Such incompetence. Only good for making a mess.

Quentin Ford’s expression remained neutral, but a grim chill settled in his heart.

He had warned them time and time again not to slip up, yet they still made a mistake, allowing someone to notice something was amiss.

On the projection, Zoe Pierce and her team were still chatting idly. Quentin Ford’s dark, unreadable gaze remained fixed on them for a long time.

’How many times has it been?’

’The third time.’

’Every time something went wrong, it was because of them.’

He rarely admired anyone, but Zoe Pierce was an exception. And yet, like a thorn in his side, they blocked his path time and time again.

His clenched fist suddenly relaxed. Quentin Ford rubbed his knuckles.

’The five of them are too much in the spotlight now. Every move they make is scrutinized, making it difficult to act.’

’I’ll wait. An opportunity will come eventually.’

The Major General finally brought the noisy rest area to order. The Military personnel immediately contacted the research department.

But that was the problem. Based solely on the words of Nathan Lockwood and his team, they couldn’t confirm the Xenobeast’s exact color.

They couldn’t be sure if it was truly blood-red.

The only thing they could confirm was that Xenobeasts with blood-red eyes were a result of experimentation.

"We can’t just stop the competition now," someone from the diplomatic corps added.

"The competition is almost halfway over. We can’t have a scandal breaking out now, especially one that’s the Federation’s fault. It’s out of the question."

But the Major General was thinking further ahead. "An organization this premeditated, casting its net in so many different places... they must have a grander scheme."

"We have too few leads right now, but we must still take precautions."

"We need to ensure no more of these altered Xenobeasts show up, and we have to inform the Empire."

The man from the diplomatic corps frowned. "Are you insane?"

Instead of trying to hide this, you want to tell them?

The Major General replied, "We’ll give them a few carefully chosen details. We need to send our own people to screen the Xenobeasts. If we don’t give them a reason, they’ll never cooperate."

"Tell Samuel King to deploy more surveillance cameras, and that footage is not to be live-streamed."

"The personnel who conducted the site survey are to be suspended and investigated, effective immediately."

...

When their rest was over, they set out again.

The night deepened and the air grew heavy with dew. As the temperature plummeted, even Chase Shaw and the others felt a fine layer of ice forming on their exposed cheeks.

The mist clinging to their hair had already frozen solid.

The temperature had dropped below freezing.

The surroundings were so quiet that not even an insect chirped. The only sounds were their own breathing and footsteps.

"Zoe, want me to carry you?" Chase Shaw, who was walking ahead of Zoe Pierce, glanced back at her face and asked in a low voice.

Zoe Pierce looked up in surprise. "No, thank you. I’m fine."

She hadn’t even taken off the Gravity bands on her wrists.

The temperature was low, but they had been moving nonstop. With their bodies constantly in motion, they didn’t really feel the cold.

Sometimes, Erin Xavier thought, ’Zoe Pierce can be a little dense.’

’Chase’s intentions were so obvious. He just wanted her to rely on him a little, but she was completely oblivious.’

’If she just said she was tired, any of them would be her knight in shining armor without a second thought.’

’But then again, that was just so Zoe Pierce.’

’She never wanted to be a bother to anyone. If she had, they probably would have disliked her when they first met.’

’Maybe we’re all just a little messed up,’ Erin Xavier couldn’t help but think.

’We were attracted to her independence, but now we resent her for never wanting to rely on us for anything.’

’Tsk.’

However, once they finally crossed the mountain range that had been shielding them from the worst of the cold, everyone unanimously decided that Zoe Pierce needed to put on another layer.

"No, I don’t need it. I’m wearing enough already, I’m really not cold."

Zoe Pierce thought Miles Sherman and the others had lost their minds. She was already wearing a thermal suit over her school training uniform, but they still weren’t satisfied and insisted on bundling her into another layer.

She felt like a puffy ball.

"We’re still at least a day away from the Glacier Zone, Zoe Pierce. Just listen to us."

They put a hat and gloves on her, bundling her up until only her eyes were visible.

Zoe Pierce looked at the others, who were all dressed much more lightly than she was, and was rendered speechless.

"Why are you all wearing so little?" she couldn’t help but ask.

Erin Xavier tugged at his own clothes. "It’s not a little. I’m actually pretty hot."

As he spoke, he grabbed Zoe Pierce’s hand and pulled it to his chest.

’This is being live-streamed!’

Zoe Pierce shot back two steps, her hand, which had just brushed against his abs, frozen in midair.

"OMG, Erin is so bold! What did Zoe touch? Was that his abs??"

"You little punk!!! Taking advantage of her like that!"

"Sob, sob, Erin, I want to touch them too..."

The once-normal live chat exploded because of Erin Xavier’s one move.

One of them was so casual, the other so completely stiff.

Zoe Pierce’s expression was one of clear disbelief at Erin Xavier’s audacity.

Erin Xavier burst out laughing. "Why the long face? I was just letting you feel how warm I am."

’It was fun to tease her like this.’

’This guy has the worst personality.’

Zoe Pierce rolled her eyes. Erin Xavier sidled up to her. "Mad at me? Come on, it wasn’t that serious."

’All things considered, today was their last day together like this. If he didn’t do *something*, Erin Xavier knew he’d regret it.’

"Erin Xavier!" Zoe Pierce shot him an accusatory glare. "Stop messing around."

Erin Xavier held up his hands in surrender. "Alright, alright. I’ll stop, I’ll stop."

’He was only acting this way because he knew that once they reached the Glacier Zone, he wouldn’t be able to see Zoe Pierce at all.’

’The cameras couldn’t get inside the Mechas. They could only film from the outside. At most, they could patch into the comms link and hear them talking.’

’But that could be turned off.’

’In other words, their environment would become a completely sealed-off space.’ 𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢

’A sealed space shared by Zoe Pierce and Miles Sherman.’

’And no one knew better than Erin Xavier what could happen inside a Mecha.’

’Kissing, touching...’

’Even more was possible.’

’Oh, and the Mecha could be set to autopilot. Meaning, they would have every opportunity to... do things.’

’Miles Sherman probably wouldn’t do anything, but... if something intimate *did* happen, right under everyone’s noses, no one would ever know.’

’That was the part that really got to him.’

’He’d been so well-behaved on camera that he was practically wasting away.’

’He hadn’t used his spiritual power, hadn’t even had a chance to hold her hand.’

"Zoe, come here." While Erin Xavier was still teasing Zoe Pierce, he suddenly heard Miles Sherman’s voice.

He looked up to see Miles Sherman looking at Zoe Pierce. "Walk in front of me."

He suddenly narrowed his eyes, sensing a subtle undercurrent.

’It was just like that time he’d stood outside Zoe Pierce’s front door, waiting for her and Chase Shaw to be done.’

Zoe Pierce, completely oblivious, moved to stand in front of the other man. Miles Sherman now stood directly between her and Erin Xavier.

’The back in front of him looked the same as always, but now it seemed to carry a selfish motive.’

"Miles, you did that on purpose, didn’t you? To separate us?" he asked, feigning casualness.

Miles Sherman’s expression was neutral. "Yes. Stop fooling around."

He said it as if he were merely a good captain making a sensible judgment call for the sake of his team.

But Erin Xavier just smiled. "Miles, I thought I was your favorite. Are you playing favorites with Zoe Pierce now?"