《Reboot: Mechanic》


 Chapter 1: Great Disaster 1.0

    <h4>Chapter 1: Great Disaster 1.0</h4>


    Year 2139


    In a crowded park, a tall young man could be seen slowly pushing a bubbly girl on a wheelchair closer to the central fountain at her request.


    "Xiao Lan, are you enjoying this weather?" the young man asked, smiling indulgently.


    "Un, it''s nice to finally be out in the open after being stuck at home for so long!" Sheng Lan nodded her head rapidly while licking at her vani ice cream cone.


    As she reached out to touch the fountain, some ice cream dripped on her jeans, but she was too delighted to notice.


    Shi Tian smiled lightly at her clumsiness and grabbed a napkin, going on his knee and gently wiping the ice cream away.


    While he was focused on wiping the ice cream, something else urred and the people around them began showing a look of horror.


    "Brother Tian, what''s that in the sky?" Sheng Lan asked nervously, pointing at therge crack in the sky.


    "Hmm, let me see?" Shi Tian replied once he was finished wiping off the ice cream.


    As he turned around and nced at the sky, his eyes squinted slightly and his expression changed drastically once he saw what happened.


    The sky cracked like an egg and armored dinosaur-like monsters lurched out of the fissure. The split, though small at first, quickly widened.


    "What the heck?" Shi Tian eximed in shock, seeing the ferocious monsters dropping from the sky and killing humans.


    Without hesitation, Shi Tian quickly turned the wheelchair around and began running away from the crack.


    Although he doesn''t know what it is, Shi Tian was sure that the monsters dropping down from the sky were anything but friendly.


    "What''s going on, Brother Tian?"


    "I don''t know, Xiao Lan. But it''s best to forget about that incident."


    Within a few hours, the sky began to splitrger as numerous monsters filled with murderous intentnded on Earth.


    Soon, Worldwide news reporters on television stated that simr cracks had appeared everywhere in the world.


    And it didn''t take long before Earth was plunged into what is known as the Greatest Disaster 1.0.


    "Breaking news, the monsters have been identified as catastrophe danger levels that only have one goal in mind, ughter!"


    "Government had ordered a statewide emergency and to retreat into the shelter center immediately. The military had been deployed to deflect the iing disaster."


    BOOOM!


    The television that was broadcasting thetest information in a store was broken in half as monsters roamed around the street, looking for prey.


    The monsters seemed to be void of conscience as they attacked every living being they could find. Humans, dogs, cats, and essentially anything that was breathing were attacked with no exception.


    In just one day, the world that Shi Tian had known for his whole life had changed into something worse than a zombie apocalypse that was created as fiction.


    Pollution urred everywhere as the monsters carried a unique substance in their body that would change the environment.


    ¨C


    In a shelter center, Shi Tian was holding tightly at the handle of the wheelchair while making sure she was safe and sound.


    The young girl in the wheelchair was a petite, slender figure, with long, wavy hair that cascaded down her back in a cascade of curls.


    She had delicate features, withrge, expressive eyes and a small, upturned nose. She was dressed in a simple, but stylish outfit, with a pair of jeans and a sweater that showed off her figure.


    "Brother Tian, what is going on outside?" Sheng Lan asked in a worried tone.


    Shi Tian was tall and lean, with short, neatly trimmed hair and piercing blue eyes. He had a chiseled jawline and a straight nose, and his skin was smooth and unblemished.


    He was dressed in amon outfit, with a pair of dark jeans and a fitted sweater that showed off his athletic build.


    Currently, though, Shi Tian was perplexed by the situation but kept his smile to reassure Sheng Lan.


    "Nothing is wrong, Xiao Lan. I think the government is just trying to employ a new strategy of propaganda and pinning this on a country." Shi Tian said calmly.


    Shi Lan nodded her head.


    "I see¡­"


    Although what Shi Tian had said might sound ridiculous or even dumb, Sheng Lan believed each and every single word of his.


    They weren''t family, but both their family cars had crashed into each other 5 years ago.


    From that incident, the only survivor left was him and her.


    Shi Tian was fortunate enough to only have his hand scarred from the burn of the car whereas Sheng Lan lost function in both her legs.


    Shi Tian was depressed at the loss of his parents but also took pity on Sheng Lan, who equally lost both her parents the same day.


    The ident resulted in the two of them being alone, so Shi Tian took it upon himself to take care of her.


    Added to the fact that Shi Tian was two years older than Sheng Lan, she came to address him as a brother. As for the past, they decided to not talk about it again.


    Meanwhile, when Shi Tian was trying his best tofort Sheng Lan, a military-dressed personnel appeared from the steel door.


    "Everyone, I understand you might be all worried sick about your loved ones and would want to exit the shelter center. However, I must inform you all that the government has dered the current situation as Great Disaster 1.0. Without authority, no one can leave the shelter center until further notice." The military personnel announced.


    However, it was a given that this announcement was met with an extreme bacsh from the survivors.


    "How could you forcefully enclose us in this shelter?"


    "Do you even know who my father is? He''s a high-ranked government official and I demand we leave this crappy ce at once."


    "I will call mywyer for your action. This ispletely illegal."


    The military personnel listened to theirint with a nonchnt expression, showing a disdainful nce at each and everyone in the shelter center.

 Chapter 2: Shelter Center

    <h4>Chapter 2: Shelter Center</h4>


    The world was now in turmoil, with his fellow military men fighting for their life against new-species monsters. Yet these people who are just leeching off of them are yapping their mouths, acting like they are the king or god above them.


    "Hmph, if you wish to leave and seek your death, then, by all means, go ahead." The military personnel snorted coldly as he raised his hand.


    Soon, multiple military-dressed people armed with assault rifles appeared behind him as they raised their guns toward the people who were creating a scene.


    "Does anyone wish to leave this world right now?" The military personnel asked with a frightening aura around him.


    Instantly, the crowd turned silent as they sat back down without making a single sound.


    Without anyoneining, the days soon passed by and no one else knew what was going on outside the world right now.


    Television broadcasts stopped after three days of the outbreak.


    And it didn''t take long before the food ration was being depleted rapidly at the shelter center.


    "Cough cough cough." Sheng Lan began coughing multiple times as she struggled a bit.


    Shi Tian held a dreadful expression as he quickly patted her back softly.


    "Xiao Lan, are you alright?" Shi Tian asked in a worried tone.


    "I-I''m fine Brother- cough cough"


    Sheng Lan wanted to reply, but couldn''t as she coughed out a mouthful of blood from her mouth.


    Shi Tian quickly took out a napkin and wiped some of her blood.


    "Damn it, how long are they going to trap us in here?" Shi Tian cursed aloud.


    It wasn''t that he didn''t understand the shelter center was meant for their safety, but that Sheng Lan had run out of medical pills.


    Without medical pills, Sheng Lan would soon die and Shi Tian will never allow it to happen.


    Never losing another close member again!


    "I''m really fine, Brother Tian." Sheng Lan said with much difficulty.


    Shi Tian shook his head.


    "Wait here for a minute, Xiao Lan." Shi Tian said calmly.


    Afterward, he began walking forward to the military people that were armed.


    "Stop your steps, any further movement and we will shoot." One of the military personnel shouted as he pointed his gun at Shi Tian.


    Shi Tian took a deep breath before speaking, "Someone is in dire need of medicine. I need to head out to get it for her."


    "Apologies, but no one is allowed to leave. I have received orders from themander that the battle outside had be more dangerous and the pollution had spread all across the world. By opening the door, we will be at risk of getting contaminated by the pollution."


    Shi Tian clenched his fist tightly.


    They had been saying the same thing over and over again.


    Calming himself, Shi Tian soon nced at them with a profound aura. "You have said that, but recently, I have heard that someone was able to leave the shelter center."


    And he continued, "Just because I''m a normal citizen, doesn''t mean you can strip me of my rights and freedoms. The person who had left was someone that had proimed his father was a high-level government official. So tell me, why could he leave but not me."


    The military personnel remained silent.


    Just when Shi Tian tried to continue to reason with him, the rm in the shelter center went off.


    BEEP!


    BEEP!


    "Emergency! Mutated beasts have ventured into the level 1 door and are making their way inside."


    The speaker on the ceiling announced as they requested all military personnel in the vicinity to prepare for battle.


    Panic soon urred within the shelter center as people began scurrying around, hoping to find an exit.


    "Brother Tian?" Sheng Lan asked in worriedness from afar before getting pushed by one of the panicked people. She dropped down from her wheelchair as she tried to crawl back up.


    Shi Tian no longer bothered the military personnel as he quickly rushed back to Sheng Lan''s side.


    Helping her back up in the wheelchair, Shi Tian then noticed therge steel door from the backside was opened up as everyone began rushing there to leave the area.


    "ROAR!"


    Monsters roaring from the other end of the door could be heard, and Shi Tian wasted no time as he pushed the wheelchair to evacuate.


    "Don''t worry Xiao Lan, nothing will happen to us." Shi Tian said as he followed after the crowd.


    Within a few minutes, the people could see the sun for the first time, shining brightly from the exit.


    Shi Tian was about to follow the crowd toward the end when he suddenly heard numerous shrieks of cries echoing around the tunnel they were in.


    "AHHHH!"


    "No, don''t kill me!"


    Blood soon sttered across the area as the first group of people that escaped were ughtered by deadly monsters. Monsters that resemble the appearance of a dinosaur.


    However, the main difference was that the dinosaur-like monsters in front of them were filled with mechanical armor. Attached to the armor was some sort of arsenal weapon that would fire at will.


    Sheng Lan was filled with fear as she watched the people in front of her copse one by one.


    Shi Tian tried to head back inside, but the monsters from the other side had already broken through.


    ''Is this the end of the line?'' Shi Tian thought.


    Monsters from both ends were approaching Shi Tian and Shi Lan.


    "What a great military we have¡­ can''t even defend for a minute." Shi Tianughed bitterly.


    Unwilling to let Sheng Lan witness this horror, Shi Tian covered her eyes with his hand while his other hand grabbed Sheng Lan''s hand.


    "Don''t worry, Xiao Lan. Brother Tian will stay with you till the end." Shi Tian smiled as he closed his eyes for the awaited monsters.


    Am I dead yet?


    That was the first question on Shi Tian''s mind as he expected to be devoured by the monsters.


    However, even after a few minutes went by, Shi Tian could still physically feel his body being intact.


    Opening his eyelids slowly, Shi Tian''s eyes turned wide open as he witnessed the scene in front of him.


    The monsters werepletely annihted, both on the back and the front side.


    "H-How did this happen?" Shi Tian eximed in shock.


    Just a moment ago, they were about to be devoured by the monsters, but the monsters were nowpletely ughtered.


    VROOOM!


    Motorcycle sound echoed from afar and Shi Tian could vividly hear a person talking about something.


    "Leader, there are still two survivors left in the shelter center."


    "Heh, capture the two of them."


    Instantly, a group of people rushed toward Shi Tian and Sheng Lan and detained them.


    "What the hell are you doing?" Shi Tian screamed as he struggled to reach for Sheng Lan''s wheelchair.


    s, before he could struggle any further, Shi Tian''s head was suddenly knocked by the man.


    With that knock, Shi Tian''s eyes slowly closed as he fainted on sight, hisst vision was Sheng Lan being dragged away.

 Chapter 3: Test Subject 69

    <h4>Chapter 3: Test Subject 69</h4>


    "Test Subject 43 is ready to be injected with the new serum."


    "Start the injection! We''ll need to work fast tobat this crisis. These test subjects are precious so no mistakes can be made."


    As words were being echoed around, Shi Tian slowly opened his eyes, only to find himself chained up on all four.


    He struggled a bit, only to be futile as the chains tightened up as he moved around.


    His upper chest was bare and only pants were kept on to cover his lower body.


    ''What''s going on? Where am I?'' Shi Tian pondered silently, ncing left and right. His surroundings were filled with some sort ofrge container and numerous people were chained up like him.


    Suddenly, an infuriating amount of pain urred in his head and he finally recalled what had happened.


    Sheng Lan was taken away while he was knocked unconscious by some people carrying guns.


    By the time he woke up, he was already here and he began to worry about Sheng Lan''s safety.


    ''I need to get out here as soon as possible. I need to save Sheng Lan.'' Shi Tian eximed inwardly, hoping to break off the chain on his wrist and legs.


    Atst, no matter how hard he tried, the chain remained immovable and his energy was slowly wearing down. He had not eaten for a long time and his stomach was growling, indicating that he should eat some food.


    Without any hope of escaping, Shi Tian could only nce through the ss of the container he was in.


    He could see multiple people wearingb coats walking around, and some guards holding a rifle with fierce expressions.


    asionally, he saw some people with the same fate as him being injected with some unknown substance and soon became lifeless, frightening him deeply.


    "Hmm, seems like Test Subject 69 had awakened, professor." A person wearing a whiteb coat suddenly said when they saw Shi Tian looking around.


    "Wonderful, his aptitude isn''t bad and is perfect for the new serum that we have just extracted from those monsters." A middle-aged man with an eyepatch to his right eyeughed heartily and said excitedly.


    As Shi Tian nced at the middle-aged man, his emotion wavered a bit, and fear began to shine in his eyes.


    Although Shi Tian had never seen the middle-aged man before, there was an indescribable amount of fear that he got when seeing his face.


    His breathing became rapid as he struggled even more, his instinct was practically screaming at him to leave this god-forsaken ce as fast as possible.


    s, before he could struggle anymore, an unknown substance was injected into the very container he was in.


    ''Why do I suddenly feel sleepy¡­'' The moment Shi Tian inhaled the unknown substance, his body started losing function.


    It was as if any strength that was in his body was being extracted slowly as he fainted again.


    "Be careful of the injection milligrams. This test subject is a valuable one and we cannot afford to damage it." The professor warned and scolded the person.


    "Of course, professor. Test Subject 69 was sold to us by a mercenary group and with the world outside currently in chaos, we know the urgency to keep this subject in top condition."


    "As long as you know it. Besides, this test subject is lucky anyway. I heard this new serum can stop a person''s aging, but that''s just a rumor."


    "We can always let these test subjects be experienced first, professor. If it works, then we can use it for ourselves, but if it fails, then we can just move on."


    "Hahaha, very good!"


    As the conversation between the two was done, Shi Tian was then injected with a new serumbeled PN420.


    His body spasms a bit upon receiving the new serum, and since he was still unconscious, there was no resistance at all.


    However, his face soon turned pale and an emergency alert was resounded.


    "This is bad, the new serum is ipatible with Test Subject 69. Immediately cancel the operation and bring him out." The professor shouted in a hurry andmanded multiple guards.


    Soon, Shi Tian was transported to a surgical operation environment where they began performing surgery.


    "The new serum''s iron level is poisonous and has spread across the body. Try to amputate his right arm to see if we can force the poison out."


    Beep!


    Beeep!


    Beeeeep!


    An oscilloscope waveform showed Shi Tian''s blood level dropping to a dangerous level, but the poison still remained intact in his body after the amputation.


    Seeing this situation, the professor decided to try another method.


    "Inject the integrated chip that we got from the headquarters." The professormanded and soon inserted a chip into the brain of Shi Tian.


    A few minutester, there was still no signal from Shi Tian as he remained lifeless on the table.


    The professor sighed softly at this sight since even the amputation of the right arm and integrated chip had failed to extract the poison from Shi Tian''s body.


    "Test Subject 69 has failed. What a shame. Dump it to the outside world in which the pollution is no longer suitable for humans to survive. It''s a waste to keep him in thisboratory." The professor said and exited the surgical room.


    Asmanded by the professor, two people nodded their heads and began to do as they were ordered.


    ¡ª


    The sky was dark and foreboding as the small ne flew high above the city.


    Inside the cabin, two shadowy figures struggled with arge, heavy object.


    With a sudden heave, they pushed it out of the open door and watched as it plummeted towards the ground below.


    As the object fell, it tumbled through the air, turning end over end. It was only as it got closer to the ground that the true horror of what was happening became apparent.


    The object was a human body, its limbs limp and lifeless. It hit the ground with a sickening thud, the force of the impact leaving a deep crater in the earth.


    The two figures in the ne exchanged a nce before disappearing back into the darkness of the cabin.


    They knew that they had justmitted a heinous crime, but not an ounce of regret or hesitation could be seen on their face.


    It was almost as if they had done this numerous times that it just became a normal activity to them.

 Chapter 4: Reboot

    <h4>Chapter 4: Reboot</h4>


    The ce was a nightmarish scene, filled with the twisted, rotting corpses of those who had met their end there.


    The bodies were piled on top of each other, twisted and contorted in grotesque positions, their skin stretched tight over their bones.


    The air was thick with the stench of decay, and flies and other insects buzzed around the bodies, feasting on the putrid flesh.


    The ce had clearly been abandoned for a long time, and the bodies had been left to rot where they fell. The bones were bleached and dry, and the bodies were nothing more than desated husks.


    The scene was one of utter devastation, and it was clear that something terrible had urred there. The ce was a graveyard of the dead, a testament to the horrors that had been unleashed upon it.


    And from the numerous piles of corpses, one particr body was glowing a bit on its right temple.


    [Integrated Chip had fully assimted with the Host]


    [Rebooting the Host''s body function¡­]


    Ding!


    [Failure to reboot the Host''s body because of the toxin]


    [Finding an alternative solution: extracting the toxin manually]


    Beep!


    Beep!


    Beep!


    [Toxin sessfully extracted. Rebooting the Host''s body function again]


    As numerous sounds echoed throughout the area, the body slowly started to wiggle a bit. The seemingly decayed body started to regain its flesh but had its right arm gone.


    His eyes slowly started to open up and the supposedly deceased body was none other than Shi Tian.


    "Ugh, what is this pain?" Shi Tian muffled his mouth as he struggled to get up.


    He tried to use his right hand to exert some strength, but a horrified expression appeared on his face when he realized his right arm was gone.


    "Where is my right arm?" He was shocked for a moment and his heart began throbbing.


    However, his emotion subsequently calmed down magically after a few seconds of panic.


    And before Shi Tian could understand what was going on, he saw a transparent screen that shone through the lights from his right temple.


    It was a hologram interface that showed his current status.


    ¡ª


    Name: Shi Tian


    Race: Human


    Main ss: N/A (Not Avable)


    Sub ss: N/A


    Level: 1


    Health: 20 (Injured)


    Stamina: 25


    Attributes: Strength: 1, Dexterity: 2, Endurance: 2, Agility: 2, Intelligence: 3, Charm: 2, Luck: 1


    Free Attribute Point: 0


    Abilities:


    -[Passive] Serene Calmness: Able to remain calm and collected


    Power Level: 1-2 Atk


    Grade: F (Beyond Trash)


    ss Talents: None


    Reputation: 0


    Equipment: None


    [Currently, aplete trash can with his right arm amputated. Even a 5 year old kid from the street can thrash you numerous times!]


    ¡ª


    Shi Tian twitched his mouth at the evaluation of his status. Though he still didn''t know how he could see such a hologram.


    One thing was for sure and it was the fact that his right arm was gone. Hence, the grade of him being an F could not be any more blunt and straightforward.


    Without an arm, his dominant one as well, it was true that even a kid can thrash him.


    His body was filled with dirt and there was a rotten stench to it as well. In addition, there was thatboratory kind of smell that caused him to remember what happened.


    It was the part where he was being injected with something in aboratory and fainted.


    Using his left hand instead to lift himself up, Shi Tian thought he would puke at the sight of numerous decayed corpses. However, he was surprisingly calm, almost as if this was normal scenery.


    Even when he saw some flies eating the rotten flesh out of a corpse did not make him puke.


    ''Is this the ability, Serene Calmness effect?'' Shi Tian thought to himself.


    At first, he thought he was just imagining things with the hologram and things, but given how calm he was despite the situation. He was starting to believe the status screen to be true.


    Walking around barefoot, Shi Tian struggled as his body was malnourished.


    Sometimeter, Shi Tian finally saw the exit of this graveyard-like ce.


    But what he saw after exiting the graveyard left him speechless.


    It was a vast wastnd in front of him and there were no buildings around.


    He nced in the air and noticed a lot of pollution gas surrounding the environment, but magically, it didn''t affect his body at all.


    The pollution gas doesn''t seem to cause his breathing to be difficult, almost as if he was immune to the pollution.


    ''I need to heal my injuries and find Xiao Lan as soon as possible.'' Shi Tian eximed inwardly.


    He didn''t know how much time had passed since the separation from Sheng Lan, but he was determined to get revenge.


    First, it was theboratory people that treated him as ab rat, and the second would be the mercenary group that captured them.


    He swore to make them pay dearly for their sins no matter the cost and sacrifices.


    However, the current task was to find a solution for his amputated right arm and figure out where he was at the moment.


    Normally, it would have been impossible to recover from an amputated right arm, but medical technologies had advanced since the year 2100.


    Thus, Shi Tian wasn''t overly worried about his missing right armpared to other people in the past.


    "Just what had happened to the world during my time in theboratory." Shi Tian muttered.


    From the beautiful world that he remembered in his memories, everything else seemed to have changed. It was practically unrecognizable given that he was still walking through wastnds.


    And asionally, he would see cars that had turned extremely rusty, exactly like those apocalypse scenes that he had watched in the past.


    After walking for a few hours to no avail, Shi Tian finally found a rundown store as he hastened his movement.


    The store was deserted and didn''t seem to show any sign of life.


    As Shi Tian entered the store, the shelves were almost all empty with some of the items spoiled.


    However, his body froze when he saw a dirtied newspaper on the floor.


    "I-Is this a joke?" Shi Tian''s mouth trembled nervously when he read the year of the newspaper, 2189.

 Chapter 5: Armored Rat

    <h4>Chapter 5: Armored Rat</h4>


    Shi Tian swallowed his saliva nervously as he picked up the barely readable newspaper.


    And no matter how much he re-read again and again, the year still printed out as 2189.


    "This is a joke, right?" He asked himself in denial.


    If the year printed on the newspaper was the current year, then it must have meant he was gone for 50 years.


    However, with the state of the newspaper in such a condition, Shi Tian feared that this might not even be the current year.


    It was a shame that most of the contents were distorted, unable to be restored, causing him to be unable to read what it was about.


    ''I need to find a cellphone.'' Shi Tian thought.


    A newspaper could be considered an outdated source of newspared to a cellr phone which could connect to the inte.


    As long as he could go online and read the current news, all of his doubts would be clear.


    Scavenging around the store, Shi Tian was disappointed to not find a single cellr device or electronics.


    "Seriously¡­ not even parts of an electronic?" Shi Tian twitched his mouth, his eyes ncing at the broken webcam attached to the ceiling.


    He expected there to be some electronic parts at the very least, but nope, he found nothing and merely wasted his precious time.


    Just when Shi Tian was ready to curse the living hell out of someone for his misfortune, he heard a sudden sound.


    A sound came from the ceiling, prompting Shi Tian to raise his alert and be vignt.


    ''Those are definitely not the sound of a human crawling.'' He concluded in his thought. If it was human, the sound wouldn''t be loud or even make some squeaky noise simr to animals for no reason.


    Soon, he recalled that before he was captured and embroiled in all this mess, the sky was splitting apart and unknown monsters were dropping down.


    Instantly, Shi Tian slowly walked toward the exit without making a single footstep sound.


    It might just be him overthinking things, but it was better to be safe than sorry. He had already gone through being an experimentalb rat and does not wish to endure any more pain.


    The moment he got out of the store, Shi Tian thought he was safe, only to be astonished. The seemingly ordinary store was now crowded by a ton of gigantic rats that had armored parts implemented.


    There were some on the roof of the store and some by the side.


    Normally, Shi Tian would have been frightened by such a sight, but he was surprisingly calm. Way too calm in the situation as he didn''t even flinch when he was being spotted by the armored rats.


    Meanwhile, the integrated chip in his brain blinked for a moment and Shi Tian soon saw a hologram prompt, describing the species in front of him.


    They were armored rats that had mutated due to the pollution.


    What was even better was that it was exined that armored rats are a cautious and cowardly species.


    So as long as he revealed zero fear, the armored rats wouldn''t dare to make a move.


    ''I just need to put up a frontal act and scare them away.'' Shi Tian thought to himself. He couldn''t believe how calm and collected he was in this type of situation.


    He might not be the cowardly type, but seeing such monsters that seemed like they came out straight from a movie would have horrified him at the very least.


    Yet that wasn''t the case and he was ready to utilize a solution against them.


    Putting a sneering look, Shi Tian extended his left hand and made a gesture; telling them toe at him.


    When the armored rats saw the rxed expression of Shi Tian, their natural habits kicked in. They were now wary of Shi Tian, who they initially thought was a coward that was running away from them.


    s, such an act could only remain for so long given that one brave Armored Rat decided tounch itself toward Shi Tian.


    ''I knew this n was idiotic.'' Shi Tian cursed inwardly and hurriedly raised his leg, hoping to kick the rat away.


    BANG!


    Shi Tian felt his leg shaking hard upon the impact of the Armored Rat.


    With its armor, the weight of the rat was not to be underestimated and Shi Tian decided to do the one smart thing a man can ever do.


    Run.


    Turning on the jets, Shi Tian used all of his adrenaline and stamina to flee.


    He had no weapons and was currently injured. Plus the enemies are far superior to him.


    Only a fool would decide to stay and fight despite failing earlier.


    However, the speed of a useless human could notpare to the speed of an Armored Rat.


    While running forward, Shi Tian suddenly leaped toward the right side, subtly avoiding another pounce from the Armored Rat.


    ''Huh? How did I do that?'' Shi Tian was dumbfounded to see his body moving naturally, almost as if he was trained inbat.


    Nevertheless, Shi Tian wasn''t going to stay idle like some fool and wait to be swarmed as he continued to run away.


    s, no matter how far he could run, there was a limit to his stamina and soon, the Armored Rats caught up to him.


    One of the Armored Rats tackled from behind, prompting Shi Tian to copse.


    Afterward, the numerous other Armored Rats followed up and began to bite and hit Shi Tian ruthlessly.


    Shi Tian felt his flesh being chomped by the Armored Rats and tried to wiggle around to get them off. His skin began bleeding profusely and the blood loss was starting to take a toll on his body.


    Shi Tian''s eyes started to close as he was feeling the wave of unconsciousness hitting him.


    ''These rats are too strong...'' Shi Tian thought to himself as he felt weak everywhere.


    [Due to being consecutively hit by an enemy, Pain Tolerance Passive Skill had been gained. Pain Tolerance is now active.]

 Chapter 6: Pain Tolerance

    <h4>Chapter 6: Pain Tolerance</h4>


    While his consciousness was slowly fading, Shi Tian felt his body be lighter in seconds.


    Despite his body still being gnawed by the Armored Rats, the pain that he was feeling was starting to minimize.


    Slowly, Shi Tian grasped onto some dirt as he struggled to lift himself up, pushing some of the Armored Rats away that were on top of him.


    He didn''t know why, but there was a surge of iing power that allowed him to resist the pain that was inflicted upon him.


    "Could it be that transparent screen I saw again?'' Shi Tian thought to himself.


    While being swarmed, he noticed a shing light previously but it was gone now.


    Nevertheless, Shi Tian didn''t bother to idle around as he took this opportunity to stomp at one of the Armored Rats.


    Ssh!


    Shi Tian targeted one of the weak-looking areas of the Armored Rat''s body and was able to prate into its flesh directly, causing some blood to stter around.


    However, this action was tantamount to provoking the rest of the Armored Rats as their ferociousness increased twofold.


    "Fuckinge at me, you rat bitches!" Shi Tian roared angrily in response.


    He then increased his leg strength and gave another hard stomp at the injured Armored Rat beneath him, effectively killing one.


    With blood still trickling down from his forehead, Shi Tian''s face was drenched in blood and with that shouting, he looked like a madman, ready to brute force anything in his path.


    Kicking the dead Armored Rat to the side, Shi Tian used his hand to wipe off some blood near his eyes as he red menacingly at the rest of the Armored Rats.


    "You love gnawing at me, right? Nowe and get it!" He spread his left arm wide and shouted.


    Shi Tian knew his newfound knowledge of not feeling pain was an advantage to his current demise.


    However, that doesn''t mean he was still capable of going after these many Armored Rats at once.


    Not to mention, his pathetic speed could not bepared to their swiftness considering how easily he was caught by them.


    Therefore, utilizing the nature of the Armored Rat''s personality and his madman-like behavior, he had sessfully created a scenario in which he was the one controlling it, and not these Armored Rats.


    His eyes red at each and every single one of the Armored Rats.


    Seeing how they showed no movement, Shi Tian decided to take a step forward and slowly approached them.


    With each step he took, the Armored Rats would retreat by a tiny bit, seemingly afraid of him.


    Shi Tian was still injured as blood kept trickling down from his body, but that was what made the Armored Rats frightened.


    They had not met a human that could continue to resist and showed such fervor despite being injured to such a point.


    "What are you rats afraid of? I have no power, no ability, no strength. I''m all alone and injured. Juste at me!"


    Shi Tian shouted loudly, making a 360-degree turn at the same time to demonstrate his willingness to be swarmed again.


    The collective Armored Rats could only make some chirping sounds before they all retreated swiftly, seemingly afraid of confronting Shi Tian again.


    Shi Tianughed maniacally when he watched them all run away as typical sewage rats would do.


    "That''s right¡­ how dare some rats try to overtake humans," he muttered scoffingly before copsing to the ground.


    That one bit of exertion of force had used up his entire stamina and he could no longer remain conscious.


    During the time he was knocked out, Shi Tian''s injured body gradually started recovering, but his right arm was still amputated.


    It would have been surreal if his right arm would magically regenerate like some slimes could do in a video game or movie.


    The bleeding of the flesh that the Armored Rat had bitten was recovering fast at an rming rate.


    Soon, all the bite marks were gone and besides the residual blood that remained on his body and face, everything else was back to normal.


    Time slowly passed by, and Shi Tian regained consciousness as he stood up.


    Although initially confused by the hologram interface screen, after this incident, Shi Tian was sure of one thing.


    The status shown on the interface screen was his current body stats, just like the video games.


    ncing at the part that revealed his stamina bar, Shi Tian saw the value of 5beled next to it.


    If he had recalled previously, it was originally 25 which meant that the fight with the Armored Rats had decreased his stamina rapidly, causing him to run out of it and fainted from exhaustion.


    ''What a terrible joke this is?'' Shi Tian smiled bitterly.


    He was like a cluelessmb being thrown into this world with zero knowledge of what was going on.


    The world he remembered was no longer what it was.


    Monsters roamed around the streets and the location he was in had zero life of any human being.


    While he was in deep thought, Shi Tian heard a loud growling sound.


    It wasn''t the growling sound of some monster, but it was his stomach that was growling.


    He had not eaten for a long time and with this much action, it was obvious that he would be starving.


    Rubbing his stomach with his left hand, Shi Tian started to look around, until his vision paused at the deceased Armored Rat that he had just killed.


    Gritting his teeth, Shi Tian knew what he had to do even if it was disgusting.


    To survive in this harsh environment, no method should be considered gross or brazen.


    Shi Tian gradually walked toward the corpse and dragged the Armored Rat by its feet to go somewhere shady.


    Sometimeter, he found another abandoned ce, and this time, the roof was gone so there was no chance of monsters hiding in the ceiling.


    Taking a few minutes to settle down in this new ce, Shi Tian stared at the Armored Rat with a resolute expression.


    "Don''t me me, rat!"

 Chapter 7: Status

    <h4>Chapter 7: Status</h4>


    In the abandoned ce, Shi Tian was struggling to start a fire, using the metal parts of the Armored Rat.


    The dismantling of the metal from the Armored Rat was quite an arduous task for him since he only had one arm, but it was still doable with a little bit more time and effort.


    Not only did he need to dismantle the steel from the Armored Rat to get to its flesh, but the metal was also needed.


    The metal of the Armored Rat was carbon steel, allowing Shi Tian to cause sparks to begin a fire.


    However, the punishment of losing his right arm prevented Shi Tian from a smooth journey to create a spark between the metals.


    "Damn it, this is worse than primitive living."


    Shi Tian hissed coldly when he just couldn''t get the carbon steel to create a spark enough to begin the fire.


    He was obviously frustrated, but there was nothing else he could do besides trying to find another solution to hold the flint in ce.


    The flint stone was found near the corner of the abandoned ce, and Shi Tian could be considered lucky to find them.


    When flint stones are struck against steel, the flint edge produces sparks.


    The hard flint edge would shave off a particle of the steel that exposed iron, which reacted with oxygen from the atmosphere and in turn ignited a fire.


    This knowledge was not something most modern people would remember since there are me lighters avable now for others to easily light a fire at the palm of their hand.


    Unfortunately for Shi Tian though, he did not carry one and was forced to use such a primitive method to create a fire.


    And after deciding to hold the flint stone in ce with his legs, Shi Tian finally caused a sparkrge enough for a fire to ur.


    Wiping the sweat off his forehead with his left hand, Shi Tian breathed a sigh of relief. It was starting to be night and without the fire, he might freeze to death from the cold.


    With the fire warming up the ce, Shi Tian carefully used the remaining metal to dissect the flesh of the Armored Rat. It was a bloody mess when he cut out the internal organs, but to survive, Shi Tian could care less about the process.


    His hand was coated in blood, but he was d to have ripped off part of the flesh and have it cooked near the fire.


    As for the blood on his left hand, Shi Tian merely rubbed it off on his clothes.


    Unhygienic, but without any source of water, this was the best possible method to have his hands clean.


    Sometimeter, the red meat of the Armored Rat turned white, indicating that it was fully cooked and Shi Tian bit right into it.


    The taste was disgusting considering there was not an ounce of salt or any other seasoning.


    Shi Tian ignored the disgusting taste of the meat and consumed it without thinking further, filling up his empty stomach.


    Hours passed by, and Shi Tian had consumed the entirety of the Armored Rat''s edible parts. The internal organs that he ripped out were stored in a corner since he doesn''t know if there might be a use for them.


    ''What an exhausting night¡­'' Shi Tian thought to himself, staring at the open crack of the roof and ncing at the moon. It was the same moon that he had always seen, but the mood and scenery werepletely different.


    There was a tinge of bitterness lingering in his eyes as he knew the chance of Sheng Lan''s survival was next to zero.


    "Rest assured, Xiao Lan. Even if you are no longer in this world, you still exist in my heart. And for those wicked people that did this to us, I''ll make sure to kill them all." Shi Tian''s eyes were filled with redness before gradually returning to their original calmness.


    And with this slight experiment, Shi Tian was positive that his Serene Calmness passive ability was genuine and truly affected his emotions.


    Just now, he had tried to stimte his anger by recalling Sheng Lan and be enraged, only to quickly have his emotions calmed by some magical means.


    Although unable to showcase many emotions now, Shi Tian was quite grateful for such an ability.


    Only by remaining calm and collected in all situations could he actually achieve something.


    Never once was there ever praise for those who recklessly do things, only those who calmly do things.


    Checking his status by imagining it with his mind, Shi Tian once again saw his stats, and this time, there was something extra.


    [Name: Shi Tian


    Race: Human


    Main ss: N/A (Not Avable)


    Sub ss: N/A


    Level: 2


    Health: 30 (Injured)


    Stamina: 25


    Attributes: Strength: 1, Dexterity: 2, Endurance: 2, Agility: 2, Intelligence: 3, Charm: 2, Luck: 1


    Free Attribute Point: 2


    Abilities:


    -[Passive] Serene Calmness: Able to remain calm and collected


    -[Passive] Pain Tolerance: Level 1


    Power Level: 3-5 Atk


    Grade: F (Beyond Trash)


    ss Talents: None


    Reputation: 0


    Equipment: None


    [Currently, aplete trash can with his right arm amputated. Despite being trash though, his luck seemed to be quite decent to have in an Armored Rat.]


    His level had increased by 1 and there seemed to be 2 points avable for him to use in the attribute point.


    In addition to that, he had also gained another passive ability, namely, [Pain Tolerance] situated at level one.


    The Pain Tolerance was quite clear for Shi Tian to understand what it does.


    Without Pain Tolerance, Shi Tian wouldn''t have been able to ovee his crisis and changed the situation around which allowed him to kill an Armored Rat in return.


    Not to mention, the original description in which it mentioned a 5 year old kid could thrash him was changed.


    "So the current stats are disyed in real-time and it looks like that 1 luck point does exist." Shi Tian smiled bitterly, pondering over which attribute stats he wished to increase.

 Chapter 8: Impurities

    <h4>Chapter 8: Impurities</h4>


    Shi Tian reminisced about the battle from before and began to have a mental simtion of what happened.


    When he recalled that hisck of speed caused the Armored Rats to easily catch up to him, Shi Tianmented.


    However, he began to think that hisck of strength caused him to be unable to fight back.


    In other words, there were simply too many shorings in his ability that Shi Tian couldn''t decide which stats to improve on first.


    There are only 2 Free Attribute Points for him to use and without careful thinking, he could make a mistake that might result in his death.


    Thus, instead of thinking about which one to choose from first, Shi Tian decided to eliminate those that he deemed useless at the moment.


    The first one he chose to eliminate was the charm attribute.


    Although charm could be quite useful, it would only be for certain scenarios.


    And as of right now, charm ispletely useless to him since monsters couldn''t care less if you''re handsome or ugly. In their eyes, you are only a prey for them to hunt.


    With Charm being easily eliminated, there were only 6 attributes left to decide on, namely: Strength, Dexterity, Endurance, Agility, Intelligence, and Luck.


    ''With my right arm still gone, dexterity wouldn''t do much good for me either when I can only use one hand and two legs.'' Shi Tian thought to himself, eliminating dexterity as well.


    After some more process of elimination, Shi Tian was left with Strength, Endurance, and Intelligence.


    These three were the current stats he required the most and luck was something that could not be calcted.


    Hence, he didn''t dare to gamble his life on luck in his current state.


    "My Intelligence already has 3 stats pointspared to Strength and Endurance. So let''s add 1 on Strength and 1 on Endurance since I can''t tell where the closest city would be." Shi Tian muttered, finally making up his decision.


    Strength and Endurance were both needed when in a fight.


    This was something that Shi Tian had learned painfully well when he was overpowered by the swarms of Armored Rats.


    After clicking on the plus sign on the interface screen, Shi Tian instantly felt the change in his body and when checking his status again, the attribute points were modified.


    [Attributes: Strength: 2, Dexterity: 2, Endurance: 3, Agility: 2, Intelligence: 3, Charm: 2, Luck: 1


    Free Attribute Point: 0]


    ''So far the free attribute points are gained when I level up, but there''s no indication of when I will level up. Information is too limited to determine if there are other methods to gain free attribute points.'' Shi Tian eximed inwardly.


    Shi Tian soon became tired despite his stamina bar remaining high. Having high stamina apparently does not corrte with his fatigue.


    Given that his fatigue had reached the limit, Shi Tian stopped thinking too much andy on the cold concrete beside the fire to sleep.


    During his sleeping time, Shi Tian''s body was gradually being modified with the new changes. His body muscle started to be toned and muscr, giving him a more masculine aura.


    Time slowly passed by, and Shi Tian''s eyes were soon blinded by the morning sun, shing right through his eyelids.


    Shi Tian used his left hand to cover the sunlight as he groaned slightly to get up.


    He felt his body bing sticky as he tried to lift himself up using the strength of his left hand.


    Once his eyes were fully opened, Shi Tian noticed a puddle of ck and gooey liquid beneath his pants.


    "What the heck?" Shi Tian muttered, realizing that the ck and gooey liquid came from his very body. It was no wonder why he felt sticky throughout his entire body and wished to be drenched in some fresh water to be cleaned.


    "Are these the impurities of my body?" He asked himself, feeling confused by the situation.


    Unable to withstand this ufortable feeling, Shi Tian quickly took off his clothes after much struggle and began wiping himself.


    His upper body was now naked, but the clothes used to wipe off the ck and gooey liquid could no longer be worn again.


    As if his situation could not be any worse, this waspletely unexpected to Shi Tian.


    It was a good thing the morning sun was heating the surface quite well. Otherwise, Shi Tian might freeze to death without any clothes on.


    Sometimeter, Shi Tian decided to use the skin of the Armored Rat as temporary clothing to cover his upper body. He could not idle any longer and find some other ces to reside in.


    Not to mention, he had no idea of the current year and what the world had be ever since he was captured in ab experiment.


    Grabbing the carbon steel that was left over, Shi Tian held it tightly in his left hand as a weapon to defend himself. Monsters roamed around the area and he needed a weapon at the very least to have a chance to survive.


    After getting everything ready, Shi Tian slowly left the abandoned ce and continued to mindlessly walk forward.


    asionally, there would be signs still remaining on the street, but the lettering on the signs was too decayed to be seen clearly.


    "This is West Street huh." Shi Tian managed to identify some lettering on the sign above that was cracked in half. The street was deste without any sign of a living being, and there would be rusted cars on the side of the paved road.


    Just when Shi Tian tried to proceed with his walking, he heard a vehicle sound emitting from afar.


    Without hesitation, Shi Tian hurriedly ran toward an alley to take cover and hide.


    He dared not be careless and revealed himself right off the bat when he didn''t even know who was operating the vehicle.


    As he hid cautiously behind the alley, Shi Tian noticed it was a group of three people, two men and one woman in a truck.


    The most rming thing was that each one of them was carrying an assault rifle.


    ''What are they trying to do?'' Shi Tian wondered silently.

 Chapter 9: Mutated Hounders

    <h4>Chapter 9: Mutated Hounders</h4>


    Although the two men and one woman didn''t seem to have realized Shi Tian''s presence yet, they were quite arrogant and confident in themselves.


    They were chattering andughing wildly, almost as if the current environment didn''t bother them one bit.


    ''Their clothes are different¡­'' Shi Tian inspected their items of clothing and realized it was something new. Some mechanical parts on their clothes were constantly rotating.


    Despite their weird clothes, what astonished Shi Tian the most was that each one of them was wearing a mask that resembled a gas mask or military mask.


    Shi Tian didn''t understand what their goal was to be on West Street and could only watch cautiously.


    The information hecked was too much for him toprehend what they actually do.


    However, one thing he knows for sure is that these groups of people were definitely not in the friendly category type.


    Just now, one of the men had hopped off the truck and began vandalizing despite there not being much to vandalize.


    He had spiky yellowish hair; his chest was exposed in the open, showcasing his muscles. His figure was quite tall but his face was of the boorish kind.


    "Ah damn it. Just why the hell were we forced to be deployed in West Street when not a single monster was sighted here. The agency must be too paranoidtely with the surge of monsters." The same man that was vandalizing suddenly shouted in annoyance.


    He was cing his assault rifle on top of his shoulder, and acting as if he was the male lead of a shooting action movie.


    Needless to say, it was a cringe action and one that could put him at risk for being so carefree.


    "Enough of yourints and let''s begin the search. My radar is picking up a scan that some monsters are ying hide and seek here." The woman got off the truck and said.


    Her red hair was extremely short and she was wearing bra tops-like clothes, seemingly allowing her an easy movement of her arms and body.


    "Ynda is right. If you keep acting so carefreely, then one day, you''re going to die in a corner, Xavier." Another man interrupted andughed heartily.


    He was an elderly man with a beard on his chin. There was a scar on the left side of his eyes, almost as if it had been sliced by a sharp tool.


    "Ah shut up you damn old man. Just focus on your driving and save me the lectures." Xavier didn''t seem pleased about being reprimanded by the elderly man and straight-up gave him the middle finger.


    "Whatever, if he dies because of his careless action, then he deserves it. Just save your breath, Hugo, and let him be." Ynda sneered coldly and nced at a device in her hand.


    "The monsters are located 3 meters from the left side of those broken buildings. They seemed to be hiding quite well to not make any sound." She added.


    Hugo smirked coldly and held his assault rifle, positioned in the direction that Ynda had just called out.


    "Heh, Xavier can do the usual and bait them out. My rifle must have been feeling hungry right now." Hugoughed heartily, but his arms remained calm and steady.


    And as this scene was unfolding, Shi Tian was also peeking in the direction that Ynda called out.


    They were extremely loud and had no intention of lowering their tones, so Shi Tian was quite grateful to be able to eavesdrop on their conversation safely.


    ''So they are here to exterminate some monsters that are hiding.'' Shi Tian came to this conclusion based on their current actions.


    Nevertheless, he remained stealthy and made sure to not be spotted by them.


    As he quietly watched by the alley, Shi Tian heard a loud roaring sound and the earth''s surface seemed to tremble from the sound alone. He could feel the vibration beneath his feet and Shi Tian was somehow calm by the sudden change, almost as if the current situation was normal.


    While he was a bit dazed by the vibration, the three people in front of him had begun to fire their assault rifles at the broken ce near the left side of them.


    The assault rifle''s sound was a bunch of loud "Pow Pow" and nearly caused Shi Tian''s eardrums to explode. He had to suffer in one of his ears since he only had the left hand to cover his left ear whereas his right ear remained open.


    The shooting sounds continued for a few minutes before he heard the woman cry aloud and yelled out to her teammates.


    "Shit, it''s a mutated one. Take cover!" Ynda cursed and swiftly retreated a few meters away from the broken building.


    Meanwhile, Hugo and Xavier reacted quick enough to avoid a direct sh with the mutated monsters.


    The mutated monsters were all shining in a bright red color and had their eyes locked on them. They looked like hounds from the underworld, and the most noticeable thing is that they were also equipped with strong metal armor.


    Although the metal seemed to be the same one as Shi Tian recognized from the Armored Rats, he could tell the metal on these hounds was far higher quality and durable.


    After all, the bullets that were fired from their assault rifle had dealt zero damage. In fact, the bullets didn''t even leave a dent, causing this group of people to hold a dreadful expression.


    "Fuck, the agency is basically telling us to die. These two are mutated Hounders. Our normal bullets can''t even prate their outer shell, much less their flesh." Xavier cursed in fury.


    "If you know they are mutated Hounders, then keep your cool and be ready for a gruesome fight," Hugo said, putting his gun away and punching a button in his clothes.


    The button made a beeping sound and a rocketuncher appeared from thin air, astonishing Shi Tian who was spying.


    ''Where did that rocketunchere from?'' Shi Tian eximed inwardly.

 Chapter 10: Special Bullets

    <h4>Chapter 10: Special Bullets</h4>


    When Hugo magically pulled out a rocketuncher, Shi Tian had nearly thought his eyes were drowsy and saw things wrongly.


    However, when he nced again and saw Hugo, the elderly man who was using the rocketuncher to aim at the mutated Hounders, he was sure that his eyes were not ying some tricks.


    The rocketuncher truly came out of nowhere and Shi Tian began to wonder if that was the current technology of this world.


    To be able to store a rocketuncher and pull it out without much effort, was a game-changing event.


    Under the watchful eyes of Shi Tian, Hugo fired off his rocketuncher, directlynding at the mutated Hounder.


    BOOOM!


    A loud explosion urred, and just when everyone thought it was effective, the dust scattered away slowly, only to reveal the mutated Hounderpletely unharmed.


    The mutated Hounder made a snorting sound and propelled itself toward Hugo, seemingly ready to retaliate against him for shooting a rocketuncher.


    "Hmph, a damn hound dares to show such a vicious re and attack me?" Hugo sneered coldly, seemingly unfazed by the mutated Hounderunching toward him.


    Using the strength of his legs, Hugo kicked backward to gain some distance between the two. Afterward, he aimed his rocketuncher at the mutated Hounder.


    BOOM!


    Another shot was fired point nk at the mutated Hounder, and this time, the mutated Hounder seemed to have taken quite a toll.


    It was shot backward and blood began leaking from its flesh.


    Meanwhile, Hugo startedughing wildly as he blew off some smoke from the rocketuncher.


    "Normal bullets and rockets don''t hurt you, but I doubt you can withstand modified ones created by Espers," Hugo smirked.


    "Don''t waste too much of those special bullets, Hugo. Those cost a lot to restock and these mutated Hounders aren''t worth it." Ynda suddenly said from the sideline.


    Hugo nodded his head.


    "Rest assured, I know the limit of our budgets. Look at Xavier struggling with that mutated Hounder. I would be damned if I continue to save these special bullets."


    Right as Hugo finished his words, he proceeded to fight the injured mutated Hounder, who had begun to retreat after realizing his defense failed to deflect Hugo''s new attack.


    Shaking his head, Hugo turned into a madman and chased after the mutated Hounder to finish it off.


    As for Xavier, he also managed to slice the head of the second mutated Hounder using a dagger that was glowing in a bright color.


    Throughout this entire process, Shi Tian was amazed by their fighting strategy and how easy it was for them to kill these monsters.


    It was a far cry from when he recalled that the monsters first appeared in their world and began to ughter humans like they were nothing.


    ''But what is this Espers they are talking about? Did humans really obtain some superpower that usually happens in movies?'' Shi Tian thought to himself.


    Although he was far away from the battlefield, his eyesight was quite good to the point that he had seen Xavier''s smooth and swift movement.


    Despite his rough and brash action, Xavier was able to avoid a direct confrontation with the mutated Hounder and constantly retaliate by using his dagger to sh at the same area.


    The dagger was originally attached to the assault rifle on Xavier''s hand, but realizing that normal bullets don''t do anything, he detached the dagger and began meleebat.


    This was something that not many people could do since one mishap means death.


    Sometimeter, both the mutated Hounders were killed, their corpses being dragged by Hugo and Xavier respectively.


    "Heh, what a hoard we got today. Two mutated monsters are going to be worth a fortune. This trip wasn''t wasted." Xavier smirked and began to imagine what type of stuff he could buy.


    "I can drink some good booze after a long day," Hugo was eager to return back to drink some alcohol.


    And as the two were ready to head back, Ynda''s expression changed as she quickly warned.


    "Wait, there''s another monster rapidly approaching us." She yelled out.


    "3 kilometers¡­ 2 kilometers¡­ damn it, it''s beneath us."


    The next moment, the ground beneath them ruptured in the air and a new monster appeared.


    Ynda, Xavier, and Hugo managed to regain their foothold after making some gymnastic movements as horror filled their faces.


    In front of them was a robotic monster that towered over everything in its path, its metal tentacles whipping through the air like the arms of an angry octopus.


    The robot monster''s body wasposed of a tangled mass of metal and wires, its glowing red eyes scanning the area.


    The tentacles were the most striking feature of the monster, each one lined with razor-sharp des and capable of extending and retracting with lightning speed. The monster used them to devastating effect, shing through abandoned buildings and rusted vehicles as if they were nothing more than paper.


    As the monster moved, it emitted a low, menacing hum, the sound of its motors and servos working tirelessly to keep it moving. Its movements were fluid and graceful, yet somehow unnatural, almost as if the creature was alive yet not quite of this world.


    Not to mention Ynda''s group, even Shi Tian was frightened slightly when he saw the monster''s appearance before calming down.


    ''Was this why some of the buildings I came across had some sh marks? Was it all due to those razor-sharp tentacles?'' Shi Tian managed to deduce the clues and realized that the mutated Hounders were no different than sewage ratspared to this new monster.


    While Shi Tian was wondering how Ynda''s group was going to fight the monsters, he saw the spiky-haired dude tuck his pants and run toward the vehicle.


    "Where are you going, Xavier?" Hugo called out in anger.


    "Hmph, that''s a Tenceloras, and even with those special bullets, it wouldn''t deal anything to it. You all can stall for me." Xavier sneered coldly and stepped on the pedal, going into reverse mode as he prepared to retreat.

 Chapter 11: Tenceloras

    <h4>Chapter 11: Tenceloras</h4>


    With Xavier running off on his own with the vehicle, Hugo and Ynda showed grim expressions.


    "Damn it, I swear I''m going to kill him when we make it out alive." Ynda was furious as she crushed the scanning device in her hand.


    "Ready your rocketuncher, Hugo. We''ll start to retreat slowly with the smoke that the st creates." She then said, her eyes staring right at the eyes of Tenceloras.


    However, when she heard no response from Hugo, she became suspicious.


    Turning around slowly, she saw that even Hugo had disappeared.


    The worst part wasn''t just that, but the fact that both of them had run away with the mutated Hounders'' corpses as well.


    ''Bunch of wussies!'' She screamed inwardly and wished that she didn''t team up with them. s, it was toote to regret when the Tenceloras had locked its target on her.


    Ynda gritted her teeth as she prepared for the worst. From her pocket, she took out two hand grenades and threw them toward the Tenceloras. The Tenceloras didn''t react much to her action and watched as the grenadesnded right beside it.


    A loud explosion then urred, but not a single scratch could be seen on the Tenceloras given its durable metal armor and powerful tentacles that protect itself.


    Of course, Ynda knew her grenade wouldn''t deal much to the Tenceloars. Otherwise, those two people wouldn''t have run away the first chance they got. In this world, nothing was more important than their lives.


    Comrades?


    Could those be enough to fill their belly? The answer was absolutely not, and they are selfish people who cared about profits.


    Why would they risk their lives for others?


    "Stop hiding in the back alley and assist me. The Tenceloras doesn''t use its eyes to see, but the scanner from its pupil. It could scan through walls, so you aren''t safe either." Ynda suddenly shouted.


    Hearing no response, Ynda threw a pistol at the back alley and sneered coldly. "Don''t think you are slick because I have long noticed you already. You''re unarmed and missing an arm too. If I wanted to, then I could bait the Tenceloras to target you instead."


    This time, Shi Tian was sure that his existence had long been exposed. It was just that he was deemed too weak to pose a threat to them, so they didn''t bother him.


    The pistol that Ynda threw,nded perfectly right by his feet. Now that the situation hade to this, Shi Tian didn''t hesitate to pick up the pistol and walked out of the back alley.


    "What can I even assist you in when your tworades have ditched you already?" Shi Tian asked emotionlessly.


    Unlike her previous tworades that have the skills and movement, he waspletely untrained. In addition to that, he lost an arm as well, making his action to be quite sluggish.


    "Just shut up and follow my instructions. The vehicle is stolen by that Xavier bastard and Hugo probably activated his invisible cloak to avoid detection from the scanner. Only you and I are now stranded here." Ynda exined.


    However, before she could speak further, Ynda suddenly grabbed Shi Tian''s left arm and dragged him away from their current position.


    As soon as they left their previous position, a razor-sharp tentacle struck that area, creating arge crater on the ground.


    "Keep running left and right asionally while following behind me." She didn''t bother exining much and gave a brief instruction before running away.


    Shi Tian wasn''t going to act like some dumb kid either and stay still despite what just happened. Without even looking back, Shi Tian started running left and right, but his speed was clearly not up to standard.


    Even running with his full strength, Shi Tian was unable to catch up to Ynda. She was like the one with the wind, going faster than the greatest Olympic runner known in history.


    Nevertheless, the tentacles of the Tenceloras didn''t seem to care about her agility and managed to swing their tentacles near her constantly.


    As for Shi Tian, the Tenceloras barely even tried their best to get him, almost as if Shi Tian was an ant, not worthy of its attention.


    Of course, Shi Tian was frustrated by the situation, but what could he do?


    Would he have preferred the Tenceloras to pay attention to him?


    The answer was obviously no because he would definitely not survive a single hit of those razor sharps tentacles.


    Unlike him, Ynda was able to avoid the razor-sharp tentacles because of her experience and swift movement. asionally, she would also use her assault rifle to deflect those razor des from cutting her.


    "What a great n. We are just ying tag." Shi Tian said as he ducked under a rusted vehicle, dodging an iing tentacle that was swinging from his right side to the left.


    Although he didn''t know why he ducked, it was all based on instinct. Not to mention, he didn''t have the time and leisure to ponder over anything.


    "Do you see that street in front of you?" Ynda pointed her finger in a direction and said.


    "Tenceloras uses its pupil as a scanner to detect the enemies, but if we go over there with the sun blinding heavily there, it would stop its path. That''s because the scanner would get injured by the sun, and that''s when we''ll be safe."


    "Then what was the point of giving me this pistol?" Shi Tian asked while increasing his running speed.


    "You still dare to ask that kind of question? The Tenceloras can detect their enemies, but they''re also extremely arrogant. In its eyes, you are worse than an ant, so why haven''t you begun firing at it? The weakness of the Tenceloras is its pupil." Ynda was on the verge of smacking him for not knowing suchmon sense.


    s, her slight distraction caused her to fail to notice an iing tentacle from beneath the ground. She tried to kick backward with her left foot, but it wasn''t in time as the tentacle scratched her left face slightly and the mask as well. With the mask scratched by the tentacles, it soon began to leak out air.


    Ynda''s face turned ashen white when she felt the air leaking out and realized her situation had turned for the worst.

 Chapter 12: Ant

    <h4>Chapter 12: Ant</h4>


    Ynda knew her time was up once the mask that she had on her face was defective now.


    With herst bit of effort, she ran back toward Shi Tian and held him up. And in a 180-degree turn, she mustered up all her strength and threw Shi Tian toward the open area where the sun was shining deep in it.


    "Run, I won''t make it anymore," Ynda said as she turned around and stared at the Tenceloras.


    "If you can make it alive and wish to repay me, then kill those two bastards for me. You have seen their faces before, so I''ll leave my revenge to you." She then said, running back to the Tenceloras to buy time for Shi Tian.


    Shi Tian remained silent for a few seconds before nodding his head. He began running more forward and sure enough, the Tenceloras'' tentacles stopped targeting him.


    Meanwhile, Ynda smiled bitterly as she began firing her gun even if she knew it was futile.


    "Ugh, how unlucky was today. If I knew this was going to happen, then I would have made sure to eat a deluxe hamburger." She muttered, jumping up to avoid the tentacles.


    Time slowly passed by, and the oxygen in the mask was running out.


    Her facialplexion turned pale as she became slightly affected by the pollution in the air.


    And even though she had been injected with the necessary drug to withstand the pollution, it wasn''t enough considering how she had to deal with Tenceloras.


    While her situation became more perilous, Shi Tian had already hastened his speed to retreat.


    During this time, he had heard the sound of the battle gradually reducing, clearly an indication that the oue wasing to a close.


    ''She might not live long.'' Shi Tian thought to himself. And as much as he does wish to rescue her for saving him, there were too few things he could do.


    He only managed to get out alive because of her throwing him away, so if he ran back, then all her effort would have been for naught. This was the current world he lived in which life and death are near each corner.


    Shi Tian understood why Ynda chose to throw him to safety. It wasn''t because she truly wished to save him, but the fact that the Tenceloras had its target locked at her.


    Thus, Shi Tian would have escaped regardless if she had intervened or not. She only did so to give him a reason to take revenge for her.


    "Although she''s scheming till the end, this pistol weapon would help me tremendously. I guess I do owe her a favor." Shi Tian continued to run further away from the battlefield, his hand clutching tightly to the pistol.


    His action could be deemed shameless and disgusting to an outsider, but what else could he do?


    Sometimeter, Shi Tian hid behind a rusted vehicle as he sat down and controlled his breathing. He had fled with all his might, so his stamina was currently low, and needed to rest a bit to recover.


    After inhaling and exhaling for quite some time, Shi Tian had recovered his stamina and was ready to retreat further.


    Just when he was about to make a move, he saw a blurry figure flying straight at him from the sky. Without even needing to say a word, Shi Tian reacted in the most natural manner possible, stepping sideways to avoid a collision.


    A loud plop sound was created and when Shi Tian got a chance to get a closer look at the blurry figure, his expression changed slightly.


    After all, it was the bloody body of Ynda with cut marks everywhere. There were even some holes that were still leaking blood.


    Ynda''s eyes were still wide open, but not a single movement could be seen in her lifeless body.


    It was clear that she had tried her best to fight the monster, but it was merely a futile effort given that she had an aggrieved expression on her face.


    And normally, seeing such a bloodied and grieved corpsending next to them would cause some horror no matter how calm and collected they were, even if they were police that are used to seeing corpses. Yet, Shi Tian only had a slight reaction and nothing much.


    He was about to close her eyes and silently pray for her death until he heard metal nking sounds iing from behind.


    Hearing those sounds, Shi Tian knew it must have been the Tenceloras. Otherwise, Ynda''s corpse wouldn''t have been perfectly thrown right beside him.


    From the information given by Ynda previously, Shi Tian knew its eyes were a scanner that could even see through walls. Thus, he didn''t even bother hiding behind the rusted vehicle and stepped forward.


    His eyes met the Tenceloras as he stood firm and tall. What was going toe woulde in the end.


    Now that Ynda had died, he could only ept his fate and try his best to survive this crisis.


    However, to his surprise, the Tenceloras merely waved its tentacles around, seemingly celebrating something before going back to where it came from.


    "Is he not going to kill me?" Shi Tianughed in bitterness. He could somewhat understand its thought process. Since he was an ant to its eyes, then why would it go out of its way to stomp him to death?


    What the Tenceloras did was merely to taunt him and give the corpse back after it was done ying with Ynda.


    Shi Tian held his head down as he clenched his left hand, forming into a fist.


    There was supposed to be frustration, exasperation, and resentment in his mind, but there was none. He couldn''t even react in anger or sadness at all, almost as if he was injected with botox where he could not produce any facial expression.


    At this rate, Shi Tian wondered if he was even human any longer as he touched his beating heart which doesn''t seem to have human behavior.


    A woman had just sacrificed herself for him, but there was not an ounce of sadness or regret.


    "Maybe I''m just like the Tenceloras¡­"

 Chapter 13: Different

    <h4>Chapter 13: Different</h4>


    Shi Tian remained still for a few minutes after the Tenceloras had long retreated. He had thought the Tenceloras were trying to y a trick ande backter to finish him off.


    However, he was overthinking it and that the Tenceloras were indeed toozy to kill him, almost as if he was going to dirty its metallic body.


    With the oue being set like this, Shi Tian exhaled and nced back at Ynda''s corpse.


    Despite having an encounter for a brief moment, Shi Tian was still grateful for her help. Without her assistance, he was sure that the Tenceloras would have tortured him instead to pass time even if he was an ant in its eyes.


    ''Thank you, Ynda. You can rest assured that I''ll remember this debt and that I owe you one. I''ll get your revenge when I be stronger.'' Shi Tian swore inwardly, clenching his fist as if he would not forget this incident.


    He then walked toward her and slowly used his left hand to close her open eyes, allowing her to rest easy. His action was simr to a superstitious method in which the corpse can onlyy at rest when its eyes are shut.


    Such action might seem ridiculous to some, but this was the least he could do for now.


    Subsequently, Shi Tian was astonished to see her face rapidly decaying, almost as if it was indicating the body had been dead for weeks.


    "What the-"


    He couldn''t believe the scenes that his naked eyes were seeing as her corpse started to dpose rather quickly. It was almost as if the oxygen in her body was decreasing at a rate that the naked eye could see.


    ''Is this the result of her broken mask?'' Shi Tian thought to himself.


    He then recalled the moment when Ynda would suddenly run toward him to throw him away. Apparently, it was when her mask was suddenly cut by the Tencelroas'' razor-sharp tentacles, causing her expression and action to change.


    Realizing this moment, Shi Tian then nced around his surroundings, only to see the atmosphere was quite different than the one he remembered. There was no clear blue sky, only a gloomy one, and the environment seemed to be filled with dust.


    "This kind of atmosphere¡­ The air pollution should be at the level of 350 or more." He muttered in disbelief. Air pollution of this level was already hazardous and should have been impossible for anyone to survive, much less him right now.


    Exposure to air pollution could affect everyone''s health.


    When humans breathe in air pollutants of such hazardous levels, they would enter the bloodstream and contribute to coughing or itchy eyes. And in some of the worst-case scenarios, it could cause or worsen many breathing and lung diseases, leading to hospitalizations, cancer, or even premature death.


    With this newfound knowledge, Shi Tian now understood why Ynda and her so-calledrades were wearing masks. It was not for fashion or to look cool, but because they needed the mask to filter the hazardous air pollutant to even step foot here.


    However, that was not the main confusion he was having at the moment. It was the fact that he was able to survive in such pollution without requiring a mask whatsoever.


    Even now, he still felt the oxygen in the atmosphere to be extremely clear and clean for his body. He had inhaled and exhaled too many times to count.


    Staring at the broken mask, Shi Tian nearly stumbled as he wondered what was going on with his body. There was the mysterious holographic screen that showcased his stats and many different attribute points.


    To make matters worse, he knew this wasn''t some kind of dream since the Armored Rats had truly dealt a lot of damage to him and caused him to suffer. Not to mention, those attribute points were real considering that he felt the change in his body.


    "Let''s not think about it for now. I feel like my brain will be overloaded with all this information." He murmured softly and began searching for a ce to bury Ynda. For someone that had sacrificed their life for him, the least he could do was bury her.


    Of course, that was after looting everything possible within her, including some new high-technology stuff that he had never seen before. Since she had already died, he would be a retard to not loot her equipment which would only rust in ce.


    Searching her dposed corpse, Shi Tian managed to gain quite a lot, including a device that contained numerous pieces of information.


    The device required a password, but Shi Tian was able to use her finger to scan to log in. It was a good thing that her body may have dposed, but the finger part was still clear enough to approve the scanning to log in.


    Naturally, Shi Tian had changed the password to his right now, given that Ynda would no longer be able to log in to her device.


    Sometimeter, Shi Tian found a decent spot and dug a hole slowly for Ynda to rest in peace.


    ''This is a good ce to bury her.'' He eximed inwardly, making sure to use a cloth to wipe off the blood and give her a clean look before covering her with dirt, officially burying her corpse.


    Once that was done, Shi Tian equipped himself with Ynda''s gear, including the broken mask on his face. He was somehow different from others, so if he was to openly walk in the open despite the air pollutant being at such hazardous levels, then he would have attracted a lot of unnecessary attention.


    After finishing changing his new look and having some great gear now, Shi Tian was ready to head toward a city upied by humans in this new forbidden and apocalypse world.


    The device from Ynda stated that a city called Gearits was 35 kilometers away from his current location. Gearits was a safe zone city that had a method to filter the atmosphere, preventing hazardous air pollution from affecting its people.

 Chapter 14: Camping Site

    <h4>Chapter 14: Camping Site</h4>


    Walking in an open field with no sign of life, Shi Tian was gradually diminishing the distance between him and the safe zone city, Gearits. The journey was quite arduous because humans could not be spotted, but monsters were literally everywhere.


    Almost every 20 minutes or so, there would be some monsters popping out to ambush him or straight-up attack him in the front. Luckily, the bullets in the guns that he looted from Ynda were of help, and the monsters aren''t at the level of Tenceloras.


    The bullets were able to prate their soft flesh and directly kill them. Of course, that was on the premises if he was a sharpshooter, to begin with. His inexperience in shooting a gun had cost him most of the bullets to go to empty space, wasting the ammo and nearly his life.


    "Ynda might have supplied herself a lot, but with the amount of ammo I''m wasting, the cartridges are almost done and not many magazines are left to be reloaded." Shi Tian murmured in bitterness.


    Although he was able to remain calm and collected at the sight of monsters appearing left and right, that doesn''t mean he would automatically turn into a sharpshooter.


    Shooting another bullet at the monster, Shi Tian was barely able to hit it to kill the monster. That was the final monster of this ambush, allowing him to take another breather.


    What was worse was the fact that his reloading speed was at the extremely slowest moment possible, mainly because it had to all be done by one hand.


    The difficulty of taking out the magazine and recing a new one was high, and asionally, Shi Tian would fail to tug the magazine in properly, causing the pistol to malfunction.


    Just now, Shi Tian failed again to reload properly as the magazine fell to the ground. "Having one arm gone is really annoying."


    Going down on one knee once again, Shi Tian struggled to pick up the magazine while holding the pistol in the kneecap. It was a struggle that one shouldn''t have, but what could he do?


    After a few minutes, Shi Tian managed to reload the pistol. With the pistol reloaded and ready to be fired for another round, Shi Tian didn''t rush to advance forward.


    Instead, he went to a discreet corner to check up on his status. Killing these monsters might seem like a waste of bullets, but it was needed because he had discovered that his level would increase when he killed some monsters.


    Thus, he was killing these monsters even if he knew his ammo was running low. There were many instances where he could have simply avoided them but chose not to. The monsters that he chose to avoid are those big and tough beefy-looking monsters.


    Looking at his status, Shi Tian saw his level was now 5, a pretty good progress in his mind. His health point had also gone up to 80 despite the injured status, and his stamina rose by 10, making it 35 now.


    However, the most important aspect of his status wasn''t these changes. It was the free attribute points that he could use now which was 6 points. Without hesitation, Shi Tian immediately used all 6 points on dexterity, making it an overall point 8.


    Dexterity is a stat that deals with the skillfulness of performing tasks, especially with the person''s hands. Hence, having to struggle so much to reload a magazine, Shi Tian knew this was his current biggest weakness.


    And sure enough, with his dexterity stat increased, he could vividly feel his efficiency in the left hand improved.


    At the same time, he truly wished to smack his head for not doing this earlier because he could have saved himself some time and embarrassment from having to reload in such a long time.


    ''The next time I level up, I should increase my intelligence. I''m overestimating myself too much and should learn to be humble.'' Shi Tian made a mental note to himself, reminding him to not be arrogant.


    Luckily, this problem was found quite quickly. Otherwise, it would have been disastrous if he had remained ignorant and overconfident in himself, which would have resulted in his inability tomit a certain action when needed.


    Sometimeter, Shi Tian stood up and began to walk toward his destination again. Though, unlike previously when he would actively search for weak monsters to kill, he would try his best to avoid them.


    His level had increased by a lot, but he wouldn''t know how many monsters he needed to kill to increase his level. Compared to some role-ying video games where there are experience bars for the yers to see, this was real life and death meant the end of it.


    Instead of risking his life to figure things out, Shi Tian decided to y it safe and conserve the ammo he had left. Holding the pistol slightly, Shi Tian saw a few monsters lurking around the streets, mindlessly searching for something to chew and scratch.


    It was a good thing their detection skills were hideous, so Shi Tian was able to wait patiently for the monsters to go on about their way before sneaking up ahead.


    Just like that by being discreet and treading forward carefully, Shi Tian managed to close the distance between himself and Gearits city.


    And when he got closer to see the city from afar, the next scene astonished Shi Tian thoroughly.


    Ironically, numerous tents were set up outside Gearits city, which prompted Shi Tian to be suspicious. A city that could protect them from most of the danger yet there were actually people camping outside of the city.


    There were only two deductions that Shi Tian coulde up with on the spot. Either they are mercenaries simr to the one he had met and was on their way to do a mission, or they were ineligible to enter the city and were forced to camp outside.


    ''Most likely it''s thetter. The government was already a scumbag considering what I had to go through, so why would they protect the weak and poor?'' Shi Tian sneered inwardly.

 Chapter 15: Ploy

    <h4>Chapter 15: Ploy</h4>


    ncing from afar, Shi Tian could see the poor attire that the people were wearing.


    Though it was surprising for him to see that none of them were actually wearing a mask, meaning that the air pollution in the area wasn''t as drastic and hazardous.


    ''Hmm, some of them are openly holding assault rifles.'' Shi Tian thought to himself.


    It just goes to show that this world was no longer the world he knew. To openly have firearms out in the open where numerous people are around, it was like they were back in the wild west era.


    Most of the people walking around were ferocious looking, seemingly afraid that others would mistake them as easy prey.


    Shi Tian was minding his own business as he proceeded to walk toward the camping site which was a path that he needed to go through before entering the city, Gearits.


    While he was walking, he saw a scene of a muscr man bullying a woman.


    "Hey there beauty, how about a night with me in the bed and I''ll give you these source crystals. I bet you already want to spread your legs for me, right?" The muscr man had a tattoo on his right arm as he grabbed on tightly at the delicate young woman.


    "N-No, I don''t care for your source crystals. Let me go." The delicate young woman responded and struggled to free her arm from his grip.


    And it was unsurprising that such a scene was ignored by most people as they seemingly walked past them, not batting an eyelid, almost as if they were familiar with this y already.


    Shi Tian was no exception either as he could see the woman trembling slightly, but didn''t care about it. That woman had no rtionship with him whatsoever and he had no time to be role-ying as some hero.


    ''If you don''t want to be bullied, then you should have at least strived to be stronger to not get picked on.'' Shi Tian eximed inwardly, walking past them.


    As he was walking past them, the muscr man suddenly cursed in fury.


    "Whore, you dare to sneak attack me and injure my arm?" After cursing in fury, the muscr man shoved the woman aside.


    With an instinctive reaction, Shi Tian could tell the woman was about to crash into him, so he gracefully stepped aside and allowed the woman to copse just next to him.


    There was no way he was going to allow himself to be involved in such a scene like most protagonists would have done in the movies.


    Unwilling to idle further, Shi Tian tried to walk forward and pretend nothing had happened.


    s, little did he expect the muscr man would still call him out.


    "Hmph, a greenhorn brat trying to snatch my woman?" The muscr man yelled out. He was lifting his sleeves up to show his muscle meat, almost as if he was trying to intimidate him.


    Meanwhile, Shi Tian clicked his tongue as he finally realized why no one was paying attention to such a scene. Originally, he had thought they were all showing no empathy like him, but he couldn''t have been more wrong.


    For the woman to coincidentally crash near his position and how he was still called out despite not saying anything, it was clear that this was a ploy. A ploy to trap neers or foreigners that had just arrived to scam them of their equipment or money.


    "Pretty nice act the two of you had performed. But are you sure you chose the right target?" Shi Tian''s eyes were cold as he turned around and red at the muscr man.


    The muscr man might seem fierce and deadly on the surface, but considering how he had seen the true terror a monster could truly be like, such as the Tenceloras. The muscr man in front of him was no different than a toddler, trying to showcase his pitiful achievement.


    "And you, stop pretending to cry and go back to your man. You look like a hideous gnoll trying to pretend to be a princess." Shi Tian then told the young woman that was stillying on the ground.


    Once Shi Tian had said that, the nearby people were finally interested in the situation and began watching, waiting for the scene to unfold.


    "Heh, I told you one day that Benmos would meet its end for targeting foreigners to scam. This new person doesn''t seem to be a greenhorn at all."


    "Keke, just one sniff and you could smell the blood of numerous monsters. I don''t get how Benmos could still miss that and continue with this ploy."


    "Ah, I feel bad for Krissie though, being forced by Benmos and tortured daily by him to do such an act. But then again, who told her to be weak in this era. Maybe we can have a taste of her if Benmos gets injured by the neer."


    The people surrounding them were all chatting happily and were ready for a fight to ur. The only thing missing was the popcorn and soda that they could have enjoyed.


    "Goddamn, whore. It''s all because of you for not crashing directly into him." Benmos clenched his fist tightly and med the woman for not doing what he had ordered.


    The woman, Krissie, trembled slightly upon being scolded and gradually stood up, running back to Benmos.


    SLAP!


    The moment she had returned to his side, Benmos pped Krissie across the face, giving her a bruise and a red hand mark on her left cheek.


    "Fucking whore, watch how I''ll torture you tonight and make you satisfy me thoroughly for making me waste my energy." Benmos then spit at her before turning his attention to Shi Tian.


    And just when Benmos was prepared to curse at Shi Tian as well, his eyes shed before him when he saw a metallic round of ammoing at him at supersonic speed.


    BANG!


    Shi Tian had fired his pistol without a single warning as he coldly watched Benmos crash into the ground with his forehead temple pierced by the bullet.

 Chapter 16: Source Crystals

    <h4>Chapter 16: Source Crystals</h4>


    As Benmos crashed to the ground, blood began leaking through his forehead temple which now had an open hole created by the bullet.


    It was an unexpected moment for not just Benmos, but the surrounding people as well. Never once did they expect Shi Tian to be decisive and ruthless enough to open fire in front of a whole crowd.


    Meanwhile, Shi Tian casually walked toward Benmos, who was now a cold corpse only at the moment.


    That was what happened when one became overly arrogant and had zero survival instinct. It was also a somewhat surprise to Shi Tian as he wondered how this man was able to survive for so long.


    "I''m a busy person, so if you want to follow in the footsteps of this Benmos person, then feel free to let me know now. I''m kind of exhausted from fighting mutated Hounders and Tenceloras, but I sure have enough stamina to keep fighting." Shi Tian calmly said, looting the corpse of Benmos in front of everyone''s eyes.


    Of course, what he just said was meant to deter anyone from thinking about retaliating against him.


    And to prove his im, Shi Tian took out a small scrap piece of the Tenceloras'' razor-sharp tentacle that Ynda had managed to get before sumbing to her death.


    Sure enough, the tentacles of a dangerous monster like the Tenceloras were easily recognized by many as they quickly scurried away, unwilling to stay on the scene any longer.


    If a person was able to fight a Tenceloras and got out alive, then it goes to say just how skillful the person was. Not to mention, the calm and collected reaction of Shi Tian in this entire scene made everyone shudder slightly.


    Meanwhile, Shi Tian breathed a sigh of relief secretly when his bluff worked wondrously. He was betting on the human''s emotional aspect of being fearful of the unknown, so he purposely created an image of himself as a ruthless skilled killer.


    Only that way could he prevent others from seeking trouble against him and be free of such nuisances in the future.


    As he was looting the corpse patiently, Shi Tian noticed a presence from his behind. He quickly held his pistol before turning around and pointing the pistol toward that someone.


    A small shriek echoed, and Krissie covered her face with both her hands, seemingly afraid of Shi Tian firing a bullet at her.


    Shi Tian narrowed his eyes when he realized it was Krissie, the woman that was doing the same ploy with Benmos to fool foreigners.


    Though based on the previous scene and thements from the spectators earlier, plus the scars that he saw right now on Krissie''s arms and legs, he could tell she must have been abused as well by Benmos.


    "Get out of my sight before I kill you as well. I''m not softhearted enough to let my enemy go, but because you are no threat to me, I don''t feel like wasting my bullet." Shi Tian said coldly.


    He didn''t need to waste a bullet on someone that could not be a threat to him. Not to mention, with the looks of predators from those who are hiding by the side, he could tell that Krissie wasn''t going to have an easy life either despite Benmos sumbing to his death.


    Although Krissie was somewhat scarred from the abuse of Benmos, her face was still perfectly fine, and men are scum who could care less about the other details. It doesn''t take a genius to know what would happen to her once he leaves the area.


    Looting the final thing on Benmos'' corpse, Shi Tian was ready to make his way to the city entrance.


    ''Source Crystals¡­ this is the thing that Benmos was trying to extort me, so could this be new currency?'' Shi Tian eximed inwardly, feelingpletely lost by these new items that he had never seen before.


    Even back when he was looting Ynda''s items, Shi Tian could barelyprehend 70 percent of the items she had, including the Source Crystals.


    Originally, Shi Tian had no idea whether the Source Crystals were of any use, but given how Benmos was trying to extort him of them, he now had a vague idea of what they are used for.


    With how desperate Benmos was trying to get his hand on Source Crystals, it just goes to say it''s a valuable item and could be the current era of diamonds and gold recement.


    ''I''mcking too much information right now, so I need to head into Gearits city and obtain more information.'' Shi Tian thought to himself.


    Information was extremely important, sometimes even more so than the typical firearm. Without information, it would be hard for one to navigate their path. Just like how he would still be lost in the wilderness without any ideas of a human living city if it wasn''t for the information he got from Ynda''s device.


    Sometimeter, when Shi Tian was about to enter Gearits city, he noticed a figure was following him secretly. He narrowed his eyes and shed a cold expression, turning around and ring at the woman.


    The figure was none other than Krissie, the woman that Shi Tian had told off previously.


    Pulling out his pistol, Shi Tian pointed it at her and warned onest time, "If you continue to follow me, then I don''t mind sending you to meet Benmos in the underworld. I''m sure he''s quite resentful right now because of your distraction."


    Krissie showed a small fright but clenched her fist as she mustered up her courage and said, "I just want to inform you that your arm can be reced with a metallic one and that I know someone capable of doing so. In return, I just hope you can give me some Source Crystal to live on."


    Hearing her words, Shi Tian remained silent for a few moments, seemingly pondering over the pros and cons.


    ''Can this woman be trusted at all?''

 Chapter 17: Barcode Scan

    <h4>Chapter 17: Barcode Scan</h4>


    Shi Tian wasn''t being overly paranoid for no reason considering how he had no knowledge of what type of person Krissie was.


    Not to mention, she was involved with a n alongside Benmos to extort and possibly have him killed if it wasn''t for his decisive action, and usage of the Esper Special Bullet to ensure Benmos would die in one shot.


    The risk was simply far too much that outweighs the pros of him having an arm recement. And if what Krissie said was true, then he could find the person that could assist him with an arm recement himself.


    What was the point of needing a guiding assistant who could easily backstab him once he lowered his guard?


    "The person I know is in a location that was quite hidden from the public eye. Only those who are local would know of the location, and even if you can find him, he''s an entric person that won''t ept anyone''s request just because they asked." Krissie exined.


    "Hmph, if you know all of that, then why would you be in the control of Benmos? Go find some other foreigners to trick." Shi Tian sneered coldly.


    "It''s exactly that I have been abused before that you should trust me. Wouldn''t you think it''ll be dumb of me to try and trick someone that can kill Benmos in such a swift manner? I want to live in this cruel world as well, so why can''t you give me a chance?" Krissie shouted desperately.


    And when Shi Tian heard herst words of ''why can''t you give me a chance'', he soon recalled Sheng Lan telling him the same thing when he prevented her from doing some trivial task because of her disabled legs.


    "Fine, if what you say is the truth, then I''ll let you have some Source Crystals in return. However, don''t me me for being ruthless if you are trying to scheme against me." Shi Tian retracted his pistol from pointing at her and told her to lead the way.


    He was also given a chance to survive with firearms in his inventory because of Ynda''s willingness to hand a gun to him. Thus, he decided to pass on that glimpse of kindness to those who are desperate like him, but it was just for this one time.


    Kindness in this world was a luxury, especially when he realized no people are worth his effort to save.


    During the time when he was being extorted, none of the people nearby had offered a hand to assist him. They were all simply standing still and watching the show, thinking that it was an entertainment scene for them to enjoy.


    As Krissie made her way to the entry point, she turned around and informed him, "We''ll need to give the soldier one Source Crystal to enter Gearits and have a barcode scan. The barcode scan is universal and used to detect if the person is a fugitive or wanted criminal."


    "Barcode scan?" Shi Tian raised an eyebrow, clearly not understanding this part.


    Meanwhile, Krissie lifted her sleeve up slightly and revealed her wrist.


    "There''s a barcode stamped on my wrist, but it''s invisible, and only a special method from the government could scan it." She exined.


    And she continued, "If foreigners don''t have the barcode on their wrist, then they are required to have one stamped before they are allowed to enter the city. This is also why most people refuse to enter the city because it''s essentially giving up your identity to the government, allowing them to check up on you whenever they want to."


    Shi Tian''s expression changed slightly when he finished hearing her exnation.


    With his intelligence, it wasn''t hard toprehend her meaning that having a barcode stamped to a person''s wrist was no different than giving up your fingerprint or DNA to the government database.


    "Is there another way around to enter the city without having a barcode stamped to the wrist?" Shi Tian asked. Since she exined it, then there must be another method to avoid being barcode scanned.


    After all, whether there is white on the surface, ck would always be right around the corner. Good and bad are always coexisting together, just like yin and yang.


    Unfortunately, Shi Tian was disappointed to hear Krissie say it was impossible to even try to sneak into the city or bribe an official to enter. All entry points had cameras, and even the ck market or underground people refused to take on the job of sneaking people into an upied city.


    After all, if one snuck in a person that was actually infected, then it was enough to cause the entire city to copse. A person being infected wasn''t something to joke about, so the crime of sneaking someone into a city was worse than murder, rape, or other heinous crimes.


    "If you absolutely want to enter Gearits, then you must have a barcode scan stamp on your wrist. Otherwise, you would never be able to enter the city." Krissie said, not hiding any information lest he would stop trusting her.


    Not to mention, this wasmon information, so she was a bit surprised that Shi Tian didn''t know about it. Nevertheless, she now needed to rely on him to survive, so she didn''t dare to call him out for his ignorance ofmon knowledge.


    Meanwhile, Shi Tian was silent as he never wanted to be under the surveince of some government again. Thest time that happened, he was trappedpletely in the shelter center and was even captured as ab rat in the end.


    After pondering for a while in search of a solution, Shi Tian decided to head back and look for Benmos''s corpse.


    If what Krissie said was true, then Shi Tian had a n in his mind.


    ''Krissie has the barcode scan stamped on her wrist, so Benmos should be the same. If I cut the skin of Benmos wrist, then I would have a barcode scan as well.'' Shi Tian thought to himself.

 Chapter 18: Gruesome Scenario

    <h4>Chapter 18: Gruesome Scenario</h4>


    Shi Tian didn''t know if his n would work, but it was better to attempt it than not do anything.


    If it didn''t work in the end, then it would just mean he was back to square one. However, if it did work, then he would have sessfully entered Gearits without much hup.


    The pros outweigh the cons in this scenario, and if worstes to worst, he''ll just continue to wander out in the open.


    Sometimeter, Shi Tian returned to the scene, and sure enough, not a single person had bothered to clean the corpse, allowing it to rot there. And just like Ynda''s corpse had experienced, signs of Benmos'' corpse decaying were showing.


    However, the decaying process seemed to be a bit slowerpared to Ynda, which might have the pollution factor added. After all, the pollution in this area wasn''t as corrosive as the previous location he was at.


    "Go and drag his corpse away for a proper burial since your conscience is hitting you." Shi Tian subsequently shouted at Krissie, making it seem like they came back for the corpse because of her idea.


    Although Krissie was dumbfounded initially, she was clever enough to quickly catch on to what Shi Tian was thinking.


    She might not know why Shi Tian wanted toe back for the corpse, but she was sure that he did not want others to suspect a thing. Hence, Shi Tian scolded her andmanded her to bring Benmos'' corpse away from the public eye.


    Dragging the corpse away with the little amount of strength she had, Shi Tian made zero reaction to her struggle and walked ahead.


    And when the ongoing lookers noticed this, they were confused but no longer paid attention to the matter. A corpse was a corpse, and what happened to Benmos had nothing to do with them.


    Meanwhile, Shi Tian was d that his n worked as nned. Otherwise, if he had to waste another Esper Special Bullet, then it would have been disastrous.


    The Esper Special Bullet was modified differentlypared to the normal bullets, and Shi Tian could tell the firepower of the Esper version was ferocious.


    However, the main problem was that the Esper Special Bullet left in his inventory was extremely low, so he needed to spend it wisely.


    Sometimeter, they returned to the barren wastnd where the air pollution was starting to get worse, and Shi Tian noticed Krissie was having trouble breathing.


    Seeing that this was her limit, Shi Tian nced around the surroundings to check if any people were nearby the area. Once he confirmed that there were no other people, he told Krissie to stop dragging the corpse.


    "Cough, can we head back soon?" Krissie quickly covered her mouth with her arm and tried her best to not breathe in the pollutant air.


    "You can head back if you want." Shi Tian said emotionlessly, not batting an eyelid at her pained expression as he knelt down and retrieved a small knife.


    He then checked up on Benmos''s wrist, seemingly looking for the barcode scanner. Though just like Krissie had mentioned earlier, the barcode is invisible to the naked eye and needed a special device to detect and scan it.


    ''I would have cut both the arm wrists out and attached it to me if it wasn''t for my missing arm. Now, what should I do?'' Shi Tian wondered silently.


    Unable to see which barcode is attached to the arm wrist, Shi Tian only had a 50 percent chance of cutting the correct one and using it to deceive the guards at the entrance of Gearits.


    Meanwhile, his action was finally caught on by Krissie, and she was astonished to see his madman-like behavior.


    ''Crazy¡­ is he actually nning on cutting Benmos'' barcode wrist and sticking it onto his? What kind of sick person does that?'' She thought to herself, feeling even more horrified at Shi Tian''s personality as a whole.


    She knew he was one crazy and ruthless person, but didn''t know his craziness could extend to such lengths. There was zero respect for humans and corpses.


    And if it wasn''t for the flesh that Shi Tian was showing, then Krissie would have thought he was a robot in disguise.


    While she was dazed in her own thoughts, Shi Tian suddenly asked her a question. "Krissie, where is your barcode scan located again? And do you happen to know which wrist is the one Benmos had its barcode scan on?"


    And he continued, "Oh, and just so you know if the barcode scan you tell me is wrong and it happens to be detected in the Gearits entry. Then I''ll make sure that your life would be a living nightmare- one that is even worse than when you were with Benmos."


    Krissie swallowed a mouthful of saliva in fear as she hurriedly pointed at Benmos'' right arm. "It''s his right arm. I''ve seen him extend his right arm every time we enter Gearits for exchange of currency."


    "Okay, and how long is this barcode scan? You know- we can never be too careful when we cut the length, right?" Shi Tian then asked, causing Krissie to feel like a bucket of cold water had sshed against her back.


    After scaring her, Shi Tian was inwardly surprised by the coincidence that Benmos'' barcode scan just so happened to be in his right arm, making everything much easier for him now.


    Since his right arm was gone, Shi Tian could easily just chop off Benmos''s right arm and show it to the guards at the entrances with the excuse of the Tenceloras monster cutting his arm off.


    That way, he didn''t have to attempt the riskier option which was to paste the actual skin into his left arm.


    ''At least my luck isn''t that bad,'' Shi Tian eximed inwardly, using the small knife to begin cutting off Benmos'' right arm.


    And although Shi Tian didn''t have much strength, his high dexterity allowed him a faster action in cutting the right arm back and forth. Despite the gruesome scenario, not much blood was leaking out given that it was a corpse now corrupted by pollution.

 Chapter 19: 132 Years

    <h4>Chapter 19: 132 Years</h4>


    During the time Shi Tian spent amputating Benmos''s right arm, Krissie was feeling nauseous from the disgusting and grotesque scene she was forced to watch.


    She had one hand covering her mouth, and it wasn''t to stop the corrosive pollutant in the air from going to her nostrils, but was an attempt to stop herself from throwing up.


    "Keep acting like some weak chick and you''re going to end up being dominated by another Bennos'' type of person." Shi Tian sneered coldly when he saw her ridiculous reaction.


    Although he had just awakened for not a long time, he at least knew this world isn''t for the weak to survive anymore. There are nows in the wilderness, and death is extremelymon.


    Not to mention, murder is no longer a crime since not a single person hade forward to apprehend him or criticized him based on the previous event.


    "Stop idling and take this right arm. You''re going to be fabricating the story of my right arm being sliced off by a monster." Shi Tian said, telling her to lie to the entry guards.


    That way, she would also be implicated in a series of troubles if she decided to y some tricks.


    Meanwhile, Krissie bit her lips tightly, clearly understanding his devious mindset was to drag her down the mud as well. Even if she had no intention of ying tricks, she would still be implicated if Shi Tian were ever caught by the authorities.


    In other words, Shi Tian basically shackled her fate alongside him once she went through with this ploy.


    Without a choice, Krissie reluctantly grabbed the sliced-off right arm and stared at Shi Tian, seemingly waiting for his next orders.


    "You can hate me all you want, but we''re both just trying to survive in this messed-up world. So long as you do your parts correctly when we''re being asked by the security guards at the entrance, then I can promise that we''ll go our separate ways once you finish guiding me to the person that can fix my arm." Shi Tian eximed and stood up.


    "And what about my fee?"


    "I can give you two Source Crystals in return for your effort."


    "Three, I need at least three Source Crystals because of the risk you''re nning to do," Krissie said adamantly, her eyes brimming in a radiant light, clearly unwilling to proceed with the n without a much higher reward.


    Source Crystals are precious, but one needs to have the life to use them. Otherwise, it would just be an empty item, unable to be used.


    Shi Tian pondered for a moment before nodding his head.


    "Deal!" He then said, thinking that it was a fair deal.


    Of course, he could have refused her demand, but that might cause someplicated implications and he had no intention of making things moreplicated than it already was.


    Sometimeter, Shi Tian proceeded to dump the corpse aside, letting it rot on the surface. A person like Benmos did not deserve any proper burial or respectpared to Ynda.


    Thus, Shi Tian couldn''t be bothered to waste any more time on a lifeless corpse.


    His ruthless actions, however, had caused Krissie to really understand his personality. A person that is focused on his goal and would treat others like nothing- even going as far as killing them if one was to be an obstacle to his path.


    "Let''s go back before the sky turns dark again." Shi Tian calmly said, ncing at the sky.


    During his journey here, he had learned that the monsters were more active at night than daytime. And that the monsters seemed to have their ability enhanced at nighttime, making it extremely dangerous to travel during the nighttime.


    Of course, this might bemon knowledge to the people here since none of them had to experience what kind of hellish things he had gone through.


    "By the way, Krissie. I have been traveling for a while now, so I forgot the date already. Can you tell me what is today''s date and year?" Shi Tian suddenly asked, giving a fake reason.


    Krissie didn''t suspect a thing and answered truthfully, "It''s the May of 2271, but no one cares anymore since it''s just some numbers in this broken world."


    When Shi Tian heard her answers, his body did not react at all, but inwardly, he was in pain- an emotional one to be precise.


    The worst part was that his emotional pain was quickly suppressed by his passive ability, Serene Calmness, causing him to stay normal despite hearing such astounding news.


    ''So the time has gone by for 132 years, but my body still functions like a young man. How hrious!'' Shi Tian thought to himself.


    To survive for so long and not feel any function of oldness, Shi Tian had already understood he was no longer an ordinary human. Even with the greatest medicine and healthcare, one would never be able to escape old age, yet he seemed to be the exception to this naturalw.


    "Is something wrong?" Krissie suddenly asked in confusion when Shi Tian remained motionless.


    "No, it''s just that the time does go by quickly when traveling." Shi Tian said calmly, not nning on revealing anything to her.


    After that, they began to walk back to the camp and along the way, Shi Tian asked whether or not Benmos had any friends orpanions.


    Luckily for him, Krissie said Benmos was an arrogant man that could barely cooperate properly with anyone that had worked with him before.


    Hence, his reputation was hot garbage and was considered human trash. If it wasn''t for the fact that he was quite the decent mercenary, people wouldn''t have even cared about him.


    "Benmos enjoyed torturing people, especially his enemies and when he spotted a beautiful woman next to his enemy, he would snatch them for enjoyment. And once he''s done ying with them, he would kill or sell them to a ck market." Krissie exined, showing a resentful expression.


    And during her exnation, Shi Tian remained expressionless the entire time.

 Chapter 20: Inspection

    <h4>Chapter 20: Inspection</h4>


    Hearing Krissie talk about Benmos'' wicked deeds and how he would vite the enemy''s woman, Shi Tian didn''tment or show any reaction at all.


    After all, everything was said by Krissie solely and Benmos- who was now a corpse could not retort any of her ims. Blindly believing in her was nothing Shi Tian was going to do.


    Just because she said so, doesn''t mean it was the truth. And of course, some of her words might be the truth, but they can also be mixed in with lies from her perspective.


    ''Nobody in this world can be trusted. Trust is such a ridiculous word in this messed up world.'' Shi Tian eximed inwardly.


    Sometimeter, the two of them arrived at the entrance of Gearits where numerous uniformed guards were patrolling the areas, inspecting each person attempting to enter Gearits.


    The uniformed guards were covered from head to toe and carried assault rifles in their hands. They were all imposing a domineering aura, almost as if they wanted to tell the people attempting to enter Gearits to not try to do anything stupid.


    And when each person was walking through the red line marked on the ground, they would be inspected. There were multiple inspection lines, but most of the guards asked simr questions.


    "Have you been vinated?"


    "Have you been contaminated with the air pollutant or harmed by mutated monsters?"


    "Why are you entering Gearits and what is your purpose?"


    All kinds of questions were asked to each person thoroughly without exception. The guards didn''t show any expression and were all professional. Not a single one of the guards was rxed and easy-going.


    Krissie wanted to line up right away, but Shi Tian stood in ce and waited for about 10 minutes or so before lining up.


    While Shi Tian calmly lined up patiently for their turn, Krissie waspletely frightened when she saw how thorough the guards were.


    "Are you sure we should continue this?" Krissie asked in a low but subtle tone.


    She wasn''t being a coward for no legitimate reason because she understood how severe the consequences were once they are caught deceiving the guards. The consequences would be something worse than what she had gone through with Benmos.


    "Krissie, I''m just going to say this once. No matter the circumstances, so long as one has a confident demeanor in life would they seed. If you can''t be confident in yourself, then how could others be confident in you?" Shi Tian stared at her and said, giving her some advice to stop acting so anxious.


    If it wasn''t for the fact that he needed to use her to obtain entry into the Gearits city, then he would have dumped her a long time ago.


    Sometimeter, the lines started to advance forward and soon it was Shi Tian and Krissie''s turn to be questioned by the guards.


    "Barcode scan?" One of the guards went straight to the point and asked for their barcode, with his hand holding a special device that is used to scan the invisible barcode.


    Krissie swiftly extended her left hand for the guard to scan it, and only a few seconds were used before the special device shed a green light, indicating that Krissie was fine to enter.


    Of course, Shi Tian and Krissie had long anticipated that she would pass since it wasn''t her first protocol to enter Gearits. The main conflict was now whether or not Shi Tian''s n could work.


    Krissie stepped aside first and Shi Tian subsequently walked toward the guard with a calm demeanor. Not an ounce of fear or anxiety could be seen in his crystal-clear eyes. To deceive others, one must be exceedingly confident in themselves first to give others a false sense of impression.


    "Your barcode scan?" The guard asked Shi Tian straight away the moment he stepped forward.


    "Apologies in advance, officer. My right arm was recently sliced off by the monster, Tenceloras as you can see." Shi Tian said calmly, revealing his missing right arm, and then nced at Krissie to pull out the right arm of Benmos.


    Normally, seeing an arm like that detached from any human would be terrifying and cause people to be petrified, but times had changed. The guard himself had seen numerousrades being killed in action and long be numb to such things.


    "It''s too bad that rules are rules. The barcode scan could only proceed when it''s within your body." The guard said nonchntly.


    "Yes, I understand the rules, but how could I reattach my arm when I can''t even enter Gearits?" Shi Tian smiled bitterly.


    He then proceeded to whisper, "We wouldn''t trust anyone outside here to be capable of attaching an arm, right? This isn''t some bribery or anything, but I just hope that the officer can be lenient about my situation and allow me to repair my body inside."


    And with that being said, Shi Tian instantly handed over 10 Source Crystals without any hesitation. It might be a bit overdone since Krissie had told him that each Source Crystal is extremely valuable and 10 was enough tost a person for 5 months minimum if they spend frugally.


    The guard remained silent and merely nced around his surroundings before snatching the 10 Source Crystals swiftly. His action was so fast that not a single person within the area had noticed it.


    The guard then proceeded to scan the right arm that Krissie was holding,


    Once it indicated a green light, the guard shouted nonchntly, "Next person in line!"


    It was as if there weren''t any foul y and Shi Tian merely nodded his head, not bothering to say anything else. Both were intelligent people, so this incident never urred and they were just doing the procedure as instructed.


    And just like that, Shi Tian and Krissie entered Gearits without a hitch.


    "Ugh, I really thought we were going to be executed right there and then," Krissie muttered, feeling the aftermath of the anxiety that she was suppressing.


    "I doubt the guard would actually make a move since I have purposely chosen to line up on his inspection." Shi Tian suddenly said, revealing that everything was under control from the start.

 Chapter 21: Gearits City

    <h4>Chapter 21: Gearits City</h4>


    During the inspection, there were multiple lines avable for the people to choose from to have their barcode scanned.


    And Shi Tian had patiently waited to see which one was the perfect guard to convince and bribe to enter.


    No matter how secure a ce was, there would always tend to be one rotten apple in the area.


    Such was the cold hard truth of humanity where even in such extreme and desperate times, people are still striving for maximum profit and benefits.


    "So you waited 10 minutes to see which guard was most likely to take the bribe?" Krissie eximed in an astonished tone.


    Meanwhile, Shi Tian twitched his brows as he pped her across the face ruthlessly.


    "Why don''t you just go ahead and announce it to everyone right now then?" He scolded harshly.


    Just now, Krissie''s tone wasn''t mild and was quite loud. If it wasn''t for the fact that Shi Tian walked toward an empty area to speak, then they would have been exposed because of her rashness.


    Krissie''s face turned red with a huge handprint on her right cheek, but she didn''t dare to voice anyint. After all, Shi Tian was pping her to lecture her to stop being careless since she would have caused the two of them to lose their lives if anyone else had heard what they did.


    Despite understanding Shi Tian''s action, she was still a bit resentful of how harsh his p was. She could feel that her face had been bruised by him.


    "You''re free to resent me since I would rather you learn to smarten up and not drag me down with youter on." Shi Tian said coldly, not caring about the grudge he might have created.


    It had been quite an arduous task to enter Gearits, and he wouldn''t allow some greenhorn person without an ounce of brain cells to ruin him. He didn''te this far just to be screwed over by someone like Krissie.


    "Where''s my fee then?" Krissie ignored the aching pain on her left cheek and instead asked for payment. "You promised to give me some Source Crystal if I helped you."


    "Rx, I''m not one to renege on a promise. You''ll get your Source Crystals once you bring me to that specific person who could help my missing right arm." Shi Tian said, being vignt till the very end.


    Krissie merely twitched her brows as she could discern how distrustful Shi Tian was toward her. Nevertheless, she didn''t argue back and nodded her head,plying with their agreement.


    "I understand, the person is located in a discreet and near-slum environment, so it would take us some time to arrive there," Krissie exined and proceeded to describe the city structure of Gearits.


    Gearits City is located in a remote area far away from the chaos of the outside world, with the city being described as a haven for survivors seeking refuge from the horrors of the apocalypse.


    The city was surrounded by towering walls made of reinforced steel and concrete, designed to keep out any threats from the outside. The walls were patrolled by well-trained guards armed with powerful weapons, ensuring the safety of the city''s inhabitants, and one couldmonly see them in inspection sites.


    And inside the walls, the city was a marvel of human ingenuity and resilience. Despite the devastation that had befallen the world, the city was a thrivingmunity, with people of all ages and backgrounds working together to rebuild and survive


    Compared to the devastation of the world outside that lookedpletely lifeless, Gearits City was theplete opposite. The streets were bustling with activity, with markets selling goods and services, workshops producing everything from food to tools, and medical facilities providing care for the sick and injured.


    Of course, to enjoy those kinds of services- a price must be paid, just that it might no longer be money that people asked for nowadays, but some other form of valuable payment in this chaotic world.


    In addition to that, the buildings were made of sturdy materials, with sr panels and other sustainable technologies providing energy and resources for the city.


    To summarize, Gearits City was self-sufficient, with residents growing their own food and producing their own resources. Water was collected and purified from nearby sources, and waste was recycled or disposed of responsibly.


    That was all the exnation from Krissie as they walked toward the person that she was rmending. And during the exnation the entire time, Shi Tian was half believing and half doubting most of the points.


    "Gearits city is indeed like a heavenpared to the outside world that is filled with ruins and monsters that roamed the streets. But is it really that prosperous and generous?" Shi Tian smiled coldly.


    Krissie shed a bittersweet smile as she shook her head. "Indeed, Gearits city is only for the rich or powerful ones that have connections with the government that manages Gearits. As for the poor and powerless, their lives are worth less than a bottle of clean water."


    "Not a surprise. Apocalypse or not, humans are always greedy and selfish. It''s why humans managed to be the top of the food chain in the beginning." Shi Tianughed, feeling that it waspletely normal for this kind of situation to happen.


    Due to the drastic change in the world, humans were merely regressing back to their old nature where survival of the fittest kicked in.


    As for thews?


    Laws are almost nonexistent at this point in time. Crimes can bemitted so long as you can force the government to not make a move against you.


    In other words, Shi Tian only needed to be strong; enough to overturn the government policy and obtain his revenge.


    "Maybe you are right, but even then, there are still some humans worth saving in this harsh time." Krissie smiled mncholically as she paused her footstep.


    She turned around and told him, "We have arrived at Hush''s Workshop! Now, please give me the fee that you promised me."

 Chapter 22: Hush’s Workshop

    <h4>Chapter 22: Hush¡¯s Workshop</h4>


    "Hush''s Workshop? What a hrious naming sense." Shi Tianmented, wondering if the owner was a mute and thus wanted silence from the others.


    Though that wasn''t the important part because Hush''s Workshop was located in a slum area- in other words, a group of powerless and poor people gathered in one area.


    Just this location alone was enough to override the so-called prosperity of Gearits City.


    No matter how prosperous a city could be, there would always be a certain ce where the poor and powerless would locate in. Or criminals that are willing to do any job as long as the money is enough.


    "Anyway, I''ve done my fill, so please give me those Source Crystals," Krissie said in a low but subtle tone. She didn''t dare to raise her voice when so many random people were nearby- especially when Shi Tian had pped her across the face as a lesson to mind her tone of speech.


    "Are you sure you want to receive them now?" Shi Tian asked calmly.


    "Yes, I''ve already brought you here as promised."


    "But didn''t you say you would always get him to ept my request because he''s an entric person?"


    Instantly, a guilty expression appeared on Krissie''s face, almost as if she had been exposed in the public. Shi Tian didn''t even look surprised when he saw how guilty she looked right now.


    "Sure enough, the details don''t add up when you always love to mix in some lies into the truth." Shi Tian said, straight-up calling her out for the lies that she had been trying to feed into his mind.


    It was just a shame that Shi Tian was never the type to believe her from the get-go. They were strangers, so why would Shi Tian believe her entirely without any substances or evidence that backed up her ims.


    "Since you attempted to deceive me, then our original agreement of fee can also be voided. But then again, you did subtly assist me in the inspection site, so here''s one Source Crystal for your trouble." He then said, taking out a


    Source Crystal in the open, allowing many spectators to see that he had handed it to her.


    And the moment Krissie received the Source Crystal, she could feel many presences had locked their eyes on her.


    "W-Wait a minute, let''s head inside first," Krisise said in a panic and tried to return the Source Crystal back to him. At first, she didn''t understand the meaning of why she wanted the fee now, but now that she had received it, she realized that people had already locked in on her.


    Compared to Shi Tian who had a mysterious aura shrouded around him and had his gun subtly exposed, Krissie was a timid weak woman, easily a target to prey on.


    "Your job is done, so let''s not meet again." Shi Tian merely responded and walked toward the entrance of Hush''s Workshop, not bothering to care about what would happen to her.


    He wasn''t infuriated or irked by the fact that she had attempted to deceive him since everyone in this world is just looking out for themselves.


    Not to mention, he was also using Krissie from the start to infiltrate Gearits City. And now that his motive was done, Krissie''s usefulness had basically been over.


    "Wait a minute, let''s enter together," Krissie said in a panicking tone, following Shi Tian behind closely.


    "I''m not your human shield nor do I seem like a fool to be one either. Your job is done, and so is our cooperation."


    "Please¡­ they''re going to skin me alive if they see me alone."


    "Sounds like a "you" problem and not mine." Shi Tian said heartlessly. He could barely protect himself and had to put on a tough facade to deter others from attempting to go after him.


    How could he be a busybody and assist someone else when he couldn''t even take care of himself?


    With that being said, Shi Tian outright ignored Krisise''s plea and entered the workshop, being greeted by the sight of mechanisms operating and some people hammering some mechanical gears.


    The difference was that the workshop might be located in a slum area, but the technologies being used here were quite advanced. Pneumatic and hydraulic systems were assembled to assist these people in their repair work.


    "What are you looking for?"


    While Shi Tian was examining the structure of the workshop, he was interrupted by a hoarse voice. He turned around, searching for the source of the voice, and found it to be a rugged-looking old man by the counter.


    Before Shi Tian could exin his reason for being on the site, the rugged-looking old man suddenly noticed Krissie that was following behind him.


    "Oi, isn''t this Krissie, the toy of Benmos. Why haven''t I seen Benmos? Is it that you are secretly rendezvousing with this brat? If so, why don''t you serve meter tonight? Otherwise, Benmos is going to have a really nice chat with you if I told him about what happened here." He said with a huge grin on his face, using his tongue to lick on his lips, creating a disgusting scene.


    Meanwhile, Shi Tian''s face remained expressionless, but he could already discern what type of person this rugged-looking old man was based on his ridiculous tone and remarks.


    "Heh, this brat doesn''t even react when I ask you to serve me. Krissie, you can do so much better with me pounding you tonight. I don''t mind giving you a few Eons if you serve me well~"


    Eons was basically the currency name used by the public and one could get them at the exchange center located in the central za of Gearits.


    "I''m sorry, Raszak, but I''m not that type of woman." Krissie finally said something and rejected the rugged-looking old man known as Raszak.


    "Is that so?" Raszak snickered coldly and drank a beverage, smacking its lip.


    "I bet Benmos would be busy tonight to torture someone once I have a chat with him." He added, subtly threatening Krissie.

 Chapter 23: Eons

    <h4>Chapter 23: Eons</h4>


    When Krissie was repeatedly provoked by the rogue Raszak, Shi Tian was silent and merely watched the scene unfold.


    Just like he had mentioned previously, he was not the human shield that Krissie thought he was.


    Thus, he would not bother himself in this matter when Raszak was solely focused on getting Krissie to bed him.


    What kind of choice and action to respond would be up to Krissie alone.


    In addition to that, Shi Tian doesn''t have an idea of what kind of connection Raszak had in Gearits City other than the fact that he was a lecherous old man who would resort to ckmailing.


    Without any information in hand, Shi Tian wouldn''t act impulsively now that he had entered Gearits City. The situation now was different from the camping site in which he did not have to fear any repercussions when killing Benmos.


    Somews existed within Gearits City to control the public, but the camping site was considered to be a part of thewlessnd.


    ''Either way, Krissie should be fine as long as she remainsposed. The threat that Raszak used ispletely futile.'' Shi Tian eximed inwardly, waiting to see what her action would be.


    Benmos was dead, so unless Raszak wanted to die as well and meet each other in the underworld, then the chance of him speaking with Benmos is zero percent.


    "If you can find Benmos, then feel free to tell him. We''re only here today to request Mechanist Tyler." Krissie kept her cool and responded calmly, not giving in to the provocation of Raszak.


    Meanwhile, Raszak snickered coldly and stood up from behind the counter, "A whore like you that spreads her goddamn legs to people that can pay you has the nerve to act so dignifiedly. How hrious is that? Just speak up if you want to charge me more in Eons."


    "Alright, that''s enough of a farce from a horny old man that can''t getid even if he wants to pay. If you aren''t going to assist us in finding Mechanist


    Tyler, then kindly fuck off to the side." Shi Tian finally intervened and said, dissing the crap out of Raszak.


    Originally, he didn''t n on intervening whatsoever, but this person couldn''t contain his horniness and proceeded to waste everyone''s time repeatedly. If he was that desperate to getid, then he should have gone to a brothel somewhere in the slum area and not here.


    "Oh, so this brat isn''t a mute?" Raszak ignored his remarks and nced at Shi Tian up and down.


    "Don''t you know who runs this ce?" He then asked.


    Meanwhile, Shi Tian had heard enough of his bullshit and directly pulled out his gun.


    "Go on," Shi Tian calmly said, pointing the gun barrel right at his forehead. "Speak one more crap and you can enjoy a bullet for yourst meal."


    Finally, when the other people realized Shi Tian had pulled out a gun, they stopped their work and walked toward them.


    "That''s enough of your remarks already, Raszak. Just notify Mechanist Tyler toplete their request before things get more chaotic." One of the workers subtly said, trying to defuse the situation.


    s, now that things havee to this, Shi Tian had long lost interest and faith in this specific workshop. Just the fact that this group of people allowed Raszak to continue talking rogue toward them without stopping was enough for him to understand something.


    "No need, you can save the effort." Shi Tian coldly said, exiting the workshop along with Krissie.


    Once they exited the workshop, Shi Tian remained silent and continued to return back to the path that they had taken. Krissie also didn''t say anything and followed him heedlessly, almost as if she was a duckling following the mother duck.


    Sometimeter, Shi Tian checked their surroundings to confirm that it was discreet and that there weren''t any people nearby.


    "What kind of workshop did you rmend, Krissie?" Shi Tian finally asked. "A rogue such as that and you tell me it''s the best. Not to mention entric people?"


    Krissie lowered her head, clearly not knowing what else to say.


    "Spare me the silence already. If you keep your attitude this way, then I''m truly surprised how you even survived for this long."


    Krissie nodded her head and with much difficulty, she revealed that she was lying from the start.


    "I lied about knowing they are the best because Benmos had only ever gone to that workshop for repair. And I have never gone to the inner zone of Gearits because I''m unqualified to be there. Thus, I don''t really know much of Gearits City and all the exnation I''ve made was from the words of Benmos'' mouth."


    "..."


    At this point, Shi Tian was truly amazed how he managed to be hoodwinked by her lies. But then again, it was because he had practically zero information about Gearits City that caused him to fall for it in the first ce.


    Despite that, Shi Tian wasn''t going to curse his luck because only a wussy would me everything on luck.


    At the end of the day, it was his decision to be led on by Krissie due to his haste in wanting to repair his right arm.


    "Forget it, do you know any exchange center location nearby?" Shi Tian said, deciding that it was best to just forget about the incident of being scammed by her.


    Though, he had made sure to mark down Hush''s Workshop on his mind because when he left, he could tell Raszak was ring at them deeply. Such people are always petty and would try to get revenge, so before they could do something, Shi Tian would dly end the conflictter on.


    "The exchange center is right at the border of the outer zone and inner zone of the city. And the exchange rate for Source Crystals to Eons varies depending on who is exchanging and who is the person doing the exchange." Krissie said solemnly, hoping that he would still believe her words.

 Chapter 24: Exchange Center

    <h4>Chapter 24: Exchange Center</h4>


    Shi Tian and Krissie made a detour, avoiding the slum area as they walked their way toward the border between the outer zone and the inner zone.


    Just like the term meaning, the outer zone was basically the outskirts of Gearits City, essentially meaning that it was still not the core of Gearits Citypared to the inner zone, in which everything was intensively better.


    Krissie had exined to Shi Tian that one must obtain a qualification to be able to step foot in the inner zone.


    And as for how to obtain the qualification, they would have to take a test that proved their ability and survival skills. After all, those who are skillful would naturally receive benefits much higher than themon ones or incapable ones.


    "Is the information this time true or falsified again by you?" Shi Tian calmly asked, not bothering to sugarcoat his words.


    "I swear by my honor that it''s really the truth. This is basic information for anyone living in Gearits City. If you don''t believe me, then you can also find someone else to ask about it."


    Krissie swore solemnly, afraid that she might really be killed. She had already reached a limit that one more mistake from her would result in Shi Tian having murderous intent.


    "Forget it, honor is useless here. Whether it''s true or not, we''ll know once we reach there. However, I won''t entertain your crap any longer if it''s false again." Shi Tain said, unwilling to hear any more nonsense.


    What she did was just a reminder to him that he could never rely on anyone in this world.


    Ynda was an exception, but was also a misconception that nearly blinded his belief to think some people are still worthy of redemption.


    Sometimeter, the two of them arrived near the supposedly invisible border between the outer and inner zone. And noticeably, there was more human traffic in between, clearly showcasing that this is the most popted area. Despite the human traffic, Shi Tian and Krissie seemed to be an outcast because of Shi Tian''s missing arm, and Krissie''s poor dressing attire.


    For Shi Tian, her poor dressing attire had never been the focus of his attention, but to others who are biased and judged a book by its cover, a disgusted expression could be seen on their face.


    "The exchange center is over there, so we should make haste¡­" Krissie pointed at the ce, seemingly in a hurry to leave.


    Shi Tian nodded his head, pretending to not notice her low-self esteem behavior was kicking in again. Unlike her, who would care about the perspectives of others, Shi Tian could give zero fuck to these people.


    Maybe it was because hecked the empathy and emotion aspect now, but he was grateful that it had happened to him. Otherwise, he would have long been killed in the wilderness, without a corpse left to rest in peace.


    Sometimeter, the two of them arrived at the exchange center and it waspacted with more people lining up by the reception desk.


    There were multiple types of exchange currency avable. Some of them offered services in which you give out Source Crystals in exchange for Eons, the currency used in this era.


    And some of them were monster parts in exchange for Eons, and multiple other valuable types of things which would be inspected by an expert to determine their price value.


    Of course, people could also use Eons to exchange for Source Crystals, monster parts, and other things, but it was quite clear for Shi Tian to know the exchange rate of this particr version is umon.


    "Here''s the pamphlet on the exchange currencies," Krissie said, handing a pamphlet that she had grabbed by the wall to him.


    Shi Tian nodded his head and saw that each Source Crystal exchange is around 100 Eons, and each monster parts vary from 50 to 200 Eons, depending on how valuable the parts were.


    Source Crystal is basically a fancy word for the monster core, meaning each in monster would have the possibility of having a Source Crystal in their internal organ.


    After reading through the pamphlet, Shi Tian now had an understanding of the currency used in this era.


    It waspletely different from the currency he had remembered. The paper money he recalled are worthless in this era since it was hard to even print them out, much less distribute the paper money when the world had gone to shit.


    "Here''s the promised three Source Crystals," Shi Tian subsequently said, giving her the Source Crystal.


    "From here on, we would have nothing to do with each other. And even if we happen to bump into each other in the future, we don''t know each other. Is that clear?" He added.


    Krissie nodded her head.


    "I understand," She said calmly.


    "Although we haven''t known each other well for a long time, I should do you a favor since it''s just a karmic recycle in my opinion. This pistol is from Benmos and has three cartridges, so you can use that to defend yourself." Shi Tian then said, giving her a means of self-defense, simr to how Ynda had given him a pistol previously.


    Krissie nced at the pistol and three cartridges in silence before nodding her head.


    "Thank you for your generosity," She said softly, grabbing them and walking toward the receptionist desk that exchanged Eons for Source Crystals.


    With this separation, Shi Tian could now be independent and not have to worry about being dragged down by apanion. Krissie was simply too timid of a woman, and he had no time to be ying a nanny for her.


    "Since she''s exchanging Source Crystals first, then I should probably exchange some monster parts to avoid meeting her again." Shi Tian muttered, taking the opposite route of her.


    Sometimeter, Shi Tian arrived at the monster parts exchanging receptionist, and to his dismay, he met a familiar figure.


    It was a person with spiky yellow hair that loved to flex his muscles, Xavier.


    ''What a coincidence.'' Shi Tian thought to himself.

 Chapter 25: Differential Treatment

    <h4>Chapter 25: Differential Treatment</h4>


    Shi Tian was astonished to encounter one of the two men that had left Ynda for death this quickly.


    Though after some more pondering, he didn''t think it was much of a surprise considering how Gearits City was the closest city in the area that they were previously in.


    ''Xavier, a gold-ranked mercenary and someone that''s extremely lustful. Love to flex his muscle and ability, but was a coward to the extreme once they faced an unfavorable situation.'' Shi Tian thought to himself.


    From the device he had gotten from Ynda, there was a profile list, detailing the mercenaries that she had worked with or was currently working with.


    And Xavier''s profile had a lot of detail, with the former sentence added by him.


    Apparently, Ynda had worked with Xavier before, but because they had never encountered a ferocious being such as the Tenceloras, she never realized how much of a coward Xavier was.


    Thus, that was her first mistake and the second mistake was having anotherpanion, Hugo, who was simrly a coward like Xavier.


    Seeing how Xavier was still attempting to flirt with the receptionistdy behind the counter, Shi Tian concentrated on his hearing to eavesdrop on what he was saying.


    "Suzy dear, why don''t you give me a bit more and I''ll treat you to a fancy restaurantter tonight. I can also book a hotel room where we can rx ourselves."


    "Sir Xavier, please don''t joke with me like that. I''m just a lowly woman, unworthy of your attention."


    "Don''t you dare belittle yourself, Suzy? See this gold badge on my belt? That''s an indication of my rank in the mercenary, so whoever dares to belittle you will face my wrath."


    "Alright, the exchange rate of the monster parts would be at 1000 Eons each. Don''t forget your promise to pick me up." Suzy said, stamping on a piece of document as approval.


    Xavier made a kiss action and smiled smugly. "I''ll pick you up after work tonight. Make sure to not dress too much since they''ll be ripped anyway."


    After eavesdropping this much, Shi Tian subsequently stopped trying to listen to their conversation and waited patiently in line, avoiding attention.


    Although he might have promised Ynda to enact revenge against her twopanions, the current him was simply too weak to do anything.


    All he could do now was hide patiently in the shadow, waiting for an opportunity to strike.


    Meanwhile, Xavier received the Eons with his metallic card and made some touching actions toward Suzy before turning around to prepare to leave.


    When Xavier turned around, he noticed the next person in line was ring at him with a darkened expression.


    "What''s with that darkened face of yours? Do you want to pick a fight with me?" Xavier sneered coldly, purposely moving his hips to sh the shiny gold badge by his belt.


    Xavier''s public flirting and stalling were clearly causing others to be displeased, especially the next person waiting in line for his turn.


    However, when the person saw the gold badge that was equipped by Xavier''s belt, the person could only remain silent and not say anything.


    To them, a gold badge mercenary was simr to the nobles or those with a high reputation in Gearits City. Messing with them would definitely result in a lot of bacshes, and sometimes, even death if you offended them.


    Xavier''s smug smile became wider when he saw how silent the person was.


    "See youter Suzy dear," He then waved his hand and left, acting as if he was some cool guy in an action movie.


    Despite the clear arrogance and hateful behavior of Xavier, Suzy seemed to ignore all of them and her eyes seemed to be smittenpletely.


    It doesn''te as a surprise that such bad boys would always receive the most affection, especially when the world had basically gone to shit where powerful and confident men are guaranteed to survive longer than anyone else.


    Sometimeter, the line proceeded to move smoothly, but everyone was a bit more cautious toward the receptionistdy, Suzy.


    Who knows if she would suddenly badmouth them toward Xavier on their date tonight?


    As for Shi Tian, he was ncing at the hologram screen, seemingly reading up the stats of his current body. He had done a previous test with Krissie and realized that only he was able to see the hologram screen, so he wasn''t afraid of opening it in public.


    ''So killing humans actually gives experience points huh.'' Shi Tian thought to himself.


    Originally, he was level 5, but after killing Benmos, his level had risen up to 6.


    And although one level might not be much, Shi Tian could see his attribute points increased and that there were also some free attribute points to allocate.


    Such benefits were as if the hologram screen was urging him to kill humans and monsters altogether without any differentiation. A cruel yet credible method to survive.


    A few minutester, the line had shortened and it was finally Shi Tian''s turn to exchange for points. Throughout his journey to arrive here, he had killed quite a bit of monsters and stored them with a storage device courtesy of Ynda.


    "Next person please," Suzy shouted from behind the counter, her eyes looking down, seemingly busy with her own stuff.


    Shi Tian walked forward, but before he could even talk, Suzy pointed at the ss container by the right side.


    "Put all the monsters or parts that you wish to exchange there and we''ll evaluate the price." She then instructed with a nonchnt attitude.


    Of course, Shi Tian didn''t mind the attitude and calmly ced a decent amount of monsters and parts without overdoing it much that would attract attention.


    He was copying the other people that were ahead of him so that he would have ced the same amount or close to that amount of monsters.


    And sure enough, Suzy didn''t notice any unusual activity and calcted the price swiftly.


    "Total of 4 monsters with some useful parts. The exchange Eons would be 480."


    ''Only 480 Eons?'' Shi Tian was dumbfounded when he heard the total amount.

 Chapter 26: Mechanical Store

    <h4>Chapter 26: Mechanical Store</h4>


    Shi Tian was secretly rmed when the values of his monsters were significantly loweredpared to the previous person.


    Previously, the person in front of him had exchanged for 3 monsters but was given 600 Eons. Not only were the monsters lower than what he had offered, but even the monster parts were inferior to the one Shi Tian had presented.


    Yet the final evaluation that his amount and quality of parts were subparpared to the previous person.


    How could Shi Tian not be rmed by such a price cut down?


    "I''m sorry, but why is it only 480 Eons?" Shi Tian asked politely, not showing an ounce of displease on his face.


    "Are you a mercenary?" Suzy instead asked.


    Shi Tian shook his head in response.


    He was not registered as a mercenary, and Benmos wasn''t either, so it was a given that he did not have a badge to prove he was a mercenary. Even if he wanted to deceive or lie, there should be enough proof to support it.


    "You''re not a mercenary, so you won''t receive any discount or benefit associated with it. And seeing how you''re missing an arm, it''s clear that your survival ability isn''t that great either. Hence, I''m already being generous to offer you 480 Eons." Suzy sneered coldly, showing a clear disdainful expression on her face.


    "Very well then," Shi Tian nodded his head and said calmly.


    Though inwardly, it was unknown as to what he was thinking since he was being treated as a stray rat.


    Sometimeter, Shi Tian epted the 480 Eons after handing over the monsters and left the exchange center.


    With 480 Eons in hand, Shi Tian proceeded to open up the device to search for information on how to be a mercenary.


    Being a mercenary was quite simple and doesn''t require any form of identification. So long as one is capable of surviving, then they can earn a badge to prove their mercenary status.


    In addition, the mercenary was not under the control of the government, at least that was what it was showcased to the public.


    ''Mercenary''s my option to earn some money without being surveilled by the government. But I need to look for a reliable mechanist to get a recement for my right arm.'' Shi Tian thought to himself.


    Without having the functionality of two arms, it was going to be difficult to proceed forward.


    Being discriminated against for being a cripple was thest thing on his mind. It was the fact that missing an arm was equivalent to announcing to everyone that he was injured and should be targeted.


    Just the previous two incidents alone with Benmos and Suzy have proven to Shi Tian that this world was still unfriendly as it was in the past. Or probably even worse now.


    Shaking his head, Shi Tian nced around and searched for a map guide. Instead of asking Krissie for directions when she doesn''t even know much herself, it was better to look manually.


    "Forget it, I''ll just walk around to explore for now," Shi Tian muttered softly. He was going to be staying in Gearits City for quite a while anyway, so knowing the terrain of Gearits would be beneficial for him in the long run.


    Time slowly passed by, and he had begun to explore a few miles of Gearits already.


    And although it was called the outer zone, it was still arge amount of acre that needed to be covered, and he was starting to realize that most people would be carrying around firearms, almost as if it was a natural thing.


    The only difference was that the air pollutant within Gearits City seemed to be suitable for humans since not a single person was walking with a mask on their facepared to the campsite outside.


    After walking for some more time, Shi Tian noticed a mechanical shopping mall. It was the same as those malls that had many different kinds of clothes avable for them to choose from, except the merchandise was no longer the same.


    essories and non-essential items were no longer prioritized. Instead, it was the survival kits and equipment or devices that could assist one in the wilderness.


    Entering one of the mechanist stores within the shopping mall, Shi Tian began to browse through any good mechanical right arm.


    And due to the shabby appearance of Shi Tian, the employees of the store didn''t even bother to assist him after giving him a single nce. To them, Shi Tian was but another poor man, looking for something cheap, meaning their bonuses won''t even be much.


    Since Gearits City is pretty much a secured safe-zone city, people are starting to relive their life as normal and care more about money than anything else. It was the cold hard truth that money makes the world go round, even in an apocalypse setting.


    Despite the prejudiced nces and thought process of others, Shi Tian had long gotten used to it and was immune to such things.


    He minded his own business and searched for a suitable mechanical right arm that was within his purchase limit.


    As Shi Tian inspected the numerous types of mechanical right arms avable in the shop, he heard a loudmotion from outside.


    "Curses, why is my father forcing me toe to this rundown shop? All I did was shatter a few of his antiques that are outdated as hell. Who would even care about antiques when the world is filled with monsters?"


    "Young Miss, please refrain from the outburst. We are in public, and if your father heard rumors of this again, then it won''t be just this punishment alone."


    "Tsk, my father must have gone crazy to even maintain a shop in the outer zone. Everyone here is poor and weak as hell. They aren''t even qualified to see me."


    It was amotion of a typical spoiled brat, ranting and screaming everywhere, throwing a fit as if they are the only one present.


    ''I better hurry up and leave as soon as possible.'' Shi Tian thought to himself, unwilling to get embroiled in this kind of mess.

 Chapter 27: Free

    <h4>Chapter 27: Free</h4>


    Just the eerie tone of this young miss that came from out of nowhere, the other customers besides Shi Tian were also ufortable.


    Being repeatedly called poor and weak when they are actual customers was distasteful and rude. The saying customers are always right wouldn''t be applied when one could discern how spoiled the young miss was.


    It didn''t take less than 10 minutes before the bustling store diminished to a minimum of people browsing through the store.


    The few remaining people are those being forced to idle because they hadn''t found the item they needed, including Shi Tian.


    ''This mechanical right arm doesn''t seem to fit me either. It''s too big and out of proportion.'' Shi Tian thought to himself, putting the mechanical right arm back in its original position on the shelf.


    After browsing for a long time, a conclusion came to his mind. And that he couldn''t just randomly go into a mechanist store to look for a mechanical right arm without any information about his body proportion.


    Most of the mechanical right arms avable have the measurements listed and some more information such as the mechanic person that built it.


    ''Sigh, it seems like I must seek a mechanic and get the measurement done first.'' Shi Tian eximed inwardly, feeling that he must have been ignorant tomit such an amateur mistake.


    Shaking his head a few times in disappointment, mainly toward himself because he had overestimated his so-called intelligence. And to think he was smirking at how he didn''t need to raise his intelligence points in the past, Shi Tian wanted to smack himself repeatedly for such a naive thought.


    Turning to the left corner of the shelf, he carefully retraced his footsteps to find the exit. After all, it may be a store he had entered, but the store was so wide andrge that one could easily get lost in this maze-like environment.


    And despite the store being sorge, the fact that everyone within the store could hear a loud andining tone of a young miss, says a lot.


    Hence, everyone was ready to leave the moment they finished their browsing in the store or had paid for their items.


    A few minutester, Shi Tian arrived near the counter and the exit was right next to it as well.


    To his surprise, the eerie tone previously of the young miss was now telling one of her employees to give out the item for free.


    "But Young Miss, this item is quite expensive. Are you sure you want to give it away for free?" The employee behind the counter asked in a somewhat nervous tone.


    "Shut up, my father sent me down here to supervise this store, so are you trying to question my authority?" The Young Miss snorted coldly and grabbed the item.


    She then proceeded to hand it to the customer and waved her hand, "Go, the item is yours now."


    The customer was astonished and immediately bowed his head to give his thanks before leaving swiftly.


    Meanwhile, Shi Tian, who had witnessed the entire thing, was even more wary of the Young Miss.


    ''A tracker device huh¡­ seems like this Young Miss is more dangerous than the eyes meet.'' Shi Tian thought to himself, leaving stealthily to avoid being spotted by her.


    What the customer failed to realize was that when the so-called Young Miss went to grab the item to hand it over to him, was the fact that Young Miss had nted a tiny device on the item itself.


    It was instantaneous and only those who were paying attention or had keen eyes were able to spot that action.


    And although the tiny device seemed unfamiliar to Shi Tian, his first guess was the device was a tracker kind. Otherwise, what was the point of making something so tiny and attached to something easily?


    ''Indeed, there are never such things as free in this world. I''m afraid that person is now being tracked for something insidious.'' Shi Tian eximed inwardly.


    Despite knowing that such a thing had urred, he had no intention of warning the opposite party.


    After all, it was his greed that epted the generosity of the Young Miss, so now he would have to pay the price. He was not a saint and he could barely even sustain himself, so why would he trouble himself with more problematic stuff?


    Once he was some distance away from the mechanical store, Shi Tian realized that even though he might have entered the so-called safe zone city, he still had to remain vignt at all times.


    One careless mistake and you could easily disappear in this world without leaving a single piece of dust behind.


    Sometimeter, Shi Tian found a corner to idle around as he scanned through the device he got from Ynda. The device was filled with information- too much to analyze to be precise.


    It included many things and some information was actually still locked. These kinds of locked information required another authentication form to ess, simr to those two-factor authentications (2FA ), except these required 10 factors.


    And as much as he had changed the scanning to his fingerprint, some of these authentications were some personal questions regarding Ynda. How was he supposed to know what type of food she loves and what kind of events she loves to do?


    ''Why is everyone so secure nowadays? Can''t they just be careless and leave their password as "password"?'' Shi Tian had a headache trying to ess it.


    Just when Shi Tian was struggling to ess the information, he felt a shadow lurking from behind him.


    Instantly, Shi Tian narrowed his eyes and slowly put the device back into his pocket.


    When he felt the presence was getting closer, Shi Tian turned 180 degrees and raised his leg, ready to kick the person that was trying to sneak up behind him.


    "Ahhh!"


    The person that was attempting to sneak up behind him gasped in horror, and Shi Tian recognized the voice immediately.


    "What are you doing here?" Shi Tian hissed coldly, retracting his leg as he red at Krissie.

 Chapter 28: 420 Westwood Avenue

    <h4>Chapter 28: 420 Westwood Avenue</h4>


    After retracting his leg, Shi Tian was ring at Krissie, clearly alerted at her appearance here.


    He was pretty sure he had told her that they would never see each other again. Yet somehow she was right here, about to sneak up behind him.


    It was hard for him to not suspect a single thing, such as her following him.


    "I-I didn''t mean to follow you¡­" Krissie admitted immediately to following him when she could feel the intense re of Shi Tian.


    "Why did you follow me?" Shi Tian asked in a slightly cold tone. He was furious that she was following him, but he was even more furious with himself.


    Since Krissie admitted to following him, then it meant that he failed to realize someone was following him.


    This in turn revealed how his cautiousness was aplete joke.


    Luckily though, Krissie shook her head in response and rified her meaning of following him.


    "I didn''t follow you directly but merely predicted where you might go. You have a missing arm, so I thought that you would show up in this shopping mall to search for a recement."


    "So you traced my whereabouts based on my current condition, and only managed to find me now?"


    "Mhmm, I only decided to follow you because I didn''t want to owe you for the pistol and cartridges after separating from you." She then said, revealing how she didn''t wish to owe him a favor.


    After all, the deal they had from the beginning was her guiding him inside Gearits City, but the truth was that everything was resolved by Shi Tian''s bribing of the guard.


    And then the ce she brought him to was aplete shit show.


    Without doing much, Shi Tian still honored his deal and even gave her a weapon as a form of self-defense. The guilt was piling up in her emotions the more she thought about it and decided it was against her conscience.


    Shi Tian twitched his brows slightly when he couldn''t decide whether tough or not at her naivety and personality.


    "No need, that pistol, and cartridges are basically from Benmos. So if you really want to thank someone, you can thank him. Though I doubt you would want to thank him, considering what he had done to you." Shi Tian raised his left hand and said he doesn''t need her to owe him a favor.


    "If you put it that way, then the favor I owed you would have increased." Krissie smiled bitterly.


    "Benmos was a nightmare and I would have lived a life worse than death had you not killed him so decisively. I simply just want to repay this favor so that I can finally have a good sleep after a long time." She added.


    Meanwhile, Shi Tian remained unfazed, clearly unwilling to let her repay the favor. It wasn''t that he hated having assistance or help, but he had experienced what kind of assistance she could offer already.


    He really had no intention of having his time wasted again and again by her.


    "Just pay me 200 Eons and we''re even," Shi Tian said straightforwardly, extending his left hand.


    "I guess you really don''t want my assistance after the mess I have done. This is the address of a mechanic that I remembered hearing from a temporary teammate that worked with Benmos previously." She then said, handing him a piece of paper, and left with her head lowered down.


    Shi Tian paid no heed to her depressing exit as he nced at the address on the paper, pondering for a while.


    420 Westwood Avenue.


    That was the address listed on the paper, and Shi Tian recalled the map that he had seen previously that was posted by the street block wall.


    ''This is theplete opposite of my current location.'' Shi Tian thought to himself once he finished his memory recollection. And as much as he knew it was another round of walking, there was nothing much he could do.


    If he could have gone from the graveyard-like environment all the way to a city filled with life, then what were a few extra miles going to do to him?


    Putting the paper in his pocket, Shi Tian began to make his way toward the address. Luckily, there are no more cliche events where he would be stopped and forced to deal with it.


    Time slowly passed by, and he soon arrived at 420 Westwood Avenue. It was arge workshop that was on a scale multiple timesrger than the previous Hush''s Workshop.


    The mechanic workshop was a sprawlingplex of sleek, metallic buildings that towered over the surroundingndscape. The architecture was abination of sharp angles and sweeping curves, giving the impression of a futuristic, high-tech facility.


    The main workshop building was a massive structure with high ceilings and a wide-open floor n. It was filled with rows upon rows of state-of-the-art machinery and equipment, all carefully arranged to maximize efficiency and productivity.


    The walls are lined with digital disys and interactive screens that provide real-time data and analytics on every aspect of the operation.


    As Shi Tian moved through the workshop, he noticed the intricate robotic arms and conveyor belts that transported parts and tools around the facility. There are also a series ofrge cranes and lifts that move heavy machinery and vehicles into position for repairs or maintenance.


    In addition to the main workshop building, there are several smaller buildings scattered throughout theplex, each dedicated to a specific area of expertise.


    "This is apletely different scalepared to Hush''s Workshop¡­" Shi Tian murmured, his eyes wandering to another sight that was beyond his scope of thoughts.


    There was a paint and body shop, an engine testing facility, and a fabrication area for custom parts and modifications.


    The entire facility was bathed in a soft blue light that highlights the gleaming surfaces and high-tech equipment. There was also a sense of energy and purpose that permeated the air, as the skilled technicians and mechanics worked tirelessly to keep the machines of the future running smoothly.


    To conclude, Shi Tian was astonished and impressed by the workshop that Krissie rmended. Based on the facilities'' equipment and the long line of customers waiting, Shi Tian''s hope had never been higher.

 Chapter 29: Optic Mech

    <h4>Chapter 29: Optic Mech</h4>


    The mechanic workshop of this ce was called Optic Mech, a fine and sophisticated store name.


    After all, Shi Tian would have never thought the outer zone could possibly have such high tech and management avable. His first impression waspletely ruined by the campsite and the Hush''s Workshop.


    Thus, his expectations werepletely low, so he was dazzled by the ce.


    Everything might seem hectic at first nce, but upon closer inspection, Shi Tian realized that everything was organized, a far cry from the Hush''s Workshop.


    There were dedicated mechanics that focused on repairing or building mechanical parts, and there were people that were dedicated to servicing the customers for their needs and requests.


    One might be overwhelmed at first nce, but there was arge hologram transparent screen that exined the Optic Mech operations in simple terms. Even if one was illiterate, the picture alone on the screen should be self-exnatory as well.


    And given that Shi Tian was here to fix his right arm, his option was to search for the customs parts and modification area.


    The modification area would be the ce where he would get his measurement, and custom parts would be the ce where he would request for the right arm to be made.


    Just when Shi Tian was about to make his way toward that area, a uniformed person walked forward and asked, "Hello, sir, are you in need of assistance?"


    Turning around, Shi Tian noticed the uniformed person was a woman with short ck hair, who had a gentle and polite smile on her face that showed her amicable attitude toward customers.


    "No thank you, I''m fine." Shi Tian shook his head and said calmly, replying politely.


    "I see¡­ My name is Phoebe, and if you ever need some assistance or are confused about something, you are free toe to me." Phoebe revealed her name tag attached to her chest and introduced herself before leaving to assist another customer.


    It was clear that she was trying to help customers that seemed to be searching for direction.


    Shi Tian was dumbfounded at first since he was used to being ignored most of the time. Given his shabby clothes, he didn''t expect someone would still bother to ask if he needed any assistance.


    Although it could be just Phoebe wanting some bonuses for assisting customers, it was still much better than Hush''s Workshop in Shi Tian''s mind.


    A few secondster, Shi Tian stopped brooding his mind over something like that and instead went to the upper floor where the modification area was located.


    The elevator was quite quick and in less than 30 seconds, Shi Tian arrived at the fifth floor, and what greeted him quickly was a receptionist behind the counter.


    "Hello, have you made a reservation?" The receptionist asked.


    "Um, no, I was rmended here by a friend, so I came to check it out." Shi Tian responded.


    "I see, can I have your name so then I can make a booking for you."


    "I''m Nathan," Shi Tian answered, giving a false name.


    Since the beginning, he had never revealed his name to anyone, including Krissie.


    The name ''Shi Tian'' should have long been gone, and if anyone was to hear his real name and was able to connect it to theb experiment of the past, then the troubles that follow would be incalcble.


    The receptionist didn''t pay attention to whether or not Shi Tian had given her a fake name. Her duty was merely to jot down the name on the list and call for them when it was their turn.


    "Okay, Nathan, your name has been listed and currently Mechanist Isaac Aaronax is working on amission, so it might take some time for you. Do you wish to leave your phone number and then I''ll call you when it''s your turn?" The receptionist asked calmly.


    Shi Tian pondered for a moment before deciding it was best to not give her a phone number.


    Currently, the device he was using is from Ynda, meaning if he used her phone number and it gets detected by someone else, then chances are, he would have dug a hole for himself to fall into.


    "How long until Mechanist Isaac Aaronax will be done with hismission?" Shi Tian instead asked, getting an estimated time or a specific time to be precise.


    "Let''s see, Mechanist Isaac Aaronax is working on some modification of mechanical equipment for the customer, and with his usual work rate, it should be around 1-2 hours from now." The receptionist answered, giving him a somewhat analysis of what Isaac would be working on.


    Shi Tian nodded his head.


    "Very well, I''ll be back in 1-2 hours or so."


    "Sure, you can ce the down payment of 200 Eons first. This is to prevent any loss from our side in case the customer decided to not show up, but clogged up the work schedule."


    What the receptionist said was reasonable since they couldn''t afford to book a person, and the person suddenly decided to vanish, resulting in their loss of business and most importantly, time.


    Thus, Shi Tian retrieved 200 Eons without hesitation and paid the receptionist rather quickly.


    The receptionist counted the 200 Eons, and once she confirmed the payment, she gave a small token to Shi Tian.


    "This is a small token of verification. So when youe back, you can simply hand the small token back to me, Nathan." The receptionist kindly exined the usage of the small token. The small token was a bit hollow and round, with the Optic Mech symbol stamped on it.


    "Thank you," Shi Tian calmly stored the small token in his pocket and gave his thanks.


    Afterward, he proceeded to enter the elevator. Pressing the 1st-floor button on the elevator, Shi Tian was going to leave Optic Mech for the time being.


    Interacting with people in Gearits City so far, he realized there are some essential things that he should have if he nned on staying here for a while.


    ''I should find a device simr to Ynda and use it in public.'' Shi Tian thought to himself.

 Chapter 30: Cellos

    <h4>Chapter 30: Cellos</h4>


    It had been a long time since Shi Tian had awakened, and it doesn''te as a surprise that the current era of mobile devices had changed.


    The device he obtained from Ynda was rectangr, but tiny enough to fit in the hand while storing numerous data in a holographic manner if one decided to activate such an option.


    Such devices were something that Shi Tian had never seen before, and it just goes to show how different the world had be.


    It wasn''t an exaggeration to say that Shi Tian was now a caveman in the old stone age, entering a modernized world that had advanced technologies beyond the means anyone could have ever thought of.


    ''The device of Ynda is called a Cellos, and apparently, it''s one of the pricey items on the market. With the current money I have, I doubt I can get a new Cellos unless I take an older version or model of it.'' Shi Tian eximed inwardly, pondering over what to do.


    Now that he had decided to use an alias of Nathan to live within Gearits City.


    Then he must have a Cellos registered for Nathan as well. Otherwise, people would get suspicious, and worse, if they realized he was using a Cellos from Ynda, then everything would be over.


    Although he doesn''tpletelyprehend the significance Ynda had in Geairts City, just the fact that everyone was afraid of her former teammate, Xavier, proved how valuable and important she was.


    Shi Tian refused to take any chance of the possibility of being exposed to be connected with Ynda. After all, Xavier and Hugo would definitelye to silence him to keep the incident hidden from the public.


    Shaking his head, Shi Tian prompted himself to stop overthinking once again. Being overly paranoid would do him more harm than good if he continued such behaviors.


    ''They are in the light whereas I''m in the dark. All I need to do is wait for the ideal timing.'' Shi Tian thought, exiting Optic Mech as he decided to walk around to search for any old model of Cellos that are on sale.


    Westwood Avenue might not be a shopping district, but the streets were still bustling with lively people, all with gear equipped on them. asionally, there are stalls set up by people, selling misceneous at a fixed price point.


    Numerous chattering could be heard among these stalls in which customers would attempt to bargain for a cheaper price.


    "Boss, don''t you know that I''m a regr patron? If you lower the price of Eons by a little, then you would have me as a customer continuously."


    "But this is already the lowest price I''m asking for."


    "Don''t be like that, boss. You get to stay within the safe zone city so you don''t know how harsh the outside world has be. Each day I step foot outside with my team, we are practically facing death at every corner."


    "Ugh, I can only lower it for another 10 Eons. Otherwise, I''m really making a loss here."


    While walking through these stalls, Shi Tian heard a particr person bargaining in a somewhat unique manner.


    The person was using the outside world as an excuse to get a cheaper price. Normally, that kind of bargaining would be nonsensical, but considering the world outside was aplete mess, it had an effect on the stall owner.


    Shaking his head, Shi Tian decided to stop probing how this bargaining worked as he continued to browse for an old model of Cellos. A few secondster, Shi Tian found a stall that had different kinds of Cellos models disyed.


    He walked toward the stall and nced for a few moments. And naturally, the owner of the stall was delighted to see a customer after so long.


    "Hello, sir, are you interested in thesetest models of Cellos? These are all produced by one of the bestpanies and include thetest technology. 500 Eons each, guarantee quality." The owner of the stall said enthusiastically.


    Meanwhile, Shi Tian frowned a bit as he finally realized why no one bothered to patronize this stall.


    The owner was in no doubt, a hundred percent, a scammer to the brim. It wasn''t the fact that the owner was selling outdated models of Cellos, but the fact that he tried to scam unknowing customers while overcharging them.


    "You know¡­ if you want to scam, then you should do it properly, owner." Shi Tian furrowed his brows and said calmly.


    "I don''t know what this sir is saying." The owner feigned innocence and acted shocked. "All my items here are genuine and work perfectly fine."


    "They sure work fine, but anyone with a keen eye can tell it''s an old model. Trying to pass it off as thetest model, then you should have done some painting work of the Cellos."


    "This sir, please refrain from using this honest old me." The owner had no shame in his behavior and continued to proim his innocence.


    But what made Shi Tian utterly speechless was his attempt in selling his items again in a grand and magnanimous manner.


    "If sir really found my charging price a bit expensive in your range, then I could do a bit of a loss and lower the amount by 100 Eons, making it a total of 400 Eons only."


    At this point, Shi Tian had to admit that this owner deserved to be an owner of a stall. Only someone as shameless as him with a thick face enough to proim their innocence till the end despite being exposed was qualified to manage a stall.


    As the two of them had a staring contest, Shi Tian finally breathed out and said with the calmest tone ever. "120 Eons, take it or leave it."


    And without hesitation, the owner snickered coldly, almost as if he was ridiculing Shi Tian for the horrendous price cut down.


    "Hmph, did you take me as a fool?" The owner sneered coldly.


    Though, the very next moment, he extended his hand and said solemnly, "120 Eons it is!"

 Chapter 31: Old Man Chao

    <h4>Chapter 31: Old Man Chao</h4>


    Shi Tian smirked coldly when the owner was so rapidly epting his offer. Before arriving at this particr stall, Shi Tian had already done some research on the pricing.


    An old model Cellos was practically on the verge of extinction, simr to the former popr phone brand, Nokia, which is known for its sturdy and durability in withstanding lots of impacts.


    Therefore, the price of such an old model Cellos was around 100 Eons or so, and his offering of 120 Eons was because he didn''t wish to hear more bbering from the owner.


    Not to mention, he doubted other stores would still have old models in their merchandise since no one would purchase them even if they are short in funds at the moment.


    One of the main aspects of the Cellos was its near-wless cyber security. The world might have gone to shit, but technologies had continued to improve till this day, which was the main reason why humanity is still able to survive.


    "Here are the 120 Eons, give me that old model." Shi Tian retrieved the money from his pocket and handed it over to the stall owner.


    "Hehe, this sir is indeed a unique person." The owner readily gave Shi Tian the old model he pointed at andughed cheekily.


    "To purchase an old model that no one cares about anymore¡­ I suppose sir is ready to do some business here." The owner added, seemingly acting as if he could perceive the thought process of Shi Tian.


    Shi Tian remained silent, not nning on telling the stall owner anything.


    The stall owner chuckled softly at the reaction of Shi Tian.


    "People call me Old Man Chao, so sir can do so as well. And if sir is really in need of some help in the dark, do give me a call. My number is in that old model that you purchase. Who knows¡­ maybe you might need my assistance one day." The stall owner, proimed as Old Man Chao, said as he watched Shi Tian walking away.


    And although Shi Tian had walked quite far already, he had heard what Old Man Chao said. It was just that he didn''t put it to heart at the moment since his main priority was finding a recement for his right arm. Only when this matter was done could Shi Tian start to focus on other goals.


    A man must set his priority straightforwardly and not have any other deviation. Otherwise, it would onlye to harm him in the long run.


    ''With this old model, the cyber security would be a bitcking, but it should be doable for now. Now I just need to change all the profile information to Nathan, making it believable.'' Shi Tian thought to himself, inputting numerous data on the old model Cellos.


    Sure enough, while inputting data into the old model Cellos, Shi Tian noticed one number in the contact list. Though the name wasn''t listed as Old Man Chao. Instead, it was listed as Salty Rogue.


    Shi Tian didn''t think much of it since Salty Rogue was most likely the nickname or code name of Old Man Chao to avoid suspicions.


    In a time of insecurities, code names were indeed popr to keep one''s identity hidden, and Shi Tian was no exception to this method either.


    After finishing inputting the data of the old model Cellos, Shi Tian promptly returned to Optic Mech and took the elevator to the fifth floor.


    When Shi Tian arrived and saw the receptionist, he was informed that it would still take another 30 minutes or so.


    "There are some seats by the aisle, so if you wish to wait here, then you can take a seat there, Nathan." The receptionist kindly said.


    Shi Tian nodded his head.


    "Thank you, I''ll wait over there until Mechanist Isaac Aaronax is finished." He then said, walking toward the aisle to find a quiet andfortable seat to sit on.


    He might have arrived a bit earlier than the estimated time given by the receptionist, but Shi Tian had nothing else to do currently. Thus, he didn''t mind waiting a bit more in the building while researching every little bit of information that circted within Gearits City.


    As he sat quietly in the seat, Shi Tian browsed through the inte using the old model Cellos, keeping Ynda''s Cellos hidden from the public.


    Information was transmitted quite rapidly through the inte and many people were still living in the age of a shut-in.


    Compared to the apocalypse movies that Shi Tian had watched in the past, the current era was a far cry from what the movies had exaggerated.


    People weren''t cut off frommunication seemingly because of monsters rampaging around the wilderness. Instead, they were still in extensive contact with each other, even if they were separated by a long distance.


    ''Who would have thought that the barren and dark environment could be livened up in such a manner¡­'' Shi Tian eximed inwardly, feeling weary of the experience he had to go through previously.


    After reading some information, the nearest city to Gearits was extremely far. It was like the distance between tworge countries and goes to show just how far apart humanity had split.


    Gearits City was able to be preserved for this long because of the technology it had used to filter the air pollutant and humans that were capable of resisting the monsters equipped in mechanical armors.


    As for some other cities, they weren''t that blessed and were in a much worse condition than Gearits. Though the main concerning part was that monsters seemed to have an increased rate of mutating, allowing them to be stronger.


    ''If this information isn''t outdated, then sooner orter, Earth is going to experience another disaster worse than the first one.'' Shi Tian thought to himself, recalling the dreadful incident of the Great Disaster 1.0.


    Although he didn''t feel much emotion because of his passive ability, there was still some trauma hidden deep in his heart. A trauma that Shi Tian still refused to confront.

 Chapter 32: Isaac Aaronax

    <h4>Chapter 32: Isaac Aaronax</h4>


    Time slowly passed by, and Shi Tian was absorbing different kinds of information that he deemed valuable in the future. Given that he had been disconnected from the world for a total of 132 years, he needed to re-educate himself of what was considered the norm in this world.


    After all, Shi Tian could not allow any slip-ups and have others realize he came out from the literal graveyard zone.


    Though Shi Tian was still quite lucky given that there are people that had traveled across the dangerous wilderness and werebeled as foreigners by people residing in safe zone cities.


    And to put the cherry on the topping, these foreigners were usually disconnected from the inte since not many ces outside the safe zone cities have services to ess online.


    Thus, for the time being, Shi Tian would proim himself a foreigner if he was ever being questioned for something.


    "Hello, Nathan, Mechanist Isaac Aaronax has finished the customer''smission and told me that you can go in now."


    While Shi Tian was distracted by his own thoughts, the receptionist''s voice echoed and prompted him to snap out of his thought process.


    He got up from the seat and nodded his head.


    "Thanks for the heads up¡­" He then paused for a second, realizing that he didn''t know what her name was to be addressed.


    "It''s Macy," The receptionist said, lifting up the nametag by her chest that was covered by the counter.


    "Mechanist Isaac Aaronax is located in room 521, so you can head over there. I have informed him of your arrival already." Macy added, pointing in the direction of the room.


    Shi Tian merely nodded his head and walked toward the interior of the fifth floor for the first time. Compared to the reception area, the interior was much more vast and morous.


    He also thought there would be constant machinery sound emitting from the walls, but surprisingly, everything was tranquil. It was clear that each room was soundproof to preserve privacy for the customers and prevent any potential eavesdropping from urring.


    Shi Tian nodded his head in acknowledgment when Optic Mech was able to provide such services. Maybe it was because his expectation had been ruined by Hush''s Workshop, but he was determined tomission Mechanist Isaac Aaronax no matter the cost.


    As long as the cost was in a reasonable price range with the exnation provided to him on why it was priced that way, then Shi Tian would dly ept the price.


    ''Let''s hope that everything would be smooth,'' Shi Tian took a deep breath as he nced at the electronic doorbeled 521. He stepped forward a bit and the electronic door buzzed for a few moments before opening the door for him.


    Of course, Shi Tian didn''t believe the electronic door had opened automatically since he had walked by the other room in the same manner and they remained tightly shut, seemingly proving that the door was operated by the person inside.


    While the electronic door opened for Shi Tian, he subsequently noticed the panel side had a scanner. Based on that scanner, he was able to dispel the thoughts on how others could open the door if there was no one inside.


    Nevertheless, knowing that detail didn''t matter much to Shi Tian as he entered the room, only to be greeted by the sight of a man working on some machinery that was making a rumbling type of sound.


    After hearing the rumbling sound for some time, the man finally paused his work temporarily, turned around, and greeted Shi Tian.


    "You must be Nathan, right. I''m Isaac Aaronax, and Macy had already informed me of what you wanted."


    Isaac Aaronax was ruggedly handsome, with sharp features and piercing eyes that seemed to look right through a person. He stood tall with a muscr build, a clear evidence of the physical work he had put into his craft.


    His hands were calloused and scarred, showing the aftermath of long-term work as a mechanic. Despite the hands'' feature, he had a defined jawline and a slightly crooked nose that only added to his charisma and aura as a mechanic.


    That was the first impression Shi Tian obtained from Isaac Aaronax.


    However, Shi Tian kept silent despite being greeted by such a man as he inspected his outfit to determine the type of man he was.


    Isaac Aaronax seemingly wore uniformed clothing best for his mechanical work, with a leather apron over a denim shirt and pants that had seen their fair share of wear and tear.


    His boots were sturdy and well-worn, perfect for the workshop floor. In addition to that, he had a set of goggles that rested on the top of his forehead, a testament to the dangerous nature of his work.


    "Is my appearance somewhat unsightly to your eyes?" Isaac Aaronax raised an eyebrow and asked in a somewhat dazed tone. He would be a fool to not notice the inspection look that Shi Tian was giving him.


    "Oh, apologies about my rudeness, Mechanist Isaac Aaronax." Shi Tian hurriedly said.


    And to avoid any misunderstandings, Shi Tian proceeded to exin his terrible experience at a mechanist shop previously, letting Isaac Aaronax know that he wasn''t showing any prejudice toward him.


    "I see¡­ no wonder why you were inspecting me thoroughly as if trying to see if I was a certified mechanic or not." Isaac Aaronax chuckled softly, not offended by the action of Shi Tian.


    After all, Shi Tian was a customer, and it wasn''t like he had done anything terrible besides giving him a closer stare than necessary.


    With the misunderstandings rified, Isaac Aaronax subsequently went straight to the topic as he noticed a missing right arm from Shi Tian.


    "Your right arm seemed to be cleanly sliced off, Nathan. The monster that did the slicing seemed to be a fearsome one." Isaac Aaronax deduced this based on his previous customers'' data.


    Since monsters are capable of slicing any body parts off in a clean manner akin to an amputation, Shi Tian didn''t n on rifying anything and epted his deduction.


    "Indeed, I was quite unlucky to encounter a Tenceloras in the wilderness." Shi Tian said regrettably, putting up a fake act of despair.

 Chapter 33: Monster List

    <h4>Chapter 33: Monster List</h4>


    Shi Tian''s acting could be on par with the actors that are acimed with praise for their portrayal of a role given that Isaac Aaronax found zero suspicion on his tragedy.


    "How horrible is that! A Tenceloras is one of the most dangerous monsters on the monster list to encounter. To survive against them and only lose an arm is considered a great bargain." Isaac Aaronax said, giving his sympathy for Shi Tian.


    ''Monster list huh?'' Shi Tian wasn''t surprised by the mention of the monster list being brought up since Ynda''s Cellos had information regarding it.


    A monster list in simple terms was a list of monsterspiled into a single document in which it stated a ranking for each particr monster. These monsters were provided by numerous brave people that had explored the wilderness to gather resources and data.


    "Tenceloras is a dangerous grade C monster, and if they are mutated as well, then they could potentially be promoted to a grade B." Issac Aaronax said, shaking his head as he could imagine how many people would have fallen to their death by this type of monster.


    Each monster was ranked in its respective grade made by the people.


    And although grade C doesn''t sound that impressive or frightening, everyone is clear that the grade doesn''t necessarily represent the true danger of a particr monster.


    Grade C monsters are capable beings and considered deadly enough to annihte multiple teams consisting of at least 10 people in each of the teams all by themself.


    Thus, the horror and frightening ability of a grade B monster could be imagined.


    Shi Tian smiled slightly as he nodded his head in agreement. "Indeed, losing only my right arm is already a great bargain I can get."


    "Mhmm, I won''t pry any further since it would probably bring back terrible memories." Isaac Aaronax said, being an understanding person.


    He then went ahead and changed the topic, going back to the business, "Anyway, all you want me to do is get the measurement of your right arm and craft a mechanical right arm, right?"


    Shi Tian nodded his head.


    "What type of mechanical right arm do you want?" Isaac Aaronax subsequently asked. There were a bunch of different types of mechanical right arms that one could have, with each of them having different abilities and features.


    And seeing Shi Tian dazed expression, Isaac Aaronax exined the types of mechanical right arms avable in Optic Mech.


    "There are three main types of the mechanical right arm that our Optic Mech offers. The attack type, defense type, and bnce type. Naturally, the attack type is for offensive uses and the defense type is for defensive uses. And as for the bnce type, it is neutral. Bnce type supports both attack and defense types simultaneously. In other words, it''s the middle tform between the two."


    Shi Tian didn''t respond right away. He was trying to absorb this new information and weighing the pros and cons as to which type would provide best for him.


    "I can see that you are still pondering so why don''t we get the measurement done first?" Isaac Aaronax calmly said, realizing that Shi Tian was most likely having trouble deciding which type to get.


    It was amon scene for him, who had assisted numerous customers previously. Thus, he understood that choosing a type required time and careful consideration.


    Shi Tian nodded his head, agreeing that it was best to get the measurement finished first.


    "Please take a seat on that chair," Isaac Aaronax pointed at a chair and instructed. The chair was located next to some high-tech mechanical stuff that Shi Tian was unfamiliar with.


    "This is thetest invention and can precisely measure a person''s body. In addition to that, it would also prompt some suggestions as to what material would synergize best with their body, allowing us to know the maximum benefit for the customer."


    "I see¡­"


    Sometimeter, Shi Tian sat down and Isaac Aaronax pressed a button on the machine. Soon, shing green lights emitted and began to scan around Shi Tian''s missing right arm. As the green lights slowly moved, data and information were then processed on aputer screen.


    Isaac Aaronax had his eyes on theputer screen, reading the data and maneuvering the machine simultaneously. Though his eyes paused for a moment when he read one particr data.


    It was just for a slight moment so Shi Tian didn''t find anything amiss, and Isaac Aaronax didn''t say anything else as he simply did his job.


    Time slowly passed by, and soon, a holographic right arm was created in front of Shi Tian.


    "I''m going to hover this holographic right arm to attach to you, so we can see the result. If you find any difort or feel the right arm is a bit off, then please tell me to make some adjustments." Isaac Aaronax calmly said, ncing at Shi Tian for confirmation.


    "I understand," Shi Tian calmly replied, his eyes locked on the holographic right arm as it slowly came to attach to his right side.


    What made this a magnificent and magical scene was that Shi Tian could somehow feel a simtion being activated, almost as if the holographic was a part of his right arm.


    The moment Isaac Aaronax pressed another button, the right arm was locked in ce, fixating itself on Shi Tian''s supposedly missing right arm.


    "Do you feel any difort with the right arm?"


    "No"


    "I''m going to now simte some falsifying movement of the blood cell gushing through the holographic right arm. Do let me know to stop whenever you feel pain or other difort."


    Shi Tian nodded his head, giving Isaac Aaronax the green light to do the next process.


    And with that green light, Isaac Aaronax then proceeded to advance the simtion, causing Shi Tian to feel as if his right arm had truly regenerated.


    During this moment, Isaac Aaronax remained silent and fully concentrated on the data being reported on theputer screen, allowing him to know whether or not there were any mishaps or not.


    "Everything is green, meaning the simted holographic right arm is a perfect fit."

 Chapter 34: Popcorn

    <h4>Chapter 34: Popcorn</h4>


    With the data ryed on theputer screen, Isaac Aaronax was able to confirm that everything went correctly without any hups.


    And of course, even though he knew there would most likely be no mistakes considering his experience and skills, there was never any harm to double-check the results.


    After all, these mechanical parts are going to be used to provide assistance for their customers, who often or not are tasked to explore the wilderness for resources.


    Therefore, if they didn''t double-check and their mechanical parts suddenly malfunctioned, then reputation was thest thing they needed to worry about. It was a person''s life they had caused, and that kind of person was someone responsible for helping to preserve the very safe zone city that they resided in. The government would definitely intervene by then if multiple idents urred because of their products'' failure.


    "Okay, one final check, Nathan. The data represented told me that everything is alright, but I''ll need to hear from you that everything is well." Isaac Aaronax asked calmly.


    Meanwhile, Shi Tian was distracted by the holographic right arm attached to him. Ever since he had awakened from the graveyard field, this was the first time he ever felt some muscle within the right arm, even if it was holographic.


    He might be able to remain calm due to his passive ability, but truth to be told, there was always regret and pain hidden deep in his heart.


    No one would ever wish to be a cripple nor would they choose to be a cripple.


    If any fools said otherwise, then that said person should simply seek psychological therapy or go outside and take a deep breath, reminding themselves that being alive is an achievement in itself.


    A few minutes had gone by, and Shi Tian finally shed a brief smile that he hadn''t shown in quite a while.


    "The arm fits perfectly and I can somehow feel the muscle, almost as if it was my arm already." Shi Tian calmly said, approving the measurement was right.


    Isaac Aaronax nodded his head. He was d that the first attempt was right on the mark and was pleased with the result.


    ''It seemed like TechX Micro is going to earn big again now that this machinery they invented is greater than the previous model.'' Isaac Aaronax thought to himself.


    Sometimeter, Isaac Aaronax detached the holographic right arm from Shi Tian, causing thetter to feel a somewhat sense of loss again.


    Though Shi Tian understood that the holographic right arm would be the model piece for Isaac Aaronax to work on. Thus, he might be a bit reluctant, but it was only going to be temporary.


    "So Nathan, have you decided on what type of mechanical right arm you wanted? If not, then you can still take your time to think it over and thene back to me once you have decided." Isaac Aaronax said calmly.


    He was extremely patient and meticulous in his work, especially his amicable behavior toward customers. And if he had to be honest, Shi Tian was astonished by the work ethic of Isaac Aaronax that seemed to have been lost in the cycle of time.


    None of the people that Shi Tian had encountered so far were close to Issac Aaronax, who held zero prejudice toward his customers and treated them politely.


    "I have already decided, Mechanist Isaac Aaronax." Shi Tian stood up from the chair and smiled briefly.


    "I''m going to choose the bnce type design for the mechanical right arm."


    "I see¡­ bnce type mechanical right arm it is. You may head out and talk with Receptionist Macy regarding the payment. The estimated time of delivery should be around 3-5 hours."


    "Thank you for your help, Mechanist Isaac Aaronax." Shi Tian bowed his head slightly and gave his sincere thanks. To people that respected him and didn''t look down on him, Shi Tian would equally do the same and give them the same respect that they deserved.


    "Haha, no need to thank me that sincerely. I''m merely doing my job as a mechanic and earning my paycheck. You people who explored the wilderness to gather resources and data are the impressive ones. This old bone of mine could only work in these mechanical parts."


    To that statement, Shi Tian didn''t respond and merely smiled, walking out of the room and making his way toward the receptionist area. It didn''t take long for Shi Tian to walk out given that he had memorized the route already.


    By the time he saw Receptionist Macy from afar, she was already chatting with another rough-looking man.


    "What do you mean you''re charging me 1300 Eons? All I did was tell you to fix the mechanical shield that I provided. How dare you try to overcharge me? Do you think I''m easy to bully?" The rough-looking man suddenly scowled in fury, mming his palm at the counter desk. His forehead was wrinkled slightly from the furious expression he was creating.


    Despite the sudden scowling directed at her, Receptionist Macy kept her cool and calmposure.


    "Yes, the mechanical shield was provided by you for repair, but in addition to the repair of the broken shield. You have also requested one of our mechanists to modify the shield to be more durable and have additional features." Receptionist Macy said, calmly exining the reason for the price.


    The rough-looking man was clearly agitated, and it seemed to be magnified by arge margin after being rified by Macy.


    "I don''t care what you say. The price was supposed to be only 350 Eons. I will not pay the overcharged 1300 Eons." The rough-looking man cursed, being absolutely stubborn about the matter.


    And at this point, Shi Tian could somewhat understand what was going on.


    The rough-looking man was clearly trying to get his mechanical shield a huge upgrade after it was damaged but didn''t realize the charge would be through the roof. Thus, he was attempting to create a scene in front of Macy in hopes to renege on the price charge.


    ''If only there was popcorn here to enjoy the show.'' Shi Tian thought to himself, feeling a bit regretful as he stood by the sideline to watch the scene unfold.

 Chapter 35: Scene

    <h4>Chapter 35: Scene</h4>


    Shi Tian wanted popcorn to eat at the moment wasn''t because he was heartless to not assist Macy in such a situation. Instead, it was because he knew Macy wasn''t in any kind of trouble whatsoever.


    From the start, Macy was extremely calm, even when the rough-looking man turned agitated and started banging on the counter repeatedly. Based on that inspection, Shi Tian could somewhat deduce that such a scene wasn''t umon or unfamiliar to Macy.


    Since that was the case, then Shi Tian could simply nce from the sideline and witness how the rough-looking man would suffer terribly.


    Why be an unnecessary hero?


    He was not some greenhorn immature brat that would throw out all their brain cells and ignore the environment to rescue the woman.


    And sure enough, a few minutester, the situation had escted a notch further. The rough-looking man hadpletely turned a deaf ear to whatever exnation Macy had to offer and was adamant about paying only 350 Eons.


    To retaliate, the rough-looking man pulled out a weapon and was ready to attack Macy.


    Seeing such a drastic change, Shi Tian''s left hand slowly reached into his pocket in which a pistol was stored. This was just a measurement in case Macy truly had no defense mechanism avable to her, then he would be ready to take out his pistol to shoot the rough-looking man.


    Though it was a good thing that he didn''t need to make a move because soon, two shadow figures appeared from out of nowhere and apprehended the rough-looking man in an instant.


    The speed of these shadow figures was so fast that even Shi Tian only realized the rough-looking man was apprehended a few secondster.


    The weapon that the rough-looking man held was tossed to the side and dragged away by one of the shadow figures.


    "Receptionist Macy, are you alright?" One of the shadow figures then asked Macy, seemingly trying to confirm that she wasn''t harmed.


    "Yeah, I''m fine. Not the first time that it had happened." Macy nodded her head and turned slightly to the side, seemingly giving a nce at Shi Tian, who still had his hand near his pocket.


    Being nced at, Shi Tian twitched his brows and awkwardly pulled his hand out from the pocket.


    "Since you''re unharmed, then we''ll be leaving." The shadow figure then said to Macy before leaving, not even giving a single nce toward Shi Tian.


    Almost like the wind, the two shadow figures had appeared and disappeared in just a snap of a finger.


    Meanwhile, Shi Tian slowly used this opportunity to walk toward the counter.


    "Mechanist Isaac Aaronax had finished the modification and would create a mechanical right arm for me. So how much is the cost?" He then asked, acting as if the previous incident didn''t ur.


    Macy smiled briefly as she typed something on theputer for a few seconds.


    "The modification and creation of the mechanical right arm would be around 850 Eons. But considering how you were ready to assist me with that pistol in your pocket and the good words of Mechanist Isaac Aaaronax, I''ll give you a 10% discount. Hence, the total cost would be 765 Eons." Macy reported.


    "How did you know it''s a pistol?" Ignoring the price charge, Shi Tian was more surprised that Macy was able to discern he was reaching out for his pistol.


    Macy chuckled softly and decided to exin it to him since she wasn''t busy at the moment.


    "When you were reaching out to your pocket, there''s a bulging sign of the clothes that were shaped like a pistol. Not to mention, you were enjoying the scene and only moved when the customer pulled out a weapon. And I doubt you''re an aplice to him, so the only logical exnation was a pistol or some sort of weapon shaped like one."


    Shi Tian nodded his head.


    "You are very perceptive in that aspect." Heplimented, slowly retrieving the 765 Eons. Some of the Eons were obtained from the exchange center whereas some of them were directly from what Ynda had on her.


    Seeing Shi Tian counting the Eons, Macy smiled slightly as she waited patiently for him to pay up.


    Being a receptionist for a long time, Macy had a keen eye on what type of person the customer was with just a few details and a nce at them.


    Hence, she could deduce that Shi Tian wasn''t a ruffian like the previous customer, who would attempt to act confident and arrogant to renege on the payment.


    And given that Mechanist Isaac Aaronax had said some good input regarding Shi Tian''s character, a discount would be handed out.


    "Alright, payment epted, but still continue to hold onto the small token. Only when you officially receive ourpany''s product and are satisfied with the result would you return it back to us?" Macy confirmed the payment and said.


    "Understood," Shi Tian nodded his head. "Oh right, this is the phone number that I''m using, so you could call me whenever the mechanical arm is ready."


    Now that he got an old model of Cellos for Nathan''s use, Shi Tian wasfortable in giving out the phone number to be notified as soon as hismission waspleted.


    Of course, Macy didn''t bother to ask why he was willing to give out the phone number now.


    Instead, she quickly noted down his phone number and smiled. "Alright, we''ll notify you the moment Mechanist Isaac Aaaronax is finished with yourmission." She then said, typing something else on her keyboard.


    Shi Tian also didn''t idle much longer and took the elevator to exit Optic Mech. Though once he was outside of Optic Mech, in the back alley of the store, Shi Tian noticed a bloody figureying there.


    The bloody figure was bleeding from all sorts of sh wounds, and was like a living corpse, being dumped aside. The nearby pedestrians that walked past the alley merely nced for a few seconds before going back to their business, almost as if it was somethingmon.


    Meanwhile, Shi Tian was silent as he recognized the bloody figure that was in a near-death state.


    ''Seems like Optic Mech''s reputation isn''t superficial. Trying to create a scene with them was no different than courting death.'' Shi Tian thought to himself, walking the opposite way. He couldn''t be bothered by the unsightly appearance of the rough-looking man from the previous scene.

 Chapter 36: Residence

    <h4>Chapter 36: Residence</h4>


    After walking the opposite way of the lifeless rough-looking man, Shi Tian''s next motive was to find a living ce to reside in temporarily.


    Even though he had no intention of staying long in Gearits City, a living ce was still required. Otherwise, he would be sleeping in the street and possibly be attacked during his unconscious state.


    Despite being inside the safe zone city, the truth was that the city wasn''t really secure and safe for the residents. After all, the rough-looking man being beaten to near death wasmon, and not a single person would even care or be bothered by them.


    There wasn''t even anyw enforcement being deployed to curb such a scene. Henceforth, Shi Tian knew he needed a residence to be protected because there was aw within the city that no one is allowed to attack someone in their residence.


    And this was aw that was reinforced by the government since they needed to make sure that people can be reassured in their own living residences.


    ''There aren''t any cheap options avable for renting a residence.'' Shi Tian frowned a bit when he browsed through the inte. There were numerous residences avable for rent, but most of them charged an insane amount of Eons.


    With how messed up the world had be and howwless crime could ur within Gearits City, only a residence could truly protect one''s property and life, depending on the location. Thus, it came as no surprise that each popted residence being rented out would charge an insane price.


    It was no different than being a monopolist that forced consumers to have no other choice but to ept their fate of paying the overcharged renting price.


    However, it was a pipe dream to attempt to be an owner of multiple residences. After all, one must have the reputation and power to back it up to ensure no one would dare to seek trouble toward them.


    "Most residences are owned by powerfulpanies, and the lowest priced one is probably owned by people in the underworld gangs." Shi Tian murmured softly, instantly realizing the hierarchy structure without needing it to be exined by someone else.


    The residences that are owned by powerfulpanies were located in popted areas wherew enforcement would usually patrol, creating the safest environment for the people that rent these residences.


    As for the residences priced at the lowest, they are usually near or close to the slum areas, making it quite dangerous to live around. In addition to that, security near these residences is usually not guaranteed, unless one is capable enough to fend for themselves.


    Taking a deep breath, Shi Tian sighed softly as he knew what kind of option he was left with. As much as he preferred to have a popted residential area as his temporary living ce, it would be nigh impossible with the current money he got with him.


    Shi Tian had splurged too much recently, but it was all necessary. Hence, he didn''t regret a single bit of wasting the money.


    ''It seems like I''ll need to give this person a call¡­'' Shi Tian eximed inwardly, his left finger hovering on the only contact in the old model Cellos, Salty Rogue.


    An individual could only go so far in attempting to do everything by themself in an unfamiliar ce. Once that limit was reached, seeking help from others might be the only usible solution.


    Not to mention, Shi Tian was being blocked by an obstacle that he could not ovee at the moment; he was extremely weak. Guns might work on those who didn''t have the proper gear to deflect bullets, but for those who know what they are doing, Shi Tian was no different than an ant.


    Just the two shadow figures that appeared in Optic Mech were enough to prove that Shi Tian wasn''t even at a level capable of being feared or respected.


    Shaking his head, Shi Tian pressed on the contact list of Salty Rogue, and a few secondster, a holographic projection of Old Man Chao appeared in front of Shi Tian.


    "Hehe, I knew you would need my help sooner orter," Old Man Chao chuckled cheekily, almost as if he had predicted this situation a long time ago.


    Meanwhile, Shi Tian furrowed his brows in response. He couldn''tprehend how Old Man Chao was that confident of him seeking help from him.


    After all, he could have just ignored some precautions and continued to proceed with his own help.


    Seeing his confused expression, Old Man Chao smirked and exined, "The scene you created in the campsite isn''t something small, sir. News travels fast around these areas, especially those who can get information at the snap of a finger."


    Although the exnation was somewhat subtle and without much substance, it allowed Shi Tian to understand everything right away.


    He might not have faced any repercussions formitting murder, but it had in fact spread the news regarding his action and appearance. Thus, Shi Tian understood that Old Man Chao should have recognized his appearance ever since he had approached his stall.


    "And here I thought you are just some part-time scammer toward foreigners," Shi Tianmented, not bothered by the fact of being recognized.


    He hadn''t made any effort in changing his appearance or attire, so anyone with a few brain cells and memorization skills would be able to recognize him instantly.


    "Hehe, I''m d sir isn''t furious about the matter. Normally, people tend to be wary or even agitated that I hid from them."


    "Those who get wary or agitated are those who can''t protect themselves. Since you have recognized me from the start, but kept quiet about it in the beginning. Then you could have easily kept this a secret. There wouldn''t be a point of you revealing it to me if you had wished to do something insidious."


    Old Man Chao chuckled softly and nodded his head, clearly impressed by the logical response of Shi Tian.


    "Sir''s intelligence and action have impressed this old bone of mine. Now tell me, what help do you require from me?"

 Chapter 37: Broker

    <h4>Chapter 37: Broker</h4>


    Old Man Chao didn''t bother to beat around the bush now that he hade clean about recognizing Shi Tian. To work with one another, it was best to be honest with each other so that there would be no misunderstanding in the future.


    And given that Shi Tian didn''t react much in anger as most people would have done, Old Man Chao was pleased to find another great customer.


    "Since you know that I''m a foreigner and have only recently arrived in Gearits City, then you should know I have no ce of residency to reside in currently. I hope that you can assist me in finding a suitable ce and I''ll pay you back." Shi Tian calmly exined his dilemma.


    Old Man Chao nodded his head.


    "That is a small matter. I can get it done in about 2-3 hours or so, but the price won''t be cheap. After all, it won''t go through any of the legal procedures from the blood-sucking leading organization."


    Nowadays, the government could be considered an old terminology for a party that was in control of a safe zone city. Instead, they are now referred to as an organization party, mainly to separate the old era from the current era.


    Even the military personnel andw enforcement team currently are under a leading organization, which is responsible for the safety and management of the safe zone city.


    "What''s the estimated cost, Salty Rogue?" Shi Tian asked, referring to Old Man Chao as Salty Rogue.


    There was a reason why Old Man Chao used a code name for himself, so Shi Tian wasn''t going to be dumb and call out the name he used in public. That would be equivalent to calling out a fugitive''s real name in public ces.


    Old Man Chao pondered for a few moments before shing 3 fingers, "At the very minimum, you should have a deposit of 3000 Eons to be able to rent the ce. Of course, the price might seem a lot, but it''s worth the price."


    The popted residence renting price charge was usually around 5000 Eons and above whereas the less security residence ce charge was around 2500 Eons.


    Thus, Old Man Chao found the need to exin the price charge of 3000 Eons, which is at least 500 Eons more than the less guarded residence area.


    "Are you sure that some of the price isn''t your broker''s price?" Shi Tian raised an eyebrow and asked. He was sure that the price should be lower than the 2500 Eons, but because Old Man Chao needed to earn some money for the assistance, there should be a separate price charge.


    A broker was no different than being a middleman or a bridge between two different subjects. And in this particr case, Old Man Chao would be the bridge between Shi Tian and the possible residence owner that would rent the ce out to him.


    Meanwhile, Old Man Chao didn''t have any shame after being exposed by Shi Tian and even shed a big grin.


    "Hehe, this old bone of mine can''t really exercise much or move around casually. Hence, this kind of money is needed for me to sustain life within Gearits City. Young Sir, please understand my predicament as well." Old Man Chao said in a not-so-sorry tone.


    "If you''re going to charge me that much, then the ce better be decent. Otherwise, don''t me me for not paying you anything." Shi Tian snorted coldly, warning him to not attempt any foul y.


    What he wanted was a somewhat secure residence that also provided some goodfort. In other words, a neutral residence that was bnced as average would be fine for him.


    After all, he didn''t wish to have to sleep on the concrete cold floor again. The concrete cold floor would always remind him of his previous struggle to survive after awakening.


    Old Man Chao nodded his head vigorously.


    "Rest assured, young sir. If the residence I found is not up to your taste, then there shall be no payment. As a broker that maneuvers around Gearits City, my reputation is on the line." He said confidently, reassuring Shi Tian of his quality work.


