Chapter 162: Chapter 162: Unable to Keep a Straight Face While Being Intimate in Turns

Chase Shaw, who had just turned around, froze in place again.

He covered his head with a towel. Out of sight, out of mind.

But he could still hear Zoe Pierce and Nathan Lockwood talking.

Even though Chase had averted his eyes, Zoe’s embarrassment didn’t fade. She understood Nathan Lockwood’s deeper intentions.

He had no intention of acting like just her teammate in front of Chase and the others.

He was only reserved in front of strangers, but here, he was unsparingly showing off their current relationship status.

If Zoe were only with Nathan, that would be one thing.

But the thought that in a month, she would have to be with Chase and appear in front of Nathan...

This kind of situation was still too much for Zoe.

She wasn’t mentally strong enough to act intimately in front of both of them with a straight face.

"Let go," she said, her voice stern.

Seeing that Zoe’s rejection was genuine, Nathan let her go. He stood up and offered her his seat. "You sit here."

He stood to the side, watching Zoe sit down. He glanced over her recent training records. "Your spiritual power has improved a lot, and you’re moving faster than before. I expect most of your training from now on will focus on physical conditioning."

The news that her spiritual power had been affected and surged again... Director Quinn and the others must already know.

There wasn’t much point in emphasizing it anymore.

Her physical ability was the only thing left, and it would likely be the standard they used to evaluate Zoe. "I suspect they’ll use some of the Alphas’ training regimens as your curriculum."

Since Zoe was being measured against an S-Class squad, the training intensity would probably be pushed straight to S-Class levels.

Nathan wasn’t too worried about Zoe’s abilities. On the contrary, he thought that if Director Quinn and the others were to see her true capabilities, the training would likely become even more difficult.

His finger tapped in the air. "Zoe, you should try something." 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦

Zoe looked at him, confused.

"Incorporate some spiritual power into your training," Nathan said. "For example, like Erin’s speed or Chase’s Gravity."

"If you use your spiritual power gradually, no one will notice." She was no longer the same Zoe as before. Now she could hold her own against them, her control over her spiritual power growing until it was as natural as breathing.

"When you need a burst of power, you can use speed."

"During your regular training, add Gravity to your legs." It would be like wearing invisible gravity shackles. Once you release them and combine that with speed, the effect will be completely unexpected.

Zoe stood up and did as Nathan suggested, gradually increasing the force on her ankles. Just as he’d said, her once-light body instantly became heavy.

Her movements felt sluggish, much slower than just a moment ago.

Zoe launched an attack at Nathan. Her movements were slower than before, but she gradually adjusted. At the moment she kicked, she heard Nathan’s sharp command: "Pull back, then accelerate."

Her mind subconsciously obeyed. Her normal speed instantly became a blur. THWACK! Her foot landed solidly on Nathan’s arm.

Zoe immediately pulled her leg back and looked at Nathan’s arm. "Are you okay?"

Nathan had taken a few steps back, but he’d still been unable to avoid the powerful kick.

Nathan let Zoe roll up his sleeve to look. His skin was pale, and the kick had instantly left a dark, reddish-purple mark seared onto his arm.

Zoe’s brows furrowed the moment she saw it.

"We’re going to the medical bay."

Nathan, however, wasn’t worried. It wasn’t that serious; it just looked bad. He’d suffered far worse injuries in the past.

"We’ll go in a minute. Zoe, you understand my point now." He had deliberately refrained from telling her in advance; he’d wanted to see her sudden burst of power.

If he hadn’t backed off and had taken the full force of Zoe’s kick, his arm would definitely have been fractured.

Zoe could only listen as Nathan continued to explain the technique. Chase felt like a third wheel. ’But if I leave these two alone here...’

Heh.

’Forget it.’

When Nathan finished his explanation, just as expected, Zoe followed him to the medical bay.

She didn’t even look back, just left supporting the man’s arm.

Chase stood up. The towel slid off him and fell to the metal floor, lying in a lonely, crumpled heap.

He pressed his fingers to his lips, again and again, more than ten times in all, before he finally managed to suppress the indescribable emotion welling up inside him.

’Don’t be impatient, Chase.’

’Just wait a little longer. Only another half a month.’

’You’re patient enough. You can wait that long.’

After a long moment, he crouched down, picked up the towel, and tossed it into the designated bin for cleaning and disinfection.

*

"Alright," Teacher Reid said, finishing with the instrument and looking at Nathan. "It’s nothing serious, just a bruise. In another five minutes, it’ll be completely gone."

Even though Zoe already knew how advanced Interstellar technology was, she couldn’t help but marvel at how such a frightening bruise could disappear in a matter of minutes.

"Who did this? Chase?" The injury wasn’t serious, and seeing Zoe accompany Nathan, Teacher Reid had initially jumped to the wrong conclusion.

After all, with Miles Sherman and Erin Xavier absent, the only one who could have done this to Nathan was Chase.

But he was surprised not to see Chase there.

He had only asked casually, but Zoe, who was standing beside Nathan, spoke up sheepishly. "I was the one who kicked him."

Teacher Reid, who was putting the instrument away, froze. He stared at Zoe in astonishment. "You kicked him?"

Zoe nodded sheepishly. "Sorry for the trouble."

It was no trouble at all. It was just that Teacher Reid suddenly had to see Zoe in a new light.

’Zoe could actually kick Nathan hard enough to do this? It wasn’t a serious injury, but a mark like that spoke volumes about the force behind it.’

Teacher Reid had heard from Director Quinn that Zoe had been through a lot of training. He knew she trained with Nathan and the others every day; their group could always be seen, whether in the Psionic Training Room or the physical training gym.

But that had just been an abstract concept of "effort."

He never expected that the force of Zoe’s attacks had now visibly caught up to that of an Alpha.

"Zoe Pierce, I’m starting to get excited," Teacher Reid couldn’t help but say. "You, kid, are full of surprises."

At first, he’d just thought of her as a pretty Omega, but now she was displaying such outstanding strength.

And she was just an Omega.

Zoe had never expected to earn a teacher’s approval so quickly. Hearing his words, her cheeks flushed slightly, and she gave a bashful smile.

Nathan spoke up. "Well, Teacher, we’ll be heading back now."

Teacher Reid couldn’t resist studying Zoe for a few more moments, marveling inwardly. He nodded at Nathan’s words.

"Zoe, you can walk me back," Teacher Reid heard Nathan say.

Teacher Reid: ?

His brow twitched as he watched Zoe follow beside Nathan, looking as if she were afraid of bumping into a fragile piece of glass.

’If I remember correctly, Nathan’s minor injury should have completely healed in the time we’ve been talking, right?’

’So, what was he playing at?’

’Playing the victim? Trying to make Zoe, an Omega, feel guilty?’