Turning danger into safety

Metal fragments continued to fall, and the air was filled with the smell of ice shards and burnt rust. Ye Mo didn't move, his eyes fixed on the lingering white mist ahead. He could feel his heartbeat slowing down slightly, not out of fear, but because he had calmed down.

Tony's armor clicked a few times, like an electrical circuit restarting. "Palm Cannon 78% charged... still working," he said in a low voice, "But if we keep going head-to-head like this, we'll both be heading to the ER."

"No need for a direct confrontation," Ye Mo suddenly spoke, his voice soft but making Tony's ears perk up. "He just copied my Ice Blast Spell; there was a delay."

"You noticed?" Tony turned his head.

"Each time he finishes using his ability, the silver light in his eyes dims for about 0.8 seconds," Ye Mo said, narrowing his eyes. "It's like a computer restarting a loading program, with a brief pause in between."

"So it's not a live stream, it's a pre-recorded playback?" Tony grinned. "Then we can edit it."

"Not just editing." Ye Mo raised his hand, a small ring of cold air condensing at his fingertips. "We can also add special effects."

He slowly took a step forward, his foot crunching on the broken ice. A corner of the white mist was blown away by the wind, revealing Oryx's figure. He was looking down at his palm, the liquid metal on the surface of his armor still slowly flowing, repairing the damage.

Ye Mo smiled and raised his hand to cast a standard Frost Nova —a blue-white halo flew out from his palm, drawing a complete circle in the air.

Oryx immediately looked up, his eyes lighting up, and simultaneously raised both hands, beginning to condense the same ice energy structure.

"They're here," Ye Mo thought to himself.

Just as the opponent's energy was taking shape, he suddenly stopped, and the ground beneath his feet suddenly slipped—a very thin, invisible layer of ice had already been laid out, extending ten meters forward along the passage, with a semi-transparent ice wall standing at the end, looking like a defensive fortification.

Oryx didn't notice and rushed forward. As soon as his right foot stepped into the area, his ankle was caught by two compound ice locks with a "crack". Immediately afterward, his left foot was also caught, and he fell forward, instinctively using his hands to brace himself.

But the ground had long been frozen into a mirror by Ye Mo, and it was slippery to the touch. He lost his balance, and his knees slammed heavily onto the ice, the armor making a dull thud.

"Now!" Ye Mo shouted.

Tony was already crouching to the side and behind, his shoulder flamethrower blasting flames straight at Oryx's lower body. The intense heat instantly melted the ice lock, but it also caused the surrounding air to heat up rapidly, with steam hissing and forming a white mist barrier.

Oryx roared and tried to stand up, but found that the seams of his armor were briefly stuck due to the alternating hot and cold temperatures. He raised his hand to summon metal fragments, but the pipes above his head stopped after being peeled off only halfway.

"Aren't you supposed to be able to analyze everything?" Tony sneered as he pushed the cart forward, "How come you even missed the temperature reaction?"

With a flick of his wrist, a miniature concussion grenade flew out and exploded in front of Oryx's helmet. The shockwave cracked the goggles, and the silver light flashed a few times before going out completely.

"System... interrupted..." Oryx gritted his teeth, still trying to force a restart, but the process became slower and slower, as if the signal had been cut off.

Taking advantage of the opportunity, Ye Mo waved his hand, and three alloy restraint straps popped out from a hidden compartment in the wall, precisely wrapping around the other person's arms and chest, slamming him hard to the ground. The metal chains taut, making a "crackling" sound.

The corridor fell silent.

The steam slowly dissipated, leaving only the beeping alarm of the armored system. Ye Mo stood there catching his breath, glanced at the subdued Oryx, and then turned to look at Tony.

"You said he can imitate," Ye Mo chuckled, "But he hasn't learned how to coordinate with us."

Tony shrugged. "I'll light the fire, you set the trap. This isn't imitation, this is originality."

"The power of wisdom," Ye Mo said softly, "Is far more reliable than brute force."

The moment I finished speaking, a "ding" sounded in my mind.

