Chapter 278: Chapter 278: Five People Living Together
No wonder Zoe Pierce had suddenly aborted the mission.
Miles Sherman was the first to ruffle her hair. "You did the right thing."
"Always put your safety first."
Zoe Pierce let Miles Sherman ruffle her hair and snuggled deeper into the blankets. "They put a restraint device on me meant to block spiritual power, but it didn’t work on me."
"This information will probably be reported back, right?"
Zoe Pierce didn’t know just how much about her actions would get out.
After all, the Beta captain hadn’t committed suicide right away. He only did so after confirming there was no escape.
That meant the details of her anesthetic dosage, and the fact that the Spiritual Power Binding Ring was useless on her, would likely find their way to the organizer through some channel.
That was why she hadn’t discussed it with Miles Sherman and the others on the spaceship right away.
She didn’t want those Betas to know what she knew.
Chase Shaw looked at Zoe Pierce. "Don’t overthink it. This mission will probably be cut short."
’For something like this to be discovered during an assessment, of all times.’
Instructor Joyce had already told them that Colonel Hanson had taken full command of Planet E-987. A ground sweep was set to begin as soon as the geomagnetic storm and hurricane subsided.
E-987 had become an iron fortress.
Sure enough, after Zoe Pierce got some sleep, she and her team were immediately sent back to the Capital Star, while everyone else remained on Planet E-987.
Their return to the Capital Star was kept quiet. There were just a few discreet debriefings, and then they waited.
This incident was nearly as grave as the suicide attack on Harvestfall.
In some ways, it posed an even greater threat to The Military.
Ever since this extremist organization came to light, their activities had escalated. First, it was an abandoned military academy training base.
Then, a planet where a large population of Betas had congregated. And after that, a friendly match during an international tournament.
At first, it seemed like the group just had a strange choice of locations and a strong talent for manipulation—enough to persuade the entire leadership of a Frontier Star to ostracize other designations and keep only Betas.
But as events unfolded, the problem was proving to be far more massive.
This group was able to track the movements of Zoe Pierce and her team.
All the way until they left the Capital Star.
That meant the organization had moles in the administrative approval department. The last time Zoe Pierce’s team had requested a flight path, only the officials who processed the request should have known about it.
And it wasn’t just Zoe Pierce’s team that used the flight path approval system.
It was used by military academies and even high-ranking government officials, which meant their every move was potentially under the organization’s watch.
Then there was the suicide bombing incident.
Even if they were all decommissioned and obsolete vessels, the sheer number was staggering.
Someone had to have specifically collected and retrofitted them.
The manpower, materials, and funds required would have been substantial.
Clearly, this move meant they could afford to sustain such a loss. And if they did it once, they could do it again.
This time, they had targeted Zoe Pierce and her team. What if they targeted someone else next?
The instability was escalating.
And now, Zoe Pierce and her team had been abducted in the middle of a military assessment.
First, who had leaked the intel?
When had The Military become so porous that any piece of information could get in or out?
Then there were the transport ships, prepared who-knows-when.
They were practically dancing on The Military’s head.
The audacity of it all was off the charts.
No wonder The Military was dedicating so many resources to handling this.
As for Zoe Pierce, she had only been back in training for a few days, and now she was idle once more.
Miles Sherman and the others were with her, all staying in a safe house arranged by The Military.
Guards were posted outside—not for surveillance, but for their protection.
There were no cameras inside, but the house was wired with all sorts of devices. A single press of a button could summon a highly-trained Alpha squad in seconds.
All Zoe Pierce could do was lie low.
She didn’t mind, really. It was just another chance to rest.
But, the problem was...
She wasn’t in the house alone. Miles Sherman and the others were there, too.
And that made things rather agonizing.
’It went without saying that they couldn’t do anything intimate.’
But even so, between Chase Shaw unconsciously leaning closer and Aaron Xavier’s sparkling eyes every day, Zoe Pierce was starting to feel like she couldn’t take it anymore.
Aaron Xavier had somehow procured a paper calendar.
’Haven’t things like that been antiques for ages? How did he even find one?’
He made sure Zoe Pierce could see it. He had colored in every single remaining day with a fluorescent yellow highlighter.
Then, with great enthusiasm, he would tear off a page each day.
Every day, Zoe Pierce had to watch Aaron counting down the days.
It was absolutely killing her.
Meanwhile, Chase Shaw was clearly provoked by Aaron. With every page torn from the calendar, Zoe Pierce could see his expression grow visibly darker.
’This was torture.’
She wanted Nathan Lockwood or Miles Sherman to step in and take control.
But that guy, Nathan Lockwood, was a classic smiling tiger. He’d just look at her with a grin and say he was a little sad about it too.
As for Miles Sherman, he would occasionally scold Aaron Xavier.
But Aaron Xavier would argue that he hadn’t said a thing; he was just giving himself a little reminder.
What’s wrong with that?
He even made a point of asking Zoe Pierce what, exactly, he had done wrong.
He would just use those innocent, round eyes to look at them, his face a perfect picture of someone whose feelings had been deeply hurt.
Zoe Pierce was utterly defeated.
She felt like she was trapped in hell.
In just half a month, she felt like her hormones were going to drive her insane.
These Alphas were fine on their own, but they shouldn’t be allowed to gather together.
Having them all together was not good for her.
She really wasn’t the type of person who could juggle everyone and everything smoothly.
「That night」
Zoe Pierce went upstairs right after dinner. She had been doing that for the past few days—avoiding the men.
’She couldn’t stand it. Couldn’t stand the looks of unfulfilled desire, couldn’t stand all those loving gazes.’
’It always made her feel like some kind of heartless player.’
But tonight, she was forced to emerge. She had run out of water in her bedroom.
There were no service bots in the small villa the military had arranged for them; it was a wonder they weren’t getting daily inspections for tidiness.
As Zoe Pierce opened her bedroom door, she sensed that the lights were still on downstairs at the end of the hall.
Someone was still up.
Her spiritual power reached out before her eyes could, and she knew in an instant. Besides her, no one had gone to their rooms.
The four men were sitting at the table, each tinkering with some small components.
Nathan Lockwood seemed to sense her and looked up from what he was holding.
Zoe Pierce didn’t try to hide; she had already seen them anyway.
Shuffling in her slippers, she stepped out of the shadows.
One hand held the elbow of her other arm, which was carrying her water bottle.
"Need some water?" Miles Sherman, who was closest, took the empty bottle from her hand.
Aaron Xavier’s eyes danced with amusement. He set his things down on the table. "Why the long face, Zoe Pierce?"
Zoe Pierce shot him a look and walked over to the table.
