Eae of them had undergone a plete transformation. Their lobotomies, paired with the serum, had erased their inal identities, leaving behind nothing human. To call them men would no longer be accurate. Nanochips impnted in their brains gave them not only bat skills but also tactical coordination, funing as a sed brain that allowed them to think—but only in ways that ensured absolute obedieo Zack’s orders. Killing was their purpose. To die in battle, their honor.

  "Ego," Zack said, turning to his AI assistant. "Use MV-01 as a tempte and desig suits of armor tailored to their size. For ons, skip the extras. Just equip each of them with a sword."

  "Uood," Ego replied.

  Zack’s mind flickered to the future as he watched the eight t warriors stand at attention. Each would soon be exoskeleton armor made from alloy steel, carrying their iructible saw swords. Enhanced by their nanochip-impnted fighting skills and coordiactics, they would bee a forlike anything humanity had seen before.

  ‘Maybe there’s still hope for humanity after all,’ Zack thought, narrowing his eyes. If this trend tinued, perhaps one day he could lead an army of maes and fearless warriors to wipe out the zombie iion and recim Earth from the clutches of the virus.

  But his optimism was short-lived. Zack shook his head, f himself back to reality. The threats in the o alone could destroy everything he had built. Such lofty dreams were still far off. "Focus on what’s in front of you," he muttered to himself, brushing away the distrag thoughts. "Ego, what’s the status of the space-based on module?"

  "It’s nearly plete, sir. It will be ready by 4 a.m. tomorrow," Ego reported. "Also, your new armor is ready."

  "New armor?" Zack asked, momentarily puzzled. Then it clicked. "Oh, you mean project Apex," he said, his impatieurning. "Let’s go. I want to try it out."

  Before leaving the b, Zack addressed the eight warriors. "Stay here until your armor is ready. O’s equipped, we’ll begin deployment." "Yes, sir!" they replied in unison once more, their voices booming with unwaveriermination.

  Satisfied, Zaodded ahe b. Back at the basement of Mansion No. 9, Zack’s eyes immediately locked onto the sleek new armor on the dispy rack. Painted in white, gold, and bck, the Apex armor stood apart from his other suits. Uhe other power armor, this one prioritized mobility. Aside from the palm-mounted propulsion pulse ons, it carried ernal onry. Instead, it featured an advanced propulsion system, plete with a rge thruster backpa the back.

  The armor’s exterior was yered with thick bck, honeyb-patterned materials desigo resist heat and radiation, making it ideal for space travel. However, this prote came with a trade-off—the armor’s thiess had been reduced to maintain speed, making it unsuitable for bat. "What’s its theoretical speed?" Zack asked as he examihe sleek design. If it sacrificed so much for speed, it had better deliver.

  "Apex theoretically reach Mach 8," Ego replied.

  Zack was silent for a moment, taking it in. "Good enough. Let’s see how fast Mach 8 really feels," he said with a grin.

  Once Zack dohe Apex armor, he stepped outside. After running a full system check to ensure all heat-resistant and radiation-proof modules were funing properly, he couldn’t wait any longer. Activating the thrusters, he unched himself skyward like an arrow fired from a bow.

  The acceleration was unlike anything he’d experiehe thrusters roared as they propelled him through the air, breaking the sound barrier within seds. A deafening boom echoed as he climbed higher and faster.

  "Activate the propulsion backpack!" Zack ordered.

  The powerful thrusters on his back fred to life, unleashing an explosive burst of energy that sent him rocketing upward. The G-forces were staggering—enough to knock out a normal human instantly. Even Zack, with his enhanced physique, felt the strain as he pushed through the acceleration. "What’s my speed?" Zack shouted over the roar of the engines.

  "Mach 8.1, sir. You’ve reached the thruster’s endurance limit," Ego reported calmly.

  A wide grin spread across Zack’s face. "This is incredible!"

  The sery around him blurred as he soared higher, leaving the clouds far behind. Soon, he reached an altitude of 50,000 meters—higher than the legendary corde’s cruisi. Up here, the air was thin, and the Earth’s curve became visible.

  Zack looked around ihe bright, unfiltered stars stretched endlessly across the dark expanse of spao city lights, no pollution—just the serey of the os. "This view…" Zack murmured, his voice filled with genuine wonder. "It’s something you ever see from the steel jungle below."

  "Sir, we're still 790 kilometers away from the LSI satellite. That means you’ll get to enjoy this view for a while," Ego quipped, sensing Zack’s good mood and deg to make a light-hearted joke.

  Unlike ordinary reaissaellites, the LSI satellite operates at a much higher altitude. While it doesn't reach the dizzying 30,000-kilometer heights of geostationary orbit, it's still far beyond the usual range. In fact, it's over a thousand kilometers above the Earth—more than a millioers!

  But with the Apex suit pushing Mach 8.1, it would take less than ten mio climb to su altitude, breaking into low-Earth orbit with ease. The speed was mind-boggling.

  However, as a sub-orbital suit, the Apex wasn’t capable of achieving escape velocity—the speed required to break free from Earth's gravity, approximately 7.9 kilometers per sed, or about Mach 23. "Sir, we’re approag the exosphere," Ego announced.

  "The high-temperature resistand radiation shielding systems are fully operational. Life support is online!"

  As the Apex suit climbed higher, intense heat built up around it. The fri geed at such speeds was immense, but the suit's honeyb-patterned, heat-resistant material easily ha, keeping the interior ued. For several mihe seari surrouhe suit, glowing like molteal, until Zack finally breached the atmosphere.

  The bzing temperatures vanished, repced by intense radiation from space. However, the armor's shielding system blocked it pletely, allowing Zack to tinue his journey without harm. "Is that the LSI satellite?" Zack muttered, gazing at the massive structure in awe.

  It was his first time seeing a satellite up close. The intricate design and sheer engineering brilliance made it look like a shining jewel suspended in the void of space. Its sor panels extended outward like luminous wings, refleg the sunlight brilliantly.

  Zack admired the satellite for a while, then turned his gaze downward to the p below. From a millioers above, Earth looked tranquil and breathtakingly beautiful, as if untouched by chaos.

  No matter how much humanity tried to destroy itself.No matter hoant the virus had bee. For Earth, these struggles were trivial. She remaieadfast, aernal observer, as tless species rose and fell over time. "Humanity needs Earth, but Earth doesn’t need humanity," Zack murmured, a distant look in his eyes.

  After a long moment of refle, he exhaled and straightened. "Alright, let’s head back."