"Oh, yes." Zoe Pierce was taken aback by Nathan Lockwood's distant, indifferent air but quickly recovered and answered.
Michelle Young took the opportunity to give her a push. "Then you go ahead with Nathan Lockwood, Zoe. I can find my own team."
For some reason, Michelle Young felt a little intimidated by Nathan Lockwood.
It was as if the man could know exactly what she was thinking if he stared at her for just a few more seconds.
Caught off guard, Zoe Pierce was pushed forward a few steps and nearly tripped, but the man in front of her had no intention of helping. He simply watched with cold eyes as she stumbled and regained her balance.
And yet, you couldn't call him rude. He had given Michelle Young a polite nod, then said to her in a cool tone, "Let's go."
'Fine, I can't afford to provoke him.'
Zoe Pierce grumbled to herself but obediently followed behind Nathan Lockwood.
'Credits, credits. It's all for the credits.'
'Zoe Pierce, if you don't get these credits, you're finished.'
The moment she remembered that, Zoe Pierce no longer cared about Nathan Lockwood's attitude.
"I'm the one starting out with you this time. Is there someone you were hoping to be with?" The first stage of the joint exam was to rendezvous with teammates. Due to the special nature of Omegas, it was specifically arranged for an Alpha from the team to accompany them, just in case.
When the squad discussed the matter, Aaron Xavier was eager, looking as if he wanted to expose Zoe Pierce's true colors.
Miles Sherman rejected that option without a second thought. He only considered himself or Nathan Lockwood, and in the end, Nathan was the one who volunteered.
He had been busy last time and didn't get to meet Zoe Pierce; this was the perfect opportunity.
Before meeting Zoe Pierce, he had already researched her past. He hadn't expected much, but after digging into it, even he had to admit it was quite spectacular.
He glanced at the Omega, who appeared so innocent and docile, his eyes holding a flat indifference.
Hearing Nathan Lockwood's question, Zoe Pierce immediately replied, "Anyone is fine."
'She really meant it. She had already resolved not to seduce any of them. All she had to do now was be obedient and soothe their spiritual power when they got irritable in order to survive. What did it matter who was with her?'
Nathan Lockwood was noncommittal and led her directly to the area where the Omegas were being dispatched.
The deployment area was already filled with assembled squads. Dozens of small armored vehicles carried them away, team by team, and in the blink of an eye, the square was empty.
Nathan Lockwood and Zoe Pierce were in the cabin of the vehicle, completely alone.
The air between the two strangers seemed to thin, and the silence was absolute.
Zoe Pierce decided that if Nathan Lockwood didn't speak, she absolutely wouldn't either.
With no one speaking, she took out the small notebook of study notes she had prepared and began silently memorizing them.
These were all the key concepts she had organized and sorted over the past month.
"Zoe Pierce." Suddenly, Nathan Lockwood spoke.
Zoe Pierce looked up, her pretty, fair face regarding him with a baffled expression. More than a month of a regular routine had undeniably chased away her former pallor. Her cheeks were a bit fuller, making her look less frail, and her lips were no longer tinged with blue but were now a healthy, rosy color.
"Hm?" she answered cautiously.
"Do you know why our squad has run off so many Omegas?" With that one question, Nathan Lockwood completely captured Zoe Pierce's curiosity.
The Federal Military Academy held a practical joint exam every year, though the focus of the competition changed. In the first few semesters, the Omegas were theoretically just mascots and weren't required to venture deep into the forests to hunt Xenobeasts with the Alphas like this time.
But every year, Miles Sherman's squad was a permanent fixture, while their Omegas were a revolving door. Not a single one of them ever left without causing trouble.
"Every one of them thinks they're special," he said slowly. "They think they can snag one of us."
Zoe Pierce's internal alarm bells started blaring.
She understood Nathan Lockwood's subtext almost instantly. Her body tensed, and she began to suspect that he knew what Damien Pierce had told her to do.
"We warned them beforehand, every single time." Nathan Lockwood's posture was refined and elegant, completely unaffected by the jolting of the armored vehicle. "But they just can't seem to understand simple words."
"They do things that are utterly ludicrous." He watched her with his long, narrow, indifferent eyes, a smirk playing on his lips.
Zoe Pierce's hand holding the notebook started to feel the strain. The man had casually used his spiritual power, and the pressure on her instantly intensified.
She pursed her lips and tentatively deployed her own spiritual power.
The pressure vanished in an instant. Her spiritual power suffused her body, bringing a wave of relief.
Yet Zoe Pierce still lowered her head, shrinking into herself and cursing him internally, when she heard Nathan Lockwood ask, "Do you want to know what your brother has been doing behind your back?"
Zoe Pierce, who had been trying to hide in her shell, instantly lifted her head. A look of astonishment crossed her face, and her fingers tightened on her notebook until they turned white.
Clearly, this topic captured Zoe's curiosity and attention far more than the last.
"Cooperate with us properly during this joint exam, and I'll tell you."
From the moment he met Zoe Pierce, Nathan Lockwood had been silently sizing her up.
Perhaps because of her memory loss, Zoe Pierce seemed exceptionally cautious and careful. She appeared to be aware of his squad's attitude and thus acted reserved and docile toward him.
It was a good attitude to have, but Nathan Lockwood wasn't one to place his faith in human nature.
Especially after his investigation of Zoe Pierce had incidentally revealed matters concerning the Pierce Family, he had a feeling she would care more about that than anything else.
Just as he'd expected, with that opening gambit, he had successfully captured her attention. From the moment she looked up at him, Nathan Lockwood knew her previous meekness had been mostly an act.
'She knows her brother is hiding things from her!'
Nathan Lockwood's eyes narrowed instantly.
"Deal." As soon as Zoe Pierce agreed, she couldn't help but add a condition. "It's just... can you tell me a little something ahead of time?"
The joint exam was going to take nearly a month. If she had to wait until the end to find out, Zoe Pierce felt she wouldn't have any advantage the next time she faced Damien Pierce.
"Three days," Nathan Lockwood said. "Every three days, I will tell you something I uncovered from before you lost your memory."
Zoe Pierce was about to agree when a rapid BEEPING erupted inside the cabin. A red light on the ceiling started flashing, and a moment later, the vehicle's door slid open.
A lush, green forest filled with shrubs came into view.
"Let's go." Nathan Lockwood stood up and walked ahead. Zoe Pierce had no choice but to drop the conversation and follow him.
As soon as they were both out, the armored vehicle's door closed, and it drove off on its own.
The coordinates for the checkpoint had been sent to their Intelligent Brains the moment they disembarked. Only after they reached that checkpoint could the other members of their squad begin to descend from the airship.
They should have immediately started heading for the checkpoint, but at that moment, neither Nathan Lockwood nor Zoe Pierce moved.