At Aurora Academy, the atmosphere in the control room was still tense.

The technicians kept trying to lock Ethan’s weak signal. Lines of coordinates appeared and then vanished. Each time it seemed they had caught a stable position, the space on the other side would fluctuate, making all the data drift out of usable range.

The technical supervisor wiped the sweat from his forehead. "It’s no good. The signal drifts the moment it appears. We can confirm Ethan is still alive, but we can’t open a supply rift."

Headmaster Cole stood behind him, his gaze still not leaving the screen. "Keep trying."

The gray-haired woman frowned. "Headmaster, the backup crystal supply has been depleting very quickly. If we keep reinforcing the positioning array, the academy’s energy stores will be under heavy pressure."

Cole said coldly: "I’ll take responsibility."

No one said anything more.

At that very moment, the ground outside the main hall shook faintly.

A low, deep engine sound rang out from the school grounds.

Through the surveillance screen, everyone saw a black-silver aircraft descending. Its body was long, its wings folded backward, its surface covered in blue lines of energy. Under the academy’s night lights, it looked like a steel bird from the front lines of the future.

On the body of the aircraft was the emblem of the Safe Zone No. 7 Defense Legion.

The man in the military uniform in the control room immediately changed expression. "Legion Commander Marcus Vane has arrived."

Headmaster Cole frowned.

A few minutes later, the control room door opened.

A tall man in a black military uniform walked in. He was somewhere past forty, his gray hair cut short, his face angular and cold, with the three silver star emblem of the Defense Legion on his shoulder. Behind him were six soldiers equipped with energy rifles, their bodies clad in black tactical armor.

Marcus Vane didn’t exchange many greetings.

He walked straight up before the central screen, looked at the chaotic lines of data, then asked coldly: "This is the student transferred to the Anomalous Coordinates?"

Cole replied: "Ethan Ashford. The top theory student of Aurora Academy’s class. He just passed the Abyss Tower trial, opened his Heaven’s Gate, and was thrown by the system to the Anomalous Coordinates instead of returning to the academy."

Marcus looked at Cole. "I’ve read the preliminary report. A Mythic rank Partner?"

"Correct." Cole said clearly. "Crimson Dragon Laira. The system publicly displays the limit at Mythic rank. In addition, during the trial, Ethan also received a rank S special item."

Marcus didn’t show the astonishment the others had.

He only looked at the screen for a few more seconds, then said: "Locating a person in the Anomalous Coordinates consumes a great deal of resources. Sending supplies through unstable space costs many times more. Aurora Academy doesn’t have the capacity to do it itself, which is why you called the military."

Cole heard the cold tone in his voice.

He immediately said: "That’s why I requested support. Ethan has strategic value. A Mythic rank Partner is enough to change the future of the entire Safe Zone No. 7. If we abandon him to die in the Anomalous Coordinates, it will be an irreplaceable loss."

Marcus looked at Cole with an almost expressionless gaze.

"Headmaster Cole, you’re using emotion in place of judgment."

The atmosphere in the room immediately turned cold.

Cole asked in a grave voice: "What did you say?"

Marcus replied coldly: "A Partner isn’t a stable asset. Especially a humanoid Partner. History has proven that the loyalty of many Partners is very low. When facing real danger, they will prioritize their own survival. If Ethan Ashford is in danger in the Anomalous Coordinates, the chance of his Partner abandoning him is not low at all."

A technician unconsciously raised his head.

The gazes of several people in the room turned strange.

They had all seen the observation data before the screen was blocked. Laira had stood shielding Ethan, had threatened the three guild masters for him, had protected him in the Abyss Tower. To say she would abandon Ethan in danger sounded almost absurd.

Cole said coldly: "You’ve never seen Laira with your own eyes."

Marcus replied: "I don’t need to see her. I only need front-line experience."

Cole gripped his cane tightly.

Marcus continued: "A Mythic rank Partner sounds very appealing, but it doesn’t prove Ethan Ashford is qualified for the military to consume strategic-level resources. The same goes for the rank S special item. It might be strong, or it might not be suitable. More importantly, we haven’t confirmed the quality of his Heaven’s Gate. A person with a strong Partner but who can’t keep up himself is just a mobile weak point."

