There wasn’t much of an age gap between them. At first, Damien Pierce was awkward around her. Their relationship only started to change when she took the initiative to break the ice, taking his hand and asking him to hold her.

They truly did spend many years like real siblings.

Zoe Pierce pressed her lips together and didn’t let her thoughts drift further. She still hadn’t figured out the matter with the ledgers.

She had originally thought Damien Pierce was purely evil, but now that her memories were returning, there were too many inconsistencies.

If she had known Damien Pierce had ill intentions toward her, that he was even purely evil...

Why would she have cleaned up Damien Pierce’s messes?

All she had to do was declare their relationship severed. A simple DNA test would have revealed the truth, and there would have been no way for him to remain in the family.

But she had still handled the ledgers for Damien Pierce, even erasing all traces.

And if Damien Pierce were purely evil, he could have just killed her after the mining accident. He wouldn’t have needed to worry about the ledgers or anything else. No one would have known he wasn’t a biological member of the Pierce Family.

But he didn’t. He even found doctors to treat her properly.

It was too contradictory.

Zoe Pierce wasn’t trying to whitewash Damien Pierce’s actions; she just found it all illogical.

She knew she wasn’t a vengeful person, but she wouldn’t tolerate someone by her side who had ulterior motives, someone who could even kill her at any moment.

’Or maybe... Damien Pierce just wasn’t evil enough?’

’Is that why things turned out this way? Because he didn’t go all the way with his evil?’

That wasn’t necessarily it, either.

It was agonizing, like having a key piece of a puzzle missing in her mind.

Leaving her stuck in limbo.

"When we get back, I’ll help you look into him again." Nathan Lockwood’s voice suddenly trailed off.

Because Zoe Pierce had slumped over the control panel in front of her seat.

Her slightly curled hair was a bit messy, not tied up or styled. Her face had lost some of its color and was a little pale. Her eyelashes fluttered like a butterfly’s wings. One of her slender arms was pinned beneath her cheek, and a complex emotion flickered in her eyes.

She was thinking about Damien Pierce. Her gaze wasn’t on him, nor were her thoughts.

And yet, there she was, quietly by his side.

No warm sunlight streamed into the Mech Bay, only the cool interior lights of the mecha and the reflections from the screen, which danced on her cheeks.

He suddenly reached out, tucked a stray strand of her hair behind her ear, and gently patted the back of her head. "If you can’t figure it out, don’t rush. Take your time."

"The clues will come." ’Isn’t this what I’m best at?’

’I can connect the dots for her, unravel the mystery, and find what she wants to know.’

Zoe Pierce looked at Nathan Lockwood, her gaze soft, and suddenly said, "Nathan Lockwood, you’re being so gentle today."

It wasn’t his usual-thousand-mile-stare of aloofness; his voice was even much softer than normal.

Nathan Lockwood: "I just don’t want to see you upset. Did it help cheer you up?"

Zoe Pierce shifted slightly, her hair brushing against the surface. Her gaze moved from him to the screen as she whispered, "It did."

"Thank you."

Perhaps the memories that had just returned had made her a little vulnerable, but she was sincerely grateful for his comfort.

The hand that had just gently patted her hair carried a warmth reminiscent of her parents’ palms.

Though the feeling wasn’t the same, she was still very thankful that he would say such things at a time like this.

Nathan Lockwood’s gaze inevitably softened. The sharp edge of his mood from just moments ago now completely calmed.

A rare, small smile touched his lips, and he also whispered, "That’s good."

’As long as I can comfort her, as long as she stops making that heart-wrenching expression, that’s all that matters.’

No one spoke again inside the Mech Bay, but neither Nathan Lockwood nor Zoe Pierce found it strange. On the contrary, it was comfortable.

When the mecha finally came to a stop, Zoe Pierce pushed herself up. She took a hair tie from her Space Button, intending to tie up her messy hair, and asked in surprise, "Did you guys go through my Space Button?"

’Why is my Space Button such a mess? Things aren’t where I put them.’

No matter how much he tried to hide it, a shadow still passed through Nathan Lockwood’s eyes at her question.

"Erin Xavier took a suppression patch from your Space Button." He was unwilling to explain further, offering only that.

He didn’t want to tell her she’d been temporarily marked by Erin Xavier, nor did he want to explain that their relationship had undergone a sudden change because of that temporary mark.

She was clueless—not just about romance, but her awareness of her gender identity was also lacking.

He wanted to lecture her, but the atmosphere between them had just been so good. He didn’t want to be the one to ruin it.

But not saying anything was frustrating, too, especially with the whole situation involving Miles Sherman and Erin Xavier.

For once, he felt a helpless headache coming on. He rubbed his temples and continued, "From now on, you need to be careful to keep some Omega inhibitors in your Space Button."

Suppression patches alone weren’t enough anymore. Nathan Lockwood wished he could wrap Zoe Pierce in a full suit of armor.

He couldn’t let anyone else exploit a weakness again.

Just from the look on Nathan Lockwood’s face, Zoe Pierce knew something must have gone wrong while she was unconscious.

It looked like it might have been something serious.

Otherwise, Nathan Lockwood wouldn’t be talking like this.

She wanted to ask, but seeing his expression, she inexplicably didn’t dare to.

’I’ll just forget it,’ she thought. ’I’ll ask Erin Xavier about it later.’

If Nathan Lockwood knew what Zoe Pierce was thinking, he’d probably cough up a lung.

The reunion happened quickly. After the mecha stopped, Zoe Pierce emerged from Nathan Lockwood’s Mech Bay.

Miles Sherman and the others were already worried about Zoe Pierce’s condition. Seeing her emerge first, they froze for a second. Nathan Lockwood hadn’t said on the comms channel that she had woken up, so they thought she was still unconscious.

Chase Shaw was the first to step forward. "How are you feeling? Are you okay?"

Zoe Pierce had already reverted to her usual self, showing none of the fragility she had in Nathan Lockwood’s Mech Bay. Being so suddenly doted on by Chase Shaw left her feeling a bit overwhelmed and flattered.

But she quickly smiled. "I’m fine. I’ve sorted things out now."

’Not really.’

She just didn’t want them to worry.

Seeing their worried faces, she subconsciously wanted to smile to let them know she was really okay.

’They’re good people.’

She glanced at Chase Shaw’s complexion and proactively grabbed his wrist. "You’re the one I should be asking. You look terrible. Is your spirit sea acting up again?"

Sure enough, when she extended her spiritual power, she could feel that the spiritual power within his spirit sea was twisted up like a pretzel.

As she soothed him like she usually did, she found something strange.

’Why does my spiritual power feel so much smoother today? It’s like it’s more abundant than before.’

She subconsciously glanced up at Chase Shaw.

Chase Shaw’s brow furrowed, and he looked at her nervously. "What’s wrong? Is your spiritual power acting up? Stop."

Zoe Pierce was stunned, not knowing whether to laugh or cry. "Why are you treating me like I’m a glass doll?"

As if she were about to shatter.

It was hard for Chase Shaw not to worry. After all, she had just been given a sedative precisely because her spiritual power was overactive. 𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖

And now, she was using it again after such a short time.

After a moment’s thought, he reached out and pulled her wrist away. "No, you need to rest."