Chapter 71: A Sudden Accident

Zoe Pierce was completely unfazed, her full attention captured by the message from Chase Shaw.

The message from Chase Shaw contained not only the whereabouts of Wesley White but also the address of the villa she used to live in—not her current one.

It also mentioned that her family had dismissed a large number of servants, many of whom had served the Pierce Family for years.

The Pierce Family’s fortune was nothing compared to that of people like Chase Shaw, but to the ordinary families of the servants, it was an astronomical sum.

"I’ve already made arrangements for the servants who served your family for ten years or more." Once the current irrational frenzy online died down, Zoe Pierce could go and find out the truth.

The information on Wesley White was sent to Zoe Pierce along with Chase Shaw’s analysis.

There hadn’t been enough time to gather more information; this was as far as the investigation had gotten.

After hearing Chase Shaw speak, Nathan Lockwood glanced up at the information he had sent to Zoe Pierce.

He pulled up the interstellar map and zoomed in on Planet B36, scanning the nearby planets. To get to Planet B36, passing through Siren Star was unavoidable.

It was the Federation’s first covert line of defense—not against the Empire, but against the Xenobeasts.

The planet rang a bell. He then checked the list of the Federal Military Academy’s outposts and, sure enough, saw Siren Star’s name on it.

"Director Quinn, I have an idea." As a student of the command academy, Nathan Lockwood was well-versed in negotiation tactics and immediately captured everyone’s attention.

Jasper Quinn looked at Nathan Lockwood.

"I know you don’t want to expose us to the public eye." From the few words Jasper Quinn had just said, Nathan Lockwood had gotten a sense of the man. "We feel the same way."

Public exposure right now offered them and Zoe Pierce nothing but disadvantages.

"Whether it’s us or Zoe Pierce, we need to improve. We want to experience the battlefield for ourselves." It didn’t matter what it was called—a friendly match or some other competition.

Nathan Lockwood was certain the topic would revolve around Xenobeasts.

He was particularly perceptive about this; in recent years, there had been a slight increase in medical resources allocated to regions with ongoing Xenobeast conflicts.

And the only ways to fight Xenobeasts were with spiritual power or Mechas.

Nothing matured a person faster than firsthand combat experience.

Jasper Quinn’s gaze sharpened, and he looked at Nathan Lockwood with a complicated expression. "Putting you all aside for a moment, you want to bring Zoe Pierce along, given her current skill level?"

He believed in the abilities of Nathan Lockwood and his team, and he recognized Zoe Pierce’s performance, but this proposal seemed far too arrogant.

Nathan Lockwood smiled faintly. ’If they knew what Zoe Pierce’s spiritual power could do, they certainly wouldn’t be thinking this way.’

So he selected Siren Star on the map. "I remember the academy has an outpost here, with instructors stationed on-site. If all goes as planned, we would be sent there eventually anyway. We would just be going in advance to get a feel for it."

Not many people knew this. Only the top few percent of students at the military academy were given this kind of training opportunity.

Generally, it was considered a way to burnish one’s credentials.

Every Xenobeast killed translated into tangible military honors.

Clearly, being at the top of the pyramid, Nathan Lockwood and his friends had known about this for a while.

But, of course, this opportunity was never extended to Omegas.

"Director, there must be Omegas on Siren Star," Nathan Lockwood said, watching Jasper Quinn’s expression. "For her, this in itself is a form of training. She’s not as fragile as you think."

She was a tenacious vine, seizing every opportunity to climb higher, sinking her roots deep to grow stronger.

And she had small thorns of her own.

She was never a lamb.

"We won’t be reckless." Nathan Lockwood glanced at the toxic mess on the web, where people were saying all sorts of things. "It would also be good for Zoe Pierce to get away from the Capital Star’s network for a while."

The network environment in the border regions is very different from the one on the Capital Star.

Jasper Quinn looked at him. "Why Siren Star?"

There were so many other planets to choose from. He narrowed his eyes slightly. ’Is it because of that information they just mentioned sending to Zoe Pierce?’

"Siren Star is a Border Star, and it’s in a Xenobeast zone. I believe the final friendly match against the Empire will also be held in a similar location."

You didn’t need to be a strategist to figure that out.

Neither side would let a potential enemy deep into their core territory. They might be on friendly terms now, but for how many years has that been true? So the most likely venues would be planets along the border between the Empire and the Federation.

"I will notify you after I’ve considered it," Jasper Quinn said finally.

Nathan Lockwood didn’t let him off the hook that easily. "How many days will you need?" he asked.

Jasper Quinn let out a dry laugh. It was as if Nathan Lockwood didn’t trust him in the slightest.

"One day," he said coolly. "You’ll have your answer tomorrow morning."

Nathan Lockwood stepped aside to let the director pass. Soon, Director Quinn and the other instructors were out of sight.

Erin Xavier said, "That’s Nathan for you. He sorted everything out for us with just a few sentences."

He just glanced at a few things and came up with all that.

Miles Sherman had seen the information from Chase Shaw, so he quickly understood Nathan Lockwood’s intentions.

Everything Nathan Lockwood had just said was true; this environment was indeed perfect for Zoe Pierce.

It was a place without constant surveillance, a remote Border Star where few people would even recognize them.

And as it happened, this place was so close to where her own secrets lay. No matter how you looked at it, the situation was to her advantage.

’She wouldn’t refuse this opportunity.’

He even saw that Nathan Lockwood intended to use the opportunity to conduct his own investigation.

’Just like Erin,’ Miles Sherman thought, ’that’s Nathan for you.’

’Meticulous and thorough, leaving nothing to chance.’

He was sure that even if Director Quinn had refused, Nathan Lockwood would have found another way to achieve his goal.

It was only one night. Everyone could afford to wait.

Zoe Pierce, Miles Sherman, and the others all waited for the answer so they could make their arrangements.

But no one expected what happened the next day. Director Quinn, shedding his previous hesitation, swiftly issued their papers and even personally escorted them to the shuttle.

His entire demeanor was as sharp and decisive as a sword, without a hint of reluctance.

The look on his face was even more grave than it had been the day before.

"A supervising instructor will take you to Siren Star. I’ve already contacted the instructor stationed there, and I will be in touch with you through them."

Everything was happening with unbelievable speed.

It caught everyone completely off guard.

Not even Nathan Lockwood had imagined that Director Quinn could become so decisive in a single day.

It was as if something had happened that forced the director to make this decision.

As if any delay would invite unforeseen complications.

Although Zoe Pierce was aware of everyone’s plans, she never imagined she would transition from taking joint exams to starting a training mission quite so quickly.

’This is all too strange.’ She had been planning to at least meet with the people Chase Shaw mentioned—the ones who had served her family for over a decade—before leaving for Siren Star.

’Clearly, they were hiding a lot of things, perhaps about Damien Pierce, or maybe about my parents and me...’

’And now, I have to replan everything.’