Chapter 221: Chapter 221: Agreeing to Miles’s Plan
Just avoiding the subject was useless.
Instead, they needed to prepare for the worst-case scenario and, based on that, figure out what to do if it actually happened.
This was Nathan Lockwood’s answer.
A mix of honesty and lies.
It should have been absurd—all the Alphas on a single team falling for one Omega.
Yet, because that Omega was her, it became the most reasonable thing in the world.
Nathan Lockwood only had to briefly browse StarNet to see that Zoe Pierce’s personal fan sites already had hundreds of thousands of posts.
Her fans included not only Alphas, but many Omegas as well.
She had long since become a role model in the eyes of others.
So, everything began to make perfect sense—both their feelings for her, and the fact that she hadn’t decided who she wanted to be with.
"Zoe can say we’re just teammates."
The key was to frame it as *they* were the ones causing her trouble.
"Or we could just not respond at all." As long as there was no concrete evidence, they were a team. It was perfectly normal for them to enter and leave her home or train together at the academy.
"Don’t worry, this is just the worst-case scenario." He didn’t mention there was another way to explain it.
"Things won’t get that bad." They wouldn’t let it come to that.
Zoe Pierce knew Nathan Lockwood was just making a prediction.
In truth, her mindset wasn’t as avoidant as before. After all, she was the one who made the decision, and she was the one who slept with the men.
She had already endured the condemnation of her own morals, and then, under their influence, she had become...
Less moral.
It was a sudden epiphany.
She wasn’t hurting anyone.
"I know," Zoe Pierce replied. "I haven’t been dwelling on it."
Her calm expression, showing no sign of retreat after his speech, took Nathan Lockwood completely by surprise.
His astonishment was unconcealed. Zoe Pierce looked at him. "You’re doing this for my own good. I know that."
This was Zoe Pierce, making her intentions perfectly clear.
She had truly made a decision—to face it together with them, rather than just hiding behind them in avoidance.
Nathan Lockwood seized the opportunity to directly ask her about what Miles Sherman had proposed to them last night. "So, you agree with Miles Sherman’s plan?"
It wasn’t just Nathan Lockwood; even the silent Chase Shaw, who stood to the side, was staring at her with a burning gaze.
The gazes of the four men felt as if they could materialize in the air.
Zoe Pierce didn’t look away. She gave a light nod.
The hearts of the four men were suddenly filled with an indescribable feeling.
"We can just follow the same order as before." Zoe Pierce didn’t want to pick and choose. Since she’d made this decision, she might as well be completely fair.
If she were really going to choose just one person, she should have made that decision from the very beginning.
She hadn’t chosen that path, so she wouldn’t act like she had.
*
「A day later, the Imperial Squad’s starship departed.」
「The following day, the Federal Academy began preparations to return.」
Most of the personnel from the Military and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs left as well, leaving only a small contingent behind, as The Empire had also left people stationed there.
Now that The Empire knew about the situation, they wouldn’t let people leave so easily.
Quentin Ford was also among those who were leaving.
As a Beta councilor, there was no use for him to stay here.
The group was about to board the Starship when they happened upon Samuel King pulling aside Miles Sherman and the others to discuss returning to the Capital Star for a few interviews.
He interrupted with a broad smile, "Director King, the kids have finally finished their competition. You should let them relax. Why are you still talking about interviews?"
Samuel King was clearly displeased at being interrupted. When he turned and saw it was Quentin Ford, he let out a laugh. "This isn’t a bad thing. The interviews won’t take much time."
Quentin Ford glanced around and said, "It’s a good thing Director Quinn isn’t here. Otherwise, if he saw you dragging the kids into a discussion about this, he’d be at your throat again."
Samuel King knew that nothing good ever came out of this Quentin Ford’s mouth.
He was using Jasper Quinn to pressure him. Although his official rank was higher than Jasper Quinn’s, he couldn’t stand the man’s stubbornness; he simply wouldn’t listen to reason.
He was so annoying.
"And you, Councilor Ford, why are you meddling in this?" he said with a smile that didn’t reach his eyes. He stopped just short of asking what business a Beta had in this matter.
Quentin Ford said, "I just think that since it’s all over and they’ve worked so hard for so long, they should go to some comfortable planet for a vacation, to have some fun."
"For example, resort planets like Cytheria, Kaelus, or Solara, so they can rest for a while, away from the public eye."
"Talking to them like this... it must be so tiring for the kids."
As if Quentin Ford were the only good guy here. Samuel King was just about to open his mouth to retort when he heard Quentin Ford say, "Director Quinn is coming over."
He followed Quentin Ford’s gaze and, sure enough, saw Jasper Quinn approaching with a dark expression on his face.
Jasper Quinn came to stand before him and asked in a passive-aggressive tone, "Director King, what brings you here?"
Samuel King got a headache just from hearing Jasper Quinn’s voice. He didn’t understand why, when this was clearly a good thing, Jasper Quinn was so intractable.
He waved his hand dismissively and stopped talking to Miles Sherman and the others. "It’s nothing. I’m leaving."
He shot an irritated glance at the still-smiling Quentin Ford. ’Bad luck,’ he thought. ’Such rotten luck.’
Seeing Jasper Quinn arrive, Quentin Ford said, "Director King was just trying to rope the kids into interviews again. I told him if he has time for that, they’d be better off going to a resort planet to relax and rest up. They’ll have plenty to be busy with later."
"Let the kids have a proper vacation." With that, he patted Jasper Quinn’s shoulder. "I’m off, too."
It seemed he had come specifically to defuse the situation. Having said his piece, he left.
Once both Samuel King and Quentin Ford were gone, Director Quinn finally asked Zoe Pierce and the others, "Was Director King bothering you about interviews again?"
Zoe Pierce and the others nodded.
It included not only scheduling future interviews but also filming some of their travel plans.
He even wanted to film a personal documentary for each of them.
Of course, not only was this not unpaid—he was actually offering money—Director King also promised to provide them with certain political resources in the future.
Director Quinn was starting to wonder if there was something wrong with the treasury, for Director King to be trying so hard to rake in cash.
Just from their victory in this friendly tournament, he knew Director King had already scored a major achievement.
The Xenobeast incident had nothing to do with him, Samuel King, and yet because he’d provided a large number of mechanical eyes, the Military even owed him a favor.
"Don’t listen to Director King." Director Quinn thought for a moment, then added, "You’d be better off listening to Councilor Ford than him."
Zoe Pierce and the others wanted to laugh. It was clear that it wasn’t just Samuel King who disliked Director Quinn; Director Quinn was just as annoyed with Samuel King.
The two didn’t get along, but since they weren’t in the same system, neither could control the other.
"What did Councilor Ford say?" Director Quinn continued asking as he walked toward the Starship with Zoe Pierce and the others.
Zoe Pierce and the others told him about the vacation spots Quentin Ford had mentioned.
They were all planets renowned throughout Interstellar Space for their scenery—very famous, and indeed, excellent resort planets.
