Chapter Summaries

Ye Mo awoke in the Afghan wilderness after arriving from Earth and heard that the X-Gene Resonance System had bound itself to him. After an explosion drew armed men to a nearby valley, he followed the ridge and spotted a wounded stranger heading deeper into the valley, then decided to pursue.

• Ye Mo woke in the wilderness, realized he was in Afghanistan, and found no safe way to contact anyone or leave.
• The X-Gene Resonance System announced that Ye Mo could obtain ability fragments by contacting mutants or places where their abilities had been used.
• An explosion struck a checkpoint in the valley, and Ye Mo moved closer to find people who might help him survive.
• Ye Mo observed armed men searching the blast site and stayed hidden as night fell.
• A wounded, armed stranger approached and continued into the valley, leading Ye Mo to follow toward the explosion site.

Ye Mo activated Thermal Vision and used it to help a wounded prisoner finish hiding a device and escape the cave guards. As the generator cut surveillance, the prisoner crawled toward a vent while Ye Mo prepared to distract the increasingly alert guards.

• Ye Mo followed signs of forced labor to a guarded cave and activated Thermal Vision by focusing on a heat source.
• Ye Mo used pebbles to distract the guards while the wounded man finished a device and concealed it in his clothes.
• Ye Mo revealed himself to the man and demonstrated that he could track the guards and deduce the cave's security weaknesses.
• Ye Mo offered to help the man escape in exchange for an explanation of what had happened to the world.
• When the generator restarted and surveillance went down, the man crawled toward the vent while Ye Mo prepared another distraction.

Ye Mo used Thermal Vision and quick thinking to free Tony and guide him through guarded, trapped passages into a collapsed mining chamber. As they rested and questioned each other, a heat silhouette appeared in the passage, leaving their safety uncertain.

• Ye Mo distracted the guards, pulled Tony out of the vent, and found a rubble-blocked fissure by sensing a draft.
• Ye Mo led Tony through the fissure using Thermal Vision to navigate dead ends and avoid tripwire alarms.
• Ye Mo used a piece of metal to cast a false human-shaped shadow, drawing guards away so he could move Tony to a concealed mining chamber.
• Tony questioned Ye Mo about his abilities and origins, and Ye Mo said he came from another world and had saved Tony because he was useful.
• Ye Mo gave Tony his name and warned him to keep it quiet, then spotted a heat silhouette moving through the passage.

Ye Mo led the wounded Tony through the mine, using the system’s patrol data to reach a hidden parking area. Tony accepted Ye Mo as a partner for now, and they escaped the mountains in a jeep as the system established its first-level trust protocol.

• Ye Mo told Tony he needed his help accessing resources and mapped three routes through the mine using the system’s terrain and patrol data.
• Ye Mo warned that another patrol would arrive soon, and Tony chose to follow him rather than return to the guards.
• Ye Mo guided the injured Tony through an old miners’ escape passage to an abandoned parking area.
• Ye Mo found the jeep’s key and spare battery, started the vehicle, and drove out of the mountains with Tony.
• Tony called Ye Mo “Mr. X” and warned him not to betray him as the system announced that a first-level trust protocol had been established.

Ye Mo used his Thermal Vision to help Tony identify safe materials and assemble a crude first-generation Mark Armor prototype while they hid in enemy territory. Tony called Ye Mo his partner, and they prepared to continue building despite knowing the real battle still lay ahead.

• Tony said they had to build something to fight back with, and he began designing armor using the salvaged materials and his reactor prototype.
• Ye Mo warned Tony about a cracked alloy casing, and Tony's pressure test confirmed the system's warning was correct.
• Ye Mo screened the materials while Tony built the frame, and they worked together to weld the chest plate despite Tony's injured shoulder.
• Tony completed the First-Generation Mark Armor frame and told Ye Mo he trusted him and considered him a partner.
• Ye Mo spotted a hidden void in the armor's left arm connection, and Tony confirmed the flaw before offering to set up a lab for Ye Mo in Los Angeles.
• Tony discussed finding stronger materials such as vibranium, and Ye Mo silently recalled Ulysses Klaue as a possible future source.

Ye Mo uncovered mutant energy in metal recovered from the cave and secretly absorbed it from Tony’s study safe, unlocking the beginner ability Metal Assimilation. Tony noticed his nighttime visit but chose not to confront him, and the chapter ended with Tony revealing that a strange alloy was being smuggled in Afghanistan.