    "Then you may text or call me once you find the residence." Shi Tian then said, directly disconnecting the call without giving Old Man Chao a chance to speak any more gibberish.


    Being called young sir repeatedly had given him quite the goosebump since he wasn''t used to that kind of gesture.


    To him, it was better if people were more honest and showed disdain for him outright. Such people are usually the ones easy to predict and manipte whereas the type of people like Old Man Chao are a pain to deal with. They are extremely shrewd and could smell profit from a mile away.


    After disconnecting the call with Old Man Chao, Shi Tian stored his Cellos in his pocket and began to ponder his next goal.


    Although Old Man Chao was a shrewd man, Shi Tian could tell he was someone that could get the job done. Hence, the matter of finding a temporary residence to reside in could be considered finished.


    As for the mechanical right arm, the payment had been paid in full, so all he needed to do was wait for it to be finished. Almost all the priorities on the list of goals werepleted, leaving only a few matters.


    ''Maybe I should use this time slot as a break¡­'' Shi Tian thought to himself, feeling exhausted and fatigued mentally.


    His physical body was fine- to the point that he felt that there was an enormous amount of energy gushing through his inner body, allowing him to remain in a perfect state. He had felt this kind of change urring ever since the impurities were extracted, but despite so, his mind was exhausted.


    From the time he had awakened, there had not been a time where he had rested properly. It was always him remaining vignt, afraid that someone woulde up from behind to harm him.


    "I should rx my mind a bit¡­" He murmured, finding a quiet ce to calm his mind.

 Chapter 38: Heaven’s Mecha

    <h4>Chapter 38: Heaven¡¯s Mecha</h4>


    After disconnecting the call with Old Man Chao, Shi Tian had taken this as an opportunity to finally take a breather. He was taking a seat in a somewhat quiet ce to rx his mind.


    Despite wanting to rx his mind though, Shi Tian would unconsciously activate the hologram interface screen that listed his current stats.


    Although he didn''t know how he was able to have it activated, he only knew that the interface screen seemed to be linked to his mind. So long as he willed for it to appear, then it would show up.


    ''My stats point is stagnated now because I''m in a somewhat safe environment. It seems like the interface screen is designed for me to be battle thirsty.'' Shi Tian eximed inwardly.


    He had attempted to experience a few other methods in hopes that his level would rise up besides having to kill monsters or enemies. However, none of the methods he had attempted seemed to work, and it was just a futile effort in the end


    And as much as he wanted toprehend or research such a mysterious interface screen, it was practically impossible when no one else could see what he saw.


    Reading through his interface screen, Shi Tian began to mull over which stats he should now prioritize.


    ¨C


    Name: Shi Tian


    Race: Human


    Main ss: N/A (Not Avable)


    Sub ss: N/A


    Level: 6


    Health: 100 (Slightly Injured)


    Stamina: 35


    Attributes: Strength: 3, Dexterity: 8, Endurance: 4, Agility: 3, Intelligence: 3, Charm: 2, Luck: 2


    Free Attribute Point: 2


    Abilities:


    -[Passive] Serene Calmness: Able to remain calm and collected


    -[Passive] Pain Tolerance: Level 1


    Power Level: 5-15 Atk


    Grade: F (Beyond Trash)


    ss Talents: None


    Reputation: 1


    Equipment: Pistols, Stun Grenades, Smoke Grenades, Explosive Grenades, Cellos


    [Currently, an amateur with somewhat fighting capability. Though still iparable to actual fighters who had arge amount of fighting experience.]


    ¡ª


    Besides the attribute points that had been upgraded ever so slightly, there were also some changes in the equipment list, reputation point, and the description that used to taunt him.


    Most of the equipment he got was courtesy to Ynda, given that the equipment from Benmos was insignificant, a far cry from the equipment that Ynda had.


    Nevertheless, Shi Tian was a bit relieved when the description of him had finally changed for the better. At the very least, he was no longer the weakling he was, and his health was nowbeled slightly injured, seemingly proving that the interface screen indeed showed in real-time.


    After all, his mechanical right arm would be provided soon, and at that time, he would no longer be a cripple.


    Given that he could survive with a single arm, then there was going to beplete certainty of a power increase once he could have two arms.


    ''I should probably use the 2 free attribute points to raise my agility stat. The armored rats were considered fast, but those two shadow figures within Optic Mech were on apletely different level.'' Shi Tian thought to himself, putting the attribute points on the agility stat, causing it to rise up to 5 points now.


    There were too many aspects that he wascking, so Shi Tian needed to prioritize the stats that he deemed necessary. And after witnessing the inhumane speed of those shadow figures, he came to realize how pathetic he was to believe a pistol could possibly harm them.


    Based on the mental image that he created and his calction, Shi Tian was sure that before he could even pull the trigger, he would have been apprehended.


    What was worse was that Shi Tian didn''t dare to imagine that even if he could pull the trigger, those shadow figures could easily dodge and avoid the bullet.


    Shaking his head, Shi Tian sighed softly as he understood the saying of how there would always be a bigger mountain. It was a good thing he was always acting humble unless the opposing party was being ridiculous and had wicked intentions toward him.


    Feeling that his head might be exploding with all thisplicated thinking, Shi Tian decided to use the remaining time to explore the outer zone of Gearits City.


    Exploring the outer zone was to memorize ces and familiarize himself with the city. After all, there was no guarantee of how long he would be staying here, so exploring would only be beneficial to him.


    And just like that, Shi Tian spent the remaining time walking around aimlessly, without a clear goal.


    It was only until a call he received from Macy that the mechanical right arm had been produced did Shi Tian finally change his route toward Optic Mech.


    Of course, his pace in walking had noticeably increased, seemingly excited for the result.


    Sometimeter, Shi Tian arrived at Optic Mech and went straight to the fifth floor.


    "Tell Mechanist Isaac Aaronax toe out already, little receptionist. Ourpany''s young master has taken a huge liking to his talent and is willing to pay him a hefty sry. So stop blocking me and let me meet up with him."


    "Apologies, but I was instructed by Mechanist Isaac Aaronax that he didn''t wish to meet with the people from Heaven''s Mecha."


    Upon arriving at the fifth floor, Shi Tian could overhear a conversation between Macy and a random man. The random man''s tone of the speech was quite an arrogant one, almost as if he was looking down at Optic Mech as a whole.


    Just as Shi Tian walked forward, Macy subsequently ignored the random man and smiled at him.


    "Hello, sir, Mechanist Isaac Aaronax has been waiting for you. It''s the same room as previously." Macy then said, informing Shi Tian to hurriedly enter inside, seemingly trying to warn him that trouble was here.


    She even purposely concealed his name to prevent the random man from knowing Shi Tian''s identity.


    Without further ado, Shi Tian merely nodded his head and was ready to enter the interior, until the random man extended his arm and snickered coldly.


    "Hmph, so you''re telling me some bastard could enter to meet with Mechanist Isaac Aaronax, but I, who work for Heaven''s Mecha can''t? Are you trying to shit on me, little receptionist?"

 Chapter 39: Mechanical Right Arm

    <h4>Chapter 39: Mechanical Right Arm</h4>


    When Shi Tian was halted by the random man, he was silent and a bit irritated, to say the least.


    He was here to receive the product he hadmissioned, yet troubles seemed to follow him everywhere.


    Just what the hell does he have to do with whatever was going on here?


    "This sir is a customer of our Optic Mech and Mechanist Isaac Aaronax has been expecting him. If you truly wish to throw a fit, then please do it outside and not affect our business operation." Macy''s tone was slightly cold as she warned the random man not to create a scene.


    Their Optic Mech might not be as grand or powerful as Heaven''s Mecha, but they were not to be underestimated either. She would not allow a mere worker to disregard her customer and affect their business operation either.


    The random man seemingly clicked his tongue in frustration and retracted his hand.


    "That was not my intention, and you should know it. I do not n to hinder the business operation of your Optic Mech." The random man then rified, seemingly afraid of a misunderstanding being caused because of his action.


    He wasn''t afraid of the retaliation of a mere receptionist or the Optic Mech, but he was definitely afraid of the higher-ups in Heaven''s Mecha. After all, he had been instructed toplete the task amicably and not cause a rift between the two mechanic stores.


    "That''s what I thought," Macy sneered coldly, and proceeded to sh an amicable smile toward Shi Tian.


    "Apologies for this scene, sir, but please be assured that no valuable customers of ours would be subjugated for any mistreatment." She then said, seemingly warning the random man to not attempt any funny thing behind the back.


    Shi Tian merely nodded his head and walked around the random man, making his way toward the usual room. To be fair, he wasn''t worried a bit in the slightest since he knew that there are always some figures overwatching the receptionist area, preventing any troubles from urring.


    As long as the random man posed any threatening demeanor toward Macy, then Shi Tian was sure that these shadow figures would appear from out of nowhere to apprehend the culprit.


    Sometimeter, Shi Tian arrived at room 521, with the automatic door opening up for him to enter.


    "Themotion outside must have been hectic for you right, Nathan?" The moment Shi Tian entered the room, he heard Mechanist Isaac Aaronax talking about the matter outside.


    "With your skills and behavior, it''s not surprising to see poachers from other mechanic stores approach you." Shi Tian responded in a joking manner.


    "Indeed, being skillful could be considered a sin in this chaotic world."


    "It may be considered a sin, but to me, it''s considered a blessing."


    "Oh? Care to exin your reasons?" Isaac Aaronax raised an eyebrow, seemingly intrigued by Shi Tian''s words.


    Shi Tian pondered for a moment and decided to exin it a bit.


    After all, Mechanist Isaac Aaronax''s conduct so far had been to his liking and if he ever needed some repairs or other equipment, Isaac Aaronax would be the person he would look for. Hence, it doesn''t harm a bit to build up a friendly rtionship with this conversation.


    "Just as you have stated before, this is a chaotic world. And if a person doesn''t have any skill in such a world, then the chances of them living are close to zero. In fact, such people tend to disappear in this world without a trace behind them." Shi Tian exined, taking a seat by the chair next to the machinery.


    "I see¡­ that''s quite the interpretation that I have heard." Isaac Aaronax chuckled, not bothering to put in his input on Shi Tian''s im. Instead, he walked toward a counter and revealed the mechanical right arm that he had crafted.


    The moment Shi Tian caught a glimpse of the mechanical right arm, he was fascinated by its meticulous design.


    The mechanical right arm was made of gleaming silver metal, with intricate details etched into the surface that caught the light in a captivating manner.


    The arm wasrger and more muscr than a typical human arm, with a thick bicep and defined triceps that spoke of its immense strength. As for the elbow joint, it was sleek and curved, allowing for a wide range of motion, while the wrist was angr and precise, capable of delicate movements.


    In addition, the fingers were articted, each one able to move independently with precision and speed, and ended in sharp, metallic ws that could be retracted and extended to easily grip and manipte objects with ease. The palm of the hand was t and smooth, with a glowing blue sensor array in the center that gave the arm an otherworldly quality.


    With such attention to the details in the craftsmanship of the mechanical right arm, Shi Tian was once again reminded of Isaac Aaronax''s skill. This particr mechanical right arm alone was a testament to the skill and ingenuity of Isaac Aaronax and a fearsome tool in the hands of its wielder.


    Isaac Aaronax held a prideful expression when he saw how speechless Shi Tian became.


    cing his hands on his hips, Isaac Aaroanx proudly exined, "Heh, this is considered one of my greatest crafts. Seeing how you were amicable and polite, I decided to amplify it a bit."


    "Amplify?"


    "Do you see that glowing blue sensor array in the center? It''s powered by a monster core and could create a spatial shield, enough to withstand a barrage of bullets."


    Shi Tian was rmed when Isaac Aaaronax added such an amplification.


    "Mechanist Isaac Aaronax, I''m afraid that such amplification would go beyond my budget." Shi Tian exined, informing him that his money was currently tight and could not afford such amplification.


    "Who told you that there would be an additional price charge?" Isaac Aaronaxughed heartily and ced the mechanical right arm on the machinery device.


    "I''m a mechanic and whenever I like the attitude of a customer, then I would do modification or amplification on my own. Of course, that is all free of charge and if the customer hated it, then I would simply revert it back to the original design."

 Chapter 40: Rebirth

    <h4>Chapter 40: Rebirth</h4>


    Shi Tian was utterly speechless when he realized Isaac Aaronax had made amplification on the mechanical right arm by his own will just because he had taken a liking to the customer.


    He couldn''t fathom just how much profit he had caused Optic Mech to lose if he had done this numerous times in the past. Though it wasn''t that he hated this kind of behavior of Isaac Aaronax.


    In fact, this kind of behavior would be supported by customers heavily, with him included.


    Who would say no to such a free service without coughing up the money?


    "Ahem, but it''s not like I do this for every customer. There are just some customers that I have a keen eye for and know they will do something great. You are one such person that I believe is going to cause a storm." Isaac Aaroanx coughed slightly and gestured to Shi Tian to get closer to the machinery.


    He then continued, "Oh right, do you want to be injected with anesthetic or not?"


    "Anesthetic?" Shi Tian raised an eyebrow, seemingly confused by his question.


    "Anesthetic ismonly used among people when they require some mechanical recement of their missing limbs. The anesthetic could numb them since the implementation of the mechanical equipment would be extremely painful. Though some refused it because being in an anesthesia state would result in them taking a while to synergize with the new mechanical part. And in some cases, their body could outright reject the implementation, causing seriousplications."


    Isaac Aaronax''s exnation was long but detailed enough to show the pros and cons of the usage of anesthesia.


    To summarize, using an anesthetic could prevent the painful experience but could also cause the implementation to faceplicationspared to not using an anesthetic.


    Thus, Isaac Aaronax needed to know whether or not Shi Tian was willing to take the anesthesia for the implementation.


    "If you need some time to think about it, then you can-"


    "No need, Mechanist Isaac Aaronax. Just directly implement it without any anesthetic." Shi Tian immediately cut off his words and said his intention without any hesitation.


    Pain?


    Just what the hell is pain?


    Considering the experience that he had gone through, and even nearly being an entree for the Armored Rats, Shi Tian had long forgotten the word pain in his dictionary.


    "Heh, what a decisive choice this time." Isaac Aaronax, although initially shocked by the interruption, he was now praising Shi Tian''s decisivenesspared to the previous time where he was always pondering over the choices he got.


    "My eyes were indeed still working fine despite my bones getting older each day." He added, booting up the machinery as it was ready to begin the implementation process.


    As the machinery held the mechanical right arm in ce, sharp needles began to appear on the deltoid side of the mechanic part.


    "These sharp needles are designed to pierce through your muscle and would soon attach itself to your body, essentially bing a part of your body, just like how a real arm would feel." Isaac Aaronax exined.


    These sharp needles were all intimidating and long. If one were topare these sharp needles to acupuncture needles, then one would see the vast difference between the two.


    Not only were the sharp needles long, but they were also extremely thick. One might even suspect if these needles are truly intended for implementation or if it was used for killing instead.


    It was also at this moment that Shi Tian came to realize why most people would choose to use anesthetics for such a process.


    "Are you getting cold feet now?" Isaac Aaronax seemingly halted the machine temporarily and asked.


    "I can still inject you with anesthesia if you decide to change your mind now."


    "Is that supposed to be some sort of test, Mechanist Isaac Aaaronax?" Shi Tian shed a cold smile and shook his head. "If I run away from these sharp needles, then I might as well remain dead, buried in the soil."


    Isaac Aaronax nodded his head. "Very well then, I hope you could truly endure the pain to the end. There is no going back once the implementation starts."


    Shi Tian didn''t bother saying any superficial things anymore. He merely shed a confident and prideful expression, allowing Isaac Aaroanx to know that he was long ready for it.


    With the prideful expression from Shi Tian, Isaac Aaronax didn''t hesitate any more and directly began the implementation. Soon, the sharp needles were like a ferocious monster, piercing through the skin of Shi Tian.


    Shi Tian''s face twisted momentarily when he felt those needles piercing through his skin.


    The worst part of it was that the attachment phase of the mechanical right arm to integrate itself as a recement of his right arm was beyond agonizing. It was as if millions of tiny ants had invaded his body system, creating their own set of habitats.


    Beads of sweat started appearing on the forehead of Shi Tian, showcasing just how painful and arduous the implementation process was.


    "Endure it, Nathan. You must not faint at this crucial moment because you need to be active and circte your blood to simte the mechanical right arm." Isaac Aaronax''s voice resounded in his ears when he was struggling to withstand the pain.


    Shi Tian could feel his heart throbbing constantly, almost as if it was screaming to him to do something to escape.


    Nevertheless, Shi Tian wasn''t going to be defeated by mere pain.


    Instead, he clenched his left hand tightly, forming into a fist as he endured the iing pain to the best of his ability. And to his surprise, the passive ability Pain Tolerance had already kicked in and even increased by a level.


    Another 10 minutes or soter, the implementation process had finally finished, and Shi Tian felt as if his body had undergone a rebirth.


    Moving left and right with the new mechanical right arm attached to his body, Shi Tian shed a smile.


    "Truly a pain worth enduring¡­"

 Chapter 41: Tinge Of Sorrowness

    <h4>Chapter 41: Tinge Of Sorrowness</h4>


    Shi Tian was revitalized and felt a burst of power emitting from the mechanical right arm. He was feeling as if he could lift a gigantic boulder up from the ground with extreme ease.


    The feeling was so newfound that he couldn''t imagine what kind of power was stored within the mechanical gear part.


    "Heh, are you eager to test the function of this new arm of yours?" Isaac Aaronax cheekily smiled from the side.


    "This new mechanical right arm could be considered one of my best crafts in a long time, and its power boost for the user is immacte. In fact, I dare to say that this mechanical right arm is even better than the flesh right arm itself." He added.


    Shi Tian nodded his head. After having this new mechanical right arm attached to him, he could feel the immense power that is temporarily dormant, seemingly waiting for his signal to be released.


    "Mechanist Isaac Aaronax, I''m indebted to you for your amplification. I can not imagine just how much this would cost if it wasmissioned through the proper channel." He stood up from his seat, cupped his fist together, and gave his thanks.


    The value of this mechanical right arm at first nce alone was already unbelievable. And if he was to test the actual prowess that it could produce, then Shi Tian feared that even if he had thousands of Eons, it would still not be enough to purchase it.


    "This isn''t much to have you be indebted to me, Nathan. I''m getting old and I don''t wish for the materials to simply rot in my storage without ever being able to see the daylight." Isaac Aaronax, however, shook his head in response, refusing to ept any gratitude from Shi Tian.


    The matter of amplification was decided by him solely and his willfulness. It was never his intention to obtain any sort of benefit or gratitude from the opposite party.


    "Even so, it''s still a gratitude that I owe regardless." Shi Tian insisted, clearly unwilling to let this matter go.


    "Hmm, I bet you just wanted to gain some more benefits from me by saying such things, right?" Isaac Aaronax crossed his arms and said, seemingly perceiving the hidden thoughts of Shi Tian.


    Meanwhile, Shi Tian scratched his head slightly and smiled somewhat cheekily. It was clear that he didn''t have the intention of hiding nor was he embarrassed by the fact of being exposed either.


    "You''ve caught me red-handed, Mechanist Isaac Aaronax." He then said calmly, admitting to the matter without an ounce of shame.


    "Hahaha, I didn''t expect there was this side of you. Truly an indifferent youngster!" Isaac Aaronaxughed heartily, feeling somewhat rxed despite the shamelessness of Shi Tian.


    After all, he had met many youngsters simr to Shi Tian who acted hypocritical in front of him. He was honestly sick of such people that always have something they want but feigned innocence.


    Shi Tian''s shamelessness and honesty were something he much preferred. At the very least, he didn''t need to ponder much over the wordings he spoke or what his inner thought process was.


    Meanwhile, Shi Tian shrugged his shoulders in response. Isaac Aaronax had been a great help to him, especially with the new mechanical right arm, so naturally, he lowered some of his guard and vignce down.


    "Since that''s the case, do you want toe to one of our training facility rooms to experience that new mechanical right arm of yours?" Isaac Aaronax then suggested.


    Shi Tian raised an eyebrow in confusion.


    "But what about your other customers thatmission for your work?" He asked, clearly unwilling to take up any more of his precious time.


    "Do you think I would probably get any more customers when a representative of Heaven''s Mecha is outside the receptionist area?"


    "Why wouldn''t you get any more customers?"


    Shi Tian was confused by Isaac Aaronax''s statement since he was clearly a customer as well and had arrived here to receive his product. People came here tomission work and had to pay a fixed amount of price first before being guaranteed any services.


    Hence, why wouldn''t the customers that ced an order previouslye?


    Seeing the confused expression of Shi Tian, Isaac Aaaronax seemingly was able to confirm his suspicion.


    "As expected¡­ you aren''t a native of Gearits City, but a foreigner." Isaac Aaronax muttered, staring at him with a solemn expression.


    Shi Tian didn''t make any response or action, choosing to remain silent.


    A few secondster, Isaac Aaroanx returned to his normalplexion as he asked a question that took him by surprise.


    "Have you encountered Ynda somewhere in the wilderness?"


    Instantly, Shi Tian was rmed, but he didn''t reveal anything on the surface. Though inwardly, he was already wondering how he came to know the name of Ynda.


    "Ynda was a customer of mine and quite a haughty one that always took advantage of me. The gears that she had on her are specialty made by me, meaning that I can sense the gears even if one stored them properly." Isaac Aaronax subtly exined, allowing Shi Tian to realize how he was exposed.


    With a heavy heart and solemn expression, Shi Tian calmly retrieved one of the grenades that he had stored and revealed it to Isaac Aaronax.


    It was clear that he had been exposed ever since their first meeting, so there was practically no point in hiding it anymore. The only problem now was that Shi Tian was unsure what Isaac Aaronax would do with such information.


    "Sure enough¡­ if you have this special grenade and your previous mention of the monster, Tenceloras. I supposed she had met her end already." Isaac Aaronax sighed regretfully, seemingly a bit disappointed and sorrowful.


    And when he saw Shi Tian didn''t deny anything, Isaac Aaronax smiled bitterly.


    "I''ve always told that littless to be cautious of her surroundings and people around her but she never listened."


    A moment of silence urred within the room, and a tinge of sorrowness filled the air.

 Chapter 42: Healing Lotion

    <h4>Chapter 42: Healing Lotion</h4>


    The sorrows that lingered in the room onlysted for a few minutes before Isaac Aaronax shook his head and epted the fact as it is.


    "Where did she die and how did she die?" Isaac Aaronax turned to Shi Tian and asked. Given that he was quite fond of her, he wouldn''t be able to forgive anyone that caused her death.


    Of course, Shi Tian didn''t n to reveal much, but when Isaac Aaronax showed photos of him and Ynda, including how close they were, he could subtly understand their rtionship now.


    Toward Ynda, Isaac Aaronax was seeing her as a daughter.


    And now that said daughter had died, Isaac Aaronax merely wanted to know what had urred.


    "Are you sure you could believe me?" Shi Tian asked calmly. His meaning was crystal clear for Isaac Aaaronax to understand.


    Since ultimately, it was him that had the gears Ynda equipped on her, it would have been impossible to not suspect her death might have been rted to him.


    Meanwhile, Isaac Aaronax shed a brief smile as he nodded his head. "Did you think I would have revealed this much to you if I couldn''t trust you?"


    "You''ve investigated me before?"


    "Indeed, I have. Originally, I was slightly shocked when you first entered the room because the gears you stored have only been personally made for Ynda and never anyone else. Thus, I had to investigate you properly before deciding what to do next."


    Shi Tian was a bit anxious when he heard those words that contained slight killing intent. It was clear that he would have died tonight if Isaac Aaronax believed he was the cause of Ynda''s death.


    "But how did you know I''m not involved?" Shi Tian asked, seemingly confused as to how he managed to figure out that much. It wasn''t like the incident scene had any camera recording or anything for others to rewind and witness.


    "Ynda is a mercenary and with money, one can easily find someone to investigate. She was teamed up with two men, Xavier and Hugo, and I already learned that those two men have safely returned, with great harvesting too. Meanwhile, you aren''t even there, meaning your name might be a fake as well, but that doesn''t matter much to me. What matters is that she didn''t team up with you and that you are a foreigner." Isaac Aaronax exined.


    Hearing such a long-winded exnation, Shi Tian nodded his head.


    He didn''t doubt Isaac Aaronax''s words because, with his reputation alone within Optic Mech, it wouldn''t be hard for him to mobilize the hidden shadow figures to apprehend him.


    "So can you care to tell me what happened to her if you know it?"


    Shi Tian sighed softly and began to retell everything from scratch, not bothering to hide anything. His conscience was clear, so there was nothing to be afraid of.


    Time slowly passed by, and when Isaac Aaronax finished hearing the story from him, there was a bit of tear leaking through his eyelid.


    Naturally, Shi Tian remained silent once he finished rying everything to let Isaac Aaronax absorb the information slowly.


    Although he couldn''t tell how close their rtionship was, it was extremely clear that Isaac Aaronax had taken a hard hit from the news of her death.


    After a moment of silence, Isaac Aaronax suddenly turned around and punched the wall, his fist turning bruised in the process.


    "Those two cowardly men!" He screamed in a furious tone, his expression was grim.


    "If it wasn''t for this old bone of mine, then I would have ughtered those two cowardly men- no, it would be inhuman pigs that describe them better."


    Blood started trickling down from Isaac Aaronax''s fist, and Shi Tian calmly walked toward the counter to grab a tissue.


    "I won''t tell you to calm down, but punching the wall wouldn''t do anything. Even if you break your bones or scream at the top of your lungs, nothing will happen. At the end of the day, they will still be living no matter how much self pain you inflict on yourself." Shi Tian then said, handing the tissue over for him to wipe the blood off.


    Isaac Aaronax smiled bitterly, taking the tissue from Shi Tian.


    Of course, he understood his words were correct, but his emotion had gone uncontroble when he heard how cowardly the men were which resulted in Ynda''s death.


    "Thank you, young man. At the very least, you gave her a proper burial that she deserves." Isaac Aaronax said once he managed to calm his emotion. He wasn''t angry at Shi Tian because he could determine his strength wasn''t enough to fend off a Tenceloras, much less save Ynda''s life.


    "Rest assured, Mechanist Isaac Aaronax. I owe her a favor and I will fulfill them once I''m strong enough." Shi Tian patted the back of Isaac Aaronax and reassured him.


    Sometimeter, Isaac Aaronax opened a container and put some lotion on his bloody fist. And to Shi Tian''s surprise, the wound of his fist started to recover into its original state.


    "This is a healing lotion, manufactured with a special type of monster that is capable of healing humans. Though this kind of healing lotion wouldn''t do much to life-threatening injuries." Isaac Aaronax exined when he saw the shocked expression of Shi Tian.


    And he continued, "Do you want toe under my tutge and learn from me? Although I said you''re a foreigner, you''re too ignorant of a lot ofmon sense. It''s as if you have just woken up after a long sleep."


    Shi Tianughed awkwardly and didn''t bother to respond.


    "Forget it, just follow me to the training facility and I''ll give you some pointers. My old bones might not be capable of fighting anymore, but at the very least, I can still guide someone." Isaac Aaronax shook his head and left the room shortly after.


    ''Seems like Mechanist Isaac Aaronax wishes to pass on some teaching to me to obtain vengeance on his behalf.'' Shi Tian nced at the disappearing back of Isaac Aaronax and thought to himself.

 Chapter 43: Training Facility

    <h4>Chapter 43: Training Facility</h4>


    Shi Tian might have realized that Isaac Aaronax was going to pass on some teaching to him to get revenge on his behalf, but that didn''t stop him from not learning it.


    After all, his fighting experience and movement were sluggish, to say the least. If he had some guidance from a professional, then his path was going to be easier.


    Not to mention, it was going to be free tuition since Isaac Aaronax doesn''t seem to be the type tock money if he was willing to upgrade customers''mission work on his own.


    Following closely behind Isaac Aaronax, they passed through multiple doors and asionally, some of the doors required permission to ess.


    Nevertheless, it was a breeze since the person essing them was Isaac Aaronax.


    It didn''t take long before the two of them arrived at an extremely spacious arena space.


    "We''ve arrived, Nathan! Wee to the robot battle training facility, designed to tackle any user''s strength and weakness as practice!" Isaac Aaronax halted his steps, turned around, and said quite energetically.


    Meanwhile, Shi Tian seemed to have been dazed or stunned as his eyes mored around the magnificent so-called training facility.


    The robot battle training facility stood as a testament to the pursuit of technological prowess andbat excellence. Nestled within a fortifiedplex, it emanated an aura of relentless energy and high-stakespetition.


    The facility''s exterior showcased a fusion of sleek metallic architecture, with towering walls adorned with futuristic symbols and banners representing various factions.


    "How did Optic Mech even build such a towering structure within their building?" Shi Tian was in awe. He didn''t even realize Optic Mech was hiding such a facility.


    The facility itself was like a sprawlingbyrinth of advanced arenas and simted battlegrounds.


    Each arena was meticulously designed to challengebatants and push the limits of their robotic creations. Gleaming steel tforms, equipped with cutting-edge holographic disys and dynamic terrains, provided the stage for epic shes.


    "If you are this shocked already, then how are you going to handle this?" Isaac Aaronax chuckled softly, taking out a small gadget as he pressed a button.


    The moment he pressed the button, Shi Tian could hear the air crackling with the sound of whirring machinery and the asional discharge of energy weapons.


    The training areas were then segmented, offering specialized zones for diversebat styles¡ªranging from long-range sniping to close-quarters brawling. Advanced AI systems facilitated realistic opponents, enabling trainees to engage in strategic battles against formidable robotic adversaries.


    Shi Tian was leftpletely aghast when he witnessed such scenery. However, that was merely the start of what the robot battle training facility had to offer.


    As he turned his body to the right side, he noticed control rooms that were lined with rows of high-tech consoles, providing operators with a bird''s-eye view of the intense battles, allowing them to analyze and strategize in real time.


    This essentially allowed observers to watch from elevated galleries, witnessing the explosive shes and cheering for their favorite robotic contenders.


    "So what did you think about this facility?" Isaac Aaronax crossed his arms and asked smirkingly, clearly pleased at the reaction of Shi Tian.


    Shi Tian could only twitch his mouth and give him a thumbs up, approving of the quality of such a facility.


    It wasn''t an exaggeration to say that the robot battle training facility was an embodiment of innovation and fierce determination, where engineers, programmers, and pilots honed their skills to push the boundaries ofbat.


    It was a ce where cutting-edge technology merged with the thrill ofpetition, shaping the future of warfare and improving a person''s overallbat skills.


    Seeing how speechless Shi Tian was and how he nearly lost hisposure, Isaac Aaronax was pleased with himself.


    After all, this entire training facility was designed and manufactured by him. It wasn''t wrong to say that everyone wanted his skills and mechanical knowledge to create such an architecture.


    "This training facility is usually rented out to people that want to train with my permission only. And each time it''s rented out, people must pay a minimum of 500 Eons for the usage of 1 hour only." Isaac Aaronax bragged, seemingly priding himself on such a matter.


    Meanwhile, Shi Tian scratched his head slightly and said, "I''m afraid I won''t be able to afford the 500 Eons, Mechanist Isaac Aaronax."


    "Tsk, you are really unbelievable." Isaac Aaronax clicked his tongue in annoyance. By bringing him along and saying all of this, it was already obvious that he had no intention of charging him to pay whatsoever.


    Not to mention, he had already revealed his intention to teach him some fighting skills, but it seemed like Shi Tian preferred to feign ignorance.


    "Sigh, besides fighting, I was nning on passing my mechanical skills, but it seems like you don''t look interested at all. s, what a shame!" Isaac Aaronax smiled bitterly and was about to turn off the facility function.


    "I thank Mechanist Isaac Aaronax and implore your guidance." Instantly, Shi Tian shed a solemn expression as he bowed his head slightly.


    "Oh? I thought you weren''t interested at all?"


    "Mechanist Isaac Aaronax must have been mistaken. How could I not be interested in such a great opportunity?"


    "Still Mechanist Isaac Aaronax?" Isaac Aaronax raised an eyebrow, ncing at him with a confused look.


    "Cough, I meant Master Isaac. I have said it wrong." Shi Tian faked a cough and quickly corrected his way of addressing.


    Isaac Aaronax nodded his head, showing a pleased look.


    "My days are quite numbered and I have lived long already. I wanted a sessor a long time ago and Ynda was my ideal choice, but¡­ s, I can only make do with you now." He then said in a somewhat bitter tone.


    It was clear that he was unable to let go of her deathpared to Shi Tian, who could control his emotions quite well thanks to his passive ability.


    "You can rest assured, Master Isaac. Even if you didn''t tell me, I would still look for revenge to repay my gratitude for Ynda." Shi Tian swore solemnly.

 Chapter 44: Natural Affinity

    <h4>Chapter 44: Natural Affinity</h4>


    At first, Shi Tian was truly uninterested in being under the tutge of Isaac Aaronax because he still had many things to do. He could not allow himself to be shackled or restrained in one area for too long.


    However, the temptation of being able to use such an amazing facility to train, and the promise of learning mechanical skills were too much to resist.


    He had personally witnessed the power of mechanics, with his mechanical right arm serving as concrete proof of its sheer astounding ability.


    Thus, Shi Tian ultimately chose to be under the tutge of Isaac Aaronax since he couldn''t feel any insidious thoughtsing from him. Not to mention, having a backer isn''t that bad in a ce he was unfamiliar with.


    "Alright, let''s begin with getting you familiarized with the new mechanical right arm first before we get intobat." Isaac Aaronax said and proceeded to walk toward the control room.


    Within the control room, Isaac Aaronax pressed multiple buttons and the structure of the interior began to change. Air pressure began to bump inside the center, creating a somewhat projection force field.


    "The mechanical right arm that I''ve amplified should allow you to nullify the air pressure within that center mass. Though it would still take you time to get used to the feelings." He then exined.


    Shi Tian nodded his head, clenching his right hand, forming a fist with those metallic materials colliding with each other.


    "Link your mind with the monster core. To do so, simply close your eyes and imagine those sharp needles that pierce your flesh earlier to send the signal down." Isaac Aaronax instructed, givingplete step-by-step guidance for Shi Tian to learn how to incorporate with the mechanical right arm.


    Following the instructions, Shi Tian closed his eyes and attempted to sense the signal that Isaac Aaronax mentioned.


    With his vision darkenedpletely, Shi Tian was hoping to search for the supposed signal that was connected to his mind but was starting to struggle. He furrowed his brows and tried to clench his mechanical fist harder but to no avail.


    "Sorry, Master Isaac, but I didn''t feel the signal at all." Shi Tian opened his eyes and said in a dispirited tone.


    Meanwhile, Isaac Aaronax had an aghast look on his face, almost as if he had just witnessed a ghost.


    "Master Isaac?" Shi Tian''s brows were raised, seemingly in a confusion of his expression.


    Was he that terrible- to the point that Isaac Aaronax had gone into shock?


    "Um, Master Isaac?" Shi Tian asked once again when he saw zero response from him.


    "Cough, what an unbelievable thing." Isaac Aaronax snapped out of his daze and said, seemingly giving Shi Tian a curious look.


    Just when Shi Tian thought Isaac Aaronax was amazed by his ridiculous failure, his next wordspletely astonished him.


    "You were able to synergize with the mechanical right arm without actually doing any mental senses."


    "Huh? What do you mean by that?" Shi Tian was thoroughly confused, clearly unable toprehend the meaning of Isaac Aaronax.


    Isaac Aaronax sighed softly when his words couldn''t get through to him.


    Instead, he decided to open anotherrge monitor screen and reyed the exact scene of what Shi Tian had done.


    "Watch carefully and you''ll understand," Isaac Aaronax instructed.


    Dumbfounded, Shi Tian lifted his head up a little to watch therge monitor disying the previous moment. And sure enough, the scene captured the exact moment when he had just closed his eyes to ready up the mental senses, the mechanical right arm''s power had already booted up.


    The faint blue light glowing of his mechanical right arm was concrete proof that it was already booted up without needing to be signaled for.


    "H-How did this happen?" Shi Tian murmured in shock. In fact, he was even more astonished than Isaac Aaronax despite having done this himself.


    Meanwhile, Isaac Aaronax carefully inspected his reaction and realized Shi Tian truly had no idea of what he had achieved.


    ''Is he a natural talent that has a close affinity with mechanics?'' Isaac Aaronax wondered silently.


    Even he couldn''t put head or tail at this phenomenon since people who could achieve such a feat had to be in contact with mechanical parts for a long time. Not to mention, they have to be specifically trained in a unique method to utilize any of the gear parts to achieve great synergization.


    "I''ll be damned if this guy is a crook." Isaac Aaronax muttered softly, feeling that Shi Tian was definitely not someone that had been trained previously. Otherwise, his acting skills are simply through the roof to be able to deceive him and his keen eyesight.


    "This is a good thing, right Master Isaac?" Shi Tian subsequently asked, seemingly uncertain of the expression he was making.


    This was technically his first contact with advanced mechanical gear since the Great Disaster 1.0, so it wouldn''t be wrong to say he was absolutely ignorant of everything. Ynda wasn''t a mechanic herself either, so the Cellos device on her didn''t contain much information regarding this aspect. Her Cellos contained more of the gun aspect part and bullet types.


    "Of course, this is a good thing. Having a natural affinity with it is even more ideal in this uing training." Isaac Aaronax excitedly said and proceeded to exin some of the benefits thate along with such talent.


    "Having a natural affinity means you have great potential in bing a mechanic yourself without needing to exert much effort to be precise. It''s almost as if you have be the cheat itselfpared to other struggling people."


    "I see¡­ then this is indeed a blessing." Shi Tian sped his hand and smiled briefly. Although still confused as to the actual reason, does it really matter to him?


    The only thing he needed to know right now was that he is going to have an easy path or life toward the mechanic route.


    "Nathan, go to the B-3 room first and have a gallery walk first. I''m going to have to modify the training that I have originally prepared now that I have discovered your talent." Isaac Aaronax instructed, storming out of the control room.

 Chapter 45: Classes

    <h4>Chapter 45: sses</h4>


    Shi Tian was utterly speechless when he witnessed Isaac Aaronax storming out of the control room after giving out a brief instruction. It was as if Isaac Aaronax was always living in his own world, and doing whatever he wanted on a whim.


    "No wonder he was quite close to Ynda¡­" Shi Tian murmured, turning around to make his way toward the B-3 room as instructed.


    Thankfully, each room within the training facility wasbeled inrge holographic text, so unless one was extremely blind, there was just no possible way of going to the wrong room.


    A few minutester, Shi Tian entered the B-3 room and was greeted by arge chunk of text on the shelves. It was as if the room was a mini-library room itself, with multiple pieces of information archived on the shelves.


    ''Did Master Isaac n this and tell me to educate myself?'' That was the first thought on Shi Tian''s mind, given that he was ignorant of a lot of supposedlymon sense knowledge.


    Although Isaac Aaronax had never specifically called him out on such matters, it was crystal clear for Shi Tian to realize that he had been suspicious from the start.


    This was also part of the main reason why Shi Tian didn''t wish to interact with people much. After all, the more he interacted with them, the more mistakes he would make, even if he attempted his best to cover them up.


    He wasn''t a person with eidetic memory, so it had be difficult for him to react or talk like normal people that were living in this current era. The knowledge, speech, andmon sense of this current era were a far cry from the year 2139.


    Perhaps if Shi Tian had a bit more time and information at hand would he finally be able to immerse himself fully into this current era of people''s mindset.


    "No harm in reading this free information I guess¡­" Shi Tian murmured, his eyes gazing at the numerousrge chunks of holographic text.


    Taking a deep breath and exhaling, Shi Tian was determined to read the most information possible. He was pretty sure Isaac Aaronax had intended for this as well, so it would be pretty foolish to not utilize this great opportunity to educate himself.


    Sometimeter, Shi Tian began going through the chunk of texts, mainly searching for the supposedly specialized mechanic ss and whatnot. It was a futile attempt to search for the old history since he had already tried that with the Cellos device.


    Information of the past history, namely, the events of Great Disaster 1.0 seemed to have been erased from the surface of the Earth. There were only a few pieces of information that are negligent to the main crux.


    Squinting his brows slightly, Shi Tian saw a file that intrigued him slightly. It wasbeled as miracles of the aftermath, a somewhat ambiguous yet coherent title to the current circumstances.


    ''Miracles?'' Shi Tian hesitantly waved his hand over to hover the file closer to him.


    As the file flew closer to him, Shi Tian was astonished by the first text documented. It mentioned the supposedly fissure-like cracked sky and how it had affected the Earth''s environment itself.


    However, that wasn''t even the most astonishing thing he had just read. In fact, it was a particr text that mentioned the appearance of Magicule, a type of invisible substance that had begun to scatter around Earth.


    Within these substances, humans that are born gifted are capable of manipting such Magicules in different types of ways, creating what is simr to a game ss-like ability.


    Intriguedpletely, Shi Tian quickly found a corner seat to sit down as he browsed through this new information.


    ording to the file, there were apparently five ssified sses known, namely, the Berserker, Esper, irvoyant, Magus, and finally- the less desired Mechanic ss.


    Apparently, the mechanic ss was the least desired ss among the others given itsplexity and difficulty to master. In addition, it was an arduous task to learn the craft to even be qualified as an apprentice mechanicpared to the other sses.


    Berserkers are like fighters or brutes to be precise, able to utilize the Magicule in the environment to strengthen their bodies and physical prowess beyond the norms of a human.


    As for Esper, they are people born with a special type of power that have been affected by the change of environment in the Earth''s substance itself. They are capable of aplishing some specific type of ability such as being invisible or controlling space itself.


    Magus is somewhat simr to Esper, except they didn''t have a special type of power that an Esper could have. Instead, Magus was more simr to a mage that could manipte the Magicule around to use the basic four elements- fire, water, earth, and air.


    Finally, it was the most unrified ss, the irvoyant ss. Not much information regarding the irvoyant ss was listed in the file except that they might be able to perceive the future or control fate itself.


    Reading more, Shi Tian''s head nearly exploded since it was all misceneous information afterward without much substance that distinguished the interior of the sses.


    "Okay, I just wasted my time and some more brain cells for nonsensical descriptions¡­" Shi Tian twitched his brows.


    It wasn''t an exaggeration to say the information he had just read was long-winded. Despite that, it did provide him some great information such as the effect the fissure-like crack sky had upon Earth and how humans managed to resist the invasion of these metallic and mutated monsters.


    As Shi Tian ced the file back to its original ce, unknown to him, there was a secret webcam overseeing the room itself.


    "Even if one is a foreigner¡­ it''s impossible to not know such basic information that has now been spread far and wide across the world. It appears this little brat is hiding a deeper secret than what is shown on the surface." Isaac Aaronax mumbled softly, his eyes staring right at Shi Tian''s figure.

 Chapter 46: Formation Room

    <h4>Chapter 46: Formation Room</h4>


    Isaac Aaronax was focused on Shi Tian''s movement and action after saying he was heading out to prepare some training for him but was astonished to realize that there was a deeper secret he had discovered.


    Originally, he thought Shi Tian had arrived at their Optic Mech on behalf of Heaven''s Mecha, using Ynda''s death and feigning innocence to capture his attention and sympathy.


    Thus, he decided to y along and pretended to be overly depressed to see what Shi Tian would do next, only to realize that Shi Tian didn''t have any ns to poach or request anything from him.


    Of course, it could just be a ploy and Shi Tian was ying the slow game, but with this scene alone, Isaac Aaronax started to doubt whether his thought process was correct from the start.


    Some reactions are hard to recreate even if one attempted their best to do so, and with his keen eyes as a mechanic, Isaac Aaronax could discern that Shi Tian was truly surprised by the ss''s information.


    ''Just what could be his identity to not know something so basic?'' Isaac Aaronax wondered silently.


    Though a few minutester, he shook his head and decided it was pointless to know his origin. All he needed to know was that he didn''te here with bad intentions.


    Sometimeter, Isaac Aaronax organized a few documents andpiled them into a file, leaving the room and heading toward the B-3 room.


    "It seems like you have been overloaded with the information recorded here," Isaac Aaronax chuckled softly the moment he entered the B-3 room.


    Shi Tian remainedposed despite being slightly shocked by his quiet entrance.


    ''His movements were nimble and quiet¡­ I couldn''t even detect his presence until he made a sound.'' Shi Tian eximed inwardly, feeling numb by the ability of all these people.


    First, it was the hidden shadow figures within Optic Mech that appeared out of nowhere to apprehend a foolish customer, and now even the Mechanist Isaac Aaronax contained more abilities than shown on the surface.


    "Knowledge is something one can never say is enough, so I was just hoping to broaden my vision a bit and somehow overloaded myself slightly." Shi Tian smiled briefly,ing up with an excuse rather quickly.


    "I see¡­" Isaac Aaronax nodded his head, ncing at the files that were hovered around Shi Tian.


    "Then have you read something fascinating within these files?" He then asked, seemingly curious about his founding.


    Although Shi Tian showed zero reaction on the surface, he was inwardly dumbfounded. The question might not seem much at first nce, but upon deeper contemtion, the question seemed to be a test of some sort, almost as if Issac Aaronax was trying to gauge his knowledge.


    "Was my question too difficult?" Isaac Aaronax subsequently asked when he realized Shi Tian was remaining silent.


    "Of course not, it''s just that I have read quite a bit, and being asked suddenly caused me to ponder for a while." Shi Tian quicklyughed it off.


    "Since that''s the case, then let''s just forget it for now. Previously, I was astonished by your talent in synchronizing with the Mechanical Right Arm, so now I have improvised the training."


    "I shall thank you on behalf of your effort for me, Master Isaac."


    "You can thank me by doing your best. My training isn''t something simple and not many people could even endure for a few minutes." Isaac Aaronaxughed heartily, turning around and walking in another direction.


    Once his back was turned to Shi Tian, his eyes squinted a bit, realizing his identity seemed to be at risk now.


    ''Master Isaac might not have said it outright, but his action and speech seemed to hold double meaning every time.'' Shi Tian thought to himself.


    The only good part was that he didn''t feel any bad vibesing from Isaac Aaronax, reassuring him that although his identity might be questionable, it wasn''t enough for Isaac Aaronax to try to harm him.


    A few minutester, Shi Tian arrived at a spacious room with nothing much. It was merely a spacious room without any form of training equipment whatsoever.


    Nevertheless, he decided to keep his curiosity to himself and not ask any questions. There must have been a reason for Isaac Aaronax to bring him to this room, so it was better to not just jump the gun.


    During this time, Isaac Aaronax quietly observed Shi Tian''s reaction and was pleased to see that he didn''t have any questions.


    "Normally, when I first bring people over to this spacious room, they would always ask me what to do here. After all, there is no equipment beingid outpared to the other rooms, but it seems like your patience is quite decent." Isaac Aaronax praised, his expression a bit joyous, seemingly being reminded of the past fondly.


    Meanwhile, Shi Tian scratched his head in response, not knowing what else to say. His patience had always been high when he had to take care of Sheng Lan.


    "The room might seem empty, but we are already stepping in a formation." Isaac Aaronax suddenly said, snapping his finger and the room started to tremble slightly.


    The floor beneath them illuminated, and Shi Tian could feel the vibration of the room, almost as if the interior of the room was being altered at this very moment.


    Unfortunately, the illumination had be too bright for the naked eye to handle, so Shi Tian was forced to shut his eye and use his right arm to block the light.


    While Shi Tian was struggling to handle the changes, Isaac Aaronax remained nonchnt as he maneuvered his fingers, creating some sort of hand signal or symbol.


    Soon, the floor began to elevate, and Shi Tian could feel that they were being lifted upward.


    A few minutester, Isaac Aaronax calmly told Shi Tian that he could open his eyes again.


    "This is a formation room structured to design raiding, meaning you will fight with an opponent that progressively gets stronger. Are you confident in yourself, Nathan?" Isaac Aaronax shed a smile that seemed to hide many emotions.

 Chapter 47: Combat Training

    <h4>Chapter 47: Combat Training</h4>


    The formation room was like a wrecking ball, shocking the very cores of Shi Tian. He didn''t expect that such fantastical action would actually be true and that he had witnessed it himself.


    The supposedly spacious room seemed to have changedpletely despite the interior staying the same.


    Clenching his fist repeatedly, Shi Tian felt as if his strength had increased tremendously. Yet at the same time, he felt there was a heavyweight imposed on his body.


    "What is this strange feeling?" Shi Tian muttered softly, turning his head slightly to the right, and looking at Isaac Aaronax for some rification.


    A formation room was a term unfamiliar to Shi Tian, so he didn''t know what exactly had urred or changed to be precise.


    "Heh, a formation room is a rarity even in Gearits City. And one must have some knowledge to operate a formation, which was the main reason why I''m highly sought after." Isaac Aaronax boasted pridefully, almost as if he wanted Shi Tian to understand just how amazingly awesome he was.


    Meanwhile, Shi Tian rolled his eyes, clearly unfazed by his boasting. He was more interested in the function of this supposed formation room than to hear that Isaac Aaronax was a capable person to operate it.


    He might be cripple previously, but he was never blind. Isaac Aaronax had already demonstrated his capability to operate the formation room, so what was the point of hearing him boasting again?


    "Can we get to the point already, Master Isaac?" Shi Tian asked politely.


    Isaac Aaronax twitched his brows slightly, clearly not expecting such a reaction.


    ''Did he reallyckmon sense or does he know I''m that amazing already?'' Isaac Aaronax eximed inwardly.


    Sometimeter, Isaac Aaronax decided to exin the function of the formation room rather quickly and began to instruct Shi Tian to get into a battle stance.


    Since it was crystal clear Shi Tian wasn''t interested in learning his impressive sea of knowledge, it was best to just get the show on the road.


    "Nathan, there is going to be a robot being formed soon that matches your strength, so try your best to defeat it." Isaac Aaronax informed.


    Shi Tian nodded his head in response.


    The formation room had already scanned his body ording to Isaac Aaronax to determine the user''s capability and prowess which it will then create a robot that duplicates them. Essentially, it can be considered that Shi Tian was tasked to fight himself.


    ''Fighting a clone of myself¡­ I suppose this is to ensure that we can figure out our strengths and weaknesses in one fight.'' Shi Tian thought to himself, readying himself for a battle.


    Just when Shi Tian thought a robot would be spawning right in front of his eyes, he felt a cold chill in his back.


    And almost as if it was a natural instinct, Shi Tian''s body seemed to have a mind of its own as he dashed forward.


    The moment Shi Tian dashed forward, a powerful punch was struck just a few meters behind him in his previous position, and to his shock, he realized the robot had already begun its attack.


    Unable to waste a single second pondering, Shi Tian kicked the floor swiftly using his right leg, propelling himself forward to avoid another strike from the robot.


    Once he was able to extend the distance between himself and the robot, Shi Tian could now turn around and get a clearer look at the robot.


    The robot was covered in some form of metallic material, with its body proportional figure to be quite simr to his, making it seem like it was an actual human being.


    "If there was actually a facial feature on this robot''s face, then it could really pose as me¡­" Shi Tian muttered, feeling somewhat aghast. It was only now that he realized just how dreadful this formation room was capable of being released to the public or used against its enemy.


    He didn''t even realize when the robot spawned when it had already begun tounch its attack toward him.


    Meanwhile, Isaac Aaronax had elevated himself on a tform and was overseeing the fight from above.


    At the same time, he was gloating a little bit since he purposely didn''t mention one of the key features of the formation room which was the ability of the robot tomit sneak attacks.


    Most of the time in terms ofbat training, the user should be able to know when the enemy spawns and when or where they willunch an attack.


    However, what was the point of that kind of training whenpared to real-lifebat?


    No enemies would be foolish enough to announce their arrival or when they wouldunch a sneak attack to gain a massive advantage.


    Hence, Isaac Aaronax refrained from warning Shi Tian that thebat training had begun the moment he had activated the formation room and even attempted to distract him by exining some random information.


    "Good luck, Nathan. I wonder how many minutes you could actuallyst." Isaac Aaronax murmured, seemingly looking forward to the result.


    CLANK!


    While Isaac Aaronax was enjoying the show from above, Shi Tian started shing with the robot directly, using his mechanical right arm to deflect the strong jab from the robot.


    Due to both being metallic, a sharp and loud nking sound was created, with even some sparks flying around.


    Seeing the sparks flying around, Shi Tian knew that colliding head-on wasn''t the ideal choice and decided to raise his right leg to kick the chest of the robot.


    s, the robot seemed to have detected his action and was able to defend itself by retreating backward.


    Although a bit disappointed in being out macro like so, Shi Tian quickly regained hisposure and used this as an opportunity to ponder over his previous mistake.


    ''The material of the robot seemed to be the same type as my right arm, so confronting head-on would be a bacsh for the two of us.'' Shi Tian eximed inwardly, his eyes remained locked on the robot, clearly extremely cautious of its next action.

 Chapter 48: Full Throttle

    <h4>Chapter 48: Full Throttle</h4>


    A few minutes had already gone by since the robot spawned due to the formation room feature.


    And during these few minutes, Shi Tian waspletely on the defensive side, unable to gain any clear advantage against his supposedly cloned robot.


    The robot was mimicking every one of his actions, but at a superior level, causing the battle to be more difficult for him.


    ''At this rate, I''m going to be exhausted and defeated without a chance of aeback.'' Shi Tian thought to himself, feeling a bit weary from deflecting most of the blows.


    Each blow from the robot was powerful but consistent, meaning it was the same strength usage. Therefore, it soon became a constraint for Shi Tian, who had no choice but to block the strike whenever their distance was closed by the swift movement of the robot.


    Nevertheless, a robot was still a robot at the end of the day. Its attack pattern and movement were programmed to be the same, meaning Shi Tian could take advantage of this fact and attempt to memorize and counterattack.


    However, doing so wouldpletely nullify the whole point of thisbat training.


    Robots could be programmed to do the same action repeatedly and consecutively, but humans are different. They wouldn''t do the same action repeatedly.


    "Ah, just go full throttle mode," Shi Tian gritted his teeth and decided to ess the power of the mechanical right arm. Soon, a blue glowing light began to emit from the center of the palm, and with a thought, Shi Tian was propelled forward.


    Shi Tian seemed to have turned into a bullet train, going directly to the robot as he raised his right arm and made a punching action.


    The air was leaking out from the mechanical parts of the right arm, a clear definitive that Shi Tian was going all in with this singr punch.


    Meanwhile, the robot''s movement simrly seemed to have altered, shocking Shi Tian.


    "It can''t be¡­" Shi Tian was in disbelief to witness that the robot was long prepared for him to make such an action. s, even if Shi Tian realized it now, it was already toote for him.


    BOOOM!


    The punch connected, but not an ounce of happiness could be seen on Shi Tian''s face. The force of the punch might look deadly at first nce, but only the person punching knew that it was an ineffective punch.


    After the dust scattered away, the robot was still standing menacingly.


    And as for Shi Tian, the status of his stamina had officially dropped to zero.


    He then proceeded to plop to the ground, clearly exhausted from overusing his stamina. The activation of his mechanical right arm was quite taxing to his body, especially when he was still unused to its capability.


    With Shi Tianying on the ground, unable to fight further, the robot seemingly stopped its movement as well and a few secondster, magically vanished from the scene. It was as if the robot was never in existence, to begin with.


    Meanwhile, Isaac Aaronax came down from the tform and pped his hands.


    "Not bad, you''vested a bit longer than I expected. Though the result was still a disappointment in my opinion." Isaac Aaronax said, giving his input on the fight process.


    Shi Tian merely tilted his head slightly to nce at Isaac Aaronax while remainingpletely silent.


    What a joke!


    It was way worse than disappointment, to say the least.


    He was utterly overwhelmed by the robot from start to finish, and even when he decided to resort to using the hidden function of his mechanical right arm, it was still unable to turn the tide.


    When Isaac Aaronax noticed the clear disappointed look on his eyes even though his facial expression didn''t change at all, he was smiling widely.


    ''Heh, at least he isn''t conceited to believe that it was a good result tost so long.'' Isaac Aaronax thought to himself.


    Overall, the time that Shi Tian managed to achieve was around 13 minutes, a decent result for a first-timer. That was if you count the time that he was repeatedly dodging or getting thrashed by the robot.


    If one had to count the time that Shi Tian was taking the initiative in attacking, then it barely scratched the 2 minutes mark.


    That was how pathetic Shi Tian was at utilizing his body''s movement and action to fight against someone of equal, or possibly even better than him.


    After all, the robot might have mimicked his physique, but its experience in fighting was far superior to the ignorant Shi Tian.


    Sometimeter, Isaac Aaronax brought a water bottle for Shi Tian to drink.


    "Hydrate yourself first," He instructed.


    Shi Tian didn''t bother with the formalities and chugged the water down immediately. He was truly thirsty and hadn''t had any liquid in his mouth for a long time.


    The water was surprisingly pure, almost as if it was at the Potential Hydrogen (pH) level of 7, the perfect middle for water to be drunk.


    "How is this possible?" Shi Tian asked in disbelief, clutching tightly at the empty water bottle.


    Considering the pollution outside of Gearits City and how almost the entire environment was ruined, something like purified water had never crossed his mind to still exist.


    "It seems like you are truly a foreigner without any knowledge of Gearits City." Isaac Aaronaxughed, almost as if he was teasing him for hisck of knowledge.


    "..."


    "I know you are doubtful of me, but shouldn''t it be obvious by now that I''m not familiar with the structure of Gearits City?" Shi Tian said.


    "Just that?" Isaac Aaronax raised an eyebrow before bursting intoughter again.


    "If that''s the only case, then I wouldn''t be surprised, but man oh man. Just how did you manage to survive in the wilderness when yourbat experience is practically worse than a newbie?"


    After saying that, Isaac Aaronax continued tough heartily, prompting Shi Tian to twitch his brows.


    "As expected¡­ this was the real evaluation of my pathetic performance." Shi Tian mumbled softly.

 Chapter 49: Mechanic Fight

    <h4>Chapter 49: Mechanic Fight</h4>


    Theughter in the formation room continued for quite a while before Isaac Aaronax was finally out of breath and needed to rehydrate himself.


    "Are you going to continueughing?" Shi Tian then asked, clearly unamused.


    He already knew he wascking in thebat area by arge margin. Otherwise, there wouldn''t be a point for him addressing Isaac as his master in hopes of learning more.


    "My bad, I couldn''t contain myughter when you reminded me of my old days." Isaac Aaronax apologized for his conduct.


    However, Shi Tian could barely feel any sincerity in his apology.


    "Just go on andugh more. Let me know when you''re finished with it." Shi Tianid back down and said calmly.


    A conversation would be impossible if Isaac Aaronax was still thinking about his pathetic fight and attempting to suppress hisughter. Thus, Shi Tian decided to just let himugh it all out until it wasn''t funny anymore.


    Meanwhile, Isaac Aaronax faked a cough and exuded a dignified aura around him.


    "Well, if you say it that way, then it would be impolite of me to notugh," He then said and started another round ofughing.


    It was clear the performance of Shi Tian had unveiled some of the past memories that induced suchedy for him.


    Sometimeter, Isaac Aaronax finally managed topose himself and stoppedughing.


    "Ahh, it''s been years since I haveughed so much," He then said, wiping off some tears of joy that had seeped out.


    "Well, I''m d you enjoyed yourself," Shi Tian rolled his eyes and said.


    No matter how calm and collected a person may be, gettingughed at like this was definitely going to irritate them a bit. Not to mention when it was about their shame and not glory moment.


    "Alright, that was indeed overboarding from my end. Hence, I shall make it up by teaching you what you did wrong and what you could improve on," Isaac Aaronax''s face turned solemn and said.


    Hearing that, Shi Tian calmly ced the empty water bottle on the floor before getting up. His stamina had already recovered quite a bit, especially with the help of such fresh and purified water to quench his thirst.


    "I''m ready to learn, Master Isaac." He then said respectfully. There are times for jokes and casualness, and vice versa, there are also times for seriousness.


    And right now, Isaac Aaronax was being serious to lecture him properly and inform him of his shorings. Thus, the necessary respect must be shown, which was in line with his character.


    Just like with Ynda, those who treated him with goodwill, then Shi Tian would dly do the same in return. It was just a shame that Shi Tian could only pray that Ynda would be able to receive his goodwill sometimeter.


    A few minutester, Isaac Aaronax once again brought along a big screen, reying the pathetic performance of Shi Tian against the robot created by the formation room.


    Of course, Isaac Aaronax wasn''t trying to embarrass Shi Tian whatsoever but was pointing out his ws.


    "Over here, Nathan. Do you see what you did wrong here?" Isaac Aaronax paused the scene in which Shi Tian was using his mechanical right arm to block a punch from the robot.


    Shi Tian nced at the screen and pondered over his mistake.


    Was he supposed to retaliate with a punch instead?


    Or was he supposed to attempt to dodge the punch?


    After pondering over it, Shi Tian came up with an answer of his own. "Was I supposed to dodge the punch and then counterattack?"


    When Isaac Aaronax heard that answer, he had the urge to facepalm and wondered if he was mistaken with his eyesight.


    "Didn''t you attempt to dodge the punch in the fight previously? And what was the result of that?" Isaac Aaronax asked.


    "I exhausted my stamina trying to dodge the robot''s attack repeatedly¡­"


    "Good, and now tell me what happened when you tried to counterattack the robot?"


    "My punch force wasn''t enough to deal damage to the robot and caused my stamina to decrease even further." Shi Tian replied honestly, even if it was shameful.


    Despite being ashamed of himself, Shi Tian still believed it was best to admit his ws. He was trying to learn under Isaac Aaronax, so how could he learn anything if he tried to keep some superficial pride?


    Meanwhile, Isaac Aaronax nodded his head in approval, seemingly pleased that Shi Tian didn''t let such setbacks affect him.


    "Alright, let me exin to you what you did wrong and why." Isaac Aaronax coughed slightly and said.


    "First of all, your biggest mistake was attempting to fight the robot head-on when you don''t even understand its capability. That''s the biggest taboo for any mechanic because mechanics was never a fighting ss, to begin with."


    Shi Tian pursed his lips when he heard that.


    What does that mean anyway?


    A mechanic was not a fighting ss, to begin with, but he was assigned to fight a robot from the start.


    Wasn''t that a contradiction by itself?


    Isaac Aaronax sighed softly when he saw his reaction and calmly exined, "A mechanic never fights a losing battle. They would only fight when they are confident in themselves. Hence, the first thing a mechanic does when they fight is to analyze their opponent."


    "Isn''t that what all fighters do? Analyzing their opponent?"


    "Of course, but here''s the main difference. A mechanic always has tools to back them up, and never a one trick phonypared to the likes of berserker or otherbat sses."


    Shi Tian remained silent and wondered if he could punch Isaac Aaronax in the face.


    After all, wouldn''t that mean the whole point of thisbat training would be meaningless, given that he doesn''t even have any other tools to assist him in battle.


    Seeing the irritated expression from Shi Tian, Isaac Aaronax suddenly smirked coldly.


    "You must be thinking that I''m toying with you right?"


    Shi Tian nodded his head.


    "That''s right, I''m indeed toying with you, but also educating you."

 Chapter 50: Real Lesson

    <h4>Chapter 50: Real Lesson</h4>


    Shi Tian was on the verge of erupting in anger, but his passive ability was preventing him from reacting in such a way.


    ''Curse this calmness passive ability! How am I still able to stay calm when I''m being toyed with?'' Shi Tian eximed inwardly. Though it was only momentarily because he knew this passive ability was a blessing at the end of the day.


    Without calmness, one would easily make mistakes in tense or crucial situations.


    Taking a deep breath, Shi Tian regained hisposure and asked in a calm tone. "Why did you arrange suchbat training, Master Isaac?"


    "Oh, you''re not mad that I''m toying with you?" Isaac Aaronax acted surprised and pressed on the matter purposely, especially when he mentioned the word toying.


    Luckily, Shi Tian wasn''t provoked by it and the more Isaac Aaronax attempted to provoke him, the more confident he became.


    Sure enough, there must have been a reason behind this, including how he revealed that he was, in fact, toying with him.


    That was the conclusion that Shi Tian had deduced after assembling all the clues together.


    "If you really nned on toying with me, then you wouldn''t have gone out of your way to bring me here. Hence, I believe you must have done everything ording to your n." Shi Tian answered calmly.


    "Heh, you''re right." Isaac Aaronax pped his hands and smiled genuinely. "How could there ever be a fight in the first lesson? Of course, unless one is a crook and has no idea of what they''re doing."


    What Isaac Aaronax meant was no different than saying that only an inferior teacher would assign their disciple to fight in the first lesson. After all, a teacher must first be able to decipher and analyze how capable their disciple was before being able to n anything else.


    As for how they decipher their disciples, each teacher had their own unique method to do, and for one, Isaac Aaronax''s method was truly umon.


    "It seems like I have to be more cautious of your actions in the future, Master Isaac." Shi Tian smiled bitterly.


    "Hahaha, you don''t need to be that cautious against me, Nathan. At the very least, I have no intention of harming you," Isaac Aaronaxughed heartily, cing his hands on his hip, acting like aplete hooligan.


    And it was only now that Shi Tian realized, one should never judge a person too fast until you know them for a while.


    From their first interaction, Isaac Aaronax seemed to be a serious and dedicated person, always focusing on the business. Yet now that he got to know him further, the first impression was aplete lie.


    It wasn''t an exaggeration to say that Isaac Aaronax was no different than those old fogeys that enjoyed teasing or tormenting the younglings for some fun.


    But then again, Shi Tian felt morefortable than ever, knowing that Isaac Aaronax was willing to expose his true color like this meant that he had gained sufficient trust.


    A few minutester, Shi Tian finally asked, "So what are you teaching me exactly?"


    Since it was clear that Isaac Aaronax wasn''t trying to teach him fighting moves, then there really isn''t a point ining to this training facility in the first ce.


    Meanwhile, Isaac Aaronax turned silent for a few moments before disabling the formation within the room.


    "The real lesson of today is to teach you to never believe what you see on the surface. Even if you think a situation is dreadful on the surface, there is always a path of survival, just like how you believed that you are incapable of fighting against the robot." He then said calmly.


    And before Shi Tian was able to respond, he witnessed a robot appearing behind Isaac Aaronax. The robot was suspended in mid-air and seemed to be ready to strike at Isaac Aaronax.


    "Master Isaac-"


    Shi Tian wanted to call out the robot to warn him, but it was unnecessary because Isaac Aaronax suddenly smirked coldly and put on a weird glove.


    The weird glove then made a churning sound, and under the eyes of Shi Tian, Isaac Aaronax had turned around and a light beam was shot forward.


    The robot that was attempting to attack Isaac Aaronax from behind had its chest area sted, and arge hole could be seen.


    At the same time, a powerful shockwave urred due to the light beam and a gust of wind despite them being in an enclosed area, a clear definitive of just how strong the light beam was.


    Shi Tian was forcefully pushed back due to the sting power whereas the robot that was struck, crashed into the wall, unable to move further.


    As for Isaac Aaronax, he shook his hand a few times while some air was seeping out of the weird glove, making him look extremely cool and stylish.


    "Phew, I haven''t moved my body in ages, but it seemed like I still got it in me." Isaac Aaronax said.


    Meanwhile, a hint of astonishment could be seen through Shi Tian''s eyes as he never expected Isaac Aaronax to be hiding such a move in his seemingly fragile body. No wonder why he was told the first lesson was to not be deceived as to what was shown on the surface.


    Truly, one should never underestimate someone or judge them too early.


    Brushing through some of the dust in his clothes, Shi Tian made sure to keep his posture in check before cupping his fist.


    "Master Isaac is indeed unordinary." He praised sincerely.


    Although the robot was sted to smithereens and didn''t have the chance to showcase its prowess, Shi Tian was able to discern that it was a robot stronger than the one he had faced off with. After all, the aura he felt from the robot was far superior and powerful.


    However, he was still confused as to how the robot appeared in the first ce.


    Didn''t Isaac Aaronax disable the formation?


    "Nathan, don''t be deceived by what you see on the surface," Isaac Aaronax merely shed a meaningful smile.


    "Wait a minute¡­"


    Suddenly, a bad premonition appeared on Shi Tian''s face as he stared at Isaac Aaronax, but most importantly, he felt a chill in his back for some reason.

 Chapter 51 Light Beam

    <h4>Chapter 51 Light Beam</h4>


    It was as if hell was beckoning for Shi Tian when he realized the chill that he felt should be more surreal than imaginary.


    And sure enough, when he slowly turned around, he saw a robot that seemed to be echoing "Surprise Motherfucker", Shi Tian was frightened.


    "Oh god damn it!" Shi Tian cursed before running forward, going straight behind Isaac Aaronax.


    "What are you doing, Nathan?" Isaac Aaronax was dumbfounded when he saw Shi Tian cowering behind his back.


    "I''m sorry, Master Isaac, but like you have said previously. Don''t be deceived by what''s on the surface, so allow me to gently push you forward to assist me." Shi Tian smiled and pushed Isaac Aaronax forward.


    Given the fact that Isaac Aaronax was not the least surprised when a robot snuck up behind him, Shi Tian was sure that he had secretly reactivated the formation again and summoned another robot behind his back.


    And considering how Shi Tian had already taken a loss and knew his current ability was not enough to fight against the robot, there was only one option left.


    Push Isaac Aaronax forward!


    When you can''t fight, then simply push someone else that is capable forward to fight on your behalf. This was not a shameless move, but a clever move to increase your survival.


    Meanwhile, Isaac Aaronax was truly stunned by the action of Shi Tian and cursed silently. The robot created by the formation doesn''t have an indication of who to prioritize and would always attack the one closest to them.


    This was why the previous robot went after him and not Shi Tian, it was simply because he had summoned it close to him so that he could show off his prowess. Yet never in his mind did he calcte that Shi Tian would be so shameless as to push his master in the front to tank the robot for him.


    "My eyes were truly blind!" Isaac Aaronax twitched his mouth and said, swiftly deactivating the formation in time to cancel the summon of the robot.


    Shi Tian might not know this, but his glove had a cooldown timer to regenerate before it could be used again. Such a powerful light beam, it would have been a cheat and popr item if he was able to spam it consistently without any restrictions.


    Right after he had canceled the summon of the robot, Isaac Aaronax angrily turned around, clearly displeased with his action.


    "How could you do this to your master, Nathan?" Isaac Aaronax asked, his brows wrinkled,


    Shi Tian shrugged his shoulders in response.


    "Isn''t it all your fault for teasing this disciple, Master Isaac? My stamina has barely recovered and you already want me to face off with another robot." He said in defense.


    "Are you an idiot??!" Isaac Aaronax lost his cool and cursed. "Didn''t you see what I just did? You could have easily done the same as well. Or did you think I wouldn''t have added such a feature in your mechanical right arm?"


    "Oh, you did?" Shi Tian''s mouth had an O shape as he realized Isaac Aaronax was demonstrating one of his mechanical right arm abilities and wasn''t showing off.


    Though, who could really me him for having such thoughts?


    Isaac Aaronax truly looked cool and awesome when he shot the light beam forward, demolishing the crap out of the robot- to the point that Shi Tian didn''t expect it was just another form of demonstration to teach him.


    "Sigh, I might have yed around for a bit since I haven''t had such a good time for a while, so it could have made you misjudge me. This glove of mine was the first prototype of my invention and of course, your mechanical right arm is equipped with better attack force." Isaac Aaronax scratched his head and exined bitterly.


    It was clear that his yful andughing personality was causing a great misunderstanding.


    Meanwhile, Shi Tian was silent as he nced at his mechanical right arm, seemingly in deep thought.


    ''My right arm could also create a light beam? It seems like I need to study more of the function and stop treating it like a regr arm.'' Shi Tian eximed inwardly.


    "Anyway, the light beam might be powerful but it needs energy to recharge. And of course, the energy is already built-in, but even then, it would still take at least 10 to 20 minutes to charge up enough energy to create another powerful light beam." Isaac Aaronax proceeded to exin the usage and cooldown of the light beam.


    Apparently, the light beam was created by thebustion of energy and air pressure, utilized by numerous technical mechanisms to usher a powerful st against its opponent.


    However, the downside of it was the cooldown part and if there was ack of energy supplies, then it would be equivalent to losing its ability to fire.


    "So do you understand that, Nathan?" Isaac Aaronax asked.


    Although still a bit confused about the light beam, Shi Tian understood the basic gist of it. "I understand, Master Isaac. The light beam could be considered a hidden trump card, in which we should only use it as ast resort."


    Isaac Aaronax nodded his head.


    "That''s correct, Nathan. Even a powerful attack would be rendered useless if you can''t grasp the correct timing in using it. My skills are still too subparpared to my master." He then said, shaking his head slowly. A clear tinge of bitterness could be seen in his expression when he mentioned his skills were subpar.


    As for Shi Tian, he kept note of the fact that Isaac Aaronax had a master, but dared not ask who it was. From a nce, he could tell it was something Isaac Aaronax didn''t wish to reveal or exin.


    "Anyway, that concludes today''s first lesson, and you cane back to see me tomorrow. I would start teaching you some basic mechanics skills in my workshop." Isaac Aaronax sped his hand and said, his tone leaving no space for objection.

 Chapter 52 Apprentice

    <h4>Chapter 52 Apprentice</h4>


    With Isaac Aaronax calling it an end for the first lesson, Shi Tian could only cup his fist in respect.


    The first lesson might not seem valuable at first nce since he technically got thrashed thoroughly by the robot, but Shi Tian knew this was the most valuable lesson he had learned since awakening.


    What Isaac Aaronax taught him wasn''t some fighting ability to confront an opponent, but strategy and theory that could assist him.


    Since the start, Shi Tian knew his talent wasn''t based on directbat fighting or maniption of magicule. After all, he had never sensed magicule nor did he know they existed until he had read about them in the files contained in room B-3.


    As for the directbat fighting part, he had already known how pathetic he was when facing multiple Armored Rat. Thus, the only viable ss left for him was Mechanic, adding to the fact that he had studied Mechanism in the past, his starting point in this ss would be far easier than the rest.


    "Master Isaac is going to teach me the basic mechanics tomorrow, so I should use this chance to study my mechanical right arm." Shi Tian murmured once he saw Isaac Aaronax leaving the training facility, clutching his right hand repeatedly.


    The training facility only had his presence alone, and it was clear that Isaac Aaronax didn''t mind letting Shi Tian use the facility by himself despite ending their lesson.


    This was the so-called after-study back in the days when students got off school and still wished to educate themselves.


    Although it''s supposed to be after study, Shi Tian doesn''t have much experience in how to actually train himself, especially for the mechanic ss. Thus, he decided to do some basic exercises such as push-ups, curl-ups, and running around in a circle to get his body in shape.


    He was hoping that such exercises could increase his stamina stat points, considering how he had nearly exhausted himself twice already.


    After exercising for nearly an hour, Shi Tian was panting heavily, sweat trickling down his forehead as it dripped on the floor.


    Despite being out of breath, there was a hint of bliss in his expression as he nced at the holographic status screen.


    ¨C


    Name: Shi Tian


    Race: Human


    Main ss: N/A (Not Avable)


    Sub ss: Apprentice


    Level: 6


    Health: 100 (Normal)


    Stamina: 37


    Attributes: Strength: 3, Dexterity: 8, Endurance: 4, Agility: 5, Intelligence: 3, Charm: 2, Luck: 2


    Free Attribute Point: 0


    Abilities:


    -[Passive] Serene Calmness: Able to remain calm and collected


    -[Passive] Pain Tolerance: Level 2


    Power Level: 5-35 Atk


    Grade: F (Trash)


    ss Talents: None


    Reputation: 1


    Equipment: Mechanical Right Arm, Pistols, Stun Grenades, Smoke Grenades, Explosive Grenades


    [Currently, an amateur with somewhat fighting capability. Though still iparable to actual fighters who had arge amount of fighting experience.]


    ¨C


    At first nce, the stats don''t seem to have changed much, but with his keen eyes, Shi Tian detected his stamina had actually risen by 2 points. It was originally at 35, but now it was saying 37 which means that exercising his body is in fact, a training that could increase his stats points.


    And with such discovery, Shi Tian began to ponder whether his other attribute points could also be increased if he did some other form of training.


    As the saying goes, there was always a check and bnce in things, so if stamina points could be increased, then by logic, his attribute points could also enjoy such benefits.


    "If I keep working hard, then even the description regarding me will alter." Shi Tian smiled briefly, ncing at the supposed "Grade" that no longerbeled him as beyond trash.


    Although he didn''t know what the grade was supposed to stand for, he could subtly tell it had something to do with his current ability.


    Shi Tian nced at the screen for another few minutes before closing it. Right now was not the time for him to be worried about those descriptions that had no meaning aside from trying to hurt his dignity.


    Sometimeter, Shi Tian retrieved a towel to wipe off the sweat on his forehead before cleaning the facility.


    While he was cleaning, the door from outside opened.


    "Oh, Nathan, you are here?"


    A familiar female voice echoed from behind, prompting Shi Tian to stop his cleaning temporarily and turned around.


    "Hello, Receptionist Mary." Shi Tian politely greeted her when he realized the person who entered was the Receptionist Mary. She had assisted him greatly and didn''t look down on him due to his shabby appearance, so Shi Tian was quite polite toward her.


    "You can just call me Mary and drop the receptionist." Mary smiled briefly as she nced around the facility, seemingly searching for something or someone.


    "If you want to find Master Isaac, then I think he already returned to his workshop." Shi Tian said when he realized she was looking left and right.


    "Master Isaac?" Mary''s brows were raised, clearly in confusion by the form of addressing. After all, it would have been more appropriate to refer to Isaac Aaronax as Mechanist Isaac if one wished to address him.


    "Yeah, some things happen and now I have regarded him as Master." Shi Tian scratched his head and gave a brief exnation.


    Upon hearing the exnation, Mary sped her hand and seemed to have understood why Shi Tian was in the training facility even though it was off-limits to an outsider.


    "No wonder why¡­ I was confused as to why you were here when I heard soundsing from here. I thought it was Mechanist Isaac practicing some of his newest gadgets again." Maryughed.


    And she continued, "So you are now an apprentice of Mechanist Isaac. I must say, you are quite lucky because Mechanist Isaac rarely ever takes an interest in teaching someone. There was only one person that had caught his eye, but that person didn''t like the mechanic ss."


    "Could that person be Ynda?" Shi Tian suddenly asked after pondering for a while.

 Chapter 53 Plant A Seed

    <h4>Chapter 53 nt A Seed </h4>


    Mary was taken aback when Shi Tian suddenly brought up the name of Ynda.


    "You knew about her?" She asked in a dazed tone.


    Shi Tian nodded his head and proceeded to ry what he knew about her, the same thing he had told Isaac Aaronax previously.


    It wouldn''t be a secret for long until someone would discover Ynda had died in the wilderness. Besides, he wasn''t guilty of her death despite being powerless to save her. Hence, he didn''t mind telling it to certain people.


    At the very least, he would be able to nt a seed in their mind, making them take precautions for these two people in particr: Xavier and Hugo.


    With his current ability, it was nigh impossible to do anything to Xavier and Hugo, but Isaac Aaronax and Mary are different.


    They are people with status within Optic Mech, and considering how they were able to employ such powerful shadow figures as guards, Shi Tian knew they are definitely not simple as shown on the surface.


    Just the tyrant he had seen previously making a scene in the receptionist area, demanding to see Isaac Aaronax being polite once Mary was getting angry was enough evidence to back up his inference.


    And sure enough, Mary''s face shed some vignce on her expression, even though it was just for a brief moment as she returned to her normal smiling expression.


    Of course, Shi Tian had taken notice of such things but remained silent. The seed had already been nted, so there was no need to say further. A seed could be spoiled easily if one attempted to rush its growth.


    "Sigh, Ynda and I were quite amicable, so it''s hard for me to ept that she''s gone just like that. Life is truly fragile when you consider the environment we live in." Mary sighed softly.


    "Even if life is fragile, we should still strive our best to survive and attain our dreams. Otherwise, there is no point in living anymore." Shi Tian suddenly said, sounding extremely profound.


    Despite the outside world turning into a hellish nightmare for everyone, people are still living to this day, proving that humanity is best at adapting to the environment thrown at them.


    Since the Great Disaster 1.0, everyone thought the world was ending and humanity would go extinct, but even 100-something yearster, humanity is still surviving.


    "You''re right, Nathan. No matter what, people somehow still find a motive to keep on living. Maybe it''s a way to mourn for the deceased and how they have died to sustain humanity''s future." Mary smiled.


    Meanwhile, Shi Tian chuckled and shook his head, not inputting any response to her statement.


    Sure enough, he had a motive to keep living, but to mourn for the deceased? That was a bit difficult to say. After all, he was more motivated in seeking revenge than mourning.


    What he experienced in theboratory was something he would never be able to forgive.


    "Anyway, what did youe here for?" Shi Tian suddenly asked, shifting the topic as it was getting quite serious and sensitive.


    "Right¡­ I was looking for Mechanist Isaac in here because of that annoyance from Heaven''s Mecha." Mary said, bidding farewell to Shi Tian, and made her way toward the workshop room.


    "Was she such a clumsy person?" Shi Tian tilted his head and muttered, seemingly confused at the way she reacted.


    Though he merely brushed it off afterward and returned to cleaning. It wasn''t his position to guess what type of person Mary was nor was he acquainted enough to determine anything.


    As Shi Tian busied himself with cleaning, in room 515, Isaac Aaronax was working on some gear until someone knocked on the door.


    "So how was he?" Isaac Aaronax unlocked the door with a button and asked calmly.


    "Well, just like you have informed me, Nathan doesn''t seem to be lying regarding how Ynda died. However, I sensed that he was hiding some information from us."


    It was Mary that had entered and she had a solemn expression on her face, a far cry from her previous clumsy self.


    Isaac Aaronax nodded his head in agreement. "He might be hiding something from us, possibly because it''s something he doesn''t wish to divulge, but I have determined that he shouldn''t be the cause of Ynda''s death. He''s simply too weak to plot or scheme against her."


    "I agree with that. His sense of alertness, when I entered the training facility, was pathetic, to say the least. Though he still gives me a better impression than most." Mary calmly ryed the event to him, proving her im.


    And she continued, "However, I''m quite surprised to hear that he had taken you as his master. Are you serious about this?"


    "Of course, I am serious. Otherwise, I wouldn''t have sent you to test him as well. I believe in my eyesight on people, but it doesn''t hurt to have someone else to back me up as well. And hearing you, I''m confident that he''s going to be my sessor." Isaac Aaronax rxed his expression and said.


    Now that even Mary had agreed with him, Isaac Aaronax''s guard was officially lowered.


    "It sure is a miracle that you are willing to take someone in as an apprentice. Not to mention, I haven''t seen you enjoying yourself this much." Mary simrly dropped her solemn tone and smiled briefly, clearly relieved that Isaac Aaronax was acting carefree.


    "Well, that brat is indeed a handful." Isaac Aaronax chuckled.


    "Anyway, you wouldn''t call me in here just to test his character and ry my findings to you, right?"


    "Mhmm, I find it suspicious that Ynda would die in the wilderness. Even if it was against a Tenceloras, she shouldn''t have been so helpless to not survive by herself."


    To that, Mary''s eyes squinted slightly and her body tensed up, "You suspect there is foul y?"


    Isaac Aaronax shook his head.


    "I don''t suspect, Mary. I believe there is indeed foul y involved, and I shall authorize you to mobilize the Shadow Legion."

 Chapter 54 Shadow Legion

    <h4>Chapter 54 Shadow Legion</h4>


    The Shadow Legion was a mysterious group that roamed around the hidden corners of Gearits City.


    People within Gearits City had only heard rumors of their ability and conduct, but no one had actually seen a person from the group, living up to its name as the shadow.


    A shadow where they only appeared under the sunlight, but never revealed on the surface for others to detect.


    "Are you sure you want me to deploy the Shadow Legion?" Mary squinted her brows and asked. Others might not know, but she knew the risk thates with it every time she mobilized the Shadow Legion.


    The current leading organization party that governed Gearits City is already on high alert for the Shadow Legion''s movement, so each time they mobilize them, the more clues they might drop.


    "Ynda is a member of the Shadow Legion, and the fact that she was killed in the wilderness is already a huge red g. I''m pretty sure she might have leaked something that warranted suspicions from them already. So what''s the point of hiding around?" Isaac Aaroanx calmly said.


    "I still find this matter to be risky. If we mobilize the Shadow Legion, then we are practically announcing our identity. Wouldn''t all of your hard work go to waste in these years by then?"


    Isaac Aaronax remained silent after hearing her reasoning. A few secondster, he sighed softly, clearly admitting that deploying the Shadow Legion right now wouldn''t be good.


    "Indeed, if we expose ourselves now, then everything would be pointless. But what if we train Nathan and have him investigate instead?" Isaac Aaronax suggested.


    Because Shi Tian was thest person in contact with Ynda, it would only be fair that he would be curious about her death. Not to mention, it was quite clear that Shi Tian is a foreigner to Gearits City, so it wouldn''t incur any suspicions from others.


    "Is that the reason why you took him under as an apprentice?" Mary asked doubtfully.


    "Actually- no, that''s not the reason." Isaac Aaronax shook his head. "For some reason, when I look at Nathan for the first time, I can feel that he''s hiding a lot, but also clear-headed. It was just like me in the past, so maybe that''s why I have taken quite a liking to him."


    "I see¡­" Mary didn''t bother to ask further when she heard that.


    Sometimes, people just follow their instinct, and instinct isn''t something you can have a reason for. And although illogical, most of the time, a person''s instinct would usually be correct, so Mary had no n to advise him.


    Isaac Aaronax wasn''t an impulsive man and given that he had tested the character of Shi Tian multiple times, and even asked her to personally check as well, it was clear to see how much Isaac Aaronax valued him.


    "Well, you always do what you want anyway, so I won''t bother you with whatever gears you''re working on." Mary resigned to her fate. Her age might be younger than Isaac Aaronax, but sometimes, she felt like she was the older person whenever ites to decision-making.


    asionally, she would also be scolding Isaac Aaronax for his conduct or his so-called experimental gadgets that went awry.


    "Haha, I''m an old bone already. Please cut me some ck, Mary." Isaac Aaronaxughed, hoping that she wouldn''t get angry at him.


    "Stop calling yourself an old bone already. You still have to take care of my sry and everything else." Mary grumbled in displeasure, crossing her arms.


    "Sigh, why does it seem like I owe you and not the other way around?" He then teased but quickly paused when he felt the menacing re directed at him.


    "Cough, since deploying the Shadow Legion is a no-go, then you should at least investigate the two individuals that Nathan informed us about. Those two irritated me somewhat and I feel ufortable knowing that one of them is even enjoying a blissful night at a hotel too."


    "Blissful night?"


    "You know¡­ the man and woman connection-kind."


    "Shameless," Mary hissed coldly when she realized she shouldn''t have asked what kind of blissful night Isaac Aaronax was referring to.


    She turned around and was about to leave the room, but made sure to keep in mind the person.


    "The person''s name is Xavier and he''s located at the Raven Hotel currently. Hack into his device and dig everything out from him."


    "Rest assured, I''m not so forgiving to those that schemed against us." Mary coldly said, exiting the room and shutting the door real hard.


    "Aiyah, my door is going to break down at this rate." Isaac Aaronax smiled bitterly. He then turned his attention to a monitor which was disying Shi Tian training again in the facility.


    "This brat¡­ didn''t he just finish training and was cleaning the room? Why did he begin exercising again?"


    Little did Isaac Aaronax know, but while he was discussing things privately with Mary, Shi Tian managed to discover something.


    Within the training facility room, Shi Tian was excited to realize his status screen could be utilized uniquely.


    While he was studying his mechanical right arm right after he finished cleaning the room, Shi Tian didn''t realize there was more function on the equipment part which listed more explicit details regarding it.


    Previously, when he opened the status screen, the mechanical right arm was listed as part of the new equipment, and out of curiosity, he had clicked on it which instantly shifted the screen to a new interface.


    His hologram screen now showed an explicit detail and design of his mechanical right arm, including its ability.


    One of them was naturally the light beam that Isaac Aaronax had demonstrated, but to his surprise, there were actually more functions that Isaac Aaronax hadn''t told him about.


    ''The mechanical right arm was actually capable of magnifying its force up to an equivalent measure of a 10-ton object. Doesn''t that mean one punch of it can st any creature to smithereens?'' Shi Tian eximed inwardly, dumbfounded by how terrifying his mechanical right arm was.

 Chapter 55 10 Ton Force

    <h4>Chapter 55 10 Ton Force</h4>


    Shi Tian was horrified when he discovered just how terrifying the right arm attached to him was. It was as if he was holding a powerful weapon that could annihte a lot of things with a mere thought process.


    "No wonder why most people say ignorance is bliss." Shi Tianmented. By being ignorant, one could be extremely carefree in a lot of thingspared to being a knowledgeable person.


    After all, the more one person knew of something, the more concerns they would have in their mind.


    And right now, Shi Tian was experiencing a simr case since he realized just how dangerous his mechanical right arm could be.


    Nevertheless, it was only for a brief moment before Shi Tian was thankful for the immense upgrade from Isaac Aaronax.


    Having a powerful weapon doesn''t necessarily mean it''s dangerous since the only danger is the person wielding such a weapon. He wasn''t going tomit an act of violence in a wimp and had a clear motive for his target.


    Thus, Shi Tian was even more grateful toward Isaac Aaronax, even though he knew he was being tested numerous times. He might not be knowledgeable about the current world''s affairs considering how he was in slumber for a long time, but he sure was a quick-witted one.


    ''Hmm, maybe Mary was also sent by Master Isaac to test on me. Otherwise, she wouldn''t have mistakenly thought Master Isaac would be here when she could easily contact his workshop room to confirm first.'' Shi Tian thought to himself.


    Afterward, he started to nce around his surroundings, and despite seeing nothing out of the ordinary, he was getting a feeling that someone was watching him.


    s, he couldn''t find any surveince cameras that were installed.


    ''Maybe it''s a micro camera and with how big the room is, I doubt I can even spot it.'' Shi Tian concluded, feeling that it would be pointless to search for it.


    After all, the facility is owned by Optic Mech and he was eligible to enter here because of Isaac Aaronax.


    So by right, he shouldn''t be concerned about privacy when he was using someone else''s facilities to train. It would be a foolish thing to be concerned about in the first ce.


    Being concerned about such things would be like going to a public gym and expecting to have any form of privacy except for the toilet and shower room.


    Even just saying it aloud was hrious enough.


    Privacy in public spaces?


    What kind of joke was that?


    Shaking his head to stop the distraction from overflowing his mind, Shi Tian stood up and entered the formation room.


    Now that he had gotten a grasp of the functionality of his mechanical right arm, he was itching to have a rematch. He might not care about dignity or pride, but it still irritated him quite a bit when he recalled how powerless he was.


    "It''s time for a revenge rematch." Shi Tian clenched his fist and walked toward the operating system.


    Unlike Isaac Aaronax that could control the formation at will, Shi Tian needed to use the built-in operating system to boot it up.


    Meanwhile, in room 515, Isaac Aaronax was staring deeply at the monitor screen.


    "This brat¡­ he wouldn''t have grasped the understanding of the formation already, right?" Isaac Aaronax muttered, clearly in disbelief that Shi Tian had already learned how to control the formation.


    Even with the operating system, it was a difficult thing to maneuver and one wrong click would result in a deadly consequence. That was supposed to be the case, but Isaac Aaronax was truly awestruck when he realized Shi Tian seemed to have grasped the technology already, almost as if he was a veteran.


    At the training facility, Shi Tian didn''t know why, but when his hand touched the operating system, there was an explicit detail of instruction shown in front of him.


    It was almost the same feeling as if he had been operating on this particr system for years, granting him the ability to control the system without hesitation.


    ''Is this the benefit of the system in my brain?'' Shi Tian began to wonder. He had never imagined the simple status screen that was only revealing his personal stats could be hiding such an amazing function.


    Nevertheless, he wasn''t going toin about receiving such free affinity with the operating system.


    After getting familiarized with the system, Shi Tian finally understood how Isaac Aaronax managed to summon the robot. And without hesitation, Shi Tian quickly summoned a robot on the field.


    The robot was proportional to the same body figure as him, except this time, the scenario was going to be different. Instead of studying the robot and going on the defensive as he did previously, Shi Tian was going to take the initiative this time.


    The robot obviously didn''t know what kind of thought process was going through Shi Tian, and merely went into the offensive right away.


    "Hmph, as if I would be frightened by that," Shi Tian sneered and quicklybusted the force within his mechanical right arm. He wasn''t testing the light beam that Isaac Aaronax had demonstrated, but the other function that allowed him to execute a punch force of up to 10 tons.


    Instantly, Shi Tian felt as if he was carrying a heavy boulder on his right arm, nearly causing him to stumble in the process.


    ''So the punch force can go up to 10 tons, but the weight has also increased tremendously?'' Shi Tian was stunned, failing to understand the consequences of such action.


    Unfortunately, there was no time for regret as he gnashed his teeth, and mustered up all of his strength to deliver the punch.


    BOOOM!


    His right fist directly shattered the body structure of the robot, sending it flying backward and creating a loud impact on the wall.


    The robot was defeated in one move, but the strain that was inflicted upon Shi Tian, caused him to plop to the ground, unable to move his right arm.


    "What a blunder¡­" He smiled bitterly, feeling extremely weak.

 Chapter 56 Fishy

    <h4>Chapter 56 Fishy</h4>


    Shi Tian wasying on the floor for nearly 20 minutes until he finally regained enough strength to lift his right arm up. The strain and tension that was exerted to create the 10-ton force punch had ced quite a burden on his body.


    Even now, his right hand was still trembling, a clear definition of him being powerless tomand such force yet.


    "It seems like my strength needs to be raised as well. Otherwise, I''m just going to be a sitting duck after utilizing this move every time." Shi Tian muttered softly, and a bitter smile shed on his face.


    The more he fought and the more things he was able to experience, the more he realized how powerless and weak he was. If he encountered monsters that are immune to guns or grenades, then wouldn''t that mean he would be dying every time.


    "Forget it, I should rest for now and stop training. Overtraining one''s body would do more harm than good." Shi Tian exhaled softly, stood up, and began wiping his sweat with a towel.


    Though it was clear his right arm was still aching in pain and was causing quite a problem for him. It might be a mechanical one, but the sensation he was getting couldn''t be any more real.


    Shaking his head, Shi Tian cleaned up the mess within the facility again until his Cellos started making a beeping sound.


    ''Hm, it seems like Old Man Chao finallypleted the task.'' Shi Tian thought to himself. His Cellos device only had one contact in it and it was Old Man Chao.


    And sure enough, when he took out his Cellos Device, it had Old Man Chao''s alias name on it, Salty Rogue.


    epting the call, Shi Tian connected with him, "Have you found a decent ce, Old Man Chao?"


    "If I hadn''t, then I wouldn''t be bothered calling you in the first ce." Old Man Chao responded sarcastically.


    Shi Tian nodded his head.


    "Just saying it for the formality." Shi Tian smiled. "Where is the ce and what''s the approximate price for it?"


    "It''s an apartment located somewhat close to the inner zone. The safety there might not be as great as the inner zone, but at the very least, it''s better than the slum area. And the rent is quite reasonable, only 2 mid-tier Source Crystals per month." Old Man Chao exined.


    Mid-tier Source Crystals are basically a higher purity than regr low-tier source crystals. The ones that Shi Tian had in his pocket were some low-tier Source Crystals and only a few of them were mid-tier.


    This was something he had understood when reading the currency exchange guideline. It doesn''t take a genius to know that higher purity Source Crystals are much more valuable and sought for. After all, the usage of higher purity ones could assist in a lot of thingspared to lower purity ones.


    However, Shi Tian didn''t expect Old Man Chao would be finding a ce that charged 2 mid-tier Source Crystals and had the nerve to say the price was reasonable.


    "Are you trying to scam me right now, Old Man Chao?" Shi Tian asked, raising his brows and looking at him questionably through the Cellos device.


    "How could you use me of being a scammer?" Old Man Chao reacted in shock and eximed innocently.


    And he continued, "Now I know we might have gotten off on the wrong foot initially, but this is truly one of the better apartments I can find for you with those conditions you listed. Not to mention, thendy isn''t a simple person in the industry either. Even some of the military personnel have to give respect to her."


    "Not a simple person?" Shi Tian tilted his head and asked. As for the gender of who owned the apartment, he could care less about it.


    He was more curious about the identity of the said owner. If it was truly someone special that even the military personnel had to think twice before messing with her, then the price would be understandable.


    "Thendy of the apartment is named Faris Hill, and she''s a renowned Mage within Gearits City. Her power alone is capable of contesting 20 people at once, and an example of that was demonstrated 3 years ago when a gang attempted to capture her due to Faris Hill''s beauty. It was aplete one-sided bloodbath and from then on, only a fool would mess with her." Old Man Chao exined the identity, his tone full of praise and reverence.


    Hearing the reverent tone from Old Man Chao, there was still some suspicion in Shi Tian''s mind. Though it was in a minimal range now.


    After all, Old Man Chao''s exnation was quite specific, and one simple search online with his Cellos device was enough to verify the news.


    With that in mind, Shi Tian went and did some searching. Sure enough, what he found was exactly what Old Man Chao had said, albeit less exaggerated.


    The news was even more eventful than what Old Man Chao had described. Other than the foolish gang that tried to capture Faris Hill because of her beauty, there were actually more fools that had courted death against her.


    A nickname was even born to describe the ruthlessness of Faris Hill toward her enemy: Crimson Mage. The Crimson Mage that had a kill count of nearly thousands of people was fearsome to others.


    "Now do you understand why I said the price is reasonable? So long as you are her tenant and you do not mess with her, then you shall have her protection, granted that you aren''t the troublemaker or culprit." Old Man Chao said, rubbing his beard as if he was some profound person.


    Meanwhile, Shi Tian was silent as he started to ponder the pros and cons.


    Everything might seem normal and perfect on the surface, but he still had some doubts in his mind.


    Why was there a vacant apartment for rent if it was so great?


    ''Something was definitely fishy here.'' Shi Tian eximed inwardly.

 Chapter 57 Bargaining

    <h4>Chapter 57 Bargaining </h4>


    Renting an apartment and getting the protection of someone nicknamed Crimson Mage sounded extremely good.


    It was to the point that even he was tempted to be a tenant of such an owner. So how was it possible that there was a vacant apartment room for rent?


    "What happened to the previous tenant of the apartment room that you suggested to me?" Shi Tian squinted his eyes and asked.


    Old Man Chao was stunned for a few moments.


    "Haha, isn''t it obvious that the previous tenant left so the apartment room became vacant for rent?" He then attempted tough it off, clearly unwilling to disclose the information.


    "Old Man Chao!" Shi Tian called his name and red at him.


    "Alright fine, the previous tenant was killed by the Crimson Mage even though he didn''t seem to have offended her- or at least that''s the information we got on the surface. Information regarding the Crimson Mage is simply too difficult to obtain, and some even managed to forfeit their lives in the process when attempting to investigate her." Old Man Chao resigned to his fate and revealed the truth.


    "So the previous tenant was supposedly killed because the Crimson Mage wanted to, even though you just told me tenants are protected. What a nice contradiction!"


    "You can''t me me for withholding such information, Sir. I am just a poor broker trying to make a living, and besides, it was only that tenant. Hence, I have a reasonable use to believe he must have done something behind the scene that irritated the Crimson Mage."


    Shi Tian clicked his tongue in response.


    He would be a fool to believe Old Man Chao was some poor broker. If he was truly a poor broker, then he wouldn''t have resorted to opening a small stall to scam people when there aren''t many foreigners like him.


    Shi Tian could bet that Old Man Chao opening a small stall was a way to pass the time or disguise himself, and not because he truly wanted to earn some money from it.


    "1 mid-tier Source Crystal and 10 low-tier Source Crystal." Shi Tian said after remaining silent for quite a while. This was the price he was willing to rent the apartment room for and not any less.


    If the previous tenant could be killed by the Crimson Mage, then the possibility would be high that he could also be killed.


    So why should he pay 2 mid-tier Source Crystal when his life couldn''t even be guaranteed?


    "I''m afraid that''s too little, Sir." Old Man Chao had a pained expression on his face when he heard the sh cut price.


    "Too little?" Shi Tian raised an eyebrow and snorted coldly. "Then how about I pay you 2 mid-tier Source Crystal and you let me slice you a bit in exchange?"


    "Ahem, 1 mid-tier Source Crystal and 50 low-tier Source Crystals. This is the best I can offer, Sir." Old Man Chao faked a cough.


    "1 mid-tier Source Crystal and 20 low-tier Source Crystals."


    "1 mid-tier Source Crystal and 25 low-tier Source Crystals."


    After hearing the new price, Shi Tian pondered it over, and seeing the difficult expression Old Man Chao was having, and how he was on the verge of crying, he knew this must have been the limit.


    It could also be another act from Old Man Chao, but Shi Tian doubted it. If the rent price were to be lowered any further, then even he would search for another person instead.


    After all, the broker''s price for finding an apartment room for the buyer would be at the extreme minimum if Shi Tian insisted on lowering the price.


    The actual rent price for the apartment room might be what Shi Tian offered initially, but Old Man Chao needed to earn some money as well for the heavy-duty work such as finding a ce andpleting the transaction on his behalf.


    While Shi Tian was thinking, Old Man Chao was anxiously waiting for a response from him.


    ''I already lowered the price to only earn 20 low-tier Source Crystals. If Sir still refuses then I''m truly making a loss here.'' Old Man Chao thought to himself, afraid that Shi Tian was going to sh the price further.


    Had he known Shi Tian was such an expert in bargaining, then he would have been honest from the start and exined why there was a vacant apartment room avable for rent.


    Now it was just great.


    Because of his dishonesty being exposed, Shi Tian now had the advantage in this bargaining and he could only grit his teeth and ept it, even if it meant earning the bare minimum broker''s price.


    ''Damn it, the information is way too incorrect. What ignorant person? This Sir clearly knows the price value and the way a broker works.'' Old Man Chao cursed inwardly, feeling bitter at his failed attempt to deceive him.


    Meanwhile, Shi Tian was silentlyplimenting himself for broadening his knowledge during the waiting time in room B-3.


    There were lots of files contained within the room, and through there, the price value of housing within Gearits City had been listed as well, including the years of the price fluctuating in the past and current time now.


    Thus, Shi Tian knew Old Man Chao was trying to deceive him from the get-go, but decided to act ignorant to swindle him instead.


    Who told him to be dishonest from the start?


    It was only right that Shi Tian would do the same and give him the short end of the stick.


    "Sigh, given that you''re quite old already and had to walk around to find an apartment room for me, 1 mid-tier Source Crystal and 25 low-tier Source Crystals it is." Shi Tian said with much reluctance, but inwardly, he wasughing heartily.


    Such a price was considered amazing already for a foreigner like him, and as for the danger that posed from the apartmentplex, Shi Tian simply needed to make sure to not get on the bad side of the Crimson Mage.

 Chapter 58 Zayn Avenue

    <h4>Chapter 58 Zayn Avenue</h4>


    After shing the price by arge margin and making Old Man Chao look as if he was bleeding internally, they agreed to meet up near the vicinity of the stall where they first met.


    Shi Tian was quite pleased with himself regarding the bargaining price he obtained. After all, the Crimson Mage might have killed the tenant on impulse, but at the very least, it had only urred once and not frequently.


    Thus, the possibility of the tenant offending her was pretty high, and the action of this benefited Shi Tian greatly.


    Thanks to this particr action, the apartment room remained vacant and allowed him the opportunity to rent it.


    Sometimeter, Shi Tian arrived at the meet-up ce and patiently waited for Old Man Chao to reveal himself. He was sure Old Man Chao was already on the scene, but purposely concealed himself, most likely as a way to snap back at him for the price shing.


    ''Too bad for him, patience is my strong forte. I can do this all day.'' Shi Tian sneered inwardly, taking out his Cellos device to browse for the current news.


    Since Old Man Chao wanted to y the waiting game, then Shi Tian wasn''t going to be an idiot either to simply stand still and not do anything. He might as well use this time to educate himself further and catch back on what he had missed during his slumbering days.


    And sure enough, high above a rooftop, Old Man Chao was twitching his brows in disbelief.


    He was kneeling on one knee and had his eyes locked on Shi Tian the moment he appeared within the vicinity.


    Originally, he wanted to make him wait and cause him to believe he had decided to renege on the deal due to the price cut, but who would have thought about this oue.


    Shi Tian was just leaning by the wall, and not an ounce of impatience could be seen in his eyes or actions.


    ''I refuse to believe you aren''t frustrated right now and are simply putting up an act.'' Old Man Chao thought to himself, deciding to remain hidden.


    s, 30 minutes had gone by, and Shi Tian was still in his original position, scrolling through his Cellos device.


    Meanwhile, Old Man Chao kept ncing at his own Cellos device, thinking that Shi Tian might call him soon regarding when he would show up, only to no avail.


    With that thought process in mind, Old Man Chao decided to camp by the rooftop for a bit longer.


    Soon, an hour had gone by, and Old Man Chao was truly defeated.


    "What the heck am I even doing?" Old Man Chao asked himself, wondering how he managed to lose all his reasoning and do such a stupid thing. He had effectively wasted an hour and 30 minutes for absolutely nothing.


    Time was money, and by wasting it, Old Man Chao was practically emptying his own wallet.


    Unable to endure this dumb waiting game further, Old Man Chao hopped down from the rooftop andnded smoothly on the ground. Afterward, he pretended to look apologetic as he waved his hands toward Shi Tian.


    "Apologies Sir, I was caught up in something, resulting in me being extremelyte." Old Man Chao smiled apologetically.


    "Oh?"


    Shi Tian merely gave a soft response and stored his Cellos device. He was not a bit interested in why he waste.


    It would have been better if Shi Tian didn''t give any response at all because Old Man Chao felt as if multiple bullets had pierced through his heart.


    ''He''s an irregr customer. I''m never doing this waiting crap again.'' Old Man Chao noted to himself and screamed internally. However, on the surface, he kept a bright smile on his face, acting as if everything was under control.


    "You must have waited long, but I have informed the Crimson Mage already regarding your intention. The contract has already been written, so all you need to do is go to the apartment room and inspect it for yourself." Old Man Chao informed.


    Of course, he had already politely informed the Crimson Mage of a new tenant beforehand and that she wouldn''t need to do anything else.


    He was willing to troll and mess with others, but definitely not the Crimson Mage. Even if he had ten lives, Old Man Chao still wouldn''t dare to make the Crimson Mage wait for him.


    "Lead the way," Shi Tian said calmly, not bothered with his exnation whatsoever. To be honest, he was immersed in his own world until Old Man Chao suddenly interrupted him, prompting him to recall why he was waiting here in the first ce.


    "Haha, right this way," Old Man Chao twitched his mouth andughed, pretending to not mind the behavior.


    He turned around and began leading the way, whereas Shi Tian calmly followed behind, not saying much in the process.


    Although he had waited quite a while, Shi Tian had to thank Old Man Chao for giving him an excuse to rest for a moment. After all, he hadn''t really taken a rxing break for a while ever since entering Gearits City.


    Poor little Old Man Chao might have vomited blood in anger and frustration if he had known Shi Tian''s true thoughts. He wanted to take some petty revenge, but instead of revenge, he was granting a luxury moment to Shi Tian.


    Time slowly passed by, and they arrived at Zayn Avenue, a somewhat decent vicinity of the middle ss in Gearits City. It wasn''t dirty like the slum area, but it also wasn''t considered a morous area that the inner zone area enjoyed.


    Though the avenue wasn''t bustling with many people given that it''s more of a livingplex area for people to reside in.


    "Over there, Sir! That is the apartmentplex owned by the Crimson Mage." Old Man Chao paused his footstep and pointed at arge and tall building.


    Shi Tian followed the line of his point and was impressed with the sight of the tall building. ''This Old Man Chao might be a scammer, but his eyes sure are working well to find such a good ce.''

 Chapter 59 Shameless Old Man

    <h4>Chapter 59 Shameless Old Man</h4>


    Shi Tian wasn''t exaggerating his reaction when he saw the apartmentplex that Old Man Chao had found for him.


    "Are you sure the Crimson Mage really owns this apartmentplex?" Shi Tian turned toward Old Man Chao and asked in disbelief.


    As much as he knew this was a fact already, he still couldn''t believe that the military personnel or people behind them would allow her to own such an amazing apartmentplex.


    The apartmentplex itself was built like a fortress, fortified with reinforced concrete walls, st-resistant windows, and state-of-the-art security systems. It was a design meant to withstand the harshest conditions and protect residents from external threats.


    In other words, the apartmentplex''s external surface was like an imprable fortress in its own right. That was putting things nicely, meaning if others had ulterior motives, then one could pinpoint this apartmentplex as a self-sufficient military camp.


    How could anyone that governed arge city like Gearits allow an independent force like this to operate so tantly?


    "Heh, did you really think the Crimson Mage nickname was so ss-like?" Old Man Chao stroked his beard andughed heartily. If the Crimson Mage was just a toothless tiger without any real authority or power, then he wouldn''t have feared her that deeply.


    "Do you see those cameras and high surveince equipment?" Old Man Chao then pointed at another object and asked.


    Shi Tian nodded his head. He could tell those are used for security and to protect the apartmentplex.


    Old Man Chao snickered coldly as he proceeded to exin them, allowing Shi Tian to know just what kind of environment he would be living in.


    Security was of utmost importance in this chaotic world, and the apartmentplex excelled in providing a safe haven.


    High-resolution surveince cameras, motion sensors, and biometric ess control systems are strategically ced throughout the premises to detect and deter any potential threats.


    Additionally, fortified checkpoints and trained security personnel ensure the safety of residents.


    "And these are merely just the basics because the Crimson Mage has even more hidden trump cards up her sleeves. Other than the Crimson Mage herself, no one else can harm you if you are to live in this apartment." Old Man Chao said boastfully.


    Shi Tian knitted his brows, remaining silent at that. Old Man Chao''s words might sound exaggerated, but after witnessing them with his own eyes, Shi Tian doubted it was an exaggeration.


    With such high security in ce, and that this was merely the tip of the surface, then Shi Tian wondered what would truly ur if someone attempted tounch an attack at the apartmentplex.


    "Were there any intruders that had attacked this apartment before?" Shi Tian asked. Since Old Man Chao loved to boast about her ability, then he might as well ask him all the questions he had in mind to clear his doubts.


    And sure enough, Old Man Chao began exining some of the history regarding the apartmentplex.


    "Before the Crimson Mage took over thisplex as her property, this apartment was merely a pathetic useless building. But once she had taken it over, the security had been upgraded tremendously. The rate of it was so fast that even the leading organization party was speechless and utterly helpless against it."


    "Could she have a backer?"


    "Backer? That remains a mystery to this day because the Crimson Mage works alone, but don''t let that fool you. Some idiotic intruders didn''t believe the security upgrade and tried to attack it, only to end up dead. And when the military wanted to step in as well to arrest her for mass murder, they were all sent back defeated."


    "The military stepped in to try to arrest her for murder?" Shi Tian raised an eyebrow in confusion. Murder was extremelymon, so why would the military intervene, especially when they knew about the Crimson Mage''s power?


    "Hmph, wasn''t it because one of the idiotic intruders belonged to a high-position person? Don''t forget, Crimson Mage''s heavenly appearance was hard for people to resist, so some still court death despite knowing the danger." Old Man Chao snorted but made sure to keep his volume at a minimum.


    He then leaned closer to Shi Tain''s ear and whispered, "This was a taboo topic by the way because of the shame the military received and how they were even forced to personally send a few higher-ups to apologize to the Crimson Mage. In addition, they had to send her an enormous amount ofpensation to pacify the matter."


    Suddenly, Shi Tian finally realized why even though the Crimson Mage had killed one of her tenants previously, and yet the room was still vacant. His deduction waspletely off from the start.


    It wasn''t the fact that there are people afraid of dying at the hands of the Crimson Mage, but the fear of irking the military.


    Although everything looked tranquil on the surface, Shi Tian could sense the underlying current that was brewing in smoke.


    The Crimson Mage and the military were like water and oil,pletely ipatible. If possible, the military truly wanted to capture the Crimson Mage, but couldn''t because of her terrifying power. It was a kind of frustration that would only worsen with time, and never better.


    "Heh, now do you realize why I revered the Crimson Mage?" Old Man Chao smirked when he saw Shi Tian''s expression.


    "I understand," Shi Tian nodded his head.


    How could he not understand?


    Such a person was capable of forcing such arge organization to be helpless. This was what they meant by attaining the pinnacle of strength, which could even deter those usually sitting high above the hierarchy.


    "See, since you understand then you should know how blessed you are to gain the chance to rent a room in her apartmentplex. So shouldn''t we go back to the original price tag? Otherwise, it might seem as if you are disrespecting the reputation of the Crimson Mage." Old Man Chao rubbed his hands repeatedly and said covertly.


    ''This shameless old man¡­'' Shi Tian twitched his mouth, wanting to smack him across the face.

 Chapter 60 Apartment Complex

    <h4>Chapter 60 Apartment Complex </h4>


    Shi Tian was wondering why he was so long-winded, but now it was all crystal clear. Everything up to this point was him trying to extort him, except this time, he was using the name of Crimson Mage to his benefit.


    Truly, the older a person gets, the more sinister and shrewd they are in life.


    If he was to refuse him, then this would have given him leverage to use him of being disrespectful to the Crimson Mage. And if that was to get into her ears, then Shi Tian knew his life would definitely be anything but easy.


    ''Hehe, I already exined her ruthless behavior and how unruly she is. Let''s see if you still dare to sh my price like that.'' Old Man Chao sneered inwardly, but on the surface, he kept a smiling expression on his face.


    Old Man Chao thought he had cornered Shi Tian sessfully, hence he was smiling from head to toe. s, there was something that one should never do, and that was celebrating too early.


    "Hmm, you''re right, Old Man Chao. I don''t mind paying back the original price tag if the Crimson Mage was to appear here. And at the same time, I wouldn''t mind disclosing how much you are stealing from her back. Now I''m sure the Crimson Mage would love to have a talk with you when that happens." Shi Tian shed a gentle smile and said calmly.


    "..."


    Stunned- Old Man Chao seemed to have been hit with a stun grenade or some sort as he was utterly speechless at that response.


    "What''s the matter, Old Man Chao? I thought you revered the Crimson Mage, so why don''t we take this chance to meet with her? As her future tenant, I need to pay her adequate respect and greetings." Shi Tian said innocently.


    "Ahem, the Crimson Mage is a busy person, and she''s not someone that we lower-being could see just because we want to see. Let''s just head to your apartment room for inspection and then you can proceed with the payment we made previously." Old Man Chao quickly retreated in trying to get more money out of his pocket.


    Who was he kidding?


    Meet with the Crimson Mage and tell her his broker''s price was possibly even more than hers, and that was using her name as leverage too?


    There are faster ways to court death than that.


    "I see, then please lead the way." Shi Tian said calmly, showing an expressionless face.


    He had already won this war of attrition and Old Man Chao finally admitted defeat. Just that alone was enough to satisfy him and there wasn''t a need to sneer at him any further.


    After all, it was still the truth that without Old Man Chao, he wouldn''t be able to get his hands on a great apartment room.


    As for the military''s irk or resentment, Shi Tian could give two fucks about them.


    Sometimeter, the two of them entered the main lobby of the apartment and were quickly stopped by a security guard. The security guard was wearing a normal uniform and doesn''t seem to be anyone special, but Old Man Chao was being extremely respectful.


    "Hello, I''m here to guide the new tenant for the vacant room on the fourth floor." Old Man Chao said politely and retrieved a few documents to hand over to the security guard.


    In this apartmentplex, there were a total of five floors, with each floor consisting of 10 rooms. The main lobby to the fourth floor was for tenants'' usage, and the fifth floor was reservedpletely for the Crimson Mage.


    Without authority, no one was allowed to ess the fifth floor, including the security guards.


    Despite the apartment being quite smallpared to others, none dared to underestimate it given the reputation and action it had done in the past.


    A few minutester, the security guard nodded his head and returned the document back to Old Man Chao.


    "I have confirmed it, and you are authorized to ess the fourth floor. But keep in mind that you are not allowed to snoop around another room other than the one you are assigned." The security guard warned.


    "Of course, I understand the rules set by the Crimson Mage." Old Man Chao smiled and calmly guided Shi Tian toward an elevator. The elevator had a biometric scan and required the person to scan their pupils before it could activate.


    Old Man Chao leaned forward and had his pupil scanned and a few secondster, the elevator door opened.


    "You will have your pupil registered once youplete the transaction. Remember, you must give a down payment for 3 months first." Old Man Chao said as they entered the elevator.


    And to Shi Tian''s surprise, the elevator didn''t have any buttons to press. Instead, there was a mechanical voice that said they were going up to the fourth floor automatically.


    ''What an advanced technology. No wonder why Gearits City is still able to fend for itself.'' Shi Tian thought to himself. It wasn''t just the fact that the elevator could operate by itself, but the fact that he sensed there was something special within the elevator''s interior- the same feeling he had when Isaac Aaronax activated the formation.


    Although a bit different, Shi Tian could subtly deduce the formation had been iid on the elevator itself, most likely another defensive measure set by the Crimson Mage.


    Unfortunately, Shi Tian couldn''t deduce any further considering the elevator''s speed was extremely fast. Not even 5 secondster, they had already arrived at the fourth floor.


    "Your room is 404, and I have the key here." Old Man Chao walked toward a doorbeled 404 and opened it.


    And the moment Shi Tian entered the room, it was as if he had entered a new area. He could feel his body getting stronger and a wave of stamina gushing into him.


    "Don''t be surprised. This is just something the Crimson Mage herself set." Old Man Chao chuckled softly. He had been to other rooms before, so he knew about the effect of the room. If it was possible, then he would have wanted a room for himself as well.


    ''Sigh, why did the Crimson Mage only want weak people?'' Old Man Chao wondered inwardly.

 Chapter 61 Housing Obtained

    <h4>Chapter 61 Housing Obtained </h4>


    Shi Tian never knew the reason why there was a vacant room avable for so long and had only been making educated guesses. Not to mention, he preferred to keep things to himself, even when there were doubts in his mind unless he had no other choice.


    After all, his trust in people had been pathetically low, recounting his past experience with them.


    Even now, Shi Tian still had some reserve for Isaac Aaronax despite calling him Master. That was just how difficult it was for him to ce his trust in others.


    "So what do you think of this room? It has every necessity a person could ever wish for, and at quite a cheap price too." Old Man Chao spread his arms and praised the room.


    Although it seemed like an exaggeration, Shi Tian had to agree with Old Man Chao. There was even an air purifier equipped in each corner of the room, providing the best air quality.


    "Yep, this is a good ce." Shi Tian nodded his head and gave his approval.


    "Fantastic, now let''s head back downstairs and finish up the process. Also, a kind reminder; never act haughty or arrogant when you''re within the vicinity of this apartmentplex. The Crimson Mage has eyes everywhere and you are constantly being watched." Old Man Chao said, rubbing his hands together as if he was doing something sinister.


    Sometimeter, the two of them exited the room and took the elevator down to finish up the remaining process. And during this process, Shi Tian coughed up his final ie, paying the down payment which was a requirement to start living here.


    ''Sigh, now I''m truly penniless.'' Shi Tian made a quick calction in his mind and deduced that he would be starving after a week or so. His money was sponsored by Ynda and Benmos, so now the true challenge was starting to begin.


    If he still can''t find a job or something that could earn him money, then his current status would soon be brought back down to the slum area. As for the thought of attempting to not pay the Crimson Mage, that was thrown out of the window.


    "Alright, here''s your room key and lean close to this machine so that we can register your pupil for a scan." The security guard confirmed the payment and instructed.


    Shi Tian followed the instruction and walked toward the machine, leaning close to it with his eyes. The machine made a few beeping sounds as some green UV lights scanned through the pupil of his eyes.


    There was some difort when the green UV light scanned through his pupils, but it was just for those slight seconds.


    He blinked his eyes a few times once the security guard said it waspleted.


    "Okay, the scanning is done, and here''s your exclusive key that''s attached to you. The key that Old Man Chao used is merely a one-time usage and a guest key whereas this one is the master key. Of course, other than the Crimson Mage herself, no one else could enter your room aside from you." The security guard then informed, letting Shi Tian know that only two people are authorized to ess his room.


    "Thank you for your help," Shi Tian smiled briefly and gave his thanks. Considering the security guard was going to be the one monitoring the apartmentplex on behalf of the Crimson Mage, building a decent rtionship with him wasn''t a bad idea.


    A few minutester, Shi Tian and Old Man Chao bid farewell to the security guard.


    "Heh, now shouldn''t it be time for you to pay for my service," Old Man Chao quickly said the moment they were outside, his expression hinting at extreme greed.


    "Rx, I won''t renege on your payment." Shi Tian rolled his eyes, retrieved the said amount of Source Crystals, and gave it to him. He had already shed the price by quite a margin, so there wasn''t a point for him to stall the payment.


    Not to mention, Old Man Chao indeed did a fantastic job in finding him a great ce to reside in. Of course, the danger was still usible considering the shaky rtionship the Crimson Mage had with the military, but that was something he didn''t need to care for now.


    To others, he was just a small little fry or ant. So long as he made sure of his conduct and did not offend others, he was going to be fine.


    "Although this payment was still small, it''s doable." Old Man Chao counted the Source Crystal in joy.


    With that said and done, Old Man Chao was ready to leave the vicinity. His job as the broker waspleted the moment he received the payment and his client was pleased with the result.


    "Wait a minute, Old Man Chao." Shi Tian halted him when he saw he was ready to leave.


    "Do you know a fast method to earn money?" He then asked.


    Normally, he would have kept it to himself, but time and situation were against him this time. He needed to search for a way to gain money to sustain his living. Not to mention, it wasn''t like he could continuously go ahead and kill people for their loot.


    "A fast method?" Old Man Chao raised an eyebrow, turning around and looking at Shi Tian confusingly.


    "There''s only one fast method to earn in Gearits City, but it is also the most dangerous upation. And that is to register as a mercenary andplete the mission or eradication of nearby mutated monsters that roamed outside Gearits City." Old Man Chao proceeded to say as if it wasmon sense.


    After that, Old Man Chao left the vicinity without waiting for Shi Tian''s response.


    Who knows what he was up to this time?


    And the truth was, he was afraid Shi Tian might scam him a bit more.


    ''Am I really that scary? All I did was sh the price and nothing much.'' Shi Tian scratched his head when he saw Old Man Chao fleeing the scene as if he was some cold-blooded killer.

 Chapter 62 Resting

    <h4>Chapter 62 Resting</h4>


    Shi Tian wanted to enquire a bit more from Old Man Chao, but never did he expect his question had frightened the crap out of him, causing him to flee like there was no tomorrow.


    "Sigh, seems like I have to do my own research." Shi Tianmented.


    At the end of the day, only he could rely on himself and not others.


    Shaking his head, Shi Tian headed back to the main lobby and entered the elevator. As for the security guard, he was already out patrolling.


    Sometimeter, Shi Tian retrieved a metallic key that was imprinted with his specification and unlocked the door to enter room 404. Taking a few nces at the interior, Shi Tian breathed a sigh of relief.


    After roaming in the wilderness and going through near-death situations, it was indeed rxing to know he could finally have a safe habitat to rest in.


    The air purifier in the living room gives off a sense of freshness, though, he merely believed it was just his mentality working. For some reason, he had never been affected by the air quality within the environment, especially when he was in the wilderness where pollution was at the extreme.


    ''Ugh, my head hurts,'' Shi Tian thought to himself, walking toward the bed and copsing on top of it. Today had truly been a hectic day for him, and it was only now did he finally get a chance to rest properly.


    His physical body waspletely fine after some recovery, but his mentality was taxing on him.


    Without realizing it, Shi Tian''s eyes gradually closed as he fell into a deep slumber. Maybe it was because of the fact that he knew he was safe here which caused his vignce to lower, allowing his body to finally take the proper rest he needed.


    Being in a deep slumber, Shi Tian found himself dreaming and reminiscing about the past. A past that he knew he would never be able to enjoy or experience again.


    ¨C


    By the time Shi Tian woke up, the sky outside the window was quite dark already.


    ''Why is my face a bit wet?'' Shi Tian wondered silently, cing his hand on his face, only to realize it was droplets of tears.


    "Hah, must have been the dream I was having¡­" He smiled bitterly, walking toward the bathroom to wash his face. With the water sshing on his face, Shi Tian felt refreshed as he stared at the mirror, looking at the reflection.


    A moment of silence urred when Shi Tian finally had the chance to look at his current appearance. Nothing much had changed on the surface, but the mentality and experience he had gone through had changed immensely.


    The most concerning matter was the fact that he still looked like a youth despite not being in this current era. His body hadn''t undergone any changes, especially when his metabolism was quite messed up. It was as if he was merely asleep for a few days and not 100-something-plus years.


    "I feel indifferent when killing or when seeing a bloody scene. And I don''t even have much emotion left. Even being angry doesn''t affect my thinking." Shi Tian mumbled, touching the mirror as if he was searching for an answer.


    "Sigh, forget it." Shi Tian decided to leave the matter aside again. Every time he attempted to figure things out regarding what happened to his body and how he managed to remain the same throughout these years, his head would start getting a headache.


    Instead of causing himself to have a headache, it was better to be more practical and worry about surviving now.


    Wiping his face with a clean towel, Shi Tian went to the living room and checked his inventory. There was barely any Source Crystal left in his pocket and only a handful of grenades. As for the cartridges for his pistol, only 5 were left, and not much else.


    Shi Tian took a deep breath and exhaled softly, feeling a heavy burden was still ced upon him. Everything he had right now was temporary, and without a way to earn an ie, he couldn''t maintain such status.


    Chaotic world or not, money was still an important factor. Without money, one can''t even enjoy something simple as proper air.


    Based on his observation, the slum area''s air quality was around the 80s whereas his current area was around the 50s. It goes to show that even Gearits City was not able topletely blockade the pollution from the wilderness.


    ''Let''s check up on the current news and see what I can find.'' Shi Tian thought to himself, browsing through the Cellos device.


    While browsing, he learned that the military had uncovered a new region, but was unable to explore much due to the high pollution and monsters that resided in the region. It was estimated that each of the monsters on the outer region were around Grade E whereas the further one ventures in, the more they will discover Grade D and above monsters.


    The grading of monsters ranked from the lowest F to the highest A, with special cases being listed as Grade S. Encountering a Grade S monster was essentially walking through the door of hell because no one could survive against them.


    ''Boring,'' Shi Tian was uninterested in the military actively looking for people to conduct surveince first as the vanguard.


    The military was just a bunch of greedy people, so why would they be willing to offer others a chance to explore the new region if they could have gotten the resources themselves?


    The simple answer would be that they are uncertain of the possibilities and wished for others to be a scapegoat first.


    And just when Shi Tian was about to browse through another topic, he read thest sentence from the article.


    The New Region is said to be an experiment site from the times of the Great Disaster!


    ''An experiment site?'' Shi Tian nearly dropped his Cellos device in astonishment.

 Chapter 63 Determination

    <h4>Chapter 63 Determination</h4>


    The mention of the New Region being an experiment site from the times of the Great Disaster intrigued Shi Tian. It sparked his curiosity and made him wonder what kind of experiments had taken ce there and what secrets the region held.


    As he delved deeper into the article and other rted sources, he learned that the Great Disaster was a catastrophic event that urred decades ago, resulting in the copse of civilization as it was known. The world was ravaged by natural disasters, widespread destruction, and the emergence of mutated creatures and supernatural phenomena.


    During that time, various factions and organizations attempted to find ways tobat the disaster and its consequences.


    They conducted experiments and research in search of solutions, but most of their efforts proved fruitless. As a result, the world fell into chaos, and survivors had to adapt to the harsh realities of the new era.


    The revtion that the New Region was connected to the Great Disaster piqued Shi Tian''s interest even more. He realized that exploring this area could potentially hold the key to understanding the past and perhaps finding clues about his own circumstances.


    After all, he might have experienced a bit of the circumstance during the times of the Great Disaster, but he was always locked at a shelter center, resulting in him not having much information.


    "It seems like I have to go to this New Region to investigate." Shi Tian mumbled, clenching his fist tightly.


    With a newfound determination, Shi Tian made up his mind to venture into the New Region. He knew the risks involved, especially with the presence of dangerous monsters, but the opportunity to uncover the mysteries of the Great Disaster was too enticing to pass up, especially when it could help uncover his doubts.


    However, before embarking on this journey, Shi Tian needed to prepare himself adequately.


    He made a mental checklist of the essential items he would require: weapons, ammunition, protective gear, and supplies. It was crucial to be well-equipped for the dangers that awaited him.


    Unfortunately, most of the supplies required money and currently, he was on the verge of being a broke man.


    ''The vanguard that the military is recruiting would end in around a month, so I still have time to prepare myself.'' Shi Tian eximed inwardly, reading more details regarding the military''s recruitment.


    Since it was a new region, with a high probability of many resources waiting to be discovered, there was definitely going to be a lot of preparation made.


    Not to mention, the people who dared to sign up to be the vanguard aren''t going to be some country bumpkin that just rushed in without a n.


    As much as Shi Tian wished people could be idiots like Benmos, the truth was actually far from it.


    These people who survived in this chaotic world definitely have the ability or some trump card up their sleeves to live for so long.


    And Shi Tian dared not underestimate any of them, especially when there are people that could manipte Magicule to their advantage.


    When Shi Tian wanted to n for more, his stomach started growling, prompting him to realize that he had not eaten for quite a while.


    Maybe it was because his mind was no longer in battle mode that it reminded him to eat. After all, he hadn''t felt any hunger when he was training and strengthening himself nor when he was waiting for Old Man Chao to arrive at the meet-up location.


    Rubbing his stomach softly, Shi Tian wondered what kind of cuisine was avable in the current era. The food he had eaten so far was the disgusting flesh of Armored Rat, and without an ounce of seasonings too.


    If he wasn''t in such a chaotic environment, then he would have yelled at someone regarding where''s the sauce, especiallymb sauce in particr.


    His stomach continued to growl, being extremely persistent about starving and sending him signals to eat something.


    "Ugh, it seems like my money is going to dwindle further to feed this stomach of mine." Shi Tian grumbled in annoyance. He thought he had stopped being human altogether due to hisck of emotion, but it seemed like he was wrong about it.


    ''Wait a minute, isn''t beast hungry being too? Thew of nature is really true.'' Shi Tian came to himself when he forgot that even monsters starve. After snapping out of his stupidity, Shi Tian walked toward the refrigerator, praying that there was some food left.


    Since the previous tenant was killed by the Crimson Mage for some reason, and the furniture here doesn''t seem to be touched, Shi Tian thought maybe there is some leftover food as well.


    "Aha, there is still some food-"


    When Shi Tian opened the refrigerator, he was indeed excited to see food stored in it, but upon closer inspection, he realized that all of them have long been spoiled.


    ''What the heck is this crap?'' Shi Tian was confused, taking out one of the food tes. By the time his hand touched the food te, everything became clear to him.


    The food te wasn''t even cold, meaning the refrigerator might have malfunctioned.


    Only that way could exin why all the food became spoiled despite being supposedly stored in a cold environment meant to preserve the food. The freezing was to cool down the bacteria to stop the food from being spoiled, but since the freezing was gone, it was only natural that all the food be waste.


    "Sigh, even the fruits are rotten now." Shi Tian shook his head and reluctantly took all the food out and dumped it into the trash.


    Meanwhile, his stomach started to growl louder, prompting Shi Tian to have the urge to punch his own stomach.


    Wasn''t he already trying to find food?


    Why couldn''t his stomach be understanding?


    "Just quiet down my stomach. I need to figure out why the refrigerator malfunctioned first." Shi Tian patted his stomach and unplugged the refrigerator, feeling annoyed by the situation.


    Just now he was having a grand determination, yet now he was stuck trying to fix a refrigerator.


    Some grand determination eh.

 Chapter 64 Short Circuit

    <h4>Chapter 64 Short Circuit</h4>


    A few minutes had gone by, and Shi Tian was utterly speechless to realize the refrigerator had been short-circuited.


    He had attempted to plug the refrigerator into another electric wall outlet, but it still didn''t work.


    After that, he tried to charge his Cellos device with the same wall outlet and it worked perfectly fine. With that said, it meant the short circuit came from the refrigerator itself and not the electric wall outlet.


    "Serve him right to be killed by the Crimson Mage. Even his home appliances are full of faulty stuff. How terrible must his luck be?" Shi Tian clicked his tongue andmented.


    Even though he was using all the home appliances from the previous tenant, Shi Tian waspletely heartless and felt no empathy for his fate.


    His death wasn''t caused or rted to him, so why should he suffer the consequence that he failed to buy a proper refrigerator?


    "There goes my n in trying to cook some food from the previous tenant. Now I have to go outside and get it myself." Shi Tian sighed and pushed the refrigerator back to its original ce.


    To fix it, he would need some tools and possibly a new electronic board, so even if he knew how to troubleshoot, he doesn''t have the material at the moment.


    Not to mention, his satiety was lowering by the minute, especially with the time he wasted trying to troubleshoot.


    It was a good thing that he still had plenty of Eons left. Source Crystal was a precious item and most wealthy people value Source Crystal over Eons.


    However, for the poor or business owners, they would dly ept Eons as payment. After all, they are still currencies that have value.


    Tidying up himself properly, Shi Tian left the apartmentplex and headed to an area that was bustling with people, looking for a decent restaurant or some food stall.


    As he strolled around the street, Shi Tian saw a lot of food stalls, but the food wasn''t something he had seen before.


    Maybe it was because the world had basically gone to crap and there are no more farmers that would raise cows for meat, but the food staple was a totally different thing.


    What made it worse was the fact that Shi Tian saw some Armored Rats being served as a delicacy, and people actually bought them to eat it.


    It made him shiver at the sight of others eating the Armored Rat happily because it reminded him of his experience. The flesh was tough and extremely gamey- to the point that he wanted to vomit it right out but had no choice but to consume it.


    And because of his unnatural response, Shi Tian''s action caused some of the people in the street to look at him as if he was crazy.


    "What is wrong with him?"


    "Who knows? Maybe he''s a beggar and wanted some Armored Rat''s meat?"


    "Beggar? Look at his right arm first before calling him a beggar. Those mechanical parts look fancy and should have cost more than what you earn in 3 months."


    "Meh, then he probably went crazy aftering back from the wilderness. It''s not like those aren''t umon."


    The people soon ignored Shi Tian''s presence and went back to their own business, not bothered by Shi Tian''s unsightly action.


    And of course, Shi Tian could hear them very clearly but didn''t bother to correct himself or exin his action. There wasn''t a point, and all he wanted to do right now was escape from that particr food stall.


    Unknowingly, Shi Tian had wandered off to somece quiet, away from the bustling crowd of people.


    By the time he realized he had trailed off from the crowd, he attempted to turn around and leave, only to hear a shouting from afar.


    ''Another dumb cliche plot?'' Shi Tian quickly thought to himself.


    When he was exploring a mechanical store at a shopping mall, he realized a scheme from a certain arrogant young miss, and when he went to Optic Mech, he saw an arrogant prick demanding to see Isaac Aaronax.


    And now that he was trying to find some food to buy, he had somehow wandered off the crowd and heard some shouting.


    Just how many of these scenarios was he going to encounter?


    From the shouting voice, Shi Tian could distinctively tell it was a female.


    "Aiyah, but what does the voice being a female or male have to do with me?" Shi Tian chuckled softly and shrugged his shoulders.


    He turned around and walked the opposite way of where the scream originated from.


    He wasn''t some hero nor does he have the time to rescue every supposed damsel in distress. This kind of role could be reserved for the dumb men that wished to be a protagonist or some white knight.


    His stomach was constantly growling, so who would help feed him?


    No one!


    Absolutely not a single person woulde forward and offer him some free food. And even if there was, Shi Tian would still not eat it because who knows if the person that offered him such free food was nefarious?


    "I should just go find a restaurant and have some proper and decent-looking food instead of looking at a food stall." Shi Tian mumbled, rubbing his stomach wondering which restaurant was good to eat.


    Just when Shi Tian walked a few steps forward, he heard a powerful st emitting from behind.


    "..."


    For some reason, Shi Tian paused his footsteps suddenly because he felt a bad premonition iing.


    "Don''t tell me that female is going to crash down right in front of me? If so, then I better back away so as not to get collided." Shi Tian then retreated a few steps.


    And sure enough, a few secondster, he saw a flying shadow figure in the sky that was crashing down real fast.


    BOOM!


    The flying shadow figure crashed just a few meters ahead of Shi Tian, creating a somewhatrge crater.


    Seeing therge crater and the crash impact, there was only one thought in his mind.


    ''She''s dead, right?''

 Chapter 65 I’ll Pay You

    <h4>Chapter 65 I¡¯ll Pay You </h4>


    Shi Tian wasn''t being heartless when he thought the woman was dead.


    After all, no normal person could possibly survive such an impact, especially when she practically came flying down from the sky.


    s, that was only applicable to normal people and he had forgotten the fact that the environment he lived in had changed since the Great Disaster 1.0 incident.


    "Ugh, those bastards¡­" The woman suddenly cursed and attempted to crawl out of the crater, astonishing Shi Tian greatly.


    Seeing a hand popping out from the crater, Shi Tian retreated a few more steps.


    ''What the heck? She''s still alive?'' Shi Tian eximed inwardly. He then turned his head left and right repeatedly, and when he saw there were still no people around, his mouth curled upward.


    Without hesitation, Shi Tian fixed his clothes that were ruined by the st impact and walked forward, going around the crater.


    He was going to act as if nothing had happened.


    There aren''t any witnesses either, so before the people that dealt such a heavy blow to the female, he was going to escape the scene. That way, he wouldn''t be implicated or be dragged into this muddy water.


    ''I''m so clever~'' Shi Tian thought to himself, believing he had escaped a red g.


    "Wait, please help me."


    While walking away, Shi Tian heard the woman''s voice calling out for help. However, he pretended to be deaf and refused to offer any help.


    Woman, I can''t even help myself, so how could I afford to help you?


    The woman grunted in pain when she realized he was walking away faster.


    Her mouth was covered in blood, but even then, she gnashed her teeth in anger and shouted, "I''ll pay you!"


    Instantly, Shi Tian''s movement halted as his ears perked up.


    "How much?" He asked without turning back.


    "2 mid-tier Source Crystals."


    "Tsk, not enough." Shi Tian shook his head and became uninterested.


    2 mid-tier Source Crystals might sound like a lot, but who knows what kind of trouble he would be in for a measly 2 mid-tier Source Crystals?


    The people that are after her might be even more fearsome, and he had no n of being a target for such a low amount.


    Meanwhile, the woman that was still under the crater was extremely furious at Shi Tian.


    "If you save me, then when youe to Chronoworth City, you would receive unimaginable benefits." The woman shouted another offer.


    ''Chronoworth City?'' Shi Tian raised an eyebrow. He seemed to have read about this city a while back when he was in the B-3 room training facility.


    It should be a city that is about 1200 kilometers from here.


    "How the hell did someone from Chronoworth City arrive at Gearits City?" Shi Tian asked in a grave tone.


    Normally, 1200 kilometers distance isn''t much to be frantic about, but that was if one doesn''t count the wilderness chaos and the monsters roaming there.


    If the world was still perfectly fine and had airports, then that kind of distance was nothing.


    However, the world was nowplete trash, filled with pollution clouding the sky, meaning there are no airports left. And even if there were airports, no one could operate a ne with a terrible field of vision in the sky.


    "Bring me somewhere safe first and I''ll exin. Quickly, otherwise, when those people catch up, we won''t be able to escape." The woman tried to sound as calm and polite as possible.


    It was clear that she was beyond irritated at Shi Tian''s behavior, but there wasn''t anything she could do. She was injured heavily and required his assistance to escape here.


    "Forget it, I don''t like the risk involved. You''re on your own." Shi Tian shook his head and decided it was best to not be involved.


    An unknown person from Chronoworth City, added to the fact that she was being chased or targeted, just these two facts were enough to deter him.


    As Shi Tian continued to walk away, he suddenly felt somethinging from behind.


    Without bothering to think, Shi Tian attempted to dodge toward the right side, but whatever the object was thrown at him, seemed to have followed and attached to his shoulder.


    He tried to shake it off but to no avail.


    His eyes quickly turned cold, and killing intent rose.


    "What did you just throw at me?" Shi Tian turned around and asked in a cold tone.


    "Hmph, it''s nothing much. Just an object that those people are after me for, and if you don''t help me, then they would be able to trace you very soon. Only I can temporarily conceal the object''s aura and prevent them from catching us." The woman sneered coldly.


    Since the sweet method doesn''t work, then she might as well use the brute force method. She was going to die sooner orter if she didn''t receive help, and since Shi Tian was so heartless, she wouldn''t mind dragging him down with her.


    Meanwhile, Shi Tian clenched his fist as he cursed himself.


    If it was possible to retract time, then he was definitely going to choose to kill this woman instantly to avoid such problems.


    "Do you believe that I will kill you right here and tell them that I was under someone''s order as well?" Shi Tian nced at the woman and said.


    "Do it then. I''m dead either way if you refuse to help me. But I''ll be happy to see you soon in the underworld." The woman tried her best to smirk before coughing up a mouthful of blood.


    Seeing her up close now, Shi Tian saw most of her clothes were disheveled, her flesh beingpletely revealed and injuries that were filled with blood, a scene that he was familiar with.


    Ynda also had the same type of injuries upon her death, especially those cut wounds.


    ''How could there be so many coincidences?'' Shi Tian was secretly rmed.


    While Shi Tian was deep in thought, the woman felt his fiery gaze all over her body.


    "Are you going to keep staring at my body and not do anything?" She hissed coldly, her teeth biting at her lips in frustration.

 Chapter 66 White Syndicate

    <h4>Chapter 66 White Syndicate </h4>


    The woman believed Shi Tian was eyeing her body, given that she was quite the beauty herself.


    And being so ferociously eyed by a man, especially if he was a stranger, would undoubtedly make ady angry.


    "Rx yourself. Beauty or whatnot, they''re just a bunch of flesh covering the skeleton." Shi Tian rolled his eyes and said calmly.


    It was true that he was staring at her, but it wasn''t for any lewd thoughts. He was merely trying to inspect her injuries and find some simrities.


    "Hmph, then what is your choice? Kill me here and test your luck to get away? Or save me now so we both can have a chance of survival?" The woman promptly ignored that she was practically exposed at the moment because of her clothes being disheveled and torn apart.


    ''To think I wouldmit such an amateur mistake due to greed.'' Shi Tian could only resign to his fate and save her temporarily.


    Time was running out and who knows if the people chasing after her would arrive at any moment.


    Rescue first and questionter.


    Either way, Shi Tian wouldn''t need to fear her at the moment since she was heavily injured.


    And he was quite powerful himself too- or at least that was what he thought.


    "Hold tightly," Shi Tian jumped down the crater and held her up.


    "If you attempt to move right now, then we''re both going to die because of your wiggling and stalling." He then warned her when she attempted to wiggle a bit, most likely to avoid her boob from touching his chest.


    "Tsk, then watch where your right hand is touching." The woman hissed but dared not make a fuss.


    Even if Shi Tian''s right hand was dangerously close to her boob or touched it asionally, she could only remain still. She was currently immobile, and could only use her hand, otherwise, she wouldn''t have needed to rely on him.


    Meanwhile, Shi Tian ignored her re and quickly carried her away from the scene.


    He didn''t run back to the bustling crowd but used a different route that doesn''t have many people to avoid attention. The woman in his arm was almost exposed and covered in blood, so if he went back to the crowded street, it would have attracted attention instantly.


    And when that happened, the people after he would know where she had gone, which would result in his rescue as pointless.


    "Where are we heading to?" The woman asked.


    "Just be quiet and stop your curiosity." Shi Tian coldly replied. She was being carried now and didn''t need to worry about being spottedpared to him.


    Being scolded harshly, the woman could only keep quiet and reminded herself to remember this debt.


    Seeing her really follow hismand, a sense of sweetness blossomed in Shi Tian''s mind. He got tricked, so it was only right that he gets some revenge, albeit only a little.


    After running for a few minutes, Shi Tian was pondering where to bring this woman to. The woman was heavily injured, but bringing her to a hospital would definitely attract a lot of unwanted attention. Not to mention, it was usible that the enemies were already waiting there.


    In addition, a hospital would definitely require registration to receive medical care, and with his uncertain identity, that was equivalent to selling himself out.


    And almost as if the woman knew some mind-reading skills, she suddenly said, "Just bring me to a safe ce and I can recuperate slowly."


    "You act as if there are any safe ces out there." Shi Tian said, wanting to just drop her off already.


    Themotion of the st was quite loud, yet he hadn''t heard any movement from the soldiers. Even though he had taken a discreet route, he should still be able to hear soldiers running toward the scenery, but nope, not a single frantic voice could be heard.


    This goes to show that the soldiers couldn''t be bothered about the sting sound unless it urred in the inner zone. The true safe ce is if one is residing in the inner zone because any ce other than that is negligent by the military.


    "Then what now?" The woman then asked. It wasn''t as if he was carrying her and running amok was going to do anything either.


    "How powerful are your enemies and do you know who they are?" Shi Tian asked, increasing his speed.


    "They are from the White Syndicate and their power is mysterious, to be honest."


    "What''s their powerpared to the Crimson Mage then?"


    "Hmm, they probably won''t dare to mess with the Crimson Mage. I have heard of the Crimson Mage''s reputation, and not even the military was willing to cross against her. But why are you asking about her?" The woman asked curiously, clearly confused by the sudden mention of the Crimson Mage.


    Meanwhile, Shi Tian didn''t bother to reply and merely continued to run forward, causing some displeasure to the woman.


    ''Just when have I ever been disrespected like this before?'' The woman grumbled inwardly but didn''t dare to make any movement orments. As much as she hated to admit it, her current circumstance truly didn''t allow her any leverage toward Shi Tian.


    She was like a sitting duck, waiting for Shi Tian to do as he pleased, even if he was being intentionally rude to her.


    Time slowly passed by, and Shi Tian finally arrived back at the apartmentplex after taking multiple detours. He was afraid that the people chasing after them would spot them easily, so he was purposely going in the wrong direction asionally to misdirect them.


    Of course, the enemy might have stopped chasing since he hadn''t felt any presence behind, but it was better to be safe than sorry.


    Carrying the woman tightly on his arm, Shi Tian rushed toward the elevator and scanned his pupil on the sensor, activating it to head toward the 4th floor right away.


    It was only when Shi Tian entered his room did he finally rx his emotion.


    Closing the door behind with his leg, he then threw the woman toward the couch without care for her injuries, treating her as if she was some garbage.


    ''Talk about a n going awry.'' Shi Tian thought to himself. He wanted to get some food to eat, but instead of food, he got a troublesome woman.

 Chapter 67 Elastic Bandage

    <h4>Chapter 67 stic Bandage</h4>


    Being thrown at the couch in such a rough manner, the injuries on her became more severe.


    "Are you trying to kill me?" The woman red angrily at Shi Tian.


    "Whoops, my bad. Totally didn''t forget you are such a delicate woman." Shi Tian shrugged his shoulders, feigning innocence.


    "Tsk, I''ll remember this." The woman gnashed her teeth and tried her best to suppress the bleeding area.


    "Sure you will," Shi Tian yawned and stretched his body for a moment. He then walked around the house, searching for a first aid medical kit.


    Luckily, the previous tenant wasn''t as useless as Shi Tian thought. There were some first-aid medical kits stored in a cab for use.


    Taking out the first aid medical kit, Shi Tian went back to the living room and watched as the woman struggled to suppress the bleeding.


    "Heh, did you think just by putting your hand over the wound it would magically stop the bleeding?" Shi Tian taunted.


    "I wouldn''t have started bleeding again if you hadn''t thrown me at the couch so roughly."


    "Oh, would you have preferred me toy you gently on the couch as if you''re some beautiful princess then?"


    "Scumbag!"


    "Thank you for thepliment." Shi Tian thanked her sincerely, but still walked toward her and nced at the wound that was bleeding.


    The wound wasn''t quite big, but it was still bleeding profusely. For such a big amount of blood loss, Shi Tian was more surprised that the woman still had the energy to grumble and curse him repeatedly.


    If it was others that had received such wounds, then they would have beenying down like a dead dog, not uttering a single sound.


    Thus, to a certain extent, Shi Tian was somewhat impressed by the woman''s endurance to withstand such pain without uttering manyints.


    Of course,ints regarding him don''t count since it was never his fault.


    "Stay still and don''t move around." Shi Tian coldlymanded, taking a few stic bandages which were velcro-type wraps out from the medical kit.


    The velcro-type wraps are self-closing stic bandage wraps for bandaging and supporting injuries to the chest, arms, legs, knees, ankles, etc.


    The ones he had aretex-free and premium stic bandages that are white and tan in color which hold up throughundering for repeated uses. It providedpression to sprains, strains, and injured body parts.


    This kind of bandage wrap was just perfect for the woman''s injuries, and again, Shi Tian thanked the previous tenant for buying such a medical kit.


    Without bothering to say any nonsense, Shi Tian directly grabbed the woman''s arm despite her clear reluctance as he started wrapping the stic bandage around her.


    Soon, the bleeding stopped, but that was just one area. The woman''s injuries were spread almost everywhere in her body, and it was honestly a miracle that she was still alive and kicking.


    "Wait a minute, I can bandage this part myself." The woman quickly said when she saw Shi Tian aiming for her chest area.


    "If you want to do it yourself, then go ahead. However, I won''t be bothered to assist you again if you struggle to wrap it properly." Shi Tian warned, extending his hand to give the stic bandage to her.


    He was quite displeased with the woman''s attitude so far.


    The woman was reacting as if he was trying to see her naked body. If he truly had any lust, then he would have pounced on her the moment he entered the room. After all, she was injured and had zero resistance against him.


    Since she refused to ept his kindness, then she could rot by all means. He wasn''t going to be on his knees and beg her to let him help.


    And as if he already expected the response, the woman snatched the stic bandage wrap, clearly wanting to do it herself.


    "Suit yourself then, I''ll beying on my bed." Shi Tian yawned and walked to his own room. Once he was in his room, Shi Tiany on the bed and closed his eyes, pretending to be asleep.


    His hand was holding a pistol under the nket, ready to take it out and shoot the woman right away if she was to attempt to attack him or something.


    Only a fool would go defenseless against a stranger, especially when they are supposedly an ethereal beautiful woman.


    s, even a few minutester, Shi Tian heard no sound of the door in his bedroom opening, prompting him to open his eyes and wondered if he was overthinking much.


    ''Let''s open the webcam and see.'' Shi Tian thought to himself, taking out his Cellos device and connecting it to the surveince camera in the living room. With the camera active, Shi Tian saw the woman had her upper bodypletely naked, trying to wrap herself with the stic bandage, only to fail each time.


    "Cough, I''m a gentleman and I was merely spying on her to see if she was doing something fishy." Shi Tian faked a cough, justifying his current action. He could see her bountiful boobs through the camera transmitted into his Cellos'' screen, but that wasn''t his intention at all.


    Seeing that the woman didn''t have any thoughts of attacking him, Shi Tian closed off the surveince camera. He was not some pervert that would peep at her naked body and merely wanted to confirm she wasn''t trying to harm him.


    After turning off the surveince camera, Shi Tian tried to calm his mind to stop thinking about getting some food. If it wasn''t for this incident, then he would have already gotten some food to eat.


    Just when Shi Tian was cursing at his terrible luck, the door to his room was suddenly knocked upon.


    It doesn''t even take a genius to guess that it was the woman.


    With his hand holding the pistol from behind, Shi Tian cautiously opened the door and asked, "What do you want now?"


    The distance between them was moderate, enough for Shi Tian to react in time if the woman did attempt to attack him suddenly.


    Luckily, it was all his paranoid thinking when the woman seemed to have a shameful look, her left hand clutching tightly to her clothes while looking at Shi Tian.


    "Can you help me bandage my chest?" She then asked, her face flushed beet red, clearly embarrassed.

 Chapter 68 Vanessa

    <h4>Chapter 68 Vanessa</h4>


    Shi Tian held a deadpan expression despite the woman in front of him being extremely coy and barely covering her body up.


    Maybe to some other men, they would definitely find this situation extremely enticing and even be horny, but Shi Tian was able topose himselfpletely.


    Not a hint of lust could be seen in his eyes as he stared at the woman in front of him.


    "W-What is it?" Being stared at made her extremely awkward, especially when he had warned her beforehand that he wouldn''t assist her if she insisted on bandaging herself.


    "You''re quite the shameless woman huh." Shi Tian suddenly said after staying silent for so long.


    Although the context was subtle, with the intelligence of the woman, how could she not understand his meaning,


    He was practically taunting her that he was right all along and at the end of the day, she still needed his assistance to bandage her chest.


    After all, it was hard for her to twist around due to her injuries. The bandaging was merely a temporary treatment to stop the bleeding, but not really an effective treatment to cure her.


    Biting her lips softly, she could only remain silent and wait for Shi Tian to respond properly.


    Seeing her being so quiet and tame now, Shi Tian smirked. "Heh, weren''t you quite the brave woman earlier? Demanding to do it yourself and look at you now. Pleading me for help."


    As Shi Tian taunted further, the woman''s head kept lowering, almost to the point that she was bowing down.


    "Sigh, this is why you should just shut your mouth next time and stop acting tough." Shi Tian shrugged his shoulders and walked past her, heading toward the living room.


    Nevertheless, he couldn''t afford to let this woman bleed to death since he was still marked with an unknown object on his shoulder that was wanted by the enemy.


    All he knew so far was that the enemy was a group called the White Syndicate and nothing else. If he wanted to learn more about them, then he would need this mysterious woman to talk it out.


    As he made his way to the living room, Shi Tian noticed the clean couch of his was now coated in blood, most likely because of her futile attempt to bandage it up which caused more blood to drip on it.


    ''Ugh, had I known she would make such a mess, I would have just stayed and waited.'' Shi Tian twitched his mouth, feeling heartache that the perfectly fine couch was now ruined with a bloody red color.


    "What are you still standing there for? Sit up here and face your back toward me." Shi Tian instructed when he saw her standing still like a dork.


    His instruction was clear and simple. At the same time, he was indicating he didn''t have any intention of seeing her bare chest except for the back given that it was necessary to bandage her.


    Following his instruction, the woman proceeded to sit in front of him and revealed her back. Contrary to what people might think, her back wasn''t smooth or beautiful, but was instead filled with wounds and blood.


    Realizing the injuries were actually more severe than he thought, Shi Tian decided to head toward the bathroom and filled a basin with warm water.


    A few minutester, he arrived back at the living room, and the woman didn''t bother to question his action, merely patiently waiting for him. Maybe it was because she had been taunted or scolded quite a few times by him already that she had learned her lesson.


    Instead of giving him a chance to scold her, she might as well remain quiet like a mute and stay still.


    Seeing how tame and docile she was right now, Shi Tian had the urge tough.


    ''Had you behaved properly from the start, then I wouldn''t have scolded you harshly.'' Shi Tian thought to himself, drying up a small towel after dipping it in the warm water.


    "Let me know when you feel pain," Shi Tian then said, wiping the blood off her back.


    "Ugh," The woman grunted in pain when she felt the warm towel rubbing her back. She tried to hide the pain and bit her lip to suppress it, only to no avail.


    "Just scream if it hurts. No need to put up a strong front when I have already seen you at your worst." Shi Tian said, letting her know that it was pointless to suppress the scream.


    The apartment room was equipped with noise suppression walls anyway, so he didn''t have to worry about rming or alerting his neighbors.


    With that said, the woman indeed stopped suppressing her voice and screamed in pain, though still at quite a minimal volume. It seemed to be clear that she was used to injuries and could still bear an adequate amount of pain level.


    "Oh right, I haven''t even gotten your name yet." Shi Tian suddenly said, hoping to distract her with some conversation. The clear towel in his hand was drenched in blood already and had to be dipped in the basin multiple times to wash off the blood.


    "Just call me Vanessa." She said in a barely audible tone.


    "So your name''s Vanessa huh. Why did the White Syndicate attack you?"


    "You don''t need to know that," Vannesa said coldly.


    Shi Tian nodded his head.


    "You''re right, I guess I really don''t need to know who might take my life at any moment." He calmly said, purposely exerting a bit more force on the towel, causing her to feel more pain.


    "You-"


    Vanessa hissed and was about to turn her body fully around, but stopped when she saw Shi Tian shing ascivious re at her.


    She quickly returned to her original position and made sure to cover her chest.


    "Oh? Weren''t you going to turn around and curse at me again?" Shi Tian asked innocently but was grinning on the surface.


    "Bastard!"


    "Much appreciated for anotherpliment, Vanessa."

 Chapter 69 Cough It Up

    <h4>Chapter 69 Cough It Up</h4>


    A few minutes had gone by since Shi Tian began cleaning the wounds that were on her back. The basin that was originally filled with clear warm water was now colored in deep red.


    And it was during this time that Shi Tian finally paid close attention to her appearance. Her appearance can be described as ethereal with smooth and fair skin. Her charm and attraction heightened with the fact that she had long and fair legs alongside her silky golden hair.


    Unfortunately, all of that beauty was ruined because of their first interaction and Shi Tian honestly didn''t have high opinions of her.


    After finishing wrapping the stic bandage around her chest, Shi Tian sped his hands.


    "Although the first aid treatment is a bit mediocre, you wouldn''t be dying anytime soon." He then said, standing up from the couch. All he did was merely treat the symptom of her injuries temporarily but not the actual cause.


    There were some wounds on her body that not even mere bandaging could help. It wasn''t as if they were in a video game where you can simply drink a little water or do some fake bandaging that could give them a full recovery.


    As Shi Tian was walking to the bathroom to empty out the basin, Vanessa suddenly called out to him, "You haven''t told me what your name is."


    "Just call me Nathan," Shi Tian swiftly replied, using almost the same tone and attitude that she had done previously.


    Given that he was still wary of Vanessa, Shi Tian had no intention of revealing much about him, including his real name.


    Matter of fact, Shi Tian no longer had the n or intention to reveal his actual name to anyone else, whether it was the present or the future. It wouldn''t be an exaggeration to say that the name Shi Tian had ceased to exist in this world.


    Sometimeter, Shi Tian finished cleaning his hand and stored the basin back in its original cab.


    By the time he was back in the living room, Vanessa had already dressed up her clothes, though it was quite clear that she needed a new set of clothes soon.


    "Now that you''re bandaged up and able to move properly, cough it up." Shi Tian said without much emotion, extending his hand.


    He was demanding payment for allowing her to stay in his house temporarily and for the medical fee. It might not be much but it was treatment nheless that helped sustain her pathetic life.


    "..."


    If looks could kill, then the current expression of Vanessa was akin to her shooting a Minigun at Shi Tian''s body. She had just barely recovered a bit, and now he was demanding payment right away.


    How heartless could he be?


    s, now that she was the one in need of help, she could only grit her teeth and retrieved 2 mid-tier Source Crystals.


    "Here, hope you rot with it." She threw the Source Crystals toward him.


    Shi Tian grabbed the Source Crystals before chuckling softly.


    "I''m afraid there''s a little misunderstanding here, Vanessa." He said, storing the 2 mid-tier Source Crystals.


    "The original price was this, but that was for before. Now the price is different. Not only are you using my house as a temporary safe haven, but you also used my medical equipment to heal your injuries. In addition to that, you dragged me into this muddy water. Hence, the price has risen to 10 mid-tier Source Crystals, meaning you still owe me 8 more."


    "You motherfuc-"


    "I know I am one, but I''m afraid I don''t have a daughter like you. So please stop sullying my name." Shi Tian quickly cut her off.


    Shi Tian''s words were so venomous that Vanessa felt her blood pressure rise by arge margin and that the wounds on her body had turned for the worst.


    "Do you believe I will suicide with you?" Vanessa clenched her fist and said.


    She might be at aplete disadvantage currently, but there was a saying to never push the boundary limit. Even a beaten dog would bite back ruthlessly when their very life is endangered.


    Vanessa thought Shi Tian was frightened by her threat given his silence, but for the next few minutes, she was left distraught.


    "Stop the bluff already, Vanessa. You are probably a mage and have used some sort of spell to attack me previously, but it was definitely not some object that your enemy is chasing you for." Shi Tian smirked coldly.


    "Hmph, if you think that''s a bluff, then by all means, go outside right now and see if you''ll get captured. Only I have the method to conceal the object''s presence."


    "What you just said has basically confirmed my statement, Vanessa. If you could easily conceal the object''s presence, then would you have been in such a pathetic state? Not to mention, I forgot to tell you who owned this apartmentplex. It''s the Crimson Mage herself."


    It was only now she had suddenly recounted the questions he asked previously.


    ''No wonder why he enquired about the White Syndicate''s strength and the Crimson Mage.'' Vanessa cursed silently in her mind, failing to realize just how shrewd the man in front of her was.


    Given that the apartmentplex was owned by the Crimson Mage, any sort of anomalies would have been detected sooner orter. Thus, she could deduce Shi Tian was stalling for time.


    She had merely thought he was just a money grubber since he cared only about money before deciding to rescue her or not.


    Taking a deep breath, Vanessa released the strength of her fist and smiled bitterly.


    "I don''t have that much money on me." She then said in a defeated manner.


    Shi Tian was correct in his judgment. She was indeed bluffing from the start but didn''t realize he was clever enough to piece the clues together.


    Ever since she had sessfully tricked him, Shi Tian had been purposely distracting and taunting her while collecting clues asionally to confirm his doubts.


    "You are really an unbelievable man," Vanessa said in a ridiculing tone, staring directly at Shi Tian. She was ridiculing herself for severely underestimating Shi Tian.

 Chapter 70 Hunger

    <h4>Chapter 70 Hunger</h4>


    Beingpletely overwhelmed by both power and wits, Vanessa was truly defeated.


    She couldn''t grasp how powerful Shi Tian was, but just the fact that he decided to expose her bluff now proved something.


    It meant that he was confident in detaining her if she was to attack him, and as for wits, she really had to praise him.


    "Just kill me. I would rather die than be humiliated." Vanessa finally said after a moment of silence. She could only me her horrendous luck to encounter him after being severely injured by the people of White Syndicate.


    Meanwhile, Shi Tian raised his eyebrow in confusion and tilted his head slightly.


    "You are injured, but I didn''t think your brain was injured as well. If I wanted to kill you from the start, then why would I even bother treating your wounds?" Shi Tian asked in disbelief.


    "Hah, then what do you want from me? My body?" Vanessa snorted coldly.


    9 out of 10 men she had encountered were lustful people that wished to obtain her body for sexual pleasure.


    After all, she was a great beauty with an alluring charm around her that even if she didn''t put any make-up on, men would still fall for her.


    "Sorry, but I''m not interested in having a moment of pleasure when I could have something more practical." Shi Tian raised his hand and said in an upright manner.


    s, Vanessa no longer believed a single word that came out of his mouth.


    Being fooled once could be counted as her fault for underestimating her opponent. But being fooled twice by the same person, then she might as well jump down a well andmit suicide.


    "It seems like you have been traumatized by me." Shi Tian chuckled softly when he saw how wary she was. If only she knew that he couldn''t subdue her easily if they were to truly fight.


    "I''m not traumatized, but merely allergic to hypocrites and heartless bastards like you." Vanessa seemed to be grinding her teeth when she said that.


    When had she ever received such humiliation and treatment from others before?


    "Alright, enough with bastard this and bastard that. If I was truly a bastard, then do you think you could still be barking like a mad dog here?" Shi Tian asked, smacking her with a reality check.


    He might have seemed heartless and cold, but that was a necessary trait to survive. No soft-hearted or kind-hearted fool would be able to live past 2 days in this world.


    A few minutester, Vanessa''s agitated behavior seemed to have calmed down by arge margin. Although she was rude, Shi Tian didn''t me her because he would have done the same if their situation was swapped, albeit calmer.


    Unlike her, Shi Tian had a passive ability that allowed him to remain calm andposed, which was a blessing.


    "Alright, now that you''re calm, let me rephrase my wording from the previous. What I meant is that you owe me 8 mid-tier Source Crystals, but I''m not telling you to repay me right away." Shi Tian said, acting magnanimously.


    Vanessa remained silent and didn''t bother to even look at Shi Tian. Since that was the case, Shi Tian took it as her tacit agreement to his statement.


    Suddenly, Shi Tian''s stomach started growling again, reminding him that he hadn''t eaten yet.


    And coincidentally, Vanessa''s stomach started growling too, except that she became embarrassed. She was trying to remain silent and ignore Shi Tian, but her stomach sold her out.


    "I''m going to head out to buy some food, so just patiently wait here. Otherwise, I won''t be responsible if your enemy tracked you down." Shi Tian said, ready to head out.


    When Vanessa saw that he already left the room without hesitation, it became crystal clear that her bluff had really failed miserably.


    ''Just how did he manage to figure it out?'' Vanessa wondered silently.


    With Shi Tian gone, only she was left in the house, so she started to inspect her surroundings now that she had this chance to do so.


    As her eyes nced at the furniture, she suddenly detected a miniature camera that was ced in a sneaky corner.


    "Damn it, there was a camera in his house. No wonder why I got caught off-guard repeatedly." She gnashed her teeth and was infuriated. Infuriated not at Shi Tian, but at herself for being so careless repeatedly.


    Laying back down on the couch, Vanessa held a bitter smile. She was too exhausted to even get angry now, and if she was to be honest, she was afraid she would have gone mental if she kept thinking about how Shi Tian had yed her like a fiddle.


    Once the anger was no more, the fatigue finally inflicted upon her, causing her eyes to be drowsy as she went into slumber.


    While Vanessa went to sleep, Shi Tian was now back on the street with a new set of clothes, acting as if nothing had happened.


    Walking through the street, Shi Tian was trying to find a decent restaurant to order takeout and searching for thetest news in Gearits City.


    And sure enough, the incident of Vanessa being attacked wasn''t even posted online. In fact, not a single person was talking about the incident, which shocked him deeply.


    Although themotion might not be grand, it should be loud enough to attract some attention. Yet there wasn''t a single deployment, much less a blockade to capture the culprit.


    ''Could the White Syndicate be that powerful enough to bribe the military or the organization to prevent them from investigating?'' Shi Tian thought to himself, feeling perplexed by the situation.


    Shaking his head, Shi Tian realized a crucial fact.


    What does that have to do with him?


    If the military decided to let some criminal syndicate do whatever they want in their city, then it''s their problem.


    And right now, his hunger was the problem.


    Stopping at a restaurant that seemed to be filled with people, Shi Tian decided on this ce. ''Horology Restaurant¡­ Time to order some food here.''

 Chapter 71 Horology Restaurant

    <h4>Chapter 71 Horology Restaurant</h4>


    The name Horology Restaurant sounded familiar to a particr word, but Shi Tian couldn''t remember what the word was.


    Nevertheless, the fact that this restaurant had numerous people entering, proved its food quality should be above average.


    For a restaurant to be popr, status meant nothing because only the food could retain a customer''s heart. And Shi Tian wanted to eat something good given that he had managed to swindle some money off from Vanessa.


    This was taught by Old Man Chao that money was extremely valuable and that he should swindle more often or not.


    Of course, the premise was that one should have the capability to swindle others first and not get beaten up for it.


    After entering the Horology Restaurant, Shi Tian was greeted by a woman wearing a dress simr to a qipao design. It looked simr, but not quite at the same time since there were some alterations to the traditional kind.


    "Wee sir, are you here to dine in or did you make some reservation?" The woman greeted Shi Tian kindly and asked.


    "Oh, I''m just here to order some takeout because apanion of mine is currently ill and couldn''te out to dine in." Shi Tian replied back, giving an excuse on the spot. Even he was impressed with himself foring up with a lie so quickly.


    "Oh, for takeout. You can walk over to that counter and look for the food that you wish to order. Afterward, you can talk to the man over there Jason who will jot down your order." The woman quickly instructed and redirected Shi Tian to another worker responsible for it.


    Shi Tian nodded his head, gave his thanks, and walked over to the counter.


    While at the counter, Shi Tian scanned the Quick Response (QR) code with his Cellos device, and the menu soon appeared, allowing him to choose what type of food he wanted.


    There were multiple options, but none of the meat is what he used to know. It was the meat of mutated monsters, with one of them being called Higarous, a type of miniature dinosaur look-alike, known for its tenderized meat.


    Higarous was a Grade-D monster and was known to have a great reproductive system, meaning it had arge poption which be quite the staple food for Gearits City''s citizens.


    Not only was their meat delicious and savory, but there was a chance of increasing their resistance to pollution and possibly mutation.


    ''I guessed it wouldn''t hurt to try this meat dish then.'' Shi Tian thought to himself. The information he had just read from the dish listed where and how the Horology Restaurant obtained Higarous meat.


    Shi Tian wanted to eat something with meat and chose a dish that contained the most Higarous meat. As for Vanessa, he decided to get her somefort food since she was still injured.


    Although he was still wary of her and had his guard against her, it would be impolite to buy her something heavy to eat with her current condition. He still had a bit of honor in him regardless of his conduct and behavior.


    And with that thought, Shi Tian quickly ced the order and went to the counter where Jason was epting payment.


    "Hello, this is for order number 153," Shi Tian said and handed him some Eons.


    Jason did some clicking on the monitor and epted the payment a few secondster. "Thank you. Your order should be ready in about 10-15 minutes, so feel free to take a seat there to wait."


    Everything was merely a procedure, so Shi Tian didn''t bother to be extra polite and found a chair to sit down on. At the same time, he used this as an opportunity to inspect the interior of Horology Restaurant.


    It was certainly a loud restaurant with many different kinds of customers gathering at each set of tables, chattering and moring as if they were the only people around.


    Shi Tian found it quite amusing to see these people were still able to act so carefreely despite the situation outside the walls of Gearits City.


    And looking back at the entrance, Shi Tian noticed it was adorned with polished marble floors, glistening crystal chandeliers, and opulent floral arrangements that permeated the air with a delicate fragrance.


    The atmosphere exuded a refined elegance, with tastefully curated artworks adorning the walls, creating a harmonious blend of modernity and timeless beauty.


    In addition to that, the lighting within the interior was soft and ambient, casting a warm glow that enhanced the dining experience. Concealed spotlights artfully illuminated each culinary creation as they arrived at the table, allowing customers to appreciate the visual artistry of the dishes.


    With such attention to detail in the decoration and design, Shi Tian could subtly understand why this restaurant was popr to attract so many customers.


    After all, the people that ordered takeout weren''t just him alone and there were many more that were still cing orders, leaving Jason extremely busy.


    ''Maybe this could be my go-to ce for food if its quality matched up to the interior design.'' Shi Tian eximed inwardly. The food pricing was reasonable and the workers weren''t arrogant or haughty.


    Since he was going to wait for his food to arrive, Shi Tian nned on ying with his Cellos device for a while until he heard something interesting at arge round table.


    At therge round table, the people were discussing a table that intrigued him.


    "I''m sure everyone here has read the news of the military''s recruitment, right? My brother is a part of the military so he told me that the reason why the New Region was discovered was because the miasma that was covering up the area had dissolved quite a bit."


    "Oh Brother Edwin, just get to the main point already. You didn''t tell all of us to gather here just for that kind of talk, right?"


    "Haha, well this is what my brother told me about. The miasma didn''t dissolve by itself, but it was done by the military purposely. It was said that the higher-ups received a tip from an informant that the New Region was hiding an ancient technology left by the fissure crack in the sky 132 years ago.


    ''Ancient Technology?'' Shi Tian was astonished when he eavesdropped on that kind of news.

 Chapter 72 Five Families

    <h4>Chapter 72 Five Families </h4>


    Themotion within the Horology Restaurant had noticeably increased after the people heard what Edwin had said.


    An ancient technology that was left from the sky fissure 132 years ago would surely attract a lot of attention, especially to the people that sought excitement and thrill or those who sought profits.


    Different kinds of expression could be seen in the people''s eyes whereas Edwin smiled proudly when he became the center of attraction.


    "Calm down people. I''m only telling you this because I wanted us all to know what the recruitment is about and that you don''t miss out on the chance." Edwin waved his hands around to calm the crowd down.


    Meanwhile, Shi Tian stopped paying attention when Edwin continued to talk further, which enticed the other customers.


    For some reason, Shi Tian was suspicious of Edwin''s actions.


    Why would he reveal such crucial information to others?


    Was he just seeking attention or approval?


    Shi Tian doubted it was any of thetter because none of those was practical.


    Of course, it could just be his paranoia taking over his mind again, but Shi Tian believed this must have been a ploy or tactic to hoodwink others to sign up for the recruitment.


    It was as if the news of New Region having the past experimental site wasn''t enough to attract attention that they needed to reveal ancient technology was also said to be in there as well.


    If all of that were true, then why would the military still seek help from outsiders and not monopolize for themselves?


    ''It seems like I''ll need to rethink my decision to sign up for the recruitment process.'' Shi Tian thought to himself, standing up from his chair.


    He just saw a waiter bringing some food over to the counter and Jason was waving at him. Thus, it meant that his food was done, and Shi Tian didn''t n on staying any longer to hear what kind of information Edwin was talking about.


    Other customers here might have been baited and believed Edwin''s words, but not him. Trusting a stranger''s words wasn''t a bright idea.


    That was something he had learned from "Krissie" and it was a good lesson.


    Just because someone told you this and that doesn''t mean it''s the truth. Information should be double-checked and confirmed.


    Putting those thoughts aside for now, Shi Tian calmly went over to the counter to receive his food.


    "Thank you for your patronage," Jason said kindly, handing over the food to him.


    Shi Tian merely nodded his head and left the restaurant. For such amotion to be made, it was best to leave as soon as possible. Otherwise, who knows what kind of muddy water he might be dragged into again.


    As he made his exit, Shi Tian saw another group of people walking toward the restaurant. And to his astonishment, it was the youngdy that he had met in a mechanic shop at the shopping mall.


    Luckily, Shi Tian managed to control himself and didn''t reveal anything on the surface, calmly walking past the youngdy.


    The youngdy, however, raised an eyebrow and was about to stop Shi Tian, seemingly having a feeling of recalling his face.


    "Young Miss?" An old man called out to her as he was dumbfounded by her sudden pause.


    "Hmm, whatever, must have been a mistake." The youngdy shrugged her shoulders and proceeded to enter the restaurant.


    Meanwhile, Shi Tian, who was still walking away from the restaurant, breathed out a sigh of relief.


    ''This city sure is a narrow one.'' Shi Tian thought to himself, feeling blessed that the youngdy didn''t stop him. Such a fiery and crazy person was best to not be entangled with.


    Unwilling to stay any longer on the outside, Shi Tian decided to simply rush back to the apartmentplex, avoiding any sort of conflict.


    And as he decided to do that, the youngdy alongside the old man and the people behind her was greeted by a man dressed in fancy clothes the moment they entered the restaurant.


    "It''s the Horology Restaurant''s honor to wee the youngdy of the Harrett Family, Olivia Harrett. My name is Robert Cook, the manager here and I shall guide you to the VIP floor. The other people have arrived there already." Robert Cook smiled amicably and said.


    "Hmph, are you ming me for beingte then?" The youngdy, known as Olivia Harrett, questioned coldly, crossing her arms.


    "I don''t dare," Robert Cook quickly bowed his head and pleaded for forgiveness.


    "Of course, you don''t dare. If you do, then my Butler Wade would have killed you already." Olivia Harrett snorted and went toward the elevator without giving an ounce of respect to Robert Cook.


    As for the old man beside her, he merely gave a nce at Robert and shook his head exhaustively.


    ''Young Miss'' behavior is still impulsive as always.'' The old man, referred to as Butler Wade, sighed inwardly. Despite knowing Olivia Harrett was impulsive and impolite to others, there was nothing he could actually do.


    Olivia Harrett hailed from the Harrett Family, one of the top hierarchies within Gearits City given that they have abundant control of the military and economy.


    The leading organization party that governed Gearits City was managed by five families in total. Each of the five families was equally powerful, but the Harrett Family stood a bit on top due to their consistent advancement in technology.


    But that doesn''t mean the other four families aren''t influenced because they could still suppress the expansion of the Harrett Family. The four families were respectively known as Carlson, Warner, Hersey, and Hill.


    And each of these families was well trained in their specific ss that reached high enlightenment.


    "What are you stalling for, Butler Wade? Are you trying to make me stand here all day?" Olivia Harrett impatiently called out as she was standing in the elevator.


    "Apologies, Young Miss. I''ll be right there." Butler Wade smiled briefly and followed after her. The other people behind Butler Wade quickly followed suit, and Robert Cook was the same even though he was cursing at her silently.


    ''Hmph, the arrogance of the Harrett Family truly knows no bounds.'' Robert Cook sneered inwardly.

 Chapter 73 Clash of Heirs

    <h4>Chapter 73 sh of Heirs</h4>


    Olivia Harrett and her subordinate soon went to the highest floor that Horology Restaurant had to offer. Today was a rare meeting where each of the heirs of the five families gathered to discuss an important matter.


    "Which room are they in?" Olivia Harrett turned her head at Robert Cook and asked informally.


    "Replying to the youngdy, they are at-"


    Before Robert Cook could continue his words, Olivia Harrett waved her hands and clicked her tongue.


    "Forget it, wasting so much time when I ask a simple question." She coldly said and walked around each room, opening them up one by one.


    Interrupting each person that is situated in their room, it was clear that some of them were irritated and furious.


    After all, this was the highest floor that only certain people with enough influence and qualification can reserve.


    Thus, each person that could use such a room had some sort of dignity to them, and being rudely interrupted by someone when they were simply enjoying themselves would obviously irk them.


    At the same time, Robert Cook was anxious and nced at Butler Wade, seemingly trying to telepathy tell him that this was not alright for him.


    If any of these customers were to be infuriated because of Olivia Harrett''s actions, then the one to be med would be none other than him and only him.


    Would the owner of Horology Restaurant dare to fault the arrogant youngdy of the Harrett Family or a measly manager like him?


    "Butler Wade, please tell the youngdy that their room is all the way at the end of the hall. If she kept disturbing other customers, then it would be bad for all of us." Robert Cook turned to Wade and suggested.


    His statement subtly underlined that Olivia Harrett could possibly offend the other families that might not be as powerful as them, but still had decent power. And it would be a disastrous oue to offend them for such a trivial matter.


    Robert Cook was clever in this matter and informed Wade instead of Olivia Harrett. After all, Wade was intelligent enough to weigh the consequences in mindpared to Olivia Harrett, who only had brawns in her mind.


    Butler Wade nodded his head and walked toward Olivia Harrett, whispering something in her ears. Miraculously, Olivia Harrett''s face changed after listening to what Butler Wade had said to her.


    "Hmph, you should have said so from the beginning!" Olivia Harrett put up a strong front and said, walking toward the end of the hall.


    Meanwhile, Butler Wade followed closely behind whereas Robert Cook had no choice but to apologize to each of the customers that Olivia Harrett rudely interrupted.


    Of course, Robert Cook received a storm of curses andints from them, but could only smile amicably on the surface while apologizing profusely.


    Once Robert Cook managed to pacify the angry customers and promised to offer them some free remedies as apologies, he turned his attention to the end of the hall.


    ''Fucking Bitch!'' Robert Cook cursed silently at Olivia Harrett for causing trouble wherever she goes. If it wasn''t for her surname being Harrett, then he was sure she would have long been killed for her audacity.


    Atst, that was just an if statement, since the fact was that her surname was indeed Harrett. Thus, Robert Cook could only grit his teeth and resign to his fate, catering to the arrogant youngdy for now.


    Putting a fake smile, Robert Cook soon followed Olivia Harrett into the VIP room. Within the VIP room was arge round table with some other people already sittingfortably in their chairs.


    Each person in the room was dressed in a great fabric of clothes and fancy essories, indicating their wealth.


