This was their way of showing they cared—quietly, without a word.

They knew she couldn’t go, so they found a way for her to watch.

After breaking through the atmosphere, the full vista of Gorbog came into view.

Vast expanses were piled high with mechanical junk. The air was murky, and the sky, much like on Siren Star, was a dusty gray.

But while Siren Star’s architecture had a cold, majestic grandeur, here, there was nothing to see but garbage.

Planet F187.

Five Mechas descending from the sky was something no one could ignore.

Someone had already notified the owner of the territory where Chase Shaw and his team landed.

"Morgan, some outsiders just showed up. They don’t look like people you want to mess with, and they’re waiting for you." The locals used the simplest Interstellar Intelligent Brains, which could only send messages and had no other functions.

The man called Morgan frowned when he heard this from his subordinate, but he decided to go see for himself.

Planet F187 didn’t usually get visitors.

’Could it be that someone had provoked an enemy who’d come looking for revenge?’

The moment Morgan arrived at the location his subordinate mentioned, he understood why they had said these outsiders were not to be trifled with.

The five Mechas were enough to make a person drool.

Their equipment and models were unlike anything he had ever seen.

His expression shifted. By the time he approached Nathan Lockwood and the others, his face was a mask of fawning subservience.

"What brings you gentlemen here?" ’These people were obviously from a high-status planet,’ he thought. ’Them deigning to come here definitely couldn’t mean anything good.’

He put on a shameless smile, his eyes crinkling as he eyed the photon cannons mounted on the Mechas.

Recognizing him as the person in charge, Director Quinn got straight to the point. "Did your people hijack a Starship? It would have been in the last day or two."

’So they really are here looking for trouble,’ Morgan thought.

’Someone must have done a sloppy job and left evidence behind.’

’These guys are truly fearless, robbing anyone they please.’

Glancing at the Mechas again, Morgan said, "How about I do some digging for you? Planet F187 is a big place; it’ll take a proper investigation."

Nathan Lockwood spoke up. "If you find something, we’ll make it worth your while."

’He understood. There was a handsome fee in it for him.’

Morgan’s face creased into a wide smile. Star Coins were the universal currency.

He only dared to accept because he was certain his own crew hadn’t been off-planet recently.

Besides, wasn’t making trouble for others a good thing for him? If these guys shook up the status quo and it led to a redistribution of resources on Planet F187, that would be fantastic.

With this idea in mind, Morgan sent a few of his men to investigate.

Director Quinn said over the channel, "Don’t show your faces just yet."

With the previous incident involving Ian Sullivan, Director Quinn felt it wasn’t a good idea for Miles Sherman and the others to reveal their faces.

It was best for them to keep a low profile.

Although it was far from The Capital Star, it wasn’t a Frontier Star like Siren Star. Anyone who had watched the broadcast would surely recognize their faces.

Nathan Lockwood and the others understood. They would speak, but they wouldn’t leave their Mechas.

Morgan saw this and simply pursed his lips.

’These "upper-class" types were all the same, always looking down on the dregs of society.’

After nearly three hours, Morgan’s men returned to report. "Morgan, we asked around. It seems only Leon Grove’s crew brought back a Starship last night."

"Here’s a photo we managed to snap." The subordinate showed the picture to Morgan.

Morgan glanced at it and figured this was probably it.

’It was exactly the type of Starship that looked like an easy target, the kind they would go after.’

However, hearing that Leon Grove’s crew was behind it, he felt the fate of the people on that ship was now highly uncertain.

"Gentlemen, I have the information you asked for. Take a look, is this what you’re looking for?" Morgan said, standing beneath the several-meter-tall Mechas with a strained, humorless smile.

’Craning his neck to talk like this was such a pain.’

Director Quinn was the first to emerge from his Mecha. The moment he stepped out, his unmistakable military bearing was on full display.

The smile in Morgan’s eyes faded, replaced by a hint of caution.

Director Quinn used his Intelligent Brain to confirm the details with Ryan Jacobs. Once confirmed, he nodded. "That’s the one. Thank you for leading the way."

Morgan stretched out a hand toward Director Quinn, smiled, and rubbed his fingers together.

Director Quinn immediately transferred him a sum of money.

’A man who gets straight to business.’

"Alright then, I’ll take you there. It’s a bit far from our turf, about a twenty-minute flight by Mecha."

As he spoke, Morgan climbed into his own Mecha and took the lead.

Compared to the ones belonging to Miles Sherman and his team, Morgan’s Mecha looked rather old and worn. Its finish was almost completely gone, and it looked like it was barely functional.

It flew at a slow, unhurried pace as well.

"The people you’re looking for are in the hands of a man named Leon Grove. But things might not be looking good for them. Leon Grove’s crew... they’re a bit extreme. They have a fondness for torture."

’They mainly do it to extort money, so they won’t kill their captives. But being flogged with an electric whip four or five times a day is pretty much guaranteed.’

He glanced at the group but ultimately decided against revealing anything more.

’Especially since Leon Grove’s crew despises people who so obviously come from high-status planets.’

’There were even some mad scientists in their ranks, researching all sorts of bizarre things. They were the most audacious group, creating strange gadgets and then using them to go out robbing people.’

’They didn’t operate on the same wavelength. That crew was too crazy, a bunch of complete desperadoes.’

’They generally had no interaction whatsoever.’

’And these guys looked exactly like the type of "upper-class" people Leon Grove and his crew hated most.’

But he had no obligation to warn them. Besides, it had nothing to do with him anymore. Stopping at the entrance to a street nestled against a mountain, Morgan said, "We’re here. This is the place."

He watched them with a beaming smile. Once they had entered the street, he let out a derisive scoff.

’Leon Grove was a tough nut to crack, not like him, a man who’d do a job as long as the price was right.’

’Leon Grove would surely resort to using some of his bizarre gadgets. He wasn’t going to stick around for that spectacle, lest he get caught up in the mess.’

With that thought, he glanced at the newly transferred money in his account with great satisfaction. This sum was enough to buy three days’ worth of nutrient solution for his brothers.

The moment Nathan Lockwood and the others entered the street, they noticed that this place was different from the rest.

The signal was getting progressively weaker.

"There’s something here jamming the signal," Director Quinn said. The connection to the Starship had become unstable. "For a civilian-grade jammer to be this powerful is quite impressive."

On the Starship, the once-clear image began to flicker and blur.

Zoe Pierce heard Director Quinn’s words. 𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖

But inevitably, her expression grew sterner.

Her eyelid was twitching, a sign that something bad was about to happen.

It wasn’t the heart-pounding tension of a Xenobeast Tide, but Zoe Pierce suddenly thought about her own situation—she wasn’t on Planet F187.

’So what if this premonition was only about something that wouldn’t matter to her personally?’

’What would it mean for Miles Sherman and the others?’

Zoe Pierce couldn’t help but speak up. "You guys, be careful... I have a bad feeling about this..."