The office was as bright and spacious as ever, but this time, in addition to Instructor Joyce, an Alpha was sitting off to the side.

Zoe Pierce recognized the Alpha. He had worked under Colonel Hanson before, helping them with a few things. Now, he could be considered their superior.

"This mission is in the Saphira System." Instructor Joyce got straight to the point, immediately projecting a display from the Intelligent Brain for them to see.

Four or five small planets appeared on the projected display.

At first glance, Zoe Pierce thought the layout looked very similar to that of Siren Star and Planet B36.

One Mid-tier Planet, with three or four smaller ones.

Instructor Joyce stood before the projection. "Currently, Planets C14, C15, and C16 are all under attack by Xenobeasts. Most of the population has evacuated to the Mid-tier Planet, Aethel."

The areas on the display overrun by Xenobeasts turned red.

Zoe Pierce and the others stood with their hands clasped behind their backs, listening as Instructor Joyce continued.

The smaller planets were not in good shape. The massive invasion had left even the Mid-tier Planet, Aethel, short on personnel.

Both mercenaries and regular military forces had been deployed to the battlefield, and they were now only barely maintaining a stalemate.

Aethel Star had sent a request for reinforcements to The Military two days prior.

After deliberation, The Military decided to commit its forces.

"That’s the basic situation on these planets."

Zoe noticed that as Instructor Joyce finished speaking, the Alpha, who had been sitting silently to the side, stood up.

Instructor Joyce, in turn, stepped back and clasped their hands behind their back.

"Now, I will introduce a few key characteristics of the Saphira System."

As the Alpha finished speaking, the data on the projection changed.

The heading that appeared was enough to make them brace themselves.

Total Beta Population Percentage.

"As you can see, Aethel Star’s four Companion Stars are essentially Beta enclaves. For years, Betas have accounted for over ninety percent of the population on those planets."

"The Military sees this as a potential opening, which is why they’ve decided to send you."

"Your first objective is to carry out the primary military mission. The second is to investigate matters related to the Beta Terrorist Organization."

"Unlike Planet B36, Planets C14, C15, and C16 have experienced regular Xenobeast Tides in recent years. Their populations are small, with most inhabitants having already migrated to Aethel Star."

"The combined population of the three planets is roughly three billion..."

After listening to the familiar-looking Alpha’s briefing, Zoe Pierce finally understood why The Military suspected a connection.

First, there was the population demographic. Second, the planets were sparsely populated.

Three billion might sound like a lot at first. But when you consider that Earth has a population of six billion, and this figure was spread across three separate planets, you realize just how sparse it truly was.

That’s an average of only one billion people per planet. Even for a small planet, the population density was still very low once you accounted for the distribution.

’Furthermore, the three planets have varied topographies and environments. Considering the Terrorist Organization’s previous choices of location, it’s plausible they might use these places to conduct some of their research.’

’And my team and I could serve as the bait.’

’The Military wouldn’t just leave the five of us to handle planetary rescue—much less Xenobeast extermination—on our own. Others would have to be deployed with us.’

’These reinforcements would serve as protection for my team, but they’d also be part of the investigation.’

This information was hardly a secret; it had been disseminated, albeit covertly.

The gamble hinged on how much of a lure Zoe was to them.

If The Military’s forces were split across three planets, they wouldn’t have the capacity to enforce a complete lockdown.

This also left an escape route for the Terrorist Organization.

It was, in essence, an open conspiracy.

The Beta Organization would be able to track Zoe’s movements and understand the risks and rewards of the situation. If they took the gamble, it was genuinely possible they could capture her.

The odds were much better than on Planet E-987, at least.

Moreover, if they managed to move her between planets, capturing them would be even more difficult for The Military.

With all the facts on the table, the decision to act or not became a calculated risk for both sides.

The crux of the matter, naturally, was Zoe Pierce herself.

Zoe understood this as well.

’The Military can’t just let us sit on the sidelines forever. The squad would lose its purpose.’

’Even though the Alpha had only covered the basics, I know things won’t be that simple. The Military likely has other deployments planned.’

Outwardly, however, neither Instructor Joyce nor the Alpha said anything more.

It was a military order.

And so, naturally, they had to obey.

*

Late at night, the villa was ablaze with light.

The guards on duty at the entrance saw Justin Lewis step out of a Hovercar and walk inside, their expressions remaining unchanged.

The guards at Quentin Ford’s door were originally just armed Betas, but now there were a few Alphas among them as well.

Justin Lewis walked all the way to Quentin Ford’s office but found it empty.

Frowning, he headed to the tea room.

And sure enough, he found the person he was looking for there.

In the tea room, a middle-aged Beta sat at a mahogany tea table. He wore a black, traditional long jacket, its sleeves rolled up twice to expose his forearms.

He was methodically pouring hot water into a purple clay teapot.

"Justin, you’ve arrived," Quentin Ford said with a gentle smile. "Have a seat."

Justin Lewis did as he was told, sitting across from Quentin Ford. "Sir, if you drink tea this late," he said in a low voice, "you won’t be able to sleep again."

He had regained his ability to speak some time ago, but he never spoke in public—only in front of Quentin Ford.

Everyone knew his voice had long since healed, but Justin Lewis remained silent in public.

His demeanor was simply far more subdued now compared to his previously, deliberately obstinate silence.

It was certainly more convenient for Quentin Ford if he spoke, so this was the only place Justin Lewis would say more than a few words all day.

But his first words were of concern for Quentin Ford.

Strong tea was never conducive to sleep, especially for someone as sensitive to it as Quentin Ford.

Drinking strong tea this late at night would likely keep him awake until the early hours.

"It would be terribly dull if even this small part of my private life had to follow a schedule, don’t you think?" Quentin Ford said dismissively.

Justin Lewis sighed.

He took out a small device and turned it on.

Soon, the two of them entered a holographic conference room.

It was a private conference room, guaranteed to be secure from official interception for up to five minutes.

Activating a Spiritual Power Shielding Device directly would be too conspicuous.

Only a virtual conference room from the Intelligent Brain could allow for such a quick, brief exchange.

Wasting no time, Justin Lewis immediately relayed the information he had obtained from The Military to Quentin Ford.

The middle-aged man, who had been brewing tea, unrolled his sleeves.

"Sir, The Military is clearly setting a trap. The question is, do you think we should take the bait?"

After briefly outlining the new mission for Zoe Pierce’s team, Justin Lewis’s brow furrowed.

"We had some assets on these planets before, but they were subsequently abandoned. There’s nothing there to be found, even if they’re discovered. However, if we were to use them now, some of the special facilities are still operational."

After a pause, Justin Lewis’s voice grew anxious. "But most importantly, these planets... they’re a little too close to Professor Jarvis’s location."