Following the direal sign, Zack pressed deeper into the venue, his armored boots g over the debris scattered across the floor. High-tech remnants y everywhere—robots, 3D printers, chips, and advanced maery. Once symbols of humanity’s cutting-edge teology, they were now abandoned like trash. He couldn’t help but feel it was such a waste. While any other sger would have snatched up the pieces without a sed thought, Zack’s goal was clear: the robotic arm. With some modifications, he could use it to rebuild nearly all of the abaeto something far more advahere was just no way to haul all this junk back with him.

  “It’s a shame,” Zack muttered as he moved oually reag Zone D.

  Four robotic arms stood in Hall 07, looking simir to those used in most factories, but with a far more plex design. As he studied them, the virtual dispy in his helmet began breaking down their intricate features. The arms were made of over 10,000 parts, the smallest of which was less than a millimeter in diameter. These weren’t just ordinary tools; they were masterpieces of engineering, long before the apocalypse.

  He spotted an informational pque nearby and moved closer to read:______________OPT-TFH-2024-Robotic Arm Developed over nine years by Johh, these robotic arms feature a multi-joint structure enabling indepe four-axis movement. Equipped with modur, dexterous hands, they adapt seamlessly to plex work enviros, perf a wide range of tasks with exceptional precision. Their advanced design allows for maximum accuracy down to the naer level, making them perfect for delicate operations and high-stakes applications.________________

  Zack couldn’t deny it. These robotic arms were top-tier teology. Now the problem was getting them back to his base. “Ego, find me a nearby transport helicopter.”

  “Searg... Helicopter located, Sir.”

  A location popped up on his HUD, guiding him toward the heliport. With a burst of speed, Zack lifted off, the sound of the helicopter’s eearing through the air.

  After a short flight, Zack piloted the transport helicopter back, struggling to mahe bulk of the MV-02 armor. With Ego’s guidance, he mao nd just outside the venue.

  A few hours ter, Zack arrived at the safe house in Tribeca. Hearing the helicopter’s sound, Sophia and Annie hurried outside, relief on their faces. They tucked away their unicators as Zack opehe rear hatch, stepping out with one of the robotic arms in tow.

  “Is that Tes’s robotic arm?” Annie excimed, instantly reizing it. “Did you go all the way to DC?”

  “How did you know, Annie?” Zack replied, heading toward the basement.

  “I nning to go there before the virus outbreak...” Annie’s voice faltered as she trailed off, her expression darkening.

  “There wasn’t much to see, holy,” Zack reassured her. “The little robots there weren’t aer than what you’ve already built. They just had nicer materials and polish, but nothing groundbreaking.”

  Her eyes brightened, and she followed him. Zack made several trips bad forth, carefully moving all four robotic arms into the basement. As for the helicopter, it was left in the middle of the street—he’d missed the unity helipad entirely, despite Ego’s guidance.

  After a while, all four arms were set up. Two were mounted on the ceiling, while the other two had mobile bases. Zack had made a few tweaks to them, adapting them fo’s operations. But there was still one major issue: they needed a power source to run.

  “I’ll start with a small reactor,” Zack decided. He suited up in his protective gear and headed to a secured room in the basement. This room had once been a wine celr, temperature-trolled for st fitles, but Zack had repurposed it as a ste space for radioactive materials, with shielding to tain any radiation.

  Two hours ter, Zack emerged from the room, holding a Cold Fusioor in his hands. Smaller than the one in his MV-02 suit, this version came with a power verter to prevent overloads that could fry the Mansion’s circuits in seds.

  He made his way to the geor room, but his goal wasn’t just to power up his mansioeo light up the whole Tribeeighborhood. Once powered, he po install high-voltage rods along the unity’s outer walls to create arice to keep the zombies out.

  “Time to see if this baby works,” he muttered, eg the reactor to the main power line. With a steady hand, he flipped the power switch.

  The reactor hummed softly, vibrating as it began to gee power. One by ohe streetlights flickered to life, followed by the Mansion’s systems. Soon, the unity’s gate system was reactivated, and every applian the Mansion powered on.

  “Sir, the power has beeored and the voltage is stable,” Ego reported.

  Zack wasted no time. He sprinted back to the basement. “Ego, let’s test the arms!”

  With a simple and, the robotic arms sprang to life. Each joint moved fluidly, testing their range and precision. “Sir, the robotic arms are funing normally.”

  Relieved, Zack stepped into the ter of the room. “Ego, suit me up with MV-02!” The robotic arms moved quickly, attag the armor pieces to him with fwless precision. The entire process took less than ten seds—something that would have taken Annie hours to do manually.

  “Perfeow, take it off,” Zack ordered, grinning. The robotic arms swiftly removed the armor, even faster than they had put it on.

  Just then, his unicator buzzed. Gng at the caller ID, Zack saw it was from the steel pnt. "Probably just a power issue..." he thought, answering the call. But Charles’s voice came through, frantid panicked.

  “Sir Zack! Sir Zack!”

  “Charles, what’s going on?” Zack asked, sensing something serious.

  “It’s a horde… a Zombie Wave! The undead are on the move!” Charles’s voice was barely intelligible, filled with panic.

  “A Zombie Wave?” Zack’s mind raced. “Ego, are there any signs of zombies he steel pnt?”

  “No, sir. Satellite images show only a few scattered zombies around the area, all moving away from the steel pnt. There’s no sign of a horde,” Ego replied.

  “Where did you hear about this horde, Charles?” Zack pressed.

  “We rescued a survivor from New Rochelle yesterday. He told us about it.”

  “New Rochelle?” Zack turo Ego. “Show me the satellite feed for New Rochelle.”

  Ego quickly accessed the satellite data. Within moments, the s dispyed an image that made Zack’s blood run cold: a vast, uing wave of zombies flooding the streets, stretg as far as the eye could see. The undead were mixed with mutated creatures of all sizes and shapes, and their numbers were staggering—at least three million, and growing by the minute. As buildings and apartmeied, the zombies kept ing, marg relentlessly toward New York City—the very pce Zack was now.

  Zaded the call, his face grim. “Ego, how long until they reaew York? Specifically, this neighborhood?”

  “At most, five days,” Ego replied.

  Zack’s expression darkened further. “Any idea what’s causing this?”

  “Apologies, sir. Without current data, I ’t determihe cause. Our work has been offline sihe bckout, and there’s limited information on such a rge-scale zombie movement.”

  Zack took a deep breath. “Fine. We’ll deal with the immediate problems first, then take care of the horde.”