More so than any majestic mountain range, the vast, deep expanse of space held a captivating power that made it difficult to look away.

An abyss-like black, broken only by the faint light of nearby planets.

Zoe Pierce had already been on the interstellar airship for a full day.

The teachers in charge of the escort had taken extreme measures, cutting off nearly all means of outside communication, which only added to the mystery of their journey.

If she weren’t sure that the person escorting them was Director Quinn, Zoe Pierce would have suspected some kind of conspiracy was afoot.

She walked from her room to the airship’s lounge.

Erin Xavier was sitting on a long sofa with a cherry in his mouth, looking utterly content.

"What exactly is going on?" From the moment she’d boarded the airship, she’d been completely in the dark. "Did Nathan Lockwood manage to find anything out?"

There were only three teachers on the entire airship. One was the teacher who had personally taken Zoe Pierce to her dorm last night, and the other two had stayed in the cockpit ever since boarding, never once coming out.

"Tell me, how can Director Quinn be so ballsy?" Erin Xavier swallowed the cherry. "Nathan asked the teachers, but they were reluctant to talk at first."

’Of course they were.’

"Teacher Archer said that too many people have designs on us, and the incident with the mechanical eye yesterday was reported to the higher-ups. So, he just arranged for us to be sent away."

Although it was just a brief explanation, Zoe Pierce could clearly sense the turbulent undercurrents.

Given Director Quinn’s position as both a dean at the military academy and a key official in The Military, it should have been impossible for him to be questioned and forced to compromise so easily.

And yet, Director Quinn had still made these arrangements...

Sending Zoe Pierce away alone would have been nothing special. The impressive part was bundling all four S-Class Alphas up and shipping them out together.

Never mind the fact that their names were already on record with The Military; just transferring them would require a mountain of paperwork.

What Erin Xavier found so gutsy about Jasper Quinn was that he dared to listen only to them, suppressing everything else to clear a path for them. That kind of attitude was something Erin couldn’t help but admire.

"We have no idea what the situation is like right now." Zoe Pierce sighed softly. The airship was intentionally running on a closed local network, making it impossible to contact anyone on The Capital Star. She had no idea just how bad things had gotten.

Erin Xavier sat up straight and glanced at her. "Didn’t I tell you not to look at that stuff yesterday?"

Zoe Pierce smiled at him. "I didn’t."

She really hadn’t had the time to read those bizarre comments. The moment she realized that kind of buzz was just a result of being on a livestream, she’d stopped paying attention.

She had, however, seen Damien Pierce’s message.

He said that because of her performance on the livestream, the Pierce Family’s jewelry and mineral energy businesses had seen a massive boost, nearly bringing them back from the brink of death.

Damien Pierce had told her to contact him when it was all over so he could take her out to relax and have some fun.

Zoe Pierce felt as disgusted as if she’d stepped in shit. The Pierce Family’s business doing well should have been a good thing, but hearing it from Damien Pierce’s mouth just made it nauseating.

She had deliberately not contacted Damien Pierce.

Then, because of Chase Shaw’s discovery, she’d been busy thinking about other things. She’d looked up the environment of Planet B36 and found it was a barren, fourth-class planet with nothing of note.

What could an energy merchant like Wesley White possibly be doing on such a backward planet?

She racked her brains but couldn’t come up with an answer.

’I suppose the only way to find out is to go see for myself.’

"Oh, good that you didn’t look..." Hearing that Zoe Pierce hadn’t seen the comments, Erin Xavier seemed to let out a sigh of relief. But he immediately became aware of his own strange reaction and pursed his lips.

’It was just that Zoe Pierce was such a handful, he couldn’t help but meddle.’

As they were talking, Chase Shaw walked out of the airship’s training room. Seeing Zoe Pierce, his eyes scanned her up and down.

After the joint exams ended, Zoe Pierce had taken off her training uniform and changed into her own clothes.

She hadn’t started training yet today. Her long hair was down, and she was wearing a simple base layer and form-fitting pants, giving her a softer, more graceful look than her previous training uniform.

Perhaps it was because she’d been eating better recently, but Zoe Pierce had undergone a dramatic transformation since they first met. Although she still looked small and thin, her complexion was much rosier, and even her lips had changed from a faint bluish hue to a healthy cherry pink.

Seeing him appear, Zoe Pierce subconsciously broke into a faint smile.

It was a very slight smile, but it made Chase Shaw’s steps falter. He paused for a few seconds before walking over. "Have you trained today?"

’He really is The Devil Incarnate.’

Zoe Pierce stood up with resignation, not knowing whether to laugh or cry. "I’ll go get changed."

Erin Xavier watched in amusement. You could say Zoe Pierce was unwilling, but she always knew what to do the moment the words were spoken.

But if you were to say she was willing, she sometimes needed to be prompted.

A few moments later, Zoe Pierce came out dressed in her training uniform.

Chase Shaw glanced at Erin Xavier, who was still casually eating fruit, then said to Zoe Pierce, "Let’s go."

With no space for outdoor drills, Zoe Pierce had to exercise on a treadmill.

Endurance was the simplest and yet the most difficult thing to train. There were no shortcuts; it was just a matter of running continuously and constantly increasing the distance.

After setting up the machine, Chase Shaw stood to the side, supervising Zoe Pierce’s run and occasionally reminding her about her breathing rhythm.

Once it seemed like Zoe Pierce had settled into a good rhythm, he found himself staring, a little lost in thought, at her face, flushed from the run.

Despite so many days of outdoor training, Zoe Pierce seemed completely unaffected. Her skin was still as white and lustrous as jade.

Her ponytail swung back and forth, brushing against the nape of her neck. Chase Shaw was suddenly reminded of the faint scent that had once lingered in his nose. His throat tightened. "Did you bring your suppression and barrier patches?"

They had left in such a hurry, only managing to pack the most essential items without much time to prepare.

Zoe Pierce, panting heavily, nodded as she ran. "I brought them."

The teachers had clearly looked out for her, stuffing several Space Buttons similar to the ones from the joint exams into her possession. They were fully stocked.

Chase Shaw grunted in acknowledgment. He stood by until Zoe Pierce finished her ten kilometers, then had her continue walking for another three.

Her breathing gradually slowed and calmed as she walked. Continuing on the treadmill, Zoe Pierce asked curiously, "Siren Star, have you ever been there?"

She only knew a few vague things about Siren Star and was still curious. After all, the idea of a military academy stationing itself on a Border Star like that was surprising in itself.

Chase Shaw said, "I have."

He paused for a few seconds. "But I didn’t stay long. I was there because of my family’s business."

Zoe Pierce remembered what Chase Shaw’s family did: they manufactured Mechas.

And Miles Sherman was in the Mechanical System.

A sudden curiosity struck her. "Where do you guys keep your Mechas?"

She only knew that Mechas were usually stored in a Space Button, but Space Buttons could be customized, so everyone’s was different.

Her gaze swept over his body. Chase Shaw pulled out a necklace from around his neck. The coiled, spiral pendant looked more like a piece of jewelry.