Following Zack and Ava was not an effortless task. Drew had to make sure that they were in sight while making sure that he was not spotted.

He checked the map on his wristphone and noticed that Zack was moving towards Shades district, the poorest region in Mecca.

As soon as Drew entered the area, a horrible stench reached him. He had read about the lack of proper sewage disposal in the district, but he had no idea how worse the smell was until now.

Even the buildings were pale. They lacked Veranium glasses and even proper paint. There were barely any hologram advertisement boards in the entire district. Surely, someone like Zack would have no business in a place like that.

Zack and Ava finally stopped outside a heavy metal gate. Tall fences surrounded it from all sides, equipped with electric shocks for any intruder. While it was difficult to view anything properly because of the fence, Drew could make out that it was a factory due to complex tubes and smoke purifier tanks that were visible at the top.

The area around the factory was completely lonely. A few buildings were there nearby, but they seemed abandoned. It was obvious that the factory wasn't running as well, but rather being used for other purposes.

Drew made sure that he was not in sight when Zack and Ava examined their surroundings. Oblivious to the presence of Drew, Ava started rummaging through her bag until she found what she was looking for–a detonator.

While Drew hadn't seen one in real life, he had watched enough action movies to know how it looked like. A small red box with a simple LED light and a screen on top. The detonator looked just like the box for a ring, but it possessed something far more deadly.

Ava adjusted the impact of the detonator using her wristphone and finally set it off.

It was only a minor explosion this time. Drew couldn't even hear it properly from the distance. But it had done the job of destroying a portion of the fence.

Zack and Ava had an inaudible conversation with each other before finally going in. Drew thought about following them inside, but then paused.

Instead, he used his wristphone to make a call.

"Yes, master?" Chip's voice came up on his phone.

"I hope my dad made you smart enough to obey this command. But can you come along with my bag to my location? I have marked the route that you have to take to avoid people. But people will just assume you for a toy, so you will be fine probably," Drew instructed.

"Okay master," Chip replied.

"Did you understand my instructions? Are you coming?" Drew replied. However, no reply came from Chip.

"Ugh, great!" Drew muttered.

Realizing that he would not be getting any help from his robot, he simply proceeded inside the factory.

A vast complex came into view as soon as Drew went beyond the boundary. Other than broken cars and discarded machinery, the complex was mostly empty except for the main factory and a few storage warehouses.

Since Zack and Ava were no longer in sight, Drew headed for the main factory, hoping that they would be inside. The fear of being observed through a camera came into his mind, but since he couldn't detect any imminent danger, he continued ahead.

There was a metal double door at the front of the factory, but since it was locked, Drew looked for other ways of entering.

When Drew reached the backside of the factory, the first thing to catch his attention was a man lying on the ground. At first, Drew feared that the man was dead, but a closer look confirmed that he was just passed out.

The man was almost seven feet tall, with a muscular build and a bald head. He had light armor on his chest and a pistol holster hanging at his waist. However, the pistol was missing from the holster. The passed-out thug seemed to be guarding a door. When Drew pushed at the door, it opened.

The factory was pitch black from inside, with no source of light. Drew used the light from his wristphone to deduce that he was inside a small storage room of some kind. There was no support for temperature control inside the factory, making it chilly.

As Drew observed his surroundings, a hand grabbed at his neck all of a sudden and knocked him down. Drew tried to fight back, but the grip of his attacker was too strong.

When Drew was on the verge of passing out, his attacker finally loosened the grip. Drew soon realized why. During his struggle to break free, the light from his phone had revealed his face to the attacker.

"Drew?" the familiar voice of Ava came.

"You almost killed me," Drew coughed.

"Keep your voice down. And tell me what the heck are you doing here?" Ava demanded.

"I followed you and Zack," Drew said.

"You did? Why?"

"Because I wanted to know what was going on here."

"This is no normal shit. We are in a dangerous place."

"Yeah, I had realized that when I saw that man passed out."

"That was Zack," Ava replied.

"So, what is going on here?" Drew asked.

"Well, I can't explain everything right now, but Judy is trapped here, along with a few of our other friends. And we need to rescue them."

"Where is Zack?"

"Well, he is looking for some other way," Ava said.

"So, who are we fighting here? And how many?" Drew asked.

"Come here," Ava led Drew to a small hole in a door which showed a vast hall crawling with more than ten armed thugs. At the center of the room, Judy was tied to a pole through handcuffs, along with two other teenagers.

"What the hell is going on here?" Drew almost shouted in panic.

"Shh! Keep quiet!" Ava scolded. "I told you I cannot explain everything. Just know that Judy and others have been captured by bad people."

"So, what's the plan?" Drew asked.

"The plan is to wait. I am not here to do fighting," Ava said.

"Wait for what?"

As if on the cue, Ava got a call from an unknown number. She picked it up and a familiar voice entered Drew's ears.

"Ava, I'm going in. Guide me through the fight," the voice spoke.

"That voice...I've heard that before!" Drew exclaimed.

One of the thugs fell down all of a sudden. Despite closely watching the scene, Drew still couldn't figure out the cause until an assassin jumped on the ground. Most of his body was covered in sleek black clothes, which made him blend well with the darkness. However, the symbol of a golden lion on his mask made him visible in the dark.

"That... That —" Drew couldn't form the words in his mouth.

"Yes Drew, that's the Young Lion," Ava smirked.

The Young Lion sprang into action almost instantly. He tossed out two pistols from his pocket and started firing at the thugs, making use of the chaos to do the maximum damage before the thugs could recover from their confusion.

The Young Lion made his way towards the cover of a crate, firing precise shots in the process. His aims coordinated well with his movements, most of his shots hitting someone.

