"What are they doing?"

"It's better to be left in the dark. Don't you remember how effortlessly they handled the Elites earlier? Just ignore them."

Some of the common soldiers noticed the peeking trio. But with the power of Victoria and Ava still fresh in their minds, they didn't dare interfere and turned the other way.

"Am I witnessing some reality show in real time?" Naturally, Alice noticed the commotion among the common soldiers and quickly found the reason.

While she was interested in what was happening, she decided it wasn't her place to meddle and left.

Back at the couple, the two were deep in their chatter.

"He also has the tendency to give me too much food, not to mention that he worries excessively about me." Claire shook her head with a chuckle. The more she talked about her old man, the more she reminisced about all the things that he did.

"I can sympathize." Michael agreed; his sister was pretty similar.

Unbeknownst to the two of them, the quick date prolonged, minutes turning into hours. Yet the two found each other's company pleasant, causing them to not realize how fast time passed.

"God, I feel so much better!" Claire exclaimed, leaning back in her chair. Now that she had finally found someone to share her frustration with, a great load had been taken off her shoulders, making her breathing easier.

"I can see why my grandfather likes you. You are genuine, not some fake that suppresses his real self just to please others." She pointed out, glancing at Michael.

He chuckled warmly. "Actually, there is a reason for that. One of my favorite quotes is: In your 20s you worry about what others think about you. In your 30s you don't care what they think about you, and in your 40s you realize that they didn't think about you in the first place."

Leaning back in his chair, he added, "So I live following my own ideals; nothing can affect that."

"Honestly, at the start of the date I thought this was going to be a one-off thing. But now I find myself wanting to repeat it sometime in the future." Claire put her hand over her lips, hiding her giggle.

"It would be my pleasure." Michael felt the same way. It appeared that there had been some merit to Bryce's words after all.

When the two went off their way, Bryce immediately went after his granddaughter with joyful steps. He was certain that the date had gone wonderfully and wanted to rub it in her face about how right he had been.

"The competition is getting fiercer and fiercer." Ava mumbled in frustration.

"Not that I wasn't expecting it; my Michael is just too wonderful to not attract women's attention." She sighed, storming off hell-bent on creating a plan of action.

Victoria, meanwhile, didn't know how to feel. The correct emotion would have been happiness; after all, Michael and Claire had obviously gotten along pretty well. Yet there was an unfamiliar emotion swelling up in her chest.

For some unexplainable reason she wanted to switch places with Claire.

"What is this?" She wondered out loud. Eager to understand herself better, she went to cultivate in peace.

Unbeknownst to everybody, a certain person with a hood over her head had enjoyed the spectacle so much that she had taken out several bags of popcorn.

"Who could have thought that following Victoria and a simple Expert could be so fun?!" Elina laughed joyfully before finishing her bag.

As a Lord, her life had turned methodical; situations as entertaining as this were rare and far between.

Whatever the case, a simple scheme of a bored old man had caused quite the commotion among the powerhouse on the train.

Back at his assigned room, Michael sat on the bed and took a breather.

"Finally I can relax." He exclaimed.

However, his peace didn't last long. A few hours after the date, a familiar alert sounded, waking him up.

Unlike the last time, this one wasn't orange in color but red.

"If orange means Elites are coming, then this must mean that there is a General up ahead!"

In theory he knew that there was no need to worry. After all, Alice was stationed on the train, and being a Late Grandmaster, she should be able to take care of any General tier aliens with ease.

While the two Early Grandmasters might have struggled against one General on Triton, she shouldn't have a problem soloing it. This was simply how big of a difference there was between the stages.

Since only Masters and up were permitted to go outside when a red alert was sounded, he went to the main gathering area, eager to observe the exchange with the help of the cameras around the train.

"W—we will be fine, right?" Enzo stuttered with the devastation on Triton still fresh in his mind.

"If my memory serves me correctly, Michael played a crucial part in defeating the last General. If you want to be his rival, you have to do the same, you know?" Amelia didn't miss the moment to tease him.

"Don't say things like that. Otherwise, he will get himself killed!" Leo laughed out loud, trying to suppress his anxiety.

Michael and Ava remained silent for different reasons.

He was curiously waiting to see the upcoming General alien. Since he wanted to liberate Neptune from the aliens, he had to get familiar with how they fought.

Meanwhile, Ava was focused on Victoria and Claire; the two were supposed to be her love rivals, yet they were outside ready to face off against the threat while she was still cowering in the train.

'Stronger! Get even stronger so he can rely on you!' Ava clenched her small fist, the fire burning in her chest intensifying several times over.

With the train halted, the Masters had long come out, ready to face the threat. Naturally, Alice, the only Grandmaster, was waiting at the front.

"Prepare!" She commanded, managing to make out a threatening silhouette at the far horizon.

The General tier alien had shown itself.

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