Erin Xavier turned his head just in time to see Miles Sherman striding quickly toward their front left.

He frowned and followed.

They were about halfway there when they saw Chase Shaw and Nathan Lockwood emerge from the woods not far away. Trailing behind them was someone whose Intelligent Brain was flashing red. A closer look revealed it was the very person who had just fled from them.

Erin Xavier immediately taunted, "Looks like your luck isn’t so great."

The guy couldn’t even escape properly. He and Miles Sherman hadn’t bothered to chase the rest of them, which had been a deliberate choice to give them a chance.

After all, eliminating Victor Vance was already the biggest possible blow to the First Military Academy.

But who would have thought someone would deliver themselves right into Nathan Lockwood’s hands? In comparison, it almost made Ethan Grant seem to have his merits.

At least Ethan Grant was lucky. He’d happened to run into Chase Shaw while facing a Xenobeast in a spiritual power frenzy, and this time, on the verge of elimination, he had run into Miles Sherman and him.

Luck was also a form of strength.

The man merely snorted coldly at them. Upon encountering Nathan Lockwood and Chase Shaw, his combat ability had been instantly stripped away by Chase. Before he even had a chance to use his spiritual power, he was pinned to the ground, forced to watch as they pressed the elimination button on his Intelligent Brain.

Once eliminated, he became surprisingly calm and simply followed behind Nathan Lockwood and the others, wanting to stay with people from his own academy.

Nathan Lockwood guessed as much from the man’s behavior, so he didn’t stop him.

Upon returning to their original spot and finding the eliminated Shawn Jarvis and Victor Vance, the student from the First Military Academy didn’t waste any words on them. He walked straight over to his schoolmates, not bothering to question why the other group was out in the pouring rain.

When Nathan Lockwood saw only Miles Sherman and Erin Xavier, he knew something was wrong. He extended his Perception with his spiritual power and immediately discovered Zoe Pierce, huddled and hiding in a corner to the side.

He moved faster than Miles Sherman, instantly grabbing Zoe Pierce’s hand and pulling her to her feet.

The leaves in the corner offered meager shelter at best. Most of the rain was blocked, but some of it still dripped onto Zoe Pierce.

Her hand was shockingly cold, her lips were tinged with blue from the chill, and her hair was plastered to her cheeks. She looked utterly miserable.

The moment she stood up, she couldn’t help but shiver. Then, she managed a weak smile. "You’re here."

The expressions of everyone present darkened. Even Erin Xavier, who had been his usual venom-tongued self moments before, now looked grim. Nathan Lockwood swept her up into his arms and, in a few quick bounds, carried her to the sheltered area of the supply point.

Even the Alphas from the First Military Academy were taken aback by Zoe Pierce’s miserable state.

She looked so pitiful. Her body was curled up, her complexion was almost as ghastly as Victor Vance’s had been, and she was still dripping water, looking like a drowned rat.

It was hard to imagine this was an Omega.

Nathan Lockwood said to her with forced patience, "Open your Space Button. Get a blanket and wrap yourself up."

He was actually furious, and though his tone wasn’t much different from usual, anyone could detect the forceful, almost commanding quality in his words.

With a roof over her head, Zoe Pierce obediently took out a blanket and began to dry herself off.

Sure enough, Miles Sherman found fire-starting tools and a few pieces of dry wood in the supply crate.

This rain had likely been forecasted long ago; it had been deliberately left undispersed to serve as a test for the students.

As they lit a fire in front of Zoe Pierce, she, for some reason, felt a little intimidated.

The entire supply point fell utterly silent, the only sound being the soft crackle of burning wood.

And her teammates, all four of them, were now watching her in silence.

The pressure was inexplicably immense.

She licked her cool lips and cautiously raised her head. "I’m fine..."

The moment she spoke, Miles Sherman said, "I’m sorry. This is my fault."

’I shouldn’t have left her there alone.’

Zoe Pierce immediately retorted in a low voice, "But I already said I’m part of the team! I hid really well. No one discovered me."

Only then did the students from the First Military Academy understand why Zoe Pierce, an Omega, was in such a miserable state.

It was true; not a single one of them had noticed Zoe Pierce.

Even the Alpha who had just walked over with Nathan Lockwood’s group hadn’t noticed her.

"Don’t you care about your own body?" Chase Shaw’s gray eyes landed on her still-shivering form. "Getting soaked for so long on such a cold day."

"Do you have any self-awareness that you’re an Omega?"

Zoe Pierce raised her hand like a small child. "I do."

She smiled at Chase Shaw. "You’ve all worked hard all day. Are your spirit seas feeling uncomfortable?"

Even Erin Xavier couldn’t stand to watch anymore. He clicked his tongue and roughly tightened the blanket around her. "Just quietly warm yourself by the fire. If you say another word, I’ll give you a piece of my mind."

Fine. Zoe Pierce obediently stayed put, soaking up the warmth of the fire to restore her body temperature.

’This bunch,’ she thought. ’They’re all so awkward. They’re obviously concerned about me, yet every one of them speaks as if they want to beat me up.’

’As if I’m the one who did something wrong.’

Zoe Pierce didn’t think getting caught in the rain was such a bad thing. There simply wasn’t a better spot nearby. If Miles Sherman had really left her in some so-called "safe" location, then all her efforts would have been meaningless.

Nathan Lockwood took Zoe Pierce’s Space Button, retrieved a packet of instant drink mix, and poured it into a small cup to heat it up.

Miles Sherman and Chase Shaw took everything out of the supply crate, putting whatever was useful to immediate use.

The instructor responsible for retrieving eliminated students hurried over. He gathered the handful of them and was about to leave when he saw Zoe Pierce’s pitiable state. He opened his mouth as if to speak, but in the end, said nothing.

The Alphas from the First Military Academy did the same, each of them looking at Zoe Pierce without saying a word.

Only Ethan Grant’s teammate was feeling rather awkward. His Federal Military Academy team had clearly won the engagement, but now, leaving with the squad of eliminated students, he seemed completely out of place.

The First Military Academy students were giving him the cold shoulder. He cursed silently in his heart, ’Tch, so childish.’

Once the group left, the supply point fell completely silent.

It seemed unlikely that anyone else would show up tonight.

With a moment of free time, Erin Xavier sat down beside Zoe Pierce and asked, seemingly casually, "Zoe Pierce, I’ve noticed you can endure a lot. Don’t you find it miserable?"

He knew from Miles Sherman that Zoe Pierce had been out in the rain almost all day, and had even spent nearly twenty minutes lying flat on the ground.

When Chase Shaw had grilled her, she had actually smiled.

She had smiled in a way that made it impossible for anyone else to say another harsh word, which was why he had been the one to speak up.

’She had absolutely no self-awareness about being an Omega.’

Zoe Pierce clutched the blanket tightly. The fire was so close that feeling was just beginning to return to her numb legs.

"It’s fine. Weren’t you all in the rain all day too?" It wasn’t as if she were the only one getting soaked. Everyone was, so what did she have to complain about?

Indeed, there was no sign of pretense on her face.

"I’ll just train more when I get back, so I won’t be this weak next time." Zoe Pierce then turned the tables on Erin Xavier. "I’m not made of glass. Why are you all so worked up?"

’Back when they were running together, wasn’t he the one who, after finishing his own run, would stroll beside her and constantly remind her how many laps she had left?’

’How many days has it been?’

’And he’s already changed?’