mo raised his hand to stop them. "Making a move now would only alert them. Let them investigate, the more thoroughly the better. As long as they're still active, there's a chance they'll slip up and reveal a weakness."
Tony nodded and said nothing more.
Ten minutes later, the data stream began to be transmitted back. The content was deeply encrypted, but its frequency characteristics revealed its true nature—it carried compressed packets of mental waveforms, each packet marked with a timestamp and target number.
"They're archiving," Ye Mo said, narrowing his eyes. "Not just real-time monitoring, they're building a database."
Tony sneered, "Pretty professional, huh? They even have categorization."
Ye Mo didn't reply. His attention was completely focused on the number. The first two were numbers, and the third was a letter. For example, "03-17-V".
V.
He remembered the code name.
In the Hellfire Club's files, "V" stands for "High-Risk Controllable Mutants," typically used to identify targets who are highly capable but mentally unstable. Emma Frost's file number back then was "05-09-V."
His heart skipped a beat.
But it wasn't shown.
Don't panic. Now is not the time to think about these things.
He took a deep breath, calmed himself down, and turned to Tony, saying, "They've started organizing the data. Next, there should be a summary transfer, probably a scheduled batch upload."
"Then let's wait for that moment." Tony touched the armor interface. "My EMP can go off at any time."
"No rush," Ye Mo shook his head. "We need to wait until they've pulled out all the wires before cutting them all at once."
Tony glanced at him. "You already have a plan in mind?"
"Pretty much." Ye Mo stared at the screen. "They're not afraid of us discovering the base; they're afraid of exposing the main control system. So the real core isn't in the subway tunnels, but further away. That's where the orders are issued."
How did you know?
"Because they haven't cut off the signal yet," Ye Mo sneered. "If it were just a temporary relay station, it should have been cut off long ago. But they're still transmitting data, which means they need this information over there."
Tony pondered, "You mean, they'd rather take the risk than stop?"
"This shows its immense value," Ye Mo said in a lower voice, "So much so that we'd rather expose some of our deployments than compromise the main mission."
Tony paused for a few seconds, then suddenly asked, "Do you think Emma Frost... might also be listed after a certain number?"
Ye Mo didn't look up.
He tapped his finger lightly on the console.
Once, twice.
Then he said, "I don't know."
He paused for two seconds, then added, "But I'll find out."
Tony didn't ask any more questions.
The only sound in the room was the hum of the machines.
The coordinates on the main screen remained lit, like an eye buried underground, quietly waiting for the next connection.
Ye Mo sat there, motionless.
He knew that in the next 24 hours, whoever made the first move would lose.
But he had to wait until the very last moment.
Blood dripped onto the edge of the worktable and slowly spread.