• Ye Mo detected mutant energy in a patterned metal scrap and found a matching resonance in the S-7 sample stored in Tony’s study safe.
• Ye Mo sneaked into the study at night and absorbed the sample’s energy, unlocking the beginner ability Metal Assimilation.
• Tony questioned Ye Mo about his nighttime visit but let the deception go, telling him to ask permission next time.
• Ye Mo recorded what he knew about the new ability and considered using it to sense metals connected to mutants.
• JARVIS summoned Ye Mo to the main hall, where Tony revealed that someone was smuggling a strange alloy in Afghanistan.

Ye Mo followed the metal fragment’s energy to a woman pursued by Hellfire Club agents and helped her escape. After she used her psychic ability to mislead their search, they fled together as police and a black SUV approached.

• The metal fragment detected mutant energy in the southeastern district, and Ye Mo followed it to a woman in white surrounded by armed pursuers.
• Ye Mo caused a commotion to distract the pursuers, grabbed the woman, and led her through alleys to an abandoned underground garage.
• The woman recognized the fragment’s markings on her ring, while Ye Mo explained his system and learned she had been the Hellfire Club’s White Queen.
• When the woman sensed the pursuers closing in, she misdirected them with her psychic ability while Ye Mo ignited leaked fuel in the garage.
• Ye Mo and the woman escaped through the smoke as police sirens sounded and a black SUV approached.

Ye Mo discovered that Emma Frost’s psychic contact had given him a fragment of her Telepathy, and their first lesson revealed that they could enter psychic resonance. As they headed toward Tony Stark’s estate, Ye Mo sensed a drone scanning the perimeter and suspected an ambush was waiting inside.

• Ye Mo and Emma Frost hid in an electrical room, where his system captured a Telepathy gene fragment when she read his mind.
• Ye Mo explained his ability-recycling power and offered to help Emma escape to Tony Stark’s estate in exchange for Telepathy training.
• Emma taught Ye Mo the basics of sensing thoughts and shielding his mind, but he unexpectedly entered her thoughts and felt her longing for freedom.
• Emma identified Ye Mo as a resonant entity and warned that Hellfire would target him; she agreed to leave with him if he avoided using Telepathy near others until he learned to shield his thoughts.
• On the way to the estate, Ye Mo sensed a drone scanning for heat signatures and detected a possible ambush inside.

Ye Mo used his new telepathic ability to redirect Tony’s press conference, then discovered Tony’s secretary was being remotely controlled through a neural access point. A notification unlocked basic Mind Control, and Ye Mo sensed other signals throughout Tony’s estate.

• Ye Mo sensed fear in Tony’s secretary and used her emotional concern to plant the idea of moving the press conference to the underground laboratory.
• Tony confirmed that Lisa had suggested the change of venue, and Ye Mo realized his mental interference had diverted a possible ambush.
• Ye Mo warned Emma Frost that the alloy fragment was reacting, and Emma explained the Hellfire Club had tracked her using biological markers.
• Ye Mo spotted a miniature neural access point on Lisa’s neck and concluded that she was a remotely controlled puppet.
• Ye Mo unlocked basic Mind Control and sensed other faint signals throughout the estate.

Ye Mo and Emma Frost fled after Hellfire tracked Emma’s psychic signature, but the Scavenger Squad’s interference field and pursuit forced them into a trap. They remained cornered as four figures closed in on the alley.

• Ye Mo discovered that Emma Frost had triggered a high-risk psychic lock after visiting a convenience store, so they abandoned their hiding place.
• Ye Mo and Emma Frost evaded searching SUVs and crossed into an area where a psychic shielding field was forming.
• Ye Mo disguised Emma Frost’s psychic signal with mental noise, briefly fooling the Scavenger Squad tracking her.
• Emma Frost sensed that their pursuers were steering them into a trap, and they found their escape blocked by a dead end.
• A billboard crashed down ahead of Ye Mo and Emma Frost as red lights appeared behind them and four figures completed the encirclement.

Ye Mo and Emma Frost escaped their pursuers by using deception and Mind Control, but Emma was wounded by a Hellfire toxin and Ye Mo’s powers left him increasingly impaired. They reached a subway tunnel, where a warning about approaching mutant energy led them to discover a second metal fragment matching Ye Mo’s.

