This question seemed to hit another barrier in Zoe Pierce’s common knowledge, failing to produce an answer like her previous search had.

Instead, a bunch of random ad recommendations appeared.

’I can’t believe there are still these annoying ads, even in Interstellar Space.’

Zoe Pierce stared at the Intelligent Brain for a long while. A cool breeze blew past, snapping her back to her senses.

The wide training grounds surrounded her. She had been standing there alone for nearly twenty minutes.

Taking a deep breath, Zoe Pierce headed for her dorm. The diagnosis said treatment was needed as soon as possible. After all, now that the lesion had been identified, it naturally had to be treated quickly.

’But how am I supposed to do that "as soon as possible"?’

She felt as if she’d suddenly been saddled with a heavy burden, leaving her completely torn.

Back in her dorm, Zoe Pierce decided to anonymously post about her problem on a forum for Alphas and Omegas.

After posting, she tossed the Intelligent Brain onto her bed, shed her training uniform, and went to take a shower.

’Running away might be shameful, but it’s damn useful.’

Zoe Pierce stalled for as long as she could, but eventually, the shower had to end.

She changed into a nightgown she’d recently bought on Siren Star. It was a light-colored satin slip dress that ended just above her knees. She flopped onto her stomach on the bed, her long, fair legs kicking up and tangling together restlessly, a perfect reflection of her anxious, tangled heart.

Her question about Alphas and Omegas received a flurry of replies almost immediately after she posted it.

[Emm... so the OP wants to get a temporary mark but doesn’t want anyone to find out? Barrier patches will work for that, but you’ll probably need the military-grade kind. The regular ones are likely too weak, or they might not work at all.]

[But even a temporary mark affects an Omega, right? Anyone asking this has obviously never been marked. Imagine how heartbroken an Alpha would be to find out.]

[The poster above me has a point. If my girlfriend went out of her way to use a barrier patch to block the scent of her pheromones, I’d be really hurt. I’d advise the OP to think about the Alpha’s feelings.]

Zoe Pierce sat up as soon as she saw the first reply. She skimmed the rest of the comments but paid them no mind.

Some other people chimed in with completely irrelevant comments, so Zoe focused on the first commenter, who had added another reply listing a few brands.

[The Mingke-X, Rui-X, and Mian-X Blue brands should all be good. Some dedicated bloggers have run tests on them. The problem for you, OP, is that these military-grade barrier patches aren’t generally sold to the public. Do you have a way to get them?]

[I can act as a proxy buyer for you, just...]

Zoe Pierce ignored the comments that looked highly suspect and memorized the three brand names.

She first opened her Space Button to look at the large pile of barrier patches Teacher Reid had given her. Unfortunately, none of them were from the brands mentioned.

Next, she opened the base’s shop directory and scrolled directly to the barrier patch section.

When she saw that the shop carried the Mingke-X brand of barrier patches, Zoe Pierce relaxed completely.

’Okay, okay... that’s fifty percent of the problem solved.’ She was thankful to be on a military base, where nearly everything was military-grade.

The other fifty percent of the problem was who she should ask.

Right after getting the diagnosis, Zoe Pierce had used the process of elimination to rule out Erin Xavier and Nathan Lockwood. Now she had to choose between Chase Shaw and Miles Sherman...

She only spent a few short minutes mulling it over.

’Actually, there isn’t much to hesitate about.’

’If I have to choose, it has to be someone who seems reliable and won’t misunderstand me.’

Zoe Pierce felt that no one was more suitable than Miles Sherman.

He was the captain, and she was a member of his team.

He knew her glands were recovering from their last trip to the medical bay. Communicating with him shouldn’t be too difficult. As long as she explained herself clearly, he definitely wouldn’t get the wrong idea.

He would surely understand her choice. If that didn’t work—if he wasn’t willing—she could always fall back on asking Chase Shaw.

Having made her decision, Zoe Pierce rolled around on her bed a few times.

She hadn’t cut her hair in all the days since she’d woken up. Now, it fanned out around her like seaweed, making her skin appear as pale as the moon in the dark night, a stark contrast.

She twirled the ends of her hair as she placed an order on her Intelligent Brain. A few moments later, a service robot knocked on her door.

Zoe Pierce scrambled off the bed and opened the door.

"Your package, please accept delivery." The robot was no taller than her knee. It opened its torso compartment toward Zoe Pierce, revealing two boxes of barrier patches inside.

Zoe Pierce crouched down, took the package, and confirmed the delivery. The small robot’s light turned green, and it quickly zipped back downstairs.

Now that the items had arrived...

...there were no more excuses for procrastination.

Zoe Pierce pulled up her message thread with Miles Sherman on her Intelligent Brain. "Miles, are you free to meet up? There’s something I might need to trouble you with." 𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎

「Meanwhile, in the Alpha dorms.」

After finishing the joint examination and arriving at the base, the Alphas no longer had to share rooms as they had before; each person had their own.

When Zoe Pierce’s message came through, Miles Sherman was reviewing some information about B36.

He paused when he saw her message, then replied, "Sure. Where should we meet?"

Normally, unless it was absolutely necessary, Zoe Pierce hardly ever contacted any of them in the evening. Miles Sherman knew this wasn’t special treatment for him; she was like that with everyone.

She wouldn’t have said something like that unless it was important.

But she’d seemed perfectly fine when he saw her outside that afternoon.

Miles Sherman got up and changed his clothes. He saw that Zoe Pierce had sent the location: the base’s specially made artificial garden.

Siren Star was a bleak and gloomy place, but human life needed a touch of green. So, a small artificial garden had been built for Alphas to decompress after returning from missions. It was conveniently located right next to one of Siren Star’s main streets.

Miles Sherman didn’t overthink it. Seeing that Zoe had set the meeting for twenty minutes from now, he finished getting dressed and opened his door.

He had just stepped out of the dormitory when he ran into Chase Shaw and Erin Xavier in the hallway.

"Miles, heading out this late?" Erin Xavier asked, glancing at the sky. "Did one of the base instructors send for you?" The moon on Siren Star looked exceptionally large, casting more than enough light onto the ground below.

With his hands in his pockets, Chase Shaw looked at him as well.

Miles Sherman subconsciously concealed the fact that Zoe Pierce was the one who had contacted him. "I have something to take care of," he said simply.

He wasn’t a good liar, but telling a half-truth wasn’t too difficult for him.

No one would ever doubt Miles Sherman, and Erin Xavier and Chase Shaw were no exception. They didn’t give it a second thought and simply asked, "Are you heading to the food street later, then?"

Miles Sherman paused. His gaze fell upon Erin Xavier, his deep, steady expression unchanging as he slowly nodded. "Yeah, I’ll be passing by it."

"Then bring some food back with you. The specialty barbecue on Siren Star is great," Erin Xavier said. "Right, Chase?"

Chase Shaw shot him an exasperated look. "You ate nearly all of it yourself last time."

"But it’s just that good! It just popped into my head. Miles, buy a lot, and the four of us can eat together. I’ll go get Nathan in a bit." It was their usual routine: a get-together after arriving on a new planet.