NOVEL NEXT Chapter 19: Annie The Prodigy
A web shooter would allow him to control the Night Stalkers' movements by trapping them in webbing, effectively compensating for the armor's lack of speed and flexibility. He wouldn't be swinging between skyscrapers—after all, the one-ton armor could handle the webbing, but not the buildings. Instead, he planned to use the web shooter purely as a weapon to immobilize his enemies.
"Ego, pick the best web shooter design and have the details ready for me by morning," Zack said.
"Understood, sir. Sweet dreams," Ego replied.
As Zack dozed off in his chair, soft footsteps approached the office. Ego scanned the presence, confirming there was no hostility or weapons. He remained silent, allowing the visitor to pass.
Annie quietly entered, holding a blanket. Seeing Zack asleep, she gently covered him with it, then tiptoed back out.
The next morning, Zack woke to sunlight streaming through the window, a blanket draped over him. Smiling, he immediately knew who had left it. "This girl really knows how to take care of people," he muttered, impressed.
"Sir, after you fell asleep last night, Annie came in and covered you with a blanket," Ego confirmed.
"Thought so." Zack nodded. "Alright, Ego, show me the web shooter design you chose."
A holographic display of the web shooter appeared before him, along with a list of materials needed. "Based on available resources, this design is the most suitable," Ego explained. "It has two modes: silk and web."
Ego continued, "The silk mode can shoot a strand 5-10 mm thick with a tensile strength 45 times that of high-strength steel. Its range is 300 meters, and it can support 5-10 tons. The web mode creates a web 3-5 meters in diameter, made up of hundreds of finer strands, effective up to 20 meters. Each thread in the web can hold up to 0.5 tons."
Zack nodded, satisfied. "Good work, Ego."
The blueprint was surprisingly simple—much more straightforward than his power armor. "Ego, scan the area for the materials I'll need," Zack instructed.
A map of the industrial park appeared, highlighting two nearby factories: an electronics plant and a chemical factory. "Looks like coming here was the right choice after all," Zack murmured. He quickly prepared himself, donning his power armor, ready to gather the components for his new project.
As he headed out of the office, the workers he passed looked at him with a mix of respect and awe. Some greeted him boldly, while others moved aside, stepping back to give him space. The seventeen people in the factory had fully come around to Zack's leadership.
"Keep working, everyone," Zack said, gesturing to the wall he'd broken down earlier. "And make sure to rebuild it."
As he was about to leave the steel plant, Annie appeared from the side, her face anxious beneath her messy bangs. "Za... Mr. Zack, are you leaving?" she asked softly.
"Just call me 'brother,'" Zack said, reaching out to ruffle her hair. His large, armored hand made her head look even smaller and more fragile. Though she instinctively flinched, she gathered her courage and looked up at him, saying, "Brother... I have something to show you."
"Alright, lead the way," Zack said, curious. Annie took him through the steel plant, weaving between equipment and machinery until they reached a small room tucked in the corner.
"Is this it?" Zack asked, looking down at her.
Annie nodded, and Zack gently opened the door. A familiar scent of metal and chemicals filled the air, and he realized the room was packed with materials, tools, drones, and small robots. In the center of the room was a short workbench, clearly designed to match Annie's height. "Is this your workshop?" Zack asked.
"It's a lab," Annie corrected shyly, lowering her head, almost as if afraid she'd overstepped.
But Zack only smiled, amused by her pride. "Right, your lab." He picked up a drone from the shelf and inspected it. Though unfinished, its internal structure was precise and skillfully assembled, with barely any gaps between the parts. The craftsmanship was flawless—almost machine-perfect.
"Did you make all of these by hand?" Zack asked, impressed.
Annie nodded. Zack shook his head in amazement, realizing just how naturally gifted she was. "Sir," Ego's voice echoed in his mind, "this room contains all the materials needed to build the web shooter."
Zack's expression brightened. He turned to Annie. "Annie, would it be alright if I made something in your lab?"
"Of course," she agreed. In her eyes, Zack was the true genius—her creations felt like toys compared to his Mark armor.
With Annie's permission, Zack closed the lab door, removed his armor, and began working on the web shooter. Annie watched quietly as he worked, occasionally assisting him as he explained what he was doing. Despite her usual shyness, she became focused and steady while working. Her small hands moved with remarkable skill, using the tweezers to place each piece exactly where it was needed, with no room for error.
Together, they completed the web shooter far quicker than Zack had anticipated. "Perfect! The shooter's done," Zack said, testing the device to make sure it was functioning properly.
Unlike the shooter, the silk was simpler to make—a matter of mixing the right elements in the correct proportions. In its liquid form, the silk would harden when exposed to air, so Zack added a neutralizer to keep it from solidifying too soon. The finished silk was stored in small, square sacs about the size of phone batteries, which could be loaded and replaced in the shooter like magazine clips.
Once everything was ready, Zack fitted the web shooter onto the right arm of the Mark armor. "Alright!" he said, slipping the armor back on. Turning to Annie, he said, "I'm heading out to deal with the remaining Night Stalkers. When I'm back, I'll take you away from here. Sound good?"
Annie nodded, and he gave her a pat on the head before heading out of the lab. Leaving the steelworks, Zack made his way to the underground parking lot where the Night Stalker leader had disappeared. On the way, he paused in front of a tall building, curiosity getting the best of him.
"Why not give it a try?" he thought. The armor was heavy, but the chance to swing from a web was too tempting to resist.
He raised his right arm and aimed the web shooter at the top of the building.
Swosh!
The web shot out, attaching itself to the top of the building's exterior wall with a solid grip. Zack tugged on the line, feeling it hold. Taking a few steps back, he ran forward and swung, the elastic strength of the spider silk pulling the one-ton MV-01 armor off the ground and into the air.
The swing was successful—for less than half a second.
"Aw, come on!" Zack groaned as he heard the sound of bricks crumbling. The wall he'd attached the web to gave way, and he plummeted, hitting the ground with a deafening crash that left a spiderweb of cracks in the concrete.
"Should've known better," he muttered, standing up. Glancing at the wall, he saw a large chunk had come off where the web had attached. Shaking his head, he decided to abandon any hopes of swinging for now. "Guess I'll stick to using this as a weapon."