<h4>Chapter 264 Caught</h4>


    The atmosphere in the dimly lit room shifted from one of tension and uncertainty to a more rxed and friendly tone after Mary''s unexpected hug and subsequent lighthearted banter with Shi Tian.


    As Shi Tian chuckled at Mary''s yful request for a "constion fee," the room seemed brighter, and the weight of the situation momentarily lifted.


    Shi Tian himself knew what Mary did was to lift some of the stress and pressure he had been piling up.


    Despite having the passive ability [Serene Calmness], it wasn''t omnipotent enough to prevent him from being mentally stressed. He would remain calm, but just like Mary had stated, emotion and mentality are two different categories and people often mistake the two to be the same.


    "So where are we going to use the drone as practice?" Shi Tian asked calmly.


    Mary held a mysterious smile.


    "Where do you think I wish to test the drone?" She then asked, not telling him the direct location.


    However, Shi Tian had a suspicion, or a guess to be precise as to where she would want to test the drone.


    "You''re not trying to tell me that we''re going to the dense area discreetly, right?" He raised an eyebrow and questioned.


    Everyone was already in a frenzy up ahead, searching for the dense area, meaning surveince here was alreadycking. So if they were to rush ahead as well, then no one would suspect a thing.


    But the real question came in now. Who would suppress the monster wave if they suddenly decided tounch an attack now?


    Even if they had gathered data and could confirm the monster wave would take a while beforeunching an attack, data could be incorrect. The data was merely an estimate and a probability of when they would attack, not a confirmation.


    "Ahem, Nathan. What did I just say before?" Mary faked a cough and said.


    "I''ve just said that you think too much and that''s why you umted unnecessary stress and nearly ruined yourself. Commander Theobold is still holding the fort with the other three militarymanders." She reminded him.


    "How are you so sure they will hold the fort?"


    "Because unlike Benedict and Phoebe, the other three militarymanders have no interest in it."


    "I thought you don''t know them well, given that they are usually hidden from the public."


    Mary smirked and patted his shoulder, "Source: Trust me."


    "..."


    Since she had used that statement, Shi Tian had no choice but to drop his concern and doubt.


    Never did he expect she would use his statement against him when he had just used it earlier. He got to give it to her for knowing how to steal someone''s strategy.


    "Anyway, are we going to leave now then?" Shi Tian enquired. He wasn''t familiar with the circumstancespared to Mary, so it was obvious that he wouldn''t know when was the best opportunity to leave.


    "Of course," Mary looked at him as if he was a retard. "Do you think we''re going to waste more time when we are ready for action already?"


    Shi Tian shook his head in response. They had wasted enough time the past two days while waiting for the rest to rush ahead.


    "Go outside and ce the drone on top of the Iron Sentinel, Nathan." Mary then instructed. It was clear that she had no intention of going out simply to put the drone on top.


    After all, you have to put a mask on and climb on top of the vehicle.


    "Okay, I''m going to head out temporarily." Putting on the mask, Shi Tian held the drone and said calmly.


    Mary nodded her head. "Go quickly ande back. I''m going to start the vehicle as soon as you''re back."


    Shi Tian didn''t bother saying anything else as he exited the vehicle. With the drone in his hand, he was about to climb on top of the vehicle until he was called out.


    "Nathan, what are you doing?"


    Confused, Shi Tian turned around and noticed Vanessa was camping by the side, almost as if she was waiting for them.


    "Why are you outside?" cing the drone on top of the vehicle, Shi Tian questioned her back. He didn''t n on answering her question since they were about to head off secretly.


    Thus, he didn''t expect to be caught by Vanessa so early on.


    "There''s nothing for me to do here, and the mission is somewhat dyed because of the leaked information. So I''m just idling around." Vanessa shrugged her shoulders and said.


    She then walked closer to him and smiled, "I bet you''re also trying to head off secretly to the dense area."


    Although her prediction was correct, Shi Tian kept hisposure, not exposing anything.


    "We''re just testing the drone that Commander Theobold had given to us." Shi Tian replied.


    And he continued, "We''re the ones that leaked the information, so why would we head to the dense area? If we wanted to, then we wouldn''t have leaked it in the first ce."


    Vanessa nodded her head, seemingly agreeing with his exnation.


    However, she suddenly grabbed Shi Tian''s arm and pulled him closer to her.


    "That exnation might work for others since it''s very logical. But I''ve been thinking the past two days, especially with how stingy Mary was. I don''t really think the leaked dense area is the correct location." She whispered softly.


    ''What the hell…'' Shi Tian was dumbfounded that Vanessa had turned smarter than previous. Nevertheless, he wouldn''t admit it and denied her im.


    "You were there with us during the leak, so why would we do something like that?"


    "Hehe, thanks for confirming my prediction to be true, Nathan."


    "What do you mean?"


    Vanessa chuckled softly and patted his shoulder. "If my prediction was wrong, then based on your personality and behavior, you would simply ignore me. You wouldn''t even bother entertaining me, much less give an exnation."


    "..."


    Twitching his mouth, Shi Tian was clearly stunned. He didn''t expect to be caught lying like this.


    ''Are all of them pretending to be a pig to eat a tiger?'' He wondered silently.