    "As usual, Olivia arrivedte. It seems like I won the bet again." One young man suddenly said, chuckling and staring at the person opposite of him.


    "Hmph, don''t get too conceited, Rex Warner!"


    Rex Warner smiled briefly and didn''t mind the boorish behavior. "Why must you always be so bad-mannered, Darren Carlson? Is it a trait of the Berserker ss or is it your Carlson Family''s trait to always be so rough?"


    Darren Carlson was infuriated when his family name was brought up and was ready to throw some fists.


    "Enough bantering from you two already." As the two men were getting heated in their discussion, an elegant woman suddenly intervened and said calmly.


    And sure enough, when Rex Warner and Darren Carlson heard hermand, they promptly stopped their argument. After all, the woman was a talented Esper and was the strongest among them all, Amber Hersey.


    Amber Hersey was honestly sick and tired of these two men that were constantly at each other''s throats. One of them preferred to be meticulous and clean whereas the other one only knew how to fight and didn''t care about his appearance one bit.


    Darren Carlson''s appearance alone was enough to make heads turn, although not necessarily for the right reasons. His unkempt hair and wiry strands of hair matched his disheveled appearance. It seemed as though he had never encountered ab or brush in his life. His beard, thick and bristly, sprawled across his face in an unruly manner, indicating aplete disregard for grooming.


    As for his face, it was weathered and coarse, revealing the ruggedness of a life spent outdoors. Deep-set eyes, shaded by bushy eyebrows, glimmer with a sharpness that hints at his cunning and opportunistic nature.


    Meanwhile, Rex Warner was theplete opposite. He had an impable appearance that reflected his attention to detail andmitment to perfection.


    Standing at a moderate height, Rex Warner possessed an elegant and refined demeanor that caught the eye of those around him. Every aspect of his appearance exuded a sense of orderliness and sophistication, a far cry from Darren Carlson.


    These two pr opposite men were like oil and water, always opposing each other to no end.


    "Hmph, such a pretentious whore." Olivia Harrett snorted coldly when she saw how tamed the two men were in front of Amber Hersey.

 Chapter 74 Brute And Brainless

    <h4>Chapter 74 Brute And Brainless</h4>


    Olivia Harrett''s eyes were filled with murderous intent whenever she saw Amber Hersey.


    It wasn''t because she was jealous of her talent as a Magus, but that she hated her guts and demeanor.


    From everyone''s perspective, Amber Hersey was a refined grace and timeless beauty thatmanded attention wherever she went. With an air of sophistication that resonated through her every movement, she embodied the epitome of elegance and maturity.


    Not to mention, she possessed a statuesque figure that exuded confidence and poise, which attracted many men.


    And of course,pared to her, she was always a bitcking whenever people discussed them two.


    Olivia Harrett was like the bratty and spoiled youngdy whereas Amber Hersey was the mature and refined beauty.


    Hence, Olivia Harrett was always resentful of Amber Hersey, believing her to be fake and a pretentious whore.


    "Anyway, where are the people of the Hill Family at? Don''t tell me they''re noting again?" Olivia Harrett nced at the empty chairs and asked, unwilling to let Amber Hersey ruin her mood.


    "The Hill Family is still in a mess since the previous incident, and they are busy internally picking a decent heir." Amber Hersey replied softly, answering her question, much to the displeasure of Olivia.


    "I believe this is everyone now." Rex Warner suddenly interrupted and said.


    So far, the VIP room contained the heirs and members of the Warner, Harrett, Carlson, and Hersey Families, excluding the Hill Family because of certain circumstances.


    "Indeed," Amber Hersey nodded her head and nced at Robert Cook.


    "Manager Robert, you may begin the dishes and leave us now. And thank you for your trouble." She then said politely, void of any arrogance belonging to a top family.


    Robert Cook held a sincere smile when he heard her. "Understood, Lady Amber. The food will arrive shortly and I won''t disturb you further."


    Contrary to his attitude toward Olivia Harrett, Robot Cook waspletely sincere toward Amber Hersey, mainly because of her politeness and demeanor that doesn''t look down on others.


    Naturally, Olivia Harrett could feel the difference in treatment but was toozy to be bothered by it.


    Who was she?


    She was Olivia Harrett and someone that everyone must respect regardless if they like it or not.


    "So pretentious." Olivia Harrett clicked her tongue and muttered, feeling disgusted by Amber Hersey''s voice.


    Once Robert Cook made his exit, the rest of the heirs nced at their family respective members. They didn''t need to say anything for them to understand that they are to be stationed outside and not remain in the room any longer.


    There was a reason why all four of them had decided to gather here.


    "I''ll be outside, young miss." Butler Wade whispered to Olivia Harrett''s ears and said, clearly telling her that he would be ready if something goes awry.


    Despite their families being equal in power, it was obvious that they had disputes with each other in secret. Just that no one dared to be the first to break off the facade and remain amicable on the surface.


    "I''m not a little kid anymore, Butler Wade. Just go and wait for me." Olivia Harrett said, but still had her tone and attitude mild down by a margin.


    Sometimeter, the VIP room was now left with only the four heirs, Darren Carlson, Rex Warner, Amber Hersey, and Olivia Harrett.


    "Although we''re missing the Hill Family, we can only make do with us four." Rex Warner said and began the discussion.


    "Recently, the patriarch of my family has used his ability of irvoyance and perceived that the White Syndicate would interfere with our n regarding the New Region." He then revealed in a solemn tone.


    "Hmph, the White Syndicate? They''re just a bunch of phony groups, acting mysterious and thinking that they are some big shot. I dare them to show up in front of me and fight me directly." Darren Carlson snorted coldly, clearly having a terrible opinion regarding the White Syndicate.


    "Would you lower your rough behavior already?" Rex Warner rolled his eyes and was exhausted by his boorish behavior.


    How could someone like him actually be an heir?


    Meanwhile, Amber Hersey was silent when she heard the news. If it was the Warner family patriarch''s words that perceived such a future, then this matter was no longer simple.


    "Is there anything else that Patriarch Warner had mentioned?" Amber Hersey asked, seemingly trying to get a clear picture of the situation.


    Rex Warner turned his head toward her and nodded. "The patriarch mentioned that there are suddenly three variables in the New Region. One was naturally the interference of the White Syndicate, and the other two remain a mystery. Even the patriarch couldn''t unravel the fog and determine it."


    Amber Hersey was secretly rmed to learn that not even Warner''s patriarch was able to unravel the fog and obtain an answer. There were only two possibilities for this kind of scenario to ur.


    One was that their ability was insufficient to determine and the other one was that the cloud of fog they wanted to uncover was out of their reach, meaning they are incapable of predicting their fate.


    Naturally, Amber Hersey hoped that it was the former and not thetter, given that it would be disastrous to have an unknown variable, not to mention two unpredictable variables to be in the picture.


    While the room gradually became gloomy because of the sudden revtion, Olivia Harrett yawned loudly.


    "Is that all?" She said in a bored and uninterested tone. "And here I thought we were going to be exploring the wilderness and doing something fun, but it''s just a discussion of some variables."


    "Hmph, I never thought I''d say this, but I agree with Olivia. If we are just discussing and not nning to fight, then I''m out of here. I''d rather go out and kill some beasts." Darren Carlson intervened, agreeing with Olivia Harrett.


    "Looks like we have the same mind, Darren. Let''s just head out since it''s nighttime right now. The monsters are going to be more powerful, and we can give ourselves a challenge." Olivia Harrett stood up and suggested.


    "Count me in!" Darren Carlson readily agreed to the suggestion and both left the VIP room, leaving Rex Warner and Amber Hersey utterly speechless.


    "One brute and one brainless." Rex Warner sighed softly.

 Chapter 75 Infection

    <h4>Chapter 75 Infection </h4>


    Amber Hersey was speechless and helpless when she saw those two leave in an instant. It was as if they treated this meeting as nothing but a joke.


    "I guessed it''s just the two of us now, Amber." Rex Warner smiled bitterly.


    "Is there any other information that your patriarch has discovered?" Amber Hersey ignored hisment and instead enquired for more information.


    "No, the patriarch was exhausted when he tried to uncover the two variables and is now recuperating."


    "Then have you tried to use your irvoyance ability to determine it?"


    "I did, but my ability iscking a lotpared to the patriarch. I can''t even determine that the White Syndicate would be involved, much less the two unknown variables."


    "Is that so¡­" Amber Hersey nodded her head and stood up from the chair.


    "You can enjoy the food yourself then. I''ll be busyter on, so just contact my people if you have some new information." She then said, snapping her finger, and the Magicule around the atmosphere started tobust.


    Once the Magicules gathered together, they started to shroud Amber Hersey''s body, and within a few seconds, she vanished from the scene.


    Rex Warner could only ce his palm on his chin and sighed softly, ncing at the now-empty round table in front of him. "Even though we all gathered here to discuss and eat, now it''s just empty before the food is served for us."


    Shaking his head, Rex Warner found it a pity how far the five families had be estranged due to power and money.


    Back when they established the Gearits City, all of them were working hard together, hiding zero resources from each other.


    Now that they had established the foothold and constructed a strong defending city, they started to think about themselves and their profits, forgetting about the past struggles.


    "Pardon for the interruption, but the food has arrived-" Robert Cook was about to continue his words until he noticed there was only Rex Warner in the VIP Room.


    "Where did the rest go?" He then asked, seemingly dumbfounded by the situation.


    It was only now that he realized the people outside had also diminished by quite a margin. Butler Wade was gone, and so were the rest of the members besides the people from the Warner Family.


    Does he still serve the food now?


    Robert Cook was left in a dilemma, unsure of what to do next.


    Luckily, Rex Warner seemed to have detected his thought process based on his expression and shook his head.


    "You can ce the food down. They were paid in advance anyway, so it would be a shame to waste all this food when others are struggling to even put food on their table." Rex Warner smiled amicably and instructed.


    Robert Cook nodded his head and waved his hands, prompting the other waiters to bring in the food. As the waiter swiftly ced the food on the table, Robert Cook calmly said, "Please enjoy the food."


    Afterward, he left the VIP room as well, without bothering to ask where the other heirs went nor did he wish to know. It was clear that something had happened and it wasn''t his position to pry further.


    Seeing that Robert Cook and the waiters left in a hurry, Rex Warner sighed softly.


    He then nced at the members outside the door andmanded, "The rest of you cane in and eat the food as well. Let''s not waste the chef''s effort in cooking these foods for us."


    While Rex Warner enjoyed the food along with the rest of his members in the Warner Family, Shi Tian had returned home.


    Shi Tian ced the food on the table and walked toward the living room.


    "Vanessa, wake up, it''s time to eat." He called out from afar.


    There was no response and Shi Tian thought she was just in deep slumber. However, when he got closer and saw the paleplexion on her face, he was rmed.


    "Vanessa?"


    Shi Tian called out again, walking closer to her and inspecting her. Not only was her face pale, but she seemed to be trembling slightly.


    Seeing such a situation, Shi Tian touched her hand and realized it was cold. Her body was freezing up, and she seemed to be in a lot of pain.


    ''Ah crap, what am I supposed to do?'' Shi Tian was helpless in her current condition.


    He wasn''t a doctor nor did he have much medical knowledge to handle such a situation.


    Normally, one would go to the hospital in such a situation, but Shi Tian was afraid her enemies would be lurking in the dark, waiting for her to show up. It was also because of this fear that Shi Tian brought her to his home instead of going to the hospital.


    "Ungh." While Shi Tian was pondering whether to bring her to the hospital or not, Vanessa groaned in pain.


    She opened her eyes slowly, nced at Shi Tian, and muttered weakly, "W-Water¡­"


    Shi Tian nodded his head, hurrying to the kitchen, and filled a ss with warm water.


    Afterward, he went back to the living room, assisting Vanessa to get up to let her drink the water.


    Vanessa drank the warm water with the assistance of Shi Tian, but still coughed a bit more in the process.


    Shi Tian held a genuinely worried expression on his face, clearly affected by Vanessa''s condition. Her current outlook greatly reminded him of Sheng Lan back when she was extremely ill and needed a lot of care.


    "We should go to the hospital. The stic bandage didn''t help much and you have an infection now. At this rate, your body is going to worsen and could possibly die." Shi Tian said solemnly, ready to carry her to the hospital.


    His emotion was being affected, but the passive ability was working at the same time to make him remainposed. However, the shbacks of Sheng Lan''s painful expression would constantlye back to cause a rift in his emotions.


    It was the first time the passive ability was being negated, but Shi Tian couldn''t care less at the moment.

 Chapter 76 Potions

    <h4>Chapter 76 Potions </h4>


    Vanessa was thoroughly astonished when she saw Shi Tian worrying about her condition. It was to the point that she found itughable.


    Who would believe a person that was trying to extort her for the medical fee would suddenly have such a change of heart?


    Nevertheless, she could feel his genuine concern for her. Such actions and expressions were impossible to replicate or act upon.


    "Here, let me carry you to the hospital." Shi Tian ced the ss of water down on the table and said softly, ready to lift her up from the couch.


    "No need, Nathan." Vanessa shook her head and rejected.


    "What do you mean no need? Your wounds are already being infected and those bandages aren''t helping at all. Now I''m suspicious of the stic bandage itself being expired." Shi Tian scolded and was ready to lecture Vanessa harshly.


    But more importantly, he was ming and cursing at the previous tenant for always having such faulty equipment.


    First, it was the refrigerator being short-circuited, and now it was the medical first aid kit being expired.


    No wonder why he got killed by the Crimson Mage.


    Truly serve him right!


    Vanessa smiled bitterly when she got scolded. Unlike the previous time when Shi Tian was taunting her, this time, he was genuinely concerned about her condition and was scolding her for it.


    Thus, she found it difficult to rebuke or even get angry at him.


    "It''s fine, Nathan. It''s only the wounds being infected. You can easily get me some potions to drink and I''ll recover subtly after." Vanessa''s tone was mild and exined calmly. Since he was that caring, it was only right for her to reply in such a tone and not re up.


    Meanwhile, Shi Tian was confused by her.


    "Potions?" He asked in a dazed tone. He had only heard of the liquid type of medicine that children used to drink as an alternative since they aren''t old enough and eligible to consume pills.


    "Are you talking about liquid medicine?" He then asked, hoping to confirm his thought.


    s, Vanessa twitched her mouth in disbelief and wondered if he was messing with her.


    However, she realized he was truly dumbstruck given the confusion he was making.


    "Don''t you know about the potions that were synthesized with the herbs that were mutated because of the environment?" Vanessa asked in a dumbfounded tone.


    "Ahem, of course, I do. I was merely joking to lighten the mood and distract you from the infected wounds." Shi Tian faked a cough and said proudly.


    Vanessa narrowed her eyes and looked at Shi Tian suspiciously.


    Although they might not have met long, she could somewhat grasp the type of person he was. There was no way he would react so intensely and proim to try and lighten the mood whatsoever as a defense.


    "Just get me a Restorative Potion and the infection should subside." She sighed softly and said, too exhausted to be concerned whether he was serious or joking.


    "Sure, pay me the money then, including the delivery fee." Shi Tian said calmly. Given that she was still in the right mind, his passive ability had finally taken over and helped him regain hisposure.


    As for his momentarypse, Shi Tian learned to differentiate between reality and imaginary.


    Sheng Lan was no longer here, so even if someone resembled her, it doesn''t mean anything to him.


    If his loss ofposure was to ur again in a tense or dangerous situation, then he would have forfeited his life for such a nonsensical reason.


    Meanwhile, Vanessa twitched her brows in disbelief, wondering if the man in front of the home was suffering from bipr personality disorder.


    One moment he was filled with concern, and the next moment, he returned to his money grubber and heartless behavior.


    Shi Tian ignored her expression and stood up, walking toward a cab.


    He recalled having seen some sort of small ss container previously when he was taking out the first aid medical kit. Maybe that was a potion that he neglected, thinking it was just some liquid medicine.


    And sure enough, he saw quite a few small ss containers filled with liquid within the cab.


    However, his knowledge of potions was next to zero, and this was the first time he had encountered such a thing. Not to mention, he wasn''t even sure if these small ss containers are the so-called potions.


    Unable to determine or decipher them, Shi Tian directly took out all the ss containers and brought them to the living room table.


    "Which one is the Restorative Potion?" He then turned toward Vanessa and asked.


    Vanessa had a dazed look at first, before wrinkling her brows and making a furious expression.


    "Were you toying with me earlier?" She asked, trying her best to sound as calm as possible.


    "The hell?" Shi Tian raised an eyebrow, seemingly confused by her sudden attitude.


    He was here trying his best to help her, yet she was now ring at him as if he was the viin that caused her harm.


    "Did your infection worsen so that it affects your brain now?" He then asked, wondering if her brain was fired and unable to think properly at the moment.


    Being insulted all of a sudden by him caused the suppression of her emotion to erupt. She clenched her left fist while pointing a finger with her right hand at Shi Tian in agitation.


    "Your brain is fried. Your whole family is fried." Vanessa shouted loudly but coughed out blood due to being overly agitated.


    Shi Tian was thoroughly confused by her agitation.


    "Are you okay?" He asked in concern. "You didn''t have to be mad if these weren''t the potions. Look at your injuries now. Do you want them to leave a scar or do you want to die?"


    Hearing that, it was no longer her brows twitching, but her entire face. She was on the verge of dying from anger.


    "You son of a bitch¡­ If you had those potions from the start, then why didn''t you bring it out and instead use such poor-quality stic bandage for my injuries? Were you just trying to watch me suffer and humiliate me?" Vanessa cried aloud and fainted on the spot.

 Chapter 77 Oath

    <h4>Chapter 77 Oath </h4>


    ?


    A few minutes after Vanessa had fainted from agitation, Shi Tian managed to wake her up by pping her face lightly.


    Vanessa once again woke up thanks to the light pping, but she was still furious at Shi Tian.


    At first, she thought he had suddenly changed for the better, being genuinely concerned about her injuries, but now she realized the truth. He was faking all along and was just toying with her from the start.


    "Get away from me. I don''t need your hypocrisy concern. And if you just want to kill me, then do it now. Otherwise, when I recover, I will definitely get revenge." Vanessa gnashed her teeth and swore.


    "Hey, aren''t you a bit too harsh?" Shi Tian clicked his tongue and said.


    "If you knew about the existence of potions long ago, then why didn''t you just say so from the get-go? That way, I wouldn''t have needed to use these stic bandages to cover your wounds." He argued back.


    "Potions are expensive and notmon. How would I know a money grubber like you would actually harbor so many kinds of potions?" Vanessa retorted.


    Potions being in existence was no longer new to the people who had lived through the harsh and dreadful environment they were in.


    Ever since the world environment had undergone a huge change thanks to the otherworldly monsters that had dropped from the sky, people discovered the existence of some nts and herbs that were never seen before sprouting in different kinds of terrains and ces.


    And upon further research, people discovered these herbs and nts could be synthesized and used to brew potions that had miraculous effects on humans.


    Different types of brewing and methods would bring out different results in humans.


    However, potion brewings are always dangerous since one mishap could even cause a great explosion, killing the person brewing in the process.


    Hence, potions are extremely scarce and expensive- to the point that no normal human was able to get their hands on them.


    Thus, how was she supposed to know he had potions from the beginning when he was so stingy about money? Especially when all he had brought up was a mediocre first-aid medical kit on top of that?


    Meanwhile, Shi Tian found himself to be the most innocent one because he didn''t know he had potions in the house either.


    Had he known there were these types of miraculous potions in his house, then he wouldn''t have troubled himself with all these disinfecting and bandaging.


    Not to mention the current people''s perspective ofmon sense was notmon sense in his perspective at all given that he was in a deep slumber for a long time.


    "Hmph, since you believe I''m just toying with you, then just rot." Shi Tian snorted coldly and held the potions, ready to store them properly.


    "Do what you want. I won''t fall for your fake kindness again." Vanessa gritted her teeth and managed to respond despite the pain she was enduring.


    "Yes, go and endure the pain. But don''t say I didn''t warn you. An infected wound- even if recovered, there would definitely be scars left behind. And for a woman, having a scar is definitely worse than death." Shi Tian stored the potions and shrugged his shoulders.


    He believed that no matter how the world had be, most women would still care about their appearance. Just like how most men would still be horny as hell no matter the scenarios.


    And sure enough, the word scar had caused a thump in her heart.


    Lowering her head and in an almost muffling tone, she said, "It''s the green color one."


    Shi Tian nodded his head and quickly retrieved the greenish color liquid one.


    However, he didn''t hand it to Vanessa outright.


    Instead, he began talking to her in a solemn tone, "Since you already know that I don''t understand potions, then you must have some suspicions even if you didn''t voice them out. That''s right, I have nomon sense regarding the basics."


    Vanessa remained silent, clearly not knowing what kind of trickery he was pulling this time.


    "I can give you the Restorative Potion to heal your infected wounds, but I need a guarantee. A guarantee that you will not harbor any evil intent toward me or even attempt to harm me." Shi Tian continued, studying Vanessa''s expression.


    He was hoping to see if she had any reactions when he talked about a guarantee.


    If things like potions could exist in this world, then Shi Tian was wondering if there were more mysterious things that could bind a person in keeping a promise.


    "I will not make any oaths!" Vanessa snickered coldly, unknowingly revealing the information that Shi Tian wanted.


    Now he could use that information to capitalize on his advantage.


    "Oh, so there is something called an oath that could bind a person to stay true to their promise huh?" Shi Tian''s mouth curled upward, creating a somewhat viinous face.


    ''Shit!'' Vanessa clicked her tongue and cursed silently, realizing that she was tricked once again.


    "You are free to stay silent, but I''m sure I can do some search online to educate myself on the oath part." Shi Tian eximed, letting her know that it was futile to stay silent.


    Understanding this as well, Vanessa could only resign her fate and exined what the oath meant.


    An oath was created using the Magicule that had appeared in this world and used to bind the person. It was originally a magic spell created by a Magus to prevent betrayal and gradually became a staple spell for people as a guarantee of promises or benefits.


    Although it sounded powerful, the magic spell to create an oath must be consented to by both parties, otherwise, it would not be effective.


    And the Magicule that bound to the person seemingly could detect if the parties were willing or not based on their hidden emotion, meaning using threats or coercing matters would be futile to construct an oath.


    "Great, this is certainly a great magic spell created by a great person!" Shi Tian sped his hands in joy, finally finding a method that could guarantee his safety and restriction to prevent Vanessa from harming him if she was to recover.

 Chapter 78 Loophole

    <h4>Chapter 78 Loophole </h4>


    Vanessa was left in a dilemma when she witnessed the joy in Shi Tian.


    If she had to make an oath with him, then that would mean the end of everything.


    After all, she was not only humiliated but was repeatedly tricked by him, yet she was to make amends with him?


    How could she possibly ept such an oue?


    Seeing the struggle in her face, Shi Tian could subtly understand her current emotion and thought process.


    He was sure if their position were to swap, then he would have been grudgeful at her as well. No one wished to be humiliated and tricked repeatedly, then be forced to make an oath, vowing to not harm the other party.


    However, that was an "if" situation, and their positions were most definitely not reversed.


    Hence, Shi Tian was d to be in the advantageous spot and would utilize it to the maximum.


    "So what are your choices, Vanessa? Endure and receive scar or make the oath and receive the Restorative Potions- at a cost of course. Nothing is ever free in this world." Shi Tian smiled wickedly.


    Now that he knew his hands had gotten the miracle potions, he wasn''t afraid of her infection worsening.


    Previously, he thought she would have died at the current rate and was frantic about it, but now? That thought process had long been thrown out of the window.


    She was not Sheng Lan, and Sheng Lan was not her.


    That was the fact, and mixing the two again would be foolish of him.


    "Oh, and before you start gritting your teeth in anger or frustration, you should pay attention to not harming your teeth. Trying to find a dentist in this age and day would be difficult, right?" Shi Tian warned kindly, acting magnanimous.


    "As expected of a country bumpkin. With the appearance of Magicule, who still needs a dentist?" Vanessa rolled her eyes and snorted. Nevertheless, she still refrained from gritting her teeth and remained still.


    Shi Tian wished to chuckle at this situation, but managed topose himself. Agitating her further might truly cause her to not make an oath.


    "What kind of oath are we making?" Vanessa asked after a few seconds, her hand touching her chest in a painful manner. After all, she was unsure if the Restorative Potion would be able to recover the scars left by the infection.


    What if the Restorative Potion only healed the infection but not the scar?


    Then wouldn''t her beauty be ruined and she must live with such a scar forever?


    As miraculous a potion may be, it still had its limitations. Otherwise, who would be willing to sell potions to anyone and not keep it for themselves instead?


    "Hehe, the oath isn''t anything malicious. All I need you to do is guarantee you will never harm me in any form or sort of ways, including but not limited to scheming, hiring another person to harm me, etc." Shi Tian smiled amicably and listed his terms.


    "Not malicious? You are truly one spiteful and venomous man. What if you decided to harm me but those so-called terms restrict me from doing any retaliation." Vanessa sneered coldly.


    "I swear, your brain must truly be fried. If I dare to list such terms, then it''s a given that it should be both ways, albeit slight differences."


    "What slight differences?"


    "The difference is if there was any moment that I was harmed because of someone that had connection with you, then I am allowed to retaliate against you. That''s all." Shi Tian smiled innocently.


    What he basically meant was that even if she harbored no evil intent or did anything to harm him, he could still go against her if she had any form of connection with the people that had harmed him.


    And the best part about this?


    Even if he did go against her due to spite, she was still unable to do anything and could only be a fish in the chopping part.


    In simple terms, Shi Tian was saying that not only was she not allowed to harm him but she also had to make sure he was out of harm''s way, equivalent to being a bodyguard.


    Though a more harsher terminology would be a loyal dog that could never bite its owner.


    And as of this moment, Vanessa realized her patience and resistance had increased by a lot. After all, she didn''t even get angry or frustrated by Shi Tian''s words.


    It was as if she had already anticipated he would say such things.


    "Nathan." Vanessa called him out in a calm tone.


    "Yes, Vanessa dear?" Shi Tian replied gently, even going as far as addressing her as dear.


    "Why don''t you kill yourself?" She smiled brightly and asked in a cute manner.


    "I''m afraid I can''t do that."


    "Then why don''t you castrate yourself because you are not even a man to be able to utter such shameless things."


    "How could I castrate myself and be a woman? You''re a woman and seeing how miserable you are, I prefer to keep my manhood intact and stay as a man instead. Thanks for the suggestion, but no thank you."


    The interaction between the two were calm andposed, but anyone with a keen eye could see it was anything but calm.


    After some more bickering, Vanessa suddenly came to realize one w in his term.


    ''Wait a minute, what if this bastard happened to die because of a person that had connection with me, then wouldn''t the oath be nullified as well?'' She thought to herself.


    Unknowingly, her facial expression betrayed her and Shi Tian knew exactly what she was thinking.


    As if he didn''t know about the loophole he created in the terms.


    ''Heh, you probably think if I just die by someone with a somewhat connection with you, then the oath would be nullified. What a shame that is since I''m not an easy person to kill.'' Shi Tian sneered inwardly.


    The loophole he created was to hoodwink Vanessa into thinking she got an escape n and to make her agree to the oath.

 Chapter 79 Miraculous Effect

    <h4>Chapter 79 Miraculous Effect</h4>


    The oath was swiftly made into effect once Vanessa realized she could utilize a loophole and nullify the oathter on.


    And of course, Shi Tian was the proud one but remained humble and acted ignorant of the supposed loophole.


    Toplete the oath was rather simple. There was no need of slicing a finger to drop some blood. That was an old-school thought process and a very inefficient method.


    Why must one use their real blood to create an oath?


    The oath was cast with Vanessa manipting the Magicule in the surroundings and both of them chanted their term one by one. It wasn''t simultaneous because who knows if the other party might speak some other words that weren''t part of the deal.


    Once the chant waspleted, both Vanessa and Shi Tian felt like their body was pierced by something, but felt no damage whatsoever. Those were the bounding Magicule and would remain in effect for eternity unless the oath was specifically stated tost a certain period.


    "The oath isplete, now give me the Restorative Potion." Vanessa impatiently said. She had wasted too much time and her body was gradually worsening.


    Shi Tian nodded his head and threw the Restorative Potion toward her.


    Vanessa grabbed the Restorative Potion and inspected the vibrant green color. The green color was bright and coherent with the image she had in mind.


    Without hesitation, she chugged it down to her throat as if it was some alcohol.


    After all, she wasn''t worried about him ying a foul trick and doing something to the Restorative Potion. If he had really done it, then the oath they made would have restrained him dearly.


    Once she finished drinking the Restorative Potion, her paleplexion quickly faded, the same goes for her bloody infected wounds. It was recovering at a fast rate that the naked eye could see.


    Shi Tian was equally astonished to see that the Restorative Potion had such a miraculous effect. It hadn''t even been a few seconds since she had drunk it, and yet her recovery was about to be done.


    Not even 10 secondster, Vanessa seemed to have undergone nirvana, turning from a near-death state into a healthy person, and had zero signs of being severely injured.


    Once she was fully recovered, she started inhaling and exhaling, mimicking an action as if she had just been baptized. She started stretching her body left and right, void of the previous weakened self that couldn''t move an inch.


    Seeing that she was overly energetic, Shi Tian suddenly pped his hands and actively provoked her.


    "Wow, look at you, Vanessa. You looked even more beautiful, just enough to feast my eyesight like previously when I saw those smooth and clear skin of yours, especially those ample breasts." He then said lecherously.


    At first, Vanessa pretended to not hear anything, but Shi Tian kept on pressing the matter, describing her body curve and repeatedly mentioning seeing her almost-naked body.


    Even a saint would get mad when being provoked consecutively. Unable to handle his lecherousments and descriptions of her body, Vanessa manipted the Magicule and attempted to attack Shi Tian out of rage.


    Unfortunately, she wasn''t able to even proceed with the attack when she suddenly felt the constraint of a particr Magicule that prevented her from harming Shi Tian.


    And when she saw the cold smirk on his face, she realized she was once again tricked and yed like a fiddle under his palm. She doesn''t know why, but she managed to keep losing herposure and demeanor toward Shi Tian.


    "Heh, seems like the oath is really effective. You couldn''t even harm me after all of my words." Shi Tianughed heartily, ignoring her deadly gaze, and went toward the diner table.


    "Let''s just eat the food before it gets too cold. I still need to get some sleep after having gone through so much ordeal to help you out." He then said, letting her know that if it wasn''t for him, then she would have still been struggling outside.


    Although annoyed by his lecherous talk previously, she still went toward the diner table and nced at the food he had ordered.


    "Higarous meat?" She raised an eyebrow and asked.


    "You don''t like them?"


    "No, it''s just that I didn''t realize you would order this kind of food."


    "This kind of food?" This time, it was Shi Tian that was confused by her wording.


    Wasn''t this kind of food a staple food for the current era?


    "Nothing, this is more of amoner food, but I guessed it''s alright. Though I would have preferred Minasarus meat better." Vanessa shook her head and said, having some food in the mouth was already good enough. With her current circumstance and condition, she couldn''t choose to be picky regarding food.


    A few minutester, the two began eating their food, and Shi Tian started to enquire about her situation.


    "Anyway, what is the White Syndicate and why did they target you? I think I deserve to know some of the information since I have treated you." Shi Tian asked calmly.


    And to be fair, he didn''t even charge her the price of the potion, mainly because he did kind of feel bad for not knowing he had it in the first ce. Not to mention, the potions didn''t belong to him either, so it couldn''t be counted as a loss either.


    Naturally, Vanessa also knew about this matter and chose not to delve into the topic further. A potion''s price was truly out of her current budget, so they both had a tacit understanding to not discuss it.


    "I came here because of the New Region, Nathan. I''m sure news of it had already begun to circte to the public, but the New Region had long been spread to certain people." Vanessa said subtly.


    There wasn''t a need to say everything clearer to him since she knew he was a shrewd man toprehend the tiny bits of hint.


    Sure enough, Shi Tian instantly understood her focal point, which was the fact that she was in a hierarchy that could obtain information faster than normal people.


    "Hmm, I understand that part, but why were you specifically targeted in the first ce?" He then asked.


    "Because in my inventory, I have a device that can help me navigate the New Region once it''s fully open. And the device is that of Ancient Technology."

 Chapter 80 Last Meal

    <h4>Chapter 80 Last Meal</h4>


    Shi Tian was dumbfounded when he once again heard another mention of Ancient Technology.


    Previously when he was at the Horology Restaurant, there was a guy named Edwin that had also mentioned Ancient Technology and instantly attracted everyone''s attention.


    Just what was so special about Ancient Technology?


    While eating, Vanessa saw his dazed look- the same look he had when she first mentioned the potions.


    "Seriously, just where did youe from? A rock?" Vanessa asked curiously, making a reference to the fictional monkey king that was born from a rock and knew absolutely nothing about the world.


    "Ahem, it''s more like I''m just a meremoner with barely any experience that you high-ss people know." Shi Tian faked a cough and gave a half-hearted excuse.


    Vanessa sighed softly and decided to be generous after thinking about how he gave her the potion to recover.


    Who told her to be this nice in general?


    "Ancient Technology is basically a term used to describe the items that were dropped alongside the monsters that came to this world 132 years ago. No one truly knows the origin of these items, but one thing was for certain. Their power and usage were beyond our scope of understanding. Even now, not a single person could replicate the items or produce simr effects." Vanessa said in a solemn tone.


    Shi Tian was silent, seemingly in deep thought. ''So Ancient Technology is technically a cheat item in general. And they are from the same source of the monsters that had ravaged our world.''


    If he was to consider this, then it wasn''t weird for people to be crazed to explore to obtain Ancient Technology for themselves.


    Quickly finishing up a few bits of his own food, Shi Tian then stood up, ready to head to bed and sleep.


    Meanwhile, Vanessa was dumbstruck to see him going to rest.


    ''The heck?'' She eximed in shock. Clearly, she had revealed the fact that she was someone with Ancient Technology in her inventory. Yet not only did he not enquire what it was, he also didn''t even bother to ask for a nce.


    "Are you not curious about my Ancient Technology?" She asked, unable to withhold her curiosity.


    "There is some curiosity, but not enough for me to pry further. Just finish your food and throw it in the trash can afterward. I''m exhausted and you should still rest despite being recovered. There is a guest room on the far left side, so you can sleep there instead of the couch." Shi Tian yawned and waved his hand, entering his bedroom.


    Seeing him enter the bedroom, Vanessa chuckled softly in disbelief. As hateful as he was and how he constantly fooled her, she was still in awe at how indifferent he was.


    Who would be able to stay indifferent when Ancient Technology was practically a heavenly-defying item that could alter the structure of the world?


    "Ugh, whatever. This bastard is always unpredictable, changing face faster than changing clothes." Vanessa shook her head and refused to brood over the matter.


    Instead, she finished off her food before going to the guest room that Shi Tian directed. It was truly a hectic day for her today, and she wished to get some rest despite being fully recovered from the potion''s effect already.


    Time slowly passed by, and morning soon arrived after a long and tedious night they had experienced.


    When Vanessa got out of the guest room, she noticed Shi Tian''s presence was gone. As an Esper ss person, her sense of detection was quite wide, so she could tell that Shi Tian was no longer in the home even if she didn''t personally see him.


    ''Where did he go?'' Vanessa wondered silently.


    Though her question was quickly answered within a few minutester.


    Shi Tian had returned, and in his hand was holding a bag of food.


    "You went to get breakfast?" Vanessa asked in a surprised tone.


    "Yeah, only for my portion." Shi Tian responded swiftly. He then ced the food on the diner table under her resentful gaze.


    Clearly, she was mad and irritated that he went out to buy breakfast but didn''t get it for her as well.


    Wasn''t it a basic courtesy to buy for someone else if they are living with you in the same house temporarily?


    Like even if he was displeased or wary of her, he could have at least still bought some food for her? She wasn''t that broke and could still afford to pay him back.


    "You are really a bastard," Vanessa clicked her tongue andined, getting herself ready to head out and buy her own food.


    However, she quickly paused when she saw the type of food Shi Tian had brought. There were a total of five take-out boxes. Each of the take-out boxes was huge as well.


    And before she could even speak out, she saw Shi Tian opening one of the take-out boxes. She was instantly dumbfounded to see the content was actually Minasarus meat.


    ''He actually remembered?'' She was astonished to see him actually recall her talking about this particr meat when she only casually mentioned it.


    Her stomach quickly betrayed her and she was starting to drool upon the sight of the Minasarus meat.


    Shi Tian snickered at that sight, prompting Vanessa to wipe the drool off her mouth.


    "Hmph, you are truly wicked." She spat, ready to leave the house so that she won''t be forced to watch him gloat around.


    "Oh? You''re leaving huh. Then I suppose that I''ll have to eat this Minasarus meat all by myself." Shi Tian said calmly.


    "Tsk, just why are you always taunting me?" Vanessa clicked her tongue and asked. She couldn''t understand him a bit. One moment he was so caring about her, but the next moment, he was so rude and always taunting her.


    "Then why are you always so rude and always cursing at me?"


    "Wasn''t it because of your conduct?"


    "Conduct?" Shi Tian shook his head and chuckled softly.


    "I''m already being quite lenient for someone who was practically duped into rescuing a stranger and got dragged into some muddy water. Now, go wash your hands and eat. Yourst meal that is."

 Chapter 81 Unexpected Request

    <h4>Chapter 81 Unexpected Request</h4>


    "Last meal?" Vanessa was rmed and went into battle mode almost instantaneously.


    "What the heck are you doing?"


    Meanwhile, Shi Tian was looking at her in confusion, wondering what had caused her temper to re up again.


    "Weren''t you trying to harm me?" Vanessa narrowed her eyes and asked solemnly.


    "..."


    At this moment, Shi Tian finally realized one thing. She was definitely a flower-vase woman that had never interacted with anyone before.


    Just how ignorant and greenhorn could she be?


    "Seriously, how did you even survive for so long, Vanessa?" Shi Tian asked curiously.


    "We had made an oath already, so did you really think I would or could have harmed you in any form? I''m saying this is yourst meal because after this meal, you will disappear from my life and we''ll pretend to never know each other." He calmly exined, knocking some logical sense into her faulty brain.


    And if it wasn''t for the effectiveness of the Restorative Potion, then Shi Tian would have thought it was yet another faulty product of the previous tenant which resulted in Vanessa''s brain to be functioning worse than a little kid.


    Sure enough, Vanessa''s face turned beet red when she realized she had misunderstood his words.


    ''What the heck? This bastard must definitely be trolling me. Who the hell would say eat yourst meal to someone ever??!'' Vanessa cursed inwardly.


    To tell someone to eat theirst meal was equivalent to saying that after this meal, they shall die. It was amon quote for prisoners that would be executed soon to enjoy thest meal of their life.


    Hence, she thought Shi Tian was attempting to harm, forgetting about the fact that they had made an oathst night.


    "Go wash your hands already. Why are you still standing like a dork?" Shi Tianmanded, walking to the kitchen area by himself and washing his hands.


    "Couldn''t you have expressed yourself and words better?" Vanessa muttered. Nevertheless, she still followed hismand and went to the kitchen area to wash her hands as well.


    Sometimeter, the two of them began enjoying their meal and Vanessa was in a blissful mood, being able to eat her favorite meat dish.


    "Haa~ Minasarus meat is just different. The meat tenderization and vor are just top-notch." She eximed in joy.


    She was like a little girl that had just gotten her favorite toy,pletely void of her previous fiery hot temper.


    Shi Tian sighed softly, grabbed a few tissues, and gave them to her. "It might be your favorite food, but you don''t need to eat like a mess. There''s sauce in the corner of your mouth."


    Maybe it was because she was enjoying her food, Vanessa didn''t seem to mind his words and smiled lightly.


    "Thanks," She grabbed the tissue and wiped the sauce off, surprising him.


    Ever since they had met, she was constantly throwing a fit, yet this time, she was surprisingly polite and sweet.


    Could food be the cure for this woman''s temper?


    That was the mindset Shi Tian had, but decided to keep it to himself, lest, this woman''s temper might re up again.


    Sometimeter, the food on the diner table was quickly finished, despite the huge portions there were. It goes to show just how big their appetite was considering the hectic night they had been through yesterday.


    As Shi Tian stood up and got ready to clean up the food, Vanessa suddenly grabbed his wrist.


    "Nathan¡­" She said in a muffled tone, her head loweredpletely, almost to the point that it was touching the diner table.


    Shi Tian nced at her hand that was holding his wrist in confusion. "What is it? Don''t tell me you still want to eat more food?"


    He was clearly teasing her by indirectly calling her fat, but to his dismay, she didn''t overreact and still kept her head down, remaining silent.


    "Okay, what is it?" Annoyed, Shi Tian ced the take-out boxes down and asked calmly.


    A few secondster, Vanessa finally mustered up the courage to lift her head up and stared at Shi Tian.


    "C-Can I stay here and not leave?" She asked timidly. Clearly, she knew it was shameless of her to even request such a thing, but what could she do?


    She was technically alone in Gearits City at the moment, and this was the safest ce currently for her thanks to the Crimson Mage''s reputation and high-security cement.


    Back when Shi Tian was still carrying her in his arms, she had sensed the security of this ce to be even better than the inner zone of Gearits City.


    And this was proven greatly when she had a great sleepst night without any interference or attack from the White Syndicate. Given that she had already taken a huge loss against their ambush, she needed to secure a safe ce and wait for reinforcement from her family to arrive.


    Patiently waiting for his response, she didn''t realize how anxious and tense she had be.


    Normally, whenever she requested someone for something, they would always wag their tail and readily agree with her without bothering to know the content.


    However, Shi Tian was like a different species, not even giving a damn about her appearance whatsoever. And she also knew if she dared to speak up about her identity, then it would only make matters worse.


    Through her observation of him, he was not the type to cower in fear because of some reputation or family influence. He was the type to ept the soft approach rather than the hard approach.


    Although most usually hate these types of people, Vanessa was rather fond of it because one thing was for certain. They aren''t hypocrites and would always honor their promise.


    "Why do you want to stay here? Don''t you know that people might misunderstand us if they see a woman and man living together?" Shi Tian said in a roundabout way, hoping that she would reconsider her thought.


    "As if I give a damn about what others review or think about me!" Vanessa snorted and ced down a mid-tier Source Crystal on the diner table.


    "Here''s the payment for my temporary stay here."


    "Hah, you really thought too little of me." Shi Tian crossed his arms and sneered coldly.


    Though the very next second, he snatched the mid-tier Source Crystal and smiled, "Enjoy your stay!"

 Chapter 82 Shrewdness

    <h4>Chapter 82 Shrewdness</h4>


    Vanessa was rendered speechlesspletely when she witnessed the swift action of Shi Tian. She had just ced the mid-tier Source Crystal down, and it didn''t take long for it to disappear from there.


    Shi Tian''s hands were faster than a leopard, directly snatching and storing it.


    Though who could me him for having such fast hands?


    Even Old Man Chao struggled to hustle for these Source Crystals, and yet here we are. A wealthy young woman outright brought out such high-purity Source Crystal on the diner table as if it was nothing.


    How could Shi Tian not capture this chance?


    It was merely to stay temporarily, and he was already dragged into the muddy water. Be itpensation or payment, he would not argue in front of money which was the most practical thing.


    "Anyway, you can stay here, but only for approximately 20 days. After all, I doubt you could stand me for that long." Shi Tian shrugged his shoulders and said.


    "Though if you pay me more, then you could extend your stay." He then added.


    "..."


    Vanessa was currently still in a good mood, so she decided to let him go and not argue with him.


    ''Hmph, if I hadn''t seen the price of that Minasarus meat dish to be a whopping 10 low-tier Source Crystal, then I would have strangled you.'' She cursed inwardly.


    There was a QR code on top of the take-out boxes, so she had taken the chance to scan it while Shi Tian was cleaning his hands in the kitchen. And when she saw how expensive the Minasarus meat was, she was dumbfounded.


    She didn''t know that the meat dish she craved was a luxury meal.


    What astonished her even further was the fact that Shi Tian kept silent about it and didn''t divulge the price during their whole meal interaction.


    This goes to show that he might be extremely hateful, but at the very least, he still had a gentle side that seemed to remain hidden from the surface.


    "I''m tired," Vanessa clenched her fist and said, walking back to the guest room.


    She was taking this step back because of today''s meal consideration. Otherwise, she wasn''t going to let him off easily.


    ''Sigh, woman¡­'' Shi Tian shook his head and cleaned the diner table.


    After cleaning the table, Shi Tian went back to his room, going online with his Cellos device. He was hoping to find some information regarding Vanessa''s identity.


    For someone to be able to take out a mid-tier Source Crystal in such a nonchnt manner, it doesn''t take a genius to figure out her identity must be someone special.


    Not to mention, she had stated that she owned an Ancient Technology herself, so without any background or power to back it up, there was no way she could keep it.


    It was also because of this reason that Shi Tian allowed her to temporarily stay here. Making someone like Vanessa feel grateful and owe him a favor would definitely benefit him in the long term.


    Added to the fact that she was not allowed to harm him due to the oath, it was equivalent to him earning a powerful ally with a cost value of zero.


    "Heh, the investment of buying the Minasarus Meat paid off well. I almost had a heartache when I saw the exorbitant price, but luckily, I earned it back at almost ten times the value." Shi Tian chuckled, feeling proud of himself.


    How could he not know what Vanessa was doing behind his back?


    There are surveince cameras equipped around in the living room, so he could always see what she was doing.


    ''Don''t me me for the shrewdness, Vanessa. It''s your fault to be easily manipted.'' Shi Tian eximed inwardly. Throughout their interaction, he realized she was probably a young miss from a good family background.


    But as they always say, those who are ustomed to wealth and having people serve them daily are the ones who have never seen the hideous world. Not to mention, they are the type to love adventure and are prone to being impulsive.


    It was also because of these traits and the environment that they lived in throughout their lives that made it easy for them to be manipted.


    When he realized this fact initially, his first n was to constantly irritate this young miss, and then in a roundabout way, he gave her some sweets, which in this process was the meat she was craving for.


    And sure enough, she was touched and started to have a good impression of him all for the low cost of 10 low-tier Source Crystal.


    It was a typical old trick in the book of the supposed carrot and the stick, but an old trick always worked wondrous. Without wasting much effort, he had swindled her thoroughly such as swearing an oath to prevent either party from harming the others.


    Just thinking about it to this point, Shi Tian was starting tough. From being dragged into an unknown and dangerous situation, he was able to change the tide and made it to his advantage.


    The security in this apartmentplex was marvelous, and with the Crimson Mage''s reputation, Vanessa would be safe so long as she stayed in the house and waited for reinforcement.


    As for him, the enemies had never seen his face nor did they evene to realize he had saved Vanessa. Thus, he was safe temporarily and did not have to worry about being targeted.


    "Tit for tat, I''m never the type to take a loss." He muttered softly, getting up from the bed and starting to get ready to leave the house.


    Isaac Aaronax had told him toe early if he wanted to study mechanics under him, so he might as well do as instructed to increase his knowledge.


    ''Master Isaac might be teaching me wholeheartedly, but I''m sure he would be requesting me for a favor soon. If I''m not wrong, then it should be a matter rted to Ynda. Otherwise, he wouldn''t have taken me as an apprentice.'' Shi Tian thought to himself.

 Chapter 83 Hidden Dangers

    <h4>Chapter 83 Hidden Dangers </h4>


    In times of chaos and havoc, people tend to be selfish with only their profits and benefits in mind. Such was the way humans are embedded with.


    Thus, Shi Tian never once believed his talents were enough to ever catch Isaac Aaronax''s attention into epting him as an apprentice.


    And even if his talents were high, there must still be an underlying reason why Isaac Aaronax would ept him. With that in mind, the only usible exnation was his ties with Ynda.


    At first, Shi Tian believed Ynda had died because of the Tenceloras and that he managed to escape unscathed due to Tenceloras not paying his pathetic existence to mind.


    However, that thought process was now shattered by the appearance of Vanessa, who suffered simr injuries as Ynda.


    When he was bandaging her, Shi Tian had also used this as an opportunity to inspect her wounds and realized it was the exact same wounds Ynda received upon her death.


    "The White Syndicate¡­ Master Isaac''s rtionship with Ynda. Everything just seems to be shrouded in aplicated mystery." Shi Tian muttered, feeling a heavy burden ced on top of him.


    No matter what, the truth remained that Ynda did die to save him regardless of whether she was truly killed by the Tenceloras or not.


    Sighing exhaustively, Shi Tian decided to keep this thought dormant and not divulged further. The current him was simply too weak to do anything- even if he learned of the truth, there was nothing he could aplish with that information.


    ''Master Isaac wishes to use me, then vice versa, I shall use him to increase my power and knowledge.'' A hint of glint appeared through his eyes as he vowed to be stronger.


    After all, no tricks or schemes would work against absolute power. A prime example would be the Crimson Mage, a figure enough to deter even the military to paypensation.


    Sometimeter, Shi Tian left the house, not even bothering to check up on Vanessa. He doubted she would be foolish enough to venture outside and risk being detected.


    Heading toward Optic Mech, Shi Tian saw Mary walking from afar.


    He raised his hand and was about to call her out to give his greeting, but paused when he realized she looked a bit abnormal today. She always exuded an air of calm and casualness, even smiling amicably from time to time, but the current her was void of that.


    She looked a bit frantic and seemed to be cautious of her surroundings, directly rushing to an alley.


    ''Weird, where is she headed to?'' Shi Tian raised an eyebrow, lowering his hand. It was already daytime and the sun was brightening the street, so why would she be acting like a thief?


    While he was confused by Mary''s confusing act,? he saw three more people that covered themselves with ck clothes following in the footsteps of Mary.


    Based on their movement, it was quite clear for him to realize they were spying on or tracking Mary.


    "Forget it, Mary isn''t some fool to not realize she''s being followed." Shi Tian muttered, shook his head, and continued his pathing toward Optic Mech.


    As for her safety, Shi Tian was positive she was hiding her strength. In fact, she could possibly be stronger than him if they were to truly fight against each other.


    Time slowly passed by, and Shi Tian arrived at Optic Mech. And maybe the employees were notified of his presence by Isaac Aaronax or Mary, but none of them went up to stop him or ask what he wanted and allowed him to go straight up to the fifth floor.


    Naturally, Shi Tian didn''t bother to announce his arrival since he was merely a nobody and only wished to study under Isaac Aaronax.


    However, when he arrived at the fifth floor, he nearly choked on his own saliva.


    To his astonishment, he saw Mary sitting at the receptionist''s desk, talking amicably to a customer.


    ''What the heck? Wasn''t she just by the alley previously? How did shee back here?'' Shi Tian eximed inwardly. He was shocked and dazed by her appearance, clearly not expecting to see her.


    "Oh, you''re here Nathan," Mary suddenly called out to him when she noticed his presence.


    "Ahh, yes, Mary. I''m here to look for Master Isaac." Remainingposed, Shi Tian made sure to act naturally and pretended nothing had happened.


    Even if he couldn''t predict how she managed to arrive faster than him, he wasn''t going to be dumb enough to enquire about her whereabouts.


    They weren''t that close, and asking where she went previously would be considered impolite. Not to mention, it might cause some rifts between them, and Shi Tian had no n in offending her.


    ''Hmm, why is he acting a bit unnatural?'' Unfortunately for Shi Tian though, Mary managed to catch a glimpse of his unnaturalness. She had been working as a receptionist for a long time, so she could deduce something was amiss with Shi Tianpared to his usual self.


    Despite noticing it, she pretended to not notice it and feigned innocence, "Mechanist Isaac Aaronax is currently working on amission for a customer, so you''ll have to wait a while. Though he did instruct me that you are free to use the training facility under his name."


    With that said, she stood up and guided him to the training facility. After all, the training facility was a restricted area and needed clearance to be there.


    As she walked in front of him, Shi Tian saw the edge of her clothes was slightly ruined, albeit minimal. Without keen eyesight, no one would be able to detect that the clothes were ripped. It was a very tiny fabric cut off from the clothes.


    And it didn''t even seem like Mary herself had noticed her clothes were slightly ripped apart either.


    Squinting his eyes, Shi Tian shook his head and decided to stop inspecting her to avoid trouble. ''Gearits City is truly a ce with many hidden dangers.''

 Chapter 84 Steelloy

    <h4>Chapter 84 Steelloy </h4>


    A few minutes had gone by, and Mary was scanning her pupil to get clearance for the training facility entry.


    To enter the training facility area, one must scan their pupil to open the door, but it was different if one were to leave.


    If one were to leave the training facility area, then there isn''t a need to scan their pupil. Otherwise, it would be a troublesome matter to always enter and exit the training facility.


    Mary suddenly paused, turned around, and said, "Alright, I shall leave you here, Nathan. I still need to head back to the reception area and handle the customers."


    Shi Tian nodded his head.


    "Thanks for the guidance, Mary." He cupped his fist and gave his thanks.


    "Anytime," Mary waved her hand.


    "Oh, by the way, it''s better to not stare at someone so intensely. Otherwise, some might mistake you as a pervert." She then said, teasing him.


    Meanwhile, Shi Tian was taken aback as he understood her underlying meaning. It seemed to be safe to say that she had already realized he was suspecting her of something, and was warning him to pay no heed to it.


    "You surely must be jestering me, Mary. Every man would have beenbeled as a pervert since Mary is such a beautiful woman." Shi Tian smiled and said.


    "Oh my, I didn''t notice you were such a sweet talker before." Mary giggled sweetly and left the training facility, not bothering to say anymore.


    When talking to clever people, there was no need to spell things out. The two of them understood each other, so not unraveling it was the best oue.


    Of course, Shi Tian also understood that he needed to pay attention to his conduct in the future. His every little bit of action would be detected easily by someone strong or someone with high perception.


    And based on this interaction, he suspected that Mary should have long noticed his presence on the street earlier but feigned ignorance. It was clear that she didn''t mind being seen by him, but at the same time, she didn''t want him to be announcing it everywhere.


    Hence, she was warning him to not divulge his findings using the pretext of him staring at her intensively.


    ''What a scary receptionist¡­'' Shi Tian thought to himself.


    He could seriously not underestimate anyone within Gearits City. Benmos was just a lucky case in which he was truly an all-brawn but no-brain man. The monsters in the wilderness are dangerous, but the people living in Gearits City are even more dangerous.


    Smiling bitterly, Shi Tian turned on the machinery and began practicing on a dummy robot. The dummy robot wasn''t as insane and crazy as the one that was formed using the formation. It can''t copy his ability, but the dummy robot still possessed some fighting ability.


    Instead of trying to ascend to the sky in one go, Shi Tian decided to take it easy and start from the lowest. The dummy robot offered in this particr machinery here was the lowest quality one.


    However, that doesn''t mean the dummy robot was by any means weak since Shi Tian still needed to be wary of its fighting prowess which was enough to shock him temporarily if he wasn''t careful enough.


    The dummy robot''s body was constructed with Steelloy, a type of metal that was a bit superior to steel. It was a new type of metal that was discovered along with the many changes that the fissure sky had brought.


    BAM!


    As Shi Tian''s mechanical right arm collided with the fist of the dummy robot, strong friction was created. The friction between the two types of metals worked against the motion and acted in the opposite direction, causing Shi Tian to nearly fumble as he went past the dummy robot.


    And although his right arm was a mechanical one, he still felt numb from the forces.


    After testing the difference in strength between him and the dummy robot, Shi Tian no longer fought it directly. Instead of a frontal collision like he usually does, Shi Tian was focusing on his movement to get to an advantageous opening for him to hit.


    asionally, he would kick the dummy robot when it rushed forward for an attack, and use the momentum to repel himself away, creating some distance to n for his next action. Besides kicking, he would also use his left hand to punch and block.


    Of course, that would mean his left hand was feeling the full blunt power punches of the dummy robot, causing him to feel pain.


    Despite being injured, Shi Tian wasposed and continued to use his other body part to counter the dummy robot, refraining from using his mechanical right arm much.


    After all, having a huge reliance on his mechanical right arm would be detrimental to his growth as a fighter and as a person.


    If every time he required his mechanical right arm to fight, then what would happen if one day his mechanical right arm were to be destroyed or be faulty?


    Wouldn''t that be equivalent to losing all his fighting capability?


    Thus, Shi Tian was willing to test whatever moves he was capable of to fight the dummy robot.


    And just like that, Shi Tian spent an unknown amount of time improving his fighting ability. The Steelloy of the dummy robot was also in a dpidated state from all the kicking and punching he had done.


    "Seems like that''s the limit of the dummy robot." Shi Tian muttered, realizing the movement and action of the dummy robot had slowed down tremendously. It was clear that the dummy robot could barely stand by itself after taking so many hits from him.


    "Since it''s gone, I might as well test the function of the right arm again and increase the force by 1 ton only." He then clenched his mechanical right arm as clear white steam began pumping out from the elbow.


    With the force generated, Shi Tian propelled himself forward and punched the dummy robot, demolishing its entirety.

 Chapter 85 Deceived

    <h4>Chapter 85 Deceived </h4>


    Once the dummy robot was demolishedpletely with the 1-ton force punch, Shi Tian was satisfied. It might not be impressive given that the dummy robot wasn''t of the same strength as the formation robot one, but he was able to improve some of his w movement.


    His movements have been sluggish and usually in disarray, giving him quite a disadvantage. When fighting, knowing the correct footwork and how to position yourself in an advantageous position was crucial in winning.


    Sometimes, it doesn''t even matter if a person is powerful. If their movement was inferior to the opponent, then it would be difficult for them to win.


    Panting heavily, Shi Tian was about to search for some water to quench his thirst but halted when he saw Isaac Aaronax behind.


    "How long were you standing there, Master Isaac?" Shi Tian asked calmly. He wasn''t surprised by his appearance since Mary had most likely notified him of his arrival.


    Instead, he was more curious about how long he was standing there. After all, he hadn''t noticed his presence until he had turned around. And although this might not mean much on the surface, it is actually an important matter.


    To be able to stand behind him without alerting him or revealing his presence was equivalent to being able to assassinate him and he wouldn''t have an idea of how that urred.


    How could he not be worried by such a thing?


    Though naturally, a factor that was included in why he was so careless was theck of killing intent emanating from Isaac Aaronax. Since Isaac Aaronax didn''t have any killing intent directed at him, Shi Tian didn''t feel anything amiss and was focused on his training.


    Of course, all of that was just somefort thinking Shi Tian made for himself. A capable and professional assassin would always know how to conceal their killing intent.


    "You don''t have to look so wary, Nathan. I''m your master, not your enemy." Isaac Aaronax smiled and said, seemingly able to read his thoughts.


    Shi Tian merely smiled and didn''tment on that.


    Admitting or denying would be a terrible response either way. Only by staying silent would he still hold the right to be in control. If he were to admit or deny his im, then the conversation would be for Isaac Aaronax to control.


    ''This brat is a crafty one for sure.'' Isaac Aaronax eximed inwardly. Shaking his head, he found Shi Tian to be more and more likable. Maybe it was because he kept finding himself to be simr to Shi Tian, and it was this peculiar feeling that was preventing him from advancing his n.


    "Do you wish to learn how to conceal one''s presence?" Isaac Aaronax suddenly asked.


    Shi Tian was taken aback.


    "You''re willing to teach me?" He asked in a dazed tone.


    To be able to conceal one''s presence was definitely a great skill that could assist him in the long run. Just imagining the possibility of avoiding multiple enemies simply because they couldn''t detect his presence was already making him excited.


    "I''m willing to teach you, but that''s a topic derailed from the mechanic ss that I originally agreed to teach you. So you should know what I mean, right?" Isaac Aaronax responded subtly.


    Shi Tian narrowed his eyes and remained silent for a few seconds. Taking a deep breath, he then shook his head, "I''m not gay, so sorry, you have no chance at all, Master Isaac. I''d rather not learn the method to conceal one''s presence."


    "..."


    A darkened expression soon appeared on Isaac Aaronax''s face. It wasn''t because Shi Tian was rejecting him, but the fact that he was mistaking him as gay. He was a full-fledged man and back in his heyday, he was making love with multiple women daily.


    "You damn brat! How dare you tease your master!" Isaac Aaronax scolded in fury.


    How could he not tell Shi Tian was trolling him on purpose?


    With his intelligence, it was pretty clear as to what he wanted.


    Currently, there is only one big piece of news circting within Gearits City which almost all citizens are preparing for it: the New Region.


    Meanwhile, Shi Tian shrugged his shoulders and tilted his head, feigning ignorance purposely.


    Who told him to always try to sound mysterious and pretend to be a sage of some sort? If you want to request something, then say it outright instead of making the other party guess your intention.


    Don''t they know how hard is it to keep using the brain for such trivial matters?


    "Ugh, I''m already an old bone, so why couldn''t you just take a step back and give me some leeway." Isaac Aaronax scratched his head and said exhaustively.


    "An old bone that could still conceal many abilities and backgrounds. I doubt they could be considered an old bone anymore." Shi Tian said, shing a solemn expression.


    Sooner orter, their delicate facade would be broken, so it was better to expose some of their cards early on.


    "Hahaha, it''s truly a blessing for me to ept such a smart apprentice. At the very least, I wouldn''t be needing to exert a lot of effort to protect him since you know, there are too many idiots out in this world." Isaac Aaronaxughed heartily.


    Seeing himughing, Shi Tian decided to follow suit andughed along.


    After today, it was clear for the two of them regarding one thing.


    There was no need to put up much of a cautious act since both of them were each hiding their own secrets. Since both of them currently required the assistance of each other, then it simply meant a betrayal would be extremely low.


    "Ahh, this brat is already getting arrogant. I was truly deceived by your previous behavior andposure." Isaac Aaronax put his hands on his hip as he continued tough.


    "Isn''t it the other way around, Master Isaac? I was the one deceived by your amicable self." Shi Tianughed, shaking his head repeatedly.

 Chapter 86 Mechanical Principles

    <h4>Chapter 86 Mechanical Principles </h4>


    Shi Tian and Isaac Aaronax continued to spend the next few minutesughing until their stomach nearly burst.


    "Haa, an old bone like meughing continuously is really killing me," Isaac Aaronaxposed himself and stoppedughing. Though it was clear that he was still on the verge of trying tough, and was only suppressing his emotion.


    The same couldn''t be said for Shi Tian since he had managed to return to his calmposure with ease. Thanks to his passive ability, as long as he wanted to remain calm, the passive ability would work like a charm and be in effect faster.


    Of course, he could still attempt to suppress the effect from taking ce, but no matter what, the passive ability woulde to be to ensure his emotion never waver. It was only a matter of time for that to ur.


    "Anyway, you want me to venture into the New Region in disguise, right?" Shi Tian asked for confirmation. Although he was positive that was the condition Isaac Aaronax was looking for, it wouldn''t hurt to confirm the matter.


    He had learned to stop making inferences on things he noticed, given that it could either be true or false. It was best to not be overconfident into thinking he was omnipotent.


    "Not really in disguise, Nathan. It''s more of having you as the frontline and covering for someone else when you venture to the New Region." Isaac Aaroanx corrected.


    "So a decoy."


    "Precisely so, a decoy is more of the correct terminology. As you should know by now, my identity isn''t ordinary and so is Mary. We''ll be under heavy scrutiny once we make a move, so having you as the decoy would make things easier."


    Shi Tian nodded his head. He could understand the intention of Isaac Aaronax now that he made it extremely clear.


    Since he was a foreigner with practically no information regarding him, then the enemies that were watching Isaac Aaronax and Mary''s movement would be even more cautious.


    In fact, they would be extra vignt and spend more resources to investigate him instead. Thus, allowing an opening for both Isaac Aaronax and Mary to do what they wanted to with that crack.


    However, there was only one w in this n. And it was the fact that he was too weak to be acting as a decoy.


    He could falsify his identity and behavior, but there was one thing he couldn''t falsify no matter how hard he tried, and that was acting strong. In front of experienced people like Isaac Aaronax that had a high perception, his amateur fighting ability is easily detected.


    "No wonder why you''re willing to take me in as an apprentice and teach me," Shi Tian chuckled softly.


    The current him does not even qualify to be a decoy. Hence, Isaac Aaronax needed to exert some effort into teaching him the bare minimum for survival.


    After all, being a decoy means having the enemies'' focus directed mainly at him. Without some survival skills and abilities, the decoy would be destroyed in a matter of seconds, resulting in their n to foil.


    "Well, you didn''t have to feel that bad, Nathan. I admit that I was testing you when I first brought you to the formation room to test your skills and origins. After all, one must be vignt in this chaotic world, right?" Isaac Aaronax said, hoping that he would understand his action.


    And of course, Shi Tian naturally understood the concept. Though understanding and epting it were two different matters.


    "I wish to have some resources to be a proper Mechanic, and at the same time, I wish to learn the movement technique that you and Mary both practiced." Shi Tian stated his condition.


    Isaac Aaronax nodded his head. "Very well, it''s only proper that you would want something in return. The task I have for you isn''t simple after all."


    Even without Shi Tian stating such a condition, he was already nning on giving him such resources and a movement technique for him to practice.


    "I''m willing to give you a movement technique that isn''t a bit inferior to the ones that Mary and I practiced. And before you think I''m being stingy, the movement technique that the two of us practiced isn''t something simple. You''re a clever man, so you should understand it."


    "And about the resources?"


    "Rest assured, since I have already taken you as an apprentice regardless if it was official or not, I was going to give you them anyway."


    Shi Tian didn''t bother to say anything else and merely nodded his head. As for trusting whether he would honor his words or not, Shi Tian doubted Isaac Aaronax would be going back against his words.


    After all, the two of them currently require each other, and this is merely a deal with mutual benefits.


    Shi Tian would act as a decoy to let them perform actions behind the scenes whereas he would obtain resources to improve his strength.


    Sometimeter, the two of them exited the training facility and returned to his personal workshop.


    "Do you know about the basic mechanical principles, Nathan?" Isaac Aaronax asked.


    Shi Tian nodded his head.


    "There are a total of four basic mechanical principles that every mechanical problem could approach." He answered calmly.


    "Then what are the four basic mechanical principles, Nathan? And exin how those four are utilized for the mechanical right arm you''re currently equipped with." Isaac Aaronax then asked, continuously testing Shi Tian''s knowledge of mechanics.


    He wasn''t trying to make things difficult for him and was merely trying to grasp where he needed to begin to start teaching.


    Shi Tian also understood what Isaac Aaronax was trying to achieve with these questions.


    Thus, he could only take a deep breath and ready himself to answer the questions to the best of his ability.


    ''Why did it feel like I''m back to school and that Master Isaac is the professor haunting me?'' Shi Tian tilted his head and wondered silently.

 Chapter 87 Resources

    <h4>Chapter 87 Resources</h4>


    "The four basic mechanical principles are Free Body Diagram, Equilibrium of Forces, Discement Compatibility, and Stress-Strain or Force to Discement Rtions." Shi Tian answered the question in a textbook perfect form.


    However, Isaac Aaronax wasn''t impressed by the answer andmented.


    "Nathan, I''m not just asking what the four basic mechanical principles are, but how they are utilized." He said calmly.


    "I never said I was finished, Master Isaac." Shi Tian smiled calmly and ced his left hand on his right shoulder.


    A few secondster, Shi Tian detached the mechanical right arm. Since the mechanical right arm was linked with his body, it would only take a thought process to detach the arm away.


    He then ced the mechanical right arm on the desk and began exining the first principle.


    "When I first came here requesting for a mechanical right arm, you took my measurement. That was when you began the process of the Free Body Diagram. Not only were you measuring my body proportion to get the perfect measurement, you were also deducing the appropriate reaction or internal force that must be added in the right arm to match my physique." Shi Tian exined.


    "Go on," Isaac Aaronax said, staring at him, seemingly curious what he was going to do next.


    Shi Tian nodded his head, picked up the mechanical right arm and bnced it perfectly with his left palm.


    "The equilibrium of force principle was utilized here in which the right arm should be in the same dimension, magnitude, and proportion of my left arm. If any of it was to be slightly different, then my body would have been in great difort, and possibly even having my movement restricted or constrained." He calmly exined, before attaching the mechanical right arm back.


    After having it equipped for quite a while, Shi Tian was a bit ufortable to suddenly have it detached from him. Nevertheless, it was needed to demonstrate his exnation and let Isaac Aaronax know that he wasn''t some greenhorn.


    "Then what about the Discement Compatibility and the Stress Strain Rtions principles?" Isaac Aaronax asked.


    "Do I even need to exin further?" Shi Tian smirked and walked toward the machinery that Isaac Aaronax had used to take his measurement and equipped the mechanical right arm for him.


    "Technologies have been advanced to an unimaginary rate, so thest two principles were done by this machinery, saving a lot of time."


    "Heh, very well then. I suppose you do have the knowledge of being a basic apprentice." Isaac Aaroanx chuckled softly and nodded his head.


    Truthfully, he was already pleased to hear the first two exnations from Shi Tian. It was adequate but also not so far-fetched to bore him out.


    He then walked up and touched the machinery in a nostalgic manner.


    "Indeed, technologies have been improved and are the only reason why humanity is still surviving. Just this simple machinery was able to help save time for mechanics, but that doesn''t mean being a mechanic was an easy path." Isaac Aaronax said bitterly.


    He turned toward Shi Tian and asked solemnly, "Why do you think mechanics aren''t somon and why aren''t there many people willing to take on this path?"


    "The answer is quite simple, Master Isaac. It''s theck of resources." Shi Tian smiled.


    Isaac Aaronax nodded his head. "Correct, theck of resources is the greatest setback of anyone striving on the path of mechanics. Mechanics is the one ss that requires a ton of resources to even achieve somethingpared to the rest."


    It was a given that metals materials and other machinery required for a mechanic to use are limited. There was a reason why Gearits City contained so few mechanic shops, and even within some mechanic shops, the qualities are extremely subpar.


    The metals materials are difficult to obtain, since not all metals are usable. Not to mention, even if there were an abundant amount of metals avable, the qualities of them wouldn''t be satisfactory for them.


    And if there were great metal materials, it would already be taken by those on the top hierarchy.


    How could any ordinary mechanic get their hands on high quality materials?


    "Compared to the infinite amount of Magicules in this world, the other sses definitely have it easier. Magicules are everywhere and no one could monopolize them for self use." Isaac Aaronax sighed exasperatedly.


    Shi Tian remained silent, but inwardly, he understood Isaac Aaronax''s pain. Mechanics is truly the most expensive ss to strive for and have any achievement on.


    But what could he do?


    He had no talent in manipting the Magicules in this world whatsoever. Not everyone was blessed to have an affinity with Magicules.


    The Berserker ss, Magus ss, Esper ss, and even the mysterious irvoyant ss all use some form of Magicules. Only the Mechanic ss does not need any Magicules.


    When Shi Tian had learned of the world containing a substance known as Magicule, he attempted to study and manipte it, only to no avail.


    He couldn''t even sense Magicule, much less even be able to utilize them. Thus, he was only left with the option of bing a Mechanic if he wanted to be stronger.


    "Alright, let''s not get depressed over this matter. We might not be capable of manipting the Magicules, but we aren''t to be underestimated either. A capable Mechanic could craft something that is able to contend against those who could utilize Magicules." Isaac Aaronax lifted his sleeves and said confidently.


    Shi Tian smiled and nodded his head in agreement. They might not be able to utilize Magicules, but they could craft something that could mimic it.


    Just the powerful Light Beam that Isaac Aaronax had demonstrated previously was evident enough.


    Now that he had been exposed to the existence of Magicules, Shi Tian came to realize that the Light Beam was not only formed by abustion of forces, but also from the utilization of Magicules.


    "I''ll be in your guidance, Master Isaac. We shall let the world know not to underestimate a Mechanic."

 Chapter 88 Soldering

    <h4>Chapter 88 Soldering</h4>


    Isaac Aaronaxughed heartily in joy and was pleased to have epted Shi Tian as an apprentice. Never did he expect a momentous and impulsive decision would be his greatest one yet.


    "That''s right, Nathan. The world shall know that a Mechanic is not to be underestimated either and that we are not just some oldie stuck in a workshop forever." Isaac Aaronax said, taking out a few metal scraps and solder.


    The solder is a fusible metal alloy and is extremely thin. The purpose of solder was to connect two different types of metals together by melting them which is known as soldering.


    "You should know what soldering is, right Nathan?" Isaac Aaronax turned to him and asked.


    Shi Tian nodded his head.


    "I have done some soldering in the past, so I understand the process. We melt the solder at a temperature of at least 600 degrees Fahrenheit or above to connect two different metals. And the solder blob usually cools off rather quickly and creates a strong electrical bond." He then exined adequately.


    "Indeed, but soldering is a dangerous process." Isaac Aaronaxughed and revealed his left palm.


    "You see my left hand. I have burnt myself quite often back when I was starting to learn. So it''s good that you have some experience already."


    "Rest assured, Master Isaac. I won''t be careless like you that would inflict self-harm. Not to mention, I have this mechanical right arm to endure the heat for me." Shi Tian smiled innocently.


    Isaac Aaronax twitched his mouth slightly, clearly wanting to curse Shi Tian.


    Was he some suicidal freak?


    What the hell does he mean to inflict self-harm?


    "Go and solder all these mechanical parts for me. A customer had paid a lot tomission these, and as my apprentice, this job shall be done by you." Isaac Aaronax instructed cooly.


    He thought that this was going to be a good lesson to teach him not to be disrespectful toward their Master.


    However, Isaac Aaronax''s calctions were truly beyond incorrect.


    Instead of feeling depressed to do that much work, Shi Tian was smiling and was ready to solder them.


    This was a free experience to improve himself, so how could he not be joyful?


    "Thank you for the great opportunity, Master Isaac. I shall promptly get to work now. Otherwise, the customer would leave a bad review for us and note back if we work too slow." Shi Tian cupped his fist and said, walking to a corner desk and sitting down.


    "..."


    "Was I tricked?" Isaac Aaronax twitched his brows and muttered, clearly not expecting such an oue.


    At first, he thought Shi Tian was merely putting up a strong front to not give him satisfaction, but he was thoroughly wrong. Shi Tian was diligently soldering each mechanical part.


    His right hand was holding the soldering iron, the equipment that carried a high temperature to melt the solder, and his left hand was holding the thin solder.


    His hands werepletely in unison, melting the solder and connecting the mechanical parts swiftly.


    Unsure if he was doing it correctly, Isaac Aaronax walked closer and inspected Shi Tian''s works.


    ''Hmm, this brat really does have experience in soldering. The metals are connected well and he didn''t affect any of the metal pins.'' Isaac Aaronax evaluated silently.


    The metal pins are a dangerous part of the soldering process. After all, the metal pins are directly connected to the circuit, so if the soldering iron was to affect the metal pin, then there was a high chance of damaging the circuit connection.


    A simple example would be a Cellos device losing inte connection because of a damaging circuit in the interior due to a blob of solder blocking themunication.


    Nodding his head in approval, Isaac Aaronax subsequently went to work on his own thing. Since there wasn''t anything wrong with Shi Tian''s works, he wouldn''t be nitpicking him orplimenting him.


    After all, soldering is merely the basic process of a mechanic and nothing impressive.


    Time slowly passed by, and Shi Tian had finished soldering each of the assigned works. Turning off the soldering iron device, Shi Tian stood up and stretched his body.


    It had been quite a while since he needed to sit down for a long time and work.


    "Seems like you have finished soldering," Isaac Aaronax entered the door and said.


    Meanwhile, Shi Tian raised an eyebrow in confusion.


    "When did you leave the room, Master Isaac?" He asked in a dazed tone.


    "Seriously¡­ you should change that bad habit of yours, Nathan. Whenever you are focused on something, you lose track of your surroundings. This is really detrimental to you." Isaac Aaronax warned kindly.


    At the moment, it might not seem to be much, but if Shi Tian were to continue this behavior, then it wouldn''t be a surprise that he would get ambushed easily.


    Shi Tian scratched his head slightly in embarrassment. It was clear that he was somewhat ashamed of himself for being so negligent. Though he also couldn''t be med for the negligence since he didn''t have much vignce against Isaac Aaronax.


    The difference in strength between the two was high, so even if he was to remain vignt, he wouldn''t be able to defend much if Isaac Aaronax were to suddenly attack him.


    Meanwhile, Isaac Aaronax began to ponder over something before making a decision.


    "Nathan, you don''t have anything to do in these few days, right?" He then asked.


    Shi Tian nodded his head. "Yeah, I''m quite free for the next few days."


    There really isn''t much to do for him since he had achieved most of his objectives since entering Gearits City.


    He found a suitable living ce and could sustain himself for a while without needing to worry about his livelihood at the moment. To this, he was still grateful for Old Man Chao''s work even though he was attempting to get some more broker''s fee.


    "In that case, then are you willing to venture into the wilderness? I''m thinking of having you trained in your perception and could also use it as an opportunity to start practicing a movement technique." Isaac Aaronax suggested.

 Chapter 89 Fake Identification

    <h4>Chapter 89 Fake Identification</h4>


    Isaac Aaronax''s suggestion astounded Shi Tian dearly. It was clear that he had not thought about going outside the walls of Gearits City this early on.


    However, he was aware that going into the wilderness would be the best course of action.


    Gearits City was simply too safe for the people to feel any danger. Like even if murder wasmon, no one would actively search for people to kill.


    Unless one was offended, going their way to kill someone for no reason was imusible.


    Of course, there are still some exceptions who love to kill for fun simply because they can.


    "So what do you think about my suggestion?" Isaac Aaronax asked again. "If you are afraid of dying, then we can also do it in the training facility. Just that you won''t be able to raise your alertness or perception much."


    "Is that a provocation?" Shi Tian raised an eyebrow and asked.


    Afraid of death?


    What a hrious joke!


    If he was truly afraid of death, then he wouldn''t have entered Gearits City in the first ce. Instead, he would be at the camp outside the walls or a deserted ce, staying low and waiting for death naturally.


    "I''m not afraid of death, Master Isaac." Shi Tian then responded, showing a firm and determined expression.


    "If you''re not afraid of death, then what''s with the silence?" Isaac Aaronax enquired.


    ''Because I don''t have an identification card or barcode scan to re-enter Gearits City if I were to leave.'' That was what Shi Tian wanted to say aloud, but decided against it.


    The matter regarding him bribing an inspection guard to enter the city should not be revealed to anyone.


    Once that matter was revealed, everyone involved would be implicated as well. And that includes the inspection guard as well. Hence, not a single wise person would reveal this matter to anyone.


    Bribing for entry seemed to bemon as long as the money was sufficient, but there was also an unspoken hidden rule that everyone must follow and that was to keep their mouth shut.


    As Shi Tian remained silent, Isaac Aaronax was somewhat confused but decided to continue his suggestion.


    "Anyway, if you aren''t afraid of venturing into the wilderness, then I''ll prepare a set of fake identification cards for you. We wouldn''t want you to be exposed in the open right away, so the fake identification card would be used to conceal you."


    It was as if someone was singing something holy for Shi Tian when he heard Isaac Aaronax''s suggestion.


    "I see, then I shall await your arrangement, Master Isaac." Shi Tian gave a slight bow.


    Isaac Aaronax was slightly taken aback when he saw Shi Tian bing decisive again. Just a moment before he seemed to be wavering, but now he seemed to be in excitement.


    Nevertheless, Isaac Aaronax still nodded his head and told Shi Tian to take a rest for a few days until he got the fake identification card ready for him.


    "Alright, you can take this equipment home to practice for a while. And here is the blueprint for the Light Beam, so make sure no one else could see it. The Light Beam blueprint is an invention of mine." Isaac Aaronax said, pointing at the box on top of the desk.


    Shi Tian nodded his head.


    "Thank you, Master Isaac." He then held the box and nearly stumbled due to the heavyweight. The box looked small, but the weight was insane.


    Turning around, he saw Isaac Aaronax shing a cheeky smile, a clear remark that he had done it on purpose.


    "Whoops, I forgot to mention that they weigh quite a bit, so you should be careful about the distribution of your strength to carry it." Isaac Aaronaxughed.


    Shi Tian squinted his eyes, clearly unamused with his prank.


    "How childish for a person who proimed themselves as an old bone." Shi Tian jeered, using his back to open the door and leave.


    It was only a few secondster did Isaac Aaronaxe to reality.


    "This brat¡­ he dares to call me childish when I was being so generous? Doesn''t he know how valuable a blueprint was and the fact that I was even willing to take it out to teach him?" Isaac Aaronax harrumphed and stomped his feet like a little kid.


    s, Shi Tian had left the scene already to witness such a scene.


    He was having trouble carrying the box as he struggled to make his way toward the receptionist area. The box was technically blocking his line of sight, prompting him to not know the direction he was walking in.


    While walking, Shi Tian suddenly heard a familiar voice.


    "Nathan, are you alright?" It was Mary, who seemed to be on break, and noticed Shi Tian carrying a heavy box.


    Exhausted, Shi Tian ced the box down and shed a bitter smile. "Yeah, I''m fine. It''s just that the box Master Isaac gave me was a bit heavy."


    "A bit heavy?" Mary raised an eyebrow, and then subconsciously nced at the box and Shi Tian''s forehead which had some beads of sweat dripping down.


    "Are you sure it''s just a bit heavy?" She then asked, looking at him with a funny expression.


    "No, it''s heavy and I''m struggling. There, you got the response you wanted to hear." Shi Tian panted heavily and said.


    "I didn''t mean to shame you, Nathan." Mary hurriedly exined, worried that he might have misunderstood her intention.


    "No worries, I''m not ashamed. It''s a fact that the box seemed to be weighed weirdly and was causing me to exert most of my strength to even lift it up." Shi Tian shook his head, retrieved a napkin from his pocket, and wiped his sweat.


    Since he was always sweating a lot during the training, he brought a napkin with him all the time.


    Meanwhile, Mary was starting to be curious and pointed at the box.


    "Do you mind if I open it and check on the content?" She turned to him and asked. It was rude to open someone else''s inventory without permission, so she wanted to get his permission before confirming her suspicions.

 Chapter 90 Metallic Stone

    <h4>Chapter 90 Metallic Stone</h4>


    Shi Tian was wiping off his sweat and gave his permission to let Mary check on the content within the box. Given that Mary was an assistant of Isaac Aaronax and seemed to have a close rtionship, he wasn''t afraid of her trying something funny.


    And with permission granted, Mary smoothly opened the box and began to inspect the content.


    Within the box, she saw a soldering iron, some mechanical parts most likely for soldering, and a blueprint.


    ''This is¡­'' Holding the blueprint, Mary was astonished to see it was a blueprint for the Light Beam manufacturing process.


    It was clear that she wasn''t expecting to discover such a blueprint to be stored in such a box.


    A few secondster, she shed a smile and looked at him, "Seems like Mechanist Isaac Aaronax holds you in high regard, Nathan."


    She didn''t suspect Shi Tian was stealing the blueprint and knew it was something granted by Isaac Aaronax.


    Shi Tian nodded his head.


    "Master Isaac does teach me a lot of things. And he was nning to assign me to head toward the wilderness to practice in a few days." He calmly revealed.


    "Is there anything else you want to inspect in the box?"


    Mary was about to shake her head but noticed a shiny object glowing in the corner of the box. Confused, she moved aside the equipment and her expression changed for the worse.


    "Hah, no wonder why you were even struggling to carry the box. That Mechanist Isaac Aaronax is back to his old trick." Marymented and took the glowing object out of the box.


    The object was rectangr shaped and colored in ck, but was somewhat shiny, illuminating a dim light.


    "Do you know what this is?" She then asked Shi Tian.


    Shi Tian shook his head.


    "I''m not sure what it is, Mary." It was also his first time seeing such a strange object. He thought it was just some mechanical parts that required soldering as well but seeing Mary''s astonished look andment, it seemed to be signifying something else instead.


    "Sigh, this is a Metallic Stone, and depending on how you hold it, the weight would intensify," Mary exined.


    "So it was this tiny object that caused the box to weigh so heavily?" Shi Tian was dumbfounded.


    Who could have predicted such a tiny object was able to magnify the weight of an object?


    "Here, you can try holding it," Mary said, cing the Metallic Stone on him gently.


    And the moment she released her hand, Shi Tian felt as if a heavy boulder was stomping on him. Luckily, he was already mentally prepared for the heavyweight thanks to her exnation. Otherwise, he would have copsed from the sudden weight imposed on him.


    "Why would Master Isaac ce the Metallic Stone in the box? Was he trying to y a prank on me?" Shi Tian asked her. Since Mary was able to tell something was amiss by a small nce, he was truly looking at her for an answer.


    "No, I doubt he was trying to y a prank on you, but was trying to train you instead. The Metallic Stone might seem like a chore, but it is a great training method to improve one''s strength and stamina." Mary shook her head and exined.


    "Improve one''s strength and stamina?"


    "Mhmm, the Metallic Stone is somewhat of a rare item, to be honest, and the weight it imposed on you could be adjusted. By always carrying it, you would feel like carrying a heavy burden constantly, but once removed, you would then get an imaginary feeling of receiving a powerful boost."


    "I see¡­" Shi Tian mumbled, holding on to the Metallic Stone tightly.


    What she basically meant was that this Metallic Stone was capable of making you carry a ton of weight as a form of training. And that when you remove it, your body would feel lightweight, giving a false sense of having your strength increased when in fact, it was the result of the training.


    "Wait a minute, if this is supposed to be beneficial for me, why did Master Isaac secretly ce it in the box instead of exining it to me directly?" Shi Tian asked confusingly.


    "Because that''s his style. Back then, I was fooled into carrying the Metallic Stone unknowingly and thought I was just being weak." Mary smiled bitterly in response.


    "Hah, so you were a victim of his prank as well." Shi Tian chuckled in defeat, sympathizing with Mary. Both of them were victims, so naturally, they could somewhat understand each other.


    To be honest, Shi Tian really thought he had be weak when he couldn''t even carry the box. But then that wasn''t the truth, and it was because of Isaac Aaronax''s sneaky conduct in cing a Metallic Stone.


    "Anyway, it''s good to carry this often on your body to train. Even I had to do this for 5 years before stopping." Mary patted his shoulders and said, wishing him good luck.


    "Thanks, I shall heed your advice." Shi Tian stored the Metallic Stone in his pocket, feeling the weight upon him start amplifying.


    He then slowly knelt on the ground and lifted up the box, carrying it and walking away.


    "Do you need me to press the elevator for you?"


    "Yes, please¡­"


    Mary giggled softly when she saw his struggle. Assisting him with opening the elevator and pressing the floor button, she gave him a thumbs up.


    "Good luck with your training, Nathan."


    "Thank you."


    With the elevator door closed, Mary''s smile soon vanished and was reced with a solemn expression.


    She subsequently went to her desk and pressed a button, temporarily shutting down the business, and dashed toward Isaac Aaronax''s workshop.


    "Why did you give him the Metallic Stone?" She asked the moment she arrived.


    "Heh, I knew you would have sensed it, but didn''t expect you to find out that quickly." Isaac Aaronax chuckled, not bothered by the fact that he was exposed.


    "Nathan is going to be our decoy, so naturally, I need him to have some self-defense means. The Metallic Stone is the perfect item since it can assist him in training, but also protect him in case of danger."

 Chapter 91 Trial

    <h4>Chapter 91 Trial</h4>


    Mary felt like she was getting a migraine when Isaac Aaronax kept doing things as he pleased.


    "Seriously, do you even know how important the Metallic Stone was? Luckily, Nathan doesn''t seem to know everything and believed my gibberish." Mary ruffled her hair and said in frustration.


    She was frustrated by his conduct and method that always seemed to bring danger to their current position.


    Like how could he be so careless?


    In fact, she was too speechless to even scold any further because he would most definitely forget about it the very next day.


    As she stayed silent for a few seconds, Isaac Aaronax subsequently asked, "Is that all?"


    It was as if a volcano had erupted, and Mary was beyond furious. She quickly circted the Magicules in her surroundings and sted at him.


    BAM!


    Luckily, Isaac Aaronax reacted in time and managed to bring out a shield and blocked the shot from Mary.


    "Rx, Mary. Why must we resort to violence?" Isaac Aaronax said, seemingly trying to pacify her.


    "Speak another word, and I''m going to hit you with my full force." Mary clicked her tongue and threatened in a low tone.


    Instantly, Isaac Aaronax seemed to have turned into a docile cat, sitting properly and having his mouth shut.


    He knew things were serious if she ever threatened in a low tone. He wasn''t afraid if she was scolding loudly or not, but was definitely frightened when her tone was barely audible.


    That was the cue when she was truly angry and would erupt at the speed of light.


    Seeing Isaac Aaronax acting like a docile and timid cat, Mary finally exhaled tiringly.


    She was brought up by him, but it seemed like the roles had reversed tremendously.


    "A-Anyway, I want to ask what you have done to Xavier?" Isaac Aaronax attempted to shift the topic even though he really doesn''t care about Xavier''s fate.


    And of course, Mary could deduce his intention with a snap of the finger but decided to feign innocence.


    At the end of the day, she wouldn''t have been able to survive and stand here if it weren''t for Isaac Aaronax. It was also because he knew this clearly which resulted in him being so bold and impulsive.


    "Sigh, this is thest warning, Isaac. If you pull this kind of stunt again, then I''m leaving and you can do all the management yourself." Mary crossed her arms and warned.


    "Yes yes yes, my lovely Mary''smand has been received. I promise I won''t be reckless again." Isaac Aaronax smiled and sped his hands.


    Despite this, Mary doubted a single word that came out of his mouth. He had said that numerous times- to the point that she had forgotten the number already.


    After calming her emotion, Mary then reported what she had done to Xavier.


    "I had ordered a few men in the Shadow Legion to capture Xavier when he was on his way to make love with the woman from the exchange center. We had Xavier captured and used his Cellos device to leave a note telling her that he had something to do first so he couldn''t make it to the hotel."


    Isaac Aaronax nodded his head. He didn''t doubt the capability of Mary and the men in the Shadow Legion to capture a mere gold-ranked mercenary.


    "So what happened afterward?" He then asked.


    "We had him brought to the underground prison where he was repeatedly tortured to spill out the beans. However, he remained tight-lipped and refused to say anything, proiming himself as innocent."


    "Hmph, even if he was truly innocent in the matter of not harming Ynda, the fact still remains that he had ditched her in times of danger. That alone is guilty enough and to have the gall to still want to have sex with a woman is beyond hrious." Isaac Aaronax snorted coldly.


    "Have his tendons cut off and destroy his manhood in the process. Then feed him to the monsters we are taming. There''s no point in keeping such a person alive anyway." He added.


    Mary nodded his head.


    "Very well, I shall have it done now." She said calmly, her eyes glinting with viciousness. Her fist was clenched tightly and it was clear that she wanted Xavier dead a long time ago. She was merely waiting for Isaac Aaronax to greenlight the decision to have him killed.


    Now that she had gotten permission to do so, she was definitely going to enjoy torturing Xavier, showing him what it meant to have a life worse than death.


    ''Xavier huh, let''s see if you can be arrogant anymore. I''ll make sure to give you a very slow and painful death.'' Mary eximed inwardly, exiting the workshop.


    Meanwhile, Isaac Aaronax remained silent, his eyes ncing at the door she had exited.


    How could he not understand the pain Mary was going through?


    Ynda and she were practically bosom friends. With her death being confirmed, it was obvious that she would be affected but had to remainposed for the greater good.


    "Since I gave Nathan the Metallic Stone, then allowing you to torture Xavier to death could be considered mypensation. Hopefully, your sadness would be alleviated a bit with his death." He murmured, turning around and began crafting a new item.


    What had urred here naturally remained unknown to Shi Tian as he was carrying the box and heading home.


    With the Metallic Stone now taken off the box, the weight of the box had be lighter, but it was his legs now suffering the burn. The Metallic Stone was stored in his pocket, so his legs were constantly having feeling of dragging a heavy boulder every time he walked forward.


    Beads of sweat continued to drip on the ground from his forehead with each step forward. He was panting heavily, but the thought of stopping never crossed his mind.


    This was necessary if he wanted to be stronger, so he would definitely not be stopped by a mere Metallic Stone.


    ''Mary was able to do this for five years, so why can''t I? Watch how I''ll ovee this trial.'' Shi Tian eximed inwardly.

 Chapter 92 Apologies

    <h4>Chapter 92 Apologies</h4>


    After walking for quite a while, Shi Tian arrived home safely.


    And the first thing he did was to ce the box on top of the table and began to strip his clothes.


    He was drenched in sweat- to the point that he was feeling sticky with the clothes stuck to him like honey.


    It was an ufortable feeling, and all he wished was to take a warm shower to wash off the sweat. With only his boxer left, Shi Tian walked toward the bathroom.


    Right as he was ready to ce his hand on the doorknob to open it, the door suddenly opened.


    And no, it was not a naked Vanessa nor was it her in a bathrobe. Such cliche events would only happen in fictional stories or horny men''s dreams.


    It was simply Vanessa fully clothed that had just finished using the toilet and wasing out of the bathroom.


    She also didn''t scream like a woman when she saw Shi Tian only had boxers on.


    Instead, she had a deadpan expression on her face as she asked, "Is that your fetish to wear only boxers the moment youe back home?"


    "Haha, very funny. I''mughing with pain in my stomach." Shi Tian replied sarcastically, pushing her aside. "If you''re done with the bathroom, then you should have moved aside."


    Vanessa clicked her tongue in annoyance when she saw how rude he was being. She was a beautiful woman, so everyone always treated her with extreme care and gentleness. Yet Shi Tian would always act so indifferently and treated her quite harshly.


    She truly couldn''t understand how his brain works nor does she wish to overload her brain to deduce his conduct.


    ''Hmph, luckily I wasn''t taking a shower or anything. Otherwise, wouldn''t I be seenpletely naked by him?'' Vanessa thought to herself, making a mental note to beware of him.


    Time slowly passed by, and Shi Tian felt refreshed after taking a warm shower, washing off the sweat from his body.


    Coming out of the bathroom with a towel wrapped around his lower body, he noticed Vanessa was going through the box he had carried home.


    "Don''t you know it''s rude to touch something that''s not yours?" Shi Tian walked over and said coolly.


    "Meh, isn''t it just some metal scraps?" Vanessa shrugged her shoulders and scoffed.


    "Yeah, it''s some metal scraps yet here you are, touching it as if you are some woman in heat." Shi Tian snorted, ced the items back in the box, and carried them back to his room. He didn''t even bother to turn back and look her in the face, treating her as thin air.


    Meanwhile, Vanessa pursed her lips and looked at his room which was now shut tightly.


    "Did he have to be that rude? I''m just bored and only touched his stuff briefly. It''s not like I have broken them¡­" She mumbled, feeling somewhat frustrated. She was idling in the house all day without being able to do much.


    Most of her belongings were lost because of the attack from the White Syndicate, leaving her with only a few things in her Dimension Ring. What made things worse was the fact that she couldn''t go outside, afraid that she might be tracked by them.


    All she could do was meditate slowly and walk around in this empty house given the fact that Shi Tian was out nearly the entire day.


    While she was pouting andmenting her miserable life, Shi Tian was already dressed in new clothes as he organized the items on the small table beside his bed.


    "Luckily nothing was broken, otherwise, Vanessa can get out of the house." Shi Tian muttered, checking on the equipment condition thoroughly.


    This equipment was supposed to help him familiarize himself with the mechanic ss. So if the items were ruined by Vanessa''s curiosity, then it was equivalent to ruining his future pathway.


    How could he still be calm when she nearly blocked his pathway?


    Though this incident alone reminded him to be careful of where he ced things on, lest, he might identally lose even more valuables.


    While Shi Tian was preparing to study the blueprint, Vanessa outside knocked on the door.


    "Hey, I just wanted to apologize for touching your things." She then said timidly.


    After waiting for quite some time, there was still no responseing from Shi Tian, prompting her to be even more nervous. She knew that she was in the wrong after some thought, and decided to apologize.


    But who would have thought Shi Tian would give her the cold shoulder, not even letting her have the chance of redemption. Gritting her teeth, Vanessa mustered up her courage to knock on the door again.


    "Didn''t I just touch a few of your mechanic parts? I still have a few items rted to you and can give you some as an apology." She then shouted, clearly frustrated that she would one day be at the receiving end to apologize.


    And to think she even had to resort to paying something back aspensation was unheard of in her life.


    Meanwhile, Shi Tian opened the door after a few seconds when he heard about getting something for free.


    "You''re such a nuisance. I can''t even study my blueprint properly with all your grumbling." Shi Tian picked his ear andined.


    Vanessa clenched her fist, but refrain from bursting in anger. She would have believed him to be studying properly had she not seen his cheeky expression.


    "So where are the mechanical parts that you''re talking about? I don''t think you have anything with you." Shi Tian subsequently asked. He was confused as to where she was storing them when there was barely anything on her.


    "They''re in my Dimension Ring." Vanessa twitched her mouth and shed her left hand. On her left middle finger, there was indeed a ring on it.


    However, Shi Tian was confused as to why she was shing her ring to him.


    "Is that your engagement ring? Are you trying to flex on me that you''re taken?" He then asked, seemingly annoyed by her.

 Chapter 93 Coaxing

    <h4>Chapter 93 Coaxing</h4>


    Shi Tian was unamused by her and believed she was merely trolling him regarding thepensation of mechanical parts.


    "Look, if you don''t have them, then don''t randomly say it aloud. I''m busy enough already and don''t have time for your lousy games." He crossed his arms and said, giving her a clear warning to not fool around.


    He wasn''t carefree like her who doesn''t have to do anything besides waiting for her supposed reinforcement.


    Meanwhile, Vannesa was truly in an aggrieved position, wanting to cry in agony. She waspletely sincere in apologizing, so why was she still being criticized for fooling around?


    Her eyes soon became teary but she managed to suppress it briefly and red at him.


    "Who is fooling you? I was being sincere, so why are you still bullying me?" Vanessa shouted in grief and activated her Dimension Ring. Soon, some mechanical parts appeared from out of nowhere and dropped to the floor.


    "These are mypensation and I hate you!" She then shouted, running back to the guest room and shutting the door really hard.


    As for Shi Tian, he stood still in a daze, clearly not expecting that she was actually carrying some mechanical parts.


    ''So it wasn''t an engagement ring, but some sort of item that could store things?'' Shi Tian was left speechless that such an item actually existed.


    He had always been carrying his items in hisrge pocket, so when he first heard Vanessa offering to give him some mechanical parts, he was doubtful.


    After all, her pockets were extremely small, and could barely fit much in them.


    Thus, he thought she was kidding and only wanted him toe out of the room so she could annoy him more.


    Who would have thought the ring that was on her left hand was capable of such a feat?


    This time, he had truly wronged her, and it was because of his ignorance once again that had caused such a misunderstanding.


    "Is this what they call how the table has turned?" Shi Tian muttered in disbelief.


    He was supposed to be the one epting the apology and forgiving her, but now the role had turned to him having to apologize for misunderstanding her sincerity as a joke.


    ncing at the mechanical parts that were still on the floor, Shi Tian could tell their value wasn''t low based on their distinctive outlook. In fact, these mechanical parts should be even more valuable than the one Isaac Aaronax had given to him for practice.


    Realizing how he had jumped to the conclusion too early and scolded her wrongly, he knew what must be done.


    Picking up the mechanical parts andying them on top of the table, Shi Tian then made his way toward the guest room.


    And facing the wooden door, he had a feeling of deja vu, except he was supposed to be inside the room and not outside. ''Ugh, this damn blunder of mine.''


    Taking a deep breath, Shi Tian slowly knocked on the guest room''s door.


    He then spoke gently, "Vanessa, do you want to eat some more Minasarus Meat? I can head out and buy them if you want it."


    Yes, this was a coaxing tactic that Shi Tian was using.


    In the past, it was very effective whenever Sheng Lan was pouting andining about the bitter medicine, and he would use such a method to pacify her.


    "Go away and leave me alone!" Vanessa''s voice echoed from within the room.


    Shi Tian smiled lightly when he actually got a response from her.


    After all, it was better than hearing nothing, and if she was willing to respond to him, then it meant he just needed to coax her better.


    "Alright then, I''ll head out and buy some lunch for you. The refrigerator is still broken and there isn''t any food here, so you must have been starving." Shi Tian calmly said, turning around and preparing to leave the house.


    Thanks to his experience in taking care of Sheng Lan, he knew Vanessa was already on the verge of forgiving him. It was just that he needed to do some action such as bringing her favorite food home to give her a reason to forgive.


    And since this was technically his fault, to begin with, he wouldn''t avoid it and feigned innocence.


    He made a mistake, then he shall take responsibility.


    ''Wait a minute, that sounded weird if I think about it. It''s just scolding her wrongly.'' Shi Tian thought to himself.


    Shaking his head, he stopped himself from thinking something dumb and instead headed outside to buy her some food. It wasn''t just for her sake because he was starving as well.


    Had he not checked the time in his Cellos Device, then he wouldn''t have even realized he had spent around 7 hours something at Optic Mech.


    Sometimeter, Shi Tian arrived at Horology Restaurant and he began to scan the menu again. His heart ached dearly when he nced at the option of Minasarus Meat.


    Unlike most of the menu options, Minasarus Meat was one of the few that asked for Source Crystal as payment.


    Walking to the takeout counter, Jason was swarmed with taking orders and handing them out to customers.


    And when Jason saw Shi Tianing again, he smiled brightly at him.


    "Hello, recurring customer, what do you want to order this time?" Jason asked. Given that Shi Tian was now a recurring customer and spent quite a lot of money already, he would naturally show some respect.


    Money is king, and those who pay for their bonuses are also king.


    Naturally, Shi Tian understood the thought process of Jason, and that he only took him as a money tree.


    shing a difficult smile, Shi Tian pointed at three Minasarus Meat dishes that werebeled popr.


    "I wish to have these dishes." Shi Tian said and paid upfront, having zero intention of counting the money leaving his pocket.


    The only thing he could feel better about was that most of the money he paid was from Vanessa.

 Chapter 94 Dimension Ring

    <h4>Chapter 94 Dimension Ring </h4>


    "Vanessa, I brought back three dishes of Minasarus meat. Come out and eat before the food turns cold." Shi Tian knocked on her door the moment he returned home.


    After waiting for a few seconds, the door slightly opened and like a bobblehead, Vanessa was peeking out slightly.


    "Do I look like a little kid that would forgive you because of some food?" She hissed coldly, seemingly still mad about him scolding her for no reason.


    Shi Tian twitched his mouth and smiled briefly.


    "We''ve all made mistakes, and it''s not like you didn''t make any mistakes either. So how about we let bygones be bygones and start over. You wouldn''t be that petty enough to still be mad, right?"


    Vanessa narrowed her eyes and red at him. ring at him menacingly, she pondered for a moment before opening the door.


    "Hmph, I''m not as petty as you." She snorted coldly and opened the door wide.


    And walking confidently toward the diner table, she sat on the chair and asked, "Where''s the food?"


    Shi Tian was speechless at her.


    Wasn''t the food literally right in front of her?


    Why was she pretending that she couldn''t see the food?


    Nevertheless, he wouldn''t act petty or angry like her and took the food out of the bag.


    A few minutester, the two of them began eating and Vanessa stared at Shi Tian intensely, causing him to be somewhat ufortable.


    "Is there something on my face?" Shi Tian asked, unable to stand her staring.


    "No, but there should be something wrong with your brain. Don''t you even know what a Dimension Ring does? Or were you just trying to look for an excuse to scold me?" Vanessa asked, clearly still pressed on the matter.


    "I''m a country bumpkin, Vanessa. I don''t know anything and am a rough man."


    "I can tell. If you weren''t a country bumpkin, then there''s no other exnation for not knowing what a Dimension Ring was."


    "Then dear young miss, please kindly exin what a Dimension Ring is and educate this country bumpkin."


    "Pfft," Vanessa unconsciously made a softugh at his tone of speech but quicklyposed herself.


    She coughed for a bit and exuding a dignified aura, she nodded her head.


    "Very well then. Since you wish to be educated, then I shall let you know what a Dimension Ring was." She said, taking off the ring that was on her left middle finger.


    "This Dimension Ring was crafted with three concepts. A great material, formation, and Magus spell or Mechanic. A great material naturally meant an amazing steel material type that could withstand a lot of impact whereas a formation is utilized to protect the content of the Dimension Ring."


    "Protect the content?" Shi Tian raised an eyebrow and interrupted her.


    "Yes, the formation is designed to recognize the owner of a Dimension Ring, allowing only them to take out the content within the ring. So if a stranger were to steal a Dimension Ring and attempt to open it unauthorized, then they''ll receive a deadly st instead."


    Shi Tian nodded his head. "I see, then what do you mean about thest concept? You said three concepts but a Magus Spell or Mechanic is two things."


    Vanessa sighed softly but didn''t say anything, and only made a thirsty expression.


    Shi Tian twitched his brows.


    ''Fine, if it wasn''t because there is no information regarding a Dimension Ring online, then I wouldn''t have even bothered to ask.'' He thought to himself, getting up and pouring some water into a ss cup for her to drink.


    Once she finished quenching her thirst, Vanessa shed a cheeky smile and stretched her arms.


    "The reason why I said a Magus Spell or Mechanic is because a Dimension Ring utilized the 4-dimensional space, and to achieve such a feat required a powerful Magus to cast the spell to construct the space or a proficient Mechanic to craft it." She then exined.


    And she continued, "The first two requirements are easy, but to find a Magus or Mechanic that could do such a feat is extremely rare and hard. Thus, a Dimension Ring is extremely precious. And information regarding a Dimension Ring is limited. Only someone like me is capable of owning one and having knowledge of it."


    "Yes, only someone like you that would get ambushed and almost die could own one." Shi Tianmented.


    Vanessa clicked her tongue and her expression darkened the moment she heard his jeering.


    Even now, she was still frustrated by the situation and was furious at not just the enemy, but herself. If it wasn''t because she had met Shi Tian and bluffed him hard, then she would have died a pathetic death.


    "Must you always be so rude the moment my mood turns for the better?" Vanessa pouted and ate another piece of Minasarus Meat.


    "Then must you always brag about your extraordinary identity and flex on it?" Shi Tian retorted.


    "..."


    As much as Vanessa wanted to say something in response, she couldn''t. After all, it was the truth and that was just her habit developed a long time ago.


    "Then if I try to minimize my haughty attitude, would you also do the same?" She asked softly, taking a sneak nce at him.


    Shi Tian didn''t bother to say anything and merely nodded his head.


    Seeing that, Vanessa clenched her fist and said, "Fine, I''ll try to restrain myself, so you should do the same."


    Even if she didn''t decide to say anything today, she was truly exhausted from constantly getting mad at him.


    Who told Shi Tian to be talented in having such a venomous tongue?


    Each insult from him was like a sharp dagger, piercing deeply at her heart and weaknesses.


    "To be fair, I doubt we would fight much longer anyway." Shi Tian suddenly said.


    "Why is that?" Vanessa asked, confused by him.


    "Because in a few days, I''ll be heading outside the wilderness, so only you would be alone at the house. I doubt you would be that bored to fight yourself, right?"

 Chapter 95 Blv-21

    <h4>Chapter 95 Blv-21</h4>


    Vanessa was dumbfounded when Shi Tian revealed his n on heading out to the wilderness.


    Couldn''t he have said that earlier to save her the trouble of asking for a truce?


    No, that wasn''t even the problem that she was concerned about.


    It was the fact that she would be starving then. Shi Tian was always the one buying food at home and there was zero food at home for her to eat.


    Hell, even the refrigerator was faulty and unusable, so there was no way of storing food in it.


    What was worse was that she couldn''t risk going outside and getting ambushed again. Even though she had recovered from her injuries, she doubted she was capable of defending herself if she failed to do it once already.


    "Are you telling me to starve to death then?" Vanessa stared at him with puppy eyes and asked. She was no different than being on house arrest and had been relying on him to deliver food.


    Meanwhile, Shi Tian nearly choked on his food when he saw her acting coy all of a sudden.


    "Cough cough cough, please, never give me that look again." Shi Tian pleaded, patting his chest repeatedly.


    A few secondster, he then pointed at her Dimension Ring and said, "I''ll just buy you some food to sustain for a week minimum and you can store them in your Dimension Ring."


    "The food would be spoiled by then, Nathan. The Dimension Ring is only for storing, but it doesn''t stop time in the 4-dimensional space." Vanessa exined.


    "Is that so?"


    "I can''t even tell if you''re trolling me now or not¡­"


    Shi Tian scratched his head and sighed. He thought that her ring was capable of preserving food, but it seemed like that was impossible.


    Maybe if it was food that is meant to be preserved for a long time, then it was possible.


    "What if I buy some meat jerky or some frozen package food for you to store?" Shi Tian asked.


    "You expect me to eat meat jerky or some frozen package food for a week? You might as well just tell me to die then." Vanessa clicked her tongue in annoyance.


    If she had to live such a frugal and fugitive life, then she might as well risk it all and head outside to get some real food. She refused to go back to the old days where she must make do with whatever disgusting food she could find to live on.


    "Then you are free to die." Shi Tain said coolly, standing up and walking back to his room. He was already being generous to offer her some viable options, but still, she refused his goodwill.


    Meanwhile, Vanessa could only bite her lips in a somewhat sorrowful manner as she watched him close the door.


    ''This heartless bastard¡­'' She cursed him silently, feeling depressed. She wanted to tell him why she refused those options, but her pridefulness disallowed her to do so. Those are something that had urred in the past and something that she wished to never divulge to anyone.


    As she silently continued to eat the food that was on the table, Shi Tian had already begun researching the Light Beam blueprint.


    The blueprint was categorized into numerous parts that would be assembled into what the real Light Beam construction was like.


    Though with his current skills, it was impossible for him to construct the real thing.


    However, that doesn''t mean he couldn''t still attempt to craft some of the small parts which have simr abilities to the Light Beam but are less powerful.


    The structure of these small parts isplex and intertwined with a lot of circuit connections as well. So if it weren''t for the blueprint, Shi Tian would have zero clues or ideas on how these parts even functioned.


    ''Master Isaac''s mechanic skills are truly unfathomable. How did he manage to craft my mechanical right arm in such a short amount of time?'' Shi Tian wondered silently.


    His head was starting to hurt just from discerning what the connections were and what he needed to do. To summarize, the blueprint had a total of 7 points that he needed to be concerned about.


    The 7 points were Dimensions and Measurements, Technical Drawings, Material Specifications, Assembly Instructions, Functionality and Operation, Safety Considerations, andst but not least, the annotations and notes made by Isaac Aaronax.


    Each of the points was filled with information and details, especially the safety considerations. It was said that one slight mishap or misconnection of the wiring process could result in the item self-destructing, with the st radius indeterminate.


    Though not all was lost because Isaac Aaronax made a note of how to approach the assembly of the real Light Beam.


    Instead of trying to build the real thing from the start, Isaac Aaronax had suggested building a tiny partbeled Blv-21, a small device that could create a tiny shbang.


    The materials required for it were also handed out to him.


    As for the Blvbel, Shi Tian guessed it probably stands for blind or low vision, an equivalent of the shbang meaning. The number 21 should be the current version of the shbang, with the previous number being an experimental type.


    "Although this isn''t an offensive type mech item, it could still create some time for me since its purpose is to blind the enemy." Shi Tian mumbled softly, turning his head to nce at the materials he had.


    Counting them thoroughly, Shi Tian made a quick calction that he had approximately 6 chances of crafting a Blv-21.


    Nodding his head, Shi Tian knew what he would craft first, but before that, he needed to find a suitable ce to be a temporary workshop for him to craft.


    It would be stupid of him to attempt to craft an item in his bedroom that had the possibility of detonating if there was a mishap.


    ''If I recall, there should be a storage room. Although a bit small, it should be suitable to be a workshop.'' Shi Tian thought to himself.

 Chapter 96 Dusted

    <h4>Chapter 96 Dusted </h4>


    With the n of utilizing the storage room as the workshop, Shi Tian quickly got to work.


    Walking out of his bedroom, he saw Vanessa idling on the couch but ignored her as he made his way toward the storage room.


    The storage room was a bit at the far end of the hallway and was ced in a more discreet corner. After all, it was a storage room, mainly used to store things that aren''t important, but also something sentimental that you''re unwilling to throw out.


    Arriving at the storage room, Shi Tian opened the door and was relieved that there wasn''t as much junk as he thought there would be.


    ''Phew, finally that previous tenant has done something good. If he was storing tons of junk, then I would have cursed him in hell again.'' Shi Tian eximed inwardly.


    Poor previous tenant.


    Every time there were any problems with the house, it was always going to be his fault and only his alone.


    Looking at the storage room, Shi Tian inspected that not many items are even useful. In fact, they are truly legit junk that couldn''t even be recycled.


    Sometimeter, Shi Tian began taking things out and making space for the workshop.


    While working on it, Vanessa walked over curiously and asked, "What are you doing?"


    "Can''t you see I''m cleaning things?" Shi Tian responded nonchntly.


    "Let me help out then?" She suggested, clearly bored out of her mind and wanting to do something.


    "Are you sure? Everything is quite dusty here and you will definitely get dirty. In fact, you might have to go take a shower but there aren''t any spare clothes here." Shi Tian snickered.


    "Hmph, do you really take me as a flower vase?" Vanessa snorted coldly, lifted her sleeves up, and began taking out some of the junk items. She didn''t even flinch when some of the dust got into her clothes or skin.


    Astonished by her sudden enthusiasm, Shi Tian no longer attempted to stop her from helping him out.


    Since the person herself didn''t care or mind getting dirty by the dust, then why should he be concerned?


    "Where do we pack up all this junk, Nathan?" Vanessa grabbed a handful of junk around her arm and asked.


    "The bag from the takeout is big enough and could hold a few of them. Let me go grab the bag and you ce it there."


    Vanessa nodded her head and patiently waited for Shi Tian toe back with the bag.


    "Anyway, why do you have so many junk items here? I''ve checked them out, but none of them are even useful. Some of the items are already faulty and unusable too." Vanessa shouted from afar. Her eyes nced at the back of her where the junk items are stacked upon.


    "These junk items aren''t mine, but the previous tenant''s."


    "The previous tenant?"


    "Yep, the previous tenant did something stupid and incurred the wrath of this apartmentplex owner."


    "Incurred the wrath of the owner? Then did the previous tenant flee in fear and you just robbed this apartment as yours?" She was astonished and thought Shi Tian was stealing someone else''s house to live in.


    That would be beyond shameless of him and she might even carry a risk of being implicated.


    Meanwhile, Shi Tian arrived back with the bag and held a deadpan expression on his face.


    "Vanessa, if I stole this apartment for myself, then do you believe I would still be alive to chat with you? I''ve paid the rent andpleted the registration through legal means. Besides, the previous tenant was killed, and didn''t flee- doubt he could even flee from the Crimson Mage." Shi Tian exined, opening the bag and letting her drop the junk items onto it.


    "Phew, thank heaven you didn''t steal this house. Otherwise, I might have to pray for you." Vanessa patted her chest once her hands were free and joked.


    Shi Tian clicked his tongue before walking forward, flicking his finger at her forehead.


    "Ouch, what was that for?" Vanessa was dumbfounded by his action and quickly retreated a few steps back.


    "A punishment worthy of someone naughty. How dare you try to curse me dead?" Shi Tian narrowed his eyes and said.


    ''Tsk, how petty of you! Didn''t you jinx me repeatedly previously?'' Pursing her lips, Vanessa was resentful for the sudden flickering on her forehead.


    She was not a little girl, so why should she be punished in such a manner?


    Suddenly, when her eyes hovered around her sleeves and clothes, she got a wicked idea as her lips curled into a somewhat sinister smile.


    "Hey, Nathan, watch out!" She shouted and shoveled the dust toward Shi Tian, coating his face with the dust.


    Instantly, the distance between the two was quickly shrouded in a cloud of dust, only regaining vision once the dust was scattered.


    By the time the dust was scattered, Vanessa quickly burst intoughter when she saw the pitiful state of Shi Tian.


    His clothes were coated in dust as well as his face, but most importantly, his hair seemed to have turned gray thanks to the dustying on top of his hair. It was a fabulous illusion that depicted an old-looking Shi Tian.


    "Bwahaha, serve you right!" Vanessa clenched her stomach with one hand while the other hand was pointing at Shi Tian. She wasughing wantonly, clearly pleased with the current state of Shi Tian.


    She had been suffering from his taunt and numerous ploys repeatedly, so this was considered a sweet and harmless revenge that doesn''t go against the oath they have made together.


    While theughter continued, Shi Tian calmly patted off his clothes and swiped his hair to get rid of some of the dust. Though it was clear that the dust wasn''t that easy to get rid of.


    With a charming smile hanging on his face, Shi Tian stared at Vanessa, who was stillughing wildly.


    "Vanessa, don''t you know that if the dust from you can be transferred in such a way, then wouldn''t that mean the same applies to me?" Shi Tian smiled sweetly, getting in the motion of returning the favor of being dusted.

 Chapter 97 CFM

    <h4>Chapter 97 CFM </h4>


    As Vanessa continuouslyughed at her mischievousness, she suddenly felt a bad omen.


    Stopping herughter temporarily, she saw Shi Tian shing a sweet smile.


    If it was truly a sweet smile, then she wouldn''t have cared a bit.


    However, that wasn''t the case and especially with the stunt she had just pulled, she would be a fool if Shi Tian was truly smiling sweetly at her mischievous deed.


    "Wait a minute, Nathan. We''re adults here, right? Let''s not do something petty like tit for that, okay?" Vanessa smiled awkwardly and retreated in a few steps.


    s, the storage room''s space was so insignificant that only a few steps backward had caused her to face the wall already.


    There was no more room for an escape, and the only terrifying moment was the fact that with each step she took backward, Shi Tian would advance forward.


    What was worse was that his smile was turning sweeter by the second.


    "F-F-Forgive me, Nathan¡­" Vanessa plopped to the ground, her legs turning jelly-like. She was truly frightened and terrified by the sweet smile of Shi Tian.


    Her mouth trembled in fear as she repeatedly pleaded for mercy.


    However, Shi Tian only kept quiet and walked forward at a slow pace.


    It was the same saying in a war that the most deadly approach in an attack was not being the loudest one, but the one that remainedpletely silent.


    Only withplete silence would that be the equivalent ofpletely suppressing your enemy and demolishing them.


    "I-I can clean everything here while you take a rest, Nathan. How about that?" Vanessa suggested, her body shivering.


    A few secondster, Shi Tian was only a mere meter away from her, and given that she was still on the ground, it was as if she was facing a mighty giant since Shi Tian was standing up.


    "MOMMY!"


    Only a scream of fear echoed in the storage room whichsted for quite a few minutes.


    By the time the screaming sound faded, Vanessa''s appearance was simr to a state of being vited, except she didn''t actually get vited. From top to bottom, Vanessa waspletely filled with dust, and her face could be said to have been disfigured by "dust".


    Shi Tian sped his hands, brushing off some of the dust once he was finished with his artwork.


    "Do you dare to fool around anymore, Vanessa?" He then asked in a gentle and soft tone.


    Vanessa quickly shook her head and kept her head lowered. "I don''t dare to anymore. Please¡­ no more dusting me."


    Fixing his clothes, Shi Tian nodded his head once she had learned her lesson.


    "Just go take a shower now. I''ll do the rest since we wasted quite a lot of time thanks to your mischievous deed." Shi Tian then said, allowing her to clean herself.


    At the end of the day, it was a harmless prank and he wouldn''t be that petty enough to remember this incident.


    "Do you need some of my clothes temporarily though?" He asked in concern.


    Vanessa shook her head and got up from the floor.


    "No need. I still have some clothes stored in the Dimension Ring." She said softly, walking toward the door.


    Shi Tian nodded his head and was about to say something, but little did he expect, Vanessa was truly a fearless person.


    Right when she was near the door entrance of the storage room, she suddenly shoveled some more dust onto him and stuck her tongue out.


    "Hmph, did you really think you would get thestugh?" She snickered and dashed toward the bathroom, not allowing herself to be cornered again like previously.


    A few secondster, Shi Tian blew upward on his face, brushing some of the dust away while having aplicated expression.


    "It seems like that woman can be a top-tier actress. To think she could even fool me with all those fake timid and screaming." Shi Tian clicked his tongue.


    s, he wasn''t childish enough to try to get back to her and instead focused on cleaning the storage room.


    She might have run away now to the bathroom to shower, but at the end of the day, wasn''t she still in the house?


    Where could she run off to?


    She could run, but she couldn''t hide.


    Sometimeter, Shi Tian managed to stuff and stored all the junk items in the bag through meticulous nning.


    The storage room that was originally filled was nowpletely empty, void of any junk whatsoever.


    Making a 180-degree look around, Shi Tian only needed to do some dust cleaning and it would be usable again.


    ''Luckily, this mechanical right arm has the function of blowing air, so it saves me quite a bit of trouble.'' Shi Tian thought to himself, extending his right arm out.


    The right arm''s metallic part started to detach slightly as the air began topose at the center of his palm. Afterward, the center of the palm opened up and formed a nozzle shape.


    And feeling the vibration, Shi Tian then sted the air all around the edges of the wall, shoving all of the dust into one corner.


    His right arm now acted no differently than a leaf blower, with a Cubic Feet Per Meter (CFM) between 400-800 and a Miles Per Hour (MPH) between 140-250.


    The CFM indicated the power of the volume of air per minute, while MPH indicated the velocity of air expelled per hour.


    Combined, the two determine his right arm''s airflow effectiveness. The diameter of the nozzle (or the diameter of the output pipe), however, can impact this.


    To summarize, therger the CFM, therger the area you can st.


    And the right arm of Shi Tian had a maximum capacity of a CFM of 800 and an MPH of 250.


    Though he didn''t need to really utilize a CFM of 800 for some dust cleaning and changed it to around 250 CFM once he got the hang of it.


    As Shi Tian swiftly piled up the dust in one corner, in his mind, he was even more impressed with the ability of Isaac Aaronax.


    This mechanical right arm of his was by any means simple now that he gave it a thorough thought.


    ''Is this really just some small modification?'' Shi Tian wondered silently, staring at his right arm which had returned to its original state.

 Chapter 98 Dust Mites

    <h4>Chapter 98 Dust Mites</h4>


    With the dust all blown to a specific corner, Shi Tian was able to swiftly clean up the dust. And thanks to the power of the volume of air from his mechanical right arm, the room seemed to be renewed.


    Not a single speck of dust could be seen within the storage room.


    Smiling at the work he had done, Shi Tian picked up the bag that was filled with junk and walked toward the exit door. He was going to dump those out once he decided to go out next time.


    cing the bag by the exit door, Shi Tian noticed he was still covered in dust and that it was best to not walk around too much.


    Even when he was utilizing his right arm as a leaf blower, he noticed some of the dust on him was blown off, causing him quite the headache to rearrange the dust.


    ''Sigh, that Vanessa in the end caused me more trouble than help. I''m not going to ept her help again.'' Shi Tian eximed inwardly.


    Sometimeter, Vanessa came out of the bathroom,pletely freshened, and was wearing new fancy clothes.


    Despite that, Shi Tian noticed some redness on her neck and arm.


    "What''s with that redness?" Shi Tian asked, pointing at her arm.


    "I don''t know, but it''s itching me," Vanessa replied somewhat bitterly.


    While she was showering, she noticed her body was getting itchy, so she attempted to wash for a bit longer. s, that didn''t help her condition much as the itch only increased further.


    "Are you-"


    Before Shi Tian could finish his question, Vanessa shook her head.


    "No, I''m not allergic to dust. But I believe that the dust in the storage room should be something weird that affects my skin. I''m surprised you aren''t affected." She then exined before sneezing and coughing.


    Shi Tian narrowed his eyes when he saw her sneezing and coughing all of a sudden.


    Just when Shi Tian was suspicious of the condition Vanessa was experiencing, he felt a slight pain in his brain.


    Instantly, he ced his hand on the temple of his head, hoping to suppress the pain.


    There was a buzzing sound as well, but it seemed to be only him that could hear it given that Vanessa was still focused on her redness, unable to notice the experience he was getting.


    A few secondster, the pain that he was getting seemed to have vanished, almost as if it didn''t happen in the first ce.


    ''What the hell was that?'' Shi Tian wondered silently, feeling vexed and irritated by the sudden unknown excruciating pain.


    While he was confused by that, he nced back at Vanessa, seemingly trying to see if she noticed the pain he had gone through.


    But to his astonishment, Shi Tian nearly received a shock that could send him into cardiac arrest when he saw Vanessa.


    Unlike before where he only saw redness on Vanessa''s skin, this time, he saw a horrifying and grotesque image.


    Thankfully, his passive ability [Serene Calmness] kicked in time and helped suppress the emotion he was having.


    "Um, Vanessa, I''m not sure how to tell you this, but your body is filled with dust mites." Shi Tian said it as passively as possible to not rmed her or scared her.


    Although he didn''t know what happened, his eyes could now see the microscopic dust mites, munching her skin and causing redness to appear in her skin.


    The dust mites had a translucent or whitish color and a rtively round oval-shaped body. It had eight legs and its eyes were daunting red as they grouped together within a particr spot of Vanessa''s skin.


    What was worse was that each of these dust mites are microscopic and could not be seen with the naked eye.


    And whenever Vanessa attempted to scratch the redness of her skin, these dust mites seemed to have a natural sixth sense, avoiding her touch and returning to their original position once she stopped scratching.


    "D-Dust mites?" Vanessa tried her best to stay calm, but her facial expression betrayed her dearly.


    Who would be calm when someone told them their body was filled with not just one dust mite, but multiple at that? And they were munching her skin right at this very moment.


    "You must be pranking me as revenge, right?" She asked nervously, ncing at him and hoping he would nod his head.


    However, herst bit of hope vanished when she saw Shi Tian holding a solemn expression.


    "The dust mites are now gathering near the bottom right side of your chin, and you should feel the effect soon enough." Shi Tian pointed and said.


    And sure enough, a few minutester, another redness appeared and Vanessa was truly horrified.


    "What should I do, Nathan?" She panicked and grabbed his arms. Tears seemed to be seeping through the corner of her eyes when such a horrifying scene actually urred to her.


    It was obvious that these dust mites aren''t the normal household dust mites, but ones that have been mutated and immune to her magic. After all, she had attempted to heat herself and raise her body temperature to an insanelyrge degree, only to be a futile effort in the end.


    "Rest assured, now that I can see them, they can''t run away from me like they did to you." Shi Tian said, taking out the empty Restorative Potion ss bottle that Vanessa had previously drunk.


    Since these dust mites are mutated and could cause such a problem to Vanessa who seemed to have high attainment in magic, then it goes to show just how valuable these dust mites are.


    "Wait a minute, howe you aren''t affected by these dust mites?" Vanessa suddenly asked. She had even taken a shower, but Shi Tian was currently still filled with dust all over his body, so howe he wasn''t affected at all.


    Shi Tian also pondered for a while as to why he wasn''t affected, but in the end, he decided to say a few words that sent her to the shadow realm.


    "Seems like a skill issue."

 Chapter 99 Nurture

    <h4>Chapter 99 Nurture</h4>


    Vanessa truly wanted to smack Shi Tian on the head when he brought up the skill issue to her.


    How was she in any way ipetentpared to him?


    It was just that she was unlucky and got swarmed by these microscopic mutated dust mites.


    Maybe these dust mites only managed to attach themselves to her and not Shi Tian, hence he remained unaffected.


    ''That''s right, I''m just unluckytely. First getting ambushed and now being the sole target of these dust mites. Nathan only managed to get off scot-free because of my presence here.'' Vanessa thought to herself, seemingly trying to use such a far-fetched reasoning to make herself feel better.


    s, Shi Tian couldn''t care less about her thought process and began to scoop the dust mites into the empty ss bottle.


    His actions were swift and precise, directly scooping out one area of the dust mites already.


    However, Vanessa couldn''t see the dust mites, so even when Shi Tian was effectively storing them into the empty ss bottle, it looked to her as if he was randomly waving it around her neck.


    Nevertheless, she kept quiet and didn''t doubt him any further when she felt the itchiness was slowly subsiding- a clear evidence that Shi Tian was in fact helping her.


    Despite being assisted, Vanessa felt even more afraid that there were such mutated dust mites munching her body at this very moment and she waspletely helpless at that.


    Time slowly passed by, and Shi Tian had managed to scoop out most of the mutated dust mites on the surface of her skin.


    "Phew, that should be everything in your arm and neck." Shi Tian said, closing the ss bottle up.


    The ss bottle, although almost filled to the brim, was still invisible. That was because of their natural characteristics that allowed them to remain hidden and people could not detect them with their naked eyes.


    Only through a microscope could people somewhat see the appearance of these dust mites.


    "What are you nning on doing to these dust mites?" Vanessa asked nervously.


    She thought Shi Tian was going to burn them all up by storing them in the empty ss bottle. Given that the ss bottle was sealed with no escape, it would be extremely easy to harm the dust mites.


    Yet it was clear that he had no such intention of doing so.


    "These mutated dust mites are quite valuable. Since even you could not see it, then it just goes to show how fearsome these dust mites are if they could be trained properly as a weapon." Shi Tian smiled and exined.


    These mutated dust mites might not seem dangerous due to how easily he had resolved the problem, but what if it was happening to someone else and they didn''t have someone that could see them though?


    The answer was quite simple at that point.


    They would be suffering like what Vanessa received, but even worse because it wasn''t resolved swiftly.


    Just this alone made Shi Tian curious as to what these mutated dust mites are capable of achieving if they had a bit more time to be attached to the person.


    "Anyway, now that this is done, it''s my turn to go shower." He then said, getting ready to remove the dust that was on him.


    Although there weren''t any mutated dust mites on his body, it was still ufortable to be covered in dust.


    However, he didn''t even manage to take two steps before he felt his wrist was being grabbed.


    Turning around, Shi Tian stared at Vanessa confusingly, "What is it this time?"


    Vanessa bit her lip softly before smiling awkwardly.


    "I-I still feel itchy within my stomach and back area. Also, my leg and some more inner parts as well¡­" She mumbled.


    "And?"


    "I''m hoping you can scoop them out too."


    "Hmm, but what if I don''t feel like it?" Shi Tian rubbed his chin and said.


    Vanessa was speechless when she realized that he wasn''t going to help her any further. She was positive that he knew there must be some more mutated dust mites in the area that covered her body, but purposely feigned innocent.


    "What do you want in exchange? And don''t even bother to ask for more money because I barely have any left." Vanessa gritted her teeth and asked.


    Staying with him for a while already, she understood he was the type to always take advantage of others misfortune.


    Meanwhile, Shi Tian shed a wicked smile and said sinisterly, "A woman shouldn''t be wearing a ring if they aren''t married since it''ll give them terrible luck. Instead, the man should wear it because it brings them good luck."


    "WHAT BULLSHIT!"


    Vanessa shouted and smacked his arm in fury.


    This damn bastard was after her Dimension Ring- something that even she could only own one.


    "The choice is yours, and how could a woman go and smack someone without logical reasoning. Luckily, it was just out of impulse and not for real, otherwise, the oath would have taken effect and ruined you." Shi Tian retracted his hand and said calmly.


    And he continued, "You are free to reject my offer, but suffer the consequence of your choice. These mutated dust mites aren''t simple and the longer you stall, the more damage you might receive. Who knows if your body would turn for the worst and leave a permanent scar?"


    It was only now that Vanessa truly had her eyes opened. Shi Tian was never a good person and wasn''t some sort ofpanion to her.


    To him, their rtionship was merely established on the basis of oath and negotiations.


    "Fine, take this stupid ring and have it buried with you alive!" Vanessa took off the ring and threw it at him.


    Shi Tian smiled and held the ring in a careful manner.


    "You haven''t changed the owner though." He then said, reminding her that he needed her to swap the permission to be able to ess the content within without repercussion.

 Chapter 100 Two Worlds Apart

    <h4>Chapter 100 Two Worlds Apart</h4>


    It didn''t even take a few minutes for Vanessa to officially change the owner of the Dimension Ring.


    Of course, the process was filled with a clear resentful re directed at him constantly.


    But that didn''t affect Shi Tian whatsoever.


    She was resentful, angry, frustrated, and more, but there was nothing else she could truly do aside from having such emotion. The oath they made had guaranteed his safety and that she was not allowed to harm him maliciously.


    Once Shi Tian confirmed that he now had ess and permission to the Dimension Ring, he was pleased with how easy it was to swindle her.


    What he did could be considered immoral and taking advantage of others in times of trouble, but that was just how life was.


    She could only me herself for being so careless in getting herself into such a scenario. It wasn''t him that had asked her to assist him in cleaning the storage room, but it was solely herself for wanting to help.


    Just because someone offered kindness doesn''t mean the other party must repay it back with kindness.


    "Are you done stalling for the time now?" Vanessa grudgingly asked when she saw Shi Tian standing in a daze, his hand continuously ying with the ring he scammed from her.


    Shi Tian snapped out of his daze and ced the ring on his left middle finger- the same position that she ced previously.


    "Right, you can strip yourself naked, so we can begin. Also, a gentle reminder to burn the clothes you''re wearing now and the previous clothes as well. Since it had the scent of the mutated dust mites, then it might attract some more if you''re that unlucky." He then said nonchntly.


    "I don''t need your hypocrisy advice." Vanessa snorted, but still stripped herself naked and burned the clothes with her magic.


    As for being naked, she was too furious to even care about being seen by him. After all, it wasn''t like he hadn''t seen most of her body previously when she was severely injured.


    With her delicate bodypletely exposed, Shi Tian wasposed and began to scoop out the remaining mutated dust mites from her body.


    Not an ounce of lust could be seen in his eyes as he wasn''t that low enough to use this as an opportunity to look at her naked body. The benefit was the Dimension Ring and it was obtained already.


    Since she honored her end of the deal, then he shall do the same without any funny action.


    A few minutester, Shi Tian finished scooping out all the mutated dust mites and made sure to give her body a thorough check, including all of her supposed forbidden areas.


    Naturally, Vanessa''s face had long turned red from embarrassment and shyness despite still being somewhat angry. Being nced at so intensely, anyone would feel such emotion wavering in their brain.


    The only saving grace was that Shi Tian was merely checking if any mutated dust mites were hiding and not because he wanted to see more of her body.


    "Alright, that should be everything, but I still need to ask if you feel any itchiness anywhere else. If so, then I will check again and see." Shi Tian closed the ss bottle once again and asked solemnly.


    Vanessa also wasn''t stupid to lie about her condition just so she could avoid being exposed any longer.


    She waited a bit longer and felt that all the itchiness that she was getting had vanished. "I think that''s it. I don''t feel any more itchiness."


    Shi Tian nodded his head.


    "Very well then, you can dress in some new clothes."


    "My clothes are all in the ring¡­" She covered her chest and mped her legs while pointing at the Dimension Ring on his left finger.


    "Oh, I see, goodbye then." Shi Tian yawned and teased.


    Though before Vanessa could throw a fit, Shi Tian had taken out all of her clothes and ced them on the table.


    As for the other items within the ring, that was his property now. Ain''t no way would he be stupid enough to give them back to her. It was her fault for leaving the content in the ring before changing ownership.


    A few secondster, Vanessa swiftly put on some random clothes that her hand reached first on the table.


    And she didn''t show any more anger on her face and instead nced at Shi Tian pathetically. She was beyond disappointed in him and no longer wished to have any interaction with him further.


    "Once my reinforcement arrives, I will leave and I wish to never see you again." She said in the calmest tone possible. After saying that, she went back to the guest room and closed the door, not bothering to speak anything else to him.


    Meanwhile, Shi Tian merely stood in ce and nced at the door that she had shut.


    ''Hopefully, with this incident, you could be more cautious of your surroundings and never believe people easily. Your carefreeness and attitude toward people need to be changed, so consider that my favor returned.'' Shi Tian eximed inwardly.


    With such a harsh lesson impacting her, Shi Tian doubted she would dare to trust a stranger that easily in the future.


    It was true that he wanted the Dimension Ring, but at the same time, he wished to teach her a valuable lesson on how to survive in such a cruel world.


    To survive, one must be ruthless, deceitful, and shrewd toward others.


    Vanessacked in all of these aspects, especially in terms of shrewdness and deceitfulness.


    When they first met, she had bluffed him, but afterward, she had failed to continue the act and managed to self-expose herself after he bluffed her a little bit about knowing the truth. This goes to show that she was not prone to being a shrewd and deceitful person.


    In fact, she was more naive and honest, willingly giving out information that should have been deemed confidential to him so readily.


    Didn''t she know that valuable information is even more important than brute force?


    ''We belong to two different worlds.'' Shi Tian thought to himself, shaking his head.

 Chapter 101 Studies

    <h4>Chapter 101 Studies </h4>


    A few days had gone by ever since the incident of swindling her Dimension Ring.


    During that time, Vanessa had note out from the guest room aside from needing to use the bathroom.


    Even when she was starving, she still didn''te out to eat. It was crystal clear that Vanessa was beyond disappointed by the conduct of Shi Tian.


    Shi Tian also didn''t bother to exin his reasoning to her and merely ced the food outside her door.


    As for whether she would open the door to take the food or not, he didn''t care.


    She was an adult and should understand what to do herself.


    Luckily enough, Vanessa still ate the food that he brought to her whenever she came out to use the bathroom and saw the food by the doorstep. Thus, that was how their days had gone by, with zero conversation going on between them.


    Of course, not having a conversation was even better since Shi Tian had managed to renovate the storage room and turned it into a proper mini-workshop.


    His tasks currently were filled to the brim. He was not only studying and attempting to craft a Blv-21 (sh bomb) but was also nurturing the mutated dust mites.


    Since these mutated dust mites feed on dead skin cells, Shi Tian would offer his dead skin to let them eat. At the same time, he would asionally attempt to train them to listen to him.


    There weren''t any possible results on the first day, but gradually, the mutated dust mites seemed to understand hismand.


    Even though it was still wed, it was better than nothing.


    "Mutated dust mites, please grow up and get some intelligence soon." Shi Tian mumbled, touching the outer ss bottle as if he was ying with an actual pet.


    s, haste makes waste, so Shi Tian never nned on rushing these mutated dust mites to be of any use currently.


    Storing the ss bottle back into his Dimension Ring, Shi Tian began to work on his next motive. And that was to study the properties of the Dimension Ring and its structure.


    Such a fascinating and mysterious space concept was worth studying whenever he could get a chance to do so.


    The Dimension Ring functioned in 4-dimensional space, different from their current world space and the fact that it was also spacious enough to contain numerous items was fascinating enough.


    Now that he was the owner of such a ring, he was able to link his mind with it and inspect the space contained in the ring.


    And it was during this time that Shi Tian came to realize why Vanessa said the food would spoil if she attempted to store fresh food inside it.


    The Dimension Ring only contained one space for all of the items that he would store inside, meaning there wasn''t any separate space or room to store items into different sections or categories.


    It was because of this founding that irked the curiosity of Shi Tian.


    On one hand, he wanted to try and see if he could create a separate space within the space itself already, but on the other hand, he might have to face the risk of destroying the Dimension Ring altogether.


    Thus, it was a risky gamble that could leave him with an all-or-nothing bet.


    And if he had to be honest, Shi Tian didn''t dare to currently bet everything with the limited amount of resources he had. Not to mention, the Dimension Ring could be considered a trump card, able to store numerous inanimate things.


    This essentially meant that he could produce a lot of elements of surprise to ambush or attack his opponent without them realizing where and how he got these items appearing.


    ''Sigh, let''s forget about this and just focus on the structure of the Dimension Ring.'' Shi Tian shook his head to stop the fantasy thought for now. It was best to focus on something practical rather than theoretical.


    The events of him needing to fight an enemy with such a tactic hadn''t appeared yet, so there wasn''t a point to think about it.


    A fight is considered a fight because no one could predict what would happen in a fight. There are too many variables that could alter the oue of the fight.


    A few hourster, Shi Tian deactivated the link to stop studying the Dimension Ring.


    After all, it was a concept regarding space, so the difficulty to understand its properties and structure is high. Rushing would only cause him to face a wall, unable toprehend anything.


    Putting the Dimension Ring back on his left middle finger, Shi Tian nced back at the mechanical parts and smiled briefly.


    Although he hadn''t seeded in crafting a Blv-21, he managed to increase the progress from a small percentage to a very high percentage.


    It had only been 3 attempts, but the probability of sess had risen by arge margin, something that Shi Tian was pleased about. Without any distraction or a bratty miss constantly trying to argue with him, he could actually get a lot of things done.


    "Phew, my body is all sweaty now after being cooped up in this tiny storage room." Shi Tian muttered, feeling his body was getting sticky.


    Feeling quite difort, Shi Tian walked out of the storage room and was about to go to the bathroom to take a shower, only to see Vanessaing out from there.


    As their eyes met coincidentally, Vanessa''s facial expression darkened but didn''t bother to say anything. Instead, she pretended to not even see Shi Tian, treating him as thin air and walking around him to walk back to her room.


    Shi Tian also didn''t bother to strike up a conversation with her and went to the bathroom to take a shower.


    Once the bathroom door closed, the guest room door opened slightly and Vanessa peeked her little head out slightly, only to be utterly speechless.


    ''That damn bastard is really heartless.'' She clicked her tongue in discontent, unable toprehend his coldness.

 Chapter 102 Priorities

    <h4>Chapter 102 Priorities</h4>


    Coming out of the shower, feeling freshened uppletely, Shi Tian took out his Cellos device.


    He had exchanged contact with Isaac Aaronax when he told him to take a few days off so that he would be informed whenever his fake identification card was ready.


    An identification card was a convenient tool but also an expensive tool to obtain from the government.


    After all, with the identification card, one could skip the process of having their barcode scanned and only needed to be checked whether they have been infected by the pollution or other harmful substance in the inspection site.


    Not only does it save a lot of time, but it was also the greatest tool for a person who didn''t wish to be registered into the database system.


    Thus, it wouldn''t be surprising that identification cards are hard to obtain and needed to have a certain authority to get one. It was also because of the high difficulty to get one that Krissie didn''t bother exining this particr solution either.


    Shi Tian himself had proimed to be a foreigner, and no government would be foolish enough to give a foreigner such an important tool to utilize.


    Hence, Krissie didn''t assume Shi Tian would have authority enough to convince the government to provide him one, considering how he was even plotting how to sneakily enter previously.


    And ncing at the text message that Isaac Aaronax had sent him, Shi Tian was even more suspicious of his true identity.


    "It''s only been a few days truly and he was able to provide me with a fake identification card. Just how much power does he actually have?" Shi Tian mumbled in confusion.


    In the text message, Isaac Aaronax informed him that the identification card was ready and that he would have 2 days to prepare.


    And since Shi Tian had already agreed to be in cahoot with Isaac Aaronax, worrying about his actual identity would be pointless.


    Thus, he quickly replied to Isaac Aaronax with a quick text of an "okay", and closed his Cellos device.


    Wiping his wet hair with a small towel, Shi Tian realized that he couldn''t rx yet.


    Now that the waiting time was over for the identification card, he now had to wait another 2 days to prepare himself.


    And it was a good thing Isaac Aaronax allowed him some time to prepare because it wouldn''t be good to rush him the instant they had everything ready.


    With time ticking down, Shi Tian needed to reorganize his priority. The nurturing of the mutated dust mites shall continue, alongside the crafting of Blv-21.


    However, the studying of the Dimension Ring shall be ced on hold and reced with fixing the refrigerator and stocking up enough food for Vanessa.


    Of course, he could have just said screw it all and leave her hanging, but since he had taken a lot of advantage from her, it was better to just help her this little bit. Otherwise, he would truly embody the definition of a ruthless and coldhearted person.


    Walking back to his room and changing into a new set of clothes, Shi Tian began to search for screwdrivers and some electric parts for recement.


    Now that his attainment in mechanics had risen up, he was confident in fixing the refrigerator.


    Sometimeter, Shi Tian unplugged the power cable of the refrigerator, effectively shutting it down, and began to disassemble the parts one by one.


    And despite trying to be discreet and make as little noise as possible, it was crystal clear that fixing the refrigerator was quite noisy.


    So noisy that even Vanessa was unable to handle it any longer and had to take a sneak peek to check what Shi Tian was up to again.


    To her astonishment, she saw him diligently inspecting the refrigerator and unscrewing some of the parts.


    It didn''t even take a few seconds more for her to understand why Shi Tian was fixing the refrigerator now.


    There was only one usible reason why he would be fixing the refrigerator now when he doesn''t even use it.


    And that was to store food for her in the uing days, meaning he was about to head out to the wilderness.


    After all, no matter how Shi Tian called her naive or innocent, at the very least, he had never actually called her stupid.


    She simply chose to be ignorant of some parts, and after multiple days of thinking, she hade to realize that Shi Tian was teaching her a valuable lesson to stop thinking that the outside world would treat her the same as she did in her previousfy life.


    It was a lesson that advised her to never fully trust someone even if they seemed amicable on the surface and that you get along with them quite dearly. In this time and age, people would easily change their faces the moment a benefit surpassed the value of their friendship.


    Though the price of receiving such a lesson was truly paid at an exorbitant price which was the Dimension Ring.


    Despite understanding the lesson, epting it were two different things as mentioned previously, and she was still holding quite a grudge at him for swindling her Dimension Ring.


    Her Dimension Ring was clearly worth more than this particr lesson in her mind and that Shi Tian merely used it as a pretext to take it from her.


    Whenever she thought up to this part, she could only bite her lip resentfully, refusing to acknowledge him again.


    Thus, she was merely standing by the door, silently watching Shi Tian fixing the refrigerator.


    ''Call me petty or annoying, but I''m the actual victim here to be constantly losing stuff to you. It wouldn''t hurt your pride if you would just apologize and make amends, right?'' Vanessa thought to herself.


    Truth be told, she was actually quite joyful to have met Shi Tian during her time of crisis because the people she had met would always treat her dearly or faked kindness to get on her good book.

 Chapter 103 Fixing

    <h4>Chapter 103 Fixing</h4>


    What Vanessa found joy in the interaction with Shi Tian wasn''t because of his harshness and coldness directed at her. She was not a masochist that enjoyed being dismissed repeatedly or reprimanded.


    It was for the fact that Shi Tian had treated her as a normal person, and not some wealthy heir with a lot of power behind her family.


    The people she met in life would always let her have her way without disapproving or reprimanding her. Yet Shi Tian seemed to be the devil''s incarnation, born to nitpick everything bad about her, regardless of how small the matter was.


    He never bothered to sugarcoat things and would scold her whenever she made some mistake.


    Hell, even when she was near death, Shi Tian didn''t even bother to bat an eyelid except for that one particr time- which she still didn''t know why he reacted in such a manner.


    Those gentle eyes and worried expressions were so genuine that they touched one''s heart and melted them softly.


    Suddenly, like an electrifying shock had been inflicted upon her, Vanessa shook her head and quickly pped her face to return to reality.


    With a horrified expression, she was inplete disbelief. ''What the heck is wrong with me? Why did I reminisce about that moment?''


    She was definitely not attracted to Shi Tian whatsoever and was only confused temporarily because of how different Shi Tian waspared to the people she met in the past.


    To confirm such a matter, Vanessa stared at Shi Tian intensely and touched her heart. Her heartbeat waspletely normal, and she breathed out in relief.


    "False rm, thank heaven. I must be losing my mind because I''m cooped up in this house for a long time and unable to go outside." She muttered, instantly finding a crux for her messy thought process.


    And as Vanessa continued to be lost in her own world, Shi Tian finally figured out the problem with the refrigerator not working properly.


    Apparently, it was thepressor, condenser, and electric control board losing voltages, resulting in a series of malfunctions andplexions.


    Voltage is the electromotive force that powered the refrigerator, so without voltages, how could there be any functioning within the refrigerator itself.


    Shi Tian''s hands were holding a digital multimeter(DMM) and measured the voltage to be less than 40 while the ampere was around 1 to 2 value.


    A working normal refrigerator should have a voltage of around 120 and an ampere value of 3 to 6, essentially proving the problem was within the electric control board.


    Because the electric control board was unable to provide the necessary voltages across the other mechanical parts such as thepressor and condenser, it resulted in the refrigerator being unable to properly cool the interior.


    "Luckily, Master Isaac has provided me with a decent amount of various electric equipment as well. Without it, then I would have been helpless as well." Shi Tian muttered, quickly plugging the soldering iron device to the wall outlet, and letting it heat up.


    The most difficult task in troubleshooting was finding the problem, and since the problem was found, fixing it would be a piece of cake.


    Time slowly passed by, and Shi Tian finally finished detaching the faulty pins and equipping them with new ones. Reassembling each of the parts back, Shi Tian then plugged the power cable back into the wall outlet.


    The refrigerator turned on and after waiting for some time, Shi Tian felt the interior turning cooler. Checking on the temperature meter, it was indicating 38 degrees Fahrenheit, a clear evidence of the refrigerator functioning properly now.


    "Isn''t it just fixing a broken refrigerator? Couldn''t you have just bought a new one instead of wasting so much effort?" Vanessa suddenly asked. She saw him smiling but couldn''t understand why he would go to such lengths to fix it.


    Meanwhile, Shi Tian''s smile subsequently faded, and sighed softly at her perspective.


    Just this statement alone proved that they don''t belong in the same world.


    Compared to her who had everything spoon-fed to her, poor people like him could never afford their extravagance.


    "Even if I exin it to you, it still wouldn''t matter. You wouldn''t be able to understand it. Our perspectives are too different and we don''t belong in the same world." Shi Tian stood up and said, pushing the refrigerator back to its original position.


    "Also, I thought you were still mad at me for swindling your Dimension Ring. Why are you trying to strike up a conversation now?" He added.


    "Tsk, I was merely curious." Vanessa harrumphed and turned around, quickly running back to the guest room.


    At the same time, she cursed herself for saying such idiotic things.


    Couldn''t she have found a better way to express herself?


    She didn''t mean to offend him and merely wanted topliment him for fixing it.


    After all, fixing appliances isn''tmon these days when everyone is more focused on hunting monsters to earn a living. Only those without talents or courage would hide in the safe zone and do trivial tasks like this to earn some money.


    s, what was done was done and there is no going back.


    Even if she wanted to exin herself, she doubted Shi Tian would care considering his cold expression earlier.


    "And why must he say we don''t belong in the same world? Aren''t we living in the same world, ravaged by monsters and other natural disasters caused by them?" Vanessa mumbled, feeling her mind and heart was in chaos.


    While her emotion was in chaos, Shi Tian had already washed his hands and left the house.


    With the refrigerator now fixed and able to store food properly without spoiling it, he was going to head to the Horology Restaurant and order a ton of food.


    "A week or some more days'' worth of food for Vanessa and some meat jerky for me to store in the Dimension Ring." Shi Tian murmured, already deciding on storing some jerky in the ring since jerky was easy to preserve and eat once he was in the wilderness.

 Chapter 104 Crafting

    <h4>Chapter 104 Crafting</h4>


    Two days had quickly gone by in a sh, and Shi Tian told Vanessa that if she was hungry, then she could go to the refrigerator and reheat some food.


    The food he brought wasn''t anything fried and was food that would still taste good after being reheated.


    Of course, even if Vanessa wanted toin, Shi Tian wouldn''t have cared.


    He was already generous enough to worry about her hunger and made an effort to buy her food. These foods might not have cost much individually, but once stacked, the price was quite costly as it hurt his wallet dearly.


    With that being said, Shi Tian made sure to shut himself in the mini-workshop, only going out for the bathroom or reheating some food to eat.


    He didn''t even bother to go back to his room to sleep and slept in the mini-workshop he had renovated. Although the sleep wasn''t thatfortable, the effort had paid off.


    The Blv-21 was finally sessfully crafted after the 4th attempt once he figured out the properties and structure of it.


    Thus, Shi Tian was currently admiring his first-ever mechanic crafting creation in joy. At the desk, there were two neatly crafted Blv-21 sitting there to be admired.


    The Blv-21 design was simr to a hand grenade, but there was no safety trigger pin whatsoever.


    Instead, it was a button trigger with recognition to him only, meaning that if he didn''t authorize anyone else other than him, no one else could activate it.


    The mechanism and safety procedure of this matter was also given by Isaac Aaronax. It was a great safety procedure to prevent others from even attempting to steal your work.


    After all, it also had a wireless range of activationmands avable, meaning if some dumb person decided to steal it, then he could easily activate it.


    Though that wasn''t even the amazing part, it was the fact that he could ce it as a trap and have it activated whenever he wanted.


    Such an amazing safety procedure was the reason why Shi Tian was having such difficulty in crafting. The structure of doing so wasplex and nearly made him lose his mind in the process of constructing it.


    "I wonder how Master Isaac managed toe up with suchplexity to construct his mechanical gears. Does my right arm also have the same function?" Shi Tian mumbled, ncing at his right arm.


    The right arm he had on was far tooplex and mysterious for his current ability to decipher anything useful. It was no exaggeration to say that he might be the owner of the right arm, but he had absolutely next to zero knowledge of itpared to Isaac Aaronax.


    Sighing, Shi Tian stored the Blv-21 into his Dimension Ring and stood up, readying to head out because Isaac Aaronax had texted him toe out.


    Walking out of the storage room, Shi Tian made a final nce at the guest room from afar.


    A few secondster, he shook his head and didn''t n on instructing her whatsoever. She already knew there was enough food stocked in the refrigerator, so whether she wanted to eat them or not was her choice.


    Taking the elevator to the lobby, Shi Tian was surprised to see Mary waiting by the elevator the moment he exited.


    "Mary?" Shi Tian raised an eyebrow, seemingly confused by her appearance here.


    "You''re the person that Master Isaac mentioned that would assist me in learning a movement technique?" He then asked after seeing her current attire.


    Unlike her usual receptionist look and clothes, she was now more dressed like a military person.


    Her long hair was tied up and most of her skin was covered by the clothes. Not to mention, she had a mask wrapped around her neck and wasying by her chest.


    Mary nodded her head. "Yep, Mechanist Isaac is busy and pleaded with me to assist you. Thus, for the next few days or so, I will be your instructor."


    "Instructor?"


    "What? Do you think I''m not qualified to be one because I''m a mere receptionist?"


    Shi Tian shook his head and smiled bitterly.


    "Oh please, who would dare to believe you are just some receptionist? You are capable of self-defense and swift footwork." He said, hinting about the previous encounter they had, albeit brief.


    Mary merely smiled and didn''t bother toment on that.


    He was talking about the time when she was being followed and had swiftly handled those pursuers with ease. This matter was clearly something the two of them knew about, but there was no need to say it aloud.


    "Anyway, this is your identification card," Mary said and took out a digital card from her pocket.


    "With that identification card, your name shall be Gavin, and you are a native citizen of Gearits City. At the age of 18, you are also registered in the system as a mercenary under the mercenary guild." She then exined.


    Shi Tian nodded his head, staring at the identification card that had his picture imprinted on it.


    However, it was just that because all other information, including his date of birth and name, was made up.


    What a hrious moment!


    The name he gave to them was fake, and now they are making up a fake name for him as well. It was fake upon fake, and Shi Tian nearlyughed aloud if it wasn''t for his emotion beingposed.


    How many more aliases or nicknames would he have?


    Meanwhile, Mary was confused when she saw him staying silent and only staring at the identification card in a daze.


    "Is there something wrong with the data?" She asked in a dumbfounded tone.


    They had spent days getting this issued and had it listed in the system database. Thus, it would be problematic if they needed to alter some of the data.


    "Oh, no, I was just amazed by your ability to get this rare identification card for me in such a swift time." Shi Tian snapped out of his daze and said awkwardly.

 Chapter 105 Iron Sentinel

    <h4>Chapter 105 Iron Sentinel</h4>


    Admiring the fake identification card for a while, Shi Tian then stored it in his pocket.


    He didn''t n to store it in the Dimension Ring when Mary was present and watching him.


    A Dimension Ring looked no different than a normal ring essory.


    Thus, unless one took a closer look and inspection on the ring, there was no way others could discern it for being a Dimension Ring.


    "Alright then, since there''s no problem with the identification card, follow me," Mary said, turning around and exiting the apartmentplex.


    Closely following right behind, Shi Tian arrived outside and saw Mary opening the door of an armored-truck-like vehicle.


    "This is-" Shi Tian nced at the armored truck in a daze, clearly not expecting her to arrive here with such a vehicle.


    Seeing the astonished look from Shi Tian, Mary chuckled softly from the driver''s seat.


    She patted the front door with a somewhat prideful smile and exined, "This vehicle here is called Iron Sentinel. It''s my go-to and trustworthy armored truck for exploration outside the walls of Gearits City."


    With that said, Shi Tian inspected the armored truck called Iron Sentinel.


    Standing tall and robust, the Iron Sentinel boasted a rugged and intimidating exterior. Its massive frame was constructed with reinforced steel panels, capable of withstanding powerful impacts and resisting attacks from various angles.


    The metallic armor was further fortified withyers of advancedposite materials, providing exceptional protection against bullets, explosives, and even attempts at forced entry.


    And it was equipped with state-of-the-art surveince and defense systems, making the Iron Sentinel always ready for action.


    High-resolution cameras and sensors are strategically positioned around the vehicle, offering a 360-degree view of its surroundings. Thisprehensive surveincework ensured that no blind spots go unnoticed, allowing the upants to maintain constant vignce.


    As Shi Tian swallowed a mouthful of saliva from being utterly speechless by the Iron Sentinel, he hopped into the other front seat avable for him.


    Once he was inside the vehicle, he was able to get a clearer look at the interior.


    The interior of the Iron Sentinel was like a testament to functionality and security. The spacious cargopartment is lined with secure storage units, equipped with cutting-edge locking mechanisms to safeguard the transported valuables.


    Thepartments are partitioned and reinforced to prevent unauthorized ess, with separatepartments for different types of cargo.


    "The Iron Sentinel is simply too impressive." Shi Tian turned to Mary and said,plimenting her vehicle.


    "Oh, how impressive? Can you be more precise with it?" Mary smirked and asked curiously.


    Shi Tian was slightly embarrassed and scratched his head in response.


    How was he supposed to know the precise details of something he just encountered?


    Seeing his embarrassment, Mary also didn''t attempt to tease him any further and exined some more details to him.


    And ording to Mary''s words, to ensure a smooth and swift journey, the Iron Sentinel was powered by a high-performance engine that delivered impressive speed and eleration, making it capable of maneuvering through city streets or escaping dangerous situations with ease.


    The heavy-duty suspension system allowed for stability and control, even on uneven terrain or during sudden maneuvers.


    To summarize, safety features are paramount in the design of the Iron Sentinel.


    Advanced braking systems, traction control, and stability control mechanisms ensured optimal handling and minimized the risk of idents. The vehicle was also equipped with advancedmunication systems, allowing them to stay connected with the outside world and coordinate their actions effectively.


    "Okay, that''s the gist of how powerful my vehicle is. Any more doubts?" Mary asked, seemingly confirming whether or not she could start the vehicle.


    Shi Tian smiled awkwardly and shook his head.


    "No need, Mary."


    "Alrighty then, buckle up your seatbelt."


    Following her instruction, Shi Tian put the seatbelt on while secretly amazed by the Iron Sentinel feature.


    The reason why he was curious was that he didn''t know how secure this vehicle was. But after hearing her exnation and precise details of the Iron Sentinel''s capability, his worry was pointless.


    With Mary starting the vehicle, they soon left the apartmentplex district and drove to the main street.


    It was the first time in a while that Shi Tian had the opportunity to admire the scenery from the window.


    Ever since his awakening, it was always him walking and walking. The feeling of sitting in afortable seat, and moving forward was fantastic.


    Mary was focusing on driving, but asionally, would sneak a nce at Shi Tian. She was dumbfounded to see him shing a nostalgic look.


    "What are you thinking about?" Mary asked curiously.


    She was hoping to use this chance to probe a bit of his information.


    After all, she had ordered some people from the Shadow Legion to investigate Shi Tian.


    Yet the result they obtained was abysmal.


    Not a single great piece of information was investigated by the Shadow Legion except for the fact that he had only recently appeared near the campsite and killed a rogue called Benmos before entering Gearits City.


    What was worse was the fact that there was no database of Shi Tian.


    And naturally, Shi Tian understood that she was probing him.


    He was still considered a stranger despite receiving so much of their benefits without actually returning anything physical in return. In addition, he was extremely weakpared to them.


    "I was just thinking how peaceful life is within the walls of Gearits City. Polluted air is altered through formation and people here didn''t have to suffer from terrible air and possible infection." Shi Tian said calmly.


    Mary nodded her head.


    "Agreed, the people that never left Gearits City simply don''t know how lucky they are. The wilderness outside is apletely different environment. So where were you before arriving at Gearits City?" She then asked, going a step further in her questioning.


    "You seemed to be really curious about me." Shi Tianughed and leaned closer to the armrest, staring at her.


    "Are you interested in me and want to start a rtionship?"

 Chapter 106 Veiled Journey

    <h4>Chapter 106 Veiled Journey</h4>


    The moment when Shi Tian asked if Mary was interested in him, she waspletely taken aback.


    In an instant, she had to step on the brake, stopping the vehicle abruptly, and nced at him in shock.


    "What?" She held a disbelieving expression and turned toward him in shock.


    It was clear that she was not expecting such a response from him and that she waspletely surprised by the unexpected remark.


    Shi Tian smiled briefly, stuck his tongue out, and leaned back in his seat. "I was just teasing you, Mary. You didn''t have to be that shocked."


    Mary facepalmed and sighed exhaustively.


    "Aish, you little-"


    Before she could even continue her sentence, the vehicles behind them started honking repeatedly, clearly irritated and displeased by her sudden braking.


    After all, such an action would be mistaken as brake checking and trying to scam the other party of insurance money by causing them to collide their vehicle with hers.


    Of course, things such as insurance werepletely nonexistent in this era.


    Who the hell would care if you lost your life or damaged your equipment?


    In a world that is ravaged by monsters, damages are easily done to anything, and any insurancepany would have been bankrupt by now if they had to constantly pay money to their clients.


    Hence, only a fool would start an insurancepany and be a charity organization.


    Starting the vehicle again, Mary red at Shi Tian and warned, "Don''t ever joke like that again. We nearly crashed because of your sudden out-of-context tease."


    Shi Tian smiled innocently and nodded his head.


    Though he made sure to leave onestment regarding his conduct.


    "Well, anyone would have mistaken your behavior as being interested in me. Otherwise, why would you ask so many personal questions?" He defended.


    "Pretend I didn''t ask then." Mary was speechless and focused on driving.


    Her attempt at probing had utterly backfired and nearly caused a huge misunderstanding on her end as well.


    With Mary being silent and having no intention of probing any further, Shi Tian inwardly breathed a sigh of relief, being able to escape her probing rather swiftly.


    He didn''t dare to answer any of her questions half-heartedly because it would only make the matter worse and terrible for him in the future.


    Instead of speaking a lie, it was best to shift the topic and not have to answer.


    Once a lie was spoken, he would then need to say another lie to cover up the first lie.


    Rinse and repeat.


    There would be no end to such an action.


    Mary was also an intelligent person to understand the meaning behind his previous teasing, which was why she decided to refrain from asking. And with that said, the journey between them was an awkward silence moment until they reached the exit.


    Mary''s vehicle was stopped by an inspection guard as they were about to leave Gearits City.


    It was the same for the other vehicles that were ahead of them given that it was a protocol and necessary procedure to understand why they were leaving.


    They are now at a special terminal stopping point which wasn''t as heavily scrutinized as the other terminal point by the military.


    The inspection guard walked toward Mary''s vehicle while holding a firearm and asked, "Name and reason for leaving".


    Asking for the name was a given to check the people in the database to confirm they are the person they imed to be, and as for the reason for leaving, it was just an extra question without needing to be answered.


    After all, people could have multiple reasons for leaving Gearits City and heading outside to the dangerous wilderness.


    Of course, it was only these two basic questions simply because it was a special terminal stopping point that identification card holders could ess. At other terminal stopping points, the guard would be more strict and harsh.


    "The name''s Michelle and here''s my identification card," Mary opened the car window and gave out the identification card.


    The inspection guard grabbed it and used a device to scan the card. A few secondster, the device made a beeping sound and shed a green light, indicating that everything was correct.


    "And you?" The inspection guard returned the identification card to Mary and then nced at Shi Tian.


    Shi Tian remained calm and retrieved the identification card that Mary had given him earlier.


    "The name''s Gavin." He said, giving him the identification card.


    A few secondster, the inspection guard confirmed that both identities are correct and walked around the vehicle for a moment, seemingly inspecting for anything amiss.


    "Okay, the two of you are clear. However, I must remind you to not go too close to the District C and District D zone temporarily. The miasmas that were cleared from the New Region had scattered there, so it''s listed as hazardous and unsafe to explore at the moment." The inspection guard moved aside and gave a friendly warning.


    Mary nodded her head and smiled at the inspection guard.


    "Thanks for your hard work," She said, stepping on the pedal and exiting Gearits City.


    As they officially exited Gearits City, Mary pointed at the storagepartment next to Shi Tian.


    "Nathan, there''s a gas mask in there, so make sure to put it on. The air pollution is going to be hazardous for us to breathe soon once we drive near District A." She instructed.


    Shi Tian nodded his head, opened the storagepartment, and found three gas masks stored in it.


    And for some reason, seeing the gas mask made him recall the final moment of Ynda and how her gas mask was broken.


    ''Would she have survived if she had a backup gas mask on her?'' Shi Tian wondered silently. Though he shook his head since it was quite impossible regardless if she had a gas mask on or not.


    The Tenceloras were beyond her capacity for fighting, and the fact that her injuries were closely simr to the injuries Vanessa received, he was starting to doubt that something had urred during the time of his retreat.


    ''Sigh, let''s not think about it for now.'' Shi Tian thought, wrapping the gas mask around his neck. Although he was never once affected by the pollution in the atmosphere, it was better to be safe than sorry.

 Chapter 107 District A

    <h4>Chapter 107 District A</h4>


    Mary started to describe their intended itinerary as she continued to pilot the Iron Sentinel.


    There are locations outside of Gearits City that are frequently referred to as District Zones.


    District A is a zone that is rather safe for monster hunting and is the one that is closest to Gearits City.


    It was only reasonable that people would frequently travel here to exterminate the monsters that threatened the security of Gearits City given that it was the nearest.


    District B followed District A, and so on and so forth, with District F being the farthest away alphabet letter.


    District F, which contained countless undiscovered settings, monsters, and pollution that could melt human flesh from the inside out, was by far the most dangerous and uncharted location.


    In addition, District F, by coincidence, was the location where the New Region was found, making it the most perilous exploring zone for Gearits City.


    "Since we areing to the wilderness to train you, District A should be enough. Of course, if I judge that you are capable enough, then we shall head to District B. Is that clear?" Mary had a solemn expression on her face when she said it.


    Given that they are currently in the wilderness, her solemn demeanor was understandable.


    Shi Tian equally showed seriousposure and nodded his head. "I shall follow your instruction, Mary."


    Turning his head to the left, he noticed a dreary environment outside the window, which was very different from the vibrant environment of Gearits City.


    Despite this, Shi Tian felt alive since this was what the real world was like, and not the one Gearits City had invented to falsify a safe living environment.


    He wasn''tining that being in a safe living environment was bad, but it was also true that it would be detrimental for the citizens living there, especially those who had never ventured into the wilderness.


    Time slowly passed by, and the two of them passed by numerous people that were camping in a specific location to hunt for monsters.


    Even though they were quite a distance away from them, they could still hear the sound of bullets flying, spells being cast by magus, and other fighting noises.


    In simple terms, it was basically a chaotic environment.


    "Okay, we will start the training here," Mary parked the Iron Sentinel in a somewhat quiet spot and said.


    Putting on the gas mask, she turned on automatic mode and got off the vehicle. With the automatic mode on, the Iron Sentinel could operate by itself even without manual control.


    This was a preemptive measure to have the Iron Sentinel ready to back them up whenever an unknown danger arises.


    Shi Tian also quickly followed suit, putting on the gas mask and exiting the vehicle.


    Walking close to Mary, she was busy checking on her watch which seemed to be scanning every few seconds or so in their area.


    In her watch, multiple red dots were being revealed in different corners.


    "Hmm, isn''t that the ce that we went by. There was only one monster, so how could there be seven now?" Shi Tian asked confusingly, pointing at the hologram map.


    At first, he couldn''t see much from her watch, but when Mary changed an option in her watch, creating a hologram projection instead, Shi Tian was able to see where they are currently located and where the red dots are.


    "One of the red dots is the monster, but the other six red dots are the people we had driven by." Mary calmly said, extending the map that Shi Tian was concerned about.


    And sure enough, once extended, they were able to see the scene of six people striking one monster, fighting and cooperating as a team.


    "What the hell?!!"


    Shi Tian wasn''t astonished by these people''s fighting capability, but by the fact that they were able to watch them fight despite being so far away.


    "I''ve told you that my Iron Sentinel is my trustworthy armored truck. Did you forget that I mentioned that it had an advanced system equipped? And with its technology, I can transmit the images and videos happening around us through this watch of mine." Mary smirked and coldly exined.


    Her amiable demeanor seemed to have vanishedpletely and was reced with a cold and merciless demeanor.


    Maybe this was her real personality and not the facade she put up behind the counter desk when she was a receptionist.


    "Here, take this temporary watch and put it on as well. The watches are connected with wireless GPS." Mary then said and handed over another watch to him.


    Shi Tian didn''t bother to say any courtesy and directly wore it on his left wrist. With this watch, their safety was heightened by arge margin.


    After all, they could be said to have an eye in the sky thanks to the Iron Sentinel''s functionality.


    As for the reason why the other people were marked as red dots, Mary might not have exined it, but Shi Tian understood the meaning.


    They might be people, but who could tell whether they are going to be friendly with them or not. Hence, it was best to simply mark them as enemies so that they would always remain cautious.


    Not to mention, the District A zone might not be dangerouspared to other districts, but visibility here was still low due to the cloudy mist produced by the terrible pollution and other factors.


    "What monsters have you fought before, Nathan?" Mary turned to him and asked sternly. She was no different than a training instructor in a military camp, extremely strict and stone-faced.


    "I have fought with Armored Rats before, and some other lizard-type monsters." Shi Tian answered honestly.


    Back when he was practicing his shooting skills, he encountered some lizard-type monsters. They were swift in movement, so the uracy of shooting them was pathetically low.


    Nevertheless, it helped him learn his mistakes and how to adjust his angling and shooting time.


    "I see¡­ give me a second then," Mary replied, searching through her watch, seemingly looking for information.

 Chapter 108 Gilaso

    <h4>Chapter 108 Gso</h4>


    Shi Tian patiently waited by the sideline when Mary was seemingly focused on searching for some data on her watch.


    Although he was waiting, his vignce remained high, and had a pistol out, ready to shoot at any unidentified enemy.


    They might be able to see the red dots or enemies on their watch, but that was only on the surface. If it was an enemy that could conceal themselves or hide underground, then they could avoid detection from the Iron Sentinel.


    The ability of the Iron Sentinel might be amazing, but there was a limit to everything. Thus, one could never be rxed when danger is literally lurking in every corner.


    As he kept watch like a sentry, Mary finally found the information she needed.


    "Nathan, tell me which lizard-type monster you encountered." She then asked, revealing her watch that showcased different types of lizard monsters.


    Shi Tian scanned through the list that she had shown him and pointed at one particr monster.


    "Are you sure it''s this one?" Mary''s voice was slightly agitated when she saw the monster that Shi Tian had pointed to.


    Shi Tian nodded his head.


    With a resolute expression, he confirmed it and even described the appearance of the monster he had encountered.


    "The lizard was a formidable monster and stood around eight feet tall. It had a muscr andpact body covered in rough, scaly skin that resembled the texture of a human''s armor." Shi Tian exined, closing his eyes as he tried to recall more details of their appearance.


    "Was the color the same as this picture, brownish?" Mary enquired.


    "No, I don''t think it was a brownish color. I remember their scales were shades of dark green and some ck on their legs. Though I could be wrong because some of them were quite camouged in color of the natural surroundings."


    "So their colors are different huh? Could there be other variants?" Mary mumbled, her brows knitted tightly.


    Shaking her head, she urged Shi Tian to continue to describe the monster he encountered in precise detail. Even the tiniest detail must not be neglected and must be ryed to her.


    She needed to confirm something beforeing up with a conclusion.


    Thus, Shi Tian was forced to describe the lizard monster despite not remembering much.


    And ording to his recollection, the head of the lizard monster was adorned with menacing horns that curved backward, adding to its aggressive and predatory aura. Its eyes are sharp and glowing, reflecting a vivid amber color, which grants it enhanced vision even in low-light conditions.


    Its snout was elongated and equipped with rows of razor-sharp teeth, capable of tearing through flesh and bone with ease. Long, forked tongues flickered in and out as it sensed its environment, making it a formidable tracker.


    "They were truly one sensitive monster that I can''t even attempt to sneak past them. I was forced to go to a direct confrontation with them, killing a few before eventually scaring the others to retreat." Shi Tian said calmly.


    He didn''t even omit the part where these lizard monsters were eating a human, which was the reason why he knew their teeth were razor-sharp. He recalled the flesh of the human was easily torn apart as they munched it joyfully.


    Mary''s expression gradually darkened with time when she heard Shi Tian narrate his experience.


    "How did you even manage to kill them, Nathan? And I want the exact details again." She then asked, clearly curious as to how he achieved such a feat.


    The creature''s limbs are sturdy and muscr, ending in sharp, wed digits that allow it to swiftly traverse various terrains. Its tail was long and whip-like, acting as a powerful weapon to strike and immobilize its prey.


    In addition to that, the lizard was covered in armored ting, and their tail could be swung with great force, capable of breaking bones and causing significant damage.


    It was hard for her to imagine that Shi Tian was capable of killing even one of them, much less a few of thembined.


    "Well, I used some Esper Special Bullets to shoot their heads." Shi Tian scratched his head and said awkwardly.


    There truly wasn''t any special method on how he killed them. It was just some firing of the bullet and done.


    Meanwhile, Mary twitched her mouth and stared at him intensely. She was inspecting to see whether he was fooling her or not.


    ''If the Gso lizard monster was that easy to apprehend, then why would so many people fall prey to them?'' Mary eximed inwardly.


    The Gso lizard monster is a solitary creature that fiercely guards its territory. It is highly territorial and will aggressively defend its hunting grounds from intruders.


    With its superior speed and agility, it could quickly close the distance between itself and its prey,unching swift and devastating attacks. Its keen sense of smell allowed it to detect the faintest scent of potential prey, making it a formidable predator in its domain.


    Not to mention, the mutated Gso are extremely venomous, adding another extrayer of danger and difficult to fend against.


    Encountering even a singr Gso monster would be a dangerous situation for anyone.


    They would need to rely on their skill, strategy, and powerful weaponry to ovee these Gso monsters.


    After all, their resilient nature and predatory instincts made it a challenging foe, given that they utilized both brute force and cunning tactics to secure its survival.


    Thus, the problem nowes to how and what did Shi Tian do to ovee them and safely cross their territorial ground.


    ''Was he ying the pig to eat the tiger this entire time?'' Mary was left aghast if that was the case. She couldn''t even fathom how dangerous Shi Tian would be if he was to harbor any evil intent toward her.


    "Um, Mary, is something wrong?" Shi Tian asked innocently, seemingly curious as to why she remained silent for so long.


    s, little did Shi Tian expect that his innocent concern seemed like a menacing predator to Mary at this moment.

 Chapter 109 Testing Him

    <h4>Chapter 109 Testing Him </h4>


    A few minutes had gone by, and Mary finally managed to calm her emotion.


    As much as she was suspicious of Shi Tian and his real ability, she refused to believe he could be that cunning.


    After all, he could have lied and not revealed any of this information to her if he nned on concealing his skills.


    If he was truly ying a pig to eat the tiger, then he would be the most idiotic one.


    Taking a deep breath, Mary extended her hand and asked politely, "May I see the Esper Special Bullet you used to kill the Gso monster?"


    To ask for another person''s weapon to see was considered rude and might even cause a hostile reaction. Thus, she was trying to sound polite and not have him misunderstand her intention.


    Though it was merely her overthinking since Shi Tian didn''t mind lending her a bullet to see. It was just a bullet and it originally belonged to the deceased Ynda anyway.


    Unloading his pistol, Shi Tian scanned through the cartridges to find the Esper Special Bullet that was loaded in.


    Since Esper Special Bullets are rare and limited, most of his bullets were just normal ones without any enhancement done to them. One of the many bullets in the cartridges he used was equipped with the Esper Special Bullet.


    A few secondster, Shi Tian found it and gave it to her for inspection. "Here you go, Mary."


    Mary held the Esper Special Bullet in hand and began analyzing it.


    To her dismay, it was the same type of bullet that they used and provided to other members of the Shadow Legion. Thus, she knew full well of its firepower and capabilities.


    While she was analyzing it, Shi Tian was the most confused one here.


    ''Is she suspicious of my im in killing the Gso monster? But isn''t it just normal activity?'' Shi Tian thought to himself.


    He didn''t find it weird to be able to shoot a monster to death. Even the other people that they passed by were currently fighting using firearms despite having other skills and abilities.


    Sometimeter, Mary returned the Esper Special Bullet to him and sighed softly.


    "Nathan, I''m not sure if you have noticed it, but the Gso monsters you encountered seem to be a new variant. The territory that you met them in shouldn''t be possible because they will choose a hotter environment to settle in." She exined calmly.


    A variant was the term used to describe mutated monsters that deviated from their original appearance and behavior.


    And the appearance of new variants wasn''t some simple matter tough at. It was a serious and dangerous situation that could impact their very life.


    That was because these variants are ten times or possibly even more dangerous than the original mutated monster. Each of the variant''s offensive, defensive, and cunningness statistics is increased by an unimaginable rate.


    "What should we do then?" Shi Tian asked. He was asking out of politeness since they were here for training and not some extermination mission.


    If Mary somehow suggested deviating from their original n to exterminate these new variants of Gso, then Shi Tian would have to pass on that.


    He was not a hero, and given that these variants hadn''t posed a problem to him other than that particr day, he wouldn''t be actively hunting them.


    After all, the variants are a troublesome monster to deal with, and they risked being in danger when it was just the two of them.


    Thankfully though, Shi Tian seemed to have thought wrongly of Mary.


    "We are obviously sticking to our original n, but since we know variants areing out of their original territory, we''ll need to be extra careful. In addition, these variants could be of use to us in the future given that this knowledge seemed to be unknown to others." Mary shed a wicked smile.


    Seeing that sinister-like smile, Shi Tian had a feeling that she was scheming something.


    Nevertheless, he kept a blind eye to it because they were currently on the same boat. Whatever she does, so long as it wasn''t directed at him, then he wouldn''t care.


    It was the same for Mary, who would also keep a blind eye to the matter that Shi Tian did.


    "Anyway, now that we know variants have appeared around District B, we would avoid going there overall," Mary said, putting a note on the hologram projection at the precise location of the Gso variant.


    "Before we find some monsters to fight, I hope that you can perform some of your footwork to let me see what level you''re at."


    "Level? But I didn''t learn any footwork techniques at all."


    "Precisely so on why I ask you to show me. The raw footwork you disy would be the best reference as to which movement technique is suitable for you."


    "I see¡­" Shi Tian nodded his head. "Then do you just want me to run around in the field?"


    "Of course not," Mary held a deadpan expression, almost as if she was looking at an idiot.


    If all he needed to do was run around, then what was the point ofing out here to train despite the high risk.


    Before Shi Tian could get a clearer response, he felt a gushing wind passing by him.


    In just a split second, Mary had already vanished from her original spot.


    Turning around, he noticed Mary standing at least 10 meters away from him.


    ncing back and forth, Shi Tian was dumbfounded by the speed that Mary had disyed.


    However, the scariest part had yet to even be revealed to him.


    "I have ced some traps within the field in front of me, so while your job is to rush forward, you''ll also need to keep in mind the field you step in. One wrong step and you''ll be sent flying back." Mary exined the objective of this course.


    ''Traps that send me back flying huh?'' Shi Tian stared at the seemingly normal field in front of him.

