The robot's fingers touched the edge of the vent, the metal joints making a screeching sound. Ye Mo's temples were still throbbing; the pulse wave, occurring every 7.3 seconds, pounded into his brain like a timer. He didn't move, but his hand had already gripped Emma Frost's wrist. She didn't pull away, but her eyes widened—this was their agreed-upon "danger confirmation" signal.
Ye Mo knew there was a trap below, but he didn't know what it was. In that instant, his body reacted before his mind, as if instinctively warning him not to land. He bit his tongue, the taste of blood spreading in his mouth, clearing his mind for a moment. In that instant, a long-forgotten voice echoed in his mind:
"A lethal threat detected. Activate Emergency Resonance Protocol."
The voice wasn't the usual cold, impersonal prompt; instead, it was somewhat urgent, as if the system itself had been startled. Then, he felt something gently tug at his nerves, like someone tuning a radio, and the world suddenly became a fraction of a second clearer.
The robot had already placed one hand on the ventilation duct opening, its alloy legs slightly bent, preparing to use the momentum to flip itself up. Ye Mo suddenly pulled Emma Frost back, and the two slid three meters away along the inner wall of the duct. Almost at the same time, directly below where they had just been lying, the floor flashed red, and the high-voltage electric grid exploded with sparks and crackling sounds.
Emma Frost's pupils contracted, and she looked up at Ye Mo. He didn't look at her, staring at the newly activated electric grid, his breathing low. He knew he hadn't guessed correctly, he had "sensed" it. The feeling was strange; it wasn't seeing or hearing, but rather like suddenly realizing your chopsticks were about to break while eating—it hadn't happened yet, but your body already knew.
" Danger Sensing Ability Activated." The system voice sounded again, " Gene Spiral Tower Unlocks New Skill."
Ye Mo had no time to be happy. Just as he was about to speak, his knee accidentally scraped against the inner wall of the pipe, making a slight metallic scraping sound. The heat sensor above his head immediately flashed red, and then all the alarm lights in the corridor turned on, with sharp beeping sounds coming from all directions.
Footsteps began to approach from afar.
Emma Frost quickly switched to her Diamond Form, her skin shimmering. Ye Mo raised his hand to stop her, shaking his head. Fighting head-on now would only reveal their location faster. He closed his eyes, activating his newly unlocked ability, trying to "sense" the threats around him. At first, there was nothing, until he focused his attention on the fork in the road ahead.
Something's not right there.
It wasn't a sound, nor a change in light, but a... premonition of something about to happen. Like when you're playing a game and you can't see the enemy, but you suddenly crouch down to dodge a sniper's shot. He opened his eyes, pointed to the passage on the right, and then made a "go around" gesture.
Emma Frost nodded, and the two of them scrambled onto the side passage. This pipe was narrower, and its inner walls were covered in condensation, making it particularly slippery. As Ye Mo climbed, he continued to scan his surroundings, discovering similar "danger points" every so often. Once, he almost stepped on a loose mesh panel, but managed to stop himself a split second before he could land—there was nothing underneath, and just two meters below was a recycling well filled with blades.
He leaned against the corner, catching his breath, cold sweat trickling down his forehead. This ability was useful, but too mentally taxing. Each trigger felt like being hit on the back of the head with a hammer. Emma Frost offered him a piece of chocolate, but he shook his head, pulled a mint from his pocket, and popped it into his mouth. The coolness traveled down his throat, clearing his mind slightly.
"Can you still hold on?" Emma Frost asked telepathically.
"It won't kill me," he replied. "It's just that this thing uses too much electricity; it'll probably break down after a few uses."
Before he could finish speaking, a faint blue light shone from the end of the pipe ahead. That was the last stretch of road leading to the main control room in Area B, and also the area with the densest guards. Ye Mo lay on the ground and listened for a while, making sure no patrol team was passing by. Just as he was about to move forward, he suddenly froze.
Danger.
Very close.
