Entering the mansion, Zack led the exhausted Aoward the bathroom, expiniory to Sophia as he went. As he shared the tragic loss of Annie’s parents, Sophia’s eyes reddened.

  “Oh no… her parents…” Sophia started to speak but trailed off, clearly overwhelmed. She quickly excused herself, hurriedly heading to find clothes for Annie. As she turo leave, Zaoticed the tears streaking down her face.

  “Ego, what’s going on?” he asked, surprised by her stroion.

  “Sir, I believe she is ed about her own mother’s safety,” Ego responded.

  “Lillian Lane?” Zack murmured, uanding what was troubling Sophia. “Ego, you search for her?”

  “Yes, sir,” Ego replied. Moments ter, the AI’s voice returhough the news wasn’t good.

  “Sir, Ms. Lillian Lane was st located at a crowded shopping mall just before the virus outbreak. All tact with her has been lost sihen.”

  “Lost tact… Is there any ce she survived?” Zack asked, hoping for better news.

  “Based on current data, her survival rate is below 4%,” Ego replied.

  “Got it,” Zack sighed. A 4% ce wasn’t much of a hope.

  “Shall I inform Ms. Sophia?” Ego asked.

  “I’ll tell her wheime is right,” Zaswered, turning his attention to settling things in the mansion.

  After bringing the supply cart down to the basement, Zack spent the rest of the day transp everything he’d gathered from the industrial area. It took several trips, but by nightfall, the oy basement was now stacked with metals, eleipos, chemicals, and a high-preae tool.

  The basement was now filled with the materials Zaeeded for his project. Dozens of tons of various metals, including high-strength steel and alloys, had been pulled from nearby steel mills. Though he had hoped for titanium alloys, which were ideal for the MV-02 Armor, he had to make do with steel alloys for now. The downside was that steel might not hold up in high-altitude ditions, where the rear armor would itanium old-titanium alloys to resist freezing temperatures.

  “Flying too high? Is that really my priority right now?” Zack muttered with a smirk. “Learning how to fly at all es first.”

  He chuckled to himself, then turoward the elevator. When he reached the first floor, he spotted Annie, freshly showered. She looked almost like a stranger in clothes, a far cry from the ragged look she had earlier. Her skin ale and soft, almost fragile, and her hair, freshly trimmed by Sophia, now looked and evee her thin frame and the weariness etched on her face from surviving so long without proper food, she had a quiet, undeniable beauty.

  For the first time, Zaderstood why people used to say you could see beauty in a girl even in her youth. “Little Annie, you’re beautiful!” he excimed, ping her cheek pyfully.

  “Uh… no… I’m not,” Annie murmured, her face turning bright red.

  Zack ughed, finding her shy reausing, until Sophia Moepped in. “Alright, don’t tease her. Dinner’s ready.”

  “Fine, fine,” he replied, bag off. The three of them sat down to eat, and for the first time in a while, the atmosphere was warm and fortable. Annie’s presence had clearly lifted Sophia’s mood.

  After dihey moved to the living room, where Annie and Sophia watched cartoons together. Zack found the show childish, but he couldn’t help but smile as their ughter filled the room, bringing a joy he hadn’t felt ihe cheerful atmosphere sted te into the night, aually, Annie fell asleep. Only Zad Sophia remained.

  As Zack looked at her, he felt a heavy siletle between them. He opened his mouth, ready t up a difficult subject, but Sophia cut him off.

  “e upstairs; I o tell you something…” Zack began.

  “No, I don’t want to hear it,” she interrupted, shaking her head.

  He froze, sensing the weight of her words. Her eyes were red, holding back tears, and she turned away. “You already know, don’t you?” he asked softly.

  “I don’t… I don’t know,” she whispered, her voice trembling. “Please, don’t tell me… we just pretend it’s okay?”

  Zaderstood. Sometimes, ignoraed as a shield, a fragile way to hold onto hope. “Alright,” he said gently. “Let’s get some sleep.”

  Nothing more was said that night. They drifted off into a quiet, unspoken uanding.

  The m, after breakfast, Zack led Annie down to the basement. “Today, we’re w on armor,” he announced, his tone focused. “We o finish it in three days.”

  They were on a tight deadline. Only four days remained before the power shutdown, and Zaeeded to plete the armor, reach the nuclear power pnt, and secure materials for the Cold Fusioor. His target was a nuclear power pnt located fifty kilometers away, where he hoped to find what he needed.

  “Armor?” Annie asked, pointing to the MV-01 in the er. “You mean that one?”

  “No, something new.” Zack shook his head, smiling as he pced a set of blueprints in front of her.

  Annie’s eyes wide the sight of the MV-02 suit’s design. Although it was inplete without the old Fusioor, the design was far more advahan the MV-01. The sleek, steel structure aailed yout fasated her. “It looks amazing! The transmission meism… it’s brilliant,” she marveled.

  She studied the intricate system for a moment, then furrowed her brow in fusion. “Wait… why doesn’t it have aing system?”

  Zack chuckled inwardly. 'Silly girl,' he thought, but didn’t say it out loud. Without Ego, even if she mao build the armor, she wouldn’t be able to operate it. The design ied all features into Ego’s system, so without it, the suit would be nothing more than a heavy, immobile shell.

  “Don’t worry about the operating system,” Zack said casually. “Let’s just focus on the armor itself.”

  “Oh, okay,” Annie replied, her curiosity shifting back to the blueprints. As she immersed herself in studying the pns, Zack moved to another part of the b to work on something else.

  “Ego, pull up the produaterials for the nano alloy gel,” he ordered.

  “Affirmative, Sir,” Ego replied.

  Half an hour ter, Annie approached him, curiosity piqued by the pressurized tank he was holding. “What’s that?” she asked.

  “Nano alloy gel,” Zack expined, grabbing a piece of paper. He sprayed a thin silver mist from the tank, creating a barely visible yer over the paper. Then, he began ting down.

  “Thirty seds… twenty-hree… two… one.”

  When the tdown hit zero, he hahe paper to Annie. “Now, try tearing it.”