 Chapter 110 Filled with Dirt

    <h4>Chapter 110 Filled with Dirt</h4>


    The field in front of Shi Tian appeared deceptively ordinary, but he knew better than to underestimate the traps that Mary had set.


    With a cautious expression, he took a deep breath and prepared himself for the challenge ahead.


    As he started moving, he focused his attention on the ground beneath his feet.


    Each step was calcted, and his senses heightened to detect any signs of danger. The terrain seemed harmless at first, but he knew that a single misstep could have serious consequences.


    ''Mary isn''t the joking type when she acts in such a cold demeanor. If only I knew what types of traps wereid in the field.'' Shi Tian eximed inwardly.


    The only information he had in hand was that there are trapsid in the field, and it was hard for him to imagine that she was able to ce multiple traps in such a short amount of time.


    Nevertheless, he could only grit his teeth and ept whatever obstacles were thrown at him.


    As he ventured forward, Shi Tian noticed subtle irregrities in the ground.


    Small pressure tes, disguised as patches of grass or dirt, revealed themselves upon closer inspection. He could sense the presence of hidden mechanisms waiting to be triggered.


    Carefully maneuvering through the field, he used his agility and quick reflexes to his advantage.


    With each step, he instinctively avoided the traps, sidestepping pressure tes and dodging concealed snares.


    Mary observed his progress with a critical eye, analyzing his footwork, speed, and decision-making.


    She noted his ability to adapt, adjusting his stride to avoid traps on the fly. His natural instincts and physical prowess impressed her, hinting at his untapped potential.


    "What a shame though, his movement is too slow," Mary muttered, shaking her head.


    And sure enough, the very next moment, Shi Tian somehow triggered a trap.


    "Crap¡­" Shi Tian was dumbfounded that this particr trap was a doubleyered one. s, there was nothing else he could do besides feeling a powerful gush of force, propelling him backward.


    With two arms covering the front, Shi Tian received the impact st and returned to his starting position, albeit further.


    Mary pped her hand softly and went toward him. From behind though, she left some mirage images, proving that her movement speed was no joke.


    "Not bad, Nathan. To be able to go that far should be considered great¡­ for a buffoon that is." Mary smiled coldly. She had no intention ofplimenting him whatsoever, even if he does have some untapped potential waiting to be unleashed.


    As of right now, Shi Tian was no different than a diamond covered in the rough.


    Shi Tian patted his clothes which were covered in dirt from the previous impact and held a calmposure.


    "Thanks for the guidance. I shall do my best again." He cupped his fist and said. Not an ounce of resentment could be seen in his face nor the sound of his tone.


    "Again? Aren''t you afraid that your gas mask might break from continuously being sted by the impact? If the gas mask breaks, then oxygen would soon go loose and you will inhale the hazardous air or other substances." Mary sneered coldly, clearly trying to frighten him.


    She wasn''t afraid to train a newbie, but she was most afraid of training a coward that would be of no help when the crucial time came. Cowardly people have no existence in her perspective.


    Shi Tian chuckled a bit and pointed at the Iron Sentinel that was stationed afar. "Didn''t we have two extra gas masks in the storagepartment? Why would I be afraid of damaging the gas mask then?"


    "Hmph, those gas masks aren''t used for your training, but as a safety backup. Do you think these gas masks are easy to manufacture?"


    "Well, even if there are no gas masks avable, I still wished to continue the training."


    Mary narrowed her eyes and red at Shi Tian. She was examining his behavior and personality.


    A few secondster, she nodded her head, "Fine, if you insist on continuing the training, then the traps shall be different this time as well. I just hope your action will be the same as your determination."


    To be totally honest, Mary really didn''t want to train Shi Tian, but Isaac Aaronax insisted on this matter and urged her to train him. Thus, she wanted to test Shi Tian''s character whether or not he was worthy to be trained.


    Training would only be fruitful if the other party had the determination and courage to improve themselves. If the other party had no intention, then no matter what training they go through, there would be zero improvement.


    "Thank you for your effort, Mary." Shi Tian gave his thanks.


    He knew Mary didn''t seem to like him ever since they met in the apartmentplex. It was pretty obvious when one could see a slight annoyance emitting from her, especially when she was trying to probe for his information.


    After all, they could only be considered acquaintances at best, so being in charge of training him would result in slight discontent.


    "No need to thank me. I''m going to improve the traps I willy, so if you truly want to thank me, get past this obstacle first." Mary waved her hand and said.


    A few minutester, she finished setting up the traps and once again instructed Shi Tian to do the same.


    Shi Tian nodded his head and began to dash forward, confronting this new obstacle course.


    The training continued for what felt like hours, with Shi Tian facing increasinglyplex challenges.


    The traps became more sophisticated, some triggered by sound, others by proximity. Yet, he persevered, his determination unyielding.


    asionally, he stumbled upon a trap, causing him to be propelled backward by a sudden burst of air or a hidden spring mechanism.


    However, he quickly recovered, using his athleticism to regain his bnce and continue the course.


    His clothes werepletely filled with dirt from the knockback, but that never stopped him from giving up.


    "Truly a buffoon¡­" Mary mumbled softly, shaking her head.

 Chapter 111 Obstacle Course

    <h4>Chapter 111 Obstacle Course</h4>


    An unknown amount of time had passed by, and only the sound of impact could be heard asionally.


    Each time Shi Tian was close to reaching Mary, there would be a trap that somehow got triggered, sting him to another trap. And just like that, a chain reaction urred, sending him all the way back from the start.


    Naturally, with such an event happening continuously, Shi Tian came to suspect that there was foul y around.


    Mary was definitely triggering a trap purposely just when he was about toplete the supposed obstacle course.


    ''Tsk, even though I know it, I can''t even react in time.'' Shi Tian cursed inwardly. He was frustrated at himself for being slow and weak.


    As for Mary''s foul y, he was more than grateful for her to be so crafty and tricky with him.


    After all, there is no such thing as fair y in this world, and one should always be cautious and vignt toward their surroundings.


    "Come on, Nathan! You wasted so much time and still haven''tpleted this extremely basic obstacle course. Could it be that you don''t care anymore and just want to call it a day?" Mary yawned and taunted loudly once she noticed Shi Tian was staying still.


    "You don''t need to constantly taunt me, Mary." Shi Tian snapped out of his daze and said calmly.


    "I''m not giving up, so you are free to continue to y dirty."


    "Heh, y dirty? Is that an usation of a failure?"


    "Whatever you say, Mary. But just you wait till I reach you." Shi Tianughed, rushing forward again.


    "How much longer must I wait then? Also, save the profound quote or vows. It''s cringe." Marymented.


    Herment was so feisty that Shi Tian nearly fumbled in his second step and activated a proximity trap.


    Triggering so many proximity traps and sound traps consecutively, he was already getting some sixth sense instinct to avoid them.


    Hence, he could tell that he was so close to activating a trap, even if he couldn''t see it from his current perspective.


    ''That was close,'' Shi Tian breathed a sigh of relief. It would have been embarrassing if he failed so quickly after attempting so many times.


    Luckily, the training proved to be fruitful, considering how easily he managed to bnce himself back and avoid making another misstep.


    However, Shi Tian couldn''t be blissful any further when Mary suddenly sped her hands.


    "Alright, that''s enough for today''s training," Mary announced.


    "Huh? But didn''t we just start the course?" Shi Tian was dumbfounded.


    "Just start the course? Would you kindly take a look at the sky first and then tell me that again?" Mary snorted coldly and pointed upward.


    Confused, Shi Tian nced at the sky, and sure enough, it was getting dark.


    In fact, it should already be considered nighttime even though they arrived here around the morning.


    "When did the time go by so fast?" Shi Tian uttered in shock, clearly unable to believe they had spent such a long time on this obstacle course.


    Mary sped up and appeared instantaneously in front of Shi Tian, shaking her head.


    "The time goes fast for a failure that can''t evenplete a simple obstacle course. Sigh, how wrong was I to believe you have some untapped potential." She then said in disdain.


    Though inwardly, she was impressed with his fast improvement given that she could tell he was aplete amateur regarding these types of challenges.


    To be able to attain such a high result on their first day was already a great feat. But to not have him get cocky or careless because of the achievement, she would rather take him down a notch, honing his mentality instead.


    Meanwhile, Shi Tian smiled bitterly and clenched his fist. "Sorry for my ipetence, Mary. I promise to do better."


    Mary remained silent for a brief moment before nodding her head. "Leave the traps there for now and go back inside Iron Sentinel. We''re going to camp in the vehicle, so one person will rotate as a night guard." She softened her tone and said, walking back to the Iron Sentinel.


    Shi Tian made one final nce at the obstacle course in silence. Today, he might have failed toplete it, but he swore to definitelyplete it sooner orter, even if Mary was doing foul y.


    Sometimeter, they arrived at the back of the Iron Sentinel, where the space is bigger and allowed greater movement than just being stuck in a seat.


    It wasn''t an exaggeration to say the backside of Iron Sentinel was a mini room.


    Taking off the gas mask, Mary inhaled and exhaled deeply. With the air venttion system installed in Iron Sentinel, she could breathe normally.


    "Haa~, the air is truly much better in my trusty vehicle than outside," Mary eximed, feeling exhausted from standing outside the entire time. It was hard being a trainer, having to constantly look out and arrange the traps for Shi Tian.


    Meanwhile, Shi Tian also took off his gas mask, taking in a deep breath, faking that he needed to breathe in some fresh air.


    If he had to be honest, then the truth was that he didn''t even feel his breathing was affected by the hazardous air outside.


    It was the same as if he was breathing normal air, much to his confusion. His body functioned properly like any normal human such as feeling hungry and tired.


    "Here, eat some of these foods and go to sleep soon. I''ll keep watch as the night guard in the first rotation." Mary pulled out a storagepartment and threw some food at him.


    The first rotation would go on for four hours, allowing him ample time to rest.


    Shi Tian nodded his head and ate the food without anyint.


    While eating though, he asked politely, "By the way, Mary, what was the movement technique that you disyed?"


    Mary pondered for a few moments. Finished eating her food, she calmly replied in a soft tone, "It''s just a deviation of the Skylet Footwork technique. Nothing special."

 Chapter 112 Skylet Footwork

    <h4>Chapter 112 Skylet Footwork </h4>


    Shi Tian was utterly speechless at Mary''s im that her movement technique was nothing special.


    How special was considered special then?


    Her footwork was so fast that he couldn''t even detect where and when she had disappeared from her original position.


    Seeing his expression, Mary knew what was going through his mind.


    "Don''t be too surprised, Nathan. But if you think my Skylet Footwork is fast, then you haven''t even seen the tip of the iceberg yet." She kindly reminded him.


    She was someone that had seen what a pinnacle speed meant, andpared to her, she found herselfcking a lot.


    Shi Tian merely nodded his head and silently ate his food. He didn''t doubt her words since she didn''t need to deceive him about such matters.


    It was indeed a fact that he was no different than a frog in a well, unable to see the big picture with how small his vision was.


    ''Sigh, just how powerful did other people be then?'' Shi Tian wondered silently.


    He could feel a heavy mountain pressuring him whenever he thought about getting revenge. He was already 132 yearste in the game, so it would be a strenuous task for him to catch up to them when he couldn''t even get a glimpse of them at the moment.


    "Stop pondering too much and go to sleep. You aren''t thinking of making me pull an all-nighter, right?" Mary urged.


    "I''ll be in your care then," Shi Tian shed a smile and grabbed the nket that Mary had prepared beforehand.


    Afterward, he closed his eyes and went to sleep soon enough.


    The training today might not seem much, but it required a ton of concentration and stamina. Hence, he was truly exhausted and was barely keeping himself awake.


    As Shi Tian went into a deep slumber, Mary held a nostalgic look at him. The current him reminded her of the past she was in.


    She recalled being forced to train daily by Isaac Aaronax.


    From top to bottom, she was covered in dirt and her face waspletely dirty by the constant falling.


    "Those days were truly painful enough that I wished to die at the end of the training. Yet somehow, they were always my most beautiful memories." Mary murmured, her eyes ncing at the window outside.


    Outside the window was all foggy and gloomy, given the terrible atmosphere and environment that were affected because of unknown monsters.


    This was the scenery that she was used to before temporarily settling in Geairts City with Isaac Aaronax.


    Unfortunately, Mary couldn''t even take the time to reminisce about her past before her watch made a beeping noise.


    Shaking her head, Mary put on the gas mask and walked through a filter wall before exiting the vehicle.


    The filter wall was a separation between the space in which air would be ventted. It was installed to prevent hazardous air from entering the vehicle even if someone was trying to enter or exit the vehicle.


    With the gas mask on, Mary nced at her watch which indicated four red dots were rapidly approaching her location.


    The beeping sound earlier was a notification in which the Iron Sentinel detected high hostility. In other words, it was a warning bell to alert her of enemies confirmed, meaning some people wereing to their location to attack them.


    "I don''t even get paid extra for working overtime, but these damn people really love to create trouble." Mary stretched her body and cursed.


    She wasn''t that surprised about people wanting to attack her at night.


    After all, the Iron Sentinel alone was a valuable vehicle. Anyone with keen eyesight could tell the value of the Iron Sentinel was by any means not simple.


    Not to mention, there were only the two of them camping here, making them an easy target on the surface.


    Patiently waiting for the enemies to arrive, Mary calmlyid some more traps in the ground. These traps were originally meant for Shi Tian to avoid, but since some people just love seeking death, then it would be rude of her to not grant them such a wish.


    With the traps being ced, Mary nced at her watch again. There were still a few minutes left until they would meet.


    ''Forget it, I''ll just let Nathan see my movement technique being utilized, lest he might take another entire day on the obstacle course.'' Mary thought to herself, turning on one of the functions of the Iron Sentinel to record the surroundings.


    Iron Sentinel could be said to be an all-around vehicle, capable of anything. It was even better than the normal electric vehicle or tank-like vehicle that only knows how to be sturdy.


    Sometimeter, four people could now be seen, with each of them holding a firearm. They were all dressed in military-like uniforms and had a gas mask on their face, making it difficult to know who they were.


    Though it was the norm in the wilderness since everyone would be wearing a gas mask unless they wished to die.


    "See what I said, Boss Layn! It''s only the woman outside defending. I bet her otherpanion is now asleep." One of the rogue men rubbed his hands sneakily and snickered coldly.


    "You did good this time, Kyle. If we can rob their vehicle and equipment, then we''ll be rich." The boss, Layn, praised andplimented his subordinate.


    His eyes were focused on the Iron Sentinel and its multiple installments of equipment. Such installments were extremely costly and they had truly struck it big this time to catch a big fish.


    As the boss, Layn stepped forward and nced at Mary. Seeing her pathetic height and figure, Layn didn''t believe she was much of an opponent.


    "Listen, so long as you drop your equipment and the vehicle, then I shall spare you and yourpanion. We only want money, and not life." Layn waved his hand and righteously said.


    With money, who the hell would care about one woman?


    ''Tsk, another overconfident dude.'' Mary sneered inwardly and rolled her eyes.

 Chapter 113 Night Intruders

    <h4>Chapter 113 Night Intruders </h4>


    Mary wasn''t surprised by these four people, swaggering arrogantly into their space and demanding their equipment and resources.


    These types of people are dubbed as the Night Intruders, specifically targeting other people in the wilderness for their loot. They only operate at night time and focus on a small group of people or others that they deemed are weak.


    To mercenaries and other people that came to the wilderness to hunt for monsters, they were the most despised group of people and are considered worse than animals.


    "Woman, I don''t have all day, so either you give up your resources willingly or we''ll have to use force. Though let me kindly remind you. If we must use force, then I can''t guarantee that you won''t be sullied." Laynughed heartily and said.


    It was clear that he was attempting to threaten and gaslight Mary into giving up without any resistance.


    "Do you take me as a 3-year-old kid?" Mary asked coldly. "Night Intruders such as you would leave people alive after looting?"


    One main characteristic of the Night Intruders was the fact that they never leave anyone alive after their looting.


    After all, this was to prevent anyone from escaping and identifying them.


    Night Intruders are people that lurk in Gearits City as well, so if their identity was to be exposed, then there would be no future for them.


    Maybe it was correct to say that some Night Intruders truly had no interest in viting women in the process of their robbing, but that was only a small margin. Most Night Intruders would take everything they can and leave no traces behind.


    Layn''s expression slightly changed when he heard the tone of Mary. Based on her tone alone, it was clear that she wasn''t a bit frightened by their sudden arrival.


    "Heh, it seems like my subordinate did in fact underestimate you by a little bit. Since you know we''re Night Intruders, then you should have known about our process." Layn calmly said, not a bit worried about being exposed.


    At first, he was posing to be just some third-rate robber. After all, third-rate robbers are the type that only loots without killing, unlike Night Intruders.


    Of course, third-rate robbers aren''t as arrogant as them and would always sneakily rob people when they aren''t aware. Layn thought that Mary would be an ignorant person given that she dared toe to the wilderness with only one otherpanion with her.


    Not to mention, the fact that she could afford such a valuable vehicle might create a facade of a spoiled young miss sneaking out here for some "excitement".


    "Let''s cut the bullshit talk ande at me! I don''t have time to waste on idiots like you." Mary suddenly retrieved a dagger from her pocket and said boorishly.


    "Haha, it seems like you prefer a painful death, little missy." Laynughed wildly before shing a solemn expression, his eyes ring menacingly at her.


    "Fire at her-"


    Before Layn could even finish hismand, he felt a gush of wind had passed by him. By the time he realized something was amiss, he felt his back was sprayed with something.


    And upon turning around, he noticed Kyle was trembling in fear on the left side.


    Confused, he continued the momentum of turning, only to be dumbfounded that his other two subordinates had their neck sliced, with blood spraying out of control.


    It was at this moment that he realized what he felt on his back, was in fact the blood of his two subordinates.


    Meanwhile, Mary calmly swung her small dagger around, not an ounce of blood was staining it, a clear definitive of how clean and swift the cut was.


    Swallowing a mouthful of saliva, Layn knew they had kicked an iron te this time.


    ''This damn Kyle. Didn''t he say these two were only ying around in a field without doing anything else? Is this what he called ignorant fools who came out for some fun?'' Layn cursed inwardly, his eyes furiously ring at the frightened Kyle.


    Kyle was the person he always assigned as a scout to choose a target to attack, and because his insight was great, Layn ced great value on him.


    However, never did he expect this time, Kyle''s insight was as good as fart and shit.


    What kind of ridiculous monster did he choose as a target?


    Being prone to fighting most of the time, Layn knew they were beyond helpless in the face of a monstrous being such as Mary. She was able to kill off two of his subordinates swiftly and silently.


    Then wouldn''t the same be applied to him and Kyle as well, given the fact that they couldn''t even react to what just happened?


    "Y-Young Miss, it is us that failed to see how great of a being you are. How about we talk it out slowly?" Layn dropped his weapon and said nervously.


    "We''ll give you all of our belongings, so please spare us for offending your great being." He added.


    Mary sighed softly and faked the action of putting her dagger away.


    And it was at that split second, Layn pulled out another gun that was hidden in his pocket. He was about to shoot with the gun, only to realize his neck was in a bit of pain.


    "What did you say, mister?" Mary tilted her head and yawned slightly, her dagger fiercely closed to Layn''s neck. Just one more slight movement of her and it would have made a bigger cut on his neck.


    Layn was sweating profusely and dared not to move a single inch.


    "I-I was wrong, young miss. I didn''t mean to offend you," Layn nervously said, though his hands were secretly making a signal at Kyle, who was still trembling by the sideline.


    The hand signal was a sign to tell him to attack, and Kyle nodded his head.


    A few secondster, Layn lowered his head swiftly, ignoring the damage done by the dagger, and shouted fiercely, "Do it now, Kyle!"

 Chapter 114 Iron Plate

    <h4>Chapter 114 Iron te</h4>


    For veterans like them, how many near-death encounters had they not seen before?


    Hence, Layn might have been shocked initially by the underestimation they have of their current target, but that doesn''t nullify his experience in adapting to the changes.


    Despite knowing their chances are slim, so long as he feigned defeat and surrendered, the opponent would have a slight opening due to rxing, thinking that the battle was over.


    Thus, Layn''s expertise in such a situation despite facing death was still calm andposed.


    His nervousness was all an act to lower the opponent''s guards.


    However, that was only applicable to him and he failed to count in the variable of his subordinate.


    Contrary to his belief, Kyle didn''t attack Mary as he signaled, but in fact, used this as an opportunity to run away.


    "I''m sorry, Boss Layn. I''ll definitely get your revenge when I be stronger." Kyle shouted as he ran.


    Unlike Layn who didn''t witness what Mary had done, he had witnessed everything from start to finish.


    From how Mary managed to arrive at his other twopanions to how she effortlessly sliced their necks, he had seen all of it.


    Such speed and action were definitely not something done in a moment of heat but by a professional killer. One that was trained to decisively kill without hesitation.


    ''If she can kill so decisively, then why would she bother to even let Boss Layn pull up such petty tricks? She definitely wants to do something else to us. I need to get out here as soon as possible.'' Kyle eximed inwardly, running for his life.


    Meanwhile, Layn was inplete disbelief to see how cowardly his subordinate had be.


    "Fool, what are you doing? Do you think we can run away with that monstrous speed of hers?" Layn shouted in fury, clenching his fist tightly.


    There was a reason why he pulled such a petty trick.


    They were too weak and too slow to react, so this was their only chance and opportunity to make aeback.


    Yet that retarded and cowardly Kyle had ruined everything.


    With his pathetic speed, did he think he could outrun someone that could kill two of theirpanions without their notice?


    Just when he thought Mary would swiftly kill him and chase after Kyle, Layn was dumbfounded to see Mary standing still nonchntly, almost as if she didn''t care about him escaping.


    "Why aren''t you chasing after him?" Layn asked in disbelief.


    He knew he was a dead man by now, so he would definitely drag that traitor to the grave with him. If it wasn''t for his crappy insight in choosing a target, would they have fallen here?


    "I''m not sure how you choose your subordinate, but I can tell he''s a fool for sure. Even if he wanted to run, why did he have to run to the minefield?" Mary said in contempt.


    Of all the ces avable to run, Kyle decided to run to the field where sheid traps for Shi Tian to train as an obstacle course.


    Though she also did ce some other traps somece else, except she realized how foolish of her to do so. After all, the enemies were pathetically weak and useless to even require her to utilize any of the traps.


    Meanwhile, Layn was confused by the nonchnt attitude of Mary and her terminology of a minefield. ''What kind of minefield is she talking about? The monsters that roamed around?''


    Layn''s confusion was soon answered though with the sting sound from behind him.


    A secondter, a shadow figure came flying back andnded almost in front of Layn.


    Once the dust scattered, Layn could see Kylepletely ckened due to the explosion and was in quite a painful state. Burn marks were visible on his arms and legs, given that he managed to trigger the deadliest traps avable.


    "See, look at your great buddy returning to you after a change of heart. The traps were meant for mypanion to suffer the consequence of carelessness, but your buddy here seemed more than eager to train instead." Mary sarcastically said, kicking Layn forward to Kyle.


    The moment Layn''s eyes locked onto Kyle, his expression turned ferocious.


    Kyle was still feeling the brunt of the traps he received and was unable to move currently.


    But his emotion was panicking as he pleaded and gave a half-hearted excuse for his action, "Boss Layn, I was only faking a retreat to strike this bitch back."


    "Right, I''m so proud of you, my subordinate." Layn smiled, but went forward and started thrashing Kyle regardless of his screams.


    He knew Mary purposely allowed this scenario to happen in which they fight each other despite being teammates.


    It was a cruel method, but Layn was extremely appreciative of Mary, allowing him to finish off this bastard that caused their end. Layn didn''t fault Mary for her ruthlessness because she was the victor and the victor gets to do whatever they want.


    "Bastardly scum, if it weren''t for you, would we have met our end like this? And the nerve of you to even brag that we''ll be rich with this vehicle." Layn cursed wantonly, his kick keptnding on the private part of Kyle, giving him the most painful wound a man could ever ask for.


    Kyle''s face had already turned purple from the consecutive kick on his private part. Foam already started appearing in his mouth, filling up the gas mask on his face with a disgusting substance.


    Kyle wanted to faint, but the excruciating pain kept him conscious.


    "Boss Layn, please just kill me." He pleaded, his tone inplete agony.


    "Kill you? No, that''s too easy for you," Layn sneered coldly, taking off Kyle''s gas mask.


    And it was at this moment, Layn turned around and pointed his gun toward Mary.


    Unfortunately, Layn couldn''t even pull the trigger as his hand was sliced off.


    "Truly, we kicked an iron te this time¡­" Layn smiled bitterly and closed his eyes because Mary had also prated his heart at the same time.

 Chapter 115 Target Practice

    <h4>Chapter 115 Target Practice</h4>


    Mary waspletely nonchnt after seeing Layn plopping to the ground, lifeless. She already knew he was going to attempt to kill her again, but she didn''t bother.


    Her attitude might seem nonchnt, but she was wary from the start and was ready to strike the moment he made a move.


    She merely waited and pretended to rx because she wanted to see how long Layn could remainposed while torturing his former subordinate.


    "What a shame that you still chose this route. If you had only decided to torture this Kyle person, then I might have yed with you a little longer." Mary sheathed her dagger and shook her head.


    She then nced at Kyle, who was coughing and wiggling around. His bottom part was filled with blood, and his other flesh was nearly burnt to a crisp.


    However, that wasn''t even the worst part as his face was turning green from theck of oxygen, in addition to the toxic substance that is now entering his body.


    Without gas mask protection and a strong physique to withstand the toxic substance in the atmosphere, it wouldn''t take long for a person to die.


    "K-K-Kill me please." Kyle clenched tightly on his throat, hoping to stop the toxic substance from entering his body as he begged Mary to kill him.


    "Kill you?" Mary raised an eyebrow and chuckled softly.


    "Had it been me that fell to your hand, would you have listened to my request?" She then asked amusingly, finding it hrious that enemies like them always thought they would get a swift and clean death upon failure.


    Ignoring the unsightly appearance of Kyle, Mary smiled and called out, "Nathan, I''ll have another challenge for you. From that position, let''s see if you can aim at this person''s head."


    A few secondster after her calling, Shi Tian walked out from the back of the Iron Sentinel and asked, "Did you know I was here the whole time?"


    That''s right, he was hiding behind ever since he heard a loud st from the traps that Kyle had triggered. And when he came out, he saw this scene and decided it was best to not interrupt Mary.


    After all, Mary seemed to be having a thrill from deflecting these attackers.


    "If I can''t even tell whether someone was spying on us or not, then do you think I would have been assigned as your trainer?" Mary responded with a question instead.


    Shi Tian nodded his head, finding her response logical.


    "Who are these people?" He then asked, pointing at the three corpses and the nearly dying person.


    "They''re Night Intruders, specialized in targeting people that are camping in the wilderness for their loot." Mary casually said and exined the gist of what happened while he was still asleep.


    "I see¡­ then I must say these Night Intruders have lost their mind to choose to attack you. Just the Iron Sentinel alone should have been enough information to be cautious of us." Shi Tian eximed, ridiculing this group of people for their dumb decision.


    Meanwhile, Kyle, who was already suffering in unimaginable pain, heard Shi Tian''s words and truly wanted to smack him.


    ''Do you need to gloat even further at a dying enemy?'' Kyle cursed inwardly.


    s, because his gas mask was taken off by his deceased boss, Mary could see his facial expression.


    And seeing that grudgeful look of his, Mary clicked her tongue and gave him another fierce kick on his private part.


    "What makes you think a defeated loser like you can make that look?" Mary sneered coldly and gave him another kick just because she could.


    Kyle grunted in pain, and could only wiggle his body in pain. He was no different than a worm that could only wiggle around slowly.


    "Anyway, take this, and let me see you aim from there." Mary grabbed the gun that the deceased Layn was trying to use and threw it to Shi Tian.


    Shi Tian held the gun and was dumbfounded by her action.


    It seemed like human life to Mary was truly worth nothing. But then again, they were enemies, so he would react in the same way as well.


    These enemies wanted to kill them for their loot, so why would they still act like some saint and spare them? That would just be the most ridiculous action and thought process ever.


    Leaving an enemy alive was no different than sending them back to call for their allies to get revenge. It would be beyond troublesome at that point.


    Holding the gun tightly, Shi Tian understood Mary wanted to see if he could be cold-blooded or not, and whether he had sharpshooter skills.


    After all, he proimed to kill a few variants of the Gso monster, so if his aim was trash, then there might be doubt rising in her mind.


    "Do you want me to just st his head off?" Shi Tian asked, raising the gun and aiming at Kyle.


    "Hmm, actually never mind." Mary suddenly thought about it and shook her head.


    "You don''t want me to shoot anymore?" Shi Tian raised an eyebrow in confusion.


    And even Kyle was confused by Mary''s sudden change.


    Wasn''t she going to finish him off?


    Mary chuckled a bit and kicked Kyle on the chest, turning his body around.


    And in Shi Tian''s perspective, Kyle was now lying in a horizontal line.


    "Alright, the view should be much better now." Mary sped her hands in joy, acting as if she had done an achievement.


    Kyle also wanted to scream in pain with the constant torment, but Mary kicked the hand that was cut off from Layn and stuffed it in his mouth, preventing him from grunting.


    "Now that this loser could no longer interrupt me, I shall continue with what I was originally nning. Nathan, you shall shoot at whatever ce I point at, and this can be considered another test, a target practice to be precise. So make sure you do your best and shoot it on the first try." She thenmanded.

 Chapter 116 Silencer

    <h4>Chapter 116 Silencer </h4>


    Although what Marymanded was quite sadistic, Shi Tian actually didn''t care much about it.


    This was a great opportunity for him to prove his sharpshooter skill to Mary and allowed her to minimize the doubt in her mind.


    As for Kyle, Shi Tian could only say it was his miserable luck to choose the wrong target to attack.


    Of all the people that came to the wilderness, he just had to choose them?


    They were only here for some training, but since people love to volunteer themselves, then it would be rude to not adhere to it.


    "Okay, where do you want me to shoot first?" Shi Tian raised his arm and made sure to angle his aim toward Kyle. He was ready to shoot the moment Mary pointed at a location.


    However, contrary to his belief, Mary suddenly paused again and shook her head.


    "Wait a minute, I know what I was missing." Mary chuckled, causing the tension in the atmosphere to be quite awkward. The moment was tense enough, with Kyle closing his eyes, ready to receive some bullets, but who could have thought Mary would suddenly stop Shi Tian again?


    "What is missing this time?" Shi Tian lowered his hand and asked calmly.


    Given the current situation, only an idiot would dare to cause a ruckus and annoy her.


    "A silencer for the gun. These idiots didn''t even bother to equip their firearms with silencers. I''m surprised they even managed tost so long as Night Intruders." Mary threw a silencer at Shi Tian and said.


    The silencer was meant to equip the nuzzle of a gun to suppress the sting sound when it''s discharged. It was a very handy tool for assassins or killers to use when they wanted to mask the sound of their killing and the direction of it.


    Yet these Night Intruders didn''t even bother to equip their firearms with silencers, proving how retarded they were in their operation.


    Meanwhile, Kyle waspletely exasperated by the constant insult Mary threw at them. It was as if she was taking the glory of their demise and enjoying it to the maximum.


    Despite feeling extremely resentful, Kyle didn''t have the courage to utter a sound- or more like he couldn''t anyway with the deceased boss'' hand stuffed in his mouth tightly.


    Shi Tian calmly equipped the silencer on the gun and nodded his head.


    "Okay, I''m ready, Mary." He then said, patiently waiting for hermand. It was most definitely not because he had witnessed how ruthless and strong she was.


    Those movements of hers were truly out of the ordinary, and he bet only a few could even see her movement.


    Mary was most definitely pleased with the current attitude of Shi Tian.


    Although she didn''t n on flexing her strength to get him to be docile toward her, it was quite an unexpected pleasant gain.


    "Alright, Kyle might seem to be in a pitiful state, but he still has a long life ahead. So let''s start with something basic and shoot his left thigh." Mary said calmly that it practically sent chills to everyone.


    Kyle wanted to wiggle around but swiftly stopped when he felt the threatening gaze from Mary. It was as if his instinct was screaming at him to just ept his fate. Otherwise, something worse was going to happen to him.


    And it was only now that Kyle thought his deadpanions were truly the luckiest ones. They were promptly killed swiftly without feeling any pain whereas he could only remain in a somewhat alive status.


    Meanwhile, Shi Tian had already raised his aim and was ready to shoot at Kyle''s left thigh.


    "Fire!" Marymanded.


    Not a split secondter, Shi Tian pulled the trigger and the bullet went straight into Kyle''s left thigh.


    Kyle''s eyes widened from the pain as he bit tightly on his deceased boss'' hand.


    Mary nodded her head.


    "Not bad, exactly the left thigh as I have said. It seems like you do have some sharpshooter aim." Sheplimented him and proceeded to walk around Kyle, ignoring his writhing movement.


    "Let''s see if you can be more urate this time." Mary suddenly said and pointed at an area that caused Shi Tian to shiver slightly.


    The part this time was a bloody mess already, but it seemed like Mary was adamant about this particr area.


    "I doubt there''s anything left to shoot there, Mary." Shi Tian awkwardly said, his eyes ncing at that particr area.


    "Even if there isn''t, I still believe you can shoot there." Mary smiled and turned to the grieving Kyle.


    "Am I right, Kyle?" She asked gently.


    Poor Kyle couldn''t even properly respond when Mary outright kicked the back of his head, creating a nodding action.


    "See, even this Kyle agreed to have his manhood be the sacrifice of your target practice. It would be rude of you to hesitate any longer, Nathan." Mary sped her hands and said.


    As for the reason why she was doing this?


    Who told these dumb bastards that they have such foul mouths and talked about viting her?


    Was she some weak woman that could be preyed upon or treated like some sex object?


    It would be a sin for her to not torture them to death but given that she had already killed three of the four people out of impulse, leaving only Kyle alive. Then it shall be Kyle''s duty to share the burden of his deceasedpanions.


    It was only right.


    And although Shi Tian can''t see the expression of Mary, just the tone alone was enough to give him some hint.


    Mary might have exined the scenario to him previously, but it seemed like some details were not told to him.


    "Rest assured, Mary. I shall show you my skills." Shi Tian then said in a resolute tone.


    "Great, I want to see you shoot three times in that area. Three in a row shouldn''t be a difficulty for someone that could contest some variant monsters, right?"


    "No difficulty at all," Shi Tian replied and shot three times.

 Chapter 117 Dustality

    <h4>Chapter 117 Dustality </h4>


    A few minutes had gone by since the beginning of the target practice, and Shi Tian must say one thing.


    When it came to determining which part of the body posed the least risk to life, Mary was undoubtedly an expert.


    Aside from the manhood of Kyle, every other part that Mary instructed him to shoot at wouldn''t have immediate danger to Kyle.


    Of course, that doesn''t nullify the fact that Kyle was barely recognizable as a human with all the blood and dust covered on him.


    "Hmm, it seems like this is the limit," Mary pondered over as she nced at the pathetic state of Kyle.


    With her expertise, she knew his life was just hanging by the thread. Not dead, but also not quite alive, and one more injury added on him would mean death.


    Shi Tian nodded his head and walked toward Mary.


    "The gun here only has 32 bullets loaded, and now it''s empty." He then said, taking out the cartridge for her to see. The cartridge waspletely empty, proving his im that the bullets ran out.


    "Well then, I guessed it worked out for the best. Using the enemy bullet to finish the enemy off is a damn great feeling." Mary smirked coldly.


    And just when she was about to deal the final blow at Kyle, Shi Tian raised his hand to stop her.


    "Wait a minute, Mary." He quickly said, afraid that she might be too fast to kill Kyle.


    "What is it?" Mary paused her action and turned to him, wondering why he wanted her to stop. She was confused because she knew he definitely wasn''t asking to spare Kyle.


    Just the fact that Shi Tian was willing to shoot whichever area she pointed at without question was enough evidence. Evidence that he wasn''t some kind-hearted fool that would spare his enemy.


    "Nothing, I just think it''s best to let me finish him off instead." Shi Tian said, turning around and pulling up an empty ss bottle.


    Confused, Mary tilted her head slightly to the right.


    "An empty ss bottle to kill?" She asked in a dumbfounded tone, clearly unable toprehend his action.


    "Heh, just watch, Mary. This bloody mess is bound to attract a lot of monsters or unwanted attention, so these little babies of mine could clean up the field as well." Shi Tian smiled and shook the ss bottle lightly.


    It might have looked empty on the surface, but contained within it were the dust mites that Shi Tian had been nurturing.


    After feeding them with his dead skin cells, it could be said that these dust mites were slowly starting to gain some sort of intelligence and understand his orders.


    And under the confused expression of Mary, Shi Tian walked toward Kyle with a cold smirk.


    "Thank you very much, Kyle. You are the first person to get a taste of these little babies of mine." He then said, opening the empty ss bottle and pouring the microscopic dust mites on Kyle''s face.


    Naturally, Kyle was thoroughly confused by such action given that he couldn''t see anything aside from Shi Tian suddenly pouring an empty ss bottle on him.


    It was the same for Mary, who was equally dumbfounded by the situation.


    ''Is there something in the ss bottle?'' She raised an eyebrow and wondered silently.


    "Just wait a while and you''ll see the magic happen, Mary." Shi Tian chuckled softly, standing back up as he watched his dust mites begin to work.


    And sure enough, Kyle, who remained dormant like a dead body, started wiggling once again upon feeling an irritated pain.


    "Huh? Just what kind of sorcery is this?" Mary eximed in shock, witnessing a quite horrific moment of Kyle being eaten alive by nothing.


    "This isn''t sorcery, but something I would like to call Dustality." Shi Tian corrected, patiently watching Kyle being eaten alive by these microscopic dust mites.


    When he first encountered them, they couldn''t do much aside from causing a bit of difort and itch for Vanessa.


    However, through his meticulous nurturing and feeding, these dust mites seemed to have evolved into another superior form, allowing them to deal damage rapidly.


    "Dustality?" Mary swallowed a mouthful of saliva. She thought she was savage enough already with her killing and torturing, but it seemed like Shi Tian had a greater edge regarding torture.


    What was scary about death isn''t the fact that you know you''re dying, but the fact that you don''t even know what you''re dying from.


    Mary''s emotion remainedposed though after a moment of disbelief and calmly asked Shi Tian, "What is killing Kyle right now?"


    "Do you really want me to answer that right now when he could still hear us?" Shi Tian questioned back, pointing at Kyle, who still had the energy to perk his ears up to eavesdrop despite being munched alive.


    "Hmm, good point. I shall head back inside first then. Do remember to tell me when you''re done here, okay?"


    "Of course, I wouldn''t dare to hide something from you."


    "Save that kind of words to some naive woman instead." Mary snickered and started leaving.


    Meanwhile, Shi Tian swiftly kicked one of the dust mites that was trying to approach Mary, and with a stern look, he kicked the dust mite back onto Kyle.


    "No, Mary is one of us, so you''re not allowed to go after people that I deemed as allies, understood?" Hemanded strictly.


    The dust mite that was kicked, shook its body slightly and nodded its head, an action that symbolized it adhering to Shi Tian''smand.


    And at this point, Kyle could no longer make any movement, as his body slowly started to dissolve. In fact, he didn''t even bother to struggle anymore despite feeling his skin being munched by invisible beings.


    To him, this was the karma of being a coward and ditching hisrades to save his life. In the end, all he received was a life worse than death.


    ''I''m sorry Boss Layn. I''ve failed you¡­'' Kyle''s eyes gradually lost focus and sumbed to his death, being killed in a Dustality finisher manner.

 Chapter 118 Evolution

    <h4>Chapter 118 Evolution</h4>


    As the dust mites finished killing Kyle, Shi Tian watched each and every single one of the dust mites undergoing an evolution.


    Their sizes began to increase and their legs started to grow some razor nails, coated in a liquid substance.


    Despite their size having grown, it was clear that they are still considered invisible to the naked eye. After all, they are extremely microscopic beings, capable of walking through a human''s skin without them noticing a thing.


    ''These dust mites are truly abnormal and amazing.'' Shi Tian thought to himself. Although he didn''t know why he could see them, he was clearly not going to question something this good.


    Kyle''s corpse soon disappeared, including the skeleton, given that these dust mites'' evolution was able to devour it entirely. That was the fearsome mutation in which even dust mites could cause such damage.


    "Dusty, don''t forget these corpses as well. We don''t want to attract any attention," Shi Tian pointed at Layn''s corpse and the other two.


    And naturally, the dust mites gleamed in joy, clearly very willing to ept such amand. Without even a second of hesitation, the dust mites readily jumped onto the corpse of Layn first as they began their feasting.


    Ignoring these dust mites temporarily, Shi Tian nced around the field, only to realize not much of the field was damaged despite the battle.


    Aside from the traps that were triggered by Kyle, causing somewhat of amotion, the rest of the scenery was actually quite tranquil.


    This just goes to show how powerful Mary was and that these small fries are nothing in her eyes.


    ''It''s a good thing that Mary isn''t an enemy, otherwise, I''m afraid my head would be sliced before I even have the time to notice it.'' Shi Tian eximed inwardly, feeling even more and more eager to learn a movement technique.


    Previously, Mary proimed that her speed was mediocrepared to some, which meant there are more profound movement techniques that he hadn''t seen yet.


    And given that there wasn''t a reason for Mary to deceive him, it meant how much of a buffoon he was in believing himself to be quite capable.


    Shaking his head, Shi Tian stopped the negative thought from impacting him much.


    Wasn''t he just starting from scratch?


    It was only natural that he would be behind others in terms of strength, capability, speed, etc.


    Sometimeter, the dust mites finished cleaning up the corpse of Layn and the other two, not even leaving a speck of single dust behind.


    And the time it took them to clean the corpse was shockingly fast.


    "Damn, these dust mites could be corpse cleaners with how fast they eat." Shi Tian eximed in shock. Though his emotion quickly became suppressed and he regained hisposure.


    Nevertheless, Shi Tian was brimming with joy for nurturing these dust mites.


    ''I''m truly wise to not kill them. Otherwise, I would have missed out on such a treasure.'' He thought to himself, feeling extremely proud.


    "Come dusty, it''s time to go back." He then opened the ss bottle and ordered them to return.


    The dust mites were all filled to the brim in their tummy and were content to listen to Shi Tian. They rushed into their ss bottle which they now treated as their home.


    A few minutester, Shi Tian stored them back in the Dimension Ring before entering the vehicle.


    Once inside, Mary became like an investigator, asking him about the thing he used.


    "Were those some kind of toxic substances, or variants that could turn invisible, Nathan?" Mary asked with much enthusiasm.


    Shi Tian chuckled softly, taking off his gas mask promptly. He had only just entered, but Mary had already swamped him with so many questions all at once.


    "First of all, they''re not some toxic substance or variants that could turn invisible, but just extremely tiny creatures. To be more precise, they''re microscopic dust mites that I have nurtured." Shi Tian calmly exined.


    Since Mary had revealed her footwork to him, then it was only right that he revealed some of his inventory as well. That way, he wouldn''t feel indebted to her nor would owe her anything.


    "Dust mites?" Mary gasped in disbelief. It was clear that she had never seen or heard anyone utilizing dust mites like this before.


    "When did dust mites be such a fearsome creature?" She then questioned her rationality. "I thought dust mites only eat dead skin so how are they able to deal any damage to Kyle?"


    "You''re talking about normal dust mites, Mary. My little babies are evolved and don''t ask me how they are evolved. Just know that my dust mites are different and are way scarier than anything else." Shi Tian said, not divulging much detail aside from putting more mysteries in the topic.


    "Tsk, acting all profound now aren''t you?" Mary clicked her tongue and crossed her arms, clearly annoyed by Shi Tian.


    "Hehe, a man without any secret would no longer have his charm~" He shrugged his shoulders and shed a cheeky smile.


    "Whatever, go back to sleep. You still have about 2 and a half hours left of sleep before it''s my turn to sleep." She gently warned him.


    "What? But I was awakened because of themotion."


    "Sounds like a ''you'' problem. The deal was four hours of sleep and whether you can sleep through it or not is your problem."


    "..."


    Shi Tian was utterly speechless at her shamelessness.


    ''Aren''t you just angry that I''m not telling you much?'' He cursed silently.


    s, arguing with her was pointless considering that she was really tracking down the time of his sleep hours.


    And if he had to be honest, he was actually exhausted, especially with the dust mites evolving being another big deal for him.


    Now that all the adrenaline was gone, it was reced with fatigue.


    Without caring about his posture, Shi Tian directlyy down and closed his eyes.


    It didn''t take long, because a few minutester, he fell asleep.


    Meanwhile, Mary used this time to check up on the recording, watching what the heck Shi Tian was doing.


    ''Unbelievable¡­ the corpses are gone just like that?'' Mary held a horrified expression on her face as her eyes stared at the screen.

 Chapter 119 Virtual Connection

    <h4>Chapter 119 Virtual Connection</h4>


    As Shi Tian was soundly asleep, he felt a slight pain on the right cheek of his face, causing him to wake up.


    His eyes slowly opened up and in a dazed tone, he asked, "What''s going on, Mary?"


    "Wake up, sleepy head. It''s now your turn to be the night guard." Mary smiled gently. Though to Shi Tian, it was a devil''s smile and she was definitely enjoying this moment.


    She really woke him up the moment the four-hour timer was gone.


    "You are indeed a very punctual person," Shi Tian got up and gave her a thumbs up, shing a somewhat forceful smile.


    "Thank you, now shoo over so I can use the space to sleep."


    "You have space on your side¡­"


    "I prefer it here because you have warmed the spot already."


    Shi Tian chuckled and had to hand it to her. Her humor and mannerism had truly widened his eyes.


    "Alrighty then, have it your way." He said, moving aside and letting her take over the spot.


    "Good, if you had refused me then I would have made sure you will suffer a bit more in tomorrow''s training." Mary giggled and crawled to his spot.


    She then pointed at the watch by the side and said, "By the way, I have recorded the fight from before, so you may have my permission to watch it. And maybe, just maybe you might be able toprehend my movement technique somehow."


    Hearing that, any sort of drowsiness disappeared on Shi Tian''s face. In fact, his face practically lit up as he sped his hands in joy.


    "Here, let me get this nket for you, Mary." Shi Tian said, covering her body with the nket.


    "Good, now guard for the entire night until morning for me. I''m tired of dealing with those idiots and training a fool." She casually said, yawning in the process.


    And naturally, Shi Tian decided to activate his selective hearing ability,pletely ignoring herst remark about training a fool.


    Turning on the watch, Shi Tian nced at the numerous recording list and yed the recording listed for today as he began watching it.


    It was an amazing function conducted by the Iron Sentinel function, given that there are sounds to listen to as well.


    "Um, Nathan, you can turn on the feature of virtual connection on the watch. It will stimte your brain and the watch connection, allowing you to hear the sound without disturbing anyone." Mary suddenly turned her body around and said.


    "So it''s simr to Bluetooth, but even superior at that." Shi Tian raised an eyebrow and asked confusingly.


    "No duh, did you think the current technology is still the old-school kind that needed physical equipment to plug in the ear? How troublesome would it be if you forgot to grab it every time you needed to head out and do something?" She rolled her eyes and twitched her mouth in disbelief.


    She didn''t expect Shi Tian to be such a country bumpkin to not know what a virtual connection was in this day and age.


    Realizing his blunder, Shi Tian was quick on his reflex to avoid suspicions.


    "Heh, of course, I knew about such obvious technology, but it was fun trolling you a bit. And now you have lost about 10 minutes of your precious sleeping time." Shi Tian teased.


    "Ugh, you''re so annoying!"


    "Hehe, have fun trying to fall back asleep."


    Mary was tired of his prank and didn''t think much about it.


    Instead, she turned her back toward him and closed her eyes. It wasn''t that she truly needed to sleep because she could remain awake if she wanted to.


    However, for health and improvement of the body, sleep was the most effective way. Hence, she would never neglect her sleep unless the situation disallowed it.


    Meanwhile, Shi Tian inwardly breathed a sigh of relief, escaping the suspicion this time.


    ''Sigh, technologies have truly been improved at an unimaginable rate, and even now, it''s difficult to grasp the type of technology we are on. To think that such a function was even capable now.'' He shook his head and turned on the virtual connection on the watch.


    Once the feature was turned on, Shi Tian felt as if there was a physical pair of headsets plugged into his ear, allowing him to hear the sound of the recording. What astonished him even more, was that he felt as if he was physically on the scene when it urred.


    ''What an immersive feeling!'' Shi Tian thought to himself. The virtual connection lived up to its name, allowing him to experience an out-of-bound feeling.


    Given that his brainwave was now stimted by the virtual connection feature, Shi Tian didn''t even need to open his eyes and still get an imaginary scenery in his mind alone.


    As the imaginary scenery was set up in his mind, Shi Tian felt himself floating around the sky, rewatching the moment of Mary facing off these four people alone.


    The scene began with the leader Layn talking about sparing Mary if she gave up her belonging, which even a fool knew was faux.


    Mary had already exined Night Intruders'' conduct, and sparing enemies was never their intention. They only talked about sparing as a way to create a delusion and convince the opposing party to lower their guard.


    Just when Shi Tian wasughing in amusement at how pathetic Layn would soon be, Mary had taken out a dagger and disappeared from her position.


    "Huh? Where did she-" Shi Tian suddenly paused his sentence midway and had his mouth wide open.


    He realized she had already appeared on the two unknown enemies, with their necks sliced and blood gushing out from there.


    "I was distracted for a split moment, and Mary had already killed those two enemies. No wonder why these Night Intruders were so helpless against her. Even I would have lost my neck if I lost a momentary focus." Shi Tian''s forehead started to sweat a bit, realizing how truly terrifying Mary was.

 Chapter 120 Allocation

    <h4>Chapter 120 Allocation</h4>


    Despite how terrifying Mary was, Shi Tian managed topose his emotion in the end and thought about the scene from a new perspective.


    If it wasn''t for the fact that Mary was this talented, then he wouldn''t have even agreed to be a decoy for them.


    Without going through any risk, how could one gain any benefits?


    The more they needed him to pose as the decoy, the more Shi Tian could use this to his benefit. So long as he could learn the movement technique from Mary, then he wouldn''t need to be so cautious at everything.


    Though he made sure to keep an important note in mind. Mary''s movement speed may be fast, but that just meant mutated monsters in higher grades are even faster.


    ''The Tenceloras were able to chase after Ynda despite her being fast as well. So one can never be arrogant just because they have some speed.'' Shi Tian reminded himself.


    Being humble and lowkey goes a long way, but when it is necessary to be highkey, such as killing these Night Intruders, then it shall be time for a sting feast.


    Don''t cause trouble, but never be afraid of trouble thates to find you!


    That was his motto and shall remain like that unless something changes.


    "Anyway, let''s pause the recording and go back to when Mary pulled out the dagger. Since she has given me permission to watch the recording, then it''s expected that she was telling me to use this time to study her movements properly." Shi Tian murmured, going through his mind to rey the scenery.


    And almost like magic, Mary''s figure returned to her original position and Layn was bbing on his nonsense again.


    This kind of cool and amazing feature would usually only be avable in a game and never in real life. But now that technologies have improved by leaps and bounds, even this kind of game concept could be implemented.


    s, Shi Tian knew that this kind of feature was only possible because of the watch and Mary''s Iron Sentinel.


    And it wouldn''t take a genius to know that such features are extremely costly and scarce.


    If everyone could utilize such features, then the people in the camp outside of Gearits City or the Night Intruders they killed wouldn''t be so pathetic. The Night Intruders would have first recorded their target and then used the Virtual Connection to inspect and spy on them before doing anything else.


    "If only I could somehow understand the concept of such a feature and study it, then I might be able to craft one for myself." He muttered, feeling disheartened by his insignificant knowledge.


    "Right, I killed some enemies, so my level should have gone up as well. Maybe I have some more free attribute points to allocate." Shi Tian suddenly thought about it and nearly forgot he could see his own status whenever and wherever he wanted to.


    Without hesitation, Shi Tian opened up the status screen to check his current progress.


    ¨C


    Name: Shi Tian


    Race: Human


    Main ss: Mechanic


    Sub ss: Apprentice (Comprehension of mechanics-rted stuff)


    Level: 16


    Health: 400 (Normal)


    Stamina: 50


    Attributes: Strength: 13, Dexterity: 15, Endurance: 14, Agility: 15, Intelligence: 13, Charm: 12, Luck: 8


    Free Attribute Point: 20


    Abilities:


    -[Passive] Serene Calmness: Able to remain calm and collected


    -[Passive] Pain Tolerance: Level 3 (Masochist Buffoon!)


    -[Active] Dust Mites Summon


    Power Level: 10-50 Atk


    Grade: F (Mediocre)


    ss Talents: None (Avable at level 30)


    Reputation: 10


    Equipment: Mechanical Right Arm, Pistols, Stun Grenades, Smoke Grenades, Explosive Grenades, Blv-21


    [Still an amateur, but with somewhat of a decent fighting capability and experience. Canpete with some strong fighters to a certain extent.]


    Looking at his status screen, Shi Tian was visibly shaken by the drastic change in data and information.


    Previously, his health and other stats are pretty negligible, including his main ss being empty.


    However, this time, it was quite clear that the moment he had decided to walk the path of a Mechanic, the status screen automatically changed to it.


    And now, even his sub-ss apprentice was showing information in which he would have aprehension of mechanical rted-stuff.


    "No wonder why I was able to craft two Blv-21. The apprentice sub-ss was not just a simple status." Shi Tian murmured in disbelief.


    Aside from that, information regarding the ss Talent had been stated that it would be avable when he reached level 30. Since it was something that he could still not unlock yet, Shi Tian brushed past this particr point for the moment.


    Instead, his attention was focused on the free attribute point he now had avable to allocate.


    Looking at the 20 avable points, Shi Tian guessed it was most likely because his level had risen exactly by 10, so the free attribute points should be 2 per level increase.


    Of course, that was only an educated guess and could not be used as the basis.


    Who knows what would ur the more his level increased or what sarcastic remark the status screen would show next?


    The remark about him being a masochist buffoon was clearly a hard jab at him for taking so much damage.


    Rubbing his chin, Shi Tian nodded his head.


    "That''s it, I was wrong to be absent-minded and decided to allocate these points to other stats previously. I should have prioritized one stat for now and not attempted to equalize the stats." He eximed loudly and directly put all 20 free attribute points into Intelligence.


    Instantly, his Intelligence went from 13 to 33, and his mind seemed to have cleared up quite a lot of doubts that were on his mind previously.


    Call him impulsive or whatnot, but Shi Tian knew prioritizing intelligence is the correct choice with his current circumstances.


    Intelligence was the stat that could assist him inprehending the movement of Mary and his other mechanic-rted skillspared to the other stats.


    "Phew, my mind is cleared and I can somewhat grasp Mary''s movement now that my intelligence has risen. If only this happened pre-apocalyptic and we still have school, then I would have aced every exam in a breeze." Shi Tian stretched his body and humored.

 Chapter 121 Battle Simulation

    <h4>Chapter 121 Battle Simtion</h4>


    Humoring his rise in intelligence, Shi Tian promptly stopped himself after a while.


    Now was not the time for humor, but toprehend Mary''s movement technique.


    Closing the holographic projection status screen, Shi Tian focused his attention on the battle in front of him again.


    With the scene currently paused, Shi Tian hovered toward Mary and stood next to her. Afterward, Shi Tian stimted his mind to change the speed of the recording.


    Instead of reying the battle scene at normal speed, Shi Tian decided to slow the yback speed down to 0.50. This way, he wouldn''t need to squint his eyes and ponder over when and how she made her move.


    With the yback speed at 0.50, everyone''s movement seemed slow like a snail, but it was just perfect for Shi Tian to witness Mary''s movement.


    He could see her slowly retrieving a dagger from the back by the waist, and further down, he could see that her bottom part was quite thick.


    "Cough, why did I suddenly get sidetracked?"


    Shi Tian shook his head and kicked out any evil thoughts in his mind.


    Mary allowed him to use this feature toprehend her movement technique, and not for some dirty crap. Though he must admit that her figure was kept extremely well.


    Luckily, the yback speed was lowered, otherwise, Shi Tian would have missed the scene again and needed to turn the recording back.


    With his focus back on the right ce, Shi Tian noticed Mary had slightly shifted her leg. Her right foot was light as a feather, not even causing a ripple on the ground.


    Soon, her whole figure started to blur a bit, indicating that she had already begun her movement technique.


    Even with the yback speed at 0.50, Shi Tian found it hard to track her movement once she started.


    It was as if he was always 3 or 5 seconds behind her, with her position constantly advancing at an unimaginable rate.


    Astonished, Shi Tian needed to pause the recording and go back to the start.


    And this time, he decided to change the yback speed to the lowest setting possible at 0.10 speed.


    Only at 0.10 speed could Shi Tian truly inspect a bit of Mary''s actual movement speed and her action.


    "So Mary does, in fact, use a bit of magicule, but the amount is so low that it could be ignored." Shi Tian mumbled.


    Given that the usage of magicule was practically close to zero, it made her movement even harder to predict or track. Without the ripple of magicule scattering, how could her opponents even notice that she was speeding up?


    In addition, it was not just her quickness that was impressive; it was the fluidity and grace with which she moved. Each step she took seemed to be part of an intricate dance, a perfectly choreographed sequence that flowed effortlessly.


    Her movements were economical, efficient, and precise, wasting no energy and achieving maximum results.


    And despite her speed, Mary''s control was impable. She avoided traps she had set on the ground with ease, maneuvering with the finesse of a seasoned acrobat. Her footwork was a blend of athleticism and martial finesse, making her a deadly force on the battlefield.


    For Shi Tian, observing Mary''s sh movement was both mesmerizing and intimidating. He could hardly imagine the extent of her capabilities if she were to unleash her full power.


    At that moment, he understood why she had recorded the battle. It was for him to learn from her movements, even if just a fraction of her skill because without the recording, Shi Tian would be utterly helpless toprehend anything.


    ''If Mary was this fearsome with such movement already, then how terrifying was Master Isaac?'' Shi Tian eximed inwardly. He couldn''t even fathom what kind of people he had actually interacted with.


    Nevertheless, that kind of thought remained only for a brief moment and Shi Tian was ready to contest Mary.


    Hovering down from the air, Shi Tian reced one of the two people that were instantaneously killed by Mary, taking over his spot.


    Since this was a virtual connection, Shi Tian decided to integrate himself as part of the recording, recing one of the people that received Mary''s strike.


    In other words, Shi Tian was recreating a battle simtion, with his objective being to deflect Mary''s killing sh.


    ''Haa~, my intelligence being so high is good, but also terrible at the same time. I can think of so many strategies on the spot to improve myself, but can my body handle them all?'' Shi Tian wondered silently, standing at the spot where Mary was ready to attack him the moment he started to y the recording.


    He didn''t dare to be conceited to turn the recording speed back to normal.


    Instead, he left it at 0.10 speed, hoping to familiarize himself with her attacking first before challenging the normal speed.


    Taking a deep breath, Shi Tian''s eyes brimmed with determination as he started to y the recording. His hand was holding a pistol, seemingly using it as an attacking and defending weapon.


    The pistol''s material was quite decent, so if he timed it right, then he could use the pistol to deflect her dagger.


    And even with the yback speed at 0.10, Shi Tian still only saw blurry figures ahead of him, but there was no hesitation.


    Right when the blurry Mary was a few meters away from him, Shi Tian raised his pistol toward his neck. He angled it precisely at the spot where the deceased person had his wound.


    "Huh? Why is there still blood gushing out?" Shi Tian was dazed for a moment as he turned to the side, only to see Mary still manage tond the hit on him.


    "You''re kidding me, right?" He twitched his mouth in disbelief.


    "She changed the angle of the spot she originally meant to attack in?"


    It was now that he realized one crucial detail of the battle simtion.


    Apparently, integrating himself into the recording scene in which he was not present, would change the scenario of how it would be yed out.

 Chapter 122 Improvisation

    <h4>Chapter 122 Improvisation </h4>


    After realizing that the scenario would change once he integrated himself into the recording, Shi Tian subsequently paused the recording and turned back the time of it.


    And touching his neck that was shed by Mary, Shi Tian felt a chill running down his spine.


    Even though his neck was unharmed, when the sh happened, he felt excruciating anguish and a sense of impending death.


    Thankfully, it was just a battle simtion and not the real world, but Shi Tian knew that the pain he felt was the same as the person that was killed by Mary had felt as well.


    If it wasn''t because of being in the simtion, Shi Tian could tell he would have died in the same manner.


    ''Ugh, so memorizing her attack and movement position was pointless if I wanted to attempt to face her myself as well.'' Shi Tian smacked his head andmented.


    Though, after some thinking, Shi Tian thought that improvisation shouldn''t be that bad. If Mary''s movement would alter because of his integration, then it just meant memorizing wouldn''t work and that he would physically need to attempt to defend against her.


    Such a method might be even more effective- no, it was definitely more effective than memorization.


    "Heh, this is getting interesting." Shi Tian smirked as he stretched his body, getting ready for round 2.


    The first round ended with him being pathetically in, but that was because he didn''t realize an improvisation would ur.


    Who could ever imagine a recording would be able to alter itself?


    Normally, a recording was something of a recorded performance and could be edited, but definitely not the sequence of events that had already happened.


    Meaning, if Mary killed the person in this particr area and motion, then it would have been impossible to edit that out without it feeling disorientated. After all, such edits are easy to spot no matter how proficient the editor was.


    However, Shi Tian actually felt the same anguish and force applied by Mary when he sensed a different part of his neck being cut other than the recorded part.


    "Anyway, since this is the case, then I''ll just shoot at her before she can reach me." Shi Tian muttered, feeling excited at this battle simtion.


    It was even better than the formation room that Isaac Aaronax had introduced him to. The dummy robot was good to train, but there was definitely a limit on fighting a dummy robot versus an actual live human.


    Without wasting any more time, Shi Tian began the 2nd round, and right when Mary had pulled out the dagger from her belt on the waist. Shi Tian began firing his pistol at her.


    The bullets were fast and targeted at Mary''s vital point.


    Unfortunately, Shi Tian severely underestimated the improvisation because Mary seemed to have sensed the danger from afar already.


    Her movement blurred even faster than before, and despite the yback speed being at 0.10, Shi Tian''s eyes still failed to track her movement.


    And before he realized it, blood began gushing out from his neck, prompting Shi Tian to cancel the battle simtion and return it to the start.


    ''Damn it, so if she sensed danger, then her movement would also increase and counterattack.'' Shi Tian cursed silently. He was hoping to have a headstart in attacking, but apparently, that waspletely useless against Mary.


    His cheating had backfired hard and resulted in him tasting another round of defeat.


    A defeat that was so embarrassing. Luckily, it was just him alone in the battle simtion so his deed went unnoticed.


    Taking a deep breath, Shi Tian smiled sneakily as he nced at the recording that was just made avable.


    "I swear¡­ this technology is just too surreal." He chuckled softly, clicking on the recording that disyed the improvisation that Mary had done. It was a good thing he raised his intelligence to think this far ahead.


    Although he didn''t know whether it was possible to record the simtion made within the recording itself, he still attempted to try.


    And now his gamble proved fruitful.


    With the new recording that showcased Mary''s new action upon sensing danger, Shi Tian was able to study it again, increasing hisprehension of Mary''s fighting capability.


    His reason for studying?


    An opponent isn''t scary because they are strong, but because the power they disyed is unknown. Hence, byprehending Mary''s action thoroughly, Shi Tian was sure that he could find a countery to her swift movement and dagger technique.


    Time slowly passed by, and after using all of her eye power, Shi Tian finally noticed a slight w in Mary''s movement.


    Maybe it was a habit or something she did unconsciously, but every time Mary made her move. Her left thigh would always lower for a brief moment, affecting her slightly.


    Since it was such a brief moment, nobody could detect such a difference. After all, he required a speed of 0.10 to even detect such a w from her.


    ''Mary''s left thigh doesn''t seem to be injured in any way, yet, she still reacted as if it was injured during that brief moment. So this could either be a psychological trauma she had experienced or something developed out of habit.'' Shi Tian thought to himself.


    Nevertheless, this was a great discovery that could be used to defeat Mary.


    As shameless as this method was, only fools would not capitalize on their opponent''s weakness to their advantage.


    Closing this short recording, Shi Tian resumed the original recording, putting himself in position once again.


    "Let''s begin round 3," Shi Tian held the pistol confidently and began the recording.


    As usual, Mary''s right hand reached for the dagger that was on her belt, and Shi Tian instantly used this moment to shoot his bullet.


    Unlike the previous time when he would target her vital points, Shi Tian specifically targeted the area around her left thigh.


    And sure enough, Mary''s body flinched a bit upon realizing where the bullets were going.


    Seeing such a reaction, Shi Tian''s smile turned colder, "Checkmate!"

 Chapter 123 Mary’s Flaw

    <h4>Chapter 123 Mary¡¯s w </h4>


    Shi Tian wasn''t being conceited without reasoning because he was confident that Mary would definitely have struggled with her w unveiled.


    Hence, when he called out checkmate, he believed this third round would be his victory.


    s, his smile soon turned into misery once he realized Mary''s expression had changedpletely.


    In all of the previous recordings, Mary had not shown an ounce of emotion, even when being provoked by Layn. She always had a calmposure regardless of what the enemy did or attempted to do.


    Not even when Layn attempted to backstab her repeatedly did Mary show any sort of emotion.


    However, this time, when Shi Tian specifically targeted her left thigh, Mary''s emotions started to flutter.


    Her eyes were ring at him, almost like a ferocious tiger was preying on their food kind of re.


    ''Shit, did I target not a w but a reverse scale instead?'' Shi Tian eximed inwardly, feeling like he had just eaten a mouthful of flies.


    s, it was a little toote for regret, given that Mary had already appeared in front of his face. The speed waspletely different than before and Mary''s expression was fierce and cold.


    "Pause recording!" Shi Tian hurriedly shouted to stop the battle simtion.


    And it was a good thing that he had paused in time, otherwise, Shi Tian felt as if his body would have been sliced and diced into numerous pieces.


    Mary''s actions were currently halted, and Shi Tian saw that the dagger had changed form. It now had an irregr shapepared to the previous form which had its de sharp and straight.


    Upon inspecting closer, Shi Tian was able to tell that this new dagger''s irregr form would cause internal bleeding once it pierced inside a human body.


    He wanted to inspect more but was forcefully kicked out from the battle simtion, returning his vision to the real world.


    ''Why did I-'' Shi Tian was wondering why he had returned to the real world but paused when he felt a powerful killing intent directed at him.


    "It seems like you had a lot of fun ying around with the battle simtion, Nathan."


    A familiar voice echoed from behind, and it didn''t even take a second for Shi Tian to guess who it was.


    Turning around slowly, Shi Tian shed a smile and sped his hands in joy.


    "You''re awake, Mary? But you still have more hours left until we do another rotation." He said, feigning innocence.


    However, his smile soon faded when he saw Mary wearing a simr watch on her left wrist.


    ''Ah shit, this woman yed me for a fool.'' Shi Tian cursed silently.


    "You were pretending to be asleep huh?" He then asked.


    "I was truly sleeping, but it''s not because I''m tired. I sleep because it''s good for my health, and this watch notified me that you are doing some other function besides watching the recording." Mary said, pointing at her watch that started beeping and vibrating simultaneously.


    "What have you seen so far?"


    "Up to the part where you started using me as a battle simtion and proceeded to think about targeting my left thigh."


    "In other words, you saw all that there is to it, right?" He asked calmly.


    Mary nodded her head in response.


    "Very well then," Shi Tian shed a bitter smile as he took off the watch and ced it on the small desk.


    "If you''re going to hit me, then please do it on the stomach. The stomach can withstand quite an impactpared to my other flesh. But even better, you can target my right arm here."


    "Why would I hit you?" Mary suddenly raised an eyebrow, seemingly in confusion as to why he would suggest such a thing.


    "A-Aren''t you mad that I''m targeting your left thigh¡­ just like what happened in the improvisation of the simtion?" Shi Tian exined awkwardly.


    Other than this particr matter, Shi Tian doesn''t know why he would be sent out from the battle simtion and get confronted by her.


    Suddenly Maryughed loudly, even to the point of clutching tightly to her stomach.


    "My goodness, did you think I was mad that you targeted my left thigh, and hence your current awkward behavior?" She eximed in amusement.


    A few minutes went by, and Shi Tian waspletely silent, just staring at Maryughing and rolling around.


    "Hahaha, this is too hrious." Mary keptughing wantonly, much to the discontent of Shi Tian.


    How was this woman the same person that cold-heartedly killed people just a few hours ago?


    Facepalming, Shi Tian sighed exhaustively and asked, "When are you going to stopughing, Mary?"


    "Ahh~, my bad my bad, it''s just really hrious when your personality is a factor of this. Like, I always see you being serious and focused." Mary wiped some tears of joy and slowly stopped herself fromughing further.


    "Anyway, let me rify some things for you. The watch that you ced down simply went out of battery because of how you were overusing the technology despite not being close to an energy source." She then exined, letting Shi Tian know that he was overly paranoid.


    "Went out of battery?"


    "Yeah, the watch was only meant for you to watch the recording. Yet you went ahead and started a battle simtion, going as far as integrating yourself and doing multiple rounds of fighting, causing an improvisation as well. Don''t you know how consuming that kind of implementation was?"


    "What?" Shi Tian''s mouth was wide open, given that he was still confused about one particr part. "Then why did the improvisation part go crazy and seem like it wanted to kill me in the worst manner possible?"


    Mary couldn''t help herself but chuckle. "Anyone would have gone mad when you kept targeting a specific area. Like how would you feel if I started targeting your manhood repeatedly?"


    Completely stunned, Shi Tian was utterly speechless at such a simple reasoning.


    So it wasn''t that she got mad about him targeting her left thigh, but the fact that he kept targeting a specific area?


    While he was thinking, Mary flicked his forehead, smiled slightly, and grabbed the gas mask nearby.


    "Just forget it and get some rest. I''m going to head out to patrol since I''m technically the senior here." She then said, getting up and ready to leave.


    Though once she turned her back toward him, Mary''s smile subsequently faded.

 Chapter 124 Episodic Memory

    <h4>Chapter 124 Episodic Memory </h4>


    When Mary left the vehicle swiftly, Shi Tian was dumbfounded by her quick retreat.


    Taking out his Cellos device, Shi Tian checked the time and realized it had only been around 3 hours or so.


    And given how punctual she was at waking him up, he didn''t think that she truly took over the night guard because she wanted him to rest more.


    ''So her reasoning was false and merely tried to cover it with constantughter.'' Shi Tian concluded silently.


    Honestly, he wouldn''t havee up with such a conclusion had it not for his intelligence increasing. Connecting all these pieces together wasn''t easy if one didn''t pay attention to all the tiny little details.


    Just earlier, Mary imed that the watch went out of battery because of his implementation, but the watch didn''t run on battery to function.


    "Her watch clearly runs on the magicule and should never be out of service unless the presence of the magicules were gone or it''s being disrupted by some unknown force." Shi Tain murmured, grabbing the watch and inspecting it.


    For Mary to make such an amateur mistake was very unlikely.


    Hence, his earlier inference of her left thigh being rted to a traumatic experience should be more likely the case.


    Turning his head to the left, Shi Tian nced at the window in which Mary was walking around mindlessly.


    ''I should apologize to her, but since she clearly doesn''t want to divulge the topic, I should feign ignorance.'' He thought to himself.


    Everyone had a past that they don''t wish to divulge on to anyone, Shi Tian included.


    Thus, it was best to feign ignorance and drop the matter to prevent their rtionship from going sour.


    Shaking his head, Shi Tian ced the watch down and decided to sleep as instructed. The experience he got from the battle simtion on the virtual connection was fruitful enough.


    Although a bit disappointed in not being able toplete the objective he wished, he could only make do with the current circumstances.


    With his eyes closed, Shi Tian subsequently soon fell asleep.


    The virtual connection was simply too draining for the mind. And being mentally exhausted was worse than being physically exhausted.


    While sleeping, Shi Tian dreamt of the days when he would push the wheelchair around the park, allowing Sheng Lan to enjoy an ice cream cone and scenery.


    asionally, there would be little kids running around them, their hands holding onto a balloon.


    Sheng Lan would then proceed to nag him to buy a balloon for her as well despite her age.


    Shi Tian''s sleeping face was filled with smiles whenever he recalled those peaceful and normal days.


    s, reality hit him hard by the time he woke up, seeing his right arm was now a mechanical one.


    Scratching his head, Shi Tian sighed at dreaming such a thing again. The dream might be sweet, but it was extremely detrimental to him.


    "My episodic memory seems to be still thinking about Xiao Lan and the past. Unfortunately, that needs to end right away or it will continually impede my advancement." He mumbled, pulling the nket aside.


    Dwelling and mulling over the past was never a good thing, especially when you know it could turn into a heart demon, meaning, it could potentially affect his emotion and decision-making.


    Given that such a scenario had already happened when Vanessa''s helpless state reminded him of Sheng Lan was a red g.


    Taking a few minutes to cool his head, Shi Tian then grabbed a gas mask and walked out of the vehicle.


    While outside, Shi Tian saw Mary practicing some footwork in slow motion. The footwork was weird and didn''t seem to have any sort of pattern.


    "Were you practicing all night, Mary?" Shi Tian asked.


    "You''re awake huh?"


    "Yes, courtesy to you for letting me sleep so soundly."


    "No worries, the time you used to sleep would count towards my sleep tonight. So good luck staying up all night." Mary chuckled softly, stopping her footwork practice.


    As for Shi Tian, he knew such a thing would happen. There was never a thing called free lunch in this time and age.


    And although he wanted to ask about her current emotion, he refrained from doing so once he noticed Mary''splexion seemed to have returned to normal.


    If possible, Shi Tian even wanted to ask how she could deal with the painful memory.


    It was just a shame that they weren''t that close enough for him to ask such a sensitive question.


    Unable to ask that kind of question, Shi Tian instead pointed at the supposed minefield and asked, "Are we going to continue the obstacle course again?"


    Mary pondered for a while before shaking her head.


    "Nah, I doubt the obstacle course would be much of a challenge to you now." She said calmly.


    No shit, the obstacle course would have long beenpleted if you didn''t do any foul y!


    That was the sentence that Shi Tian wanted to say aloud but refrain from.


    "Is that so? Then what are we going to do?" He then asked, seemingly agreeing to her im without revealing his true thoughts.


    "Your footwork has increased quite a bit, but with your insignificant knowledge, you might not notice it yet. Hence, the best result is to fight actual monsters that have unpredictable movement." Mary sped her hands and said.


    Choosing to activate his selective hearing ability again, Shi Tian then enquired about the monsters that they will fight.


    After some discussion, Mary decided to choose a few native mutated monsters situated in the outeryer of District A.


    To be more precise, each district is separated by three area locations namely, the centralyer, inneryer, and outeryer. The centralyer is naturally the safest zone followed by the inneryer, and then the outeryer.


    This meant that Mary was confident of Shi Tian''s ability to be able to handle the outeryer, which should have been done from the start.


    After all, Shi Tian had traveled far and wide to get to Gearits City.


    There shouldn''t have been any doubt of his survivability if he could solo arrive at Gearits City!


    ''Sigh, why did I feel like a little kid that had just graduated from basic stuff?'' Shi Tian wondered silently.

 Chapter 125 Vanguard Military

    <h4>Chapter 125 Vanguard Military</h4>


    Once it was decided that they would go to the outeryer, Mary ordered Shi Tian to retrieve all the traps that she hadid beforehand on the minefield.


    And of course, Shi Tian was cursing her in his mind for pushing this kind of task to him.


    He wanted to protest that the traps wereid because of her cautiousness from the ambushst night, but Mary refuted it by proiming that she only ced them for his training.


    Not to mention, she even went as far as saying that the traps were extremely expensive and that he would need to pay for them if he failed to retrieve all the unactivated traps.


    ''Master Isaac was way better as a mentor than her.'' Shi Tian pouted inwardly.


    At the very least, Isaac Aaronax wasn''t unreasonable like Mary.


    Though it was still a good thing considering that Mary instructed him on how to disarm traps and detect traps. Otherwise, he would have died identally from trying to retrieve the traps.


    And as much as it was an annoying task, Shi Tian decided to look at this on the bright side.


    He was gaining experience in disarming traps and learning the characteristics of trap cement. Such an experience was extremely meaningful and helpful in the future.


    "Have you finished disarming the traps yet?" Mary shouted from the driver''s seat, using some speaker equipment tomunicate. It was impossible for her to simply roll down the window and shout, given that a gas mask would then be required to avoid breathing in the hazardous air.


    After all, the hazardous air isn''t something that people could breathe in, given that it contained toxic substances as well. One careless mistake would easily render a person helpless.


    "I should be finished soon." Shi Tian replied back, ncing at the minefield and predicting that there should be 2 or 3 traps left.


    "Then hurry it up. The time you waste disarming the traps is the time you waste on improving yourself." Mary urged.


    ''If time is so precious, then why don''t youe to assist me as well instead of staying inside Iron Sentinel?'' Shi Tian eximed inwardly. If she hade to help, then the time they needed to depart would be shortened dramatically.


    s, Shi Tian didn''t dare to voice any of his opinions, lest he might get a thrasher treatmentter on.


    So far, the training equipment and procedure were all handed in by Mary, meaning he was essentially freeloading from them.


    To freeload off someone, one should just keep quiet and do as told.


    Sometimeter, Shi Tian finally managed to retrieve all the traps that Mary hadid down. And if he had to be honest, Shi Tian believed Mary was definitely a devil''s incarnation in her previous life.


    In total, the traps that were retrieved numbered in the high 30s, and in such a small field on top of that. Not to mention, Kyle had also triggered some of the deadliest traps on his behalf, using up quite a chunk of traps.


    Just how much did she want him to suffer in the obstacle course?


    Shi Tian patted his chest softly, feeling quite grateful for the sacrifices made by the Night Intruders.


    They were truly the heroes for taking the hit for him. Their sacrifices shall be honored just for this moment because the next second, Shi Tian had already forgotten about their pitiful existence.


    "I''ming, Mary." Shi Tian entered through the back vehicle, took off his gas mask, and made his way to the front.


    Sitting in the passenger''s seat in the front, Shi Tian exined that he ced all the traps at the back.


    "Very well, put on your seatbelt then. The road ahead is going to be slightly bumpy due to the terrible terrain." Mary warned, stepping on the elerator.


    And given that it was now daytime, all the Night Intruders were in hiding, some seemingly in disguise as average mercenaries or other personnel minding their own business.


    "Hmm, aren''t those military people?" Shi Tian raised an eyebrow and pointed at a few groups of people through the window.


    He recognized their uniform which was simr to the inspection guard in Gearits City.


    Mary slowed down the Iron Sentinel to take a closer look at what Shi Tian was asking about.


    A few secondster, Mary casually exined, "Those people are probably the vanguards of the military. They do exploration of ces deemed unsafe and search for possible resources and other types of misceneous."


    "So they''re a vanguard team huh?"


    "Well, not exactly. Vanguard is merely a name, but not the actual team. The Vanguard military is separated into six groups of teams under the same banner. And each group has amander in control of their own battalion. The battalion of each group would only listen to their specificmander."


    "Why would the leading organization party do such a thing?" Shi Tian raised an eyebrow, clearly dumbfounded by such an arrangement.


    The military should have been united in one banner, with one person retaining total control to maintain order and loyalty.


    Having so many separate groups ofmanders would create numerous conflicts and internal fighting. In other words, it was detrimental to management and having an ineffective military.


    Mary chuckled for a moment and stepped on the brake, stopping the vehicle.


    "Who is in control of the leading organization party in Gearits City?" She then asked.


    "The five families?"


    "Correct, the five families namely, Harrett, Hill, Hersey, Carlson, and Warner are in control of the party. This meant that each of them possessed their own Vanguard military team at their disposal. A check and bnce of each other."


    "But there''s a catch to it, right?" Shi Tian asked, recalling that she mentioned there being six groups of Vanguard teams.


    Mary nodded her head in response. "The five Vanguard teams naturally belonged to the respective five families, but there is one team that doesn''t serve the five families.


    Her eyes then stared at the group of military people and smiled, "Those people are the one that is considered the outsider of the military and serve the citizens wholeheartedly."

 Chapter 126 Flameheart Vanguard

    <h4>Chapter 126 meheart Vanguard</h4>


    A moment of silence urred within Iron Sentinel until Shi Tian burst out inughter.


    He wasughing uncontrobly to hear such nonsensical information.


    And Mary wasn''t surprised by his sudden burst ofughter.


    Who wouldn''t find it hrious when they realized just how disorientated the safe haven Gearits City was like in reality?


    "I thought that such plots only exist within wealthy families that wished to grab all the inheritance money for themselves, but it seems like I''m totally wrong." Shi Tian eximed, feeling humorous at such a ridiculous military arrangement.


    He was now even more astonished to see that Gearits City remained standing and not overrun by monsters.


    "That''s what happens when people are blinded by greed after stabilization." Mary shrugged her shoulders.


    "Geairts City was originally a very united ce, a holy sanctuary for this darkness of time. But as safety was ensured for a prolonged time, these five families started to change from their original noble goal." She added, her tone was a bit deste.


    Shi Tian paused hisughter andposed himself when he heard the tone change.


    With a solemn expression, he asked, "Was the military originally a singr team?"


    Mary nodded her head. "Back then, the military used to be a singr team,pletely united. But now, it''s just each family wanting to be stronger than the other, causing a split in the military."


    Shi Tian sighed softly at such a development. Humans are really fickle beings, having their goals and loyalty change in different situations.


    "Wait a minute, if the five families are internallypeting against each other, then how did another team pop out within the military?" He then asked, seemingly dumbfounded by this variable.


    The five families might bepeting, but they shouldn''t be that brain-dead to allow anotherpetitor topete with them.


    And as evil as it sounded, only a fool would let another group rise in power to split their profit.


    "The five families might be fighting, but the people within the military are ordinary citizens that fought with them to construct Gearits City. So naturally, there are people that aren''t interested in their dumb political struggle and only care for the normal citizens." Mary snickered coldly.


    If it wasn''t because she was used to the situation a long time ago, then she would have the same reaction as Shi Tian.


    The world had turned for the worst, with monsters taking over almost the entire world. Yet these dirty and hungry bastards are still brooding over who had the most power and control amongst others.


    "So these people are the ones risking their life for the citizens whereas the other five Vanguard teams are situated near the walls of Gearits City huh." Shi Tian deduced.


    From the temperament and clothes, Shi Tian noticed that the people outside are currently in poor or terrible condition aspared to the ones he saw in Gearits City.


    "There''s not much you can expect. This team is called the meheart Vanguard, and the most isted one. The only redeeming part is that their reputation is the best among citizens, thus, forcing the five families to reluctantly give them the bare minimum of supplies and resources." Mary exined, pitying these people who truly try their best for the citizens.


    "meheart Vanguard? What a cliche name." Shi Tianmented.


    The word meheart''s meaning should be that their hearts are filled with a passion me and desire to serve the citizens.


    "It''s cliche, but at the very least, they earn my respect for maintaining such humanity within their heart and willingly sacrificing themselves for the citizens," Marymented, and stepped on the elerator, no longer delving into this military topic.


    She may have respect for them, but that was as far as she would do for these groups of people, who believed themselves as patriots.


    Shi Tian also stopped inquiring about them now that he got the basic gist of the current military bleak outlook.


    ''No wonder why the Crimson Mage could still reside in Gearits City without a problem. The military is just a crumbling tool and is in a delicate bnce. They can''t afford to cause a big mess.'' He thought to himself, finally understanding some parts.


    These types of information are usually concealed and only a certain few people would know, so Shi Tian was unable to ess them until Mary kindly divulged them for him.


    With Mary driving past them, Shi Tian no longer bothered to look outside the window, lest he might cause more dy if he saw something else and needed rification.


    "Nathan, go and put on the gas mask. We might be inside the vehicle, but as we''re heading to the outeryer, it''s best to remain cautious." Mary calmly instructed, using one hand to steer the wheel whereas her other hand was used to put the gas mask on.


    Putting on the gas mask as well, Shi Tian realized the road was starting to get bumpy. He could feel the vibration from within.


    "The terrain is quite terrible here." Hemented.


    "Thank you for thement, Mr. Genius. Now tell me what else should we know here? Monsters could be appearing in suspicious locations, right?" Mary replied sarcastically.


    "Was it really necessary?"


    "Nope, but it''s fun to tease you asionally. Even Mechanist Isaac told me that you are to be teased."


    And before Shi Tian could even reply to that, Mary abruptly stepped on the brake.


    "Looks like I shouldn''t have teased you." Mary then clicked her tongue. "Get ready for battle, Nathan. We gotpany."


    "Understood." Shi Tian shed a solemn look and got ready to battle.


    As the two of them promptly exited the vehicle, Mary turned on auto mode for Iron Sentinel to park somewhere safe, lest it might get coteral damage in the process of their fighting.


    Meanwhile, Shi Tian swiftly nced at the watch that Mary allowed him to temporarily use and was dumbfounded to see zero red dots.


    ''The enemies this time are hiding underground huh.'' Shi Tian instantly concluded silently.

 Chapter 127 Moles

    <h4>Chapter 127 Moles</h4>


    The watch that Mary lent him to use temporarily is connected to the sensory of Iron Sentinel.


    With it, they could always detect whenever enemies are nearby, with the exception of those that could avoid sensory detection or those underground.


    And with how cautious Mary was staring at the ground beneath, Shi Tian could deduce it was thetter and not the former.


    "How many enemies are underground, Mary?" Shi Tian asked, his left hand holding onto the pistol.


    "Not sure, but they are moving at a fast rate. I suspect they are Moles." Mary squinted her eyes and said solemnly.


    Moles are usually small creatures, ranging from about 4 to 8 inches (10 to 20 centimeters) in length, with a plump and cylindrical body.


    And one of the most striking features of a mole was its specialized forelimbs.


    These limbs are adapted for digging and burrowing, and they have powerful, shovel-like ws that allow moles to effortlessly tunnel through the earth. The ws faced outward, making them ideal for pushing soil aside as the mole digs tunnels.


    Normally, they are just cute animals to be admired, but with the current circumstance, Shi Tian was afraid that they might have undergone mutation as well.


    "Be careful of your movement, Nathan. These Moles'' snouts are elongated and sensitive." Mary warned Shi Tian to not rx his guard at all costs.


    After all, with how sensitive their snouts were, it allowed them to detect vibrations and movements in the soil as they searched for their favorite prey.


    As to what the prey meant, it should have been some insects and other types of small invertebrates, but in the case of mutation, these prey could potentially be them- humans.


    Shi Tian listened to the warning from Mary and made as little movement as possible.


    ''These moles are too tricky. How was Mary able to sense their arrival?'' Shi Tian eximed inwardly. Even now, he couldn''t detect anything amiss, much less the movement of the Moles.


    "Nathan, quickly jump up and dodge to the left!" Mary suddenly shouted, and kicked the ground beneath her, propelling herself backward.


    Meanwhile, Shi Tian didn''t hesitate either the moment he received hermand.


    Doing as told, the original position where he was standing started to crumble.


    A small fissure was created in the process, and upon taking a closer look, Shi Tian was able to see a shovel-like w popping out from underneath.


    However, it was just for that split second, given that the w submerged right away when it realized Shi Tian had changed his position.


    "Tsk, I hate these Moles." Mary subsequently clicked her tongue in annoyance.


    "They don''t even show themselves unless they are confident about killing their prey. Even with my speed, it''s hard to attack them when only a small meter of their ws appeared." She added.


    "Are you always this irrational when ites to fighting?" Shi Tian asked.


    He doesn''t me the Moles'' attack and behavior given that it was the clever thing to do. If these Moles were actually retarded, then they wouldn''t have been able to survive in the wilderness when so many other powerful monsters roam around here.


    Meanwhile, Mary red at Shi Tian and sneered, "Since you said I''m irrational, then you can try to fight them without my warning or instruction."


    "Who dares to say you''re irrational, Mary? I''ll be the first one to punch them in the face. Mary is a beautiful and clever woman. Only a blind man would call you irrational." Shi Tian''s tone swiftly changed into a bootlicking one, praising Mary.


    Mary rolled her eyes at how shameless he could quickly be. "You really have no integrity huh?"


    "Integrity is useless in such a situation. One must learn to adapt to their environment to survive and not be stubborn about it."


    "That''s true, then next time, refrain from asking your sarcastic question. Otherwise, you will truly die."


    Shi Tian nodded his head. "Rest assured, Mary. This will never happen again, so please tell me how do we fight such an enemy?"


    "The Moles are now cautious of us because we were able to avoid their ambush attack. They wouldn''t attempt another attack right away, since it would give away their position." Mary exined, squinting her eyes at the small fissure and discerning the strength of these Moles.


    "Nathan, throw an explosive grenade at a 30-degree angle North." She thenmanded.


    Shi Tian nodded his head, taking out an explosive grenade from his belt pocket. Activating the explosive grenade, Shi Tian then threw it precisely at the location that Mary called out.


    A few secondster, a loud explosion subsequently urred as the ground trembled and vibrated from the sting impact.


    Once the dust scattered, Shi Tian and Mary noticed a snout appearing from underneath the ground, bleeding slightly.


    It was the snout of a Moles that was hiding in the ground beneath and had received the st from the explosive grenade. If it weren''t for the fact that his body was hidden underneath the ground, then it would have sustained even more heavy injuries.


    Despitending a hit, Shi Tian wasn''t excited or happy about it.


    "The Moles seemed agitated now, Mary." He said awkwardly.


    Previously, the Moles were all dormant underneath, waiting for an opportunity to strike at them. Yet the explosive grenade he threw seemed to have triggered them somewhat, causing most of them to pop out from underneath.


    And after counting the number of Moles that had appeared, there were at least 10 of them cooperating with each other.


    "Is that even supposed to be a question, Nathan?" Mary held a contemptuous expression. She looked at him as if he was an idiot or a fool.


    Shaking her head, Mary proceeded to exin her action. "My n of telling you to use the explosive grenade was to lure them out from the start. At first, I thought we would need to waste a bit more, but these Moles don''t seem as intelligent as the ones I fought before."

 Chapter 128 Claymore Mines

    <h4>Chapter 128 ymore Mines</h4>


    Shi Tian sped his hands once he realized Mary''s n.


    Despite risking it in agitating the Moles, it was best to lure them all out on the surface than have them remain dormant underneath the ground.


    After all, only when they appeared on the surface would they be able to have a chance to attack.


    "As expected of our Genius Mary." Shi Tian praised.


    "Save the bootlicking for those who would believe you." Mary rolled her eyes.


    "You might have some skills and abilities, but you need to gain experience in a real fight to learn how to adapt to the situation. Just like now, you have a handful of grenades to use, but instead of thinking about how to utilize them. You stood there like a fool, waiting to be butchered." She then lectured him harshly, pulling zero punches back.


    Shi Tian scratched his head, clearly unable to refute any of her statements.


    It was true that he was inexperienced when it came to numerous fights, but that doesn''t mean he couldn''t learn to adapt to them once taught.


    "And I''m quite curious about something. How did you even make it to Gearits City?" Mary asked, seemingly dumbfounded at how he was able to travel from afar to Gearits City with how inexperienced he was.


    "Um, I snuck around and avoided the enemies?" Shi Tian responded.


    "That still doesn''t make sense. Even if you want to sneak around to avoid enemies, some monsters are highly sensitive and can detect your movement. It''s impossible to be 100 percent safe." She shook her head and doubted his im.


    "But that''s the truth, Mary. There''s no reason for me to hide my ability in front of you." He shrugged his shoulders.


    This time, he truly wasn''t lying and was speaking the truth. He really didn''t need to fight much nor encountered much difficult monsters.


    Although Mary still found it somewhat suspicious, she didn''t have the opportunity to enquire further when she sensed the movement of these Moles.


    "Forget it, take out your stun grenades." Mary went into her attack stance andmanded.


    "I don''t need to instruct you on what to do next, right?" She added, provoking him.


    "Rest assured, if I''m that ignorant then you might as well kill me here and now." Shi Tian sarcastically said, changing the gear form of his mechanical right arm.


    With a single thought in mind, Shi Tian changed the gear form to one that produced CFM, a good function of increasing his throwing strength by utilizing the air force.


    In other words, even if he doesn''t have the strength, with this gear form active, one could even throw like any professional baseball pitcher.


    "Good, now on my mark!" Mary shouted and thrust forward, directly going to a more isted Moles, and swung her dagger.


    Meanwhile, Shi Tian utilized a CFM force of 500, throwing the stun grenade at those nearby Moles that attempted to swarm Mary, who was busy killing one of the Moles.


    Given such a force, the timing was immacte, and Mary smirked coldly, quickly spinning around and shing the Moles numerous times, inflicting arge amount of damage to them.


    It was a shame that these Moles'' bodies are tough and just some shes alone aren''t enough to pierce or cut through their tough skins.


    Nevertheless, Mary was quite satisfied with the result and retreated backway before the stunned Moles were able to break free to swarm at her.


    Their current attack strategy was a blitzkrieg type, targeting the most isted Moles and retreating quickly.


    "Good, let''s keep this up, Nathan," Mary shouted excitedly, and increased her movement speed, going after the Moles that couldn''t catch up to the others in time.


    "I can do this all day," Shi Tian replied and threw another round of stun grenades behind Mary, immobilizing the Moles that had just caught up to her.


    This went on for a few minutes until the Moles began to realize that chasing after Mary was a pointless effort.


    Even if they weren''t stunned by the grenade, they could tell her movement speed alone was quite horrifying. It was difficult for them to evennd a hit on her, much less catch up to her speed.


    Thus, their focus gradually changed to Shi Tian, who had been standing a rtively safe distance, while chucking down those stun grenades at them.


    They were infuriated at seeing theirpanions dying one by one and beingpletely hopeless, so without hesitation, they started burrowing into the ground.


    The speed of their shovel-like w digging was rapid, and Mary sensed that they weren''t after her.


    "Nathan, they''re finally going after you. Do as we nned beforehand." Mary shouted, decapitating the head of a Moles with her dagger.


    Meanwhile, Shi Tian was utterly confused as they didn''t discuss any of the ns further than him throwing a stun grenade to assist her.


    "What did we n beforehand?" He shouted in confusion.


    "You know- the n!"


    Shi Tian took a deep breath and realized Mary was definitely messing with him at this point.


    What she meant was that he was on his own and shoulde up with an improvisation to deflect the Molesing after him.


    ''I knew this would have happened.'' Shi Tian clicked his tongue and hurriedly ced a few traps on the ground.


    These were the ymore mines that he had to personally disarm previously from the minefield that Mary set up.


    He didn''t need to set them up meticulously, given that these Moles wereing after him without much of their cautiousness anymore.


    Instead, he just ced them directly behind him and started running amok.


    And sure enough, a few secondster, the Moles began triggering the ymore mines, sting a few of them into smithereens.


    "See, what did I tell you? The n!" Maryughed when she saw Shi Tian utilizing the ymore mines to st the Moles that stupidly decided to group together.


    Usually, they would always act individually but with her specifically targeting them for being isted, these Moles thought grouping up would be the best.


    But little did they know, it was all a setup from the start.


    As intelligent as monsters could gain from the mutation, they were still far inferior to a human''s scheming mindset.

 Chapter 129 Garbage Collector

    <h4>Chapter 129 Garbage Collector</h4>


    A ymore mine is a type of directional anti-personnel mine used primarily in military and defensive applications.


    It was designed to inflict maximum damage on enemy personnel in a specific direction, making it an effective weapon for ambushes and defensive positions.


    And in this particr case, Shi Tian knew the Moles were frantically chasing after him underground, allowing him to maximize the use of ymore mines to their best capacity.


    These Moles who are looking for blood, ignored their surroundings and merely focused on Shi Tian solely. Thus, these ymore mines were the best greeting for them.


    "Heh, did you think trying to avoid them is going to help?" Shi Tian tauntingly said when he noticed these Moles are starting to detour from the ymore mines he ced.


    The ymore mines are activated using a remote control on his hand and not a tripwire that requires the opponent to walk over.


    This essentially means that he could always activate the ymore mine whenever he wanted to.


    And once activated, the explosive charge behind the steel ball bearings propels them forward in a fan-shaped pattern at high velocity. Thus, creating a lethal st effect that could cover an area of about 60 degrees horizontally and up to 50 meters in range.


    In the face of such a high-velocity attack, the Moles could only watch helplessly at their demise.


    A few minutester, Shi Tian soon noticed that the Moles had stopped chasing after him.


    "Huh? Why aren''t they chasing me still?" He asked dumbfoundedly, though it was pretty clear that it was a taunt.


    "Come on, didn''t you want me instead of Mary?" He added, spreading his arms wide, a clear provocation to tell them to get him.


    "Enough of the taunt already." Meanwhile, Mary suddenly appeared behind him like a ghost and said. "Those Moles realized they are helpless and have retreated now. Their losses were quite heavy this time and I doubt they would attempt to ambush us any time soon."


    "It seems like these Moles aren''t that stupid to keep pursuing a target they clearly can''t get." Shi Tian shrugged his shoulders and said.


    They already killed quite a lot of them, so he wasn''t disappointed to hear that the Moles had retreated in fear.


    The ymore mines he had were almost out, and wasting any more would have diminished their supply. It wasn''t like they had an endless supply of ymore mines at their disposal.


    Mary patted his shoulder andplimented him. "You did good this time, learning to use the traps that you have instead of confronting them directly."


    Although it was a sincerepliment, Shi Tian somehow realized he was getting goosebumps from it.


    And sure enough, Mary''s next words caused Shi Tian''s previous excitement to die down rapidly.


    "Now, collect all the corpses and the ymore mines that you used. Those mines could be repaired if you can collect the core material." Mary smiled briefly and pointed at the aftermath of the battlefield, which was filled with fissures and ruins.


    The radius of the ymore mines wasn''t small and had spread to areas that they didn''t even venture to.


    What was worse was that some of the Moles had their internal organs sttered across the area thanks to the explosive impact they received.


    "It''s only going to be me collecting them all?" Shi Tian pointed a finger at himself and asked, turning his attention to Mary.


    Mary was silent for a few seconds, looking at Shi Tian as if he was an idiot.


    And that was all she needed to do for Shi Tian to understand the answer to his own question.


    Her action and demeanor were practically saying, you''re obviously being the garbage collector whereas I''ll be rxing in Iron Sentinel.


    Resigning to his fate, Shi Tian could only muster up his stamina and began picking up the corpses. In addition to picking up the corpses, he also needed to check whether they have Source Crystal or not.


    After all, these Moles are mutated and some should contain a Source Crystal.


    Otherwise, all the ymore mines and energy they used would have been wasted.


    Holding a small dagger, Shi Tian grabbed one of the Moles'' corpses and sliced the central part of its body.


    "Sigh, another empty one again." Shi Tian was disappointed to see another Moles without a Source Crystal in their body.


    This was already the fifth one he had collected, and to see that the possibility of a Source Crystal appear to be so low was quite disheartening.


    Still disappointed, Shi Tian directly threw the Moles'' Corpse at the bag that Mary had given to him. The bag wasn''t an ordinary one but contained a special feature which was preserving the corpse in the interior.


    Although getting a Source Crystal would be nice, the corpses of these Moles are valuable anyway. Thus, it wasn''t that bad of a profit.


    Time slowly passed by, and Shi Tian had managed to collect three-fourths of the Moles'' corpses already.


    "Out of these many corpses, only 4 Source Crystals were retrieved and they were all low-tier quality too. No wonder why they are so precious." Shi Tianmented. The rarity of finding a mid-tier Source Crystal was truly astounding, much less the high-tier Source Crystal.


    It was said that such quality Source Crystal could only be found in mutated monsters graded at least in the B plus category.


    Shi Tian wanted to collect some more of the Moles'' corpses but realized the bag was already filled to the brim.


    Heading back inside the Iron Sentinel, Shi Tian ced the bag on the container that specified monster corpses.


    Suddenly, Shi Tian paused his action and wondered silently.


    Wasn''t this exactly what a garbage collector does?


    They collect trash and ce them in their garbage truck.


    And although the contents aren''t the same, the process was, and Shi Tian smiled bitterly.


    ''Damn, I earned the job of a garbage collector without any degree. I''m so amazing.'' He cheered inwardly, seemingly trying tofort him for doing such a task.

 Chapter 130 Magicule Electrolytes

    <h4>Chapter 130 Magicule Electrolytes</h4>


    After the fake enthusiasm, Shi Tian gradually returned to the field to collect the remaining Moles'' corpses. And it was as if he couldn''t receive any more terrible luck, none of the other corpses had Source Crystal in them.


    Doing a manual calction, Shi Tian could easily tell that the profits they earned were in the negative zone.


    Even with all these corpses and the few Source Crystals they got, it couldn''t surpass the value of their ymore mines and stun grenades.


    The ymore mines and stun grenades that they used are of high quality and superior to what the current market sold.


    After all, these ymore mines were capable enough to st through the tough skin of the Moles and the stun grenades could even immobilize the Moles'' movement temporarily, showcasing clear evidence to prove how effective the traps were.


    "Sigh, the work that we did to subjugate them was aplete loss." He muttered, feeling the difficulty of actually bing a mercenary.


    If a mercenary team couldn''t earn enough profit from the monsters they hunted using their equipment, then it would have been a great loss to them.


    Not only does their equipment need repair, but they might also be wasting a lot of disposable grenades, which causes a lot of money.


    A mercenary might seem bright and strong on the surface, but the pressure they faced each time they ventured to the wilderness to hunt is immense.


    ''If the traps and equipment weren''t provided by Master Isaac and Mary, then I''d probably lost a lot of money. And possibly my life as well, considering that I didn''t know about the Night Intruders and their hideous conduct.'' Shi Tian thought to himself, feeling blessed and lucky to encounter such people in the sea of evil.


    He honestly never had a great impression of people, especially after the experience of being forcefully kidnapped for an experiment.


    And then meeting scum-like people such as Xavier, Hugo, Benmos, and the few from Hush''s Workshop after his awakening.


    "Nathan, what are you idling around for? You are wasting a lot of valuable time." Mary suddenly shouted from within Iron Sentinel, urging him to hasten his action.


    "I''ll be finished soon." Shi Tian snapped out of his thoughts and replied swiftly.


    He then proceeded to collect the remaining corpse and the remnant of the ymore mines. Just like Mary had stated, these ymore mines could be rebuilt and repaired as long as one had the skills to do it.


    And who was he?


    An apprentice of Master Isaac and someone walking the path of a Mechanic.


    It would be a disgrace and shameful thing if he can''t even repair a trap as an uing Mechanic.


    Sometimeter, Shi Tian finished collecting everything and nced at the aftermath field onest time. The field was beyond recognizable when they first arrived, but it didn''t matter.


    Such sceneries are way toomon in the wilderness, and no one would be dumb enough toe and criticize them for leaving such damage.


    Returning to the Iron Sentinel, Shi Tian subsequently took off his gas mask and made his way toward the passenger''s seat.


    Once he sat down, he saw Mary sipping on some drink, acting in a leisurely behavior.


    "Do I get some too?" Shi Tian asked without an ounce of hesitation.


    It would be a lie to say he wasn''t exhausted from walking all around the fissured field and collecting the corpses, plus the remnants of the ymore mines.


    "Your drink is in your storagepartment already. I''m not that heartless to not let you quench your thirst." Mary moved more to the side and pointed at the storagepartment by his side.


    Although a bit suspicious of her behavior, Shi Tian opened his storagepartment and indeed found a drink stored there.


    However, when he took the drink out andpared it to Mary, the size between them was clearly visible.


    Mary''s drink was at least twice the size of the drink he got, and Shi Tian was truly on the verge of a meltdown.


    ''Was this supposed to be the carrot from the carrot and stick methodology?'' He twitched his mouth in disbelief. If this was the case, then the carrot was truly one unsweetened reward.


    Staring at Mary quietly, she cleverly avoided eye contact and kept her distance.


    No wonder why she tilted to the side and even acted so suspiciously.


    "Sigh, working all day and this is my reward. I sure enjoy this training." Shi Tian opened the drink and said calmly.


    "I''m not treating you harshly on purpose, Nathan. But these drinks aren''t simple and contain quite the Magicule to restore stamina. If you drink beyond your capacity, then you would experience nausea, migraine, and possibly other side effects." Mary warned.


    "Is that so?" Shi Tian narrowed his eyes and moved closer to her.


    "If it was supposed to be my well-being, then why are you acting so suspiciously? It''s like you''re guilty of something." He added, interrogating her further.


    "Ahem, that''s because I didn''t want you to feel bad that I could handle such a size whereas you can''t. Anyway, this drink is called Magicule Electrolytes or Magel in short." She revealed her drink and exined, pointing at thebel of the bottle.


    "Magel huh? So this is the recement of the electrolyte drinks in the past that were meant to regte nerve and muscle function, hydrate the body, bnce blood acidity and pressure, and help rebuild damaged tissue." He then enquired, speaking a bunch of facts.


    Meanwhile, Mary looked at him with a ghastly expression, almost as if she was seeing a ghost and not a human.


    "How the hell do you know all those functions and effects?" She asked in confusion. "Are you a doctor that studies these?"


    Shi Tian, however, shed a bitter smile and shook his head.


    "In the past, there was someone that I took care of and her health wasn''t the greatest. Hence, I needed to check up on each drink and food product before I could buy it for them." He said, opening his bottle and drinking the Magel.

 Chapter 131 Outer Layer

    <h4>Chapter 131 Outer Layer</h4>


    Mary was able to discern from his tone and speech that she might have pried into something that she shouldn''t have.


    Simr to how she had a past that she doesn''t wish to divulge, it was natural for her to get the same feeling from others.


    "Anyway, let''s quickly finish our Magel and replenish our stamina. Although our stamina is still rtively high, we can never be too rxed to be in our top form in such an environment." She smoothly changed the topic and avoided poking at his past.


    Since Shi Tian respected her boundary, then she would do the same as well.


    Shi Tian nodded his head, agreeing with Mary.


    "You''re right, Mary. We can never rx here." He smiled and started chugging down the Magel.


    A few minutester, the two of them finished their drink and Mary began driving toward the Outer Layer.


    Unlike before when they encountered the Moles that were actively trying to ambush or hunt them down, the journey was quite smooth.


    The Outer Layer seemed to be the most poprized zone for the mercenaries and other people toe and hunt monsters.


    After all, the monsters in the Outer Layer were more valuable and worth morepared to the Inner Layer or Central Layer. On top of that, it was still within the District A boundaries, making it the most profitable location to make money from.


    "It seems like most areas are already upied with people." Shi Tian said, his eyes staring at the people outside the window that were all fighting in their respective areas.


    It was as if everyone here had an unspoken agreement to not interfere with the areas that they had chosen.


    "The Outer Layer is usually like this, and the people that arrive here first get to choose the ideal location to hunt for monsters. And although there aren''t any rules saying you can''t interfere with their hunting, people gradually decided to respect each other''s boundaries and not overstep." Mary casually exined the situation of the Outer Layer to him.


    Since everyone here is risking their lives to earn money, only a fool would attempt to cause a scene and engage in a life-and-death battle with each other.


    Being injured in the Outer Layer was equivalent to having a step in the grave already. After all, monsters also love to roam around here with the number of people being here daily.


    Not only was this location a paradise for the people to hunt, but it was also a paradisend for the monsters to feast upon.


    "Humans really amazed me at how much they would do for the sake of money and living." Shi Tian chuckled softly.


    If any of these people had decided to team up with another group, then the chances of them killing the monsters would increase tremendously, granting them profits higher than they could ever achieve.


    s, it was impossible for such a thing to ur given how paranoid and cautious these people are. Unless it was people they trust for a long time, it would be hard to leave your back wide open for strangers.


    Who knows if the strangers would backstab them unexpectedly in a tense situation?


    As Shi Tian thought about all these, Mary subsequently stepped on the brake and eximed, "We have arrived."


    "That fast?" Shi Tian was dumbfounded and turned to her.


    Almost all the areas were upied when he looked through the window, so how was it possible for them to find a spot that quickly?


    "I forgot to mention that it was indeed true that the areas are firste first serve. But for some people with high authority or special identity within Gearits City, they are always reserved in the areas they chose. In other words, it was like a VIP area, and not anyone could upy it." Mary yawned and exined.


    Meanwhile, Shi Tian was utterly speechless that such hierarchies are still in ce in the wilderness.


    "Unbelievable¡­" He muttered softly.


    Though, Shi Tian was quick topose himself and no longer found the situation ridiculous.


    After all, it shouldn''t be that difficult to ept such a thing, given that these people would eventually have to return to Gearits City to turn their hunt into money.


    Any smart person would know that even if it was unfair, especially those who arrived here as early as possible, they could only ept the situation and not voice anyint or show any resentment.


    Messing with the people that held high authority or special identity within Gearits City was equivalent to cutting off their wealth entirely.


    But now the question came, how was Mary able to have an area reserved for them?


    With her identity as a receptionist in Optic Mech, it shouldn''t be enough to cause the others to ept them to have a reservation area.


    "Nathan, something is best to leave untold to remain an amicable rtionship." Mary suddenly said, and put on the gas mask.


    And hearing her statement, Shi Tian realized she was giving him a gentle warning to not be too curious about things. To maintain a harmonious rtionship between them, it was best to just do as assigned and know their spot.


    "Heh, I was merely enjoying the benefits of not having toe early like these people for a good area to train." Shi Tian shrugged his shoulders and cleverly said. Since knowing how they achieve such a feat wouldn''t benefit him in either way, then why would he not heed her warning.


    Mary nodded her head.


    "Good, it''s wonderful to work with smart people rather than idiots. After all, the worst enemy is not having to face strong people, but having to deal with stupid teammates." She proimed, going to the back of the vehicle to stock up on some equipment.


    Shi Tian remained silent for a brief second before following suit.


    He, in fact, agreed with her im that having to deal with stupid teammates was the worst scenario.


    ''It seems like I need to be more careful of my conduct in the future to avoid thebel of a stupid teammate.''

 Chapter 132 Reserved Area

    <h4>Chapter 132 Reserved Area</h4>


    Shi Tian followed Mary from behind, getting some grenades and small traps on their belt.


    As Mary had warned numerous times, one could never afford to be too carefree in the wilderness.


    Thus, even if they are in a reserved area, and the possibility of being attacked by other people is low, the possibility wasn''t zero.


    Which means they still need to keep up their guard and remain vignt.


    Though they didn''t need to worry much since the reserved area was within the station temporarily built by the people in which everyone coulde here to rest up.


    In other words, it was a temporary safehold for the people, with multiple defensive mechanisms set up to deflect or block any monsters that attempted to invade this space.


    As Shi Tian exited the Iron Sentinel alongside Mary, he could instantly feel numerous eyes locked on to them, seemingly identifying them or discerning their strength.


    "No need to worry about their eyesight for now. They wouldn''t dare to attack us openly, since there''s a bunch of defenses here set up." Mary reassured Shi Tian as she pointed at the defensiveyout.


    Shi Tian followed the pointer and noticed there were actually turrets set up in their reserved area. The turrets didn''t seem to be clumsily built either. In fact, it looked extremely sturdy and powerful.


    Just a single nce at one of the turrets was akin to facing a fierce beast''s intimidation.


    The turret doesn''t seem to be in active mode and could be said to be in neutral mode, yet Shi Tian was able to feel tremendous pressure upon him.


    ''Is this turret invented by Master Isaac?'' Shi Tian thought to himself.


    Considering they were still in public, Shi Tian didn''t wish to ask Mary right away, lest others might be able to eavesdrop on something.


    Thus, Shi Tian promptly waited and followed Mary inside the tent.


    Given that it was a reserved area, a tent was built to amodate the people. Of course, only those who are guaranteed a reserved area could afford a tent as a resting ce.


    As for the others that had to follow the process of firste first serve, they could only build a measly ''camp'' spot for their group in the safe spot. After all, their area isn''t guaranteed to be the same location as always.


    "Are you surprised by the turret outside?" Mary subsequently asked after taking a seat by the table.


    In fact, she even took off her gas mask, dumbfounding Shi Tian in the process.


    "Oh, this specific area is constructed with a process simr to the air filtration in Gearits City, albeit on a smaller scale." She quickly exined before Shi Tian had the chance to ask the question.


    Shi Tian nodded his head and took off his gas mask instead.


    He then took a seat opposite Mary and asked, "The turrets outside must have been crafted by Master Isaac, right?"


    "Mhmm, theplication of the turret mechanism was something only Mechanist Isaac knows. It was also because of this fact that we earned a reserved area under the Optic Mech name. We might not be as popr as Heaven''s Mecha, but that doesn''t mean we are inferior to them." Mary tapped her finger on the table and exined.


    And with that piece of information revealed to him, Shi Tian was now able to finally connect the dots, starting all the way back from the time he wished to enjoy some popcorn in Optic Mech.


    Back then, there was a troublesome person proimed to be from Heaven''s Mecha demanding to see Isaac Aaronax, only to be rejected adamantly by Mary.


    Originally, he didn''t think much of it, but now being exposed to such information, especially the fact that Isaac Aaronax was able to construct such a terrifying turret defense, everything made sense.


    ''What a web ofplications.'' Shi Tian eximed inwardly.


    He felt exhausted just thinking howplicated the rtionship structure was in Gearits City. The military wasplicated, and now even the Optic Mech and Heaven''s Mecha were like a sea of muddy water.


    s, Mary wasn''t finished with her explosive revtion.


    "If you think that''splicated, then you''re going to be in more shock. Heaven''s Mecha owner is one of the five families, the Harrett Family." Mary chuckled softly.


    It was as if a ticking bomb had just exploded, and Shi Tian nearly choked himself.


    ''Fuck, I boarded a pirate ship.'' He screamed internally.


    If it wasn''t because his emotion was regted, he would have both hands clenched half covering his face, shouting ''oh no'' aloud.


    Meanwhile, Mary smirked when she saw Shi Tian remaining silent. She decided to inform him of such news so that he would finally understand the situation he was in.


    Of course, it wasn''t in any bad intention, given that she could have concealed the news and never inform him about it.


    "Wasn''t Heaven''s Mecha an independent mechanic store?" Shi Tian asked in disbelief.


    He had researched this particr store when he heard it the first time, but none had shown or indicated that it was operated by the Harrett Family.


    And just when Mary was about to rify things to him, Shi Tian raised his hand and stopped her.


    "Nevermind, no need to answer that dumb question." He then said, realizing how fickle information could be on the inte.


    Just because he couldn''t find a rtionship between Heaven''s Mecha and the Harrett Family, doesn''t mean there aren''t any rtions.


    At best, it just means the Harrett Family''s power in concealing such information is fearsome.


    ''Mary could easily keep this information hidden from me so that I would continue to act as a decoy. But she didn''t do it and revealed it to me anyway. Why would she do this?'' Shi Tian was thoroughly confused by her actions this time.


    If she had simply done nothing, then he would have kept ying the dangerous decoy role, getting used without ever realizing it.


    Tilting his head to stare at Mary, Shi Tian truly cannot fathom what was currently on her mind.

 Chapter 133 Basic Trust

    <h4>Chapter 133 Basic Trust</h4>


    Staring at Mary for quite a while, he still couldn''t find a logical exnation for her action.


    It just simply made zero sense and doesn''t benefit her in any way.


    In fact, it was a detrimental action for her because he could easily back off from being a decoy now that he realized what kind of trouble he was going to attract.


    "You can stop staring at me already, Nathan. Although I know I''m beautiful, it''s still a bit ufortable to have someone stare at me so intensely." Mary suddenly said, even joking about it too.


    s, Shi Tian was in no mood for a joke.


    He held a solemn expression and asked, "Why did you reveal such information to me?"


    Mary chuckled softly and shrugged her shoulders. "Simple, to establish a basic trust."


    "Just that?" Shi Tian raised an eyebrow, clearly refusing that kind of reasoning. Mary''s intelligence wasn''t to be underestimated, so she must have known the consequences of her action just now.


    "Consider this a reward for listening to my demands so far. Now, you can still choose whether or not to act as a decoy for us." Mary said, crossing her legs while shing an amused expression.


    A few minutes slowly started to pass by, and Shi Tian suddenly burst out inughter.


    "Ahh~, you are really shrewd, Mary." Shi Tian eximed, pping his hands and giving her a thumbs up.


    Luckily his intelligence had risen, otherwise, he would have truly failed to notice what Mary had aplished by revealing this information.


    By revealing this information to him now, it would then portray Mary as someone trustworthy and not someone that had purposely concealed information from him.


    And normally, that would be the case, except once he took a factor of their current ce, then the circumstances changed entirely.


    They are now situated in a reserved area within the safe hold, meaning the chances of encountering people from Heaven''s Mecha are high. After all, Heaven''s Mecha and Optic Mech don''t have the greatest rtionship, and could even be consideredpetitors.


    And if some of the people within Heaven''s Mecha worked directly for the Harrett Family and revealed the information identally, then Shi Tian by that time would be extremely wary of Mary for concealing such critical information.


    Once that kind of situation urred, their rtionship would be strained beyond repair.


    What a basic trust she stated!


    "Sigh, it seems like you still figured it out in the end," Mary shook her head when she saw Shi Tianughing wildly, plus thement about her being shrewd.


    It was a far cry from her original expectation regarding his reaction to the revtion. As expected, she had somewhat underestimated Shi Tian.


    "Welp, are you still nning on bing our decoy?" She subsequently asked.


    "What else could I possibly say?" Shi Tian shrugged his shoulders and sighed.


    Even if he learned of this information now, there wasn''t really much he could do. He had received quite a lot of resources to improve his craft and strength.


    Not to mention, he didn''t exactly have a high opinion of Heaven''s Mecha either, given the arrogant tone of their previous representatives in Optic Mech.


    The attitude and behavior of an employee in theirpany could directly reflect what sort of working environment they are in or the type of people they worked for.


    If the employees are amicable and kind, then it was a clear sign of the employer being magnanimous or at least close to it.


    However, if the employees are a bunch of arrogant people that believed themselves to be all high and mighty, then the chances of their employers being scum as well are high.


    "Great, I''m d you now know the kind of situation you''re in. So please, get stronger and not be a punching bag." Mary sped her hands in joy.


    Meanwhile, Shi Tian twitched his mouth and once again decided to choose to activate his selective hearing ability, ignoring herst remark.


    And seeing his silence, Mary was quite satisfied.


    Although the reaction was a bit different than her prediction, the result she wanted to achieve was still the same, and that was to get Shi Tian fully boarded their ship.


    It could now be said if Optic Mech was to fail, then he would simrly receive the same fate.


    A few secondster, Shi Tian asked curiously, "Well, what are we doing here then? To announce my appearance to the people scrutinizing us at this very moment?"


    He then leaned on the table and ced his hand on his face, looking right at Mary.


    He didn''t wish to admit it, but he truly fell right into the palm of her hand.


    Ever since she mentioned going to the Outer Layer, Shi Tian didn''t think much about it and believed it was necessary for the training.


    s, the reality was a far cry from just training.


    With people heavily scrutinizing them, Shi Tian was afraid that he was being investigated at the very moment, especially those from Heaven''s Mecha.


    And why would he believe that?


    They are now in a reserved area that only a few people could obtain. Only a fool wouldn''t investigate what kind of people were able to have a reserved area to themselves.


    "Yeah, that sounds about right, and mainly because I didn''t wish to sleep in the vehicle again. The people that went exploring should return soon, so we just need to wait for them." Mary yawned and stretched her body.


    "So we''re just going to wait for the people that were here before us to return huh?"


    "Of course¡­ not." Mary suddenly snickered coldly. She pointed at the boxes that she brought along with her from the Iron Sentinel and shed a wicked smile.


    And for some reason, Shi Tian had a premonition that this kind of smile was equivalent to telling him to be a ve worker.


    His premonition was soon confirmed when Mary stood up and opened the boxes.


    "That''s right, Nathan. These are the remnants of the ymore mines that you recklessly used. So repair them all while I take a nap."

 Chapter 134 Reputation

    <h4>Chapter 134 Reputation</h4>


    In the reserved area of the safehold, and at a decent tent, there was one person diligently working by a table.


    And that person was none other than Shi Tian, who was busy learning the appliances of the ymore mines that he had used previously.


    ''Even though Mary gave me the blueprint of the ymore mine, I can tell it was also meticulously crafted by Master Isaac with an improvisation of his own.'' Shi Tian eximed inwardly.


    His hand held one of the remnant pieces of the ymore mine and realized the difficulty of actually repairing one of them to function properly again.


    The basic foundation of the ymore mine was simr to the design of the Blv-21, but once it was getting to the interior core, the processpletely changed.


    Shi Tian didn''t dare to recklessly approach it either since a ymore mine explosion was not something he could afford to tank.


    The Moles, despite having tough skin, were all blown to smithereens at the face of these ymore mines. So what makes him think his skin was tougher than these mutated Moles?


    While he was struggling with how to approach this problem, Shi Tian felt his back was being stared at intensely by someone. And it didn''t take long for him to know that it was Mary, who was clearly enjoying his suffering.


    "Mechanist Isaac''s mechanical products are always so difficult to replicate. I can even count the number of people in my hand that actually seeded in replicating one, but the output of it was mediocre at best." Mary suddenly said, telling Shi Tian a back story of the past.


    In the past, when Isaac Aaronax first showed his mechanical skills in Gearits City and began selling them, people were fascinated by the equipment.


    It goes to say that the rich people were willing to offer an astronomical value to poach Isaac Aaronax into working for them, only to be ruthlessly rejected.


    Of course, some took it as an offense or a p to their face and resorted to violence, only to bepletely demolished by Isaac Aaronax and his equipment.


    Thus, the people soon came to realize that they could only attempt to have their own mechanic replicate or imitate the product that Isaac Aaronax offered, and at the same time, boycott the store he worked for namely Optic Mech.


    "No wonder why not many people have heard about Optic Mech," Shi Tian muttered softly.


    In the beginning, he was indeed wondering why Optic Mech doesn''t have many customers despite their great customer services and products, but everything made sense now.


    Heaven''s Mecha was abusing their authority and influence in hopes to tarnish Optic Mech, meaning only those who aren''t afraid of Heaven''s Mecha''s influence would patronize Optic Mech.


    "Then isn''t Optic Mech being bashed further now with the uing New Region?" Shi Tian suddenly asked.


    Currently, the New Region was unable to be explored with the poison mist still scattering slowly. Thus, only a fool would attempt to explore the New Region at the moment.


    However, with the New Region soon being opened to all once the poison mist isn''t at a dangerous level, people at this time would naturally scurry around for equipment to gear themselves up.


    "Indeed, our Optic Mech is facing attack in every corner from Heaven''s Mecha. You also know about this, the person that caused a scene previously was a secretary called Bryan." Mary calmly exined.


    "So, the true reason why we came to the Outer Layer was not just to train me, but to improve the reputation of the Optic Mech, right?"


    "Hoh, you sure catch on quick." Mary shed an amused expression, not denying it.


    "Our Optic Mech n on selling the newest product to the people here." She added.


    "Damn, I must really give you a like," Shi Tian chuckled softly, giving her a thumbs up. He was truly impressed by the scheming that she had nned so far ahead.


    By advertising their newest products here, these people would essentially be their best advertisers.


    After all, this was in the District A Outer Layer, in which monsters roamed around. So if they ever found some equipment to be extremely useful, then they would keep buying it.


    Who else other than these people that tread through life and death constantly could provide the best advertisement?


    "I''ll dly ept the like, but you still ain''t being excused from repairing these ymore mines. This is a punishment for you to learn not to recklessly use your resources." Mary snickered coldly, pointing at the remnant pieces on the table.


    "Of course, I''ll be damned if I believe you would be lenient." Shi Tian rolled his eyes, returning back to his work.


    Time slowly passed by, and the people that were originally stationed in the reserved area they are in had returned from their venture.


    "Greetings to Lady Mary. We didn''t know you woulde here. If you had notified us in advance, then we would have returned earlier." A man''s voice could be heard outside the tent, speaking in a respectful and formal tone.


    "It''s just waiting for a while. And what''s with the formal tone, Gerald?" Maryughed heartily.


    "Oh right, let me introduce you to someone in the tent. He''s an apprentice of Mechanist Isaac."


    "Mechanist Isaac had taken in an apprentice?" Gerald reacted in shock when he heard such a piece of news.


    He had always been stationed in the reserved area of this safe hold, rarely returning to Gearits City. Thus, his information wasn''t as fast as others.


    Mary nodded her head. "Have your people rest in the other tent while youe here so I can introduce you two."


    "Of course, let''s not waste any time," Gerald smiled andmanded the other people that ventured with him to rest in the other tent.


    Afterward, he followed Mary into the tent that Shi Tian was in.


    "Nathan, this person here is-"


    Before Mary could even finish her sentence, Shi Tian stood up, turned around, and extended his hand out for a handshake. "Gerald, right? It''s nice to meet you. I''m Nathan."

 Chapter 135 Gerald

    <h4>Chapter 135 Gerald</h4>


    As Shi Tian extended his hand out for a handshake while introducing himself, he was inspecting Gerald.


    Gerald stood tall, with a lean yet athletic build that hinted at his years of physical training and experience in surviving hostile environments.


    His chiseled features and sharp, steely brown eyes gave him an aura of intensity and determination. His short, dark hair was often messy from the constant encounters with turbulent winds in the wilderness.


    d in a sleek, futuristic armored suit that is equipped with an array of gadgets and tools, Gerald looked prepared for any challenge that came his way.


    ''The suit of his seemed to be the same type of material on my right arm.'' Shi Tian thought to himself, analyzing Gerald''s suit.


    Gerald''s suit surface glimmered with a metallic sheen, providing protection against extreme temperatures and hazards he may encounter during his explorations.


    And while Shi Tian was inspecting Gerald, the same thing was happening to Gerald, who was simrly inspecting Shi Tian.


    Shaking hands with Shi Tian, Gerald realized Shi Tian was paying close attention to his suit.


    "It''s nice to meet the apprentice of Mechanist Isaac." Gerald smiled amicably and proceeded to exin his suit.


    Shi Tian scratched his head slightly when he got caught inspecting his suit too much. Though he was still shameless enough to listen to his exnation in detail.


    After a few exnations, Shi Tian came to realize his armored suit was a trusty multi-functional wrist device that adorned his arm, serving as both amunication device and a data analyzer.


    It was a crucial tool for gathering information, hacking intoplex systems, and detecting any potential threats that lie ahead.


    "I see, the armored suit is indeed a work of art that Master Isaac could craft." Shi Tian praised andplimented Gerald as well.


    Their conversation continued in formality, all flowery exchange without any substances.


    "Alright, the two of you can stopplimenting each other back and forth. Let''s save that when we actually produce some physical results." Mary sped her hands, stopping these two from continuing a boring conversation.


    "Hahaha, it seems like Lady Mary is a bit displeased now." Geraldughed heartily and nced at Shi Tian.


    "Then we shall have a talkter on," He added, cupping his fist.


    Shi Tian nodded his head and cupped his fist in return. "Indeed, we have a lot of time to interact in the future. Let''s pause for now before Mary bes infuriated at us."


    Although the two of them had just gotten to know each other, they seemed to have developed an understanding and that was to not mess with Mary.


    "Why are you two making some funny expressions?" Mary crossed her arms and questioned, clearly confused by the two men''s actions.


    "Nothing, this is just a casual man-to-man thing." Both Shi Tian and Gerald replied simultaneously, brushing past the topic.


    "Anyway, I should look after my subordinates for now." Gerald then said, exiting the tent once he realized the situation wasn''t in his favor.


    Once Gerald exited the tent, Mary narrowed her eyes and stared at Shi Tian.


    "Speak, what is this man-to-man thing?" She demanded an answer, clearly ufortable with their expression earlier.


    "Be a man and you''ll know." Shi Tian shrugged his shoulders, returning to his seat to continue his repair on the ymore mines.


    Just because he had listened to most of her instruction, doesn''t mean he was a whipped man that would say yes to her.


    If it was something unreasonable, then Shi Tian wouldn''t pay attention to it.


    Mary clicked her tongue when she saw Shi Tian ignoring him. ''Curses, just what are these two up to?''


    Her curiosity was rising, but she also understood that she might never get a proper response from them. From Gerald''s reaction and how hasty he left, it was clear that he didn''t have any intention of exining.


    "Stop being curious and walking around, you''re distracting my attention." Shi Tianmented. With the increase of his perception, Mary''s constant back and forth was quite distracting for him.


    He was working on repairing a dangerous trap, so being distracted would be extremely deadly. Just one wrong mishap and the tent they are in might explode into pieces.


    Of course, that was an exaggeration, considering the material used to build the tent could withstand the powerful explosive.


    "You''re not even fixing the correct thing either way, so why are you trying to sound like an expert?" Mary clicked her tongue and said. She then proceeded to point out his w and what should have been done instead.


    "I might not be a mechanic, but I have seen Mechanist Isaac working on his equipment before and picked up a thing or two from him." She added, putting Shi Tian in his ce.


    And sure enough, Shi Tian went silent mode and no longer attempted to tell her to stop walking back and forth around him.


    After all, the w she pointed out was correct and even the instruction to fix was on point, meaning her expertise was higher than him. Since that was the case, then it was best to just keep quiet and follow the instructions.


    The faster he was done repairing these ymore mines, then the faster he could get out of this tent and proceed forward.


    As time slowly passed by, Mary seemed to have be somewhat of a senior sister to Shi Tian, guiding him through the process whenever he was stuck on something.


    "This here should be connected to this part," Marymented.


    "But wouldn''t that cause the entirety to break apart?" Shi Tian paused and asked confusingly.


    The part that Mary told him to connect didn''t make any logical sense. In fact, it was the equivalent of telling him to connect two things that aren''t supposed to mesh.


    While he was confused, Mary suddenly smacked the back of his head and lowered her tone.


    "Shush, this is the reason why no other Mechanics can replicate Mechanist Isaac''s craft. They are too stubborn and unimaginative, just like the current you."

 Chapter 136 Innovation

    <h4>Chapter 136 Innovation</h4>


    "You''re telling me we''re supposed to connect these two irregr parts together?" Shi Tian was dumbfounded.


    His eyes locked on the remnant pieces of the ymore mine, seemingly in disbelief that this was how the trap was constructed.


    "Did you think I''ll be here trolling you when I''m next to the trap as well?" Mary questioned him back with a sarcastic tone.


    Essentially, she was saying that she was also here with him.


    Therefore, if she was attempting to prank him to cause an explosion, then she would have received the st impact as well.


    However, it was precisely because of this that Shi Tian was somewhat suspicious of her.


    After all, her movement speed was out of the ordinary, and she could definitely escape faster than him.


    "Stop looking at me like that. Did you think I would want to harm you?" Mary red angrily at him.


    "Maybe not harming, but who knows if you are trolling me for some giggles?" Shi Tian muttered softly but quickly returned his focus to the ymore mine once he sensed her intimidating gaze locking onto him.


    ''Whatever, I doubt she would truly leave me for dead if any mishaps were to go wrong.'' He eximed inwardly, forcefully connecting the two different parts.


    Once the parts were connected, Shi Tian was ready to retreat as soon as he sensed something was amiss.


    However, even after a few minutes, nothing seemed to have happened aside from the fact that Mary was eager to smack his head again for not trusting her judgment.


    "Kaboom!" Mary suddenly shouted in his ear, prompting Shi Tian to get up from his seat.


    "What the hell was that for, Mary?" Shi Tian covered his ear with his hand, seemingly trying to dispel the soundwave. Of course, the sound had already been made and it was a futile action.


    "Weren''t you expecting the sound of an explosion? Hence, I decided to shout Kaboom for you. Or did you want me to shout Boom or Boom Shaka Laka or Boom Bam Pow?" Mary rubbed her chin, acting as if she was in serious thought about what to shout instead.


    "..."


    Shi Tian smiled bitterly, clearly utterly speechless at her.


    pping his hands, Shi Tian had to praise her sense of humor and demeanor.


    "I was wrong, Mary. Please forgive me, and give me a warning next time." He then pleaded, admitting his mistake.


    "No no no, how could the almighty Nathan be wrong? You are the apprentice of Mechanist Isaac whereas I''m just a lowly receptionistdy. How dare I interfere with your work." Mary gasped and ced her hand by her chest.


    "What do you want me to do to drop this topic?" Shi Tian sighed and resigned to his fate.


    If Mary truly continued with her act further, then he would definitely be med for the consequencester on.


    From Gerald''s previous attitude, it was clear that Mary''s influence and authority were high.


    Which meant that most of the decision-making from here on out should be decided by her. So if she continued to act childish and push the me on him, then even if he had multiple lives, it wouldn''t be enough to survive.


    Mary grinned wickedly once she heard Shi Tian resigning to his fate.


    "Hehe, it''s actually quite simple, Nathan. In fact, this was something you promised to do from the start anyway." She then said somewhat sinisterly.


    "And what is that?"


    "Bing a decoy duh. What else is there that you could offer to us? You and your pathetic tofu strength?" Mary scoffed.


    "Hey, I''m just getting started, so it''s a given that my strength isn''t on par with you." Shi Tian defended.


    "That''s the kind of excuse a loser would say." She rolled her eyes.


    "Anyway, what I want you to do is start going outside the tent and promote our new product. Be as shameless and audacious as possible. I want you to garner all the attention that a decoy should have."


    "So you want me to raise death gs everywhere?" Shi Tian shed an unamused expression.


    "What? Are you scared?" Mary snickered. She was clearly attempting to provoke him to take on this kind of task.


    However, Shi Tian wasn''t such a fool to not know her intention.


    "Save the provocation for someone else." Shi Tian waved his hand.


    The next few seconds though, he asked, "What''s the new product and its unique features?"


    "You''re looking right at it already."


    "Huh?"


    "Don''t huh me! Those ymore mines are precisely the new product that we n on selling and advertising. Why else did you think there were so many of them for you to waste and why would I tell you to repair them?"


    Shi Tian was thoroughly speechless this time.


    Never did he expect that these ymore mines and the traps that were used on the obstacle course are meant for this.


    "Is this what Master Isaac means by training?" Shi Tian twitched his brows and asked.


    Mary nodded her head.


    "Obviously, how can training always be about some boring fighting or practicing all the time. We need to change the nd and old school method in teaching and training others nowadays for a more effective progress." She exined, justifying their n.


    ''Indeed, what an innovation.'' Shi Tian thought to himself.


    "Wait a minute, does that mean by ordering me to repair these ymore mines, we''re also going to set up a repair shop for the customers that bought these mines?" He held an aghast expression and asked.


    "Wow, it''s truly amazing to work with clever people. Save me so much saliva in exnation." Mary pped her hands and smiled.


    "This was all nned from the start?"


    "Of course, otherwise, did you really think we wanted to train you with all these resources for no reason? We have to improvise in this time and age to survive thepetitive market." Mary shrugged her shoulders.


    "Wait, where are you going now, Nathan?"


    "Where else? I''m going to set up the stall and be as shameless and audacious as possible." Shi Tian pursed his lips and said.

 Chapter 137 Stall

    <h4>Chapter 137 Stall </h4>


    After realizing how far Mary and Isaac Aaronax had meticulously nned for his supposed training, Shi Tian came to understand a fact.


    And it was that his pathetic shrewdness and schemings were far inferior to Isaac Aaronax and Mary.


    Since he was inferior, attempting to speak anymore would only backfire on him.


    As Shi Tian began to set up a stall, Mary wasn''t that heartless either and came to assist him.


    Though, it was more of a correct term to say she was taking on the role of a manager or inspector.


    "Nathan, put this stall over here instead of there. We want it to be more in the open, so people can see it." Mary eximed, pointing at another spot.


    "By the way, you should start carrying the Metallic Stone." She added.


    "What do you mean, Mary? I forgot to bring it with me." Shi Tian moved the stall toward the spot and asked in confusion.


    Meanwhile, Mary leaned closer to his ear and whispered, "You can stop acting innocent and take out the Metallic Stone from your Dimension Ring. Did you really think I hadn''t noticed it?"


    Instantly, Shi Tian was astonished and nced around their surroundings.


    Luckily, their movement might have attracted some attention from others, but it seemed like they hadn''t heard what Mary had whispered to him.


    And in a very low but audible tone, he asked, "When did you notice it?"


    "Ever since I went to pick you up at your apartmentplex."


    "That fast? Then why didn''t you say anything?"


    "Why would I bother with it? The Dimension Ring might be rare and scarce, but that doesn''t mean I hadn''t seen it." Mary calmly said and sneakily opened her belt slightly for Shi Tian to see.


    Within that small gap opening, Shi Tian was able to see Mary actually had two rings stored in her belt. And naturally, he wouldn''t think it was some wedding oath rings, but Dimension Rings.


    Without a choice, Shi Tian could only reluctantly take out the Metallic Stone that he had stored in the Dimension Ring.


    Once the Metallic Stone was out, Shi Tian could feel his weight had increased tremendously.


    The Metallic Stone was truly a great training item, able to adjust itself to the maximum weight that Shi Tian could withstand.


    "I know this is needed for my training, but my movement is greatly restricted while carrying it." Shi Tian exined, smiling bitterly. He had nned on carrying the Metallic Stone previously once they were out in the wilderness.


    However, when Mary decided to set up an obstacle course filled with mild and deadly traps, Shi Tian didn''t dare to carry it while treading through it.


    After all, one mishap and he might have faced the same situation that the poor deceased Kyle had gone through.


    "Stop being a damn pussy and whining about some extra weight," Mary smacked his head and snorted coldly.


    And she continued, "Back in my days, I carried at least five Metallic Stones as the bare minimum of my training. Yet here you are, whining worse than a little girl with just one Metallic Stone. Aren''t you embarrassed?"


    ''This has got to be an innovative statement of the supposed I used to hike the mountain and beat lions to travel to school.'' Shi Tian twitched his mouth and thought.


    One Metallic Stone was already enough to adjust the weight to be the maximum limit of the person, so what was the point of carrying five of them when the output remained the same?


    Even if she wanted to exaggerate something, she could have at least done it better, but looking at her expression. It was clear that she simply wanted to have an excuse to smack his head.


    "Alright, I''m carrying it with me now." Shi Tian said, putting the Metallic Stone in his pocket.


    "Good, and we should hasten our speed. The people that are stationed here should return soon. We need to finish setting up the stall to catch their attention." Marymanded, looking at her watch.


    "Then are you actually going to help?"


    "Do you want to get smacked in the head again?"


    "Tsk, you''ll do it regardless anyway."


    "True, but I''m not that unreasonable."


    Shi Tian took a deep breath and managed to suppress his emotion. She literally just outright admitted that she loved to smack his head even if he wasn''t wrong.


    This Mary was definitely jealous of him, given that Isaac Aaronax was willing to go so far as to mentor him and not her.


    "No wonder why people say women are unpredictable." Shi Tian muttered, heading back inside the tent to bring out the other boxes.


    Meanwhile, Mary silently stared at Shi Tian working and shook her head.


    ''Sooner orter, you will know that my actions are for your own good.'' She eximed inwardly.


    Sometimeter, Shi Tian finally finished setting up the stall. The stall''s foundation wasposed of weathered wooden panels, slightly worn but still sturdy and reliable.


    And once Shi Tian began organizing the ymore Mines for disy, people from the surroundings started to gossip about what was going on.


    Seeing those people gossiping about their stall, Shi Tian thought of something and instructed Mary.


    "Mary, give me a big board sign that I could write on."


    Mary didn''t bother to say anything and gave him the board sign. Although she was confused about what he was up to, she didn''t n onmenting much.


    Shi Tian smirked coldly once he saw the board sign that Mary had given him. He turned around and sneakily wrote something on it- a slogan to be precise.


    Of course, Mary was curious and wanted to see what he was writing, but Shi Tian merely waved his hand, an action equivalent of telling her to shoo off.


    A few minutester, Shi Tian ced the board sign on public disy, letting all the spectators see what he had written.


    Mary simrly walked around to check what he had written, only to be astonished.


    Tired of losing yourpanions like a bunch of idiots? Come and get these new traps to save yourself from such humiliation!

 Chapter 138 Slogan

    <h4>Chapter 138 Slogan</h4>


    When Mary read the kind of slogan that Shi Tian had put up, she truly had the intention of thoroughly beating him up.


    Quickly taking the board sign down, Mary nced back and forth at the people that had read the slogan already. She became slightly nervous when she saw some of them already agitated or provoked by the slogan.


    ''Damn it, this is going to be a problem.'' Mary gnashed her teeth in frustration before staring at Shi Tian, who remained confused.


    Dragging Nathan to the side, Mary kept her cool and asked, "Are you trying to advertise our new product or make enemies everywhere?"


    His slogan- no, it can''t even be counted as a slogan.


    It was a tant provocation to everyone here that risked their lives for money or other reasons.


    Not to mention, there are numerous people that have lost theirpanions here, with some of them being their closest ones.


    Once everyone here became agitated and no longer cared about the consequences, they might truly be swarmed and killed.


    "Speak, are you trying to get revenge because I kept smacking your head or treating you poorly?" Mary asked, raising her tone slightly.


    She then grabbed onto his cor and red intensely at him. It was clear that she was infuriated by his action which could cause a huge domino effect.


    "Does it look like I''m some petty man?" Shi Tian replied back, grabbing her hands that were clutching tightly on his cor.


    "Then exin yourself?" Mary then leaned closer, their faces nearly touching.


    "If those people truly went mad, then I would have a hard time protecting you. These people might be afraid of our status temporarily, but that doesn''t mean their skills are crap. To be able to arrive here means that each one of them has a trick up their sleeves." She added, speaking in a very low tone.


    Seeing her being so infuriated because she was worried about being unable to protect him, Shi Tian found it quite hrious.


    So she wasn''t mad about him using such a slogan, but mad that he was seemingly courting death.


    "What is so funny?" Mary asked angrily once she saw him smiling.


    "It''s nothing, just that you don''t seem like a tsundere but somehow starting to act like one." Shi Tian smiled, gently putting her hands away from his cor.


    "Rest assured, Mary. You should know by now that I''m not the type to seek death nor am I the righteous type either. I know my limits, so just watch me." He added, walking back outside.


    Mary was utterly speechless, but couldn''t do much when she heard such a confident tone from him. Even after her warning and reaction, it doesn''t seem like Shi Tian was worried in the slightest.


    ''Ugh, is he really that confident or just brainless?'' Mary eximed inwardly.


    Whatever the case was, Mary had no choice but to send a signal to Gerald to prepare for a big fight in case anything goes amiss.


    Once she finished sending the signal, Mary sighed hopelessly, looking at the back of Shi Tian.


    "Hopefully, you really know what you''re doing, Nathan. If not, then I will tell Mechanist Isaac to drop you." She muttered softly.


    While Mary waspletely worried about the aftermath that the slogan might cause, Shi Tian was filled with confidence.


    Of course, it wasn''t unfound confidence or brainless confidence, but something he had decided upon after much thinking.


    His slogan might seem like a provocation at first nce, but it was also something that truly hit the core of these people. These people had all lost theirpanions, and given their agitated reaction, Shi Tian could tell they are still regretting it.


    They just simply didn''t wish to divulge it to anyone and kept it to themselves all along, pretending that the incident had never happened.


    ''Look at all these people''s expressions. They looked like they had swallowed a mouthful of flies.'' Shi Tian thought to himself, feeling humored by their reaction.


    It was just a simple slogan, yet all these people seemed to react as if he had offended their entire generation.


    "Whatever, let''s give it a st." He muttered.


    Since he was going to be a decoy, then he might as well fulfill that role to the maximum capacity.


    Putting the slogan board signs back up, Shi Tian made sure it was in the clearest view for all to see.


    And sure enough, this time, the people that didn''t get a clear look earlier because of how fast Mary had taken it down, were now furious.


    "Kiddo, do you not want to live any longer?"


    "Don''t think that you can hide behind the reserved area and believe yourself to be safe!"


    "The wilderness isn''t something a greenhorn brat like you can swagger around."


    "If you admit that this slogan was just some rash action, then we can forget about it."


    Instantly, the crowd was agitated and started to warn Shi Tian of his action.


    Despite being furious, they still weren''t blinded by it and attempted to attack Shi Tian.


    At the end of the day, Shi Tian was affiliated with the people in the reserved area, so as long as he was willing to apologize for the offense, then they shall let it go.


    All eyes were now locked on Shi Tian, seemingly waiting for his response.


    Facing such tremendous crowd pressure, Shi Tian remained calm andposed. Taking a step forward, Shi Tian snickered coldly as he nced at the four people that had shouted those words.


    "You, you, you, and you. All four of you must have been the idiots that lost yourpanions, right?" Shi Tian pointed at each one of them and smirked.


    "What the hell did you just say??!!" The four people that were called out all simultaneously shouted in fury, taking out their weapons as they were ready to kill Shi Tian.


    "I''m sorry. I didn''t realize not only did you lose yourpanions like an idiot, but you''re also deaf at the same time. No wonder why you lost yourpanions." Shi Tian shed a sympathetic expression.

 Chapter 139 Demonstration

    <h4>Chapter 139 Demonstration</h4>


    When Shi Tian shed a sympathetic expression, other spectators that came to watch the show were unable to contain theirughter anymore.


    "Hahaha, is this some kind of new marketing tactic?"


    "This is too hrious. Look at those people turning purple from rage."


    "Don''t be rude, this kid is clearly showing sympathy to these fools!"


    Given that Shi Tian only targeted these four people, the other spectators were taking joy in their misfortunes. At the same time, they are throwing oil into the fire, purposely causing these four people to be even more furious.


    By doing so, these spectators could use them to kill Shi Tian, and the retaliation would naturally be theirs to face.


    And of course, Shi Tian also understood that there are such types of people that would attempt such a thing.


    "What are the names of you four?" Shi Tian smiled and asked calmly.


    However, the four people were too mad to care about what Shi Tian asked. They were no different than a ticking bomb that was ready to explode at any moment.


    Shi Tian nodded his head when they paid no heed to his question.


    "Since you don''t want to introduce yourself first, then allow me to start. My name is Gavin, and today I''m here to offer you a brand new product." He then said, smiling amicably at them.


    "Save it, you damn brat! Even if I must offend whoever is behind you, I''m going to kill you for being rude." One of the four people sneered coldly and shouted.


    "Kill me for being rude?" Shi Tian raised an eyebrow and chuckled softly.


    "Please educate me on what words did I say wrong? Was I wrong about you losing yourpanions? Was I wrong about you being an idiot to manage to have yourpanion die whereas you survived?"


    Seeing how there was no response, Shi Tian calmly inspected these four people''s reactions.


    These four people were the only ones brave enough toe forward and threaten him. As for the other spectators here, he could see some were agitated as well, but remained still, clearly unwilling toe forward themselves.


    It just goes to show that they are unwilling to suffer the consequences of attacking him, despite being insulted.


    Shaking his head, Shi Tian walked around the stall and approached the man who was still holding a saber-like weapon at him.


    "My head is right here, so if you think what I say is wrong. Then by all means, use that sharp weapon of yours to decapitate me." Shi Tian spread his arms, an action equivalent to saying he would not defend himself.


    With Shi Tian making such a statement, the man with the saber-like weapon started to hesitate.


    After all, Shi Tian''s action was so out of the norm and waspletely difficult toprehend.


    The other spectators were equally dumbfounded to see such a scene. They had seen people willing to risk their everything to survive, but never one that would willingly offer their heads up.


    Meanwhile, Mary was utterly confused by Shi Tian''s action. She had been watching from the sideline and couldn''t believe what her eyes were seeing.


    "Just what is Nathan trying to do? Is he advertising ormitting suicide?" She muttered, her hand subconsciously reaching for the dagger in her belt. In the case that the random man really attempted to slice Shi Tian''s head, she was ready to advance forward to block it.


    "Come on big man. Weren''t you acting all tough and strong earlier? Why aren''t you attacking me?" Shi Tian asked in confusion.


    "D-Don''t you dare!"


    "Dare what? I''m defenseless here, so why aren''t you making a move?"


    Beads of sweat continued to drop from the random man''s forehead, clearly shocked by the situation. Disbelief, confusion, skepticism, and all kinds of emotions were rushing through his brain.


    "Hmph, let me attack this cocky bastard then!" Another person from the spectator couldn''t handle it any longer and rushed toward Shi Tian.


    "How dare you-" Mary was about to advance forward to block the person, but paused when she saw what had urred.


    The person that had jumped out from the crowd was sted, his frontal bodypletely scarred with wounds.


    While everyone was still busyprehending what just happened, Shi Tian uttered, "How disappointing!"


    He patted the shoulder of the random man that somehow still had his saber-like weapon up and whispered to his ear, "You''re quite lucky to have not made a move. Otherwise, your fate would have been like that person earlier."


    Patting his shoulders a few more times, Shi Tian walked back to the stall, giving Mary a wink.


    Once everyone''s mind started to clear up and realized what just happened in the split seconds, they were filled with shock. This was the safe hold, so it was an unwritten rule that fighting and killing here are prohibited.


    Yet such a thing had actually urred under their eyes. What was worse was that they couldn''t even react to it until it was already over.


    Their attention soon returned to Shi Tian once he pped his hands together.


    "Everyone, what you just witnessed is the new product of Optic Mech. And what is it exactly? That must have been the question in your mind, right?" Shi Tian asked smilingly, ignoring the person that had received the st, his life, and death still unknown.


    And to be fair, it was indeed the cold hard truth that the crowd''s interest didn''t eveny on the attacker, but on Shi Tian.


    They were extremely curious as to what Shi Tian had used.


    With their own eyes, they clearly didn''t see Shi Tian making any foul or sneaky action. He was heavily scrutinized from the start, yet he was still able to cause the attacker to be sent flying with an unimaginable number of wounds.


    "You guys must be itching in curiosity now, right? Look at you man, even your saber is put away now." Shi Tian chuckled softly when almost all the hostilities from these people had vanished.


    Instead, they were all reced with a frantic look, almost as if they wanted to pounce on him for the product.


    This was indeed a satisfactory demonstration that he wanted to achieve.

 Chapter 140 Big Sales

    <h4>Chapter 140 Big Sales</h4>


    "Did you n for all this to happen?" Mary stealthily walked behind Shi Tian and asked.


    "Of course. Did you really think I''m such a fool to let these bunch of idiots kill me?" Shi Tian whispered back.


    "But what if it failed, then you would have died."


    "But I didn''t fail. Plus, I still have you ready toe out to block it for me. Why should I be afraid?"


    "You trust me that much?" Mary asked in a surprised tone.


    "No risk, no gain. If I don''t do at least that much, then how could I garner so much attention in such little time." Shi Tian chuckled softly and returned his attention to the crowd.


    Now was not the time for small chattering between him and her, but the time to do a big sale.


    "Apologies for the dyed suspense, but I just wanted everyone to calm down a bit after the explosion. Now you might have wondered why the explosion was so small in radius, but rest assured, that was just a downgraded version of our new product. I wouldn''t want everyone else to be hurt by the st radius when you are all going to be our valuable customers." Shi Tian exined gently.


    Although it was an extremely shameless and hypocritical saying, the crowd didn''t care.


    As the saying goes, once an interest outweighed something else, then these people would know what to ignore.


    "Haha, that''s alright Sir Gavin. Take your time slowly to exin it to us."


    "Yeah, there''s no rush, and we can all wait, Sir Gavin."


    "Haha, we all had nothing to do anyway, Sir Gavin. We are all patient people here."


    The tone and demeanor of the crowd subsequently changed once they witnessed an out-of-the-ordinary product. What could be more important other than getting their hands on this new product for themselves?


    A trap that with so many people here had failed to detect was definitely something valuable.


    Not to mention, the trap being triggered was discreet- to the point that the attacker himself had failed to notice anything amiss and was stillying on the ground.


    Seeing how the crowd''s behavior had easily changed in his favor, Shi Tian was amused and proud.


    As for the attacker, since that person dared to attack him, then he should have understood the consequences.


    "Our new product can be considered to be a ymore mine. And before anyone else barks about it not being new, have you ever seen such a discreet ymore mine?" Shi Tian unveiled the new product in front of the public and exined it enthusiastically.


    He was hyping up the new product and manipting the crowd''s emotions.


    "That was a ymore mine??"


    "Impossible, how could none of us notice when a ymore mine is ced upon us? This is truly unbelievable."


    "No wonder why it''s called a new product. Optic Mech must have managed to alter the foundation and modified it."


    The crowd went into an uproar once it was revealed to them about the kind of trap that was used earlier.


    Everyone here could be considered an expert in the wilderness.


    So naturally, they also know many different kinds of traps to ensure their safety. Hence, a ymore mine was not anything new to these people, but the current time proved otherwise.


    They werepletely ignorant of the existence of the ymore mine being ced very near to them.


    What defines a great trap?


    It was when a trap remained absolutely hidden and discreet from the enemies, and upon activation, it would inflict a great amount of lethal damage to the enemies.


    That was the true definition of a great trap.


    And right now, their eyes are looking directly at what could be considered a great trap.


    Action always spoke louder than words, and with the earlier action, they are all convinced by the new product already.


    "What is the price of these ymore Mines, Sir Gavin?"


    "Shut up about your question! Sir Gavin, I want to purchase one- no I want to purchase three of these ymore Mines."


    "Ignore him. Sir Gavin. I''ll dly offer you a lot more money for these than them."


    "Haha, I''m d that everyone is enthusiastic about purchasing one for yourself, but I haven''t even finished my demonstration of these ymore mines yet." Shi Tianughed heartily, calming down the crowd.


    "Sir Gavin, there''s no need for any more demonstrations."


    "Yeah, we have already witnessed the downgraded version and we trust you."


    The crowd could barely contain their excitement to get their hands on the ymore Mines.


    Plus, Shi Tian was representing Optic Mech, which these people knew and had heard of their reputation.


    Although Optic Mech was considered inferior to Heaven''s Mecha in public, these people are the ones that know Optic Mech wasn''t that bad either.


    In fact, Optic Mech treats their customers with more respect than Heaven''s Mecha.


    All these factorsbined, and that they could earn a reserved area for themselves were evident enough that they aren''t being swindled.


    Only a fool would attempt to drag theirpany through the mud for some small-time profit.


    Shi Tian was utterly speechless when his n worked so effectively.


    ''These people truly knew what was good for them and can''t wait to get their hands on it.'' He thought to himself.


    How could he not know their words are nothing more than ttery and empty praises?


    Though it was indeed a fact that these people are now showing a new impression of Optic Mech.


    At the same time, at a far distance away, Shi Tian noticed some people were discontent and displeased with his action.


    It didn''t take long for him to connect the pieces that those people should be from Heaven''s Mecha. After all, only apetitor would show such expression despite an amazing product having been brought to light and was up for sale.


    Smiling amicably, Shi Tian held Mary''s hand and dragged her to the front.


    He then whispered softly to her, "My job here is done, so you can do the rest. I don''t know the price tag of these ymore mines, but my suggestion is to put it at a price that was within their maximum limit."

 Chapter 141 A Brave Folly

    <h4>Chapter 141 A Brave Folly </h4>


    Being suddenly given the job to price their product, Mary was at first shocked before showcasing her receptionist skills.


    The price that she originally had in mind for the ymore Mines was no longer applicable. With how effective Shi Tian''s unorthodox marketing skills, their products are now in high demand.


    ''At the cost of one dumb person''s life, Nathan was able to capitalize on our trap so high. I have severely underestimated him this time.'' Mary thought to herself, finding Shi Tian in a new light.


    She was even more impressed that he was able to use the fake alias they came up with and proudly introduced himself as an affiliation of Optic Mech.


    Not only did this save them time and effort to make his decoye to light, but he was able to gather all the attention onto himself with just this ploy alone.


    ''I bet Heaven''s Mecha is already paying full attention to Nathan and his information. We didn''t even start to create some fake scene for Nathan to reveal himself and we already achieved a great result.'' Mary eximed inwardly, her eyes subtly ncing at the people from Heaven''s Mecha.


    Secretly sending a signal to Gerald so that he could get a heads-up, Mary soon focused back her attention on the crowd.


    The crowd was getting more frantic by the minutes, clearly excited to get their hands on these new modified ymore Mines.


    ''The original price that we thought of should be altered.'' Mary thought to herself.


    The price they had originally decided was supposedly a bait to get customers to buy their traps and test them.


    However, thanks to Shi Tian''s crazy and unorthodox method, Mary no longer worried about whether they would have customers or not.


    Thus, she needed to decide on a suitable price for such a hot item.


    "Everyone, I know you are all eager to have a ymore Mine, but as you all know the st power and its stealthiness are on a superior level than any other traps you have seen. Thus, the price for one of them is 1000 Eons." Mary sped her hands and announced loudly.


    A low-tier Source Crystal could usually be exchanged for 100 Eons, which means the price tag of the trap was equivalent to 10 low-tier Source Crystal.


    If this price was announced before the scene they had witnessed, then everyone here would have been furious and believed Mary was extorting them.


    But now that they had witnessed the downgraded version st power, especially its stealth to remain undetected, how could these people still believe the price was exorbitant.


    In fact, they believed such high pricing was correct and a bargain for them.


    Though naturally, some people still hoped that Mary would lower the price because people tend to love their money and wished to save as much as they could.


    "Umm, this pricing is a bit too high. I believe we can lower it by at least 200 Eons." One brave person decided to step forward and bargained.


    The rest of the crowd remained silent, clearly waiting for the response from Mary.


    With all eyes on Mary, she shed a pondering look before smiling at the brave person.


    "Since you believe the price to be too high, then I suppose you can save your pocket money and give the chance to other people to buy. From now on, you are hereby banned from purchasing any new products that our Optic Mech has to offer. And I want to specify this to everyone. The ymore Mine is merely the start of what our Optic Mech has to offer." She then said, astonishing to everyone in the present.


    Not a single person expected that Mary, who seemed to look like a fragile woman on the surface, could actually be so decisive and ruthless.


    Without even batting an eyelid, she had outright banned the brave person from ever purchasing the product from their Optic Mech.


    Meanwhile, the brave person''s face instantly turned ashen white as panic quickly filled his face.


    "I-I didn''t mean to offend you with my words, youngdy. Please forgive my offense." The brave person swiftly became timid and pleaded for mercy.


    He also wanted to have a hand in the ymore Mine, so how could he not worry? Especially when Mary revealed that Optic Mech would have more new products for sale.


    And being barred from ever having the chance to purchase these new products was equivalent to saying he gave up in thispetitive market to gain a fortune.


    After all, if the new products were as impressive as the ymore Mine trap, then everyone else would be able to increase their strength whereas he would remain stagnant, forever behind others.


    "Sorry, but I never take back what I''ve said. So, can you please leave the vicinity to not block the other qualified people from purchasing these ymore Mines?" Mary asked kindly, but her gaze was intimidating.


    It was clear that if the person still refused toply with the request, then Mary would resort to a more violent method.


    The brave person was frantic, turning left and right, hoping that other people would step up and defend him.


    However, when he realized that practically everyone that he tried to nce at avoided his eyesight, he knew he had been sacrificed.


    Everyone wanted to purchase these for cheaper, but when they saw how decisive Mary was, none of them were willing to join him in being banned indefinitely.


    The brave person could only re angrily at each one of them and point at them. With a ''hmph'' sound, the brave person quickly left the scene, clearly knowing now was not the right time to earn forgiveness from Mary.


    And this was as the saying goes, whoever advanced first, dies first.


    Who told him to be brave enough and advanced forward first?


    ''me yourself and only yourself for being a fool. Had I hesitated even a moment about your bargaining, then the pricing that we set in the future would always be questioned by people.'' Mary sneered inwardly, not an ounce of pity for this dumb person.

 Chapter 142 Raking Money

    <h4>Chapter 142 Raking Money</h4>


    With the prime example of the brave individual trying to negotiate a lower price and resulting in Mary banning him outright.


    This ruthless yet decisive move not only shocked the crowd but also earned their respect for Mary''s strong leadership. Only when a person waspletely confident with their own product, could they resort to such drastic means.


    Hence, the crowd was more excited than ever to be the first customer to purchase the ymore Mine.


    "Everyone, please calmly form a single line and not create a mess." Mary smiled calmly and instructed. The receptionist skills that she had earned through her times in disguise came in handy.


    Once a frantic crowd with not much order around, soon became docile, with everyone patiently waiting in line for their turns to purchase.


    "Your payment has been confirmed, so here''s your ymore mine with instructions included on how to use it," Mary said, handing out the product to the customer.


    While Mary was enjoying this beautiful moment of raking in money without stopping at all, another group of people were inplete discontent.


    Within another reserved area, a group of people almost had a darkened expression hanging on their faces.


    "Fucking Optic Mech! The nerve of them to openlye here and advertise their products."


    "Hmph, we should have just killed them from the start. Now they are garnering more than 90 percent of the people stationed in this safe hold."


    "Our current products are now being ignored, and our profit is going to take a big hit now. What should we do, leader?"


    Upon saying that, the group of people all turned their attention to a person that sat in the center.


    The person sitting in the center was a master of duality, exuding an aura of tranquility andposure while harboring a cold and calcting determination beneath the surface.


    He possessed an enigmatic presence, drawing people in with his calm demeanor, but also instilling a sense of caution due to the underlying ruthlessness that lies within.


    Physically, he carried himself with grace and poise, moving with a controlled and measured elegance.


    His posture was upright, and his gestures were deliberate, reflecting a sense of self-assurance and confidence. His piercing eyes, often a shade of deep, prating gaze, revealed a sharp intellect and a hidden intensity that few could fully grasp.


    And this man proimed as a leader by this group was Hank, the person in charge of Heaven''s Mecha operation in the wilderness.


    "You guys are only worrying about a momentary loss of profits, and have already lost yourposure. Don''t you know what is the biggest taboo in ourpetitive market?" Hank spoke slowly in a somewhat deep voice.


    With that subtle warning, the group of people lowered their heads in shame, not a single one of them daring to make a single squeak.


    Silently ncing at these people, Hank continued, "I have already sent someone to purchase the new product from Optic Mech. Now all we need to do is wait for his return and we can start to decipher the new product."


    He then stood up from his chair and tapped on the table, "Don''t forget that the Young Miss has arrived in the wilderness with the Young Master from


    Carlson Family. I hope that when the Young Misses here, you won''t show such disgraceful behavior again. Otherwise, you''ll know the consequences."


    And with that said, Hank left the scene, leaving everyone in the room filled with cold sweat, clearly anxious and frightened by his warning.


    It was only a few minutester when they confirmed Hank''s presence was gone did this group of people take a breather.


    "It''s all your fault, Phil. Why did you suddenly panic and cause us to panic as well?" One of the men in the room started to point a finger at Phil.


    "Don''t you dare start using me, Dous! You were no better than me when you decided to ask the Leader." Phil mmed his palm on the table and snorted coldly.


    "T-That was because we needed a solution fast."


    "Are you sure it wasn''t because you can''t make a single decision?"


    "Enough with the bantering!" Suddenly, another voice interrupted them, prompting both Phil and Dous to pause their argument.


    "Instead of bantering like idiots, we should use this time toe up with a measurement against Optic Mech''s new product. Or do you truly wish to continue arguing nonsensically and allow Optic Mech to p us in the face?"


    "Of course not, Derek," Both Phil and Dous replied simultaneously, lowering their heads slightly as well.


    Other than Hank that could control them thoroughly, Derek could be considered the right-hand man for Hank. Thus, his status was higher than theirs, so they dare not offend him.


    "I doubt you would have the guts to continue." Derek scoffed coldly.


    "Leader Hank is already troubled enough with the arrival of the Young Miss, so don''t give him any more headaches. Optic Mech might have posed a difficult problem for us, but none is more important than serving the Young Miss well. Once the Young Miss is displeased, then we all might just die without a grave."


    "Yes yes, we shall oblige to your advice, Derek."


    The meeting here subsequently calmed down, with everyone pondering over a solution for this crisis.


    Meanwhile, on the outside, Mary finally sold out the final ymore Mine to a customer.


    Despite that, there were still many more people in the line, waiting to purchase one for themselves.


    ''Sigh, had I known these people are willing to pay such a high price, then I would have raised the price higher.'' Mary eximed inwardly, feeling regretful of her decision.


    Though, Mary was stillughing from the inside at how much profit they had managed to gain. These ymore Mines that they sold were all purchased from the other inferior ymore Mines at the market price of less than 100 Eons.


    And these inferior ymore Mines only needed some modification that cost even less because it didn''t require much material to boost its power.


    Thus, by calcting swiftly, with each ymore Mine they had sold, the profit they gained was about 800 plus Eons.


    ''Ahh, and we sold out around 80 ymore Mines. That''s about 64,000 Eons we managed to earn in such a short amount of time.'' Maryughed inwardly.

 Chapter 143 Privilege Tickets

    <h4>Chapter 143 Privilege Tickets</h4>


    While Mary wasughing silently at how much money they managed to gain, the other customers that failed to purchase one weren''t quite happy.


    In fact, they were all displeased and somewhat agitated, seeing how the others managed to obtain this modified ymore Mine and not them.


    The reason why those who couldn''t purchase one were unhappy, was the fact that some people didn''t purchase just one ymore Mine.


    Most of them purchased three at the same time, with one even being brazen enough to purchase 10 in total.


    Given that there wasn''t a limit on how much they could purchase, these people bought the maximum number possible within their budget.


    "This is totally unfair to us."


    "I know right, we all lined up patiently, but these unscrupulous people stocked up so many. How can this happen?"


    "Young Lady, I don''t wish to offend you, but we have money here too that can afford it. We don''t ask for any discount, but at least let us have the chance to purchase them."


    The crowd soon began running forward and asking Mary for some fairness.


    And although they were all somewhat demanding, their tone was soft and wasn''t the same kind of tone as the previous brave person.


    They were dissatisfied with the other people that had bought more than one ymore Mine, but not dissatisfied with Mary.


    After all, none of them wished to be banned from being able to purchase one when their goal was to buy one for themselves.


    Seeing that the crowd was clearly trying to be reasonable and used a soft approach toward her, Mary came to realize her mistake.


    She had been blinded by the sess of how many customers Shi Tian was able to attract but failed to acknowledge that their stocks aren''t infinite.


    Originally, she would have been happy if they managed to sell even 10 of these ymore Mines, given that ymore Mines aren''t some new traps and people might be skeptical at first for their high demanding price.


    However, thanks to Shi Tian''s outright demonstration of their ymore Mines'' prowess, allowing these people to know that their products are different from the normal market, they started flocking in like flies.


    ''Damn it, how could I have made such a blunder.'' Mary med herself for the current predicament and needed toe up with a solution fast that could satisfy these people.


    These people were their potential customers- no, they should be considered customers already because they were all willing to pay right here and now.


    Thus, she can''t just offend them or ban them like the brave person previously.


    Just when Mary was struggling to figure out a solution, she felt a hand ced on her shoulder.


    And with her natural reflex, she was about to grab the hand and throw him 180 degrees to the ground. Luckily, she managed to pause in time and realized it was Shi Tian.


    "What are you doing?" She turned around and asked confusingly.


    "Saving your ass." Shi Tian rolled his eyes, subtly pushing her aside and taking the front.


    Once Shi Tian was back in public view, the agitating customers that failed to purchase a ymore Mine for themselves temporarily stopped.


    Who knows if this crazy maniac was going to outrageously kill another person again?


    Killing someone isn''t something to be afraid of, given that they had seen and faced death multiple times.


    What truly made them afraid was the fact that Shi Tian plotted such an event to his advantage.


    Within this safe hold, infighting or killing are absolutely prohibited, so why hadn''t Shi Tian been persecuted for killing someone for a demonstration?


    The answer was extremely simple.


    The person that died in Shi Tian''s demonstration was the first one to have made a move against him, which was equivalent to giving Shi Tian an excuse for self-defense.


    Of course, it could have been said that Shi Tian asked to be killed, but who would believe that kind of reasoning if they actually attempted to bring this up to others?


    And seeing the crowd''s somewhat fearful yet respectful expressions toward him, Shi Tian was pleased about it.


    ''Heh, so what if I''m weaker than you all in terms of strength. Not everything is decided by the amount of power you wield, but how you control your power and manipte the situation.'' Shi Tian sneered inwardly.


    Faking a cough, Shi Tian spread his arms out, garnering all attention. It was as if he was some kind of bigshot and everyone was here to listen to his speech.


    "My assistant here was excited and disappointed you all for those who are eager to purchase our new product." Shi Tian quickly apologized on behalf of Mary''s blunder.


    Meanwhile, Mary was astonished at being called an assistant by Shi Tian. She stared at him with disbelief and confusion.


    Nevertheless, Shi Tian didn''t have the time to worry about her reaction as he continued his speech.


    "For that blunder, I hereby announce that anyone who failed to purchase our ymore Mine can put a deposit of 500 Eons here to get a Privilege Ticket." He announced loudly.


    And before the crowd could even respond, Shi Tian continued with his exnation.


    "Now you might ask what is a Privilege Ticket? The Privilege Ticket is something exclusive of our Optic Mech, where not only will you receive the eligibility to be the first to buy the new ymore Mine when we have new stocks avable, but also on our uing new products."


    When the crowd first heard about having to pay 500 Eons for naught, they were distraught and nearly cursed.


    However, once Shi Tian continued with his exnation, the people who originally failed to purchase the ymore Mine were cheering and even began to p.


    While these groups of people were now satisfied and even gloating at those who managed to purchase the first batch.


    As for Mary, she quickly tugged on his arm and asked in a low tone, "When did we have something like a Privilege Ticket for sale?"

 Chapter 144 Profits

    <h4>Chapter 144 Profits </h4>


    Mary wasn''t one to easily lose herposure, but this time, she couldn''t contain herself.


    This was rted to their Optic Mech fight against Heaven''s Mecha. She was purposely assigned to this heavy-duty, so she couldn''t afford any mistakes.


    Meanwhile, Shi Tian gently patted her shoulder to calm her nerves. It seemed that her previous outright personality was currently being overwhelmed by the heavy responsibility.


    And he could somewhat understand her emotion, given that he was once in a simr position in the past.


    "When I handed the job over to you, I already expected that our current stocks might not be enough for all these people. Hence, I went back and crafted some items using the techniques that Master Isaac had taught me. So you don''t have to worry much." Shi Tian whispered, letting her know the information.


    Although still skeptical, Mary could only sigh and allow him to do whatever he wanted. He had already made a public announcement and had appeased the crowd''s anger.


    If she decided to go out and tell them that it was a mistake, then their subsided anger might resurface, and at a greater rage too.


    No one would be pleased if they were given false hope, only to have their hope shattered ruthlessly in front of them.


    Since they were told about the Privilege Ticket, then they must get it.


    "We''ll have a talk more thoroughly once you''re done." Mary hissed and warned Shi Tian. She might not be able to stop this action, but that doesn''t mean she was pleased with how the situation yed out.


    Shi Tian nodded his head in response. He knew this action of his had overstepped his boundary and nearly crossed her borderline limit of toleration.


    Returning his attention to the crowd, Shi Tian unveiled the Privilege Ticket and began selling them to those who hadn''t purchased the ymore Mine earlier.


    "Haha, Sir Gavin is indeed a businessman. I''m already this happy even though I haven''t received the product yet."


    "Indeed, I''m even gloating this hard right now, especially that greedy bastard that bought 10 ymore Mines in total."


    "Just look at his current expression. He seemed like he had swallowed a mouthful of flies and with a constipated expression. I''m so fucking happy now."


    When the crowd held the Privilege Ticket, which was actually a type of metal crafted meticulously, they were all gloating andughing wildly.


    They weren''t dumb to not know what these Privilege Ticket meant, especially when it was specifically sold to those who didn''t manage to buy a ymore Mine. In fact, even those who were just idling earlier and didn''t n on purchasing one went to line up to buy the Privilege Ticket.


    As Shi Tian happily epted each payment, he was even more joyful about getting more customers.


    ''Once they have eaten this jar of honey, it would be more than easy for Optic Mech to surpass Heaven''s Mecha.'' Shi Tian eximed inwardly. The profits they earned now, were even more than the profits they earned from selling the ymore Mines.


    After all, the Privilege Ticket didn''t require much time to craft. It was also because it couldn''t be replicated by others that didn''t know Master Isaac''s technique that could guarantee such a beautiful result.


    Since the Privilege Ticket cannot be replicated unless they know Master Isaac''s secret, then it could be said that the Privilege Ticket was their exclusive item and no one else can attempt to scam or swindle them with a fake.


    Time slowly passed by, and Shi Tian officially closed the stall down.


    The lines of customers were so long that it had be nighttime by the time Shi Tian finished selling the Privilege Ticket.


    Heading back inside the tent with a bunch of Eons, Shi Tian''s smile soon faded when he saw Mary quietly sitting in a chair with her legs crossed. Her fingers repeatedly tapped on the table.


    cing the Eons on the table, Shi Tian recounted the money they had earned.


    "In total, there were about at least 100 customers that had bought the Privilege Ticket, and since it''s a one-time use item for any of the features that I mentioned, some have bought multiples of it. After calction, we earned about 100 thousand Eons." Shi Tian reported.


    "You know that''s not the thing I wanted to hear, right?" Mary calmly responded.


    "Are you talking about how I address you as my assistant, or the introduction of the Privilege Ticket without informing you beforehand?"


    "I''m not that petty to be mad about being addressed as an assistant. It was clear that you are just trying to gather all the attention and to have Heaven''s Mecha start focusing more on you." Mary shook her head and stood up, exuding a cold aura.


    "What I''m mad about is your decision to introduce the Privilege Ticket without even discussing with me whether or not it was okay. Do you even know the consequences of such action?" She asked intimidatingly.


    Shi Tian remained silent for a few moments before nodding his head.


    And to her shock, Shi Tian admitted his mistake without even defending himself.


    "I was wrong, Mary." He calmly said without much emotion.


    The response wasn''t something Mary calcted in her mind. She expected him to at least defend himself with a bunch of reasoning.


    However, years of experience don''t mean she would be utterly helpless in unexpected situations.


    Crossing her arms, Mary remained her intimidation and red, "Did you think I would just forgive you because you admitted your mistake?"


    And she continued, "Or did you think you are safe because we wanted you as a decoy, and now that you have announced your affiliation to us?"


    Shi Tian shook his head, not uttering a single word.


    Mary clicked her tongue when she saw him suddenly acting so timid and docile.


    Clenching her fist, Mary was frustrated because she really couldn''t punish him with death or anything. The situation had already been set in stone, and there was no going back.


    Though she still wanted to teach him a harsh lesson for rashly acting as if he was the boss.


    With a cold tone, she ordered, "For the punishment of your actions, you must now craft all the ymore Mines and other future new products. And that is on top of having to focus on your training that we will start tomorrow."

 Chapter 145 Cut Off The Roots

    <h4>Chapter 145 Cut Off The Roots</h4>


    "Do you have anyints about the punishments?" Mary asked coldly.


    Shi Tian shook his head and replied calmly, "No, I shallply and oblige to the punishment you have given me."


    "Good, the materials and the new products'' blueprints will be given to you soon. I''ll have someone inform Mechanist Isaac about this matter." Mary snorted and left the tent, acting as if she was suffocating had she stayed any longer.


    Once her presence was gonepletely, Shi Tian shed a slight smile.


    Her intention, if one isn''t clever enough to decipher it, then they might believe Mary was truly punishing him for the audacity to make such a big decision alone.


    Her punishment to be precise, wasn''t considered a punishment at all. In fact, it was considered a reward for his merits in achieving such a beautiful result.


    And why is that?


    Mary had stated that he would be assigned to crafting the ymore Mines, including their future new products.


    This meant that he would now have ess to more blueprints that can''t be bought for money, and a great experience for him to gain more expertise.


    ''Thank you, Mary, for giving me such a great opportunity.'' Shi Tian thanked her silently. He was wholeheartedly grateful and understood why she needed to act in such a cold and angry manner toward him.


    It was a measurement to protect him from the others that worked with Mary.


    After all, she didn''t want the others to believe he benefited from nepotism and needed to be punished for acting rashly.


    She had truly pondered over her action on how to actually reward him with such a deceptive act and cover. Acting as a jealous boss and punishing him as if he was a criminal, she truly painted herself as the bad guy.


    How could Shi Tian not appreciate such kindness and careful preparation from her?


    Appreciating her effort, Shi Tian subsequently returned to studying the ymore Mine. They might have sold out all, but Shi Tian purposely kept one of them for him to understand its properties.


    And he was sure Mary had long known that he had kept one behind. She was in charge of everything, so how could she not know how much stock they had?


    "What an exhausting situation¡­" He murmured, stretching his hands and getting ready to disassemble the ymore Mine.


    Since he was going to be in charge of crafting them now, he needed to use this time to prepare himself ahead of time. As for sleeping, Shi Tian had decided it was unnecessary, given that he couldn''t afford to waste time.


    While Shi Tian was determined about it, Mary had already gone to the tent where Gerald and the others were resting.


    "How''s the situation?" Mary quickly went straight to the point, not bothering with the formalities.


    "Just as you have expected, Lady Mary. Our informants have reported that the people from Heaven''s Mecha had secretly purchased our ymore Mines." Gerald calmly reported the situation.


    "If I have to guess, they are probably trying to disassemble the ymore Mine, and once they attempt it, we are going to enjoy a sting ceremony."


    Mary nodded her head.


    "Hmph, without the blueprint and or knowing the procedure of how the ymore Mine is made, disassembling it is equivalent to asking for death." Mary made a scornfulugh.


    She had long expected that theirpetitors wouldn''t dare to sit still when a new product was announced, especially with how big of amotion they had created thanks to Shi Tian.


    Now all she needed to do was wait patiently for thepetitors to self-destruct by themselves.


    They won''t even need to lift a single finger to effectively kill thepetitors'' Mechanics.


    "Yes, if those mechanics from Heaven''s Mecha, or even other mechanic stores are that low, then they are going to suffer big time." Geraldughed heartily.


    "Oh, right, I have also investigated the person that Mechanist Isaac''s apprentice had killed. Luckily, that person doesn''t seem to be from a powerful background."


    "That''s good to know," Mary breathed out a sigh of relief. They were truly fortunate that it wasn''t a person of importance. Otherwise, there would have been several headaches iing for them to deal with.


    A few minutester, Mary sensed that Gerald seemed to be having some trouble but didn''t voice it out.


    Concerned, she asked, "What else is there that you need to report on, Gerald?"


    Gerald scratched his head when he realized his thought process was found out so quickly.


    ncing back and forth, Gerald lowered his voice, "Just who is this Mechanist Isaac''s apprentice? I''ve never heard of him before and his actions are a bit peculiar if I must say."


    "Peculiar huh?" Mary chuckled softly. "Well, you''re not wrong to think that way. After all, his actions and behavior so far are still iprehensible to me. His ways of doing things, and how he can kill someone mercilessly yet his eyes remain crystal clear and innocent is just something else."


    "Then why would Mechanist Isaac take him in as an apprentice?"


    "You can ask Mechanist Isaac about that since I don''t know either."


    "What? You don''t know either?" Gerald lost hisposure and eximed in shock.


    Mary shrugged her shoulders.


    "For now, all I can tell you is that Nathan is going to be our decoy once the New Region is safe to explore. Thus, his current actions aligned with our motive, so just make sure to focus on your post and not do anything else. Is that clear?" She squinted her eyes and warned.


    Although still confused by the situation, Gerald could only nod his head and oblige.


    "Understood, Lady Mary. I''ll have someone to guard around him." Gerald said solemnly.


    Mary patted his shoulders and smiled calmly. "I know this is unexpected, but you''re an experienced man and understood our goal. Don''t disappoint me."


    "I won''t disappoint you, Lady Mary."


    Mary nodded, turned around, and began walking to the exit tent. Though before she left, she gave one final order.


    "Also, the person that Nathan killed isn''t from a powerful background, but you should know I don''t like any risks. Cut off any roots that could potentially be a danger to us."

 Chapter 146 Nagging

    <h4>Chapter 146 Nagging</h4>


    Receiving the final order, Gerald understood her meaning.


