Chapter 272: Chapter 272: The Unconscious Omega
The search proceeded in an orderly fashion.
Not only were the officials on site inspected, but their aides were also held.
Colonel Hanson’s aide finished his inspection and stood respectfully by his side. "Colonel, we haven’t found anyone suspicious so far."
"Everything is normal."
Colonel Hanson wasn’t surprised by the result.
After all, if they were that easy to find, The Military wouldn’t have had them on its radar for so long.
"Keep an eye on the Betas The Military brought as well," Colonel Hanson instructed.
It was becoming increasingly clear that this group was shaping up to be an extremist Beta Organization.
Most of the people they used were Betas.
Whether it was the ones dispatched to kidnap Zoe Pierce this time or the suicide attackers from before, they were all Betas.
Colonel Hanson had never overlooked the role Betas could play.
"Yes, sir. We have them all under surveillance."
Monitoring Betas was easier than monitoring Alphas, but having received a direct order from Colonel Hanson, his aide didn’t dare to let his guard down.
Colonel Hanson’s gaze returned to the map.
A young military officer who had been waiting nearby stepped forward. "Colonel, all of Zoe Pierce’s electronic devices, including her Space Button, have been abandoned."
He pointed to a location on the map.
A red dot was blinking continuously.
It was the locator.
"We’ve run a dedicated scan. The Omega, Zoe Pierce, no longer has any devices on her that can reveal her location."
They were obviously well-prepared.
"They know Zoe Pierce can use spiritual power. They want to obtain a physical sample." Colonel Hanson instantly understood the organization’s intentions.
’If that’s their goal, then Zoe’s safety isn’t an immediate concern.’
"The question now, Colonel, is should we lock down Planet E-987?"
They were definitely going to try and transport her off-world.
With a single command from Colonel Hanson, Planet E-987 could be sealed tight as a drum.
"Lock it down," Colonel Hanson ordered without hesitation. "But leave a few weakly guarded spots."
Their target was the organization itself, so they had to let them send messages out.
Whether it was for a rescue or something else.
You have to give them an out.
Otherwise, if they find out they’ve been wasting their time, the people from that organization might get desperate. It wouldn’t be good if they did something irreversible.
They had no intention of sacrificing Zoe Pierce.
On the surveillance monitors, the hurricane was growing stronger.
Everyone had already taken shelter in the underground structures.
The underground was a network of tunnels, and the surveillance in several corridors had been destroyed.
Now there was no way of knowing where the group had gone.
Colonel Hanson stood in silence, then turned his head slightly to ask, "Are Miles Sherman and his team still on their tail?"
The young officer replied, "Yes, sir."
"What’s your assessment?"
Colonel Hanson’s expression was grim. "Let them follow for now."
’Even if, as they claimed, Zoe volunteered to be the bait, getting them to give up the chase won’t be easy.’
*
Zoe Pierce felt herself drifting in and out of consciousness.
Her limbs felt like noodles, completely devoid of strength.
Her midsection was even worse. It felt like something was lodged sideways in her stomach, pressing down and making her want to vomit.
The miserable feeling persisted for a long time before it finally dawned on Zoe: she’d been abducted.
She was currently slung over a Beta’s shoulder.
Her head dangled down, the hard ridge of the Beta male’s shoulder blade digging into her stomach.
And the Beta male was still walking at a hurried pace.
The wind and sand that had been battering her face were gone, replaced by a cold, damp smell.
She felt the person carrying her bend down to step over something, and the jostling made her roiling stomach lurch.
She let out a whimper.
The group, which had been moving quickly, immediately tensed up.
"She’s awake? This soon?"
But someone pried open her eyelid and said, "Not yet. It must have been an involuntary reaction."
A harsh light shone into Zoe Pierce’s eye for a second, then vanished.
Several people checked on her in succession. Once they confirmed that Zoe had only groaned unconsciously from the jostling, they continued onward.
"And here I was, worried that dose would barely affect her."
Zoe couldn’t see them clearly; her consciousness was still hazy.
"She’s still human. That dose is enough to take down a Xenobeast."
"And we used even more than the prescribed amount."
The men had lowered their voices to a whisper, but Zoe could still hear them.
She felt awful all over, from her stomach to her head.
Blood was rushing to her dangling head.
’But it’s not like anyone cared about that right now.’
In her daze, she heard another question. "How are Miles Sherman and his team still on our tail?"
"We ditched all her devices. Is Nathan Lockwood’s spiritual power really that strong?" the man asked, skeptical.
"I don’t know."
"But this place is all tunnels. It’s not easy to make a clean getaway."
Zoe’s consciousness was gradually returning.
She was now fully aware of her situation: being carried by this group of Betas.
"Pick up the pace! At the next fork. We can’t let them catch up, or we won’t be able to make the transfer."
At the unfamiliar man’s words, the group’s pace clearly quickened.
Zoe’s head was splitting.
It felt as if the drug from that needle was now wracking her system.
She had no idea how long they’d been walking, but she finally felt herself being set down.
Shackles were clamped on her ankles, and a binding ring was fastened around one of her wrists.
She was certain they had put her on a small ship. A bright, glaring light shone on her eyelids, but Zoe’s eyes didn’t so much as twitch.
Thanks to her recent schooling, she at least knew how to fake being unconscious.
Her body was slumped heavily on the floor, her hair pinned underneath her.
Two people were standing on either side of her, staring down.
"The transfer was a temporary success. Nathan Lockwood and his team think Zoe went down the far-right fork."
Everyone let out a collective sigh of relief.
But a second later, another man’s voice cut through, tightening the atmosphere again. "Don’t relax too soon. If they don’t find Zoe down that path, they’ll realize they took the wrong turn soon enough."
A few strands of Zoe’s hair had fallen across her eyes.
"When can we move out, Captain?"
"After the hurricane stops," the unfamiliar, hoarse male voice replied. "Planet E-987 is on total lockdown. We can’t get out."
"Will this Spiritual Power Binding Ring, developed for Alphas, even work?" Zoe heard the person beside her ask, fiddling with the device on her wrist.
’A Spiritual Power Binding Ring.’
The man they called Captain glanced at the unconscious Omega’s wrist. "It works on Betas. On her... I don’t know."
The men fell silent for a moment.
"So if it looks like she’s waking up, just give her another shot." It was the safest option.
It would completely eliminate the possibility of Zoe being able to use her spiritual power.
A younger-sounding male voice commented, "Looking at her like this, you’d never guess she could use spiritual power."
