The Tyra retaliated with a heavy punch, redug another spider to scrap metal in an instant. Sparks and twisted steel littered the battlefield, yet the remaining spiders kept up the assault. Bullets ricocheted wildly, smashing into streetlights, garbage bins, and nearby structures. The chaos left a trail of destru as the Tyra roared and charged forward, bck fibers coiling and hardening around its arms until they formed massive, hammer-like ons.

  With a swing of its neehe creature crushed another spider, fttening its alloy frame into a ed, sparking mess. High above, Zack watched the age unfold. His expression remained cold and analytical as the Tyra methodically tore through the spiders, drawing closer to Bear Mountain with each step. “Send the meical dogs to recover the scrap,” Zastructed.

  Despite the destru, Zack didn’t seem bothered. To him, the loss of the spiders wasn’t signifit. “Steel is still steel. Iron is still iron. It all be melted down and reused.”

  Zack’s thoughts drifted for a moment as he observed the battlefield. “It’s time to expand the army,” he murmured. The spiders and dogs had been hastily designed during the st wave of the zombie outbreak. Now, he realized the need for stronger, more capable units. “By the way, is the MV-01 armor for the Warrior ready?” Zack asked.

  “Yes, sir. It’s been pleted,” Ego replied.

  “Deploy it,” Zack said, his voice as cold as ever.

  “The Warriors will arrive iy-five minutes,” Ego firmed.

  Zack frowned slightly. “That’s cutting it close.”

  He said no more, his attentiourning to the Tyra as it smashed through the remaining spiders. The creature was steadily moving away from the city, heading toward Bear Mountain, just as pnned.

  As the battle spilled onto the lower slopes of Bear Mountain, a chorus of animalistic roars echoed through the air. The mountain, one to many species, was now overrun with ied, mutated creatures. Sensing the Tyra’s presehey became agitated, their cries creating a deafening cacophony. “Push it to the summit,” Zaanded.

  The remaining spiders obeyed without hesitation. They unleashed another volley of gunfire, f the eyra to climb higher up the mountain. The Tyrant crushed the st of the spiders beh its massive cws. Unbeknownst to it, the creature had wandered all the way to the peak of Bear Mountain.

  “Roar?” The Tyra out a low growl of fusion. The absence of its meical pursuers, bined with its sudden arrival at this strange mountaintop, seemed to puzzle it. Despite being an intelligent zombie, it had only retly separated from its mother body. In truth, it was barely an hour old—a newborn with only its instincts to guide it. While it possessed an innate sense of bat and a sharp awareness of dahe broader situation eluded its uanding.

  “ROAR!!!” Its guttural cry echoed through the mountains as it dropped to one knee, preparing to leap off the peak. But before it could act— “Fire the ser!” Zack’s calm and rang out, carried by a voice devoid of emotion.

  In an instant, beams of red light hrough the air from the dire of the Tribeca Steel Pnt. The sers struck the Tyrant dead-on, halting it in its tracks. This was no ordinary defense system; it was ser interception on. Designed by Zack himself, it had been modified tet ground threats as well as airborne ones. Zack had always thought it a waste to restrict such power to the skies, so he had made sure it could hit ground targets with surgical precision. Bear Mountain, free of urban obstacles, provided the perfect battlefield for the on to dispy its full potential.

  “ROAR!!!” The Tyrant’s thick, crocodile-like hide withstood the initial assault, the sers uo pierce its tough exterior. But the relentless energy beams burned hotter and hotter, eating through its outer defenses yer by yer.

  In desperation, the Tyrant relied on its instincts once again. Bck fibers began to spill from its back, weaving rapidly into a dome-like shell of hardened material that es body like an armored co.

  “Oh, so you’re trying that trick again...” High above, Zack observed the transformation through his visor, his expression cold and calg.

  “Ego, activate the space-based on system.”

  “Uood. Activating now,” replied Ego, the AI assistant.

  Thousands of kilometers above the Earth, in low orbit, a satellite quietly came to life. Though not yet fully operational, it was equipped with the essentials Zaeeded. Small repair drones, ner than puppies, detached from the satellite and began to reposition its pos. Moments ter, the satellite’s space-based on module deployed. Its design resembled a meical octopus, with thousands of parts unfolding to form a powerful eleagic railgun. The on locked onto its target: the blue p below.

  With a burst of energy, the railgun us payload—a tungsten rod. Measuring 30 timeters thick, over six meters long, and weighing several tons, the projectile ropelled forward at incredible speed, reag Mach 6 as it exited the satellite. As it hurtled toward the Earth, the rod accelerated under gravity, its speed climbing higher and higher. By the time it breached the atmosphere, it had bee a bzing streak of fire in the sky, resembling a meteor as it desded straight toward Bear Mountain.

  “ROAR!!!” Sensing the impending dahe Tyrant roared again, its voice filled with desperation. The bck shell around its body shifted slightly, as though trying to move. But the intense ser beams tio pin it iheir seari preventing any escape.

  Above, the tungsten rod streaked closer and closer, a burning spear of destru slig through the sky. With a deafening boom, it struck the mountain. The impaleashed a dazzling explosion of light. The bck shell that had protected the Tyrant crumbled like brittle paper uhe tungsten rod’s immense force. The creature’s body, o monstrosity, was torn apart in an instant. Its fibrous tissue dissolved pletely, leaving no trace behind.

  The rod’s momentum didn’t stop there. It drilled deep into the Earth, carving through yers of rod soil as a massive shockwave erupted outward. Bear Mountain itself couldn’t withstand the force—most of its structure was obliterated, with thousands of tons of debris flung high into the air. A mushroom cloud of dirt and stone rose into the sky, visible for miles around.

  The shockwaves rippled far beyond the mountain, shaking the ey of NYC City and the surrounding regions. Windows shattered, buildings trembled, and survivors g to whatever they could as the earth rumbled beh their feet. The tremors sted for several minutes before finally subsiding.