• Ye Mo used Mind Control and a heated metal fragment to misdirect their pursuers, then led Emma Frost toward an abandoned subway entrance.
• Emma Frost shielded Ye Mo from an electromagnetic pulse dart, and Ye Mo used Mind Control to make the attacker injure a teammate so they could escape.
• In the subway shaft, Emma Frost identified the wound’s poison as Hellfire’s new formula, while Ye Mo bandaged her and they acknowledged they were relying on each other.
• Ye Mo and Emma Frost fled deeper into the tunnel as their pursuers approached, despite Ye Mo suffering worsening effects from using Mind Control.
• The system warned Ye Mo that unidentified mutant energy was approaching, and he found a metal fragment in a concrete crack vibrating in sync with his own.

Ye Mo fused his healing factor with molecular phasing and used the resulting Regenerative Phasing ability to carry Emma Frost through a wall to an abandoned railway platform. After cutting off the pursuers’ tracking signal, he prepared to move on, but a surveillance camera activated behind them.

• Ye Mo joined the two metal fragments and accepted the system’s offer to fuse his Healing Factor and Molecular Phasing abilities.
• As the fusion caused him severe pain, Emma Frost warned that the toxin in her wound was spreading.
• Ye Mo’s first attempt to phase through the wall failed until he increased his regeneration, allowing him to pass through and develop Regenerative Phasing.
• Ye Mo carried Emma through the wall on a second attempt and laid her on a bench on the abandoned platform.
• Ye Mo wrapped the fragments in his shirt and jammed them into a crack to cut off the pursuers’ tracking signal; Emma asked him not to leave her behind.
• A fading phasing afterimage appeared on Ye Mo’s chest, and a surveillance camera’s red indicator light switched on behind him.

Ye Mo escaped the abandoned subway with the unconscious Emma Frost, but signs of surveillance and a warning about Obadiah Stane revealed that his pursuers were closing in. Obadiah hired an associate to investigate Ye Mo while hidden footage was transmitted to Stark Industries headquarters, and Ye Mo disappeared into the shadows with Emma.

• Ye Mo disabled the tunnel camera, carried Emma Frost out of the subway, and discovered that his body was still suffering from Regenerative Phasing.
• Ye Mo received Natasha's warning that Obadiah was investigating him, then removed his phone's battery and discarded it.
• Ye Mo spotted a Stark Industries drone marked with Obadiah's initials circling overhead and suspected someone had tracked their escape.
• Obadiah identified Emma Frost in subway footage and hired a black-gloved associate to investigate Ye Mo in exchange for priority on Vulcan missile orders.
• A hidden terminal transmitted the footage to Stark Industries headquarters as Ye Mo carried Emma into the shadows.

Ye Mo uncovered a conspiracy between Obadiah Stane and the Hellfire Club to seize control of Stark Industries and eliminate him, then escaped with the agreement memorized. As he prepared to warn Tony, he realized the metal fragment was broadcasting his location to someone tracking him.

• Ye Mo used his newly awakened telepathy to read thoughts inside a van and learned that its occupants had handed over a hard drive and planned an internal purge.
• He followed the van to a Nova Energy building, disabled its surveillance, and entered the basement archive.
• Ye Mo found an agreement signed by Obadiah Stane and Hellfire Club leaders detailing their plot against Stark Industries and ordering his elimination.
• He memorized the agreement as the data was set to be destroyed, escaped a psychic scan, and transcribed the evidence onto a backup phone for Tony.
• The metal fragment began vibrating and revealed markings that showed someone was using it to track Ye Mo.

Ye Mo helped Tony expose Obadiah Stane’s plot to seize control of Stark Industries, leading to Obadiah’s arrest. The chapter ended with the system announcing that the conditions to unlock the Gene Spiral Tower’s second level had been met.

• Ye Mo printed a memorandum linking Obadiah Stane to the Hellfire Club and warned Tony about the coup.
• Ye Mo showed Tony evidence of Obadiah’s backdoor access and proposed a plan to freeze his permissions.
• Ye Mo infiltrated the data center and planted a log that triggered an automatic freeze on Obadiah’s administrative permissions.
• Ye Mo presented the memorandum and reconstructed audio to Obadiah and Tony as police arrived.
• Police detained Obadiah on suspicion of corporate espionage, illegal system intrusion, and conspiracy.
• The system announced that the conditions for unlocking the Gene Spiral Tower’s second level had been met.