He saw no one and heard no sound, but the oppressive feeling was like a boulder hanging over his head, ready to crash down at any moment. He pressed Emma Frost to the ground and pressed himself tightly against the bottom of the pipe. Five seconds later, a laser net shot out from the side wall, sweeping across the entire passage, at just the height of a person's neck when standing.
After the laser beam subsided, he waited another ten seconds before daring to look up. Had he been a fraction of a second slower, his head would be gone by now.
"This place is even more ruthless than I thought," he whispered. "Even the air is murderous."
Emma Frost squinted at the front. "The exit is just thirty meters away, but we can't get there. There are at least three layers of defense systems over there."
Ye Mo didn't reply. He was waiting for that feeling to reappear. A few seconds later, it came—from the upper left. He looked up and saw an inconspicuous little hole at the connection of the ventilation duct, inside which was a miniature camera, slowly rotating.
"Found it," he said. "It will trigger the electromagnetic cage when we pass by."
How did you know?
"I said I can 'know' now."
He took a deep breath and pulled a signal jammer from the equipment box—the small kind Tony had given him. Instead of throwing it directly, he wrapped the casing with ice wire and slowly lowered it out. The moment the ice wire touched the camera, a system notification sounded:
"High-risk trap detected. Immediate evacuation recommended."
Ye Mo didn't withdraw. He moved the jammer forward five centimeters and then pressed the switch.
Buzz--
The entire pipe shook. Sparks flew from the camera, and then a metal ring suddenly sprang up from the previously calm ground, snapping shut to form a closed electromagnetic cage. Unfortunately, no one was inside.
Emma Frost glanced at him. "You're using yourself as bait?"
"No, I'm using the system as a shield," he said. "It can issue early warnings now, so I'm willing to take the gamble."
Just then, a sharp pain shot through his temple, more intense than ever before. His vision flickered, and he experienced a brief double image. He managed to grab the wall to keep from falling.
"What's wrong?" Emma Frost asked.
"That robot... its signal has changed." He gasped, "It's no longer every 7.3 seconds, now it's... 3.6 seconds."
The frequency doubling means it's approaching at an accelerated pace.
Without further hesitation, the two quickened their pace and climbed forward. When they were fifteen meters from the exit, Ye Mo suddenly stopped. He felt an unusual vibration in the ground ahead, not the sound of footsteps, but the resonance of some kind of heavy device being activated.
"Don't move," he said.
The next second, the entire floorboard sank twenty centimeters, revealing a rotating saw-cutting machine underneath. High-temperature steam spewed out from the gaps, and the air was filled with the smell of rust.
"This design really doesn't want anyone to leave alive," he said with a wry smile.
Emma Frost was about to speak when they heard a metallic tearing sound overhead. They turned around and saw that the pipe they had just climbed over had been cut, and debris was still falling down. Robots had climbed up, and there was more than one.
Ye Mo grabbed the grappling hook gloves and secured them to the ceiling, then kicked open the barrier in front of him. Outside was a vertical shaft with a maintenance ladder on the wall. He pulled Emma Frost up and jumped up, and just as they were getting their footing, they heard heavy footsteps behind them.
Three robots climbed onto the pipe one after another, the Vibranium fragments on their chests glowing with an eerie blue light. They did not immediately give chase, but stood still, their head sensors all turning in their direction.
"They've locked onto us," Emma Frost said.
"Hmm." Ye Mo clenched his fist. "Looks like this is the end of our low-key approach."
He had barely finished speaking when more footsteps approached from afar, accompanied by the hum of weapons charging. The guard force was assembling.
What do we do now?
"What else can we do?" He cracked his knuckles, a slight smile playing on his lips. "Since we can't dodge it, we'll just have to fight."
Before he finished speaking, he raised his hand, and a thin layer of ice quickly spread down the ladder, covering the entire shaft wall. Then, he closed his eyes, activated his newly awakened ability, and sensed the enemy's attack rhythm.
He was already moving when the first energy projectile struck.