Entering the mansion, Zack led the exhausted Annie toward the bathroom, explaining her story to Sophia as he went. As he shared the tragic loss of Annie’s parents, Sophia’s eyes reddened.

“Oh no… her parents…” Sophia started to speak but trailed off, clearly overwhelmed. She quickly excused herself, hurriedly heading to find clothes for Annie. As she turned to leave, Zack noticed the tears streaking down her face.

“Ego, what’s going on?” he asked, surprised by her strong reaction.

“Sir, I believe she is concerned about her own mother’s safety,” Ego responded.

“Lillian Lane?” Zack murmured, understanding what was troubling Sophia. “Ego, can you search for her?”

“Yes, sir,” Ego replied. Moments later, the AI’s voice returned, though the news wasn’t good.

“Sir, Ms. Lillian Lane was last located at a crowded shopping mall just before the virus outbreak. All contact with her has been lost since then.”

“Lost contact… Is there any chance she survived?” Zack asked, hoping for better news.

“Based on current data, her survival rate is below 4%,” Ego replied.

“Got it,” Zack sighed. A 4% chance wasn’t much of a hope.

“Shall I inform Ms. Sophia?” Ego asked.

“I’ll tell her when the time is right,” Zack answered, turning his attention to settling things in the mansion.

After bringing the supply cart down to the basement, Zack spent the rest of the day transporting everything he’d gathered from the industrial area. It took several trips, but by nightfall, the once-empty basement was now stacked with metals, electronic components, chemicals, and a high-precision machine tool.

The basement was now filled with the materials Zack needed for his next project. Dozens of tons of various metals, including high-strength steel and alloys, had been pulled from nearby steel mills. Though he had hoped for titanium alloys, which were ideal for the MV-02 Armor, he had to make do with steel alloys for now. The downside was that steel might not hold up in high-altitude conditions, where the rear armor would need titanium or gold-titanium alloys to resist freezing temperatures.

“Flying too high? Is that really my priority right now?” Zack muttered with a smirk. “Learning how to fly at all comes first.”

He chuckled to himself, then turned toward the elevator. When he reached the first floor, he spotted Annie, freshly showered. She looked almost like a stranger in clean clothes, a far cry from the ragged look she had earlier. Her skin was pale and soft, almost fragile, and her hair, freshly trimmed by Sophia, now looked neat and even. Despite her thin frame and the weariness etched on her face from surviving so long without proper food, she had a quiet, undeniable beauty.

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For the first time, Zack understood why people used to say you could see beauty in a girl even in her youth. “Little Annie, you’re beautiful!” he exclaimed, pinching her cheek playfully.

“Uh… no… I’m not,” Annie murmured, her face turning bright red.

Zack laughed, finding her shy reaction amusing, until Sophia Monroe stepped in. “Alright, don’t tease her. Dinner’s ready.”

“Fine, fine,” he replied, backing off. The three of them sat down to eat, and for the first time in a while, the atmosphere was warm and comfortable. Annie’s presence had clearly lifted Sophia’s mood.

After dinner, they moved to the living room, where Annie and Sophia watched cartoons together. Zack found the show childish, but he couldn’t help but smile as their laughter filled the room, bringing a joy he hadn’t felt in ages. The cheerful atmosphere lasted late into the night, and eventually, Annie fell asleep. Only Zack and Sophia remained.

As Zack looked at her, he felt a heavy silence settle between them. He opened his mouth, ready to bring up a difficult subject, but Sophia cut him off.

“Come upstairs; I need to tell you something…” Zack began.

“No, I don’t want to hear it,” she interrupted, shaking her head.

He froze, sensing the weight of her words. Her eyes were red, holding back tears, and she turned away. “You already know, don’t you?” he asked softly.

“I don’t… I don’t know,” she whispered, her voice trembling. “Please, don’t tell me… Can we just pretend it’s okay?”

Zack understood. Sometimes, ignorance acted as a shield, a fragile way to hold onto hope. “Alright,” he said gently. “Let’s get some sleep.”

Nothing more was said that night. They drifted off into a quiet, unspoken understanding.

The next morning, after breakfast, Zack led Annie down to the basement. “Today, we’re working on armor,” he announced, his tone focused. “We need to finish it in three days.”

They were on a tight deadline. Only four days remained before the power shutdown, and Zack needed to complete the armor, reach the nuclear power plant, and secure materials for the Cold Fusion Reactor. His target was a nuclear power plant located fifty kilometers away, where he hoped to find what he needed.

“Armor?” Annie asked, pointing to the MV-01 in the corner. “You mean that one?”

“No, something new.” Zack shook his head, smiling as he placed a set of blueprints in front of her.

Annie’s eyes widened at the sight of the MV-02 suit’s design. Although it was incomplete without the old Fusion Reactor, the design was far more advanced than the MV-01. The sleek, steel structure and detailed layout fascinated her. “It looks amazing! The transmission mechanism… it’s brilliant,” she marveled.

She studied the intricate system for a moment, then furrowed her brow in confusion. “Wait… why doesn’t it have an operating system?”

Zack chuckled inwardly. 'Silly girl,' he thought, but didn’t say it out loud. Without Ego, even if she managed to build the armor, she wouldn’t be able to operate it. The design integrated all features into Ego’s system, so without it, the suit would be nothing more than a heavy, immobile shell.

“Don’t worry about the operating system,” Zack said casually. “Let’s just focus on the armor itself.”

“Oh, okay,” Annie replied, her curiosity shifting back to the blueprints. As she immersed herself in studying the plans, Zack moved to another part of the lab to work on something else.

“Ego, pull up the production materials for the nano alloy gel,” he ordered.

“Affirmative, Sir,” Ego replied.

Half an hour later, Annie approached him, curiosity piqued by the pressurized tank he was holding. “What’s that?” she asked.

“Nano alloy gel,” Zack explained, grabbing a piece of paper. He sprayed a thin silver mist from the tank, creating a barely visible layer over the paper. Then, he began counting down.

“Thirty seconds… twenty-nine… three… two… one.”

When the countdown hit zero, he handed the paper to Annie. “Now, try tearing it.”