From the moment Zoe Pierce and the others appeared, things had spun out of control.

The surrounding security was airtight. It should have been impossible for anyone to slip through so easily, but Zoe Pierce and her two companions were clearly unaffected. Moreover, since they’d met, neither of the two S-Class Alphas had used their spiritual power.

Zoe Pierce answered her, "What one knows and what one chooses to express are two different things."

Shannon Stone glanced at her. "Perhaps."

"But I do know that Arthur White was the one who initiated contact."

She continued, "That’s all I know."

She felt Zoe Pierce had wasted her time, striking a deal with someone who wasn’t truly in the know.

"Now, can you tell me what that Alpha kid actually said?"

The moment Shannon Stone finished speaking.

A tremendous roar suddenly tore through the air. The ground shook so violently that the trees swayed, forcing them to grab onto anything nearby just to keep from falling.

Even after the massive roar subsided, the ground continued to tremble, as if countless Xenobeasts were breaking free from the Wormhole and setting foot on the planet.

The Advanced Xeno-beast Tide had begun.

Even Miles Sherman’s expression turned grave. "We can’t delay. We need to leave this place immediately."

But Shannon Stone’s hand shot out and grabbed Zoe Pierce’s wrist. "Tell me," she said earnestly.

’Anyone could guess how the story goes just by using common sense. But once the words were spoken, I wouldn’t be able to lie to myself anymore.’

Erin Xavier and Miles Sherman had already deployed their Mechas, preparing to get them out of there.

Zoe Pierce said, "He said he was scared."

"He said he couldn’t find anyone to help him, and he hoped I could take him away."

During that conversation, Zoe Pierce had looked into Julian Chambers’s eyes.

He acted as if he didn’t care about anything, yet his eyes held a desperate plea for help—not for his body, but for his soul.

Even though his body was strong enough to battle Xenobeasts at any moment, he still didn’t understand. He didn’t get it. He wanted an answer.

His heart wasn’t strong enough to completely forget the pain of the past. A taut desire for the truth was the only thing sustaining him, driving him to find out why Planet B36 had become this way.

Otherwise, Julian Chambers would never have appeared here with them.

He was just one Alpha on Planet B36. If everyone of the rarer secondary genders faced this situation, on a planet with a population in the hundreds of millions, it would become a significant problem.

Shannon Stone’s hand released Zoe Pierce’s arm.

Zoe Pierce grabbed her arm in return, pulling her toward the Mecha.

She had promised to take her and these people away.

The cries of Xenobeasts grew more numerous, punctuated by the booming of cannons. The entire forest had descended into chaos.

Toppling trees crashed to the ground with dull thuds. Fires raged, sending thick smoke billowing into the air.

Zoe Pierce tugged on Shannon Stone’s hand but found she wouldn’t budge.

She even pulled Zoe Pierce’s hand off of her.

"You all should go," Shannon Stone said.

Zoe Pierce looked at her, confused, not understanding why Shannon Stone would suddenly refuse to leave at a time like this.

But Shannon Stone suddenly broke into a smile.

"You might be right. We lost our way."

’Showing something like this to a newly arrived Omega... No wonder other people think there’s something wrong with this planet.’

"But who are the truly arrogant ones?"

She scoffed. "Did you think we did all this just to suppress Alphas and Omegas?"

Shannon Stone stood ramrod straight. The pre-dawn darkness was now brilliantly illuminated by various Laser Laser Cannons bright enough to light up the entire night sky, making her features all the more distinct.

She had a gentle and dignified appearance. With an average height, she wouldn’t stand out in a crowd, but nor was she plain. 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞

At that moment, she raised her head and gazed up at the sky, at the Mechas still streaming in from the distance.

"Alphas arrogantly believe only they can protect us, but we can rely on ourselves." After speaking, she turned to look at Miles Sherman and the others. "Leave them behind and go."

Miles Sherman gave Shannon Stone a long, deep look.

From her eyes, Miles Sherman could see her unyielding resolve not to leave.

In the dawn light, the woman’s figure became clearer, her cool yet resolute face etching itself into his mind.

Miles Sherman grabbed Zoe Pierce’s hand. "Let’s go, Zoe."

Shannon Stone had already turned her back to Zoe Pierce. Her resolve had only hardened. She didn’t stay put; instead, she started walking back the way she came.

Facing the deafening roar of cannon fire, she chose to go back.

As she walked, Shannon Stone found her own change of heart somewhat laughable.

’Just a short while ago, I thought the higher-ups were utter shit, yet here I am, changing my mind so quickly.’

Yes, Planet B36 hadn’t always been like this.

She had escaped from the ruins, been rescued, and fought her way to where she was today. The conviction that drove her was not some ridiculous idea about suppressing Alphas.

Planet B36 had already endured an Advanced Xeno-beast Tide once before. Her home world had always had far more Betas than rarer secondary genders like Alphas, leaving them with almost no way to fight back against a high-level Xenobeast Tide.

The wait for rescue had been long and torturous.

She had been trapped under stone, praying silently over and over. She was trapped in the ruins for as long as the Xenobeast Tide lasted.

Many of her friends didn’t make it. They died in the prime of their youth.

Her family, too.

Later, she learned that another planet had suffered a Xenobeast Tide at the same time. Based on the principle of proximity, most of the dispatched rescue teams had gone to the other planet first.

Planet B36, in that moment, had been abandoned.

They didn’t want to be abandoned again. So, when the Planet B36 self-rescue program began, she joined.

From the very beginning, their only goal was to stop relying on the strength of others and protect their home with their own two hands.

And over the years, they had indeed succeeded.

When a Xenobeast Tide broke out, they gradually no longer needed rescue from Alphas. B36 slowly earned a reputation as a safe planet.

Most Betas were able to live healthy, independent lives.

The number of Mechas soaring toward the Wormhole’s mouth was hundreds of times greater than when they first started.

But, in the face of this cruel, savage, and senseless Xenobeast Tide...

...a tear still escaped Shannon Stone’s eye.

She resolutely chose to go back, the decision suddenly bringing to mind how she herself had been rescued—reminding her of her original purpose.

Even though she had grown to despise it all to the point of nausea, as soon as she looked up at the Mechas in the sky, flying ceaselessly as if to their deaths, none of it seemed to matter anymore.

The world was in pieces, but there were still people trying to stitch it back together.

Behind every successful Mecha pilot were the piled-up lives of seven or eight others. They were all the lucky few who had managed to survive the experiments.

Not a single one of them had ever wronged her.

’I have to stay.’