Cole said in a grave voice: "He survived the Abyss Tower."

Marcus asked coldly in return: "Did he survive on his own, or did the Partner carry him through?"

That line made the expressions of quite a few people change.

It was too cold.

And too one-sided.

Even though Laira was Ethan’s Partner, the two of them coordinating was inherently part of an Awakened’s power. Using the reason "the Partner carried him through" to dismiss Ethan was no different from dismissing the entire Partner system.

Cole said: "If you read the full report, you’d know Ethan isn’t some useless person who only knows how to hide behind a Partner."

Marcus looked at him. "The report doesn’t change the fact that he is currently still an unconfirmed factor."

He turned to look at the technical supervisor.

"How much is the positioning array currently consuming?"

The technical supervisor hesitated and looked at Cole.

Marcus said coldly: "Answer."

The technical supervisor gritted his teeth and gave the number.

After hearing it, Marcus immediately let out a cold laugh. "Just to maintain an unstable signal consumes this much. If you open a supply rift, the amount of crystals needed would be enough to supply three rookie squads for half a month of training."

Cole said: "Three rookie squads don’t have a Mythic rank Partner."

Marcus turned his head to look at him.

"And Ethan Ashford might not survive long enough to prove that Partner belongs to humanity."

The room fell silent.

Marcus continued, his voice growing even colder: "This world needs talent. But national resources aren’t something to throw into a gamble just because one student seems special. We have confirmed geniuses already being trained, already preparing to go to the front lines. Wasting their resources on an unknown factor is irresponsible behavior."

Cole looked straight at him. "You’re calling a Mythic rank Partner ’seems special’?"

Marcus replied: "I’m calling a student who lost contact in the Anomalous Coordinates a high risk."

Cole said coldly: "He’s still alive."

Marcus said: "For now."

Those two words made the atmosphere in the control room turn cold to the extreme.

The gray-haired woman couldn’t help speaking up: "Legion Commander Vane, if you won’t even provide a basic chance at rescue, then we’re no different from pronouncing a death sentence on Ethan."

Marcus looked at her.

"No. The Anomalous Coordinates themselves passed the sentence. I’m only refusing to burn strategic resources to delay an outcome with a high probability of occurring."

This time, even a few technicians revealed a look of indignation.

Those words were too heartless.

Ethan wasn’t a number on a report.

He was the student who had just opened a Mythic Partner before everyone’s eyes.

He was a person still alive.

He was a person waiting for supply coordinates from the academy.

But in Marcus’s mouth, Ethan had nearly become a failed investment that needed to be cut as a loss.

Cole slowly took a step forward.

"I don’t agree."

Marcus looked at him. "I didn’t ask for your opinion."

Cole said coldly: "This is Aurora Academy."

Marcus replied: "And I represent the Defense Legion. From the moment the academy requested military support, the authority to decide on the use of strategic positioning equipment belongs to me."

He turned to the technical supervisor and directly issued an order: "Shut down the reinforcement array. Stop all positioning tests. Do not continue consuming energy crystals for Ethan Ashford."

The technical supervisor’s face turned pale.

He looked at Cole.

Cole pressed his cane against the floor.

Clack.

"No one is to shut it down."

Marcus slowly turned his head.

His gaze turned completely cold.

"Headmaster Cole, you are defying a military order."

Cole looked straight at him. "I’m saving my student."

Marcus was silent for a second.

Then, he raised his hand.

The six soldiers behind him immediately stepped forward.

The sound of energy rifles being readied rang out very clearly in the quiet control room.

Click.

Click.

Click.

Six black muzzles all pointed at Headmaster Adrian Cole at once.

The gray-haired woman changed color. "Legion Commander Vane! Have you lost your mind? This is Aurora Academy!"

Marcus didn’t look at her.

He only looked at Cole, his voice so cold it carried not a trace of emotion.

"I’ll say it one last time."

"Sever contact with Ethan Ashford."

"Immediately."