“I do, but you’re the bastard who banned me from using my powers ihe Mansion. What else am I supposed to do?” Erza shot back, pausing to point at the colr around her neck. Her gre was sharp enough to cut steel.

  “What, you think I want you blowing the pce up?” Zack retorted, rolling his eyes. “I said no magiside. I never said you couldn’t go outside.”

  Erza froze mid-punch, her expression lighting up. “Wait, I leave the Mansion?”

  “Obviously,” Zack said, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

  Without another word, Erza bolted baside to grab her coat. “I’m going to the steel mill!” she yelled, running out the gate like an overexcited husky finally unleashed after days of fi.

  Zack opened his mouth to respond, but she was already out of sight. “Why do I even bother…” he muttered, shaking his head. Turning to Ego, he said, “Track her GPS and alert me if anything weird happens.”

  By the time Zack arrived, Mansion No. 13 looked nothing like it had the day before. The building now resembled a high-tech researstitute. “Not bad,” Zack said, stepping through the siryway.

  Ihe renovations were and funal. The walls gleamed white, and the floors, though simple, had beeed with a non-slip coating. Research equipment was ly arranged in designated zones, and overhead lighting provided ample illumination to every er. “What about the ventition system?” Zack asked, iing the enclosed structure.

  “Sir, the ventition system is designed for maximum efficy,” Ego responded. “It uses a dual-pipe yout with gate-off funality. If abnormal gases or fn matter are detected, the main ducts automatically close, and sedary ducts take over.”

  “Well done.” Zaodded, satisfied. He stepped into a private elevator that led to the underground levels. The basement of Mansion No. 13 mirrored that of Mansion No. 9. This was where the real work would happen. Whether on the first or sed underground levels, access required strict security and the same private elevator system.

  “Time to begin,” Zack said, his voice filled with anticipation.

  Ding! The elevator doors slid open with a soft chime, revealing Zack as he stepped into the dimly lit basement. His gaze immediately nded on six individuals housed in separate rooms, their faces pale and worn, evidence of sleepless nights etched into the deep circles uheir eyes.

  Ea was fitted with one-way gss, allowing Zack to observe without being seen. The walls were no ordinary crete but reinforced high-strength steel, desigo eliminate any possibility of a breakout by sheer manpower.

  Zack’s voice was as cold as the metal surrounding them. “Didn’t I tell you all to get some sleep?”

  Hearing his voice, the six detainees scrambled to the iron doors, desperation flooding their faces.

  “Sir, please let me go!”“You’ve got the wrong person!”“I swear I’m not one of Samson’s men!”

  Their pleas came in frantic waves, their voices crag uhe weight of fear. The rooms, while equipped with basiecessities like beds, toilets, and sinks, unmistakably resembled prison cells. Zack’s expression remained unged. He turo Ego. “Release the ahetic gas. Ohey’re unscious, ihem with nutrient solutions to keep them healthy.”

  The faint hope that had flickered in their eyes extinguished instantly.“No! Please, no!”“You ’t do this!”They pounded oeel doors, their cries eg in the fined space. But it was futile. As the ahetic gas filled the rooms, their movements slowed, and soon, all six were slumped in unscious silence.

  Zack watched impassively as the process unfolded. “Make sure they stay in good health,” he added, his toached.

  For the six detaihat phrase was all too familiar—cold, ical, and devoid of passion. While the captives were sedated and hooked to nutrient drips, Zack shifted his focus to a far more critical task: figuring the Super Serum. In the brightly lit b, rows of plex formus glowed on multiple ss.

  “The formu looks fine,” Zack muttered, “but these materials… seriously?”His brow furrowed as he sed the list. Most of the chemical pounds were familiar—amino acids, enzymes, and nanopolymers that could theoretically enhance cellur regeion and strength. But a few were problematic, relying on rare elements and theoretical molecules that he couldn’t easily source.

  “What the hell is this ‘Catalytiatrix’ supposed to be?” Zack groaned, ping the bridge of his he material was described as a molecur scaffold to bind and amplify the serum’s active pounds, but its real-world equivalent was elusive.

  “Ego, search for possible alternatives.”

  The AI hummed in response, dispying a list of substitute materials on the s. Zack’s eyes sed through advanced biopolymers, syic peptides, and modified protein scaffolds. Each came with detailed patibility notes, but the manufacturihods were far from simple.

  “Figures,” Zack muttered. “Guess we’re building it from scratch.”

  Using Ego’s guidance, Zack worked through the night. He synthesized biopolymers by breaking down anic matter and reassembling the molecur s in his improvised b. Enzymatic reas were carefully trolled to produce protein scaffolds capable of replig the effects of the inal Bio-Matrix. It was slow, meticulous work, with each failure setting him back hours. But by dawn, he had a funal rept.

  “Close enough,” he murmured, wiping sweat from his brow. came the real challeabilizing the serum’s energy trahe formu called for ionized microcells, a theoretical medium capable of enhang the flow of bioelectric signals through the body without causing cellur burnout. The idea was grounded in sce—bioelectricity governs muscle tra, neuron firing, and even wound healing—but creating something that could amplify it safely was no small task.

  “Ego, any ideas on synthesizing ionized microcells?” Zack asked, already dreading the answer.

  “Silver nanowires embedded in a graphene hydrogel could serve as a funal substitute,” Ego replied. “The hydrogel would enhance ductivity while maintaining cellur iy.”

  “Great,” Zack muttered sarcastically, “because I’ve got piles of silver and graphene just lying around.”

  Despite his frustration, Zack sged materials from old eleics, extrag trace amounts of silver and repurposing carbon pos to create graphene. Using a makeshift reactor, he suspehe silver nanowires in a hydrogel matrix, carefully ionizing the mixture with a trolled electrical charge. As the hydrogel stabilized, Zaspected the results under a microscope. “Not perfect,” he muttered, “but it’ll have to do.”

  With the key pos ready, Zack began synthesizing the serum. Each step required precise measurements and stant monit to prevent the mixture from destabilizing. The active pounds had to bind seamlessly with the biopolymer matrix and the ionized hydrogel, f a cohesive solution that could i with human biology without causing catastrophic side effects. “Ego, run a cohesion check,” Zack ordered, his hands steady despite the tension.

  “Cohesion is at 83%. Molecur stability within acceptable limits,” the AI reported.