"Ah, yes." Zoe Pierce was momentarily taken aback by Nathan Lockwood's distant and indifferent demeanor, but she quickly recovered and answered.
Michelle Young seized the moment and gave her a push. "Zoe, you go on ahead with Nathan Lockwood. I can find my own team."
For some reason, Michelle Young felt a little timid just looking at Nathan Lockwood.
It was as if he only had to stare at her for a few more moments to know exactly what she was thinking.
Caught off guard, Zoe Pierce was shoved forward a few steps and nearly tripped. But the man in front of her made no move to help, instead watching coldly as she stumbled and regained her footing.
And yet, you couldn't exactly call him rude. He had given Michelle Young a polite nod before turning to her, his tone slightly chilly. "Let's go."
'Fine. He's not someone I can afford to mess with.'
Zoe Pierce grumbled to herself but obediently followed behind Nathan Lockwood.
'Credits, credits, it's all for the credits.'
'Zoe Pierce, you're finished if you don't get those credits.'
The moment she thought of this, Nathan Lockwood's attitude toward her no longer mattered.
"I'm the one escorting you to the starting point. Is there anyone you'd rather have with you?" The first stage of the joint exam was to rendezvous with teammates. Due to the special status of Omegas, an Alpha from each team was required to accompany them as a precaution.
When the team had discussed it, Erin Xavier had been eager to volunteer, looking as though she wanted to expose Zoe Pierce's "true colors."
Miles Sherman had rejected that option without a second thought, considering only himself and Nathan Lockwood. In the end, Nathan Lockwood had volunteered.
He had been busy and missed meeting Zoe Pierce last time, so this was the perfect opportunity.
Before meeting Zoe Pierce, he had already done some research on her past. A casual look turned up a history that even he found... colorful.
He glanced at the Omega, who appeared so innocent and docile, his eyes holding a flat, unreadable expression.
Hearing Nathan Lockwood's question, Zoe Pierce immediately replied, "I don't have a preference."
'She really didn't. She had already resolved not to seduce any of them. All she had to do now was be obedient and soothe their spiritual power when they grew irritable, and she could survive. Who cared which one of them escorted her?'
Nathan Lockwood remained noncommittal, simply leading her to the Omega dispatch area.
The area was already crowded with pre-assigned teams. Dozens of small armored vehicles were loading them up and driving away, one team at a time. In the blink of an eye, the square was empty.
Nathan Lockwood and Zoe Pierce were in the vehicle's compartment, completely alone.
The unfamiliarity between them made the air feel thin, the silence absolute.
Zoe Pierce was determined: if Nathan Lockwood didn't speak, she wouldn't say a word.
Since no one was talking, she took out the notes she had prepared and began to silently review them.
They were the key points she had spent the last month organizing.
"Zoe Pierce." Suddenly, Nathan Lockwood spoke.
Zoe Pierce looked up, her pretty, fair face turning to him with a blank expression. Over a month of a regular routine had undoubtedly chased away some of her former pallor. She had gained a bit of weight in her cheeks, making her look less gaunt, and her lips, no longer tinged with a dark purple, were now a healthy red.
"Yes?" she responded cautiously.
"Do you know why our team has gone through so many Omegas?" With that one question, Nathan Lockwood immediately seized on the very thing Zoe Pierce was most curious about.
The Federal Military Academy held a practical joint exam every year, though the focus of the competition varied. In previous semesters, the Omegas were basically just mascots; they weren't expected to venture deep into the mountains with the Alphas to hunt Xenobeasts like they were this time.
But every year, Miles Sherman's team was a constant, with a revolving door of Omegas—and every single one of them had caused trouble.
"Every one of them thought they were special," he said slowly. "They thought they could snag one of us."
Zoe Pierce's internal radar went wild.
She understood his subtext in an instant. Her body tensed as she wondered if Nathan Lockwood knew what Damien Pierce had ordered her to do.
"We warned them beforehand. Every single time." Nathan Lockwood's posture was refined and elegant, completely unaffected by the jolting of the armored vehicle. "But it's like they're incapable of listening."
"Doing the most ludicrous things." His long, narrow eyes, cold and indifferent, watched her with an expression that was almost, but not quite, a smile.
Zoe Pierce's hand, holding the small notebook, trembled. The man was casually exerting his spiritual power, and the pressure bearing down on her instantly intensified.
She pursed her lips and tentatively released her own spiritual power.
The pressure vanished in an instant. Her own spiritual power flowed through her, making her feel at ease.
Still, Zoe Pierce lowered her head and curled into herself, silently cursing him. But then she heard Nathan Lockwood ask, "Do you want to know what your brother has been doing behind your back?"
Zoe, who had been hiding in her shell just a moment ago, snapped her head up. A look of stunned disbelief crossed her face, her fingers tightening on her notebook until her knuckles turned white.
Clearly, this topic piqued her curiosity and captured her attention far more than the last.
"Cooperate with us during this joint exam, and I'll tell you."
From the moment he'd first seen her, Nathan Lockwood had been silently sizing her up.
Perhaps because of her memory loss, Zoe Pierce seemed exceptionally cautious. She appeared to be aware of his team's attitude and acted with a sort of docile deference toward him, as one would with a stranger.
It was a good attitude to have, but Nathan Lockwood wasn't one to take chances on a person's character.
Especially since, while investigating Zoe, he'd also learned about the Pierce Family's affairs. He had a feeling she would be far more interested in that.
Sure enough, with that single hook, he had her. The moment she looked up at him, Nathan Lockwood knew her previous docile act had been just that—an act.
'She knows her brother is hiding things from her!'
Nathan Lockwood's eyes narrowed.
"Deal." The moment Zoe Pierce agreed, she couldn't help but state a condition. "It's just... could you tell me a little bit ahead of time?"
The joint exam would last nearly a month. If she had to wait until the very end, Zoe Pierce felt she wouldn't have any advantage the next time she faced Damien Pierce.
"Three days," Nathan Lockwood said. "Every three days, I'll tell you something I've uncovered about what happened before you lost your memory."
Zoe Pierce was about to agree when a rapid BEEPING erupted inside the compartment. A red light on the ceiling flashed, and an instant later, the doors slid open.
A forest, dense with green shrubs, came into view.
"Let's go." Nathan Lockwood got up and walked out ahead. Zoe Pierce had no time to continue their conversation and hurried to follow him.
As soon as they were out, the armored vehicle's doors slid shut and it drove off on its own.
The coordinates for the first checkpoint had already been sent to their Intelligent Brains the moment they disembarked. Only after they reached it could the rest of their team begin to descend from the airship.
They should have immediately set off for the checkpoint, but neither Nathan Lockwood nor Zoe Pierce moved.