Startled but curious, Annie crept forward, entering the workshop. She seemed small and vulnerable in the vast space, her gaze fixed on him as she cautiously approached. “My mom…she asked me to follow you,” she said quietly.

  “I know.” Zack replied, fog on his work. As he started disassembling parts of the MV-01 armor, he g her. “This is MV-01. I’m making improvements. Watch carefully, so you learn.”

  Aood close by, her expression i as she observed each step. Despite her timid appearance, her sharp mind took in every detail. For the hree hours, Zack modified the armor, making adjustments to the transmission systems, rew joints to improve its range of movement, and increasing its overall efficy. By the time dusk approached, he was reattag the final pieces.

  He stepped back, giving the armor a quick test. The upgrades had worked; the transmission efficy by 30%, improving both speed and maneuverability. Although it still wasn’t as flexible as a living creature, it moved with much more ease than before.

  “Not bad,” he muttered with satisfa.

  After a brief pause, Zack thought of Sophia, left alo the Mansion. His mind drifted to her well-being, and he called out to his AI panion. “Ego, che Sophia Monroe.”

  “Yes, Sir.” Within moments, the surveilnce feed from Mansion No. 9 appeared on the s, showing Sophia safe and sound. She sat at the dining table, gng at the clock every so often. Several dishes y untouched before her.

  “Didn’t I tell her I might not be batil tomorrow?” Zack murmured as he watched her through the surveilnce feed.

  “Ego, tell her not to wait up,” he instructed. “I won’t be batil tomorrow.”

  “Uood, sir,” Ego replied. Zack’s simuted voice soon came through Sophia Monroe’s walkie-talkie.

  She brightened briefly at the sound, but her expression quickly fell as she realized he wouldn’t be ing home. A pang of guilt tugged at Zack, but he knew he couldn’t leave the steel pnt unprotected.

  “Turn it off,” he sighed, and the surveilnce feed vanished.

  Meanwhile, down in the factory, the workers had finished setting up the traps and were gathering to await further instrus.

  “Let’s go, Annie,” Zack said, donning his modified armor and grabbing a box of ons. He made his way downstairs, Annie following close behind. In front of the assembled workers, he dropped the ons onto the ground.

  “The Night Stalkers will be here soon,” he announced. “If you think you have steady hands and quick reflexes, take a on. The rest of you, head to the offid stay there, no matter what you hear outside.”

  Several workers stepped forward to grab ons—gu behind by Jacob’s gang. There were nine pistols, two shotguns, and a rifle, along with plenty of ammunition. With his armor, Zack didn’t need a firearm, but arming the workers would help spread the burden of the fight. To Zack’s surprise, Charles, now in his seventies, reached for a pistol, along with Annie, who at thirteen seemed determio fight as well, though she fumbled with the safety.

  “You two, stop causing trouble, alright?” Zack said, taking their ons with a sigh.

  “I just thought—” Charles began, but a pierg howl cut him off, eg through the factory walls.

  “The Night Stalkers are awake.” Zack’s expression turned serious. “Take Annie and everyohout bat skills to the offiow!”

  Charles quickly led the others to the safety of the office. The chilling howls outside grew louder, followed by a series of snarling roars. The sound rimal, like a wolf pack preparing to hunt.

  Zack gestured to the workers. “You, guard the back exit. The rest of you, keep watch over the broken wall. I’ll hahe mairance.”

  Taking his position by the entrance, Zack steadied himself, watg the shadows stretd grow as the night stalkers approached. Uhe moonlight, he spotted their dark, twisted shapes as they moved across the roof of a nearby factory, their eyes glinting with a savage hunger.

  The leader spotted Zad let out a high-pitched screech. Immediately, more shadows shifted in his dire. Within moments, a swarm of them were charging toward the steel mill, dividing introups to attack from multiple dires. The rgest group stormed the mairance, where Zack waited. His face was calm, even as he ted over a dozen night stalkers approag him, their eyes burning with predatory intelligence.

  As the first wave closed in, Zaoticed their coordirategy, like wolves w together to er prey. “As expected they are quite smart…” he muttered with a hint of satisfa. “But zombies are still zombies.”

  As the first night stalker dashed toward him, it suddenly tripped over a thin steel wire stretched across the ground. The trap rung—sharp steel pipes unched from cealed ers, slig through the creature with brutal precision. The creature let out a strangled scream before colpsing in a heap, its lifeless form falling bato the darkness.

  With a twang, the steel wires uhe steel pipes like arrows, pierg through the two leading night stalkers before they could react. In an instant, they were impaled, eae turned into a grotesque, steel-studded figure. The oer-long pipes had easily skewered their bodies.

  "Roar!" The sudden ambush caused the remaining night stalkers to hesitate momentarily, but fear wasn’t part of their limited intelligehe sight of their fallen panions only fueled their rage, and they pushed forward.

  The advang horde triggered more traps as they moved, the sound of steel strings snapping through the air. Traps fired in quick succession, cutting down night stalkers at the back door and broken wall as well. Before any of them could eve close to the factory, half of their number had fallen. The workers, who had once feared these creatures above all else, watched in amazement as the oerrifying stalkers fell with surprising ease.

  “Another one down!”

  “Mr. Zack’s traps really work!”

  Their initial fear gave way to excitement as the night stalkers were cut down by the traps, but then—

  "Roar!" A powerful h out from a distance, instantly sileng the workers' cheers. The night stalkers stopped rushing forward blindly and instead began moving from different angles, using the cover of shadows and walls to avoid the traps.

  “Ego, did you locate the source?” Zack asked, his eyes narrowing.

  “Sir, I only approximate the location at 11 o'clock,” Ego replied. The leader was too far away to pinpoint accurately.

  “Uood,” Zack muttered, shelving his pn to ght for the leader. With the night stalkers scattering to avoid traps, he had to act fast.

  “Ego, turn on the lights!” he anded.

  Click! Click! Click!

  High-phts, known as “flood mps,” suddenly bzed to life, flooding the entire area with intense light. The steel pnt and surrounding grounds were as bright as midday.

  The night stalker howled in agony as the blinding light hit them. Their shrieks filled the air as they cwed at their eyes, disoriented and panicked. Even Zack, encased in his armor, squinted against the brightness. The workers shielded their eyes, waiting a moment for them to adjust.

  “Now!” Zack’s voice crackled over the inter. “Take them down!”