While they were speaking, Zoe Pierce and Chase Shaw were already walking over.

The livestream feed cut off abruptly after the group boarded the airship.

Leaving behind only streams upon streams of scrolling comments.

The airship quickly carried Zoe Pierce and the others back to the academy. The Federal Military Academy had its own landing pad, capable of launching not just small airships, but even Starships.

Before she even disembarked, Zoe Pierce could already see a sea of bobbing heads below through the transparent cabin window.

Dozens of people were standing on the field below the airship, surrounded by hovering mechanical eyes. With no trees or mountains for cover, they were conspicuously exposed.

From their attire, it was clear some of them were not from the academy.

The teachers then realized they hadn’t told Zoe Pierce and the others about the livestream. They had been so preoccupied with praising them that they had completely forgotten.

After they were brought up to speed, Zoe Pierce’s first reaction was one of relief. ’Good, nothing was exposed.’

She had been extremely careful when using her spiritual power, making sure it wouldn’t be detected.

"The people below are all pre-screened reporters. There will be a brief award ceremony, and the teachers will help shield you," Director Quinn said, glancing at the scene below. He frowned, even though he had anticipated this.

A teacher beside him started to say something, but fell silent with a soft sigh after meeting Director Quinn’s gaze.

The higher-ups had specifically instructed them to lavish praise on Zoe Pierce and the others and publicize their achievements, but Director Quinn disagreed.

Director Quinn believed that before the joint tournament with the Imperial Military Academy next March, Miles Sherman and the others shouldn’t make any more public appearances. He even felt the publicity surrounding Zoe Pierce had gone too far.

These external distractions could easily ruin the students.

"After the awards are presented, follow Mr. Troy," Director Quinn said, pointing to a quiet Alpha teacher standing nearby. "Especially you, Zoe Pierce. Stick close to your teacher. For the time being, don’t go home. The academy has arranged for a dorm for you, so don’t go home. I will contact your family."

The Alphas would be fine, but right now, the internet was flooded with information about Zoe Pierce.

And Zoe Pierce was an Omega, the most vulnerable. The Federal Military Academy had tightened security, barring outsiders from campus and restricting access to the single Omega dorm that had been arranged for her.

In other words, she would be safer here than at home.

Miles Sherman’s brow furrowed at this, and even Nathan Lockwood’s expression shifted slightly.

But no one doubted Director Quinn’s judgment. They were all scrolling through their Intelligent Brains, looking up news about Zoe Pierce.

The airship landed successfully, and the cabin door opened.

The teachers led the way with Zoe Pierce and the others following behind. The moment they stepped out, they were swarmed by mechanical eyes shoved in their faces.

"BANG—"

As a mechanical eye that was nearly in someone’s face was sent flying by Director Quinn’s fist, everyone present fell silent.

Jasper Quinn’s gaze was stern, his voice heavy. "I trust our friends in the media understand that the Federal Military Academy is the premier cradle for the Federation’s soldiers. I hope you will not overstep your bounds. Film courteously."

’Don’t bring your gutter press tactics to the Federal Military Academy.’

His unceremonious punch was clearly a sufficient deterrent.

Everyone there with filming credentials was a media person of status. In this interstellar era, with plenty of mechanical eyes to do the filming, journalists almost always worked behind the scenes. They had come to the Federal Military Academy for this rare news opportunity, never expecting Jasper Quinn to show no mercy whatsoever.

In terms of physical strength, there was no way the Alphas present could win against the well-trained academy teachers and students.

Order was restored almost instantly.

Zoe Pierce and the others went through the entire award ceremony in a blur. Medals were awarded, academic credits were assigned, photos were taken, and then they were allowed to leave.

Zoe Pierce was led by Mr. Troy, as instructed by Director Quinn, to a luxurious single room. She hadn’t been mistaken; she’d seen Director Quinn stop Miles Sherman and the others.

Only now did she have a moment to go online and find out what was happening.

Due to her amnesia, she had pared down her contacts list considerably. Now, it only contained Miles Sherman and the others, along with Michelle Young and Damien Pierce.

Which was a good thing right now; she wasn’t flooded with a mess of notifications.

However, an endless stream of friend requests was still pouring in. She frowned and changed her messaging settings to make her profile unsearchable.

「Elsewhere, a confrontation was taking place.」

"Director Quinn, are you saying even we aren’t allowed near Zoe Pierce?" Miles Sherman’s deep voice made his disapproval clear.

Jasper Quinn replied, "For the time being, none of you should be seeking the spotlight."

Zoe Pierce, being an Omega, would stir up controversy if seen with any of them. The priority now was to let the public’s attention die down.

Erin Xavier was clearly the most displeased. "Director, I understand what you’re saying, but Zoe Pierce is our squad’s Omega. It’s perfectly normal for us to interact with her."

’Why does he make it sound like we’re the ones with ulterior motives?’

’Like we’re approaching Zoe Pierce with malicious intent.’

Nathan Lockwood stepped forward, his tone respectful but firm. "Director, we signed an agreement with Zoe Pierce. Even without the tournament, our squad has its own arrangements."

He showed the agreement they had all signed to Director Quinn. The date on it was clearly from before Jasper Quinn had told them about the situation.

In other words, they had their eyes on Zoe Pierce from the very beginning.

These kinds of Soothing Agreements between Alphas and Omegas were very common and legally binding.

Before Director Quinn could respond, the teacher who had sighed earlier interrupted him. "Director, someone online has leaked that Zoe Pierce doesn’t have any pheromones."

Now, the online sentiment had taken a sharp turn.

Where before there had been a crowd of people obsessively harassing Zoe Pierce, now they were all expressing pity.

They were saying it was no wonder Zoe Pierce worked so hard; it was because she had no pheromones.

The internet was a double-edged sword. One moment it was lavishing someone with praise, and the next it was denigrating them, taking the moral high ground to mock them wantonly.

Erin Xavier was the first to start firing back at the toxic trolls.

In just a short time, the experience became more intense than a dive from a thousand meters up in a training Mecha.

Then another wave of people started praising Zoe Pierce, calling her an inspiration for the "physically disabled but strong-willed."

Erin Xavier couldn’t even be bothered to reply to these morons anymore. He sneered, "Every single one of them has something wrong in the head."

’What’s "disabled" about Zoe Pierce?!’

’She’s a normal Omega! A normal person!’

Erin Xavier felt a rush of hot blood to his head. He wanted nothing more than to drag those people spewing nonsense online out and give them a beating.

Thinking this, he pressed his lips together and sent a message to Zoe Pierce: "It’s all bullshit online. Don’t look."

He glanced irritably to the side and saw Chase Shaw, who seemed completely unaffected, busy sending some kind of document.

The recipient was Zoe Pierce.

"What’s that?" Erin Xavier asked.

Chase Shaw looked up. "Found something out about her family. Sending it to her."

There was a lead on Wesley White’s whereabouts.

He had last been seen on Planet B36. Chase had just looked up information on Planet B36: it was a Border Star of the Federation, a small planet in the vast cosmos that didn’t even have a proper name, only a designation.