Chase Shaw was tearing off Miles Sherman’s facade.

Or perhaps, he found Miles Sherman’s current composure laughable. Miles clearly cared just as much, yet he insisted on acting as if he stood on some moral high ground.

On one hand, he acknowledged that Miles Sherman was protective of them; on the other, he found him to be a hypocrite.

"What you say and what you do are completely at odds, Miles."

Chase Shaw had no intention of using his spiritual power on Miles; it wouldn’t have worked on him anyway. He just wanted to make Miles realize he wasn’t as high-and-mighty as he acted.

Miles Sherman dodged several of his moves in a row. For teammates, sparring was a perfectly ordinary affair. Sometimes, their teammates understood them better than they understood themselves.

A single glance, the slightest shift in posture, was enough to predict the next move.

Over the years, they had fought like this thousands of times.

Only this time, it wasn’t for practice.

Miles Sherman’s expression finally shifted. His usually serious, handsome face lost some of its composure.

"So what?"

"Does fighting to a finish right now really decide who’s most important in Zoe Pierce’s heart?"

Chase Shaw scoffed. "Yeah, this doesn’t mean anything."

"This fight today is just to show you how pissed I am."

This duel, deliberately kept from Zoe Pierce, would remain a secret from her forever. The men tore away their placid facade and faced each other directly.

Their obsessive thoughts, their desire for her—all of it was being unleashed here.

Only after Zoe Pierce mentioned the idea of "other people" did they all realize what they had been overlooking.

They had never considered the possibility that Zoe Pierce could fall for someone else.

The high standards she sought were ones they had cultivated in her; the companionship she wanted was a natural result of them always being together.

So, how could that person be anyone else?

They wanted to raise Zoe Pierce’s standards so high she wouldn’t deign to look at anyone else.

So she would only have eyes for them.

But her explanation—that they were just teammates—was clearly an evasion. Yet they had no right to blame her, no standing to fault her for never once wondering what it would be like if one of them were to become her partner.

Excellence and victory were never prerequisites for love.

They were fighting for Zoe Pierce’s heart—for the earnest, focused attention she would one day bestow upon a single person.

The fight devolved into chaos.

What started as Chase Shaw against Miles Sherman, and Nathan Lockwood against Erin Xavier, gradually morphed into a free-for-all.

No one bothered with defense anymore; everyone just wanted to land a solid punch on someone else.

When you got down to it, not a single one of them was innocent.

"You’re calling me out, Chase Shaw, but what about you? How many times have you held her?" Miles Sherman’s fist slammed into Chase’s chest, sending him stumbling back several steps.

Chase Shaw pressed his lips together, only to take another punch from Nathan Lockwood on his left.

They all had their secrets. And even without those, there was more than enough to make them jealous of one another.

Inside the training room, every punch landed with brutal force as they vented their frustrations with each other.

Throughout the afternoon, the only sounds from the room were the occasional muffled grunts of pain.

As dusk fell, the men pulled up the hoods of their sweatshirts, keeping their heads down as they slipped out of the training room, avoiding being seen.

The superficial wounds were nothing serious. None of them had used spiritual power. Still, if they didn’t go to the infirmary, the bruises would take at least a few days to fade.

They chose to go straight back to their respective dorms.

Chase Shaw touched the corner of his lip, which still throbbed with pain. He sent a series of specifications for his Mecha via the Intelligent Brain, then headed for the bathroom.

He stripped off his shirt, revealing a powerful physique—a strong upper body, broad shoulders, and a narrow waist.

The loose sweatpants were held up only by a drawstring. He looked in the mirror. The corner of his mouth was the only mark on his face, but it looked pretty bad. A large bruise was forming on his chest, and a patch of angry red-purple on his lower back was partially hidden by his pants.

He loosened the drawstring, revealing more of the bruised skin.

He pressed a hand against the mirror, lost in thought for a moment, before stepping under the shower.

Icy water streamed down, cascading over his head and face.

This catharsis, at least, had not been for nothing.

They had all reached a tacit understanding and learned each other’s boundaries.

They didn’t want Zoe Pierce falling in love with some complete outsider.

They wanted her, and all the good in her, for themselves.

Zoe Pierce might not have any romantic inclinations now, but from this point on, it would be every man for himself.

Now that things were out in the open, any individual gesture would no longer be about team camaraderie. It would simply be because they wanted to be good to her.

They just wanted her to give them a little more consideration when the time came for her to choose a partner.

After three straight days of not seeing Miles Sherman or any of the others, even the patient Zoe Pierce was getting antsy.

The instructors hadn’t restricted her movements, so she went straight to the ground floor of their dorm building and pinged them on the public team channel.

"Are none of you in your dorms?" Zoe Pierce asked, sheltering from the sun under a tree. The temperature on the Capital Star was pleasant year-round, but the sunlight was a bit harsh on this clear day.

They all answered quickly. "We’re here."

"So, who’s free to help me practice my spiritual power?" This was a rare opportunity, and Zoe Pierce didn’t want to waste it. She hadn’t been able to use her spiritual power at all in the days since her Comfort Level had increased.

Now that she was at school, with access to the secure Psionic Training Rooms, Zoe Pierce wanted them to help her test just what her current level was.

The channel went silent for a few seconds. Finally, Nathan Lockwood spoke up. "I’ll be right over."

It was as if that broke the dam. The others quickly chimed in, "I’m coming too."

But when Zoe Pierce finally saw them all downstairs, she was baffled to see the faint, discolored bruise still lingering at the corner of Chase Shaw’s mouth.

’I mean, if it were just one person, that would be one thing. But Erin Xavier too?’

Only Miles Sherman and Nathan Lockwood’s faces were unmarked.

Her gaze shifted back and forth between Chase Shaw and Erin Xavier. ’Did those two... get in a fight?’

’No way. But why?’

She racked her brain but couldn’t think of any personal grudge between them.

Nathan Lockwood noticed her gaze and said in a low voice, "Don’t mind them. They were just messing around."

Chase Shaw pressed his lips together and grunted in agreement. Erin Xavier said nothing.

It really did seem like they were just messing around, as Nathan Lockwood had said.

Zoe Pierce remained silent. ’They’ve never "messed around" like this before. Obviously, the group was hiding the reason Chase Shaw and Erin Xavier had fought.’

But since they didn’t want to talk about it, she wouldn’t press them. She just smiled and let the matter drop.

"Why didn’t you go to the infirmary?" Interstellar medical technology was incredible. Aside from severed limbs, almost any injury could be healed in a medical pod. Even superficial wounds would heal instantly after a scan from a Treatment Device.

Erin Xavier turned his head away. "Because it was embarrassing."