The livestream comments were getting more and more chaotic. Samuel King glanced at Zoe Pierce and the others, who were clearly just acting normally, and curiously asked someone nearby, "Am I getting old? This all looks perfectly normal to me."

"How are they seeing all these subtle gestures?"

With so many cameras surrounding them, Samuel King just couldn’t spot any of their supposed hidden, loving gazes.

Sure, they were being chivalrous, which was to be expected. After all, no matter how strong Zoe Pierce was, she was still an Omega. It was perfectly normal for Alphas to act like gentlemen around her. But for people to twist it into something more was baffling.

The person next to him chuckled. "It’s a group of handsome men and a beautiful woman—Alphas and an Omega, no less. Of course people can’t help but let their imaginations run wild."

Shipping them was inevitable.

After all, each of them was outstanding on their own, and none of them were in a relationship, so this sort of thing was bound to happen.

"It’s mainly because they’re being spurred on by The Empire’s team," the person added with a laugh. "There’s an Alpha and an Omega on their side who are actually a couple."

Samuel King raised an eyebrow. ’No wonder,’ he thought. He recalled the comments weren’t like this during the last friendly match.

So that’s why it was so over-the-top this time. There was an outside influence fueling the fire.

"Since this is what the audience wants to see, you guys should pay more attention to the camera positions. It’s time to get a few of those forced-perspective shots."

Samuel King glanced at the online ratings, which were already through the roof, leaving everyone else in the dust.

The goal now was to maintain that lead.

"What’s the situation with the main betting pool?" After a moment’s thought, Samuel King asked the person beside him.

"Nothing’s happened yet, so the odds are still basically even, about fifty-fifty. It’s the same for The Empire’s team." The situation was still unclear, and since neither side had encountered any Xenobeasts, the betting hadn’t changed.

Samuel King could pull strings on the entertainment side of things, but he had no say in the overall design of the friendly match itself.

The Military was directly involved, preventing amateurs from calling the shots.

Besides, the Xenobeasts themselves were unpredictable, so he had no idea when the teams might encounter them.

"Let’s leave it at that for now." After quickly browsing the trending posts online, Samuel King found he had no new ideas for the moment.

Meanwhile, the team, having already crossed the plains and now making their way around a mountain range, had no idea the official broadcast was subtly stoking the flames of romance for ratings.

It took them nearly five days, but Zoe Pierce and her team finally made it completely around the mountain range.

They were ahead of schedule, thanks to Nathan Lockwood using his spiritual power to clear a path and Chase Shaw manipulating Gravity to sweep away obstructions.

It was a heavy drain on both of their spiritual power.

When they stopped to rest, Zoe sat down next to Chase Shaw first.

He held out a large hand to her. His gray eyes lifted, taking the rare opportunity to gaze at her openly. "Thank you, Zoe."

Zoe placed her hand in his, and he immediately squeezed it tight.

"I have a headache."

He sat sprawled on the edge of a rock, head hanging low as if he were genuinely in pain.

Zoe’s spiritual power soothed his spirit sea, yet he showed no sign of letting go of her hand.

His palm was scorching hot, his grip firm.

’It shouldn’t hurt anymore...’

Zoe suddenly understood. She shot a guilty glance toward Erin Xavier.

’Chase Shaw is doing this on purpose.’

’How can he be such a good actor?’

’With his head hung low like that, no one would see his expression. And since he’d already said he had a headache, and everyone knew he got them from overusing his spiritual power...’

Zoe didn’t have the heart to push him away. He was Chase Shaw, after all.

But holding hands like this in front of everyone, with only the two of them in on the secret, felt thrillingly illicit.

But in the end, she didn’t pull away, letting him continue to hold her hand.

It was as if Chase was using this gesture to test her feelings.

When she didn’t pull away, his heart softened, and he was easily placated.

A moment later, his hand loosened. He looked up, his bangs partially obscuring his gray eyes. "I’m all better now. Thank you."

Her hand still felt warm, as if it had been baked by his body heat. Zoe replied in a low voice, "It was nothing."

When she walked over to Nathan Lockwood, she found him watching her with a cool gaze.

He looked as if he had seen right through Chase’s little act.

Before Zoe could even offer her hand, he took the initiative and grasped her wrist.

"Nathan Lockwood, why haven’t we seen a single Xenobeast?" The silence was getting awkward, so Zoe decided to voice her confusion.

’Whenever I get this close to them, it’s hard not to remember everything that’s happened before.’

’The kisses, the embraces, and all those chaotic, lust-filled images.’

’There’s no way I can forget it all so quickly.’

’Right now, two of my "ex-boyfriends" and my "current boyfriend" are all here.’

’The whole situation feels incredibly delicate.’

Nathan Lockwood’s gaze shifted from her to the distance. "I’m not sure. But our scouting hasn’t turned up anything."

The lack of Xenobeasts was completely abnormal.

It wasn’t that they were afraid of Xenobeasts, but something felt off, and it was unsettling.

He held Zoe’s hand, and once he felt the soothing effect conclude, he slowly let go. "When we enter the Glacier Zone, you should stay with Miles Sherman."

Without Xenobeasts or other unexpected delays, they would reach the Glacier Region even sooner than planned.

The temperature will plummet there, so Zoe will definitely need to stay inside a Mecha.

Nathan glanced at Erin Xavier. "Erin, is that all right with you?"

Erin Xavier mentally counted the days. His time as her "boyfriend" was almost up. He looked over at the composed Miles Sherman and pouted.

"Of course." ’As if I have a choice,’ he thought.

’But no matter how you look at it, time has gone by way too fast.’

’It’s only been a month.’

Erin didn’t feel like he’d spent much time with Zoe at all.

’If you really think about it, Chase was the only one who really lucked out, getting to spend a full, proper month with Zoe.’

’Don’t think I didn’t see it. Just now, Chase deliberately held her hand for a little longer.’

’We’ve all been soothed by her. We know how effective her soothing ability is. There’s no way it should have taken that long.’

’Then again, the things I did with Zoe... surely no one else has done that with her, right?’

Erin wasn’t so sure.

’So who does Zoe actually like?’

Having gotten Erin’s answer, Nathan Lockwood turned to Miles Sherman.

Miles understood Nathan’s meaning. He had wavered long ago, but he wouldn’t now.

He met Nathan’s gaze, his expression perfectly composed. "Fine."

Nathan was slightly surprised, but then a small smile touched his lips. He had expected Miles to fall back on his usual righteous persona.

’When did he change?’

’Was it seeing Zoe’s intimacy with the other two that pushed him over the edge?’

’Only Miles himself knew the answer to that.’

His gaze drifted back to Zoe. The young woman was talking with Erin, her back turned to them.

’When a straight-laced man snaps, he can be even more terrifying than someone who was mad to begin with.’

’Does she have any idea?’

’Probably not. After all, even the man himself doesn’t know how crazy he can become.’

’All it takes is one small crack in the facade for him to become someone completely unrecognizable, even to himself.’

’Every last one of them had long since become her devoted subject.’

Nathan used the back of his hand to wipe some grime from his cheek. Now, the question that remained for him was what would happen after this little dating game was over. How could they possibly continue?

’Getting her to accept all of them at once will probably be difficult.’

’She has amnesia, so why does she still have such a strong moral code?’