White Mallow Flowers preferred to grow in damp, shady places.
The spot Ethan Grant had led Zoe Pierce and Nathan Lockwood to was just such a place. Tall trees towered over them, and at the base of a massive boulder, a mountain spring gurgled as it flowed downward. One branch of the stream merged into a creek, while another trickled through a fissure in the rock, feeding into a small pool beneath the boulder.
Beside the pool was a naturally formed cave, its entrance so narrow that only one person could enter at a time.
Ethan Grant pointed at the cave. "It's in there. I got curious and went inside before. I saw a small clump, less than ten flowers."
He had originally planned to come back after regrouping with his teammates, but by a twist of fate, this discovery had become his bargaining chip to avoid elimination.
"Get in there and pick them," Nathan Lockwood ordered, standing by the edge of the pool. He gazed at the cave, which was only pierced by a few stray beams of sunlight, and gave Ethan Grant the command without any courtesy.
Ethan Grant's mouth fell open. He glanced between Zoe Pierce and Nathan Lockwood.
Zoe Pierce couldn't understand why Ethan Grant would even think she or Nathan Lockwood would go in. After all, she was an Omega with no physical strength to speak of. As for Nathan, he was their team's Alpha. There was no way he would go in himself, leaving her alone with an Alpha from another team.
And expect her to go in and pick the White Mallow Flowers?
The only person here who could do it was Ethan Grant.
From any standpoint, she could never be on his side.
However, seeing Ethan Grant's miserable expression as he looked at her, she felt it would be inappropriate not to say anything. Zoe Pierce pursed her lips and said softly, "Be careful."
As for anything else? There was nothing.
'I'm just the capitalist's lackey now.'
And so, with a somewhat mournful expression, Ethan Grant heaved a long sigh and stepped into the narrow cave.
White Mallow Flowers were a bit delicate. They had to be dug up with the soil still attached to their roots to last for more than a few days; otherwise, they would completely wither in a single day. This meant Ethan Grant couldn't just pick the flowers—he had to dig them up, soil and all.
Zoe Pierce and Nathan Lockwood stood at the cave entrance like a pair of overseers.
"Nathan, what are White Mallow Flowers used for?"
Waiting around was getting a little boring. Zoe's cheat sheet had no information on the uses of White Mallow Flowers, so she figured asking Nathan Lockwood directly would be faster.
Nathan Lockwood's attention was split, half on the cave and half on Zoe Pierce.
Hearing her question, he met her curious gaze, then lowered his eyes to the pool. "They can soothe an Alpha's spiritual power when it becomes volatile."
Zoe froze. That effect sounded a bit familiar. 'Oh, right. It overlaps with my own purpose.'
'So is Nathan Lockwood preparing for a rainy day? Is he planning to have the team 'manually' eliminate me if I do something that harms them?'
A shiver of apprehension went down Zoe's spine.
She shut her mouth and resolved to behave. 'Fine. I knew I couldn't rely on an Alpha. I have to rely on myself.'
She didn't know that the effect of a White Mallow Flower and the soothing comfort of an Omega were fundamentally different, which led to her misunderstanding.
Seeing that she didn't press further, Nathan Lockwood didn't elaborate. His raven-black lashes fluttered. Standing by the water's edge, his physique, already comparable to that of a mature man, exuded the cool, distant air of winter sunlight.
Zoe's gaze lingered on him for a few moments. 'Setting his personality aside, he's undeniably attractive.'
Even now, she couldn't help but steal a few more glances, just like anyone else would.
Once she'd had her fill, she cautiously averted her gaze, pretending she hadn't been looking at him at all, like an ostrich burying its head in the sand.
'Looked at this way, what Nathan Lockwood said in the car probably wasn't a lie.'
Thinking about the whole team, Aaron Xavier had a sharp tongue, but he had delicate features. When he was quiet, that baby face of his was deceptive enough.
Chase Shaw gave off a completely different vibe—fierce, like a wild beast. Broad shoulders, a narrow waist... you couldn't look away at first glance. He was the type who made you acutely aware of the size difference between you. Even though she had been far away and hadn't gotten a clear look at his face last time, it had been enough to leave a deep impression on her.
As for Miles Sherman and him, both were cold, but in different ways.
Miles was more serious; his coldness was tinged with a hint of disdain.
It was as if he could see right through you at any moment.
No wonder the Omegas had "ideas." With four men, each with such a distinct style, surrounding them, who could possibly be content?
Zoe Pierce excluded herself from that group. She didn't have pheromones, so she wasn't a normal Omega. She had no worldly desires. She just wanted to know the truth.
As soon as she remembered that, all the romantic notions in her head would vanish, replaced by an exceptional calm.
While she was lost in her own brainstorm, one of the main subjects of her thoughts was observing her discreetly.
Zoe Pierce seemed too normal. He wondered if he was overthinking things.
There were no suspicious Xenobeasts or Alphas in the vicinity. It was her unnatural disappearance that was so concerning.
Nathan Lockwood was very confident in his spiritual power. He was far more sensitive to fluctuations in spiritual power than the average person. Someone else might not have noticed anything amiss, but Nathan Lockwood could.
Zoe Pierce's spiritual power was fluctuating.
But he had no concrete evidence to prove it, which put him in a passive position.
She was a puzzle.
One that made him want to solve it.
This was dangerous.
For an Alpha to develop the desire to unravel an Omega...
Nathan Lockwood thought quietly.
"AHH—"
A startled cry shattered the quiet wait. Zoe's eyes instantly shot toward the cave.
Following the sharp cry, an explosion boomed from within, and a dust-covered figure scrambled out.
He was still clutching a few white flowers, his face and hair caked with dirt. He coughed repeatedly as he emerged.
Nathan Lockwood extended his spiritual power into the cave, then quickly withdrew it with a frown.
"It's already dead."
It was only a B-level Xenobeast, and Ethan Grant was an A-level Alpha, yet he'd still ended up in such a sorry state.
Noticing the look of disdain on Nathan Lockwood's face, Ethan Grant stubbornly retorted, "I didn't sense any spiritual power fluctuations when I went in just now. It attacked me out of nowhere, so of course I was startled!"
Going from the bright sunlight outside into the darkness, his eyes hadn't adjusted yet. Plus, he figured that since he'd just explored the cave a short while ago, nothing should go wrong, so he hadn't bothered to scan it with his spiritual power again.
He never would have guessed that a B-level Xenobeast had been hiding deep inside the entire time. It had kept itself concealed until he started to dig up the White Mallow Flowers, at which point it launched a sudden attack.
Caught completely off guard, he was almost bitten. That's why he had screamed inside the cave before triggering an explosion of the surrounding rocks to kill the Xenobeast.
And because of the enclosed space, he'd ended up emerging covered in dust and grime.
He splashed some water on his face to wipe away the grime, then casually handed the White Mallow Flowers to Zoe Pierce, who was closest to him. "Here, the flowers."
Ethan Grant had only managed to grab a handful. His specialty was imbuing objects with spiritual power to make them explode. Since he'd just blown up all the rocks inside the cave, it was now completely impossible to re-enter.
This handful of White Mallow Flowers was all that was left.
The rest were likely crushed under the rocks, reduced to nothing but dirt and pulp.