The subjects of the surveillance were completely unaware. They had no idea that a single screenshot had thoroughly captured their teachers’ attention.

Although, the nature of that attention was a bit strange.

Zoe Pierce, especially, had no clue what kind of image she now projected in her teachers’ minds. After all, there was a considerable gap between reality and their imaginations.

But right now, no one knew, nor did they have the time to care.

Because they had just run into another team.

Zoe Pierce and her team had only been walking for about ten minutes when their Intelligent Brains sounded an alarm, indicating a flashing signal ahead.

The group didn’t even consider hiding. Instead, they continued straight on their path without changing course.

It was the other side that couldn’t hold back. They sent two Alphas to scout, but when they realized the approaching team was Miles Sherman’s, they were kicking themselves.

This was the biggest problem with the Intelligent Brain’s alerts: you knew someone was ahead, but you couldn’t determine their strength.

Miles Sherman and his team knew their school ranking, so they didn’t deign to hide. The other side, however, clearly lacked that confidence and sent two people out first.

The moment they did, they knew it was over.

They were no match at all, and trying to run was useless. In a single exchange, they were pinned down by Chase Shaw and Erin Xavier.

They weren’t eliminated immediately. Instead, they were pushed forward like herded sheep. The other team was a five-person squad; besides these two, there were three others. Miles’s team was using these two as bait.

This was the first time Zoe Pierce had seen Miles Sherman’s team work together.

Nathan Lockwood’s spiritual power cleared the way, directing the squad toward the enemy team.

Meanwhile, Chase Shaw merely had to stand before the two captives. The sheer pressure of his diffusing spiritual power was enough to make them sweat bullets, as if they were carrying a thousand-pound weight on their backs.

Watching from the back, Zoe Pierce could see the veins bulging on their temples and their short hair soaked through with sweat.

"Ah—I can’t take it anymore! Just eliminate me."

One of the Alphas couldn’t bear it any longer. He dropped to his knees, pressing his forehead to the ground with a low growl. His face, smeared with leaves and light brown mud, was a picture of misery.

Chase Shaw watched him coldly. The Alpha claimed he couldn’t take it, but the elimination button was on his own body, and he was still hesitating to press it himself.

In contrast, Erin Xavier stood to the side, smiling sweetly. His baby face looked particularly approachable at that moment. "Don’t worry," he said. "You’ll be the first one we eliminate in a bit."

The remaining members of that squad, seemingly growing anxious as they waited for their teammates who never returned, soon sent another Alpha over.

But upon seeing Erin Xavier, his face paled, and he began to back away instinctively.

It was as if he’d seen a ghost.

The previously relaxed atmosphere of the squad instantly froze. Zoe Pierce watched as Erin Xavier, who had been grinning just a moment ago, saw his expression completely fall.

Miles Sherman and the others all turned their gazes to Erin Xavier.

’Who is this guy?’

’To have such an effect...’

Zoe Pierce’s attention shifted to Erin Xavier. She saw him curl his lip into a smirk, his light brown eyes narrowing. "Well, well, who do we have here? My dear brother?"

The two men, suppressed by Chase Shaw’s pheromones, unconsciously lifted their heads, stunned by that form of address.

Although there had long been rumors that Sheldon Xavier was related to Erin Xavier, Sheldon had never admitted it, only telling people not to spread falsehoods.

But now, with Erin Xavier saying it himself, the rumors were apparently true.

And Sheldon Xavier was Erin Xavier’s older brother?

However, anyone could see the bad blood between Sheldon and Erin Xavier; otherwise, his tone wouldn’t have been like that.

What’s more, Erin Xavier was now blocking Sheldon Xavier’s path, preventing him from leaving. "Where do you think you’re going?"

"Abandoning your teammates?"

Sheldon Xavier’s expression was stiff. He didn’t engage with Erin Xavier at all, his pale face darting around as he surveyed his surroundings.

There were no other paths. The only opening was the one created when Erin Xavier broke formation, and in that gap stood a single Omega.

He had no choice. The moment he saw Erin Xavier, Sheldon Xavier knew this wouldn’t end well.

On a normal day, it was fine if Erin Xavier didn’t see him. But now that he had, he definitely wouldn’t be let off the hook.

When her eyes met Sheldon Xavier’s, Zoe Pierce knew this was bad.

’Unbelievable,’ she thought. ’This is clearly a dispute between him and Erin. Why is he looking at me?’

Sure enough, in a desperate, all-or-nothing move, Sheldon Xavier shot toward her. He focused all his spiritual power into his legs, achieving an astonishingly fast speed.

But Zoe Pierce had already released a bit of her own spiritual power, channeling it to her eyes, so she could clearly see Sheldon Xavier’s trajectory.

She was already preparing to dodge backward, but she never expected someone else to be faster than him: Erin Xavier.

In the blink of an eye, with the THUD of a body hitting the ground, Erin Xavier’s knee was pressing into Sheldon Xavier’s back. He pinned both of Sheldon’s arms down and looked down at him. "Where did you think you were running?"

His gaze followed the direction Sheldon had been running and landed on Zoe Pierce’s still-startled face.

"Erin Xavier!" Sheldon Xavier’s body was completely overpowered by Erin. Lifting his eyes, he could only see the boots of the people standing around him. The restraint was painful, and his eyes were bloodshot. The spiritual power he had painstakingly gathered was completely suppressed by Erin. "You maniac."

He was an A-level Alpha, but Erin Xavier was S-Class.

That insurmountable difference in rank meant that in a direct confrontation with Erin, he had no chance of turning the tables.

Erin Xavier’s smile was brilliant, but the more brilliant it was, the more terrifying it became.

Now Zoe Pierce felt that Erin’s previous actions toward her hadn’t even counted as targeting her. The way he looked now, he really did seem like the maniac Sheldon had called him.

His face was smiling, but his eyes were as cold as an ice cellar, holding no warmth as they looked at people.

"Let me go, or I’m telling Dad!" Sheldon Xavier felt as if his arms were being dislocated. They were numb, but what he felt more than the pain was a sense of humiliation.

Forced into this position, pinned to the ground on his hands and knees like a criminal by Erin Xavier, with everyone watching.

It was one thing for Miles Sherman’s team to know about his history with Erin. But he had just inadvertently glimpsed the expressions on his own teammates’ faces. They were looking at him with shock.

And that Omega on Miles Sherman’s team... the look on her face was a mixture of disgust and a frown.

He didn’t need to think to know that once the joint exam was over, news of him being pinned to the ground by Erin Xavier would spread throughout the entire school.

He would have been better off not mentioning it. The moment he did, Erin Xavier let out a low laugh. "Oh dear. Going to tattle to Daddy when you lose? How old are you, brother?"

"I don’t think you’ve forgotten what I told the old man, have you? You don’t come looking for me, and I won’t go looking for trouble with you. Today, you clearly came looking for me first, didn’t you?"

His gaze shifted to Sheldon Xavier’s teammates standing to the side. He tilted his head and smiled. "You tell me. Isn’t that right?"

Seeing the state Erin Xavier was in, Chase Shaw even eased up on the spiritual power he was using to restrain the other two captives.

In this matter, no one could talk Erin Xavier down.