Gunfire erupted from around the pnt as the workers seized the adva was a one-sided sughter. Disoriented by the sudden light, the night stalker couldn’t fight back. They stumbled, scrambling blindly as the wunshots tore through them.

  “Time for my part,” Zack said, drawing the sharp bdes from his armor. He charged toward the stalkers, slig through their ranks. Uhe power of his armor, even a piece of blual would cut through flesh and boh ease.

  One night stalker sensed him and tried to swipe, but Zack effortlessly dodged, beheading it in a single swing. He moved from oo the , dismantling them with ruthless efficy. Just as he finished, a pierg r out—a cry of anger and defiance. “Sir, I’ve pinpoihe leader!” Ego’s voice cut through his focus.

  Zack looked up to see a rger night stalker in the distas intense gaze locked onto him. They stared each other down for a tense moment, and the creature let out an enraged howl. The remaining stalkers at the back door and broken wall immediately abaheir attacks, retreating toward the darkness.

  “Oh, so you’re trying to escape?” Zack muttered, his eyes narrowing as he watched the leader. Without hesitation, he left the illuminated area and sprinted after it.

  "Roar!" The night stalker leader, seeing him step into the darkness, leaped from the rooftop it had been perched on, nding with a heavy thud.

  “So you want a fight?” Zack grinned beh his armor. “Fine by me.”

  He retracted his bde and charged forward, pushing the MV-01 armor’s speed to its limits. The oon suit thundered across the ground like a rampagi. As he closed iehe bde, preparing to strike with a powerful ssh.

  What he didn’t expect was the night stalker’s agility. Just as he swung, the leader ducked, sliding under him in a move that resembled a low slide tackle. Its sharp cws scraped across his waist, leaving a series of deep scratches on the armor.

  “Did… did I just get hit by a sliding tackle?” Zack thought, astonished. He’d never expected such a move from a night stalker! Before Zack could turn, the Night stalker leader leapt onto his back, g at his armor with frerength. Its cws tore into the metal, leaving deep gouges along the armor.

  “Warning! Back armor damaged, 30% iy remaining!”

  “I know!” Zack muttered, keeping his focus. He fully extended his arm bde, reag ba a swift, precise stab. The bde struck true, sinking into the creature’s shoulder bde.

  “Roar!” The Night stalker leader screeched in pain, struggling violently to free itself from the bde.

  “You’re not going anywhere,” Zack growled, turning to face the creature. With a quick motioehe sed bde from his left arm, aiming straight for the Night stalker leader’s head. But at the st sed, the creature twisted its body, letting the bde slice through its right arm instead, severing it to free itself.

  “Roar…” The leader hit the ground hard but immediately turned and bolted, disappearing into the darkness.

  “Damn it!” Zack cursed, giving chase. The MV-01’s speed was impressive in a straight line, and he quickly closed in. But the Night stalker leader, now one-armed, scrambled up a nearby wall, g its with surprising speed. Its sharp cws pierced the brick, letting it scale the wall effortlessly.

  “Get down here!” Zack yelled, hurling his arm bde like a throwing khe bde struck the Night stalker leader’s back, lodging deep, but didn’t bring it down. Instead, the creature climbed to the rooftop and vanished into the night.

  “Ego, track it with the satellite!” Zack barked.

  “Yes, sir,” Ego replied. The satellite traced the Night stalker leader’s path until it ducked into an underground garage in a nearby factory. Ohe location was logged, Zack returo the steel pnt.

  Back at the steel pnt, the powerful lights were still on, casting the area in a bright, reassuring glow. Not a single Night Stalker was left standing. Charles and the other workers were already clearing the battlefield, loading the bodies onto a truck to be disposed of at dawn.

  “Mr. Zack is back!” someone shouted.

  “Mr. Zack, we did it! Not a single casualty!” The workers and their families cheered, their expressions filled with relief and gratitude. After the terror they had eonight felt like a miracle.

  Charles stepped forward, his face showing a mixture of apology and admiration. “Mr. Zack…I misjudged you. If it weren’t for you, we’d still be living in fear, and tonight would have been a disaster.”

  Zack gave a nod, his gaze calm. Charles had beeical, but now he and everyone else here fully uood the value of Zack’s presence.

  “Thank you, Mr. Zack!” A young wrinned, showing the gap where he’d lost a few teeth in a fall, but he didn’t seem to care.

  Before the cheers could tinue, Zack’s voice cut through the noise. “Don’t celebrate too early. Some of the night stalkers mao escape.”

  The smiles faded, and the workers exged uneasy looks. The reminder was s; the Night stalkers hadn’t been fully eradicated and could still lurk in the dark ers of the industrial area. “But we should be safe for the rest of the night,” he added. “Charles, set up a rotation fht watch. Make sure these lights stay on until dawn.”

  “Uood, Mr. Zack!” Charles said, quickly arranging shifts among the workers.

  After firming the arras, Zack returo the office. Onside, he enabled Ego’s alert mode, which would s for any approag creatures and sound an arm at the first sign of hostility. He then removed his armor, pg it to charge.

  “MV-01 is still too limited in its attack capabilities,” he muttered as he sank into an armchair, his expression thoughtful.

  Tonight’s battle had revealed critical weaknesses in the armor: a ck ed onry and limited flexibility. Even with the improvements to its transmission system, the heavy pting of the MV-01 restricted his movement. If only he had access ter alloys like titanium, he could improve both defense and agility.

  “Guess I’ll save those ideas for the MV-02,” he mused, letting himself rest for a moment.

  Zack shook his head, dismissing thoughts of different materials from the MV-01 armor. The resources simply weren’t avaible, and it was better to foproving his tactics against the Night stalkers.

  "Let’s work on a way to slow them down," he murmured. Years of experien moba had taught him that trolling the enemy’s speed could create an advantage, making it easier to maneuver around them.”

  “Sir, would you like to equip the MV-01 with high-powered lighting?” Ego suggested.

  “Lights?” Zack imagined himself walking around with a blinding spotlight on his head and immediately shook his head. “No, Ego. I don’t want to be a walking sun.’ High-phts would drain the armor’s battery life too quickly.” He paused, deep in thought, then suddenly his eyes lit up. “Wait! I’ve got it!”

  “What is it, sir?”

  “A shooter—like the one fishermao capture fish, but make it sticky and portable!” Zack said, his excitement growing. He’d been so focused on the armor itself that he hadn’t thought about this. Despite being avid fan on the movie he really fot about this.

  “Ego, do we have data on this kind of shooters?”

  “Processing based on Sir mind, Yes, sir. There are 165 sets of information on similiar device you requested, I suggest we create a web shooter.”

  “Perfect!” Zack grinned.