Starship Transit Hub.
Julian Chambers stood there, bored out of his mind while he waited. He fiddled with his Intelligent Brain from ti to ti, checking the ti. It was still fifteen minutes until his scheduled eting with Nathan Lockwood.
But he soon sensed a commotion nearby. He glanced up and, sure enough, it was Zoe Pierce and her group.
A group like them was bound to beco the center of attention as soon as they appeared.
Julian Chambers pushed up the sunglasses that were shielding his eyes and sized up their clothes. As they approached, he said, "Those outfits won’t do. Who wears that kind of stuff on vacation?"
’Even if they had ulterior motives, wearing clothes suitable for piloting a cha was a bit too obvious.’
Nathan Lockwood said, "We’ll buy more on Planet B36."
That was one option, Julian Chambers supposed, shrugging. He then saw Nathan Lockwood tap his Intelligent Brain a few tis. Julian heard the system’s notification tone. Half of the agreed-upon tour guide fee had just been transferred to him.
Now he really had nothing more to say. He led Zoe Pierce and the others directly to the pre-booked interstellar airship.
As they walked, he explained, "The main attractions on Planet B36 right now are the beaches and the treehouses. They’ve been developed very successfully. The Xenobeasts on the planet have also been nearly wiped out after several culling operations by Alphas, so they’re almost extinct."
"Both are must-see attractions, but of course, you can just choose one."
Miles Sherman said bluntly, "The treehouses."
Julian Chambers wasn’t surprised. ’If I assu they’re here to investigate sothing, the treehouses definitely offer more concealnt than the beaches.’
’Besides, the treehouses might allow them to uncover sothing else.’
’Unlike the beaches, which are purely for relaxation. But looking at Nathan Lockwood’s group, they didn’t seem like the type to be interested in such simple pleasures. People who could casually drop that much money must be incredibly wealthy and have extraordinary status. What kind of beautiful planet hadn’t they already been to?’
After his brief explanation, he fell silent.
After boarding the interstellar airship, Zoe Pierce noticed that the mix of passengers was completely different from last ti.
Last ti, they were headed to quell a Xenobeast Tide, so the ship was filled mostly with Alphas. But this flight to Planet B36 had a considerable number of Betas, as well as so families with young children.
Everyone’s expressions were relaxed, not tense like on the previous airship.
From this alone, it was clear that Planet B36 was doing a good job with its tourism industry.
This feeling beca even more palpable after they disembarked. From the airship’s exit to the various famous sites, there were direct Hovercars available for rent.
Nathan Lockwood rented a large Hovercar, set it to auto-drive, and it quickly set off.
Their choice of the treehouses was, of course, deliberate.
First, the treehouses were naturally backed by the forest, putting them much closer to the location they suspected than the beaches were.
Second, the forest provided cover. Unlike the wide-open, exposed beaches, it was more secluded, making it easier to do... certain things.
The star-class Hovercar stopped upon reaching the designated treehouse hotel. Zoe Pierce got out first, and now their distinctiveness was even more apparent.
It was currently sumr on Planet B36. Everyone, including Julian Chambers, was dressed similarly in casual pants and a short-sleeved t-shirt. Only their group was bundled up tightly.
Julian Chambers pointed to a nearby automated vending store and said, "If you want anything, you can just buy it there."
This ti, no one hesitated. They quickly went and bought a few outfits.
When they ca out again, Julian Chambers was helpless. After changing into casual clothes, they were even more dazzling.
Especially Zoe Pierce. With her snow-white skin, she was like a luminous beacon.
After confirming their accommodations, Zoe Pierce took the initiative to go for a stroll.
The basic vendors were all robots; only so of the food stalls and the like were run by Betas.
Planet B36 was truly a Beta world. As far as Zoe could see, almost all the locals were Betas.
’I can’t see anything out of the ordinary.’
It seed like nothing more than a perfectly normal resort planet.
anwhile, Julian Chambers was fulfilling his duties as a tour guide, taking Zoe Pierce and the others to all sorts of places.
Although he acted casual on the surface, his ears were pricked, waiting to hear if they had any thoughts. But Zoe Pierce and her group never spoke up in his presence, always waiting until the end of the day to discuss things in their room.
Four or five days passed in a row, and Julian Chambers was getting antsy.
Finally, in the middle of the night, he knocked on the door of Nathan Lockwood’s room.
The door opened and, as expected, everyone was there, gathered in the suite’s living room.
He stood in the doorway, t Nathan Lockwood’s knowing gaze, and said slowly, "I have sothing I want to tell you."
Nathan Lockwood made space for him. "Please."
As Julian Chambers approached the living room, he spotted the signal jamr on the table. The weight that had been hanging over him finally lifted.
’Their visit to Planet B36 really isn’t that simple.’
Erin Xavier gave him a single armchair and squeezed in with Miles Sherman. Nathan Lockwood shut the door completely, and the signal jamr was on. The entire room was now like an isolated island.
"I have sothing I want to say to you." Before entering the room, Julian Chambers had been hesitant. Miles Sherman and the others looked so young, probably not much different in age from himself.
But when a person truly makes a decision, it can be so simple.
He had been holding it in for too long, and there was no one he could talk to about it.
"What do you want to know about Planet B36?" He took a deep breath and looked at Zoe Pierce and the others.
In situations like this, Nathan Lockwood was always the one to negotiate. "Say what you want to say. We’ll decide whether to share our findings based on what you tell us."
Even though they had crossed paths on Planet B145, Nathan Lockwood didn’t think their level of trust had reached a passing grade yet.
After a few minutes of silence, Julian Chambers spoke. "I think sothing is very wrong with Planet B36 right now."
That was beyond question.
No one in the room thought the planet was normal.
Zoe Pierce leaned back, her lips pressed into a thin line.
’The fish Nathan Lockwood was trying to catch has finally taken the bait.’
All of their seemingly normal actions over the past few days, which nevertheless revealed so clues, were deliberately orchestrated by Nathan Lockwood. It was all a show for Julian Chambers.
’To achieve a breakthrough, you don’t attack from the outside, but from within.’
No one understands a planet better than soone who grew up on it. Besides, in just a few short days, Zoe Pierce and the others had already sensed the locals’ imnse sense of identification with being Betas while chatting with vendors.
They sincerely believed that there was nothing special about Alphas and Ogas.
When they heard that Zoe Pierce’s glands were injured and she could no longer sense Alpha pheromones, they weren’t sympathetic. Instead, they were happy for her.
"This way, you won’t be controlled by pheromones anymore. Isn’t that great?"
A Beta vendor had said this to her when Miles Sherman and the others weren’t around. "We don’t have things like mating heats."
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