    Even if the person might not have any powerful allies or people that might avenge him, they still needed to be careful.


    And the best method of ensuring troubles won''te is if the trouble itself is eliminated. Hence, the order was telling him to kill, and Gerald was an expert in such matters.


    "Rest assured, Lady Mary. I guarantee that we won''t have any troubles." Gerald responded solemnly, even lowering his head slightly.


    "I knew I could count on you," Mary said without looking back, exiting the tent.


    Once Mary''s presence was gone, Gerald''s expression turned serious as his eyes beamed.


    "Those nearby have heard the order already, right?" Gerald said, even though no personnel were visible in the tent aside from him.


    However, a few secondster, four people appeared from out of nowhere.


    They were all cloaked in ck, including their faces, and were kneeling in front of Gerald.


    "Lady Mary''s concern and worries¡­ I doubt I need to exin it twice, right?" Gerald calmly spoke.


    "Received!" All four cloaked people said simultaneously and left the tent.


    With that done, Gerald''s face rxed a bit.


    ''It seems like we are finally making our moves after remaining dormant for so long.'' Gerald thought to himself.


    Back at the tent that Shi Tian was residing in, Mary entered and noticed Shi Tian was disassembling the ymore Mines.


    rmed, Mary hurriedly increased her speed and grabbed Shi Tian''s hands, stopping him from unscrewing some parts.


    "What are you doing, Nathan?" She then raised her tone and asked.


    A bit shocked by her sudden appearance, Shi Tian quicklyposed himself and exined.


    "I was trying to disassemble the ymore Mine so that I can understand its properties and how it was crafted."


    "You fool!" Mary shouted angrily, almost at the tone of scolding him.


    "H-Huh?" Shi Tian raised an eyebrow, clearly confused by her sudden outburst. Previously, he was able to deduce her intention, but this time, he couldn''tprehend why she was suddenly angry.


    Didn''t she want him to gain experience as a Mechanic?


    So why did she get angry when he tried to do exactly what she intended? Or did he misread the situation and deduce it wrongly?


    Meanwhile, Mary realized she might have overreacted and released her grip on his hand.


    "Why did you attempt to disassemble the ymore Mine when you have the blueprint already?" She regained herposure and asked calmly.


    The blueprint was precise and detailed to the max, so she couldn''t understand why he would want to disassemble the ymore Mine. That was supposed to be something that a mechanic, who had no blueprint of the product, would do.


    After all, the only way to understand a product without a blueprint was to disassemble it and inspect the interior.


    Of course, some mechanics are even more advanced and could scan the product with other materials or tools, but there aren''t any advanced mechanics in Gearits City.


    If there were such advanced mechanics in Gearits City, then everyone would have heard of or known such a person already.


    "The blueprint is precise, but I just wanted to inspect it physically instead of analyzing the blueprint." Shi Tian said, exining his action.


    He believed that real mechanics would do everything in their power to gain more knowledge of a product, even if they have a blueprint in their hands.


    Meanwhile, Mary rubbed her temples, nearly on the verge of copsing.


    ''Why did Mechanist Isaac ept him as an apprentice?'' She cried inwardly.


    Unlike Shi Tian''s thought process, Mary''s belief was theplete opposite.


    She believed that real mechanics are talented individuals from birth and did not require much to understand orprehend everything at first nce. "Can you stop acting on your own all the time without asking or informing me beforehand?" Mary took a deep breath and asked in an exasperated tone.


    "But you said my punishment is to craft the ymore Mines. So aren''t I just doing as I''m told?" He responded, albeit in confusion.


    Seeing how the situation had already gone this far, Mary pondered over what to do before deciding to tell him the truth.


    Had she not arrived in time, then Shi Tian might have killed himself from a trap that they had meticulously set for their enemies andpetitors. Thus, she couldn''t risk or afford to have Shi Tian get killed, lest it would have been a big blunder on her part.


    Time slowly passed by, and Shi Tian was soon caught up with the true intention of Mary''s n alongside the introduction of the ymore Mines.


    It seemed that they were truly waging war against Heaven''s Mecha in not just marketing, but personnel as well.


    Such a devious scheme in damaging Heaven''s Mecha''s reputation as the best mechanic store, but also attempting to cripple their mechanics if they attempt to replicate the ymore Mines.


    Just one of these oues was already devastating enough, so to have these two oues urring simultaneously, then Heaven''s Mecha really had no ce to cry about.


    "Now, do you understand why I stopped you from disassembling it?" Mary sighed softly.


    She didn''t wish to sound like a nagging person, but throughout the situation, she had undoubtedly be a nagging person. Having to constantly remind Shi Tian this and that or telling him to do this and that.


    ''I am totally going to beat the crap out of Mechanist Isaac once we return.'' Mary vowed silently, having an uncontroble urge to beat him up for all the trouble he had brought her.


    Meanwhile, Shi Tian calmly nodded his head, having understood Mary''s concern and her action earlier.


    It seemed like she was still doubtful of his skills, to the point that she needed to urgently stop him from disassembling the ymore Mine.


    Shaking his head, Shi Tian found it hrious because he realized Mary really had no interest in mechanics despite having the talent of being one.


    "I understand your worries, Mary, but I''m not an idiot." Shi Tian chuckled softly and said.


    "In the blueprint itself, Master Isaac had already warned about the process of disassembling it once the crafting waspleted."

 Chapter 147 Disassembling

    <h4>Chapter 147 Disassembling</h4>


    At the revtion that Shi Tian had already known about the oue of disassembling the ymore Mine, Mary was astonished.


    "W-What did you say?" She asked, almost as if she couldn''t believe him.


    "Look at the blueprint here." Shi Tian retrieved the blueprint and showed it to her.


    Pointing at a specific note, Shi Tian exined, "See that note here. It was even written in a red pen, so how could I not know about the consequences."


    "Let me see that," Mary clicked her tongue and snatched the blueprint, needing to get an even closer look.


    Though it was just an unnecessary action because she wasn''t near-sighted or blind to not see the notes. She simply wanted to avoid the embarrassment of making a scene out of nothing.


    And naturally, Shi Tian didn''t have any ns onughing or judging her blunder.


    After all, her panicking and infuriated moment was merely because she was concerned for his safety.


    It would have been rude of him to make some sarcastic remark when she was worried for his safety, even if it was for another reason such as staying alive to be the decoy.


    "Anyway, now that this misunderstanding is resolved, can I go back to disassembling it?" Shi Tian asked after a few minutes, allowing her to cool down.


    He thought that by letting her cool down for a few minutes, she would stop worrying.


    But to his disbelief, Mary shook her head in response.


    "No, you still aren''t allowed to disassemble the ymore Mine." She said adamantly.


    And before Shi Tian could give a response, she continued with her reasoning on why she disallowed it.


    "The disassembling process is aplicated one, and even if the blueprint had instructed how to do it. With your current skills, the risk is too high for you to attempt it."


    Shi Tian twitched his mouth, clearly in disbelief at her reasoning.


    Risk is too high?


    What kind of actions aren''t risky?


    What kind of activity they had been doing in the past few days wasn''t risky enough already?


    "Please, Mary, do I look like the type that seeks death intentionally?" Shi Tian asked in a sarcastic tone.


    Maybe his action earlier might have made her think he was suicidal, but that wasn''t the truth. There was no way he would be willing to risk his life unless he was sure and positive about his safety.


    "Shut up!" Mary scoffed. She then made a hand gesture of telling Shi Tian to get up from the chair.


    A few secondster, Shi Tian sighed softly and got up from his chair.


    "What now?" He asked somewhat confusingly.


    Mary didn''t bother to respond and lift her sleeves up, sitting down on the chair and taking up the screwdriver. Her intention- was quite obvious now.


    She was going to show him how to disassemble the ymore Mine and have him watch her.


    Realizing her intention, Shi Tian wasn''t going to stand still like a dork. He quickly nced around the tent and found another chair.


    Bringing it over, Shi Tian made sure to sit close to Mary, but also not quite close.


    It was at an adequate distance in which he would not intrude on her personal space, but also at a distance where he could see her hand movement on the ymore Mine.


    Although Mary remained silent, she was patiently waiting for Shi Tian to get a clear view of her hand movement. Once she confirmed he could see what she was doing, she quickly began unscrewing the nails.


    ''Master Isaac''s crafting skills are truly beyond normal humanprehension.'' Shi Tian sighed inwardly, wondering if he could ever be a mechanic like him.


    The craftsmanship of Isaac Aaronax could be said to be unorthodox or revolutionary.


    After all, the craft work of the ymore Mine- it wasn''t just how irregr parts were joined together, but even the unscrewing procedure of disassembling had its own set of specific order.


    The specific order was illogical, and could even question a person''s mentality given how the unscrewing made zero sense.


    And if it wasn''t because Shi Tian had the blueprint and instructions, he would have thought Mary was fooling around.


    A few minutester, Mary uncovered the outeryer part, unveiling the interior.


    "Look carefully here," Mary said, shifting her body slightly to the left to show Shi Tian.


    "This rugged, rectangr casing lies in a carefully arranged setup that maximizes the destructive power. It''s also the triggered motion if anyone attempts to disassemble this mine without knowing the procedure." She calmly exined.


    Shi Tian nodded his head, understanding the reason for her panic. Now that he was able to see the interior, he was quite horrified by the content.


    Internally the ymore mine containedyers of C-4 explosive behind a matrix of about seven hundred-inch diameter (3.2 mm) steel balls set into an epoxy resin.


    With this much explosive power, Shi Tian could deduce anyone that faced this frontal st, the chance of death was as high as 90 percent. Though that was calcted without the exception of anyone healing the person.


    After letting Shi Tian nce for a few more minutes, Mary began reassembling the ymore Mine.


    Her speed in reassembling was swift and precise, shocking Shi Tian dearly.


    She had so much talent in mechanics, yet she didn''t seem interested in it at all.


    To Shi Tian, he believed it was a shame that she wasn''t interested in it. With this kind of talent, he was sure she would have been at least near the skill level of Isaac Aaronax already had she studied under him.


    And as much as Shi Tian wanted to ask why she doesn''t want to be a mechanic, he chose to keep it to himself, unwilling to pry further.


    While he was thinking about that, Mary stood up and told him to take her seat.


    "Since you have seen what I have done, now it''s your turn. And if you even make a single mistake, then you are forbidden from disassembling anything alone." She warned solemnly.

 Chapter 148 Explosion

    <h4>Chapter 148 Explosion</h4>


    Shi Tian was astounded by such a harsh punishment if he were to make a single mistake.


    She was basically indirectly telling him he was unqualified to do such an action if he can''t even avoid not making a mistake.


    Though, he also understood her standpoint.


    If he truly didn''t have the necessary skills, then she didn''t want him to gamble his life away. At least, not on this trap that they had meticulously set for the enemies and not him.


    "What? You''re scared of the challenge?" Mary snickered and said once she saw Shi Tian remaining silent.


    Shi Tian smiled briefly and shook his head.


    "I''m not scared of the challenge, given that I was originally intending to disassemble the ymore Mine with or without you." He replied calmly.


    "Then why are you hesitating?"


    "Because I respect you and your concerns. Hence, I shall refrain from doing such an action."


    Mary was dumbfounded.


    ''He actually will listen to me?'' She questioned inwardly, seemingly doubtful of his im. Despite her doubtfulness, she still nodded her head.


    "If you knew it, then you should have said it earlier. Why make me waste the effort in disassembling an example for you?" She crossed her arms and said.


    Shi Tian shrugged his shoulders. "I wanted to see the interior and its content. But now that you showed it to me already, there''s no point in me disassembling it again."


    "You could have just asked me then. I know the content inside."


    "Then it seems like a misunderstanding again."


    Mary facepalmed and was too exhausted to even say anything else. "Anyway, there''s a bed in this tent, so you can sleep in it. I''m going to go back to my Iron Sentinel to rest."


    Without even waiting for his response, Mary swiftly left the tent, prompting Shi Tian to smile bitterly.


    ''It seems like I have overestimated myself this time.'' He thought to himself.


    At first, he believed he could have handled the procedure himself, but seeing Mary''s meticulous skills, he knew how far behind he was from being called an actual mechanic.


    Without much to do, Shi Tian decided to heed Mary''s advice and walked toward the bed, taking some ample rest as well.


    As Shi Tian closed his eyes for some valuable sleep, others in the reserved area were just getting started.


    In a basement at the reserved area for Heaven''s Mecha, a group of people were facing intense pressure and intimidation from Phil.


    "Listen up, we have been told by Leader Hank that we must figure out what this new product of Optic Mech is." Phil stood at the center and announced.


    "Although what you see in front of you might just be a regr ymore Mine, sources said it''s apletely different ymore Mine. Not only is it extremely stealthy, but its explosive power is many times the ymore Mines that we sell."


    Afterward, Phil continued to speak up about the information they had gathered, but everyone in the basement knew what their duty was. It wasn''t something they weren''t familiar with and that was to disassemble the product and replicate it.


    It was the usual practice in which they replicate theirpetitors'' product and then pass it on as their newest product in marketing. And with their high reputation, no one ever suspected a thing, and even if some did, they could only keep their mouth shut.


    "Okay, Leader Hank is very serious about this, so anyone that can sessfully replicate it will earn a very high reward and a promotion." Phil then said, motivating the mechanics to do their best.


    And of course, it wasn''t empty words, given that these mechanics soon red up.


    Their hands were fidgeting around, almost as if they couldn''t wait to begin to start deconstructing the ymore Mine and figure out what the modification was.


    Phil smirked coldly when he saw how excited their mechanics were. ''Heh, with these mechanics, I want to see how much longer you can be arrogant, Optic Mech!''


    "You may all begin!" Phil announced excitedly. After all, everyone here might have the same goal, but it was also apetition among them.


    Whoever was the better mechanic and could replicate better would enjoy a lot of privileges and benefits?


    As Phil watched excitedly at these frantic mechanics taking their screwdrivers to start, outside the reserved area, Hank was shing a smile that was rarely seen.


    In fact, the other Heaven''s Mecha employees were astounded to see the usually cold andposed Hank smiling at someone.


    "Just who is Leader Hank smiling at?" One of the employees mumbled curiously.


    However, he couldn''t even continue his wording anymore when his fellow coworker kicked him in the leg.


    "Shut up. If you want to die, then die alone. Don''t you dare drag me down with you?" His fellow coworker hissed coldly. "That''s the Young Miss of the Harrett Family, so keep your head down and remain respectful."


    Instantly, the employee''s face turned ashen white,pletely petrified by the revtion.


    Heeding his fellow coworker''s advice, he quickly lowered his head, unwilling to utter any sound.


    Meanwhile, Hank pretended to not have listened to their conversation, paying close attention to the person next to him.


    "Young Miss, as you can see the facilities of the Heaven''s Mecha in the wilderness. Our profits have been steadily increasing in the past years, and our reputation here is the best." Hank gracefully informed and reported their statistics.


    Olivia Harrett casually nodded her head, clearly uninterested in the business here. "I came here with Darren to hunt monsters, and we ran out of some traps. So I''m just here to restock them."


    "I see, then what about Butler Wade? Howe I didn''t see him apany you?" Hank kept his smile and enquired.


    "I told Butler Wade to wait outside because I wanted to take a breather from his constant nagging." She shrugged her shoulders but red at him. "You''re not going to nag me too, right?"


    "Of course not, Young Miss." Hankughed softly.


    "Allow me to guide you to our main workshop-"


    Right when Hank was about to introduce their workshop built in the wilderness, a deafening and sting explosion urred.

 Chapter 149 Heaven’s Mecha Tragedy

    <h4>Chapter 149 Heaven¡¯s Mecha Tragedy </h4>


    As the deafening and sting explosion urred, Hank reacted swiftly, pulling Olivia Harrett away to safety.


    However, that wasn''t the end of the explosion. Instead, it was merely the start of a thunderous chain of explosions.


    The sound was so rming that people that had gone to rest in the safe hold were alerted.


    "What''s happening?"


    "Are we getting swarmed by a monster wave?"


    "What are those deafening explosionsing from?"


    People were frantic and rmed that such an explosion had urred so frighteningly close to their resting area.


    This was the safe hold, and triggering such an explosion meant something serious was happening.


    Everyone''s initial conclusion was that a monster wave had swarmed at them.


    After all, no one would be stupid enough to use such deadly moves for a personal fight which would trigger everyone''s anger and fury.


    A safe hold was called a safe hold because it meant to be a safe ce for everyone and not a ce for fighting.


    However, once everyone had subsequently calmed down, they soon realized the explosion and destruction hade from the direction of the reserved area of Heaven''s Mecha.


    While these people were astounded to see the explosioning from Heaven''s Mecha, Mary wasughing and snickering in her Iron Sentinel.


    "Hahaha, I can''t believe these Heaven''s Mecha people are so impatient. It hadn''t even been a day and they already fell into the trap."


    As Mary wasughing wildly, she heard a knocking sound from the vehicle.


    Composing herself slightly, she realized it was Gerald that hade rushing forward.


    Opening the door, Mary smiled brightly, clearly in great joy. "What is it, Gerald?"


    "I''m just here to make sure you''re safe, Lady Mary. The chain reaction of the explosion is a bit out of expectation. The fire is starting to spread rapidly too, and the nearby camps are devastated." Gerald reported.


    "Heh, when we nned for this trap, we already expected some casualties from unrted people. They could only me themselves for stationing near Heaven''s Mecha, thinking they would be safe and sound there." She sneered coldly.


    Gerald nodded his head.


    "Either way, I''m going to increase security and assign some guards for you. Once Heaven''s Mecha finished cleaning up, they would definitely seek revenge against you." He warned and suggested.


    "Whatever, just go do what you were assigned once this incident happened. I wish to enjoy this moment more." Mary waved her hands, seemingly annoyed by Gerald''s interruption. She had long known this would ur, but seeing it happening right now made her extremely joyful.


    It was about time they sent Heaven''s Mecha some of their personal greetings for the "care" they have been giving them in the past.


    Gerald also understood that Mary was going to reminisce about this day dearly, so he no longer bothered her.


    Leaving silently, Gerald made sure to order his subordinate to begin the next phase of their n.


    And while Mary was recording this scene, enjoying every single second, the same could not be said on the site of the explosion.


    Hank''s facial expression waspletely darkened. The smile that he kept on his face for Olivia Harrett hadpletely vanished.


    His clothes were slightly burnt to a crisp, but his skin waspletely fine thanks to his tough skin.


    His back was already wide open since he had shielded Olivia Harrett in time once he sensed something was amiss after the first explosion.


    Had he not reacted quickly, then Olivia Harrett would have lost her life here.


    And by then, being punished for the use would be his least concern.


    Although he wanted to figure out the situation and the damage, Hank had to calm himself and focus his attention on Olivia Harrett.


    "Young Miss, are you okay?" Hank asked in concern, despite knowing she wasn''t injured or harmed in any way.


    With him taking all the blows, how could she be hurt?


    "Hmph, what a very nice management you have, Hank!" Olivia Harrett held a fierce expression as she reprimanded Hank harshly.


    "Were you trying to have me killed?" She shouted in fury.


    "I don''t dare." Hank lowered his head and said, epting the scolding without a singleint.


    s, even without voicing anyint, Olivia Harrett still fiercely pped Hank in the face. Even if the situation wasn''t caused by him, it was still his fault because he was the highest leader and the person in charge of management here.


    "I demand you to quickly figure out what happened and whether this is an ident or not. If this is an ident, then you''re going to get it. But if this is caused by someone else, then I don''t need to tell you what to do, right?" Olivia Harrettmanded coldly.


    Hank cupped his fist and nodded his head.


    "Rest assured, Young Miss. I will definitely get to the bottom of this." He responded solemnly.


    Even without hermand, Hank wasn''t going to let this incident go so easily. This was supposed to be an opportunity for him to gain her good side, and increase his chance of being deployed in important posts.


    Yet everything was ruined with this colossal explosion that spanned across to god knows how far.


    ''How dare you ruin me!'' Hank clenched his fist tightly, his eyes filled with murderous intent.


    "What are you still standing here for? Quickly go and investigate!" Hank''s anger subsided swiftly when he heard Olivia Harrettmanding him to move it.


    "Understood, Young Miss." Hank kept a respectful tone before rushing to the scene of the explosion.


    However, he didn''t get far when he realized everything had crumbled.


    From the concrete buildings to the workshop, everything within the radius was sted into tiny debris.


    What was worse was that ck smoke kepting out and visibility was extremely low.


    As for the casualty?


    Everyone was panicking and chaos was urring everywhere, with zero people understanding the situation. So how could they know what the casualties count was?


    Seeing the meticulous and gruesome work that he had ced in this ce for all these years crumble just like that, Hank''s emotion was filled with an uncontroble rage.


    This was a Heaven''s Mecha tragedy that would soon spread to everyone, and Hank, being the person in charge, would be criticized severely.

 Chapter 150 Accusation

    <h4>Chapter 150 usation</h4>


    Keeping a cool head, Hank hurriedlyposed himself and suppressed the rage that was in his heart.


    No matter how angry he was, now was not the time to let rage cloud his mind.


    "Derek, where is Derek!" Hank shouted loudly, searching for his right-hand man.


    With the low visibility due to the ck smoke and fires that were still burning rapidly, Hank needed to understand the situation first.


    The other employees were already rushing ahead to pour water on the fire, whereas those who are Magus with water elements are supplying the water constantly.


    Despite being busy clearing the fire, the employees still heard the shouting from Hank.


    "Derek is situated near the south side to damage control the situation." One of the employees that knew where Derek was informed Hank of his whereabouts.


    Hank merely made a brief nce at the employee before rushing to the south side. Time was of the essence here, and he couldn''t afford to dilly-dally around.


    Rushing straight ahead through the southside with his mental image of the ce given the low visibility, Hank soon arrived on the scene.


    The scene itself was even more chaotic than the site he was in earlier.


    "Derek, where are you?" Hank waved his hands around to scatter away the ck smoke while calling for Derek.


    A few secondster, Derek came rushing through the ck smoke and greeted Hank.


    "Leader Hank, it''s good that you''re back," Derek said exhaustively, his face covered with some ck stain. His right arm was also slightly bleeding, most likely from the cause of the explosion.


    And now that Hank managed to get a closer look, he realized the other employees that had run past him earlier were also injured. Yet they were still doing their best to prevent the fire from spreading further.


    "Just what happened while I went out to pick up the Young Miss?" Hank asked anxiously. He had always managed things under his control, but this time, everything was out of his control.


    "I''m not sure either." Derek shook his head and said. "The only thing we knew was that the explosion came from the basement before a chain explosion continued onward and spread all this chaos."


    Hank twitched his brows, seemingly in deep thought.


    "Let''s continue to disperse the fire first before we talk any further." He then said, personally assisted his other employees as well.


    While Hank decided to assist with damage control, everyone else that had their camp in the safe hold also stepped in to help.


    It wasn''t that they were willing to help Heaven''s Mecha, but the fact that they couldn''t idle around and allow the fire to spread. Once it spreads and causes more destruction, then the safe hold might not be safe anymore.


    And at this time, Shi Tian along with Mary and the rest also entered the vicinity.


    "Oh dear, how could Heaven''s Mecha cause such a big mess and affect everyone here?" Mary shook her head, shing a disappointed look.


    "You- how dare you guys stille here!" Suddenly, an unfamiliar voice came from afar.


    Turning around, Mary saw a middle-aged man that seemed to be on the verge of dying. The middle-aged man''s clothes were disheveled, and injuries could be seen everywhere on his body.


    "We are just here to assist you, so why wouldn''t I dare toe here?" Mary snickered coldly and shrugged her shoulders. It might have taken her a second to recognize who he was, but once she got a closer look, she was in fact gloating at his sorry state.


    This person was none other than Dous, an infamous person that loved to replicate other people''s products and posed as his own achievement.


    Dous was filled with rage despite his injuries as he cursed, "You Optic Mech are truly devious. If it weren''t for you, would we have been in such a sorry state?"


    Hearing that, Mary''s lips curled slightly upward.


    ''Gotcha, you damn old fogey.'' She sneered inwardly.


    Stepping forward, Mary shed a confused expression and asked, "Just how did Optic Mech cause you to be in such a sorry state? This is technically your zone and is heavily guarded. How can we possibly do anything to you, Dous?"


    "Because of your ymore Mines!" Dous roared, even pushing his subordinate aside for attempting to stop him.


    "You Optic Mech set this trap for us and made us suffer heavy losses. Don''t you dare believe this will be the end of us! We''ll definitely get our revenge!"


    Dous thought he was doing something good, but little did he expect Shi Tian was recording Dous''s statement loud and clear.


    "Our ymore Mines are sold with clear instructions for the people to use." Shi Tian stepped forward and spoke softly.


    He then nced at the other bystanders that hade to help with a friendly smile.


    "You guys are also our customers, so all instructions and procedures are stated clearly, right?" He asked calmly.


    The bystanders were initially confused, but soon nodded their heads.


    "That''s right, Optic Mech has given us clear instructions on how to deploy and use the ymore Mines."


    "Indeed, so how could anything go wrong when the instruction is clear and straightforward?"


    "Could Heaven''s Mecha be thinking of using this incident and pushing the me on theirpetitors?"


    Doubts and disbelief started circting among the bystanders, clearly disgusted by the conduct that Dous was disying right now.


    And it was at this moment that Dous realized what kind of blunder he had created.


    He and Phil were also at each other''s throats, but never once did they truly mean to harm each other. In fact, they were both coborators in the scheme of replicating other people''s products for their achievement.


    Thus, when he realized Phil had sumbed to his death, given the explosion urred precisely where he was. He had lost his cool momentarily, especially when he saw how Mary was swaggering here alongside the Optic Mech members.


    ''Shit, I was such a fool.'' Dous cursed silently, seeing the evil smirk from Mary.

 Chapter 151 Reputation at Risk

    <h4>Chapter 151 Reputation at Risk </h4>


    By the time Dous had realized his heavy blunder, Mary wasn''t so kind as to let him go easily.


    "I recall the ymore Mines we sold had a note that specifically mentioned not to disassemble them. Otherwise, the consequences are for you to bear." Mary rubbed her chin and said innocently.


    She also made sure to sneak a nce at the bystanders, confirming that they are paying close attention to her.


    Meanwhile, Dous was frightened by her next words and wanted to stop her from talking.


    However, Dous knew he also didn''t have an opportunity to stop Mary from talking, given that Gerald was closely behind her alongside his subordinates.


    It was clear that if he attempted to make any funny movement, Gerald and his subordinates would be ready to detain him.


    ''Oh, Phil, it seems like I''m going to be joining you soon.'' Dousmented inwardly. He was now quite jealous that Phil could just leave this world without worries, and would still receive merits for his duty.


    After all, Phil died on behalf of Heaven''s Mecha, but he was different from Phil. What he did could have possibly caused a big mess for Heaven''s Mecha, with their reputation at risk because of his blunder.


    And sure enough, once Mary continued her next sentence, all hell went loose.


    "I have heard rumors of Heaven''s Mecha being unscrupulous people that love to disassemble other people''s products so they could replicate and pose as their own product. But I didn''t expect Heaven''s Mecha would actually do such a thing, especially when we have given clear instruction that one should not disassemble our ymore Mines due to its special modification."


    Once this revtion was told on the spot, the bystanders that heard Mary were in disbelief.


    Their confusion was soon filled with rage as they red at Dous with a predator''s gaze, almost as if they wanted to devour Dous whole.


    "So this explosion and disaster was because of Heaven''s Mecha''s greed?"


    "And despite the warning, this Dous still decided to disassemble theirpetitor ymore Mines and are now trying to shift the me to Optic Mech!


    "Just how shameless could Heaven''s Mecha be? I always thought they were righteous and honorablepany!"


    "W-Wait, this is all a misunderstanding." Dous quickly tried to defend himself and Heaven''s Mecha.


    s, the damages have been done already, and these bystanders weren''t that foolish either.


    Once they managed to connect the dots that Mary subtly dropped, they could now understand how the explosion came to be and why they were in such a situation.


    Meanwhile, Shi Tian casually walked toward the bystanders and asked for their Cellos Devices.


    "Here, let me send you this recording so you can tell other people about this. This is our safe hold, but because of someone''s greed, our lives might be in danger." Shi Tian said, sending the recording of Dous''s usation and practically self-confession of their crime.


    The bystanders had already held some respect and fear for Shi Tian, so they naturallyply with hismand. Especially when they knew who was in the wrong and who was in the right.


    "Rest assured, Sir Gavin, I''ll make sure to spread the news and tell everyone why we are facing such a crisis." One of the bystanders that received the recording said solemnly.


    "I''m sure you will know what''s the right thing to do," Shi Tian smiled briefly, nodding his head. He then proceeded to go through each of the bystanders here and send them the recording, allowing it to spread far and wide.


    As for Dous, he could only watch in ce. With his current pathetic state and his employees being minimal due to the rest trying to clear the fire, there was nothing else he could do.


    He can''t even attempt to silence the bystanders, since they aren''t some nobodies either without power.


    Every person that could make it this far here are people that have been through life and death situations. Threats or whatnot are the least of their worries, especially when they heard of such wicked acts that affected a ton of people here.


    So what if you are backed by some powerful influence?


    So what if you own a reserved area in the safe hold?


    Could you just outrightmit all kinds of shit without any consequences?


    Even if you wanted to kill others, there must at least be some reasons, or that the others aren''t worth saving, but this was talking about the hundreds of lives that risked themselves in the wilderness.


    Not to mention, it was clear as day to everyone that Optic Mech is essentially at war with Heaven''s Mecha. And with Optic Mech''s current rise in reputation, the people that are still somewhat afraid of the retaliation of Heaven''s Mecha had no worries.


    After all, Optic Mech was clearly the vanguard, so what do they have to fear?


    As the bystanders left the scene, not even bothering to assist Heaven''s Mecha anymore, Mary shook her head and clicked her tongue.


    "What a shame, Dous. Your brain is usually quite fast, but to think that you could make such a blunder." Mary taunted. She even wanted to thank him for being so cooperative in pushing himself toward doom.


    "You aren''t just a mere receptionist, right?" Dous clenched his fist and asked.


    Mary nodded her head.


    "Of course, I''m not just a mere receptionist, Dous. I''m the assistant of Sir Gavin," She then said, bowing her head slightly when Shi Tian came back after sharing the recording.


    "Nice to meet you, Dous. My name''s Gavin, and this is just a small greeting. I hope you enjoy this small greeting of mine." Shi Tian made sure to keep his act as the decoy and smiled deviously.


    "Gavin, right¡­ I''ll make sure to engrave this name deeply into my heart." Dous took a deep breath and nodded.


    Without bothering to say anything else, he turned around and left.


    He was at a disadvantage here, and staying any longer would just inte Optic Mech''s ego. His other employees also quickly followed Dous, afraid of being implicated.

 Chapter 152 Casualties

    <h4>Chapter 152 Casualties</h4>


    The firested for a few days within the safe hold. That was how massive the explosions were and how much damage they had dealt.


    Luckily, other mercenaries and people in the safe hold had taken arms, ready to deflect any monsters that attempted to use this opportunity to raid them.


    The explosions were thunderous, so it wasn''t surprising that monsters around the vicinity would be alerted and thought it was an opportunity.


    With the efforts of everyone, the damages were mainly at the reserved area of Heaven''s Mecha and some nearby camps in the radius of it.


    However, one thing was sure for everyone in the safe hold, and it was the fact that everything was Heaven''s Mecha''s fault.


    "You heard the recording, right?"


    "Of course, even now I''m still angry at Heaven''s Mecha conduct. To think they would stoop that low and cause this mess."


    "Hmph, I''ve decided to stop patronizing Heaven''s Mecha and switch over to Optic Mech."


    "You''re right, if it wasn''t for the sudden announcement of a new product, I wouldn''t even have known who Optic Mech was. But they must have been influential somehow, given that they also owned a reserved area."


    Conversations about Optic Mech continued to circte around the safe hold, and its reputation soared like a rocket.


    As for Heaven''s Mecha, not only did their reputation take a deep dive, but they also lost a lot of personnel.


    "Reporting to Leader Hank, after a thorough calction. Our casualties so far are 20 mechanics, including Elder Phil. In addition, a lot of our people were also lost from the explosion, totaling 40 people, with another 50 people injured."


    Hank listened to the report with a calm expression, but inwardly, he was beyond furious. All those people were under his management and were trained by him.


    How could he not feel anything with the casualties list?


    What was worse was that some idiot also decided to burn their own roof!


    "Dous, do you even know what you have done?" Hank ignored the employee reporting the casualties and instead turned his attention to Dous, who was currently kneeling with both knees.


    "I''m sorry Leader Hank. I didn''t mean to harm Heaven''s Mecha''s reputation." Dous sweated profusely as he pleaded.


    Looking at Dous, Hank truly wanted to smack him to death but refrained himself from doing it.


    He had just lost Phil, so he couldn''t just kill Dous as well given that he was now the most experienced mechanic left they have in here.


    Derek, who was standing silent by the sideline, saw this situation and sighed softly.


    Understanding Hank''s predicament, he stepped forward and informed, "Leader Hank, Young Miss had left the area because of the disaster and is in a sour mood. Now is not the time to worry about Dous''s mistake, but how to pacify the Young Miss."


    "Right¡­ Young Miss''s sour mood is the priority and since she''s probably meeting back up with the young master of the Carlson Family, we still have a chance to salvage the situation." Hank muttered.


    The lives lost weren''t even worth a grain of salt if Olivia Harrett were to be displeased and decided toin to her father.


    Although this incident was by any means small, he could still cover it up and exin it to the patriarch without facing much consequence.


    However, if Olivia Harrett decided to voice aint, then the punishment they faced would be severe. Even death would be mercy by that time.


    "Leader Hank, I''m willing to stay here and salvage the situation here. You should go to the Young Miss." Derek cupped his fist and suggested.


    The fire might have ended, but that was merely the beginning.


    Hence, Hank was debating whether or not he should remain here for a while to manage the situation or go directly to Olivia Harrett.


    And Derek, being the right-hand man of Hank, naturally understood his thought process and suggested such a thing.


    Hank nodded his head.


    "Very well, Derek shall be in control of the aftermath and everyone shall listen to his arrangement." He then announced loudly.


    "Yes, Leader Hank!" Everyone responded simultaneously.


    With that said, Hank dismissed everyone, despite not actually being in a room or enclosed location. Their buildings were all destroyed because of the explosions, so they needed to rebuild everything from scratch.


    Derek simply told others to start rebuilding and went to Hank''s side.


    "I want you to keep a close eye on Optic Mech. For them to scheme such a thing, they must be prepared for something big." Hank whispered softly.


    He was not the type to believe that Optic Mech would suddenly scheme this out of a sudden. They had been targeting them for a long time, but not once had they ever retaliated until today.


    Thus, a variable must have appeared for Optic Mech, so they need to find that out. Information was the most crucial factor right nowpared to taking revenge directly.


    Derek nodded his head.


    He then replied back in a low tone, "Rest assured, Leader Hank. I have already sent someone to Gearits City to figure out the situation and some more spies on them here."


    "It''s a good thing that you weren''t harmed, or else, my troubles would have been immacte."


    "It''s my honor to be of use to you."


    "Un, I''m going to head out to meet up with the Young Miss. Be careful of not just Optic Mech, but other people here that might attempt to do anything to us given our current reputation is low." Hank gave one final warning before leaving the safe hold.


    Derek had his head lowered until he felt Hank''s presence was gonepletely.


    ''Heh, it sure is a good thing that you always believed in me, Leader Hank.'' Derek eximed inwardly, wanting tough at Hank''s naive personality.


    ''So what if you''re always calm and collected? Did you really think you''re some smart bastard?'' Derek thought to himself.


    While he was thinking of such things, beeping sounds were heard, and Derek slowly took out a watch from his pocket.


    Reading the encrypted message on the watch, Derek smiled briefly.


    ''Good work, Derek -Mary''

 Chapter 153 Spy

    <h4>Chapter 153 Spy</h4>


    After sending Derek an encrypted message, Mary smiled briefly.


    ''Heh, if Hank knew his right-hand man was someone of the Shadow Legion and a spy we ced. I just wonder how much shock he would receive.'' Mary thought to herself.


    Throughout the years, when Heaven''s Mecha kept attacking their Optic Mech, they might seem dormant but were secretly implementing many people into them.


    And this was merely the start of their retaliation.


    While Mary was thinking about the past and the number of grudges they had with Heaven''s Mecha, she heard someone shouting for her name.


    "Mary!"


    "Mary!"


    "Huh?" Snapping out of her daze, Mary turned and looked at Shi Tian.


    "What are you shouting at me for?" She asked, clearly irritated by his tone.


    "You were the one that told me to call you when I''m done with the workout." Shi Tian said with a deadpan expression.


    "You already finished with 200 push-ups, 200 sit-ups, and 20-kilometer running?" She held a disbelief expression, looking at him up and down.


    Not an ounce of sweat could be seen on his body.


    Meanwhile, Shi Tian was utterly speechless, especially with her suspicious look.


    "That was already 20 minutes ago, and I have been calling you for a while already." He responded, taking out his Cellos Device and showing her the time.


    And sure enough, when Mary saw the time, she was astonished.


    "Time passed that fast?" She was stunned by how fast the time had gone by.


    "Yeah, the workout was longpleted and you were just in a daze constantly. No matter how much I called you, there was no response." Shi Tian exined.


    Realizing it was her mistake, Maryughed awkwardly.


    "Ahem, then have you started practicing the movement technique?" She coughed softly and asked.


    Shi Tian didn''t bother to reply and merely pointed at the ground that was filled with his footsteps.


    Inspecting the footwork, Mary nodded her head.


    "Not bad, I can see you have managed to grasp the basics of it already." She pped her hand and praised.


    "That should be enough training for today."


    "Understood."


    "Then the monsters'' corpses-"


    Just when Mary was going to ask about the monsters they had in, Shi Tian patted arge bag to get her attention.


    "You already collected them?" She smiled awkwardly. It was clear that while she was lost in her thoughts, Shi Tian had already gone ahead to collect the corpses and still had enough time to cool down from the workout.


    "If you aren''t in the mood, then we can just take a break from the training and I can practice alone." Shi Tian suggested, feeling a bit concerned about Mary.


    It was as if the traps they had sessfully dealt to Heaven''s Mecha had somewhat affected her, physically and mentally.


    "Look at you, you''re the trainee whereas I''m your current instructor now. I was merely a bit lost in the thoughts and nothing else." Mary scoffed and stood up from a monster corpse that she had been sitting on.


    This was also the final corpse that Shi Tian needed to collect and wasn''t able to because of her. With her out of the way, he collected the corpse and stored the rest in the Iron Sentinel.


    Once inside, Shi Tian saw Mary taking up the driver''s seat, and he quickly stopped her.


    "I think I should drive today, Mary. Just for the safety of us both." He said calmly.


    "Tsk, do you still think I''m absent-minded?" Mary raised an eyebrow.


    Nevertheless, she heeded his advice and allowed him to take up the driver''s seat. She didn''t really care about being the driver or the passenger.


    Time slowly passed by, and as Shi Tian drove close to the safe hold, he had to temporarily step on the brake.


    Near the entrance of the safehold, Shi Tian and Mary saw military uniformed people gathering outside.


    "What are they doing here?" Shi Tian asked in confusion. The safehold was a neutral zone, and no military people are supposed to be around here nor do they have any authority.


    "Hmm, they might have been attracted by the loud explosion a few days ago and came to investigate." Mary rubbed her chin and deduced calmly.


    Other than the loud explosions that had caused a bigmotion, she couldn''t find any reason for the military toe here.


    Although the safehold was a neutral zone, it was also called the no-military zone. No one wanted to be controlled by the military in the wilderness, especially when they are already monopolizing the New Region.


    "They don''t seem to be the Vanguard Military that we have seen earlier either." Shi Tian said, seeing the uniform was slightly different.


    "Indeed," Mary smirked and nodded her head. "They seemed to be the military reserve for Heaven''s Mecha. And my intel has stated that the Young Miss of the Harrett Family was here, so I guessed she might have told them."


    "No wonder¡­ but this is a stupid move." Shi Tian eximed, ridiculing their action.


    He could understand Heaven''s Mecha predicament and why they wanted to get reinforcement as a defense.


    But this was no different than announcing to the entire world that Heaven''s Mecha is backed by the Harrett Family, confirming this rumor to everyone here.


    At first nce, it might seem like the Harrett Family believed they could suppress the people here, but what era was this already? You can''t just stop or oppress anyone to prevent information from slipping out.


    "Heh, even I''m dumbfounded by this move, but then again, that Young Miss isn''t a bright person either." Mary scoffed, not a bit surprised by this scene once she took in the factor of Olivia Harrett.


    "Just drive past them, Nathan. If they even dared to stop us or demand us to stop, then we can have another show to enjoy." She thenmanded.


    Nodding his head, Shi Tian stepped on the pedal and drove forward. "This is a good experience to gauge one of the five family''s military reserve power."

 Chapter 154 Military Reserve

    <h4>Chapter 154 Military Reserve</h4>


    Military reserve, a term used by the current era of people in which those in the military are not on active duty. Instead, they are like a personal army under amander.


    Hence, military reserves are usually frowned upon by others, especially those that knew the truth about these military reserves.


    They aren''t the fearless and respectful military such as the meheart Vanguard, who are serving the citizens wholeheartedly.


    As Shi Tian drove the Iron Sentinel closer to the entrance, the military reserve held a hostile look over them.


    "Halt, this area is now under lockdown." One of the military people stood forward and said. He even went as far as raising his hand as if he was the boss of this area.


    Turning her head to him, Mary asked, "What do you have to say for this, Nathan?"


    She had no emotion or expression on her face. It was clear that she just wanted to listen to Shi Tian''s opinion on this kind of hostility.


    "Mary, what kind of ce did you say the safehold was?"


    "A neutral zone."


    "If it''s a neutral zone, then who the fuck are these military people think they are?" Shi Tian chuckled softly.


    "Haha, I''m really liking you more and more now." Mary pped her hands andughed. Her response was like a seal of approval for his uing action.


    Meanwhile, the military person who heard no response from them was confused.


    Thus, he walked forward a bit more andmanded, "Please step out of the vehicle so we can inspect you."


    However, that was his biggest mistake, because Shi Tian stepped on the elerator pedal, driving right at the military person.


    "Shit!"


    That was thest word that Shi Tian managed to hear as he drove right into the safehold.


    Seeing this, the other military people were rmed and raised their guns, seemingly ready to shoot at them.


    s, Mary had long notified Gerald beforehand, so Gerald was standing at a high ground with his subordinates.


    "If you dare to fire a single bullet, then prepare for a rainfall of bullets." Gerald snorted coldly.


    "How dare you attack the military! Do you know what''s the consequence of going against us?" A person that seemed to be the one in charge here stepped forward and shouted. Rage filled his eyes as he had just witnessed his soldier being rammed through by a vehicle.


    "Then who do you think you are to go against us here?" Gerald sneered coldly, shing a ferocious look.


    "I am themander of Raven Vanguard. This is an aggression directed at the military as a whole, and I, Scott F. George, will not tolerate this." The person, identified as Commander Scott, introduced himself and said coldly.


    Scott believed that throwing the weight of his name and position in the military would prompt Gerald to understand the situation.


    It was just a shame that Scott had overly estimated the influence and authority they had in the safehold.


    The safehold might have a set of rules that prohibited fighting, but at the same time, it could also be considered a no man''snd. After all, military people, especially reserves like them, are not fond of here and were in fact despised by everyone.


    "Just because no one had said or done anything to you military people for blocking the safehold entrance, doesn''t mean you are allowed to do as you please. What you are doing is already going above your authority. And if this is spread to Gearits City, then I bet your otherrades would be pleased to watch your downfall." Gerald snorted coldly.


    If he was to be afraid of such a verbal threat, then Gerald would have killed himself on the spot.


    Cowardness does not run through his blood and he only knew how to advance forward against people like Scott.


    "You-" Scott pointed his finger in agitation, clearly in disbelief by the outright disrespectful attitude of Gerald.


    "If you think military reserve could be used like that, then go ahead and attempt to open fire." Gerald made onest jab before going back inside, treating Scott as if he was thin air.


    With Gerald leaving the scene alongside his subordinates, plus the fact that Shi Tian and Mary had long driven away, Scott was left alone on the spot,pletely ridiculed.


    "Commander Scott¡­ Do we go after them?" One of the soldiers asked nervously.


    However, it was a dumb action of the soldier, given that Scott decided to vent his anger on the soldier.


    Scott pped the soldier extremely hard, almost to the point of his gas mask being flung away in the process.


    "Chase after them?" Scott raised an eyebrow and snorted coldly. "If you''re not afraid of death, then go right in and see what those people would do! This isn''t Gearits City or any other ces, but the safehold of the Outer Layer."


    "S-Sorry Commander Scott. I have misspoken." The soldier that got pped didn''t dare to voice an ounce ofint as he went on his knees and pleaded.


    Seeing his soldier going on his knees, Scott was frustrated and understood there was no point in ming him.


    "Go and heal the injured soldier," Scott waved his hand andmanded.


    Afterward, he walked somewhere quiet and kicked the air in frustration.


    "Fuck, why was I even assigned here to this damn post." Scott cursed loudly.


    Just a few hours ago, while he was patrolling close to Gearits City''s fortifications. The higher-ups sent him an encryptedmand, telling him toe here immediately andmence a lockdown.


    And of course, Scott was in utter shock and wondered if the higher-ups had gone senile. The safehold in the wilderness was always considered a neutral zone and not something a military could upy or demand authority from.


    In fact, if hispetitors in the military heard of this news, then his position and future would be jeopardized.


    ''I have trained with blood and sweat to get to my position. Why do I have to be ced here because of some shitty explosion from a mechanic workshop?'' Scott eximed inwardly.

 Chapter 155 Desperate Measure

    <h4>Chapter 155 Desperate Measure</h4>


    After driving through a military person, Shi Tian calmly parked the Iron Sentinel near the reserved area for Optic Mech.


    Even though his action could be considered vile, Shi Tian felt nothing. Guilt, sorrow, regret, none of that hade to his thought.


    In fact, he was quite satisfied with what he did, and it wasn''t because he was a sadistic person. It was because he had long wanted to punch or beat up a military person.


    ''These military people that are always working for those who believe they are influential or wealthy, should just die.'' Shi Tian sneered inwardly.


    For some reason, he couldn''t help butpare these military people to the ones in the past. The ones that had forcefully confined him and other normal citizens in the shelter center.


    "Nathan, hello?" While Shi Tian was deep in thought, Mary waved her hand around him.


    "Huh? What is it?" Shi Tian snapped out of his thoughts and asked.


    "Were you imitating me?" Mary asked, ring at him in the process.


    "What?" Shi Tian quickly shook his head and denied that im.


    "There''s no way I''m initiating your behavior to mock you." He added, defending himself.


    She was clearly thinking that he was pretending like her earlier when she was lost in thoughts and needed to be called multiple times to get her attention.


    Still holding a suspicious look, Mary asked, "Then what were you thinking about? Why do you look so serious, almost as if someone had killed your close ones?"


    Shi Tian faked a cough, wanting to avoid discussing the topic.


    Realizing that it might have to do with something that he didn''t wish to divulge, Mary also didn''t n on pressuring him either.


    "You were worried about the soldier that you drove over, right?" She then asked, giving him an excuse.


    And Shi Tian dly epted her excuse, nodding his head. "Yeah, I''m afraid that there might be repercussions for the action."


    "Oh? So you''re afraid of repercussions huh. Then why did you do it in the first ce?"


    "Well, I guessed you could call it a moment of heat or a dumb decision?"


    "Haha, a moment of heat, right?" Mary chuckled softly, shaking her head in the process.


    A few momentster, Mary''s expression turned solemn as she patted his shoulder.


    "Rest assured, Nathan. Even if thatmander is displeased and frustrated at your action, there is nothing he could do except swallow this humiliation." She said sinisterly.


    And she continued, "The Harrett Family had gone overboard this time with their deployment. Did you think the other four families would let this matter slip past them?"


    "Your meaning is-"


    Before Shi Tian could continue his words, Mary interrupted him and confirmed his mindset.


    "That''s right, the other four families would soon learn of this matter, and by then, the Harrett Family and this military reserve would be in quite a lot of headache. After all, their action today was no different than them attempting to take control of the neutral zone for their own gain." She exined, smiling wickedly in the process.


    Had she known their trap would have such a devastating effect, then she would have done this a long time ago.


    How could she not love this kind of development?


    "But why would the Harrett Family do such a thing? This is almost like a desperate measure for them?" Shi Tian asked, still somewhat confused and doubtful of their action.


    "Right¡­ you didn''t have this information because it''s subtly covered." Mary sped her hands as she remembered this part.


    She walked closer to Shi Tian and whispered, "The Young Miss of the Harrett Family coincidentally decided toe here to retrieve some supplies. Thus, the Harrett Family could mistakenly believe someone was after her life and resorted to such drastic measures to protect her."


    After giving him this information, Mary stepped back and smiled innocently. "Don''t you think heaven is blessing us?"


    "Indeed¡­ such a coincidence actually happened." Shi Tian twitched his mouth and acknowledged that luck was truly by their side this time.


    If the Young Miss of the Harrett Family didn''te here at the time of the explosions, then this matter wouldn''t have had much of an impact besides Heaven''s Mecha taking a few losses.


    In fact, the incident might have been brushed aside by others as an ident of a product that their mechanic was crafting had gone wrong, hence a chain of explosions.


    However, once the factor of an important person hade into y, then everything would be drastically different, including their deduction and mindset of the incident.


    Their mindset would be thinking about whether someone was after their heir. And because they aren''t in the scene to witness such a process, only being informed by a third party.


    How could they be reassured without doing such a thing to guarantee their Young Miss''s safety?


    "Anyway, here''s another intel that we just learned of. The Young Miss of the Harrett Family didn''te alone and was with the Young Master of the Carlson Family." Mary suddenly revealed.


    And with Shi Tian''s somewhat understanding of Mary, she wasn''t the type to simply reveal information because she wanted to. There must have been a reason why she decided to reveal it at this time.


    "What are you plotting this time?" Shi Tian asked outright.


    "What kind of plotting can a timid woman like me do?" Mary feigned innocence and shrugged her shoulders.


    "Oh please, you are timid? Then everyone might as well be called a coward and hide in a shell forever."


    "Heh, it''s just a joke. Why so serious?"


    "Are you trying to make the situation more messier?" Shi Tian ignored her behavior and went straight to the point.


    "Now why would I want to make the situation messier?" Mary returned his question with a question., seemingly wanting him to think about it.


    Sure enough, after some thinking, Shi Tian came to realize Mary''s foresight and schemes were beyond his limit.


    The New Region would open up soon, which also had military personnel guarding around constantly. Therefore, if the situation here turned even messier, then the defense and security in the New Region would start to crack.

 Chapter 156 Sign of Respect

    <h4>Chapter 156 Sign of Respect</h4>


    When Shi Tian thought about what type of scheme Mary was cooking, he was somewhat afraid yet amazed by her intelligence.


    With just a tiny bit of information given to her, she could easily capitalize on that to her advantage.


    She was just a receptionist?


    If people actually believed that, then they might even die without knowing how and why.


    Mary herself could be considered a strategist or chancellor given her superior adaptation of any situation.


    "I should be worried about myself too, right?" Shi Tian asked, wondering if she was going to scheme against him as well.


    "Are you my enemy?"


    "Um.. if I recall, no, we''re not enemies."


    "Then why should you be worried?" Mary raised an eyebrow.


    "I might seem cruel, but at the very least, I''m decisive and clear with my motive. Toward allies, I wouldn''t scheme or harm them, but toward enemies. Then that''s a different story." She added, justifying her action.


    In this kind ofwless world now, right or wrong can no longer be judged withmon sense. The only wrong here is for those who have lost a battle or could not support themselves.


    "Understandable. I would have done the same if I was in your position." Shi Tian calmly said. In a way, he was the same as Mary in terms of her conduct and action.


    And maybe that was the reason why they were able to get along quite well.


    Compared to the disguised receptionist of hers, once Mary became serious and decisive, her actions were thorough without any hesitation.


    Innocent might have sumbed to their death because of her schemes, but as long as her allies are safe and sound, that was enough for her.


    As for Shi Tian, he doesn''t even feel much empathy or sympathy for the deceased people. They weren''t rted to him whatsoever and to be fair, their death was actually caused by Heaven''s Mecha greed in the first ce.


    Had Heaven''s Mecha decided to not attempt any replication of their new product, then the explosion incident would have never happened.


    "So anyway, what do you have nned?" Shi Tian subsequently asked, changing the topic.


    "Well, it''s a dangerous n." Mary smiled mysteriously, sending a chill down Shi Tian''s spine.


    Mary didn''t n on discussing this sensitive topic outside, so she went inside the tent, and Shi Tian could only quietly follow inside.


    Once they were inside the tent, Shi Tian and Mary spent the next few hours discussing the ns, with some of the tactics giving Shi Tian quite the headache. What made it worse was that Mary doesn''t seem to have any intention of stopping the discussion.


    She was on full throttle, and the more she talked, the more excited she became, fantasizing about the oue and messy situation once the n seeded.


    It wasn''t until Gerald had called for Mary outside the tent did she stop her discussion.


    "Ah, I went off-track again." Maryughed heartily once she realized how much time she had spent again.


    "Come on in, Gerald." She then called out, ignoring the exhausted look of Shi Tian.


    Meanwhile, Gerald slowly entered the tent and was dumbfounded to see Shi Tian''s expression. It was as if Shi Tian had gone through a long ordeal and was near death from exhaustion.


    "Did I interrupt at a bad time?" Gerald asked curiously.


    Before Mary could even reply, Shi Tian intervened as he shook his head, "Of course not, Gerald. You came at the right time."


    He even went as far as giving Gerald a thumbs up and an expression that only men could understand.


    With that expression of Shi Tian, Gerald immediately came to the conclusion that Mary had gone back to her old self, and understood what Shi Tian had to go through.


    Showing him a pitiful look, Gerald then turned his attention to Mary, who was ring at the two of them.


    "Are you two in love or something? Why the hell are you two looking at each other as if it was a memorial?" She crossed her arms and asked, mostly confused by their actions.


    And for some reason, she felt extremely irritated by them despite not knowing what it was.


    "Nothing, Lady Mary. I was merely trying to praise Sir for his bold action earlier." Gerald quickly gave an excuse.


    Naturally, Mary wasn''t a fool to believe it easily, but she couldn''t be bothered with it anymore.


    "Did youe with the item?"


    "Yes, Lady Mary. The package is outside the tent since I''m not sure where you wanted to ce it."


    Mary nodded her head.


    "Just bring it in here and make sure to start the next phase as early as possible. Although the military reserveing here was a surprise, it shouldn''t affect us." She thenmanded.


    Gerald heeded her advice, went back outside, and carried a somewhatrge box.


    When he ced therge box down on the ground, it even made a loud "thump" sound, proving that whatever was contained in the box was extremely heavy.


    "Then I''ll be heading out now to carry on the next phase," Gerald then respectfully said.


    Mary merely waved her hands, dismissing him while her attention was focused on the box.


    Seeing her action, Gerald smiled briefly and shook his head. He gave one final nce at Shi Tian without saying anything, but his eyes seemed to be telling him to hang on.


    Shi Tian noticed his gaze and had his hand over his chest, a sign of respect that he had received his concern.


    A few secondster, Gerald swiftly exited the tent, whereas Mary started to unwrap the box.


    "Come here, Nathan. Help me out here as well." She urged excitedly.


    Confused, Shi Tian still walked over to assist her. To be honest, he was quite curious as to what kind of content was stored in thisrge box.


    Once the box was unwrapped, Shi Tian was stunned by the content.


    "How is it?" Mary smirked when she saw him being stunned. "These are the boosters that I have forced Mechanist Isaac to cough over."

 Chapter 157 Iron Lady

    <h4>Chapter 157 Iron Lady</h4>


    When Mary proimed the content inside to be boosters, Shi Tian held an extremely doubtful expression. After all, Shi Tian couldn''tprehend how and why these metal suits are called boosters.


    "Do you not believe me?" Mary asked when she sensed his doubtfulness.


    Shi Tian shook his head.


    "Why wouldn''t I believe you, Mary?" He quickly said, feigning innocence.


    "Tsk, just watch carefully, and don''t beg me if you want to put it on." Mary clicked her tongue and snorted. She knew he wasn''t being honest, given that he didn''t seem excited about the boosters.


    Thus, the only way to clear his doubt and shut him up was to prove it directly.


    Interacting with him for quite a while, Mary had already grasped what type of person Shi Tian was. He was the practical type instead of the theoretical type, meaning unless he witnessed something personally. It would be hard for him to ce his trust in it.


    Of course, such a mindset isn''t bad, but it could also be detrimental if he continued to be overly suspicious and doubtful of everything.


    A few minutester, Mary had finished assembling the metal suit and cing it on her body, though it was mainly focused on her leg area.


    If a word could describe the current Mary, Shi Tian would say she was an irondy. In both literal and figurative meanings.


    "What do you think?" Mary kicked her legs back and forth, even spreading her arms a bit wide to let Shi Tian inspect her.


    "Um¡­ amazing?" Shi Tian replied somewhat awkwardly. Aside from knowing that she had suited herself up with some metal-looking parts, he really didn''t know what effect it had.


    Seeing that his response was stillckluster, Mary snorted and activated the boosters. Once she activated it, her metal suit seemed to be circting the air current, and before Shi Tian realized it.


    Mary vanished from the tentpletely- no, vanish was an incorrect word. It was more of her being extremely fast to the point that Shi Tian could not see her presence at all.


    What made it more terrifying was that Shi Tian felt as if he was on the verge of death.


    A few secondster, Mary subsequently reappeared in her original position before shing a haughty look.


    "Woohoo, you don''t seem like the type to be muscr, but who knew you had concealed such arge weapon in between your legs." Mary whistled like a hooligan and taunted. Her behavior was akin to a hooligan man that would usually whistle at beautiful women.


    Shi Tian, confused at first, soon realized his bottom part was feeling a bit chilly.


    A somewhat horrified look appeared on his face as he slowly lowered his head down, only to see his pants and boxer were stripped. To be more precise though, parts of his pants and boxer were cut, prompting it to have fallen down and not attached to his waist.


    Without hesitating, he quickly pulled his boxer and pants up, using his hands to maintain the cover for his private part.


    Afterward, he asked in a dazed tone, "When and how did you do it?"


    Ever since he had gotten used to Mary''s movement speed and studied a movement technique that she had taught him, his perspective had increased as well.


    Thus, he wasn''t as helpless as before in which Mary''s speed would astonish him to the point that he can''t even catch up to her.


    However, just this moment, he was in the same helpless situation,pletely unable to detect her presence at all despite knowing she was still in the tent.


    And that was on top of his perspective having increased by arge margin.


    "Now, do you still have doubts or questions regarding these boosters of mine?" Mary sneered coldly.


    She doesn''t like it when others start to doubt or judge her actions, especially Shi Tian, who she had been forced to guide and train from the beginning.


    Knowing he was at a disadvantage, Shi Tian could only plead for mercy from her taunting.


    "It was this ignorant self that failed to realize the mightiness of the boosters. Please forgive me, Mary, and ept this ignorant fool''s mistake." He said calmly, not even bothered whether or not he was being shameless.


    As for whatever pride or embarrassment he might have brought to himself, Shi Tian doesn''t care a bit. None of that superficial stuff would help him either way.


    Could pride help him survive?


    The answer was no.


    Could embarrassment kill him?


    The answer was also no.


    So in that case, why should he care about them and be offended about it?


    "And this is why I still don''t like you, Nathan." Mary clicked her tongue in annoyance.


    "You don''t care about pride whatsoever and simply admit your mistake or plead for forgiveness. If it was other people, then they would have put up a front, not admitting their damn mistake no matter what." She added.


    "As if I would act like that and cause even more trouble than necessary." Shi Tian shrugged his shoulders.


    "Ugh, you are the type of people that are the hardest to defeat if we were ever enemies, Nathan."


    "But we aren''t enemies, right?"


    Mary rubbed her temples, unable to respond back. She didn''t like his behavior because it goes againstmon sense and logic.


    No matter what the world had turned into, people were always filled with stupid pride and were unwilling to admit their mistakes. Only a few rare ones are willing to admit their mistakes and change themselves.


    However, it was precisely how few people are willing to admit their mistakes that allowed her to perfectly scheme and understand their actions.


    "This one''s for me, right?" Shi Tian shamelessly said, his hands grabbing on the leftover metal suits.


    Realizing that it was pointless to taunt him at all, Mary sighed softly and nodded her head.


    "Yes, why else did you think I spent so long discussing the ns with you?" She said tiringly.

 Chapter 158 Boosters Suit

    <h4>Chapter 158 Boosters Suit</h4>


    After shamelessly equipping the metal suits, following Mary''s procedure, Shi Tian felt renewed.


    He seemed to have gotten an impression of bing stronger with just the suit alone.


    And of course, while he was enjoying this new suit, Mary had promptly exined what type of boosters this was.


    Boosters was merely a term that they had decided to use despite it actually being a suit.


    "The suit that you were pervertedly staring at and Gerald''s suit are simr concepts. Though Gerald''s ones are more inclined to defensive and offensive power whereas ours are more focused on speed and stealth." Mary exined the differences between the two suits.


    To simplify the exnation, Gerald''s suit was designed for battle whereas the boosters'' suits are designed for stealth, meaning it''s not quite suitable forbat.


    "The boosters suit is indeed impressive, but doesn''t quite fit me well." Shi Tian walked around and said somewhat disappointingly.


    "Please don''t ever tell people that you are a mechanic." Mary facepalmed andmented.


    "Do you know how troublesome it is to always recreate a new suit just so it could match the physiques of another person constantly?" She then questioned him.


    "I suppose it would be quite problematic." He thought about it and responded.


    Mary nodded her head and exined, "It''s not just problematic, but also extremely expensive to do so. These boosters suits are crafted using the highest quality materials possible and guarantee safety protection for the user. But most importantly, these suits aren''t for sale and are exclusive to our personal use."


    After the exnation, Mary guided Shi Tian on how to adjust the suit to match his physique.


    And naturally, Mary didn''t miss this opportunity to jab on his insignificant knowledge once again. It seemed to be her norm after interacting with Shi Tian quite a lot.


    Of course, Shi Tian was used to it as well and understood that she never really meant her words unless she was showing a solemn expression.


    With the boosters suit now fitted Shi Tian perfectly, he could feel the difference. But what surprised him more was that the weight of the boosters suit should have been extremely heavy.


    Yet he didn''t feel a thing and wasfortable from the get-go.


    "Could it be-" Before Shi Tian could finish his sentence, Mary nodded her head and interrupted.


    "That''s right, it''s the result of your training with the Metallic Stone." She said, finishing his words.


    Shi Tian swallowed a mouthful of saliva, even taking a few steps back away from Mary.


    "You didn''t n for this, right?" He then asked, feeling somewhat like a pawn being pushed around here and there.


    Thankfully, Mary shook her head and responded truthfully. "No, this boosters suit was meant for you when the New Region officially became safe to explore. As for this incident, it was beyond our expectation so we might as well make an improvisation."


    "Thank heaven, I would have been beyond frightened."


    "You need to stop overthinking too much sometimes, Nathan. If we are so omnipotent, then we would have been extremely famous and influential already."


    "You''re right," Shi Tian scratched his head slightly. "It just seems so surreal how everything goes your way and exactly how you wanted to."


    "It''s not my fault that the enemies are retarded to do things favorable for us." Mary shrugged her shoulders, pushing the me on theirpetitor.


    "Anyway, enough of this pointless discussion, and let''s get you familiarized with the boosters suit. Though with your adaptation of new things, you should be able to get the hang of it soon."


    With that said, Mary started to inform Shi Tian of each of the functions and buttons of the boosters suit. And to his surprise, the boosters suit could actually carry a lot of things.


    Items are actuallypressed and stored as a cube until they decide to take it out and the item would then regain its original shape. An easier exnation was that thepression was simr to the Dimension Ring function.


    "This is amazing," Shi Tian was astonished by such a function. At the same time, he began to really wonder just how knowledgeable Isaac Aaronax was and how powerful they are.


    Mary had always told him that there are stronger people than them, but the more he experienced and the more he learned, the more he realized how the world had changed since the past.


    132 years, that kind of time being lost was like the difference between the stone age and the medieval age.


    However, Shi Tian''s shock had nearly just begun when Mary had more explosive news.


    "By the way, you can turn on the invisible function," She suggested.


    "I-Invisible function?" Shi Tian stutteringly said.


    But luckily, his passive ability [Serene Calmness] kicked in, prompting him to calm down and regained hisposure shortly after.


    As for Mary, instead of exining further and wasting her breath, she did something and the boosters suit that was attached to her disappeared, as if she wasn''t equipping any suit at all.


    "This was done with a special technology that made the suit blend in with the environment. And if one isn''t inspecting real closely, then they would never notice the suit."


    "Special technology huh¡­" Shi Tian nced at Mary and muttered, seemingly in deep thought.


    "What? Are you trying to learn this special technology?" She smirked and teasingly said.


    Despite the teasing though, it was clear that this kind of technology isn''t something she would tell Shi Tian. Given that it must have been their core technology and their trump card.


    Unfortunately for Mary, Shi Tian wasn''t thinking about learning this and was focused on another topic.


    "If you have special technology that could blend things in with the environment, making it invisible. Then does that mean this special technology can be applied to us as well?" He then asked.


    Mary was slightly stunned by his question.


    Shaking her head for a few moments, she startedughing. "I didn''t n on saying much about it, but who would have thought you coulde up with such a question. Indeed, Mechanist Isaac has been testing this theory, but it''s not as easy as it sounds."

 Chapter 159 Invisible Function

    <h4>Chapter 159 Invisible Function</h4>


    The possibility of bing invisible, was a theory that people had long fantasized about.


    Some wanted to test their theory by bing invisible. However, most of the time, it was just evildoers who wanted to turn invisible so they could do evil things.


    Or it could even be some pervert that wanted to be invisible to peek at naked women because they can never get one themselves with how trash they are.


    Of course, it had always been a theory and no one had ever managed toe close to seeding it aside from fantasy novels.


    Thus, when Shi Tian learned that possibility was actually bing close to reality, he couldn''t help but feel emotion wavering.


    "Master Isaac is truly no ordinary mechanic." Shi Tian eximed, feeling that Isaac Aaronax had long surpassed the term of a mechanic.


    "Heh, if only you have heard of Mechanist Isaac''s master." Mary suddenly muffled when she saw how excited Shi Tian was.


    "What did you say?" Shi Tian asked, given that her tone was so low.


    "Nothing, I was just teasing you for being a country bumpkin." Mary shook her head and responded.


    Confused, Shi Tian could only drop the topic, unsure of what she was muffling about.


    "Anyway, turn on the invisible function of yours and we shall head back out again to test the boosters suit." Mary sped her hands and said.


    "We''re heading back out now?"


    "What? You got anyints?"


    Twitching his mouth, Shi Tian could only shake his head in response. They had just returned from the wilderness, and now they are going to head out again.


    The sky was turning dark too, so the monsters roaming in the wilderness are going to be more agitated and stronger. In other words, nighttime was the time that monsters ruled the wilderness.


    "Stop acting like a pussy and start getting ready." Mary sneered and walked out of the tent.


    Without a choice, Shi Tian could only ce the box next to a corner and drink some water before following Mary.


    Once he was out of the tent, Shi Tian was surprised to see other people surrounding Mary.


    "What''s going on here?" Shi Tian walked forward and asked, subsequently shielding Mary from this group of people.


    He had recognized some of their faces as they were customers from their ymore mines sale.


    And with Shi Tian misleading these people previously into thinking he was the leader, he naturally needed to take the front whereas Mary needed to act her role as an assistant.


    Perfectly portraying her role as assistant, Mary took a somewhat timid tone and said, "Sir Gavin, these people are hoping that they could purchase more of our ymore mines. But I have told them that we are currently out of stock and they need to wait."


    "Since you have told them to wait, then what is the problem?" Shi Tian raised an eyebrow and asked, speaking in a tone that a leader would use.


    "They wanted to purchase it as soon as possible, but they are worried that they won''t be able to once we get new stocks."


    "And why are they worried?"


    "Because they don''t have the Privilege Ticket given that they aren''t eligible to purchase them."


    As their conversation was going on, the people that surrounded Mary felt like they were sidelined.


    "Um, Sir Gavin, our team just wanted some more ymore mines since it''s very effective and deals a lot of damage to the monster''s tough skin." Finally, one of the people couldn''t endure any longer and was interrupted.


    "Can''t you see I''m talking to my assistant?" Shi Tian didn''t appreciate the interruption and red fiercely.


    There were two reasons why he reacted in such a manner. The first reason was naturally regarding their stock being practically zero.


    He was now in charge of crafting these new ymore mines thanks to Mary, and he hadn''t even gotten the time to actually begin crafting them.


    So even if he wanted to sell them, there was nothing he could do when there were no stocks.


    And the second reason was that Shi Tian didn''t appreciate how these people attempted toe here, acting as if they were the boss and could just get the items simply because they requested it.


    Even if he does have stocks, he still wouldn''t agree to sell them to them privately. After all, it would have set a precedent in which anyone could juste to them directly and request to purchase their item.


    Once that kind of situation and rumors are spread, the people that had paid insanely huge funds for the Privilege Tickets would feel that they had been scammed.


    When he came to that thought process, Shi Tian didn''t dare to think further of the consequences because it would have been even more terrifying than the chain explosion.


    "I''ll pretend that I didn''t hear you so just leave. Our Optic Mech is a fair and just mechanic workshop and would not do such a thing." Shi Tian waved his hands and said solemnly.


    "B-But Sir Gavin, our team really needs them."


    "Then you should have bought more when you had the chance. Now all you can do is wait, and if you can''t wait longer. Also, you are free to ask others with a Privilege Ticket whether or not they are willing to sell you one."


    The person wanted to persuade him further, but Shi Tian changed his expression and aura. He was giving him the signal that if he dared to continue, then he would no longer be polite.


    Realizing that their chance of buying a ymore mine here was down the drain, the person''srade was clever enough to drag him away.


    At the same time, they were apologizing for their behavior and hoped Shi Tian wouldn''t keep it in mind.


    And naturally, Shi Tian merely waved his hands and told them to never do it again. They were, after all, potential customers in the future, so it was best to not make things sour now that they got a hint of how he conducts his work.


    "You sure look like a real leader," Mary chuckled softly and teased once she felt their presence was gone.


    "Same to you. You are like a real assistant with that timid tone and frightened expression."

 Chapter 160 Miserable Fate

    <h4>Chapter 160 Miserable Fate</h4>


    After sending away this group of people that wanted to skip the line to buy the ymore mines from them secretly, Shi Tian realized there needed to be a change of policy.


    Or an announcement to be precise.


    If other people attempted to do the same as the previous group, then there would be no telling how much they needed to deal with in the future.


    "Mary, I think we need to make an announcement for others that if they don''t y by the rules and attempt to skip the line to purchase our new products. Then they shall be banned from Optic Mech." Shi Tian turned to Mary and suggested.


    Mary nodded her head.


    "I agree with your suggestion. We can''t just have people keeping near here simply because they wanted more of our new products once they realized how useful it is." She said and proceeded to send a message to Gerald.


    While she was sending a message to Gerald, Shi Tian secretly walked to her and whispered, "Why do I feel like you agreed to it not because of Optic Mech''s reputation but for your selfish reason?"


    "Do you want to die?" Mary clicked her tongue and red at him angrily.


    Instantly, Shi Tian stepped away and raised his hands, indicating he won''t press on the matter.


    Though silently, he was amused that he was correct. Mary agreed to the suggestion swiftly because she didn''t want to act as an assistant and needed to show a timid expression or submissive behavior toward Shi Tian.


    She was the true leader and not Shi Tian.


    ''Like hell I would let you keep having the chance to boss me around.'' Mary eximed inwardly, finishing typing her message and posting it as an urgent matter.


    "Let''s go!" She then shouted, speed-walking to her Iron Sentinel.


    Chuckling softly, Shi Tian found her action quiteical. It wasn''t as if he didn''t need to lower himself constantly as well just so that she could teach him.


    But what does that even matter in the end?


    They achieved their goals by merely acting or pretending, so it should be worth it and nothing to be ashamed of.


    Sometimeter, Shi Tian went to the passenger seat of the Iron Sentinel.


    And Mary didn''t even bother to wait for him to put on the seatbelt and directly stepped on the pedal.


    Luckily, she didn''t elerate the Iron Sentinel rapidly, otherwise, Shi Tian might have really crashed his face toward the front.


    "Are you in such a hurry?" He asked once he put on the seatbelt.


    "Yes, I''m in a hurry."


    "..."


    Seeing him shutting his mouth right after her swift response, Mary felt a bit pleased, but only for a moment. She was indeed rushing and hoping to get Shi Tian familiarized with the boosters suit.


    If Shi Tian still couldn''t get used to it soon, then she would have to slightly alter her n and have Shi Tian stay in the tent crafting ymore mines.


    As the Iron Sentinel once again reached the entrance of the safehold, Mary could see Scott and his soldiers still guarding the area.


    However, thanks to the incident earlier, Scott and his fellow soldiers red at them with hostilities. Though it was only hostilities without any actual action.


    Scott wasn''t a dumb man either to believe that Shi Tian and Mary were so gutsy to drive over his soldier if they didn''t have any abilities to back it up.


    "Let them go and don''t make any ruckus," Scott ordered his soldiers to stay put.


    Although the soldiers were discontent about it, given that theirrade was still being treated, they could only listen to Scott''s order.


    Meanwhile, Shi Tian slightly snickered when he saw Scott and the other soldiers didn''t dare to do anything just like Mary had told him before.


    "They are truly a disgrace to have the term militarybeled on them." Shi Tian eximed.


    "Heh, so what if they are disgraceful or not? Does it really matter?" Mary snorted coldly. It was clear that she had no high opinion of the military either.


    Shi Tian nodded his head in agreement.


    Just the meheart Vanguard military was enough evidence to prove that regardless if the military are honorable or not, none of it mattered.


    "You''re right, I should stop caring about it." Shi Tian tly said.


    "But where are we driving off to now? I don''t recognize this route," he added, realizing the route was unfamiliar to him. The past few days, they had been going out to the wilderness for training, so he had memorized the route already.


    Yet this time, he could tell they were going somewhere else, prompting his curiosity.


    "Since we''re going to test the boosters suit, then naturally we need to find some monsters that specialize in speed," Mary exined, keeping her eyes on the route.


    "And what would that be?"


    Mary smiled briefly, and asked, "Did you forget about the monsters'' encounter that you had before?"


    "There''s a lot of monsters I have encountered before though." Shi Tian muttered, pondering over the type of monsters.


    "It can''t be¡­ the Tenceloras?" He then eximed in shock.


    Although he no longer felt traumatic by the encounter with the Tenceloras thanks to his passive ability, it still somewhat made him extremely ufortable.


    After all, someone had died on behalf of him and it was regretful to say that he waspletely powerless.


    Mary noticed his difort and sighed softly.


    "You don''t have to feel bad about the death of Ynda. Even though I''m still saddened by it, there''s nothing else we can do about it. What happened has happened and nothing can change that fact." She said without much emotion.


    "Indeed, nothing we do now can change the fact already. But I''ll still remember to help her get revenge." He shook his head and voiced his intention.


    "Then you can stop remembering it. Those two bastards that betrayed her are already suffering a miserable fate." Mary sneered coldly, her hands clenching tightly on the steering wheel.

 Chapter 161 Habitat

    <h4>Chapter 161 Habitat</h4>


    "Miserable fate?" Shi Tian was stunned to learn of this news.


    "What happened to Hugo and Xavier?" He then asked, seemingly curious about their fate.


    Reminiscing their miserable fate, Mary made a slight chuckle as she began recounting what they had received.


    "Xavier, that bastard loves to fuck around with his tiny manhood. So I did him a favor and snipped that off in front of the woman he wanted to make love with." She said sinisterly, even making a cutting action with her fingers.


    As for Shi Tian, he was quite astonished by the fact that Mary was able to do such a thing to Xavier.


    He had recalled Xavier boasting about being a gold-ranked mercenary, and he knew being gold-ranked meant that he wasn''t weak.


    "How were you able to do that to Xavier? He was gold-ranked at least, so it shouldn''t be easy to apprehend him." Shi Tian asked.


    "Heh, I have my ways. Gold-ranked? Even if they are higher ranked, they are still nothing but ants." Mary exuded a cold aura, clearly enraged by such a person.


    She might no longer feel saddened by Ynda''s death, but that doesn''t mean she would forgive those that had led to her death.


    "Do you still want to know what happened to him after we got his manhood snipped?" She then asked.


    Shi Tian pondered for a few moments before shaking his head.


    "No need, I don''t want to hear about his pathetic fate." He then said, deciding that it was beneath him to enquire further. All he needed to know was that Xavier could no longer be arrogant and had suffered the consequences of his actions.


    "Then do you want to hear about Hugo''s fate?" Mary asked.


    "Nah, if Xavier received such a fate, then I''m sure Hugo is no different. My heart is at peace knowing that these two bastards had got their punishment."


    "I see¡­"


    A few secondster, Shi Tian changed the topic. "Given your response earlier, I''m sure that we are not trying to fight against a Tenceloras since it''s a tough monster. We won''t even stand a chance against its metallic skin and tentacles."


    Mary nodded her head. "Tenceloras is a difficult monster and even with our current arsenal, it still won''t make a dent to its metallic skins. And the


    Tenceloras speed isn''t fast enough, so it''s pointless to test the boosters'' suit on it."


    "Hmm, then that means we are going to find the Gso.'''' After some more process of elimination, Shi Tian finally recalled the Gso monster.


    The Gso monsters were technically an evolution of the normal lizard G due to mutation, but the ones he encountered were at an advanced level. A variant to be precise, with its speed being insanely fast and adaptive to the environment.


    And thinking back to the past, Shi Tian still wondered how he was able to take them down after learning a bit more about the Gso species.


    Meanwhile, Mary smiled briefly and nodded her head.


    "That''s right, we are going to find the variants of Gso for practice." She then revealed.


    Although Mary made it sound simple, Shi Tian found it suspicious that Mary was willing to go so far as to just assist him in getting familiar with the boosters'' suit.


    And why did he have such thoughts?


    The answer was simple and straightforward.


    Both of them had the boosters'' suit equipped, so Mary could simply tell Shi Tian to attempt to catch up to her, equivalent to ying tag.


    There wasn''t a need to go so far as to encounter the Gso which are dangerous species due to their superior speed and venomous attack.


    "What is your real intention, Mary?" Shi Tian decided to not overthink and just asked her directly.


    "My intention was to help you get familiarized with the boosters'' suit."


    "Stop the cap, Mary. I might be ignorant, but I ain''t a fool."


    "Are you sure about that?" Mary raised an eyebrow, turning to look at him with a doubtful expression.


    "The road, keep your eyes on the road." Shi Tian hurriedly said, pointing at the front view.


    "It''s on autopilot mode," Mary yawned and snickered.


    "..."


    A moment of silence urred before Mary started bursting outughing.


    "Ahahah, now tell me you aren''t a fool again?" She then teased, clearly enjoying his speechless moment.


    "Alright, you got me this time. I forgot about the Iron Sentinel having autopilot mode function." Shi Tian sighed softly and admitted it. They were always driving manually, so he forgot that the Iron Sentinel could also operate by itself.


    But who would have thought Mary was able to time her action so perfectly?


    Time slowly passed by, and throughout the road, Mary keptughing and repeating the scenario over and over again. It was as if she couldn''t stop reminiscing about Shi Tian making a fool of himself.


    "Why are you so childish?" Shi Tian twitched his mouth and said.


    "Ahem, being childish is still better than being a fool." Mary coughed and corrected.


    "Can you just stop it already?"


    "Sure, since we arrived already." Mary suddenly changed herposure and said swiftly.


    And again, Shi Tian was speechless at how fast Mary could change. Fromughing constantly to suddenly giving a solemn expression.


    Though, it was the same for Shi Tian because he also stopped showing a rxedposure.


    Putting on the gas mask, both of them subsequently exited the Iron Sentinel.


    "Where was the ce you encountered them previously?" Mary then asked, keeping her eyes on the watch that was constantly being transmitted real-time data thanks to Iron Sentinel''s function.


    "Over there by the east side," Shi Tian nced around the environment before pointing at a particr area. Given that he had passed through here before, he could subtly remember the terrain.


    Following Shi Tian''s guideline, Mary made the Iron Sentinel focus more on the east side area, only to be stunned.


    "Hmm, it seems like the Gso variants had changed their habitat," Mary eximed, seeing that there were no red dots anywhere on her watch.

 Chapter 162 Gilaso Expansion

    <h4>Chapter 162 Gso Expansion</h4>


    When Mary checked on her watch and made sure to double-check again, she was somewhat disappointed to not see a single enemy.


    "I already expected that the Gso might change their habitat, but it''s still a disappointment now that we have arrived." Mary voiced her displeasure.


    "We can investigate ahead and check for ourselves," Shi Tian suggested. Just because the Iron Sentinel scanner didn''t detect any enemies, doesn''t mean they can''t find other clues as to where the Gso monsters had gone.


    Mary nodded her head.


    "Mhm, we should investigate and see if we can trace their footsteps. The Gso might be variants, but they also moved in groups, so that should make it easier for us to trace." She calmly said.


    And with that mindset, both Shi Tian and Mary began exploring deeper, though with a much more cautious movement.


    The Gso might have left the habitat, but that doesn''t mean it was safe to explore around. Gso are venomous and their marks could still leave some ces with high toxins.


    Thus, to avoidplications or getting poisoned, they needed to be careful and watch their movements.


    "The ground here is too soft," Mary said, noticing the difference between walking herepared to the outer side. She even put on a bit more strength on her feet, and it felt as if she was stepping on some mud or quicksand.


    "It''s probably because the Gso had walked over here so many times that it caused the ground to soften." Shi Tian deduced.


    "Mhmm, which is why this is weird," Mary responded.


    Shi Tian nodded his head.


    "Indeed, based on the soft ground and the terrain here. It''s clear that the Gso enjoyed this habitat, so why would all of them suddenly vanish?" He then nced left and right, spotting numerous traces of the Gso.


    While Shi Tian was searching for an answer, he bumped into Mary, who suddenly paused her movement.


    And before he could ask why she stopped, Mary pointed at an area with a somewhat horrified look.


    "It seems like we are having a bigger problem, Nathan." She muttered in a grave tone.


    Confused, Shi Tian scooted over to the right side, getting a new angle to see what was in front. Once he got a clear view, Shi Tian was stunned by the scenes.


    What wasid in front of him were a bunch of eggshells- cracked eggshells to be precise.


    The number of cracked eggshells in front was too many to be counted manually. It was like an ocean of them that wereid next to each other, one ovepping another given that there are no spaces left.


    "I''ll be damned if you tell me those eggshells are just for decoration." Shi Tian muttered, hoping to make light of the scene.


    "I wished it was for decoration too, Nathan." Mary chuckled, seemingly trying to calm herself.


    Afterward, they both remained silent for a few moments before uttering one word simultaneously.


    "Shit!"


    Realizing how drastic the scene in front of them meant, Shi Tian and Mary decided to explore further ahead.


    As they kept walking forward, there were cracking sounds that could be heard asionally due to them stepping on eggshells.


    "There''s just no end to these eggshells," Mary eximed in shock, wondering if they were trapped in an abyss.


    The more they walked forward, the more astonished she became. Ahead of them were more eggshells stacked upon each other, and there doesn''t seem to be an end to it.


    "This is unreal¡­" Mary swallowed a mouthful of saliva, wondering just how many Gso were hatched.


    Mary wanted to explore further, but the path had be too narrow for a human to walk through.


    "Was the terrain like this when you walked past it?" She paused her movement, turned around, and asked him.


    Shi Tian was technically the first person to discover the existence of these Gso variants, so it was natural that Mary would want to hear his opinion.


    Meanwhile, Shi Tian shook his head, shing a solemn expression.


    "No, back when I was crossing through here, the terrain was never like this. It was more of an open field and there aren''t any paths like this." Shi Tian exined, describing it as best as he could.


    Back then, he was only focused on reaching Gearits City and escaping the wilderness due to how treacherous and dangerous it was.


    Thus, he never really got a clear and closer look at his terrain. But with such a huge change, Shi Tian could still tell that the Gso had expanded rapidly.


    Listening to Shi Tian describing what he remembered, Mary was silent and held a solemn expression.


    ''This is bad. If these Gso had truly expanded and increased their poption by thousands plus, then the situation is now out of control.'' Mary thought to herself.


    At first, she had wanted to utilize these Gso monsters to ruin someone, but with such a discovery, she needed to scrap the n.


    After all, if she still didn''t do something and allowed this situation to fester, then Gearits City itself would be under threat.


    "Nathan, we''re leaving." Mary decisively said.


    "We''re not investigating any further?" Shi Tian was dumbfounded.


    He thought they would continue to investigate and search for clues of the Gso''s whereabouts.


    "It''s not that we''re not investigating any further, but our current equipment iscking. This is no longer within our capacity and we''ll need to get assistance." She shook her head and exined.


    "Our equipment iscking?"


    "Mhmm, this is no longer on a small scale, but on a major scale. Once this major scale erupted, everyone within the radius would be swarmed. Not even Gearits City would be able to stay safe."


    Seeing how serious her expression and tone were, Shi Tian was stunned.


    Someone like Mary wouldn''t utter such words unless the situation was truly dire.


    "Understood, let''s leave and get back up." Shi Tian nodded his head, turned around, and was ready to leave.


    However, when Shi Tian sensed that Mary was standing in a daze, he asked, "Did something happen, Mary?"


    Mary smiled bitterly as she nced at Shi Tian.


    "We were toote. I just received news from Gerald. A safehold that was situated nearby here had been overrun by Gso monsters. Only a few people survived."

 Chapter 163 State of Emergency

    <h4>Chapter 163 State of Emergency </h4>


    "Y-You mean another safehold were all swarmed by the Gso and only few people survived?" Shi Tian was in disbelief.


    "Is that even possible?" He added.


    Even if there are numerous Gso that had been hatched, they should still be toddlers, meaning they shouldn''t be capable of confronting experienced people.


    Mary smiled bitterly and turned on her watch function, showing a holographic screen.


    Within the holographic screen was a scenery of multiple ruined buildings.


    Upon getting a closer look, there was a vivid image of corpses scattered everywhere, but most importantly. There were at least thousands of grown Gso scurrying around, with most of them eating the corpses as they shrieked and slithered their tongue.


    Needless to say, it was grotesque and gruesome images of a deadly battle that had urred and resulted in the loss of humanity.


    "How long ago were these images taken?" Shi Tian pointed at these images and asked.


    "It was a few hours ago, and we only managed to receive it now due to the transmission signal being destroyed by the Gso during their process of swarming the safehold," Mary responded, her expression being extremely solemn.


    Shi Tian had never seen her shing such a serious face, not even when she was talking about Ynda or other activities.


    Shi Tian wasn''t an expert in these types of scenarios, so he patiently remained silent, waiting for Mary''s instruction.


    A few secondster, Mary sighed softly. "The fall of the safehold had already been circted, and Gerald informed me that Gearits City had issued a state of emergency after learning of the news."


    "So that means we don''t have to do anything else, right?" Shi Tian asked.


    If Gearits City had already issued a state of emergency, then it meant that people learned of the tragedy and were now ready to counterattack.


    This essentially means that they don''t need to do much since the leading organization party must nowe up with a strategy to defend.


    However, Shi Tian''s thinking was too naive this time as Mary exined why she was even more worried than before.


    "With this state of emergency and images as evidence, I''m afraid the Five Families'' influence would only increase further. In fact, they might even use this as an opportunity to eliminate those that are threatening their position." Mary said exhaustively.


    Whatever effort and tricks she had yed previously were now in the void. They were going back to zero and the situation for them was even worse.


    Meanwhile, Shi Tian finally understood her worries and realized he was truly retarded to believe the higher-ups of Gearits City would wholeheartedly defend against this crisis.


    "In that case, then the Harrett Family would definitely use this as leverage to consume Optic Mech." Shi Tian eximed.


    "Indeed, our Optic Mech, for the sake of our reputation, would have toply with the state of emergency and be forced to give out resources to defend Gearits City."


    A moment of silence then urred, with Mary sulking and her face filled with frustration.


    While Mary was busy trying topose her emotion, Shi Tian had long calmed down and was thinking about some possibilities.


    "Could this be another scheme?" He murmured, feeling the timing was too coincidental.


    "Mary, where did Gerald say the source of the images is from? " Shi Tian asked her.


    "Why do you want to know now?" She raised an eyebrow in confusion. Now was not the time to care about the sources, but how to resolve the uing crisis.


    Seeing that Mary wasn''t in the mood to think, Shi Tian decided to raise his tone and demanded an answer. "Just tell me where the sources are from!"


    "Ugh, they were obviously from the few survivors that managed to escape from the siege of the Gso." She shouted frustratingly.


    "Have Gerald checked the identities of the survivors?" Shi Tian pressured further.


    "Of course not, we needed to-"


    Mary suddenly stopped when she came to realize why Shi Tian was asking for such information when it was clear that she was annoyed.


    Without hesitation, Mary quickly asked Gerald to investigate the survivors'' identity, and thoroughly at that.


    Once the message was sent, Mary turned to Shi Tian and asked, "Are you suspecting this is a scheme from the Five Families?"


    Shi Tian shook his head. "No, I''m not suspecting it to be the Five Families scheme, but only one of them."


    "The Harrett Family?"


    Shi Tian nodded his head.


    "The deployment of their military reserve seemed to be a desperate measure from our deduction, but it could actually be a n by them. Not to mention, this terrain around here is monitored by which military?"


    Mary was slightly taken aback and nearly fumbled to the ground once she connected the pieces.


    Although the wilderness was awless ce, the Five Families still decided to have their own people to monitor specific acres. They needed surveince on people that are always in the wilderness to check whether they had any intention of rebelling.


    Thus, it was already a known fact that the Five Families might not be able to control and imposews in the wilderness, but they could still know about their movement and actions.


    And this particr terrain was managed by the Harrett Family, so only the Harrett Family could pull off something like this without anyone ever discovering this ce.


    "If your suspicions are correct, then that means the Harrett Family was plotting this for a while already. To be able to find variants of Gso and allow such a situation to fester, just what are they nning to do?" Mary was astonished.


    Their actions this time were no longer just trying topete against them. This goes against humanity as a whole and once caught, the Harrett Family would be ruinedpletely.


    "Maybe they just wanted to decrease the poption as a whole or deplete everyone else''s arsenal. The terrain here might be monitored by the Harrett Family, but other than that. Everywhere else is from the other Families. The Harrett Family wouldn''t lose muchpared to the others." Shi Tian sneered coldly.


    He really must give it to the Harret Family toe up with such a devious scheme to decrease thepetition once the New Region opened up

 Chapter 164 Treacherous Plot

    <h4>Chapter 164 Treacherous Plot</h4>


    Mary spent the next few minutes pondering over Shi Tian''s deduction.


    What he said waspletely logical and made sense, but there was just one doubt that Mary had in her mind.


    Unlike Shi Tian who didn''t have much of an understanding of the Five Families, she was different. Investigating them and predicting the Five Families'' actions had always been her job.


    So she was confident to say that not one of them could pull off such a feat without alerting the other families.


    "Nathan, do you think this matter could be concealed by the Harrett Family alone?" Mary questioned him.


    "That- I''m actually not sure. If the Harrett Family really wanted to conceal such a matter, then it should be possible." Shi Tian responded.


    However, Mary shook her head and refused to believe the Harrett Family could conceal this type of thing.


    "The Warner Family is adept in irvoyant, so they would definitely have noticed something was amiss," Mary revealed why she was so doubtful of the matter.


    After all, no matter how much she despised the Five Families, she also understood that most of them aren''t stupid enough to pull such a scheme that could threaten them as well.


    Purposely creating a monster wave such as the Gso variants were not only dangerous but also extremely risky. If they failed to suppress it, then Gearits City would fall to ruin, and by that time, they are ruined as well.


    In addition to that, the Warner Family was somewhat decent enough that they would never attempt to do something that goes against humanity as a whole.


    "Would the Harrett Family really do something stupid like this without knowing the cons clearly far outweighed the pros?" Mary mumbled, walking back and forth. She refused to believe the profit-seeking Harrett Family would fail to make such a simple calction that this was unprofitable.


    And of course, while Mary was pondering over it, Shi Tian also wasn''t idling and attempted to think why the Harrett Family would risk such a thing.


    ''If the Warner Family had irvoyants that could predict the Harrett Family''s actions, then what if the Harrett Family had a supporter? And that supporter was someone that could conceal the matter on their behalf?'' Shi Tian thought to himself.


    Time slowly passed by, and Shi Tian suddenly recalled Vanessa. Although not Vanessa exactly, it was the enemies that she had encountered.


    "The White Syndicate¡­" Shi Tian muttered in shock, feeling as if lightning had struck him.


    "The White Syndicate?" Mary eximed loudly when she heard what Shi Tian had said despite him saying it in a low tone.


    "Where did you learn that name?" She then asked in agitation.


    Seeing how agitated she was, Shi Tian decided to exin his encounter with Vanessa and the enemies that had attacked her.


    A few minutester, Mary was astounded to learn of this incident.


    "The Vanessa you''re talking about, is she from Chronoworth City?" She then enquired.


    Shi Tian nodded his head. "I think so. She had mentioned the Chronoworth City to me before."


    "No wonder why the Harrett Family was willing to do this action. They aren''t even the main instigator, but a colluder." Mary eximed, her doubts being cleared rapidly.


    "What a treacherous plot by the White Syndicate, and this damn Harrett Family is merely agreeing to this because the action would benefit them dearly." She added, clenching her fist tightly.


    As much as she despised the Five Families, the Harrett Family was definitely at the top of the list for being the most shameless and vile people.


    With her mind now all cleared up, Mary was able to calm down. Previously she was in the dark and didn''t understand what was going on. But now that she had gotten a gist of it, she was able to rx her nerves.


    Patting on Shi Tian''s shoulder, Maryplimented him. "It''s a good thing that you have encountered Vanessa and revealed the White Syndicate appearing in Gearits City."


    "Umm, but how are you so sure about it now? What I said is still based on inferences without evidence?" This time, it was Shi Tian that didn''t understand.


    "Heh, the White Syndicate is a mysterious organization proiming that the current world situation is salvation. And their motives are usually cooking up monster waves to destroy humanity as sacrifices." She exined.


    "Unbelievable¡­" Shi Tian was dumbfounded to see there actually exist such heretic peoples that sought to destroy their own kind.


    Although he doesn''t feel anything about killing people, even he wouldn''t go as far as to kill mindlessly for some superficial beliefs.


    "Let''s go, Nathan. We have something important to do." Mary stopped idling around here and rushed back to the Iron Sentinel.


    Shi Tian quickly followed behind while asking where they were going.


    "We''re going back to your house," Mary tly said.


    "My house?"


    "Yes, more precisely, we''re going back to meet up with Vanessa. Only she can salvage this crisis and thwart the treacherous plot of the White Syndicate and the Harrett Family for trying to take advantage of this situation."


    "Vanessa has such power?" Shi Tian raised an eyebrow, clearly confused about how Vanessa would be able to defend against thousands of Gso variants.


    As the two of them got inside the Iron Sentinel, Mary turned on autopilot mode and had the direction back to Gearits City.


    Once that was done, Mary asked, "Have you heard of the term, Ancient Technology?"


    Shi Tian nodded his head.


    "Since you have heard of it, then you should know just how enticing Ancient Technology is, right?"


    Shi Tian nodded his head again. "Although I don''t know why Ancient Technology is so enticing to people, I''m sure it must be something powerful that could make everyone excited and get their hands on it."


    "Long story short, Ancient Technology doesn''t originate from Earth. They are remnant pieces from above. More precisely, it''s from the sky fissure that appeared 132 years ago. Each of these remnant pieces contained power beyond the means of our scope of understanding, and Vanessa possessed an Ancient Technology that could alter the situation."

 Chapter 165 Returned

    <h4>Chapter 165 Returned</h4>


    ?


    With the information that Ancient Technology was actually items that were left from the sky fissure 132 years ago, Shi Tian didn''t seem surprised by it.


    In fact, he believed it made sense that Ancient Technology didn''t originate from Earth. Something that could advance the era or affect the world entirely was surely not simple.


    "Is that why we''re rushing back to Gearits City?" Shi Tian enquired.


    He wasn''t talking about getting the Ancient Technology from Vanessa''s hand but was talking about her safety there.


    Given that the treacherous plot of the White Syndicate had already begun, the danger of Vanessa was clear as day.


    Since Mary had stated that Vanessa could alter the situation, then it was obvious that the White Syndicate knew about this fact too. Hence, why they attacked and attempted to kill Vanessa in the past.


    However, there was an even bigger problem now.


    The Harrett Family was involved, so they might now be targeting Vanessa as well.


    "I can only hope that Mechanist Isaac could react in time and protect Vanessa," Mary said, turning on the nitro booster in the Iron Sentinel, increasing their speed rapidly.


    "You sent a message to Master Isaac?"


    "What else? Did you really think I''m just going to rush back and pray for the best?"


    "Why are you suddenly shouting at me?"


    "Ugh, I''m just frustrated by the situation." Mary scrambled her hair. Even though she had calmed down earlier, she still couldn''t help but feel angry whenever she thought about how her ns were futile.


    "Why don''t we look at the brighter side, Mary? Compared to others that are probably still kept in the dark, we at least know what is going on. Isn''t that already better than not knowing anything?" Shi Tian attempted tofort her.


    Theforting might not be expertly done, but Mary understood his meaning.


    "You''re right, I should look at the bright side indeed." She nodded her head. The worst had yet toe and they could still salvage the situation.


    And if they managed to thwart the treacherous plot of the White Syndicate, then everything would be fine. Not to mention, the Harrett Family is going to suffer badly once they mess up.


    Time slowly passed by, and soon, Shi Tian could see Gearits City from afar. Though the scenery was a far cry from when he first infiltrated there.


    The fortification seemed to have expanded from thest time, and more soldiers were patrolling the area.


    "Looks like the news of a potential monster wave had sounded quite the rm bell. They even constructed new barricades forward and had more soldiers." Shi Tian muttered softly.


    "It''s to be expected. A state of emergency isn''t something one can just casually announce." Mary rolled her eyes.


    Others might be ignorant, but she knew this was all just for show. This is all just them putting up a front, all show but zero substance.


    "Those barricades are easily destroyed given that it was done hastily. And these patrolling soldiers, I doubt they had actually fought monsters often. Just look at the way they walk and how they hold their firearms." Shemented, pointing out their ws.


    Taking control manually, Mary proceeded to drive forward near the inspection point which had been moved more outward.


    "Halt, identification card or barcode scanner as well as infection check rate." One of the inspection guards stepped forward and demanded.


    And because of the tense situation, there were also more soldiers nearby that were on standby, ready to assist the inspection guard if there are any problems.


    "Here''s our identification card, and you better hurry it up. We came back to resupply ourselves to deal with the Gso monsters that had overtaken a safehold in the wilderness already. If you were to dy us and cause us to have any inconveniences, then prepare to suffer the consequences." Mary spoke slowly in a deep tone, imposing a majesty aura.


    Of course, if it was any other people, then the inspection guard would have been offended and decided that it was a troublemaker.


    However, the inspection guard didn''t dare to utter a single sound when he saw what type of identification card Mary had handed to him.


    ''Damn it, this kind of identification card could only be approved by the higher-ups of my higher-ups.'' The inspection guard thought to himself, realizing he had messed up badly this time.


    Luckily, he was quick on his feet and returned the identification card to Mary. He even went as far as showing a smile on his face, indicating that he was friendly and meant no harm.


    "They are cleared with no problems in their identification. So quickly open up a path for them to go through." The inspection guard then shouted loudly at his fellowrades, who were still in the dark.


    His fellowrades were confused at first, but quickly followed themand and opened up a pathway for Shi Tian and Mary to go through.


    They weren''t idiots either, so when they saw how the inspection guard''s behavior and attitude changed, they knew these people in the vehicle were big shots that they could not offend.


    Not to mention, it wasn''t their first rodeo that some big shots hade back from the wilderness once the state of emergency hadmenced.


    "It sure is helpful to be influential." Shi Tian sighed softly, watching how easily they re-entered Gearits City without any hups.


    Back then, he had to risk and bribe the guards for entry, but now?


    They simply needed to sh an identification card and these guards are like a bunch of scaredy-cats, rushing to let them through.


    "That''s why it''s important to establish a strong foundation- to the point that even the military wouldn''t dare to trouble you much," Mary eximed loudly.


    And she continued, "If we didn''t have a strong foundation, then we would most likely be stopped and forced out of the vehicle to go through the procedure of being examined."


    "Even though that''s supposed to be the natural thing to do to prevent any possible infection. It''s situations like this why humans deserve what they get." Shi Tian shook his head.

 Chapter 166 Acquaintance

    <h4>Chapter 166 Acquaintance</h4>


    Returning to Gearits City, Shi Tian witnessed the same scenery ahead of him, except this time, his status was different.


    Unlike previously where he needed to avoid interaction due to being ignorant of the current world, he now could walk around the streets without being afraid of getting caught.


    As Mary continued to drive slowly in the streets, Shi Tian subtly remembered the area on the east side. The east side was a slum area, and it was also the time that he had an unpleasant encounter.


    "What''s the matter, Nathan?" Mary suddenly asked once she felt something was amiss with him.


    "Oh nothing, just some bad memories that I had over there." Shi Tian replied without thinking much.


    s, who would have thought Mary would suddenly stop her vehicle by the curb.


    "Oh? What kind of bad memories," She then asked curiously. It wasn''t her fault for being overly curious given that Shi Tian had rarely shown much of his displeasure aside from the mention of Ynda.


    "It''s nothing important. We shouldn''t dy our journey." Shi Tian brushed it off. He didn''t think it was more important than returning to his apartment and requesting Vanessa for help.


    However, Mary didn''t seem to have any intention of driving until she got an answer from him. She even went as far as changing the gear shift to parking.


    "Why are you doing this?" He questioned, unable to believe her current action.


    Shouldn''t the matter regarding Vanessa take top priority instead of enquiring about his displeased encounter that urred in the past?


    Why was she suddenly acting so childish?


    Despite the questioning and constant stare that Shi Tian gave her, Mary seemed oblivious, even yawning in the process.


    Shaking his head, Shi Tian decided to just exin it as quickly as he could.


    Sometimeter, Mary sped her hands and nodded her head.


    "I see, so you went to a shady mechanic workshop in the slum area. Hush''s Workshop? What kind of trashy name was that?" She snickered coldly.


    "Yes, can we move on now?" Shi Tian asked, pointing at the watch on his wrist which was borrowed from her, indicating that time was running out.


    "Why are you in such a rush?"


    "Because we needed to meet up with Vanessa? Something that you kept urgently telling me about throughout the journey?"


    "Oh, that?" Mary chuckled softly and stretched her arms. "We don''t need to rush back any further because the issue has been resolved already."


    And before Shi Tian could ask why, Mary showed him a message that Isaac Aaronax had sent her.


    Within the message, Isaac Aaronax informed Mary that the people he sent to assist Vanessa weren''t needed. After all, the people that tried to sneak into the apartmentplex were all swiftly dealt with by none other than the Crimson Mage.


    "Right, the Crimson Mage is the owner of the apartmentplex." Shi Tian seemed to have been enlightened, clearly forgetting about this fact given how tense the situation was earlier.


    With the Crimson Mage overseeing her property, only someone stronger than the Crimson Mage could possibly sneak in and harm others.


    "The Crimson Mage''s reputation isn''t for show, Nathan. Since the possibility of Vanessa being in danger is voided, we actually have time to idle around." Mary tly said.


    "Even if Vanessa won''t be in danger, shouldn''t we still rush back?"


    "Not possible at the moment. Crimson Mage rarely shows her presence and when she does, there is usually a barricade of mes created by her. This was done on purpose by the Crimson Mage to avoid being seen or interrupted by other people."


    "Not even the resident could enter during this phase?" Shi Tian twitched his mouth in disbelief.


    Meanwhile, Mary simply shrugged her shoulders, equivalent to answering Shi Tian''s question.


    Sighing softly, Shi Tian was dumbfounded, but not surprised by the oue. He was merely a renter and not the owner.


    Not to mention, would anyone dare to go against the Crimson Mage when even the military and other intruders failed to do anything to her?


    "So how long does the barricade of messt?" Shi Tian then asked.


    "About 30 minutes to 1 hour," Mary responded. "Though the time is mainly for her employees to clean up the corpses or areas that were ruined by the fighting," she added.


    "Damn, then what do we do now?"


    "That was my concern originally since I don''t feel like returning to Optic Mech. But thanks to you, I found something fun to do." She smiled mysteriously.


    Shi Tian was speechless because he knew what she was nning to do.


    And sure enough, a few minutester, Mary kicked him off the Iron Sentinel and strode toward Hush''s Workshop.


    Facepalming, Shi Tian could only pray that Mary would not overdo things.


    Silently following Mary, Shi Tian once again walked through the slum area where he had not been here for a long time.


    While walking through, Shi Tian suddenly paused his movement. His eyes focused on a particrly dark alley.


    ''So she''s been feeding these orphans.'' He thought to himself.


    "Hm? Did you meet an acquaintance?" Mary, who realized Shi Tian wasn''t following him, turned around and asked once she noticed his eyesight was somewhere else.


    "Huh?" Shi Tian snapped out of his daze and nced at Mary.


    "Do you know that woman?" Mary pointed at the woman in the dark alley. "You seem to be staring at her quite intensely, so I thought it was an acquaintance of yours."


    "Ah, no, she''s not really an acquaintance, but just someone I have met and interacted with briefly." Shi Tian shook his head and proceeded to introduce who she was.


    "So, she''s Krissie and someone that was an early guide of you here." Mary rubbed her chin, seemingly in deep thought.


    "Well, it''s nothing important, so let''s just leave." Shi Tian then suggested.


    However, Mary shook her head and said, "Why don''t you introduce us? She doesn''t seem to be a bad person either if she''s willing to feed those orphans."

 Chapter 167 Introduction

    <h4>Chapter 167 Introduction </h4>


    "I don''t think that''s a good idea." Shi Tian didn''t agree with the idea of introducing her to Krissie.


    After all, they hadn''t met in quite a long time, and Shi Tian didn''t want to disturb Krissie simply because of Mary''s whim.


    Not to mention, it was clear that Krissie was doing fairly well herself if she could afford to wear some decent clothes and be able to feed orphans.


    Orphans are amon sight in the slum where they had either lost their family or been thrown away by their family because of financial issues.


    Given that people living in Gearits City are all selfish and cared about themselves, these orphans often or not died in the slum without getting any help.


    In fact, once these orphans died, their corpses were also taken away by people to sell.


    That was because the rotten smell of the corpses would attract monsters, so it could be used as bait by hunters, mercenaries, or other people that wanted to head out to the wilderness.


    "If you''re not going to introduce her to me, then I''ll do it myself." Mary shrugged her shoulders, ignoring Shi Tian, and walked toward the dark alley.


    While Mary was walking toward her, Krissie remained ignorant and was focused on feeding the orphans.


    "Here, this meat is for you. And this piece of meat is for you." She said gently.


    The orphans that received the meat quickly devoured it without hesitation.


    However, even after eating the meat, the expression on their faces was clear that they aren''t even full. It was just some pieces of meat, so it was naturally not enough to fill their belly.


    What was worse was that these orphans were all skinny, a clear evidence of malnourishment.


    Seeing the scenery, Mary suddenly spoke, rming Krissie who was concentrating on the orphans. "With just those little meats, these orphans won''t be full. And it would just harm them more since they now tasted meat but were unable to get more."


    Astonished, Krissie fell backward and nced at Mary with a somewhat terrified look. Thanks to Mary''s profession and constant training, her presence and footsteps are usually discreet, so it would be hard for others to notice her.


    Thus, her sudden appearance shocked Krissie, and thought she was being attacked.


    "W-Who are you?" Krissie''s mouth was trembling as she asked nervously.


    At the same time, her hand was slowly reaching for her back, in which a pistol was stored there.


    Although Mary was a woman, that doesn''t mean she would lower her guard and be ready to react if Mary made any actions that seemed to be a threat.


    Naturally, Mary also noticed what she was doing and found it hrious.


    With her keen eyes, she could deduce Krissie was an amateur, so even if she did try to pull out the pistol and shoot at her. It would be futile, given that her speed would easily close the gap between them.


    Hearing no response from Mary, Krissie became even warier.


    "If you don''t talk, then I''m going to shoot you." She pulled out the pistol and threatened.


    She wasn''t going to take any chances when everyone here were selfish people that only cared about themselves. Meanwhile, the orphans were frightened by the sudden confrontation.


    But given that they barely had any strength to run, the orphans could only cover their heads with both their arms, shaking tremblingly.


    "Why are you so hostile?" Mary raised an eyebrow. "Look at the orphans. You are scaring them dearly," she added.


    Krissie sweated profusely when she noticed how calm and collected Mary was despite her holding a pistol directed at her.


    ''Just who is this woman? Is she from another underground gang that wants to capture these orphans or are they after me?'' Krissie wondered silently, clearly unable to understand Mary''s appearance.


    While Krissie was wondering about Mary''s appearance, Shi Tian calmly revealed himself from behind Mary.


    "H-hey, long time no see." Shi Tian awkwardly said, having been embarrassed by the situation.


    Mary''s action was indeed somewhat suspicious, so he could understand why Krissie turned so hostile against her. And to be fair, he didn''t want to reveal himself since they weren''t acquainted much.


    However, seeing how drastic the situation turned, Shi Tian knew he needed to step in to defuse the situation. Otherwise, if a misunderstanding andmotion truly urred between the two, then it would have be problematic.


    Shi Tian was sure that Mary also knew about this part, but didn''t care as she clearly wanted him to be the middle person and introduce them.


    And of course, with Shi Tian''s appearance, Krissie was slightly stunned and her hostility seemed to have lowered. Though it was only a little bit, given that she didn''t understand why Shi Tian was beside Mary.


    "Why are you here and who is she?" Krissie pointed her pistol at Shi Tian and asked.


    "Rx, we don''t mean any harm and this woman here is Mary, a receptionist at Optic Mech." Shi Tian raised his hands and introduced her. He didn''t wish to escte the situation any further, so he didn''t react much despite having a pistol aimed at him.


    Not to mention, a pistol could barely do anything to him, especially when he was still equipped with the boosters'' suit.


    "Mary from Optic Mech?" Krissie raised an eyebrow, clearly dumbfounded as to why such a person was in the slum area. She had heard of Optic Mech and knew it was a mechanic workshop simr to Hush''s workshop, albeit on arger scale.


    "Heh, nice to meet you, Krissie. I''m Mary and I didn''t mean no harm to you." Mary chuckled softly.


    And she continued, " After all, you won''t be able to harm us if we were hostile."


    With that said, Mary suddenly vanished from her position, reappearing behind Krissie.


    Shocked, Krissie wanted to turn around and pull the trigger to shoot, but Mary swiftly raised her leg and kicked the pistol away from her hand.


    Afterward, Mary retrieved a dagger from behind and raised it near Krissie''s neck.


    Mary then smirked coldly, "See, if I was hostile, your neck would have been cut and your life would have gone poof."

 Chapter 168 Orphans

    <h4>Chapter 168 Orphans </h4>


    Krissie was beyond stunned when she felt the cold de close to her neck.


    If she had made any movement earlier, then the de would have really slit her throat.


    Swallowing a mouthful of saliva nervously, Krissie remained perfectly still, clearly understanding that her life was at the hands of Mary.


    "That''s enough, Mary. She''s not an enemy, so why are you scaring her?" Shi Tian intervened at this moment and told Mary to stop her action.


    Although he wasn''t sure why Mary was acting like this, he wasn''t going to sit back either. No matter what, Krissie had somewhat helped him in the past, so he wouldn''t do something like harming her unless she had attempted to harm him.


    Just because he had killed people, doesn''t mean he was a cold-blooded emotionless killer that would kill whenever he wanted.


    "Tsk, and you''re telling me she''s just someone you have briefly interacted with?" Mary clicked her tongue and removed the dagger from Krissie''s neck.


    She then used her movement and arrived back at her original position.


    As for Krissie, she copsed on the ground, clearly shocked and frightened by Mary''s action. No matter how tough she wanted to be, she was still just a woman that had not fought much or encountered such scenarios.


    Seeing the scene, Shi Tian facepalmed and wondered what Mary was nning to do.


    "Apologies Krissie, but Mary here meant no harm." Shi Tian said calmly.


    He wanted to walk over and extend his hand to give her a lift but stopped when he remembered that they weren''t that close. Hence, it would have been too much, given that he doesn''t want to get entangled with her any further.


    The current him was being targeted extensively thanks to the ploy he had done in the safehold, and he didn''t wish to drag Krissie into danger. It was not his style to drag innocent people into his mess.


    A few secondster, Krissie finally regained herposure and stood up from the ground.


    She then nced at Mary somewhat anxiously. She was still afraid of Mary who could easily take her life without her even noticing what had happened.


    Though the next moment, she clenched her fist and mustered up her courage.


    Ignoring Mary''s presence, Krissie turned to Shi Tian and asked softly. "Is there a reason why you came here?"


    "I''m sure you have mentioned multiple times that you don''t want to have anything to do with me." She added.


    Shi Tian nodded his head, not denying that fact. Even now, he still stands on that statement.


    Instead of replying to her, Shi Tian nced at Mary, clearly passing the ball onto her. She was the one that caused this problem, so she should be the one to resolve it now.


    "Hehe, I simply wanted to introduce myself and wondered what kind of acquaintance Nathan here would make." Mary chuckled softly, patting Shi Tian''s shoulder.


    "Your means of introduction is to threaten people?" Krissie raised an eyebrow, clearly still suspicious of her.


    "Well, not exactly. I merely wanted to test your skills slightly." Mary shrugged her shoulders.


    Meanwhile, Shi Tian finally understood what Mary was hoping to achieve. She was trying to determine what type of people he interacted with in the past.


    ''It seems like I have still underestimated Mary''s shrewdness.'' Shi Tian thought to himself.


    Sometimeter, Mary sped her hands and offered to assist the orphans that Krissie was helping out earlier.


    "How about this? I can treat these orphans with some proper food instead of those meats that you had fed them which clearly isn''t enough."


    And although the orphans could barely understand Mary''s words given their poor education, they could subtlyprehend that Mary was going to give them some food.


    Just the word food alone was enough to entice this group of poor orphans.


    Turning her attention to the drooling orphans, Krissie was silent for a few moments. It was clear that she was still confused by Mary, especially Shi Tian''s sudden appearance when he hadn''t even cared or bothered much about her.


    However, for the orphans, Krissie exhaled softly and nodded her head.


    "Fine, if you can feed these poor orphans some proper food, then I shall forget about the previous incident." She said calmly.


    As for Shi Tian, he was slightly dumbfounded to see that Krissie had this kind of gentle side of her.


    In this chaotic world where everyone only cared about themselves, it was hard to see people like Krissie that would still worry about these orphans.


    And that included him as well. Unless he found these orphans to be of use to him, then he wouldn''t even bother to assist them.


    Why should he waste his precious resources on them if there is no benefit?


    "Well, Nathan, here''s some money so take these orphans to get some good food. I still want to have a word with Krissie and deal with the other stuff." Mary retrieved a small pouch filled with some money and handed it to Shi Tian.


    Of course, Shi Tian wanted to stop her but halted himself when he felt the intense re from her. It was clear that Mary wanted to have some alone time with Krissie.


    And as for the other stuff that she mentioned, she was definitely going to make her way to Hush''s Workshop. She was never the type to back away once she decided upon something.


    While Shi Tian was in a daze, Mary waved her hands and urged him to move already.


    "What are you still idling for? Are you trying to starve these orphans more?" She said hastily, almost as if she couldn''t wait for Shi Tian to disappear. Twitching his mouth, Shi Tian could only guide the orphans to a somewhat decent food stall nearby to feed them. The money that Mary gave him was barely enough to cover it.


    ''Hopefully, there won''t be a mess when Ie back.'' Shi Tian could only pray that Mary would only fool around a bit.

 Chapter 169 Let’s Play

    <h4>Chapter 169 Let¡¯s y </h4>


    Without a choice, Shi Tian quickly guided the orphans to follow him as they searched for nearby food stalls.


    Though it didn''t take long for him to notice that these poor orphans were beyond scared of the light, especially with other people around.


    Seeing how much their bodies were trembling and how timid they were acting, Shi Tian was silent. Even if the people walking around them didn''t do anything, these orphans were still frightened badly.


    This just goes to show how poorly they were treated and only Krissie was somewhat able to gain their trust through time and effort.


    ''No wonder why Krissie went tofort them softly for a moment before these orphans actually followed me. If it weren''t for Krissie, then these orphans wouldn''t even dare to follow me.'' Shi Tian eximed inwardly.


    Although he knew these orphans were frightened and only dared to follow him at a set distance, Shi Tian had no intention of calming them down or offering any more kindness than necessary.


    He didn''t wish to create more unnecessary rtionships with others which could potentially get them harmed from people that wanted to target him.


    Currently, he was tackling the role of a decoy, so if his enemies realized he was showing kindness or closeness to someone, then that said person would receive the brunt of coteral damage.


    Pretending to be an inconsiderate person, Shi Tian made sure that others wouldn''t mistake him to be caring for these orphans.


    Walking toward a food stall that was selling average meat but in a somewhatrge portion, Shi Tian asked for four portions. They were five orphans in total, so having fourrge portions shared among them would be enough to fill their stomachs.


    "Four portions of meating right up. The total is 90 Eons." The food stall owner made a quick calction and said.


    However, Shi Tian narrowed his eyes and pointed at the price listing. "Shouldn''t it be 80 Eons and not 90 Eons?"


    In the price listing, it stated each portion cost 20 Eons, so it was clear that ordering four portions would require him 80 Eons. Yet the food stall owner had the nerve to charge him 90 Eons.


    Did he look that easy to be fooled or cheated?


    The food stall owner smiled bitterly when he got caught increasing the price charge, but as he noticed the poor orphans that were following Shi Tian, the food stall owner continued his im.


    "This customer here might not know, but Gearits City had sounded a state of emergency rm. Food is bing scarce so there are now taxes being charged as well." The food stall owner exined, making his im seem extremely reasonable and logical.


    Shi Tian smiled softly when he heard that kind of excuse.


    Food bing scarce?


    What kind of retarded excuse was that? If food is surely bing scarce, then why the hell would he still be here selling meat instead of storing it for himself?


    Even better was that he could have definitely increased the price to an exorbitant rate, but all he did was raise it by 10 Eons.


    Something ain''t right here, and Shi Tian understood what it was. Just because he was guiding the poor orphans behind him made the food stall owner believe he was someone easy orpassionate. Otherwise, would the food stall owner have dared to do such a thing?


    "Listen, food stall owner, I don''t care if the price was correct, but if you''re increasing it because you think I''m someonepassionate, then you couldn''t be any more wrong." Shi Tian leaned forward and uttered in a soft and deep voice.


    At the same time, he retrieved a gun and pointed it at the food stall owner.


    "Now, let me ask you again. How much did the four portions cost?" He asked calmly.


    The food stall owner was slightly nervous when he saw Shi Tian pulling out a gun, but thinking about how security was tight and tense due to the state of emergency rm. The food stall owner believed Shi Tian wouldn''t dare to actually pull the trigger.


    "It''s 90 Eons, this customer." The food stall owner purposely raised his tone loud and clear, attracting the other people to their direction.


    "I see¡­" Shi Tian smiled lightly when he noticed other people were starting to look in their direction curiously. After that, he nced back at the food stall owner who was smirking quite coldly.


    "So you have chosen death huh." Shi Tian muttered, activating his boosters'' suit that was still concealed due to the invisible function, and went behind the food stall owner.


    And without hesitation, Shi Tian grabbed the food stall owner by the neck, lifted him up into the air, and shouted, "A state of emergency had been sounded, but instead of being a good owner, you decided to extort people that need food to survive. What a great food stall owner you are."


    The food stall owner being lifted midair, was anxious and could see other people that he had attracted looking at him with a disgusted expression.


    "Hot damn, we are already in a state of emergency, but there are still people trying to take advantage of the situation to gain profits?"


    "What a piece of garbage that this food stall owner is! I will never patronize him again."


    "What a scumbag of society and taking advantage of others in an emergency situation."


    Instead of gaining any sympathy or help from the people, the food stall owner had backfired him dearly. Even if others aren''t willing to assist people due to their selfishness, they also aren''t going to stay silent if someone attempts to take advantage of them either.


    If the food stall owner was able to raise prices based on the situation, then wouldn''t they be forced to fork out more money the next time they want to purchase food for themselves?


    How could they allow it to happen?


    It was also based on this fact that Shi Tian knew whose side these random people would side with. And whose side these random people would bash thoroughly and condemn them to no end.


    ''You want to y, then let''s y!'' Shi Tian sneered inwardly. He was never one to be afraid of shrewd people like the food stall owner.

 Chapter 170 Texting

    <h4>Chapter 170 Texting </h4>


    The food stall owner was sweating profusely when he heard the amount of bashing he had received. Not to mention, he was still suspended in the air thanks to Shi Tian''s mighty strength to continue his lifting.


    After all the training, Shi Tian''s strength naturally increased and the food stall owner could be considered an ant in front of him.


    Thus, how could the food stall owner do anything aside from being a fish on the chopping board?


    "This customer, I was wrong. Please drop me back to the ground and we could talk about it." The food stall owner finally realized he had messed with the wrong person and pleaded for mercy.


    Had he known Shi Tian was such a ruthless person and someone even more shrewd than him that could rally support in an instant from the crowd.


    He would have never dared to overcharge him, much less offend or provoke him, to begin with.


    s, it was a little toote for regret, and Shi Tian wasn''t some goody-two-shoes either to simply forgive others for their offense.


    He would never offend others first but was never afraid to confront them if they wanted to offend him.


    "You want to talk about it?" Shi Tian raised an eyebrow and asked doubtfully. "Earlier, didn''t I ask if you were sure about it, and you doubled down on it? What else is there to talk about?"


    "T-This customer, I was blind and weak to not notice your majestic self. Please lower me and I promise to give you a satisfactory answer." The food stall owner pleaded anxiously.


    He wasn''t afraid of Shi Tian harming him but was afraid of the people that were currently watching them. If he still hadn''t resolved this issue before things got out of hand, then he would forever be barred from having his stall here to sell.


    Of course, Shi Tian also understood the mindset of the food stall owner which is why he was dying the time. The more time he wasted and the more people he attracted, the betterpensation he would receive.


    Who told this dumb food stall owner to scam him?


    Seeing how there was no response from Shi Tian, the food stall owner became more panicked.


    "Free, the food shall be free and I will give you 60 Eons aspensation." The food stall owner could only grit his teeth and forego some of his profit.


    This tiny bit of bleeding was better than losing his profitspletely.


    "80 Eons, no more and no less." Shi Tian countered the deal and yawned, his right hand continued to lift him high up in the air, making sure he was still on disy on all sides.


    "80 Eons it is. This customer, please lower me down already."


    Smirking coldly, Shi Tianplied with the request and lowered him down.


    "Should have said so earlier. What a waste of my energy and strength." He thenined, ming it on the food stall owner.


    Poor little food stall owner could only reap what he sowed as he reluctantly coughed up 80 Eons, and increased the food portion under the intense gaze from Shi Tian.


    He didn''t even dare to hold back on the ingredients, lest Shi Tian might lift him up in the air again and cause another big scene.


    Once Shi Tian was content with the portion andpensation, he turned around to leave, not even batting an eyelid at the food stall owner.


    If the food stall owner refused to learn his wrongdoing and continued his malicious way of scamming, then sooner orter, he would cause his own demise. There was no need for him to dirty his hands for a trivial scamming scene.


    Sometimeter, Shi Tian found a nearby ce that allowed for some seating.


    "Go, the five of you can share the four portions together," He pointed at a table andmanded.


    And for some reason, the five orphans didn''t seem to hesitate this time, directly walking to the table without any stalling.


    Previously, the five orphans were always keeping a distance and didn''t dare to do any actions until they waited a bit longer, almost as if they were afraid of making any mistakes.


    Although finding it somewhat weird, Shi Tian didn''t care much and ced the portion on the table, allowing them to decide how to share it.


    Afterward, he sat on another chair, going through his Cellos device to check up on Mary, texting her.


    Nathan: What are you up to now?


    Mary: Nothing much, just having some fun with Krissie right now.


    Nathan: By having fun¡­ You don''t mean making a mess at Hush''s Workshop, right?


    Mary: Talk to youter, make sure to take care of the orphans for another 20 minutes or so.


    That was thest text Shi Tian received before shepletely ignored him. Even when he attempted to text her not to do anything big and caution her, there was no response.


    ''She is definitely at Hush''s Workshop right now and causing a mess.'' Shi Tian sighed inwardly, feeling troubled by Mary''s antics.


    Her personality when she was still working at the receptionist desk was to not cause any trouble.


    And now that she seemed to have gotten rid of the receptionist role, she wanted to cause trouble. Almost as if it was all from the pent-up frustration she had received from annoying customers in the past.


    While Shi Tian was wondering how to deal with the aftermath trouble that Mary might have caused, one of the orphans suddenly tapped on his arm.


    Turning around, Shi Tian recalled that this orphan was named Keith.


    "What is it, Keith?" Shi Tian asked in a tone without much emotion.


    The orphan, Keith, was holding on to some meat and asked timidly, "Do you want some meat as well?"


    Slightly dumbfounded by Keith''s action, Shi Tian subsequently shook his head.


    "The meat was bought for you guys to eat, and I''m not hungry." He said coolly, telling him to return back to his table.

 Chapter 171 Keith

    <h4>Chapter 171 Keith </h4>


    The orphan Keith was considered the healthy one out of the other orphans. Though that didn''t mean anything given that Keith was still extremely skinny and the signs of malnourishment were clear as day.


    Thus, Shi Tian was somewhat surprised that Keith would attempt to offer him some meat when the other four orphans were still busy chomping down on the meat without a care.


    Keith, who was still holding onto the meat that he intended to share with Shi Tian, was somewhat disappointed.


    "I-I see¡­" Keith''s head was lowered slightly as he gradually returned to the table and ate with the rest.


    Meanwhile, Shi Tian started to pay some attention to Keith and realized his demeanor was indeed different from the other orphans.


    The other orphans only had eyes on food and didn''t seem to have any sentiment on other stuff.


    But Keith was different.


    How so?


    It was the eyes that Shi Tian came to notice from Keith. Those eyes of his were familiar to Shi Tian. After all, those were the determined eyes that showed one resolution to survive.


    Back then, when he had to take care of himself and Sheng Lan, he couldn''t afford any failures and could only advance forward for the survival of the two of them.


    ''If this Keith could show such determination at this early age despite the circumstances, then maybe he could be trained.'' Shi Tian thought to himself.


    As for the other orphans, Shi Tian could only shake his head as none of them seemed to have any potential or determination to survive.


    Just based on the fact that they were starting to fight among others for more meat was enough for Shi Tian to understand.


    Unlike Keith, who only took what he needed to fill his stomach, the other orphans were fighting to eat as much as they could, even if they could no longer stuff their stomach any longer.


    If they couldn''t stuff it any longer, then they would ce the meat in their broken pocket for storage.


    Shaking his head, Shi Tian didn''t find their actions hideous. In fact, it was the norm for these orphans that would never know when they could eat again.


    Time slowly passed by, and Shi Tian finally received a text from Mary, telling him to go back.


    Mary: Alright, we''re finished with our businesses here. Bring the orphans back to the dark alley.


    Nathan: No one was killed, right?


    Mary: What do you take me for? I''m a gracious woman and not the bloody kind. *shy emoji*


    Shi Tian rolled his eyes at her for trying to act cute in the text message. If he didn''t see how ruthlessly she had acted in the wilderness, then he might have bought her act, but that was only an if situation.


    Getting up from his seat, Shi Tian sped his hands.


    "Alright, pack everything up and throw it in the trash can. We''re heading back." He instructed.


    Keith and the other orphans nodded their heads. They did as instructed and threw the packages in the trash.


    Once they finished cleaning everything up, Shi Tian began to walk back, but it soon became clear that some or most were unable to keep up with his movement.


    The four orphans that had stuffed their stomachs to the brim were having trouble walking properly. In fact, they were rubbing their stomach with their hands, a clear definition that they overeat and are now struggling with digestion.


    The only one that was capable of keeping up with his movement was Keith, who knew his own limit of how much he could eat.


    And this was the main reason why Shi Tian noticed Keith was different.


    They had been malnourished and never ate a full meal before. Therefore, there was a limit to how much they could eat at once, especially when their stomach isn''t used to having so much food.


    "Why couldn''t they keep up, mister?" Keith asked timidly when he turned to look at his fellow orphans and noticed Shi Tian had stopped his movement.


    "Because they have stuffed themselves over their limit, so now they are struggling to move around." Shi Tian cooly exined.


    Had he known this was going to happen, then he wouldn''t have made the food stall owner put extra ingredients onto the portion. Though he never requested it and was just the guilty conscience of the food stall owner taking ce which prompted him to put extras.


    Knowing that moving forward right now would be detrimental and might even cause more dy if he didn''t let the four orphans rest properly first, Shi Tian could only tell them to stand by the side temporarily.


    However, Keith seemed to have other intentions as he walked close to Shi Tian and asked, "Mister, how did you be strong?"


    And he continued, "When you lifted the owner up, you looked cool and domineering."


    "That''s nothing special," Shi Tian brushed it off. The food stall owner only had a tough build on the surface, but didn''t have much training.


    Not to mention, with his experience in fighting tough monsters in the wilderness, even if the food stall owner had some form of training. It wouldn''t be difficult for Shi Tian to apprehend him.


    Meanwhile, Keith''s eyes were sparkly as the more Shi Tian didn''t care, the more impressive he seemed in front of him.


    "Mister, can I be strong like you one day?" Keith asked with a smile, his hands forming into a fist.


    Remaining silent briefly, Shi Tian subtly understood the mindset of Keith.


    After seeing how strong he was, Keith also wanted to be someone strong so that he wouldn''t need to rely on others to survive. It was the mindset of someone wanting to survive with their own effort.


    "If you train your body and eat properly, then you could be strong. Everyone started from zero and climbed their way to the top to be strong." Shi Tian decided to give him some advice.


    "Train your body and eat properly¡­" Keith repeated Shi Tian''s words in a low tone, seemingly in deep thought.

 Chapter 172 Charity

    <h4>Chapter 172 Charity </h4>


    Keith kept mumbling Shi Tian''s advice back and forth, submerged in his own thoughts. It was clear that Keith seemed to have found some sort of insight.


    Seeing that he was concentrating hard on it, Shi Tian also didn''t n on conversing with him further, not that he wanted to in the first ce.


    Waiting patiently by the side, Shi Tian asionally paid attention to the condition of the four orphans.


    And when he saw some of them were still attempting to eat more meat despite not being able to eat anymore, Shi Tian sighed softly.


    Just how malnourished must one be to do such an action?


    The answer?


    Shi Tian does not want to know at all.


    This was just another one of the cruel realities in the current world. There was nothing he could do about it.


    He might be able to save them now, but what about the future?


    It was unrealistic to nurture these orphans because once it happened, there would only be more orphansing over.


    And by then, it doesn''t take a genius to know that one would be overwhelmed by the number of orphans that they needed to care for. What was worse was that there are practically orphans scattered everywhere in the world, and to rescue them all was a pipe dream.


    ''Whatever, I bet they think this is the only time they could eat this full anyway.'' Shi Tian eximed inwardly, letting them do as they pleased.


    He would only wait a bit longer before getting ready to return back. And whether they could keep up or not was their concern and consequence to deal with.


    Time slowly passed by, and Shi Tian sped his hands, telling them to follow up.


    Keith was ready, and two other orphans were ready as well. However, those who attempted to sneak in a few more bites were clearly unready.


    Shi Tian naturally noticed this but didn''t care. The choices were on them and they must face the consequences of their actions.


    Without bothering about their condition, Shi Tian hastened his speed and soon arrived at the dark alley.


    "What took you so long to return?" Mary crossed her arms and asked. She knew with his speed, it wouldn''t even take long for him to return, but Shi Tian actually took longer than the expected time.


    "The orphans ate too much, so they are slow." Shi Tian shrugged his shoulders.


    "Ate too much?"


    Confused, Mary turned to the side, and sure enough, she saw the other orphanscking behind aside from Keith, who could barely catch up to Shi Tian.


    "What did you feed them with?" She then questioned. The money she gave wasn''t much and shouldn''t be able to cause these orphans to be so full to the point that they could barely walk much.


    And although Krissie didn''t say much, she was equally curious as well. Having fed them asionally, Krissie herself knew that these orphans wouldn''t be easily full unless they had enjoyed a feast.


    "Stop looking at me with such suspicious eyesight. I didn''t spend any money on a feast." Shi Tian rolled his eyes, took out the pouch that Mary had given him earlier, and returned it to her.


    When Mary received the pouch, she opened it and realized the money was really untouched, and she also knew Shi Tian wouldn''t be that generous enough to fork money out of his pocket for strangers.


    "How did you do it?" Mary asked, clearly intrigued by the situation now.


    Seeing the two of them being so nosy, Shi Tian decided to recount the trivial situation to them.


    A few minutester, Maryughed heartily and facepalmed. "What the heck? The food stall owner is really an idiotic fool trying to scam you."


    Meanwhile, Krissie had a different reaction as she clearly remembered Shi Tian wasn''t that strong and domineering imposing in the past. Even though Shi Tian currently still exuded a cold aura around him, it seemed to have intensified ever since.


    Comparing herself to him, Krissie couldn''t help butment her pathetic improvement and wondered if she could ever be strong like him. To the point that she could retaliate without worrying about the consequences or aftermath.


    ''Mary was able to thrash the people in Hush''s Workshop thoroughly, especially the arrogant Raszak. Raszak was beaten ck and blue without a chance to even retaliate.'' Krissie thought to herself, recounting the experience she had earlier.


    "Anyway, we''re done here, so we should get going soon." Shi Tian eximed, hoping that they would stop wasting their time on trivial stuff.


    Mary nodded her head. "Indeed, it''s about time that we return." She agreed, ncing at the time on her Cellos device.


    "Here you go, Krissie. Consider this aspensation for my action earlier." Mary then threw the small pouch to Krissie.


    It was originally intended to be used, so she wouldn''t take it back anyway. Thus, giving it to Krissie who seemed to be tight on money was the most appropriate option.


    However, Krissie was silent as she nced at the small pouch in her hand.


    "Is this a charity?" She asked with a bittersweet smile.


    Mary shrugged her shoulders. "Take it however you wish, throw it away, keep it to yourself, or give it to others. Do whatever you want."


    And with that said, Mary left the scene without a sound, clearly returning to her Iron Sentinel.


    Shi Tian also didn''t n to stay further, so he turned around, ready to leave.


    "Wait a minute, Mister¡­"


    But before he could leave, Keith suddenly called out to him.


    "By training, what kind of training do you think I need to do?" Keith asked solemnly.


    "Krissie over there knows what form of training is best for you, so you can just ask her for advice." Shi Tian waved his hand and said coolly.


    ncing at his back silently, Keith clenched his fist as he vowed to be stronger.


    ''I will definitely be strong in the future and someone that won''t be looked down on.'' Keith vowed silently.

 Chapter 173 Trevor

    <h4>Chapter 173 Trevor</h4>


    Returning to the Iron Sentinel, Shi Tian sat on the passenger''s seat and put on his seatbelt.


    "Oh, I thought you would be talking to Krissie for some more time." Mary raised an eyebrow, somewhat surprised that he returned so quickly. She even decided to give them some time alone by leaving in a rush.


    "Your brain is filled with too many nasty thoughts." Shi Tian rolled his eyes and said calmly.


    "Krissie and I only talked and interacted very briefly. There isn''t much to talk about." He added.


    "Is that so? But I had a great talk with Krissie, and I must say, she is a strong woman."


    "Strong woman?"


    Mary nodded her head.


    "Yes, she''s a very strong woman despite her past experience." She said in a solemn tone, clearly impressed by Krissie''s resilient attitude.


    And based on that small context, Shi Tian could somewhat guess what those two had discussed before. Krissie''s past and her experience thanks to the deceased Benmos was surely not something pleasant.


    It was probably something that Krissie might be able to share with a fellow woman. Thus, he chose not to pry further and feigned ignorance of the matter.


    "Shall we return to the apartmentplex?" Shi Tian asked, changing the sensitive topic of conversation.


    "Yeah, let me just turn it into auto-pilot mode. I''m kind of exhausted," Mary pressed a button and stretched her neck a bit.


    Seeing her stretching, Shi Tian finally noticed there was a bit of dust on her clothes and her sleeve was somewhat ripped.


    Twitching his mouth slightly, he could now confirm that Mary had indeed got into a fight. Though he was dumbfounded that Mary would have her sleeve ripped given her skills.


    "Um, Nathan, I know I''m a beautiful woman, but you didn''t have to stare at me so intensely." Mary suddenly said.


    Shi Tian rolled his eyes in response and turned to the side, ignoring her. She was no idiot either, so she must have known what he was actually looking at.


    Mary smiled amusedly when she saw him acting like a spoiled kid.


    Nevertheless, she was appreciative of him to know when to not ask or pry for information.


    Time slowly passed by, and they soon arrived at the apartmentplex.


    And sure enough, there was still some blockade done on the scene, with multiple security guards patrolling around.


    It was a given that Shi Tian and Mary were halted as the security guard asked for their identity.


    Luckily, Shi Tian still had his keycard and with a simple pupil scan, the security guard was able to confirm Shi Tian was a resident.


    "Okay, please follow the road that we have indicated in the hologram." The security guard warned solemnly.


    "Thank you for your hard work," Shi Tian calmly replied and Mary subsequently took the steering wheel, driving as instructed by the hologram.


    Once they left the premises, the security guard resumed his duty and made sure to prevent any unauthorized personnel from entering the apartmentplex.


    "The battle must have been a massive one if the blockade is still present," Marymented while driving, making a bunch of turns.


    Normally, she only needed to drive straight ahead to reach the main building, but now there was a hologram instructing them to turn right or turn left. It was clear that the center of the field that they were prevented from entering was still filled in ruins.


    Of course, there was also some debris that Mary had noticed scattered in the ground, which allowed her to make such a prediction.


    Shi Tian nodded his head.


    "It was a good thing that the Crimson Mage was present, otherwise, Vanessa would have been in danger." Hemented, feeling lucky that he had brought Vanessa here and not other ces.


    If even someone as strong as the Crimson Mage would cause such a battlefield, then it was clear how powerful the enemies were sent to infiltrate here.


    After another few minutes of driving, Mary and Shi Tian finally arrived at the main building.


    Mary calmly parked the Iron Sentinel and got off the vehicle. Shi Tian also got off and was about to head to his apartment, but was stopped by a familiar security guard.


    This security guard was the same person that had registered his pupil into the system database and given him the keycard.


    If he recalled correctly, the security guard was named Trevor.


    Though he didn''t need to recall it given that Trevor had his name tag pinned on his clothes.


    Trevor was professional in his work and didn''t show any prejudice toward him, so Shi Tian had a somewhat good impression of him.


    Stepping forward, Shi Tian asked, "What''s the matter?"


    Trevor was quite tall and his hairs were trimmed properly. His uniform was also neatly ironed, added with his piercing brown eyes that seemed to look deep into a person''s soul.


    He was the definition of a great security guard, who took his work seriously along with his appearance. Not to mention, he had a smart tablet in his hand at all times, always making sure the premise was secure.


    Trevor held an expressionless face as he walked toward Shi Tian and informed him politely, "Someone wishes to meet you, so please follow me. As for the guest you invited, she could head to your room and wait there for you."


    Despite the tone being very polite, Shi Tian could subtly understand that it was an order and that he was not allowed to refuse.


    In addition, there was probably only one person here that could order Trevor around. And that was the Crimson Mage.


    Nodding his head, Shi Tian turned to Mary and handed her the keycard.


    "Here''s the keycard to my apartment, so you can head upstairs first. My room is 404." He then told her.


    "I have authorized her to be able to use the elevator even without the pupil scan, so she should be fine alone," Trevor interrupted and said, his hand swiping on the smart tablet.

 Chapter 174 Troubles

    <h4>Chapter 174 Troubles</h4>


    Both Mary and Shi Tian were slightly astonished by the swift work of Trevor.


    It was pretty obvious that Trevor wanted Mary to get out of the way but done in a polite manner.


    With Trevor authorizing ess for Mary, she could only wait for Shi Tian in his apartment room. She wasn''t a fool either and came to the same conclusion as Shi Tian.


    The Crimson Mage was probably furious and demanded to meet Shi Tian, who could be said to be the culprit.


    After all, the enemies came to their apartmentplex because Shi Tian rescued Vanessa, so he was to be med even though he was a victim as well.


    "Good luck, Nathan. Try not to irritate the Crimson Mage." Mary patted Shi Tian''s shoulder and wished him luck.


    Not to mention the military, even Mary knew not to mess with Crimson Mage, who was equivalent to a ticking bomb.


    If unprovoked, the Crimson Mage would be a calm and serene person, but once provoked, then that was a different story.


    Since the Crimson Mage was not one to seek trouble.


    Then Mary definitely wouldn''t wish to offend the Crimson Mage which would only be detrimental with zero benefits.


    Shi Tian also understood this point and knew to watch his action and wording. He didn''t wish to create a powerful enemy either for no reason, especially not someone that even the military was powerless against.


    ''I''m really screwed over this time despite not being the culprit.'' Shi Tian cursed silently, feeling like he had eaten a mouthful of bullshit.


    Why should he- an innocent man be taking the short end of the stick for something that someone else caused?


    "Please follow me," Trevor didn''t care what kind of mindset Shi Tian was going through and merely instructed. He was following an order as well, andpleting it was his duty.


    Seeing how diligent Trevor was, Shi Tian could only sigh and followed closely behind.


    Trevor was bringing him to an office that was clearly locked for residents and required authorization to enter. It was pretty obvious though when he saw how Trevor had his pupil scanned, fingerprint scanned, and even to the point of sticking his tongue out just to get through the barriers.


    And as if that wasn''t enough for confirmation, there was also a surveince camera that could turn 360, capturing all sight without any blind areas, making sure that Trevor was safe and wasn''t under threat or anything.


    What was worse was that there were even turret guns stationed all across, with clear redser pointers, almost as if they were trying to tell you that they are heavily armed if you dare to intrude.


    The redser pointers were hovering all over Shi Tian, prompting him to not make any movement until permitted to do so.


    ''Just what is this security? This is even more insane than the security outside the wall or in the inspection site.'' Shi Tian eximed inwardly, feeling some pressure pressed upon him. He would truly be a bullet holder if these turret guns were to shoot at him.


    "Rest assured, these turret guns won''t shoot you unless they notice any hints of hostility. I also have an active pass that could vouch for your appearance here, so there''s no need to worry." Trevor calmly exined.


    Although Shi Tian didn''t make anyint, it was still his duty to respectfully inform him about it. After all, if Shi Tian was to identally trigger the turret guns, then he might be coteral damage as well.


    So for the safety of the two of them, it was best to ensure that everything was in order.


    After some time, Trevor finally finished all the security measurements and told Shi Tian to follow him closely.


    "Watch each step I take. If you identally step on the wrong tform, then traps would be triggered." Trevor warned without turning around.


    Shi Tian kept that in mind and followed in Trevor''s footsteps precisely. Even if Trevor was pranking him, it was best to be safe than sorryter.


    Following each step, Shi Tian soon arrived at arge room filled with multiple kinds of decoration. Though the decorations aren''t the luxurious or fancy kind, just some ornaments and art pieces.


    "My duty ends here now," Trevor halted his steps and pointed at a small, butfy-looking couch.


    "You may proceed to sit there and wait." He added.


    Shi Tian wanted to ask how long he would need to wait, but Trevor didn''t seem a bit interested. Without even waiting a bit, Trevor turned around and exited therge room.


    ''Damn, he''s a wooden one through and through.'' Shi Tian twitched his mouth, finding Trevor to be no different than a puppet.


    How could someone be so emotionless and nd?


    Shaking his head, Shi Tian decided to sit on the couch to rx.


    He wanted to browse through the inte on his Cellos device but realized there was no service. Or to be more precise, the signal here was blocked by some sort of interference.


    Disappointed that the Cellos device was blocked, Shi Tian wondered if the hologram interface would also be blocked.


    Luckily though, it doesn''t seem like the interferences here had any effects on the hologram interface. Shi Tian was still able to see his status screen and his attributes had increased by quite a margin.


    ¨C


    Name: Shi Tian


    Race: Human


    Main ss: Mechanic


    Sub ss: Voided (Host would be able to choose a subss at level 40)


    Level: 19


    Health: 600 (Normal)


    Stamina: 70


    Attributes: Strength: 19, Dexterity: 17, Endurance: 18, Agility: 21, Intelligence: 33, Charm: 14, Luck: 10


    Free Attribute Point: 6


    Abilities:


    -[Passive] Serene Calmness: Able to remain calm and collected


    -[Passive] Pain Tolerance: Level 4 (Still A Masochist Buffoon!)


    -[Active] Dust Mites Summon


    -[Active] Fleet Footwork (Movement Technique)


    Power Level: 20-70 Atk


    Grade: F (Mediocre)


    ss Talents: None (Avable at level 30)


    Reputation: 20 (Optic Mech), -30 (Heaven''s Mecha/Harrett Family), -10 (White Syndicate), 1 (Gearits City''s Citizens)


    Equipment: Mechanical Right Arm, Boosters'' Suit, Pistols, Stun Grenades, Smoke Grenades, Explosive Grenades, Blv-21, ymore Mines


    [Host had improved considerably, but don''t get too conceited. Just as the saying goes, there are always bigger mountains. One must never be too arrogant and should stay humble.]


    ¨C


    Reading through his status screen, Shi Tian was astonished by the significant changes that the status screen had gone through since thest time he had opened it.


    The attributes being increased due to his training were natural, alongside the levels.


    However, it was the fact that his sub-ss was now stated as voided, meaning he would need to choose one and it would only be avable once he reached level 40.


    In addition to that, his reputation now revealed more information, especially the negative reputation he held among Heaven''s Mecha and the Harrett Family.


    He already expected their rtionships would sour thanks to the ploy he did in the wilderness, but Shi Tian never expected the White Syndicate would be added to the list as well.


    ''How did the White Syndicate have such a negative impression of me already when we never met? I didn''t even mean to cause trouble to them in the first ce.'' Shi Tian cursed inwardly, realizing he had managed to make not one, but two big enemies at once.

 Chapter 175 Reputation Blessing

    <h4>Chapter 175 Reputation Blessing</h4>


    Although initially frustrated by the status that it had listed to him, Shi Tian soonposed himself.


    He realized that it wasn''t a bad thing to know that reputation could now determine his allies and enemies efficiently.


    If his reputation was positive, then it meant that they are at least on good terms. And naturally, those on the negative meant their hostility was high as hell and most likely wanted him dead.


    ''Phew, at least now I know the White Syndicate had known about me and that I''m not really safe. It seems they were able to investigate me and that I have been too careless.'' Shi Tian thought to himself.


    This was practically a reputation blessing, allowing him to learn critical information.


    And now that he knew about this particr information, it would be pathetic and foolish of him to not think of a countery, much less ns to conceal his information.


    Information always yed a crucial part in terms of any type of battle. After all, whoever held the most information would naturally have the advantage in a battle.


    ncing at his status screen for another few minutes, Shi Tian made sure to read through it multiple times and realized the description of him had turned for the better.


    He was no longer referred to as an amateur, but host, and it was giving him a kind warning to not be conceited.


    ''So the status screen seemed to be a sentient being or is it actually just robotic?'' Shi Tian wondered silently, still can''t find a single clue about this mysterious status screen.


    Nevertheless, he knew the status screen was helpful and was synchronous with his body and experience. Thus, he didn''t need to worry much about it harming him since it would have done so in the beginning when he was still a weakling.


    Time slowly passed by, and Shi Tian had since lost track of time on how long he had waited.


    After waiting for god knows how long, Shi Tian was dumbfounded by a sudden projection screen dropping down from the ceiling.


    Twitching his mouth, he was inplete disbelief.


    So after all this trouble of going through security measurement, he won''t even be able to see the Crimson Mage face to face.


    However, Shi Tian couldn''t be any more wrong when the projection screen was turned on.


    Forget about face-to-face, he couldn''t even see what the Crimson Mage looked like.


    After all, the screen disyed an anonymous cover of the person, meaning it waspletely shadowed, unable to determine any type of features that the person had.


    This was something usually done by the media when they wanted to interview a whistleblower or witnesses that didn''t want to show their face to the public and had this method as incognito.


    But you would have thought if this was the end of it.


    When the person behind the projection screen started talking, it was a voice generated by machinery, meaning it wasn''t even the Crimson Mage''s real voice.


    Wanting tough at how surreal this was, Shi Tian managed topose himself and kept his cool. Even if he was receiving such a treatment, all Shi Tian could do was grit his teeth and go through with this.


    Who told the Crimson Mage to be such a powerful being?


    If he was powerful enough to deter any enemies, then he would be able to do such a thing too and none would utter aint.


    "Good to see you, Nathan of room 404."


    "Yes, it''s good to see you too¡­ Crimson Mage?" Shi Tian replied somewhat awkwardly, unsure of how to address the other party.


    With how secretive the Crimson Mage was, all he knew was the title and nothing else.


    Not even the name, but there was at least one thing he knew. And that the Crimson Mage was a female, thanks to Old Man Chao''s full admiration andmentary of the Crimson Mage''s beauty.


    Of course, Old Man Chao could be gay, but he doubted it when he noticed how horny he was back at the stall where they first met.


    When they first met, he had subtly noticed Old Man Chao was watching adult content that revolved around two women.


    And while Shi Tian was in deep thought, the Crimson Mage began talking.


    "Hmm, I was expecting a more domineering person or somewhat strong person. Your appearance certainly surprised me slightly, considering how weak you are but managed to attract such powerful enemies into my territory." The Crimson Mage said straightforwardly.


    What made it more heartbreaking was that the Crimson Mage wasn''t even trying to taunt or jab at him for being weak. The tone of speech used waspletely void of any emotion, and merely a basic judgment at first nce.


    Smiling bitterly, Shi Tian kept silent as he didn''t know how to respond to that kind of statement.


    Was he supposed to disagree with the statement?


    That would be retarded to do considering the Crimson Mage was stronger than him by a lot.


    Then was he supposed to agree with the statement?


    But what kind of fool would admit themselves for being so weak? That would actually require them to be inherently stupid to actually admit such a thing.


    Meanwhile, the Crimson Mage didn''t seem to be wanting to hear a response from Shi Tian.


    "At first, I wanted to interrogate you and wondered if you rented a room in my territory for a motive, but seeing you now. I found it pointless. You are free to leave and return to your apartment, but a fair warning. The enemies this time are quite powerful, so if you leave my territory, the risk is yours to face."


    The Crimson Mage said before turning off the projection screen, leaving a dumbfounded Shi Tian in therge room.


    Throughout the conversation, or if it could even be counted as a conversation, Shi Tian felt he was yed like ping pong, being thrown around back and forth.


    Coming all the way here, only to realize it was pointless because he was deemed weak, was really bizarre.


    ''Why am I here¡­ just to suffer?'' Shi Tian questioned himself.

 Chapter 176 Crimson Mage

    <h4>Chapter 176 Crimson Mage </h4>


    While Shi Tian was questioning himself after the statement he received from the Crimson Mage, in anotherrge room, a mature woman seated in afy chair was ncing at Shi Tian with a dazed expression.


    The mature woman had vibrant red hair cascading down her shoulders in lustrous waves, capturing the essence of mes dancing around.


    Her hair''s fiery hue matched the intensity in her gaze, which held a mix of wisdom and determination earned through years of experience.


    Her features bore the beauty of maturity, with a strong jawline and a slightly upturned nose that gave her an air of elegance and authority.


    Her lips, painted in a shade of deep crimson, along with her average height and well-proportioned figure radiated confidence and strength.


    And this mature woman was naturally the Crimson Mage, also known as Faris Hill.


    "Master, I have returned."


    While Faris Hill was gazing at the projection screen that still monitored Shi Tian, she was interrupted by a person.


    The person was Trevor, and he had arrived here to report his duty beingpleted. In his eyes, it was emotionless but still contained hints of reverence and respect toward Faris Hill.


    Faris Hill nodded her head.


    "It seems like I was overthinking about something. This Nathan person doesn''t seem capable of attracting a powerful enemy, so it must have been the other woman. Have someone investigated the background of the woman living in room 404." She thenmanded.


    Trevor received the order and merely rogered at themand. And without hesitation, Trevor turned around and left the room, clearly ready to act upon the order.


    Once Trevor left the room, Faris Hill turned off the monitoring device on Shi Tian and pressed a few buttons. The buttons were a function that gave Shi Tian instructions on how to leave his current ce.


    Since she no longer perceived Shi Tian as a threat, and that he was a renter of her ce, she didn''t n on punishing him. At least she doubted it was necessary against someone so weak.


    ''Nathan may be scot-free, but the people that sent the enemy here must now face my wrath.'' Faris Hill eximed inwardly, hints of fury shed in her eyes.


    She was not one to cause trouble, but since trouble came knocking in her personal territory, then it would be rude of her to not return such a grand favor.


    As Faris Hill was cooking up some devious scheme in her mind, back in therge room, Shi Tian received instructions on how to leave the premises.


    And it didn''t even take him a second to follow the instruction to leave.


    He was beyond ufortable to be staying here any longer, especially after getting hit with a hard emotional damage.


    ''Weak this and weak that. Does the Crimson Mage need to be that critical?'' Shi Tian didn''t know why he was feeling agitated.


    And to make things worse, once his agitation reached a certain level, his passive ability [Serene Calmness] would kick in, calming him down. Once he got calmed by the passive ability, it was as if any emotion he had earlier gone poof.


    Sometimeter, Shi Tian returned to the main lobby and noticed Trevor exiting the apartment.


    At first, Shi Tian wanted to call out to him but realized Trevor seemed distracted, so he refrained from doing so. Based on his action, it was clear to him that Trevor should have received another order from the Crimson Mage.


    After all, a security guard wouldn''t just leave the area they were guarding without reason.


    ''I bet the Crimson Mage is now preparing for revenge.'' Shi Tian eximed inwardly. It doesn''t take many brain cells to understand that anyone would seek revenge if they were humiliated or thrashed by someone else.


    Shaking his head, Shi Tian knew this matter wasn''t his business anymore, so he decided to take the elevator and press on the 4th floor.


    A few momentster, Shi Tian knocked on the door, given that his keycard was lent to Mary.


    "You returned? Did the Crimson Mage make any trouble for you?" The door opened up and Shi Tian was instantly bombarded with questions from Mary.


    In fact, she was even inspecting him up and down, left and right, almost as if she wanted to see if he had received any injuries.


    "Can Ie inside and get some water before you start asking me like it was an interrogation?" Shi Tian smiled bitterly and asked. He was already exhausted despite the brief interaction with the anonymous Crimson Mage.


    "Hmm, it seems like you didn''t have a good time," Mary opened the door fully and moved aside to give him space to enter.


    "Did the Crimson Mage really unleash her fury on you?" She then asked somewhat doubtfully.


    If the Crimson Mage was really furious, then Shi Tian wouldn''t be looking so unharmed aside from a few signs of exhaustion.


    "I think you should let him drink some water first," While Shi Tian was pondering how to answer Mary''s question, Vanessa interrupted them.


    She was holding a cup of water, walking toward them, and extending the cup to Shi Tian to drink.


    Vanessa''s action and gesture slightly astonished Shi Tian, given that the two of them were technically left on quite the negative term. It wasn''t terrible, but it wasn''t great either as the two of them had ignored each other.


    Nevertheless, Shi Tian really wanted to hydrate himself right now, so he grabbed the cup of water and began drinking it down, refreshing himself.


    "Thanks," He then responded politely back to her.


    Vanessa remained silent, almost as if she didn''t expect to hear the word thanksing from his mouth.


    It took her a while to finally realize that Shi Tian was actually thanking her.


    "You''re thanking me?" She raised an eyebrow and asked, seemingly trying to confirm it.


    And contrary to what one might respond in this type of situation, Shi Tian stepped forward a little and asked, "What? Did you expect a kiss on the cheek instead?"

 Chapter 177 Stinky

    <h4>Chapter 177 Stinky </h4>


    When Shi Tian asked whether Vanessa wanted a kiss or not, Mary suddenly became intrigued, clearly interested in the development.


    ''Oh, so they do have some special rtionship?'' Mary thought to herself, feeling as if she was being shown an interesting orplex rtionship.


    As for Vanessa, she was stunned at first but quicklyposed herself.


    "How about in the lips instead?" Vanessa sneered coldly and leaned forward. With the interaction they had for a while, she could confirm one thing about Shi Tian.


    And that was the fact that he isn''t lustful like other men. After all, he had practically seen her naked, but not a single reaction was shown on his face.


    It was to the point that she had begun suspecting he was gay, but then it didn''t make sense either.


    If Shi Tian was gay, then there would be evidence of him acting somewhat feminine, but never once had he acted in such a manner and was always masculine, especially with his decisive and swift actions.


    Thus, Vanessa bet that Shi Tian wasn''t gay and was the type that wouldn''t be easily swayed by a woman simply because of their beauty or appearance.


    Sure enough, Shi Tian was utterly speechless when Vanessa actually advanced forward on his tease.


    They were extremely close to each other currently, and Shi Tian was dumbfounded by the development.


    ''What is wrong with her?'' Shi Tian questioned inwardly, wondering what Vanessa was thinking.


    Faking a cough, Shi Tian retreated slightly and walked around Vanessa, cing the cup on the table.


    "Anyway, have you two gotten to know each other yet?" He then asked, changing the topic.


    Vanessa snickered coldly when she saw how he reacted exactly the way she had predicted. ''Heh, want to tease me? You''re 9000 years too early for that.''


    Realizing the fun show was over so quickly, Mary was a bit displeased, but there was nothing she could do about it.


    "Yeah, I have introduced myself to Vanessa already." Mary then said.


    And she continued, "When I used your keycard to enter the room, Vanessa came out of the room excitedly and thought I was you. Naturally, Vanessa turned hostile, believing I''m an intruder since a stranger had just entered."


    "Huh? Then did you two fight?" Shi Tian was rmed at first.


    However, when he noticed that the living room didn''t seem to be damaged in any way, and the furniture was intact, he quickly nullified that thought.


    Even if there might have been a fight, it should have been a mini one and not a massive one.


    At this point, Vanessa shrugged her shoulders and sat on the couch. "It''s not my fault for initiating an attack when you knew what happened to me." She exined calmly."


    Shi Tian nodded his head.


    He understood her standpoint given that she was ambushed not long ago, and the enemies even attacked recently in the apartmentplex.


    It was natural for her guard to be high, especially when the person she expected to go through the door to be him, but turned out to be a different person.


    Any sane person would react in hostility after what they had experienced.


    Mary clicked her tongue in annoyance when she saw the two of them practically ignoring her.


    Like hello?


    She was still here, so why are they ncing at each other without talking? From an outside perspective, the two of them looked as if they weremunicating through bodynguage alone.


    "Ahem, shouldn''t we get to the main point, Nathan?" Mary copied Shi Tian and faked a cough while notifying Shi Tian about their reason for returning.


    "Right¡­" Shi Tian nodded and asked, "Vanessa, we might need your help with the current state of emergency. Or more precisely, we need the Ancient Technology that you possessed."


    A moment of silence urred before Vanessa rubbed her chin and gazed at Shi Tian.


    "Is it you that wants it or it''s this Mary woman that wants it?" She asked in an emotionless tone.


    The question itself had many meanings oveid together, but Shi Tian was too ignorant to understand this particr part.


    Instead, he was pondering seriously and replied, "I would say both since this matter would hinder my n as well if we don''t get your assistance."


    "And that n is rted to the New Region?" Vanessa enquired. She might have been staying in the apartment room, but that doesn''t mean she didn''t have any knowledge of what was going on.


    With the state of emergency beingmenced and the fact that the New Region would soon be opened, she could easily connect the dots.


    Not to mention, it was no secret that almost everyone capable of surviving in the wilderness was eyeing the New Region. An unknown ce that was finally revealing itself and with the rumors circting around of Ancient Technology being in the present was enticing for anyone.


    Thus, Shi Tian found it pointless to lie about this when it was simply too obvious. "Yes, our n in the New Region is going to be affected if the Gso monster wave isn''t resolved in time or properly."


    "I see¡­" Vanessa nodded her head before pointing at the bathroom.


    "You are a bit stinky, Nathan, so why don''t you go take a shower first?" She then suggested.


    Dumbfounded, Shi Tian actually took a quick sniff on his sleeve but didn''t find himself to be stinky. Or did his nose be terrible and that he just couldn''t smell it?


    "She''s right, Nathan. You should really take a shower." Mary suddenly intervened and said, making Shi Tian even more doubtful and confused.


    Was he really that stinky?


    s, since it was the two of them agreeing to it and he didn''t think that much about it, he could only nod his head and head to the bathroom to take a quick rinse.


    After all, it was indeed a while since he had taken a shower given that the wilderness didn''t have suchfortable ces that allowed him to shower.


    With Shi Tian inside the bathroom, Vanessa''s expression changed as she smiled somewhat sinisterly at Mary.

 Chapter 178 Why Should I Help?

    <h4>Chapter 178 Why Should I Help?</h4>


    In the living room at 404, a fierce staring contest hadmenced, with two women both ring at each other.


    It was close to being called a fight, except there was no actual movement and it was merely their eyes talking.


    Their eyes were fiery, almost as if they werebatting with eye power.


    "So why did someone who proimed to be a receptionist in Optic Mech be interested or even concerned about the monster wave?" Vanessa asked softly.


    She made sure that her tone was low and barely audible, lest someone else might have heard them. Or more specifically, Shi Tian who was currently taking a shower.


    "The same could be said for you, young miss from Chronosworth City proiming to be a weak individual and living under someone else''s roof," Mary replied with a smile. Though the smile was more like a devilish smile.


    "I''m sorry? But when did I pretend to be a weak individual?"


    "Nathan had mentioned you being injured by the White Syndicate, but with a single nce, you are fully recovered. At your current state, you could even beat up Nathan if you wanted to. Yet you are still living here shamelessly."


    "That''s a matter between me and Nathan, Mary," Vanessa smirked and said coldly.


    "And don''t forget, you are here asking me to lend my Ancient Technology. Shouldn''t your tone be a bit more gentle andforting?" She added.


    Mary twitched her mouth, her hand forming a fist, seemingly trying to suppress her emotion.


    Taking a deep breath, Mary grabbed a chair by the diner table, sat down, and crossed her legs.


    "Speak, what is your condition in lending your Ancient Technology," Mary asked straightforwardly. As much as she didn''t like the attitude Vanessa was giving to her, she also knew Ancient Technology is as precious as one''s own life.


    Thus, it was natural that it would be difficult to request something as precious as this to borrow.


    Meanwhile, Vanessa shrugged her shoulders, "To be honest, the monster wave isn''t my problem at all. Ancient Technology, the more exposed it is to others, the more danger one would receive. Not to mention, why should I help you?"


    "It''s definitely not your problem, but it''s a problem for Nathan. And seeing your action earlier, it''s clear that you are quite fond of him, albeit not at a romantic level."


    Vanessa nodded her head, not denying it at all. It was true that she didn''t mind the presence of Shi Tian, given that he was vastly different from other people.


    Although Shi Tian''s actions were asionally questionable and hateful as well, she was quite appreciative of him. At the very least, he was straightforward with his demand and didn''t beat around the bushes like others.


    "I might be fond of him, but that alone isn''t enough to request my Ancient Technology." Vanessa then said, crossing her legs, copying Mary''s action.


    It would be a lie if Mary didn''t notice that small action of hers.


    ''Tsk, this Nathan really knows how to make friends. Each one is unique in its own way.'' She cursed silently. The friends she referred to were Krissie and Vanessa, butpared to thetter, she found the former much more amicable.


    Clicking her tongue, Mary was in a dilemma, given that she knew violence wouldn''t work in this situation.


    Vanessa might have seemed rxed, but the truth was a far cry. She was on guard the whole time and was ready to retaliate if she made any suspicious movement.


    And with her knowledge of Vanessa, she was a powerful Esper ss. Just because she was injured previously didn''t necessarily mean she was weak. It was simply that the enemies had ambushed her sessfully.


    However, in this type of situation, Mary couldn''t replicate what the enemies had done to her.


    After all, their rtionship was considered neutral at the moment. She didn''t want to jeopardize this rtionship and create an enemy unnecessarily.


    ''It seems like I can only wait for Nathan to convince her. With my presence here, she''s too hostile and defensive to get through.'' Mary thought to herself.


    Had she known that Shi Tian was held in quite a high regard by Vanessa, then she wouldn''t have followed him along. Instead, she would have simply assigned this task to Shi Tian.


    An awkward silence moment soonmenced between the two women, given that none of them had any other things to say to each other.


    Vanessa was guaranteed to make sure Mary won''t be able to get what she wanted, and Mary was sure about this fact too. Thus, the only one that could break this iceberg was Shi Tian and whether or not he could convince Vanessa.


    Time slowly passed by, and Shi Tian finally got out of the shower.


    He even went as far as saying, "I don''t stink no more, right? Or else the two of you must have been pranking me."


    Mary chuckled softly, stood up from her chair, and walked around Shi Tian, even sniffing in the process. While doing so, she was making some small nces at Vanessa, seemingly checking for her reaction.


    And when she didn''t see her being jealous or angry at all, Mary was a bit disappointed.


    ''What a shame¡­'' Mary sighed inwardly.


    Shaking her head, Mary patted Shi Tian''s shoulder and chuckled, "Yep, it seems like you have gotten rid of the stench. But your clothes here are a bit messed up. Let me help you tidy it."


    With that said, Mary went behind Shi Tian, pretending to fix his clothes while whispering to him about what had urred when he was in the shower.


    "Huh? Aren''t you making things difficult for me then?" Shi Tian was dumbfounded and replied in a low tone.


    "Well, there''s no other better candidate than you that could have a chance to request her. Also, don''t forget that you have agreed to be our decoy, so if we are ruined by the monster waves, then don''t think you would be fine as well. We''re in the same boat now." Mary made sure to emphasize the term ''same boat''.

 Chapter 179 Reverse Situation

    <h4>Chapter 179 Reverse Situation </h4>


    With the task now being handed to him forcefully, Shi Tian wanted to refuse it.


    s, Mary didn''t give him any opportunity and outright dashed toward the exit door, bidding her farewell.


    And with a loud bang, the door shut tightly, leaving only Shi Tian and Vanessa in the apartment room.


    Smiling bitterly, Shi Tian really wanted to curse Mary for leaving him alone.


    ''I should have showered longer or not even bothered returning back so quickly.'' Shi Tian eximed inwardly, feeling as if he had made consecutive mistakes that had led to this scene.


    "Hmm, that Mary sure is in a rush to leave just like this. Don''t you think, Nathan?"


    While Shi Tian was pondering what to do, he heard Vanessa speaking in quite an irritable tone. It was as if she knew this was going to happen and was now ready to "torture" him.


    After all, this was now a reversed situation in which the one needing help this time was him and not her.


    And given his track record, especially how he treated her previously, he would be a fool to believe Vanessa would simply agree to his request without making any difficulty.


    Turning around, Shi Tian kept hisposure and scratched his head.


    "So about Ancient Technology, I''m sure Mary must have informed you earlier, right?" He asked awkwardly.


    Vanessa nodded her head.


    "Mary did inform me about it, and I rejected it already." She responded, yawning in the process as she stood up.


    "If you''re just going to say the same thing, then my answer is the same. I''m going to return to my room now." She added.


    "Okay then, shall I buy you some Minasarus meat while you wait in the room? I''m sure the food in the refrigerator isn''t ideal now." Shi Tian suggested.


    "Do I look like the type to always eat such meat? Or do you want to fatten me up instead?"


    "..."


    Although knowing that she was being difficult on purpose, there was nothing else he could do about it.


    Who told him to be at a disadvantage?


    However, that was only applicable to normal people, and he was most definitely abnormal.


    "I see, since you don''t want it, then forget about it." Shi Tian said straightforwardly and walked to the workshop room decisively. He didn''t even bother stopping or walking slowly to wait for her response.


    A few secondster, Shi Tian entered the workshop room and shut the door, astonishing Vanessa.


    "Huhhhhhhh?" It only took her a while before Vanessa realized what had just urred. "This bitch actually went to the workshop room and ignored mepletely."


    She was agitated, but more importantly, she was stunned by his action.


    Who would react like that when they are on the receiving end?


    Does he truly not care or was he nning something?


    No matter what, Vanessa was infuriated by theck of sinceritying from him. Making a "hmph" sound, Vanessa angrily returned to her room, and she made sure to shut the door real loud, even louder than Mary.


    Her purpose was obvious. She wanted to let Shi Tian hear that she was furious.


    And naturally, Shi Tian heard the door shutting real loud, but feigned ignorance.


    ''Go ahead and get mad. If I really acted like what normal people would do, then who knows how much crap I must do to convince you.'' Shi Tian sneered inwardly.


    He wasn''t going to lower himself when he didn''t have to do so.


    If worstes to worst, then he would simply give her up to the Crimson Mage, or even better, her enemies. At that time, let''s see if she would still refuse to help them.


    Sometimeter, Shi Tian had long forgotten Vanessa and was working on a new project that he had thought about.


    After going through many troubles and seeing how Mary was able to bulldoze her way into the wilderness thanks to her Iron Sentinel function, Shi Tian was curious whether or not he could recreate something simr.


    Of course, it wouldn''t be the size of the Iron Sentinel, but more of a mini version that could be stored in a pocket.


    The Iron Sentinel was simply too shy and big, so if there was ever a narrowed passage such as the time when they discovered a bunch of Gso eggs, the Iron Sentinel wasn''t able to detect or scan it due to the terrain.


    "Luckily I have inspected the Iron Sentinel for a bit to understand its properties. Otherwise, I would have to begin from scratch, starting from the foundation." Shi Tian muttered, taking out a piece of diagram that he had secretly drawn and stored in the Dimension Ring.


    Given that it was going to be a new product and his first attempt at creation, he didn''t want others to know about it.


    Looking at the diagram closely, Shi Tian read his notes carefully. The notes were technically descriptions of what he saw and the interior of the Iron Sentinel.


    And despite it not being detailed or technical, it was good enough pointers of what he needed to focus on.


    The Iron Sentinel function of scanning does not rely on satellites and was more of a transmission between frequency and signals.


    The frequency was the detection of the number of waves that it had detected in a limited range of distance, which was able to give a measure of who was there or what was going on.


    As for the signal, it does not matter what information was received: Analog or digital information is collected altogether directly into the system database.


    Once the information is collected, it would then bepressed through an extensive usage of code, deleting all unnecessary data while keeping the relevant ones.


    "Ugh, this is the troubling part." Shi Tian muttered, feeling a headache about how to approach this part.


    He does not have the source code, meaning that he would need to create the code from scratch without any reference if he wanted to keep it a secret. And everyone knows coding is a pain in the butt.

 Chapter 180 Reasoning

    <h4>Chapter 180 Reasoning</h4>


    Being a mechanic not only required one to be able to craft things from scratch, but it also required them to utilize other things in their crafting.


    The mostmon application that one would utilize was coding.


    Coding is essentially the body part of a craft, allowing the user to maximize the craft to its full potential.


    Just take the modified ymore Mines that they had sold for example. If the ymore Mines couldn''t be activated manually, then it would be no different than a stationary ymore Mine trap that required the enemies to identally stumble across it.


    Just thinking about waiting and waiting, along with the possibility that the enemies might not even walk into the trap in the end, would be devastating.


    However, thanks to the application of coding, allowing the user to have a control button in which they could activate the ymore Mine regardless of the enemies had stumbled across it would be game-changing.


    After all, even if the enemies might not step on it, but are near the explosive radius, then they could still activate it and deal tons of damage to them.


    And with that exined, Shi Tian now realized his status screen that stated he was a mechanic seemed to be a joke or a taunt to him.


    ''I don''t even know how to begin the coding properly, much less applied to a nonexistent item that I only have in mind. How can I be qualified as a mechanic?'' Shi Tian thought to himself, realizing how arrogant he was earlier to attempt to create a new product alone.


    Shaking his head, Shi Tian simply wrote a few more notes down on the diagram before storing it in the Dimension Ring.


    With his current ability, it was a pipe dream to achieve something like that.


    Sometimeter, Shi Tian was focusing on the ymore Mine blueprint, seemingly increasing his understanding of it. He was going to craft them soon, regardless of the current state of emergency.


    While doing so, Shi Tian heard a knock from outside.


    Dropping the blueprint on the table, Shi Tian stood up and opened the door.


    "What do you want?" He then asked.


    "You are really a bastard," Vanessa clicked her tongue and said.


    "It''s been a few hours already and yet you seem to have no intention of persuading or convincing me to lend you Ancient Technology." She added.


    Shi Tian shrugged his shoulders, giving her the "I don''t know" expression.


    "Don''t feign ignorance, Nathan. I''m sure it''s Mary that told you about me and my Ancient Technology being useful in this type of situation." Vanessa crossed her arms and said.


    After all, she had once revealed about owning an Ancient Technology to him, but never gave in the details. Mainly though it was Shi Tian not caring about it nor did he attempt to pry further.


    Thus, that leaves her with one conclusion, and that it was Mary being the knowledgeable one. It was because of this which made her to be on guard and hostile toward her.


    Concerning someone that knew her background and details so thoroughly, it would be unrealistic if they aren''t going to be on guard, given that Mary was a stranger as well.


    Meanwhile, Shi Tian kept silent, giving her the answer that she needed.


    Without confirming it, but also not denying it meant that Vanessa was mostly correct with her deduction. And attempting to lie about it would be pointless, so he didn''t bother to reply back.


    "Since you now know how powerful the Ancient Technology in my possession is, shouldn''t you be more eager to request my help? Instead of idling in your small workshop." Vanessa asked, clearly unable to understand his behavior.


    Time was ticking down, and the monster wave would only increase, never decrease.


    After all, when a monster wave is created, it means that the reproduction ability of the monsters was extremely high.


    No matter how much they kill, more monsters woulde out. They would all undergo mutation thanks to the environment, so going from a toddler to an adult species is just a snap of a finger.


    Taking a deep breath, Shi Tian didn''t want to answer her, but she got her foot right by the doorstep, and she was also blocking the exit path.


    It was pretty clear that Vanessa wouldn''t let him go until he gave her a proper answer.


    Shi Tian sighed softly before taking a step back away from the door, letting her know that he does not intend to lock the door or run away.


    "Whether you want to lend your Ancient Technology to us is up to you to decide. If you don''t want to lend it, then no matter how hard I convince you, it will be futile in the end." Shi Tian exined.


    And he continued, "So if you don''t want to lend it, I would understand your standpoint. You have been seriously injured before, and I have no n in dragging you to the muddy water that I have submerged in it already."


    "Is thetter exnation the truth and the former reason you gave me was just some crap excuse?" Vanessa was quick on her mind and understood his real reasoning.


    The first reason he gave was logical, but also dumb at the same time. If people always had the mindset of epting failure before trying, then there would be no improvement or change in a situation.


    To her understanding, Shi Tian doesn''t seem like the type to give up easily. Within his eyes, there was always a subtle burning passion to live, almost as if he still had a lot of things to do.


    Therefore, it was impossible to ce Shi Tian as a cowardly individual that would never try to seed.


    And once again, Shi Tian chose to remain silent, not denying nor confirming her doubts.


    "I''ve said what I needed, so even if you stay there, I won''t entertain you any longer." He then said, walking back to his chair.


    However, before he could take a seat, Vanessa gave him a response swiftly.


    "My Ancient Technology¡­ I can lend it to you."

 Chapter 181 Ignored

    <h4>Chapter 181 Ignored </h4>


    Shi Tian nearly stumbled in ce when heard Vanessa agreeing to lend her Ancient Technology to him.


    Turning around and looking at her with a dumbfounded expression, he asked, "What did you just say?"


    He needed to confirm that his ears weren''t listening wrong, even though the chance of it happening was close to zero.


    After all, he had barely done any convincing¨C no, it was more precise to say that he didn''t even attempt to persuade her at all.


    In fact, he was even betting that she would not lend them it.


    His main reason for rushing back here was to make sure she was safe and sound.


    He might act like he didn''t care about her, but that was because Shi Tian does not want to establish any friendship with anyone.


    This was to prevent himself from being attached too closely to someone that could be a weakness. But most importantly, it was to avoid the possibility that his enemies might use this as leverage to harm them to get back at him.


    Vanessa was already targeted once and nearly lost her life, so Shi Tian didn''t want to involve her in even more danger.


    Guilt, sadness, and despair of losing someone you cared about, Shi Tian does not want to experience any of these emotions, even if he would only experience them briefly thanks to his passive ability.


    Meanwhile, Vanessa smiled briefly when she finally caught his reaction to be nearly identical to the one she had in mind.


    "No wonder why you didn''t persuade me. It seems like you cared about my safety despite the coldness you always disyed." Vanessa smirked, seemingly teasing him for having such a childish mindset.


    "I don''t know what you''re talking about. If you want to lend it, then that would be the best-case scenario." Shi Tian was able topose himself and replied swiftly.


    Having a calm mindset was a great blessing, allowing him to always be able to think of reasonable and logical responses quickly.


    s, that didn''t mean his logical and reasonable response would always work against others, especially once they realized his true intention.


    "Sure buddy, I''ll wait for you in the living room so we can discuss further about it. In the meantime, you can stay here and think of some good excuses." Vanessa snickered coldly, shaking her head and leaving.


    ''And this is why you shouldn''t interact with women for too long.'' Shi Tian eximed inwardly, feeling like he had just been exposed cleanly in front of her.


    Sighing softly, Shi Tian took out his Cellos device and began texting Mary.


    Nathan: Vanessa agreed to lend her Ancient Technology to us.


    Mary: Great, you sure are capable Nathan! It was almost as if your charm was enough to swoon over others.


    Nathan: Goodbye.


    Mary: Wait a minute, Nathan.


    Mary: Hello Nathan? Did you really leave? You didn''t leave me "on read", right? *crying emoji*


    Mary: *crying emoji* *crying emoji* *crying emoji*


    When Shi Tian saw Mary keep spamming him with crying emoji nonstop, he shook his head and turned it to silent mode.


    That way, he won''t be annoyed by the constant notification of someone texting him.


    Meanwhile, in Optic Mech, Mary was twitching her mouth, showing a frustrated expression.


    "This damn Nathan really ignored me. Didn''t I just type a small joke?" Mary clicked her tongue.


    "Oh, since when did you and Nathan be that close to sending text messages to each other?" Ironically, Isaac Aaronax had entered right at the moment when Mary was pouting, hearing what she had just said.


    At first, Mary was shocked by a voice, but once she realized it was Isaac Aaronax, she stood up from her chair and showed him the Cellos device text messages.


    "See this, Nathan. Look at your good apprentice. Ignoring me when I taught him the Fleet Footwork movement technique and even gave him the boosters'' suit to equip without asking for any payment. Is this how you teach your apprentice?" She pouted andined to him.


    Isaac Aaronaxughed heartily when he heard her pouting like a little girl.


    "I''m serious, Mechanist Isaac. Do you want me to beat you up?" Mary clenched her fist and threatened.


    s, it only made the situation worse for her, given that Isaac Aaronax could no longer contain himself.


