Anger surged through him, but he quickly forced himself to calm down. He knew this was his one and only chance to eliminate Zack. Failure wasnât an optionânot if he wanted to stay in the good graces of the organization. "Moon Shadow! Take your team and kill him!" Black Hand barked, glaring at Zack, who stood protected by the two fearless warriors.
As soon as the words left his mouth, three figures appeared out of nowhere. It was Lillian, the muscular man Verrick, and the Neon Warrior who had previously been injured by Zackâs palm cannon. "Shadow, take Verrick and handle the target," Lillian said coldly, barely sparing a glance at Zack on the mountaintop.
"Understood!" the Neon Warrior replied sharply, grabbing Verrickâs arm. The two vanished again, using their stealth abilities.
But stealth wasnât perfect. As they moved, faint footprints appeared in the dirtâa telltale sign of their approach. "Team Two! Team Three!" Black Hand shouted into his communicator, his mechanical voice cutting through the tension.
"Donât attack their base yet. Redirect to Bear Mountain and eliminate the target immediately!" Despite the electromagnetic interference, Black Handâs communicator was still functional.
On the mountain, Zack noticed the pair disappear and reappear briefly near Black Hand. He understood their strategy instantly. From the moment Zack was injected with the serum, his strength had been growing steadily. Combined with the power of the nanosuit, his overall capabilities had now reached a level about 12 times that of an ordinary person.
To put it into perspective, even the fearless warriors were only about 8 to 9 times stronger than the average human. "Ego, launch the nanosuit here with a missile. Iâm going to need it for this fight," Zack ordered.
Despite his already impressive abilities, Zack preferred caution. Wearing the nanosuit would ensure he was ready for whatever came next.
NYC. Southwest and south of the city, two convoys were moving through the streets. Each was loaded with black-clad soldiers and super soldiers, heading as planned toward NYC Cityâs industrial zone and Zackâs base campâTribeca.
However, their plans changed abruptly when they received orders from Black Hand. "Team Two! Team Three! Donât attack the base yet! Get to Mountain and kill the target!" The orders were clear, and the convoys didnât hesitate. Both turned sharply, redirecting toward Bear Mountain.
Back at Tribeca, the industrial zone and Mansion area were already on high alert. Egoâs warning had triggered attack sirens, which blared relentlessly through both locations. The electromagnetic pulse bomb had only affected a small part of NYC, leaving these areas untouched. "Quick! Get everyone to the defensive line!" "Everyone else, find shelter now!" "Move fast!"
In the industrial zone, Charles skillfully directed the crowds, organizing thousands of people into a well-ordered defense. The "line" he referred to wasnât a flimsy wall around the steel plant.
It was a massive fortress stretching across the entire industrial zone. The defense perimeter consisted of hundreds of factory buildings surrounded by reinforced concrete walls six meters high. Rows of automatic machine gun turrets dotted the top of the walls, and mechanical dogs patrolled every kilometer. With the additional personnel Charles was organizing, the defense could now be considered impenetrableâwithout heavy firepower, even dreaming of breaking through was futile.
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In the Mansion area, the attack alert was met with swift action. "My brotherâs in trouble!" Annie exclaimed as the sirens blared. She turned to the others.
"Sister Sophia, you stay here! Sister Erza and I will go help!" Without waiting for a response, Annie climbed into Tarantual and activated her spider mecha. Erza, dressed in her red combat uniform, joined her. Together, they sped off toward Bear MOuntain. That left Sophia and Mia in the mansion, accompanied by a dozen patrolling mechanical dogs.
But Sophia wasnât the type to sit back and hide while others fought. As soon as Annie and Erza left, she went down to the basement. There, she found a dark green-and-black steel suit with sleek, feminine features. This was a armor Zack had specifically built for her. "I canât keep hiding while everyone else fights! Iâm a combat unit too. I can stand alongside them!"
Determined, Sophia stepped onto the platform and began putting on the suit. Meanwhile, at Bear Mountain. Erza and Annie were still on their way when a missile launched from Tribeca streaked across the sky. Its trajectory was clearâit was heading for Zackâs location.
Unlike a typical missile, this one had its warhead removed. Instead, a black package was strapped to it. "Sir, the nanosuit is here," Ego informed Zack as the missile approached.
The missile descended rapidly, trailing a bright flame, and landed just a few meters in front of Zack. Without an explosive warhead, it simply crashed into the ground, kicking up a large cloud of dirt. "Well done," Zack said, nodding as he approached the impact site. He retrieved the package from the missile, unfolding it to reveal the nanosuit.
Just as Zack prepared to put it on, something caught his attention. To his left, on the otherwise empty ground, a series of footprints suddenly appearedâone set deep and the other shallow. The footprints were moving quickly, heading straight for him. "Sir, thereâs an invisibleâ" Ego began to warn, but Zack was already moving.
With a skillful turn, he swung his fist toward the approaching threat.
Boom!
The punch tore through the air with a sharp whistle, landing squarely on the invisible figure. The targetâa towering man nearly three meters tall and weighing close to 400 poundsâwas sent flying back over ten meters. The impact was so powerful it created a crater where the man landed, scattering dirt everywhere. "The intel was wrong! The targetâs a superâ"
"No! Super soldiers arenât this strong! He might be a mutant!" The second attacker, the Neon Warrior, panicked. He broke out of invisibility, his confidence clearly shaken.
"You again," Zack said coldly, his eyes narrowing at the familiar figure. Without wasting a second, he launched into a roundhouse kick. With strength 12 times that of an ordinary human, Zackâs kick sliced through the air with a crackling sound.
"Idiot!" Sensing the danger, the Neon Warrior quickly tried to draw his katana. But before he could unsheath itâ
Boom!
The kick landed with devastating force. The impact shattered the Neon Warriorâs raised arm instantly, the bone splintering under the pressure. The shockwave continued into his shoulder, fracturing it as well.
Crack! Crack!
The Neon Warriorâs massive frame was hurled backward like a ragdoll, flying farther than the first attacker. He crashed into the ground with bone-crunching force, bounced multiple times, and finally came to a stop half-buried in the dirt.
The scene was no different from a watermelon being smashed open. Not far away, the burly man Zack had punched was struggling to get up. A fist-shaped dent was clearly visible on his chest.
"FUCK! Iâll crush you!!" Anger surged through the man as he felt the injuries Zack had inflicted. His massive body, over two meters tall, began to expand rapidly. Thick brown fur sprouted across his skin, fangs jutted from his mouth, and his face pushed forward, morphing grotesquely into that of a bear.
"ROAR!!!" With a wild, bone-chilling roar, the man completed his transformation into a monstrous brown bear. His new form stood nearly four meters tall on all fours, a hulking force of rage barreling toward Zack.