Zoe Pierce had a sneaking suspicion that her pheromone levels might still be on the rise.

Hearing this, the teacher didn’t waste any time and began the examination.

The whole process was very quick. Zoe Pierce waited less than ten minutes before she saw the report.

"That’s right." Since he had also done Zoe’s last check-up, the teacher remembered her pheromone levels. "Zoe Pierce, your pheromone concentration has recovered to 20."

Last time, it was 8.

That was a huge increase.

"What was the trigger? What made you feel your pheromones increasing?" Although Zoe’s pheromones hadn’t reached a normal level yet, they were clearly on the mend.

"Just now, Chase Shaw said he thought he could smell my pheromones."

If Chase Shaw hadn’t mentioned it, Zoe honestly wouldn’t have noticed.

Zoe thought back for a moment. "I haven’t been undergoing any other treatments recently. Just my normal exercises, and... helping my teammates by soothing them with my spiritual power."

The most she’d done was use her spiritual power.

"Your other vitals look completely normal, and your pheromone concentration seems quite active right now. It looks like if you keep this up, you could very well recover and become a normal Omega."

"But for now, I still don’t recommend you use suppression patches. Until you’ve recovered to a normal level, I think you should stick with barrier patches."

"Just replace it promptly if it gets damaged." As he spoke, the teacher took out a handful of barrier patches from the medical kit and gave them to Zoe.

Zoe still had some unused ones in her room from the last time. "Teacher, I don’t need this many..."

"Just take them. Not many people use barrier patches, so it’s fine for you to have them all."

’Fine.’

"Teacher... what’s your name?" Zoe felt a little embarrassed, realizing she’d been seeing this teacher for so long without even knowing his name.

The infirmary teacher paused for a moment, then said, "My surname is Reid."

Zoe bowed to him. "Thank you, Teacher Reid. We’ll be going now."

"Wait a moment." Teacher Reid stood up and beckoned to Zoe. "Let’s change that barrier patch of yours before you go."

In a flash, he tore the damaged barrier patch off the back of Zoe’s neck and applied a new one in less than five seconds. "Alright, you can go back now. If anyone else in your squad can still smell your scent next time, replace the patch right away. If that still doesn’t work, come find me immediately, understand?"

Zoe never doubted the professionalism of the military academy’s instructors. "Okay, Teacher Reid."

Once she was sure the teacher had no further instructions, Zoe left the infirmary with Miles Sherman.

"Is Teacher Reid an Omega, too?" Zoe asked curiously as they walked.

She couldn’t tell at all just from his appearance.

In fact, aside from Alphas, who were very obvious, Zoe had never been able to distinguish between the other five genders.

Both male and female Alphas were exceptionally tall. From what she’d seen, she had yet to see a male Alpha shorter than 1.8 meters, and the females were all as tall and willowy as supermodels.

As for Betas and Omegas, there were no obvious physical differences between them.

"No." Miles said as he walked Zoe back to her dorm. "All the infirmary staff responsible for pheromones are Betas."

Only Betas are unaffected by pheromones.

Both Alphas and Omegas have pheromones. Only Betas, who have none, can be trusted in this role.

Even with today’s advanced technology, Alphas can occasionally be driven into a frenzy by the leaked pheromones of an Omega in heat.

When that happens, it’s usually up to fully-armed Alphas to restrain the ones who’ve lost control using spiritual power, and then a Beta is sent in to administer inhibitors to both parties.

"Extreme situations like that are rare now." With technological advancements, they’ve become almost unheard of. "But the tradition of having Beta staff has been passed down."

Zoe sort of understood. She grasped the concept in theory, but there was a big difference between imagination and reality, and she hadn’t quite processed it.

After parting ways with Zoe, Miles returned to his dorm.

"So, what did Uncle Xavier have to say?" Erin Xavier, nestled listlessly on his bed, turned his head at the sound. "I’m telling you, Miles, you’re just too obedient. You’re too hard on yourself."

Miles stripped off his training uniform, which had been soaked with sweat from his run and had since dried. His fingers brushed against a small, firm object in his pocket, and he pulled it out.

It was the snack bar Zoe had given him.

"Miles?" Erin’s voice broke his reverie, and Miles looked up instinctively.

"What is it?"

Erin stared at the snack bar in Miles’s hand, looking puzzled. "Since when do you eat that stuff? Where’d you get it? If you don’t want it, I can help you out."

Miles’s fingers tightened around it. "No, thanks."

He set the snack bar on his bedside table, now wearing a loose, school-issued T-shirt, and tore it open.

"So, what did Uncle Xavier want with you?" Erin sat up straight, crossing his legs and resting his hands on his knees, rocking back and forth.

The sweet scent of chocolate filled the air, a little too rich.

But Miles took a bite, chewed it slowly and deliberately, then said, "It was about the upcoming league tournament."

’It was just another lecture about how winning this tournament would benefit me.’

Erin narrowed his eyes and snorted. "Figured it was something like that."

"There’s more." Miles wasn’t eating quickly, but the snack bar was only about ten centimeters long, so it was gone in no time. "Your dad went to see mine."

The rich chocolate flavor filled his mouth, along with the crisp wafer in the center.

’It’s better than I expected. Not bad.’

"I know. The old man tried to contact me, but I didn’t answer." Erin seemed completely unconcerned. "So he went to your father, right? Because he knows I’ll listen to you."

His face filled with contempt. "That bastard, Sheldon Xavier, isn’t he just asking for a beating?"

As for his philandering father, Erin didn’t give him much thought either. "He knows I’ve grown up and he can’t control me anymore."

Miles picked up the water bottle beside him and took a long drink. A droplet of water slid down his Adam’s apple and disappeared beneath his collar.

"Weren’t you the one who said you couldn’t let Sheldon Xavier inherit everything? That you were going to play the part of a dutiful son for Uncle Xavier?"

’His plans changed almost daily.’

The smile vanished from Erin’s face. When the conversation touched on something he truly cared about, his usual playful demeanor disappeared completely.

"Because my mother’s money is part of it."

Erin sneered. "I’d rather take that money and throw it all at Zoe Pierce than give it to those two scumbags."

Miles, who was still holding his water bottle, paused. "What does Zoe Pierce have to do with this?"

"At least if I help Zoe, she’ll be grateful. If I leave the money there, what do I get? To listen to them yap like dogs?"

’Doesn’t the Pierce Family need money?’ Erin figured he could just throw the money at them as an "investment."

’He’d be happy even if he lost it all.’

’As long as he felt like it.’

Erin’s eyes narrowed. In an instant, he snatched up his Intelligent Brain and transferred a huge sum of money to Zoe Pierce.