Just looking at the amount of N781 being used, you’d almost suspect they were carving mechas directly out of whole N781 ore.

Of course, that was impossible. N781’s superconductive properties meant it had significant drawbacks in other areas. It wasn’t hard enough or sharp enough to serve as a protective shield or a deadly weapon.

Even if used for an energy cannon’s barrel, it would melt from the extreme heat.

By all conventional logic, it was completely unfeasible.

"Unless they’ve discovered another use for N781 ore." It was a common pattern with energy ores—many had their uses discovered gradually through human research, and a considerable number of rare ores on the market still had no known applications.

This was the most scientific explanation Chase Shaw could come up with.

"It’s not just about superconductivity; it’s the absolute key to creating their new type of mecha." As Chase Shaw spoke, he opened the interstellar map. "I’ve paid close attention to the distribution of N781 deposits before."

"Velorum and the Voryn Cluster. The medium and small planets in these two areas are a moderate distance from Siren Star and have a stable annual output of N781 ore."

Chase Shaw had done the calculations. Based on proximity, if Planet B36 was Wesley White’s base of operations, then these places with a stable output of the energy ore should have been his main destinations.

"But for Wesley White to go all the way to the Capital Star to buy from various sources... it doesn’t add up."

Sometimes, a line of reasoning reaches a dead end.

Why would Wesley White take the long way around?

As Julian Chambers listened to them, and as the others furrowed their brows, he suddenly spoke up. "A few years ago, there were several Xenobeast Tides in those two planetary regions. I was there. The energy mine extraction was affected."

It was like fitting scattered pieces of a puzzle together. Now, the whole picture was coming into focus.

The places where he usually sourced his ore had run into trouble. With no other choice and facing massive demand, he had to purchase from external suppliers. That was likely when Wesley White decided to turn to the mining sites near the Capital Star.

Merchants who made their fortunes from mining almost inevitably gravitated toward the Capital Star. In fact, it wasn’t just them—nearly any successful merchant would choose to come to the Capital Star.

There were more opportunities, and connecting with the right people made business easier. That was an indisputable fact.

Amidst ordinary business transactions involving orders worth hundreds of millions, the unit price of N781 was completely inconspicuous, allowing it to remain hidden in plain sight.

This further proved how extremely cautious he was.

And the more cautious he was, the more it proved that there was something unusual about his procurement activities.

Now that they had pieced together Wesley White’s motive for purchasing elsewhere, the remaining question was whether he had any direct connection to the mining accident. Zoe Pierce had never forgotten this, even in her worst nightmares. The mine where it happened was none other than an N781 energy mine.

Without her memories, she had no way of recalling any interaction with Wesley White.

"You should head back for now. We’ll come find you if anything comes up." Miles Sherman glanced at Zoe Pierce before speaking to Julian Chambers.

Julian Chambers could tell they clearly had more to discuss without him.

His brow furrowed, but he stood up anyway. "No matter what, I hope you won’t leave me out of it."

He desperately wanted to know the truth.

And this craving for answers had now swelled to its absolute limit after just a few short sentences of conversation.

But he had to suppress his longing now. Standing before the closed door, Julian Chambers tilted his head back and took a deep breath, finally quelling the desire that was so intense it made him tremble.

He turned and slowly walked back to his room.

Inside the room, the maps on the Intelligent Brain still glowed before them.

"First of all, I think our focus still needs to be on Wesley White." Miles Sherman shifted his gaze from the maps to the red-haired Beta man. "There’s something strange about the connection between the N781 energy mine and the mechas, but that’s not our objective."

Their purpose on Planet B36 wasn’t to investigate whether the Betas had actually built a mecha.

It was to help Zoe Pierce find out what, if anything, Wesley White did during the mining accident, or what he might know about it.

Their fundamental goal was completely different from Julian Chambers’s.

No one voiced any objections.

It was Zoe Pierce who spoke, gazing at the image projected by the Intelligent Brain. "It doesn’t matter."

"We probably won’t be able to find Wesley White this time anyway, right?" On a planet as vast as B36, they couldn’t be certain of finding him in their predicted locations.

Zoe Pierce was more aware of this than ever, especially after hearing what Chase Shaw had said.

If the demand for N781 ore was enormous, and Wesley White had always been the energy supplier, then it was highly likely he wasn’t even on Planet B36 right now, but was off-world on some other planet.

The probability was too high.

"Understanding his objective and predicting his next move is the only way we’ll have a chance to catch him." To get concrete information, they would probably have to confront Wesley White face-to-face.

Just trying to catch him for the sake of catching him would never work.

Back on Earth, even the police would predict a criminal’s motive rather than just chasing them around aimlessly.

"So, I plan to go see for myself what secrets this mecha is hiding."

Did the Betas really develop a new type of mecha? What are its flaws? What is their goal?

If you dig deeper into this, it’s just one mystery after another.

For example, how many people are involved? What kind of education do the people of Planet B36 receive? What are they trying to do? Besides Wesley White, who are the other core members?

Nathan Lockwood’s gaze was profound as his eyes rested on Zoe Pierce’s pale, delicate face.

’Everything she says is beyond my expectations.’

’Every time I think I’m starting to understand her, she shatters my perception of her all over again.’

’She’s so clear-headed.’

’Clear-headed enough to seize every opportunity, to know what to do at each stage, and to make the most suitable decision after analyzing the pros and cons.’

’You can’t tell any of it from her appearance. She’s usually quiet and doesn’t say much, but she’s always silently observing the world with those eyes. Then, when it’s time to make a decision, she never hesitates.’

’It’s hard to believe this is what she’s like after losing her memory.’

’What must she have been like before?’

’The superficial investigation from before doesn’t seem enough to form a concrete picture of her past self. Even looking at her now, it’s no wonder Damien Pierce was afraid of her and tried to transfer the family’s assets away.’

’He foolishly thought he could control her after her amnesia, but in such a short time, she’s grown at an astonishing rate.’

"Zoe is right." After letting his gaze rest on Zoe Pierce for a moment, Nathan Lockwood agreed. "Just trying to capture Wesley White is pointless. First, we have no direct evidence linking him to the Pierce Family’s mining accident. Second, we don’t have the authority to enforce any laws. If we catch him and don’t kill him, we’ll be at a disadvantage the moment he gets away."

"Third, we have no leverage. Nothing that would force Wesley White to tell the truth."