Zack turned slightly, surprised by the question. “The first time I saw her,” Sophia tinued, “she looked so familiar. It felt like I’d met her before, but I couldn’t figure out why. Her appearance, her body—none of it matches anyone I recall, but still…”

  “Her background is simir to Erza’s,” Zack expined calmly. “She was from another base before she joined us.”

  “Oh, I see,” Sophia said, nodding. The expnation seemed to ease her mind, and she decided to drop the matter. Maybe it was just her imagination after all.

  “Alright, take it easy today. Don’t overdo it and risk reopening your wounds,” Zack said as he turo leave.

  Sophia’s face flushed bright red. She pulled the quilt over her head, muttering a muffled, “Okay.”

  Zack chuckled, shaking his head, and headed downstairs. After washing up quickly, he grabbed the breakfast prepared by Mia aeam and made his way to the basement. “Ego,” Zack said between bites of toast, “did you pick up anything st night?”

  The night before, Shadow also revealed the Asian unication frequency band of the Vanguard anization, Ego had mao hato it within seds, ued. Rather than tampering with the band, Ego had simply listened in, gathering what information it could. “Nothing signifit, sir,” Ego responded. “The frequency had minimal activity st night, and the few unications that took pce didn’t reveal anything useful.”

  “That’s fine. Keep monit it,” Zack said, uned.

  Right now, the situation was in his favor. He erating in the shadows while the Vanguard anization remained exposed. As long as the frequency band stayed active, all of the anization’s movements in Asia were under his watch. “Sir, ining call—from the prison,” Ego suddenly announced.

  “The prison?” Zack frowhen realization dawned on him. “Ah, the dancer must’ve succeeded.”

  When Zaswered, an anxious, trembling voice greeted him. “Mr. Jack? Is that you?”

  “It’s me,” Zack replied coldly.

  “Mr. Jack, it’s terrible! Antonny… he was killed by a monster! And everyone ith him—they’re all dead too! The prison is in chaos… Everyoerrified the monster might e back…”

  The voice beloo an elderly man, and in the background, Zack could hear other panicked voices chiming in. It sounded like the prison’s old, weak, and sickly survivors had found Antonny’s unicator and were desperate fuidance. “Carry on with your usual work. Keep tending the farmnd. Don’t worry about the monster. I’ll send someoo hahings,” Zack said in aone.

  “Uood, Mr. Jack. We trust you! We’ll keep w hard. The crops will be ready for a big harvest this fall!”

  Despite Zack’s rare appeara the prison, the survivors there were deeply grateful to him. These elders had endured unimaginable hardships in their lives, and Zack was the only one who gave them a ce. In any other base, they would’ve been abandoned, left as zombie bait, or worse, turned into rations. But Zack took them in.

  Out of gratitude, they worked tirelessly, turning the barren nd outside the prison into lush farmnd filled with fruits, vegetables, and grains. What was once Prison had transformed into something closer to a farm—a granary for Zack’s growing empire.“Ego, tact Charles. Tell him to seleeoh ma experience from the steel mill ahem to the prison,” Zack ordered.

  “Uood, sir,” Ego replied.

  With the prison issue handled, Zack turned his attention back to the work he hadn’t fihe night before.

  The space-based satellite project rogressing smoothly. The LSI satellite unch base had a ready-to-use unch vehicle, so building the satellite was the only remaining step. The real problem, however, was the flying fotress. A bigger version of Avalon “No matter how I run the simutions, it’s not feasible,” Zack muttered to himself.

  Zack blinked in surprise. “Wait, what?” His brow furrowed. “Why didn’t you tell me earlier?”Ego remained silent for a moment, as if debating how to respond. Finally, it answered. “Sir, based on the current situation, I reend the Aegis-Css Aerial and Ptform. Its modur design would better suit your current resources and strategic goals.”A 3D holographic model of the ptform appeared on the s in front of Zack. The stats were staggering. The craft was massive, with a fusege length of 90 meters and a wingspan of 100 meters—rger than the world’s biggest aircraft. When parked, it occupied an area equivalent to several football fields.

  “Aegis-Css?” Zack tilted his head, studying the model. “This looks like an oversized Avalon, doesn’t it?”

  He sed through the details and quickly realized how impressive the design was. At first ghe Aegis-Css did look like a scaled-up aerial unit, but its purpose was far more advanced. It wasn’t just a transport vehicle—it was a full-fledged aerial bat and and ptform, capable of coordinating ground and air operations from the sky. Its advanced modur bays allowed it to dock, repair, and deploy smaller aerial units, making it indispensable fe-scale campaigns.

  Unlike a stationary base or o-bound carrier, the Aegis-Css offered unparalleled versatility. It could remain airborne for extended periods and operate indepely, even in hostile enviros. The more Zack read, the clearer it became. Building a massive fortress in the sky right now would be impractical—its resource requirements and vulnerabilities outweighed its bes. The Aegis-Css, however, table and effit, meeting his needs without draining his territory’s resources. “What’s its maximum flight speed… Mach 5?!” Zack’s eyes widened. “You’re tellihis giant thing is supersonic?”

  For a ph a maximum payload of 300 tons and a takeoff weight of 840 tons, a top speed of Mach 5 was mind-blowing. It was like imagining an elephant s through the skies, “This is it! We’re building Aegis Css,” Zack decred, his excitement reignited.

  “Uood, sir. stru of Aegis will ence immediately,” Ego replied.

  The pnned stru site at the port was swiftly abandoned in favor of NYC Airport. Supplies and materials were redirected, and work began at once. “Sir, if you’re building Aegis, I reend designing a dedicated Avalon fighter,” Ego suggested.

  Zaodded, already intrigued. As an aerial and ptform, Aegis wasn’t just a standalone vehicle. Its design included a dog station for a Avalon on its back—a “parent-child” structure. Aegis acted as the mother vessel, while the smaller Avalon could dock, deploy, aurn after missions. “It’s a clever design,” Zack mused, admiring the cept. “But it’s a shame it only carry one Avalon at a time.”

  This limitation was why Ego had proposed designing a new fighter. “That shouldn’t be too hard,” Zack said, pulling up a 3D holographic model of the Avalon. “Its current design leans too heavily on transportation, which affects its aerodynamid speed. We’ll fix that.”

  Zack got to work, reshaping the Avalon’s desigripped away unnecessary bulk, streamlihe frame for bat, and added a ftter, sleeker profile. He tweaked the propulsion system to boost speed, reworked the os, and adjusted the materials for better durability without sacrifig maneuverability. The e was a pletely transformed Avalon. Its new design resembled a ft bde, sharp and agile. From the side, it looked like a peregrine fal diving at high speed. “Ego, what are the simutios?” Zack asked, studying the holographic model.