"Well, that was a good start. I see five of them dead already. Many others have been shot as well and will be easier to take down. Just keep this up and we'll be fine," Ava said on the phone.

The Young Lion took use of his cover to fire more shots at the other thugs. Things were going well until he got shot.

"Gosh! Are you okay?" Ava asked.

"I'm... ugh... fine..." the Young Lion replied.

He got out of his cover and took down one with a headshot before getting another shot on his shoulders.

That drained most of his strength, but he still did not stop. He fired another accurate shot, killing one more thug. But by then, the other thugs had already approached his cover from both sides.

Despite being outnumbered badly, the Young Lion still fought bravely, delivering kicks and wrestling moves to anyone who approached near him. But one of the thugs managed to grab him from behind and lock him in handcuffs.

The remaining thugs dragged the Young Lion to the center of the room and tied him along with Judy and others.

"Shit! What are we gonna do?" Drew cried.

"We still have help coming, but it will take time. Let's hope they are safe till then," Ava said. However, the signs were not good.

"What about Zack?" Drew asked.

"Well, we cannot expect any help from him,"

The thugs had started beating the Young Lion to avenge their comrades. Judy and others were safe for now, but there was no guarantee of how long.

"Hello master?" a voice came on Drew's phone, "I have reached your location."

"What's that? Did you bring someone?" Ava asked.

"Chip? You really made it!" Drew exclaimed.

"Yes, master. Now, where shall I meet you?" Chip asked.

"Okay Chip, at the backside of the factory, you'll see a door. Get inside it. This will bring you to me," Drew instructed.

"He called you master? And his name is Chip? Is he a robot?" Ava asked.

"Yes, he's a robot," Drew replied.

"You have a robot? Can he fight them?"

"Yes, he will save everyone," Drew smirked.

"Whoa! I can't believe this," Ava said.

However, Ava's expectations were cut short when Chip finally arrived at the scene, slowly walking towards them with his tiny legs. Upon seeing Ava, he flashed a goofy smile at her.

"You said it could fight well!"

"Well, I said he would save us. And he indeed will. Chip cannot fight well, but he possesses a much more useful skill," Drew said.

"What's that?" Ava asked.

"Well, Chip, hand me my bag," Drew commanded.

Chip obeyed the command and funnily walked towards Drew with a bag that was too heavy for him.

"See, that's how he will save us," Drew said, taking the bag from Chip. He produced a small Veranium-plated disk-shaped device from it. Ava recognized it immediately.

"No way! A Shock-Wav!" Ava cried.

"Yep, this may be the last one in existence. Even the highest rank military doesn't have it," Drew said. "I'll explain how I got this when you'll explain what the fuck is going on here."

"The time for explanations will be later. First, use it!"

Drew did as he was told, throwing the Shock-Wav into the hall. The device attracted the attention of the thugs immediately. But unlike Ava, they did not recognize the device until it was too late.

The Shock-Wav started unfolding itself into thinner pieces of disks, encircling the entire hall in less than five seconds. And then all hell broke loose.

Drew was ready with another disk-shaped device in hand, similar to Shock-Wav but completely opposite in working. He threw it at the center of the hall where Judy, the Young Lion, and others were captured and watched as it unfolded into a smaller circle, encircling all the captured ones.

All the disks around the hall activated themselves in perfect unison, covering the hall with lethal electric waves. The screams of the thugs echoed across the factory as the circle of electricity engulfed them all inside it.

However, the only safe spot was at the center of the hall where the second device Drew had thrown absorbed all the nearby waves, keeping Judy and others safe from harm while the rest of the thugs screamed until their death.

"Whoa! That was epic!" Ava screamed.

"They really were bad people, right?" Drew asked as he stared at the dead bodies.

"Of course they were. You did the right thing," Ava confirmed. "Anyway, how do we deactivate your gadget now?" Ava asked.

"Yeah... Well... I haven't built remote access for them yet. I mean, I don't how to..."

"You cannot deactivate them?" Ava shouted.

"Nope. We can wait for the battery to die in an hour or make a safe path that leads us to them," Drew said.

"Yeah, let's do that, please. I cannot wait," Ava said.

Drew took out more counter Shock-Wavs from his bag and threw them one by one to clear a path across the electric field of death. Ava used it to reach the captured prisoners.

"How are we gonna remove their handcuffs?" Drew asked.

All of them were tied to the pillar using two rings which possessed a high force of attraction between them, making it impossible to break free. Only the owner of the handcuffs could do it by using their wristphone. Or so Drew thought until Ava freed all of them using a few touches on her phone.

Judy was the first one to get untied. She hugged Ava as soon as she broke free. The Young Lion and others started having a conversation between themselves as well, forgetting about Drew for a second.

But then, the Young Lion made eye contact with Drew, and he froze. All he could do was watch as the Young Lion approached him and place a hand on Drew's shoulders.

"Drew Jufferly, the son of Heigner Jufferly. Your father was the most genius inventor I have ever known," the Young Lion spoke. Drew finally got out of his trance.

"I... It is a pleasure to meet you. I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw you fighting those people."

"Yes, but then they captured me and you saved me."

"You held your ground against almost twenty enemies. That was the bravest thing I have ever seen. Just like the entire Mecca, you are a hero to me, Young Lion."

"Oh please, you don't need to call me by that name. Just call me Zack."

Here's another chapter done. It was in a bit of a hurry, so I hope it wasn't bad.

So, the action has finally begun, and we have discovered the face behind the lion scarf. Of course, there is a lot of explanation to do but we'll get to that soon.

So, guys, did you ever suspect that Zack was the Young Lion? I don't think it was very hard because it had already been revealed that Zack had some ulterior motives. But I'm disappointed at a 'certain' reader for not even guessing that it was Zack, despite reading two previous versions of the book.