Chase Shaw had fewer reservations than Miles Sherman and walked straight over.

He leaped up to where the two of them were sitting and asked Zoe Pierce, "What’s wrong?"

Zoe Pierce looked at him blankly, not understanding why Chase Shaw had suddenly come over. She explained, "Nothing, I just fell by accident. I’ll come over after I finish soothing Nathan Lockwood’s spiritual power."

’The three of them probably need it too.’

Seeing that she was indeed fine, Chase Shaw pressed his lips together and walked back.

Her fingers were squeezed a little tighter. Nathan Lockwood asked, seemingly casually, "Since when did you and Chase Shaw get so close?"

Their bond was growing more and more obvious, leaving him on the outside.

He was clearly the first one to know her secret, yet now he felt he couldn’t compare to Chase Shaw, or even Miles Sherman.

The only one he could measure up against was Erin Xavier.

But Erin Xavier was different from Miles Sherman and Chase Shaw; comparing himself to her was meaningless.

Zoe Pierce hadn’t really thought about it until Nathan Lockwood mentioned it.

’Come to think of it, Chase Shaw really is the one I’m closest to right now.’

From the unusual way he’d first appeared before her to discovering that Xenobeast Field with him and Erin Xavier, they had unconsciously grown much closer.

Plus, he had genuinely helped a lot with her family’s situation, so they talked more.

And then there were the mechas. He was the first one to suggest she get involved with them.

’Unknowingly, he’s done so much.’

After a moment of stunned realization, Zoe Pierce said as much out loud.

Nathan Lockwood listened calmly. Hearing it all laid out, Chase Shaw had indeed been through a lot with her.

’But... so have I...’

Zoe Pierce’s spiritual power was probing Nathan Lockwood’s spirit sea. Their eyes suddenly met, and they both frowned. "Someone’s coming."

The words quickly reached Miles Sherman and the others. The group, who had been relaxing, had their expressions shift slightly as they looked in the direction Nathan Lockwood and Zoe Pierce were facing.

Before the people in the woods even appeared, a voice drifted out. "Are you a pig-brain? How could you lose the Space Button? I’m going crazy! It’s all grass here. We’re all going to starve."

"You should still have some food in your Space Button, right?" another voice asked uncertainly.

The male voice, growing more familiar and closer, replied, "Weren’t you supposed to bring the food? Of course I didn’t bring any!"

As they spoke, they seemed to sense something, and their voices suddenly trailed off.

A few seconds later, the people emerged from the woods. 𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎

Both groups were stunned when they saw each other.

The owner of the familiar male voice was the young man from the shuttle who had urged Zoe Pierce to go back. Having just finished his rant, his hair was clearly a mess from him running his hands through it, and his frustration was palpable.

Behind him were several companions. Upon seeing Miles Sherman and the others, they hesitated, unsure whether to approach.

Some Alphas were extremely territorial. If a place was already occupied, they wouldn’t let anyone else stay.

Only the young man looked at them as if he’d found his saviors. "Hey buddies, do a guy a favor. Spare some food so we can make do?"

In response to his teammate’s forwardness, the man who was clearly the team leader couldn’t help but facepalm. He explained to Miles Sherman’s group, "Sorry to bother you. We ran into a bit of an accident."

Erin Xavier had a good impression of the young man and spoke up before the captain could. "Sure. What do you want? Canned food or nutrient solution?"

The young man’s face fell at the two options. These were, after all, the typical choices for Alphas. Not everyone was like him, who wouldn’t forget to bring a roast chicken even when out hunting Xenobeasts.

He said dejectedly, "Anything’s fine."

’Better than nothing.’

His expression was so obvious that the person next to him had no choice but to explain again on his behalf. "Sorry, he’s just a bit of a foodie. You offering us some food is a huge help."

Hearing this, Zoe Pierce took out some food specially made for Omegas from her Space Button.

’It should taste a lot better than regular canned food.’

Once she felt Nathan Lockwood’s spirit sea was mostly soothed, she let go of his hand, walked over to the young man, and handed him the food. "Then try this."

Caught off guard by an Omega approaching to offer him food, the man instinctively glanced down at the item in his hand.

The words "Specially Made" stood out prominently on the packaging.

He looked at the food in his hand, then back at Zoe Pierce, who had already returned to Miles Sherman’s group.

’Emm...’

’I’ve never actually had this before.’

After a long moment, he squeezed out a question: "Is it good?"

Zoe Pierce tilted her head and looked at him. "I think it’s alright."

In the wild, even Alphas were supposed to be wary of each other, as there were plenty of people who would resort to dirty tricks.

But now, the ice between the two groups had been broken because of Zoe Pierce.

The young man had spoken up on the shuttle. And while he was being a bit of a busybody, his intentions were good. For that reason alone, Miles Sherman and the others treated him kindly.

So, they had the group stay to eat and chat.

With this interruption, Zoe Pierce didn’t get a chance to soothe the spirit seas of Chase Shaw and the others.

But they seemed to be fine for now, nowhere near the point where they desperately needed soothing.

"My name is Julian Chambers. I’m from Planet B36, but I live on Siren Star now," the young man said, introducing himself as they sat around the fire.

The group, who hadn’t intended to make much small talk with the newcomers, instantly looked up.

The sudden attention was so jarring that Julian Chambers asked, bewildered, "Why are you all looking at me like that?"

’How can it be such a coincidence?’

Even Zoe Pierce couldn’t help but shoot a few extra glances at Julian Chambers.

Miles Sherman glanced at him and said, "Because Planet B36 is famously a Beta planet. We’re just a little surprised to see an Alpha from there."

Hearing that was the reason, Julian Chambers let out an "Oh." He said, "That’s true. Planet B36 isn’t very friendly to Alphas these days."

"But the environment is nice. It’s been well-developed in recent years, so it’s great for a vacation." Julian Chambers smiled. "You’re all welcome to visit my hometown."

He was just speaking casually. When he was looking over that "Specially Made for Omegas" can earlier, he had also seen the word "Military."

He instantly had a new guess about the group’s identities and decided to be more forthcoming.

Miles Sherman and his group clearly looked wealthy, so he gave his hometown a quick plug. Besides, it was all public knowledge anyway.

Nathan Lockwood looked up, his face illuminated by the fire. "We were actually thinking about that. The advertisements for it look good. But didn’t you just say it’s not friendly to Alphas?"

Julian Chambers just thought they were making small talk. After all, who would have guessed this topic was about fishing for information?

"That’s for Alphas who live there. You’d be tourists, so of course they wouldn’t treat you badly. I took my squad back there before." He looked at his teammates. "What did you guys think?"

The teammate who had prodded Julian Chambers awake earlier also nodded. "It was pretty good. The main thing is you can completely relax. The scenery is better than Siren Star, too. Siren Star is safe, sure, but it’s just so barren."

Stay there too long, and you start to feel gloomy.

But there was no helping it. Siren Star had been built from ruins, and sometimes, the sense of security provided by a stable magnetic field was irreplaceable.