[Victory in battle, unlocking the 23rd floor of the Gene Spiral Tower]

A warm current surged up his spine, as if new code was automatically installing into his nerves. Ye Mo closed his eyes briefly, and another layer opened in the tower deep within his consciousness. A new ability combination protocol was being generated; the name hadn't appeared yet, but he could sense that this time was different.

Tony knelt down, inspecting the crack in the right arm of the armor. "This thing'll take two days to fix," he said. "Could you please not make me a human blowtorch every time?"

"You're willing," Ye Mo walked over to him, "And you spray pretty accurately."

"Of course." Tony looked up. "After all, I don't make a living off my looks."

"You don't rely on your brains either."

The two looked at each other and smiled simultaneously.

Oryx on the ground suddenly twitched a finger, as if trying to struggle. But the restraints didn't budge, and the armor didn't react. He opened his mouth and said something, but his voice was too low to be heard.

Ye Mo squatted down and looked at him. "You want to say something like 'You can't win the future'?" He shook his head. "The villains always say that, and what happens? They all get locked up in a dark room."

"I'm not... the villain," Oryx finally managed to squeeze out, his voice hoarse, "I'm... the Cleaner."

"Clean up what?" Tony leaned closer. "Trash? Or failed attempts?"

"All out-of-control abilities." Oryx looked up, his eyes somewhat vacant, "Including you."

Ye Mo didn't laugh; instead, he frowned. He recalled the footage he had seen on the surveillance footage—the Mutants whose brainwaves were connected were having their data extracted like batteries.

"Who sent you?" he asked.

"Nobody sent me." Oryx's lips twitched slightly. "I'm just... following the rules."

"What rule?" Tony rolled his eyes. "Which article of the Universal Management Regulations?"

"The greater the ability, the higher the risk," Oryx said slowly. "It must be controlled or eliminated."

Ye Mo stood up and glanced at Tony. Neither of them spoke, but they both understood.

This is not the end.

Tony kicked at a piece of metal at his feet. "So you're here to recruit us?" he sneered. "Sorry, we don't accept friend requests from strangers."

Ye Mo didn't reply. He looked down at his palm, the chill swirling around his fingertips before dissipating. The twenty-third level of his ability wasn't fully activated yet, but he could already sense the change—it wasn't just simple Ice Manipulation, but more like some kind of "pre-planned" effect.

It's like setting a trap on the timeline in advance, waiting for the enemy to step into it on their own.

He looked up at the end of the corridor. Several doors remained closed, and a red button on the wall read "Emergency Isolation."

"There's something else over there," he said.

Tony stood up, and the armored HUD re-lit. "Another trap?"

"It could be," Ye Mo stepped forward, "Or it could be a switch."

"What are you opening?"

"The kind of person who can rescue these people." He pointed deeper underground. "They're not enemies, they're tools."

Tony paused for two seconds, then nodded. "Then let's go take a look."

They walked side by side, their footsteps echoing in the empty corridor. Oryx lay on the ground, watching their retreating figures, his lips moving, but he said nothing more.

Ye Mo walked to the red button and reached out to press it.

Tony suddenly grabbed him. "Wait."

"How?"

"Are you sure this is to open the door?" Tony stared at a line of small print below the button. "It says 'Automatically activate after isolation failure'."

Ye Mo leaned closer to take a look, and his expression changed.

The text read: Life Support System Disconnection Protocol

He withdrew his hand.

A slight vibration came from the vent, as if some equipment had started operating. A low-frequency hum came from afar, growing louder and louder.

Tony looked up at the ceiling. "Is this place going to self-destruct?"

Ye Mo quickly scanned his surroundings, his gaze finally settling on a gray interface in the corner. That was the physical access point for the main control line, usually used for forced shutdown or restart.

"Not necessarily," he said. "If we can access the core before the countdown ends, we might be able to reverse the instructions."

Are you confident?

"No." Ye Mo took off his gloves, revealing a shallow mark on the inside of his wrist. "But I just unlocked a new ability that seems to allow me to communicate with the system."

He walked toward the interface, his fingers about to touch the metal port.