    Laughing even wilder, tears of joy started seeping out of his eyes.


    "Did you go crazy after reading those damn blueprints all day long?" She twitched her mouth and asked, appalled by his reaction.


    A few minutes had gone by until Isaac Aaronax was finally able to regain hisposure. He patted Mary''s shoulder lightly and smiled brightly.


    "Haven''t you realized how much you had changed after going to the wilderness this time?"


    "Changed? What do you mean by that?"


    Isaac Aaronax chuckled softly when he realized she was really clueless.


    "Give me a second," he said calmly, walking to his table and searching for something.


    "Here, look in the mirror and see your reflection." Isaac Aaronax retrieved a small mirror and told Mary to nce at it.


    Confused, Mary looked at her reflection without much emotion. "Just my reflection, nothing else." She said coolly.


    "Haven''t you noticed how much brighter you have be?" Isaac Aaronax smiled and pointed it out.


    "It has been a long time since you havee to me andined like a little girl. And look at the smile you have been shing ever since you returned. It''s not the fake smile you put up when you were acting as a receptionist but a genuine smile." He added.


    "T-That is¡­" Speechless, Mary didn''t know what else to say.


    She wanted to deny it, but once Isaac Aaronax had pointed it out for her. She had looked at her reflection and she noticed the changes that he said were true.


    "Let me guess, you and Nathan have been¨C" Before Isaac Aaronax could finish his sentence, Mary interrupted him.


    "We are not a couple." She denied it firmly.


    Meanwhile, Isaac Aaronax held a deadpan expression. "What I wanted to say was that you two have been cooperating well enough, allowing you to rx and reveal your true self."

 Chapter 182 Situation Report

    <h4>Chapter 182 Situation Report</h4>


    Mary''s face turned red rather quickly once she realized she had made a fool of herself.


    She wanted to crawl into a hole and hide.


    After all, she truly didn''t have any romantic feelings toward Shi Tian, but it was true that she was quitefortable interacting with him. It was as if Shi Tian had an aura around him that made others serene, and didn''t need to be guarded against.


    As long as one didn''t attempt to harm him or scheme against him, Shi Tian would be like a calm and tame wolf, minding his own business.


    However, now she might have made Isaac Aaronax misunderstand her, given that she had interrupted him and proimed to not be a couple.


    "Don''t misunderstand me," Mary said solemnly.


    Meanwhile, Isaac Aaronax raised an eyebrow and asked confusingly, "What misunderstanding?"


    "I know you two don''t have any romantic rtionship, especially when Shi Tian was such a serious man. I doubt he would be interested in a tomboyish girl who faked to be a gentle and caring woman." He then teased, making his way to the exit door.


    And it didn''t take long for Isaac Aaronax to run away from the scene.


    Though it was just a shame that he didn''t fight as much as Mary did. With his skills stagnated, Mary easily caught up to him before unleashing a painful punishment for Isaac Aaronax.


    While Isaac Aaronax got to enjoy the consequence of his action, back in the apartmentplex, Shi Tian had finallye out of his mini workshop room to the living room.


    Vanessa was already sitting on the couch, smiling at him briefly.


    "Did it really take you that long toe out for the uing discussion?" She asked amusingly.


    "I just wanted to be thorough so that there will be no mistakes when it''s time to enact." Shi Tian responded emotionlessly, taking a chair by the diner table to sit.


    "Sure," Vanessa gave him a suspicious look but didn''t pry further. She already got an answer in her mind regardless of what excuse he gave out and was merely teasing him.


    Ignoring that smug expression on her face, Shi Tian took out his Cellos device and turned on the hologram screen mode.


    The hologram screen mode was highlighting the current map in the wilderness and details of the terrain, which each district and theyersbeled.


    Vannesa''s face subsequently turned solemn when she saw the hologram screen.


    There are times when one can joke and tease, but there are times when one must be serious and focused. And now was the time to be focused, given that it was critical information being revealed.


    "Is this the current real-time situation?" Vanessa asked, ncing at the area that was practically filled in red color. The red color was naturally a collective of numerous red dots gathered in one area, creating an illusion that it was just onerge red color.


    Shi Tian nodded his head. "The data is currently being transmitted and renewed every few minutes by the people surveilling the area, so it can be said to be the most urate information."


    "Hmm, then District C is really about to be fallen. There are 5 safehold in each district, and the monster wave had already taken down 2 of them. And it doesn''t seem like there are any signs of stopping."


    "Since you know the situation is drastic and not looking good, when can we use your Ancient Technology?"


    "I said I will lend it, but not right now." Vanessa shook her head and responded.


    "Currently, District C is still quite far from Gearits City, so if we use the Ancient Technology now, it wouldn''t be effective." She added.


    "Effective?" Shi Tian raised an eyebrow, seemingly confused by her meaning. "Are you trying to let the situation fester more and create more casualties?"


    "You''ve guessed right, but there are no rewards." Vanessa sped her hands and smiled. She wasn''t really a citizen of Geairts City, so she doesn''t have or feel any obligation to assist them.


    Not to mention, she was sure that some of the people within Gearits City were the ones that revealed her whereabouts to the enemies. Thus, it would be hrious to say that she wasn''t feeling any resentment.


    "If someone within Gearits City did not sell my information, then I wouldn''t have been ambushed and nearly died from it." Vanessa snorted coldly and crossed her arms.


    Although knowing she was being petty right now, Shi Tian also couldn''t force her to just lend the Ancient Technology outright. After all, he would have done the same, or worse than her if that kind of situation happened to him.


    "Since that''s your response, then I shall put this situation on the television." Shi Tian stood up and said, transferring the data to the television that was centered in the living room. The television was an advanced version and gave a broader viewing angle.


    Once the data was transferred, he walked to the refrigerator and saw most of the food he had bought for her was eaten.


    ''Even though she kept saying she doesn''t like eating food that is kept in the refrigerator and wants fresh food, she still ate it.'' He eximed inwardly.


    Closing the refrigerator, he turned to her and asked, "I''m going to head out and get some food. What do you want to eat?"


    Vanessa pondered for a while before shaking her head.


    "I don''t want to stay cooped up in the apartment all the time. I''ll head out with you as well." She said calmly.


    Shi Tian held a deadpan expression and stared at her. "Did you not notice that someone had sent people to attack you, but was stopped by the Crimson Mage? Why would you want to head out now when you''re going to be targeted?"


    "And that''s where you''re wrong, Nathan." Vanessa stood up and smiled coldly.


    "Since I''m a target of interest, then I shall head outside and let them see where I am exactly. After all, the Crimson Mage must have kept surveince upon me now, so why not let the enemies seek death themselves?"

 Chapter 183 Ms. Obvious

    <h4>Chapter 183 Ms. Obvious </h4>


    "Are you really sure about that?" Shi Tian was somewhat in a dilemma when Vanessa wanted to get out.


    On one hand, Shi Tian understood that being forced to stay in a room would be boring, but on the other hand, it would be dangerous for her.


    Even if the Crimson Mage was having surveince around Vanessa, there was no guarantee of her safety.


    Just like how bodyguards might not always be able to protect their master or employer.


    "Yeah, I''m sure about that." Vanessa shed a solemn expression and said. "Last time, I was merely caught off-guard, but this time, I''m prepared." She added.


    "Since you are that confident, then the consequences are yours to bear. I''m not strong enough to defend you, nor am I interested in doing so." Shi Tian warned.


    Given that he was only concerned about her safety because it was rted to him, the situation changed once Vanessa insisted on heading out with him.


    After all, at that time, it would be her fault if she met any mishaps, and he had warned her already that he wouldn''t be able to rescue her like the first time.


    Although Shi Tian didn''t know how powerful Vanessa was, one thing that was clear to him was that he is definitely weaker than her currently. So if even she could not protect herself, what makes him think he could do so?


    "I know you are certainly one heartless person, but I know my own limits as well. Being ambushed and being ready to retaliate are two different things." Vanessa shed her two fingers and said.


    She then went back to her room, put on some new clothes, and said, "Let''s go, Nathan."


    Shaking his head, Shi Tian could only let her tag along. The choice was hers and he was in no position to bemanding or demanding her.


    As the two of them exited room 404, a miniature security camera was rotating slightly, capturing the moment of their leaving.


    And in a security room, a guard activated a small device attached to his ear.


    The small device blinked a few times before the guard reported,? "Head Security, the target has left their apartment room."


    "Noted! Send a team to follow them, but make sure to not have any interaction with the target. Our goal is to gather information only." In a secret room, Trevor received the report and ryed amand back to the guard.


    He didn''t even bother letting the guard give a response as he turned off themunication to connect with another person.


    "Crimson Mage, I have received news that the target has left the apartment," Trevor said respectfully, referring to the woman he was reporting to as Crimson Mage and not by her name.


    The Crimson Mage was not just a nickname anymore but was also her prestige title earned from the blood of ignorant fools.


    "What do you want us to do if the enemies indeed made a move again?" He then asked.


    And in a private room, Faris Hill tapped her fingers on the desk slightly, seemingly amused by the development.


    "This Vanessa woman had never once left the apartment ever since one of my tenants had brought her home. Not even when the enemies had arrived did she leave, but now that I have taken care of the enemies, she wanted toe out?" Faris Hill chuckled softly.


    It didn''t take long for her to realize Vanessa was betting on her for protection. After all, the enemies had crossed her boundary line, and that was invading her private territory.


    Not even the military could exert their authority in her private territory, so how could she possibly allow others to step over her and not receive any retribution?


    ''How gutsy of her to attempt to use me as a shield.'' Faris Hill eximed inwardly.


    "Trevor, if the enemies do act upon them, then make sure to let them do significant damage on them before assisting them at the final moment." Faris Hill responded.


    "Understood," Trevor received the order and shut off themunication.


    Afterward, he ryed thismand to the team that was responsible for the surveince of Shi Tian and Vanessa. There was zero hesitation in his actions, almost as if whatever Faris Hillmanded, then that was the absolute order.


    As these were all happening behind the scene, Shi Tian and Vanessa arrived at the main lobby.


    "Hmm, a big battle has ensued, yet there are barely any ruins here." Vanessa nced around andmented.


    "It''s not that there aren''t any ruins, but they have mostly been cleaned up and rebuilt. But the center area is still blocked and inessible, so we would need to take a detour." Shi Tian exined.


    "I see¡­ technologies are really interesting. Even ruined buildings could be repaired so quickly."


    "Yes, Ms. Obvious. Thank you for yourmentary."


    Vanessa clicked her tongue in annoyance.


    Was she wrong to nce around her surroundings and make somements after being cooped up for so long?


    Of course not, because an example could be a prisoner that went to jail for 30 years and finally came out to the real world. It would be natural for them to be amazed and impressed at every new thing they were finally able to see after being locked in a cage for most of their life.


    "You seriously have no empathy and sympathy," Vanessa clicked her tongue and said, rushing ahead because Shi Tian didn''t even bother stopping to wait for her when she was admiring the scenery.


    Once she caught up to him, she asked, "Are you really a human or a robot that has no feelings toward anything aside from yourself?"


    "You say that, but shouldn''t you be worse than me when you''re willing to see innocent lives being sacrificed because you are petty and angry about the people that sold your information out?" Shi Tian questioned her back morally and emotionally.


    "Ahem, what restaurant are we going to get food from?" Vanessa quickly faked a cough and changed the topic once she realized she was stumped.

 Chapter 184 Demands

    <h4>Chapter 184 Demands</h4>


    After making Vanessa baffled, Shi Tian felt quite a bit ufortable, almost as if he was being watched in every movement.


    And normally, his perception and awareness aren''t that high, but thanks to the training done in the wilderness, he became quite sensitive.


    "Hmm, it seems like we are truly being followed." Shi Tian muttered softly.


    Vanessa smiled briefly and nodded her head.


    "I''m surprised you only realized it now." She responded in amusement. She even began counting on her fingers like a little girl would do when they needed to do some calctions.


    "The moment we left the apartment room. Only two people were watching us. But by the time we arrived at the main lobby, there were at least five people." She added.


    "Five people huh¡­" Shi Tian was somewhat dazed, given that he had only noticed three people. This meant that his awareness and perception still needed to be improved.


    "Oi oi, your reaction seemed to me like you didn''t know there were five people following us." Vanessa curled her mouth upward and said.


    She walked closer to Shi Tian and asked, "How many people did you actually notice? Now be honest and don''t try to lie."


    As she said that, she wasughing silently because there was one additional person that she had sensed, but that person seemed to be shrouded in mystery.


    Even she was unable to discern his presence if she hadn''t focused on it.


    Hence, if Shi Tian was to utter he sensed five people as a way to cover his shame, then she would be able totch on to this opportunity and give him a beat down, mentally of course.


    s, little did she expect, Shi Tian would say something else that made her regret her choices and decisions.


    "Yeah, my perception is pretty mehpared to you. But at the very least, I have never been ambushed before and nearly lost my life." Shi Tian sighed and shook his head, acting as if he was pitiful.


    "Go to hell," Vanessa clicked her tongue and hastened her speed.


    "Do you even know where we''re going?" Shi Tian asked calmly, seeing that she was rushing ahead without any sense of direction.


    Though it was clear to her that he was getting revenge. He was never the type to take a loss in any situation, and would always repay them graciously.


    And with Vanessa pausing her movement, but kept silent, Shi Tian chuckled softly and exined to her the location of the restaurant.


    "There''s only one decent restaurant around the area, and it''s the Horology Restaurant. But I must warn you that your whereabouts might be disclosed to the enemies once we step foot in it." Shi Tian warned.


    "So if you don''t want to face the risk, then we can find a simple food stall to dine in." He added, giving her alternative suggestions for a safer choice.


    However, Vanessa shook her head and refused to go to a simple food stall. It wasn''t that she found the simple food stall beneath her, but the fact that she wanted the enemies to attempt to go after her again.


    That was the only reason why she chose to head out, and that was to be bait. A bait that would bite the hunters really badly.


    "No, let''s go to the Horology Restaurant and let them know we''re there." Vanessa shed a cold smile and said. Her eyes shed in a somewhat vicious glint.


    "It''s your choice then," Shi Tian didn''t bother convincing or suggesting elsewhere anymore.


    Sometimeter, the two of them smoothly arrived at the Horology Restaurant without any hups.


    But that was merely the calm before the storm, given that Vanessa had sensed some other people starting to follow her, albeit at a far distance.


    Ever since she was ambushed, she had made the necessary preparations.


    Ambushed her once?


    Then it was a shame on them for being such sneaky bastards.


    But if she allowed herself to be ambushed twice?


    Then it was a shame on her for being such an easy target.


    There was no way she would allow another ambush to be sessful now that she was ready and prepared for the uing fight.


    Without waiting for Shi Tian, she directly entered the Horology Restaurant and told the woman wearing a qipao design dress that she wanted a table for two.


    "Get us a good table that offers a grand overview of the interior," Vanessa said.


    She even went as far as taking out a small pouch from her pocket and tossing it around with her hand, a sign that indicated that she was wealthy and was willing to spend a lot.


    The woman seeing such action was no fool either to not understand the implication. In fact, she even noticed Shi Tian, a somewhat regr that had always ordered takeouting behind her.


    She recalled that Shi Tian had spent quite a bit on their expensive dishes in the past, so she didn''t doubt they would be wealthy patrons.


    "Very well, the 2nd floor is moremodious and offers a great view of the first floor. Though it would cost extra to be assigned in such a seat." The woman smiled gracefully and exined.


    It wasn''t a surprise that if one wanted better amodating seating at a table to pay extra for a morefortable dining experience.


    Thus, Vanessa nodded her head without showing anyint regarding the extra charge price.


    "Then hurry up and bring us a table. Also, don''t give us the normal menu, but a premium menu. We don''t want to eat mediocre food." Vanessa demanded, taking out 100 Eons as a tip for the woman.


    The woman, dumbfounded at first, quickly smiled brighter as she epted the 100 Eons.


    Normally, her tips would only range around 5 to 20 Eons, with the highest one ever being 25 Eons. To receive 100 Eons as a tip was naturally a first for her, given that only a few of their dishes cost that many Eons.


    "Please follow me, Madam and Sir," The woman''s tone of speech was clearly a bit more respectful and polite than previously.

 Chapter 185 Spendthrift

    <h4>Chapter 185 Spendthrift</h4>


    Guided by the polite woman, Vanessa ascended to the 2nd floor. Shi Tian watched, disbelief etched on his face.


    Who would give such a generous tip for a simple table on the 2nd floor?


    It seemed excessive for such a request.


    ''As expected of a wealthy person. Being a spendthrift is definitely a skill I would never learn.'' Shi Tian thought to himself.


    Money was already difficult to earn when the world was so chaotic, but here we are, with a person spending money as if they grew in trees.


    Meanwhile, the woman had stopped by a table situated at the center of a balcony on the 2nd floor and asked, "Here''s the table that has an overview of the entire 1st floor and the entrance. Is it to your liking, Madam?"


    The 2nd floor was built with an open balcony type, allowing them to oversee the lower floor without any obstacles blocking them.


    Vanessa also noticed this when she first entered, so she was quite pleased with the table they received.


    Though she made sure to keep a calmposure on her face and slightly nodded her head.


    "A bit shabby, but it''s doable I guess," Vanessamented.


    And she continued, "Serve the best tea you have and give us the premium menu option¡­ What''s your name?"


    "Madam can just address me as Tracy," The woman, Tracy replied, showing her nametag that was slightly camouged with her dress, making it quite difficult to see her name.


    "So Tracy, I don''t want anyone else bothering us aside from you, so even if food is being served. I want you to serve it over so that we won''t be disturbed by others." Vanessa demanded, dropping another 50 Eons on Tracy''s hand.


    Tracy was clearly astonished by the generosity of Vanessa, so she agreed to it even though she would normally never do that. Every waiter had no assigned tables, so usually, a table would have different kinds of waiters serving their table.


    However, since Vanessa was such a wealthy and generous person, she naturally wouldn''t let others take her role and receive the benefits.


    People are inherently greedy like that. It was embedded in their blood once they had matured and realized the cruel reality.


    "Understood, Madam. I''ll make sure that you would only receive the best services from me and have an enjoyable evening." Tracy said solemnly, leaving the table to retrieve the premium menu.


    One reason why she didn''t suspect Vanessa to be pretending was that she had requested the premium menu right away.


    Regr customers only receive amon menu that everyone else would get. Only a selected few would ever get the opportunity to receive the premium menu option to choose their dishes from.


    After all, each premium menu dish cost a minimum of 50 Eons plus. It was not the price that a regr customer would be able to afford.


    Once Tracy walked downstairs, Vanessa calmly nced at her somewhat deste surroundings. Not many people qualified to be situated here, since it was quite pointless for them, especially if they needed to pay extra.


    "You seemed dissatisfied with my actions so far, Nathan," Vanessa said, her eyes still checking around the atmosphere and area.


    "Not dissatisfied, but more like impressed." Shi Tian responded.


    "Oh?" Vanessa raised an eyebrow and turned to him. "I was sure that you were probablybeling me as a spendthrift from the start though."


    Shi Tian nodded his head, not denying that. It was true that he thought Vanessa was merely a spoiled brat without any regard for money.


    However, that mindset was quickly voided once he saw her action further and speech. It was only until then that he realized she wasn''t being a spendthrift, but being cautious and vignt.


    "In total, you have given Tracy 150 Eons while getting the table on the 2nd floor."


    "Mhmm, so shouldn''t you be thinking I''m wasting money without care? Why would you be impressed?"


    "I''m impressed because what you did was a n or more like a safety measure." Shi Tian said, pointing at the entrance. "With a clear view of the entrance, anyone entering or leaving would be noticed by us right away."


    Afterward, he pointed at the ceiling above them.


    "There are more floors above us, so the chance of being ambushed from above is impossible. And with those two stairs that connect to the 2nd floor, we can easily choose an easier route to escape to if enemies are arriving." He exined the terrain and the "if" possibilities scenarios.


    Vanessa curled her lips in amusement.


    "But even then, why are you impressed?" She asked curiously, seemingly wanting to hear his thought process more.


    "If it was just about the terrain and surveince, then obviously I wouldn''t be that impressed. It''s only natural for one to check their surroundings and environment when they are being targeted." Shi Tian replied emotionlessly.


    "You still haven''t answered my question though."


    "Is it necessary to answer?"


    "Yes, because I want to hear your insights." Vanessa grinned.


    "Now hurry and say it before Tracyes back." She then urged him, clearly excited for some reason.


    Shi Tian sighed softly and knew he would be bombarded constantly if he chose to remain silent.


    "Tracy is the main key to your arrangement. Purposely designating Tracy as the only person eligible to serve us, you evaded the potential of any enemies that wanted to pose as a worker to harm us."


    Vanessa sped her hands, feeling proud of herself that her effort was recognized.


    "Is that why you''re impressed by me?" She then asked in a silly tone, acting like a little girl that had just finished bragging about her achievement.


    However, Shi Tian shook his head in response.


    "No, it''s because I''m sure that she''s going to be a poison tester too. Once the food arrived, you would make an excuse and have Tracy eat every dish that we ordered first." Shi Tian revealed the main reason why he was impressed.


    This time, Vanessa''s smile gradually diminished as her expression turned solemn.


    "You are indeed very clever, Nathan."

 Chapter 186 Entrapment

    <h4>Chapter 186 Entrapment </h4>


    Vanessa was slightly astonished that Shi Tian was able to guess her true intention, but only slightly.


    She knew he was a clever man from the start with how greedy and money-driven he was.


    Thus, it wouldn''t be difficult for him to guess her true intention when she had given so much benefit to Tracy, someone she had just met today.


    "Do you find me devious or scary?" Vanessa no longer had any yful attitude and held a solemn expression on her face. It could be said that her yful and childish behavior was her disguise to deceive others, concealing her real personality.


    Meanwhile, Shi Tian was calm and collected, not a bit surprised by her sudden serious face.


    If Vanessa was truly a spoiled brat or even childish, then she would have long sumbed to her death from her journey from Chronosworth City to Gearits City.


    "What you did was very reasonable, so why would I find you devious or scary?" Shi Tian responded back with a question of his own.


    "Well, I''m going to use Tracy as a guinea pig, and I won''t even feel sad if she died on our behalf," Vanessa exined, leaning forward and wondering what was on his mind.


    "You don''t need to test me, Vanessa." Shi Tian said with an expressionless face.


    "You have paid her 150 Eons as a tip in disguise, so naturally, she should work for her worth. There are no such things as free lunches in this world. You will always only receive what you pay for and what you work hard for." He added.


    With that exined, Vanessa no longer bothered asking him further. She merely waited for Tracy to return with the premium menu, which could not be obtained through the restaurant''s QR code scan.


    "Sorry for the wait, but here''s the premium menu." Tracy smiled briefly, handing over a golden booklet. The golden booklet had an exquisite design, and it showed that the booklet was taken with great care.


    "Here''s a button that you can use to call for me when you decide on the menu," Tracy then said, leaving to let them have time to choose the dishes.


    Once she left the 2nd floor, Vanessa smirked coldly. "Look at what money can do. Although 150 Eons might seem like a lot of money, it was necessary." "What kind of food do you want to eat?" She then asked, seemingly enthusiastic about the many options that she could now pick for herself. She even started humming in joy.


    Seeing that her serious face was so quick to disappear, Shi Tian was speechless.


    ''What a confusing person.'' He thought to himself, his eyes focusing on the entrance and noting the people entering and leaving.


    As Vanessa and Shi Tian engaged in their conversation on the 2nd-floor balcony, the exterior of the Horology Restaurant was undergoing a subtle transformation.


    The previously empty surroundings now harbored an unseen audience, figures concealed within the depths of the shadows.


    On a high rooftop situated opposite the Horology Restaurant, two individuals maintained their vignt stance, overlooking the establishment.


    "Notify the Head Security that we''ve detected the arrival of unidentified individuals. Although these individuals differ from our previous adversaries, their objectives are unmistakable," one of them instructed his partner, his voice steady and resolute in the face of uncertainty.


    Given their years of experience in security defense, their instinct was quite high when it came to suspicious individuals.


    And these individuals were the ones that had been walking back and forth at the Horology Restaurant, with no intention of entering. It seemed as if they were trying to inspect the interior from the outside without trying to alert anyone.


    His partner received themand and quickly reported back to Trevor, who simply told them to stay put and keep watch of the situation, reporting to him whenever there was a new development.


    "The Head Security is spying on someone else that seemed to be connected with one of the Five Families. So we are to be careful and remain discreet, Code T32." His partner ryed the news.


    Code T32 was merely their nickname or alias, and they would always only ever address their partner with their assigned code name. It was a way to prevent any leaks or opportunities for the enemies to know who they are.


    The only exception to this was Trevor, who clearly did not have a code name and was referred to as Head Security.


    Code T32 was unfazed by themand and kept his surveince on the suspicious individuals.


    Time slowly passed by, and Code T32 recognized more unfamiliar individuals gathering around the Horology Restaurant. It was as if they were surrounding the restaurant and preparing for war.


    And naturally, once it got to this point, the people that were walking in the streets and the people inside the restaurant would realize something big was going on.


    "Why does it feel like they are trying to attack the Horology Restaurant?"


    "I don''t know, but we should leave the vicinity soon. Who knows if we would be dragged into some messy situation?"


    The ordinary people who had initially intended to enjoy a meal or grab some takeout from the restaurant swiftly found themselves perturbed by the unfolding events.


    The abrupt change in the atmospherepelled them to abandon their ns hastily, their faces etched with a mixture of confusion and concern.


    Amidst the uncertainty, amon understanding emerged: it was wiser not to indulge one''s curiosity. The bystanders grasped the notion that probing into the mysterious turn of events would likely result in swift and dire consequences.


    The age-old adage held true: a person driven by curiosity was often destined to a quicker demise than those who chose to keep their distance from enigmatic matters. Those who recognized their ce refrained from prying into enigmas, content to remain blissfully unaware.


    In this intricate dance of survival, ignorance was a shield against the dangerous truths that often lurked beneath the surface. Choosing to embrace naivety and steering clear of probing questions was the most pragmatic path to ensure one''s own safety.


    As the Horology Restaurant''s ambiance shifted from inviting to secluded and possibly perilous, the patrons within its walls experienced a growing unease.


    Amid their shared apprehension, a sense of entrapment settled in.


    While some patrons contemted departing, their efforts were thwarted by unseen barriers, leaving them confined within the establishment''s boundaries.


    "It seems like you severely underestimate yourself, Vanessa. The enemies are quite determined this time regardless of themotion." Shi Tian said, watching the patrons reluctantly return to their table despite paying their bills already.

 Chapter 187 Calm Before The Storm

    <h4>Chapter 187 Calm Before The Storm </h4>


    ?


    Vanessa''s lips curved into a wry smile as she observed the unfolding scenario.


    "Seems like they''re eager to challenge my abilities," she mused, her tone a blend of amusement and a touch of irony.


    Shi Tian''s eyes gleamed with a knowing understanding.


    "You seem more excited than worried despite the drastic situation we''re facing right now. The other patrons here are unknowingly dragged into the mess as well." He said, referring to the current entrapment that they are receiving.


    Vanessa nodded in agreement, her gaze shifting to the patrons who were now engaged in hushed conversations, their eyes darting toward the entrance.


    It was clear that the patrons were anxious and astounded by the situation, given that they had no idea of what was going on.


    Nevertheless, Vanessa was unfazed by their reaction, almost as if their life and death had no effects on her. She was almost like a detached observer of their distress and current unease emotion.


    After all, she wasn''t going to be the one that would harm their life if her enemies chose to risk it all andmit murder in broad daylight.


    "Who do you think is the one that wanted my life this badly, Nathan?" She inquired, her gaze locking onto him.


    "I mean like, deploying such manpower and isting a restaurant in broad daylight should mean they have some influence and power here, right?"


    "Who else could it be aside from the Harrett Family?" Shi Tian shrugged his shoulders and gave his opinion.


    Both him and Mary had already found some connection between the Harrett Family and its involvement in the current monster wave. So other than the Harrett Family, he couldn''t find anyone else to be more suspicious.


    However, Shi Tian''s thought was quick to be shot down as Vanessa shook her head.


    "No, I don''t think the Harrett Family is this gutsy, Nathan." She stated, doubting his im. "One thing for sure is that the Harrett Family is greedy, and a greedy person would always know the benefits of their action."


    Shi Tian pondered over her exnation, seemingly recalcting his thought process.


    "So you''re telling me that the Harrett Family is being framed right now?" He raised an eyebrow and asked.


    Vanessa nodded her head.


    "When someone seems to be the most likely culprit, it usually isn''t them. After all, only a fool would continue tomit a crime despite all suspicions being ced upon you. That''s like telling everyone that I''m the criminal, soe get me."


    "Then who do you suspect? If you have such doubts, then who else would benefit in this development?"


    Vanessa''s gaze remained fixed on the unfolding situation outside the restaurant, her voice carrying a hint of spective contemtion.


    "I suspect this is the work of a more elusive force, one that thrives in the shadows butcks the Harrett Family''s inclination for subtlety." She said calmly.


    Shi Tian''s brows furrowed slightly, a mixture of intrigue and concern coloring his features. "You believe there''s another yer in the game, someone we haven''t encountered before?"


    Vanessa''s response held a note of caution. "It''s a possibility we shouldn''t dismiss. The Harrett Family''s method of influence relies on indirect control, but what we''re seeing now is a direct and bold act. This suggests a different kind of adversary."


    As the tension between them mounted, the mystery surrounding the identity of their new adversary deepened.


    Together, they shared a realization that the threats they faced weren''t limited to those they already knew. A more enigmatic and audacious enemy had emerged, casting a shadow over their alreadyplex predicament.


    "Anyway, no point in worrying now and let''s enjoy some food first. If the enemies want toe while we''re eating, then it''s even better." Vanessa eximed, pressing the button to call for Tracy.


    "I bet you''re hoping the enemies would interrupt us in the middle of eating so we don''t have to pay for our meal," Shi Tian rolled his eyes.


    Though he actually loved her thinking and was quite eager to look forward to that.


    Not having to pay for your meal because of an external force affecting you would be fantastic.


    "Don''t act like you didn''t love my idea, Nathan. As far as I''m concerned, you are the most stingiest and calcted person." Vanessa grinned wickedly.


    "Noment on that."


    "Tsk, pretending to be righteous when you are shrewd as well."


    Thankfully, Tracy soon arrived from downstairs, allowing Shi Tian to escape from the topic.


    "Madam, what did you need?" Tracy kept a smile on her face, asking what she wanted. Though it was clear that Tracy had been affected by themotion outside, especially when the patrons are starting to be rowdy and anxious.


    She didn''t even want to stay here any longer, but Robert Cook, the manager of the Horology Restaurant strictly told his employees to operate as normal.


    If even the employees start to panic, then it wouldn''t be long for the Horology Restaurant to be a panic ce.


    Not to mention, it did help a lot when Tracy knew that Vanessa was a generous patron, so she decided to continue to assist and serve her. The 150 Eons she received as tips aren''t fake after all.


    "I want the dishes of this and this. Oh, and also this, plus some fine wines for the two of us to enjoy," Vanessa spoke with a decisive yet calm tone,


    And very quickly, Tracy jotted down all the dishes she wanted on her mini tablet, nodding her head in the process.


    "Very well, Madam. The dishes should arrive in 10 minutes or so, whereas I''ll find some fine wines for you." She replied, maintaining her professionalism as she ignored themotion in the lower floor.


    Vanessa merely waved her hands, a signal that she could leave.


    Once Tracy took her leave to retrieve some wines, Vanessa and Shi Tian remained encased in their private bubble, seemingly unfazed by the tumultuous circumstances.


    Amidst the chaos, their conversation flowed as if they were isted from the world, focused solely on the evening.

 Chapter 188 Attacked

    <h4>Chapter 188 Attacked </h4>


    In a dimly lit room shrouded in darkness, three figures were gathered, their forms cloaked in ck from head to toe.


    The room bore an air of secrecy as if it were a sanctuary for ndestine conversations.


    Their attention was fixed on a single individual among them, whose authoritative voice broke the silence. "Get ready to attack the Horology Restaurant. And remember, our target for this operation is a woman named Vanessa."


    As themand was issued, a hologram projected an image of Vanessa''s likeness, ensuring that there would be no room for error or mistaken identity.


    The holographic image held a level of detail that revealed Vanessa''s features with remarkable uracy, making it clear who their focus should be on.


    The other two figures listened intently, each one absorbing the gravity of the situation.


    "There are already other people stationed outside the Horology Restaurant as disguises, so make no mistake. We only got this opportunity, otherwise, if the target returned to the apartmentplex owned by the Crimson Mage, it would be difficult or impossible toplete the task."


    The choice to target Vanessa marked a significant esction, a move that demonstrated the stakes involved. The room, now charged with tension, seemed to pulse with the weight of their impending mission.


    Amid the shroud of secrecy, the three individuals began to prepare themselves, their movements methodical and purposeful.


    Each step they took was imbued with a sense of determination as if they were poised to enact a n that had been meticulously crafted.


    With Vanessa''s image still lingering in the air as the hologram dissolved, the room became a nexus of intent and focus. The shadows that enveloped them seemed to mirror the obscurity of their motives, a testament to theplexity of the web they were weaving.


    Meanwhile, back at the Horology Restaurant, Vanessa and Shi Tian were joyfully dining on the dishes that she had ordered.


    "Come and let''s drink another cup of wine, Nathan." Vanessa took her ss and raised it up, clearly wanting to do a cheering action.


    However, before Shi Tian could get the chance to pick up his wine cup, Vanessa''s eyes glinted.


    Putting her wine cup down, she smiled coldly, "Looks like we can''t even enjoy our wine properly."


    "Huh?" Shi Tian raised an eyebrow, but suddenly he felt a sudden gust of winding from behind. And his natural instinct was to quickly get away from his original position.


    Activating the boosters'' suit that he had on, Shi Tian zoomed almost at the speed of light, going toward Vanessa and moving her away from her seating too.


    Booom!


    The moment Shi Tian escaped their original position, there was arge tomahawk that struck their table, demolishing it entirely.


    The tomahawk was shaped and built irregrly. It was iid with a special type of neon lighting, indicating that it was crafted with the current era technology. It even shook for a few moments before the tomahawk started to fly back near the entrance of the Horology Restaurant.


    It retracted like a boomerang that would return to its original owner after throwing it around.


    Meanwhile, Vanessa lightly tapped on Shi Tian''s arm, and asked softly, "So when are you going to pull your hand out from my waist?"


    Realizing his hand was still wrapped around her slender waist, Shi Tian swiftly pulled his hand away.


    "Who do you thinkunched the attack?" He then asked. As for the feeling of embarrassment or shyness from touching her waist, that would only ur to those immature or virgin brat.


    He did it to drag her away from the now-demolished table, so why would he be ashamed?


    "Based on the trajectory and the power used, if we didn''t evade in time, then our head would most likely be decapitated. The enemies this time are determined to have me dead." Vanessa responded, her expression tranquil, unfazed by the event.


    "Though I bet the manager in this restaurant had a hand for such a thing to happen." She then said, her eyes ncing at Robert Cook, who was pacifying the patrons from the sudden attack.


    Robert Cook didn''t seem to have a panicked expression. No, it was more correct that he was far too calm, almost as if he expected that their table would be attacked.


    "Looks like the odds are against us," Shi Tianmented, realizing their situation was worse than expected.


    Who would have thought their enemies would be so outrageous as to break off any pretenses regarding the strictws of Gearits City?


    This was no longer an assassination, but a crime against Geairts City that prohibited anyrge-scale fighting.


    "Are you scared?" Vanessa lifted her sleeves up and asked. "If you''re scared, then you can head downstairs and merge with the crowd. Their target is me after all."


    "How hrious." Shi Tian chuckled softly. "That tomahawk throw was targeted at the both of us. Do you seriously think I can merge with the crowd?"


    "Oh? Then are you mad that I brought you down with me? I remember our first encounter, you were afraid of trouble and refused to assist me until I bluffed you to save me." Vanessa mused, seemingly having the time to joke and reminisce about the past.


    Shi Tian was silent, not because he was speechless, but it was because he couldn''tprehend why she was talking about something unnecessary.


    "Maybe if this was the same situation as back then, I would have without a doubt left you for dead. But a shame, the current situation is different, and I''m sure the enemies had investigated me as well. I''m no longer a passerby, but a person of interest as well." He muttered, exining the circumstances.


    Vanessa smirked, not a bit surprised by his response. Had he said otherwise, then she would have suspected something was wrong.


    "Anyway, I didn''te here without a n. So why don''t we start our counterattack?" She then said, her hands glowing a dim but subtle light, indicating that she was ready to use her Esper power.

 Chapter 189 Tomahawks

    <h4>Chapter 189 Tomahawks</h4>


    Seeing Vanessa practically glowing like a majestic being, Shi Tian was finally able to witness her power for the first time.


    The air around her seemed to shimmer with otherworldly energy.


    And he had suspected that Vanessa was orchestrating something when he observed her actions near the entrance of the Horology Restaurant, but the details remained shrouded in mystery.


    However, it seems like his doubts will be cleared soon.


    "How much do you know about Esper''s ss, Nathan?" Vanessa''s smile held a touch of coldness as she turned to him, her gaze piercing. The question hung in the air,den with significance.


    "Not much, aside from the fact that the Esper ss is considered more specializedpared to a Magus ss," Shi Tian replied, his tone reflective of his limited knowledge.


    He had encountered information about different ss types, but the specifics of the Esper ss had remained rtively obscure.


    Vanessa''s smile deepened, a subtle blend of amusement and satisfaction.


    "Esper ss individuals are indeed rare, and the prudent ones would avoid exposing their abilities. It''s no wonder that you''re not well-versed in the topic."


    The distinction between an Esper and a Magus ss individual wasn''t always clear-cut.


    The shared use of Magicules was amonality, but the underlying nature of their abilities set them apart. An Esper''s power was often more tightly focused and honed, making their abilities seem almost tailored to their unique strengths.


    Shi Tian didn''t doubt her im about the Esper ss refusing to expose their abilities.


    After all, the principle of not revealing one''s hidden trump card was a strategic rule known to many. It was a disy of wisdom to keep one''s most potent abilities concealed from enemies and opponents until the opportune moment.


    "You can cover fire for me, right?" Vanessa''s inquiry cut through the tense air. Her hands began to weave intricate patterns, manipting the ambient Magicules around her.


    Shi Tian nodded his head.


    His response was immediate and confident. "I got you covered."


    He readied his stance, his left hand gripping a pistol, while his mechanical right arm remained poised, ready to deal a decisive strike.


    "Then let the show begin," Vanessa dered, setting her power into motion.


    The very ground beneath them quivered, and outside the entrance of the Horology Restaurant, deep fissures erupted, crisscrossing the area like the aftermath of an earthquake.


    The force of her ability was staggering, akin to experiencing the tremors of an 8.1 magnitude quake. The surrounding chaos seemed almost secondary as the ground itself rebelled against normalcy, serving as a testament to the immense power Vanessamanded.


    Casualties continued to rise thanks to the sudden magnitude, but Vanessa paid no heed to it, harnessing her power further.


    Since Gearits City was practically turning a blind eye to such a preposterous action from her enemies, then why should she be polite to them?


    Amidst the seismic upheaval caused by Vanessa''s unleashed abilities, Shi Tian''s attention sharpened.


    A few secondster, Shi Tian felt something simr. ''It''s that same feeling again when our table was demolished.''


    A sense of danger rippled through the atmosphere, alerting him to an imminent threat. With instincts honed by countless life-and-death situations, he picked up on the telltale signs of danger directed at Vanessa.


    As his keen senses detected the trajectory of a thrown Tomahawk aimed at Vanessa, Shi Tian''s response was swift and decisive.


    Activating the advanced capabilities of his boosters'' suit, he surged forward with heightened speed and momentum. Every movement was a testament to his precise control over the suit''s technology after many practices.


    His mechanical right arm, now a formidable tool in its own right, rose to intercept the iing Tomahawk. With a calcted burst of power, he generated an impressive 3 Ton Force, effectively redirecting the projectile''s path away from Vanessa''s vulnerable position.


    However, Shi Tian still felt a sense of numbness in his right hand, proving that the enemy''s strength was beyond his estimation.


    His right hand trembled a bit as his attention focused on the deflected Tomahawk that had shattered the walls by their right side.


    "Whoever is throwing the Tomahawk should be a Berserker. Only they will have this much strength." Shi Tian eximed.


    "It''s not over yet, Nathan. Three more Tomahawks are aimed at us right now." Despite focusing on her power, Vanessa''s high perception detected more danger and warned Shi Tian.


    "No worries, the more the merrier," he retorted, his voice carrying a cold determination. With a decisive leap forward, he positioned himself to intercept the impending barrage of Tomahawks.


    Faced with three more projectiles, Shi Tian abandoned restraint and unleashed his power to its fullest extent.


    Five Ton Force surged through him, his mechanical right hand now a formidable weapon. He gauged the trajectory of each iing Tomahawk, calcting their origin points with uncanny uracy.


    As the Tomahawks hurtled toward him, Shi Tian''s actions were fluid and seamless. He deflected each projectile with precision. The pain and numbness that followed each impact were mere afterthoughts, eclipsed by his unwavering determination to safeguard Vanessa and himself.


    Ignoring the pain, Shi Tian shifted his stance, and changed the gear form of his mechanical right arm, revealing his palm. A neon blue light began to swirl, rapidly gaining intensity.


    "You like to throw weapons? Then here''s the payback," Shi Tian dered with a calcted sneer. With a surge of power, he triggered his Lightbeam, a deadly arc of energy that cut through the air.


    Guided by his prediction of the enemies'' location, the neon blue beam cleaved through the space with lethal intent.


    As the neon blue light zed forth, the battlefield shifted, marking the transition from defense to retaliation.


    With the detonation of the potent Lightbeam, Shi Tian''s mechanical arm expended its energy, rendering it temporarily inactive. The intricate mechanisms that powered the arm needed a brief pause to recharge before they could be fully operational once more.


    Returning to Vanessa''s side, Shi Tian conveyed the truth that his defensive capabilities were nearly depleted.


    "I can probably only stall for some more minutes. Are you done with your preparation?" Shi Tian asked.


    Vanessa nodded her head and smiled coldly.


    "Just in time for the finale."

 Chapter 190 Hunters

    <h4>Chapter 190 Hunters </h4>


    10 minutes before the chaotic battle hadmenced in the Horology Restaurant, Code T32 was spying at the entrance and was dumbfounded to see Hunters gathering.


    Hunters, the terminology used for people that eptmissions for money to do things.


    Essentially, they are what mercenaries do, but in an illegal and more secretive manner.


    As a masked man emerged from the shadow, his two hands were holding Tomahawk, with more in his belt. There was a gloomy and dark aura that shrouded the masked man.


    And when Code T32 noticed the masked man, his expression changed drastically. If it were any ordinary masked figure, Code T32 wouldn''t have recognized who it was.


    However, there was a distinct feature on the mask, which had the image of a Tomahawk, added with the fact that the masked man was holding a Tomahawk, it had given him all the information he needed.


    "That hunter holding the Tomahawk¡­ it should be Kralos Tal." Code T32 eximed in shock. Kralos Tal was an infamous hunter that had assassinated quite a lot of prominent figures in other cities.


    However, this was the first time that Kralos Tal had ever made an appearance in Gearits City.


    Meanwhile, Code T32''s partner was naturally astonished when he realized a hunter of such caliber had shown up. This was now beyond their capacity, and even if they wanted to do anything, it would be futile.


    The hunter didn''t manage to be so infamous if he had superficial skills.


    "I''ll contact Head Security immediately," Code T32''s partner was slightly stunned, but managed topose his emotion rather swiftly, informing Trevor of the unexpected variable.


    What kind of unexpected situation had they not encountered before?


    The experience of dealing with unexpected variables was second nature to individuals in their line of work.


    Sometimeter, Code T32''s partner received a retreating notice, and that someone else would take over.


    "Code T32, we are to retreat immediately," The partner closed themunication with Trevor and informed Code T32.


    "Understood," Code T32 didn''t even hesitate nor asked why they were told to retreat. Since themand was given, then they would only obey it.


    With the order to retreat, Code T32''s attention shifted from the current engagement to the imminent withdrawal.


    As Code T32 and his partner swiftly retreated from the scene, Trevor''s expression was cold. All along, he was situated at a tall building that oversaw Code T32 and his partner.


    ncing at the two people retreating, Trevor then took off themunication device that was on his earbud and stomped it, crushing it into nothingness.


    A brief momentter, Trevor''s cold expression gradually returned to neutral, confused by the scene.


    ''What just happened? Why did the Code T32 team leave?'' Trevor eximed inwardly, seemingly in shock by their disappearance.


    As Trevor was confused by the situation, he suddenly received a direct transmission call from the Crimson Mage. His eyes were now projecting a hologram screen, which revealed Faris Hill''s appearance.


    "Trevor, why did you order the Code T32 team to retreat?" Her words were a direct inquiry, her tone making it clear that she wasn''t expecting vague excuses or evasive answers.


    Meanwhile, Trevor''s response was measured, his voice steady and calm. "I did not issue any order, Master. I was surprised that the Code T32 team had left the scene."


    Faris Hill''s gaze intensified, a scrutinizing examination that seemed to delve into Trevor''s very thoughts.


    "You really didn''t issue any order of retreat because of a sudden development?" She then asked, seemingly wanting to confirm something.


    Trevor''s expression was neutral, despite the confusion he had. "There was a sudden development, Master?"


    "The appearance of Kralos Tal, an infamous Hunter known for his Tomahawk execution?"


    "I''ve only known it now, Master. Do you wish for me to confront Kralos Tal now and rescue Vanessa?" Trevor asked.


    A solemn look appeared on Faris Hill''s face before she shook her head. "No, you are to retreat and return to the basement base. There''s something I want to check."


    With that said, the hologram screen flickered and dissipated,


    Aftermunicating with Trevor, Faris Hill, who was originally sitting by her chair, stood up and revealed a cold expression.


    "Very well, it seems like the enemies this time are from them again. The nerve of them to even hack into Trevor and manipte behind the scenes." Faris Hillughed hysterically.


    Herughter was chilling, resonating through the room like an eerie melody.


    "Had I not ced countermeasures on Trevor, I would have been kept in the dark again. How dare they touch my things when I have cut off our rtionship." Faris Hill sneered coldly, her long crimson hair started glowing.


    Rage filled her eyes as she snapped her fingers, the surrounding Magicule responded to her will, forming a cloak of energy that wrapped around her figure. In an instant, she vanished from the room, leaving only a faint trace of lingering energy in her wake.


    Back to the present, the Horology Restaurant was nearly filled in ruin, the patrons inside were either injured or killed from the deadly shes.


    And just when the surviving patrons thought it would soon calm down, they heard a voiceing from the 2nd floor.


    "Just in time!" Vanessa''s voice resounded through the interior.


    The patrons inside the Horology Restaurant were quickly caught off guard as a blinding sh of light erupted from the floor beneath them. In an instant, the ground seemed to rebel against its own nature, as if it were a living entity responding to a hiddenmand.


    The rupture began as a thin crack, snaking its way across the floor with a purposeful determination. Earthy vines burst forth, their growth was rapid and relentless.


    The once-smooth surface was now marred by jagged lines of upheaval, and the patrons found themselves stumbling and grasping for stability as the ground beneath them shifted.


    Vanessa''s power was in full disy, a manifestation of her abilities as an Esper.


    The focused and controlled nature of her power allowed her to manipte the very earth beneath her feet, bending it to her will. The vines extended, forming a straight line that seemed to stretch toward a predetermined destination.


    It was a breathtaking disy of control over Magicule, a testament to Vanessa''s mastery of her unique abilities. The patrons, already bewildered by the events of the day, now found themselves in a situation that defied thews of nature.


    And just when everyone thought the earthy vines would continue to spread, a voice from outside resounded.


    "Quite impressive, but this is still child''s y."

 Chapter 191 Kralos Tal

    <h4>Chapter 191 Kralos Tal</h4>


    The patrons'' attention was immediately drawn toward the source of the voice. The disruption caused by Vanessa''s power seemed to freeze for a moment as everyone''s gaze turned toward the entrance of the restaurant.


    Standing at the entrance, unaffected by the chaos that had unfolded within, was a figure covered with a mask. The voice had a calm yet mocking tone, almost as if the scene before them was nothing more than an amusing spectacle.


    Vanessa, still radiating with the aftereffects of her unleashed power, turned her attention toward the neer.


    Despite the surprise of this unexpected interruption, her expression remainedposed. She had a way of masking her true emotions behind a veneer of confidence, especially when the situation was tense and serious.


    Shi Tian, by her side, had also shifted his stance, his mechanical right hand subtly activating, ready for the potential threat. His eyes were fixed on the masked figure, evaluating the situation.


    ''The Tomahawk in his hand¡­ so he''s the one that''s been throwing those Tomahawks at us.'' Shi Tian thought to himself, bing wary of the masked figure.


    He might have managed to sessfully deflect all the Tomahawks that were thrown at them, but it had caused quite a strain on him.


    Yet the masked figure in front of him seemed to have just begun his attack. It was as if those Tomahawks he threw were merely warning shots or testing the water, determining his opponent''s strength.


    Meanwhile, Vanessa''s lips curled into a faint smile, her voice steady as she responded, "Child''s y, you say? I''m merely getting warmed up."


    The masked figure stepped forward, revealing more of his features. He had an air of confidence that matched Vanessa''s, his presence imposing.


    "Ah, confidence is an admirable trait," he remarked, his voice smooth and dripping with a mix of amusement and disdain. "But let''s see if your confidence holds when faced with a true challenge."


    And with that said, he swung his Tomahawk, and almost as if he was slicing tofu, the earthy vines that Vanessa created were cut cleanly.


    Vanessa didn''t flinch at all when she saw her earthy vines doing next to nothing toward him.


    While the masked figure made a few more swings, opening a clear path for him, he chuckled softly. "Oh dear, it looks like I have almost cut everything that you had created. Are we going to the main show now?"


    "Hadn''t the main show already begun the moment you revealed yourself, Kralos Tal?" Vanessa sneered coldly, identifying him on the spot.


    "Hahaha, not bad. Though I didn''t wear a mask as a disguise, to begin with, so it''s not hard to recognize me." Kralos Talughed merrily, taking off his mask and the cloak that covered him.


    Standing at an imposing height, he had a lean and muscr build that spoke of both agility and strength. His attire was a seamless blend of dark clothing that seemed to meld seamlessly with the shadows around him, emphasizing his affinity with darkness.


    His hair, jet ck and slightly tousled, framed a face that was chiseled and sharp. His eyes were a piercing shade of crimson. Those eyes held an intensity that seemed to bore into the very core of whoever met his gaze, carrying an air of calcted determination.


    Adorned in a mix of practical armor and rugged attire, Kralos''s most distinctive feature was the pair of Tomahawks hanging from his belt.


    Although not shown on the surface, Vanessa was clearly nervous at the appearance of Kralos Tal.


    ''Lovely, my enemies are actually that generous to hire a hunter like Kralos Tal. Am I really worth that much?'' She found it hrious how she failed to estimate her worth.


    If it was someone else that she had to face, then there might still be a chance.


    However, it was clear that Kralos Tal was truly a formidable figure, to the point that she didn''t even know whether or not she could fight him.


    Seeing Vanessa not making any moves, Kralos Tal smirked, "Hmm, since you''re not taking action yet, then why don''t I begin?"


    As he spoke, Kralos Tal went into his pocket and took out what appeared to be a series of dark, ethereal tendrils.


    These tendrils are specialized stems with a threadlike shape used by climbing nts for support and attachment. But in this particr case, it was tendrils from the cellr invasion by parasitic nts, Cuscuta.


    Vanessa narrowed her eyes at the appearance of such tendrils. If it was ordinary Cuscuta parasitic nts, then there was nothing to be afraid of.


    However, with the environment and mutation, these tendrils could very likely be lethal.


    "Here''s a small gift from me. Hope you ept it." Kralos Tal smiled coldly.


    And with a flick of his hand, he sent the tendrils shooting toward Vanessa and Shi Tian, their movements swift and unpredictable.


    Vanessa''s expression remained focused, her concentration unwavering. She raised her hands, and the Magicule responded, forming a barrier of earthy vines that intercepted the dark tendrils.


    The two opposing forces shed, creating a brief spectacle of light and shadow.


    Shi Tian, on the other hand, activated his boosters'' suit, propelling himself into the air to avoid the oing tendrils. His mechanical right arm generated a powerful force, and with a swift movement, he aimed to counterattack,unching a st of energy toward Kralos Tal.


    Kralos Tal held a cold smile on his face when he witnessed Shi Tian''s futile action. He twisted his body, evading the st of energy with graceful agility.


    And with a light step on the ground, he closed the distance between himself and Shi Tian, swinging his Tomahawk with precision.


    rmed by the sudden appearance, Shi Tian''s mechanical right arm moved to block the Tomahawk strike.


    The sh of metal against metal resonated in the air.


    And using the force behind the Tomahawk''s swing, Shi Tian utilized it as an opportunity to retreat away as he held his ground, his expression determined.


    "Go to your right side, Nathan!" Vanessa''s voice resounded.


    Without hesitating, Shi Tian used his Fleet Footwork to head toward the right side, creating an opening for her.


    "The small gift is appreciated, but it''s best that you keep it to yourself." Vanessa snorted, deflecting the tendrils that Kralos Tal had thrown at them.

 Chapter 192 Struggles

    <h4>Chapter 192 Struggles </h4>


    Vanessa''s control over her power was remarkable to behold. In the brief engagement with it, she had managed to analyze its properties.


    The tendrils, once hers, moved with the grace of a trained dancer, responding to her every thought andmand. And with a flick of her wrist, they changed direction, twisting and turning in the air as if they had a mind of their own.


    "Please take your gift back," Vanessa eximed coldly, returning the gift.


    The tendrils struck out at Kralos Tal, who seemed to anticipate the attack.


    He moved with fluid agility, evading some of the tendrils and deflecting others with his Tomahawks. His movements were a dance of lethal precision, extremely confident, and a clear showcase of his ability.


    "Once I gifted someone, I would never take it back." Kralos Tal mused, not a bit surprised that the tendrils had failed to do any significant damage to Vanessa.


    If mere tendril was enough to deal with Vanessa, then he wouldn''t have received such a high price toe all the way here.


    And as more tendrils closed in from Vanessa''s side, Kralos Tal''s eyes glinted. With a quick motion, he unleashed a barrage of his own attacks, sending a series of Tomahawks hurtling toward Vanessa.


    But Vanessa was equally adept at evasion. She ducked, twisted, and leaped upward with swift movement that defied gravity, narrowly avoiding the deadly Tomahawks.


    The Tomahawks all went behind her, crashing on the walls, causing numerous cracks and debris to fall.


    As for the patrons inside the Horology Restaurant, they all covered their heads with their arms, trembling in fear.


    Meanwhile, Robert Cook felt extreme heartache at his beloved restaurant copsing in his very own eyes.


    ''They promisedpensation for all the damages done, but isn''t this just demolishing the restaurant? How can I report this to the higher-ups once they learned of the news?'' Robert Cook screamed internally, feeling both frustrated and helpless by the situation.


    s, no one had the time to care or bother with Robert Cook''s problem.


    Instead, everyone was currently focused on Kralos Tal, who was simultaneously handling Shi Tian and Vanessa with ease.


    Kralos Tal''s demeanor exuded a sense of calm confidence, almost as if he considered the battle a mere distraction.


    His movements were economical yet effective, each action serving a specific purpose. He deflected attacks with precision, sidestepped with calcted grace, and countered with ruthless efficiency.


    Shi Tian and Vanessa, despite their skill and determination, found themselves pushed on the defensive. Kralos Tal''s every move seemed to anticipate their actions. It was as if he could read their intentions before they even made a move.


    It was a frustrating and humbling experience for both of them.


    "At this rate, we''re going to run out of stamina," Shi Tian wiped some of the dust off his face and said.


    "I know, but if we rx for a glimpse of a second, then Kralos Tal wouldtch onto that opening." Vanessa clicked her tongue and said. Her magicule maniption continued, creating a swirling vortex of earth and energy around her.


    She didn''t dare to rx for a moment, knowing fully well of Kralos Tal''s action. Being overly infamous had its con, and that was his every behavior and action was known to others.


    Thus, Vanessa knew that Kralos Tal hadn''t showcased his every power yet, clearly waiting for the pivotal moment to strike his final blow.


    Shi Tian nodded in agreement, his gaze unwavering as he maintained his guard.


    The tension in the air was palpable, the weight of the battle pressing down on them as they fought against an opponent who seemed to have an answer for every move they made.


    As Vanessa''s vortex of Magicule continued to swirl around her, she calcted each movement meticulously, ready to strike or defend as needed.


    Their surroundings bore the marks of their intense battle. Cracks ran through the earth, debris littered the area, and the remnants of Magicule shed hung in the air like a faint mist.


    Kralos Tal''s presence remained enigmatic, his demeanor unchanged despite the chaos around him. He moved with a kind of fluid grace that suggested he was always in control, a predator stalking its prey.


    "We can''t keep this up indefinitely," Shi Tian stated in a firm tone. "We need to find a way to gain the upper hand."


    Vanessa''s eyes flickered with determination, her focus unyielding. "You''re right, Nathan. We can''t continue to let him dictate the pace of this battle. We need to force him into a situation where he''s vulnerable."


    As if to emphasize her point, Vanessa''s Magicule shot forward in a rapid, coordinated assault. Each shot aimed to create a web of barriers, restricting Kralos Tal''s movements and forcing him to react.


    With a twist of his body, Kralos Tal evaded the shot effortlessly, his agility unmatched. He retaliated with a swift, precise strike, his Tomahawk slicing through the air toward Vanessa.


    Shi Tian reacted instantly, intercepting the attack with his mechanical arm. The impact reverberated through his entire body, and he gritted his teeth against the strain. But he held his ground, determined to protect Vanessa at all costs.


    Vanessa was the main attacker at this moment, so if she was to be harmed or unable to fight, then the fight was equivalent to being over.


    Their coordinated effort had momentarily disrupted Kralos Tal''s rhythm, but he quickly adapted. His eyes gleamed with a calcting intelligence, a sign that he was formting his next move.


    Meanwhile, Vanessa''s mind raced as she analyzed the situation.


    She knew that they couldn''t afford to let Kralos Tal dictate the course of the battle any longer. They needed to seize control and turn the tables in their favor before their stamina gave out and their defenses crumbled.


    "This Kralos Tal seemed to have investigated my ability thoroughly. I''m not able to do anything when he knows every move of mine," Vanessa paused her attack and told Shi Tian.


    "It seems like the enemies knew you well, to the point that they could point out your weaknesses." Shi Tian smiled bitterly, realizing that it was getting more unlikely for the culprit to be the Harrett Family.


    Right when the situation looked extremely grim for Shi Tian and Vanessa, a voice echoed from outside.


    "Why was there a party here and I''m not invited?"

 Chapter 193 Intervention

    <h4>Chapter 193 Intervention </h4>


    The sudden intrusion of a new voice added anotheryer of chaos to the already tense battlefield.


    Vanessa and Shi Tian momentarily shifted their attention towards the source of the voice, providing a fraction of a second''s interval for Kralos Tal to press his advantage.


    Kralos Tal seized this opportunity, his movements swift and decisive.


    He unleashed a flurry of attacks, each strike calcted and aimed with deadly precision.


    Realizing that Kralos Tal had seized the opportunity he was waiting for, Vanessa and Shi Tian deflected, dodged, and countered to the best of their abilities, but the intensity of Kralos Tal''s assault was unrelenting.


    Amidst the fighting, the person that interrupted earlier wasughing heartily.


    In a blink of an eye, the person appeared right in the middle of Kralos Tal and Shi Tian.


    And it was at this time that Shi Tian finally noticed who the person was.


    "Gerald?" Shi Tian raised an eyebrow and asked in a dazed tone.


    Clearly, he didn''t expect Gerald to show up in Gearits City when he should have been outside in the wilderness.


    Meanwhile, Gerald didn''t have the leisure time to greet Shi Tian properly as he raised his fist and punched Kralos Tal.


    Kralos Tal attempted to use his Tomahawk to deflect the punch, but Gerald''s strength proved to be superior.


    Severely underestimating Gerald, Kralos Tal was stunned by the unexpected development. He realized his Tomahawk now had a dent as he was pushed back, forcing him to retreat from an opportunity that he tried to seize earlier.


    With Kralos Tal pushed back and remained perfectly still, seemingly determining who Gerald was and why he intervened.


    As Kralos Tal assessed his opponent, Gerald''s stance remained firm, his expression resolute.


    "That was for the ambush in Elmbrook Woods," Gerald''s voice was filled with determination, his eyes never leaving Kralos Tal.


    Hearing that, Vanessa and Shi Tian exchanged a quick nce, both surprised by the revtion. It seemed that Gerald had his own history with Kralos Tal, a history that fueled his determination to intervene in the ongoing battle.


    Meanwhile, Kralos Tal''s cold demeanor remained unchanged, but there was a hint of curiosity in his eyes.


    "Elmbrook Woods... Ah, I see. You''re a survivor." Kralos Tal eximed in surprise, clearly recognizing Gerald now that he had gotten a hint.


    Gerald''s fists clenched at Kralos Tal''s words, his memories of that fateful encounter still vivid in his mind. The air crackled with tension as the two adversaries faced off, a silent understanding passing between them.


    Vanessa took advantage of the momentary distraction to recalibrate her strategy.


    With Gerald''s unexpected help, the dynamics of the battle shifted. She continued to manipte Magicule, her focus now divided between maintaining her defensive barrier and seizing the opportunity tounch a counterattack.


    Shi Tian, too, was prepared to exploit the situation. His mechanical arm hummed to life once more, ready to unleash a barrage of energy at any opening that presented itself.


    Although he was unsure of the history between Gerald and Kralos Tal, one thing for sure was that Gerald was an ally.


    Not to mention, he had requested assistance earlier from Mary. It was just that he didn''t expect the reinforcement to be Gerald.


    As the tension in the air thickened, the battlefield became a crucible of conflicting motivations. Kralos Tal''s cold gaze shifted between Gerald and the other two, seemingly calcting the odds and potential oues.


    It was a momentary standoff, a tense silence that held the promise of explosive action.


    Breaking off the silent standoff, Gerald''s expression remained unyielding, his stance unwavering. "You''ve caused enough chaos," he said, his voice carrying a weight of authority that resonated through the surroundings.


    Kralos Tal''s lips curved into a mocking smile. "Chaos is but the natural order of things. You should know that better than most."


    However, under the facade of his confidence, Kralos Tal knew the opportunity was lost.


    ''No wonder why my other twopanions hadn''t shown up despite the signals I have been echoing. It seems like Gerald had taken care of them already.'' Kralos Tal thought to himself, analyzing the situation.


    At first, this was supposed to be a quick and easy job, but now that the time had stalled so long, the situation became disadvantageous to him.


    Gerald''s presence was a wildcard that Kralos Tal had not anticipated. The strength of his punch had given Kralos Tal a glimpse of the man''s power, and it was clear that going through him would not be an easy feat.


    In addition, it wouldn''t be long before the military would arrive, and by that time, escaping would be difficult. The battle scene was simply too loud and chaotic, and the people behind him aren''t capable of suppressing the matter any further.


    ''Who would have thought themission would end up in failure.'' Having never failed amission once, Kralos Tal was a bit reluctant to ept some dirt in his clean record, but there was no other choice.


    His reputation for sess had been marred, but the potential reward wasn''t worth the escting risks and losses he faced.


    After all, Shi Tian was like a cockroach, always appearing at the pivotal moment to deter him from harming Vanessa. Shi Tian might be weak, but he was clever in his utilization of the equipment he had.


    Understanding he could no longer obtain much value by staying, Kralos Tal raised his Tomahawk at Vanessa.


    "Looks like your luck isn''t bad. You are the first target that I have failed to assassinate, but don''t be too happy yet." Kralos Tal said and changed his target to Shi Tian.


    "As for you, we shall meet again. Hopefully, you won''t rely on your pathetic mechanical right arm and show me something good." He added.


    With the final threat hanging in the air, Kralos Tal activated his dark mist, effectively shrouding himself from view. The shadows enveloped him, concealing his presence and intentions as he prepared to make his escape.


    "Not so fast!" Gerald shouted and dashed forward to grab the shadow, only to realize he had grabbed into nothingness.

 Chapter 194 Aftermath

    <h4>Chapter 194 Aftermath</h4>


    Gerald''s grasp closed on empty air, his fingers passing through the dissipating mist like smoke.


    He paused for a moment, his expression a mixture of frustration and determination.


    ''Damn it, what a slippery snake!'' Gerald cursed silently.


    It was clear that Kralos Tal''s escape wasn''t going to be as simple as a physical pursuit.


    As the dark mist continued to disperse, revealing nothing but the empty space it once upied, Vanessa and Shi Tian exchanged wary nces.


    "He got away," Vanessa muttered, her voice tinged with frustration. It was clear that Kralos Tal''s elusiveness wasn''t something they had anticipated.


    Meanwhile, Shi Tian''s mechanical arm hummed softly, the residual energy from the battle still coursing through it. He made a few nces around the area, his analytical mind processing the situation.


    "He won''t be gone for good," Shi Tian finally spoke, his voice calm but firm. "He''ll be back, and at that time, he will be even more difficult to deal with."


    Kralos Tal''s final threat before his retreat was not to be underestimated or ignored.


    He might have failed this time, but it was clear that Kralos Tal''s appearance won''t stop just here. He will definitely attempt to finish what he started, making sure his record was clean and wless.


    Gerald''s fists clenched, and his eyes narrowed as he surveyed the surroundings.


    He wanted to sense Kralos Tal''s presence, if there was any left at all.


    s, Kralos Tal seemed to be proficient in his offensive ability as well as his escaping ability. There wasn''t even a tiny bit of presence left behind for him to trace.


    "We''ll be ready if he dared toe back," Gerald said, his tone resolute. "Next time, I won''t let him slip through my fingers."


    "Anyway, why did you show up here, Gerald?" Shi Tian asked, finally having a chance to inquire about his presence here.


    "I''ll exin to youter, but now we must leave. The military is arriving fast here, and we shouldn''t idle here." Gerald warned in a low tone.


    Shi Tian nodded his head. Even though they were the victims, with how deadly the battle had be and the casualties remaining unknown, it was best to leave the scene for now.


    If they were caught here, then it would have spelled a lot of troublepared to escaping first.


    After all, they won''t be able to do much to them once they aren''t caught on site.


    The incident here more than likely involved someone influential in Gearits City to pull such a scheme within the inner walls. Thus, they knew better than to attempt to make the matter bigger than it had already been.


    With a mutual understanding, the trio began to disperse.


    In the meantime, Vanessa lowered the swirling Magicule barrier she had created, allowing the earthy vines and energy vortex to slowly fade away.


    As for the patrons inside the Horology Restaurant, they were still in shock from the intense battle and cautiously began to emerge from their cover.


    Sometimeter, after the trio had left, military personnel arrived at the scene.


    "What happened here and who was responsible for this." One of themanding soldiers demanded for a response, seemingly angry and astounded by the devastating battle scene.


    A few seconds went by, and someone knew they had to respond to the soldier. Otherwise, things wouldn''t end well for them, even if they weren''t involved with the scene.


    Robert Cook, the manager of the Horology Restaurant, was forced to step forward, his expression a mix of frustration and helplessness.


    "I don''t have all the details yet," he began, his voice tense. "There was a sudden confrontation involving powerful individuals. They wreaked havoc and caused all of this destruction."


    As much as Robert Cook wanted to curse the crap out of these so-called militaries, who only decided to show up once everything was over, he could only reply respectfully.


    Earning the ire of the military would be an idiotic move to do, especially when he was merely doing the bidding of more powerful people.


    Themanding soldier''s eyes narrowed as he surveyed the scene. The shattered windows, the torn-up ground, and the remnants of energy shes told a story of a battle far beyond the ordinary.


    He turned to one of his subordinates. "Start gathering information and take statements from witnesses. We need to piece together what exactly happened here."


    Just when the soldiers attempted to begin to secure the area and question witnesses, another voice interrupted.


    "I don''t think you are allowed to survey the area, Otis." A domineering male echoed from behind, and to Robert Cook''s shock, it was another military group.


    But this time, Robert Cook recognized who the person waspared to themanding soldier.


    ''T-That''s Theobold, the firstmander of the meheart Vanguard military. What is such a famous figure doing here?'' Robert Cook eximed inwardly. He was unable to fathom how such an incident would catch the attention of Theobold.


    Meanwhile, themanding soldier, Otis, narrowed his eyes at the unexpected arrival of Theobold.


    Theobold''s presence seemed to shift the air itself. His reputation as the firstmander of the meheart Vanguard was widely known, and his authority carried significant weight.


    However, Otis wasn''t going to let Theobold do as he pleased, much lessmand him when they are practically in the same military rank.


    "Theobold, this isn''t the wilderness but the walls within Gearits City. I don''t think you have any authorization here nor do you have the right to order me." Otis said scornfully, seemingly displeased by Theobold.


    Theobold expression remained neutral, but there was a subtle air of authority around him that demanded attention.


    "Otis, I''m here as an observer," Theobold responded calmly, his voice carrying an underlying tone ofmand. "There''s more to this incident than meets the eye, and I have reasons to believe it''s connected to matters beyond the city walls. I suggest you cooperate."


    Otis''s scowl deepened, but he seemed to be reconsidering his stance.


    Theobold''s reputation and the implications of his involvement were enough to give anyone pause.


    Before Otis could respond, Theobold''s gaze shifted, and he looked towards the shattered entrance of the Horology Restaurant.


    "It appears that some influential individuals were involved in this chaos. I''m interested in finding out who they were."

 Chapter 195 Theobold

    <h4>Chapter 195 Theobold</h4>


    As Theobold''s words hung in the air, it was clear that his intentions were far-reaching and his interest was not limited to just the surface level of the situation.


    The tension in the air grew thicker as Theobold''s presence seemed to set the tone for the unfolding events. His reputation as a powerful and shrewdmander was well-founded, and those present couldn''t help but acknowledge his authority.


    Otis, themanding soldier, exchanged a wary nce with his subordinates before finally relenting, albeit begrudgingly.


    "Very well, Theobold. We''ll cooperate, but you better have a damn good reason for meddling in this."


    Theobold smiled briefly after seeing Otis know to back off.


    "You can block off the area and make sure no one leaves the premises. As for questioning the witnesses, let my subordinates do it on your behalf." Theobold said, and waved his hand, seemingly dismissing Otis as if he was a low-rank soldier.


    Otis gnashed his teeth, clearly in frustration by Theobold''s behavior.


    What gave him the courage and right to act all high and mighty at him?


    They were at best, the same military rank, so why should he let him walk over him like that?


    "Don''t go too far, Theobold," Otis warned in a low but subtle tone.


    Theobold chuckled softly when he saw how agitated Otis had be.


    Walking toward him, Theobold extended his arm and ced it around Otis'' shoulder, much to his displeasure.


    Otis wanted to fling his arm away, but Theobold''s grip was too strong as he pulled him closer to him and whispered a few sentences.


    Soon, Otis'' face turned pale as he swallowed a mouthful of saliva.


    "Just do as I have said, and I promise you won''t be implicated. Otherwise, don''t me me for being rude, Otis." Theobold calmly said.


    Clenching his fist tightly, Otis pondered for a few moments before releasing his fist. "You better do as you promised, Theobold." He hissed coldly.


    "Heh, regarding my integrity¡­ Do I need to say more about it?"


    "Hmph, do as you please." Otis scoffed.


    With Theobold''s assurance that Otis wouldn''t be implicated, themanding soldier begrudgingly gave the orders to his subordinates. They carried out their orders with a mix of confusion and reluctance, sealing off the area and creating an illusory facade of a routine patrol.


    Now that Otis was out of the picture and could not intervene with the scene, Theobold''s subordinates began organizing the scene and questioning witnesses.


    The patrons of the Horology Restaurant who had been witnesses to the intense battle were now being questioned by Theobold''s subordinates. They recounted what they had seen, their voices tremulous with fear and awe.


    At the same time, Theobold was absorbing all this information and analyzing them.


    ''For such a chaotic battle to ensure, yet not a single guard or military had intervened is truly an achievement.'' Theobold sneered inwardly, concluding that this matter was definitely rted to the higher-ups, who believed they were the dictator of Gearits City.


    Normally, he would have turned a blind eye to such a situation and kept to himself.


    However, this time, they had gone too far.


    It was way past his borderline, given that innocent civilians had been embroiled in their mess, with numerous corpsesid on the surface. To make things worse, it happened in broad daylight, almost as if they didn''t even care about the surroundings.


    ''Just how corrupt has Gearits City be?'' Theobold wondered silently, his eyes sweeping over the wreckage and the witnesses.


    With the situation seemingly under control for now, Theobold''s expression grew contemtive. The incident at the Horology Restaurant had opened up a web of questions and possibilities, and Theobold was determined to untangle it all, regardless of the risks and secrets involved.


    As the firstmander of the meheart Vanguard, whose motive is to serve the citizens wholeheartedly and ensure their safety, he could not allow such an incident to be suppressed and covered.


    He knew that allowing such an incident to be suppressed and covered up would only further erode the city''s integrity and contribute to its descent into corruption.


    With his strong sense of duty and justice, Theobold''s mind was already calcting the steps he needed to take to uncover the truth behind the incident at the Horology Restaurant. He was well aware that this incident was likely just the tip of the iceberg, a glimpse into a muchrger and moreplex web of power, influence, and secrets.


    As Theobold moved closer to the scene, he began to gather the information they had received, piecing together the sequence of events and the identities of those involved.


    He was determined to hold the responsible parties ountable for their actions, regardless of their status or connections.


    Theobold''s actions were not driven by personal gain or ambition. Instead, they were a manifestation of his dedication to the principles he held dear and hismitment to ensuring that justice prevailed, even in the face of overwhelming odds.


    "Go and get medical assistance for the injured. As for the deceased, make sure their identities are unveiled and payment must be ensured for their families." Theobold ordered his subordinate.


    His orders were clear and resolute, reflecting his genuine concern for the well-being of the injured and deceased, as well as hismitment to upholding justice and providing support to those affected by the tragic incident.


    As his subordinates moved to carry out his instructions, Theobold began to trace the footsteps of those involved but escaped from the scene.


    Walking near the North side, Theobold could sense a faint Magicule leaking out in this path.


    "They retreated before Otis'' group had arrived. It seems like they didn''t care about covering their tracks, but more like they didn''t want to be caught here." Theobold muttered, realizing the people that had escaped North should be the people that Robert Cook had mentioned.


    There were surveince cameras equipped in the Horology Restaurant, and Theobold had obtained the footage already. Running away from the scene in hopes of escaping punishment was pointless, which was why Theobold concluded his thought process.


    Ordering his subordinates to monitor the situation on his behalf, Theobold began following the trail, clearly determined to figure things out.

 Chapter 196 Trail

    <h4>Chapter 196 Trail </h4>


    With the surveince footage in his possession, Theobold had a powerful tool at his disposal to unravel the mysteries behind the incident at the Horology Restaurant.


    The cameras would have captured crucial moments and actions that could shed light on the identities of the attackers, their motives, and any potential connections they had.


    And as Theobold followed the trail left behind by the people involved, Shi Tian, Vanessa, and Gerald returned to the apartmentplex.


    Within the entrance of the apartmentplex, Shi Tian finally had the opportunity to thank Gerald''s assistance.


    "Thank you, Gerald. Had it not been for your timely arrival, we might have died at the hands of Kralos Tal." Shi Tian thanked him sincerely.


    "Yes, thank you for your assistance. I owe you one for assisting us." Vanessa added, grateful for Gerald. She had miscalcted terribly this time, and the price was nearly her life and Shi Tian''s life.


    Though if things had truly gone that drastic, she would have resorted to using her Ancient Technology to ensure their survival. Luckily, she wasn''t forced to use it in the end.


    Meanwhile, Gerald shook his head, "No need to thank me, Nathan. It''s what I should do for the apprentice of Mechanist Isaac."


    "Not to mention, Kralos Tal and I have a deep grudge, so even if his target this time wasn''t you, but someone else. I would have still intervened and made sure Kralos Tal failed his objective." He added, his tone filled with a mixture of anger and frustration.


    "Even if you had a deep grudge against Kralos Tal, it remains a fact that you have saved us." Shi Tian shook his head and refused to take back his thanks.


    One must not be ungrateful to someone when they have lent you a saving grace. Only an imbecile bastard would bite the hands of their savior and remain ungrateful.


    "Alrighty then, you can just treat me to a meal to repay me." Geraldughed softly, seemingly putting behind the emotion that he had felt earlier.


    Although frustrated about Kralos Tal escaping, there was always a next time. And Gerald wasn''t going to be a stubborn fool that can''t move forward.


    So long as Kralos Tal was still living in this world, there was always going to be a chance for revenge.


    "Sure, I''ll buy a scrumptious meal even if it means breaking my wallet." Shi Tian chuckled softly.


    "Well, we can think about thatter." Vanessa suddenly interrupted, her eyes ncing at a far distance.


    "It seems like someone had caught up to us with the trail we left behind. Though it''s a bit weird that they arrived so fast." She added.


    Gerald nodded his head.


    "If it was people rted to the incident, then they wouldn''t show up this quickly. This means the person following our trail is a third party, someone uninvolved with the incident and merely wants to solve the case." Gerald deducted.


    He might not be someone from the military, but his way of thinking was simr to them. In fact, what he did was no different than anymander soldier, aside from not having the title or rank.


    A few secondster, a formidable figure arrived in front of the trio.


    And to Gerald''s surprise, it was someone he recognized.


    "Theobold huh¡­" Gerald muttered, clearly stunned by thetter appearance.


    As for Shi Tian, he recognized the badge that was pinned on Theobold''s chest, recalling that he had seen a simr badge in the wilderness.


    ''That badge should be from the meheart Vanguard, the one that Mary exined to me.'' Shi Tian thought to himself.


    Meanwhile, Theobold nced at Vanessa and Shi Tian, identifying them to be the main people involved in the incident.


    His eyes then trailed upon Gerald, showing a somewhatplicated expression.


    "We haven''t seen each other for a long time, but never did I expect our reunion would be like this," Theobold said.


    Theobold''s remark about their unexpected reunion hinted at a deeper backstory that had yet to be revealed.


    And it naturally came as a surprise to both Vanessa and Shi Tian.


    After all, they didn''t expect Gerald to know so many people.


    First, it was Kralos Tal, and now it seemed like even a militarymander of the meheart Vanguard knew or was acquainted with Gerald.


    Vanessa exchanged a quick nce with Shi Tian, and it was evident that they were both curious about Gerald''s background and the extent of his involvement in various circles within Gearits City.


    Nevertheless, now was not the time to question Gerald or even pry for information.


    Theobold''s tone currently might sound mild, or even soothing, but they knew his appearance here meant something else.


    "Although we might not have seen each other for a long time, I supposed you owe me an exnation of the scene in the Horology Restaurant, right?" Theobold focused his attention on Gerald and asked.


    Gerald nodded his head.


    "Regarding the surveince footage in your hand, do you mind doing me a favor and deleting the image of these two?" Gerald stepped forward and asked, pointing at Shi Tian and Vanessa.


    "What are you talking about?" Theobold attempted to feign ignorance, but Gerald was no fool either.


    "Oh please, did you think I would believe that you rushed all the way here without obtaining sufficient evidence and information?"


    Gerald''s astuteness and his ability to see through Theobold''s facade were quite evident.


    Theobold''s attempt at feigning ignorance was quickly dismantled by Gerald''s straightforward response.


    The atmosphere had quickly shifted from a casual reunion to a more serious exchange.


    Meanwhile, Vanessa and Shi Tian remained observant, understanding that the dynamics between these two individuals wereyered andplex, tied to events that had unfolded long before the incident at the Horology Restaurant.


    Theobold''s expression hardened slightly, and he sighed.


    "Fine, you caught me. The footage I have does indeed include images of these two. But I''m not here to make things difficult for them, given that it was quite evident that they were ambushed during their meal time." He exined.

 Chapter 197 Favor

    <h4>Chapter 197 Favor</h4>


    Gerald''s gaze remained firm despite Theobold''s guaranteeing that he wouldn''t make things difficult for Shi Tian and Vanessa.


    "I''m well aware of your personality, Theobold. But their involvement in this matter goes beyond mere curiosity. They were caught in the crossfire, not the instigators." Gerald exined, seemingly trying to convince this old acquaintance of his.


    Theobold nodded his head in agreement. He was no fool either and understood Shi Tian and Vanessa weren''t the instigators.


    However, that does not nullify the fact that Vanessa''s abilities had caused casualties, even if her attacks were originally meant for Kralos Tal.


    "These two might not be the instigators, but their actions had indeed resulted in casualties. I can''t just agree to your demand to delete the footage of these two." Theobold''s stance was firm and clear.


    Gerald sighed, understanding Theobold''s position. "I don''t want to erase evidence or impede justice, Theobold. But you know as well as I do that they were defending themselves against a dangerous threat. The casualties were unintended consequences of that confrontation."


    Theobold''s brows furrowed as he considered Gerald''s words. It was clear that he was torn between his dedication to justice and his understanding of theplexities of the situation.


    ''If even Otis was following someone''smand, it means there are definitely some power ys involved. If I continue to be stubborn and implicate them or take them back, then it might benefit the parties behind instead.'' Theobold thought to himself, juggling between two different decisions.


    With his intelligence, it didn''t take long for him to understand that once he arrested Shi Tian and Vanessa, they are more than likely to be in even more danger.


    While Theobold was contemting a correct action, Vanessa spoke up, her voice measured and sincere.


    "We are not trying to escape the consequences of our actions. We are willing to take responsibility and provide all the information we have. We simply ask for a fair assessment of the circumstances."


    Shi Tian nodded in agreement. "Our priority was survival. We had no intention of harming innocent civilians. If we can assist in any way to make amends for the casualties, we are ready to do so."


    Theobold looked at the trio, his expression softening. "Very well. I will ensure a fair assessment of the situation, taking into consideration your actions and the circumstances. But you need to provide a detailed ount of what happened."


    Taking into ount that even Gerald was involved and assisted them, Theobold decided to go against his principles for once. He was going to do Gerald a favor for old times'' sake.


    Subsequently, Gerald''s shoulders rxed slightly, appreciating Theobold''s willingness to consider their side of the story. Had Theobold continued to remain stubborn, then it would have ended terribly on their end.


    Time slowly passed by, and Vanessa gracefully recounted the event from the beginning.


    Starting from the fact that the Horology Restaurant was isted by some unknown force, followed by the appearance of Kralos Tal.


    As for the rest of the details, it matched exactly the footage that Theobold had seen earlier, confirming Vanessa''s story.


    "I understand the situation to be a clear decision to take your life, Vanessa. But what I''m confused about is why would they risk such an action to have you killed." Theobold raised an eyebrow and asked.


    He couldn''t fathom how badly one must do to cause the enemies to make such a rash and risky move. To outright iste a ce and attempt murder within the inner wall of Gearits City was outrageous and unbelievable.


    But then again, thinking about the Five Families, they were a prime example that such outrageous behavior wasn''t impossible.


    Meanwhile, Vanessa sighed softly and revealed, "It''s because, in my possession, I have an item that could divert and change the tide of our current predicament."


    "Current predicament?" Theobold raised an eyebrow, confused by her meaning of our predicament.


    "Isn''t there a reason why a meheart Vanguardmander would return to Gearits City all of a sudden to restock their supplies?" Vanessa responded with a question, not divulging further.


    Theobold was a clever person, so just a little bit of hint allowed him to understand.


    "You have an Ancient Technology that could suppress the monster wave?" Theobold eximed, slightly stunned by the revtion.


    Vanessa remained silent, but her silence was equivalent to a confirmation for Theobold.


    Theobold pondered for a while, seemingly in deep thought.


    A few minutester, he nodded his head and showed a solemn expression. "If you are willing to use your Ancient Technology to help suppress the current monster wave, then I shall put a blind eye to the casualties you have caused."


    Compared to a few casualties versus the survival of Gearits City as a whole, Theobold chose the bigger picture. Not to mention, the main culprit was still Kralos Tal and not Vanessa.


    Hence, it wasn''t a hard choice to make when millions of lives could literally be saved with the assistance of Vanessa.


    Vanessa smirked slightly once she managed to reel Theobold in.


    "Well, why else did you think I was being targeted in the first ce, Commander?" She asked him.


    It was only now that Theobold managed to get a somewhat clear picture as to why Vanessa was targeted.


    Since she owned an Ancient Technology, powerful enough to suppress the current monster wave that was ravaging the wilderness and soon to Gearits City. Then some nefarious people that wished for such chaos tomence would want to silence her, preventing her from resolving the conflict.


    Clenching his fist tightly, Theobold exuded a dominating aura.


    "So long as you agree to assist us, I can promise you that no one cany a finger on you. They shall go through me first if they wish to get close to you." Theobold said solemnly, guaranteeing Vanessa''s safety.


    "That''s what I nned to do in the first ce, even if I''m not a citizen of Gearits City." Vanessa smiled briefly.


    To think they would have gained an unexpectedly strong ally. It was truly a hrious development and possibly the worst oue for the people behind the incident.

 Chapter 198 Crime Covered

    <h4>Chapter 198 Crime Covered </h4>


    Theobold was overly pleased by Vanessa''s willingness to help Gearits City suppress the monster wave.


    The monster wave this time was difficult to suppress, given the monsters are variants of Gso, known for their agility and venomous ability.


    His soldiers had even attempted to stop the monster wave momentum, only to receive high casualties and were forced to retreat further. Hence, he had to return to Gearits City to restock supplies and gear up their equipment.


    It was also at this time that he noticed an abnormal situation in the Horology Restaurant, unknowingly squashing someone''s wicked plot.


    He couldn''t help but feel that fate had intervened in a way that might ultimately benefit their cause.


    "We have a lot of work ahead of us," Theobold said, addressing the trio before him.


    "Our priority is dealing with the monster wave. But you can also rest assured that while you get prepared, I''ll deploy some soldiers to guard you. I would also use my authority to prevent anyone from attempting to pull such a scenario again." He added, reassuring Vanessa that the incident earlier would not ur again.


    At least, not on his watch, and if some fools still attempt to do so, then he shall show no mercy.


    Millions of lives are at risk, and he would be ashamed of himself if he failed to protect someone who could prevent the tragic oue.


    "Rest assured, the two of them are with me, so I''ll contact you once they are ready." Gerald finally intervened and said. "Right now, your job is to delete the footage of these two and cover the crime. And just as well, pin everything upon Kralos Tal and me it all on him."


    Theobold rolled his eyes in response.


    How could he not know what Gerald was thinking?


    His hatred of Kralos Tal was known to him, so it was obvious that Gerald wanted Kralos Tal to be hunted down in Gearits City using his military power.


    "Rest assured, Kralos Tal would be held responsible for the crimes hemitted. But don''t think I will pin all the crimes on him, especially if some of the casualties weren''t from him." Theobold replied tly.


    Gerald''s request to pin all the me on Kralos Tal and his implied desire for Kralos to be hunted down was met with Theobold''s straightforward response.


    Themander''s dedication to justice and fairness was evident, even in this tense situation. It was clear that he would notpromise his principles, but some exceptions could overrule it.


    Gerald clicked his tongue, clearly a bit displeased by it, albeit not much.


    Even with just Kralos Tal''s crimes added today, it would still be enough to make him a wanted criminal in Gearits City. However, it wouldn''t do much either, given how slippery Kralos Tal was and how he could always remain hidden from in sight.


    As the conversation reached its conclusion, the trio and Theobold had established an understanding and a tentative alliance.


    Theobold wasmitted to the safety of the city, and Vanessa, Shi Tian, and Gerald were ready to y their part in controlling the impending monster wave.


    "Alright, here''s themunication device to directlymunicate with me. Once my team finishes restocking, I will inform you about it so that we can get ready." Theobold handed a device to Gerald and said calmly.


    "And the footage?" Receiving the device, Gerald then asked for the most important detail.


    "The surveince footage recording of Vanessa and Nathan will be deleted once Vanessa does as she promised," Theobold responded. As much as he didn''t doubt Gerald''s guarantee of their integrity, it was still necessary to withhold the evidence temporarily.


    Otherwise, if Vanessa was bluffing him, then wouldn''t he have be a clown by deleting critical evidence for naught?


    Gerald also understood Theobold''s standpoint and nodded his head. If there was anything that he was confident in Theobold, it would be his integrity.


    Once Theobold said something, he truly meant it even if some of them went against his principles.


    "Very well, I believed no other parties should know about Nathan and Vanessa''s involvement in the incident," Gerald said, his meaning implying something else.


    And Theobold was quick to catch onto his meaning.


    Since he was going to cover the crime, other than the witnesses and the culprit Kralos Tal, no other people should know about this. Not even Otis would know given that he was halted before even getting a chance to review any surveince footage.


    Thus, if a higher-up party suddenly enquired about the matter, especially regarding Shi Tian and Vanessa, then chances were, they were the ones behind the matter.


    "It''s truly a waste that you have left the military. If you hadn''t, then your rank wouldn''t be any lower than mine." Theobold uttered and left the scene. Now that he had gotten all the information he needed here, there was other stuff that he needed to do.


    A few secondster, once Theobold''s presence waspletely gone, Shi Tian asked Gerald if he would want to go to his apartment for rest.


    "No need, I came because Mary informed me about the appearance of Kralos Tal, so I took it upon myself to assist you. It''s also why you were nearly in danger because of my stubbornness to do it alone." Gerald shook his head and subtly apologized for the danger that Shi Tian had to face.


    If it wasn''t for his stubbornness, then reinforcement would have arrived sooner the moment Shi Tian requested help from Mary.


    Meanwhile, Shi Tian refused his apologies, feeling that Gerald didn''t do anything wrong.


    In fact, even if no reinforcement had shown up in the end, he wouldn''t feel depressed about it.


    After all, it was only natural that someone wouldn''t want to enter or be dragged into a mess when they weren''t involved in it.


    "You don''t have to apologize, Gerald. Although the situation was tense and dire, I managed to gain quite a lot of experience in fighting against someone so strong." Shi Tian smiled briefly, keeping the thought process he had in his mind.

 Chapter 199 Hatred

    <h4>Chapter 199 Hatred</h4>


    Shi Tian didn''t me Gerald''s action as he even found value in the experience gained from the confrontation.


    At the very least, it could be said that Shi Tian was thrilled to fight against someone like Kralos Tal. Fighting against someone so powerful, Shi Tian could finally get an experience of what it was like to fight against people stronger than him.


    It wasn''t a simple punch or kick that could end the fight, but a serious one where you must muster every bit of your ability to fight for survival.


    "Even if you don''t me me, I still won''t be able to go past my conscience. So just take it as if I owed you a favor." Gerald chuckled softly.


    Shi Tian shrugged his shoulders in response. Since Gerald was adamant about it, attempting to convince him otherwise would only make him look like a hypocrite.


    "If you aren''t nning on following us back to the apartment for rest, what are you going to do next, Gerald?" He then enquired, purposely avoiding the topic of his hatred of Kralos Tal.


    Although he was curious about their history, he knew it wasn''t the right time to ask such sensitive questions either. Not to mention, they weren''t that close enough to share such details with each other.


    "Hmm, I''m probably going to return to Optic Mech to gear up. Since we were determined to suppress the monster wave, we can''t just head back out in mediocrity." Gerald responded.


    And without bothering to say much, Gerald left the apartmentplex. It was clear that his mind was still brooding over Kralos Tal, and the failure to capture him.


    As Gerald departed, Shi Tian and Vanessa stood there for a moment, watching him disappear into the distance.


    The events of the day had left them with much to contemte, and their minds were undoubtedly racing with thoughts about the challenges thaty ahead.


    Turning to Vanessa, Shi Tian finally addressed the question that had been on his mind since their unexpected encounter with Kralos Tal.


    "Do you know more about Kralos Tal? You were able to recognize him despite Kralos Tal wearing a mask on his face." Shi Tian asked, his curiosity getting the better of him.


    Vanessa nced at Shi Tian, her expression thoughtful. She pondered for a moment before finally telling him everything she knew about Kralos Tal.


    "Kralos Tal''s appearance as a hunter made quite the news, given that his first assassinationmission was someone known to be elusive and slippery. Many hunters had tried themission, only to no avail, but Kralos Tal was able to achieve such a feat in 2 days." Vanessa exined.


    Shi Tian listened attentively as Vanessa shared what she knew about Kralos Tal.


    The information painted a picture of a skilled and dangerous individual, someone who had achieved remarkable feats as a hunter. The fact that he had seeded in an assassinationmission that had stumped many others was a testament to his abilities.


    As Vanessa''s voice trembled slightly while recounting Kralos Tal''s achievements, Shi Tian could sense the weight of the fear he instilled in people.


    It was evident that Kralos Tal''s reputation extended beyond his skill, delving into the realm of terror.


    Nevertheless, Shi Tian wished to learn more and asked, "Then what about his past before bing an infamous hunter?"


    The saying goes, the more you know about your opponent, the better chances you shall have when going against them.


    However, it was just a shame that even Vanessa was clueless and helpless at the question that Shi Tian had asked.


    "Only Gerald might have some insight into Kralos Tal''s past," Vanessa responded, her tone tinged with frustration and curiosity. It was clear that she desired answers just as much as Shi Tian did.


    If even someone like Shi Tian was so curious about the matter, then how could she not be curious as well? It was just a shame that she didn''t have the courage to ask Gerald.


    "Well, we may not have all the answers right now, but it is clear that Kralos Tal''s appearance in Gearits City meant someone was really determined to see the city in ruins," Shi Tian said, his gaze fixed on the cityscape before them.


    "Having the city in ruins wouldn''t benefit any of the Five Families here. Which means your suspicions earlier were correct, and that someone else should be behind this monster wave." He added.


    Vanessa nodded in agreement. "My suspicions may be right, but it shouldn''t be the correct truth¨C at least not the whole truth. One of the Five Families could still be involved, but they might not know the exact consequence of the action. Or maybe, they really are sadistic and desperate for something big to happen."


    Shi Tian''s observation was astute, and Vanessa''s agreement emphasized the gravity of the situation. As they gazed out at the city, the sun''sst rays painted the skyline with warm hues, juxtaposing the impending threat they faced.


    "It''s concerning that someone would go to such lengths to bring chaos to Gearits City," Shi Tian remarked, his expression thoughtful. "And you''re right, the motives might not be clear-cut. It could be a single entity acting alone, or it could involve some of the Five Families, even if not all members are aware."


    Vanessa''s spection echoed theplexity of the situation.


    "Exactly. We shouldn''t rule out any possibilities at this point. But once I found the culprit that was targeting me, I wouldn''t care anymore after resolving the monster wave. Whether Gearits City goes into ruin does not affect me whatsoever. I only want revenge." Vanessa eximed, her eyes filled with determination.


    It was clear that she was overwhelmed with hatred for whoever plotted against her.


    As for Shi Tian, he kept silent regarding her exmation.


    If it wasn''t for his deal with Isaac Aaronax, promising to be the decoy on the uing New Region, then he would have long left Gearits City for another.


    He was the same as Vanessa, who neither had any attachment or concern regarding the safety of Gearits City.


    To them, this was merely a ce for temporary shelter only.

 Chapter 200 Curtains Closed

    <h4>Chapter 200 Curtains Closed</h4>


    The sun had dipped below the horizon, and the city''s lights now illuminated the darkeningndscape.


    The tension in the air was palpable as Shi Tian and Vanessa grappled with their own motivations and the uncertainties thaty ahead.


    Vanessa''s deration of revenge echoed in the evening air, carrying the weight of her determination.


    Her resolve to seek vengeance against those who targeted her was unwavering, even if the fate of Gearits City hung in the bnce.


    Shi Tian listened to her words, acknowledging the depth of her emotions, yet he remained silent about his own situation.


    His focus was on the immediate task at hand: crafting ymore Mines and other items for the suppression of the monster wave. He only realized just now that Gerald had sent him the blueprints of numerous items via Cellos'' device.


    With new blueprints on hand, Shi Tian now had to study its properties and structures, so that he could craft them as soon as possible with the little amount of time they had left.


    The monster wave in the wilderness had only increased and was gradually approaching closer and closer to Gearits City. Time was of the essence, and wasting any more was idiotic.


    "Shall we head back inside?" Shi Tian asked after letting Vanessa vent a bit more of her frustration and anger.


    Given that Vanessa didn''t have a passive ability like him that could calm his emotions when agitated or emotional, Shi Tian decided to let her vent a bit.


    A few secondster, Vanessa turned her attention to Shi Tian, nodding her head. "Yeah, we should head back inside and take a rest. The amount of Magicule I used today was a bit overboard." She said somewhat tiringly.


    It was clear that the battle against Kralos Tal had finally taken a toll on her body. Her steps were wobbly, and nearly stumbled to the ground.


    Thankfully, Shi Tian had extended a handout, assisting Vanessa from having to fall on the ground. "If you were this exhausted, then we should have gone back in earlier." He then scolded her.


    "Why are you scolding me as if I did something wrong?" Receiving his assistance, Vanessa raised an eyebrow and asked, feeling wronged.


    "Well, first of all, the mess happens because you insisted on going out and now there are multiple casualties. Secondly, you underestimated your enemies'' ability to hire such a strong person to assassinate you." Shi Tian began pointing out the reasons as to why he scolded her.


    "Do I need to say anymore?" He then asked, pressing the elevator button.


    "No¡­" Vanessa shook her head.


    As they stood by the elevator, Vanessa''s response was subdued, her demeanor shifting from defiance to a more vulnerable state. Shi Tian''s words had struck a chord, reminding her of the gravity of the situation and the implications of their actions.


    The elevator doors opened, and Shi Tian guided Vanessa inside. As the doors closed behind them, there was a moment of quiet reflection. The events of the day had left an indelible mark on both of them, deepening their understanding of the challenges they faced.


    As the elevator ascended, Vanessa''s exhaustion was evident in her posture. She leaned against the wall for support, her thoughts undoubtedly consumed by the day''s events.


    Once they reached their apartment, Shi Tian held the door open for Vanessa, allowing her to enter first.


    The apartment was a haven of rtive peacepared to the chaos and danger they had faced earlier. Vanessa moved to a couch, sinking into it as if her energy had beenpletely drained.


    Sensing her exhaustion, Shi Tian remained quiet. He understood that this was a time for rest, for recovery, and perhaps for reflection.


    While he was tempted to discuss the battle''s details, he recognized that now might not be the best moment. Vanessa needed time to dpress, to process everything that had transpired.


    "I''ll get you a cup of warm water to drink," Shi Tian offered.


    "Thanks¡­" Vanessa replied weakly.


    As Shi Tian quietly made his way to the kitchen area of the apartment, he started to rey the battle in his mind. Each movement, every decision, and the intricate dance ofbat yed back before his eyes.


    Though it was only for a brief moment, given that he had already filled a cup with warm water.


    Heading back to the living room, Shi Tian wanted to speak but noticed Vanessa''s eyes were already closed. Realizing that she was already in deep slumber, Shi Tian nced at the cup of warm water in his hand helplessly.


    He let out a soft sigh as he gazed at Vanessa, who had drifted off to sleep. He couldn''t help but feel a mixture of emotions¡ªrelief that she was finally able to rest after such a tumultuous day, and a tinge of disappointment that their conversation would have to wait.


    Carefully cing the cup of warm water on a nearby table, Shi Tian moved quietly, not wanting to disturb Vanessa''s peaceful sleep.


    He retrieved a light nket from her room and gently draped it over her, ensuring she wasfortable.


    With a final nce at Vanessa, Shi Tian turned away and walked to a nearby window, looking out at the city''s night-lit skyline. The events of the day had been intense, and the emotions that apanied them were still fresh in his mind.


    As he stood there, his thoughts wandered, reflecting on the uncertainties of their current situation.


    The mystery of Kralos Tal, the sinister plot behind the monster wave, and the questions about what happened in the past still remained unanswered¡ªit was aplex web that seemed to tighten with every revtion.


    ''The city is still shining despite the chaotic battle that had happened. How reassuring is that.'' Shi Tian thought to himself, understanding that humans would still keep moving on with their lives no matter what happened.


    Closing the curtain of the window, Shi Tian turned away and moved to his room. He settled into afortable position on the bed as he closed his eyes, deciding to sleep.

 Chapter 201 Hearty Meal

    <h4>Chapter 201 Hearty Meal</h4>


    The night wore on, with Gearits City''s lights casting a serene glow over thendscape.


    As the events of the day faded into memory, Shi Tian and Vanessa found sce in their much-needed rest.


    By the time morning arrived, there was light filtered through the curtains, and Shi Tian gradually became aware of his surroundings. The softness of the bed beneath him and the warmth of the covers provided a stark contrast to the days in the wilderness.


    With a stretch and a yawn, Shi Tian pushed himself to sit up on the bed. He nced around the room briefly, before getting ready to walk out of the room.


    As he opened the door, Shi Tian was astonished by the wide-awake Vanessa, who somehow had an apron attached to her.


    What made it horrifying was the fact that she was gently cing dishes on the table, almost as if she had just finished cooking it.


    Shi Tian''s nervousness was palpable as he took in the sight of the beautifully prepared dishes on the table. He could hardly believe his eyes. The aroma wafting through the air was tempting, and his stomach couldn''t help but growl in response.


    His disbelief prompted him to ask Vanessa whether she had ordered takeout, thinking that cooking might be beyond her capabilities, given her exhaustion from the previous day.


    "Did you go out and order takeout?" He asked, his eyes inspecting the aromatic dishes.


    However, Vanessa''s eye-roll made it clear that his assumption was far from urate.


    I don''t cook because I can''t, but rather because it is unnecessary and time-consuming. Vanessa rified, assuring him that she was capable of preparing meals.


    Her exnation left Shi Tian slightly embarrassed by his assumption.


    ''It seemed that Vanessa was more than capable of cooking; she simply hadn''t done so due to time constraints and the circumstances we were in.'' Shi Tian thought to himself, finding her in a new light.


    Feeling a mixture of curiosity and surprise, Shi Tian cleared his throat and said, "I''m sorry for assuming that. It''s just that... the food looks really good."


    As Vanessa had already set the table, Shi Tian took a seat and looked at her appreciatively.


    "Thank you for this. It''s a pleasant surprise." He added.


    At first, Vanessa truly wanted to smack him for doubting her ability this much, but then halted herself.


    Going from a different perspective, Shi Tian''s doubtful behavior was equivalent toplimenting her.


    After all, it meant that her cooking skills were amazing¨C to the point that even Shi Tian failed to discern whether the food was homemade or takeout.


    "Hmph, consider this as thanks for the battle yesterday," Vanessa snorted and took her seat.


    As the two had sat down to enjoy the meal that Vanessa had prepared, the atmosphere in the room seemed to shift.


    The tense air from the previous day''s events was reced by a sense of camaraderie, even if it was just over a simple breakfast.


    The dishes were indeed delicious, and Shi Tian couldn''t help but savor each bite.


    Vanessa''s culinary skills were a pleasant surprise, and he found himself appreciating her efforts even more. The vors were rich andforting, a contrast to the chaos they had faced yesterday.


    There was no longer any disturbance or possibility of a Tomahawk randomly flying toward their table. Even if Kralos Tal was a capable man, Shi Tian doubted he was enough to contest against the Crimson Mage.


    After all, Kralos Tal retreated swiftly once he sensed military people arriving, but the Crimson Mage was a different story. The military would run away from her at first sight, a clear definitive of the Crimson Mage''s power and influence.


    As for why he came to such a conclusion?


    It was the fact that Theobold was so quick to retreatst night.


    Theobold might have excused himself for the reason that he needed to head back to the crime scene, but the truth should be that Theobold does not want to encounter the Crimson Mage.


    A few minutester, as they continuously ate their food, conversation flowed more easily.


    They discussed the battle, analyzing the tactics they had used and the strategies they could employ in the future. The initial awkwardness that had lingered between them seemed to dissipate, reced by a shared sense of purpose.


    "Right, when do you think Commander Theobold would call for us?" Shi Tian suddenly asked, grabbing another bite from the te.


    "Probably in a few days or so. The monster wave might be rampaging hard, but it''s still not close enough to reach District A. Hence, Commander Theobold would definitely not rush to suppress them." Vanessa said, expressing her thoughts on it.


    Theobold might be eager to protect the civilians, but haste makes waste. Thus, Theobold wouldn''t be foolish enough to make another move, especially when some of his soldiers had suffered casualties already.


    Nodding his head, Shi Tian agreed with her thought process. If he was in Theobold''s position, then he would wait and strategize first before making any moves.


    "Hmm, I guess we still have more time to prepare." He said calmly, resuming his meal.


    After they finished eating, Shi Tian leaned back in his chair with a satisfied sigh.


    He looked at Vanessa with a small smile. "I must say, your cooking skills are truly impressive. It was a waste of money to keep ordering takeout in the Horology Restaurant when you could cook so well."


    Vanessa gave a subtle smirk in response. "Of course, my cooking skills are top-notch. You should know that it''s not just about surviving battles out in the wilderness. Knowing your way around cooking can be equally valuable."


    Shi Tian nodded his head.


    Cooking was truly a necessary skill in the wilderness. Just recalling the past when he forcefully ate an Armored Rat meat made him depressed.


    "Alright, since you ate your fill, then go do the dishes. I''m going to return to my room for some business, so unless there''s something important. Don''t bother me." Vanessa stood up and warned.

 Chapter 202 Strike Back

    <h4>Chapter 202 Strike Back</h4>


    As Shi Tian nodded, agreeing to clean the dishes. Vanessa left the dining area, heading back to her room.


    He watched her go, his mind filled with a mixture of gratitude and determination.


    It was gratitude for her actually taking the time and effort to cook him a hearty meal. He might not be an excellent cook, but he knew the meal he ate was filled with dedication and hard work.


    Each dish was time-consuming and required tons of meticulous work to create. And he was positive that the meal was meant to help him recover his stamina and energy better.


    As for determination, Shi Tian realized he needed to improve a lot of things if he wished to be able to contend with others. If it weren''t for Mary lending him the boosters'' suit, then his demise would have urred.


    ''Kralos Tal''s speed was simply too astounding.'' Shi Tian was honest as he praised his enemy silently.


    Shaking his head, Shi Tian picked up the clean tes as he walked to the kitchen, beginning to clean them thoroughly.


    Meanwhile, in Vanessa''s room, her conversation over the Cellos device was intense and focused.


    Her expression was a mixture of seriousness and determination.


    As the conversation continued, her gaze asionally flickered toward the Dimension Ring on her ne, a hidden asset that had remained unnoticed by many.


    "Young Miss, we have already traced some evidence regarding Kralos Tal''s appearance." A man''s voice resounded through the Cellos device that was ced on the table. He was reporting the information they had investigated, albeit not by much.


    "Traced huh¡­ I don''t want to hear superficial answers. Just tell me if you have found out who hired Kralos Tal and when." Vanessa tapped her fingers on the table.


    "Apologies Young Miss, but the enemies are formidable this time. They are extremely cautious of their actions and there was barely any evidence left to track on."


    "So just because the enemies are cautious, they can''t be investigated? Based on that, then should I ept my fate and let the enemies kill me because they can''t be tracked?"


    A moment of silence urred, with the recipient on the Cellos divide remaining silent regarding the remark. It was clear that the man on the other side was speechless, and understood that replying would only enrage Vanessa further.


    Naturally, Vanessa understood that the man was doing his best to investigate, but she couldn''t help herself.


    How could anyone remain calm and collected when they legit almost died, not once, but twice at that!


    She was ambushed a total of two times during her stay in Gearits City. Had it not been for Shi Tian''s appearance on the scene, then she would have died in the first ambush.


    The voice on the other end of the Cellos device finally spoke up, his tone a mix of understanding and apology. "I assure you, Young Miss, we are doing everything within our power to gather any leads and evidence. The enemies'' caution is indeed making our task difficult, but we have not given up."


    Vanessa sighed, her frustration evident. "I know you''re trying your best, but I can''t afford to wait for them to strike again. I need to know who''s behind this, and I need to know soon."


    "We are working tirelessly to uncover any information," the man replied. "We understand the urgency of the situation and the threat it poses."


    "I appreciate your efforts," Vanessa said, her tone softening slightly. "Just keep me updated as soon as you find anything. Even the smallest lead could be crucial."


    "Of course, Young Miss. I will inform you immediately if we make any progress."


    With those words, the conversation ended, leaving Vanessa deep in thought.


    She knew that her enemies were not to be underestimated, and their caution was a testament to their capabilities. But she was not one to back down easily, especially when her life was on the line.


    ''I don''t care who you are, but I''ll make sure to stuff these grievances back to you.'' Vanessa eximed inwardly, clenching her fist.


    Putting her Cellos device away, she knitted her eyebrows slightly, filled with a mix of frustration and helplessness.


    Never had she ever felt so vulnerable in her life.


    While Vanessa was frustrated alone in her room, outside the living room, Shi Tian had just finished cleaning the dishes and received a text message.


    Mary: Nathan, the materials to craft the ymore Mines and the new blueprints that Ged had sent you previously arrived at your main lobby.


    Nathan: Noted, I''m going to head down to the main lobby to pick it up.


    Mary: Oh right, the crime scene in the Horology Restaurant has been opened up again. Commander Theobold did as he promised and made sure there were no implications for you or Vanessa in there.


    Nathan: I already knew that Commander Theobold would do that, so why inform me with repeated information?


    Shi Tian was slightly confused as to why Mary would bother to text him such information. After all, Gerald should have notified Mary of the encounter and n already.


    Mary: I''m telling you that because apparently the manager of the Horology Restaurant, Robert Cook seemed determined to rat the two of you out. He even tried to overrule the judgment and ruling of Commander Theobold.


    Nathan: That crap manager sure has a lot of nerve¡­


    Shi Tian hadn''t even thought about striking back at Robert Cook for assisting the enemies in ambushing them, yet it seemed like Robert Cook was still courting death.


    Mary texted him a bit more to be careful and not to walk out often unless Theobold''s soldiers were nearby, warning him.


    Shi Tian simply gave her an okay emoji as he turned his attention to Vanessa''s room.


    Knocking on her door, Shi Tian asked, "Vanessa, I have something to tell you."


    A few secondster, Vanessa opened the door, peeked her head out, and nced at Shi Tian.


    "What''s the matter?" She asked.


    "Do you want to vent your frustration?"

 Chapter 203 Venting

    <h4>Chapter 203 Venting</h4>


    Vanessa arched an eyebrow at Shi Tian''s question, clearly intrigued by his suggestion. "Vent my frustration? You mean like hitting a punching bag or something?"


    Shi Tian nodded. "Yeah, exactly. Sometimes it helps to release pent-up emotions physically."


    Vanessa considered his proposal for a moment, then sighed and stepped out of her room. "Sure, why not? I could use some stress relief."


    Walking out of her room, she nced at the living room in confusion.


    "Didn''t you say about a punching bag? Where is the punching bag then?" She then asked, looking left and right, seemingly searching for the punching bag item.


    Meanwhile, Shi Tian was a bit speechless that she really took his words literally.


    Vanessa''s confusion about the missing punching bag left Shi Tian slightly bewildered.


    He scratched his head sheepishly before responding, "Ah, right. About that... I may have misspoken. There''s no actual punching bag here."


    "Huh? Then why did you nod your head?" Dumbfounded, Vanessa looked at him as if he was joking with her.


    "Because it had a figurative meaning, but you took it as the literal meaning." Shi Tian facepalmed and said, realizing that it might have something to do with his personality that made her believe he wasn''t the type to joke or say something sarcastically.


    "So you''re saying someone deserved to be a punching bag for me to vent?" She asked for confirmation.


    Shi Tian nodded his head, rying the information that Mary had told him about.


    A few minutester, Vanessa absorbed the information as she shed a sinister smile.


    "Indeed, that fucking manager pretty much screw us over back then, but he still has the nerve to cause a scene." She cracked her knuckles and sneered coldly.


    It was clear that she was beyond furious that Robert Cook didn''t know his ce and still wanted to cause a scene.


    "Let''s go and beat the shit out of him," Vanessa scoffed coldly, resorting to using vulgarities. She couldn''t care less about her appearance or being dignified when someone was literally stepping over her as if she was nothing.


    In fact, she didn''t even bother to wait for Shi Tian''s response as she rushed toward the exit door.


    "Wait, where are you going?" Shi Tian had to literally raise his tone slightly to halt her.


    Pausing her footsteps, she turned to him, "Obviously to the Horology Restaurant and beat him up. Where else do you think I would be going?"


    Smiling bitterly, Shi Tian had to exin something to her.


    "The Horology Restaurant might have reopened given that the repair was finished thanks to Magus, but that doesn''t mean it''s safe to go there." He said, informing him that going to the Horology Restaurant now would be foolish.


    "Then what was the point of telling me?"


    "I know you''re frustrated, but use your brain a little bit. Robert Cook is a manager, but that doesn''t mean he lives in the restaurant. He still has to go home once he finishes his work, and Mary has given me the path that Robert Cook always takes. We can just ambush him on the path." Shi Tian sighed softly and rified everything.


    It was honestly a waste of breath, but he felt the need to let Vanessa know everything from start to finish.


    "Tsk, should have told me sooner then. Why are you trying to conceal information?" Vanessa clicked her tongue and crossed her arm.


    Shi Tian raised an eyebrow at Vanessa''s response.


    ''Conceal information? I didn''t intentionally hold anything back. I just didn''t think you''d be so ready to charge into a potentially dangerous situation.'' He wanted to say these words aloud but decided not to and just epted the me.


    After all, arguing with a frustrated person would definitely escte the situation more, and he had no n of arguing pointlessly as to who was right and who was wrong.


    "Anyway, this is Robert Cook''s usual path, but today is the day that he would need to personally go to a warehouse to check up on stock. Hence, this is the perfect opportunity to ambush him and teach him a good lesson." Shi Tian projected a map through his Cellos device and exined.


    "Not just teach him a good lesson, it''s to vent my frustration and anger." Vanessa corrected, her eyes beamed in determination, clearly wanting to thrash Robert Cook thoroughly.


    However, Vanessa paused as she suddenly recalled Theobold had sent soldiers to protect their safety.


    "Wait, Commander Theobold''s soldiers should be guarding us downstairs, so wouldn''t they arrest us when they realized we are going to thrash Robert Cook?" She asked.


    Shi Tian considered Vanessa''s question and nodded. "You''re right. Theobold''s soldiers might intervene if they see us going after Robert Cook."


    "Tsk, then there''s no point at all."


    "I haven''t finished my sentence yet, Vanessa." He said with a somewhat exhausted tone.


    Meanwhile, Vanessa was on the verge of thrashing Shi Tian as a substitute for Robert Cook.


    He was clearly toying with her emotion constantly given that he kept speaking and cutting his sentence halfway through.


    Though that was merely her misconception, and that Shi Tian had no intention of toying with her.


    It was just that Vanessa seemed to have been overly affected by the battle that caused her mind to be clouded.


    "Didn''t I just rify to you about what Robert Cook was doing?" He asked calmly.


    Vanessa nodded her head in agreement.


    With that nod, Shi Tian smirked coldly and continued his exnation, "Commander Theobold''s soldiers would surely stop us if we attempted to thrash Robert Cook, but that was before. The situation now has changed, and


    Robert Cook was even pointing the spear at Commander Theobold. Now if you were a soldier of Commander Theobold, would you turn a blind eye if you saw someone thrashing the very person thatined about yourmander?"


    "Aha, now I get it. Since Commander Theobold must have given his soldiers information about us, these soldiers would naturally give us some leeway. And we''re practically doing them a favor by thrashing Robert Cook on their behalf." Vanessaughed heartily.


    "Oh, Robert Cook¡­ you fucked up big time!" She added, shing a sinister smile, almost as if she could already imagine the pitiful fate of Robert Cook.

 Chapter 204 Platoon Leader, Cyrus

    <h4>Chapter 204 toon Leader, Cyrus</h4>


    Shi Tian chuckled in response to Vanessa''s understanding of the situation.


    "Exactly, you''ve got it. It''s all about perspective and how we frame our actions. Plus, Commander Theobold''s soldiers likely have their own grievances against Robert Cook now." He pped his hands.


    Vanessa''sughter echoed with a hint of satisfaction. "Oh, he''s in for a world of trouble."


    With their strategy aligned and their motivations clear, Shi Tian and Vanessa nned where to set the ambush.


    As they were nning, Shi Tian was determined to either thrash Robert Cook to a cripple stage or have him dead. The reason why he dragged Vanessa along was due to his reluctance to silence Robert Cook alone.


    After all, Robert Cook''s action was equivalent to putting him in danger as well.


    Since Robert Cook was a threat to him. Then that threat must be eliminated to ensure his survival.


    And with Vanessa joining in to assist him, then with her mysterious identity alone, nothing serious would happen to them. At the very least, if they were truly reprimanded or caught, the repercussions wouldn''t be as intense if he were to do it alone.


    "Alright, the n is set." Vanessa sped her hands and said. "Now let''s move to the vantage point and wait for that bastard to show up."


    Shi Tian nodded his head.


    There was no need to inform Theobold''s soldiers regarding their n, given that they would notice it once they followed them.


    A few minutester, the two of them walked out of their apartment room.


    As they exited their room, they soon arrived at the main lobby, which was quickly noticed by Theobold''s soldiers.


    They were stunned by their appearance, clearly not expecting Shi Tian and Vanessa to stille outside despite the Horology Restaurant incident that had only happened yesterday.


    "What should we do, leader?" One of the soldiers asked their toon leader and asked. "Should we notify Commander Theobold about it?"


    The toon leader, Cyrus, shook his head in response.


    "No, if they''re just going out for a walk, then we just have to ensure their safety. There''s no need to notify Commander Theobold right away." Cyrus said, deciding to wait a bit before informing Theobold.


    He was, after all, a toon leader, so if he needed confirmation with every tiny bit of detail, then what was the point of being a toon leader.


    The soldier nodded his head in response once he heard Cyrus'' order.


    While the conversation was going on in the background between them, Vanessa had long detected their presence. Given that the soldiers didn''t really n on hiding their presence, it wasn''t hard to detect them.


    Cyrus and the soldiers wanted others to know about their presence from the get-go, creating a deterrence for anyone who still had the thought process to try to ambush Vanessa and Shi Tian.


    They were practically announcing that if they wanted to get to Vanessa and Shi Tian, then they must first face the meheart Vanguard team. Otherwise, they can just dream about harming either one of them.


    "It looks like your deductions are right. They aren''t going to do anything regarding our actions." Vanessa smiled softly and said.


    Shi Tian shrugged his shoulders, "We''re not their enemies, so they wouldn''t restrict our movement. If they really did try that, then it''s no longer a cooperation, but more of a detainment."


    "You''re right, Nathan." Vanessa agreed with his statement. Theobold wasn''t a fool to attempt such a thing.


    Sometimeter, the two of them head toward the designated area, with Cyrus and the rest of the soldiers following closely behind, albeit in cover.


    As they got closer to their designation, Shi Tian motioned for Vanessa to crouch behind a stack of crates, using them as cover.


    "We need to approach him discreetly and once he gets close to us, that''ll be the time that we strike." Shi Tian whispered, reminding her of their n. It wasn''t that he didn''t believe in Vanessa, but given her repeated tomfoolery, he just wanted to make sure.


    Naturally, Vanessa was displeased but decided to be the greater person and ignored his remarks.


    "To the soldiers following us behind, please conceal your presence and aura. I don''t wish for you to alert someone." She turned around and shouted.


    Cyrus was stunned by her sudden exmation, wondering what she was up to.


    A few secondster, one of the soldiers asked Cyrus if they should really do as told.


    Cyrus held aplicated expression, clearly speechless by Vanessa''s words.


    ''Seriously, why are you announcing it as if you aremanding us?'' He cried inwardly.


    Having zero clues as to what Vanessa was thinking, Cyrus reluctantly told his soldiers to conceal their aura and presence. He used the excuse that if they didn''tply with her request, then she might snitch on them and get reprimanded by Theobold.


    Although the soldiers subtly understood the truth, they didn''t say anything and epted Cyrus'' excuse as it was. After all, Cyrus was their toon leader, so disobeying him was no different than going against your superior.


    "You really are treating the soldiers as your bodyguards huh." Shi Tian spoke up, seemingly speechless at Vanessa''s behavior.


    "Meh, it''s not like they didn''t have a choice. They just chose toply with a small request of mine." Vanessa shrugged her shoulders. "If you want to, you can probably order them as well."


    "I''ll pass on that," Shi Tian shook his head and outright rejected her suggestion. Unless it was actually necessary, he had no intention of interacting with these military soldiers.


    With Shi Tian rejecting adamantly, Vanessa didn''t bother to say much and concealed her presence. And since Shi Tian wasn''t proficient in manipting Magicule, Vanessa did him a favor and helped conceal his presence as well.


    "No need to thank me," she said smugly.


    "Wasn''t nning on thanking either way." Shi Tian replied tly, his focus remained on the entrance.


    After waiting some more time, the main target had finally arrived. Robert Cook''s hand was holding on a small tablet as he straddled around the warehouse, unaware of his surroundings.

 Chapter 205 Robert Cook

    <h4>Chapter 205 Robert Cook</h4>


    "Sigh, our stocks are running low thanks to those bastards destroying the restaurant." Robert Cook muttered in frustration.


    When he checked up on the scene of the restaurant after the military had left, he was disheartened and pained to see the ruins from the battle.


    Kralos Tal, Vanessa, Shi Tian, and Gerald had truly caused him quite the headache, given that the storage room they used to store food and other items were thoroughly thrashed.


    It was no longer usable, with most of them being crushed in the process.


    Hence, Robert Cook was now sulkinglying to the warehouse, not only to stock up on their supplies but to count their losses as well


    ''If it wasn''t for the boss''s decision to allow them to do as they pleased, then we wouldn''t have been in such deep muddy water. Why did he agree to the proposal?'' Robert Cook cursed silently, walking toward a few crates and marking them down on his small tablet.


    While Robert Cook was counting on the stocks, Shi Tian and Vanessa were hidden a few meters away from him.


    "We wait for him to move a bit more forward and then we''ll strike," Shi Tian whispered to Vanessa.


    Vanessa nodded, her eyes fixed on their target. They watched as Robert Cook continued to swipe on his small tablet, seemingly unaware of their presence.


    As they calmly waited for Robert Cook to walk closer, Vanessa was already itching to thrash Robert Cook.


    They waited for a brief moment, ensuring that Robert Cook was engrossed in his task before making their move.


    When the timing was right, they surged forward, closing the remaining distance in mere seconds.


    Before Robert Cook even had a chance to react, Vanessa''s fist collided with his jaw with impressive force. He stumbled back, shock and pain registering on his face.


    However, that was merely the start as Shi Tian swiftly followed up, his fist striking Robert Cook''s abdomen.


    Caught off guard by the sudden ambush, Robert Cook copsed on the ground, gasping for oxygen.


    A few secondster, Vanessa stepped forward, her anger fueling her actions as she grabbed Robert Cook by the cor, hoisting him up.


    "Remember us?" Vanessa hissed, her eyes zing with fury. "You thought you could screw us over and get away with it?"


    Robert Cook held a dazed look, his voice choked, feigning innocence. "I-I''m sorry, I don''t know who you are¡­"


    "You don''t know?" Vanessa''s grip tightened, her knuckles turning white.


    "You don''t know us but somehow knew how to rat the two of us and even attempted to overrule the judgment of Commander Theobold. Do I look like a fool to you?" She added, raising her tone purposely and asked.


    Just in case Cyrus and his soldiers were still kept in the dark, Vanessa wanted to ensure that they knew who and why they were beating up Robert Cook.


    And sure enough, Cyrus'' expression changed slightly when he heard Vanessa''s im.


    At first, he nned on stopping her from assaulting a civilian. After all, they are the meheart Vanguard, vowed to serve the citizens wholeheartedly regardless of how others viewed them as naive or retarded.


    Hence, he wasn''t going to let Vanessa do as she pleased, but halted himself when he listened further on the reasonings.


    "This Robert Cook actually tried to overrule Commander Theobold''s judgment and get him in trouble?" Cyrus raised an eyebrow and muttered.


    He wasn''t the only one confused. His soldiers were equally stunned by the revtion.


    Though it didn''t take long for Cyrus to finally understand why Vanessa told them to conceal their presence. She wanted them to not interfere with her actions, given that Robert Cook was someone that had gone against theirmander.


    s, she had seemingly underestimated their determination as Cyrus was ready to reveal himself and protect Robert Cook. they were military people and wouldn''t allow such action to take ce in front of them.


    "Let''s go¨C"


    Before Cyrus could finish hismand, he noticed Shi Tian stopping Vanessa.


    "Loosen your grip first. We can''t have Robert Cook choked to death. We arew-abiding people." Shi Tian gently said, giving her an eye look.


    Vanessa recognized it was a signal that they had calcted wrongly and that Cyrus and his soldiers were about to intervene.


    Since everything was based on their deduction, they had made many preparations such as what if Cyrus was still going to follow his principles and stop them, then they would change to another n.


    Nodding her head, Vanessa lossend her grip lightly, allowing Robert Cook to breathe properly.


    Once Robert Cook was able to breathe and remain conscious, Shi Tian'''' voice cut through the tension, his tone cold and calcted. "We''re not here to beat you senseless, Robert. We''re here for answers."


    Coughing slightly while still being hoisted in the air, Robert Cook asked dumbfoundedly, "Answers? What answers are you talking about?"


    Vanessa''s expression softened slightly, but her anger remained palpable. "Who hired Kralos Tal to attack us? And why?"


    Robert Cook hesitated for a moment, aplicated expression appeared on his face briefly. "I-I don''t know. I''m just a bystander and nothing else.


    Vanessa''s expression darkened further at his feigning innocent behavior. She had naturally noticed his temporaryplicated gaze, which meant that he knew something.


    "You either tell me the truth or we can send you to Commander Theobold and let him question you instead. A military prison must be fun, right?" Vanessa sneered coldly and threatened.


    "I-I really don''t know much. Even if you kill me, I still don''t know many details." Robert Cook wiggled his body and shouted, sweat started dripping down from his forehead.


    "Then tell me what you know and you better be honest." Shi Tian interrupted and asked.


    Robert Cook still wanted to struggle and stall for time, but when he noticed that despite shouting so loudly, not a single person had arrived. He knew his life was hanging on the thread.


    His gaze dropped, and he finally relented. "I only know it was a man named Lyndon Sinir. He hired Kralos Tal to eliminate you both. He said he had his reasons, but he didn''t tell me what they were. And this was information revealed to me by my boss, who is the owner of the Horology Restaurant."

 Chapter 206 Vicious Oath

    <h4>Chapter 206 Vicious Oath </h4>


    With Robert Cook revealing a mysterious man''s name, Vanessa''s grip loosenedpletely.


    Dropping Robert Cook on the ground, he was still frightened and gasping for air, clearly shocked by the incident.


    Meanwhile, Shi Tian and Vanessa exchanged a nce, their expressions grim.


    They had a name now, but Lyndon Sinir seemed to be a new yer in the game, and they still had no idea what his motives were.


    "Do you recognize the name Lyndon Sinir?" Shi Tian asked Vanessa. She should be the one who most likely had an idea, given that Lyndon Sinir seemed determined for her life.


    Unfortunately, Vanessa shook her head, showing a clueless expression as well.


    It was clear that this was the first time she had heard of the name, Lyndon Sinir.


    "Hmm, then could Robert be giving us misinformation?" Shi Tian asked, his eyes ring at Robert Cook, who quickly trembled in fear.


    He was merely a manager who wanted to earn a living and not some fighter.


    Thus, he knew if they wanted to, then his life would truly end here. And there was no way he would ept his death here.


    "I''m really speaking the truth." Robert Cook said panickingly.


    "I can even swear an oath if you don''t believe me." He added, giving them reason that he could verify his im.


    "Sure, swear an oath right now that if you were giving us false information, then not only will you live a miserable life, but you also can never make love with any woman. You shall be erectile dysfunction for life and can only get railed by men daily to get some pleasure." Shi Tian demanded coldly.


    When Shi Tian finished his sentence, not to mention Robert Cook, even Cyrus along with his soldiers were frightened slightly in disbelief.


    Such a vicious oath was truly a man''s worst nightmare. Living a miserable life was already depressing, but to have erectile dysfunction as well and only be able to get pleasure was to be railed by men.


    These three consequences were enough to deter any men from attempting to swear an oath and go against it.


    However, Vanessa held a different reaction as she nodded her head, going as far as giving Shi Tian a thumbs up. It was clear that she approved of his demand and that she couldn''t wait to see what Robert Cook would do.


    "I like your idea very much, Nathan," Vanessa smirked coldly.


    "I just can''t fathom why your boss would ever reveal the name to you like that. It''s not like you have a trustworthy face either." She added, insulting his appearance in the meantime.


    Robert Cook was aggrieved, but no one had any sympathy for him.


    After all, he might not be involved in the actual situation that resulted in numerous casualties. He was a knowing party and did nothing, acting as a bystander and spectator. Thus, that was equivalent to being guilty of the crime.


    As for Cyrus, he was too busy rying the new information that he had just received back to Theobold. Having a name could give out many leadspared to having nothing at all.


    A few secondster, Robert Cook finally resigned to his fate and swore the vicious oath that Shi Tian demanded.


    In his mind, he was thinking that since that was the truth, there was nothing to be afraid of. It was only if he knew more and concealed it then he would have been afraid of swearing the vicious oath.


    "There, are you happy now?" Robert Cook asked exhaustedly. His face was bruised and his abdomen was in pain thanks to Shi Tian''s punch with his mechanical arm.


    Vanessa simply shrugged in response to Robert Cook''s agitated question. "Why would I be happy when someone is repeatedly plotting for my life? Look at your current expression and emotion. Are you happy about being beaten ck and blue?"


    Robert Cook was stumped, clearly knowing the answer but refrained from answering it.


    If he answered yes, then the vicious oath would take effect, but if he answered no, then Vanessa would definitely beat him up a few more times.


    Hence, the best answer was to remain silent, and not give a response.


    s, that was the wrong choice. In the end, there was no correct answer at all.


    "Nathan, punch him in the abdomen again. I want to see him puke out the food he had eaten earlier." Shemanded coldly.


    However, to her surprise, Shi Tian gave her a response that she wasn''t expecting.


    "I refused." He shook his head and said.


    "What?" Vanessa was astonished, turning her head slightly and giving him a re. "Why are you refusing?"


    Before Shi Tian could even exin, Robert Cook intervened and said, "Because I have already revealed everything, so there isn''t a point. And this gentleman isn''t a violent man."


    He believed Shi Tian was being rational right now, so he was bootlicking him in hopes of being released.


    "Is that true, Nathan?" Vanessa raised an eyebrow and asked, her tone filled with a mixture of anger and disbelief.


    A moment of silence urred as everyone in the scene was eager to hear his exnation.


    Even Cyrus was curious after finished reporting the information to Theobold. He was now in a joyous mood, having made an achievement with the information received.


    Realizing that all eyes were on him, Shi Tian sighed softly.


    "I don''t want to punch him to the point of puking his digested food because it''s disgusting and it might dirty my clothes." Shi Tian finally exined, dumbfounding everyone at present.


    That was his reason!


    To not have his clothes dirtied by Robert Cook''s puke, he refused to punch his abdomen hard.


    "What the fuck?!!" Vanessa cursed in disbelief.


    "Y-Yes, puking means dirty, so let''s not do that okay." Robert Cook smiled bitterly.


    "Let''s just call it a day here and we''ll pretend this incident never happened. I won''t dare to rat you out because I have revealed some information to you already. I''ll be dead if I''m caught." He added, hoping that he could just be released.


    Vanessa nodded her head.


    "Sure, I''ll let you go and give you a bonus reward." She smiled brightly.


    That was thest sentence Robert Cook had heard before he felt an excruciating paining from his bottom part, an egg-cracking sound echoing in the warehouse.

 Chapter 207 Retribution

    <h4>Chapter 207 Retribution</h4>


    After giving Robert Cook the most deadly injuries that a man could ever receive, he fainted on the spot, white foam popping out of his mouth.


    As for Cyrus and the other soldiers, they had all unconsciously mped their legs together, realizing their precious manhood was still safe and intact.


    "Thank the lord that it''s still there," Cyrus patted his chest lightly, feeling a cold chill running down his spine.


    No matter how long he had served in the military or experienced many life-and-death situations, this kind of injury would still haunt a man.


    The only possibility that a man would not be affected after seeing such a scene was that they aren''t a man.


    However, there was actually another possibility and it might be the fact that they could remain calm and collected rather quickly.


    When Shi Tian first saw Vanessa raising her leg and kicking the vulnerable part of Robert Cook, his body jolted slightly. Though it was only for a very brief moment and he managed to remainposed.


    "Even if there was a way to recover, I''m sure the incident today would be traumatic for him, so you should have vented enough, right?" Shi Tian turned to her and asked.


    Vanessa nodded her head, sping her hands a few times.


    Seeing blood leaking out from the lower part of Robert Cook, she was satisfied with this venting.


    Although she would have preferred Robert Cook dead, this was good enough for her.


    After all, Cyrus'' presence meant that she would not be able to kill Robert Cook unless she decided to go against him and Theobold, which was technically impossible.


    The two of them both required each other''s assistance, and it wasn''t beneficial either to have Robert Cook dead and then have to face the consequences.


    It simply wasn''t worth the effort.


    "Yeah, we can return now," Vanessa said, stretching her arms.


    Shi Tian could see the sense of aplishment in Vanessa''s eyes as they turned to leave the scene.


    He understood the weight of her frustration and anger, and while he didn''t necessarily condone her methods, especially stomping on the man''s most vulnerable spot. He acknowledged the cathartic release it had provided her.


    As they walked back towards the apartmentplex, Vanessa''s expression gradually softened, and she let out a deep breath.


    "It''s a good thing you knew about this, Nathan," Vanessa said calmly. "But don''t expect a thanks from me since I''m sure you wanted to teach Robert Cook a lesson as well and was using me to help you achieve that." She added.


    Shi Tian shrugged his shoulders. "Wasn''t expecting a thanks anyway. This was beneficial to the two of us, so I guess it''s a win-win situation." He said, not minding about being caught by her.


    Vanessa was no fool and he didn''t treat her as one either.


    It didn''t take long enough for her to realize this was his intention now that the anger and frustration contained within her had vanished.


    "Hmph, you are really a shrewd person, Nathan. Using me wasn''t enough but you even involved Commander Theobold''s soldiers to work for you. Aren''t you afraid of their retaliation?" She snickered coldly.


    Her meaning was crystal clear, given that Cyrus was probably detaining the unconscious Robert Cook now and bringing him to the military prison in which Theobold would judge him.


    Since Robert Cook was a knowing party and could have prevented the tragedy in the Horology Restaurant, added to the fact that he was no longer useful, Theobold would surely impose judgment upon him.


    Robert Cook was not like Vanessa, who held a bargain of being able to suppress the current rampant monster wave.


    Meanwhile, Shi Tian met Vanessa''s gaze with a calm expression.


    "I believe in taking calcted risks, Vanessa. As for the soldiers, they''re loyal to Commander Theobold and his orders. If they decide to retaliate against us, they would be going against their ownmander''s wishes. It''s a fine line for them to tread." He exined, reminding her that they were supposed to be protected, but not apprehended or harmed.


    Vanessa raised an eyebrow, clearly intrigued by his response. "And what if Commander Theobold finds out about your maniption?"


    Shi Tian didn''t even flinch at that notion. "If he finds out, I''ll exin my intentions and reasoning honestly. The ultimate goal is to uncover the truth and bring those responsible to justice. I believe that''s a goal even Commander Theobold would support."


    Vanessa seemed to assess his words carefully. "You''re not just a mindless fighter, Nathan. You think things through."


    Shi Tian chuckled. "Well, there''s more to me than just fighting. And in our current situation, strategy and intellect are just as important as strength."


    Vanessa clicked her tongue in response.


    "Indeed, you''re definitely more than just fighting. You''re a shameless person who would take advantage of other''s plight whenever you could." She said coldly, subtly reminding him how he scammed her money when she was in a dire state.


    Shrugging his shoulders, Shi Tian didn''t bother replying to her. It was her fault anyway to be that easily scammed, and not his.


    There were no regrets in his actions.


    "Anyway, you can just head upstairs first. I''m going to pick up something." Shi Tian said, outright ignoring her remarks.


    "What''s the point of heading upstairs first?" Vanessa rolled her eyes. "You have the keycard, so I''ll still be waiting no matter what unless you are willing to give me the keycard." She added.


    Shi Tian pondered for a few moments before nodding his head.


    "You''re right about that. Then I guess you might as well help me pick up some packages as well." He said, clearly not going to hand her the keycard.


    Who knows if she would attempt to lock him out or not open the door for him when he returned?


    With her unpredictable personality, the possibility was there that she might do it forughs.


    "Tsk, what a stingy man as always." Vanessa pouted, feeling that it was a shame that her motive might have been noticed by him.

 Chapter 208 Armament Emporium

    <h4>Chapter 208 Armament Emporium</h4>


    As Shi Tian and Vanessa made their way to the mailroom, they were dumbfounded by the sight.


    "What kind of packages did you order?" Vanessa was quick to stare at Shi Tian in disbelief.


    After all, the mailroom was practically filled with loads of boxes, with Shi Tian''s namebeled on it.


    "This one is for Nathan, and this one as well. No, even these are all your name." Vanessa walked toward the boxes and read thebel, stunned by the number of packages avable.


    However, it wasn''t just her alone being shocked because Shi Tian didn''t know that Mary would send him this much either.


    "Wait here while I verify them." Shi Tian ignored Vanessa''s reaction and went to a scanner, getting his pupil scanned so that he could take the boxes away.


    Although the boxes seemed to be scattered everywhere and looked easily stolen, they were in fact ced in a security lock.


    Without proper authorization, an rm would go off and naturally, you would be heavily fined and receive a warning from the security guards.


    Three warnings and you''re officially kicked out, with all your belongings remaining in the apartmentplex. In addition, you would still be punished to paypensation for the item''s owner and the Crimson Mage.


    Thus, a thievery in the mailroom could be said to be impossible. No sane person would attempt tomit any theft when there are practically surveince cameras and strong security guards everywhere.


    With Shi Tian authorizing it, Vanessa attempted to hold one of the boxes, only to realize it was too heavy for her to carry.


    "This is impossible to carry," She retreated a few steps back and said.


    "How?" Shi Tian twitched his mouth and walked toward her. He then carried the same box that she had failed to carry and easily lifted it up.


    "You must be kidding me, right?" He asked with a doubtful tone, almost as if he couldn''t believe she was unable to lift it.


    Vanessa huffed, her pride stung by the failed attempt. "It''s not like I''m weak or anything. It''s just that this box is unusually heavy."


    Shi Tian raised an eyebrow skeptically, holding the box effortlessly. "Unusually heavy?"


    ''What did Mary send me?'' Confused, Shi Tian wondered silently if the box contained a Metallic Stone.


    Given that it was a possibility as to why Vanessa failed to carry it while he was able to. He had already familiarized himself with the Metallic Stone, so it posed no problem to him at all if there was a hidden Metallic Stone within it.


    He carefully ced the box down and started inspecting thebel. Vanessa watched with folded arms, still feeling a bit irked by the whole situation.


    "Looks like it''s from a supplier called Armament Emporium," Shi Tian mused aloud, surprised that it wasn''t from Optic Mech.


    "Hmm, I''ve heard of thatpany before. They are known for their transportation of scraps and other materials for mechanic workshops. They have branches everywhere, even in Chronosworth City." Vanessa said.


    "But why are the boxes so heavy?" She added, still dumbfounded by the heavyweight that she felt earlier.


    With the box content opened up, she nced at the materials inside and none of them should have posed a problem for her to carry.


    "The box itself isn''t heavy, but it''s because of this stone here." Shi Tian said, finding the Metallic Stone that was ced on the corner edge. Picking it up and toying with it, Shi Tian was too familiar with the Metallic Stone.


    Recalling when he first carried it, he was about to stumble to the ground while sweating profusely.


    Vanessa looked at the stone curiously. "That stone doesn''t look particrly heavy. How could it make the whole box so hard to carry?"


    Shi Tian exined, "This isn''t an ordinary stone. It''s called a Metallic Stone, and it has unique properties. One of them is that it can manipte gravitational forces. It can make objects weigh significantly more or less, depending on the person."


    Vanessa''s eyes widened in realization. "So you''re saying this stone is responsible for the weight of the box?"


    Shi Tian nodded.


    "This is probably an additional security feature, given that only those who hade in contact or used to the Metallic Stone weight could carry them." He deduced, not finding it to be surprising.


    These boxes here might cost a fortune, so it was better to be safe than sorryter on.


    "Well, I guess I''m not needed here since these Metallic Stones are too much for me to handle." Vanessa shrugged her shoulders, seemingly attempting to avoid carrying the boxes.


    And of course, Shi Tian could easily retort it by saying he could take the Metallic Stone off so she could carry them, but decided not to. She wasn''t obligated to assist him, and he wasn''t going to attempt to persuade her.


    If she had no intention of wanting to help in the first ce, then forcing the issue on her would only get mediocre results.


    "Then just press the elevator button for me while I carry the boxes." Shi Tian said, picking up three boxes and carrying them simultaneously.


    With that said, Shi Tian and Vanessa spent the next few minutes going up and down to pick up the packages to the apartment.


    Though it was merely Shi Tian doing all the work since Vanessa had given up and decided to wait by the doorsteps after 3 times.


    Sometimeter, Shi Tian finally carried up all the packages and ced them neatly by the corner.


    "Just what are you going to do with all those packages?" Vanessa was confused by the sheer amount of packages he had gotten.


    "Crafting." Shi Tian replied tly.


    "Crafting?" Vanessa muttered softly. "Wait a minute, you''re a Mechanic?" She added, slightly dumbfounded by the revtion.


    Although she had her suspicions at first when Shi Tian created a mini workbench, she thought he was just doing it out of convenience. After all, Shi Tian had never shown much of a mechanic attribute and was more of a berserker, especially in the fight incident with Kralos Tal.


    Mechanics aren''t known for hand-to-handbat, yet Shi Tian was doing that with such ease despite the skills gap between him and Kralos Tal.


    "What''s so surprising about that? You can be an Esper, so why can''t I be a Mechanic?" Shi Tian shrugged his shoulders, picked up one of the boxes, and walked away from the now-astonished Vanessa.

 Chapter 209 Weakness

    <h4>Chapter 209 Weakness </h4>


    As Shi Tian carried the boxes to his mini workbench, Vanessa followed closely behind.


    "You''re really a Mechanic?" She asked repeatedly, clearly unable to fathom him being a mechanic.


    It wasn''t that she was underestimating his abilities to be a mechanic, but it was the fact that a mechanic was an expensive path.


    And with her clear understanding of his current wealth, Shi Tian was nowhere close to being eligible to be able to afford to be a mechanic.


    "Why can''t I be a Mechanic?" cing the box down on the workbench, Shi Tian turned to her and asked calmly.


    And he continued, "The path might be expensive, but that would only be a struggle for those who can''t utilize the opportunity for a smooth path."


    "I''m not trying to look down or judge you at all, Nathan. I''m just saying that it''s going to be a difficult path and it takes forever to attain any great achievement." Vanessa advised.


    She wasn''t trying to be rude, but merely concerned about Shi Tian''s future.


    Thus, Shi Tian''s tone was subtly softened a bit as he headed back to the living room to pick up more boxes. "I know you areing out of a goodwill, but please let me be. I know my circumstances more than anyone else."


    Sighing softly, Vanessa no longer bothered to convince him otherwise.


    His stubbornness was simr to hers, in which once she decided on something, it would be next to impossible to change.


    "So be it," Vanessa said, shrugging her shoulders. "Do you need some funding or blueprints? I could probably give you a few." She added.


    Pausing for a brief moment, Shi Tian looked at her with a funny expression.


    "If you''re trying to repay me for the miscalcted incident on your part, then forget it. I knew the risk long ago, so there''s no need to repay me." He replied coolly.


    The incident in the Horology Restaurant might be somewhat out of their control, but it wasn''t that they never expected such an incident to happen.


    After all, they were targeted, so the incident would have urred anyway. It was just a matter of when it will happen.


    Meanwhile, Vanessaughed heartily, shaking her head.


    "You really are a strange one, Nathan. I''m not trying to repay you, I''m just offering some help since I have resources that might be useful to you." She said, actingpletely innocent. She refused to acknowledge her mindset being known by Shi Tian.


    Shi Tian shrugged, a hint of amusement in his eyes. "I appreciate the offer, but I''m used to doing things on my own. Besides, part of the joy in being a Mechanic is the challenge and learning from your own mistakes."


    Vanessa''s expression remained deadpan, not giving him a chance to tease her.


    Instead, she changed the topic andmented on his behavior.


    "You''re quite the independent soul, aren''t you?" She asked, realizing that his life was pretty nd after some pondering.


    Ever since she had interacted with him, there was barely anyone interacting with him. Aside from Mary, and Gerald who seemingly came to his assistance because of Mary, she had not once seen Shi Tian talking or doing anything exciting.


    He would always be alone in the workbench, working alone.


    Though there was asionally a time that she wouldmunicate with him, it was always her initiating it and never Shi Tian.


    "I''m starting to understand why you chose the Mechanic path. Mechanics are always alone, studying and working their time away." She muttered.


    Shi Tian remained expressionless.


    "Being alone is not all that bad. At the very least, I don''t have a weakness that most people have." Hemented.


    "Weakness? What kind of weakness are you talking about?" She enquired, seemingly curious.


    s, Shi Tian no longer had the mood tomunicate with her. He suddenly walked up to her, causing her to retreat a few steps back, a bit nervous by his action.


    "The weakness is¨C" He said, pausing his words and staring deep into her eyes.


    "Is what?" Staring at him right back, Vanessa raised an eyebrow, clearly wanting him to finish his sentence.


    "Is to get out of my way." Shi Tianpleted the sentence and closed the door right in front of her.


    From outside, Vanessa even heard Shi Tian locking the door, causing her to be infuriated with his action.


    "What the heck?" She shouted in disbelief. "You are really a bastard!" She added, stomping her feet on the floor before going back to her room,pletely agitated.


    "There really needs to be a soundproof wall installed." Shi Tian muttered, not a bit concerned with the outrage of Vanessa.


    He was purposely halting their rtionship from getting closer. As of now, they could at best be called acquaintances that had fought alongside.


    That was the limit Shi Tian was willing to go. After all, if they were truly to be close, then the enemies would surely attempt to harm either one to affect the other person.


    That was the weakness that Shi Tian would never allow himself to have that most people have.


    ''I should ask Mary or Commander Theobold to find a safe house for Vanessa to live in. It''s better to have her away from me now.'' Shi Tian thought to himself.


    While Shi Tian was having such thoughts, Vanessa, on the other hand, seemed frustrated in her room.


    "Just what is wrong with this Nathan bastard?" Vanessa hissed coldly, rolling around in the bed.


    "With his intelligence, can''t he see I''m trying to repay him for sticking by me against Kralos Tal. Why does he refuse it and always act so irritatingly whenever I have some goodwill toward him?" She ranted, clearly confused by Shi Tian''s action.


    Anyone¨C and she meant anyone would practically stick their tongue out like a good dog if she was ever to lend a hand to assist them.


    The number of people who wanted to get into her good grace can''t even be counted because it was just too many to count.


    "Ugh, he''s so irritating." Vanessa spread her arms out and nced at her Cellos device that had just made a beeping sound.


    Her expression changed when she read the text message.

 Chapter 210 Droplets of Tears

    <h4>Chapter 210 Droplets of Tears</h4>


    Vanessa''s expression was cold, almost as if her eyes alone could kill someone when she read the text message that her subordinate had sent.


    The text message read: Lyndon Sinir was just an alias used by Martin Pearce.


    Martin Pearce, a name that Vanessa was extremely familiar with, given that it was her own blood-rted uncle.


    "Uncle Martin always held a friendly smile and seemed content with his position in the family. But who would have thought he was just a wolf in sheep''s clothing, pretending to be innocent all this time." Vanessa''s eyes were filled with fury.


    She could not fathom how her own blood-rted uncle could be this cold-blooded and heartless to scheme for her death just for the family power.


    And now that she had given some thought about it, she realized the reason why she even came to Gearits City was partially rted to Martin Pearce.


    She recalled ''identally'' overhearing his talk with someone else regarding the New Region and how exciting it could be.


    Maybe it was because Martin Pearce understood her too well¨C to the point that he could anticipate her action with just a little bit of words.


    ''I trusted him and that trust had bitten back at me. How hrious is that.'' She chuckled softly, finding herself quite foolish. Being betrayed by your close kin was even more painful than being harmed by an enemy.


    As for double-checking the information, Vanessa didn''t bother to confirm it.


    Her subordinates could be trusted, mainly because she had made them swear an oath before they could work for her. Additionally, the text messages were encrypted, something she had taught her subordinates, so it was unique and unable to be replicated by an imposter.


    It was just a shame that she had failed to defend herself against her own close-knit and only thought about strangers.


    In the midst of her anger and frustration, a knock on her door interrupted her thoughts.


    "What is it, Nathan?" Her eyes gradually returned to normal as she asked him.


    There was only Shi Tian other than her here, so it was easy to guess who was knocking on her door.


    "I have something to tell you," Shi Tian''s voice resounded from the other side.


    Hearing the tone was quite solemn, Vanessa was dumbfounded.


    ''What happened to him?'' She wondered silently.


    Getting up from the bed, she walked toward the door, opened it, and asked jokingly, "What''s the matter huh? Are you here to apologize for your rude action earlier?"


    However, her expression changed when she saw Shi Tian shing a solemn expression. She furrowed her brows and calmly waited for his response.


    And to her shock and disbelief, Shi Tian''s sentence nearly made her attack him on the spot.


    "I havemunicated with Commander Theobold and he agreed that your safety here might not be guaranteed. Given that his soldiers could barely be within the premises due to the Crimson Mage''s presence. Therefore, we agreed that it''s better to have you live somewhere else in which your safety is guaranteed."


    A few secondster, Vanessa asked in a low but subtle tone, "Is this Commander Theobold''s suggestion or yours, Nathan?"


    Although he knew lying would be better here, Shi Tian was adamant about his decision and refused to lie. Before knocking on the door, he had already readied himself to face her wrath.


    "It''s my decision and Commander Theobold supported it." He responded, expecting a punch to the face. After all, he had made the decision entirely alone without informing or notifying her.


    s, even a few minutester, Vanessa didn''t seem to show much reaction.


    Instead, she nodded her head. "Very well, is the arrangement ready?" She asked without much emotion.


    "Yes, the soldiers outside are ready once you agree to it."


    "Okay then, please leave while I pack my stuff." She said expressionless.


    Turning around, she also said, "Thanks for the amodation in the past weeks."


    Closing the door behind her, Shi Tian could get a glimpse of her back.


    Although she was expressionless and emotionless, he could tell that she was disheartened, almost as if she was backstabbed.


    ''This is for the better of us.'' He eximed inwardly. He knew it was a selfish decision, but he understood that only this way could ensure the two of them wouldn''t be used against each other.


    With Theobold''s protection, he could surely protect Vanessa wellpared to him, who could only deflect a few attacks.


    His skills were inferior, and if he can''t even guarantee his own safety, then what makes him qualified to protect others?


    It would be even better if Vanessa held a grudge on this and hated him.


    That way, the enemies would know that going after him wouldn''t affect Vanessa a bit. In fact, they would be doing her a favor by eliminating him.


    And at that time, he wouldn''t need to be concerned about others and worried about himself only at that time.


    A few minutester, Shi Tian patiently waited in the living room and saw Vanessaing out of her room.


    She didn''t even bother to nce at him as she directly walked to the exit door, treating Shi Tian as if he was some thin air.


    As she exited the apartment, Shi Tian didn''t utter a single sound, allowing her to leave smoothly.


    Meanwhile, Vanessa was calmly waiting at the elevator, and a few droplets of tears appeared in her eyes.


    She was disappointed that he didn''t even attempt to stop her from leaving. She thought they wererades at the very least, especially after the Horology Restaurant incident.


    ''Indeed, my uncle can''t be trusted, and strangers definitely can''t be trusted either. No one can be relied on.'' Vanessa wiped off the droplets of tears and eximed inwardly. She now realized how pathetic and a joke she was to believe there was even an ounce of camaraderie from Shi Tian.


    As she turned around, her eyes nced at the apartment door, seemingly holding a tiny bit of belief that Shi Tian might rush out and apologize.


    But it was just a shame that it never happened and the elevator arrived.

 Chapter 211 Spymon

    <h4>Chapter 211 Spymon </h4>


    Vanessa stood in the elevator, her emotions in turmoil.


    The doors closed, isting her from Shi Tian''s apartment. The emotions she had suppressed for a long time now surged forth.


    Betrayal, anger, hurt ¨C they all mixed together in a bitter cocktail. She felt a sense of vulnerability that she hadn''t allowed herself to feel in a very long time.


    The elevator descended to the ground floor, and Vanessa stepped out into the lobby of the apartmentplex.


    She had a lot to process, but right now, she needed a change of scenery. She decided to take a walk, to clear her mind and try to make sense of everything that had transpired.


    And naturally, she could sense Cyrus and the rest of the soldiers nearby, following her.


    It seemed that they might have noticed her unusualness and decided to stay back a little.


    Cyrus signaled for his soldiers to simply conceal their presence while ensuring her safety.


    As a man that had a wife still waiting for him at home, he could discern the emotion that Vanessa echoed was simr to his depressed wife when he failed to be with her all the time.


    Although he was unsure of what happened between her and Shi Tian, he could tell it most likely had something to do with relocating her to a safe house.


    Vanessa''s safety was the top priority, given that she held the key to suppress the monster wave. Thus, they can''t allow another simr assassination incident to ur under their heavy watch.


    ''I shouldn''t havee to Gearits City.'' Vanessa mulled over, feeling exhausted.


    While Vanessa walked around the streets mindlessly, back at the apartment, Shi Tian was sitting on the couch.


    He wasn''t regretting his action, given that it was the best course of action. Of course, there might be a better alternative or a roundabout way to get this oue, but it was better than nothing.


    What he was pondering was the text message that Vanessa had sent to him before leaving.


    He hadn''t realized she had sent a text to him until he took out his Cellos device once she left.


    And apparently, one of her subordinates had investigated that Lyndon Sinir was actually an alias from her uncle, Matron Pearce.


    "Talk about great timing¡­" Shi Tian muttered, seemingly unable to fathom how he managed to time it so well to give double emotional damage to Vanessa.


    Not only was she betrayed by a close-kin, but he had also added salt to injury, indirectly kicking her out from his apartment.


    Shaking his head, Shi Tian believed this might actually be better than his initial thought process. Now she would truly hate him to the gut, and would refuse to interact with him in the future.


    Sometimeter, Shi Tian returned to his mini workbench, and began to study the new blueprint.


    A blueprint with the title Spymon.


    Essentially, this is a miniature item that could scan the surroundings and transmit the data in real-time. What made this a fascinating item was the fact that it could enable an Electromaic Pulse (EMP).


    When "detonated," an EMP weapon produces a pulse of energy that creates a powerful electromaic field capable of short-circuiting a wide range of electronic equipment, particrlyputers, satellites, radios, radar receivers, etc.


    Though it would onlyst about 10 seconds, and after detonation, the Spymon would self-destruct.


    Nevertheless, this Spymon gadget was impressive and Shi Tian was grateful to Isaac Aaronax, allowing him to study and learn it for free.


    Such a gadget was naturally expensive to be made, especially the cost of learning it. Yet Isaac Aaronax was extremely generous and willing to teach him.


    ''At this rate, I''m going to be in a lot of debt.'' Shi Tian thought to himself.


    Converting the knowledge he obtained into currency, Shi Tian was sure he would be broke as hell¨C to the point that even if he were to beg for money with his life, it still won''t be enough to cover the cost.


    Time slowly passed by and Shi Tian had a somewhat concept of what the Spymon''s properties were like.


    And just when he was getting ready to craft the ymore Mine first, given he was more familiar with it, his Cellos device rang.


    ncing at the caller, Shi Tian realized it was Isaac Aaronax¨C someone he hadn''t contacted in a long time aside from a simple message transfer from Mary.


    epting the call, a holographic projection emitted and Isaac Aaronax''s face could be seen.


    Before Shi Tian could even greet him properly, Isaac Aaronax instantly went to the main point, "Nathan, have you finishedprehending the Spymon blueprint?"


    Shi Tian nodded his head.


    "Yes, Master Isaac. I''ve finished studying it, but I''m going to craft the ymore Mines first." He responded calmly.


    "Good, the ymore Mines are more important at the moment. Commander Theobold had given us a heads up that our supplies would be delivered to them, so you can rest assured about that part. The Harrett Family wouldn''t be able to take advantage of us now."


    Raising his eyebrow, it was only now that Shi Tian realized he hadn''t managed to inform them about who might be the true culprit of the current incident.


    Thus, he spent the next few minutes, rying all the information he knew.


    Though he concealed the matter about Vanessa''s uncle being the culprit. It was clear to him that Vanessa wanted to handle this matter alone, so he wasn''t going to go against her will, especially with what just happened.


    Meanwhile, Isaac Aaronax was silent, seemingly in deep ponder over the revtion.


    "Hmm, I see¡­" Isaac Aaronax said.


    "I''ll inform Mary about it, and you should just focus on crafting the ymore Mines first. I''ll send you some more details on how the Spymon are crafted and you should be careful of it. The EMP denotation of the Spymon might be miniature but if you make a mistake under the Crimson Mage''s property, then you are screwed." He added, warning Shi Tian to not be hasty about it.


    "Roger that," Shi Tian nodded his head, ending the call and resuming his work to begin crafting.

 Chapter 212 Turmoil

    <h4>Chapter 212 Turmoil</h4>


    Three days had passed since Shi Tian had immersed himself in crafting the ymore Mines. In those three days, the once tranquil wilderness had been transformed into a realm of chaos and turmoil.


    The Gso variants, now in the midst of their monstrous wave, proved to be more formidable than ever. They surged forth with unrelenting aggression, wreaking havoc on anything in their path. Safe Holds that had once stood strong were now reduced to rubble, and thendscape bore the scars of their onught.


    The casualties had continued to rise, although at a slower pacepared to the initial shock of the monster wave. People had grown more cautious and vignt, having learned firsthand the lethal capabilities of these creatures.


    Preparedness had be key, and survivors had be adept at strategizing and utilizing whatever means they had to fight back.


    The atmosphere was tense, a constant battle between humanity and the Gso variants.


    The wilderness echoed with the sounds of shes, both mechanical and physical. The skies were often lit with shes of energy weapons and explosions, while the ground bore witness to desperate hand-to-handbat and ingenious traps.


    Amidst the chaos, different groups had formed makeshift alliances, recognizing that unity was their greatest strength against this formidable enemy. Fighters from various backgrounds and walks of life now fought side by side, driven by a shared goal ¨C survival.


    The once clear boundaries of factions and rivalries had blurred, reced by amon cause.


    While the wilderness was still embroiled in chaos, with people constantly having to defend the safe holds, supplies continuously came from Gearits City.


    Within those supplies were the newly modified ymore Mines, produced by none other than Shi Tian.


    Back in Gearits City, which remained untouched by the monstrous wave, Shi Tian worked diligently on his workbench within the apartmentplex owned by the Crimson Mage.


    The air was thick with the scent of metal and oil, and the rhythmic hum of machinery provided an oddlyforting backdrop to the turmoil outside.


    The ymore Mines were taking shape under his skilled hands. Each mine was a masterpiece of mechanics, designed to respond to the presence of the Gso variants with deadly precision.


    "That''s another ymore Mine done." Shi Tian wiped off the sweat on his forehead. He ced the ymore Mine neatly on a crate. Each crate contained 10 ymore Mines, and he had a total of five crates beside him.


    Although they were obligated to send these traps to the frontline in the wilderness, he was still getting quite a hefty payment for it. Each crate was worth at least 20,000 Eons, a great markup from their initial selling price.


    A single ymore Mine previously sold for 1000 Eons each, but thanks to the crisis, it can now be sold for 2000 Eons each.


    Some might call them ck-hearted for raising prices despite humanity being in danger, but that was just how life was.


    Did they think the people who fought in the frontline were doing it out of goodwill?


    What a joke!


    They were obviously doing it for money, otherwise, why would they risk their life? If Gearits City were to be ruined because of the monster wave, then these people would simply retreat to other cities.


    It was not like Gearits City was the only safe fortress in the world.


    As he paused to catch his breath, Shi Tian''s gaze shifted to the nearby screen disying the live broadcast of the ongoing battle in the wilderness. The images were transmitted by specialized drones, capturing the relentless struggle between humanity and the Gso variants.


    "The inneryer of District B is under siege now," Shi Tian murmured to himself, his brows furrowing as he absorbed the unfolding events.


    The monster wave had inched perilously close to District B, a testament to the dire situation. Normally, such waves were detected and suppressed in the outer districts, but this time was different.


    These Gso variants were able to conceal themselves from the surveince, causing massive damage until it was a bit toote to suppress.


    With the turmoil outside, the importance of the ymore Mines was undeniable. Each device represented a potential turning point in the battle, a means to level the ying field against the formidable Gso variants.


    As for how he knew the ymore Mines proved to be a wonder, the scene from the broadcast just showcased the might of the ymore Mines.


    Just now, hundreds of Gso variants had stepped into the vicinity of the ymore Mines, creating a chain of explosions as they sumbed to their death.


    Shi Tian was expressionless as he watched the broadcast in which the sky was turning into a cloud of ck smoke, engulfing the atmosphere.


    Shaking his head, he then wiped his hands on a cloth before resuming his work.


    Despite the chaos and turmoil outside, he remained steadfast. His creations were his contribution to the fight, and would definitely earn him merits.


    If it wasn''t for the benefits, then he wouldn''t be working hard either.


    As his hands began soldering some metals, his Cellos device made a notification sound.


    Given his hands were still upied and unable to go to it, Shi Tian turned on the voicemand to demand it speak the text messages.


    The Cellos Device read the text message word for word.


    "Text message from Mary¡­ Nathan, our Optic Mech has just received more orders from Commander Theobold. The Five Families simultaneously sponsored us to create more ymore Mines to assist in the frontline. The payment would be the same, but they will now send materials to us."


    Hearing the text, Shi Tian wasn''t a bit surprised that they would receive more demands for the ymore Mines.


    Those higher-ups were probably staring at the broadcast screen and saw the prowess of the ymore Mines, able to suppress hundreds of Gso variants simultaneously.


    If they were no fools, then it was a given that they would wish to utilize more of it.


    After all, it was more cost-effective than having tomission mercenaries and other people to fight on their behalf.


    ''At this rate, I might be overloaded.'' Shi Tian eximed inwardly, knowing that he alone would not be enough to meet the demands.

 Chapter 213 Overloaded

    <h4>Chapter 213 Overloaded </h4>


    The efficacy of the ymore Mines was affirmed when everyone who watched the live broadcast or witnessed the scenes firsthand.


    Hundreds of Gso variants had unwittingly entered the vicinity of the ymore Mines, triggering a chain reaction of explosions that decimated their lives. Thus, it was a proven fact that the modified ymore Mines produced by Optic mech would be in hot demand.


    However, Shi Tian was not a bit pleased by the result, given that it meant more work for him.


    "Money is awesome, but not enough to make me overload myself." Shi Tian murmured, feeling a looming pressure pressed upon him. Without a choice, Shi Tian paused his soldering and grabbed his Cellos device.


    He was texting Mary that he wouldn''t be able to meet the demands that Theobold wished to have.


    The creation of a singr ymore Mine required at least one to two hours max.


    After all, the ymore Mine contained ayer of C-4 explosive behind a matrix of about seven hundred and one over eighth-inch-diameter (3.2 mm) steel balls set into an epoxy resin.


    Just one slight mishap and these steel balls would explode upon him, resulting in his death. Hence, each ymore Mine is carefully crafted, and could not be rushed.


    Nathan: Mary, I won''t be able toplete all those demands. I just won''t have enough energy to do so.


    Shi Tian sessfully sent her a text, telling her that it would be impossible for him to aplish the task. The five crates were already his limit, and any more would simply be an overload for him.


    A few secondster, Mary replied to his text, a response much to his dismay.


    Mary: The other mechanics in Optic Mech are busy working on crafting other items. Also, the modified ymore Mines are our secret trump card, so besides me and Mechanist Isaac, only you know the method to craft them. Just cough it up and be a man.


    The message was direct and left Shi Tian with little room for negotiation. He rubbed his temples, frustrated by the situation. It seemed he had no choice but to continue producing the ymore Mines, despite the strain it put on him.


    With a sigh, Shi Tian began to gather his tools again, bracing himself for the continued marathon of crafting.


    The importance of these devices was clear, and even though he begrudgingly epted the task, he knew that each ymore Mine he produced yed a pivotal role in the battle against the Gso variants.


    Not to mention, it would indefinitely help increase his reputation and favorability toward Theobold, a person who was highly influential in Gearits City.


    However, that wasn''t the main reason why he continued to craft despite losing sleep.


    Since the ymore Mines were solely crafted by him and only him alone, his experience seemed to have increased, allowing him to level up when he checked up on his status screen.


    Although it didn''t seem to increase much, it was clear that any crafting he had made would inevitably assist him regardless if someone else was using it.


    It was just a shame that his level was still a bit off from the 30 mark, causing him to be unable to see the relevant information that would be unlocked.


    "The status screen is always interchangeable whenever something urs." Shi Tian murmured, realizing his initial deduction of the status screen to be extremely wrong.


    Not only does it indicate his current stats, but it seemed to have a foresight far beyond any means of the current technology.


    After all, the reputation list had been updated, and without any surprise, the list included three new people who had negative numbers on him.


    First was naturally Kralos Tal, whom he had stopped from assassinating Vanessa. The negative value was at 5, seemingly showing that Kralos Tal didn''t actually care about him much.


    Secondly, it was the revtion of Lyndon Sinir, or more specifically, it was Martin Pearce. Given that he was the main culprit in wanting Vanessa dead and he had prevented it, Martin Pearce had a negative value of 30 toward him.


    As for the final person, Shi Tian was dumbfounded. It was a person that he had never seen or interacted with, Jonas Hill.


    ''Why does this Jonas Hill have a negative 45 value on me?'' Shi Tian wondered silently. Not even the Harrett Family had given him such a high negative value despite him screwing one of their wilderness businesses.


    Initially confused, Shi Tian soon came to the conclusion that this must have been the actual mastermind behind most of the incident. After all, only the real mastermind would be overwhelmingly frustrated when their n was thwarted by him.


    Despite it just being a suspicion without any evidence, Shi Tian didn''t hesitate to drop this name to Mary and Vanessa, letting them know who to be careful of.


    If Jonas Hill was truly innocent, then whatever, he could just take the idental me. But if he was truly the mastermind, then they wouldn''t be unprepared against him.


    Life is extremely fragile and one mistake could spell the end of your life.


    Thus, Shi Tian was more willing to be paranoid than an idiot waiting for the scene to happen before making a move.


    Mary: Okay, got it. Just focus on crafting the ymore Mines and ce them in the main lobby once it''s done. I''ll grab them when I have the chance.


    Right away Mary replied back to his text. And as for Vanessa, she gave him the "read" notification, but no response whatsoever.


    It was clear that her anger had not subsided, and was still unwilling to text him, much to his benefit. If it wasn''t because she was needed in their n, Shi Tian truly wouldn''t want to send her a text.


    Zero contact would be the ideal situation.


    With the warning sent to them, Shi Tian stretched his body and arms, preparing himself for another crafting marathon.


    "If I''m going to travel to another city, then I will never do this kind of thing again." He muttered, vowing to not be a ve worker.

 Chapter 214 It’s Time

    <h4>Chapter 214 It¡¯s Time</h4>


    Several more days had psed, and Shi Tian''s appearance had undergone a peculiar transformation. He now resembled a panda with hispletely ckened eyes, a testament to his days without sleep.


    Awakening from his slumber at the workbench, Shi Tian moved with the sluggishness of a sloth. Even the simple act of standing up and reaching for the doorknob took an excruciating 20 seconds.


    "Need... coffee," he mumbled, his voice devoid of energy as he desperately sought caffeine to stave off an impending migraine.


    After managing to get a few hours of sleep, his head throbbed mercilessly, a consequence of his disrupted sleep patterns and relentless work schedule.


    Shi Tian shuffled his way to the bathroom and sshed cold water on his face, a feeble attempt to rejuvenate himself.


    As he gazed at his reflection in the mirror, he was nearly startled by his own appearance, which bore a striking resemnce to a corpse.


    The toll of his relentless efforts was bing apparent, and it was clear that he was pushing himself to the brink of exhaustion.


    Grabbing a towel to wipe off the remaining cold water on his face, Shi Tian was about to head back to the workbench and carry the crates to the main lobby.


    However, he didn''t even get a chance to return back when he heard the doorbell ring.


    Confused, Shi Tian turned around and nced at the monitor screen by the side of the wall to see who was outside.


    ''Mary? Why did shee up here?'' Shi Tian was dumbfounded by her sudden arrival.


    Unlocking the door, Shi Tian opened it and asked softly, "What are you doing here, Mary?"


    Mary''s facial expression darkened as she red at him. It was as if her eyes alone could kill people.


    "You''re seriously asking me that when you refuse to reply in the text or pick up your Cellos device?" She asked in a low but subtle tone.


    Initially angered at Shi Tian, seemingly thinking he was ghosting her or ignoring her, her tone and expression soon softened up when she saw the haggard look of Shi Tian.


    "Have you not slept properly at all these days?" She entered the apartment and asked, looking at the kitchen and the living room.


    She noticed that there was quite a bit of trash piled up, and it was clear that he hadn''t had the time to throw them out.


    Not to mention, the apartment seemed lifeless, almost as if no one was living here at all.


    Mary''s concerned eyes scanned the apartment, taking in the scattered tools, empty coffee cups, and the disarrayed pile of takeout containers. It was a stark contrast to the normally meticulous and well-organized living space she had seen thest time she was here.


    "I bet you''re regretting kicking Vanessa out right now," Mary said, shaking her head at the current lifeless Shi Tian.


    She was surprised when she learned from Theobold that Vanessa had relocated to one of their strong houses, protected by a lot of soldiers.


    She was unable to fathom why Shi Tian would do such a thing.


    It wasn''t as if the apartmentplex here wasn''t safe given the Crimson Mage''s presence.


    And thest time she had interacted with Vanessa, it was quite clear to her that the two had a somewhat amicable rtionship.


    Meanwhile, Shi Tian ignored her remarks purposely, walking to the kitchen and brewing another set of coffee. These coffees were found in a random store and despite the nd taste, the bitterness in it was enough to keep him awake.


    Mary clicked her tongue when she realized Shi Tian was avoiding the topic of Vanessa. It was a good thing that she wasn''t a curious person either, so she didn''t n on prying further once she noticed his unwillingness to discuss.


    Instead, she changed the topic and exined her reason for visiting.


    "Since you didn''t read my text, I''m just going to inform you now. In two days, we are going to head out to the wilderness and assist Commander Theobold." Mary said, informing him of the time.


    And she continued, "Thanks to the ymore Mines you have produced and sent to the frontline, they are going to give you an award and merits for your action. But knowing you, I told them to simply give you money."


    Shi Tian simply nodded his head. He was d that Mary understood him.


    Fame and poprity weren''t the things he was chasing after by crafting so many ymore Mines. It was for money and forming a good rtionship with the meheart Vanguard. Being in one of the influential military''s good graces would benefit him in the long run.


    As for the publicity or citizens'' opinion of him, he does not care a bit.


    Is their praise worth anything?


    The answer was no!


    In fact, having such a reputation would inevitably result in them expecting you to constantly do everything on their behalf, simr to what Theobold was doing.


    Serving the citizens without expecting any rewards back.


    Sorry, but he was not going to do those kinds of charity work.


    Especially when he had witnessed the true cruelty of humans, and being forced into bing ab rat, he had long forgo the naivety of saving others like some hero.


    "Thanks, Mary." Shi Tian replied calmly after taking a few sips of the bitter coffee.


    "If they really want to give some awards out, then just tell them to give it to Optic Mech. I might not be an official employee of Optic Mech, but I''m indirectly working for Optic Mech." He added.


    "Rest assured about that, Nathan." Mary chuckled and shrugged her shoulders.


    "I have long told Commander Theobold that all honor and glory shall be received by Optic Mech. Given that we provided the most materials and much more equipment to the frontline." She snickered coldly, reminding him that she was more of a money grubber than he was.


    "Heh¡­ what a shrewd woman you are." Hemented, shaking his head.

 Chapter 215 Frontline

    <h4>Chapter 215 Frontline</h4>


    Mary conversed with Shi Tian a bit more before having a few employees from Optic Mech carry the crates filled with ymore Mines out.


    They were to be transported to the frontline under the banner of the meheart Vanguard.


    With the meheart Vanguard bannerbeled on the vehicle, not a single military soldier would dare to blockade them or make things difficult for them.


    After all, it was a bunch of supplies to be deployed on the frontline, and if a soldier were to dy it, it might cause unnecessary casualties. Then the consequences of such action were crystal clear.


    "Anyway, you should really take a rest more instead of drinking coffee," Mary suggested once she was done with the arrangement andmand with the other employees from Optic Mech.


    "Well, I''m already awake and have a migraine now. Need the caffeine to stay alive." Shi Tian shrugged, sipping a few more times.


    "Just stop drinking and sleep. You looked no different than Mandorales."


    "Mandorales?"


    "Yes, Mandorales, a grade B monster known for their dark eyes. They are quite big in physique and their skins are fur on the surface, but tougher than metals."


    "I see¡­" Nodding his head, Shi Tian no longer bothered to inquire further. Panda eyes or a new species monster known as Mandorales eyes. Whatever it was, the fact remained that his eyes were truly dark.


    He was really too exhausted to have a conversation.


    Walking to the couch in the living room, hey down on it and pointed at the door.


    "Well, you''re free to leave and please shut the door quietly." He yawned and said.


    Meanwhile, Mary facepalmed, seemingly in disbelief at how idiotic Shi Tian had fallen.


    He had just drunk coffee, so how the hell was he supposed to fall asleep?


    Ignoring Shi Tian''s pathetic state, Mary decided to do some investigation as to why he was so haggard. She walked around the apartment until she stumbled upon a room.


    It was a room filled with numerous tools and the smell of oil and metals was emitting from it.


    ''It was indeed too much for him to handle alone.'' She thought to herself. It wasn''t that she didn''t wish to assist him in crafting the ymore Mines, but she was truly upied with other important tasks.


    It was impossible for her to split her attention and time to assist him.


    Despite Shi Tian being in such a state, Mary was thoroughly impressed this time. To be able to craft so many ymore Mines was no trivial matter.


    And this time, Shi Tian had truly proven himself to be an adequate mechanic, albeit still an amateur.


    Remaining silent, Mary simply closed the door and walked back to the living room, only to see Shi Tian had fallen asleep.


    "Seems like not even caffeine could help you," She muttered softly, shaking her head. To be able to fall asleep after drinking caffeine could be an impressive feat, but also a clear definition that he was beyond exhausted.


    While she was staring at the sleeping Shi Tian, her Cellos device rang a bit.


    Picking it up, Mary asked, "What is it, Mechanist Isaac?"


    Isaac Aaronax''s voice emanated from the device, and his holographic image materialized. "Mary, have you told Nathan about the time and when the two of you are going to head out?"


    Mary nodded her head. "Yes, I have informed him already."


    "Good, and did you find out why he didn''t respond to the call or text messages?"


    Mary didn''t bother saying anything and merely changed the perspective screen target to Shi Tian, allowing Isaac Aaronax to get a clear look at his current state.


    Isaac Aaronax faked a cough, his expression was clearly slightly a bit embarrassed.


    He naturally understood that the tasks Shi Tian had done in the past few days were tiring and tedious.


    Even back when he was in his prime, he still doubted he would be able to produce so many ymore Mines alone without any assistance.


    "I see, Nathan is exhausted so he couldn''t respond to you." Isaac Aaronax said in a profound tone.


    "Indeed, he''s better than someone that''s constantly cking and attempting to create new stuff, only for it to end up in a failure and wasting many resources, including valuable funds." Mary rolled her eyes.


    "Hmm, what''s that? Oh, you''re calling for me." Isaac Aaronax acted as if he was urgently needed by someone.


    He turned his attention back to Mary and said, "I''ll talk to youter, Mary. I gotta go right now and deal with something."


    And before Mary could even utter a response, Isaac Aaronax had ended the call already, not giving her a chance to take a jab at him any further.


    What was worse was the fact that Mary didn''t even show any expression, almost as if she was used to him acting like this already.


    ''This Mechanist Isaac needs a beating someday¡­'' She eximed inwardly, putting away her Cellos device.


    Used to his antics, Mary was toozy to even bother with him. Instead, she gave a final nce at Shi Tian before deciding to silently leave the apartment, allowing him to take ample sleep.


    As this was happening, in District B''s outeryer, a group of people were standing by a cliff, horrified by the scene in front of them.


    "How can such a huge monster wave exist hidden from our radar this whole time?" One person eximed in shock, his entirety covered in a bodysuit and wearing a mask.


    "We''re lucky that it''s only this much thanks to the ymore Mines and other traps. Had it not been for those, I''d be leaving this god-forsaken ce already." Another person within the group said, shaking his head at the sight of the Gso variants.


    Everyone else nodded their heads in agreement with thatment. This was the frontline and they were practically all risking their lives for money.


    However, they also prioritized their safety as number one, because without surviving, how are they going to spend the money?


    "We just need to hang in for two more days. I''ve heard that reinforcements are going to arrive soon and we can take a breather atst."

 Chapter 216 FTAV Mark X

    <h4>Chapter 216 FTAV Mark X</h4>


    The frontline battlefield of the Gso variants'' monster wave was a chaotic and nightmarishndscape.


    The once sturdy and secure safe holds were reduced to rubble and debris.


    The Gso variants had torn through these defensive structures, leaving behind a trail of destruction. Broken walls and copsed buildings littered the area, making it a treacherous terrain to navigate.


    The ground bore scars of the battle, withrge craters and scorched patches where energy weapons had struck. The earth itself seemed to have been scarred by the violence, turning the wilderness into a deste wastnd.


    Corpses, whether it was the Gso variants or humans, were littered throughout thendscape, forming a pile of human pyramids,


    Despite such gloomy and grim scenery, people surveincing by the cliff were expressionless.


    Ironically, they were more pleased with the number of human casualties than having fewer casualties.


    After all, this meant that theirmission price would increase further with this many deaths.


    Not to mention, the people who had perished could only me themselves for being incapable.


    "Hmm, we just have to hold the fort here and these Gso variants never attack at this time. Though confusing, we still take those. Use this time to rest up." One member of the group announced.


    The member then ced down a detection turret that would sound the rm if the Gso variants arrived at the warning meter.


    As the group of people started to rest, a military vehicle arrived in the background.


    The military vehicle didn''t have a license te, but everyone knew who it was.


    After all, it was the FTAV Mark X, standing for Future Tactical Assault Vehicle. The FTAV Mark X had a sleek and streamlined design that incorporated advanced materials and stealth technologies.


    Its appearance is characterized by: Advanced Stealth Coating, Angr Design, Adaptive Camouge, and Holographic Insignia.


    The Advanced Stealth Coating provided the vehicle with a special material that absorbed and reflected radar and thermal signatures, rendering it nearly invisible to enemy sensors.


    Its Angr Design body featured angr lines and facets, reducing its radar cross-section and making it difficult to target by enemy radar.


