Ego processed his ands. "Sir, may I remind you that material supplies are already running low? At this rate, we ’t keep up with demand."

  Zack waved off the . "We’ve got aire city’s worth of resources at our disposal. Send out all the meical io start clearing the zombies. I want NYder our plete trol within two weeks."

  "What about the other survivor bases iy?" Ego asked.

  Zack’s eyes hardened. "They’ve got two choices: join us or die. Those who want to take refuge will gh a strict sing process. The healthy ones will be sent to the factories. The old, weak, sick, and disabled? They’ll be relocated to SinSin Prison."

  "And those who resist?" Ego inquired.

  "Kill them," Zack said coldly. "No exceptions."

  At SinSin Prison, even the elderly and disabled had to perform light manual bor or assembly work in exge for weekly food rations. Zack had ensured a steady supply of food via transport phe prison’s current manager, Antonny, was far from ideal—despite having same h the Air Force Captain, this one is a greedy man with a elitist temperament—but for now, he was petent enough to keep the pce running smoothly

  "Uood, Sir. Your orders have been reyed," Ego firmed.

  Moments ter, five or six meical dogs and a dozen spiders left the Mansion’s grounds. They moved methodically, eliminating zombies in a steadily widening perimeter. The sound of mae gun fire echoed through the city, growing fainter as the meical beasts pushed farther away. "How’s our air defense system ing along?" Zack asked.

  "It’s fully operational," Ego replied.

  "Good. Deploy the bugs to the steel pnt a up a mid- and she interception system there," Zack ordered.

  "Affirmative," Ego responded but added, "Sir, with the current expansion pn, our resources are stretched too thin."

  Zack smirked. "Doesn’t matter. Clear the zombies, secure the city, and we’ll have everything we need."

  Zack walked to a window, watg the meical beasts as they carried out his orders with ruthless efficy. His gut told him something big was ing, and he wasn’t going to take any ces. "Ego, keep the helicopter operational. We need a stant supply of ammunition for the meical bugs.

  "On it, Sir," Ego replied smoothly.

  The transport helicopter parked on the unity's apron roared to life, lifting off uhe precise trol of Ego and heading toward the Armory. "At this rate, it’s only a matter of time before we reYC," Zack said with satisfa, eyes glued to the satellite feed dispying his meical beasts patrolling the area. The prospect filled him with excitement.

  Once he secured the resources of aire city, Zack could expand his meical army without holding back. But a sudden thought made him pause. "Wait... why does this feel like I'm turning into some kind of warlord?" He chuckled to himself, shaking his head. "Not that it's a bad thing. In a world like this, being a warlord with an army of meical beasts is the dream, isn’t it?"

  Brushing off the self-refle, Zack refocused. "Fet it for now. Ego, list all the ons of mass destru in your database that I realistically build."

  "Uood, Sir," Ego responded smoothly.

  Moments ter, an overwhelming list of dots filled the s before Zack, so long he couldn’t evehe end after scrolling through several pages. He sighed, rolling up his sleeves. "Alright, cut anything nuclear. Get rid of heavily inating ons. Also, anything too costly is off the table."

  As he set the parameters, the list narrowed signifitly, but there were still plenty of options. Ory caught his attention. "Echo-17 Miissile?" Zack bli the name. “Isn’t this standard-issue for military drones? Why didn’t I notice it before?”He tapped the entry to read the detailed description, and a ugh escaped his lips.

  __________________[Echo-17 Anti-Armor and Anti-Fortifiiissile]Description: Designed fh-impact strikes on fortified targets, this missile delivers a trated kiid explosive payload.Drawbacks: Long preparation time and an infamously high failure rate due to overheating guidance systems.Note: Use at your own risk.______________

  “‘Use at your own risk’? Who writes these notes?” Zack chuckled, shaking his head. “The engineers must’ve had a sense of humor. No wohis thing hasn’t been mass-produced.” The sheer absurdity of the missile’s failure-prone design and its grimly sarcastic description made him ugh harder than he had in weeks. Despite the humor, he couldn’t help but appreciate the audacity behind the cept.

  Later that night, Zack sat at his workstation, deep in thought as he bed through the remaining options. The s glowed faintly, illuminating his tired but focused expression.

  After hours of analysis and deliberation, he narrowed it down to two promising choices:Magic Fluid Cloud BombDescription: A payload desigo disperse a fine cloud of magioparticles over a target area. When activated by aromagic pulse, the particles bond to eleic systems, short-circuiting them and rendering them inoperable.Strengths: Perfect for disabling drones, vehicles, and fortified enemy defenses without causing massive structural damage.Drawbacks: Requires precise deployment for maximum effectiveness.___________________Micro-Cluster SpreaderDescription: A pact module capable of releasing dozens of miniaturized explosives in a widespread pattern. Each explosive tains a shaped charge desigo pee armor aralize infantry or vehicles.Strengths: Highly versatile and effective in both offensive and defensive sarios.Drawbacks: Limited range and requires advaargeting algorithms to maximize efficy._________________

  Zack leaned ba his chair, satisfied with his choices. “These should do the trick,” he muttered. “The cloud bomb for taking out tech-heavy targets, and the cluster spreader food old-fashioned firepower.”

  “Ego,” he called out, “ you have prototypes ready by tomorrow m?”

  “Designs are being processed now,” Ego responded. “Prototypes will be ready for testing by 0600 hours.”

  "Good."

  The m, 6:00 AM, Zack’s eyes snapped open. Sinjeg the Super Serum, he rarely felt tired, his energy levels practically endless. His mind was sharper, his thoughts clearer. "Ego, report my physical stats," he requested as he stretched.

  "Your current overall strength is approximately 8.6 times that of an average human," Ego replied. "Muscle strength shows the most improvement. It’s now over 9 times that of an ordinary person."

  Zack raised an eyebrow. "imes? Seriously?" He hadn’t expected such a massive boost. "Why don’t I feel clumsy, then? I thought I’d be smashing through walls by act."

  Ego responded calmly, "The nanosuit, Sir. It’s likely helping you trol your newfound strength."

  "Good to know," Zack muttered, heading downstairs.

  I, Sophia was setting down a steaming basket of pickle buns. She looked up as Zatered. "Up so early? Breakfast is ready."

  "Perfect." Zack grabbed a bun without hesitation, the heat not b him at all. "This is really good. When did you get into baking?" Sophia hesitated, gng at the baking guide and recipe book on the ter. "I’ve always liked baking. Used to make bread for my mom…" Her voice trailed off, and sadness flickered in her eyes before she forced a smile. "I’ll steam another basket. Annie and Erza will be hungry when they wake up."

  Zack watched her retreat to the kit and shook his head with a faint smile. "That girl…"