Zack waved off the other produ lines, leaving behind what others might sider treasures—artillery shells, missiles, grenades, even light armored vehicles. “These are just wastes of materials,” Zack muttered dismissively. “Not worth keeping.”

  For his purposes, rge-scale missiles and ventional artillery didn’t make sense. His Power armor and meical i were desigo carry pact but powerful miissiles. Why waste precious resources on outdated systems? As for armored vehicles? Zack smirked. “High-strength steel is better used for building more meical i.”

  While Zack was marking the produ lihe massive beast from the forest crept closer to the Armory. Unbeknownst to it, its movements had triggered Ego’s sensors. “Sir, I’ve detected a mutant creature approag,” Ego’s calm, robotic voice reported.

  “What?” Zack froze mid-step. On his HUD, a three-dimensional model of the beast appeared, pieced together from the s data. Zack studied the figure closely. “A cat? No... something bigger.” His eyes widened as he read the measurements. “Seveers long? That’s no ordinary mutant cat.”

  Ego’s voice came through again. “The target is heading toward the tunnel. Should I eh Avalon’s on?”

  Zack sidered for a moment. If the beast made it into the tunnel, he’d have to deal with it up close—a risky prospect for such a massive creature. “The Avalon’s altitude is too low,” Zack decided. “Raise it to 100 meters, then fire!”

  “Uood, sir,” Ego replied. Outside, the Avalon adjusted its position, climbing higher into the sky. The moment it reached 100 meters, the 30mm on locked onto the target and opened fire. The thunderous roar of the rge-caliber rounds echoed through the mountain range, sending flocks of birds fleeing into the sky. The gunfire reverberated betweewo peaks, amplifying the sound like a drumbeat of war.

  “RRRAAAAWRRR!!!” The beast’s deafening roar cut through the gunfire like a bde, shaking the very ground. As the creature turned, its full form was revealed uhe sporadic fshes of on fire. A giant mutated tiger, its body covered in thick, scarred hide. On its forehead, the distinctive "King" marking glowed faintly.

  The 30mm rounds hit their mark, sparks flying with each impact. But as the fmes died down, the damage was shogly minimal—just shallow wounds oozing thin trails of blood. “Dammit, it’s barely scratg it,” Zack muttered.

  The tiger roared again, louder this time, as if calling out to something deeper in the forest. Then, without hesitation, it bolted for the tunrance. “Sir, the target has ehe tunnel,” Ego reported. “The on is iive against its skin.”

  Zack sighed. “I figured as much.” The Armory’s current munitions were still standard-grade, not nearly powerful enough for something like this. “We o produce armor-pierg rounds immediately,” Zack said, gripping the sword strapped to his back.Without wasting another sed, he sprioward the tunnel. “Time to deal with this myself.”

  Zack decided to face the mutated tiger himself, curious to test the true limits of the Super Serum and nanosuit in bat. Leaving the Armory through the heavy gate, he stepped into the dimly lit tuhe sound of footsteps reached his ears, eg softly from the other end. “Man, cats really are something else,” Zack muttered to himself with a faint smirk. “Evehey’re this big, they barely make a sound.”

  He tinued forward, his boots g against the scattered debris on the ground. A few steps ter, the faint light ahead revealed a massive silhouette blog the tuhe figure's sheer size made the already dim surroundings feel suffogly dark. "Sir, the target’s physical funs are exceptionally strong. Proceed with caution," Ego’s calm voice warned in his earpiece.

  “Yeah, I got that,” Zack replied, tightening his grip on the saw sword. Even without Ego's input, he could tell the beast ahead wasn’t ordinary. This wasn’t just a mutated cat. It was a tiger—a massive, virus-mutated tiger.

  "ROAR!!!" The tiger's deafening roar reverberated through the tunnel like a shockwave, carrying a gust of wind that kicked up ashes from the charred remains of an old fire. The cloud of dust swirled around Zack, obsg his vision.

  "Great, just what I needed," Zack muttered, squinting through the haze. The tiger didn’t wait for him to adjust. With another roar, it charged, the ground tremblih its weight.

  "Turn off night vision! Switch to thermal imaging!" Zack ordered quickly. The nanosuit responded instantly, repg the dust-obscured view with a vivid heat signature—a glowing mass barreling toward him at arming speed.

  “Alright, big guy, let’s py,” Zack said, igniting the saw sword with a flick of his thumb. The high-pitched whir of the bde filled the tunnel as he bent his knees, ready to ter.

  The moment the tiger luhrough the ash cloud, Zack leapt into the air with a force that cracked the crete beh him. His powerful jump sent him flipping over the tiger’s massive head, the spinnih of his saw sword sshing downward as he passed.The bde tore a deep, two-meter-long gash along the tiger’s back, blood spraying like a crimson fountain.

  "ROAR!!!" The tiger’s pained cry echoed through the tunnel as it whipped its massive tail toward Zack, who was still mid-air. "Shit—" Zack barely mao brace himself before the tail smmed into him with the force of a wreg ball, sending him hurtling into the tunnel wall.

  BOOM!

  The impact left a crater in the crete, but Zack pushed himself out almost immediately, nding on his feet. His nanosuit absorbed most of the damage, though he could feel a faint ache in his ribs. Before he could fully recover, the tiger’s tail came crashing down where he stood. Zack rolled to the side just in time, the tail leaving a deep tren the t floor.

  “I o get rid of that tail,” Zack muttered, eyeing the beast warily The tiger wasn’t done. Despite its massive size, it moved with terrifying speed, spinning around and leaping at Zack with cws extehe air seemed to ripple with the force of its pounce.

  “Speed mode, now!” Zaahe nanosuit activated instantly. Tiny nanofibers pierced into his body, stimuting his muscles and nerves. Adrenaline surged as his perception of time slowed. The tiger, mid-leap, appeared almost frozen, its powerful form moving toward him inch by inch.

  “Ten seds…” Ego’s calm reminder echoed in his ears. Zack wasted no time. He darted forward, narrowly avoiding the beast’s cws. As he slid past its side, he sshed at its left forelimb. The saw sword tore through flesh and muscle with ease, but when it hit bohe bde ground to a screeg halt.

  “Damn, tiger bones are no joke,” Zack grunted, pulling the sword free. The tiger howled in pain, spinning its head around and snapping its jaws at him. Zack ducked uhe bite and tered with another ssh, carving a deep wound us forelimb.

  “Nine seds…” The tiger, now enraged, shed out with its body, using its immense size to sm Zack against the wall. The impact rattled him, the nanosuit’s reduced buffering in speed mode leaving him vulnerable to the crushing force.

  “Hiss—” Zack winced, feeling the strain on his ribs. The tiger wasn’t letting up. It turs head, jaws wide open, aiming to finish him off with a crushing bite.