Aaron Xavier never hid his thoughts. Or rather, after discovering he would lose out if he didn’t fight for what he wanted, he made a point of speaking his mind.
He was jealous, plain and simple.
Especially when he was right in front of Zoe Pierce, he lifted his chin and said it with complete candor.
Unless Zoe Pierce physically pushed his face away, she couldn’t possibly miss it.
And clearly, she couldn’t ignore it.
She could only feign annoyance and pinch his cheek. "I know, I know."
She was helpless when it ca to Aaron Xavier.
Having gotten his confirmation, Aaron Xavier huffed twice, touched the spot on his cheek where Zoe had touched him, and then leaned back to the side.
’As long as I can be sure Zoe likes , that’s enough.’
anwhile, while they were talking, Chase Shaw had finished a rough sketch. "How’s this? Do you like it?"
The black cha’s appearance was very different from the white one. This one looked sharper, more like an unsheathed sword.
Zoe found herself inexplicably drawn to it. Though it looked a bit rougher than the other one, this design had a wild, untad vitality.
She nodded without hesitation. "I love it."
Chase Shaw let out a soft chuckle. "Alright."
Zoe asked, a little curious, "Do you draw it on paper first and then scan it into the Intelligent Brain?"
If he hadn’t pulled out the sketchbook today, she would have assud it was all designed on the Intelligent Brain.
"Yeah, it’s a personal habit of mine," Chase said. "I find that drawing like this helps calm my mind."
Of course, this was a thod he’d previously used to temper his disposition.
But now, because of Zoe, he hadn’t had trouble sleeping in a long ti. He hadn’t felt that vexing irritability for a long while either.
Zoe thought it was a good thing, too. In the current Interstellar Society, everything happened so fast. Because things were so convenient, any thod that was even slightly more troubleso had been abandoned.
But the impact of sothing physical was far greater than the stimulation from an Intelligent Brain.
A few days later, the group received definitive news from Director Quinn.
The higher-ups had no intention of placing Zoe Pierce under strict supervision.
However, the matter of her spiritual power still needed to be kept secret.
After all, if this got out, it would send the entirety of Interstellar Space into an uproar.
Even the fact that Betas could now pilot chas was still being concealed. Besides relevant governnt personnel, no one else knew.
Ryan Jacobs was the one who delivered the news. After he finished, he saw Zoe’s expression visibly relax. "Now you can finally put your mind at ease. Don’t worry."
He could understand how she felt.
After all, it was natural to be on edge about an unresolved matter.
"Director Quinn personally confird it with The Military and the governnt," Ryan Jacobs said. "There’s one more thing, also about you."
He took out an application form. "You can consider whether or not you’d like to beco a mber of the Oga council."
Zoe Pierce took the application. The first few pages were filled with official jargon, but when she flipped further, she saw her school GPA and a list of her recent honors and comndations.
"Mr. Jacobs, I... can I really?" ’Being an outstanding alumnus was one thing, but now an Oga council mber?’
’Representing Ogas?’
’It was all happening one step beyond her wildest imagination.’
’This ant truly entering The Federation’s political establishnt.’
’How old was she? Just barely in her twenties.’
It was rare for Ryan Jacobs to see Zoe Pierce so surprised she couldn’t control her expression. He just smiled. "Why not?"
"Zoe Pierce, you’ve already beco a role model for many people."
"The entire Federation has changed its thods for training Ogas because of you. That alone has already affected thousands upon thousands of Ogas. Joining this is just the beginning."
"The council is by invitation, and there’s a public comnt period."
"The school will vouch for you. Apply with confidence. I’d like to see who would dare stand in your way."
Were it not for the fact that Zoe Pierce wasn’t an Alpha, Ryan Jacobs even felt she would have no problem applying for the Alpha council.
Among the younger generation, very few were stronger than her.
"I never even considered it." The application packet Ryan Jacobs had given her was thick. Most of it was materials the school had already prepared, leaving only a few places where Zoe needed to sign her na.
Ryan Jacobs comforted her. "Well, think about it now. This is your choice too. What do you want to do in the future?"
After a mont of thought, he added, "Director Quinn handled this personally. These materials, too. Director Quinn has very high hopes for you, Zoe."
Ryan Jacobs could even say that Director Quinn had swept clean all obstacles in Zoe’s path.
They admired Zoe Pierce and hoped she would fly to even greater heights.
"I understand." Zoe could see that it wasn’t just Director Quinn; the teacher standing before her, Mr. Jacobs, also had high expectations for her.
Gauging Zoe’s reaction from her expression, Ryan Jacobs’s gaze then swept over the other three.
He produced three more identical application forms, glanced at the nas, and handed them out. "I didn’t forget about you guys. Once you join The Military, these will be beneficial for you too."
Aaron Xavier’s eyes flickered. "Mr. Jacobs, don’t tell we’re really being conscripted early?"
"Zoe Pierce is part of our team. She can’t leave."
He’d gotten used to these days of freedom. The sudden reminder made Aaron want to be a little defiant.
’I haven’t had enough of school yet.’
Ryan Jacobs was much less polite with Aaron Xavier than he was with Zoe. "Run? Don’t be ridiculous. How could the five of you possibly be split up?"
"It’ll be the five of you." Military operations were carried out in small squads anyway.
It was just that the assigned Oga was usually different each ti.
But Zoe clearly didn’t have this problem. She was completely locked in with them, and she was the only one who could so easily soothe these Alphas.
"Don’t worry, it’s just a possibility." He thought for a mont before adding, "The probability of Xenobeast Tides appearing in the major star systems this year has surged compared to previous years. The military academies have all decided to expand their enrollnt."
Thinking of the Xenobeast Tide on B36, the group fell silent.
No one had forgotten the final image of that planet, reduced to scorched earth.
"Nothing’s certain, but you all need to know that it’s very likely to happen in the future." He clapped Aaron’s shoulder. "For now, just live in the present."
Right now, it was just a trend, but it was hard to say when it would manifest or to what extent.
For the ti being, all they could do was what needed to be done.
Aaron Xavier shrugged, but out of the corner of his eye, he saw Zoe had already taken a pen and was signing. With a quick "Hey!", he pulled a pen from his own Space Button and started signing too.
Ryan Jacobs had thought they would need a few days to consider, but it turned out that in just one visit, everyone except Miles Sherman had signed.
He left the dormitory building with their applications in hand, but then suddenly rembered he’d forgotten to ntion their classes and turned back.
「Upstairs.」
Nathan Lockwood pulled Zoe Pierce into his dorm room.
’He’d given the others too much public ti. He wanted to be alone with her.’
Closing the door, he whispered, "Don’t let them find out."
This was sothing only Zoe’s spiritual power could accomplish.
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