Chapter 239: Her Duality

Zoe Pierce felt that whenever she had even a minor accident, her mind would flash with a cascade of images, like a revolving lantern.

This time was no different.

Only this time, she didn’t feel the same distress as on the previous two occasions. Instead, she could look back on her memories with a sense of peace.

When she had spoken with Damien Pierce last time, she had been trying to bluff him.

This time, however, she had remembered everything, from her birth all the way up to the mining accident.

Discovering what Damien Pierce had done was clearly a huge blow to her, and cleaning up the mess he left behind had taken a considerable amount of her time.

Ethan Grant had been right, and so had Michelle Young.

Her personality had indeed changed over time.

With her mind preoccupied with Damien Pierce, her relationships with her classmates naturally grew more distant.

Zoe Pierce didn’t know what kind of person she would have become if she hadn’t lost her memories.

Losing her parents for a second time, then being manipulated by Damien Pierce...

And on top of that, having to join Miles Sherman’s squad.

She would have likely become very cold and wouldn’t have had such a strong desire to grow more powerful.

She wouldn’t have gone out of her way to investigate that cave, much less taken the initiative to ask Nathan Lockwood to teach her how to use her spiritual power.

Oh, and maybe when Chase Shaw had grabbed her from behind, she wouldn’t have surrendered so easily. She might have just lowered her head and bitten down on his arm, not letting go until it was a bloody mess, until he came to his senses.

The instant Aaron Xavier teased her, she would have bluntly retorted.

Maybe after the tournament, just like the Omegas who had previously teamed up with Miles Sherman and the others, she would have simply disappeared from their lives.

Then, if they happened to meet again on campus, she would have walked right past them without batting an eye.

She only had so much energy to give; if it was all spent elsewhere, she couldn’t possibly have maintained any for them.

A version of her who was filled with such a negative, defeatist view of the world would never have tolerated their threats the way her amnesiac self did.

She would have been more apathetic—apathetic about the tournament, apathetic about some stupid school credits, and especially apathetic about whether Nathan Lockwood and his friends would retaliate.

She would have been someone with nothing left to lose.

So, the amnesia was more like her body’s self-defense mechanism.

Her subconscious wanted to forget everything, to forget all the things that caused her pain.

It allowed her to get back on her feet.

It was like playing a video game, realizing a certain path led to failure, and simply starting a new run.

Everything was a strange twist of fate, yet it all made perfect sense.

Having lost her memories, she just wanted to live a good life. She wanted to uncover the secrets Damien Pierce had hidden from her. There was too much she wanted to do to let herself be dejected.

She was like the morning sun, striving to face the world with her best foot forward.

’This was good.’

’Without that mindset,’ Zoe Pierce thought, ’I have no idea what my life would be like now.’

’I probably still would have cut ties with Damien Pierce, then just survived on what little savings my family had left—just enough to not starve.’

’Maybe one day I would have come to terms with it all and found the strength to start over.’

’Or maybe I would have just stayed depressed, living in a listless daze.’

’Most likely the former, though.’

But what the present-day Zoe Pierce found hardest to accept was what she had done to the Alphas while she had amnesia.

Even thinking about it now made her cringe with embarrassment.

Over a decade of ingrained common sense had already given her a complete set of values about what was and wasn’t appropriate.

She really had dared to suggest all sorts of terrible ideas to them during her amnesia.

She could no longer confidently claim that she had never tried to seduce them.

Time and time again, she had put on an innocent face while making the most maddeningly provocative advances.

She sighed.

’In any case, things are far from innocent now. There’s no point dwelling on it.’

’I’ve done things I should have and things I shouldn’t have.’

In a daze, she thought she could smell that familiar, reassuring scent again.

The slideshow of her memories finally reached its end. She subconsciously closed her eyes, searching for the source of the fragrance.

Her eyelids fluttered, and Zoe Pierce finally awoke from her deep sleep.

A single small lamp was on in the room. The moment she opened her eyes, she saw Nathan Lockwood watching over her. Turning her head slightly, she saw Chase Shaw was there too.

The instant they sensed her stir, both men’s eyes snapped open, looking right at her.

"You’re awake? Are you uncomfortable anywhere?" Nathan Lockwood asked nervously. Then, feeling that Zoe Pierce’s gaze was somehow different, his throat tightened for a second. "Or... do you not know who I am?"

The last question was so absurd that Zoe Pierce almost laughed.

"No, I’m fine." She paused, then, as if to answer his second question, she moved her finger and pointed to each of them. "Nathan Lockwood. Chase Shaw."

Nathan Lockwood couldn’t help but rub his temples. Worry had clearly addled his brain.

Zoe Pierce located the source of the scent. It was coming from Nathan Lockwood—his pheromones.

Even though he wasn’t intentionally releasing much, she could clearly pick up on the faint, elusive trace of it.

The comforting scent of leaves.

"Where are we?" she asked, looking around. She knew for certain this wasn’t their Starship.

Chase Shaw explained, "A military vessel. We were rescued by the army."

Zoe Pierce suddenly recalled that her last conscious moment in the city had been right after confirming she was inside the Mecha.

A stunned expression crossed her face. "So... everyone knows?"

Nathan Lockwood and Chase Shaw were silent for a moment, but there was no point in hiding it from her now.

"Your spiritual power was discovered."

Passing out in the Mecha could be explained away, but the unconcealed spiritual power that had wrapped around her protectively in full public view? That was impossible to hide.

Zoe Pierce let out a soft sigh. But surprisingly, her mood wasn’t bad. She propped herself up with her hands behind her. "Nothing to be done about it."

"After all, my life is more important, right?"

’It’s not like I could just transmigrate again, could I?’

She didn’t believe that was possible.

Besides, she was a little reluctant to leave them.

The bonds and shared experiences forged over the past six months had tied them all tightly together.

Now, having survived a great disaster, she even felt the urge to hug them.

She looked both of them over carefully. "Thank god, you’re both okay."

As she spoke, she noticed Miles Sherman and Aaron Xavier weren’t there and frowned. "Are they hurt?"

Chase Shaw said, "They just went to get some rest. They were the ones pulling us out of space and haven’t slept at all."

"Director Quinn and Mr. Jacobs just ordered them to get some sleep."

Zoe Pierce was astonished. "Even Director Quinn and Mr. Jacobs are here? Just how long was I out?"

It hadn’t felt like a long time to her.

"Almost twenty hours," Nathan Lockwood said. Long enough to be worrying.

Zoe Pierce let out a soft "ah," then said, "In that case, don’t wake them. Let them rest."

Even now that she was awake, she could feel her body wasn’t as responsive as it used to be.

Looking down, she saw her dress had been replaced with a baggy, loose-fitting patient’s gown.