“Put on the MV-02W. Replenish ammo. System self-test pleted.”

  Zack ticked off the mental checklist as he readied himself. The battle-scarred War Mae stood waiting in the er, its iron-bck paint scraped and worn from tless battles. The damage only added to its brutal, unfiving appearance, each scar telling a story of survival and war.

  After seg his armor, Zack stepped out of the Mansion, the heavy thuds of his metallic boots eg against the walls.

  “Brother, are you heading out? Do you need me to e with you?” Little Annie emerged from the boratory, her hands smudged with grease and her eyes wide with curiosity.

  “No, just keep an eye on your sister Sophia. Make sure she doesn’t wander off.” Zack’s voice was calm as he flicked up his mask, fshing a rare, teasing smile at Annie.

  “Alright.” Annie nodded obediently and trotted upstairs, leaving Zack to his mission.

  He exited the Mansion and was about to take off when a thought struck him. Turning abruptly, he walked toward the swimming pool. The heavy footsteps of the Armor stirred Erza from her sunbathing on a lounge chair. She sat up groggily, her face sg in fusion. “Another wave of zombies?!” Erza blurted, already tense.

  “No,” Zack replied ftly. “You’re ing with me.”

  His tone was casual, but the unyielding authority behind it left no room fument. “Do I get a choi this?” Erza tried, her voice tinged with hope.

  “I wasn’t asking.”

  Without waiting for her reply, Zack turned and headed for the helicopter. Erza groaned but followed relutly, muttering pints under her breath. As they boarded, Erza sighed dramatically. “Why a helicopter? ’t you just fly with that armor of yours?”

  “ you fly?” Zack shot back, annoyed.

  “Well, not yet,” Erza said, grinning mischievously. “But if you made me a suit like Annie and Sophia’s, I could! Big deal, I’ll even marry you if that’s what it takes!”

  “Shut it!” Zack growled, smming his visor shut. “Ego, mute external audio.”

  The AI plied immediately, sileng Erza’s chatter. For the first time in hours, Zajoyed blessed quiet. Erza pouted but eventually retreated to her seat. “Stingy,” she muttered.

  The flight grew peaceful, the drone of the helicopter’s rotors a soothing backdrop. Ego’s voice broke the silence. “Sir, we’re approag the destination.”

  Zack reopened his sound system and flipped up his visor, just in time to hear Erza’s excited gasp. “Wow!” Erza pressed her face against the window, marveling at the sprawling mountain range below. Her eyes sparkled with wonder.

  “Never seen mountains before?” Zack asked dryly.

  “Not from this high up,” Erza admitted, still glued to the window. “It’s beautiful.”

  “Enjoy it while you ,” Zack said. “It won’t feel as nice we’re on the ground.”

  The helican its dest, nding on a ft area between two mountains. The once-funal helipad and parking lot were overrun by wild pnts, vines snaking through rusted vehicles and crumbling structures. “Sir, ss show trautated animals nearby. Proceed with caution,” Ego advised as the helicopter touched down.

  Zack stepped out first, his boots g against the rowation. Erza followed, stretg and breathing deeply. “Ah, fresh air! Haven’t smelled this in years!” she excimed, practically boung with excitement.

  “The air’s , slightly high in oxygen, and safe to breathe,” Zack firmed, reading the HUD dispy. He flipped up his visor, taking a deep breath himself.

  “It’s nice,” he admitted, surprising Erza.

  “Alright, enough sightseeing,” Zack said firmly. “We have work to do.”

  The duo headed toward the Armory, a bunker carved into the mountain itself. It was surrounded by rusted sentry towers and barbed wire, all entangled with thick vines and moss. Vehicles once parked nearby were unreizable uhe rowth.“This pce is a jungle!” Erza said, staring at the greenery ing the area.

  Zack frowned. “Something’s off. The factory data showed regur shipments up until the outbreak. This pce has only been abandoned for a month.”

  Erza froze. “A month? How the hell did the pnts grow this fast?”

  “Exactly,” Zack muttered. His visor snapped shut, activating a full-spectrum s.

  “Don’t scare me like that!” Erza yelped, pulling a lighter from her pocket as if it were a on.

  “Stay alert,” Zack ordered, his tone grim. “Whatever caused this didn’t happen naturally.”

  After crossing the weed-covered square, Zad Erza reached the entrance of the Armory. Calling it a gate was generous—it was more like the mouth of a tunnel, shrouded in eerie darkness. “This way,” Zack said, switg on the small mp attached to his shoulder.

  The mp might have been pact, but its beam lit up the tunnel as if it were daylight. Uhe bright light, the walls of the tunnel came into focus, revealing they were covered in strange vender vihat looked like creeping ivy. But these were different. The moment the light touched them, the vines curled their leaves inward, almost like mimosa pnts.

  “Creepy,” Erza muttered, ing closer to Zack. The further they went, the stra all became. “You sure it’s smart t a girl into this?” Erza whispered nervously, clutg a lighter in one hand as though it were a lifeline.

  “Rex. If there’s real danger, I’ll definitely leave you behind,” Zack replied without even gng back.

  “What the hell, are you even a man?” Erza shot back.

  “I am, but you? You don’t even t as a woman in my book—maybe not even human.” Zack’s voice was ft, his tone unwavering.

  Before Erza could respond, Zack quied his pace, heading deeper into the tunnel. “Damn it, what kind of man says stuff like that…” Erza grumbled, but the moment Zack’s light disappeared ahead, she panicked. “Hey, wait for me!” she yelped, rushing to catch up.

  Not long after entering, Zaoticed something troubling. The vines were no longer fio the walls; they were now growing thid wild, weaving across the tunnel floor and ceiling. The once-spacious tunnel, wide enough for two trucks to pass side by side, had shrunk dramatically. The dense vines had taogether, leaving only a narro just big enough for one person to squeeze through. “Hold up,” Zack ordered, stopping abruptly. His instincts screamed trap.

  “Sir,” Ego’s calm voice echoed in Zack’s earpiece, “I’ve sed known pnt types and found no match for this species.”

  “I figured as much,” Zack muttered. His expression hardened as the Vul mae gun mounted on his shoulder whirred to life, aiming directly at the dense wall of vines ahead.The barrel began spinning.

  “Uh… what are you doing?” Erza asked, her eyes wide with arm. Before she could finish, the thunderous roar of gunfire filled the tuhe sound amplified by the enclosed space.The Vul spat out fmes as tless 7.62mm rounds shredded through the vines. Leaves and branches flew everywhere, dark red sap oozing from the torn tendrils.

  “Sir,” Ego’s voice cut through the noise, “analysis of the sap reveals traces of human tissue.”

  Zack’s expression darkened. Before he could react further, a rustling sound filled the air.The vines on the walls began to writhe, twisting like hundreds of small, dark purple shey moved toward Zad Erza with arming speed.