    As for the exterior, it was equipped with adaptive camouge technology that allowed it to blend seamlessly with its surroundings, whether in a desert, urban, or forest environment.


    Lastly, the reason why there isn''t a license te needed was thanks to the Holographic Insignia, which disyed the unit insignias and identification markings using holographic projection, allowing for quick identification by friendly forces.


    "Look, isn''t that the newest FTAV Mark X military vehicle that has just been invented?" One of the more educated onlookers was dumbfounded by the appearance of such advanced military vehicles arriving on the frontline.


    These types of vehicles are usually situated in the inner city, designed to protect the "higher-ups" from supposed danger.


    While the group of people were pondering who could be in the FTAV Mark X, they were soon stunned when they saw a muscr maning out of the vehicle.


    "C-C-Commander Theobold!" One of the group members stutteringly called out in a dumbfounded tone.


    Given Theobold''s physique was quite easy to spot, it didn''t take long for one of them to be thoroughly astonished by his appearance.


    However, that wasn''t the reason why everyone in the scene was astonished. It was the fact that Theobold was waiting by the door, almost as if he was a bodyguard escorting someone.


    "Thank you, Commander Theobold," A woman walked out of the vehicle and thanked him for standing guard.


    "It''s my duty to protect an important individual," Theobold shook his head and said calmly. "The people from Optic Mech should arrive soon, so you can stay by the tent that my soldiers have set up, Vanessa."


    Vanessa nodded her head, agreeing to the arrangement. In the past days, she had managed to rpose her emotion, no longer bothered or concerned by the past events.


    Calmly walking toward the tent, the other spectators were confused, seemingly wondering what Vanessa''s identity was.


    It was just a shame that she was covered in protective gear and her face was hidden thanks to the mask, so that no one was able to get a clear look at her.


    While the spectators were eager to know the identity of this woman, Theobold had already begunmanding the soldiers stationed on the frontline.


    He even made sure to emphasize the importance of Vanessa and that her safety was the number one priority above all else. After all, he had seen the Ancient Technology that Vanessa possessed back when she came to one of their strong houses.


    With his eyes being the concrete proof that Vanessa indeed possessed the key to suppress and alter the monster wave, how could he not ensure her safety was guaranteed?


    ''Her importance was simply too valuable. No wonder why some nefarious people would want her dead.'' Theobold thought to himself, still feeling disgusted that such vile humans could exist when their world was practically in shambles.


    To ensure Vanessa''s safety, he even had to dy the time to arrive at the frontline, having to take preemptive measures in different kinds of scenarios.


    As Theobold joined Vanessa by the tent and organized their ns, another vehicle swiftly arrived at the scene as well.


    The other spectators were even more dumbfounded now, believing that there shouldn''t be any more reinforcementsing.


    "Huh? Isn''t Commander Theobold the final reinforcement? Are those other cowardly military teams from the Five Families joining as well?"


    "Hah, fat chance of that happening. Those military teams from the Five Families are just spineless bastards that hide behind them. They are all show and no power."


    "You''re right¡­ but who else aside from Commander Theobold woulde here? All the mercenaries or other hired hunters are gathered here already."


    "If you''re that curious, then you might as well jump in the monster waves. Dying there is better than dying from curiosity."


    As this group of people discussed the newly arrived, Mary was parking her Iron Sentinel close to Theobold''s FTAV Mark X.


    Hopping off the Iron Sentinel, Mary gazed upon the FTAV Mark X vehicle, seemingly fascinated by it.


    "Sheesh, this must be thetest version," Mary eximed, her expression was as if she couldn''t wait to dismantle it to copy the mechanism or take it for herself.

 Chapter 217 Fanatic

    <h4>Chapter 217 Fanatic </h4>


    Mary was fascinated by thetest model of the FTAV. She was heaping in joy, walking around the vehicle in a circle, almost as if she was inspecting it like a buyer in a car dealership.


    Meanwhile, Shi Tian finally got off the Iron Sentinel after getting some of their equipment from the back.


    "Just what are you doing, Mary?" He then asked her, clearly dumbfounded by her action.


    Mary was like a little girl who had just gotten herself a lollipop, overly excited and enthusiastic.


    "Nathan, don''t you see this." Mary ignored Shi Tian''s question and echoed him with her hand, telling him toe over.


    Sighing softly, Shi Tian quietly walked toward Mary and nced at the part that she was pointing at.


    "See that, Nathan. Those are advanced armaments that I''ve always wanted to equip my Iron Sentinel with." Mary said excitedly, pointing at a hidden weapon.


    "They are high-energyser turrets for precision strikes and anti-missile defense. It also features electromaic railguns for long-range engagements. These two are just perfect for my Iron Sentinel." She added, her hands slowly attempted to reach closer to it.


    Luckily, Shi Tian managed to detect it and stopped her in time.


    "Regain yourposure, Mary. Commander Theobold ising over." Holding her hand, Shi Tian whispered softly to her, warning her that Theobold wasing toward them.


    And almost as if a ssh of cold water had got on her face, Mary''s excitement quickly vanished as she stood up straight.


    She then turned around and greeted Theobold, "It''s good to see you, Commander Theobold."


    Meanwhile, Theobold was briefly stunned by her calm and collected tone. He wasn''t blind and was able to see what Mary was doing. Thus, he had hurried over, worried that Mary might do something to his precious FATV Mark X.


    There were only a few of these avable in the market, and it was an expensive one. He could not afford to have someone touch it, even if it was someone who had assisted him quite dearly during this monster wave invasion.


    "Indeed, it''s good to finally see you in person, Mary." Theobold nodded his head and said. They had been in contact for a while, except this was their official first meeting, given the othermunication time was through a holographic projection.


    And although Theobold sounded quite pleasant, his action didn''t escape Shi Tian''s eyes.


    Theobold was casually walking over them and subtly inspecting his vehicle, almost as if he was afraid of them breaking it.


    ''Great, two vehicle fanatics have now been detected.'' Shi Tian thought to himself, feeling dumbfounded by the two people''s actions.


    Mary being a fanatic of vehicles didn''t surprise him much, given that he had seen the number of features avable in the Iron Sentinel, but Theobold?


    Never did he expect a righteous and seemingly serious man would be such a manchild when ites to his vehicle.


    Naturally, if Shi Tian was able to notice Theobold''s action, the same goes for Mary, who clearly was pouting but had it concealed thanks to the mask on her face.


    This was one of the many reasons why it was dangerous to be in the wilderness because everyone had a mask on, meaning their facial expression could not be read.


    "Commander Theobold, do you mind if I give this a test drive?" Mary walked closely to Theobold and asked in a friendly tone. It was clear that she wasn''t going to give up this easily after a mini setback.


    "Umm, I don''t think we have the time for a test drive¡­" Theobold was visibly stumped, clearly unwilling to let Mary inside his precious vehicle.


    s, Mary was a persistent folk as she continuously pressed upon the matter, forcing Theobold into a corner bit by bit.


    And Shi Tian was utterly speechless by the sudden development.


    Did theye all the way here to talk about vehicles or to suppress the monster wave?


    ''My expectation has truly been shattered¡­'' Shi Tian eximed inwardly, his favorability for Theobold had gradually lowered thanks to this incident.


    As Shi Tian turned around, avoiding the clown moment between these two, he was slightly taken aback. After all, Vanessa had been staring in his direction for who knows how long.


    Although Vanessa might be covered entirely to protect herself from the pollution and possibly corrosion from the number of corpses here, it doesn''t even take him a second to recognize her.


    Not knowing how long she had been staring at him, Shi Tian feigned innocence and headed toward the tent.


    There were soldiers nearby the tent, but none of them stopped Shi Tian, given that they had just seen theirmander walking to them and acting friendly.


    To be a soldier, they must not only have strength but they are also required to have intelligence and insight, so none of them were dumb enough to block Shi Tian off.


    With Shi Tian easily walking past the soldiers and taking a seat, waiting for the farce between Theobold and Mary to end, he was confronted by Vanessa.


    "So you''re just going to sit there and feign innocence?" Vanessa crossed her arms and said. "Not even going to apologize for your action?"


    It was clear that she was beyond frustrated when Shi Tian acted as if nothing had happened.


    Did he not feel any guilt or remorse at all for his actions?


    "What? You''re just going to remain silent when you treat me like some garbage? Tossing away whenever you wanted?" Vanessa raised her tone when she realized Shi Tian did not have any n of replying.


    Meanwhile, the soldiers nearby were able to hear the conversation, and became slightly awkward.


    Clearly, they were not expecting to hear such a conversation happening when a monster wave was literally still close by to them.


    A few secondster, Vanessa was about to increase her tone further to interrogate her, but Shi Tian spoke up this time.


    Had he continued to ignore, then everyone else would have been attracted by the loud tone emitting from here, so there was no other choice.


    "I don''t feel guilt or remorse, knowing fully well that you are in safe hands. As for you being a garbage, that''s your interpretation and I have never said that about you." Shi Tian replied emotionlessly.

 Chapter 218 Strategic Plans

    <h4>Chapter 218 Strategic ns</h4>


    A few of the soldiers who could easily overhear their conversation despite not wanting to were inplete disbelief.


    They couldn''t fathom how and why Shi Tian would give such a response when it was crystal clear that Vanessa just wanted an apology or some constion.


    Nevertheless, they are just soldiers and are on duty.


    This was an affair between these two, so interfering would be impolite and could even cause them to be reprimanded harshly by Theobold for neglecting their duties.


    Meanwhile, Vanessa''s face changed from red to purple, going from embarrassment to anger.


    Taking a deep breath, she needed to calm her agitated emotion. She was embarrassed because his response made it seem like she was being unreasonable and petty to everyone.


    She could sense the soldiers were reacting but remained still, thanks to their years of training.


    ring angrily at Shi Tian, Vanessa stopped talking, knowing that it would be a waste of breath.


    As the two silently waited for the return of Theobold and Mary to finish their vehicle talk, back in Gearits City, a family was inplete chaos.


    At the headquarters of the Harrett Family, arge meeting room wasmencing, with all attentionid upon the center person.


    Situated at the center was a striking figure of advanced age, his appearancemanding attention through abination of dignity and an unyielding spirit.


    He stood at an average height but possessed an undeniable presence, entuated by his impable grooming and refined attire.


    His domineering aura was evident, and everyone knew him as Samuel Harrett, the president of Harrett Enterprise and patriarch of the Harrett Family.


    Perhaps the most striking feature of Samuel Harrett was his silver hair and piercing gaze, the color of polished steel. They seemed to miss nothing and carry a wisdom thates from a lifetime of experience.


    Samuel Harrett''s eyes scanned around the meeting room, his expression was solemn.


    "I''m sure by now that everyone has heard of Optic Mech''s deeds and their current rise in reputation, right?" Samuel Harrett asked softly.


    Not one of the members in the meeting room uttered a single sound.


    They knew very well what the tone was being used and had no intention of facing his wrath.


    Samuel Harrett was not a bit surprised by the silent response, almost as if he had expected this oue already.


    Instead, he turned his head to another old man who was standing by the door. With a closer look, it was recognizable that the old man was Butler Wade, also the bodyguard and butler for Olivia Harrett, his spoiled daughter.


    "Butler Wade, have you finished the investigation from the explosion that happened a week ago in the District C safe hold?" Samuel Harrett asked him, his tone clearly softened quite a bit.


    It was clear that Butler Wade''s position was higher than the people who actually got to sit down in the meeting room.


    Butler Wade''s face was solemn as he nodded his head.


    "Yes, Patriarch. The explosion urred because Hank''s subordinates were careless regarding the new modification product from Optic Mech. They had tried to disassemble the modified ymore Mines, without understanding that the consequences of doing so was a chain of explosion." Butler Wade reported.


    And he continued, "After the incident had happened, Hank made sure to ensure the safety of Young Miss, and it was merely a coincidence that the Young Miss was going there for some supplies. It was not a direct confrontation from Optic Mech to harm the Young Miss."


    Samuel Harrett calmly listened to the report, nodding his head in the process. He didn''t doubt a single word from Butler Wade, given that he had been working for him since they were children.


    It was also because of this trust that he was willing and reassured to have him take care of his spoiled daughter, Olivia Harrett.


    No matter how spoiled Olivia Harrett was, if Butler Wade was adamant on something and advised her, she would still listen, albeit making a scene briefly.


    "Hmph, they sure got off lucky that this was merely a coincidence. Otherwise, I''ll make sure Optic Mech would pay heavily if my spoiled daughter was harmed." Samuel Harrett snorted coldly.


    "As for Hank, make sure his sry is deducted by half a year and his rank demoted. Even if the incident was done by his ipetent subordinates, he still has to take responsibility for it since he was in charge of it." He added, imposing punishment on Hank.


    As the one who sat in the highest position and oversaw everything, Samuel Harrett would not allow others to see him as a weak-willed person.


    Punishment would be imposed if they made a mistake, but naturally, they would be rewarded greatly for their merits.


    Butler Wade nodded his head, "I have already imposed proper punishment on Hank for his negligence, as well as warning him that if there is a next offense that indirectly harms the Young Miss, he will not be forgiven."


    "Hmph, if there was a next time, then he could kiss his life goodbye." Samuel Harrett sneered coldly. No matter how disappointed he was with his spoiled daughter, she was his only offspring from histe beloved.


    In other words, Olivia Harrett was practically his breaking point, so if anyone were to scheme against her, he would reveal his most ferocious side ever.


    "Anyway, let''s not mention that incident and move on to the current event. I''ve received news that Commander Theobold of meheart Vanguard had gone to the frontline alongside those from Optic Mech and an unknown woman." Samuel Harrett sped his hands and said.


    Shifting the topic, they finally went to the main agenda of today''s meeting.


    He was getting worried that Optic Mech was too cozy with the meheart Vanguard. They needed toe up with a strategic n quickly, otherwise, their position would be quite awkward.


    "Patriarch, I believe we should send our military team to the frontline as well. I''ve gotten news that the other families are already nning on mobilizing their military. If we still refuse to do it, then our reputation will be tarnished." One of the members suggested.

 Chapter 219 Samuel Harrett

    <h4>Chapter 219 Samuel Harrett </h4>


    Samuel Harrett was somewhat disappointed when he had such a member being in a high position, but his intelligence was severelycking.


    "Seriously, what kind of suggestion is that?" Samuel Harrett kept hisposure and asked in disbelief.


    "Did you think I hadn''t made any arrangements regarding that matter already? If you think I''m ipetent enough to do that, then step up and take over my seat." He added, causing the person who had suggested the idea to shiver in fear.


    "I-I did not mean any offense, Patraitch. Please forgive my recklessness." The member got up from his seat and went on his knees, pleading for mercy.


    Despite being in a high position among most people, he knew fairly well that if you offended Samuel Harrett, then your livelihood was over.


    "Your appearance is unpleasant. Get out of here." Samuel Harrett ced a hand on his chin and waved with his other hand, seemingly annoyed by his presence.


    "Yes yes yes, I''ll leave right away." The member hurriedly said, hastily running through the exit door, which Butler Wade kindly opened the door for him to leave.


    Meanwhile, the other members who were still seated said nothing, but their stoned-face expressions exined a lot. It seemed as if such a scene was somon to them.


    After the member left in a rush, Samuel Harrett returned his attention to the meeting table.


    "Now, if you have some ridiculous suggestion like that person earlier, then step up now and leave the room." He then said, his eyes scanning each and every one of them.


    The tension in the atmosphere was palpable, and Samuel Harrett understood that none of them were reliable. Either they were too afraid to speak up or they had dumb ideas like the person he had just kicked out.


    ''No wonder why we are so stagnated and have even been used of every little bullshit that has happened. Those damn bastards seriously think we would attempt to create a monster wave to benefit us!'' Samuel Harrett cursed silently, still feeling a bit frustrated by the other four families'' usation.


    And what surprised him even more was the fact that even the Hill Family had joined in with the rest to use him.


    Ever since the incident five years ago, the Hill Family had been quiet and kept to themselves, yet they were quite provocative this time.


    Unable to fathom why the Hill Family suddenly wanted to take action against him, Samuel Harrett was exasperated.


    While Samuel Harrett remained silent, seemingly stuck in his own world, Butler Wade took notice of this. He made a signal to the other members that they could leave and allow Samuel Harrett to be alone.


    As a butler for so long, how could Butler Wade not understand the current turmoil and emotion Samuel Harrett was having?


    A few minutester, the meeting room that was originally packed, now became empty and deste, with only Butler Wade and Samuel Harrett remaining.


    "Patriarch, you should take a rest and stop overworking yourself. The Harrett Family would not fall." Butler Wade walked toward him and consoled him.


    "I want to rest as well, Wade." Samuel Harrett sighed softly and stared at him.


    "But look at all these ipetent fools that are under me. It''s always me nning this and that. Without me holding the forte, we would have long fallen out as part of the Five Families." He added.


    "There''s still the Young Miss, Patriarch."


    "That spoiled daughter of mine? I haven''t even gotten over the fact that she snuck out to the wilderness with that brute from the Carlson Family!"


    After saying that, Samuel Harrett stood up and red at Butler Wade. "Why did you even allow her to go off when you''re supposed to guard and protect her?"


    "The Young Miss isn''t that weak, Patriarch. We''ll need to give her adequate freedom and the choice to do what she wants." Butler Wade was unfazed and kept his calmposure.


    If it were any other people, then they might have already been frightened to death by such a threatening piercing gaze directed at them.


    Snorting softly, Samuel Harrett turned around and said, "Since you made that judgment alone without notifying me. Then here''s the punishment. You are to be promoted to lead the military team under us and seed in regaining our honor."


    "What about the Young Miss then?" Butler Wade enquired, clearly not a bit surprised by the arrangement, and was more focused on Olivia Harrett.


    "That spoiled daughter of mine went too far this time! Had it not been for Hank''s timely protection, then she might have died without me knowing anything. If myte wife were able toe back out, then I would have been too ashamed to even face her. She shall be grounded at home and not allowed to go outside until the monster wave has been suppressed." Samuel Harrett sneered.


    Butler Wade nodded his head. He agreed with the judgment, believing it was safer for Olivia Harrett to remain within the walls.


    The wilderness was filled with chaos and unpredictable variables. Even he was not confident in dealing with the matter, so how could he afford Olivia Harrett to face any dangerous risk.


    "I shall head out to gather the military team, Patriarch." Butler Wade bowed slightly.


    "Go ahead, I have already authorized your essible level and changed your rank temporarily."


    "Understood, Patriarch."


    With that said, Butler Wade made an exit, seemingly rushing to the area that stationed the military team under the Harrett Family.


    A few secondster, Samuel Harrett was all alone at the top floor of their headquarters, his eyes gazing through the windows.


    His eyes were crystal clear and held a profound expression, a far cry from his earlier outburst and unreasonable emotions.


    ''Wade is a trusted aide of mine, but those ipetent fools are different. One of them must have betrayed the Harrett Family. Otherwise, how can we always be a step behind everyone else?'' Samuel Harrett pondered silently, clearly believing someone was messing with them.

 Chapter 220 Upgraded Weapons

    <h4>Chapter 220 Upgraded Weapons</h4>


    As the Harrett Family made full preparation to join the frontline in suppressing the monster wave, news quickly surfaced and passed to each citizen of Gearits City.


    "Hey, did you hear that the Harrett Family is actually sending in their military team to assist the frontline?"


    "Brother, how slow is your news? All the other families are also sending their military teams to assist the frontline. The Warner Family and the Hersey Family had even sent in their heirs to the frontline."


    "The heirs are joining too? Unbelievable¡­"


    As news continued to circte throughout Gearits City, one thing became clear for them to know.


    None of them wished to fall behind others, especially when news of the meheart Vanguardmander, Theobold, had already gone to the frontline.


    Obviously, such news shouldn''t be something big, given that there have been numerous monster waves in the past.


    However, the monster waves this time were vastly different from the past¨C to the point that they are closing into District B rapidly. The casualties have been rising higher than ever since the establishment of Gearits City.


    Hence, even the Five Families could no longer attempt to hold onto their power and had no choice but to deploy their military to assist the frontline.


    With numerous soldiers now stationed near the entrance of Gearits City, it became quite a dramatic scene, almost as if they were preparing for war with another city.


    While the deployment in Gearits City was happening, back in the frontline, Theobold was discussing the n with Mary and Shi Tian.


    "Our soldiers are going to cut through a straight path here, and I wish the two of you could nk from the sideline." Theobold made a mark on the holographic projection map, informing them of the location.


    "To nk from this sideline, I don''t think it''s possible with my Iron Sentinel capability. These Gso variants could produce toxic venom, so we can''t just brute force through it." Mary rubbed her chin and said, giving her input on the n.


    Shi Tian also nodded his head in agreement.


    He pointed at a specific terrain and mentioned, "This particr area would be unsuitable to drive through, and high chance of more Gso variants camping there. It''s too risky to nk from here."


    If the Gso variants were just a bunch of mindless monsters that only knew destruction, then things would have been easy.


    s, that wasn''t the case and they could not afford to be careless in their n. These Gso variants had developed intelligence and learned how to strategize after fighting humans for a while already.


    This was the main problematic part regarding variants.


    They learned how to adapt and changed their strategy after a period of time. The best method to suppress variants was obviously to annihte them all before they could learn to adapt, but the numbers were far too much.


    It was nigh impossible to aplish such a task, leaving them helpless and needing to strategize each time they had a confrontation.


    Theobold patiently and calmly listened to their response to his strategy, not a bit surprised by theirments.


    "The two of you are correct regarding the high risk and terrain difficulty," Theobold responded, much to the confusion of Mary and Shi Tian.


    Since he knew about these two problems, then why would he still offer up such a suggestion?


    "Have you figured out a solution already, Commander Theobold?" Shi Tian asked calmly.


    Before Theobold even had the chance to reply back, Mary started giggling, almost as if she realized something.


    While giggling, Mary suddenly extended her hands, giving him a thumbs up as a sign of respect and approval. "Hehe, it seems like you have made a fine decision, Commander Theobold."


    Theobold was silent for a brief moment, but it was clear that he was contemting.


    "Come on, Commander Theobold. Don''t be stingy now." Mary snickered cheekily.


    "You want to assign us such a dangerous task, but aren''t willing to give an equivalent exchange? That doesn''t sound like the righteous and honorable character of yours." She added.


    "Alright, you can stop pestering me about it," Theobold eximed, snapping his fingers to get one of the soldiers stationed outside the tent toe in.


    A few secondster, a soldier arrived and made a salutation, "Soldier Tron, ready for duty."


    "..."


    Shi Tian was dumbfounded by this soldier Tron, acting as if he were in a movie or drama.


    Cyrus didn''t even react in such a robotic manner either when they had an interaction, so why was this one acting so weird?


    It wasn''t just Shi Tian being confused by Tron, but even Vanessa and Mary nced at Theobold with a funny expression, albeit hidden thanks to the mask. Nevertheless, it was hard for Theobold to not notice the funny expression they were given to him.


    As a soldier and themander at that, how could his sensitivity not be high.


    Faking a cough, Theobold ignored their gazes as he turned his attention to Tron.


    "Soldier Tron huh, go and grab ourtest weapon technology and bring them to Mary," Theoboldmanded, his tone solemn.


    "Roger that!" Tron made one final salute, before exiting the tent and following themand.


    Meanwhile, Mary sarcastically pped and praised Theobold. "Your soldiers are truly fascinating."


    Feigning ignorance regarding Mary''s sarcastic remark, Theobold proceeded to exin thetest weapon technology. Mary might have gotten a glimpse of information since she was overly pestered regarding his personal military vehicle, but Shi Tian was kept in the dark.


    Thus, he needed to exin things to him so that there wouldn''t be any more mishaps.


    "Ourtest weapon technology includes a set of mobile, remotely operated drones armed with advanced sensors and weaponry. These drones are designed to operate in hazardous environments and can provide real-time data on the terrain and enemy positions." Theobold calmly exined.


    And he continued, "In addition, these drones are equipped withsers, allowing you to decimate a range of fields."


    "Drones that could shootsers?" Shi Tian raised an eyebrow, seemingly intrigued.

 Chapter 221 Woman’s Intuition

    <h4>Chapter 221 Woman¡¯s Intuition</h4>


    Shi Tian was intrigued, given that drones are more notably known for scouting and transmitting information.


    It was never designed for offensive ability, given that its structure and properties are too small to contain such advanced technology.


    In fact, just the scouting and transmission feature would take a heavy toll on the drone, prompting it to be improbable to include offensive features.


    Meanwhile, Theobold didn''t seem to care whether or not Shi Tian was intrigued.


    Instead, he was more focused on exining the drones'' capability.


    "We''ll send these drones ahead to scout the terrain and identify any potential dangers. They can ry live data, allowing us to make informed decisions on the safest routes. Additionally, they can engage the Gso variants from a distance, providing cover and support for our troops." Theobold exined, informing Shi Tian of how thesers would be utilized.


    Hearing the exnation, Shi Tian was somewhat impressed with the n.


    "It''s a creative approach," he admitted. "With the drones'' capabilities, we can minimize the risks associated with the terrain and the variants'' venomous attacks."


    Of course, the drones had limited capacity, meaning they weren''t able to constantly use the drones''sers to attack the Gso variants. To be more precise, it might not even be effective unless there are multiple usages.


    After all, if the drones were truly this powerful, then there wouldn''t have been so many casualties.


    These drones'' main function was merely to make their job easier in nking and having a safer approach, albeit still filled with danger and high risk.


    "The drones aren''t bad, but it wouldn''t be enough to suppress the monster wave." Meanwhile, Mary rubbed her chin and deduced.


    "Yes, hence why I''m also going to give you the Raygun that you kept bugging me for," Theobold said exasperatedly. If it wasn''t for the tense situation, then he really didn''t want to leak out their weaponry to others.


    However, Vanessa was adamant that Shi Tian and Mary must participate in this farce, otherwise, she won''t use her Ancient Technology.


    Thus, it left him with no choice but to somewhatply with Mary''s wishes in obtaining some of their weaponry.


    Compared to the safety of Gearits City, losing some of their military weapons that would soon be analyzed by Mary was the better option and he had no regrets about doing so.


    Weapons are created to protect, and not to harm others. It was just that human natures are unpredictable, with some being born inherently evil and only wishing to cause harm.


    "Are there any more doubts or concerns regarding my n?" Theobold then asked once the tent was silent for a brief minute.


    He was letting the two of them think it over and see if they had any more inquiries.


    After all, this was a n that could easily determine their life, so only a fool would be impatient and rushed ahead.


    Shi Tian wanted to ask more, given that he wished to have a clear picture of what they would be facing and wished to be meticulous about it, but Mary halted him.


    "No questions, me and Nathan will return to the Iron Sentinel for some prepping first." Mary waved her hand, dragging Shi Tian away without waiting for Theobold''s response.


    As for Vanessa, she merely eyed Mary suspiciously as she watched her dragging Shi Tian away from the scene.


    ''This shrewd woman¡­ What is she thinking this time?'' Vanessa thought to herself, still high on guard toward Mary.


    For some reason, she kept getting an uneasy feeling regarding Mary, almost as if what she appeared on the surface was a fake and not the real her.


    Call it a woman''s intuition or paranoid behavior, but Vanessa believed there must be something fishy regarding Mary. It was just that she still couldn''t get an idea as to what the fishy stuff was.


    Sensing something was amiss, Theobold turned his focus to her.


    "Is there something wrong, Vanessa? You haven''t been conversing muchtely." He asked in concern.


    The whole point of their n revolved around Vanessa, so if there was something wrong with her, then he needed to resolve it as soon as possible. Otherwise, the consequences would have been unimaginable.


    Vanessa thought about whether or not to reveal her opinion of Mary but decided not to.


    As much as she disliked Mary, she had no concrete evidence, and snitching on someone without evidence was no different than being a criminal who framed others.


    "Nothing, I''m just a bit worried whether the n will go smoothly or not," Vanessa said, giving an excuse that seemed reasonable.


    Theobold nodded his head when he heard that was her concern.


    "I see¡­ then you shouldn''t worry much. A n, sessful or not, can only be determined once we go through with it. If a n would always be sessful after being made, then there wouldn''t be trial and error terminology." He exined.


    "You''re right, we can only do our best and witness the result."


    "Mhmm, but you can rest assured that no matter what happened. I will ensure your safety, with my life on the line. That''s my promise to you for assisting us in this crisis."


    Although Theobold might seem amicable and approachable, he was a cautious man who always investigated everything.


    Thus, he had long realized Vanessa wasn''t a citizen of Gearits City, but someone from Chronosworth City.


    And if he had to be honest, the two cities weren''t friendly or hostile toward each other. It could be said that they are neutral, so there wasn''t a point for Vanessa toe forward to assist them.


    However, she still did, and for that, Theobold was grateful to her.


    Naturally, Vanessa also knew Theobold had long figured out her identity, but just like him, the two of them kept quiet about the matter. There wasn''t a need to expose each other, given that the current rtionship was ideal.


    "Thank you, Commander Theobold." Vanessa smiled briefly. "I''m sure my safety is guaranteed with your presence, but I do hope that you can fulfill my other condition soon enough."


    "Rest assured, I''ll make sure to capture the culprit responsible for the incident and send it to you if the chance everes."

 Chapter 222 Communication Signal

    <h4>Chapter 222 Communication Signal</h4>


    In the interior of the Iron Sentinel, Shi Tian took off his mask as he revealed a confused expression.


    He didn''t know why Mary wanted to drag him away, given that they were still in the midst of a discussion regarding the n.


    "Is there an urgent matter?" Shi Tian asked calmly, waiting patiently for Mary to exin her action. She must have had her reasoning for doing so.


    Mary nodded after a brief moment, her expression serious. She, too, removed her mask and reached for a button on the control panel within the Iron Sentinel.


    With a deft touch, she activated the encryptedmunication channel.


    This channel was reserved for confidential matters, typically used by high-ranking officers or individuals with sensitive information.


    Once the channel was secured, Mary spoke in hushed tones. "Nathan, there''s something I need to discuss with you privately. It''s a matter of utmost importance, and we can''t risk it being overheard."


    Shi Tian''s curiosity deepened at her words. He recognized the gravity of her tone and nodded in agreement. "Of course, Mary. What''s going on?"


    Mary leaned in closer, her voice barely above a whisper, despite the secure channel. "I''ve received some intelligence reports that indicate there might be a spy or informant within our group. Someone is leaking out our information."


    rmed, Shi Tian made sure to keep hisposure, his expression turning solemn.


    "What kind of information are they leaking out?" He then asked.


    Mary shook her head slowly, a clear indication that she wasn''t sure which information exactly.


    However, she continued with her exnation, "Mechanist Isaac managed to interfere with amunication signal while he was preparing for us in the wilderness. Within thatmunication signal, it was the exact same route that Commander Theobold was briefing us earlier."


    With that revtion, Shi Tian could now understand why Mary started to act childish while pretending to drag him out for something else.


    So it wasn''t simply because she was joyous about obtaining thetest weapons from Theobold, but it was also an excuse to leave the premises.


    "If this kind of information were leaked, then the goal of this can only be two." Shi Tian pondered for a moment and said calmly.


    "One of them should be wanting the n to fail so that chaos would continue along with casualties¡­"


    Before Shi Tian could finish the second goal, Mary helped himplete his deduction. "And the second goal would be our death. Someone did not want us to survive and wished for us to be buried along with the Gso variants."


    During a monster wave, casualties were so high that no one would even notice if one or more people had sumbed to their deaths. In fact, it was during this time of crisis that nefarious people would take it as a great opportunity to eliminate the people they had hated.


    After all, no one would be able to identify or discern whether the corpse was in by another human or monster thanks to the corrosion that affected the corpse¨C to the point that even an autopsy was useless.


    "Do you think thismunication signal was sent to the Harrett Family or is it rted to Jonas Hill, the person that you told us to be careful about?" Mary asked, seemingly looking at him if he had some clues or hints.


    The name Jonas Hill was still fresh in her mind, given that it was from Shi Tian. And she knew his personality was to never speak out about something unless he was sure about it.


    Meanwhile, Shi Tian was caught in a dilemma because he had no idea of this matter urring behind the scenes.


    Too many people had wanted to kill him thanks to his direct and indirect action, which was quite hrious.


    He wanted to remain hidden and avoid any interaction with others, but that didn''t stop people from wanting him dead.


    "There''s too many people that want us dead, so it''s hard to pinpoint a particr culprit." That was all Shi Tian could say.


    Last time, they pinpointed the Gso variants expansion to be rted to the Harrett Family, only to find out they were horrendously incorrect.


    Thus, he had decided it was best to not use someone, and only be suspicious and cautious of them.


    Mary nodded her head in understanding.


    It wasn''t as if she was hoping for an answer when she dragged him here. She merely wanted him to realize that even the tent they were stationed in might not be safe. They needed to be on guard constantly.


    "Anyway, when the drones are delivered to us. You should know what to do with it, right?" Mary then asked, shifting the topic.


    "I''ll run a thorough scan on it and see if there are any abnormalities. Then run a copy of its structure into the database so that we can copy its technological usage." Shi Tian responded, letting her know that he wasn''t going to ept the drones as it is.


    Now that they knew there was someone secretly transmitting their supposed n to unknown personnel, there was no way he would ept random things without a thorough analysis.


    The drones that they would soon receive could be a trap or have some other devices secretly nted in them.


    "Mhmm, I''ll analyze with you as well when we receive the drones," Mary informed him. "Although I don''t doubt your skills, we need to ensure that everything is near wless. Can''t afford another incident simr to Ynda."


    "No need to exin, Mary. I wasn''t nning on analyzing it alone either way." Shi Tian chuckled softly.


    Time slowly passed by, and the two of them wore their masks back on and made their way to the tent.


    "Hmm, you two took quite a while. Did something important happen with Optic Mech?" Theobold raised an eyebrow and enquired.


    Mary shook her head in response, acting extremely natural.


    "No, I was just discussing with Nathan how to copy the weapons'' technology when Commander Theobold generously donated them to us." She joked, feigning innocence as if the previous conversation with Shi Tian never urred.

 Chapter 223 Bickering

    <h4>Chapter 223 Bickering</h4>


    Theobold was somewhat speechless when Mary had no shame. She was indirectly telling him in the face that she was going to copy their military weaponry.


    He already anticipated that it would happen when he decided to give them the weapons, but did she really need to say it aloud?


    Some things were usually better to leave out despite everyone knowing the answer, so Mary''s response came as a shocker to Theobold.


    "I do wish you the best of luck in copying it." In the end, Theobold faked a cough and could only wish them good luck in doing so.


    Though inwardly, Theobold suspected that something must have urred, so he kept that in mind to investigate further.


    Mary''s concealment might be pitch perfect, but it was too perfect, which caused him to believe the reasons should be something else. Something that they needed to discuss privately to prevent news from leaking out.


    ''Could there be something wrong with my soldiers or the information regarding my n?'' Theobold wondered silently.


    "Anyway, I''m sure the three of you should be tired by now after the long journey to arrive here. So I shall leave the three of you to converse while I head out to do some surveince and calction of the aftermath." Theobold excused himself gracefully, giving one final nce at Vanessa.


    Vanessa simply toyed around with a miniature device in her hand, a signal to let Theobold be reassured that she would call for him if there were any troubles.


    Nodding his head slightly, Theobold then left the tent, allowing the three of them to be at ease and catch up with each other.


    Since he was themander of a strong military team, it was naturally obvious that they might be somewhat ufortable with his presence.


    Therefore, he decided to leave, not only to let them converse easily but to investigate further as well as the damages that had been done on the frontline.


    With Theobold''s presence vanishing, Shi Tian and Mary gradually took a seat by the table, seemingly fatigued.


    "So what were the two of you discussing?" Vanessa opened her mouth and asked after a few minutes had gone by.


    "And don''t bother giving me that half-baked excuse of being joyous in being able to copy Commander Theobold''s military weapons. That might work on him briefly, but not for me." She added, warning them to not attempt to deceive her.


    "Tsk, who do you think you are?" Mary snorted coldly and crossed her arms. "Why would I even be honest with you? You ain''t my mother unless you admit you''re an old hag."


    "Sorry, you clearly looked older than me, you damn old bag." Vanessa sneered coldly in response. She wasn''t going to take in the insult as if she was a weak-willed woman.


    If Mary wanted a fight, then she would dlyply with her.


    Meanwhile, Shi Tian was confused and utterly speechless by the development.


    Why must these two always act as if they''re oil and fire?


    Are they ipatible or just love to fight against another talented woman?


    "That''s enough fighting for the two of you!" Shi Tian stepped in and demanded. He red at the two of them, prompting them to shut their mouth and swallow whatever words they were about to say.


    Both Vanessa and Mary pouted slightly, seemingly afraid of continuing on with their farce.


    The scene was quiteical, given that Shi Tian was the weakest amongst them, yetmanded the highest authority when he became serious.


    A few secondster, Vanessa shrugged her shoulders and said, "I wouldn''t have said anything if you were to be honest with me."


    "But why should we be honest with you?" Mary retorted but kept her tone at a minimum when she noticed Shi Tian was giving her a cold re.


    Facepalming, Shi Tian was wondering if these two were arch-enemies in their previous lives.


    "Mary, do you mind stepping out a bit, and see if that Soldier Tron finished collecting the weapons for us?" Shi Tian suggested, his intention being clear.


    Right now the two of them were at each other''s throats, so the best solution was to simply separate them.


    Naturally, Mary was unresigned for being the chosen one to have to leave the tent, but she also understood that Vanessa needed to be heavily protected regardless if she had the ability to handle herself alone or not.


    "Hmph, make it quick." She clicked her tongue and reluctantly exited the tent.


    Once Mary was gone from the tent, Shi Tian sat down exhaustedly.


    "Seriously, what is with the two of you? Constantly bickering?" He then stared at Vanessa and asked.


    "I don''t know. She''s just giving me the vibe of hypocrisy. It''s like her current appearance or identity was falsified and that she''s hiding a deeper secret." Vanessa shrugged her shoulders.


    Even she was unable to describe it explicitly when being asked why she was so against Mary.


    Meanwhile, Shi Tian was thoroughly astonished by Vanessa''s intuition. If possible, he even wanted to praise her intuition for being so urate.


    When he first met Mary, he simply thought of her as a secretary. But the more they interacted, and witnessing her peerless skills in mobility plus fighting ability stunned him.


    Hence, Vanessa''s intuition couldn''t be more correct when she believed Mary was concealing a deep secret.


    "And what about it?" Shi Tian responded with an emotionless tone. "Even if she is hiding a secret, who else in this world isn''t? Don''t forget that your uncle was acting friendly to you, but was secretly scheming for your death. So please tell me, how can you discern Mary urately then?"


    "So you''re siding with Mary huh?" Vanessa crossed her legs and clicked her tongue in annoyance.


    "No, I''m not siding with anyone. I''m just stating things based on fact."


    "Tsk, you always have a way with your words."


    "It''s not that, but being an adult and mature."


    "So you''re calling me a child?"


    "I''ll just tell you about what we discussed, but promised to not reveal it to anyone else?" Shi Tian gave up and stopped trying to convince her otherwise.


    His words would constantly be altered into a meaning that he did not mean.

 Chapter 224 Misconception

    <h4>Chapter 224 Misconception</h4>


    A few minutes had slowly gone by, and Shi Tian revealed bits of the information to Vanessa in the tent.


    Of course, that was after ensuring the coast was clear, and no potential eavesdropper around.


    As for how it was achieved, Shi Tian relied on Vanessa''s perception given that she had a close affinity with Magicule, able to detect and sense presence better than him.


    "Hmm, so that''s why Mary dragged you out. Tsk, boring¡­" Vanessa clicked her tongue, seemingly losing all interest in the matter.


    Shi Tian could only shake his head exhaustedly.


    To think she caused such a scene because she was curious about what they were doing, but once revealed, she became bored and uninterested.


    Woman¡­ truly a more mysterious being than anything else.


    "Anyway, I hope you can refrain from spilling out the secrets. We don''t want to alert them." Shi Tian asked, getting ready to leave the tent as well.


    "Do you want me to swear an oath to guarantee I won''t reveal it?" Vanessa joked.


    However, to her disbelief, Shi Tian actually nodded his head in response.


    "That would be the best case." He tly said, much to the displeased Vanessa.


    After all, he was now indirectly saying he could not trust her, and for some reason, she felt infuriated by it.


    "Just get the hell out of my tent! I wish to rest." Vanessa raised her tone and pointed out the exit.


    ''I was going to leave anyway¡­'' Shi Tian eximed inwardly but didn''t voice it aloud, lest there might be another round of bickering or arguing.


    Without hesitating or idling any longer, Shi Tian left the tent, prompting more frustration from Vanessa.


    "Ugh, why is he so irritable!" After Shi Tian had left, Vanessa cried aloud, wondering if he was even a man.


    Not a single remorse or guilt was seen in him despite his actions of literally tossing her aside. And now he was still acting as if he was above her.


    "Hmph, let''s see if you can keep up such an attitude when you have to face so many monsters." She snickered coldly, going to the mini bed that was set up to rest.


    Meanwhile, Shi Tian remained ignorant of Vanessa''s rant as he had returned to the Iron Sentinel.


    His timing was quite perfect, given that he had just seen the soldier Tron dropping off some crates for Mary before walking away.


    While Mary was inspecting the weapons contained in the crates, she noticed Shi Tian walking toward her.


    "Oh, you''re here. Did you finish chatting with her?" She asked somewhat sarcastically, clearly still a bit irritated from being asked to leave earlier.


    "Can we drop the sarcastic tone already?" Shi Tian ignored her question and instead asked to drop the tone.


    He truly had enough of these two constantly bickering at each other. It was even more tedious and painful than the time he was stuck in his workbench, having to craft numerous ymore Mines.


    "Fine, I''ll stop mentioning her." Mary rolled her eyes and said.


    She then pointed at the crates. "Come and help me bring these crates inside the Iron Sentinel."


    Her tone was a bit different, and Shi Tian understood the implication.


    Pretending to lift the crates, Shi Tian slowly scanned the crates using the device that Mary had given to him earlier.


    The device was silent and only illuminated a dim light. Originally colored gray as an indication of neutral, the color subtly changed to a red color.


    A green color would indicate the coast was clear, whereas a red color indicated that there was something wrong, most likely an eavesdropping item.


    "Where do I bring it to again?" Feigning ignorance, Shi Tian lifted the crates up and asked. The process taken was swift in seconds, so no one suspected a thing.


    However, those seconds were enough to inform them that someone was truly a spy in Theobold''s rank.


    And Soldier Tron was naturally the highest suspect, given that it was him who had delivered these, but it could also be another unknown candidate.


    "Put it on the back side, Nathan." Mary followed the script and opened the trunk of the Iron Sentinel.


    Sometimeter, the two entered the trunk area, and Mary quickly turned on a feature in the Iron Sentinel, blocking any electrical signal from going in or out.


    Taking out her Cellos device, Mary confirmed that there were no longer any signals even though there were usually signals installed in the Iron Sentinel.


    She then gave Shi Tian an ''okay'' signal, indicating that it was safe to talk now.


    "It''s a good thing Master Isaac was trying to help us and identally interfered with amunication signal. Otherwise, we''ll still be kept in the dark regarding this matter." Shi Tian took off his mask and smiled bitterly.


    Mary nodded her head in agreement. "We were a bit toox in this matter, and nearly resulted in our demise."


    "Yep, Commander Theobold''s character could be known to everyone, but that also created a misconception, making it seem as if his soldiers are also the same."


    Although most of Theobold''s soldiers are indeed the rare kind of people that still existed in this world, believing it was their honor and duty to serve the citizens.


    There would always be some bad apples among the good ones, meaning that some of them might pretend to be good when in fact, they are hideous and rotten in the interior.


    "It''s hard to trust people these days¡­ and that includes you as well Nathan." Mary pointed it out.


    "True, I definitely can''t be trusted, but I''m different since we have the same goal. So we''re technically in the same boat, and would I be foolish enough to poke a hole in the boat when we would both drown?" Shi Tian calmly said.


    "Meh, whatever," Mary shrugged her shoulders, retrieving the small dagger that was hidden in her belt.


    Shi Tian didn''t even flinch, considering that he knew she took out her small dagger to cut open the crates.

 Chapter 225 Laser Gun

    <h4>Chapter 225 Laser Gun</h4>


    When Mary retrieved her small dagger with the intention of wanting to open up the crates, she was slightly disappointed that Shi Tian remained still.


    It was clear that she wanted to scare him a bit, making him think that she might want to silence him.


    s, it was a shame that Shi Tian wasn''t that ignorant or dumb to believe she would truly attempt such a thing at this current time.


    "Can''t you at least pretend to be frightened a bit?" Mary clicked her tongue in annoyance.


    "Oh no, please don''t stab me with that dagger." Shi Tian pretended, but it was horribly done and almost made it seem like he was being sarcastic.


    "You sound so fake, almost like those women with stic surgery and Botox."


    "That''s quite the analogy you came up with¡­"


    Mary shrugged her shoulders and proceeded to open up the crates. At first nce, the content inside seemed perfectly normal, with the drones and some guns.


    If it were any normal gun, Mary wouldn''t be intrigued, but she recognized the model and was astonished.


    "Damn, Commander Theobold is truly a generous person," Mary eximed in joy.


    "Generous?" Raising an eyebrow, Shi Tian nced at the content and didn''t find anything amazing aside from the drones.


    "Heh, it''s understandable why you didn''t think too much of these guns, Nathan." Mary chuckled softly. She then picked up the gun and took out the cartridge for Shi Tian to see.


    And once he got a clear look at it, Shi Tian was astonished as well.


    "What the hell?" He eximed slightly in shock but was able to calm down rather quickly thanks to his passive ability.


    "The ammos are actually Source Crystal?"


    "It''s not just that, Nathan. These are processed Source Crystal, and the gun is designed to extract the natural power of these Source Crystal which would generate an extranormalser." Mary exined, toying with the gun.


    It took Shi Tian for a moment to realize that despite all theplicated exnations, the gun was simply aser gun.


    "So it''s aser gun huh." Shi Tian muttered softly.


    Meanwhile, Mary sighed softly and shook her head. It was clear that Shi Tian was a country bumpkin that did not understand the true value of this gun.


    "Do you remember the Tenceloras monster?" She then asked.


    Shi Tian nodded his head. There was no way he would ever forget the appearance of the Tenceloras, as well as its contempt directed at him.


    "Their skins are metallic and cannot be prated through normal bullets, right? Well, thisser gun here could prate it, albeit needing a longer time, and required high uracy." Mary made a simpleparison, but it was enough for Shi Tian to understand its prowess.


    He had witnessed with his own eyes that a normal bullet had no effect on it.


    Heck, even those Esper Special Bullets seemed like cotton in front of the Tenceloras, dealing little to zero damage.


    "If thisser gun was so powerful, then why is no one using it?" Shi Tian raised an eyebrow and asked, clearly unable to fathom why such a powerful weapon was not poprized.


    "Do you think no one wants to get their hands on it? First of all, the gun structure is a difficult one to craft, even Mechanist Isaac has troubles with it. Additionally, the processed Source Crystals ammo is produced after extracting numerous Source Crystals."


    "By numerous, do you have an estimated number?"


    "At least 1000 and above Source Crystals are needed for the processing. It''s an expensive type of ammo and not many could even afford the actual gun itself."


    "I see¡­" With a newfound understanding and knowledge of it, Shi Tian realized why Mary was excited.


    Although there were only two of these special gun structures, there were at least 5 cartridges of these processed Source Crystals. This meant that the value of the crate alone far surpassed the money they had earned in the past with the selling of ymore Mines.


    "No wonder Commander Theobold felt heartache when he decided to give us some upgraded weapons." Shi Tian said softly. Even he would be heartbroken if he had to give out such expensive weapons for free.


    "Mhmm, but let''s not get distracted here. All of these items are not allowed to be used until we find out the bug." Mary warned, reminding him that there was a hidden bug item somewhere in the crates that could listen and track their location down.


    Shi Tian nodded his head, not letting these fancy weapons distract him.


    A few minutes had gone by, and Shi Tian unpackaged everything in an organized manner, but the bug item could still not be found.


    Even the crate itself was clear, prompting Shi Tian and Mary to be confused.


    Suddenly, Shi Tian had a brainstorm, recalling the fact that he was wearing the boosters'' suit. The boosters'' suit was equipped all along, but he had turned on the invisible function, concealing it from others.


    "Could it be like that?" Shi Tian murmured.


    "What is it, Nathan? Did you have a clue?" Hearing his murmur, Mary enquired if he had any new findings.


    Shi Tian nodded his head and proceeded to exin his thought process.


    After listening to him, Mary''s eyes widened in surprise. She quicklyposed herself and went to the side, opening a small cab.


    "If your deduction is true, then this bug can conceal its presence. Hence, it cannot be seen with the naked eye." Mary eximed, her hands quickly browsing through the content within the cab.


    "It can''t be seen with the naked eye, but it can''t avoid detection." Shi Tian added, given that their inspecting devices were able to detect something was amiss.


    It was just a shame that they were unable to find it despite knowing something was wrong.


    "Nathan,e and help me find a circr object in the other cab. I remember having a device that could pinpoint an item that could camouge or conceal its presence from others." Mary urged, her hand pointing at the opposite cab of hers.

 Chapter 226 Warming Up

    <h4>Chapter 226 Warming Up</h4>


    Once Mary revealed that she had a device of being able to detect items that could conceal its presence, Shi Tian quickly browsed the other cab.


    "Are you sure the device is in one of these cabs?" Shi Tian asked, searching aimlessly for the circr object that Mary had described.


    "Yes, I''m positive about it. It''s just that such items capable of concealing themselves are rare so the device is barely used." Mary exined.


    ''So because it''s barely used, you just tossed it aside and only remembered it now¡­'' Shi Tian thought to himself, somewhat speechless of Mary''s conduct.


    Even if it wasn''t a device that was used often, she should have still ced it in an organized manner so that when the opportunity arose for it to be used, they would be able to find it. Unlike now, where they are searching mindlessly for the device.


    "You''re quite unbelievable sometimes, Mary." Shi Tianmented, going to another cab to search for the item.


    "The same could be said for you." Mary retorted.


    "Did you forget when you looked like a dead fish and craved for some dirt cheap coffee?" She added, reminding him of his pathetic and embarrassed state.


    Speechless, Shi Tian decided to not judge her for being a messy person.


    People can be messy depending on their circumstances, so he shouldn''t have judged her on it.


    With Shi Tian keeping hisments to himself, Mary was quite pleased to be able to shut him down.


    She was still a bit angry when she was told to leave the tent. After all, it made it seem like she was afraid of Vanessa and was forced to retreat when she could totally fight her.


    A fight was something she was never afraid of, even if the chances of winning were low.


    Of course, all of these are her inner thoughts, and Shi Tian did not have any idea of her thoughts.


    He was merely human and was not an omnipotent being that could predict everything. There are times when his deductions were wrong and proven incorrect with factual evidence.


    Sometimeter, Mary finally found the circr object that she was looking for.


    "Aha, I knew it would be here. I remember using this device one time to search for some Lost Items in a ruin." Mary proimed, feeling proud of herself.


    Shi Tian twitched his mouth in disbelief. It took them around 5-7 minutes to find the device, yet Mary was acting as if she found it right away. Nevertheless, he kept quiet and allowed her to enjoy the moment.


    They had stalled long enough time, so saving the chatter that produced little to zero effect would be the better option.


    Waiting patiently by the side, Shi Tian watched Mary walk toward the empty crate alongside the other items such as the drones,ser gun, and the cartridges made with the processed Source Crystal.


    Mary''s facial expression was solemn as she stood still, ying around with the circr object in her hand.


    Just when a few minutes had gone by, Mary''s position remained the same, and Shi Tian was subsequently confused by her action.


    What was taking her so long?


    It couldn''t be that¡­right?


    A thought came to his mind, but he dared not voice it aloud, lest Mary might start bickering again.


    Though he didn''t need to voice it aloud when Mary turned to him and smiled awkwardly.


    "Whoopsie, this circr object needed to warm up before it could be utilized." She stuck her tongue out and pretended to be cute, seemingly trying to nullify her blunder.


    "..."


    "What? Don''t give me that kind of look." Mary twitched her brows and said.


    "The device is merely warming up, okay. Even humans need to freshen up when they wake up. It''s the same logic." She added.


    "I didn''t even say anything. Why bother exining?" Shi Tian shrugged his shoulders.


    "You say nothing, but you were giving me a funny look."


    "That''s just your misconception, Mary."


    "No, I''m sure you''reughing at me right now. Aren''t you?"


    Rolling his eyes, Shi Tian was toozy to exin any further.


    Laughing?


    Nah, he had no time to make fun of her. Neither did he have the right to do so when he was ignorant of most advanced technological stuff despite trying to educate himself.


    Disappointed?


    There was indeed a bit of disappointment, considering how Mary was hyping over the circr object, only for it to end up needing to "warm up", so of course, he would be a tad disappointed.


    "So how long is this warming up process going to be?" Shi Tian sat down and asked, his hand ced on his chin. Since there was nothing else to do aside from waiting, he found it pointless to keep standing up.


    "Umm, about 10 minutes or so?" Mary smiled nervously.


    It was clear that she was a bit embarrassed, calling Shi Tian ignorant but look at her now. She can''t even remember the function of her own devices.


    "10 minutes of warming up huh¡­ then what are we going to do here for 10 minutes?" Shi Tian asked with curiosity.


    "How about we discuss something else to pass the time?" Mary suggested.


    "Such as?"


    "Ehh, such as your mechanic ss? Like how are you doing so far?"


    "Don''t you know my progress already?"


    "That''s true¡­" Mary smiled awkwardly. "Oh, I know. Why don''t you tell me how you met Vanessa and why she resides in your apartment?" She suddenly added.


    "Let''s talk about my mechanic ss, okay?" Shi Tian quickly chose the first option.


    s, Mary shook her head and said, "You had a choice before, but you rejected it. Now you must tell me, and don''t you dare tell me otherwise. That Vanessa probably forced you to tell her about our private discussion."


    Sighing in defeat, Shi Tian was unable to fathom why these two women always wanted to know the secrets in his conversation with others.


    Unwilling to spend too much time on storytelling, Shi Tian made sure to skim through details that weren''t necessary as he prayed for the device to finish warming up.

 Chapter 227 Rigged

    <h4>Chapter 227 Rigged </h4>


    Thest 10 minutes could be said to be the slowest time of Shi Tian''s life.


    Time went by so slowly¨C even topping the time that he was forced to stay in his course where a professor would bber on nonstop.


    "Has the device finished warming up yet?" Stopping at a somewhat climax point of the storytelling, Shi Tian enquired if the device finished warming up yet.


    "It''s not done yet," Mary didn''t even bother to check if the device was warmed up and gave her answer rather bluntly.


    Of course, Shi Tian was a cautious person, and given his personality, he suspected something was amiss here.


    "Hmm, let me check the device actually." Shi Tian extended his hand and demanded.


    "You''ve said the device was warming up, but I''ve never actually seen it with my own eyes. So please, let me see it." He added, prompting Mary to go defensive.


    "No, this device is mine and I won''t allow anyone to touch it." She refused and gave her exnation.


    s, the exnation was as good as saying that school is a fun environment.


    Narrowing his eyes, Shi Tian''s tone deepened, "I''m not going to touch it. I''m just going to use my eyes to see it, so take it out from your back and let me see it."


    Mary remained silent, merely biting her lips in a somewhat sexy manner, almost as if she was trying to seduce him or distract him.


    It was just a shame that Shi Tian wasn''t a pervert who would be affected by such sensual action. Sure, the saliva might be coating her lips and the biting might made it extremely provocative


    But even if he might have felt aroused, his passive ability would naturally kick in and help calm his emotions.


    Facepalming, Shi Tian covered his eyes and asked, "Are you trying to be a seductress? I''m only requesting a very simple thing, and you''re here stalling it."


    Hearing the tone, Mary realized he was unaffected at all. She clicked her tongue in annoyance, wondering if she had truly lost her feminine charm.


    ''This is bullshit. Back then, those stupid men all failed for this trick of mine.'' Mary cursed silently. She was unable to fathom how Shi Tian managed to resist her charm when 99 percent of the men all fell for it.


    Since the charm failed, Mary waited for a few more seconds and feigned innocence.


    "Oh look, the device just finished warming up." She eximed in joy and said, showing Shi Tian the device.


    "..."


    The acting was perfectly done, but for some reason, Shi Tian had a feeling that she was lying the entire time.


    She merely wanted to create a scenario where they were forced to wait so that he would reveal some of his interaction with Vanessa as payback.


    s, all of it was merely his deduction and there was no evidence. Thus, if Mary denied it adamantly, there was nothing he could do about it.


    "Whatever, since the device can now be used, let''s hurry it up." Shi Tian urged, unwilling to delve into this ridiculous topic any further.


    Mary nodded her head in agreement.


    And without hesitation, she walked close to the crates and the weapons, activating the device.


    The device responded by emitting a series of blinking lights, creating a red scanner-like pattern in the air. It was clear that the device was now in operation, ready to fulfill its intended function.


    A few secondster, hidden items were then located with a brightful light revealing itself.


    When Shi Tian and Mary saw where the hidden items were located, they were astonished by the enemy''s impressive method.


    "It''s a good thing you have this device, Mary. Otherwise, there''s definitely no way we would have been able to spot it." Shi Tian muttered in disbelief.


    "Indeed¡­ to think the enemy managed to conceal the spying item in the drone''s electrical circuit board itself. We would have never known that one of the Integrated Circuit(IC) Chips was rigged." Mary said, her eyes narrowing.


    After all, she now had to re-evaluate the enemy''s capability and influence on the military.


    For the rigged IC chip to be soldered on the electrical circuit board itself meant that the person doing so was authorized to ess the manufacture of weapon development for the military.


    Even if the enemy didn''t personally have ess to it, they had people that were authorized to be there.


    "Did you bring in your soldering kit, Nathan?" Mary turned to him and asked.


    Shi Tian nodded his head. Taking out his soldering kit from the Dimension Ring, Shi Tian was fully ready to solder the rigged IC chip out of the electrical circuit board.


    "Do you want me to start right away?" He then asked, taking out the necessary tools from the kit.


    "No, not yet." To his surprise, Mary shook her head as she halted him. "The electrical circuit board is connected to multiple electricalponents, so one mishap and the whole interior might go awry."


    "Then we can only make a thorough analysis first before attempting any soldering?"


    "Mhmm, it''s unfortunate that I didn''t n on copying the drone technology here, but back in Optic Mech for the best facility." Mary sighed softly.


    It would be toote by then if they bring the drone back to Optic Mech for dissembling.


    Not to mention, it would definitely alert the enemy and announce to them that they figured out the rigged IC chip already.


    "Nathan, help me press the buttonbeled EX2." Mary pointed at the front control panel of the Iron Sentinel and instructed.


    Shi Tian nodded his head and quickly pressed the EX2 button after searching for it briefly. The moment he pressed it, Shi Tian felt the Iron Sentinel was trembling slightly.


    The Iron Sentinel was actually restructuring its interior under his eyes. It was as if the Iron Sentinel had a transformation ability, simr to the movies where a character would transition from their usual self to a superhero type.


    "Just how capable is this Iron Sentinel?" He muttered in disbelief.

 Chapter 228 Drones

    <h4>Chapter 228 Drones</h4>


    ?


    The transformation of the interior of Iron Sentinel remained unknown to the exterior.


    In fact, the Iron Sentinel on the outside remained perfectly still as it was, but the truth was far from that.


    There were a few shaky moments and the interior of the Iron Sentinel was rapidly changing from a normal storage and roomypartment to something akin to ab environment.


    For some reason, Shi Tian felt a bit terrified by theb scenery but was quickly pacified due to his passive ability. Nevertheless, there was clear difort on his face no matter how calm he was.


    Naturally, with the keen eyes of Mary, she noticed Shi Tian was feeling somewhat uneasy at the transformation.


    "Is there something wrong, Nathan?" She asked softly in concern.


    Never once had she seen him acting so abnormally. Not even when they were being ambushed by the Moles or the Night Intruders.


    Meanwhile, Shi Tian scratched his head and smiled sheepishly.


    "Haha, nothing. I''m just surprised by your Iron Sentinel even more and wondered if I can ever obtain something simr to this." Heughed and exined.


    Mary nodded her head and gave him an understanding look, but inwardly, she knew he was concealing something.


    Despite her previous scheme to force Shi Tian to reveal some information, she wasn''t that unreasonable. She could discern whether one was truly willing to disclose information or not based on their posture, expression, and tone of speech.


    And right now, every fiber of Shi Tian was practically screeching not to pry further and just leave him be for the moment.


    "You can just take a seat and inspect theser gun since they are clean and not rigged. The analysis of the drone''s interior would take a while." Mary said calmly, letting him take a rest with an excuse.


    Realizing her concern for him, Shi Tian dly epted her suggestion and remained seated. Theb environment had truly given him quite a traumatic shback.


    As Shi Tian slowly pacified his internal trauma with his eyes closed, Mary went on to analyze the structure of the drone''s interior.


    Now that she knew which was the rigged IC chip, she needed to ensure that getting rid of the other electricalponents wouldn''t affect the functionality of the drones.


    After all, the IC chip was within the main electrical circuit board. To simplify, it was located in the main control system part, meaning if there were any mishaps in the main control system, then everything else would start to fail.


    It would be like wanting to drive a vehicle, but there are no keys to insert to turn on the vehicle itself.


    ''What a disgusting move!'' Mary clicked her tongue in annoyance as she began the analysis.


    Time slowly passed by, and under the meticulous skills of Mary, she finally finished her analysis.


    However,pared to a joyous moment, Mary instead stood up and stomped the floor, not even caring if it would damage her precious Iron Sentinel.


    Her outburst even attracted Shi Tian, prompting him to get up and hold her arm to prevent her from stomping again.


    The stomp was filled with strength¨C to the point that the Iron Sentinel was trembling even harder than the time it was undergoing a transformation.


    After stopping her outburst, Shi Tian asked in a soft tone, seemingly trying to soothe her agitated emotion. "What''s going on, Mary?"


    Taking a deep breath, Maryposed her emotion as she slowly moved her arm away from Shi Tian''s grasp.


    "The rigged IC chip is one of the key control systems of the electrical circuit board." She then exined.


    Hearing that, Shi Tian''s expression turned solemn as well. What she meant was that removing the rigged IC chip would essentially destroy the drones as well.


    After all, it would be simr to having a gamingputer, but there is no Graphic Processing Unit(GPU) installed on the desktop.


    "Is there another recement for the IC chip itself then?" Shi Tian asked. Normally, IC chips are mass-produced in bundles, so it shouldn''t be difficult to find another recement.


    Unfortunately, Mary shook her head and said, "The IC chip is a unique version, and it''s designed by military mechanics. Without knowing the coding and design of the IC chip, it''s impossible to replicate."


    Essentially, the IC chip was a ssified item that wasn''t distributed to the public, meaning they would have no way of finding a recement.


    "I suppose we have to ask Commander Theobold for a recement IC chip. We can use the excuse of wanting to replicate it and demand some from him." Shi Tian suggested.


    "I doubt it would work, Nathan." Mary sighed softly.


    Before Shi Tian could ask why, she continued, "We have a total of three drones as assistance for us, and all three of them are rigged with the same IC chip type. Based on this, it''s clear that all of the IC chips could be rigged."


    It was only now that Shi Tian understood her outburst.


    If all the rigged IC chips were the same, then even if they asked Theobold for one, the chances of it being rigged were high.


    In fact, it would even alert the enemy that they realized something was wrong with the IC chip.


    Just when they were contemting their next choice, Shi Tian suddenly recalled something.


    The status screen was always on disy whenever he willed for it. Can''t that kind of mysterious thing be of use?


    Back then, he understood barely much of the new advanced technologies, but for some reason, he started to understand them quite swiftly. It was as if his brain was suddenly an encyclopedia, able to discern and absorb the information.


    ''It doesn''t hurt to try.'' Shi Tian thought to himself. If it failed, then nothing else changed.


    However, if he actually seeded in utilizing the integrated chip that was injected into his brain, then this would be a major turning point.


    "Mary, do you mind if you let me try?" He turned to her and asked, feeling motivated.

 Chapter 229 Integrated Chip

    <h4>Chapter 229 Integrated Chip</h4>


    When Shi Tian asked to try, Mary wanted to tell him that it would be a waste of time.


    It wasn''t like she hadn''t tried to think of a solution, only to end up with naught, resulting in her outburst.


    However, when she saw how motivated and enthusiastic Shi Tian suddenly was, she couldn''t bring herself to reject his request.


    Thinking that it was best to let him try and then give upter, Mary sighed softly and nodded her head.


    "If you want to try, then go ahead." She said without much emotion, almost as if she was not expecting any great result.


    Shi Tian wasn''t affected by her tone, given that he would react in the same way if their position was swapped.


    Having an integrated chip in his brain was a secret that he had never told anyone.


    What made it fascinating was the fact that it seemed to be unable to be detected by other people.


    Isaac Aaronax had given his body a scan in the past, yet he found nothing abnormal.


    Plus, Mary used a device that could detect items that had the capability to conceal their presence, but the device failed to detect the integrated chip in his brain.


    Thus, it was clear that the integrated chip was different from other integrated chips.


    "Mary, why don''t you head out and catch up with others? We have been inside here for quite a while, so it would be suspicious if one of us kept staying here." Shi Tian suggested, clearly wanting to be alone for the experiment he was about to attempt.


    "Whatever then. Juste out once you''re done and don''t put too much pressure on yourself if there''s no result." Mary shrugged her shoulders and said. She even went as far as telling him that meeting setbacks was fine and that he should not be pressured for sess.


    Thanking her for the advice, Shi Tian watched as Mary exited the Iron Sentinel, leaving him alone.


    Her action might not be seen as much, but it goes to show that she trusted him at the minimum, given that she left him alone with her precious Iron Sentinel.


    If it were other people, she most likely would kick them out or remain here to watch them over.


    Sometimeter, Shi Tian waited for a brief minute or so, making sure the coast was clear.


    What he was about to attempt was his greatest secret, and he could not afford it to be leaked anywhere else.


    He knew the Iron Sentinel had a built-in surveince camera. Therefore, he walked to the control panel and turned off the function.


    "No peeking whatsoever is allowed." He eximed, having a gut feeling that Mary was secretly spying on him.


    Though his gut feeling was technically unneeded, given that Mary herself had actively stopped any sort of recording on her end as well. Meaning that even if Shi Tian didn''t turn off the function, Mary would still be unable to recover or see any footage of him doing so.


    "Nathan is going to take a while, so what should I do?" Outside the Iron Sentinel, Mary was muttering about what to spend her time on. The strategic n they had would not be put into action until 2 dayster when the Gso variants had gathered their full army for another rampage.


    Just when Mary was pondering what to do, Vanessa at this time also came out of her tent, seemingly trying to move around. Naturally, their gaze met each other, and the soldiers nearby pretended to be statues.


    They had personally witnessed theirmander being helpless at Mary, so why should they step into a tense scenario like this? They would rather die from the monsters than at the hands of these two women.


    As the atmosphere turned rather palpable outside, Shi Tian on the other hand was now focused on the electrical circuit board.


    Squinting his eyes, Shi Tian was locking dead-on at the rigged IC chip that Mary had marked. Staring at it for a good two minutes, Shi Tian remained perfectly still.


    s, even after the intense staring, there was no change aside from his eyes turning somewhat watery for staring so long without blinking.


    "Hmm, so staring at it won''t work huh?" He rubbed his chin and muttered.


    "Kabam, let me see it!"


    "Inspection manifesto!"


    "Oh mighty lord, let me analyze it!"


    "You! IC chip! I demand to see the loophole!"


    After shouting numerous mottos in hopes of getting a reaction from his integrated chip, there was nothing aside from him looking stupid.


    Sighing exhaustedly, Shi Tian returned to his usual posture. He was posing left and right, acting as some clown or a model in hopes that something would ur.


    Sitting on the floor, Shi Tian kept rubbing his chin, seemingly trying to figure out a way tomunicate with the integrated chip in his brain.


    And if he had to be honest, he would have never known about an integrated chip being injected into his brain if it weren''t for the status screen disy.


    "Hmm, if I want to see my status screen, I don''t even need to say it and the screen will disy in front of me." Shi Tian mumbled.


    Just thinking about wanting to check his status screen, the integrated chip automatically disyed it for him. There wasn''t even a specificmand or action that he needed to do to see.


    It would just appear the moment he was thinking about it.


    Following this thought process, Shi Tian seemed to have realized that he might have approached the method wrong from the start.


    It wasn''t that he could not interact with the integrated chip, but he was doing it extremely wrong. By shouting all those silly mottos, and funny postures, it was no wonder why the integrated chip had no reaction.


    "The status screen would almost always include sarcasticments from itself, so maybe the integrated chip isn''t like those puppets in the training facility. It might have an empathic feeling." Shi Tian deduced.

 Chapter 230 Empathic Bond

    <h4>Chapter 230 Empathic Bond</h4>


    In a more spective direction, Shi Tian came to realize the integrated chip that was injected into his brain might have an empathic feeling.


    After all, why else would there be so many sarcasticments from it whenever he looked at his ability.


    Just the Pain Tolerance skill that he had gained. The integrated chip went as far as saying he was a masochist for getting injured so many times.


    Thus, it was clear that the integrated chip could think and develop emotion. Of course, that might actually sound scary, except the integrated chip had never once harmed him.


    In fact, when he recalled carefully about the past, the Pain Tolerance skill was obtained when he was on the verge of dying from the Armored Rat.


    ''Was the integrated chip always conscious and looking after me all this time?'' Shi Tian wondered silently.


    If that was truly the case, then he might attempt to develop an empathic bond with the chip, allowing him to feel its intentions and thoughts rather than relying on traditionalmunication methods.


    After all, the two of them are practically one. It might sound weird, but the integrated chip had long attached itself to his brain, meaning if he died, the integrated chip itself might vanish as well.


    To test out the theory, Shi Tian willed for the status screen in his thoughts without saying anything. And sure enough, the status screen disyed in front of him after a brief seconds.


    Normally, Shi Tian would start scrolling the screen manually with his finger, but this time, he decided to scroll the screen down by his thought process alone.


    A few secondster, the screen started scrolling down, going to the section of his attributes.


    ''It worked¡­'' Shi Tian eximed inwardly. ''Now let''s see if we can expand the reputation list.''


    The reputation list had gradually increased too much¨C to the point that there was now an option to expand the list. In addition, the reputation list was now an important category by Shi Tian.


    With the reputation list, the names listed there indicate his rtionship with him, going from hatred, to neutral, and good. Whoever had a negative value next to their name, Shi Tian would know that they weren''t good people.


    Vice versa, whoever had the highest positive value, meant that his rtionship to them was amicable.


    To his surprise, the one with the highest positive value wasn''t Isaac Aaronax or Mary. It wasn''t even Gerald or Theobold, but Vanessa, someone he did not expect to still hold him in such high regard.


    "Shouldn''t she be filled with hatred instead?" Shi Tian was dumbfounded by the situation. He had ruthlessly kicked her out and scammed her, and instead of feeling hateful, she was still holding goodwill toward him.


    Unable to understand why, Shi Tian decided to simply ignore it. Otherwise, he was definitely going to get a migraine in trying to understand her thought process.


    ''Okay, we''re getting sidetracked here.'' Shi Tian reminded himself. He was not here to divulge the rtionship with others, but here to attempt an interaction with the integrated chip.


    Returning his focus to trying to interact with the integrated chip, Shi Tian began talking to it as if the integrated chip were a normal person.


    ''Can you analyze the IC chip and give a blueprint of how to recreate it?'' Shi Tian asked the question in his mind.


    Waiting for a few secondster, Shi Tian received zero response.


    Not disheartened by the result, he continued asking silently, ''Is it because my talent and skill isn''t enough to tackle on the IC chip?''


    Just when Shi Tian expected there would be no response, the status screen in front of him glitched for a bit.


    After the brief glitch moment, Shi Tian saw there was something new listed all the way at the bottom.


    Description: The host''s ability to discern and mimic the IC Chip is inadequate.


    It was a short description, but instead of it being a description, it was more of an exnation and an answer to his question earlier.


    Despite being practically called inadequate, Shi Tian wasn''t depressed. He was instead astonished and stunned that the integrated chip in his brain could indeedmunicate with him, albeit somewhat harsh.


    ''My skills are indeed inadequate, but is there another option or method regarding the rigged IC chip? If the rigged IC chip remained, then without truly knowing what it would do, my life and Mary would be at risk.'' Shi Tian asked again silently.


    Now that he had created a somewhat empathic bond with the integrated chip, he was willing to test out whatever possible method avable.


    After waiting for a few minutes, the status screen glitched again, and Shi Tian was eagerly waiting for a response.


    Description: The host''s ability is inadequate, but an analysis could be made and inspect the function of the rigged IC chip. Stay in the vicinity of the rigged IC chip, or else the analysis will be halted. Progress to finish analysis; estimated to be approximately 30-45 minutes.


    "30-45 minutes¡­" Shi Tian muttered softly. He wasn''t impatient with the estimated time but was more stunned by the efficiency of it.


    Although he couldn''tprehend how the analysis would be done, he could only wait patiently for the progress bar to finish.


    A soft smile appeared on his face when he realized this discovery would be a major turning point in his life. And thinking back to the past when he didn''t even bother to experiment with the integrated chip in his brain, he was somewhat ashamed and embarrassed.


    Had he discovered this sooner, then wouldn''t his life have been much easier?


    Of course, that was just an alternative possibility, and Shi Tian was still satisfied with his path. After all, it helped hone his skills without relying on the help of anyone.


    As Shi Tian patiently waited for the analysis to be done, he suddenly felt a powerful trembling on the Iron Sentinel.


    "What''s going on?" Shi Tian was thoroughly confused by the situation, given that the Iron Sentinel had shock absorption built in.

 Chapter 231 New Development

    <h4>Chapter 231 New Development</h4>


    ?


    When the Iron Sentinel trembled under the sudden force, Shi Tian had to grip onto something for support.


    He quickly realized that this tremor wasn''t a natural urrence; something was happening outside the massive machine.


    Curiosity piqued, Shi Tian rapidly closed the status screen and brought up the exterior cameras.


    What he saw on the screens shocked him.


    Outside, the ground quivered as a colossal shadow fell upon the battlefield. It was a monstrous creature, unlike any he had encountered before. Towering over the battlefield, it had multiple tentacle-like appendages and a massive, gaping maw filled with row upon row of sharp teeth.


    "The Gso variants... they''ve evolved," Shi Tian muttered to himself, recognizing the monstrous entity.


    Although the monstrous entity looked different from the Gso variants he had seen, there were quite a lot of simrities.


    With such a new development, Shi Tian could not afford to wait patiently for the analysis to be done.


    It might just be a single evolved Gso variant, but it was already proving to be a difficulty to deal with. On the screen, it was already disying Theobold going into action, confronting the evolved Gso variant.


    While Shi Tian was focused on the screen, Mary entered the Iron Sentinel.


    "Nathan, move aside for a bit." Mary quickly instructed, taking over the control panel. She then pressed quite a bit of buttons and her hands were extremely swift.


    A few secondster, Mary finally breathed a sigh of relief. Without even caring about Shi Tian''s presence, Mary turned on a sound enhancer function.


    "Commander Theobold, the Gso variant monster wave remained still and had no intention of rushing forward. It seemed that it was just this one evolved Gso variant that had decided to attack us." Mary spoke through the sound enhancer, informing Theobold, who was outside confronting the evolved Gso variant.


    Theobold nodded his head, his aura slowly increasing.


    At first, he was worried that overusing his strength might hinder him afterward if the Gso variant monster wave decided to go on a rampage. Hence, he was conserving his strength, but with Mary''s swift surveince, Theobold was now reassured to go all out to kill the evolved Gso variant before it could do any significant damage in their camp.


    "Soldiers, assist me but make sure that only a few of youe. The rest of the soldiers are to ensure Vanessa''s safety." Theobold kicked the evolved Gso variant back, prompting it to retreat a few steps as he made a string ofmands.


    The soldiers acknowledged Theobold''s orders, and a select few joined him in confronting the evolved Gso variant. They approached cautiously, readying their weapons and forming a defensive line.


    The colossal creature seemed to sense the threat and unleashed a deafening roar, shaking the very ground beneath it. Its multiple tentaclesshed out like whips, striking the ground and causing massive shockwaves.


    As the battle unfolded on the exterior cameras, Shi Tian couldn''t help but feel a sense of dread. The evolved Gso variant was an entirely different level of dangerpared to what they had faced before.


    Meanwhile, Mary continued to monitor the situation and ry information to Theobold and the soldiers, guiding their tactics and movements. Her expertise in strategy was proving invaluable in this dire situation.


    "Nathan, go to the right side and turn on the weaponize function." Mary was multi-tasking when she instructed Shi Tian. She pointed at the exact location so that he wouldn''t be mistaken.


    Without hesitation, Shi Tian followed her instruction and turned on the weaponize function. With the function turned on, the Iron Sentinel exterior started to change.


    Arge mounted turret was now ced on top of the Iron Sentinel, and Shi Tian was able to control the mounted turret through a new set of controls that had appeared.


    "You know how to control it, right?" Mary asked, her eyes remained focused on the battle. Her attention was barely split, given that she needed to constantly check if there were any unexpected variables.


    "Yeah, I got it!" Shi Tian swiftly responded. The control was simple and straightforward, so if he still struggled to understand it, then he might as well just go home and stop being a burden.


    As Shi Tian took control of the mounted turret, he was extremely focused on the colossal creature. This was a critical moment, and he needed to make every shot count.


    Theobold and his team were engaged in a fierce battle with the evolved Gso variant.


    Mary continued to provide instructions to the soldiers, coordinating their efforts to keep the monster at bay. The ground shook as the creature''s tentacles struck the earth, sending shockwaves rippling through the battlefield.


    Shi Tian aimed the turret at the massive creature, his fingers poised over the trigger. He watched as Theobold and the soldiers dodged the creature''s attacks, looking for the perfect moment to strike.


    Suddenly, Theobold shouted amand, and the soldiersunched a coordinated attack on the Gso variant''s tentacles. They fired a barrage of projectiles, severing several of the appendages and causing the creature to roar in agony.


    This was the opening Shi Tian had been waiting for.


    He squeezed the trigger, and the mounted turret unleashed a torrent of energy sts. The concentrated firepower struck the evolved Gso variant''s exposed flesh, causing it to recoil in pain.


    Sensing that the evolved Gso variant was using its tentacles to block the energy st to protect its head, Shi Tian subtly understood something.


    ''So the head is the weakness huh,'' Shi Tian thought.


    He adjusted his aim and continued to unleash a relentless stream of energy sts at the creature''s head. With each hit, the creature''s roars grew more pained, and it thrashed about in a futile attempt to defend itself.


    Theobold and the soldiers took advantage of the distraction, pressing their attack on the wounded monster. They struck with precision, targeting its vulnerable spots.


    It was a grueling battle, but with Shi Tian providing crucial firepower from the mounted turret, they slowly gained the upper hand. The evolved Gso variant weakened, its movements growing sluggish.

 Chapter 232 Contribution

    <h4>Chapter 232 Contribution</h4>


    ?


    As the grueling battle continued, with Shi Tian and the rest gaining the upper hand, everyone thought it was going to be over with one final blow.


    Except, that was not the case.


    With its weakening and deafening roar, the evolved Gso variant suddenly unleashed some sort of energy wave.


    Theobold and the soldiers were dumbfounded by the sudden attack. They quickly created a force shield to defend themselves, only to end up futile.


    The energy wave proved formidable, causing Theobold to suffer internal injury as he was propelled backward.


    As for the soldiers, some of them crashed into a nearby terrain, coughing up blood whereas some of them were bleeding through their ears and nose.


    The other people who were assisting on the sideline were injured as well by the sudden energy wave.


    Mary and Shi Tian were a bit better off, with the Iron Sentinel tanking most of the energy wave damage.


    Meanwhile, the evolved Gso variant didn''t seem to be satisfied with the result and attempted to unleash another energy wave, prompting Shi Tian to quickly fire the mounted turret at its head.


    Weakened thoroughly, the evolved Gso variant was unable to dodge the shot despite seeing it happening.


    Finally, with a final, powerful st to its head, the creature let out a deafening death cry and copsed to the ground, lifeless.


    Everyone else breathed a sigh of relief when the evolved Gso variant had fallen.


    "Are you alright, Mary?" Turning his attention to her, Shi Tian asked in concern. His body was somewhat affected by the energy wave, but not by much. It had only caused him to feel difort, but Mary''s condition showed otherwise.


    Her face was pale and there was some bleeding on her nose.


    Coughing for a few moments, Mary nodded her head.


    "Yeah, I''m fine." She smiled bitterly. "That damn evolved creature surely has a great trump card up its sleeve at the final end."


    "Mhmm, luckily Commander Theobold had given us the mounted turret that could produce energy sts. Otherwise, with just normal bullets, the evolved Gso variant would remain unaffected." Shi Tian eximed.


    "Yeah¡­ energy st. Just the cost of it is already giving me heartache." Mary found no joy in winning once she realized just how much money they had burned to fire those rounds of energy sts.


    Each energy st was produced with the processed Source Crystal, so it was pretty obvious how expensive it was to fire them.


    "It''s not your money anyway, Mary." Shi Tian consoled her.


    "The energy st was given by Commander Theobold, and since we were forced to use it quite early on to assist him. We can simply ask him topensate us." He added, reminding her that it wasn''t their money spent, but Theobold''s money.


    Mary sped her hands in joy. "You''re right, Nathan. This money is spent by Commander Theobold and not us. Heh, to think I was worried for naught."


    "Don''t forget that we have assisted in the battle as well along with your swift instruction. So instead of losing money, we are gaining money because of our contribution." Shi Tian smiled briefly and said calmly.


    Based on his calction, their contribution this time was astounding so it was clear the rewards would be quite juicy.


    "Oh Nathan¡­ I would kiss you right now but I''m just going to give you a hug for your swift thinking." Maryughed heartily, giving Shi Tian a hug before rushing out of the Iron Sentinel, her actions seemingly crystal clear.


    She was definitely rushing ahead now to ask Theobold for their rewards.


    And sure enough, ncing through the screen, Shi Tian saw Mary meeting up with Theobold.


    However, he suddenly squinted his eyes when the Iron Sentinel detected more personnel from afar.


    Using the sound enhancer, Shi Tian quickly informed Mary and Theobold about it. He had no choice but to feel wary of these people who suddenly arrived at perfect timing.


    Theobold was currently injured along with his soldiers, so if these groups of people were hostile, then the oue would turn drastic.


    Even though most people here had a simr goal of suppressing the monster wave, there were always some who wished for chaos.


    "Tsk, who dares stop me from earning money?" Mary clicked her tongue in annoyance, her eyes ncing at a far distance, seemingly trying to detect who the new arriving personnel were.


    Sometimeter, eight to ten military vehicles had subsequently parked by the camping site, prompting everyone to be rmed by their appearance.


    "What an unexpected surprise¡­" Theobold muttered softly when he recognized the banner of all those military vehicles.


    They were all from the Five Families'' military teams¨C something he never expected to see in the wilderness.


    "Indeed, it seems like Gearits City had imposed quite the pressure on them, prompting them to finally get out of their safe house." Mary snickered coldly.


    She had also seemingly recognized the banner and was quite dissatisfied with their interruption.


    A few secondster, a man d in a fancy military uniform, armed with many weapons, got out of the vehicle andughed as if the world revolved around him.


    "Hahaha, Theobold, my brother. What happened to you? Blood is everywhere." The man addressed Theobold''s name directly, not an ounce of respect could be heard from his tone.


    "Blood is merely second nature for military people, but I doubt you would understand it when you''re always hiding in your dog house, Egg Benedict." Theobold sneered and retorted.


    "My name is Benedict, not Egg Benedict!" The man, known as Benedict, was enraged when Theobold kept making fun of his name as a dish.


    Meanwhile, Mary was unable to help herself as sheughed merrily, clearly not expecting a solemn person like Theobold to be able to crack jokes so efficiently.


    "Hahaha, Egg Benedict¡­ now I''m craving for some to eat," Mary eximed. She didn''t even care whether or not Benedict was staring at her intensely for making fun of him.


    "You''ll remember this, Theobold!" Benedict raised his finger and pointed at Theobold, giving him a fierce gaze.


    "I sure will remember to eat an Egg Benedict for brunch," Theobold replied gently.

 Chapter 233 Egg Benedict

    <h4>Chapter 233 Egg Benedict</h4>


    Benedict was a militarymander of the same rank as Theobold.


    Hemanded the Green Snake military team under the banner of the Carlson Family and had quite a history with Theobold. His physique was quite simr to Theobold, albeit more boorish and messy.


    "Theobold, I swear to god, if you don''t stop calling me Egg Benedict, then I''m going to kill you first before tackling the monster wave." Benedict''s face turned red from anger, clearly angered by the humiliation of the nickname.


    s, his threat was simply non-existent to Theobold.


    "I might be injured, but I can still fight an Egg Benedict with ease," Theobold replied, standing still and firm.


    Knowing that threatening a man like Theobold was pointless, considering Theobold had been in many life-and-death situations, Benedict was helpless.


    However, he suddenly recalled the woman next to Theobold had joined in with theughter. And based on her outfit, it was clear that she wasn''t a soldier.


    Smiling coldly, Benedict turned his attention toward Mary and proimed, "You¨C how dare you make fun of the Green Snake militarymander!"


    He thought Mary would quickly whimper in fear, and thus regain some of his lost pride, but to his dismay. His actions were equivalent to provoking everyone in the scene.


    Mary''s identity might not be as grand as Theobold''s, but the other people here knew who Mary was. She was affiliated with Optic Mech¨C the very samepany that had provided the modified ymore Mines to assist them in the frontline.


    And the prowess of the ymore Mines does not need any more evidence, so for Benedict to suddenly target Mary, it was no different than him poking at a ho nest.


    Even Theobold felt some pity for Benedict.


    ''Egg Benedict brother, I''m helpless against this Mary, but you sure have the guts to target her. Indeed, you are extraordinary.'' Theobold thought to himself, nodding his head in approval.


    To be able to seek their own doom in a matter of an instant upon arrival, was truly something Theobold was not able to do.


    Realizing something was amiss when he sensed much hostility directed at him, Benedict retracted his finger. He noticed other people were all ring at him.


    "What? Do you people want to attack a militarymander?" Unwilling to back down, Benedict stepped forward and snorted coldly.


    "Oh dear, Egg Benedict. No wonder you''re always getting outbeat by Theobold. Do you even realize the person you are trying to implicate?" Suddenly, a melodic and sweet voice echoed from behind.


    "And what are you trying to aplish here, Phoebe?" Benedict easily recognized this sweet and melodic voice.


    Phoebe was the militarymander of the Scarlet Ruby and under the banner of the Hill Family. She had long purple hair and ascivious figure that could send men into fantasynd with one look.


    However, those who truly know her would distance themselves from her.


    She was like a honey that was filled with the deadliest traps ever. Once ensnared to her charm, you were equivalent to being her puppet, lifeless and emotionless, only bidding to her will.


    "Rude as usual, but I guess it matches the family you''re under with. The Carlson Family, also known as the brute." Phoebe shrugged her shoulders.


    "As if your Hill Family were any better. What happened to your Hill Family''s heir again?" Benedict quickly rebuked.


    "Hmph, whatever then. Good luck in dealing with the angry mobs." Phoebe sneered. At first, she nned on giving him leeway, but since Benedict loved to choose the death option, then who was she to stop him?


    Seeing Phoebe leave somewhat angrily, Benedictughed cheekily. "Heh, want to mess with me? You''re too young for that."


    "Are you sure about that?"


    "Of course, I''m sure. I''m a militarymander after all." Benedict responded but came to his senses when he wondered who had the nerve to question him.


    "Huh? You again. I haven''t even finished imposing punishment on you for disrespecting a militarymander." Benedict raised an eyebrow when he realized it was Mary who questioned him.


    However, his expression changed when he saw a group of people start gathering in front of Mary. They were like a protective bunch, with some of them even asking Mary if she wanted them to assist her.


    "Theobold, what are you trying to do?" Benedict turned to Theobold and asked. "You''re not seriously going to let them attack the military, right?"


    Before Theobold could respond, Shi Tian had subsequently exited the Iron Sentinel.


    The progress of the analysis was finallypleted, so he quickly arrived at the scene.


    "It''s Sir Gavin!"


    As soon as Shi Tian revealed his appearance, those who had purchased the earliest ymore Mines recognized him and called him out.


    "Sir Gavin? You''re that mechanic guy that had been supplying the frontline with the ymore Mines?" Benedict also turned his attention to Shi Tian.


    After all, Shi Tian''s deeds were practically shown live and only an ignorant person or someone living under a rock would not know about the incident.


    Meanwhile, Shi Tian ignored Benedict''s question as he turned his attention to the crowd, thanking them for helping his assistant.


    Mary''s identity was revealed to be an assistant of Gavin, so it was only natural that he kept up with the appearance.


    Of course, Shi Tian and Mary had long informed Theobold of his identity and alias usage. Thus, Theobold agreed to keep it a secret and remained silent despite knowing Shi Tian as Nathan.


    The same goes for Vanessa, who was watching by the sideline, clearly curious about how the situation was going to unfold.


    "Thank you everyone for helping my assistant here, but we had just gone through quite a big fight. Some of you are even injured by the energy wave, so please get some rest now." Shi Tian eximed loudly, telling the crowd to disperse.


    The crowd, at first reluctant, but pondering for a few more moments, understood they indeed needed to recover for uing fights.


    Benedict saw this and thought Shi Tian was afraid of his majestic might. "Heh, you''re a clever one, aren''t you, Gavin."


    Shi Tian looked confused, ncing back and forth.


    "Huh¡­ when did my brunch have the ability to talk?" He asked confusingly, cing his hand by his chest as an act of being shocked.

 Chapter 234 Confrontation

    <h4>Chapter 234 Confrontation</h4>


    When Shi Tian joked about his brunch gaining the ability to talk, Mary, Vanessa, Theobold, and the rest were unable to contain theirughter.


    They didn''t expect Shi Tian to be cracking jokes at this moment.


    "Gavin, you can''t just crack a joke without any warning." Maryughed heartily and said, even going as far as using his Gavin alias and not Nathan.


    "That was quite unexpected." Theobold managed topose himself rather quickly, faked a cough, and said.


    Vanessa, on the other hand, started topose herself when she realized she was supposed to still be mad at him. Hence, she shouldn''t haveughed at his joke.


    Meanwhile, Benedict''s face had gone from red to purple. He was beyond furious at this point. If it was Theobold joking at his name, then he could still maintainposure.


    After all, Theobold and he are technically on the same rank and level, so it was natural for him to be unable to do much. The same goes for Phoebe, but who was Shi Tian?


    Both Shi Tian and Mary had simultaneously disrespected and smeared his pride.


    "You''re dead!" Benedict reached for his belt that contained the gun and shouted.


    Unfortunately, Shi Tian was faster in pulling out theser gun.


    "Who''s dead again?" Shi Tian asked, ncing at Benedict''s hand that was about to reach for the gun in his belt.


    And despite being a clown so far, Benedict''s keen eyes were able to detect that Shi Tian''s gun was no ordinary one.


    In fact, it was aser gun that should have been confidential in the military and was not meant to be sold to the public.


    "Did Theobold give you thatser gun?" With an easy process of elimination, Benedict came to an understanding that Theobold might have vited the militaryw.


    Of course, Shi Tian wasn''t going to be a fool and answered him honestly.


    "Hello, Egg Benedict¡­ did you forget what you just called me earlier?" Shi Tian tilted his head and asked sarcastically.


    "You called me a mechanic, and do you think a mechanic that can garner quite the attention will be unable to replicate aser gun?" He added, indirectly calling Benedict a retard.


    Stumped, Benedict was speechless as he couldn''t find any loopholes to his im.


    Indeed, aser gun might be rare and for military uses, but that doesn''t mean others are unable to replicate the same type of weaponry.


    Not to mention, other cities hadser guns as well. So it was truly impulsive of him to pinpoint that theser gun in Shi Tian''s hand was from their military.


    "Hmph, we''ll forget about theser gun, but what you are doing now is no different than challenging the military." Benedict snorted coldly.


    "Challenging? No, it''s more like discipline. We had just dealt with a supposedly newly evolved Gso variant, yet instead of asking for the situation or attempting to assist, you came in here striding as if you were the king. If this news gets back to Gearits City, what do you think will happen?" Shi Tian rebuked calmly.


    "I-I¡­"


    Benedict was speechless, unable to fathom why there would be such people willing to challenge his authority. And it was true that if news of him acting like this got back to the Carlson Family, then his rank would truly be stripped off.


    "Tsk, I was merely excited to meet with an old acquaintance." In the end, Benedict made an excuse of wanting to chat with Theobold before leaving the scene hastily.


    He was at a clear disadvantage and realized what Phoebe''s words meant before leaving. She was going to assist him to get out of this sticky situation, but his crude mouth could not shut itself up.


    Sometimeter, Benedict left the scene, following the ce where Phoebe was setting up a camp nearby, giving Shi Tian and Mary a breather.


    "Phew, I didn''t expect the Carlson and Hill Family to send in their own military team to the frontline." Mary sighed softly.


    It was a rare urrence to even see one of the military teammanders, much less two of them at the same time.


    Theobold was an exception given his principles and honor were to serve the citizens.


    "I''m afraid the other two militarymanders would soon arrive as well," Theobold added, having an instinct that the situation had just gotten more drastic.


    Shi Tian remained silent at those remarks. So long as the other militarymanders were not as reckless or impulsive as Benedict, then he wouldn''t care much.


    If it weren''t for Benedict to suddenly cause a scene and agitate the crowd, prompting a near confrontation tomence, then he wouldn''t have to show up and put up a fake front again.


    "Anyway, Mary, didn''t you have something to say to me?" Theobold suddenly asked a few secondster.


    Meanwhile, Shi Tian was dumbfounded by Theobold.


    Now why would you seek your own doom like Egg Benedict?


    He thought to himself, shaking his head and quickly retreating back to the Iron Sentinel.


    "Right, you see Commander Theobold. We spent a lot of the processed Source Crystal for the mounted turret against that evolved Gso variant. And I also contributed quite a ton in the battle, so what would our rewards be?" Mary sped her hands and smiled like a devil.


    "..."


    Theobold realized he had just made a simr mistake to Benedict and wished to curse that buffoon.


    The Egg Benedict must have infected his stupidity onto him!


    It was a shame that there was no escape for Theobold, given that the hole was dug solely by him.


    The soldiers also gradually returned to their camp for recovery, not a single one of them was willing to assist theirmander in dealing with Mary.


    Heck! Even the Egg Benedict couldn''t frighten Mary, so what could Theobold do?


    "Please give me some time to calcte the reward, Mary. Everyone is still recovering and has no time to calcte anything yet." Theobold smiled bitterly and exined.


    "Hmm, you''re right. We can''t have you calcting wrong, right? It would be really bad if my reward is any less than my contribution." Maryughed cheekily.

 Chapter 235 Mechanic Class Rank

    <h4>Chapter 235 Mechanic ss Rank</h4>


    Confirming with Theobold that her reward would only be more and not less, Mary was satisfied with the result and quickly dismissed herself.


    Of course, Theobold wanted to cry, but could not.


    He could only me himself for asking what Mary came to him for. The Egg Benedict hade at a wless time to stop her, but he still failed totch onto the opportunity and sought his own doom.


    ''Sigh, my wallet has a big hole now, always getting looted.'' Theobold eximed inwardly, walking back to the camp to check up on the injured and the aftermath of the evolved Gso variant corpse.


    There were simply too many things for him to do, and he could not afford to idle around. That was the life of a dutiful and honorable militarymander, unlike Egg Benedict.


    While Theobold got himself busied with the task ahead, Mary had returned to the Iron Sentinel.


    "Okay, why did you want me to return so quickly?" Mary asked right away.


    When they were still in a confrontation with Benedict, Shi Tian had subsequently made a signal to her, prompting her to cut the conversation as short as possible with Theobold.


    "What''s your skills in terms of a mechanic?" Shi Tian ignored her question and instead asked his own.


    Although confused, Mary still answered him regardless.


    "Not above Mechanist Isaac, but definitely above you. And in terms of the mechanic ss rank, which is separated by Apprentice, Trainee, Engineer, Staff Engineer, Senior Staff Engineer, Principal Engineer, Distinguished Engineer, and a lot more that I forgot. But, I should be at the Staff Engineer level." Mary replied, but was more of an informative detail than a reply.


    Shi Tian nearly choked when he heard all of the rankings and was even more astonished when Mary said there was a lot more but forgot about it.


    "How many rankings are there?" He asked in disbelief.


    "A lot, Nathan. Did you think a Mechanic was an easy ss? It''s a ss that requires a ton of studies and years of experience to even be called an aplished mechanic." Mary rolled her eyes and snorted.


    "Then what is my level?"


    "The lowest of the lowest duh. You''re barely able to call yourself an apprentice of the Mechanic ss rank."


    Faking a cough, Shi Tian decided to feign deaf and failed to hear that part about him being the lowest.


    "Anyway, since you''re a Staff Engineer, then you should be capable of replicating this blueprint, right?" Shi Tian changed the topic and gave her a rough blueprint that he had made ording to the information given to him from the integrated chip.


    It was a blueprint that analyzed the structure of the rigged IC chip semiconductor along with the specific type of silicon material.


    Integrated circuit chips are abination of diodes, microprocessors, and transistors in a minimized form on a wafer made of silicon.


    Each of theseponents has a specific function. These can perform calctions and multiple tasks whenbined with each other.


    Thus, Mary was unable to replicate it without knowing its properties, but with the blueprint now, she would be able to replicate it. At least, that was what Shi Tian hoped.


    Mary was staring at the blueprint with a solemn expression, seemingly analyzing it thoroughly.


    A few minutester, Shi Tian asked, "So how is it? Can you replicate the IC chip based on the blueprint?"


    The technology of the rigged IC chip was far more advanced than in the past, and even he had difficulty reading the structure.


    Another few minutes passed by, and Mary finally put the blueprint down.


    "The blueprint might look rough, but ording to it, we can actually find many recementponents of the rigged IC chip. Although not the same type, the recementponents could actually work after coding it based on the blueprint description." She responded in a somewhat professional manner.


    At the same time, she was staring at Shi Tian quite intensely, almost as if she was discerning it was actually Shi Tian and not someone else.


    "Where did you get this blueprint?" Mary finally asked.


    "I can''t fathom that it was you who created this blueprint even though the ink was quite new." She added, telling him outright that she couldn''t believe it was him who made it.


    After all, some of the descriptions in the blueprint were too detailed for the current Shi Tian to be able to know.


    It was as if a 3-year-old suddenly knew how to do differential equations or Lace transformation inverse equations.


    The logic just doesn''t make sense even if the 3-year old was supposedly a prodigy or was learning from the mother''s womb.


    "Ohe on, are you seriously doubting me? Do you think Master Isaac would take in a useless person as an apprentice?" Shi Tian said and pretended to adjust an imagined eyess that was slipping toward his nose to look cool.


    "The way you''re acting is even more suspicious. If I had a vent right now, I would have voted you out already." Mary twitched her mouth and said.


    The more he wanted to exin and acted irregrly, the more suspicious Mary was.


    However, she can''t fathom how he was able to achieve it given that there was only him here. Of course, Shi Tian could have been faking it and was a great mechanic pretending to be an amateur, but that didn''t make sense either.


    If he was acting all along, then she would have long realized or noticed it, given that she was an actor herself when needed to do missions in the past.


    And she doubted his acting skills could be better than her.


    "I''ll keep this in mind, but don''t think I will stop watching you." Mary made a gesture of a V-finger in her eyes and then toward Shi Tian, indicating that she was going to watch him very carefully.


    Meanwhile, Shi Tian smiled innocently and remained still. But inwardly, he was reminding himself to never do this kind of action again unless it was necessary.


    ''This is what happens when one acts smart but is actually ipetent.'' He eximed inwardly.

 Chapter 236 Replication

    <h4>Chapter 236 Replication</h4>


    Despite being overly suspicious of how Shi Tian managed to acquire such a blueprint or create it, Mary decided to brush it aside for now.


    The blueprint was truly detailed and after reading it thoroughly, she could discern that it was indeed a high possibility of being able to replicate the rigged IC chip.


    "Do you have the silicon materials, resistor, and otherponents ready?" Mary asked, seemingly ready to craft it.


    Shi Tian nodded his head.


    "All of the requiredponents are ced by the container on your left side." He said, pointing at the container.


    Given that all of the recementponents weremon, he was able to scavenge them within the Iron Sentinel.


    Of course, theplication of crafting it required more materials than the original, given that everything was reced to replicate the original function.


    To make it simpler to understand, the current development was like a math equation.


    When you could easily get the number 15 by adding 10 and 5, they now have to get to that number by adding 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 to get the number 15.


    The result was the same, but thetter part required more unnecessary numbers. And this was Mary and Shi Tian''s current situation in which they are forced to do thetter part.


    "This is going to take me at least 3-5 hours, depending on theplication." Mary scratched her head and said exhaustedly.


    It had been a long time since she crafted something from scratch. And to be fair, she hated sitting down for a long duration of time. She would rather fight others than sit down as if she were a prisoner.


    Shi Tian nodded his head, not finding it surprising that it would take her a while to craft the IC chip.


    "Nathan, while I start building it, do you mind getting the programmer to start up in the control panel. Since you have given me the blueprint, you should understand the gist of the code needed to be loaded into the IC chip once I finished crafting, right?" Mary asked, literally testing him on his knowledge.


    Unfortunately for her though, Shi Tian might not be capable of crafting the IC chip, but he does have some of the knowledge of the coding required to load into it.


    "Sure, no problem." He gave her an ''okay'' sign and went to the control panel.


    With that said, the two of them remained in the Iron Sentinel, working hard on the replication of the rigged IC chip.


    Meanwhile, Theobold gradually started taking control of the situation again.


    At the same time, he ordered a few elite soldiers to investigate how the evolved Gso variant managed to sneak up on that, avoiding all of the surveince.


    In addition, Theobold created a small team consisting of soldiers adept in agility to check how the Gso variants managed to undergo another evolution.


    "There must be something that we failed to spot¡­" Theobold muttered, his eyes ncing at the screen in themand center that was built for strategic nning.


    Themand center had three people constantly monitoring the screen, and Theobold''s eyes were inspecting each of the screens, seemingly trying to find an abnormality.


    Monsters don''t just undergo evolution randomly. It required a lot of conditions, including but not limited to the terrain, atmosphere, and mutation.


    As Theobold was struggling to find a clue to anything, Vanessa suddenly entered themand center, much to his surprise.


    "Why did youe here, Vanessa? It''s too dangerous for you to move around." Theobold raised an eyebrow and warned. With variables unknown to him, Theobold could not afford to have Vanessa leave the extremely safe tent.


    "I''m not a flower vase, Commander Theobold." Vanessa rolled her eyes and scoffed. "And I''m here because I noticed something, so I thought about sharing it with you. But I guess you don''t want to hear it since I''m such a vulnerable person." She added, ready to turn around and leave.


    "Wait a minute, Vanessa. That is not what I meant." Theobold extended his hand and quickly retracted his previous statement. For her toe all the way here because she noticed something was amiss, Theobold was sure that she might have found a clue or something.


    After all, an Esper was highly sensitive to the abnormality in the atmosphere, especially when Vanessa could manipte the terrain with ease.


    Desperately trying to keep Vanessa here, Theobold almost lost all of his dignity as a militarymander.


    It was only now that he subtly understood Shi Tian''s mindset when he was so willing to kick Vanessa out of his apartment.


    Vanessa was naturally not one to forgive so easily, at least toward others, she made a signal that she was tired.


    Without hesitation, Theobold snapped his fingers and one of the clever soldiers that was on the monitor heard the cue. The soldier quickly grabbed a chair and ced it next to Vanessa before returning to his position.


    "Have a seat, Vanessa," Theobold said gently. "Is there anything else you need?"


    Crossing her legs, Vanessa thought about toying with him longer but considering the meticulous care he had given to her in the past days, she decided to let him off easy.


    "Anyway, my perception has been heightened since the appearance of the evolved Gso variants," Vanessa exined.


    "Your perception has been heightened? Was it because of the threat it posed or the sudden appearance of it?" Theobold enquired.


    The evolved Gso variant''s appearance was a rather unexpected encounter. Despite having numerous preparations made and many surveince equipment ced on the site, they were still unable to detect its movement.


    Just these two factors alone had caused quite the headache for Theobold.


    After all, if the evolved Gso variant could still sneak up on them despite all the equipment, then what was preventing them from being able to sneak up to Gearits City and unleash havoc?


    However, Vanessa shook her head, shutting down those ims of Theobold.


    "That''s not it, Commander Theobold. What I meant is that I can feel an aura of strange energy shrouding the evolved Gso variant." Vanessa''s tone was solemn, revealing a clue.

 Chapter 237 Strange Energy

    <h4>Chapter 237 Strange Energy</h4>


    After listening to Vanessa regarding the evolved Gso variant being shrouded with a strange energy.


    Theobold quickly turned on amunication device to order his soldier to bring a sample of the corpse over.


    Although he had already inspected the corpse, Theobold found nothing out of the norm and could only store it in an area that could preserve the corpse from rotting thanks to the polluted atmosphere.


    Since the corpse was a new version, Theobold needed to ensure the corpse remained intact and could be studiedter on, even if there was no fruitful result yet.


    Waiting for a few minutes, some soldiers carried a sample of the corpse.


    The sample was one of the tentacles that were amputated from the intense fight they had.


    Narrowing his eyes and inspecting the tentacles thoroughly, Theobold still found nothing.


    "Are you sure there is a strange energy shrouding it?" He turned his attention to Vanessa and asked confusingly.


    It wasn''t that he doubted her im, but it was just that he could not detect anything.


    Meanwhile, Vanessa nodded her head, her expression turned even more solemn.


    "I don''t know how, but the strange energy is still somewhat active right now. It just wasn''t as powerfulpared to his live status." Vanessa exined.


    Knowing that Theobold could not sense the strange energy, Vanessa decided to manipte the magicule in the surrounding atmosphere to trigger the strange energy.


    Vanessa focused her abilities, manipting the magicule-rich atmosphere that surrounded the tentacle sample.


    She had a unique sensitivity to such energies, and she believed that by introducing additional magicule energy into the equation, she might be able to trigger or enhance the strange energy signature she had detected earlier.


    As she channeled her abilities into the tentacle, a faint, eerie glow enveloped it. Theobold and the other soldiers watched in fascination as the tentacle reacted to Vanessa''s maniption.


    Sure enough, as Vanessa continued to infuse it with energy, the strange energy she had sensed earlier became more pronounced.


    It was as if some hidden force within the tentacle was responding to her influence.


    Theobold leaned in closer, his curiosity piqued. "It seems you were right, Vanessa. There is indeed something unusual about this creature''s energy."


    Vanessa nodded, her brow furrowed in concentration. She could feel the strange energy reacting to her maniption, almost like it had a life of its own.


    "I believe this energy might be dormant within the Gso variants until triggered," Vanessa suggested.


    "It''s unlike anything I''ve encountered before. We should exercise extreme caution when dealing with these evolved variants. They might have abilities we can''t predict." She added.


    Theobold agreed with her assessment. They had already faced formidable challenges with the Gso variants, but the addition of this mysterious energy made the situation even more precarious.


    "Maybe it was this peculiar and strange energy that resulted in the energy wave that we received early on. The damage was clear and it''s a destructive one to our body." Theoboldmented, feeling pressured by this new variable.


    It was as if the monster wave with variants wasn''t enough, but now they even had to deal with a new variable in the mix.


    Just how messy had the situation developed into?


    Scratching his head slightly, Theobold was truly exhausted this time.


    Nevertheless, he could not afford to simply throw in the towel and call it quits.


    Maybe others might have done it, but not him. This was his responsibility and duty, so he could only continue forward.


    "Since the magicule could trigger the strange energy, let me attempt it," Theobold suggested, following almost the same process as Vanessa.


    However, to his dismay, there was no reaction whatsoever, prompting Theobold to be stumped once again.


    "Ahem, let''s try this again." Faking a cough, Theobold stretched his body first and attempted to trigger the strange energy again, only to no avail.


    "Hmm, maybe the residual strange energy has all dissipated after the early trigger." He added.


    "Um, no, that''s not true." Vanessa was quick to shoot him down, manipted the magicule, and managed to trigger a reaction swiftly, causing Theobold to swallow his remark back down to his throat.


    Although the reaction was minimal, it was a reaction nheless, a stark contrast to Theobold''s im earlier.


    "I guess you''re just not the chosen one, but it''s alright. I''ll go and inspect the rest of the corpse to see if I can find anything. You can just stay here and keep an eye on the other families'' military team." Vanessa then suggested, exiting themand center.


    The other soldiers remaining in themand center wanted tough at how Theobold was embarrassed but sensed his intense gaze, prompting them to sit up straight.


    Toward Vanessa and Mary, Theobold might be somewhat helpless at them, but toward his own soldiers, there shall be no mercy.


    "Hmph, increase the surveince and make sure to double-check the equipment. The lots of you have embarrassed me quite a bit already when an evolved Gso variant managed to sneak up on us." Theobold raised his tone and scolded harshly.


    "Yes, Commander Theobold!" The poor soldiers could only ept their pitiful fate as they took the me even though they were not at fault.


    How were they supposed to anticipate such a thing when even Theobold himself with the highest perception here failed to anticipate it?


    s, who told them to be soldiers under him, and weren''t in the same situation as Vanessa that could indirectly call Theobold ignorant. Nor could they be like Mary who was able to ask for rewards without any repercussions.


    As Theobold became overly harsh toward his soldiers, back in the Iron Sentinel, progress could be seen.


    Mary had already managed to connect the silicon wafer on the chip, which was the semiconductor utilized for manufacturing the IC chip they were building.


    Her eyes were already somewhat watery, given that the chips were tiny and required tons of focus to ensure each of the thousands of tiny resistors, capacitors, diodes, and transistors were fabricated.


    Pausing for a moment, Mary turned her attention to Shi Tian and asked gently. "Nathan, can I punch you for some stress relief?"

 Chapter 238 Stress Relief

    <h4>Chapter 238 Stress Relief</h4>


    Shi Tian, who was working on the code required for the IC chip, was dumbfounded when he heard Mary''s question.


    "Why would you want to punch me?" He asked confusingly. He didn''t even do anything to agitate her, and was in fact, working very diligently on the code.


    "I don''t know." Mary shrugged her shoulders in response. "I''m irritated because of this damn semiconductor I built and wanted some stress relief. And the only way to release stress is to punch someone, and you''re the closest one here."


    "..."


    Shi Tian was speechless by her reasoning. It was logical yet illogical at the same time.


    To release stress, there are indeed many methods, and Mary''s method was one of themon ones.


    However, her choice of target was incorrect and it should not have been him.


    "Mary, you might look fragile on the surface, but we both know you are strong and tough. If you punch me and I get injured, then are you going to work on the code on my behalf?" Shi Tian pointed at the monitor that had a list of coding and asked.


    Turning her head slightly to the monitor and seeing theplicated list of codes, Mary''s eyes seemed to be rolling around, almost as if she had gone dizzy.


    "Nevermind, you''re right." Mary resigned her intention from wanting to punch Shi Tian.


    She was already dying from constructing the semiconductor, so if she was tasked with coding it too, then she would truly die.


    "But I''m really stressed!" She pouted like a little girl, clearly wanting to vent some frustration.


    "Well aside from punching me, what other things do you have that can relieve your stress." Shi Tian asked.


    "I don''t know. I''m too stressed to think of anything. This semiconductor craft is literally killing my brain." Mary scratched her head in annoyance, clearly not wanting to deal with this crap anymore.


    "Take a breather and rest for a while." He suggested, seeing her having a somewhat mental breakdown was unexpected.


    "You already finished most of the part, so I can probably finish the rest."


    "No, I can''t do that." Mary shook her head in response, surprising Shi Tian briefly.


    "It''ll be too irresponsible of me to dump all the work to you when this concerns the two of us in terms of safety." She added.


    "But are you sure you can continue to work in that condition? I don''t wish to see a grumpy Mary." Shi Tian teased, seemingly trying to convince her to rest.


    Back when he was tasked to craft the ymore Mines all alone, he had reacted somewhat simr to Mary, but thanks to his passive ability, he managed topose himself.


    And thinking that it was a necessary step to improve his craft, he managed to grip on and continued.


    However, Mary didn''t need any of that, and he was positive that the remaining process was doable with his current skills.


    It was for the best that Mary could just rest and recover her mindset, considering that she did not have a cheat passive ability like he did.


    With some more convincing, Mary finally nodded her head and gave in. Though she made sure to emphasize to him that he must call for help if he got stuck.


    "Don''t think about solving the problem yourself if you get stuck. The semiconductor is very tedious to build. So if you messed up and ruined it, then we would need to build another one. At that time, I''m going to thrash you until your face turns ck and blue." Mary made a fisting action, warning him that she was serious.


    Shi Tian nodded his head, reassuring her that he wouldn''t be reckless.


    Sometimeter, Mary got off the seat andid on the ground after cing a mattress down. Her physical body was fine, but it was her mentality that had taken a strain.


    She was not the diligent type that would be willing to sit down for hours to craft stuff.


    So despite being a Staff Engineer, Mary was equivalent to the mindset of an apprentice. Meanwhile, Shi Tian might still be an apprentice, but he had the mindset of a Staff Engineer.


    In other words, it was simply a hrious scenario that doesn''t and shouldn''t make sense.


    "Oh, when did you record the fight from earlier, Nathan?" While browsing through her Cellos device, Mary was stunned to see a new recording appeared in her folder.


    "Back when you told me to start up the mounted turret. The recording function was close to the control panel, so I thought I might as well record the fight." Shi Tian replied, his eyes focused on the coding screen.


    "You''re quite clever to be able to think of recording it in such an intense battle."


    "Not clever, just more adaptive. By recording the battle, we can now keep on analyzing it and see its attack pattern or movement. That way, we wouldn''t be as helpless as earlier."


    "If you had recorded, then why didn''t you tell me sooner. This would be a damn good stress relief for me." Mary clicked her tongue and med him for concealing the matter.


    Shi Tian was speechless when he somehow still got med despite beingplimented earlier.


    "Anyway, you can watch it over and see if there''s something you can find." He said, ignoring her remark of ming him.


    "Yeah yeah, go do your coding. Don''t bother me." Mary waved her hand in annoyance, her eyes focused on the recording. It was as if her earlier fatigueness had disappearedpletely.


    Did she chunk down some Magicule Electrolytes (Magel) and regain her energy?


    Unwilling to give himself an unnecessary headache, Shi Tian focused back on his task.


    The code was nearly finished and Shi Tian just needed to write thest segment toplete it.


    But before he couldplete it, someone was knocking on the door. Luckily, it wasn''t someone looking for him, but Mary instead.


    "Mary, are you there?" A familiar voice resounded from the outside, prompting Mary''s expression to change slightly.

 Chapter 239 Apathetic Person

    <h4>Chapter 239 Apathetic Person</h4>


    Mary was analyzing the evolved Gso variant and was immersed in it.


    However, the immersion was cut short when he heard a very familiar voice.


    It was a voice that she doesn''t really like, or more specifically, interact with.


    "Ugh, what does Vanessa want?"


    Pausing the recording, Mary clicked her tongue in annoyance when Vanessa called out once again after getting no responses.


    Putting on the face mask, Mary exited through the back and red at Vanessa.


    "What do you want?" She asked irritatingly. "Can''t you see I''m busy with something if I didn''t bother responding to you the first time?"


    "Is your task more important than a new discovery of our current predicament?" Vanessa crossed her arms and retorted. As if she was willing to interact with her either, but Theobold and his soldiers were too upied to do anything else at the moment.


    With the arrival of Benedict and Phoebe, plus the possibility of two more militarymanders, Theobold needed to remain here to hold the fort. And naturally, his soldiers had to be stationed to maintain the aura and appearance.


    Thus, the only people that are still free and could do whatever they wanted were Mary and Shi Tian.


    And considering the options, Vanessa ultimately decided to call for Mary and not Shi Tian.


    That bastard still held no remorse for his action, and she was toozy to waste her breath on an unreasonable person!


    Meanwhile, Mary subtly retracted her hostility and kept a calmposure.


    "Okay, what new discovery that requires you to knock on my Iron Sentinel''s door so urgently?" She asked.


    "It''s regarding the evolved Gso variant corpse," Vanessa answered, giving her the same tone of speech.


    "The corpse? What about the corpse?" Mary raised an eyebrow, seemingly confused.


    "You didn''t sense any abnormality on the corpse either?"


    "Don''t even talk about sense, I didn''t even face it physically."


    Mary was within the Iron Sentinel the whole time, giving instruction to the soldiers through a sound enhancer function. So how was she supposed to interact with the evolved Gso variant physically?


    Realizing that Vanessa decided to give Mary a short but clear exnation regarding the strange energy shrouding the corpse.


    A few minutester, Mary was somewhat stunned as it was indeed a new discovery.


    "The situation isn''t looking bright then," Mary concluded.


    "No really?" Vanessa rolled her eyes and responded sarcastically. "Damn, I totally wouldn''t have known the situation wasn''t looking bright and decided toe to you."


    "Whatever bitch." Mary cursed and waved her hand. "You can leave now that you have given me the information already."


    "Huh?" Vanessa was dumbfounded. Mary''s response deviated from her expectations as she believed Mary would be curious and enquire more information.


    But contrary to her expectation, it was quite clear that Mary had no interest in the strange energy discovery.


    "Don''t you want to ask why I came here and seek you out?" Vanessa asked in disbelief.


    "No, because I''m sure you wanted to bait me in with the information, then ask me to investigate along with you. But I''m sure with Commander Theobold''s protective nature, he would definitely ban you from leaving his sight to a dangerous area." Mary yawned, easily understanding her intention with a snap of a finger.


    Stumped, Vanessa was unable to rebuke any of her ims.


    ''What the hell is this? Why is Mary so simr to that bastard in terms of speech and actions?'' She cursed silently, finding the two people to be so simr.


    "Don''t you want this mess to end already, Mary?" Vanessa asked hastily, seeing that Mary was truly about to return to her Iron Sentinel.


    Halting her footsteps, Mary turned around and nodded. "I want the mess to end already, but I''m not the type to do this kind of work for free. Why should I investigate when there are militaries stationed here?"


    "Is your mind all about profits?"


    "Of course, who the hell would do this kind of work if the money wasn''t paid well?" Mary shrugged her shoulders.


    And she continued, "Listen, if you want others to investigate this supposedly strange energy, then what you should do is not inform me. But secretly spread this news around. Once it reaches the ears of those militarymanders, I can bet you that they will be the first to rush ahead to gain that glory."


    Vanessa squinted her eyes, clearly not expecting Mary''s response would be like this.


    In fact, Vanessa found Mary''s suggestion to be amazing. She was right after all.


    Why should she be concerned when she could easily manipte others into doing it for her?


    It wasn''t like she was a hero or anything.


    ''Wait a minute, did I just get infected by Mary''s thinking?'' Vanessa thought to herself, wondering if she was slowly bing an apathetic person.


    Shaking her head, Vanessa decided to follow Mary''s suggestion anyway, given that the best course of action was to involve the other military teams in investigating the strangeness.


    With that in mind, Vanessa nned on divulging the n to Theobold and informed him to start leaking out the information.


    Meanwhile, Mary had already returned to the Iron Sentinel, her expression being solemn.


    "Nathan, are you still working on the code?" She asked.


    "Yeah, I''m almost finished though." Shi Tian responded. "Anyway, why did Vanessa call for you though? Did something happen again?" he asked, seemingly curious about the situation.


    Mary nodded her head, rying the conversation to him.


    A few minutester, Shi Tian rubbed his chin, clearly in deep thoughts.


    "A strange energy that caused the evolution huh. This is quite problematic then." Shi Tian muttered, having the same thought process as Vanessa.


    Just one evolved Gso variant had provided quite the trouble, so what would happen if there were more evolved Gso variants appearing?


    "Mhmm, I told Vanessa to subtly leak the news to the other military team but at the same time, we need to locate the dense area that the strange energy ising out from. Since we''re about to be the vanguard using drones, I wish to gather all the necessary information." Mary exined, sitting on the chair next to Shi Tian.

 Chapter 240 Dense Area

    <h4>Chapter 240 Dense Area</h4>


    Sitting next to Shi Tian, Mary was using another screen to search the dense area with a special filter.


    Shi Tian noticed the special filter being added and his head nearly got a headache from ncing at the screen.


    It was filled with a bunch of thermal images, but worse than that,plex mathematical equations and data charts were oveying the images.


    "What are all those numbers and equations?" Shi Tian asked, squinting at the screen in confusion.


    Mary nced over at him briefly, her focus still on the screen.


    "These are calctions for the magicule density in the atmosphere. I''m trying to pinpoint any anomalies or fluctuations that might correspond to the presence of these evolved Gso variants." Mary exined.


    Vanessa had mentioned that the strange energy could not be detected by most people, including Theobold. Mary decided to not look into the strange energy specifically.


    Instead, she would rather pay attention to the magicule density, allowing her to derive a location.


    Given that the strange energy shrouding the corpse could allow it to undergo an evolution, it was clear that the density of the magicule would surely be high. Thus, this was the best-approaching method to determine a location.


    Meanwhile, Shi Tian scratched his head, feeling somewhat overwhelmed by the technical nature of the data.


    "So, you''re looking for changes in the magicule density to detect them?" He asked, unable toprehend a thing on the screen.


    Mary nodded. "Exactly. These creatures seem to have some connection to magicules, and if we can find a pattern in the fluctuations, we might be able to predict their movements or appearances more urately."


    As Shi Tian observed Mary''s work, he couldn''t help but be impressed by her expertise. She was clearly a master of her craft, even if it involved diving deep intoplex data.


    What Theobold failed to think of, Mary was able to figure it out in the snap of a finger. It was indeed a stark contrast between the two and Shi Tian wondered if Mary was the true prodigy.


    Her intelligence and adaptation were simply through the roof.


    "Well, don''t just stare at me," Mary said when she noticed he had stopped working.


    "Keep working on your code and then finish up the semiconductor I left. This is going to take me quite a bit of time." She added.


    "Yes, you can continue with your thing." Shi Tian didn''t bother to nce at her screen any further.


    It was simply way too technical andplicated for him to process. His eyes nearly turned blind from the ovepping image.


    Mary chuckled for a bit when she saw Shi Tian''s reaction. "Heh, now you know how impressive I am despite not trying."


    "Of course, I''ve never once thought of you as unimpressive, Mary."


    "Save your ttery words to Mechanist Isaac. That doesn''t work on me."


    "I''m merely stating a fact, Mary. It might sound like ttery, but I''m truly envious of your skills." Shi Tian smiled bitterly and said.


    "If I have at least half your talent, then maybe my fate would have changed." He added, recalling a distant past.


    Just when the atmosphere was getting somewhat palpable, Mary''s screen made a beeping sound.


    Shifting the topic, Mary turned her attention back to the screen, and her expression changed drastically.


    "Holy shit!" Mary eximed, clearly inplete disbelief and shock.


    "What happened?" Confused, Shi Tian moved his seat closer to Mary and nced at the screen.


    And although he didn''t utter any words, Shi Tian''s expression had changed subtly.


    "I might not be an expert, but this whole red circle is the dense area, right?" Shi Tian pointed at the screen and asked.


    Mary nodded her head.


    "Yeah, the whole perimeter of this particr zone is filled with the density of magicule to the brim. The density is too abnormal, and it''s clear that the environment and atmosphere in this zone are affected to an unimaginable degree." She exined.


    Normally, an environment filled with an abundance of magicule was great as it meant the environment was rich and capable of sustaining life. After all, these magicules could purify the pollution and corrosion that the world had been infected with.


    However, the situation now was a stark contrast from the supposedly good density of magicule.


    Not only did the data on the screen indicate that the pollution and corrosion were at an rming danger rate, but the possibility of it being a no-man''snd was high.


    "If we allow this to continue to fester, then it''s safe to say that District C is no longer able to sustain life, and is another District F zone," Mary eximed.


    "District F zone huh¡­" Shi Tian swallowed a mouthful of saliva.


    He had heard that District F''s corrosion was too high and only those wearing a special-made protective gear could walk around for an estimated 15-20 minutes.


    But there was one more important factor that Shi Tian had kept to himself. It was the fact that the graveyard zone that he came out from was located in District F.


    Back when he first discovered such information, it became clear to him why the ce was deserted, with zero sign of life.


    However, that wasn''t the main point.


    It was the fact that he was able to breathe normally and walk across District F without any protective gear. That was when he realized he might appear normal like any human, but his functionality was far different.


    "Nathan."


    "Nathan!"


    While Shi Tian was in deep thought, he suddenly heard Mary screaming in his ear, prompting him to snap out of his thought process.


    "Y-Yes?" Shi Tian looked confused as he nced at Mary, seemingly lost.


    "What''s with you? Did you get scared?" Mary raised an eyebrow and asked in confusion.


    She had been calling him for quite a while, yet he had given her zero response until now. It was as if he was an electronic device that had lost signal, unable to browse anything.


    "Ah, no, I was just thinking about the situation. My bad." Shi Tian quickly gave an excuse and scratched his head awkwardly.

 Chapter 241 Military Commanders

    <h4>Chapter 241 Military Commanders </h4>


    As Shi Tian pondered the implications of the abnormally high magicule density in District C and his own mysterious abilities, Mary continued to analyze the data on her screen.


    She was determined to find any patterns or clues that might help them understand why these evolved Gso variants were drawn to areas with such extreme magicule density.


    Hours passed as Mary meticulouslybed through the data. Shi Tian, on the other hand, was lost in thought, contemting the significance of his unique situation.


    He wondered if there was a connection between the magicule density and his own abilities.


    Suddenly, Mary''s fingers froze on the keyboard. Her eyes widened, and she let out an exmation of surprise. "Nathan, I think I''ve found something!"


    Startled, Shi Tian snapped out of his reverie and leaned closer to see what Mary had discovered.


    On the screen, there was a graph disying magicule density fluctuations over time. It showed spikes in density at irregr intervals.


    "What''s significant about these fluctuations?" Shi Tian asked, trying to make sense of the data.


    Mary pointed at the spikes. "Look at these peaks. They correspond to areas where the magicule density is unusually high, like what we''re seeing now. But these fluctuations aren''t natural. They seem to follow a pattern, and they''re not random."


    She zoomed in on one of the peaks and oveid a map of District C. To their amazement, the peak aligned with a specific location in the district.


    "It''s as if these evolved Gso variants are drawn to these areas with heightened magicule density," Mary mused. "And if we can predict where the next spike will ur, we might be able to intercept them before they reach District C."


    Shi Tian nodded in agreement. "That could give us a significant advantage. But how do we predict where these spikes will happen?"


    Mary furrowed her brow in concentration. "We need to keep monitoring the data, looking for any signs of impending spikes. There might be some external factors or triggers that cause these fluctuations. If we can identify them, we might be able to predict when and where the next one will ur."


    "By external factors, do you mean there''s a high possibility of someone else manipting the spikes?" Shi Tian''s question brought light to a possibility that could be horrifying at the same time.


    If someone was capable of manipting such spikes and causing monsters to evolve, then this discovery would be just the tip of the iceberg.


    "I think this is enough information," Mary exined, unwilling to unravel further.


    "What we just discovered is no longer our scope of ability and we should just leave this to the others." She added, implying that they should inform Theobold.


    Shi Tian nodded his head, agreeing to her suggestion. The scale had just escted into something major again, almost as if there was a never-ending situation to this messy water already.


    With that in mind, Mary uploaded all the data she found into the Universal Serial Bus (USB) sh drive, a great storage device for anyputer data, files, etc.


    After storing all the relevant data in the USB sh drive, Mary made sure to encrypt the information as well, adding an extrayer of security.


    "Okay, I''m going to head toward themand center and deliver the USB sh drive to Commander Theobold. You can continue to work on your code." Mary said calmly, getting ready to leave.


    "The code is finished already." Shi Tian replied and stretched his shoulders to rx. "Now all I need to do is finish up the remaining part of the semiconductor and we''re good to go."


    "Not bad," Mary was somewhat impressed by his speed.


    "I thought it would take you another 30 minutes or so," She added, giving a somewhat approving expression. After that, she grabbed her mask and put it on, making her way to themand center.


    Shi Tian, on the other hand, changed his seating and went to work on the semiconductor that Mary had left off.


    To his amazement, despite Maryining about crafting it, the semiconductor was built neatly.


    "This Mary¡­ she''s like the talented genius but very unenergetic and doesn''t care about the subject type of person." He twitched his mouth and muttered.


    While Shi Tian was somewhat envious of her talent and got to work, Mary calmly walked toward themand center with an encrypted USB sh drive.


    However, Mary didn''t even get to the entrance of themand center when she saw Theobolding out of it.


    "Commander Theobold-"


    Mary tried to call him out, but Theobold stormed off to a faraway area along with numerous soldiers.


    Confused, Mary decided to follow ahead to see what was so serious that Theobold needed to personally head out.


    A few minutester, Mary noticed three more advanced military vehicles followed by more vehicles that were filled with soldiers.


    ''No wonder¡­ all the militarymanders are now gathered in one ce.'' Mary thought to herself, noticing three uniform-d people who exuded a somewhat simr aura to Phoebe and Benedict.


    As Mary realized this herself and watched from the sideline, Theobold on the other hand strode forward and greeted the three neers.


    "I didn''t expect that Phoebe and Egg Benedict weren''t enough, but also required the two of you, Samantha, Nancy, and Damon." Theobold nced at the three militarymanders and inspected them closely.


    Samantha had long, flowing purple hair that cascaded down her back like a waterfall of amethyst silk. It matched quite well with her proportional figure along with the team that she wasmanding. Her military team was called Amethyst and was under the banner of the Hersey Family.


    Nancy, on the other hand, had short hair dyed in a silver color, but had a simr physique to Samantha, albeit lighter in terms of her skin. Shemanded the military team, Clear Skye, under the banner of the Warner Family.


    As for Damon, his skin was darker, and was rocking with spiky dark hair that seemed as if it had been electrified before. His build and physique were massive, a clear definitive of him being akin to a bodybuilder. He was themander of the military team, Obsidian, and under the banner of the Harrett Family.


    With the entry of these three militarymanders, the frontline officially had a total of six militarymanders respectively.


    ''Are we at war with each other or a monster wave?'' Seeing the high tension, Mary wondered if there was going to be a battle of attrition among them.

 Chapter 242 Tense Reunion

    <h4>Chapter 242 Tense Reunion </h4>


    The tension was beyond palpable at this moment, and the spectators who had seemingly noticed this scene quickly scurried themselves away.


    The scene in front of them was a scene that none of them would ever expect to happen.


    After all, this was a meeting of the six militarymanders, all gathered in one spot. Such a scenery would only ur if the entirety of the Gearits City was under immense threat.


    "My goodness¡­ I didn''t expect the monster wave this time would garner all the militarymanders to arrive."


    "I know right, maybe it''s because the monster wave is so different from the past."


    "Or the pressure from within the inner city was undermining the five families'' scale of power, so they had no choice but to send their military to the frontline. I honestly do not trust them aside from Commander Theobold."


    "Indeed, we''ve never even seen the actions of the othermanders aside from rumors."


    As the spectators gossiped among each other regarding the scene ahead of them, Theobold''s greeting had ensnared Samantha, Nancy, and Damon to introduce themselves properly.


    After all, their reputation, or more specifically, the family''s reputation they served under would take a hit if they were rude and refused to acknowledge Theobold''s presence.


    "Indeed, how many years have it been since west met each other, Theobold?" Samantha was the first to step forward and greeted Theobold as if they were old friends who hadn''t seen each other for a long time.


    Seeing that, Nancy naturally followed ahead and greeted Theobold as well.


    "Just like Samantha has said, we have truly not seen each other for an unknown amount of time. After all, we''re such busy people." Nancy smiled, even giving an excuse for why they rarely saw each other.


    As for Damon, he was quite unwilling to greet Theobold, given theirst encounter didn''t end quite so well.


    However, knowing the sake that was put here, and the heavy emphasis from Samuel Harrett, Damon could only nod his head slightly.


    "Not seen for a long time, but you have not changed once aside from your appearance turning quite old." Damon smiled coldly and said.


    Theoboldughed heartily, reacting to the small snub from Damon.


    "Yeah, I''m getting quite old, but thanks to my constant exercise and mission in the wilderness, my body is still physically fit. But I''m not sure about you, who had to remain in the house for so long." Theobold kindly replied, striking back at Damon in a smooth manner.


    Damon could only make a ''hmph'' sound and not make any more remarks.


    Samantha and Nancy nced at each other briefly, only shaking their heads in disapproval.


    Could Damon be more of an idiot than Benedict?


    Why would he want to give a snub to someone who clearly had the advantage currently?


    "Anyway, I''ve got news that Phoebe and Benedict have arrived here as well. Where are they?" Samantha changed the topic and asked, ncing at her surroundings.


    "Those two are by the West area from here. There is quite a battle happening earlier so it cannot amodate them." Theobold exined, purposely downgrading the situation.


    Although there was some bad blood between them, now was not the time to have a civil war with each other.


    "Oh, a battle urred here?" Samantha raised an eyebrow, seemingly intrigued by the situation.


    "Hmm, it seems like we were a bitte though," Nancy added, noticing the spectators were casually staring at them, which meant that the battle had long been over. Otherwise, these spectators wouldn''t have so much time to watch them, let alone have Theobolde here to greet them.


    Theobold nodded, maintaining a calm demeanor. "Yes, it was quite the battle. We managed to repel the evolved Gso variant, but it was no easy task."


    "Oddly suspicious of how you managed to repel it." Damon suddenly intervened.


    "Not to mention, who is thisdy that clearly doesn''t resemble any of your soldiers." He added, pointing at Mary.


    Theobold was caught off-guard by Damon, clearly not expecting this brute to be so clever all of a sudden. Turning around to nce at Mary, Theobold wasn''t quite sure as to how to introduce her.


    At first, she was added to their team simply because it was Vanessa''s demand.


    However, with the battle of the evolved Gso variant and her clear disy ofmand and instruction that assisted them dearly, Theobold no longer dared to underestimate Mary.


    Not everyone can remain calm andposed in an unexpected situation and give clear instructions to others.


    As Theobold was pondering how to properly introduce Mary, she stepped forward and greeted them politely.


    "Hello, I''m Mary, and an assistant to Sir Gavin. I''m sure you have heard or seen the news regarding the ymore Mines deployment that assisted the frontline greatly, right?" Mary introduced herself, choosing to use Shi Tian''s alias.


    Samantha thought for a moment before recalling the broadcast news that showcased a disy of a chain explosion in the frontline, decimating multiple Gso variants.


    "Ah¡­ so those ymore Mines are crafted by this Gavin person huh." Samantha sped her hands and said.


    Mary nodded her head. "Mhmm, and we were requested by Commander Theobold to assist him. Just the battle earlier, we have provided quite the assistance needed to repel the evolved Gso variant."


    She exined in a bit more detail, revealing their participation in the battle. After all, they were going to find out sooner orter, so attempting to deceive them here would only arouse their suspicion.


    Meanwhile, Theobold was slightly impressed by Mary''s swift thinking, almost as if he found her extremely talented to lead a toon all by herself.


    To be able to adapt to a situation ande up with a solution, was not an easy task to do. In fact, it was actually extremely difficult depending on how tense the situation and atmosphere were.


    "I see¡­ No wonder Theobold managed to repel an evolved variant so easily. He got quite the helper recruited." Samantha chuckled softly and praised Theobold, albeit snubbing him a little bit in which he needed outside help.

 Chapter 243 Foreboding Confirmation

    <h4>Chapter 243 Foreboding Confirmation</h4>


    Mary''s introduction seemed to have eased the tension.


    Samantha and Nancy both acknowledged her contribution, while Damon, though still not entirely pleased, didn''t press the matter further.


    And Theobold seized the opportunity to steer the conversation back to their current situation.


    "Anyway, what are your ns foring all the way here in the frontline?" Theobold asked, clearly stunned by their appearance. There were numerous monster waves in the past and were difficult to suppress too, but never once had these people shown their appearance.


    However, this time, all five of them had respectively arrived at the frontline, causing Theobold to believe there were definitely more than the eyes met. Samantha, Nancy, and Damon all suddenly made a pause in their movements, clearly unwilling to divulge or answer Theobold''s simple question.


    "Haha, I think we should set up a camp first before we continue any discussion. My soldiers are still waiting at the back, so I can''t afford to idle here." Samantha made an awkwardugh and gave an excuse.


    Nancy seemingly followed suit and added to Samantha''s excuse, proiming that her soldiers needed to settle down first as well.


    As for Damon, he didn''t even bother making an excuse and just outrightmanded his soldiers to start finding a good spot to settle down.


    Seeing all three of them hastily leave as if they were frightened, Theobold shook his head in disbelief. He knew it was too good to be true to have theming here and truly wanted to suppress the monster wave.


    As the original tension atmosphere dimmed down, Theobold breathed a sigh of relief as he turned his attention to Mary.


    "Well, those three have left, but what about you?" Theobold asked calmly. "There must have been a reason why you followed me and needed to talk to me directly instead of rying the news to one of my soldiers."


    Mary nodded her head, but suspiciously nced left and right, indirectly telling him that she wanted a safe and secure ce to actually talk about what was on her mind.


    Theobold naturally understood such a signal, given his experience. Without hesitation, Theobold guided Mary to themand center and ordered the soldiers inside to temporarily leave the premises.


    Although he trusted his soldiers, confidential and important information was still best to keep at a minimum, meaning the fewer people knew, the better it was.


    "Okay, you may speak your mind now." Theobold took a seat and informed her that it was safe to talk.


    Mary didn''t bother to say anything and directly took out her USB sh drive, handing it to him.


    Seeing how she was still unwilling to talk about it and simply handed him a USB sh drive, Theobold''s expression turned even more solemn. There wasn''t an exnation needed to tell the USB sh drive must have contained some crucial and critical information for their current situation.


    Not wasting a single second, Theobold inserted the USB sh drive into one of the devices that was secured dearly. As soon as the USB sh drive was plugged in, Theobold quickly essed the information within.


    A few minutester, his expression gradually changed and by the time he finished browsing through the information, shock and disbelief filled his eyes.


    "Outrageous!" Theobold suddenly shouted and mmed his palm at the desk.


    He was enraged thoroughly, not because of the information Mary sent him, but the fact that he only managed to obtain such information through Mary.


    "Mary, how did you manage to find this information?" Calming his emotion slightly so as to not frighten Mary, Theobold attempted to ask in a soft tone.


    Though it was somewhat unnecessary, given that Mary wasn''t surprised or stunned by the sudden outburst.


    In fact, she had subtly expected that Theobold would have such a reaction when his soldiers were so ipetent to figure out such critical information.


    It was clear that something must have gone wrong if an ordinary civilian like her could search it, then how was it possible for his soldiers to be unable to when they are trained for this?


    "Well, after what Vanessa had ryed to me regarding the strange energy, I did some filtering in a software to check the map area, especially the magicule density," Mary exined calmly.


    "That kind of filtering¡­ our software has it as well." Theobold breathed deeply and muttered.


    "Can you exin the process more thoroughly please, Mary?" He then asked, clearly on the verge of exploding.


    If the processes Mary had taken or done were somewhat different than what his soldiers were talented at, then he could understand why they failed to detect any abnormality.


    However, if it was almost identical or it was very minimal changes than their usual process, then Theobold needed to rethink whether his soldiers were his or not.


    And sure enough, by the time Mary finished exining all the details explicitly, Theobold''s fist was clenched tightly.


    "Are you okay, Commander Theobold?" Seeing how unusual Theobold was acting, Mary asked somewhat in concern.


    After all, the situation here still needed Theobold to remain calm and collected to maintain it. Otherwise, chaos would definitely ensue, especially with the arrival of the five militarymanders.


    Theobold made a slight smile as he nodded his head.


    "Yeah, I''m alright. It''s just a bit disheartening how ipetent my soldiers were, or if they were perfectly concealing the information from me." Theobold said, turning his attention to the screen.


    His actions were quite obvious to Mary¨C he was definitely trying to search for the information himself.


    A brief momentter, Theobold''s expression changed even more drastically.


    "Mary, can you do the same thing you did on yourputer here?" Theobold stepped back a bit and asked Mary.


    "I trust you enough to simply do as I''ve said and nothing else." He added.


    Normally, Theobold wouldn''t allow any other non-personnel to interact with these screens, given most of the information and contents inside were confidential.


    But the situation he was facing required confirmation.


    A foreboding confirmation that Theobold wished it was just his imagination and nothing else.

 Chapter 244 Confirmed

    <h4>Chapter 244 Confirmed </h4>


    Mary observed Theobold''s reaction carefully.


    It was clear that he was deeply troubled by the information she had provided and the apparent ipetence or possible deception of his own soldiers.


    She couldn''t help but feel a pang of sympathy for him, understanding the weight of his responsibility. There was nothing worse than having your trusted aides fail you terribly.


    When Theobold asked if she could replicate her process on theputer in themand center, Mary nodded.


    Although it might seem like a simple task, Mary understood Theobold''s implication of such a request.


    If Mary finished replicating her process, but the result showed otherwise, then there was only one exnation for this. Either herputer was rigged or it was Theobold''s, but the answer should be quite obvious that it was definitely going to be Theobold.


    After all, Mary''s information could easily be verified by simply going to the specific ce, and Theobold doubted Mary would be foolish enough to deceive him.


    Not to mention, there was no reason for Mary to do such a thing when she never nned oning to the frontline anyway until he specifically requested them.


    As Mary started replicating the process, the situation wasn''t looking good.


    With a heavy heart, Mary stopped her typing and turned to Theobold, shaking her head.


    "So it''s indeed rigged huh," Theobold muttered softly, seemingly disappointed.


    Mary nodded her head.


    "The process is the same, but for some reason, when I attempt to locate some magicule density area, the result gives me void, which shouldn''t happen. Even if it''s not the precise location of mine, there should still be some result of magicule density in the surrounding area." She then exined her findings.


    On the surface, theputers seemed to be functioning wlessly and didn''t seem to be rigged in any sort of way. However, once you decided to be extremely specific, that was when ws started showing up.


    "Commander Theobold, with all due respect, you should start thinking about who in your team has highputer knowledge in terms of coding and hacking. Only someone with a high knowledge of these things could disguise theputers." Mary said calmly.


    "I understand, thanks for the concern," Theobold said with a heavy sigh. He might still be disappointed and disheartened by the result, but he was quick to regain hisposure.


    His years of experience as a militarymander were not for show. If he can''t even maintain hisposure despite such a finding, then he might as well leave the military.


    Mary didn''t bother to say anymore when it was clear that Theobold was unwilling to have a conversation.


    Now that he discovered there was such a leakage in his so-called military team, Theobold needed to find the rat as soon as possible.


    Otherwise, who knows how much more information they would miss or how much damage they would receive?


    "Anyway, I appreciate the information you have sent me, lest I''ll still be kept in the dark and unable to figure out how a Gso variant managed to evolve into such a frightening being." Theobold thanked her.


    Mary shook her head in response.


    "It''s what I should do for someone that can maintain such a kind heart and principles in this day and age, Commander Theobold. Not many people can be like you, so I''m sure this tiny setback won''t do much to you." She smiled slightly and said, sincerely praising Theobold.


    With that said, Mary bid farewell, letting Theobold cool down alone. After all, she understood he probably wanted to be alone temporarily despite sounding and looking calm.


    As Mary exited themand center, Theobold''s expression darkenedpletely.


    "A traitor in my military team¡­ how unexpected." Theobold clenched his fist and muttered.


    He was definitely going to find the culprit for this mess, but aside from that, he needed to feign ignorance of the matter.


    After all, if Theobold exposed the matter, then the culprit would be alerted, staying extremely low.


    However, if Theobold kept silent about the matter, then the culprit might still believe they were slick and that he was kept in the dark, allowing Theobold a chance to figure out who it was.


    ''Hmph, once I pinpoint the culprit, then they''re going to get it for risking my soldiers'' lives and others as well.'' Theobold vowed silently.


    While Theobold was already thinking of a method to salvage the situation, Mary had subsequently walked back to the Iron Sentinel, except she saw someone standing by the door again.


    "Seriously, what do you want, Vanessa?" Mary twitched her brows, crossed her arms, and asked.


    Ignoring her tone, Vanessa stepped forward and informed, "I''ve decided to follow your suggestion, but it''s not working much."


    "How is it not working?" Mary raised an eyebrow and asked in confusion. Leaking such information would have caused a storm, especially to those people who are always looking at fortune. They couldn''t stay still once they obtained the news.


    "The leak isn''t attracting much attention..." Vanessa trailed off, almost as if she was embarrassed to continue with her sentence, prompting Mary''s suspicion.


    "Speak! What kind of ''leak'' did you spread?" Mary changed her tone and demanded an answer.


    A few secondster, Vanessa had no choice but to speak the truth about how she messed up. And apparently, all she did was leak bits of the information regarding the strange energy.


    However, that wasn''t even the main point. It was the fact that she leaked it to a group of unconcerned people, and the information didn''t provide enough bait to lure anyone in.


    "My goodness, just how badly can you screw up one simple task?" Mary wanted to facepalm when Vanessa managed to fail so miserably. It was as if she had never interacted with the real world and how it worked.


    "I already know I screwed up, so didn''t Ie back to you for help? It''s clear that you know a surefire way to spread the leak, so why don''t you do it." Vanessa clicked her tongue and said.


    "Why would I do it when it doesn''t benefit me in any way?" Mary rolled her eyes. Still, she knew this hopeless woman would definitely go to Theobold soon for help if she refused to help.

 Chapter 245 Trance

    <h4>Chapter 245 Trance</h4>


    Mary truly didn''t want to help Vanessa, but realizing how badly she can screw up on a simple task, she bet that she would continue to make the situation worse.


    If Mary continued to reject her, and Vanessa went to Theobold for help, she would definitely expose her suggestion, then things would turn bad.


    After all, Theobold had just discovered a traitor among his precious military team.


    So if he found out that Mary also attempted to leak information to create a diversion and easier situation for her. Then the chances of Theobold using her as the sacrificialmb were high.


    And there was no way Mary would allow herself to be some sacrificialmb.


    "Ugh, just get inside the Iron Sentinel, but remember this. Whatever you see inside, you better keep quiet about it and not expose it." Mary stepped closer to Vanessa and warned solemnly.


    Shi Tian was probably still working on the semiconductor to rece the rigged IC chip, so if Vanessa decided to spill the bean, then everything was for naught.


    Meanwhile, Vanessa twitched her brows as she looked at Mary.


    "I just don''t know how to do this sneaky thing much, but I know how to weigh the situation," Vanessa exined, telling her that she wasn''t a fool.


    It was merely about her being inexperienced in such matters because she never had to do something like this. Usually, she would have others do this on her behalf, but because most of her people aren''t situated here, there wasn''t much she could do.


    And even if she did have people, she had sent them to investigate her Uncle and the potential threat that stilly in Gearits City.


    "Whatever, I''m toozy to even converse with you." Mary waved her hand, opening the back of the Iron Sentinel.


    Vanessa seemingly followed closely behind, and the soldiers who were guarding her from afar nced at each other in disbelief.


    "Ehm, she went inside the vehicle." One of the soldiers said to hispanion.


    "No shit she went in. I''m not blind." Hispanion rolled his eyes and wondered if he needed to smack his head.


    "I know you''re not blind. I''m just asking what we should do now."


    "What do you mean what should we do now? We obviously wait outside and guard around the perimeter. That vehicle belonged to Mary, and not some unknown people, so what are you worried for?"


    "Well, we were assigned to guard Vanessa and not keep our eyes off her, but now we have our eyes off her. Wouldn''t Commander Theobold me us for failing to oblige our duty?"


    "You don''t tell Commander Theobold and I won''t tell either, so who would know? Just pretend Vanessa is still nearby and that we''re properly guarding."


    As the two soldiers discussed what to do and how to proceed with their duty, Vanessa and Mary went through the supposed ''filter'' to the realpartment of the Iron Sentinel.


    "Woah, it doesn''t look big outside, but inside is quite spacious." Vanessa nced around, seemingly surprised by the spacious room avable.


    "Hmph, that''s why my Iron Sentinel is the best." Mary sounded proud when she saw Vanessa being surprised by her vehicle. s, it was only for a brief moment, given that she heard Vanessa''s next word.


    "This is probably simr to one of my smallest vehicles back in Chronosworth City." Vanessa proimed, causing Mary to nearly stumble.


    Mary took a deep breath, seemingly trying to calm herself.


    ''She''s not worth it, Mary. She''s definitely not worth your energy.'' She reminded herself silently.


    A few secondster, they arrived at the main section, and sure enough, Mary saw Shi Tian still working on the semiconductor.


    He was so focused that he didn''t even notice they had arrived and was now staring at him.


    "What is he doing-"


    Before Vanessa could finish her question, Mary made a ''shh'' action with her finger on her lip, telling her to not interrupt him.


    Mary might not like being a mechanic, but she knew fairly well to not interrupt someone when they were in a trance. With a glimpse, she could tell Shi Tian should have found some breakthrough and was now tackling it forward.


    Hence, there must not be any noises from them that might or could break his trance.


    Staying as quiet as possible, Mary pointed at the back, informing Vanessa to move back from where they came from.


    After moving back, Vanessa could finally ask her about Shi Tian''s actions. "Is he crafting something again? It doesn''t look like a ymore Mine." "Don''t worry about it." Mary swiftly replied with this sentence, effectively shutting down her curiosity.


    "Tsk, another so-called mysterious thing." Vanessa clicked her tongue.


    "You know, I kind of have enough with this secret there and this secret that. What is wrong with everyone these days? Can''t you all just be honest like Commander Theobold?" She added, voicing herints to Mary andparing them with the people she had interacted with.


    "If you like Commander Theobold being honest, then why don''t you go marry him? He might be old, but he''s definitely a man that you can rely on." Mary snorted and teased.


    "No thank you," Vanessa rolled her eyes. "You can have him instead since you suggested it. I bet you want an old and reliable man like Commander Theobold in your life."


    "Hah, fat chance. I''m independent and can support myself, unlike someone who can''t even do a simple task."


    "Hey, I''m just not an expert at that kind of stuff." Vanessa scoffed. "It''s like if I tell you to manipte some magicule and create earthy vines, you probably can''t do it right?"


    "How''s that simr to the task you failed?" Mary was dumbfounded by her analogy.


    One was something that could be done with or without magicule uses whereas the other could only be done with sufficient magicule maniption.


    Just when their conversation was suddenly heating up, they heard a deep and solemn voice from afar, prompting the two to look like a bunch of frightened kitties.


    "The two of you¡­ do you want a microphone and a stage for your show?" Shi Tian appeared from afar with a smile that was not so friendly.

 Chapter 246 Bickering

    <h4>Chapter 246 Bickering</h4>


    When Mary and Vanessa both saw Shi Tian shing a not-so-friendly smile at them, they knew they had messed up badly.


    "It was her, Nathan!" Mary was slick and quick to point the finger at Vanessa, ming her for the matter.


    "She was overly curious and unable to get any information from me, so she started to insult us." She added, painting Vanessa in a bad light.


    Vanessa had her mouth opened in disbelief, seeing how fast Mary had thrown her under the bus.


    However, she wasn''t the type to just take it and ept her fate.


    Vanessa crossed her arms and snorted coldly, "Hmph, it was her fault for bringing up the topic of marrying Commander Theobold when I clearly had no interest in him. It was all Mary''s fault."


    "No, it was you who praised Commander Theobold as an honorable person and wasining about us being mysterious and dishonorable."


    "When did I ever say you were dishonorable?"


    "Even if you didn''t say it directly, you have said it implicitly."


    "ENOUGH!" Shi Tian suddenly raised his tone and shouted, prompting the two to shut their mouth and swallow whatever words they were about to say.


    Seeing the two became timid and stopped talking, Shi Tian stepped forward, stopping in between them.


    "Must the two of you always react like oil and water whenever you interact with each other?" He then asked, shifting his nce between the two of them constantly.


    Just when Mary and Vanessa wanted to point fingers at each other for the cause, Shi Tian''s next word made them still, almost as if they had be a mannequin.


    "And I swear you''re going to get it if you start pointing fingers again."


    Speechless, Shi Tian was utterly speechless when they were truly about to point fingers at each other again.


    Just how old are these two women?


    Why must they react as if they are 3-year-old arch nemesis?


    "Umm, have you finished with the semiconductor since you came out?" Mary suddenly asked, seemingly trying to shift the conversation and tension away.


    However, she quickly regretted asking when Shi Tian turned his attention to her, staring right into her eyes. The stare was electrifying and horrifying at the same time.


    Normally, it would always be her using that kind of stare at Shi Tian, but each time she had a fight with Vanessa, the tables seemed to have turned.


    Vanessa wanted tough at Mary''s predicament but halted herself when she noticed Shi Tian''s gaze on her.


    Meanwhile, Shi Tian was truly exhausted by these two women. It was a good thing he had just finished the semiconductor, lest these two women alone would have ruined his trance.


    "If the two of you cannot restrain yourself and continue to fight, then leave." Shi Tian said solemnly, his tone somewhat demanding.


    "I won''t fight," Mary raised her hands and said. "The one that would most likely start another fight is Vanessa, especially given how ipetent she was in a simple task." She added.


    At first, Shi Tian wanted to scold her for trying to point fingers again but halted himself.


    "A simple task? What do you mean by that?" He asked.


    Mary swiftly replied, making the exnation short and simple as to what the task was.


    Once she was done, Shi Tian had gotten a gist of the situation. However, it still didn''t exin much as to why these two are constantly at each other''s throats.


    "Hmm, so Vanessa came here because we''re going to assist her in leaking the information?"


    "Mhmm, and I honestly don''t know why Vanessa is so bothered by it."


    "Cause unlike you two who are heartless, I have some conscience to prevent the situation from festering more terribly." Vanessa rolled her eyes and defended her action.


    Both Shi Tian and Mary nced at each other, nodding their heads. They agreed with her im about them being heartless and could care less if the situation truly festered worse.


    Mary merely came here for her and Optic Mech''s benefit. As for Shi Tian, he was merely obliging to the order that benefited him as well after weighing the pros and cons.


    Realistically speaking, in this crappy world, only selfish people could survive.


    Theobold was merely lucky that his honorable and principle character could maintain itself. Sooner orter, he would realize that it was an unrealistic ideal and that the citizens weren''t worth his time-saving.


    Just based on the previous incident when he and Vanessa were ambushed, not a single person hade forward to assist him aside from Gerald, who was affiliated with him somewhat.


    ''What a naive action.'' Shi Tian thought to himself, feeling that Vanessa was merely bringing in more trouble for herself when it was unnecessary.


    Nevertheless, since Mary had brought her along to the Iron Sentinel, it was clear that her stance was somewhat aligned with Vanessa.


    "Whatever, I''m done with my task anyway. We can go back into the mainpartment." Shi Tian scratched his head and said, turning around and returning to the mainpartment.


    As Shi Tian returned to the mainpartment, Mary simply gave Vanessa a side nce before following ahead. She didn''t even want to waste another breath on her, lest Shi Tian mighte back and scold her.


    Only she was supposed to do the scolding, and not the other way around.


    Vanessa could only pout slightly as she grudgingly followed behind, cursing Mary silently in her mind.


    Sometimeter, the two of them sat on their seats, with only Vanessa having to stand up.


    "Why can''t I sit there?" Vanessa raised an eyebrow and pointed at an empty chair.


    "Sorry, only useful people or employees are allowed. Outsiders are not allowed to sit there." Mary smiled kindly and shrugged her shoulders.


    Vanessa squinted her eyes, bit her lips softly, and turned her attention to Shi Tian, clearly wanting him to say something.


    ''Can we get to the main point already?'' Shi Tian cried inwardly, having enough of these two acting like children already.

 Chapter 247 Expert

    <h4>Chapter 247 Expert</h4>


    The tension between Mary, Vanessa, and Shi Tian was still palpable as they sat in the vehicle.


    Vanessa clearly felt like an outsider in this dynamic, and she couldn''t help but be annoyed by Mary''sments. She nced at Shi Tian, hoping for some support or intervention, but he seemed equally exasperated by their bickering.


    Shi Tian decided to step in before their argument could escte further.


    "Alright, enough of this. We have more important matters to attend to," he said firmly. "Vanessa, take a seat. We need to discuss our next steps."


    Vanessa didn''t look entirely pleased but chose toply, taking a seat and folding her arms, clearly still harboring some irritation.


    Mary, on the other hand, maintained her calm demeanor, ready to move forward. She knew she had won this bickering, even if it produced zero value or benefits. Just seeing Vanessa puffed up like a pufferfish was enough to satisfy her.


    Shaking his head, Shi Tian decided to move on regardless if these two were ready or not.


    "Anyway, what kind of simple task did Vanessa fail to do?" Shi Tian asked.


    "And don''tugh or judge at her because everyone can make mistakes, Mary. simr to how you made a blunder in the sales of the first modified ymore Mines." He added, warning Mary about her time of forgetting to limit the sales and nearly causing a riot among the crowd.


    Mary clicked her tongue once she was reminded of her tiny blunder.


    "Yeah yeah, I won''tugh or judge at Vanessa." She raised her hands as a sign of resignation.


    There was no way she was going to let Vanessa learn of that blunder, given that she would definitely use that to taunt her constantly.


    Meanwhile, Vanessa kept this in mind, vowing to learn of this information from Shi Tian sooner orter. An opportunity to learn Mary''s blunder, there was no way she was going to let that slip by.


    As the two women simrly made up their ns, Shi Tian remained ignorant of the situation and merely wanted to get this over with.


    The faster they finished, the earlier these two would split, allowing him to regain peace and tranquil moments.


    "The simple task was to leak information regarding the evolved Gso variant corpse containing the strange energy," Mary informed him.


    "Leaking the information?" Shi Tian raised an eyebrow, seemingly pondering why they wanted to leak such critical information.


    However, once he thought up a few reasons, he realized Mary''s intention.


    "You want others to do the work, but at the same time, you don''t want them to find out they''re being used. Hence, feigning a leak of information and making them believe they have struck gold, they would definitely rush ahead to do the dirty work." Shi Tian eximed, giving Mary a thumbs up for her nefarious intention.


    "What??!" Vanessa suddenly stood up and shouted. Pointing her finger at Mary, she continued, "You wanted me to leak this information not for the greater good but to manipte others to do your bidding?"


    "Wow, you are slower than I expected. It''s unreal at this point." Mary twitched her mouth and pped slowly.


    Even Shi Tian was able to guess her intention with just a few words, but Vanessa was still clueless about her real intention.


    "No wonder you dared to head outside despite knowing you are being targeted. Your brain needs some surgery." Mary added, kindly suggesting she undergo surgery.


    Vanessa clenched her fist and wanted to fight Mary now. Mary had crossed the lines with that remark, but thankfully, Shi Tian moved his chair in between them.


    Shi Tian stood right in the middle, almost as if he were the perpendicr line that stood in between the two lines.


    "One more insult or argument, regardless of who shall get kicked out." Shi Tian gave a final warning, his expression solemn.


    "But this is my vehicle¡­" Mary wanted to rebuke but was met with Shi Tian''s intense gaze, prompting her to close her mouth.


    A few minutester, the atmosphere in the vehicle seemed to have eased up.


    The two women truly did not dare to bicker anymore once they saw how serious Shi Tian was.


    "The first step to leak information must be done discreetly. One must never find out where the source of the information came from, but it must be spread rapidly." Shi Tian rubbed his chin and said.


    "The leaked information must not deviate from the original content, only some alteration is allowed. Otherwise, the leak would be pointless. In addition, people must believe that this kind of leaked information would benefit them dearly¨C to the point that if they waste even a single second, it would mean loss of profits."


    He added, sounding like an expert as he continued to exin more details on how to proceed with the task.


    His expertise was too much, astonishing both Vanessa and Mary.


    "How does he know such details?" Vanessa turned to Mary and asked.


    Mary shook her head.


    "I don''t know either, but he seemed to be an expert when ites to manipting people or understanding a human''s emotion." She responded, conversing with Vanessa as if they were good friends now.


    "Are you two listening?" Shi Tian paused for a moment when he kept hearing them having side conversations.


    Vanessa and Mary both smiled and nodded their heads. "Yes, we''re listening."


    Narrowing his eyes, Shi Tian crossed his arms and asked solemnly, "Okay then what did I just say?"


    "I''ll let Vanessa answer that since she''s the one that needs to study it." Mary was quick to throw her under the bus again, pushing her to answer Shi Tian''s question.


    Vanessa was speechless at how fast Mary could change her behavior.


    Meanwhile, Shi Tian turned his attention to Vanessa, seemingly awaiting her response as if he were a professor in the lecture and she was a student.


    ''I really hate this bitch.'' Vanessa cursed silently, wanting to strangle Mary in the neck as hard as possible for throwing her under the bus not once, but twice in almost the same time stamp.

 Chapter 248 Leak

    <h4>Chapter 248 Leak</h4>


    Vanessa was clearly flustered by Mary''s tactic of putting her on the spot. She knew Mary was intentionally trying to make her look bad in front of Shi Tian, almost as if she was trying to paint her as a foolish person.


    Gathering her thoughts, she attempted to recall what Shi Tian had just said.


    "Um, you mentioned that the leaked information needs to be spread discreetly, without revealing the source. It shouldn''t deviate from the original content, but we can make some alterations. And it should be so beneficial that people would act immediately to avoid any loss of profits," Vanessa replied, trying to mimic Shi Tian''s words as closely as possible.


    Shi Tian nodded, seemingly satisfied with Vanessa''s response. "Good, you were paying attention."


    Mary stifled a chuckle, clearly amused by the situation. Vanessa shot her a re, but it only earned her a mischievous smile in return.


    However, Shi Tian wasn''t done as he turned his attention to Mary now, causing her to be somewhat stiff.


    "So Vanessa has exined what I just said, then what other method did I speak of in terms of how to get this leak to spread rapidly?" Shi Tian asked her.


    Vanessa was gloating inwardly when she heard the question that Shi Tian gave. She had only paid attention in the first half and went to discuss with Mary regarding Shi Tian''s expertise.


    Thus, it was clear that the two of them did not get to listen to thetter part, meaning Mary was stumped.


    However, contrary to Vanessa''s belief, Mary was able to answer the question wlessly, proving that she could multitask.


    "Impressive, Mary. To think you would even implement your own thoughts into it, making it more effective than what I just said." Shi Tian nodded his head and praised her insight.


    Mary didn''t bother to say anything else, but her expression said it all as she smiled at Vanessa, who looked as if she had swallowed a mouthful of flies.


    "Okay, it seemed that you two were somehow able toprehend my meaning, so let me continue to exin the process." Shi Tian sped his hands and proceeded to exin how they should approach the task ahead.


    To leak information, one might think it was a simple task, but in fact, it was a difficult task.


    One must prevent others from being able to track down the source back to you, and it must also be an explosive kind of leak that could trigger others to take action.


    These two factors alone are difficult enough to achieve, let alone with their current circumstance when six militarymanders are on the lookout.


    "Why does it feel like this is not your first rodeo in leaking information?" Vanessa paid careful attention to Shi Tian and couldn''t help but ask why he was such an expert.


    None of these seemed to be something you could just think up from the spot. It had to be learned through multiple experiences.


    "Don''t worry about it," Shi Tian responded simr to Mary''s saying, without borating further.


    "Right now, we want to leak this information, so let''s not deviate from our goal. The two of you had wasted enough time already. Information can be precious depending on the time and situation, so we can''t afford to idle around till the information bes useless." He added, warning them.


    "You''re right, Nathan." Mary nodded her head and agreed with him.


    Turning around and facing Vanessa, Mary extended her hand, "Temporary truce until we get this over with?"


    Vanessa stared at the hand for a brief moment before shaking it with her.


    "Temporary truce it is." She then said, agreeing with Mary that now was not the time to fool around.


    Meanwhile, Shi Tian was d that the two could finally put their differences aside temporarily and focus on the task ahead.


    "I''m d you two can finally mature," Shi Tian sped his hand and shed a rare smile. It was a genuine and grateful smile that the two could finally stop bickering for once.


    Sometimeter, the three of them worked together,ing up with a n on how to leak the information.


    After numerous discussions, they all decided the best method to leak information was through the inte to a specific channel. A channel that was dedicated to the current frontline and had numerous news updates.


    Of course, the channel moderators wouldn''t allow them to post any news without verification, but Shi Tian, Mary, and Vanessa didn''t n on posting through the proper method.


    "The channel may have a strong firewall to block anyone from hacking into it, but that doesn''t pose a problem for me," Mary lifted her sleeves up and smirked.


    As a Staff Engineer level, Mary naturally had some skills in terms of hacking.


    After all, a proper mechanic must not only be able to craft items, but they must also have high knowledge in terms of cybersecurity and coding.


    The world might be ruined, but some areas are still being maintained thanks to the highly advanced technology that could contend against these ferocious monsters. Gearits City was one such city that had advanced technology that could allow itself to pass through multiple barriers and obstacles.


    "Damn, you are truly unbelievable," Vanessa muttered, seemingly in disbelief at how talented Mary was.


    "Of course, even Nathan is beneath me." Mary didn''t act humble and was in fact proud of herself. It was only natural that she would feel proud when she had such knowledge that others could only dream of getting.


    Shi Tian didn''t feel bad about it and nodded his head.


    "Indeed, you are more skillful than me in this aspect." He admitted his shorings. There was nothing to be embarrassed about when he had just started his mechanic path.


    He wasn''t a super-talented prodigy who could simply learn everything at first nce.


    That would be too unrealistic and such people are usually pressured into only seeding. Failure was never an option for these types of people because others always expect them to be the best of the best.


    Shi Tian would rather remain hidden or unknown and avoid such attention and expectation.

 Chapter 249 Hacking

    <h4>Chapter 249 Hacking</h4>


    "Nathan, turn on the incognito function by the bottom left button in the control panel." Mary went on to theputer, instructing Shi Tian to press some buttons.


    Although somewhat dumbfounded that the Iron Sentinel had such a function, Shi Tianplied with the order nheless. Going to the control panel, Shi Tian searched for the button and pressed it.


    "Incognito function huh. As in you are masking the IP address and when you are essing the specific channel?" Vanessa asked.


    Mary nodded her head.


    "Of course, only an ipetent hacker would be idiotic enough to not secure their cybersecurity and identity first before attempting to hack into anything." She shrugged her shoulders and scoffed.


    Ipetent hackers would always overestimate themselves, believing they are the best and can''t be tracked. However, the truth was far from their dreams.


    If an ipetent hacker does get tracked and caught, their fate is usually worse than death.


    After all, who would know that a person in this world had gone missing?


    A famous person could easily vanish without a trace in this current world and no one would notice, let alone an unknown hacker.


    "Nathan, you should learn properly of these measurements that you must take if you want to advance from an apprentice. A mechanic ss is the most tedious and dangerous onepared to the other ss." Mary kindly warned and reminded Shi Tian.


    Meanwhile, Vanessa rolled her eyes as she didn''t agree with her im. "An Esper ss isn''t an easy one either, Mary. Do you know how many hours one must train to be ssified as an Esper?"


    "I don''t know, but it''s definitely not as difficult as a mechanic. You Esper people are born with that affinity and talent, so all you have to do is harness the power and control it properly. Mechanic ss starts from scratch, and has to go through numerous trials to achieve even a tiny bit of achievement." Mary sneered coldly.


    Seeing how the two were about to break their so-called temporary truce, Shi Tian knew he had to intervene and change the topic.


    "Anyway, which specific channel is it that we need to hack and how do we tackle it?" Shi Tian asked, seemingly curious about how Mary would hack the channel.


    Hacking was always a fascinating topic that allowed one to break through the firewalls of other people''s software orputers.


    These hackers are usually ssified into three categories: White Hat Hackers, ck Hat Hackers, and Gray Hat Hackers.


    White Hat Hackers are naturally those who use their hacking skills for themon good whereas ck Hat Hackers hacked for their own selfish reason, usually for money through ransomware.


    As for Gray Hat Hackers, they are in the middle of the other two categories, meaning they could be good but also selfish, meaning they might identally stumble on some data but wish to get paid for the data to be returned to the owner.


    Mary, herself, was ssified as a Gray Hat Hacker, given that she doesn''t necessarily hack into other software to steal data for profit, but she also wouldn''t just give data away for free if she managed to stumble across one.


    "Just watch closely, Nathan." Mary stretched her fingers and started typing on the hologram keyboard.


    The specific channel was specifically created for the frontline, so it was merely titled Frontline Monster Wave. A simple title, but also very effective in letting people know what the channel was used for.


    essing the channel, the current hot topic was naturally the appearance of the evolved Gso variant that appeared close to the camping site of the frontline army.


    Breaking News! The Gso variant undergoes another mutation and evolves into a new species.


    The Gso variant had tentacles and increased its size by arge margin!


    An unknown energy wave attack caused multiple injuries, but no deaths were stated. Commander Theobold and his soldiers along with other people in the frontline managed to suppress the evolved Gso variant.


    Instantly, multiple topics revolving around the evolved Gso variant could be read, and there was even video footage of the battle scene, showing Theobold suppressing the creature.


    Luckily, most of the video footage was focused on Theobold, and not one of them had shown them using a mounted turret to assist them. Though the footage did show the creature being sted by a mounted turret, people didn''t pay much attention to it aside from Theobold''s heroic fight.


    "We''re currently logged in as guests, but this guest is soon going to be an unweing one." Mary smiled coldly, her eyes ncing at the interface.


    "Well, no hackers are going to be wee, so it''s obvious." Vanessa rolled her eyes and said.


    "Shush, no one asked for your opinion, outsider." Mary clicked her tongue and turned her attention to Shi Tian.


    "My hacking is going to be fast since I can''t let the cybersecurity bots catch me, so you can only hope for the best to learn as much as you possibly can. As for recording, it won''t work thanks to the incognito function. Other than thisputer, almost all electronic devices are currently on break, meaning it can''t be used." She added, letting Shi Tian know that he could only do his best toprehend her hacking.


    Shi Tian nodded his head. "No worries, Mary. Just focus on your hacking, and I''ll try to learn from it."


    With that being said, Mary no longer bothered to warn him and demanded absolute silence. She needed to concentratepletely on the hacking, lest a single mistake would mean the operation was voided and it would be difficult to attempt another try.


    After all, the opposing party would be alerted and anticipate that there would be a next hacking. They would definitely strengthen their cybersecurity and prevent her from being able to even go far with her hacking.


    "Phew, alright, let the show begin." Mary took a few deep breaths, preparing her mindset to be ready to hack into the channel and post the necessary information that she wished to be leaked out.

 Chapter 250 Cybersecurity Bot

    <h4>Chapter 250 Cybersecurity Bot</h4>


    Mary''s fingers danced across the holographic keyboard as she initiated the hacking process.


    Shi Tian watched in awe as lines of code and data flowed rapidly on the screen. It was like watching a master musician y aplex piece on a piano, each keystroke deliberate and precise.


    The incognito function they were using masked their presence well, but Mary knew that it was still a race against time. The longer she stayed connected, the higher the risk of detection.


    As Mary continued to work her magic, Vanessa leaned over to Shi Tian and whispered, "She''s good at what she does, no doubt about that."


    Shi Tian nodded, his eyes fixed on the screen. "Absolutely. Hacking isn''t just about technical skills; it''s also about staying calm under pressure and being able to adapt quickly. Mary seems to excel in both areas."


    Vanessa couldn''t help but admire Mary''s expertise, despite their earlier disagreements. The tension in the vehicle had shifted from interpersonal conflicts to a shared sense of purpose.


    Meanwhile, Mary''s hacking progress was relentless.


    She bypassed firewalls, navigated throughyers of encryption, and attempted to nt the information they wanted to leak. To an onlooker like Shi Tian, it was a blur of numbers, symbols, and lines of code, but to Mary, it was a symphony she orchestrated.


    Just when Shi Tian and Vanessa thought the y was done and Mary finished her musician-like hacking, Mary suddenly clicked her tongue.


    "Damn it, these moderators aren''t ying around." Mary was displeased as her eyes remained fixated on the screen.


    "What happened, Mary?" Shi Tian moved closer to her and nced at the screen. His expression changed slightly when he saw some sort of bots chasing after her, causing the code Mary did to be damaged slightly.


    "These moderators actually installed cybersecurity bots and they are advanced as heck too." Mary subtly exined, her fingers moving in faster to avoid the cybersecurity bots'' attack.


    On the screen, cybersecurity bots were attacking the avatar that Mary was using to hack into the system. It was an intense chase scene, with Mary constantly having to input multiple keys to avoid the attacks sent by the cybersecurity bots.


    The tension in the vehicle escted as Mary continued her fierce battle against the cybersecurity bots. Lines of code and digital attacks shed in a virtual battlefield, and it was clear that these cybersecurity bots were not to be underestimated.


    Shi Tian and Vanessa watched in silence, realizing the gravity of the situation. The sess of their mission depended on Mary''s ability to outmaneuver these advanced cybersecurity measures.


    Vanessa couldn''t help but ask, "Can you handle this, Mary?"


    Mary didn''t take her eyes off the screen as she replied, "I can handle it, but it''s going to take some time. These bots are persistent, and they seem to adapt to my tactics. We might need to find another way to leak the information if this keeps up."


    Shi Tian contemted the situation. Time was of the essence, and they couldn''t afford to waste too much of it on this virtual battle. He wondered if there was any other approach they could take.


    "Is there a way to distract these cybersecurity bots?" Shi Tian asked, hoping to brainstorm a solution.


    A few secondster, Mary nodded, her fingers still moving rapidly on the holographic keyboard.


    "Yes, we can create a diversion, something that will draw their attention away from us long enough for me to finish the job," Mary exined, dodging another round of offensive digital codes of attack from the bots.


    "Nathan, quickly boot up the backupputer. The backupputer might be an outdated version but it still has the incognito function. I''m going to create a clone and send it to you to control. It''s a decoy without substance, so all you need to do is avoid the bots'' attack and bring them to another direction from me." She instructed.


    "But I don''t know the codes andmands to control the clone." Shi Tian responded, clearly knowing his skills were inadequate.


    He didn''t want to pretend to be tough, only to ruin things in the end. His skills were inferior, and he would admit it instead of trying to be some know-it-all person.


    "Rest assured, Nathan. As I''ve said, the clone is without substance and only has the appearance, meaning all you have to do is control the WASD key for its movement. You''ll simply be ying a simple game of dodging, but if you get hit even once, it''s game over."


    "I see¡­" A bit stunned by the simple mechanicspared to Mary''s intense keyboard warrior style, Shi Tian spent a few seconds booting up the backupputer.


    It was a good thing that Mary had given him a somewhat guided tour of the Iron Sentinel. And although there were still quite a lot of things he remained ignorant about, the backupputer was something Mary had told him long ago.


    It seemed like Mary had anticipated that there would be a day when he would be required to assist her with a backupputer, so she had informed him beforehand.


    As Shi Tian waited for the backupputer to boot up, Vanessa was sitting by the side, clearly ignoredpletely.


    s, this time, even Vanessa could notin a bit and could only sit there in silence. Whatever Mary and Shi Tian were about to do, she had zero clues regarding it.


    They were now talking in a realm that only a Mechanic ss could understand and she was an Esper ss. If it were a topic revolving around magicule and its maniption, then she would be able to give advice and suggestions.


    However, that was not the case, and she was not needed.


    cing a hand beneath her chin, Vanessa could only show a somewhat frowning face, clearly disappointed that she could only be a flower vase at this point.


    ''Tsk, why are Mechanics soplicated with cybersecurity this and that? We should have just fought it out with magicule.'' Vanessa thought to herself.

 Chapter 251 Retro Game

    <h4>Chapter 251 Retro Game</h4>


    "Is there anything I can help?" Waiting for a few seconds, Vanessa asked Mary.


    It was clear that she was ufortable with not being able to help in anything.


    She had already felt utterly useless once when she was ambushed dearly and required Shi Tian''s assistance.


    And now that she had recovered, she thought she could be somewhat useful, but the truth was far from it.


    She was still incapable of assisting much aside from the incident in the Horology Restaurant.


    Mary pondered for a moment, clearly undecided whether or not to include Vanessa in their n.


    "Please, I don''t wish to be a good-for-nothing here." Vanessa pleaded when she saw Mary pondering while focusing on the screen.


    "Fine, I''ll send in another clone for you as well. You can control the clone with the arrow keys while Nathan will control it with the WASD keys." Mary resigned, unwilling to discuss the topic further.


    Since Vanessa was adamant about assisting them, then creating another clone wouldn''t be much anyway. In fact, it would just create more decoys and distractions for the cybersecurity bots.


    Hence, regardless if Vanessa got caught early or not, it would still help her save time nheless by diverting some of the cybersecurity bots'' attention.


    And with Mary greenlighting Vanessa to help, Shi Tian swiftly moved a bit to the left side, allowing room for Vaneesa to swoop in to control the arrow''s keybind.


    "You can move over here, Vanessa." Shi Tian said, opening up the specific channel interface to join Mary.


    He was mimicking the same process as Mary on how she managed to bypass the firewalls.


    Mary, who was focused on dodging the cybersecurity bots, was sweating a bit on her forehead but still managed to take a small glimpse at what Shi Tian was doing.


    She couldn''t help but be impressed slightly that Shi Tian was able to mimic her action, albeit much slower than her process.


    "It''s good that you paid attention, so I don''t have to teach you how to breach the firewall and meet me there." Mary praised slightly, still focusing on the cybersecurity bots that seemed to have increased their efficiency.


    It was clear that the bots were enraged by Mary''s skills in constantly dodging without getting hit once.


    Numerous lines of code continued to swarm through Mary''s screen, and from normal people''s perspective, the screen seemed to be bombarded with a strong virus type, unable to recognize a single thing in it.


    "Have you breached the cracked firewalls yet?" Mary asked after a few minutes.


    Given that she had infiltrated the software already.


    There were cracks in the firewalls, allowing Shi Tian to easily phase through the softwarepared to having to manually break the firewalls open as Mary did.


    "Yeah, I''m in, Mary." Shi Tian nodded his head and responded.


    "Good, I''m going to send two clones to you now. The clones are manually controlled with the WASD and arrow keys respectively. So Nathan, turn on the double monitor function. That way, Vanessa can focus on her own clone while you focus on yours." Mary instructed.


    A double-screen monitor, both controlled by a singr holographic keyboard, was the limit of her Iron Sentinel. If it were any more, then the Iron Sentinel would be incapable of doing more.


    After all, breaching through firewalls and software security required a ton of electrical power, and the Iron Sentinel could barely maintain such high usage of voltage and watts.


    The cooler built-in to the Iron Sentinel had already been activated to cool down the system, preventing theputers from overloading and powering off.


    Shi Tian followed Mary''s instructions and activated the double monitor function, splitting the screen into two separate interfaces. One side was designated for Vanessa to control her clone, and the other was for Shi Tian to control his own.


    With this setup, both of them could work in tandem to create diversions and help Mary navigate the virtual battlefield without overloading the Iron Sentinel''s systems.


    Vanessa eagerly took her position at the controls, her fingers ready to manipte her clone. She nced at Shi Tian, who was already immersed in his interface, and asked Mary, "What''s our next move, Mary?"


    Mary, still focused on dodging the relentless attacks from the cybersecurity bots, replied, "We''ll create distractions by sending your clones to different locations near the bots. Nathan, you control yours to lead the charge, drawing their attention. Vanessa, yours will follow closely, causing more confusion. Keep them moving erratically to avoid being an easy target."


    Vanessa nodded, and both she and Shi Tian initiated the creation of their respective clones.


