Leaving the biology b, Zack stepped into the dark night. Outside, in the Mansion area, tless manufacturing bugs worked tirelessly, their glowing outlines moving with purpose. “Ego, how’s the progress on the upgrades?” Zack asked, his toeady but firm.

  “Sir,” Ego’s voice responded immediately, calm and effit, “all Avalons and armors have been equipped with aromagid anti-magic devices. Nearly 70% of the Ant and Spiders have been upgraded as well. The rest are on schedule and expected to be pleted by 4 a.m.”

  After experieng the devastating effects of aromagic pulse bomb attack, Zack had issued a strict directive to upgrade all meical equipment in the base with aromagid anti-magic capabilities. These upgrades would now be the standard for all future creations. “Good,” Zack replied, his eyes narrowing slightly. He strolled toward the high wall surrounding the unity and looked out at NY the distance.

  The skyline, once alive with lights, was now an eerie steel juhe high-rises stood in plete darkness, no signs of life or the familiar, haunting roars of zombies—just an uling silence. “Has the city been fully cleared?” Zack asked, breaking the quiet.

  “The port along the river where the Tyra was st seen was the final area to be ed,” Ego answered. “With the Tyra elimihe operation has been pleted. NYC is now 100% cleared.” Ego tinued, “ht million zombies have been elimiheir corpses destroyed. During the operation, we lost 21 meical dogs and 75 spiders. All recoverable materials from them have been salvaged. Ammunition ption was signifit.”

  “Eight million zombies…” Zack muttered, exhaling slowly. “The total popution of NYC was about eight million. That means nearly the entire popution—close to 100%—turned into zombies.” He shook his head, his expression grim.

  “Starting tomorrow, have the Ant and Spiders patrol the perimeter of NYC around the clock. Prioritize repairing the city’s main power and water supply lines. Deploy manufacturing bugs to assist,” Zastructed, his voice decisive. “Also, install more ser interception devices to ehe Sky Defense System covers the ey. Any abandoned or dangerous buildings should be demolished. Recycle any useful materials.” He paused briefly before adding, “Oh, and find people with driving experieraio operate stru vehicles. We need a defensive liside the city.”

  Ego’s voice chimed in, “Sir, this is a rge-scale project, and we may face a manpower she.”

  Zack smirked, as if anticipating the . “Ego, you’re overthinking this. Building a defensive line doesn’t mean strug a massive wall. Evero wall ’t hold back a massive zombie horde.” He tinued, “The goal isn’t to stop a tidal wave of zombies—it’s to mahe day-to-day. Set up sentry towers at regur intervals around the city and equip them with automatic mae guns. They’ll haragglers or small groups. If we face a full-blown zombie wave, we’ll take the fight to them with the meical army.”

  “Uood, Sir. I’ll implement your orders,” Ego replied, sending the ands across the city’s systems.

  “That’s all for now.” Zaodded, leaping down from the wall and heading back toward the Mansion. The upgrades to the base were almost plete. Now, it was time to focus on his rger pns.

  The m, Zack arrived at the biology b, carrying a sleek, pact deployment pod. The design was based on his test advas in modur exoskeleton systems, incorporating ideas he’d refined after brainst improvements te into the night. Most of the credit, however, went to Ego’s assistan execution. He pced the pod oable. “Put it on,” he instructed.

  Lilian, standing nearby, eyed the pact drical device curiously. “How am I supposed to wear this?”

  Zack gestured toward it. “Press the activation panel oop, and hold still while it deploys.”

  Following his instrus, Lilian pressed the panel. A faint hum resonated as the pod opened, revealing a set of modur armor pos housed within. The pieces moved swiftly, guided by internal meisms and magic locks. They attached themselves to her body with seamless precision, aligning perfectly with her frame.

  The king of armor echoed in the b as a bd-white exoskeleton emerged around Shadow. The white ses, made of Ultralium alloy, strategically covered vital areas for maximum prote. The more flexible parts—such as the joints, waist, and abdomen—were crafted from a banofiber bat suit. “Wow, it’s so light…” Lilian said, twistiorso and flexing her arms. “It doesn’t restrient at all.”

  “Try the helmet ,” Zastructed, his arms crossed.

  The visor fell into pce with a crisp click, enclosing Lilian’s head in a sleek helmet. The translut mask, built using advanced grapheeology, offered incredible prote rivaling that of alloy steel. “ this armor turn invisible?” Shadow asked as the HUD ihe helmet lit up, revealing the armor’s main funs. Her curiosity sparked as she skimmed through the system interface.

  “Yes,” Zack replied with a nod.

  This suit of armor wasn’t built for brute strength or speed enhas. It didn’t even include ons. Its design revolved around two key funs: optical invisibility and biological sing. That’s all Zaeeded to give her.

  Lilian herself was the ultimate on. Her syic body had near-imperable defenses, unparalleled speed, and incredible strength. She ired, and her superhuman capabilities far exceeded anything meical enhas could provide. Giving her invisibility only elevated her potential. Now, with this new feature, Shadow was undoubtedly Zack’s most formidable creation. Not even his Ant and Spiders or other experiments could pare. “Try it,” Zastructed.

  “Yes, Master!” Lilian activated the armor’s stealth mode without hesitation. A faint ripple in the air marked her transformation as her body vanished from sight. The perfect figure, hiddeh the armor’s sleek design, dissolved into the surroundings.

  Zack watched carefully. The invisibility wasn’t fwless; small distortions in the air and faint traces like footprints could give her away to a trained observer. However, in darkness or low-light enviros, Shadow would bee a spectral assassin, a terror no one could see ing. “It’s effective,” Zack remarked, nodding in approval. Without warning, he extended his hand and grabbed her arm despite her invisibility.

  “The biggest fw of optical invisibility,” he said with a smirk, “is the spatial distortion when moving. It’s subtle but visible if someone knows what to look for.”

  Lilian reappeared, kneeling on one knee as she deactivated the stealth mode. “Thank you, Master!” she said, her voice filled with gratitude and reverence.

  “Remember,” Zack said, his tone sharp as he turo leave, “don’t get too close to Sophia.” Shadow froze momentarily at his words but didn’t respond. Zack left the b without looking back, his mind already shifting to the tasks ahead.

  The past two days had been ed by Shadow’s transformation, deying Zack’s other pns. But he felt it was worth it. He now had an absolute, loyal killer—a phantom in the night. “With Shadow in my arsenal, I now hold two sharp bdes,” Zack muttered to himself as he walked toward the basement of Mansion No. 9. He hadn’t fotten about his other project—the “dancer.” While Shadoowerful aed, the dancer’s “monster” form might still prove useful. “It’s time to put her to work,” Zack decided. “Ego, you mentioned Antonny has been stirring up trouble retly?”