Jacob showed no fear as he threw the empty rifle aside and stepped forward. “Kid, you sound young. You think I got to the top with just a rifle?”

  Without warning, he lunged forward, moving with astonishing speed. His fist ected with Zack’s chestpte, and the impact sent the Mark armor back a step, denting the metal.

  “Sir, target shows abnormal physical indicators. Strength far exceeds human norms,” Ego warned.

  Zack felt the strain through the armor. “Noted.”

  Jacob unched another series of rapid punches, each blow rog the armor. He moved with the skill of a seasoned underground fighter, enhanced by a strength beyond normal human limits.

  Between dodges and punches, Jacob’s taunts echoed. “I don’t know where you got this metal shell, but I’ll be taking it after I crush you!”

  Just as he lunged for a final blow, a glint caught his eye—a bde shot out from Mark’s armored forearm. He had no time to pull back as it sliced through his right arm, severing it at the shoulder.

  “ARGH!” Jacob screamed, blood spurting in arcs across the ground.

  Before he could recover, another bde extended from the armor’s opposite arm, and with a single, fluid ssh, it took his remaining arm with it. Blood gushed like a river, and Jacob’s screams pierced the air as he dropped to his knees, his face twisted in agony.

  “I don’t know what you thought you could achieve here,” Zack said coldly, raising the bloodied bde to deliver the final blow. “This armor isn’t just for show.”

  With o sweeping strike, he silenced Jacob food. As the bde sliced through, the st thought in Jacob’s mind was of disbelief, his fading gaze staring up at Za helpless rage. “Really, whs fists to a bde fight?”

  Zack pulled his bde back, surveying the survivors. Around him, huddled among old maes and rusty equipment, the workers and their families held makeshift ons—mostly steel pipes. Their eyes widened in fear at the sight of him, his armor still stained with traces of his ret battle. Zack’s ruthless efficy was terrifying; to these people, he appeared er than Jacob, the tyrant he had just overthrown.

  “Who’s in charge here?” he asked, his voice deep and distorted from within the armor. The urmured in arm, their gnces shifting to a figure sprawled on the ground, a bloodied heap in the shadows.

  "Sean bs, male, 37 years old," Ego, his AI panion, noted ically. "Former director of this steel pnt. No vital siged—cause of death appears to be blunt trauma.”

  Before Zack could respond, a cry broke out from the crowd. A thin, dirty girl with short hair threw herself onto the dead man, clutg his bloodied clothes. “Dad!” she sobbed, her voice cracked and raw with grief.

  “Who is she?” Zack asked, intrigued by her sudden appearance.

  “Annie, female, age 13,” Ego replied, detailing the girl’s impressive aplishments. “Champion of the 18th Youth Iion petition…IQ of 174, with four patents in meical engineering.”

  A spark of i flickered in Zack’s eyes. This girl, hiddeh grime and tears, rodigy, a genius. Such talent is invaluable. But as he looked at her, the crowd grew uneasy. Some whispered, their eyes dartiween Annie and him with a mix of hope and dread.

  Sensing the tension, Zack raised a hand in reassurance. “I’m not here to hurt you,” he said. “Uhem.” He gestured at the bodies of Jacob and his gang, their lifeless forms sprawled across the pnt floor. “I’m here to help. I clear out the zombies around you, bring you food and water…if you cooperate.”

  The workers exged ghe promise of food and safety was almost too good to believe, but the tyrany of Jacob’s rule left them desperate. “Do you mean it?” one of the older workers asked, stepping forward with hope. “You’d really protect us…as long as we do what you ask?”

  “Yes,” Zack replied, his toeady. “All I need is for you to make steel for me. I’ll hahe rest.”

  Murmurs rippled through the group, and weary faces softened as Zack’s words sank in. But as he tinued, his gaze fell on Annie, who was still ging to her father’s body. “I’ll also need someone skilled. A meic who keep up with my work. I want this girl.”

  Silence fell over the factory. Shock flickered across each face as they realized what he was asking. The girl was their only e to their te director, Sean. Losing her felt like losing another piece of what little they had left. An elderly man, his back bent but his gaze fierce, stepped forward, pg himself between Zad Annie.

  “No,” he said, his voice firm despite his age. “You take our steel, but you won’t take her.”

  "Charles Grant, male, 76 years old, retired metallurgical expert," Ego informed Zack. Another valuable asset, Zack mused, but he held his patience.

  “Listen carefully,” he said, his voice firm but no longer hostile. “I’m her safety, and a ce to put her talents to real use. She’s a genius, and with me, she’ll be protected.”

  Still, the workers hesitated, ging to whatever mrounds they could. Then, a quiet, sorrowful voice broke through the silence. “Charles…let her go with him.”

  The crowd parted as Annie’s mother, a pale, fragile woman, stepped forward. She k beside her daughter, gathering her into an embrace, her hand trembling as she stroked the girl’s short hair. “Annie,” she whispered softly, her voice breaking, “you have to go with him. Your father and I…we ’t protect you anymore.”

  “No, Mom! I don’t want to leave you!” Annie sobbed, clutg her mother as if her grip alone could ge their fate.

  A wave of grief and resignation washed over the woman’s face as she forced a smile. Her body shook, her breaths shallow and bored. Zaoted the unnatural pallor of her skin. “Ego, s her,” he ordered quietly.

  “Name: Mana bs. Age: 35. Severe internal injuries. Fatal heming…no medical intervention avaible.”

  Zack’s jaw ched, watg as the woman’s st moments pyed out. She turo her daughter, her eyes gentle, filled with a mother’s unwavering love. “Annie, I need you to be brave. This man…he’ll protect you now. You’ll be safe with him.”

  The woman’s voice faded, and with a final, loving look, her eyes closed, her spirit drifting away beside her fallen husband. The factory fell silent, broken only by Annie’s choked sobs as she cradled her mother’s lifeless form.

  Zack’s facepte retracted, revealing his youthful face to the astonished crowd. They stared at him, the warrior who had woreel armor, noearing as just a young man with a weary, solemn expression. “Bury the dead,” he said quietly. Then he added, his voice softer, “Bury them together.”

  Turning away, he waited as the workers began their grim task, giving them a moment to grieve and honor the ohey’d lost.