Zack's mind raced. Could it be a side effect of her mutation? "Annie, I want you to concentrate on the TV. Really focus on it," he instructed.
"Okay," she said, tilting her head curiously but obeying. As she did, her perception shifted again. To her, the TV's smooth playback turned into a series of frozen frames, like a slideshow.
"It's not stuck..." Annie murmured, realization dawning on her face. "I'm the one who's faster!" She looked at Zack, her excitement replaced by nervousness. "Brother, what's happening to me? Am I turning into a monster?"
Zack knelt in front of her and placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "You're not a monster, Annie. You've just developed superpowers, like Erza."
Her eyes widened. "Really?"
Seeing Annie still didn't believe him, Zack grabbed the water glass from the table and suddenly threw it at her! Annie's room TV had a refresh rate of 120Hz. That meant in one second, 120 frames flashed by. Annie often complained that watching TV at 120Hz felt "laggy." What did that mean? She had extraordinary dynamic vision and reaction speed!
"What are you doing?!" Sophia screamed, terrified, as she saw Zack hurl the water glass straight at Annie.
But then… The panic in Sophia's expression, the motion of Zack's throw, and even the path of the water glass in the air— In Annie's eyes, everything slowed down like a scene in a movie played in slow motion. She could see every detail. The water glass spun slowly, a drop of water sliding down its rim. "So slow…" Annie sighed inwardly.
She raised her hand to catch it, confident in her timing. But then—Her heart sank. Her reaction was there, but her body wasn't cooperating. It was like she, too, was moving in slow motion. Her small hand rose painfully slowly, nowhere near the trajectory of the glass. "Oh no..." Annie thought, bracing for impact.
Thud!
The water glass hit Annie squarely on the forehead. Fortunately, it was plastic. If it had been glass or ceramic, she might have been knocked out. "Ouch, ouch, ouch!" Annie clutched her forehead, a red mark already forming. Tears welled up in her eyes. "Can't you think of another way to test me?!" she cried.
"Sorry!" Zack scratched his head, looking sheepish. "Didn't you react? I thought you'd catch it!"
"I did react, but my body couldn't keep up…" Annie pouted, clearly upset.
"Oh, I see," Zack said, finally realizing Annie's abilities didn't include super speed.
At that moment, a familiar voice chimed in from behind him. "Messing around again, Zack? Who tests someone like that?" Turning around, Zack saw Erza leaning casually against the doorway, holding up his phone. "And I got it all on video," Erza added smugly, shaking his phone for emphasis.
"You—just mind your own business," Zack retorted, irritated.
Erza walked over, ignoring him. "What Annie needs right now is rest, not your half-baked experiments." His tone turned serious. "You know as well as I do that forcing abilities right after awakening can damage brain nerves."
"Fine," Zack grumbled, realizing Erza was right. He muttered a quick apology and left Annie's room. After making sure Annie had rested properly, Zack resumed the tests. The results were astounding. First, Annie demonstrated the same extraordinary dynamic vision and reaction speed as the night before. Under extreme conditions, she could clearly see the lines on the wings of a fly mid-flight.
However, her ability had a limit. Prolonged use for more than two minutes left her dizzy and unfocused. Additionally, Annie exhibited agility several times greater than the average person. This explained why, under normal conditions, she could have caught the water glass last night. Her failure was due to her weakened state and lack of control over her newfound abilities.
"Baseball test! Three consecutive pitches at 160 kilometers per hour!" Zack announced in the basement.
Annie stood 10 meters away, wearing a baseball glove. She nodded, signaling she was ready. The homemade launcher fired three baseballs at lightning speed. With ease, Annie caught all three. "Yeah! I did it!" Annie cheered, jumping with excitement.
"Stop celebrating and look at the data," Erza interrupted, walking over to the analysis instruments. "Dynamic vision and reaction speed are impressive," Erza noted, "but the biggest improvement is in your flexibility. It's off the charts."
He looked at Annie seriously. "You can now perform movements that would stump even professional gymnasts."
Zack chimed in, his tone thoughtful. "With the right equipment—something that can keep up with your reactions—you could be unstoppable. You're basically built for piloting a robot."
Annie's eyes sparkled. "Does that mean I can be as strong as you, brother?"
"Hmm," Zack said with a small smile.
That simple reply was enough to fill Annie with joy. She practically bounced in place, her excitement contagious. "I can't wait! I'll go work on Tarantula right now!"
Before anyone could stop her, she dashed into her small workshop, eager to upgrade her beloved robot. "Take it easy!" Zack called after her.
"I will, brother!" Annie yelled back, already disappearing into her lab. But once she was gone, Zack's smile vanished, replaced by a grim expression.
"Ego," Zack said coldly, "any updates on the Vanguard Organization?"
The AI's calm voice responded. "I'm sorry, sir. The global network is still offline. I have no new data, and the existing database contains no relevant information."
Zack's jaw tightened. "It's fine. They can't hide forever." He refused to let the lack of information about this shadowy organization stop him. If nothing else, knowing the location of one of their bases was enough to start unraveling their operations. All he needed to do was follow the breadcrumbs.
But first, there were pressing issues closer to home. "Let's figure out the Mansion's security problem before anything else," Zack muttered, shaking his head to clear his thoughts. Prioritizing was crucial.
The attack last night had been a wake-up call. While the intruders hadn't made it past the community's gates, the incident revealed a glaring vulnerability. The Mansion's defenses were primarily designed to handle zombies—not human threats. Worst of all, it had no air defenses whatsoever.
If instead of a small team, the attackers had launched something like a Tomahawk cruise missile... "No," Zack said firmly. "Air defense is the top priority."
Once he pictured that horrifying scenario, his resolve hardened. Zack was not the type to wait around for disaster to strike; he believed in eliminating threats before they could materialize. "Ego, pull up every anti-aircraft weapon and facility in your database," Zack commanded.
The large screen in front of him lit up instantly, filling with rows of documents. Scrolling through, Zack realized there were far more options than he'd anticipated. He barely got through a few pages before stopping. "Sir, may I remind you," Ego's calm voice interrupted, "given the current circumstances, deploying air defense systems on short notice is unlikely."
"Lack of materials?" Zack guessed.
"No, sir. It's a lack of personnel," Ego clarified.
Zack frowned but quickly caught on. "Of course, it's the people."
Technology wasn't the issue—he had more than enough of that. Materials were plentiful if you knew where to look, especially in an apocalypse. But skilled workers? That was a different story. Advanced systems like detection radar, anti-guidance bombs, laser interceptors, or even the Air Fortress Zack had been dreaming of building—each required highly skilled engineers, technicians, and operators. These weren't tasks a group of untrained survivors could handle.