Ego silently plied, sealing the ramp shut. Zack watched, his fareadable, as the helicopter rose into the sky, carrying them all away.

  “If you’re so keen on using people for experiments…” Zack muttered, his tone calm but cutting. “Then you should experie yourself... what it feels like to be a guinea pig.”With the hatch secured, the helican to rise under Ego’s trol, heading toward the Mansion as pnned. Zack, however, didn’t leave immediately. Instead, he sought out the dancer. “What’s your pn now?” he asked, his voice steady, almost indifferent.

  “I…” The dancer hesitated, her voice trembling slightly. Then, cautiously, she asked, “ I… follow you?” The words were barely out of her mouth before she regretted them.

  “No,” Zack replied ftly, his answer exactly what she had expected. He didn’t sugarcoat it. “You should know your situation. Holy, I’m not even sure myself if you’re still human.”His bluntness was like a kting through any lingering hope. He gestured toward the survivors in the b. “Even if I wao take you in, look at them. Do you think you ever be part of human society again?”

  The survivors stared at the dancer with wide, fearful eyes. To them, she was no different from the mohey had barely escaped. The dancer lowered her head, her hands trembling. “I… I uand,” she whispered.

  The weight of Zack’s words crushed her spirit. She had survived Dr. Samson’s experiments and accepted her ed reality, stubbornly ging to the belief that she was still human—not a monster. But now, that belief felt fragile. “Even though I ’t take you in,” Zack said suddenly, his tone softening just enough to catch her attention, “I offer you a job.”

  Her head snapped up, hope igniting in her eyes. “Really? I’ll do anything you ask!”

  “Don’t get too excited,” Zack replied, his voice calm. “Before I tell you what the job is, there’s something I need you to do first.”

  “Anything! Just say it, and I’ll—”“Kill them.”

  Zack’s words hit her like a thundercp. He poi the survivors huddled in the er, his expression cold and unreadable. “What?” The dancer froze, her face paling. The survivors, sensing the shift, tried to retreat, but the Vul mae gun mounted on Zack’s shoulder locked onto them, stopping them iracks.

  “Why?” the dancer asked, her voice shaking. These people were just like her—victims of Samson’s twisted experiments.

  “No reason.” Zack’s voice was as emotionless as ever, but there was a cruel edge to it. “This is your test. You either follow me, or you don’t.”

  The daared at the trembling survivors, her sharp lower limbs twitg hesitantly. If these had been Samson’s ckeys, she wouldn’t have thought twice. But these were i people, just like her. “I…” Her mind raced. Loyalty or humanity? Zack or the survivors? In the end, she made her choice.

  “I’m sorry,” she whispered, raising her sharp limbs and lunging toward the er.“Ahhhh!” The survivors screamed, c.

  G!

  Her attack was suddenly stopped by the bde of Zack’s saw sword. The motor was off, but the weight of the on pressed down on her limbs. “gratutions,” Zack said coolly, withdrawing the bde. “You passed the interview.”

  The dancer blinked in fusion, her limbs still raised. “What…?”

  “This is your job,” Zack expiossing her a unicator. “When I say kill, you kill. Don’t hesitate ime.”

  He turned and walked away without annce, ign the terrified survivors entirely. Not long after, Zack, in his full suit, overtook the helicopter traveling toward the Mansion. He arrived first, diving through the garage entra high speed and nding directly in the basement.

  The momeouched down, he saw dozens of Ant scuttling about, busy strug new spiders. A pleted spider stood nearby, its sleek flinting uhe basement lights. “We need more,” Zack said, instrug Ego as the AI helped him remove his armor. “Stop spider produ for now. Focus on increasing Ants numbers.”

  As the st piece of armor was removed, Zack stretched his joints, grabbed a vial of chlorophyll juice from a meical arm, and dow in one gulp. “Once we have enough, we’ll start on Air Fortress and air defense systems.”

  Leaving the basement, Zack collected five new spiders and five meical Ant. As he stepped outside, he bumped into Annie. “You’re back!” she excimed, her face lighting up. But seeing Zack’s focused expression, she quickly stepped aside, too perceptive to interrupt him.

  In the basement of Mansion No. 9, several meical Ants assisting with produ abruptly dropped their tasks and rushed over at Zack's and. The harsh sounds of cutting and welding grew louder, eg through the Mansion. From time to time, a meical ant could be seen scuttling out of the Mansion, carrying heaps of discarded materials. Moments ter, it would return, loaded with fresh metal pos. Despite the frenzy, their movements were precise and orderly, giving the appearance of a well-rehearsed routine.

  Uhe efforts of dozens of meical Ants, the once-luxurious Mansion was quickly being unreizable. The doors and windows were sealed tight, transf the Mansion into a fully enclosed structure. Inside, unnecessary walls were torn down to create rger, open spaces. Detachable fixtures were systematically removed, leaving the interior bare and funal. Every modification was carried out swiftly and effitly under Zack's orders.

  Meanwhile, a transport helicopter appeared in the sky not far from the Mansion. As it slowed and began its dest toward Mansion No. 13, the six passengers inside, cramped and ag from the bumpy ride, stirred with renewed energy.

  "Hey, Old Dog! you see if we're about to nd?" one of them called out.

  The man referred to as Old Dog—a grim-faced, middle-aged man who had earlier suggested stealing Zack's armor—shifted unfortably and ed his o peer out of the small window. His expression quickly shifted from bo astonishment, then to excitement.

  "What is it? What do you see?" another asked, notig the ge in his demeanor."Mansions! Big, fancy Mansions!" Old Dog excimed, his voice trembling with excitement. "We might each get a pce to ourselves!"“Seriously?” The others leaned closer, their imaginations running wild. They envisioned luxurious lives ahead, fueled by the idea of taking Zack's armor and seizing trol of his resources.

  The helicopter desded steadily and nded smoothly on the wn in front of Mansion No. 13. The six passengers were practically buzzing with anticipation, dreaming of their newfound riches and freedom. But as the door slid open, their fantasies shattered in an instant. Standing outside were five cold, metallic maes, their sharp, gleaming legs aimed menagly at the passengers.

  "e down ao work," Zack’s voice called out, calm aionless. To their dismay, Zack had removed his armor, but there was no relief to be found.

  “Okay, okay! We’re ing!” the six stammered, their bravado vanishing. Despite their ag bodies, they scrambled off the helicopter as if fleeing for their lives. Uhe watchful, glowing eyes of the meical spiders, they began unloading the helicopter.

  “Move quickly,” Zack said from a distance, his tone indifferent. “Finish unloading tonight, and I might reward you with individual rooms.”

  “Yes! Right away!” they replied in unison, their voices shaking. Fear of the spiders drove them to work harder, far more than the promise of single rooms.

  "This is all your fault!" one of them hissed, gring at Old Dog as they hauled heavy equipment.