Chapter 36: Her Indenture Contract

Zoe Pierce, however, couldn’t spare a thought for the question in his eyes. Instead, she looked at Nathan Lockwood as if he were her savior.

"Nathan Lockwood, you were looking for me?" she spoke first.

Her eagerness was a bit strange.

Nathan Lockwood remained impassive. "Your Intelligent Brain."

He was holding Zoe Pierce’s Intelligent Brain, which their instructor had confiscated before the joint exam began. The instructor had just returned the devices to him and Miles Sherman after they were questioned; they would be confiscated again once the plunder war started.

In other words, they could all use their personal Intelligent Brains for the time being.

’No wonder Miles Sherman was holding his own Intelligent Brain.’

Zoe Pierce stood, slowly walked over to Nathan Lockwood, and took the device. She turned her head toward Miles Sherman and called out, "I’ll be heading back then, Captain Sherman."

It was clear to both men in the room that she was desperate to leave.

Miles Sherman didn’t make things difficult for her. "Mm, go ahead."

Zoe Pierce gave him a faint smile before pushing open the door and leaving.

Nathan Lockwood followed her out, leaving Miles Sherman alone in the Psionic Training Room. The man’s expression was composed as he resumed his daily training, seemingly completely unaffected.

"What was that about?" Nathan Lockwood asked as they left the training room and walked toward their assigned dorms.

Zoe Pierce had her own questions for Nathan Lockwood, so when he asked, she replied, "Well, I accidentally overheard him talking to his family..."

The part with his younger siblings was fine, but when his father started talking, there was this overwhelming, suffocating feeling.

It felt as if even taking a deep breath was wrong.

Prying into someone’s privacy like that... she felt tainted just by association, unable to explain her way out of it.

Seeing her reaction, Nathan Lockwood knew the reason almost instantly.

Everyone in the squad knew about each other’s family situations.

She was only reacting this way because she was new to the team and was hearing it for the first time.

"Been training?" Nathan Lockwood had no intention of finding out what exactly Zoe Pierce had learned about Miles. He just saw her flushed cheeks, her fair skin and red lips evidence of a workout. Standing beside her, he asked the question, already knowing the answer.

Her guard was at its lowest around Nathan Lockwood. After all, at this point, she had no secrets from him in any respect.

"Yeah, I combined physical and spiritual power training today," Zoe Pierce said, briefly explaining her routine.

To her surprise, after she finished, Nathan Lockwood sent some videos to her Intelligent Brain.

Zoe Pierce opened them for a look. They were all videos of junior high and high school Alpha teens doing spiritual power training.

All of them were examples of basic training that combined physical conditioning with spiritual power.

"Watch these over the next few days. Every morning before the plunder war, come with me to the Psionic Training Room."

He had just laid out her training schedule for the next several days.

This was more than Zoe Pierce could have asked for; it was precisely the opportunity she needed.

"Okay," she agreed, before immediately asking, "Nathan Lockwood, can you answer my question from last time now?"

Nathan Lockwood really knew how to keep a person on the hook.

He had strung her along for days, waiting for this answer.

’The death of her parents... was Damien Pierce involved?’

"No." Nathan Lockwood’s expression was placid. "The mining accident that involved you and your parents had nothing to do with your brother."

He stated it pragmatically. "Your brother isn’t that capable."

For a moment, Zoe Pierce didn’t know whether to be happy or sad. Nathan Lockwood had confirmed Damien Pierce’s incompetence, and it was precisely this incompetence that cleared him of suspicion.

It was as if she’d let out a sigh of relief, but her relief was short-lived, as Nathan Lockwood’s next words put her on edge again.

"But I found out you’d previously hired someone to investigate your brother."

"You must have found something."

"For instance: a ledger, the people he was dealing with... and the fact that he laid low at home for a while right before the accident with you and your parents."

’It was all falling into place.’

’Damien Pierce had been relieved when he found out about her amnesia, but he was also paranoid about her memory returning. He was even trying to find the ledger behind her back.’

’The house she was living in now probably wasn’t even her real home.’

’The ledger that Damien couldn’t find, even after a thorough search... she must have hidden it herself.’

’She was dying to know what was inside it. What secrets did it hold that would make Damien go to such great lengths, that would keep him on edge even after she’d lost her memory?’

’And what about the completely different descriptions of her from Michelle Young and Ethan Grant? Did she change so drastically because she found out what Damien was up to?’

’The key to everything now was the ledger.’

’And the Pierce Family’s mining and jewelry businesses.’

’She couldn’t do this alone. With her memory gone, she had far too little to go on. Her entire life in the Pierce household was monitored and manipulated by Damien, right down to the Intelligent Brain in her hand.’

Zoe Pierce hadn’t forgotten what she’d glimpsed when she first passed out: he could track this Intelligent Brain’s location.

And Zoe couldn’t be sure what else he could access besides its location.

’There were too many mysteries. One wrong move and she’d tip him off.’

’She needed an ally.’

Zoe Pierce’s gaze fell on Nathan Lockwood, who was standing beside her.

"Nathan Lockwood, let’s make another deal."

Nathan Lockwood hadn’t expected her to open with another deal after he’d given her time to process everything.

His eyes darkened slightly, his captivating gaze resting on her. "Oh?"

"What will it take for you to help me keep investigating?" ’She was sure she possessed something he wanted—her abnormal spiritual power, for instance.’

’A transactional relationship required offering something the other party found valuable.’

Zoe Pierce put her request on the table and waited for Nathan Lockwood’s reply.

"After the joint exam, you’ll act as the team’s Omega Comforter. And for three years after graduation, you must remain the team’s Comforter."

Nathan Lockwood’s reply was swift, as if he’d long since considered the question.

Zoe Pierce frowned. "That sounds like it only benefits me."

’Just by being tied to the team, she knew how many perks she’d be able to get.’

’No other Omega at the academy had ever been officially linked with them. And with her own future after graduation completely uncertain, this was like being handed a dream job.’

’And the job’s prospects looked incredible. Not only would she have dedicated ’tutors’ to help her grow, but a wealth of resources would be made available to her.’

But Nathan Lockwood suddenly leaned down, his eyes level with hers. "Your assessment of your abilities is skewed."

’They were all S-Class Alphas.’

’Even ignoring her abnormal, Alpha-like spiritual power and focusing solely on her soothing ability... anyone who experienced it once would be hooked.’

’What he was proposing now was, in his eyes, a form of indenture.’

’To bind her completely to their little group, a Comforter who would soothe them and them alone.’

’It was for three years on paper, but they had more than enough ways to extend that term much, much longer.’

’No one would be foolish enough to let something so valuable go.’