Chapter 79: Outsiders Are Also Coveting Her

But Nathan Lockwood didn’t give the others any more time to think. Instead, he switched to two recent photos of Planet B36.

The images showed Planet B36’s captivating scenery; it was fully developed with everything from beaches to forest treehouses and natural oxygen bars.

"Starting the year before last, Planet B36 began pivoting to tourism. Its selling point was the planet’s stability and relaxing environment."

For a minor planet to boast such features—a near-zero Xenobeast Tide outbreak rate, safety, and low prices—was a major draw for many people.

"I researched their recommended tourist spots. The entire tourism zone has been zoned to this area," Nathan Lockwood said, his finger pointing to the top-right corner of a holographic miniature of Planet B36 that appeared before Zoe Pierce. "A significant portion of the residential area is also nearby."

"However, when I calculated the city’s population capacity, I found that about thirty percent of the population clearly doesn’t live in this residential zone."

"And there are no records of where this thirty percent lives, not in any of Planet B36’s official or private channels."

And just like that, Planet B36 became a mystery.

What secrets could such a seemingly ordinary planet be hiding?

Zoe Pierce looked at Nathan Lockwood. "So, should we go there posing as tourists?"

Showing up as mercenaries on a planet with no Xenobeast Tides would be exceptionally strange.

Nathan Lockwood gave her an approving look. "Exactly. If we go, I think posing as tourists is the best approach."

They could accept a random mission first, then make a transfer to Planet B36.

It would divert Adrian Chapman’s attention while allowing them to achieve their objective.

"I’ve analyzed the entire ecosystem of B36, and a few places are highly habitable." Thinking like someone trying to hide something, Nathan Lockwood pointed out several locations. "First, they have natural cover. Second, they have convenient access to transport routes. And third, they are adjacent to rivers."

There weren’t many places on the planet suitable for human habitation. Some areas had already been developed for tourism, while others were used to support the known population.

At a glance, that left only three locations that were relatively suitable for habitation.

Each of these three places had its own advantages.

"I’m leaning toward this one with the well-developed transportation network," Nathan Lockwood said. "It’s easy to get anywhere from there. A good spot to attack from, and a good spot to fall back to."

After looking at the locations, Chase Shaw added, "Wesley White is an energy merchant. Most processed energy can be stored directly in a Space Button, but raw ore can’t. Putting it in a Space Button would deform the Energy Mine’s structure, ruining the entire material."

This meant it would require separate transport.

And this location was a moderate distance from B36’s largest landing pad.

"Then we’ll set our target here," Miles Sherman agreed. "As for timing, let’s wait for the right opportunity."

It was impossible for them to just drop their school responsibilities and leave right under Adrian Chapman’s nose.

The brief meeting came to a close.

Yet, none of them left.

Zoe Pierce watched them, confused, as they all stood there silently, acting mysterious.

Miles Sherman spoke up. "Let’s move."

Following Miles Sherman to their usual mecha training area, Zoe Pierce had a faint inkling of what was happening, but she hardly dared to believe it.

Then, she saw Chase Shaw take out a Space Button and hand it to her. "Use your spiritual power to open it."

Everyone’s eyes were on her. Zoe Pierce took the Space Button, her heart hammering with nervousness. She unconsciously licked her dry lips.

Chase Shaw’s words only served to confirm her suspicion.

Sure enough, the moment she opened the Space Button, a tall, dark-silver figure appeared.

The mecha was similar to Erin Xavier’s Light Mecha. It was slightly shorter than their standard models and looked more agile, but it wasn’t missing any essential components.

Zoe Pierce saw two short blades and the firing port for a laser cannon.

She glanced at the others, then pointed to herself, pleasantly surprised. "For me?"

She looked especially at Chase Shaw, remembering his promise to get her a mecha.

Erin Xavier laughed. "Surprised? Bet you didn’t expect this. We spent a week hunting it down and modified some of the equipment for you."

They had been planning this ever since they found out on the airship that Zoe Pierce could pilot a mecha.

The idea became even more urgent after they sensed that the situation with Zoe Pierce’s family was more complicated than they had thought.

Sending an unequipped Zoe Pierce to Planet B36 was far too risky. The best solution was to get her a mecha. With a mecha, supplemented by her spiritual power, she would be no different from an Alpha.

It wasn’t hard to find mechas for sale in a place plagued by Xenobeast Tides.

The parts couldn’t compare to what Chase Shaw’s family had access to, of course, but it wasn’t impossible to assemble something good. Miles Sherman and Chase Shaw took the lead, personally swapping out components for Zoe Pierce, while Nathan Lockwood and Erin Xavier handled the exterior design and wiring.

The four of them completed the project together, and after tuning it, they presented it to Zoe Pierce.

It was a huge surprise. Her eyes went wide with astonishment. No one would be anything but thrilled by such a gift, especially not after she had already tried out the others’ mechas.

’No wonder they’ve been taking turns training with me these past few days, and were rarely all together.’

’At the time, I just thought they were busy with other things. I never imagined they were actually building a mecha for me.’

Seeing Zoe Pierce’s radiant smile, the corners of their own lips curved upward. When the recipient of a gift is happy, the givers are naturally happy too.

"We’ve set everything up. The four of us can pilot your mecha, too." Erin Xavier’s eyes narrowed playfully. "You’re not upset about that, are you?"

’Of course not!’

Zoe Pierce wasn’t so ungrateful. All four of them had given her clearance to pilot their personal mechas. Since this mecha was a gift from them, it was only natural that she’d grant them access in return.

"Try it out," Chase Shaw said, tilting his chin toward her. "If anything feels off, we’ll recalibrate it for you."

Although they had calibrated it using Zoe Pierce’s data from her recent time in the simulation pod—and data based on a real person’s simulated actions was unlikely to be wrong—no one could be absolutely sure. It was best to let Zoe Pierce test it herself.

With all eyes on her, Zoe Pierce boarded the mecha. Just as she would in the simulation pod, she connected her spiritual power and began performing basic maneuvers.

There were no issues at all. It felt almost identical to being in the simulation pod—a seamless integration, as if she were performing the actions with her own body.

She disembarked from the mecha and looked at Chase Shaw. "It’s perfect."

The training room emitted a beeping alert: [Your scheduled training room time has expired. Please exit promptly.]

The hands-on mecha training rooms at the base were in high demand. Without realizing it, they had used up their entire reserved time slot.

As the main door opened, they saw several upperclassmen in training gear standing outside, mid-conversation.

When the group saw it was Miles Sherman and the others, their laughter and conversation died down.

Their gazes lingered on Zoe Pierce’s face for a moment before they composed themselves. The one in the lead spoke up, "Here for training?"

Miles Sherman replied, "Yeah, we’re done."

He frowned slightly. The upperclassmen’s gazes were insolent, drifting toward Zoe Pierce. Miles spoke again, "Zoe, let’s go."