The transmission began, eg loudly over the base below. "Attention, survivors! This is Caribbean base, the rgest survivor base. We e equipped with sixteen anti-surface missiles and are capable of ung devastating attacks. You have ten mio surrender all your teology and teological creations. Resistance is futile! Failure to ply will result in missile strikes, and the use of intertial or even nuclear ons ot be ruled out. Do not test our patiehe arrogan Jock’s voice was clear, each word dripping with the certainty of their supposed dominance.

  Zack arrived above NYC City, cutting through the skies at Mach 4.5. The moment he approached, the broadcasts of the F-15s reached his ears. Hearing their demands, Zack couldn’t help but chuckle at their ignorance. "Ego, is it April Fools’ Day?" he asked dryly.

  "No, Sir," Ego replied in its usual calm tone.

  "Then maybe they’re just retarded," Zack mused, his amusement vanishing as his expression darkened. Below, the two F-15 jets tinued cirg above the steel mill, oblivious to the danger looming overhead. Zack had deliberately refrained from activating the base’s air defenses, curious about their iions. But now, their greed had sealed their fate.

  "Ego, activate the air defense—no," Zack stopped himself, a cold smirk spreading across his face. "I’ll ha personally." In an instant, Zack accelerated, his speed climbing to nearly Mach 5 as he raced toward the two jets.

  "UFO detected! Speed... Mach 4.8!" The sudde on their radar sent the pilots into a frenzy. One pilot’s voice crackled with panic. "Chief, there’s something approag—"

  Before he could finish, Zack appeared. A small bck dot rapidly expanded as it closed the distance, being a blur against the horizon. "Evade! Quick!" shouted one of the pilots. But it was too te.

  Zack shot past one of the jets, the wind barrier created by his supersonic speed smashing into the F-15 like a physical wall. The sheer force shredded the aircraft, tearing it into pieces mid-air. One of the engines spiraled to the ground, engulfed in fmes, while the pilots were instantly reduced to nothing more than a crimson mist.

  Boom! Boom!

  The deyed soni reverberated across the area long after Zack had already flown far ahead. "Pne 1 is down! Chief, I request evacuation—permission to retreat!" The remaining pilot’s voice cracked with fear. Without waiting for a reply, he pushed the throttle to its maximum, his jet r as it climbed to Mach 2.5 in a desperate bid for escape.Zack watched the fleei with cold detat. "Run all you like. Let’s see if you outrun the speed of light."

  As the fleeing pilot broke the sound barrier, his radar finally showed the UFO disappearing behind him. Relief washed over him, his frantic breaths filling the cockpit. "I escaped... I escaped!" he ughed, the sound wild and manic.

  His victory was short-lived. A searing red beam sliced through the air, cutting through the F-15 like a hot khrough butter. The jet’s frame glowed briefly before melting, leaving behind nothing but a charred shell that spiraled down to earth. The pilot inside shared the same fate—vaporized before he could scream. "No matter how fast you fly, light will always be faster," Zack said coldly, watg the wreckage fall.

  "Ego, is the el analysis plete?" Zack asked, his voice ced with icy precision.

  "Yes, Sir. The el is ready," Ego firmed.

  "Good," Zack said, his gaze hard and uing. "Patch me through. It’s time to show them what they’ll really get from me."

  "Ha, haha! I-I escaped! I escaped!" In the Caribbean base, the audio signal from the satellite abruptly stopped after these frantic words. Silence followed.

  "Unit 2? Report your situation!" "Unit 2, do you copy?" Joan called out twice, his voice sharp with urgency, but no response came. His expression darkened with every passing sed.

  "Stop shouting. It’s pointless." The audio feed crackled back to life, this time carrying a voice dripping with mockery, cold and taunting.

  Hearing it, Jock exged gnces with Kshadi and Navas, who stood beside him. These were the three key leaders of the Caribbean base, and they all came to the same realization: the two fighter jets they had sent out… were gone. "Who are you?" Jock grabbed the microphone, his tone ced with hostility.

  "You’ve e all this way to threaten me, and you don’t even know who I am?" Zack’s voice came back smoothly, tinged with sarcasm. "Seems like someone’s been sg on their intel work."

  "I’ll tell you who you are, you Stupid bastard!" Navas, a Muay Thai master turned mutant after the apocalypse, grabbed the microphone and roared into it. His mutation had amplified his already terrifying strength, infting his arrogand disdain for others. "You’ve crossed the wrong people! You’ve ahe Caribbean base!" Navas bellowed. "Wait and see—we’ll ftten your base with missiles! We’ll take everything from you!"

  It took a few seds for his words to reach Zack due to the outdated satellite systems they were using. "Stupid bastard?" Zack repeated, his voice suddenly devoid of humor.

  The pyful tone vanished entirely, repced by a chilling ess. The kind of calm that made the air feel heavier. "You want my ons?" Zack said slowly, his voice colder than ice. "Fine. Wait for me—I’ll deliver them to you personally."

  The li dead. "Activate satellite ons," Zaanded Ego, his AI assistant. "It’s time to pluck the eyes out of these fools, one by one."

  He slowed his dest, approag his Mansion. The Apex suit guided him smoothly into the underground hangar. With a hiss and a series of metallic ks, the suit opened up as he stepped out, his boots clig against the polished floor. "Restock the ammo," he ordered, his tone calm but firm. "Recall all the meical units and have them board the Avalon."

  He picked up the unicator. "Ava, what’s your status?"

  Almost immediately, Ava’s voice came through, crisp and cold. "Approag NYC City. ETA: soon." Her words were effit, her toeady—pletely uhe sluggish, outdated unications the Caribbean base used.

  "Good," Zack said. "The target location is marked in your navigation system. Adjust course immediately."

  "Uood," Ava replied, but there was a slight tremble in her voice. As she checked the coordinates, her frost-like demeanor melted, repced by a flicker of emotion. The target was the Caribbean base.

  A sharp breath escaped her as memories flooded back. It was at the Imperial Base that she and her squad had beerayed by Kane. Caught off guard, they had been ambushed by the Caribbean base’s forces. All her rades had perished. She had been the sole survivor.

  "Sir, what are we going for?" she asked, her voice trembling with be and anticipation. For once, she used the word "sir" instinctively."To deliver a gift," Zack replied, his toeady.