Nathan Lockwood casually wiped his hands with a towel.

’If all else fails, we could just start dating all over again. She probably wouldn’t feel so guilty then.’

’One by one, in the original order, we’ll all date her again.’

’He didn’t want to watch the others being intimate with her when it was supposed to be his time.’

’When it was his time, she should be intimate only with him.’

’Four guys, twelve months... that’s three exclusive months for each of us.’

The sunlight was a little blinding. Nathan Lockwood glanced up and thought the arrangement was perfect.

He then looked at Zoe Pierce’s swinging ponytail. ’As long as there’s still a place for us in her heart, this plan has a ninety-five percent chance of success.’

’The only gamble now is her heart.’

’Is her heart as hard as a rock, or is it soft and still full of love for us?’

His leather boots crunched on the leaf-covered ground as Nathan Lockwood continued to forge ahead. The answer, it seemed, was simple.

’Without a doubt, it was the latter.’

’She was too soft-hearted. If she didn’t like them, she’d be as unmovable as a rock, not swayed in the slightest.’

’Why else would she bother playing these romantic games with them?’

Suddenly, he stopped, his expression turning serious as he raised a hand.

Zoe Pierce and the others following behind Nathan Lockwood immediately halted.

But strangely, Nathan Lockwood didn’t issue another command. Seeing this, Zoe Pierce discreetly sent out her spiritual power to investigate.

A moment later, she knew why Nathan Lockwood hadn’t given another order.

More than a hundred meters ahead, nearly two hundred, there was a Xenobeast.

The Xenobeast had clearly sensed something. It sniffed the air uneasily and bared its teeth, but it seemed to have no target.

In the end, as if spooked by some lingering sense of dread, it turned and fled.

But what stunned Zoe Pierce were the Xenobeast’s eyes.

They were blood-red, the eyes of a Xenobeast she felt she had seen somewhere before.

She hadn’t seen eyes like that in a long time. The last time was with Erin Xavier and Chase Shaw in that mysterious cave during the joint exam.

Eyes like that were completely different from the Xenobeasts on Planet B36. No Xenobeast there had eyes like these.

Nathan Lockwood’s voice broke her from her thoughts. "It’s gone. Let’s move."

Erin Xavier looked at him. "What happened, Nathan?"

"There was a Xenobeast, but it ran off," Nathan said. ’That thing was strange, too vigilant. Otherwise, I would have sent Erin after it.’

Erin Xavier shrugged, looking disappointed. "Ten points or twenty?"

"Ten."

Miles Sherman noticed Zoe Pierce looked a little pale. He walked over to her and asked in a low voice, "What’s wrong?"

Zoe Pierce looked up at Miles Sherman, hesitating.

Finally, she had Miles lean down and whispered a few words in his ear.

Miles Sherman’s brow twitched. "No," he said.

When he and Nathan Lockwood had captured that suspicious transport crew, they hadn’t seen the Xenobeast in the nutrient tank open its eyes.

But Zoe wouldn’t bring this up for no reason. He immediately realized the Xenobeast Nathan had just encountered was likely connected to the situation they’d faced during the joint exam.

The sight of the two of them whispering was hard to miss.

Chase Shaw also walked over. "Hm?"

Zoe Pierce hadn’t intended to hide this from them, but surrounded by cameras, it was difficult to speak plainly.

So, just as she had with Miles Sherman, she leaned close to Chase’s ear and whispered, "Red eyes."

The memory of those eyes was just as vivid for Chase Shaw, and he immediately understood the gravity of the situation.

Miles Sherman knew more than the others—for instance, that after the joint exam, the investigation into that laboratory had completely stalled. It was still an open case with zero leads.

Now, they had a lead. The problem was, blurting it out on a live broadcast to the entire Federation was not an option.

The friendship match had only just begun.

Everyone in Interstellar Space was watching.

And they still couldn’t confirm which faction was behind this Xenobeast research.

Nathan Lockwood and Erin Xavier had already leaned in to listen. When Zoe Pierce finished explaining, their expressions grew complicated.

Live Comments:

"What are they whispering about? Ugh, I wanna know so bad~"

"What could be so secret we’re not allowed to hear? Come on, what is it? Did something weird happen just now?"

"What’s wrong with the audio? Get a mic in there!"

The operator controlling the drone camera looked at his supervisor. "Sir, should I move in closer to pick up the audio?"

The supervisor had just nodded when Zoe Pierce’s group spotted the approaching drone camera and fell silent.

They were making it clear they didn’t want the drone to know what they were saying.

The five of them reached a consensus: they couldn’t reveal the problem outright.

Nathan was also certain there had been no drone cameras near the Xenobeast he’d detected, which meant he and Zoe Pierce were the only eyewitnesses.

And Zoe Pierce’s public image, much like Erin Xavier’s, was one of possessing uncanny judgment and intuition.

A description as precise as eye color was clearly outside the scope of such an ability.

’So, it’s up to me to say something,’ Nathan thought.

"Let’s go," Nathan Lockwood said.

This wasn’t the right time to talk. Their huddle had already looked suspicious enough.

Nathan Lockwood glanced at the surrounding drone cameras.

Relaying the information wouldn’t be difficult. After all, on the other side of those camera feeds were the instructors from the Federal Military Academy.

The very instructor who had handled the incident at the joint exam was one of them.

The five of them walked deep into the night before finding a sheltered, leeward spot to make camp.

Zoe Pierce wrapped herself in a special-issue blanket and watched Chase Shaw start a fire to heat up some cans. For a moment, she felt like she was transported back in time.

A small smile touched her lips, which immediately caught Chase Shaw’s attention. He said, "Feels just like the joint exam, doesn’t it?"

Surprised they were on the same wavelength, Zoe Pierce looked at the can. "That was during the day. This is at night. So it’s a little different."

Erin Xavier walked up from behind them, dropping an armful of firewood to the side. "We haven’t run into a single person or Xenobeast this time."

If it weren’t for the drone cameras, he’d almost suspect he was on a wilderness hike instead of in a friendship match.

"This is an uninhabited zone, after all," Miles Sherman said as he and Nathan Lockwood also sat down by the fire. "Besides, there are only two teams this time."

"So it’s normal that we haven’t run into anyone."

With the fire leaping in the center of their small circle, the scene looked entirely too relaxed.

Watching them on the livestream, viewers couldn’t help but comment on their leisurely pace.

"Gotta be honest, I flipped over to The Empire’s stream, and they’ve run into three or four at least. Our guys haven’t found anything."

"And the one they finally found just ran away."

"They already have over sixty points, and our team is still at zero."

"What’s the rush? Our team is making faster progress toward the objective. They just need to get the Token and come back."

"..."

Unaware they were the subject of debate, the five of them calmly ate the contents of the heated cans.

They were approaching a glacier, and the temperature difference between day and night was immense. Even their climate-controlled uniforms were starting to feel inadequate against the chill.

Nutrient solutions could provide all the necessary nourishment, but in this cold, the body instinctively craved hot food.