Zack frowned, still skeptical. “Ego, any abnormalities?”

  Ego’s ral voice responded instantly. “Sir, there are no abnormalities iarget’s pupils, heartbeat, blood pressure, or skirodes. It’s unlikely she’s lying.”

  The firmation eased Zack's nerves, but only slightly. “… Sorry,” he muttered after a moment, taking a deep breath to calm himself. “I might’ve gone a little overboard.”

  Erza waved it off with a grin. “It’s fine. But holy, the way you were so mean to me just now was kinda handsome. When are you gonhat mean to someone for me?”

  “…” Zack froze, utterly speechless. “Let’s just keep moving.” Shaking his head, he strode forward, leaving Erza smirking behind him.

  After firming Annie was safe, Zack finally rexed enough to focus on the mission. Together, he and Erza tinued expl the massive Armory. The facility felt enormous, like someone had hollowed out half the mountain. From their intel, Zaew this wasn’t inally an Armory—it had started as a wartime air defense shelter before being verted due to its hidden location.

  “This way,” Zastructed, leading Erza deeper into the cavernous factory. Along the way, they passed multiple produ areas: one specialized in manufacturing bullets and shells, another in firearms, and even a workshop assembling light armored vehicles.

  Eventually, they arrived at the warehouses in the innermost part of the facility. There were five in total: two stored finished products—one for firearms and vehicles, the other for ammunition. However, both were nearly empty, clearly stripped before the apocalypse. But Zack wasn’t after finished goods; he needed raw materials. His ons, like miissiles, required pos he had to assemble himself.

  To his relief, the st two warehouses he checked were packed to the brim with supplies. The explosives alone—RDX and nitrogly—added up to nearly a thousand tons, not to mention the tless other materials. “This trip was worth it,” Zack remarked with satisfa.

  “So, what’s i one?” Erza asked curiously, her eyes already on the final warehouse door. She fiddled absentmindedly with a lighter in her hand as they approached.

  “Are y to get us killed?!” Zaatched the lighter away, gring at her.

  “I’m not stupid! I wasn’t actually gonna use it…” Erza grumbled, her voice trailing off.Zack ignored her and pushed open the door. The moment it cracked open, a revolting stench flooded the air.

  “Ugh—what is that?” Erza staggered back, retg and ging to the wall for support.Zack, prepared for the worst, had disabled the odor feedba his armor, sparing him from the worst of it. But even he felt uled. The smell wasn’t just bad—it was wrong.“The smell’s ing from here. You sure you want to e in?” Zack asked as he stepped inside.

  Erza hesitated but stubbornly followed. She immediately regretted it. The warehouse interior was a grotesque sight: a sprawling jungle of vender viheir roots buried in a massive pit filled with deposing corpses and corrosive liquid. The pit was the source of the unbearable stench.

  “Urgh—” Erza’s face turned white as a sheet. She barely had time to react before she doubled over, vomiting up everything she’d eaten.

  Zack grimaced, his usual posure slipping. “If it weren’t for the risk of blowing this pce sky-high, I’d turn this whole warehouse into rubble.”

  Erza, trembling and pale, leaned against the wall. “I should’ve listeo you. I’d rather face the creepy tuhan this horror show.”

  Realizing she was on the verge of breaking, Zack softened. “Go outside. I’ll ha.”

  “You sure? I help—” she started but gagged the moment the smell hit her agaied, she waved him off. “Fine. Over to you, warrior.”

  She bolted from the warehouse, leaving Zack alone. Despite her hurried retreat, her admiration for Zack grew. She recalled how he’d swooped in to save her during a horde attack. He seemed invincible. Unbeknownst to Erza, Zack wasn’t oo endure unnecessary suffering for heroics. The moment she was gone, he turo Ego. “Take over.”

  “Uood, Sir,” Ego replied.

  Zack disabled every sensory feedba his suit—sight, smell, even sound—before handing full trol to his AI.

  In Ego’s hands, The armor became a merciless force. It uhed a saw- sword and lu the vines. Each swing of the bde recise aating, slig through the grotesque growth like grass. The vines fell in ks, but Zack’s focus remained cold and unyielding. tless dark red juices oozed from the severed vines, poolih them.

  “He really is the man I like…” Erza muttered under her breath. Outside the warehouse, she peeked in and saw Zack tearing through their enemies, leaving nothing but destru in his wake. Uo resist, she gave him a discreet thumbs-up.

  Ihe warehouse, the vines began to retaliate. The twisting tendrils, like serpents, luo ensnare Zack’s war mae. But against the r saw, they stood no ce. Each swing of the bde shredded through the vines, no matter how many came at once. Soon, the floor was littered with withered remains.

  “Ego, clear out the roots!” Zaanded.

  “Uood, sir,” Ego replied, seamlessly trolling the armor. He maneuvered through the chaos, cutting the vi their base where they soaked in a murky pool.With the roots severed, the remaining vines shriveled up, lifeless and limp. “Sir, the warehouse is secure,” Ego reported, his meical voice steady as the armor exited the warehouse. He stopped at the entraurning to face outwards as if standing guard.

  “Well done, Ego!” Zack’s voice echoed with approval as he recimed trol of the armor. Activating the visual feedback, he saw the now-cleared warehouse behind him and grinned.

  “Wow, Zack, you looked like a god desding from the heavens back there!” Erza chimed in, her eyes sparkling as she approached.

  “Alright, alright, o overdo it with the pliments,” Zack said, his cheeks reddening. He quickly turhe versation. “Let’s double-check everything to make sure it’s safe before we head back.”

  “Got it,” Erza replied with a nod. The two began bing through the warehouse, ensuring no enemies or surprises remained.

  Meanwhile, in the dead of night, a transport helicopter touched down quietly in NYC City. The faint hum of its rotors faded as its p lowered. A group of bck-cd soldiers armed with live ammunition disembarked swiftly. They moved with precision, eliminating nearby zombies in a matter of seds. The entire operation was silent and effit, clearly the work of elite professionals.

  “This is the target area,” one soldier said, gng at a map. “Let’s finish quickly—I’m running low on meds.”

  A few more men stepped out of the helicopter. Their sharp eyes betrayed a sense ency. Their destination: the Tribeunity.

  On the sed floor of the Mansion, Sophia sat beside Annie, gently pressing a damp towel to her forehead. Annie’s fever had yet to subside, but Sophia worked tirelessly to make her fortable. She noticed the towel had grown warm again and quickly repced it with a fresh, cool ohough the fever persisted, Sophia’s care eased Aension. Slowly, her furrowed brow rexed, and she drifted off to sleep. Sophia didn’t leave her side. She stayed close, watg over Ah unwavering vigince.