Chapter 273: Chapter 273: A Familiar Voice
The delicate and frail-looking Omega now lay unconscious on the ground.
Her hair, which had been tied up, was now splayed messily across her body.
Her small face had just been wrapped in a cloth. Now that it was torn off, it revealed a relatively clean jawline, but the sides of her face were covered in yellow marks.
Even with her eyes closed and her hair in disarray, her stunning beauty was unmistakable.
If she weren’t Zoe Pierce, if she were just someone passing on the street, they would have given her a second look.
But as it happened, the owner of this face had already made a name for herself in several competitions.
Everyone knew that once she was conscious, she would be trouble.
"An Omega who can use spiritual power without undergoing experiments—is that for real?" the young Beta spoke again after a long silence.
The rustle of fabric.
"That’s not your concern. Your mission is to get her off E-987 safely," the captain said, sounding exceptionally cold in comparison.
Zoe Pierce heard the young Beta tsk.
He clearly had his own thoughts on the matter but didn’t want to argue with the captain.
Just then, the sound of more footsteps approached from outside.
"Everything’s sealed. The electronic jammers are up, too."
Zoe Pierce heard the captain grunt in acknowledgment.
Then, a long silence followed.
She could feel the sore, numb weakness in her limbs slowly fading.
If she wanted to, she could move her fingers now.
But Zoe Pierce didn’t move.
The Betas’ recent conversation about the Spiritual Power Binding Ring still bothered her.
The shackles on her wrists served a similar purpose to Miles Sherman’s spiritual power.
She didn’t dare use any other, more conspicuous spiritual power.
She just cautiously used the simplest form: Perception.
Even though her eyes were closed, she could sense what the people sitting near her were like.
Her spiritual power wasn’t as free-flowing as it normally was.
But it wasn’t completely bound and unusable like they had said.
Zoe Pierce breathed a sigh of relief.
’In the worst-case scenario, even if Nathan Lockwood and the others can’t find me, I have to be able to escape on my own.’
The fact that her spiritual power was still usable was undoubtedly good news for Zoe Pierce.
Apparently, her use of spiritual power hadn’t attracted the attention of these Betas.
It was like when she had used her spiritual power in front of Damien Pierce, and he hadn’t noticed either.
’Even if these Betas have been experimented on and can use spiritual power to pilot Mechas, they can’t be more than A-level.’
’Only S-Class individuals like Nathan Lockwood can sense my spiritual power...’
’This is undoubtedly good news.’
Once Zoe Pierce knew she could use her spiritual power, she first used it to scan her current situation.
It was an old, underground escape tunnel.
Just by sweeping her spiritual power over it, Zoe Pierce could see the copper rust on the pipes.
There were only two exits: one above her head, and one through a large door to her right.
The passage with the large door on the right was completely sealed. Just by looking at the gear lock on it, which was as wide as a person, Zoe Pierce knew she couldn’t open it with brute force.
There were a total of 10 Betas on this small spaceship; half of them stood outside, while the other half stood guard by her side.
After that exchange, the entire space had fallen silent.
The situation on the surface could only be seen through the ship’s monitor.
Zoe Pierce’s spiritual power also perceived the hurricane roaring outside; not even a single Xenobeast was out and about.
The world outside had turned into a swirling maelstrom of yellow sand.
When the sandstorm had passed its peak and gradually began to subside, the Beta who had been leaning silently to the side suddenly spoke.
"Captain, if we wait until the hurricane and geomagnetic storm are over, Planet E-987 will be completely locked down. How are we supposed to get Zoe Pierce out then?"
He had a long scar on his face, running from the corner of his forehead all the way down to his jaw, making it hard to miss.
Zoe Pierce watched the captain straighten up and say in a low voice, "Watch her. I’m making a call."
Her tightly shut eyes couldn’t help but twitch at this.
Zoe Pierce forced herself to remain still, extending her spiritual power to watch the captain walk to the deepest part of the spaceship.
The number he dialed was a code. After a few rings, a man’s voice answered.
"Sir, the situation on Planet E-987 has become complicated. The hidden assets we left behind are no longer usable." The captain’s voice was respectful and low. "We need an update on E-987’s security status."
"The military sent new people; I know about that. What about Zoe Pierce?"
"She’s still unconscious. To be safe, I think we should keep injecting her with the sedative until we reach our destination."
"Hn. Just don’t kill her," the voice on the other end said quickly.
Zoe Pierce found the voice somewhat familiar, but no matter how hard she tried to place it, she couldn’t remember where she’d heard it.
She remembered the voices of everyone close to her.
She even remembered the voices of Samuel King and Quentin Ford from their few meetings.
But this voice was both familiar and strange.
’It’s like I’ve heard it before.’
"I’ll contact you directly in a moment," the person on the other end said before hanging up.
Zoe Pierce watched as the captain put away his Intelligent Brain and returned to the ship’s cabin.
All eyes were on him.
He crossed his arms and said in a low voice, "We wait."
Immediately, everyone began to wait in silence.
This group was disciplined and well-trained, following orders to the letter.
They were very similar to that group of Mecha-piloting Betas from Planet B36.
After another moment, the captain’s Intelligent Brain chimed with an incoming message.
He glanced at it, then said to the others, "Let’s go."
The Betas who had been standing guard outside the ship immediately came in.
Zoe Pierce glanced at the monitor. The wind on the surface had died down even more, and the hertz reading of the geomagnetic storm had also dropped significantly from its initial level.
The activated ship didn’t take off right away, but continued to monitor the outside.
Soon, Zoe Pierce knew what they were waiting for.
Seven or eight similar-looking spaceships rose up from underground. After seeing them take off, the ship that had been waiting now followed, leaving the tunnel.
"Everyone, get your Mechas ready." The captain walked straight over, grabbed Zoe Pierce by her clothes, and hauled her to his side.
"If anything unexpected happens, abandon the ship and escape in the Mechas."
He didn’t hold back, his grip on Zoe Pierce’s clothes vicious. If not for the excellent quality of her training uniform, Zoe felt it would have been ripped in half.
’Clearly, if something goes wrong and they have to abandon ship, this Beta plans to take me with him in a Mecha alone.’
Just from the current situation, Zoe Pierce knew they had prepared several backup plans.
’First, a dozen or so similar spaceships to act as decoys.’
’If every ship has as many people as this one, that’s over a hundred Mechas.’
’A hundred-to-one chance of finding the one with me, Zoe Pierce.’
’Or maybe not even that.’
’Just hidden away in some corner.’
’They also specifically chose this time. The more high-powered a Mecha is, the more it’s affected by a geomagnetic storm. In contrast, old Mechas like these are affected far less.’
’I have to admit, they’ve calculated almost everything perfectly.’
’You could call it meticulous.’
’Of course, it would be better if the person they were kidnapping wasn’t me.’