Ye Mo discovered that S.H.I.E.L.D. was monitoring him and used the listening device to send a message to Coulson. Coulson decided to meet him privately at the Stark estate, while Ye Mo waited for him to arrive.

• Ye Mo found a listening device in his bedroom and used fabricated vital signs to make it seem he was still asleep.
• Ye Mo traced an anomalous incident report access to S.H.I.E.L.D. and inferred that Coulson was investigating him.
• Ye Mo sent Coulson a telepathic invitation to meet at the back gate guard booth without equipment.
• A S.H.I.E.L.D. agent reported that the listening signal had failed, and Coulson called it a warning before heading to the Stark estate.
• Ye Mo waited with the cooled Vibranium fragment as Coulson approached the estate.

Ye Mo rejected Phil Coulson's attempt to assess and recruit him, presenting his abilities as controlled by an unpredictable system. After Coulson left, Ye Mo discovered the vibranium fragment was reacting to an unknown remote signal and faced a connection prompt.

• Phil Coulson questioned Ye Mo about his role in Tony Stark's kidnapping and the source of his abilities.
• Ye Mo refused to provide S.H.I.E.L.D. with intelligence and said he would consider cooperation only if the system spoke to Coulson directly.
• Coulson reported that Ye Mo was difficult to control and recommended level-two observation.
• Ye Mo found the vibranium fragment heating and glowing, then carried it to Tony's private study.
• A system notification asked Ye Mo whether to allow an unknown source to synchronize remotely, and he pressed the fragment against the laptop without choosing an option.

Ye Mo confronted Coulson about S.H.I.E.L.D.’s plans for mutants and traded the vibranium fragment for a chance to learn about its project. After discovering another signal attempt, he went to meet Tony and noticed a strange blue line beneath his skin.

• Ye Mo called Coulson after the vibranium fragment glowed and attempted to connect to something.
• Ye Mo used his Telepathy to learn that S.H.I.E.L.D. prioritized threat assessment and that proving his value could secure him a long-term exemption.
• Ye Mo gave Coulson the fragment for analysis in exchange for a chance to hear about its origin and connected project.
• Ye Mo recorded his findings and learned from JARVIS that an untraceable encrypted pulse had coincided with the fragment’s glow.
• Ye Mo arrived at Tony’s conference room and spotted a thin blue line flash beneath his skin.

Ye Mo negotiated an informal intelligence-sharing arrangement with Tony and Coulson while warning them that the Hellfire Club was targeting newly awakened mutants. After Coulson left, Ye Mo received a message that the Congo signal source had moved.

• Ye Mo played an encrypted pulse linked to the vibranium fragment and told Tony and Coulson that someone was testing ways to activate mutant energy, possibly through the Iron Man Armor's reactor.
• Ye Mo showed evidence that Obadiah's payment to the Hellfire Club had been verified using simulated mutant brain waves, and said he had obtained the evidence from Emma Frost's seized mind controller.
• Ye Mo offered to share global mutant-energy alerts if S.H.I.E.L.D. notified him before acting and kept him out of its registration database.
• Ye Mo showed Tony and Coulson more than a dozen recently awakened mutant signal sources and warned that the Hellfire Club was screening and recruiting high-potential targets.
• Ye Mo demanded access to summaries of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s investigation into the signal and Obadiah, while Coulson agreed to request a priority review and left.
• Ye Mo received an anonymous message saying the Congo signal source had moved.

Ye Mo and Tony negotiated with Coulson over the Avengers Initiative and pushed for independent oversight and access to deployment decisions. When the Congo signal stopped at a Hydra laboratory where several heat signatures had gathered, Ye Mo decided to go there himself.

• Ye Mo and Tony discussed forming a rapid-response network as energy anomalies appeared in Kazakhstan and Congo.
• Coulson revealed S.H.I.E.L.D. was considering the Avengers Initiative, and Ye Mo and Tony warned against coercive recruitment and unchecked surveillance.
• Ye Mo proposed an informal assessment group with independent oversight, and Coulson agreed to recommend one to his superiors.
• Ye Mo and Tony planned a compact signal-catching watch with tracking, self-destruct, and electronic-disruption features.
• The Congo signal stopped at Hydra's abandoned laboratory, where infrared scans showed multiple heat signatures and rising temperatures.
• Ye Mo decided to go to the laboratory himself while Tony prepared to send a drone.