In the vast expanse of white snow, the once-massive leeward rock was now more than half-buried.
Consequently, the cha resting behind it also had more than half of its fra trapped in the snow.
Miles Sherman glanced at the exceptionally quiet, snow-covered ground outside and opened the comms channel. "We can move out. Acknowledge."
Erin Xavier, Nathan Lockwood, and the others replied one after another.
The cha, once as rigid as a dead thing, imdiately sprang into action.
Just as he had said, Miles Sherman let Zoe Pierce take complete control of the piloting.
They had seen her maneuver the cha countless tis. She knew every control, so how could they not trust her?
Zoe Pierce sat in the Alpha’s lap, but the pressure on her was considerable.
This wasn’t her cha. It was Miles Sherman’s, and it represented him.
Her every move would affect him.
Taking a deep breath, she controlled the cha to lift its leg. The freshly fallen snow was fluffy, scattering with the slightest movent.
She moved first, with Chase Shaw and the others following behind. The tens-of-ters-tall cha stepped through the white expanse of snow. Viewed through their chanical eyes, the scene held a desolate kind of beauty.
"The Federation’s whole vibe is different from the Empire’s."
"Feels like an unmanned expedition... I actually have ti to check out the scenery."
"Yeah, it’s left speechless."
"We’re way ahead of the Empire, by almost a full day. They’ll have a hard ti catching up."
"The cha is blocking Baby Zoe’s face! We can’t see anyone. This is torture for those of us who just watch for the visuals!"
"If you added so music, it’d be even more like an exploration docuntary. Has a real lone-wolf vibe."
...
In the silent, snow-covered landscape, the only sound was the CRUNCH CRUNCH of the cha trampling the ground.
Zoe Pierce’s body gradually relaxed. They couldn’t use their boosters here, so simply piloting the cha wasn’t particularly difficult.
After walking for a while, Zoe Pierce switched to semi-automatic mode.
The snow was now deep enough to reach the cha’s knees, obscuring the ground beneath. After just a short while, Nathan Lockwood, who was scouting from the rear, suddenly looked up at the lead cha.
Zoe Pierce was leading the way.
After narrowing his eyes to observe the cha’s movents, he suddenly raised an eyebrow.
The way the cha was being piloted was different from Miles Sherman’s usual style.
’Miles Sherman let Zoe Pierce pilot his cha.’
A faint smile touched Nathan Lockwood’s lips.
He thought, ’Zoe Pierce must be so happy.’
And just as he thought, even this simple act of piloting was enough to bring Zoe Pierce joy.
Just like her fooling around with Miles Sherman in the cha, it was a secret that this body of steel was being piloted not by an Alpha, but by an Oga.
Miles Sherman had no intention of taking back the controls, letting Zoe Pierce continue to pilot as she pleased.
The closer they got to the Token’s location, the more Zoe Pierce felt the oppressive weight of the snow-capped mountains.
The surrounding mountain ranges seed to have been magnified several tis over, imnse and steep. There were no trees, only a bleak grayness and vast stretches of white snow.
"If we don’t talk soon, I’m gonna die of boredom," Erin Xavier said over the channel.
They had been marching in their cha for nearly a day, just walking nonstop, with the silence broken only by the howling wind.
"Where the hell are the Empire’s people?" If you’d asked Erin Xavier ten-odd days ago, he would never have imagined this Friendship Match would have this kind of vibe.
He was so bored now that he actually wanted to run into the Imperial Squad.
Nathan Lockwood glanced toward the gorge. "Don’t worry. We will."
Nathan Lockwood had already figured out the significance of placing the Token here. "This is a circular mountain range. Besides this gorge, there are no other exits."
So even if a team arrived first and got the Token, they would have to pass through this gorge on their way back.
If he were on the team that arrived later, he would just need to see the Token start moving and look at the mountains to know roughly where to ambush them.
Their journey had been completely unimpeded, aside from the snowstorm, so it was highly likely they were the first team to arrive.
Sure enough, after walking for the better part of another day, the sky had grown completely dark, and they arrived at the so-called location of the Token.
It was a clunky iron box.
It couldn’t be placed in a Space Button; it had to be carried at all tis.
"I’ll take it," Erin Xavier volunteered. It wasn’t a rash decision. "I’m the fastest. If anything happens, I can take the Token and run."
That was true. As long as Erin Xavier was running, with Miles Sherman covering their rear and restricting the Imperial Squad’s spiritual power, no one would be able to catch him.
Everyone tacitly agreed.
Just as Erin Xavier took the iron box, Miles Sherman’s voice ca over the comms: "Erin, you stay in the middle. We’ll form a triangle. I’ll take point."
They also agreed with Nathan Lockwood’s earlier assessnt.
They had already confird it on the way here; there was indeed only one path.
Unless all four of their cha fully powered up and charged out.
But the towering, precarious snow on all sides watched them silently, just waiting for them to make a move.
As the formation was set, Zoe Pierce was still at the very front, with Erin Xavier right behind her.
"Sotis I really have to admire the people who choose the locations for these Friendship Matches, picking a place like this." Finding such an environnt and getting both sides to agree on it couldn’t have been easy.
On the Imperial Squad’s side, the mont Renato saw the Token start to move, he imdiately alerted the others, "The Federation has the Token."
"By cha, their ETA to the gorge is four hours."
"Our own ETA is also four hours."
The analytical data was transmitted almost instantly to everyone’s cha screens. Beau looked at the red dot Renato had marked and laughed. "This is a real nail-biter."
"One wrong move and we won’t be able to intercept them."
"Beau!" Bader was in no mood for jokes, his tone turning cold.
Beau heard the chill in his voice and wiped the smile from his face.
"Everyone, pick up the pace. We have to reach the gorge within three and a half hours." After giving the cold, stern command, Bader was the first to accelerate. His already-fast cha pulsed with a bit of power as it surged forward.
Seeing that Beau had already shut off his comms, Anna glanced at him, her own expression cold. "His Highness is angry."
Beau rubbed his nose. "I know."
After all, nobody wanted to lose to the Federation because they couldn’t catch up. That would be pathetic.
They sprinted all the way, carefully controlling the power input to their cha, and managed to reach the gorge within the specified three and a half hours.
The gorge was about thirty ters wide.
Not exactly wide, but not narrow either.
Four cha side-by-side couldn’t block the entire opening.
"Renato, who is most likely carrying the Token?" Bader stood in the center of the gorge, staring into the darkness. The Token’s signal light was blinking steadily, drawing closer.
Renato’s voice ca through clearly to everyone: "Most likely Erin Xavier. His spiritual power is speed-related."
"Owen, the mont you see the Federal Squad, attack Miles Sherman," Bader ordered bluntly. "His ability is nullification. We have to take him out of the fight."
With the Token acting as a beacon, Owen’s tracking ability could be temporarily disregarded.
But Miles Sherman had to be dealt with imdiately.
"Beau, you go after Erin Xavier."
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