    Digital avatars, mirroring their movements, materialized on the screen. Shi Tian''s avatar was marked with an "N" above it, while Vanessa''s had a "V."


    Mary sent quick instructions. "Now, move them out. Nathan, head toward this coordinate." She disyed a virtual map with a marked location close to where the bots were concentrated.


    Shi Tian''s avatar, controlled by his WASD keyboard inputs, moved swiftly toward the designated location, zigzagging and performing unpredictable maneuvers to avoid detection.


    Vanessa followed suit, guiding her clone with precision using the arrow''s keyboard inputs. Her avatar, marked with a "V," mirrored her movements on the screen, weaving through the digital terrain in a way that would make it difficult for the cybersecurity bots to pinpoint.


    The distractions were underway, and the tension inside the Iron Sentinel was palpable. Mary continued to fend off the bots, using the chaos caused by Shi Tian and Vanessa''s clones to her advantage.


    The diversion was their best chance toplete the hacking undetected and leak the crucial information they needed.


    As Shi Tian and Vanessa distracted the bots, they were akin to ying a retro game style of the spaceship. Not only did they need to avoid obstacles, but they were also tasked with damaging the cybersecurity bots.


    The clones didn''t have substance, but Mary was generous enough to give them a set of codes, allowing them to go on an offensive every 30 seconds.

 Chapter 252 Imposter

    <h4>Chapter 252 Imposter</h4>


    As Shi Tian and Vanessa enjoyed a retro game style, dodging the cybersecurity bots'' attack while damaging them, the other party was alerted.


    "Sir, our channel has been infiltrated and cybersecurity bots were deployed already." A person rushing in through a somewhat dim room panickingly said.


    The person who seemed to be in charge of the dimly lit room was dumbfounded.


    "What the hell? Aren''t our cyberworks secured? How did people manage to infiltrate it?" The person, dressed in a suit asked in disbelief. He was the manager and in charge of the specific channel, Brad.


    Brad''s face seemed to have turned pale as he quickly urged the person who had rushed here to exin everything.


    The specific channel was created for the current monster wave and was the hottest topic. If any mishaps were to ur under his management, then it was obvious what kind of punishment he would receive.


    All me and losses would be imposed upon him.


    His fate would turn 180 degrees, going from enjoying a high privilege to enjoying a life worse than the slum.


    A few minutester, the person finished exining everything to Brad, starting from how they noticed a sudden breach of security.


    "Just why would anyone want to infiltrate the channel?" Brad clenched his teeth and asked in disbelief.


    The channel wasn''t even a profit channel that earned money. It was merely a channel filled with current news, informative articles, and discussions of users regarding the monster wave that was ravaging the District C area.


    Who in their right mind would want to infiltrate such a channel?


    No- the question would be, how did they even manage to infiltrate the channel that was highly secured?


    ''Is this another hacker from another city that wants to cause chaos? But that wouldn''t make sense.'' Brad eximed inwardly, pacing back and forth.


    "Sir, what should we do?" As Brad was pacing back and forth, the person couldn''t help but ask, clearly waiting for an order. He was just a messenger whereas Brad was the manager and held the highest authority here.


    Brad took a deep breath topose himself. Panicking would not help him at all, and only serve to distract and ruin his thought process.


    "Get the cyber security team to fix the damaged firewalls and deploy more cybersecurity bots. We spent so much on cyberwork security and yet hackers still infiltrated it. If this news gets out, then both you and I can kiss the job goodbye." Bradmanded, able to maintain rationality ande up with a solution.


    "Yes sir!" The person dared not idle any longer and did asmanded, unwilling to waste even a single second.


    Despite making themand, Brad didn''t ce much hope on the cyber security team.


    Had they beenpetent, then the hackers wouldn''t have already infiltrated their software and wreaked havoc.


    "I need to cover this incident and minimize the damage as much as possible." Brad rubbed his chin and muttered.


    Since the hackers were able to brute force their firewalls, it goes to show that the hackers were skilled and possibly above them in terms of cyberworks.


    Thus, Brad could only pray the hackers did not damage much or mess with the channel.


    As for shutting down the channel and attempting to restart thework, Brad had never considered such an option.


    Even now, there is massive traffic among users entering and leavingments on the channel. Meaning, that if he decided to shut down the channel, it was equivalent to announcing to everyone that they had encountered troubles.


    And that was the very thing he was avoiding, so why would he shoot himself in the foot?


    ''Why am I so unlucky?'' Bradined silently, feeling like the world was ying a joke on him. He had struck misfortune when he was put in charge of this channel that didn''t have much traffic, but after the monster wave, it went viral.


    At that time, Brad thought his luck was finally turning for the better, with the boss even looking at him in high regard, wanting to promote him if he did well.


    However, now all might be for naught because of one incident.


    ''Please let it be covered. I''ll even remain abstinent for five years if you let me get through this obstacle.'' Brad pleaded inwardly.


    While Brad was praying and hoping for the best, back at the Iron Sentinel, three people could be seen sweating profusely.


    "Vanessa, move more to the right side. You''re getting too close to my clone." Shi Tian, who was controlling the WASD key bind, warned Vanessa to control her clone more decently.


    Her clonebeled in "V" was getting too close to him, which would result in all the cybersecurity bots regrouping and being able to focus fire on them simultaneouslypared to having to split up to chase them.


    "I''m trying, but the right side is now blocked by new firewalls that the other party had set up. If I move to the right side more, then I might be stuck and get caught." Vanessa responded, seemingly trying her best.


    "As if I''m not in the same situation, Vanessa." Shi Tian rolled his eyes and said exhaustedly. It was because his situation was no different than hers that he requested her to move back to her original position.


    However, he still kept his position and maintained the clone on the left side, narrowly dodging the swarm of codes flying at him.


    There were times when he was nearly struck, but luckily he was able to anticipate it and react in time to avoid the attack.


    Yet, Vanessa seemed to not care about her surroundings and gradually kept moving her clone closer to him, almost as if she was trying to pincer his clone down.


    If it wasn''t for the fact that they knew she was on the same team and had no reason to betray them, then they would have believed she was an imposter.


    "Vanessa, we''re ying a dodging spaceship type of game, not an imposter game where you are trying to get us killed." Shi Tian clicked his tongue and said, realizing that her clone was getting even closer to his.

 Chapter 253 Team Kill

    <h4>Chapter 253 Team Kill</h4>


    Vanessa, her eyes fixed on her clone''s movements on the screen, was puzzled by Shi Tian''s remark. She hadn''t intentionally moved her clone closer to his; in fact, she was trying to keep her distance to create effective diversions.


    As she continued to manipte her clone with the arrow keys, she furrowed her brow in concentration. "I''m not trying to get us killed, Nathan. It''s like my clone is drifting on its own."


    Shi Tian frowned, ncing at her screen. It was indeed peculiar. Vanessa''s clone was acting as if it had a mind of its own, veering closer to Shi Tian''s avatar despite her efforts to the contrary.


    Mary, still busy fending off the cybersecurity bots, couldn''t divert her attention to this unexpected development.


    The situation was growing increasingly tense, and any distraction could lead to a catastrophic failure of their mission.


    Shi Tian, realizing that this anomaly might jeopardize their operation, tried to maneuver his own clone to create more space between them and Vanessa''s rogue clone.


    However, it seemed like the closer they got, the more they were drawn together, almost as if some invisible force were at y.


    "This is weird," Shi Tian muttered, his fingers dancing across the keyboard as he attempted to regain control of his clone. But no matter how he directed his avatar, Vanessa''s clone kept inching closer.


    Amid this digital chaos, Mary finally managed to fend off the cybersecurity bots and had almostpleted the mission. She was about to leak the vital information they needed when she noticed the strange behavior of Vanessa''s clone.


    "Vanessa, something''s not right with your clone!" Mary eximed, her attention divided between the screen and Vanessa. "It''s like it''s being pulled toward us."


    Vanessa was equally perplexed. She tried desperately to regain control of her clone, but it seemed to have a mind of its own, defying hermands.


    As the avatars continued to converge, the invisible force seemed to grow stronger, making it impossible for Vanessa or Shi Tian to control their clones effectively.


    Realizing the predicament they were in, Shi Tian took a deep breath as he made apletely unexpected decision.


    Without any warning at all, Shi Tian controlled his avatar and moved toward Vanessa, dumbfounding her.


    They were trying their best to get away from each other, so why would Shi Tian suddenly move closer to them, theplete opposite of their objective.


    Vanessa was unable to figure out Shi Tian''s intention. However, it didn''t take long for her to realize his intention.


    "Goodbye to your clone, Vanessa." Shi Tian t-out said, aiming at Vanessa''s "V" clone and firing at it.


    "What are you doing?" Vanessa was stunned¨C to the point that she stood up from her chair and grabbed her forehead with her two hands, seemingly in disbelief.


    Her eyes were fixated on the screen in which Shi Tian hadmitted a team kill on her clone.


    The moment Vanessa''s clone or supposed avatar was killed by Shi Tian, the invisible force that seemed to be attaching them closer, vanishedpletely.


    It was as if the maic force didn''t exist in the first ce that forcefully dragged them closer.


    "H-H-Huh??" Vanessa was astonished, seemingly confused by the development.


    "Are you alright there, Nathan?" Mary, who was still focused on her screen, heard the outburst from their side.


    She didn''t hear much but was curious if they were struggling.


    "Yeah, we''re alright, Mary. Just focus on your task and don''t get distracted." Shi Tian responded swiftly, not wanting Mary to be distracted and lose focus because of their mess.


    Mary nodded her head, not nning on responding any further. She was close to the finish line in the final security breach, so she could not afford any distraction.


    Meanwhile, Shi Tian red at Vanessa and whispered to her, "Sit back down and don''t make any noises. You''ve caused enough trouble already."


    Although feeling wronged, Vanessa didn''t dare to make any sound and quietly sat back down, almost as if she were a little girl who had just been scolded.


    While this was urring, back in the other party, in a roombeled Cyber Security Team, a man was mming his palm at the desk in disbelief.


    "Damn it, they caught on quick!" A man cursed in anger.


    "Hmph, I''ve told you to kamikaze them both already, but you refused to. Now look at the great result you were looking for. We lost control of their clone and can only rely on the cybersecurity bots now. If Brad knows about this, you''re taking all the me." Another man that was standing behind him said, shifting all the me at him.


    "Shut up! I controlled it perfectly fine, but you intervened with the integrated force, causing them to realize something was wrong. The fault is yours!"


    "No, it was your fault for refusing to shoot the other clone down. And it''s still your fault to only be able to infiltrate and hack into the useless clone and not the other one."


    "Shut up, that other clone mechanics can be seen. Does it look like I even have a chance at all? The cybersecurity bots can''t even touch it at all, almost as if it was installed with scripting, allowing them to know when and where our cybersecurity bots were going to attack!"


    "Then what do you suggest we do? We lost all vision on the main hackerponent and only these clones might give us a hint. But now we lost the clone that we were able to somewhat manipte, and only this scripting clone."


    The man was silent, clearly not having a single clue. He had tried to manually control one of the cybersecurity bots to attack Shi Tian''s clone.


    However, the result was clear and he was even worse than the not manually controlling ones.


    Rubbing his temples, the man could only resign his fate and admit defeat.


    The firewalls that he put up to block the movement of the clone ended up in shambles, and he was utterly helpless now.


    "Tell Brad that the only solution is to shut down the system. Otherwise, there''s no other way to salvage this situation." The man ced his head down on the desk, seemingly giving up on life.

 Chapter 254 White Flag

    <h4>Chapter 254 White g</h4>


    Back in the Iron Sentinel, the tension had somewhat eased now that the mysterious force pulling their avatars together had been neutralized.


    Vanessa, although initially stunned by Shi Tian''s actions, had returned to her seat, chastened by the consequences of her unintentional mistake.


    Shi Tian, still focused on the screen, was doing his best to recover their positions.


    The cybersecurity bots were relentless, and their numbers had increased since the earlier chaos. Mary, on the other hand, was nearing the final stages of her mission.


    As Shi Tian maneuvered his avatar, dodging the bots'' attacks and making progress, he couldn''t help but think about the mysterious force that had drawn them together.


    It was an unsettling phenomenon, and he wondered if it had been orchestrated by the opposing party or if it was a glitch in the system.


    Vanessa''s clone was still intact, so that means it wasn''t damaged until Shi Tain decided to destroy it.


    However, another possibility was that it could also mean that the other party''s attack wasn''t physical but more of an integrated attack.


    Her clone waspromised and the other party was able to mimic the control of Vanessa''s movement, but at the same time, they were gradually hoping to collide it with Shi Tian''s clone.


    ''Does that mean they were hoping topromise my clone as well to track down Mary''s?'' Shi Tian wondered silently. Given Mary didn''t seem to have any trouble, it was obvious that the coast was clear on her side aspared to theirs.


    Hence, their clones were the only clues left for the other party to track down Mary and stop her hacking.


    Unfortunately, Shi Tian didn''t have much time to ponder over it, given that the cybersecurity bots seemed to have been agitated.


    They started firing offyers ofplicated codes in every direction, almost as if they didn''t care whether or not it was directed at his clone.


    "Tsk, so now they''re praying for luck." Shi Tian clicked his tongue in annoyance. What he hated the most was that they would resort to such tactics; randomize attacks.


    Previously, the cybersecurity bots might be sending out swarms ofplicated codes in hopes of damaging his clone, but they were all rational and could be anticipated.


    However, now that the enemies resorted to randomizing the attack, meaning even they won''t know when they will send out swarms of codes.


    It became increasingly difficult for Shi Tian to avoid them now that he couldn''t anticipate when and where these swarms of codes would fire.


    "Do you want me to wipe off your sweats, Nathan?" Seeing Shi Tian''s fingers moving extremely fast on the keyboard and his forehead dripping down lots of sweat, Vanessa retrieved a napkin and asked from the sideline.


    Shi Tian barely had time to acknowledge Vanessa''s offer as he continued to focus on the intense battle with the cybersecurity bots. Sweat was pouring down his face, and his fingers danced across the keyboard with lightning speed.


    The cybersecurity bots'' randomized attacks were making it increasingly challenging to evade their assaults.


    Each swarm of codes seemed toe from a different direction, and Shi Tian had to rely on quick reflexes and split-second decisions to dodge them.


    Vanessa, sensing the urgency of the situation, didn''t press the issue and simply took matters into her own hands.


    She gently wiped the sweat on his forehead, and Shi Tian allowed her without taking his eyes off the screen.


    Every moment counted, and distraction could lead to disaster, so he could only let Vanessa help him wipe the sweat that was about to block his eyesight.


    As for Mary, she was sweating as well, but Vanessa dared not interrupt her, lest she might be med for the failure of the operation. Compared to Shi Tian, Mary''s task was more critical and difficult.


    Time slowly passed by, and Mary''s expression soon changed to a joyful moment. She was about to seed, but then, something strange urred.


    "What the-" Shi Tian raised an eyebrow and muttered.


    On the screen, all the cybersecurity bots had deactivated and didn''t seem to have any intention of attacking his clone "N" anymore.


    Mary was equally confused because she saw a worldwide broadcast within thework itself. It wasn''t a firewall, but a simple message along with an iconic symbol known as an opponent surrendering; the white g.


    We surrendered and stopped all cybersecurity bots. Please don''t damage our channel or I have no choice but to shut the system down forcefully.


    The message read. At first nce, it might seem like a threat that they were going to resort to shutting the system down, but Mary and the other party both knew that it was an empty threat.


    Even if they shut the system down, it was already toote. Also, it was quite clear that the other party wanted to negotiate and didn''t want Mary to take any drastic action.


    Mary read the message aloud and turned her attention to Shi Tian, asking, "Did your screen also receive this message?"


    "No, they are asking me to inform you about what condition you want to stop the hacking." Shi Tian shook his head and exined the message he got.


    It was simr to a worldwide broadcast within thework, but Shi Tian''s screen received a different message than Mary''s.


    Despite the difference in messages, both messages had the same intention, and that was to discuss with Mary, the hacker.


    "So what do we do then?" Vanessa, who was still wiping the sweat off Shi Tian, asked confusingly. They were about to finish, but the other party suddenly threw in the white g and surrendered.


    "I''ll remain here, but Nathan, you can reply to the message through their encrypted code," Mary exined. She wasn''t going to be foolish enough to drop everything that she had just achieved.


    Her current location was already conquered by her, meaning it was now a dedicated space that only she could control.


    The other party had no authorization, but Shi Tian''s location was different. It was still under the other party''s authority and should be suitable to converse with them there.


    After all, if the other party wanted to pull some dirty trick, the only con would be losing the clone, which was already unimportant now.

 Chapter 255 Hostage

    <h4>Chapter 255 Hostage</h4>


    Shi Tian heard Mary''s instruction and nodded his head.


    Within the screen message itself, the other party had already given him the tool to converse with them.


    It was almost as if they had expected that a reply would be given to them.


    "What kind of reply do you want me to type?" Shi Tian turned to Mary and asked.


    He was just a bridge connecting these two at the moment, so the decision-making was ultimately up to Mary to decide.


    She was the sole person that had gotten them here and they were just assisting a little bit by the sideline.


    After a brief moment of thought, she responded, "Tell them we''re willing to discuss terms. But we need proof of your identity and intentions. Until then, we won''t proceed further."


    Mary''s message was cautious but also assertive. She understood the importance of verifying the identity of the other party before revealing any more information.


    Right now, both parties are kept in the dark, but Mary was demanding to shed some light on the other party, giving her the advantage and leeway.


    They weren''t in a rush and could easilyplete the hack, but Mary was intrigued by the other party''s surrender.


    Who in their right mind wouldply with a hacker unless they were in a perilous situation?


    When people are faced with tremendous pressure and risks, that is the best time to gain a lot of benefits from them.


    And since that was the case, how could Mary allow such easy profits to get away from her?


    Leaking the necessary information was important, but gaining more money was equally important.


    In fact, money would be even more important, especially when the world relied heavily on the same currency used everywhere: Source Crystals.


    "How did this hacking turn into a kidnapper and hostage situation?" Vanessa muttered in disbelief once she interpreted the response Mary had given out.


    The other party was clearly the victim whereas they were the kidnappers, holding the system or data as hostage and demanding ransom money.


    "That''s because we are doing it," Shi Tian heard her muttering and responded, pressing Enter on the keyboard to send the reply that Mary stated.


    A few secondster, in the Cyber Security Team, Brad was fuming mad when he read the response.


    "Fucking hell!" Brad was furious that his forehead had wrinkled up already.


    "Proof of identity? What are they now? The military?" He shouted angrily at the person in charge of the Cyber Security Team, Mason.


    Mason didn''t utter a single word, clearly knowing that if he opened his mouth and spoke, all hell would be raining upon him.


    Realizing that Mason wasn''t going to answer his question, Brad turned his attention to the other members of the Cyber Security Team.


    s, the moment his eyesid upon them, the members would lower their headspletely, almost as if they were afraid of even making eye contact.


    Making a ''hmph'' sound, Brad stopped trying to look at the useless members and focused his attention on the replied message.


    "Do as they said, Mason. It''s not like my information is secretive anyway if it can save us from troubles." Brad snorted coldly and instructed.


    The hacker merely requested his information, and not some unreasonable demands, so he might as wellply to see if they can still salvage the situation.


    Back in the Iron Sentinel, Shi Tian, who had patiently waited for a response from the other party finally received one.


    "Mary, it''s said that the other party is Brad, the manager of the channel for SterVision Media." Shi Tian read the message aloud and ryed it to Mary.


    "Hmm, SterVision Media huh." Mary rubbed her chin and pondered slightly.


    "If I recall correctly, SterVision Media is merely a subsidiary of the QuantumMedia Group." Vanessa suddenly interrupted and said, recalling the name.


    Although SterVision Media paledpletelypared to QuantumMedia Group, it had made quite a dramatic improvement in recent years, bing an active site for users to discuss numerous topics.


    "Vanessa, when you mentioned the QuantumMedia Group, do you mean that gigantic media group that had a foothold in numerous cities?" Mary enquired, feeling intrigued by the revtion.


    Vanessa nodded her head.


    "There might not be any copyrightws anymore given the chaotic world, but no one is dumb enough to impersonate the QuantumMedia Group. Who would want to court death with such a big group?"


    Suddenly, Mary sped her hands in joy and stood up from her chair.


    "Hahaha, we reeled in a big fish this time for merely trying to leak some information." Maryughed heartily.


    She had practically won the jackpot for taking a subsidiarypany hostage from argepany.


    Of course, there might be a ton of repercussions, but given the other party''s current approach, it was clear that they did not want the matter to escte further.


    "Nathan, quicklye up with a reply that is not too harsh, but also not too light to demand them to do what we want." Mary quickly urged Shi Tian, knowing full well that he was an expert in dealing with this type of situation.


    After all, he had demonstrated his speech ability back when they wanted to promote the sales of their modified ymore Mines, and he had a glib tongue. It would be dumb of her to not utilize his skills in action.


    Meanwhile, Shi Tian smiled bitterly as he could only attempt to think of something on the spot.


    ''Not too light but also not too harsh. So basically it''s neutral, but also not neutral at the same time.'' Shi Tian thought to himself, understanding theplication involved.


    At first nce, it might seem simple on the surface, but it wasn''t.


    What Mary wanted was that they would receive the benefits, but also not too much that would break down the discussion and force the other party to shut their system down altogether.


    "I got it," Shi Tian suddenly sped his hands after some pondering, and his fingers started typing on the keyboard.

 Chapter 256 Source: Trust Me

    <h4>Chapter 256 Source: Trust Me</h4>


    Shi Tian, with his quick thinking and adeptmunication skills, began typing the message that would be sent to Brad, the manager of the channel for SterVision Media.


    He understood the delicate bnce that Mary wanted to strike ¨C not too light to lose out on potential gains, but not too harsh to risk escting the situation.


    His fingers danced across the keyboard as heposed the message.


    "Manager Brad, we''re aware of your position. Our request is simple: provide us with a reasonable sum of Source Crystals, and allow us to make a post that will be disyed on the front page. Once you do that, we''ll release the data we''ve obtained without causing any further damage. We''re not interested in causing chaos or trouble for you; we simply saw an opportunity and seized it. Let''s resolve this amicably."


    Shi Tian hoped that this message would convey their seriousness and willingness to negotiate while also reassuring Brad that they didn''t intend to harm SterVision Media''s operations beyond this point.


    Once he had finished typing, he nced at Mary for approval before sending it.


    Mary nodded, indicating that it was an appropriate response. She patted Shi Tian''s shoulder lightly and praised him.


    "Nathan, you really are talented in terms of persuasion." Even she would have been fooled thoroughly by the message alone if she was in the opposing party.


    Shi Tian shrugged his shoulders.


    "It''s not that I''m talented in persuasion, but the human mind and heart are easy to read in certain situations. Manager Brad is clearly desperate right now but is putting up a strong front, most likely to defend his pride and honor as the manager." He then exined.


    "Yeah, it''s so easy for you to read people and be heartless as well," Vanessa rolled her eyes, slightly smacking his head with the napkin that she was using to wipe Shi Tian''s sweat off.


    Ignoring her remark, Shi Tian simply pressed the "Enter" key, sending the message to the other party.


    As the message was transmitted, they awaited Brad''s reply, uncertain about how he would react to their terms.


    Time slowly passed by, and Mary was about to be bored to death with the slow response.


    She was so close to simply hacking and finishing what they originally intended.


    Luckily, Brad didn''t make them wait too long. Otherwise, there was truly no going back once Mary decided to proceed with thest stage.


    "Finally, what did this Brad reply?" Mary scoffed coldly and asked.


    If it wasn''t for the fact that she was still minding the benefits she could obtain, she would have given Brad the middle finger.


    Her attention being short was known to Shi Tian, so he didn''t mind her attitude and read the message aloud.


    "The money can be deposited, and I can disy the message you want on the front page so long as it doesn''t go against our terms and policy. But how do we know you truly won''t hack us again if you are capable of doing it once."


    After Shi Tian finished talking, he turned to Mary, clearly waiting for her decision. Brad''s concern wasn''t unfounded, and Shi Tian would have done the same thing if the situation was reversed.


    Just how could one believe in the words of a hacker that hacked into their system?


    Not a sane person would go and say ''Okay, I trust you'' if they think about it carefully.


    Mary shrugged her shoulders, clearly not knowing how to convince the other party.


    "If they really do as we requested, then there''s no reason for me to keep this data. They are useless to me." She rified, proving that she would honor her deal.


    "Yes, I know you aren''t interested in it, but Manager Brad wouldn''t know. We''re strangers to them after all- no, it can be said we''re a criminal in their perspective. Who would believe a criminal''s word?" Shi Tian responded calmly.


    He was not just looking at the situation from their perspectives, but also from the enemy''s perspective. To construct a good negotiation deal, one must ce themselves on both sides to verify whether the deal is beneficial or not.


    No one would be dumb enough to strike a deal that doesn''t benefit them whatsoever.


    Rubbing his chin, Shi Tian knew they had to convince the other party of them being sincere.


    "Mary, can you send three-fourths of the data you hacked and send it back to the other party?" Shi Tian requested.


    "What?" Mary was stunned, seemingly unable to believe what she had just heard.


    They were still on the upper hand in the negotiation, so why should they take a step back and give the other party a breather.


    "How is this supposed to do any good for us?" She added, not that she didn''t believe Shi Tian, but she couldn''t understand the action.


    "Source: Trust me, Mary." Shi Tian replied tly, clearly unwilling to exin more.


    Biting her lips softly, Mary wanted to say something but was unable to think of anything else to say.


    Without a choice, she decided to trust him once as she went back to herputer, preparing the data that she had already hacked and splitting it exactly into three-fourth portions.


    Afterward, she transmitted the data to Shi Tian''s clone, who was still somewhat surrounded by inactive cybersecurity bots.


    Meanwhile, Shi Tian''s fingers were already typing on the keyboard.


    He was typing a very long paragraph for the other party. But the gist of the content was basically Shi Tian offering the data they had hacked to them for free as a sign of gesture.


    As Shi Tian sent the message, he stretched his arm and echoed for Vanessa to continue to wipe the sweat off him.


    Of course, Vanessa clicked her tongue in annoyance, given Shi Tian had turned his attention to Mary, treating her as if she was a maid.


    "Now we wait patiently, Mary. And you can just sit back down instead of ring at me like that. I''m not a potential imposter like Vanessa here." Shi Tian smiled sinisterly and said.

 Chapter 257 Persuaded

    <h4>Chapter 257 Persuaded</h4>


    As the tense negotiations continued, Mary, Shi Tian, and Vanessa found themselves in a high-stakes digital standoff with Brad, the manager of the SterVision Media channel.


    The delicate bnce of trust and suspicion hung in the air.


    Shi Tian, with his persuasive words, had managed to convince Mary to take a significant step ¨C sending back a portion of the hacked data to the other party as a show of goodwill. Mary reluctantly agreed, trusting Shi Tian''s instincts and experience in such matters.


    In this message, Shi Tian offered the remaining data they had obtained, essentially returning it to SterVision Media for free as a sign of goodwill.


    It was a strategic move to build trust and show their sincerity in wanting an amicable resolution.


    With the message sent, they settled into a tense waiting game. Vanessa continued to wipe the sweat off Shi Tian as they observed the situation.


    During this time, Shi Tian exined the logic behind his actions to Mary and Vanessa.


    If the other party genuinely intended to cooperate and end this situation peacefully, they would respond cautiously and not take any hostile actions.


    However, if they were merely stalling for time, the cybersecurity bots would be active again and attack Shi Tian''s clone. In that case, all bets were off, and Mary would proceed with the final stage of the hack without restraint.


    The trio waited anxiously, fully aware of the gravity of the situation.


    The oue of these negotiations would determine whether they sessfully leveraged this hacking operation for their benefit or if they would need to resort to more drastic measures.


    A few minutes had passed by, and Mary was starting to be impatient again. It was clear that she refused to wait when the advantage was hers.


    "They must be stalling for sure, Nathan." Mary crossed her arms and said coolly.


    "It''s only been a few minutes, Mary." Shi Tian shook his head and said.


    "Look at Vanessa here, she''s patient and believes in me. Why can''t you do the same?" He added, purposely throwing Vanessa''s name into the conversation.


    With how much the two of them despised each other, there was no way Mary would continue toin if heplimented Vanessa''s patient virtue.


    Sure enough, once Mary made a simple nce at Vanessa, who was wiping off Shi Tian''s sweat without saying a word, she only clicked her tongue and refused toin further.


    If Vanessa could remain patient, then so could she. There was no way she was inferior to Vanessa, who couldn''tplete this simple task.


    Meanwhile, Shi Tianughed inwardly at how easy it was to manipte both Mary and Vanessa simultaneously.


    Byplimenting Vanessa''s virtue, she was now diligently wiping his sweat more thoroughly and seemed to have improved her efficiency. At the same time, he doesn''t have to listen to a pouting Mary.


    ''It seems like I need to keep this in mind.'' Shi Tian thought to himself, making sure that he could utilize their bitter rtionship to his advantage.


    As Shi Tian was scheming about this, the other party finally sent a message.


    ncing at the message, Shi Tian smirked coldly and looked at Mary.


    "See what I tell you, Mary? Trust me, and all shall be fine." He said somewhat cheekily, letting Mary personally read the message.


    The message read: We have checked the content of the clone and confirmed it''s our users'' privacy data. Since you are sincere, we also sent the money to one of the cybersecurity bots. A transaction could be made and there will be an additional prompt from the bot that allows you to type the information you want us to disy on the front page of our channel.


    Reading them silently, Mary finally nodded her head reluctantly.


    "Hmph, I''ve never once doubted your persuasion skills. I was merely acting earlier to enhance the mood." Mary rolled her eyes and said haughtily.


    Naturally, Shi Tian understood it was her method to downgrade her earlier impatient act, so he didn''t bother to nitpick about her.


    s, Vanessa was different as she believed this was finally her chance to take a jab at Mary, who had repeatedly called her stupid for failing the simple task.


    Vanessa smiled and muttered, "Heh, says the whining-"


    However, before Vanessa could even finish her sentence to humiliate Mary.


    Shi Tian swiftly grabbed her by the waist and covered her mouth in time/ He was trying to prevent Mary, who was returning to her seat, from being unable to hear what Vanessa was going to say.


    Meanwhile, Vanessa made a few muffled sounds as she red angrily at Shi Tian, her eyes clearly asking what he was doing.


    "Don''t make a fuss about it and just stay put," Shi Tian whispered very softly, hoping that Mary wouldn''t be alerted.


    Little did Shi Tian know, with Mary''s skills and excellent hearing ability, how could she not hear them despite the low volume?


    It was just that she was unwilling to listen to them, given that it would only cause more embarrassment. Not to mention, she knew Shi Tian was a clever person to stop Vanessa from trying to humiliate her.


    After all, they still required her expertise in numerous things, especially when all the hacking was done by her.


    If Shi Tian was truly a fool and let Vanessa humiliate her, then she sure as hell would give him a piece of her ability.


    While still being covered in the mouth by Shi Tian, Vanessa said in a muffled tone, "I can''t breathe, Nathan."


    She even started pping his hand, prompting Shi Tian to release his strength and gradually remove his palm from her mouth.


    Vanessa had an aggrieved expression, her eyes staring right at Shi Tian, almost as if she was trying to guilt trip him or something.


    A few secondster, Vanessa started pinching Shi Tian''s arm.


    "Why are you so mean to me?" She pouted and said. "I''m not even talking to you, but you still interrupt me and defend her. And did you want to suffocate me to death?"

 Chapter 258 Leaked

    <h4>Chapter 258 Leaked</h4>


    Being pinched heavily in the arm, one might feel pain or even start shrieking aloud.


    Vanessa''s strength was by no means weaker than any man, and it could be said the pinch was quite deadly.


    However, Shi Tian had long endured pain worse than pinching, so he had no reaction whatsoever. It was because of having no reaction that had prompted Vanessa to be even more agitated.


    She wanted him to feel a bit of pain to understand the emotion she had to go through from Mary''s harsh criticism. Yet Shi Tian not only prevented her from getting a tiny revenge but also nearly suffocated her to defend Mary.


    Shouldn''t he at least pretend to feel hurt to ease her emotions?


    "Just die bastard!" Knowing that pinching wouldn''t work, Vanessa outright punched his arm and proceeded to angrily sit down.


    Meanwhile, Shi Tian kept a stone-faced expression, treating her ranting and hitting as empty air.


    His attention remained focused on the screen, seemingly trying toplete this simple transaction to finally end the leaking process.


    Realizing that all her pinching and punching had zero effect on him, Vanessa wanted to scream in anger. She was beyond frustrated at this point and could only sulk silently.


    "Mary, I''ve sent them a response and the information that we wished to have on disy." Shi Tian informed Mary,pleting the first transaction.


    Since the currency was digitally transferred, it meant that the money couldn''t be traced. Not to mention, for additional security, Mary had already prepared a dummy ount to store the money in, just in case there was something fishy.


    Of course, Shi Tian was surprised that Mary had such dummy ounts prepared. It was almost as if Mary had done such a ransom type of stuff before, given it would exin why she would have dummy ounts.


    "Did you receive the money?" Shi Tian then asked for confirmation.


    Mary nodded her head, her face filled with a bright smile.


    "Yeah, I''ve received it and made a check. Nothing is fishy, so it''s clear that Manager Brad is truly desperate." She responded joyfully.


    "That''s great then. Manager Brad also said the information wasn''t something against their policy and agreed to have it on disy for 3 days maximum. I''ve also researched their channel and 3 days is their maximum limit to have any information remain on the front page."


    "Alright, reply to Manager Brad that 3 dayster, if all is well. There will not be any damage to his channel or his career. Also, tell him to leave his number down so that we can contact him if there is a cooperation opportunity. I promise it''ll be a win-win situation."


    Shi Tian expected Mary would be asking for Brad''s contact details, most likely to retain it as bait for further uses in the future. Though at that time, he would probably not be involved in that kind of muddy water.


    Hence, he nodded his head and did as told.


    Another few minutester, the hacking scheme was officially over. All was well for both parties, albeit Brad received the most loss in this incident.


    However, Brad should have been satisfied with this result alone, given that if it was a ck Hat Hacker, then his entire career would have crumbled in an instant.


    "So we''re done here, right?" Vanessa, who had been sulking previously, finally rposed her emotions and asked softly.


    Both Mary and Shi Tian nodded their heads simultaneously.


    "Now all we have to do is wait for the information to fester and spread all across the frontline." Shi Tian said calmly. He was sure that in a few days, the carefree attitude of the frontline would soon turn into another intense battlefield.


    Except this time, their goal was different.


    The information they revealed was a discovery of a dense area with strange energy that could allow their power to enhance tremendously, with the evolved Gso variant as evidence.


    Although a bit far-fetched in the explosive news, with such hardcore evidence in ce, people are naturally going to rush there to verify the information.


    Not to mention, it was posted on the channel''s front page, meaning the credibility was already there since the channel was established to be a reliable source.


    "Yep, all we have to do is wait, and for one person to get the hell out of my vehicle already," Mary eximed, her eyes gradually focusing on Vanessa.


    Vanessa didn''t respond and merely turned her attention to Shi Tian, seemingly looking at him to defend her. Since he had defended Mary from her, then it was only right that he should do the same for her.


    Meanwhile, Shi Tian twitched his brows, clearly exhausted from being dragged into their fight again.


    The Iron Sentinel was Mary''s property, so she naturally had the right to kill anyone out of her vehicle.


    What was he supposed to do to defend her?


    Not to mention, she was longer in use here aside from being a flower vase.


    "I think Commander Theobold might be worried sick now if you are gone for too long. He might even start to believe it was the other five militarymanders that had captured you." Shi Tian faked a cough and said, throwing Theobold''s name out as an excuse.


    "You!" Vanessa pointed her finger at Shi Tian, shaking tremblingly.


    "I''ll remember this, Nathan." She added, giving him another smack on the shoulder as she grudgingly left the vehicle after putting on the mask.


    Once Vanessa was gone, Shi Tian turned to Mary with a confused expression.


    "Just why do you hate her that much?" He asked, clearly unable to fathom their hateful rtionship.


    "Don''t worry about it," Mary tly replied, not giving him any more details as she returned to her seat, blissfully counting the easy money she had just gained.


    ''There must have been a history between the two, or at least some history that only Mary knows. Otherwise, with Vanessa''s behavior, if there was truly bad blood between them, it wouldn''t have ended so simply.'' Shi Tian thought to himself, realizing that there were more hidden and unknown factors.

 Chapter 259 Fake News

    <h4>Chapter 259 Fake News</h4>


    Two days had passed by since the information they wanted to leak had been posted on the front page of the channel.


    The effect of the information on the front page was evident, with numerous people starting to make excuses to go into the battle despite the Gso variants having no intention of attacking yet.


    Everyone was proiming how they should utilize this as an opportunity to suppress the Gso variants, stopping them from having a chance of recovery.


    But everyone also knew that it was a hoax, with their true destination being the dense area that was leaked on the channel.


    Of course, the one in the most disbelief was Theobold, who clearly did not expect such information would be leaked, and on such a prominent rising channel front page.


    "Just who is the damn person leaking the information? Is it the traitor in my team?" In his private tent, Theobold was enraged.


    He had learned this news the earliest and had nned to carefully navigate it slowly. Yet who would have thought someone had no brain and outright leaked such information out.


    Nevertheless, Theobold also couldn''t be angrier, given that it was beneficial to him and his soldiers as well.


    With the crazed news of the dense area boosting their power, the people had also managed to kill thousands of Gso variants in the monster wave to rush to the dense area.


    It was a win-lose situation and Theobold had to either cry or be joyful of the situation, depending on his perspective.


    Of course, the same can''t be said for Shi Tian and Mary, as they enjoyed this moment of free time.


    It was about time they got to rx a bit more and have other people rush forward to do the dirty work for them.


    "Haaa, just look at all those fools rushing to the dense area." Maryughed heartily as her Iron Sentinel surveince captured numerous people rushing to the battle.


    "Hmm, even then, we don''t know if the strange energy indeed has that kind of effect or not. So maybe they will benefit from the dense area." Shi Tian rubbed his chin and said.


    It was true that the dense area contained the strange energy, but whether it truly had any beneficial effect remained unknown.


    They were in the dark as well, so maybe it might actually be real.


    Suddenly, Maryughed heartily as she even started kicking her legs around.


    "Right, I kept this to myself because I didn''t want anyone else to know about it, but I guess I can give you a few hints."


    "Few hints?" Confused, Shi Tiand didn''t understand her sudden outburst.


    Mary smiled sinisterly as she echoed for Shi Tian to walk closer to her.


    A few secondster, she whispered into his ears, "The dense area I gave to Commander Theobold and those fools out there are fake. As if I would leak out the real dense area filled with strange energy to them for free."


    Shi Tian was utterly astonished when he heard that revtion. He didn''t dare to believe that Mary even had the confidence to lie to Theobold as well.


    "A-Aren''t you afraid of repercussions from Commander Theobold?'' Shi Tian whispered back, even though it was somewhat unnecessary when it was literally just them two in the Iron Sentinel.


    "Repercussions?" Mary was amused, chuckling softly at that question.


    "Listen, Nathan, I''m the one that found it, so it''s my right to tell them the truth or not. If they are angry by it, then they should find it themselves. It''s not that hard." She added, reminding him that all the hard work was done by her.


    And Shi Tian had no choice but to nod his head in agreement. She was right after all. Information was found by her and the leak was also seeded thanks to her.


    In other words, without Mary, none of this would have urred.


    "Wait a minute, then wouldn''t that make us like some sinners or schemers that are purposely manipting others?" Shi Tian gasped suddenly, having realized they were no different than those people who usually hide behind a curtain and scheme stuff.


    "Congrats, Nathan. Now move," Mary eximed, kicking him by the waist, and moving him to the side.


    "I''m trying to sleep now, so unless you are a pervert and wish to get close to me, then don''te near." She scoffed, grabbing a nket and covering herself with it.


    Meanwhile, Shi Tian twitched his mouth in disbelief.


    It was her that told him toe closer and now it was also her that kicked him by the side, telling him to move aside.


    ''Just when you think you understand women, reality hits you hard and reminds you that you don''t understand crap.'' Shi Tian eximed inwardly, fixing some stuff as he made himselffortable in his spot for bed.


    The chaos outside had nothing to do with them, nor were they interested in the strange energy, not at the current moment at least.


    Now that Shi Tian realized the dense area they had released or leaked was a fake, he could care less about the activities outside.


    As Mary and Shi Tian gradually take their sleep within the Iron Sentinel, outside the dark environment, people are still active, especially one familiar figure.


    The familiar figure was a person that was usually referred to as a breakfast dish, Egg Benedict.


    "Are you sure the intel is correct?" Benedict raised an eyebrow as he turned to his soldiers and questioned them.


    "The dense area is filled with abnormal strange energy and one would feel an enhancement in their power. So howe I feel nothing aside from being irritated by the pollution." He shouted angrily.


    "C-Commander Benedict, the intel isn''t wrong. The map really pointed at our current location to be a dense area. You can even verify here." One of the soldiers timidly said.


    He proceeded to walk forward and showed the device to Benedict, letting him see the red dot position they were in was precisely the location stated in the leaked news.

 Chapter 260 Conjecture

    <h4>Chapter 260 Conjecture</h4>


    As Benedict''s eyes continued to stare at the device, he truly wanted to squeeze it in half and crush it.


    However, his rationality still took the upper hand, preventing him from destroying a costly device.


    Had his intrusive thought won, not only would they have to find a recement for the device, but it would have cost his money to decrease.


    "Take the device back and scram back to your position," Benedict threw the device back at the soldier andmanded.


    The timid soldier dared not utter a single sound as he hastily returned to his position, unwilling to receive the wrath of Benedict.


    "Oh, I was wondering which person had such a foul mouth, but who would have thought it''s you, Egg Benedict." Suddenly, a melodious voice echoed from afar, shocking Benedict''s soldiers.


    They had also known about Benedict''s hrious nickname, but none of them would dare to outright call him that. Only people who are qualified and could call him as such can be counted with their two hands.


    Benedict didn''t even need to turn his head around to check who was the one that called him Egg Benedict. "Hmph, as if you didn''t just get swindled here either, Phoebe!"


    Phoebe, the same military rank as Benedict, who alsomanded a simr brigade as him was naturally qualified to utter his nickname without repercussions.


    In fact, Phoebe could even insult Benedict and nothing serious would ur aside from a few bantering. Both parties knew that if they truly had a real fight, then the family backing them would unleash their wrath upon them.


    "Swindled?" Phoebe chuckled softly, striding forward as Benedict''s soldiers consciously stepped back a bit, making way for Phoebe to walk.


    "I already doubted the leaked information was real, and merely came out here to check who would being here. I just didn''t expect it would be you, Egg Benedict." Phoebe added, giggling at him for being a fool.


    Benedict snorted coldly and crossed his arms. "Hmph, who said the information isn''t real?"


    "Oh? Then could I be missing something? Where''s the strange energy that could enhance one''s power?" Phoebe faked a gasp and started ncing left and right, seemingly taunting Benedict.


    "Can''t you see the pollution here?" Benedict suddenly extended his arm and said.


    "It''s clear that the pollution here is extreme and the strange energy must have been scattered from the original location stated in the channel. Henceforth, we should follow a certain path and find out where the strange energy was scattered." He added, bullshiting his exnation to prove that he was not a fool.


    As for Phoebe, she was inplete disbelief at how shameless Benedict could be.


    No wonder he had the nickname Egg Benedict.


    Who could ever take him seriously?


    ''How did this man even be a militarymander? His brain is as good as a pea.'' Phoebe eximed inwardly.


    Nevertheless, she was bored out of her mind waiting in the camp, so instead of exposing his lies. She decided to follow along and nodded her head.


    "I see, then where are you supposed to go to search for it?" She asked, sounding extremely curious.


    Believing his bullshit had worked, Benedict confidently pointed at the East side.


    "Yesterday, it was blowing cold wind from the West, so the strange energy must have gone to the east side. We should head East and continue our path forward." Tidying his uniform, Benedict gave his exnation and felt proud of himself.


    Although knowing it was all a bunch of nonsense, Phoebe nodded her head as an understanding.


    "Then lead the way, Egg Benedict." She said calmly.


    "Stop calling me, Egg Benedict already!" Benedict clicked his tongue and said annoyingly.


    He then walked closer to Phoebe and whispered, "My soldiers are right there, so give me some face at the very least."


    "Fine, I''ll call you that privately or more discreetly next time. But no guarantee." Phoebe raised her hands and said softly. It was clear that she didn''t really take his words to heart.


    While the two of them embarked toward the East side, following Benedict''s confident conjecture, the other people didn''t fare much better.


    They were all busy scurrying their ways toward the dense area location, butpared to Benedict and Phoebe''s superior technologies and kits, it was clear they would struggle hard to reach their destination.


    "Damn it, we''re already behind by a lot already. Those damn militaries are indeed selfish and greedy people." One of the people within the group ranted loudly.


    "If you have the stamina to rant, then you might as well use that stamina to advance forward. What''s the point ofining when we are all trying to reach there?"


    "Yeah, the world isn''t fair and we have known that since a long time ago. You want the benefits? Then we can only grit our teeth and muster through the obstacles."


    With that wisdom statement, the group of people could only nod their heads silently, treading their way forward while dealing with a bunch of Gso variants that had deviated from the main frontline.


    Meanwhile, back in the Iron Sentinel, Shi Tian''s eyes were wide awake, clearly unable to sleep properly.


    Having seen many scenes that appeared on the frontline, Shi Tian just can''t seem to sleep when his mind is constantly upied.


    How did the Gso variants manage to reproduce so many discreetly?


    And why did the Gso variant monster wave need to stop their attack after each interval?


    Was it really to recuperate their strength and wait for more to arrive?


    If so, then why did a suddenly evolved Gso variant manage to infiltrate their camp without being detected and wreaking havoc?


    Was it really all just a coincidence?


    All these scenes that urred seemed to be a mess, but if he could find one simrity between them all, then it would all make sense.


    "Let''s recalcte what started all this mess in the first ce," He muttered softly.


    Taking off his nket, Shi Tian walked to theputer and started making a flowchart-type graph to investigate from scratch.

 Chapter 261 Flowchart

    Typing on theputer, Shi Tian quickly included all the important events, regardless if they were rted or not.


    The events expanded from the wilderness to the habitat discovery, and finally, to Gearits City. Or more specifically, it was the incident in the Horology Restaurant.


    When Shi Tian simply wrote all these events down, none of them seemed to be connected whatsoever.


    However, upon closer look and a matching of events, Shi Tian could get a glimpse of someone possibly manipting such a scene for something big.


    "Just what is all of this going to benefit or help them with?" Knitting his brows, Shi Tian was missing a crucial jigsaw piece toplete the puzzle.


    As his eyes were focused on theputer screen, someone was sneaking up behind him.


    "What are you doing?" Mary came up from behind, her hand patting on Shi Tian''s shoulder.


    Although a bit surprised that she was awake and snuck up on him, he kept his calm.


    "I''m investigating the events that have happened so far." Shi Tian responded.


    "Weren''t you asleep? Why did you suddenly wake up?" He then asked, seemingly curious why she was awake.


    "I''m a light sleeper, Nathan. The moment you started moving around, I was awake." Mary chuckled softly, grabbed a seat by the side, and sat.


    Her attention was now ncing at the flowchart that Shi Tian made.


    It was quite simple, but also straight to the point.


    Such as the "discovery of Gso habitat", and the "incident at the Horology Restaurant", there were many events Shi Tian had listed in simple words.


    "What are you trying to investigate with all these events?" Mary asked, tilting her head slightly. At a single nce, she was confused at Shi Tian''s action, given that these events are spanned apart and don''t have much connection.


    "The events just seemed so surrealtely, Mary." Shi Tian sighed softly. "I always have a feeling that someone is manipting the scene from the shadows, almost as if they want chaos to erupt."


    Mary was taken aback slightly but managed topose herself rather quickly.


    "Is that why you created this flowchart in hopes of connecting the pieces?" Mary asked.


    Shi Tian nodded his head.


    "Let''s look at this way, Mary. These events individually might not seem much, but what if there''s a connection between these events altogether?" Shi Tian pointed at the screen, his expression solemn.


    "If we can find the connection, then everything that has happened would make sense. In fact, we''ll be able to figure out a solution once we find the cause." He added, feeling somewhat excited.


    Mary rubbed her chin softly, seemingly in deep thought after listening to Shi Tian.


    "Then have you found a connection yet?" She then asked curiously.


    Taking a deep breath, Shi Tian shook his head in response. "That''s what has been troubling metely. I just couldn''t seem to find the connection. It''s like it''s there, but also not there."


    He was struggling to find the connection, but he knew he must be close to the truth. It was as if his eyes were suddenly being covered by a dark cloth, almost as if the truth did not want to reveal itself.


    "Hmm, maybe you''re just overthinking, Nathan. What kind of sick people would attempt to cause chaos without seeking any benefits?" Mary suddenly smiled and said, patting his shoulder a few times.


    "Maybe there are those kinds of sick people in this world."


    "Ahem, back to sleep you go." Mary suddenly coughed and shut theputer down.


    "We need ample rest for tomorrow''s n, so sleep and stop thinking about those flowcharts." She added, pushing Shi Tian off the seat and making him go back down.


    Despite being very unwilling to go back to sleep, given his mind was still upied on the flowcharts, he had no choice but toply with her request.


    Theputer was hers, and even the Iron Sentinel was hers. If she decided to kick him out in the middle of the night, then there would be no ce for regret. After all, he would have no ce to rest.


    Unable to investigate further, Shi Tian could only go to sleep.


    As time passed by, he soon went into a deep slumber, a clear showcase of him being overly fatigued.


    While Shi Tian was sleeping soundly, Mary was watching by the side, sitting patiently in her seat as she mulled over the flowchart that Shi Tian had created.


    Making sure that Shi Tian was truly asleep, Mary took out her Cellos device and texted Isaac Aaronax.


    Mary: Your dear apprentice is quite smart and perspective, Mechanist Isaac.


    Isaac: *confused emoji*


    Mary: Just read through the attachment file that I''m about to send to you. You''ll understand what I mean.


    Mary proceeded to send an attachment file which was the very same flowchart that Shi Tian had created to Isaac Aaronax.


    A few minutes had passed and Isaac Aaronax still hadn''t responded to the text message.


    Mary patiently waited until she finally received a notification.


    Isaac: Hmm, Nathan created this flowchart?


    Mary: Yep, and he''s been trying to figure out a connection between all the events, but with his limited resources. I doubt he''ll find anything, so I''m sending it to you to investigate.


    Isaac: Ugh, but I''m busy with my mech and tech stuff.


    Mary: You either do it, or me and Nathan will return to Gearits City to smack the living hell out of you.


    Isaac: Say less, I''ll send you the information as soon as possible if I receive any news.


    Mary smirked coldly when Isaac Aaronax quickly resigned to his fate to investigate on their behalf. She was already beyond exhausted these days, especially the hacking part that took most of her energy.


    So why would she continue to find work for herself when someone waszing around?


    ''Nathan can rest because he constructed the flowchart. I can also rest because I deserve it.'' She thought to herself, closing the Cellos device and getting ready to sleep as well.

 Chapter 262 Disguise Mask

    Having assigned the task of finding out a connection between the events that had urred to Isaac Aaronax, Mary was able to get herself some ample rest.


    She hadmanded Shi Tian to do the same, and so must she.


    In the wilderness, health and having a great mentality was very important to survive.


    And the best way to regain those back was a good sleep without any interruption.


    Time slowly passed by, and Mary woke up as she yawned and stretched her body. Feeling refreshed from the great sleep that she hadn''t gotten for quite a while.


    "Ugh, I miss the days when I was just working as a receptionist." She clicked her tongue and ranted softly. Back when she was a receptionist, there was a set time when she could sleep, and did not have any irregr sleep schedule. In fact, she didn''t even need to be so alerted considering the security they had installed in Optic Mech.


    Just when Mary was immersed in her own world and thought process, she heard a voice emitting from afar.


    "You can sleep more if you want to then."


    "Huh? You''re awake already?" Mary didn''t get a fright at all and was instead surprised that he was up early.


    Usually, it was always her waking up early no matter if she sleptte or earlier than Shi Tian.


    Suddenly, she narrowed her eyes and asked in a somewhat deep tone, "Don''t tell me you woke up early to continue your flowchart investigation?"


    "Does it look like I''m investigating it?" Shi Tian twitched his mouth and held the drone up in his hand, allowing her to see what he was working on.


    Mary''s mouth had an "O" shape once she realized what he was actually doing.


    "My bad, I didn''t think you''d be working on the drone." She admitted her mistake.


    She had initially thought Shi Tian had disobeyed her order and secretly attempted to investigate behind her back again.


    After all, if what Shi Tian said was true, and that there was truly someone powerful manipting the situation behind the scenes. Then it would be dangerous for him to continue the investigation.


    Hence, she had texted Isaac Aaronax to investigate on their behalf, given his expertise and resources.


    Getting up from the floor, Mary walked toward Shi Tian, who was working on soldering at the desk.


    "Right, we didn''t even have time to rece the rigged IC chip during the past days because of the strange energy and leaking stuff that ovepped our task," Mary eximed.


    Shi Tian nodded his head.


    "After we leaked the information, we were constantly checking on the people outside and how they reacted to it. We didn''t even have time to worry about this drone and the rigged IC chip, even though we blocked the signal already. And so far, only two out of the six militarymanders had rushed toward the fake dense area location." Shi Tian exined, taking out the rigged IC chip and cing it by the side.


    Afterward, he began soldering the new IC chip that Mary had created into the electrical circuit board.


    "So how long were you awake?" She enquired.


    "Around an hour or so."


    "Huh? That''s impossible."


    Mary had said it herself that she was a light sleeper. So there was no possibility that she wouldn''t hear the noises that Shi Tian was making.


    "Nothing''s impossible." Shi Tian said softly, pausing his work.


    "You said you''re a light sleeper, so all I need to do is be discreet and make sure you won''t be disturbed." He added.


    "Nathan, I''m highly sensitive. No matter how discreet you are with your action, I will be alerted." Mary crossed her arms and said, unwilling to believe his statement.


    Shi Tian smiled briefly and nodded his head. "Yes, a person would be alerted when they don''t feel safe and must have their awareness high. But what if you feel safe then?"


    Mary was stumped by the question, clearly not understanding what he was trying to demonstrate.


    Meanwhile, Shi Tian resumed his work and chuckled softly. "You don''t perceive me as a danger, so naturally, you won''t be alerted by movement."


    "Stop the cap, Nathan." Mary clicked her tongue.


    "Who are you trying to deceive?" She added, taking out her Cellos device and going through the recording.


    Sure enough, once she checked on the recording, Shi Tian was merely up 5 minutes after she had awakened, proving that she was indeed alerted by his actions.


    "Look at this. You woke up just 5 minutes earlier. What kind of crap are you talking about? An hour my ass." She snorted coldly, showing him the recording.


    Mary thought Shi Tian failed to fool her, but she didn''t expect him to startughing wildly.


    "Ahh, Mary, just the fact that you were in doubt and needed to check on the recording proves my point. You''re starting to lower your guard around me." Shi Tianughed cheekily.


    "If you truly believe in your im, then why should you even bother to check for evidence?" He added.


    "Hmph, one more word and you''re out." Mary snorted coldly, crossing her arms as she went to the back, avoiding to converse with him any further.


    Shi Tian didn''t bother talking anymore as he returned his focus to finishing the soldering process.


    At the same time, he realized Mary''s concern for him was starting to be genuine. Unlike the past when she was merely doing her duty or putting up a facade act.


    Just like any human, there are multiple masks that they would put on for different kinds of people when they interact with them.


    Previously, Mary would always use the disguise mask that she used to interact with strangers or people she wasn''t close to, pretending to be friendly with them. That kind of disguise mask was also used toward him when they first met and proceeded to journey further as training in the wilderness.


    However, that disguise mask was slowly being removed from her face as they interacted longer.

 Chapter 263 Phase

    <h4>Chapter 263 Phase</h4>


    After teasing Mary and realizing her inner self was slowly being unveiled, Shi Tian had finallypleted the drone.


    "Phew, now this drone could officially be used." Shi Tian stretched his hand and muttered.


    The drone''s properties were also analyzed and printed out on theputer.


    Within theputer, there was a set of functions that would soon deconstruct the drone virtually, essentially helping them to construct a blueprint of the item.


    Of course, the process wouldn''t be done in a snap of a finger as it could even take months before theputer could finally make some progress.


    "Mary, I''m done with the drone. Do you want to inspect it?" Shi Tian yelled out, seemingly believing that Mary might feign deaf, and refused to answer him if he said it normally.


    "Who are you?" Mary shouted back from afar, clearly still a bit mad regarding Shi Tian''s prank.


    "Ohe on, I''ve defended you from Vanessa earlier. So it''s only right that you shouldn''t get mad at me." Shi Tian responded, reminding her that he was the one that saved her from any humiliation.


    With that said, Mary finally emerged from the back, but her eyes were still ring at him fiercely. It was clear that she was not amused by his prank.


    "Scoot over," She waved her hand around, an indication to tell Shi Tian to give up his seat.


    Naturally, Shi Tian wouldn''t mind such a trivial matter, so he dly stood up and gave his seat up to her. There were other seatings around, so why would he make a scene?


    Grabbing the seat from another side, Shi Tian asked, "So, what do you think of the drone now?"


    Mary didn''t respond right away, her eyes focused on the drone as she inspected it thoroughly. She even checked up on the data in theputer, indicating that everything was working properly despite swapping the rigged IC chip out.


    "Hmm, it seems like my crafting skills have not degraded." Mary praised herself.


    "Yes, you''re the best. No one can beat you." Shi Tian smiled and said.


    "Was that sarcasm?"


    "Do I dare to be sarcastic in front of you?"


    "Totally, especially when you got the guts to prank on me now." Mary squinted her eyes.


    She then ced the drone down at the desk and turned to Shi Tian, her expressionpletely solemn. "Now tell me, what is happening to you? Why are you acting like this?"


    Shi Tian scratched his head in response.


    However, Mary was adamant and kept her stare up, prompting Shi Tian to take a deep breath and answer her.


    "I don''t know, Mary. It''s just that knowing someone could be behind all of these and we''re just some chess pieces¡­ doesn''t sit right with me." He said, wanting to give up and get away from this mess.


    He felt like he was a fish on the chopping board, not knowing when or where he would be chopped by this unknown power.


    It was the same feeling he had gotten back when he was forcefully captured and woke up in aboratory tube, unable to do anything.


    Not to mention, he wasn''t even concerned whether or not the monster wave was suppressed. So if he knew something big was going to happen with this incident, then why can''t he just drop it and leave?


    He had no attachment or sentiment toward Gearits City. He was just a foreigner, stopping by Gearits City until he gathered enough information about the current world.


    Meanwhile, Mary seemed to have understood that Shi Tian was undergoing a phase. A phase that usually symbolized burnout or question of their action.


    "Nathan,e over here." Mary stood up and said.


    Shi Tian raised an eyebrow, seemingly confused by her request.


    "Stand up ande over here." Mary urged once again when she saw Shi Tian not moving.


    Breathing softly, Shi Tian slowly stood up from his seat and walked closer to her, leaving only a few distance between them.


    "What now-"


    Just when Shi Tian wanted to ask why she wanted him toe closer, Mary suddenly wrapped her arms around him and gave him a hug.


    She then whispered softly into his ear, "You''re lost because you think too much sometimes, Nathan. Thinking too much umtes stress, and once the stress reaches a peak level, you''ll start to crumble down even if you can maintain a calmposure. Emotions and mentality work together, but they''re also in different categories."


    With her mellow tone, Mary began patting on his back, seemingly trying to soothe him.


    Shi Tian was speechless as his arms hung in the air, unsure whether or not to keep it still or hug her back.


    Being indecisive for the first time since awakening to the chaotic world, Shi Tian didn''t know how to respond to Mary''s constion.


    "This won''t ease your stresspletely, but I''m sure it''ll help lessen you a bit." Mary continued with her mellow tone, her hand rubbing his back softly.


    She understood what kind of phase he was going through. After all, she had been there, and gone through with it as well.


    "Yeah, I''m alright, Mary." Shi Tian managed to speak after a struggle, his hand patting her back, indicating that he was fine.


    The hug remained for a few more seconds until Mary stepped back and smiled genuinely at him.


    "Constion fee, that''ll be 100 Source Crystals. Will you pay now or by interest?" She then said cheekily, extending her hand out.


    ncing at her extended hand, Shi Tian burst outughing, clearly understanding what she had just done.


    "You''re not being serious, are you?" Heughed heartily for a few moments before asking nervously.


    "Hmm, I''m not sure, but my hug is worth a lot." Mary rubbed her chin, seemingly in deep thought. "You know, I don''t hug people, and you''re one of the few who gets to embrace me without having to lose a few limbs or so."


    "Is there any other form of payment? I''m broke." Shi Tian sweated profusely and begged for another form of payment.


    Mary walked back and forth before nodding her head and agreeing to another form of payment.


    "Fine, we can test the drone and you''ll be the pilot as payment for the constion fee." She sped her hands and said.

 Chapter 264 Caught

    <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.

 Chapter 265 Drone in Action

    <h4>Chapter 265 Drone in Action</h4>


    Seeing Shi Tian utterly speechless and unable to respond to her, Vanessa knew she had won this conversation.


    "Tell Mary inside that I want to join in as well. I''ve been bored in the tent and secretly snuck out." Vanessa demanded.


    "Of course, she can deny me, but I might just tell Commander Theobold about how you two deceived him and was the leaker." She added, somewhat threatening him.


    "Wait here," Shi Tian gently pushed her hands away from him as he told her to wait.


    Since it was clear that Vanessa hade prepared and was waiting for the perfect opportunity to threaten them, he knew the decision was ultimately up to Mary to resolve.


    At the same time, he realized just how much he had underestimated Vanessa.


    She might look dumb or useless in certain situations, even garnering some pity if others noticed her. However, that could possibly just be another one of her acts, and her true self was concealed deeply.


    ''Sigh, Mary is mysterious and even Vanessa is having a symptom of dissociative identity disorder,'' Shi Tian thought to himself, feeling exhausted with all these mind games they were ying.


    A few minutester, he returned to the Iron Sentinel and Mary was about to start the vehicle, only to be stopped by Shi Tian.


    "What''s the matter, Nathan?" Mary asked confusingly.


    She had already informed him that they would head off the moment the simple task was done. So why did he ask to stop?


    Shi Tian breathed a deep sigh and exined the circumstances to Mary regarding Vanessa''s demand.


    After listening to the exnation, Mary clicked her tongue and stomped the ground slightly.


    "Tsk, that Vanessa is indeed a venomous bitch." She cursed vulgarly. "Now you know why I disliked her? She''s too fake and always pretending."


    But aren''t you the same?


    Shi Tian wanted to say those words aloud, given Mary was acting as a gentle receptionist but underneath that was a cold-blooded killer.


    s, he only wanted to say them but dared not to, lest he might receive a round of bashing.


    "Mhmm, so we have no choice but to ept her inside. Otherwise, she will truly rat on us and tell Commander Theobold." Shi Tian said calmly.


    And he continued, "Vanessa might be reprimanded as well when she revealed to Commander Theobold that she was involved in the leaking, but she possessed the Ancient Technology. So even if Commander Theobold is mad, he wouldn''t do much. But we are different"


    Of course, Mary also understood that point. It was just that she didn''t want to ept it because it would mean that she had lost this time.


    She was frustrated and unwilling to ept that she was being forced into a corner.


    "How about this, Mary? I''m the one that forced you toply and that you only agreed because I decided to owe you a favor when shees in?" Shi Tian asked.


    His suggestion was equivalent to giving her an excuse and leeway that it was him that allowed it, and not her. She would only agree to this because of the deal she had made with him. That way, she wouldn''t have lost face and retain her dignity.


    However, contrary to his belief, Mary surprised him with her next sentence.


    "Hmph, I might dislike Vanessa, but I''m not that kind of person. Just tell her that she can join, but if she dares to cause any trouble, then I''m kicking her out. And that''s final." Mary snorted coldly, unwilling to agree to his suggestion.


    Shi Tian smiled briefly when Mary was able to remain reasonable and calm.


    Without hesitation, he went back out to pick up Vanessa.


    After all, she had snuck out of her surveince.


    So if she waited outside a bit too long and got caught by Theobold''s soldiers, then it would be disastrous.


    Sometimeter, Vanessa arrived at the interior of the Iron Sentinel and waved her hands excitedly at Mary, almost as if she was a fan who had met her idol.


    Mary rolled her eyes.


    "I''m sure Nathan has already told you the rules, right?" She turned around and asked, starting up the Iron Sentinel.


    Vanessa nodded her head as she grabbed a seat to sit on.


    "Of course, you can drive peacefully. I won''t create trouble for you." She said somewhat smugly but didn''t press on the matter. Despite gaining an advantage over Mary this time, Vanessa knew that there was still a limit that she should not cross.


    Once a limit was crossed, then no one would care about the consequences any further.


    Not to mention, Vanessa was already satisfied to be invited in, despite the clear reluctance of Mary.


    Although Mary didn''t show it, Vanessa knew Mary was definitely cursing her every single second in her mind.


    "Nathan, start using the drone to test its function." As Mary started driving forward, shemanded Shi Tian to take control of the drone.


    Shi Tian nodded his head, going to theputer. They had already connected the drone with theputer, allowing him to control it from there. Additionally, theputer screen was quite big, so the scenery being transmitted from the drone was clearer in a high frame resolution.


    "Woah, this drone is indeed crafted by the military. Look at all the functions and features. They''re all leagues above the ones you can buy in the market." Vanessa sped her hands and said.


    She was purposely sitting next to Shi Tian and ncing at theputer screen. It was almost as if she wanted to taunt Mary with her actions.


    s, Mary could care less about her action and instead asked Shi Tian, "Is the drone working properly?"


    "So far, the control seemed fine, but I still need to test the other features adequately to confirm." Shi Tian replied, changing the form of the drone to perform some high maneuvering ability.


    "Turn on the offensive mode and shoot a fewsers to test. Commander Theobold mentioned it''s possible to shoot 500 meters from its position, so let''s see it." Mary demanded, seemingly excited to test the drone''s ability to the maximum limit.

 Chapter 266 Drone’s Power

    <h4>Chapter 266 Drone¡¯s Power</h4>


    Shi Tian was astonished that Mary wanted to test the drone''s offensive ability.


    "But Mary, there''s no valid target avable to test thesers on. Wouldn''t it be a waste if we just fire it randomly?" Shi Tian asked doubtfully.


    He thought it would be better to test the fire distance and the firepower at the same time once they found a suitable target.


    Meanwhile, Mary twitched her mouth in disbelief. "Nathan, have you read the drone''s manual before?"


    "Yes, I''ve read it briefly."


    "Then don''t you know the drone is capable of auto-locking an enemy as long as it''s within 800 meters?"


    "The drone could lock an enemy from that far?" Shi Tian raised an eyebrow. Clearly, he did not expect the drone to be that amazing.


    "The voltage used for auto-locking an enemy from that long would be high, but we don''t have to worry about it. The IC chip that was soldered in it was meant to lower down the voltage use." Mary exined and instructed Shi Tian on how to turn on the feature.


    Following her instruction, Shi Tian was quickly able to locate numerous enemies from the drone''s detection.


    And what was surprising was that aside from the Gso variants, other monsters were lurking in other corners, albeit more concealed.


    It was clear that the other monsters were frightened by the number of Gso variants and had gone into hiding or camouged themselves to avoid being hunted.


    "Should we aim for the Gso variants or other monsters?" Shi Tian enquired, unsure of which target to attack.


    "Whatever you want, Nathan. Howe you''re acting like a woman all of a sudden, so indecisive." Mary twitched her mouth andmented.


    Her eyes were still focused on the road, clearly unwilling to turn on the auto drive function to avoid interacting with Vanessa.


    Meanwhile, Shi Tian decided to randomly choose the closest enemy within the firing range of 500 meters to attack. Whoever was the closest could only me themselves for being in the firing range.


    Everything was up to fate, so the moment Shi Tian got close to the 500 meters, he started looking for the enemy that was the closest.


    And without much surprise, the enemy was a Gso variant that had deviated from the monster wave. Given the Gso variants''rge expansion, the wilderness was filled with an abundant amount of them.


    Shi Tian locked onto the nearest Gso variant with the drone''s targeting system. He marveled at the precision of the technology, allowing him to pinpoint a monster from a considerable distance.


    With a press of a button, the drone''sser weapon systems activated.


    A bright, focused beam of energynced out from the drone and struck the Gso variant. The monster let out a screeching cry as it disintegrated into ash, leaving behind nothing but a few lingering particles that were quickly carried away by the wind.


    Mary couldn''t help but nod in approval. "Not bad, Nathan. It seems this drone is worth the trouble. A Gso variant was disintegrated with one strike, but now let''s test it to see if it can deal coteral damages."


    Shi Tian, intrigued by Mary''s suggestion, scanned the area on theputer screen for a suitable target to test the drone''s ability to cause coteral damage.


    He spotted a group of Gso variants gathered near the remnants of a building, likely searching for survivors or scavenging for resources.


    With a calcted aim, he fired the drone''sser at a spot just beside the group of monsters.


    The concentrated energy beam struck the ground, causing a violent explosion of dust and debris. The shockwave from the st sent the Gso variants tumbling, and some were even disoriented by the force of the explosion.


    While theser hadn''t directly hit the monsters, the coteral damage had a significant impact. The concussive force alone seemed to have incapacitated a couple of the Gso variants, making them easy targets for survivors who mighte across themter.


    Mary nodded in satisfaction.


    "That''s exactly what I wanted to see. This drone can not only take down monsters efficiently but also disrupt and disorient them with coteral damage. I can''t wait to have this drone mass-produced for our use." She said excitedly, clearly can''t wait to have numerous drones at her capacity for usage.


    Meanwhile, Shi Tian was equally impressed by the drone''s power. It took a bit longer to actually get it to work thanks to a rigged IC chip, but all of the effort was worth it in this simple test.


    The drone''s versatility and power were undeniable.


    "You''re right, Mary. With careful nning and strategy, we can maximize the drone''s effectiveness. But we should also remember that it''s a valuable asset, and to mass produce it. We might not even have the materials for it." Shi Tian reminded her, bringing Mary back to reality.


    If these drones could truly be mass-produced easily, then why hadn''t the military deployed these deadly and destructive drones to the battlefield already?


    Did they want to keep it as ast resort?


    The probability of thetter being true was less than one percent, given that they would want to end the monster wave as soon as possible.


    Currently, the monster waves are wreaking havoc everywhere in the wilderness and preventing many things from proceeding, such as the transportation of food.


    Food reserves are starting to dwindle down given that these Gso variants are not only attacking humans but also other monsters residing in the same area.


    If the situation were to be prolonged, and humans no longer have a reliable source of food, then it would be disastrous.


    "Sigh, you''re not wrong about that, Nathan. The materials used to craft the drones are indeed unique and scarce. To withstand the powerfulsers that it outputs, the material must be strong enough to contain the power." Mary sighed softly, understanding that mass-producing the drones was just a pipe dream.


    Nevertheless, Mary was already satisfied with the initial test result, summarizing that the drones were indeed capable equipment that could turn the tide.

 Chapter 267 Acting

    <h4>Chapter 267 Acting</h4>


    As Mary and Shi Tian continued to discuss the potential of the drone, their excitement was tempered by the realization that mass production might not be feasible due to the scarcity of the necessary materials.


    The drone''s capabilities were impressive, but building more of them would require resources they simply didn''t have at their disposal.


    Mary sighed softly, her eyes reflecting a mix of enthusiasm and frustration.


    "We have such an amazing drone, but there''s no way of producing more of them. This is why humanity is barely surviving." She ranted andined.


    "Actually, that might not be the case."


    To their surprise, Vanessa suddenly intervened in the conversation and gave her input.


    Mary subsequently turned on the auto-driving function temporarily as a result.


    She then turned around and stared at Vanessa, "What do you mean by that''s not the case?"


    Vanessa shrugged her shoulders but smiled mysteriously.


    "The materials¨C won''t be a problem for me," Vanessa revealed.


    That was all she had said, but it was enough for Shi Tian and Mary to understand her implied meaning.


    The materials might be scarce and hard to find, but Vanessa basically announced it was not a problem for her.


    And herees the tricky part, Vanessa might have the materials, but she doesn''t know the blueprint or even the properties of the drone.


    However, Shi Tian and Mary had the blueprint and understood the properties of the drone.


    Now, it doesn''t even take a genius to know where Vanessa was going with this revtion. She wanted a part of it as well, and she could provide the materials in exchange for the product.


    "You''ve nned this all along, didn''t you?" Mary narrowed her eyes and said.


    "The failure to leak information was a decoy. Your main intention was to check up on our process with drones and how far we had gotten with it." She added.


    Vanessa didn''t say anything else, but her smile already gave Mary the answer she wanted.


    "Hah, what a shrewd woman you are, Vanessa. If there was an acting award, then you would definitely win the award for best actress." Mary clicked her tongue and praised. Her acting had fooled everyone, including her.


    "Thank you for the praise, but I don''t need some dumb trophy to prove my worth." Vanessa stuck her tongue out slightly and kindly rejected the suggestion. As if she would need some award to say that she was good.


    "Look at the bane you brought in, Nathan." Unable to rebuke her, Mary turned her focus to Shi Tian, ming the matter on him.


    "Can''t argue further, so you turn the spearhead on Nathan? I didn''t expect you to be that low, Mary." Vanessa shook her head and said somewhat disappointingly.


    Meanwhile, Shi Tian was being sandwiched by these two women once again.


    He just wanted to test the drone and continued on with their journey to the dense area.


    So why did it suddenly turn into two women ying mind games against each other?


    "For the sake of me, can we not argue?" Shi Tian stepped in between them and asked exhaustedly.


    Vanessa and Mary suddenly paused, seemingly looking at Shi Tian and pondering whether or not to stop.


    "Are you taking her side again, Nathan?" Vanessa nced at her nails and asked softly.


    She might not have said itst time, but it was clear that she was still quite infuriated when Shi Tian kept taking Mary''s side over her.


    Even if she was acting previously, her emotion was sometimes real and she was indeed not happy about him choosing Mary over her.


    Shi Tian smiled bitterly, knowing fairly well that despite the chaotic world, women still maintained their jealousy and pettiness. Just like how vicious men can maintain their horniness and still want tomit crimes such as rape, murder, and arson.


    Though speaking of murder, he was under the same category too, albeit somewhat different. He only murdered when it was the other party that triggered it, and not him. He won''t actively seek death so long as it doesn''t concern him.


    "Mary, since weck the materials and Vanessa can supply them, it''s best that we work together. It''s a win-win situation for both of us." Shi Tian turned to Mary and said solemnly. His intention was made clear that he agreed with Vanessa''s suggestion despite her shrewd intention.


    Vanessa smiled proudly and nodded her head in approval.


    Meanwhile, Mary twitched her brows, clearly stupefied by Shi Tian''s rapid change of side.


    ''As expected, all men cannot be relied on when there are better profits.'' Mary eximed inwardly, even though she knew Shi Tian was looking at the big picture. After all, she would agree to the suggestion nheless when it was indeed beneficial for both sides.


    Not to mention, the advantage still remained on them, given that they knew how to craft the drone,pared to Vanessa, who only had the advantage of offering the scarce materials to them.


    "Fine, whatever." Mary threw a fit and pretended to agree simply because she was forced by Shi Tian.


    Of course, Vanessa didn''t bother exposing her and quickly retrieved a few papers.


    "Great, then let''s sign the contract tomence it." She said, seemingly prepared the entire time.


    The contract wasn''t something simple. It wasn''t a contract that would have an effect in a court ofw, given that there are no longer such things in this world.


    Instead, it was a contract paper imbued with magicule, making it even more effective than the past contract papers.


    In the past, people could renege on their contract papers by payingpensation or even attempting to go to court to deny the terms.


    However, this contract paper imbued with magicule could prevent such an incident from ever urring.


    The only way to dissolve it was if both the original parties agreed to end it. And if there was a situation where one of the original parties had died, then the inheritor of the said original party would be the new party.


    This was to ensure that the opposing party wouldn''t think of killing the other parties to nullify the contract.


    "You''ve reallye prepared, Vanessa." Mary clicked her tongue as her eyesid upon the contract paper and its listed terms.

 Chapter 268 To the Dense Area

    <h4>Chapter 268 To the Dense Area</h4>


    Vanessa smiled brightly, not bothered by Mary''sment at her action.


    She had already revealed her acting, so why should she care about being exposed by having a contract paper ready beforehand?


    "You can read over the terms if you''re unsure about it. But I can assure you that the terms are fair for both parties." Vanessa said, taking a seat calmly. She wasn''t a bit afraid that Mary would reject such great terms.


    With how profit-minded Mary was, just one nce was enough to tell just how much money she could earn when she signed the contract.


    Mary patiently read the terms over and over again, confirming that there was nothing fishy about it. And just like what Vanessa had said, the contract term was fair for both parties.


    ''Can''t believe I had my guards lowered against this shrewd woman.'' Mary thought to herself, feeling wary of Vanessa. There was not a bit of suspicion that she had found when she attempted to recall the past.


    Vanessa''s acting and dialogue were wless. Even her timid acting skills seemed so surreal.


    "Do you want to take a look too, Nathan?" Understanding that Mary might still need some to think over, Vanessa turned to Shi Tian and asked.


    Of course, Shi Tian was slightly stunned by the question.


    "Why do I need to look at it?" He asked confusingly.


    The deal was going to be between her and Mary. He was merely a bystander in this matter, so why would he want to look at the contract terms?


    "Mary might not be in a condition to agree with the terms, or even able to read it with how infuriated she might be. But you are an emotionless bastard that doesn''t care about anyone, so you can read it with a clear mind." Vanessa replied, insulting him indirectly as well.


    It was quite clear that she could hold grudges for a very long time.


    Naturally, unlike Mary who might be bothered by the insult, Shi Tian didn''t mind it a bit.


    Just as Vanessa had said earlier, she doesn''t need some trophy to validate her skills. And the same could be said for Shi Tian. He didn''t need someone else to validate his personality and actions either.


    Ignoring Vanessa''s insult, Shi Tian proceeded to read the contract terms with a clear-headed mindset.


    Mary also didn''t stop him from reading it, given that it wasn''t a secret to him. He had already learned that they would definitely agree to this deal, so what harm could there be to let him read the contract terms as well?


    Sometimeter, Shi Tian finished reading the contract terms and agreed with Vanessa''s words.


    The terms were fair for both parties and had uses that guaranteed both parties would not attempt any foul y. Only a fool would attempt to soil this deal which was beneficial to both sides.


    Nodding his head, Shi Tian turned to Mary and said, "The terms are fine, and I doubt you would let personal feelingse in between you and profit."


    "In addition, you said not to waste any more time, but you''re currently wasting time by being undecided. If you don''t want to do this business, then just say no right now and we''ll move on." He added.


    "Are you on her side now?" Mary didn''t answer his question and changed the conversation.


    Unfortunately, Shi Tian was tired from their bickering but he remained resolute.


    "I''m not taking anyone''s side. I''m strictly speaking from a neutral bystander perspective. The deal is good for both, but if you don''t want to work with Vanessa, then just deny her now." He said calmly, making her decide now.


    Mary was clever, so she should know the benefit with just a glimpse. Hence, she wouldn''t need to stall for time unless she was having some personal feelings against Vanessa.


    Taking a deep breath, Mary ultimately decided to postpone the contract.


    "Even if I agreed, I''m not the one with the highest decision-making regarding this aspect. So you would have to wait till we return to Gearits City to decide, Vanessa." Mary responded.


    Vanessa nodded her head. She didn''t mind waiting a bit longer, given the stakes that were being put on.


    "That''s fine by me." She smiled calmly and said, not in any rush. She believed any rational person would agree to such a deal.


    After all, the materials are scarce, and only a handful of people could possibly get their hands on such rare materials.


    "I''ll keep the contract for now." Mary grabbed the contract paper and said nonchntly.


    "Also, we''re about to arrive at the dense area filled with strange energy, so get ready." She added, warning them that they were about to arrive at the mysterious dense area.


    Both Shi Tian and Vanessa nodded their heads simultaneously. Now that the business talk was temporarily pushed aside, it was time for some serious action.


    "I got the drone ready again," Shi Tian informed Mary, his eyes focused on the screen.


    However, he couldn''t even get it started when Vanessa suddenly requested something quite unexpected.


    "Can I try to control the drone?" She asked softly.


    Shi Tian didn''t answer right away and instead turned his attention to Mary. When Mary didn''t say anything, it implied a tactical approval. It was just that she did not want to say it aloud.


    "Do you know the functions?" Shi Tian moved away slightly, giving her the space to take control while asking if she knew the instructions.


    Vanessa smiled mysteriously, seemingly indicating that she knew how to control it.


    s, her next sentence caused Shi Tian to stumble slightly.


    "I don''t know. I was expecting you to guide me personally." She shrugged her shoulders and said casually.


    "But weren''t you watching me quite intensely earlier?" Shi Tian raised an eyebrow in confusion. "I''d thought you were studying and learning from what I did."


    "Well, I was distracted by something." Vanessa stuck her tongue and said, not nning on exining further, causing him to be perplexed.

 Chapter 269 Traced

    ?


    Shi Tian was left perplexed by her cryptic response.


    He couldn''t help but wonder what had distracted her from paying close attention to the drone''s operation.


    Was there anything else on theputer screen that could distract her?


    Pondering over it, Shi Tian couldn''t find a single thing that could distract her attention. And with Vanessa''s current attitude, it was clear that she would not help clear his doubt.


    Knowing her intention, he decided not to press the issue and instead turned his attention to the drone''s control interface.


    "Alright," Shi Tian began, "I''ll guide you through the basics of controlling the drone. It''s rtively straightforward once you get the hang of it."


    He then proceeded to exin the essential functions and controls to Vanessa.


    As Vanessa settled in front of the control panel, Shi Tian provided clear and concise instructions. He exined how to adjust the drone''s altitude, navigate its movements, activate itsser weapon systems, and utilize its detection capabilities.


    Vanessa, to her credit, seemed quick to grasp the concepts. With a few practice maneuvers under Shi Tian''s guidance, Vanessa began to feel morefortable controlling the drone.


    She expertly adjusted its altitude, guided it through the air, and even tested itsser weaponry by firing a few practice shots at some nearby monsters, causing them to smolder and smoke.


    "Sheesh, this shouldn''t be a drone, but a flying turret," Vanessa eximed with enthusiasm. Her eyes were lit with excitement as she continued to explore the drone''s capabilities.


    Shi Tian watched with a sense of amazement as Vanessa quickly adapted to the drone''s controls. Her earlier im of distraction seemed forgotten as she reveled in the drone''s potential for destruction and utility.


    "Don''t overuse thesers too much, Vanessa." Shi Tian warned her when she was getting too excited.


    "Thesers need to recharge asionally if you overheat and the recharging process would take longer once you expend the energy reserves." He added, telling her to use thesers at a minimum.


    Thesers on the drone might be powerful and can be spammed multiple times.


    However, everything had a limit, otherwise, it would just be an insanely overpowered weaponry. The drone would start to warn them whenever they are about to overload the energy reserve and need to wait patiently.


    Having been warned by him, Vanessa subsequently stopped firing thesers at every monster the detection had locked on.


    "My bad, I got too excited about its prowess." Vanessa smiled briefly, acting cute and somewhat innocent. It was just a shame that no one within the Iron Sentinel would believe her innocence or cute act anymore.


    They knew better than to be fooled twice.


    Fooled them once, shame on Vanessa.


    Fooled them twice, then shame on them for falling for it again.


    "You can stop the act already, Vanessa." Shi Tian said calmly.


    "Huh? But I''m not acting at all?" Vanessa raised an eyebrow and said in a docile tone.


    "I''ve already achieved my goal earlier, so there''s no point in acting anymore." She rified, defending herself.


    Meanwhile, Shi Tian found it overly weird with such rification. If she wasn''t acting, then why is she acting cute and innocent at the same time?


    Tilting his head slightly, Shi Tian was wondering why he even bothered asking about others'' behavior and actions.


    "Whatever then, let''s just continue to focus on the drone." Shi Tian shook his head and said, choosing to move on with the topic.


    With Vanessa now more aware of the drone''s limitations, she resumed her control with a more measured approach.


    She adjusted the drone''s settings to conserve energy when necessary, reserving the powerfulser weaponry for strategic moments rather than unleashing it haphazardly.


    Shi Tian, despite his initial skepticism, couldn''t deny Vanessa''s growing proficiency in handling the drone.


    Her earlier yful act, which she imed was no longer necessary, was still met with a raised eyebrow from him.


    He had learned not to take everything at face value in this unpredictable world, especially when Vanessa had revealed herself to be a shrewd woman earlier.


    Who knows when and where was the real Vanessa?


    It could be another one of her "disguise masks" to make them lower their guard.


    "I won''t deceive you anymore, Nathan. My goal has already been achieved, so there''s no point in acting." Vanessa exined again, trying to tell him that she wasn''t such a shrewd woman.


    It was merely the circumstances that had prompted her to behave the way she was earlier. It was never her intention to deceive him.


    "Whatever, just focus on the drone and make sure to check the surrounding area as well. Don''t simply focus on the monsters," Shi Tian brushed over the topic, shifting his attention back to their current mission.


    He really couldn''t care less about being deceived by Vanessa. What happened was merely a reminder to him to not be careless anymore.


    Not to mention, the dense area filled with strange energy was looming closer, and they needed to be prepared for whatever challenges it might present.


    Vanessa also understood now wasn''t the ideal time to exin her motive, so she decided to let the matter pass.


    As the time slowly passed by, Vanessa continued to control the drone through theputer screen. Meanwhile, Shi Tian decided to use this time to run a few system checks and monitor the situation in the dense energy area.


    He had learned to be cautious in their travels, and vignce often proved to be their greatest defense against unexpected dangers. He did not want to be ambushed again without realizing danger was approaching.


    As Shi Tian monitored the data, even expanding the surveince feature of the Iron Sentinel to the maximum capacity, he was determined to confirm everything was safe.


    ''Hmm, this red dot is moving quite abnormally.'' Shi Tian thought to himself, realizing that there was a red dot that had been constantly moving in an abnormal pathway.


    To confirm his suspicion, Shi Tian turned to Mary and asked, "Mary, can you stop the Iron Sentinel for a moment?"


    And sure enough, once Mary stepped on the brake, Shi Tian noticed the red dot had subsequently paused its movement, albeit at a very far distance from their location.


    "Looks like we have been traced." Shi Tian muttered softly.

 Chapter 270 Stretching

    ?


    Shi Tian''s keen observation led to a concerning discovery.


    The abnormal movement of the red dot on the monitoring screen hinted that they were being traced or followed by an unknown entity. This revtion put them on high alert.


    Silence settled in the Iron Sentinel as they considered their options.


    The dense area filled with strange energy was still ahead, and this uninvited follower added ayer of uncertainty to their already perilous journey.


    Vanessa, who had been controlling the drone, now focused her attention on the situation. She was known for her shrewdness and resourcefulness, and at this moment, her instincts were on high alert.


    Mary spoke in a low,posed voice, addressing the group. "We don''t know who or what is following us, but we can''t afford to take any chances. Vanessa, can you use the drone to get a visual on our pursuer?"


    Since Vanessa was controlling the drone, Mary decided to ask her to control the drone whereas Shi Tian would be responsible for keeping track of the red dot in the monitoring system.


    Vanessa nodded her head in agreement, recognizing the necessity of identifying their follower.


    She didn''t even care it was amand from Mary as she readily adjusted the drone''s altitude to fly higher in the sky, preventing the enemy from detecting the drone.


    As Vanessa was controlling the drone to approach closer to the red dot, Shi Tian suddenly called out, "Stop the drone, Vanessa."


    His expression was grim, prompting both Vanessa and Mary to be dumbfounded.


    Why did he suddenly tell her to stop?


    That was the question they had in mind.


    However, their doubts were soon answered when Shi Tian exined his statement.


    "Vanessa, control the drone toe back while shooting somesers on some terrain. Remember to act natural." Shi Tian instructed Vanessa.


    He then echoed for Mary toe and look at the screen.


    "You see this, Mary. The red dot is retreating every time the drone approaches close to them, maintaining a 1000-meter distance. It''s like they knew the drone''s detection range quite thoroughly." He exined calmly.


    Mary nodded her head, noticing the red dot would advance forward whenever Vanessa controlled the drone to back away.


    It became quite clear that whoever was tracing them knew the limits and capability of the drone.


    However, it was just a pity that they had failed to include the Iron Sentinel as a variable in their tracing. The Iron Sentinel was a mysterious vehicle that outsiders would never know its capability.


    The drone''s detection range was only 800 meters, but the Iron Sentinel enhanced monitor system allowed them to survey the area for 1000 meters.


    Although it consumed quite a lot of voltages and could potentially overload the Iron Sentinel, it was still capable of maintaining such a state for a long duration.


    Mary narrowed her eyes as she could guess what type of people were tracing them.


    "There''s only a selected few that truly know the drone''s capability," Mary said, ncing at Shi Tian.


    Shi Tian also nodded his head in agreement.


    As for Vanessa, it took her another few seconds to realize what type of people they were talking about.


    The drones were never for sale and were a new invention that could change a lot of things. And most importantly, the drones were only in the hands of the military teams belonging to Gearits City.


    This meant that other than it was a group of military people, there was no other possible exnation for how they could grasp the drone''s detection range.


    "I understand your guesses, Mary. But there''s one thing I''m confused about. Why are they following us?" Vanessa asked confusingly.


    "Probably for the same reason why you were scheming at us earlier." Mary rolled her eyes and sarcastically. Of course, she doesn''t have a clue either and was just being sarcastic.


    As the two women began their bickering again to guess who the enemy was, they subtly noticed Shi Tian being oddly quiet. It was as if he had turned off the light and was in some serious deep thought.


    "Nathan? Are you there?" Mary asked in a doubtful tone.


    "Did he go into shock?" Vanessa joked, trying to make light of the situation.


    After all, going into a panic was the worst possible action they could do right now. Being panicked means making a lot of mistakes and being unable to think rationally.


    Despite calling Shi Tian numerous times, he seemed detached from the world, almost as if he couldn''t hear their voices.


    "Alright, you''ve asked for it." Mary breathed some air upward, blowing off the hair on her forehead as she lifted her sleeves up.


    "What are you nning to do?" Vanessa was rmed, seemingly suspicious of her action.


    "If you want to receive a p on his behalf, then continue blocking my path." Mary hissed coldly.


    Instantly, Vanessa stepped aside and even extended her hand out as a gesture that was akin to telling her to go right ahead. As if she was willing to get pped on behalf of Shi Tian, whom she was still somewhat angry at for treating her poorly.


    Mary nodded her head, grinning even slightly when she saw how easily Vanessa had given in and stopped whatever she was trying to do.


    Walking past Vanessa, Mary smirked coldly as she raised her hand up, ready to smack the living crap out of Shi Tian.


    And just when she was about to connect the p, Shi Tian stood up and sped his hands.


    "GPS!" He eximed, seemingly understanding something.


    "GPS what?" Mary''s hand paused midair as she stuttered in confusion.


    Shi Tian was about to exin his meaning until he saw Mary''s action was equivalent to trying to p someone.


    "That hand is not supposed to connect to my cheek, right?" He asked somewhat nervously, pointing at her hand.


    "Oh no, I was just stretching my hand but got distracted when you suddenly shouted." Mary, realizing she was exposed, quickly pretended and stretched a few times as an excuse.

 Chapter 271 Badge

    ?


    "Stretching huh¡­" Shi Tian muttered softly.


    He knew Mary was definitely not stretching and was instead trying to p him across the cheek.


    Nevertheless, as a gentleman, or more like he did not wish to incur her wrath, he pretended to understand and nodded his head in response.


    "I see, your body should be a bit sore from sitting so long. It''s natural for a woman that has aged." Shi Tianmented, smiling brightly.


    He might not wish to incur her wrath, but that doesn''t mean he wouldn''t do it.


    Who told Mary to attempt to attack him?


    Was he going to take it like a simp and smile like a fool?


    Absolutely not!


    Meanwhile, Vanessa burst outughing from the sideline when she heard that remark. Never once did she expect Shi Tian to be capable of cracking insults mixed with a joking tone.


    "Pfft, Nathan, you are indeed right." Vanessa grabbed her stomach with her hand, trying to prevent her stomach from aching due toughing.


    "An aged woman like Mary usually bes tired and sore after a while. They need to stretch and exercise frequently to maintain their appearance." She added, not battling an eyelid at the current furious Mary, who was ring at her currently.


    "Screw you," Mary clicked her tongue and attempted to p Shi Tian.


    Luckily, he was already prepared that she was going to p him. Hence, he was able to retreat to the side quickly and avoid the p.


    Afterward, he grabbed her wrist and chuckled softly.


    "Alright, let''s not get too distracted, Mary." Shi Tian said, hoping to pacify the situation.


    "Tsk, had I known you were going to be such a rude traitor, then I would have never taught you." Mary, still a bit displeased with Shi Tian''s action, proimed her regret for teaching him.


    Given Shi Tian had been personally trained by Mary, it would be a shameful matter if Shi Tian could not block or avoid her attack.


    Not minding her words, Shi Tian gently released his grip on Mary''s wrist.


    His facial expression then turned serious, a clear signal that he was about to go to the main point.


    Now that the joke was brushed aside, it was time for him to reveal his thoughts and why he was absent-minded for quite a while.


    Focusing his attention on Vanessa, Shi Tian asked in a deep and solemn voice," Vanessa, have you ever received an item from someone or has someone ever bumped into you?"


    "Receive an item?" Vanessa was dumbfounded by the sudden question. Though she still attempted to ponder hard over the question to answer him seriously.


    It was clear that Shi Tian was not joking around anymore and was serious about getting an answer.


    A few minutester, Vanessa raised her head up, almost as if a lightbulb had been lit up, an indication of her recalling something.


    "Speaking of items, I did receive this from Commander Theobold." Vanessa retrieved a small badge that exuded some calming fragrance.


    "Because of a certain someone kicking me out, and causing me to undergo some depression. Commander Theobold offered me this item that could assist me to sleep well at night." She nced at Shi Tian and purposely emphasized the certain someone as she exined the badge item.


    Feigning ignorance at Vanessa''s emphasis, Shi Tian asked to take a look at the badge.


    Albeit still confused by his action, Vanessa handed in the badge without much hesitation. It was just a badge, and not something valuable.


    Heck, even if it was something valuable, it had already been scammed by him in the past.


    The most valuable possession she had was the Dimension Ring, but this bastard Shi Tian had scammed her for it. The exchange was very unfair as well, but what could she do?


    Kill him?


    Had she wanted him dead, then she would have done it a long time ago.


    s, no one was concerned with the thought process going on in Vanessa''s mind as Mary stared at Shi Tian.


    "Do you suspect something is wrong with the badge?" Mary asked in a cautious tone.


    Shi Tian nodded his head, the implication behind it was huge.


    The implication of such action meant that Shi Tian was now suspecting the culprit to be Theobold, someone they had never thought of in the first ce.


    The tension within the Iron Sentinel was palpable, as both women did not expect to have the suspect to be Theobold. Nevertheless, they would rather ce their trust in Shi Tian more than Theobold if they must choose a side.


    It was hard to describe why they trusted Shi Tian more, but given his credentials and actions so far. It was safe for them to say that Shi Tian could gain their trust rather easilypared to others.


    And it was totally not because his charm was quite hard.


    Or is it?


    The doubtfulness of this could only be left forter in the future, given their attention was now focused on the badge.


    cing the badge on a desk, Shi Tian began scanning the properties to check for the GPS-rted system involved in it.


    There was also a reasonable doubt as to why Shi Tian believed the culprit to be Theobold.


    Ever since Vanessa proimed that she was able to sneak out of her tent ande to them, he was already suspicious of the truth. It wasn''t that he was doubtful of Vanessa, but was more doubtful of how she could sneak away from a group of trained elite soldiers.


    Given the importance of Vanessa''s identity and the fact that she owned the Ancient Technology that could change the tide of the monster wave, would Theobold really be so careless?


    For such an important figure like Vanessa. If it wasn''t the best of the best elite soldiers assigned to protect her safety, then there was no other way for Theobold to be reassured of her safety unless it was him protecting her personally.


    Hence, everything could be concluded in one deduction.


    "Commander Theobold had already anticipated our action since the very beginning." Shi Tian revealed.

 Chapter 272 Eavesdropping

    ?


    Shi Tian''s revtion hung in the air, heavy and pregnant with implications.


    The suspicion that Commander Theobold might be involved in their predicament had sent a shockwave through the group.


    Vanessa, who had initially been taken aback by the question regarding the badge, now stared at it with newfound uncertainty. The badge, a seemingly innocuous item given to her by Theobold, had taken on an air of suspicion.


    Mary, always alert and tactical, absorbed this revtion like a sponge. Her mind worked quickly, considering the possibilities and implications. If Theobold was indeed involved, it raised questions about his motivations and what other secrets he might be hiding.


    Shi Tian''s exnation shed light on his thought process.


    He had been skeptical of Vanessa''s ability to sneak away from the elite soldiers assigned to protect her ever since Vanessa informed him back at the camp.


    This skepticism had led him to check on the monitoring system to discover whether someone was indeed tracking them or not. If there was nothing to be discovered, then Shi Tian would simply keep his thoughts to himself.


    However, once there was a suspicion that was detected, Shi Tian instantly suspected that Vanessa might have an item that contained tracking or monitoring technology.


    The implications were unsettling at the same time, and Shi Tian feared for the worst when that happened.


    If Theobold had been tracking them, it meant he had been aware of their movements and actions all along. It also suggested that he might have manipted events behind the scenes.


    Vanessa, breaking the silence, spoke with a mix of disbelief and frustration. "You''re saying that Commander Theobold has been ying us from the beginning? But why? What could he possibly gain from this?"


    Shi Tian didn''t respond to her question but instead asked her to recall something.


    "Do you still recall how we met Commander Theobold?"


    Vanessa nodded her head.


    Of course, she remembered how they met him. It was back when they were ambushed by Kralos Tal at the Horology Restaurant, and Theobold managed to track them down based on the trail they left.


    Suddenly, almost as if lightning had struck her head, Vanessa held a dazed expression.


    "Are you implying that you were wary of Commander Theobold since then?" She asked in a disbelief tone.


    Shi Tian nodded his head. As if he would blindly believe someone he had just met, especially when they are a militarymander of elite soldiers.


    So what if their reputation is good and they are described as honorable?


    That was merely on the surface, and who knows what kind of secrets they had concealed within themselves.


    Meanwhile, Vanessa''s mind was thinking of another thing. Her expression seemed to have red up as she looked at Shi Tian with a somewhat murderous intent.


    "Nathan, can you rify one of my doubts?" She asked in a friendly tone.


    Though the more friendly one suddenly became, the more deadly it actually was.


    As for Mary, she seemed to have realized something and decided to not intervene, pretending to be busy with theputer screen.


    And if Mary managed to realize it, how could Shi Tian not realize it when he was the main focal point now.


    ''Ah Shit¡­'' Shi Tian cursed silently, knowing that he had messed up really badly this time.


    By revealing that he was suspicious of Theobold from the start, added to the fact that he had pushed Vanessa to Theobold''s care, anyone would have been furious once they learned the truth.


    Cracking her knuckles, Vanessa smiled sweetly at Shi Tian.


    "So, despite having suspicion toward Commander Theobold, you still decided to hand me over to him. Do you want to die now or be tortured?" She asked gently. The tone was so soothing, almost as if it could melt one''s person.


    Shi Tian swallowed a mouthful of salvia nervously, seemingly anxious and worried for his life.


    It was just a shame that his nervousness and anxiousness seemed to have been pacified thanks to his passive skill, prompting Vanessa to believe he had no remorse or guilt at all.


    "No reaction huh?" Vanessa raised an eyebrow in surprise, walking very slowly toward him.


    Shi Tian attempted to turn to Mary for help, but Mary feigned ignorance, almost as if she had turned deaf and blind.


    As he was distracted for that split second, Vanessa had already arrived in front of him, the distance between them was very minimal. They could even feel their breaths for being so close.


    Some might be feeling jealous of Shi Tian''s current position, but only the ones who truly understood the situation currently would be terrified.


    "So tell me, did you or did you not send me to a person that you don''t even trust?" Vanessa''s face wrinkled slightly due to the anger she was feeling as she asked him in a deep tone.


    Even if she had gotten an answer in her mind already, she wanted to hear him exin and answer her.


    Without a way to back out, Shi Tian sighed softly.


    He ced his hands on her shoulder, seemingly trying to hold her in ce so that she wouldn''t make any unnecessary movements while he exined.


    "Do you recall the conversation you were having in the room, Vanessa?" Shi Tian asked. "I''m not sure if you have noticed, but there aren''t any soundproof walls built within there." He added, subtly reminding her of something. Vanessa''s mouth was wide open in response. It was clear that she was trying to process the exnation he had given to her, and validating the words.


    Sure enough, she recalled having a conversation with one of her people back then and realized the culprit was her Uncle, Martin.


    In addition to that, it was also coincidentally the time that Shi Tian had decided to kick her out of the apartment.


    "You were eavesdropping on me back then?" She asked in a dumbfounded tone.


    Shi Tian nodded his head in response.


    If he weren''t eavesdropping outside, how else could he be knocking on the door right as soon as she finished her conversation?

 Chapter 273 GPS

    <h4>Chapter 273 GPS</h4>


    Back then, when Shi Tian was still wavering on the decision whether to send Vanessa away or not, he had identally overheard her conversation with a mysterious man on the phone.


    As he was listening to the conversation, he realized Vanessa already had her people arrive in Gearits City but merely concealed themselves.


    Thus, it became clear that Vanessa was now protected and he didn''t have to be worried even if an incident like the assassination from Kralos Tal happened again.


    With how mysterious Vanessa''s identity was, he was positive that Kralos Tal wouldn''t pose a problem to her given that her people were here.


    That was the borate exnation Shi Tian had but kept to himself. After all, his exnation at the end of the day still remained that he was gambling on her safety.


    If it was the other way around, Shi Tian himself wouldn''t have forgiven the other party as well, at least not easily.


    "You really are heartless," Vanessa bit her lips softly and said disappointingly.


    Hearing that, Shi Tian didn''t deny it as he nodded his head.


    "Indeed, I''m a heartless person, so don''t expect anything from me. Just like Commander Theobold, I''m also a highly suspicious person." He responded, warning her to not believe anyone.


    And as if that wasn''t enough, he continued with his point, "I could also be one of the assassin''s spies that purposely arrived at the time of your ambush and attempted to gain your trust by saving you."


    By putting this doubtful seed in her mind, he nned on cutting off the rtionship he had with Vanessa, effectively returning to ground zero.


    What he wanted to do and nned to do in the far future was better off being alone. Dragging people into his situation would only cause too many unountable variables.


    It was just a shame that Shi Tian was simply too overconfident in himself.


    He was not the only intelligent person in this world. There are other people who are equally clever or even superior to him.


    "Enough of the crap, Nathan." Vanessa rolled her eyes and smacked his hands away.


    "I can believe that you might be gambling on my safety to test Commander Theobold, but that was under the condition that you have overheard my conversation. As for the first assassin''s ambush, you''re not that capable." She added, indirectly saying he was inadequate.


    Meanwhile, Mary chuckled from the sideline, unable to contain herughter when Shi Tian was humiliated.


    "Ahh, Nathan, you started off great, but why did you attempt to admit something you''re not capable of?" Maryughed as she could barely contain her emotion.


    "We all know your strength, so try to put yourself up in something like ambushing Vanessa. You might as well proim yourself as the best Mechanic in this world." She added, making fun of Shi Tian.


    "Is it really that hard to believe me?" Shi Tian twitched his mouth in disbelief.


    And although Vanessa was still angry at him, both she and Mary nodded their heads simultaneously.


    Shi Tian was stunned by their swift response. It was the first time that the two had agreed upon something without needing his intervention.


    "I''m just going to say this, Nathan. You owe me one for gambling with my life." Vanessa crossed her arms and snorted coldly. She was going to make him owe her a favor, and if he was to refuse it. Then she was definitely going to let him know what pain was.


    Without a choice, Shi Tian could only resign to his fate.


    Who told him to gamble with others and attempt to manipte them?


    It was already a good thing that Vanessa was not actively attacking him now.


    "Anyway, since the two of you have finished your petty fight, can we go back to the topic?" Mary suddenly faked a cough and said, reminding them that there were still enemies outside.


    "Right¡­" Shi Tian sped his hands and went to theputer screen, checking up on the data on the badge. If the badge was indeed rigged or had a GPS function, then their suspicions were confirmed.


    As his eyes focused on the data, Shi Tian was slightly stunned to see there was nothing wrong with the badge.


    "Huh? So you were incorrect all along and managed to expose your pathetic scheme as well?" Vanessa saw the screen and sneered coldly.


    However, Mary''s reaction was slightly different as she didn''t expect to not find a single thing.


    "That''s kind of weird then. The badge can emit a soothing fragrance, so that means there''s a hidden mechanism that helps emit it. Theputer should have picked that up at the very least." She exined carefully.


    Shi Tian nodded his head, agreeing with Mary''s exnation.


    The more clean the result was, the more suspicious the item was.


    How can theputer not pick up any sort of data?


    Nowadays, even the simplest item could have some detection or data recorded.


    Yet, the badge resulted in null.


    "It seems like we''ve severely underestimated Commander Theobold''s ability." Shi Tian murmured.


    Theobold was a militarymander, so how could his device be easily investigated or detected?


    The badge might not have a GPS function, but Shi Tian knew that some items don''t need to have any GPS function installed and still could be tracked.


    How was that possible? It was the fact that it needed to connect multiple items that had a chain reaction with each other.


    These types of specially crafted devices are usually used by people in spying missions to avoid being caught by the opposing party.


    However, such items are extremely rare and not used often because of theplications involved in it. A single mishap in either of the items used for the chain reaction malfunctioning would render everything useless.


    "So there''s no other way to check huh." Vanessa rubbed her chin and asked. She might not have said it, but she was petrified by the revtion that Theobold could be a shrewd and maniptive person.

 Chapter 274 Subtle Connection

    <h4>Chapter 274 Subtle Connection</h4>


    Vanessa was horrified because Theobold had treated her almost like a delicate princess during their interaction.


    He was always there, reminding her that she would be protected under his watch. There were also no restrictions on her and she was able to do whatever she wanted.


    But if all of those were an act to gain her trust, then she no longer dared to imagine what kind of people could be trusted in this world.


    While Vanessa was having a rollercoaster of emotions within her, Shi Tian decided to check with another method.


    A method that he had never nned on using unless it was thest resort¨C the integrated chip in his brain.


    Thest time he used it was to salvage the IC chip equipped in the electrical circuit of the board. After that, he didn''t use it much, and not because he was dumb to not use it, but because he did not want to gain reliance on it.


    Gaining a reliance on one particr item could be extremely detrimental to his growth and future life.


    If he were to grow to rely on the integrated chip for every problem and obstacle he had to face, then what would he do when the integrated chip no longer assisted him?


    In this uncertain world, there was nothing impossible.


    No one could have predicted the sky would crack like a fissure, and numerous armored dinosaur-like monsters woulde out from the fissure and go on a rampage at humanity.


    "Give me a few minutes," Shi Tian turned to Mary and Vanessa, telling them to simply keep an eye on the enemy and their distance.


    He would attempt to figure out the badge by himself without any distraction.


    Vanessa wanted to say something, but Mary held her arm and shook her head.


    Although Mary didn''t know how Shi Tian would figure it out, she believed that he should have another method.


    The rigged IC chip incident alone allowed her to know that Shi Tian was hiding a secret that could detect things superior to her current capacity.


    Not to mention, Shi Tian wasn''t the type to say something without having any confidence, aside from the slight mishap that he tried to proim to be a secret spy against Vanessa.


    That was probably the most hrious joke Mary had ever heard from him.


    "How long do you reckon it will take for you to figure it out?" Mary enquired.


    "It''s not that I''m trying to rush you, but if the enemy realized that we are no longer moving, then they might think we spotted them." She added, warning him of the possible effect.


    Shi Tian nodded his head.


    He understood Mary''s warning and that time was against them currently. To solve the issues first, they must also gradually advance forward to avoid any suspicion.


    "Just drive the Iron Sentinel slowly and Vanessa can continue to control the drone while killing off multiple monsters. We can use that as a pretext for our dy." Shi Tian responded, swiftly figuring out a solution.


    The pretext would be that they are too upied with killing monsters for their Source Crystal which prevented them from arriving at their destination.


    Added to the fact that no one should know their true destination was the dense area, it could be considered a wless pretext with no loopholes.


    Of course, if the enemy was truly Theobold and he had suspected Mary to be concealing the true location of the dense area, then it wouldn''t be hard for him to know their true destination.


    Nevertheless, Mary and Vanessa followed Shi Tian''s instruction and proceeded to wreak havoc on the poor monsters that were hiding in fear.


    The monsters might be fearless, but they still had some form of intelligence.


    Having witnessed the destructive power of the drone hovering in the sky, only a fool would remain there and tank thesers.


    As Vanessa and Mary enjoyed their chaotic teamwork, Shi Tian himself had already begunmunicating with the integrated chip in his brain silently.


    ''Dear integrated chip, can you please give me a hint on whether or not this badge is really a transmitter for something?'' Shi Tian asked silently in his mind, using his most gentle and soothing tone.


    And to be honest, even he got goosebumps with the current tone that he had in mind.


    Plus, it didn''t take long for the integrated chip to respond, something that Shi Tian was not expecting.


    Description: Please stop with the gay tone or the host shall be blocked indefinitely.


    Shi Tian smiled bitterly when he read the description on the status screen. He figured the response would be something simr to that.


    Coughing slightly, Shi Tian decided to return to his normal tone of speech, in his mind of course.


    ''Integrated chip, I shallply with your request, but can you detect whether my prediction is correct or not?'' He tried again, hoping tomunicate with the integrated chip as if it were a grown adult.


    Time slowly passed by, and as Shi Tian was getting somewhat anxious at the zero response, the status screen finally glitched once again.


    Description: The host does not wish to have a reliance on me, so why bother asking? And yes, the badge itself is merely a soothing fragrance, but there''s a subtle connection with another item. Although faint, the detection of the item should be approximately 1000 meters.


    The integrated chip could be said to be petty, simr to Vanessa, but still answered his question nheless.


    ''Is it possible for you to give me that data and the item that has a subtle connection with the badge?'' Shi Tian ignored its pettiness and instead went straight to the point.


    Just when Shi Tian thought the integrated chip was ignoring him, he felt a slight pain in his head. Despite the slight pain, Shi Tian was able to handle it as the slight pain came with information regarding the badge itself.


    And when he received the information, he smirked coldly.


    "It turns out Commander Theobold is a scary schemer after all." Shi Tian muttered, having grasped the result he wanted.

 Chapter 275 Intention

    <h4>Chapter 275 Intention</h4>


    As Shi Tian muttered about his description of Theobold, his voice wasced with a mixture of admiration for Theobold''s cunning and wariness of his intentions.


    The weight of this discovery hung in the air, casting a shadow over the trio. They now had a crucial piece of information, but it raised more questions than answers.


    What was the nature of this connection, and how had Theobold managed to deceive them all?


    Vanessa''s mind raced as she tried to make sense of the situation. She felt like a pawn in a game of chess, moved about at the whims of unseen yers. Her emotions remained a turbulent sea, torn between her past trust in Theobold and the unsettling reality that had been revealed.


    Mary, on the other hand, had her eyes locked on Shi Tian. She was somewhat curious about his secret, being able to solve something that herputer failed to do.


    It wasn''t that she wanted to brag, but herputer was a supeputer, built with thetest technology possible.


    Meanwhile, Shi Tian took a few more seconds topress the newfound information he had received from the integrated chip.


    As Shi Tian finally looked up from the badge, his eyes meeting theirs.


    "We have the information we need, but it''s imperative that we proceed with caution. Commander Theobold may be more dangerous than we ever imagined." He said calmly.


    Mary nodded her head.


    "Indeed, rumors really can''t be trusted and even the surface appearance could be beyond deceiving." She shook her head and chuckled in disbelief.


    "But we don''t have any concrete evidence that it was really Commander Theobold. What if it was nted by someone to cause a rift in our rtionship?" Vanessa suddenly enquired.


    It wasn''t that she was trying to defend Theobold, but she was trying to look at things from another perspective.


    After all, it could also be a ploy done by another person hidden deep in the shadows, attempting to soil their rtionship.


    If this was truly the case, then wouldn''t that mean they had fallen into an enemy''s trap, resulting in them losing a valuable ally such as Theobold.


    Shi Tian nodded his head slightly, agreeing that it was a possibility. However, he had pondered over the situation and the possibility of such a thing being true was close to zero percent.


    "The badge was given to Vanessa by Theobold, so it''s already a concrete fact that Theobold is the culprit," Shi Tian stated calmly, cementing the gravity of the situation.


    The pieces of the puzzle were falling into ce, but the bigger picture was still obscured.


    And he continued, "Not to mention, Mary informed me that she had gone to Theobold''smand center to help him figure out the dense area. Hence, only Theobold, other than the three of us, knew about the dense area and the strange energy before the leak urred."


    The evidence pointed squarely at Theobold, and their trust in him had been irrevocably shattered.


    With that exnation and context revealed. Vanessa realized that the possibility of another enemy attempting to cause a rift between them was very minimal.


    Shi Tian had practically made a process of elimination with the information they knew, and the conclusion only resulted in one point. Theobold was not the honorable and principled militarymander they knew.


    The trio shared a collective understanding that their mission had taken a dangerous turn. They were no longer justbating the monstrous threat from the Gso variants; they were facing a cunning adversary from within.


    Vanessa, her initial shock beginning to transform into determination,


    clenched her fists. She wouldn''t allow herself to be manipted any longer, not especially when she had received a stark betrayal from her Uncle, Martin.


    "There''s still something fishy here though." Mary rubbed her chin and said. "Just why would Commander Theobold do such a thing?"


    "It''s quite simple, Mary." Shi Tian held a solemn expression as he exined, "For power."


    "Power?"


    "Yes, the power that one could grasp in hand once they are helmed as the savior of Gearits City."


    Vanessa raised an eyebrow in confusion at that im. "Commander Theobold is already a powerful man in Gearits City. His reputation is the best, and not even the five families could contest his fame and military power."


    Mary agreed with Vanessa on this point. "Commander Theobold''s reputation had long been cemented in Gearits City. It is not necessary for him to further than that."


    "That''s because the two of you are women and don''t understand a man''s standpoint." Shi Tian smiled softly and said.


    And before the two of them could continue, Shi Tian asked them a question.


    "Have the two of you ever heard of Commander Theobold having a woman by his side?"


    The question was somewhat off-topic, prompting Vanessa and Mary to be speechless.


    How did this question rte to the current topic they were discussing?


    "Just answer me and don''t think too much." Shi Tian eximed, turning his attention to Mary.


    "Mary, you''re the longest person that had resided in Gearits City out of the three of us. So have you ever heard of Commander Theobold having a woman?"


    If this kind of question was given to her by another person, then Mary would truly want to smack them for being so insensitive.


    However, since it was Shi Tian, she believed he must have his reason for asking such nonsensical questions.


    "No, Commander Theobold was hailed as the most principled and honorable man. He never even touched a woman in his life and was always focused on battle." Mary answered.


    "Then was Commander Theobold ever injured in a battle?"


    "Of course, he has been injured, Nathan. Even the most powerful person would be injured when it involves a battle that contains much uncertainty." Mary rolled her eyes and said, almost as if it wasn''t obvious.


    However, speaking of that, Mary suddenly recalled something and informed Shi Tian.


    "I recalled Commander Theobold suffering a grave injury one time and everyone was concerned about it. Though he made a recovery soon after. So people had gradually forgotten about it and only knew his prestige."

 Chapter 276 Worst Experience

    <h4>Chapter 276 Worst Experience</h4>


    As Mary finished her recollection of Theobold''s past, Shi Tian smiled briefly.


    He stood up, stared at them, and asked. "Vanessa, Mary, what do you think is the worst experience a man can ever receive?"


    "Failure to obtain their lover''s heart?" Vanessa pondered for a moment and responded.


    She believed that if a man failed to capture the heart of their crush, then that was the worst experience a man could ever have.


    After all, it was not easy to have a crush, but to confess and get rejected, the feeling was worse than being stabbed by a thousand needles.


    Shi Tian nodded his head, not giving any input on Vanessa''s response as he turned his attention to Mary.


    "I have to answer as well?" Mary pointed at her and asked doubtfully.


    Although Shi Tian didn''t give a response, his expressions were clear enough for Mary that he wanted her input as well.


    "Let me think about it then," Mary clicked her tongue and rubbed her chin, seemingly in deep thought.


    Being asked on the spot was already difficult enough, but now she had to think of the worst experience that a man could have had. It was no different than a woman asking a man how they would feel if they had to undergo a menstruation cycle.


    Mary continued to contemte Shi Tian''s question, her expression growing increasingly thoughtful. It was clear that she was taking the question seriously, trying toe up with a response that encapsted the essence of the worst experience a man could face.


    After a few moments of silence, she finally spoke. "I think one of the worst experiences for a man could be losing their sense of purpose, not knowing where they belong or what they''re meant to do in life."


    Her answer carried a weight of seriousness, reflecting her own experiences and perhaps some deeper personal insights.


    It was a stark contrast to Vanessa''s response about matters of the heart, highlighting the diversity of perspectives among the characters.


    Shi Tian nodded, acknowledging Mary''s response.


    "Interesting," he remarked, not delving further into the topic but instead allowing the thought to hang in the air.


    Vanessa, who had been listening intently to Mary''s answer, added her own reflection. "You know, in a world like this, losing your loved ones to the monsters out there, that''s also one of the worst experiences anyone could face, not just men."


    There was a somberness in her voice as she spoke, a reminder of the harsh realities of their world where danger lurked at every turn.


    Not to mention, both responses given by them were logical and understandable.


    s, that was not the answer Shi Tian was looking for.


    "Those two can indeed be considered the worst experience of a man, but does that have anything to corrte with Commander Theobold?" Shi Tian asked them a very crucial point that the two of them had missed.


    Both responses aren''t enough to propel a man like Theobold to do what he is currently doing. None of the responses are enough to make him power-hungry.


    Vanessa and Mary exchanged nces, realizing that Shi Tian had steered the conversation back to their current predicament.


    They had momentarily drifted into a discussion of personal experiences and philosophies, but the urgency of their situation demanded a more focused approach.


    Shi Tian''s pointed question hung in the air, challenging them to consider how their personal reflections rted to Commander Theobold''s actions. It was a reminder that they needed to unravel the mystery at hand and understand the motivations behind the man they had once trusted.


    Mary was the first to respond, her brow furrowing as she thought about it.


    "You''re right, Nathan. Our answers don''t quite fit the context of Theobold''s actions. Losing one''s sense of purpose or enduring heartbreak might exin some behaviors, but not the pursuit of power at the cost of others."


    Vanessa nodded in agreement. "And losing loved ones is a tragedy that many of us have experienced in this world. It''s painful, but it doesn''t justify the kind of maniption and betrayal we''re seeing from Theobold."


    "Mhmm, and the two of you still haven''t figured out the crux." Shi Tian chuckled softly and said.


    "Mary, you have practically revealed the answer already." He then said, pointing at Mary.


    "I did?" Mary raised an eyebrow in doubt. She nced at Vanessa, seemingly seeing if she understood Shi Tian.


    And Vanessa merely shrugged her shoulders in response.


    It was clear that the two women were beyond stupefied by Shi Tian and did not understand his point.


    "Ah damn it, stop fucking around and just reveal your point already, Nathan." Angered, Mary lifted her sleeve and threatened to thrash him for purposely stalling.


    Understanding what Mary was doing, Vanessa decided to lift her sleeves up as well. "Yeah, you better tell us now or we might as well beat you into coughing it up."


    "..."


    How did a peaceful conversation turn into a threatening one?


    "Okay, I''ll tell you. No need to get violence." Shi Tian quickly raised his hands and said. He was merely trying to create a dramatic scenery as he unraveled a major discovery for them.


    Yet who would have thought they would not appreciate his effort and instead infuriated by his act?


    "Then speak!" Both Vanessa and Mary demanded simultaneously, their expressions solemn as well, a clear indication that they would truly thrash him.


    "Every man''s weakness is impotence." Shi Tian announced, fearing for his life.


    "Impotence?" Mary and Vanessa stared at each other in disbelief.


    That was it?


    Impotence?


    The definition of a man being unable to perform any sexual act was the worst experience a man could receive?


    And seeing their reaction, Shi Tian knew they wouldn''t get it. Only a man would understand the shame and humiliation of being unable to perform any sexual act.


    "Just imagine if a man was an eunuch, and other than seeking power, what other goal can they have?" Shi Tian asked them.


    Having learned that Theobold was injured in the past, and information that was given to him by the integrated chip, plus the fact that Theobold does not have any women.


    Everything became clear for him to understand Theobold''s motive.


    ''Being impotent means a man is no longer a man. But by seeking power, they can somewhat deceive themselves to be a man.'' Shi Tian thought to himself.

 Chapter 277 Betting

    <h4>Chapter 277 Betting</h4>


    As the realization of Theobold''s potential motive settled in, Vanessa and Mary''s expressions shifted from disbelief to contemtion.


    They began to see the depth of Shi Tian''s analysis, even if it had been presented in a somewhatical manner.


    Vanessa, in particr, seemed to grasp the implications quickly. She leaned forward, her brows furrowing in thought. "So, you''re saying that Theobold''s pursuit of power might be his way ofpensating for... impotence?"


    Shi Tian nodded solemnly. "Exactly. If he''s unable to have a normal life in certain aspects, he might seek control and dominance in others. Power, in this case, could be his substitute for what hecks."


    "But how do you know he''s impotence?" Mary raised an eyebrow and questioned.


    Everything might have seemed nice and exined everything on the surface, but the question now was¡­ how did hee to this conclusion?


    "Do you have any evidence to back up your conjunction?" She asked again, seemingly trying to validate the im. Back then, they hadmitted a simr mistake in thinking the monster wave was done by the Harrett Family.


    But after numerous situations, they learned that their deductions were wrong and they had med it wrongly on the Harrett Family.


    Mary does not wish to make another mistake because of their deduction without concrete proof.


    Shi Tian nodded his head, understanding her doubt.


    Had it not been for the critical information that the integrated chip in his brain had given to him, he would have never thought of the reason being impotency.


    "Do you trust me, Mary?" Shi Tian asked.


    "Trust is quite the difficult word you''re asking, Nathan." Mary crossed her arms and said. "Especially when you have just tried to tell Vanessa that you''re heartless and not trustable at all." She added, reminding him of his action.


    "Right¡­ I did say that." Shi Tian smiled bitterly, having forgotten that he had just said those kinds of words earlier.


    "Whatever then, the fact remains that the enemies are spying on us because of this badge." He shrugged his shoulders and said, picking up the badge.


    Now that they had unraveled the identity of the enemy, and possibly their main intention as well, the focal point now remained on how they would deal with the enemies lurking 1000 meters away from them.


    "With our current loadout, we can''t win them head-on." Mary was the first to give her input, being the most experienced fighter out of them all.


    She could deduce they were severelycking in firepower and were incapable of confronting the enemies head-on.


    "I doubt the drone would be effective either. The moment I tried to go close to them under the pretext of killing monsters, they subsequently retreated as well." Vanessa added, giving her input when they were ordered to dy their movement to give Shi Tian time.


    "Who said we are going to fight them head-on?" Shi Tian questioned back. He was confused as to why they would think he wanted to confront the enemy head-on.


    Only a foolish brute would attempt to confront an unknown enemy directly.


    "We have traps in our arsenal, so why wouldn''t we utilize them?" Shi Tian looked at the two women as if they had lost their brain cells.


    "Do you think traps are effective against these elite soldiers?" Mary twitched her brows. Since they were determined to identify the enemy to be Theobold, it goes to say that the enemies tracking them are Theobold''s elite soldiers.


    Hence, these elite soldiers are experienced and powerful.


    Would traps even be effective against such people?


    Matter of fact, even if they didy the traps, these elite soldiers would probably discover the trap and disarm them before it could even be of use.


    Vanessa, herself, also agreed with Mary. She had personally witnessed their strength during her supposed protection period.


    "If you''re talking about the ymore Mines that Optic Mech produced, then it''s best to save them for the Gso variants," Vanessa said emotionlessly.


    "The ymore Mines are immensely powerful now and people have already learned how to counter it by now." She added.


    Meanwhile, Shi Tianughed bitterly in response when it was indeed true that they were underestimating him so much. No wonder they looked at him like a joke when he proimed to be a spy.


    "Shall we have a bet then?" Shi Tian suggested.


    And he continued, "If I can seed in capturing them all, then you all will stop underestimating me. Additionally, Mary, you will offer me more blueprints and teach me more coding skills. As for you, Vanessa, you''re not allowed to stay mad at me anymore for gambling your life."


    "Then what if you failed?" Both Vanessa and Mary asked curiously.


    "If I failed then I owe both of you a favor¡­ of course, Vanessa would be two by then." Shi Tian said without any hesitation.


    He was determined to seed and his demeanor showed them it.


    "The favor¨C we can request anything, right?" Mary rubbed her chin and enquired.


    "Anything as long as it doesn''t involve telling me to kill myself." Shi Tian responded.


    "Deal," Mary quickly agreed to it.


    "Wait a minute, I haven''t agreed with it." Vanessa suddenly raised her hand and said.


    "Does your opinion even matter?" Mary snickered coldly, ignoring her.


    "If Vanessa is scared to make the bet, then just take it as her loss. Anyone too pussy to make a bet has no right to say anything." She added, purposely provoking Vanessa into epting it.


    Mary was not going to let Vanessa scot-free.


    After all, the betting terms weren''t anything bad for her, but if Shi Tian truly seeded, then the so-called favor Shi Tian owed Vanessa would be nullified.


    Of course, if Shi Tian failed in the end, then she herself would gain a favor that he would owe. As for Vanessa gaining two, she couldn''t care less about it.


    Naturally, Vanessa understood the shrewd mind of Mary and the reason why she didn''t want to agree to the betting at all.


    ''This Mary is really a bane.'' Vanessa cursed silently.

 Chapter 278 Vanguard

    <h4>Chapter 278 Vanguard</h4>


    As the bet was proposed and agreed upon by Mary, there was a palpable tension in the air.


    Shi Tian''s confidence seemed to have swayed Mary into taking the risk, given there was no harm in losing or winning either. Meanwhile, Vanessa found herself cornered by Mary''s persuasive and devious tactics.


    And as she was not one to back down easily, Vanessa took a deep breath and finally relented.


    "Fine, I''ll ept the bet. But remember, if you fail, you owe me two favors." She said and raised her two fingers up, indicating that she was serious.


    Shi Tian grinned, feeling a sense of aplishment.


    "Deal. You won''t be disappointed." He said.


    This was his chance to shine and stop being underestimated by these two women constantly. He might not have said it, but being weaker than these two was somewhat irritating to him.


    He wanted to seek revenge, but if his strength wasn''t even adequate enough to gain the respect of Mary and Vanessa.


    Then what revenge was he seeking?


    He might as well just hide in the corner and rat around till the end of his life.


    And with the terms set, they refocused on the task at hand.


    Shi Tian began brainstorming ideas for traps that might catch Theobold''s elite soldiers off guard. He knew that confronting them directly would likely end in disaster, so a more strategic approach was necessary.


    Mary, being the more experienced fighter, offered insights into the mindset and tactics of elite soldiers. Vanessa, with her technical expertise, suggested ways to use their equipment against them.


    Although they were making a bet, their goal was nheless the same.


    Mary and Vanessa wouldn''t be foolish enough to let Shi Tian work alone even if it meant their chance of winning the bet increased.


    Betting was secondary, but their primary goal was to capture the enemy.


    As the trio continued to discuss their battle n, Shi Tian subsequently made the decision to get off the Iron Sentinel to be the vanguard.


    "No, that''s too dangerous for you, Nathan." Mary was the first to ban his idea. "You are weak, and that''s a fact. You can''t even contest against one of the elite soldiers of Commander Theobold, so going on a vanguard is essentially going to die."


    Vanessa nodded her head in agreement.


    "Kralos Tal is a strong hunter, and even he would struggle to fight multiple elite soldiers by himself. So what makes you think you can do the same?" She rified, letting Shi Tian understand the difference in strength.


    "Rest assured, you two." Shi Tian smiled and said, understanding their worries for him.


    "I know you don''t trust me when ites to fighting, but believe me. Do I look like the type to seek death?" He then asked.


    And sure enough, both Vanessa and Mary subsequently stopped when they pondered over it.


    To them, Shi Tian was the calm and cautious type. He would never make a move unless he was absolutely positive about something.


    Not to mention, he was like a cockroach, never dying and alwaysing back strong. Even Kralos Tal himself had stated Shi Tian was an annoying cockroach and despised him deeply.


    As the discussion continued, Vanessa and Mary began to see the wisdom in Shi Tian''s cautious approach. While they had reservations about hisbat abilities, they couldn''t deny his knack for survival and adaptability.


    Vanessa leaned back, her eyes locked onto Shi Tian. "You have a point. You might not be a powerhouse, but you''ve survived situations that would have killed most. I''ve seen it myself."


    Mary nodded in agreement. "And you have a way of outthinking your opponents. If we''re going to capture these elite soldiers without getting ourselves killed, we''ll need a strategy, not brute force."


    Shi Tian''s grin widened, knowing he had won them over with his logic and their own observations of his capabilities.


    "Exactly. I''ll y to my strengths and use strategy to give us the upper hand." He said menacingly.


    Fighting isn''t always about brute force. Most of the time, fighting is won through strategy and perception.


    Just because you might have the strength to do so, if you aren''t capable ofnding a hit on the enemy, then there is no point in being powerful.


    "I''m not trying to be a party pooper, Nathan. The strategy is good, but do you think it''s enough against these elite soldiers?" Mary asked doubtfully.


    "Nothing is for sure of course, but I believe in one thing. And that is if you''re human, then you will make mistakes." Shi Tian smiled mysteriously.


    Regardless of how intelligent or powerful one was, so long as they''re human, then they would make mistakes. Humans are not robots that are programmed to do specific tasks without fail.


    Humans are human because they have emotions and can make decisions that a robot is incapable of having.


    Thus, the elite soldiers might be considered elite, but at the end of the day, they are humans. And humans tend to make mistakes under unforeseeable circumstances.


    "No more doubting ourselves anymore." Shi Tian said adamantly.


    "The two of you will begin to advance forward while I stay behind." He continued, picking up a mask by the counter, and was ready to move out.


    Knowing that he was adamant and persistent about it, Mary no longer attempted to stop him. And neither did Vanessa as they merely told him to stay safe and retreat if anything were to go wrong.


    "Don''t worry. If things are truly bad, then I''ll be running faster than the speed of light." Shi Tian chuckled softly, grabbing a box full of arsenal and exiting the Iron Sentinel.


    A few minutester, Shi Tian watched as the Iron Sentinel drove away, calmly ncing at them from behind.


    Once the Iron Sentinel was officially out of sight, Shi Tian''s expression turned solemn as he took off the mask.


    ''Hey, integrated chip. I''m about to level up tremendously, so are you ready for the upgrades?'' Shi Tian eximed inwardly.

 Chapter 279 Traps

    <h4>Chapter 279 Traps</h4>


    When Shi Tian decided to take on the mantle to get rid of the enemies, he was already determined to have a deadly fight.


    It would also be the first time he was actively looking to kill someone.


    His level in the status screen had stagnated at 29 for a long time already.


    Ever since he had crafted the ymore Mines and provided them to the frontline, his level had risen from the initial 19.


    It was increasing at a fast rate, but by the time it reached 29, there was no sign of his level increasing anymore.


    To make matters worse, there were many perks shown on his status screen that could only be unlocked at level 30.


    It was perks regarding obtaining a Sub ss and ss Talents.


    And although he might not know the benefits of it yet, it was quite clear that it should be something amazing. Otherwise, it wouldn''t have been locked for him.


    Not to mention, the attributes that he gained were surreal as he felt his body was reconstructing on its own.


    Shi Tian had been eyeing that elusive level 30 for a while now. The perks and ss talents it promised were tantalizing, and the feeling of his progress stalling at level 29 was frustrating.


    As he delved deeper into the n to capture Theobold''s elite soldiers, a determination to level up burned within him. He knew that this uing confrontation might just be the opportunity he needed to push past his current limit.


    He was aware that in the world they now inhabited, strength and abilities were crucial for survival. Every level gained, every skill acquired, was a step closer to staying alive in this unforgiving environment.


    The thought of ending someone''s life was not something Shi Tian took lightly. He had always been cautious, often choosing to avoidbat when possible.


    But the circumstances had changed. Just because he chose to avoidbat, doesn''t mean others would allow him to stay free.


    If one day, a stronger opponent appeared in front of him, and he remained powerless and weak because he chose not to kill to gain level, then that was the consequence of his action.


    He was weak in the past, which resulted in him bing an experimentalb rat. He won''t ever make the same mistakes again.


    ''I''d rather be the one chopping the fish on the cutting board than be the fish itself.'' Shi Tian clenched his fist and swore.


    The ymore Mines he had crafted had proven to be powerful, and they were a testament to his engineering prowess.


    Yet, he knew that relying solely on traps and gadgets wouldn''t be enough in this fight.


    He needed to push himself further, to be a more formidablebatant.


    Only by getting to level 30 and unlocking the hidden features behind the status screen could Shi Tian improve himself to be a deadly force to be reckoned with.


    Just when Shi Tian was pondering deeply, he noticed the status screen appeared and it was the integrated chipmunicating to him.


    Description: The host''s determination is apudable, but are you sure it''s not just a pipe dream? Theobold''s elite soldiers'' estimated strength is above you by almost thrice the level, approximately level 50.


    The integrated chip was quite understandable, essentially estimating the elite soldiers'' level for Shi Tian to somewhat understand the gap between them.


    He was level 29 ording to the status screen, so if the elite soldiers are approximately level 50, then he was truly fighting against people beyond his capacity.


    Shi Tian felt a mix of frustration and determination as he absorbed the information from the integrated chip.


    The idea of facing opponents nearly twice his level was daunting, to say the least. However, it didn''t deter him; instead, it fueled his desire to grow stronger.


    The integrated chip''s words lingered in his mind.


    A pipe dream?


    Perhaps.


    But Shi Tian was no stranger to adversity. He had survived numerous challenges in this unforgiving world, and each trial had forged him into someone more resilient, and more adaptable.


    He was driven by the memories of his past weakness and the helplessness he had felt when he was at the mercy of others.


    "So what if they are more skilled?" Shi Tian snorted coldly.


    "If you take a look at most MMORPG games in the past, yers are required to y monsters league above their current character. Levels don''t determine strength." He added, stretching his neck as he started to get working on the traps.


    Since the ymore Mines were immensely popr and people had started to understand its concept, Shi Tian needed to change the method of cement and concealment.


    Not to mention, it was about time for him to utilize the smoke grenades, stun grenades, and the Blv-21 which was the shbang he had crafted thanks to the blueprint Isaac Aaronax had sent him.


    These traps and grenades might not be effective toward these elite soldiers, but so long as they could hinder them slightly, that was enough for him.


    After all, there was one more factor that the elite soldiers would never be able to ount for.


    He, who does not require a mask to breathe in this heavily polluted area, was his biggest advantage.


    Shi Tian had long wanted to test whether or not he was immune to the pollution and environmental effects.


    And by taking off the mask and still feeling absolutely normal, almost as if he was wearing one in the first ce, confirmed his suspicion.


    A sense of relief and confidence washed over him.


    This unexpected advantage might prove crucial in the uing battle. He could use this immunity to maneuver in ways that his enemies couldn''t. It was a wild card, one that could potentially turn the tide in their favor.


    "As elite as they are, I doubt they could breathe if their masks are gone, right?" Shi Tian murmured softly, taking out a pistol and storing the cartridges with the Esper special bullet. He was determined to go all out, not saving anything in his arsenal.

 Chapter 280 Concealing

    <h4>Chapter 280 Concealing</h4>


    With his determination and newfound confidence, Shi Tian meticulously prepared for the battle ahead. He knew that facing Theobold''s elite soldiers was an uphill battle, but he was determined to make the most of his advantages.


    First, he adjusted the cement of the ymore Mines. While they were powerful, their effectiveness was well-known, and he needed to catch the elite soldiers off guard.


    Shi Tian ced them strategically, concealing them in the tall grass and foliage, making sure they were nearly impossible to spot.


    However, it does somewhat surprise him that there were tall grasses and foliage in the surroundings despite the pollution. It goes to show that nature would always have a way to survive and adapt to its environment.


    "If only humans can adapt faster like nature, then maybe we wouldn''t have lost so many." Shi Tian muttered, shaking his head.


    It was just a shame that humans are too greedy and only learned to wake up to work together once it was toote. And once the crisis was somewhat averted, they would soon turn back to their greedy and selfish nature.


    Knowing that some humans are better off dead, Shi Tian decided to stop thinking so sentimentally. None of that matters now, and he had no interest in being a philosopher either.


    Instead of thinking of useless things anymore, Shi Tian turned his next attention to the grenades.


    Smoke grenades, stun grenades, and the Blv-21 shbang were all crucial tools in his arsenal. He needed to use them wisely to create confusion and disorientation among the elite soldiers.


    Shi Tian also took some time to go over his weaponry.


    His pistol was loaded with Esper special bullets, a potent addition to his firepower. He holstered it carefully, ready for quick ess when needed.


    sping his hands together, Shi Tian was finished with the preparation.


    Mary and Vanessa were already up ahead by 300 meters, making the enemies behind him only 100 meters distance away from his current position.


    The detection range of the drone on Mary''s side was 800 meters, and the enemies were always 200 meters away from them. Hence, by making them move forward by 300 meters, the enemies would also advance gradually.


    All of it was calcted deliberately, ensuring the enemies would not be too far yet also not too close to him.


    After all, the enemy''s cautiousness of always maintaining at least 200 distances away from them had given them the leverage to prepare beforehand.


    By forcing the enemies to temporarily camp 100 meters away from him, Shi Tian could use this time to ce all the traps carefully without having to worry they might appear in front of him.


    Not to mention, they were already prepared for any mishaps, such as if the enemies suddenly decided to advance forward without following their original pattern. Then Mary would quickly send him a text, warning him.


    It might have been a n made up on the spot, but they weren''t careless enough to not make any safety measurements.


    Having finished up with all the preparation and gone into hiding, Shi Tian took out his Cellos device and texted Mary.


    Nathan: It''s done, Mary. You may proceed forward.


    Mary: Are you sure? *worried emoji*


    Nathan: Of course, I''m sure. Would I have done the job poorly and risked my life?


    Mary: Fine, but remember. Safety is the number one priority. Don''t forget you still need to be the decoy for us in the New Region!


    Shi Tian smiled briefly at Mary''s final text which seemed to be a warning but was actually a concern statement.


    She was technically telling him to stay safe, with the context of being the decoy as the excuse.


    Speaking of the New Region, it had been quite a while and it should be ready by the time the monster wave was suppressed.


    This is another motivation for him to quickly reach level 30. The New Region was definitely countless times more dangerous than their current situation.


    If he remained unprepared or stagnated in terms of strength, then dying there would be in the high percentage tile.


    Shaking his head, Shi Tian decided to stop thinking unnecessary things as he patiently waited for the elite soldiers. He remained in cover, thanks to the tall grasses and the natural environment in his surroundings.


    As time crawled by, Shi Tian''s patience was put to the test.


    He remained hidden in the natural cover provided by the tall grasses, his eyes fixed on the distant figures that gradually came into view. Each step they took brought them closer to his carefully prepared traps and grenades.


    The approaching figures were all d in thick uniforms, their faces hidden behind masks.


    Despite that, Shi Tian recognized their figures as he had seen them previously back at the camp. These were Theobold''s elite soldiers, the formidable adversaries that had been tracking them.


    Shi Tian''s heart raced, but he managed to stay calm andposed. This was the moment he had been preparing for, the culmination of their efforts to identify and confront the enemy.


    He watched intently, his finger lightly resting on the trigger of his pistol, as the elite soldiers moved closer, oblivious to the deadly surprises awaiting them.


    As the elite soldiers approached closer and closer to the traps Shi Tian hadid, he noticed one of them suddenly raised his hands up. The hand-raising was a signal to the rest of the soldiers, signaling them to halt their movement in ce.


    With bated breath, Shi Tian observed the sudden halt in the elite soldiers'' advance. The soldier who had raised his hand seemed to be their leader or at least someone in amanding position.


    This unexpected pause filled the air with tension, and Shi Tian''s heart raced even faster. He couldn''t help but wonder why they had stopped.


    Had they detected something amiss, or was it merely a coincidence?


    ''Did they spot the traps I''veid? Or did they realize something else?'' Shi Tian wondered silently, seemingly unsure of the soldiers'' actions.

 Chapter 281 Bait

    As the soldiers halted their movement in ce, Shi Tian was somewhat dazed at what to do.


    ''They can''t have discovered me, right?'' Shi Tian thought to himself.


    Carefully, Shi Tian adjusted his position slightly, ensuring he remained concealed in the tall grasses while still having a clear line of sight on the approaching soldiers.


    His fingers tightened around the grip of his pistol, ready to act at a moment''s notice.


    Theobold''s elite soldiers were renowned for their discipline andbat prowess. Any sudden move from them could spell danger.


    As he watched, the soldier who had signaled the halt seemed to be engaged in silentmunication with another soldier beside him. It was as if they were assessing the situation, deciding on their next course of action.


    Shi Tian''s mind raced. He had to remain patient, not giving away his position prematurely.


    The traps he had set were strategically ced to take advantage of the soldiers'' momentary distraction. If they let their guard down for even a moment, it could be their downfall.


    The seconds ticked by like hours, and Shi Tian''s senses were heightened to the max.


    Every rustle of the wind, every distant sound, became amplified in his ears. He was acutely aware that this moment would determine the oue of their encounter.


    Finally, after what felt like an eternity, the soldiers seemed to reach a decision. The leader signaled again, this time in a different manner. It was a series of hand gestures, clearly indicating they would proceed with caution.


    They first split off into two teams on different sides, and as they walked off the path, the leader ced his hand down.


    At first, Shi Tian didn''t understand the signal implication, but his doubt was soon answered.


    One of the soldiers by the left fired its gun at the precise spot where they had halted.


    BOOM!


    The bulletnded directly on one of the concealed ymore Mines that Shi Tian hadid earlier, causing an explosion on the scene.


    The sudden explosion rocked the area, sending a shower of dirt and debris into the air.


    Theobold''s elite soldiers had acted swiftly, deploying their shields to protect themselves from the st. It was clear that they were well-prepared and experienced in dealing with such situations.


    Shi Tian, still hidden in the tall grass, watched as the soldiers maintained theirposure despite the explosion. They moved with precision and discipline, their training evident in their every action.


    The soldier who had fired the shot that triggered the explosion signaled to the others, and they continued to advance, albeit more cautiously. They were now aware that they were walking into a potentially dangerous area.


    Seeing the scene happening, Shi Tian remained unfazed, clearly not a bit surprised that they had managed to detect a hidden trap.


    "Leader, do you think they have realized us tracking them down?" One of the soldiers suddenly asked the leader.


    The leader paused for a moment before shaking his head. "It''s quite unlikely since they have no idea of the badge''s tracking method and their drone detection range isn''t enough to catch us."


    "Then why are there ymore Mineid in this path?"


    "It can be the other people that have been stranded here and ced there as safety measures. Don''t forget, the ymore Mines have now been poprized by Optic Mech, so it''s not rare to see people owning them." The leader said.


    It became clear that the leader didn''t suspect Shi Tian''s group to suspect a thing. After all, they didn''t doubt theirmander''s scheming method and strategic prediction.


    Not to mention, they believed that Shi Tian''s group''s only detection capability would be the drone that could only scan 800 meters maximum.


    Their confidence wasmendable, but alsoughable in Shi Tian''s mind.


    Some elite soldiers they were!


    They can''t even calcte the possibility of a variable that might go wrong or anything. An elite soldier would always determine all possibilities before making any decision and action.


    Yet the supposed leader was quick to dismiss the opinion of another soldier, who clearly had some intelligence to ponder whether they were discovered already or not.


    Shi Tian''s confidence grew as he overheard the conversation among Theobold''s elite soldiers. Their dismissive attitude towards the possibility that they had been discovered was an advantage he could exploit.


    He watched as the soldiers continued to advance, albeit more cautiously than before.


    They believed that the ymore Mines were likely ced by other survivors in the area, not suspecting that it was Shi Tian who hadid the traps.


    This misconception yed in his favor. The more overbearing his enemies were, the more advantageous it was to him.


    However, Shi Tian knew that he needed to act swiftly and decisively. The soldiers were still a formidable force, and their shields and training made them a tough adversary.


    As the soldiers moved closer, Shi Tian carefully selected one of the stun grenades and Blv-21 from his belt.


    These grenades emitted blinding shes of light and disorienting shockwaves upon detonation, and they could be a valuable asset in disrupting the soldiers'' formation.


    He waited for the soldiers to approach a critical point, ensuring that they were tightly grouped together. The earlier ymore Mine that the elite soldiers had discovered was merely a bait.


    He had purposely ced one to be easy to detect so that the group of soldiers would split into teams. After all, by making them split, their defense would turn lighter and notpressed into a single group.


    In addition, it would also make the soldiers more wary, thinking that there might be more ymore Minesid in the tall grasses.


    ''It''s a shame that I''ve sold most of my ymore Mines, so there are only a few left in the arsenal.'' Shi Tian eximed inwardly. So far everything that had happened was within his calction.


    At first, he was quite worried that the bait might not work and that the soldiers would think it was a deceiving trap.


    But who would have thought the leader of these elite soldiers was such an arrogant person.

 Chapter 282 Effectiveness

    With the elite soldiers now divided into two teams, Shi Tian knew it was his moment to strike.


    He couldn''t let their arrogance go unpunished.


    Carefully, he pulled the pins from both the stun grenade and Blv-21, holding them in each hand.


    As the soldiers continued to advance, they remained cautious, taking slow and deliberate steps. Shi Tian knew he had to time this perfectly, or his n would fall apart.


    Finally, when the soldiers were within the ideal range, Shi Tian stood up from his coverage.


    He hurled the stun grenade with all his strength towards one of the teams. It soared through the air, emitting a blinding sh of light and a deafening explosion as it detonated.


    The soldiers in its vicinity were caughtpletely off guard. Blinded and disoriented, they staggered, their shields dropping as they clutched their eyes and ears in pain.


    Seizing this opportunity, Shi Tian unleashed the Blv-21 shbang towards the second team of soldiers. Another blinding sh filled the air, leaving them temporarily incapacitated and vulnerable.


    As the effects of the grenades subsided, Shi Tian wasted no time. He emerged from his hiding spot in the tall grass and took aim with his pistol, which was loaded with Esper''s special bullets.


    Firing with precision, he targeted the soldiers who had been hit by the stun grenade, aiming for the gaps in their shields. The special bullets, designed to prate energy shields, found their mark, and several soldiers dropped to the ground, incapacitated.


    Shi Tian''s uracy was no joke, and each shot of his directly prated through the mask of the soldiers. So not only did the soldiers receive damage from the Esper special bullet, but they were also losing oxygen, and having to tank the pollution directly.


    The soldiers who had been hit by the shbang were still struggling to regain their senses. Shi Tian advanced quickly, taking advantage of their disorientation.


    His shots were urate and deadly.


    However, the leader of the elite soldiers reacted swiftly, barking orders to his remaining troops. They formed a defensive line, using their shields to protect themselves from Shi Tian''s shots.


    ''Tsk, the leader recovered quite fast.'' Shi Tian eximed inwardly.


    Realizing that a direct confrontation with the leader and his remaining soldiers would be difficult, Shi Tian made a split-second decision.


    He retrieved a smoke grenade from his belt and hurled it towards the soldiers.


    The smoke quickly enveloped the area, obscuring vision and creating chaos.


    Shi Tian used this cover to reposition himself, moving closer to the leader''s team while remaining concealed.


    Now hidden in the thick smoke, Shi Tian knew that the soldiers would be disoriented and unable to see him clearly. It was the perfect opportunity for a surprise attack.


    His heart raced as he closed the distance, his senses heightened to the max.


    The leader and his soldiers were shouting and trying to reorganize in the smoke-filled chaos.


    "Group together and keep your shield up. The enemy is among us so make sure to form a circle." The leader shouted, giving clear and strictmands.


    Meanwhile, Shi Tian''s pistol was ready, and he approached them silently, careful not to make a sound.


    He knew that this moment could determine the oue of the entire encounter.


    With his pistol aimed at the leader, Shi Tian prepared to make his move.


    The smoke provided him with cover, but it wouldn''tst long. He needed to act swiftly and decisively to secure victory against Theobold''s elite soldiers.


    Just when Shi Tian thought he had found the opening, the leader suddenly turned his head in Shi Tian''s direction.


    "Everyone, fire your gun in the direction of your 3 o''clock!" The leader suddenlymanded, stunning Shi Tian slightly in the process.


    ''Damn it,'' Shi Tian realized the opening was a trap, meant to deceive and reeled him closer to the precise location of the firing range.


    Luckily, Shi Tian wasn''t going to be a firing dummy for the elite soldiers as he activated his boosters'' suit. With lightning speed, Shi Tian quickly retreated from his current position.


    s, he could only go so far when the round of firing bullets were ricocheting and spraying everywhere.


    Unable to avoid all of them, Shi Tian was shot in the back, his arm, and some on his thigh.


    Gritting his teeth to muster through the pain, Shi Tian gave it his all to retreat from the scene.


    His retreat was a painful one, both physically and mentally. The bullets had found their mark, and his body was searing with pain from the wounds. His armor had absorbed some of the impact, but it wasn''t enough to prevent injury.


    As he stumbled back, he knew he had to find cover and assess his wounds. The smoke still hung thick in the air, providing some concealment.


    However, the elite soldiers had likely pinpointed his location with their synchronized gunfire.


    With sheer determination, Shi Tian managed to put some distance between himself and the soldiers, using what little cover he could find in the smoke-filled chaos.


    He needed to tend to his wounds ande up with a new n.


    His arm throbbed with pain, and blood oozed from his thigh and back. He tore a strip of fabric from his torn clothing and quickly fashioned makeshift bandages to staunch the bleeding. Time was of the essence, and he couldn''t afford to lose any more blood.


    While attending to his injuries, Shi Tian''s mind raced.


    The elite soldiers were clearly highly trained and disciplined. They had managed to anticipate his movements and set a trap despite themotion.


    He needed a new strategy, one that would catch them off guard. Though the chances of the soldiers being caught off-guard were very unlikely.


    ''I was too careless. Even with all the grenades and element of surprise, it wasn''t enough to deal enough damage.'' Shi Tian thought to himself, realizing how naive he was to believe the leader was truly an arrogant person without any ability.


    He had set the traps initially but had stepped into their trapster on, causing him to be severely wounded.

 Chapter 283 Domino Effect

    Chapter 283 Domino Effect


    As Shi Tian bound his wounds as best as he could, he heard the elite soldiers'' voices through the smoke.


    They were regrouping, likely discussing their next course of action.


    Shi Tian knew he couldn''t stay in one ce for long.


    The smoke wouldn''t provide cover forever, and the soldiers would eventually close in on his position.


    He needed to act fast.


    His eyes scanned his surroundings, looking for any advantage he could exploit.


    Then, he spotted it ¡ª a cluster ofrge, metallic debris, likely remnants of the explosion that the ymore Mine had created earlier.


    With newfound determination, Shi Tian activated his boosters'' suit and sprinted toward the debris, using it as cover. It was a risky move, as the soldiers might have seen his dash, but he had no other choice.


    Hunkering down behind the metallic wreckage, Shi Tian caught his breath.


    His injuries throbbed with pain, but he couldn''t afford to give in to weakness.


    He needed a n, and he needed it fast.


    As he crouched there, he assessed his remaining resources. His pistol was still loaded with a few rounds of Esper special bullets, and he had a couple of smoke grenades left. It wasn''t much, but it would have to do.


    ''The soldiers are still regrouping amidst the smoke grenade.'' Shi Tian thought, calcting the time he had left till the smoke dispersed.


    He had seen the leader taking out some goggles from his pocket to put on his face before he had retreated.


    Thus, it wouldn''t take long for the rest of the soldiers to start equipping some sort of goggles that could allow them to see in the smoke. Hence, Shi Tian didn''t attempt to hurl another smoke grenade at them.


    After all, it would only be his disadvantage if he could no longer see them whereas the soldiers would have full vision of him.


    He also knew that he couldn''t take on the remaining soldiers head-on.


    They were too well-coordinated and disciplined for that. He needed to find and exploit their weaknesses to create chaos.


    Shi Tian''s mind raced, devising a new strategy that would hopefully turn the tide in his favor. The battle was far from over, and he was determined to emerge victorious against Theobold''s elite soldiers.


    ''The leader is the one maintaining the group, so he must be eliminated first.'' Shi Tian concluded. If it wasn''t for the fact that the leader earlier was heavily protected by other soldiers, then he would have shot him first.


    It was just a shame that the elite soldiers seemed to understand their duty well, even going as far as using themselves as human shields to protect the leader.


    As blood continued to drip from his wounds, Shi Tian grabbed another Blv-21 from his pocket.


    At the same time, he retrieved a small stone with his other hand, having figured out a n on what to do to counter the human shields.


    Now that the smoke was starting to disperse, his vision would soon clear to be able to see the leader of the elite soldiers.


    As the smoke gradually cleared, revealing the figures of the elite soldiers regrouping, Shi Tian knew he had to act swiftly to gain the upper hand.


    He had a n in mind, and it involved exploiting a weakness he had noticed in their formation.


    His heart pounded in his chest as he prepared to execute his n.


    He tightly gripped the Blv-21 shbang in one hand and the small stone in the other. His injured body protested, but he pushed through the pain, his determination unwavering.


    The soldiers were still somewhat disoriented from the earlier chaos caused by the smoke grenades. Their goggles allowed them to see through the dissipating smoke, but their senses were still recovering.


    Shi Tian''s eyes focused on the leader, who stood at the center of the group, barking orders and maintaining control over his team.


    This was his chance.


    With a quick and precise motion, Shi Tian hurled the Blv-21 grenade at them.


    However, the elite soldiers were alerted already. So unlike previously when they were unprepared and didn''t expect an ambush, this time, they were ready to avoid the shbang.


    Unfazed by the elite soldiers'' reaction, Shi Tian had long known the same trick wouldn''t work twice on them.


    If it truly worked, then these elite soldiers are a straight scam to the public.


    The elite soldiers used their shields and turned around to avoid the shbang, the exact action that Shi Tian was looking for.


    Making a pose simr to what a professional baseball pitcher would do when they throw their baseball toward the catcher to strike out the enemy batter.


    Although his imitation was obviouslycking from the real professional, Shi Tian managed to grit his teeth despite the pain he was feeling.


    And with a heavy throw, Shi Tian threw the stone toward the center of the group.


    It was also at this time that the soldiers had rposed themselves, and turned their attention back to Shi Tian.


    However, they were slightly stunned when they noticed Shi Tian was throwing a stone at them.


    "Is this ambusher for real?" One of the soldiers standing at the front of the formation said in disbelief. His facial expression unconsciously held a contempt at this unknown enemy that had ambushed them.


    What could a stone possibly do to them when they even survived the explosion and bullets earlier?


    Casually activating an energy shield, the soldier didn''t bother much with the stone and was instead ready to listen to the order to shoot the enemy down.


    s, once the stone connected with the energy shield, the soldier realized something was amiss.


    "What the-"


    Before the soldier couldprehend the situation, he was forcefully propelled backward, causing a domino effect on the other soldiers behind him to crash behind.


    As the soldiers were falling in pieces as if they were a bunch of dominoes, Shi Tian''s facial expression was cold.


    "Checkmate!"


    Shi Tian uttered a single word as he pulled the trigger, his target being the leader of the elite soldiers.

 Chapter 284 Stone

    Chapter 284 Stone


    The domino effect caused by the stone''s impact on the soldier''s energy shield created chaos among the elite soldiers. They stumbled and fell like a row of toppled dominos, their formation shattered.


    Amidst this disarray, Shi Tian seized the opportunity to strike ahead.


    With the leader briefly distracted by the unexpected turn of events, Shi Tian took his shot. The pistol barked, and an Esper special bullet streaked through the chaos, finding its mark.


    The leader''s energy shield, still partially raised from the stone''s impact, was not enough to protect him. The bullet struck home, and the leader cried out in pain as the energy shield crackled and failed.


    The bullet directly pierced through his right eye, shattering the goggles and his eyespletely as it passed through to the other soldier behind.


    However,pared to their leader''s injury, the other soldier got lucky and the bullet only grazed through his shoulder.


    The leader''s right eye was now gone and bleeding profusely.


    His expressions were filled with rage as he roared angrily, "Shoot that bastard down! I want him dead!"


    Despite the leader''s furiousmand, chaos and disarray still reigned among the elite soldiers. Shi Tian''s swift and precise actions had left them in a state of shock, and their disciplined formation had crumbled.


    As the leader clutched his ruined eye, blood streaming down his face, the soldiers hesitated.


    They were wary of other tactics that Shi Tian had in his inventory.


    Take the stone for example. They thought it was a mere piece of debris from the explosion earlier, yet the weight of it had caused them to drop like flies.


    Seeing how cautious the soldiers were, Shi Tian pretended to hold another simr stone in his hand.


    This time, the stone was the debris from the explosion caused by the ymore Mine and not the Metallic Stone that he had thrown at them.


    The Metallic Stone was indeed a fascinating item that even the elite soldiers were unable to adjust to the effect and deflect the throw.


    Smiling coldly, Shi Tian knew he couldn''t kill any of the soldiers, even if he wanted to. He might be acting tough on the surface, but the bullet injuries were putting a strain on his body and movement.


    "This is merely a warning from the White Syndicate. Tell your stupid Theoboldmander to not mess with the White Syndicate operation. Otherwise, the next time, it won''t just be a few deaths." Shi Tian eximed, throwing another stone at them, causing the soldiers to quickly activate their energy shield in panic.


    And unlike earlier, they were holding their energy shield tightly, not daring to underestimate its strength.


    Seeing their reaction, Shi Tian seized upon this opportunity.


    He hurriedly activated his boosters'' suit and grabbed the Metallic Stone that was thrown at them earlier before retreating in a hurry.


    The Metallic Stone was a precious item, so if he left that on the scene, then it wouldn''t be long till the elite soldiers figured out the real identity of the attacker.


    He had purposely thrown the name White Syndicate to let the soldiers believe they were the attacker. The White Syndicate was a group of criminals anyway, so adding another crime to their head wouldn''t change much.


    As Shi Tian quickly exited the scene, the leader, who finally regained his consciousness after using some healing item cursed at his ipetent soldiers.


    "You bunch of fools! Why aren''t any of you chasing after the attacker?" The leader shouted in fury. He can''t believe his toon of elite soldiers would be so frightened by a damn stone.


    The leader''s furious shouts echoed through the clearing as his soldiers, still reeling from the unexpected assault, struggled to regain theirposure.


    Shi Tian''s tactics had not only inflicted physical damage but had also sown doubt and fear among the elite soldiers.


    Despite their advanced technology and training, they had been caught off guard by an enemy who had used unconventional methods to disrupt their formation and incapacitate theirmander. It was a humbling experience for Theobold''s elite soldiers.


    As the leader continued to berate his men, some of the soldiers exchanged uneasy nces.


    They had heard of the White Syndicate, a notorious group of criminals known for their ruthlessness. If the White Syndicate was behind this attack, it meant they were dealing with a dangerous adversary.


    After all, the White Syndicate''s deeds in these past years were by any means small. Multiple other cities also struggled to suppress the White Syndicate, let alone catch one significant member of the group.


    However, the fear of the White Syndicate was overshadowed by the leader''s anger.


    They couldn''t afford to incur his wrath any further. With reluctant determination, a few soldiers broke away from the group and began to cautiously pursue the direction in which Shi Tian had retreated.


    Their leader, still clutching his bleeding eye, watched them go. His rage had not subsided, but he knew that chasing after the elusive attacker in his current condition would be futile. They needed to regroup, tend to their wounded, and report the incident to their superiors.


    As the soldiers disappeared into the distance, the leader took a moment to collect himself. Although he suspected the attacker could be using the White Syndicate name as an excuse to avoid exposing their identity, he didn''t dare to nullify the possibility of it being true.


    After all, even he had heard of the infamy of the White Syndicate and their means of attack. If the attacker earlier were truly part of the White Syndicate, then it would make sense why they suffered such heavy casualties.


    And he knew that the White Syndicate''s warning couldn''t be ignored. They had shown that they were willing to take bold and unconventional actions.


    "I can only report to Commander Theobold that the mission is a failure. And the people we are tracking might have already encountered the White Syndicate group." The leader clicked his tongue and clenched his fist in frustration.


    This humiliation¨C he would never forget about it.

 Chapter 285 Framing

    <h4>Chapter 285 Framing</h4>


    The leader''s frustration was palpable as he contemted the failure of their mission and the humiliating encounter with the mysterious attacker.


    His hand moved to his bleeding eye, a constant reminder of the price they had paid for underestimating their adversary.


    With a heavy heart, he knew he had to report this incident to Commander Theobold, their superior.


    It was a bitter pill to swallow, admitting defeat and the possibility that they had stumbled upon a confrontation between the targets they were tracking and the infamous White Syndicate.


    As hemunicated with theirmand center, rying the events that had unfolded, he could sense the disappointment and anger in Commander Theobold''s voice.


    Others might not know on the surface, but he knew very well that Theobold was known for his impatience and intolerance for failure, and this failure would surely not sit well with him.


    "So your group of soldiers suffered heavy casualties and you didn''t even manage to apprehend the attacker, Mike?" Theobold''s voice resounded through themunication device on his hand.


    The leader, Mike, didn''t dare to sugarcoat the situation.


    He described in detail how their formation had been disrupted and incapacitated, including the fact that their enemies had managed to escape.


    He also mentioned the warning from the White Syndicate, which added ayer ofplexity to the mission.


    "Are you sure that the attacker belonged to the infamous White Syndicate?" Theobold asked in a deep tone.


    "No, sir. The attacker proimed itself to be from the White Syndicate, but the information is not confirmed." Mike, clutching tightly at his bleeding eyes, responded.


    He was sweating profusely at the same time, realizing what kind of fate he would receive once he returned to the camp for his ipetence.


    Such a disastrous failure and having his soldiers wounded and dead without even knowing the identity of the attacker. That was enough to have his military rank stripped or even kicked out of the military.


    Just when Mike thought he might receive more scolding, Theobold asked him an important question.


    "Then do you think the attacker was one of the people that I told you to track?" Theobold enquired, seemingly trying to hear Mike''s opinion.


    The people naturally referred to Shi Tian, Mary, and Vanessa, which was also their primary goal of this mission until it was interrupted by the unknown attacker.


    And despite the nervousness of Mike, he confidently replied, "No sir, I do not believe the attacker to be one of them. We had checked their information previously, and all of the attacker''s moves and actions do not corrte with any of them. Plus, we were cautious all along and made sure they had no way of detecting us when the drone detection range was 800 meters."


    In themand center, Theobold absorbed the information and he had his suspicions, but also understood Mike''s perspective.


    Indeed, with their current skills, they couldn''t achieve such a feat and defeat one of his elite toon so easily and effortlessly.


    "The White Syndicate¡­ could they also be involved in this incident and wanted a piece of the dense area with strange energy as well?" Theobold murmured softly, unsure of the White Syndicate''s goal.


    Information had hinted at their subtle appearance in Gearits City previously but had also vanished like the wind. Hence, Theobold was somewhat positive that there were indeed people lurking in Gearits City who belonged to the group.


    And with how unruly and bold the White Syndicate group was, Mike''s report made sense. It could be said that he was truly unlucky to have his elite soldiers encounter a member of the mysterious White Syndicate.


    "Since the soldiers are injured, have them return. I don''t want to risk having others notice my scheme."


    In the end, Theobold''s orders were crystal clear, and didn''t me much on Mike. They were to regroup, provide medical care to the wounded, and return to their base immediately. The mission had gone awry, and their primary objective had not been achieved.


    As themunication ended, Mike couldn''t help but feel a sense of dread.


    He knew that their failure would have consequences even though Theobold didn''t me him directly, and the White Syndicate''s warning loomed over them like a dark cloud.


    They had stirred a ho''s nest, and the repercussions were uncertain.


    Meanwhile, Shi Tian, despite his injuries, had managed to slip away from the scene.


    His actions had left asting impression on Theobold''s elite soldiers, and the name of the White Syndicate was now associated with danger and unpredictability.


    It was the perfect opportunity to frame someone else for the crimes they did notmit.


    Though Shi Tian was sure that the White Syndicate wouldn''t mind adding another infamous act to their name.


    As he moved through the shadows, Shi Tian couldn''t help but smile to himself.


    He had sent a clear message, not only to the soldiers but to anyone who might be watching. The White Syndicate was not to be trifled with, and they would defend their interests with ruthless determination.


    With his injuries demanding attention, Shi Tian knew he needed a safe ce to regroup and recover. The encounter had been intense, but it was far from over. The game had just begun, and the stakes were higher than ever.


    ''I recall there''s a small cave when inspecting the area with the drone. The cave should be clear since we cleaned out the monster inhabiting it.'' Shi Tian thought to himself, increasing the efficiency of the boosters'' suit to make some twists and turns.


    He was not going to regroup with Mary and Vanessa right away because it might attract the soldier''s attention. And he also wasn''t going to run in a straight line and allow the soldiers to trace him easily.


    As powerless and the clown moment of the elite soldiers from earlier, Shi Tian wouldn''t dare to underestimate them again. His one underestimation had nearly turned him into a firing dummy filled with bullet holes wound.


    "It''s really not easy surviving in this world." Shi Tian muttered softly, feeling weary.

 Chapter 286 Debating

    <h4>Chapter 286 Debating</h4>


    As Shi Tian carefully navigated through the shadows and twisted his way, making a bunch of fake routes before heading towards the cave he had spotted earlier with the drone.


    He couldn''t help but reflect on the harsh realities of their world. Survival was indeed a constant challenge, and every encounter was a reminder of the dangers that lurked in every corner.


    His injuries throbbed with pain, a harsh reminder of the close call he had just experienced. Just one mistake and your life could be over in the sh of light.


    Death was so easy to achieve when the world was in this kind of ruin.


    However, Shi Tian was not one to dwell on his wounds; instead, he focused on finding a safe haven to recover.


    ''This should be enough misdirection.'' Shi Tian thought to himself, making his way toward the cave now that he had created numerous misdirections in case the soldiers were still chasing after him.


    A few minutester, Shi Tian arrived at the cave that he had recalled. The small cave seemed like a promising refuge.


    It had been cleared of the monsters that once inhabited it, thanks to their earlier efforts. This meant it should be rtively safe for the time being, and it would provide a much-needed ce for Shi Tian to tend to his wounds and formte their next moves.


    As he reached the cave''s entrance, Shi Tian activated a small light source on his boosters'' suit to illuminate the dark interior.


    He cautiously entered and took a moment to assess the surroundings. The cave was eerily quiet, and the air was damp and cool.


    Finding a suitable spot, Shi Tian lowered himself to the ground and began to examine his injuries.


    Having been heavily injured and still forced his way tomit such intense action, it was natural that his clothes were drenched in blood now.


    It was also a good thing that the pollution or the environment had no effect on him. Otherwise, with his current state, the possibility of his injuries being infected would be high.


    "Phew, if I''m ever going to fight again, then I better have more tools and grenades at my disposal." Shi Tian said, realizing how risky it was to go head-on to shoot his pistol.


    "Hmm, maybe I should build a carriable sentry turret as well and equip the firing with Esper special bullets. That way I don''t need to risk myself on the battlefield." He sped his hands, only to realize his excitement had agitated his wounds further.


    Smiling bitterly, Shi Tian understood that now was not the time to ponder over what he could do better but to treat his injuries.


    And to be fair, he was actually stalling the treatment somewhat. After all, he should be able to raise his pain tolerance skill if he lets the injuries remain.


    It was just a shame that he didn''t know if it would actually increase the skill level or not.


    As he was having such a thought, the status screen suddenly popped up in front of him, almost as if it was trying to jump-scare him like some horror game.


    Description: The host''s attempt to deceive the process ismendable, but also ridiculous at the same time. Do you think such loopholes would exist? If so, then wouldn''t the host be able to cut his finger with a knife every time to gain experience in the pain tolerance skill.


    Shi Tian twitched his mouth slightly at the integrated chip''s remark.


    Did he really need to be so frank?


    "Then did I at least gain some experience for the initial bullet wounds?" Shi Tian asked, toozy to use his mind tomunicate with the integrated chip.


    Description: Experience had already been calcted at the first initial wounds. However, the host is indeed a masochist to be injured constantly.


    Rolling his eyes in response, Shi Tian knew the integrated chip never had anything great to say to him.


    Although he might have ended up heavily injured in the process, he still managed to confront the elite soldiers, killed a few, and even injured most soldiers, especially their leader''s right eye.


    Was that not an impressive feat enough?


    Not to mention, doesn''t his quick-witted thinking into framing the White Syndicate and proiming to be one to deter the elite soldiers deserve some praise?


    Description: The host thinks of himself as intelligent, but it''s in fact no different than a clown performing a circus act. Framing the White Syndicate might seem beneficial currently, but if the White Syndicate learned of your action. Would they just ept it and say no problem?


    Speechless, Shi Tian was utterly speechless and dared not to have a debate with the integrated chip anymore.


    It was clear that the integrated chips were leagues above him when it came to debating and if he continued, then he feared that he might puke blood from anger.


    "Whatever you say, IC." Shi Tian waved his hand and said, addressing it as IC for the integrated chip. Since the integrated chip doesn''t have a name, he could only address its abbreviation form.


    Unwilling to waste time further, Shi Tian retrieved the medical kit that he had stored in the Dimension Ring that Vanessa had given to him.


    Having the medical kit practically appear out of thin air, made Shi Tian even prouder of his decision back then to scam her.


    Just imagine the crisis he would be feeling if he couldn''t carry many items in such a harsh environment?


    Even the storing device that he had looted from Ynda was subparpared to the Dimension Ring.


    The storing device was so mediocre inparison that Shi Tian decided to ce the storing device in the Dimension Ring as well.


    However, he still managed to find some usefulness in the storage device.


    It could be considered a double security process in which the storing device had Restorative Potions.


    ncing at the Restorative Potion in a daze, Shi Tian ultimately decided not to drink it. The Restorative Potion was too scarce and limited.


    "I''ll just use alcohol and bandages instead." Shi Tian was frugal and refused to waste the potion when he wasn''t in extremely critical condition.

 Chapter 287 Exhaustion

    Chapter 287 Exhaustion


    As Shi Tian retrieved the medical kit from the Dimension Ring, he couldn''t help but appreciate the convenience of such advanced technology. It was a stark contrast to the harsh and primitive world that he had initially awakened to.


    Back then, when he was severely injured by the Armored Rat''s attack, he could only grit his teeth and muster through the pain, praying that the wounds would heal by themselves.


    Luckily, he was in far better condition now than in the past.


    "I should probably thank the previous tenant for having a medical kit prepared for me. I only need a few more things toplete it," Shi Tian muttered, gratitude in his heart for the deceased previous tenant''s generosity.


    It was always right to show gratitude when someone had extended a helping hand, even if that someone was no longer alive. A silent prayer for the departed tenant''s well-being in the afterlife was a small gesture that cost him nothing.


    Of course, that might not be the case if the previous tenant was still alive. If the previous tenant was still alive, then Shi Tian''s reaction would be different.


    After paying his respects, Shi Tian began to clean and dress his wounds.


    He worked methodically, though not as efficiently as a professional would. The medical kit contained an assortment of supplies, including antiseptics, bandages, and pain relief medication.


    However, some of his wounds were on his back, making it a challenge to disinfect them or apply bandages. Nevertheless, this difficulty was nothingpared to what he had endured in the past, surviving with just one arm.


    Cleverly, Shi Tian detached his mechanical right arm and used it as a makeshift back scratcher. The ingenious device, designed for those who preferred solitude and self-sufficiency, was now proving its worth.


    The back scratcher was long, slender reach allowed Shi Tian to tend to the wounds on his back, albeit with some difficulty.


    As Shi Tian improvised a way to treat his back wounds, using his detached mechanical right arm, he couldn''t help but appreciate the adaptability that had be second nature to him in this new and unforgiving world.


    Whether it was using advanced technology like the Dimension Ring or repurposing a mechanical right arm as a back scratcher, he had learned to make the most of the resources at his disposal.


    The wounds were painful, and the process was far from pleasant, but Shi Tian endured it stoically. He had faced more severe challenges and knew that this was just another obstacle on his path to survival.


    Once he had done the best he could with his injuries, Shi Tian turned his attention to his gear and equipment.


    His boosters'' suit had taken a beating during the encounter with Theobold''s elite soldiers, and it needed repairs.


    Fortunately, he had some spare parts and tools in his inventory. With a focused and determined mindset, Shi Tian began the meticulous process of repairing his boosters'' suit.


    It was a task that required both skill and patience, but he knew that having a functioning suit was essential for his survival in this hostile environment.


    "That''s why mechanics are the best. I can always repair them ande back stronger," Shi Tian muttered to himself, a sense of pride in his chosen sspath.


    Had he chosen another ss path, he might have beenpletely helpless in the current situation.


    Of course, it was a bit of an exaggeration, but Shi Tian used humor to lighten the mood and prevent himself from dwelling on his injuries.


    Mechanics were versatile problem solvers in this post-apocalyptdscape.


    Their ability to repair and modify technology gave them a significant advantage. In a world where advanced technology was both a blessing and a curse, being able to maintain and improve it was a valuable skill.


    With each carefully calibrated adjustment and each damagedponent reced, Shi Tian could feel his suit gradually returning to its optimal condition.


    Naturally, it wasn''t in perfect shape, given that he didn''t fully understand its properties.


    Toplete the repairs, he would need to consult Mary, who possessed the most knowledge about boosters'' suits. He put the suit back on, activated its invisible function, and felt the weight of exhaustion from the intense battle earlier.


    The skirmish might have appeared fast-paced, but it demanded a great deal of quick thinking and adaptability to achieve the results he had. His only mistake had been underestimating the leader''s resilience amidst the chaos and distraction.


    Thatpse in judgment had nearly cost him his life, and Shi Tian now understood why Vanessa and Mary had such little confidence in his abilities.


    "Hey, IC, do you think the soldiers can track me here?" Shi Tian asked, referring to the integrated chip imnted within him.


    Right now, his vision and perception are limited. He had no tools or devices to help him detect nearby enemies, let alone traps to defend against monsters.


    Almost all of his arsenal had been used against the elite soldiers, leaving him with only one smoke grenade, a stun grenade, and a few more bullets. The Esper special bullets were now in the low twenties, indicating their scarcity.


    A few secondster, the integrated chip responded to Shi Tian''s question.


    Description: Given your current location and the limited technology the elite soldiers are likely equipped with, it''s highly unlikely that they can track you here. The cave''s natural rock formations and your boosters'' suit''s invisible function should provide adequate concealment.


    Shi Tian sighed with relief. It was reassuring to know that, for the time being, he was safe from immediate pursuit.


    However, he couldn''t afford to becent.


    "The elite soldiers might not have advanced technology, but their personal skills are not to be underestimated. They were able to remain hidden while tracking us until we increased the scope of detection, so it''s clear they are skilled in their own right," Shi Tian murmured, his caution undiminished.


    He had learned a valuable lesson about underestimating his enemies, and he wasn''t about to make the same mistake twice.

 Chapter 288 Concerned

    Chapter 288 Concerned


    With the immediate danger temporarily averted, Shi Tian allowed himself a moment of respite within the confines of the dimly lit cave.


    His wounds were tended to, his suit was on the mend, and his concealed presence offered a sanctuary of sorts in this unforgiving world.


    The eerie stillness of the cave, punctuated only by the faint dripping of water from the rocky ceiling, reminded Shi Tian of the fragility of life in this post-apocalyptic realm.


    Survival was a constant battle, andcency could lead to one''s downfall.


    His thoughts drifted to the encounter with Theobold''s elite soldiers. It had been a baptism by fire, a stark reminder of the ruthlessness that permeated this world. Even though he had emerged victorious, the cost had been high, and he hade perilously close to death.


    As he leaned against the cave wall, Shi Tian''s mind raced with possibilities and uncertainties.


    ''The IC was correct that framing the White Syndicate was arge gamble. If I messed up slightly, then it would be disastrous.'' Shi Tian thought to himself, self-reflecting the points that the integrated chip had warned him.


    The White Syndicate''s wrath was surely not to be taken lightly, and his audacious move to frame them would not go unanswered. He knew that he needed a n, a strategy to stay one step ahead of his pursuers.


    However, that kind of problem should be kept aside now.


    "I''m going to sleep now," Shi Tian yawned softly and stretched slightly, much to his regret. Despite bandaging the wounds, making sudden movements would also pain him dearly.


    Having learned his lesson, Shi Tian attempted to lean somewhat awkwardly on the cave wall, making sure to avoid all the wounds. He then gradually closed his eyes, hoping to fall asleep.


    All the adrenaline rush from earlier had now subsided, reced with a low energy and low stamina Shi Tian.


    He didn''t even dare to send a text message to Mary regarding his situation, given the soldiers tracking him down might attempt to trace for any electronic signal.


    As Shi Tian settled into an uneasy slumber within the confines of the cave, the dim light from his suit''s power indicator cast a faint glow in the otherwise pitch-ck chamber.


    The wounds on his body throbbed with pain, a constant reminder of the perilous world he inhabited. Every slight movement sent jolts of difort, forcing him to remain still as he sought rest.


    Despite the physical difort and the looming threats, exhaustion eventually imed him. It was a deep and dreamless sleep, one that offered a temporary respite from the harsh realities of this post-apocalyptdscape.


    As Shi Tian slept, the cave''s natural silence enveloped him like a protective shroud. It was a silence that whispered countless stories and untold mysteries, a silence that concealed both danger and opportunity.


    Outside the cave, the world continued to turn, oblivious to the lone figure seeking refuge within its rocky embrace.


    "Do you think Nathan will be safe?" Vanessa asked as she was somewhat worried for his safety in the Iron Sentinel.


    Mary was silent, seemingly unable to answer her question.


    The truth was that even she did not know if Shi Tian coulde up on top of those elite soldiers.


    As much as she had called him weak, she couldn''t fathom the confidence and his decision to be the vanguard.


    "Hey, don''t just stay silent and say something." Vanessa clicked her tongue and hissed coldly.


    "If Nathan really can''t deal damage to them and get captured, then we won''t fare off much better either." She added, warning her of the consequence of failure.


    To be fair, Vanessa was more concerned about whether or not Shi Tian would be captured by the soldiers.


    After all, if Shi Tian was caught, then it became clear that they had learned the truth and might be silenced to keep the matter suppressed.


    At that time, she could simply forget about doing business with the drones. Her life would be in danger as well.


    "You don''t seem concerned for Nathan''s safety at all, Vanessa." Mary suddenly spoke, calling her out.


    "What do you mean?"


    "You seem more concerned about us being exposed to Commander Theobold."


    Vanessa shrugged her shoulders, not nning on denying it. Just because she was more concerned about their identity and safety, that doesn''t mean she doesn''t care for Shi Tian.


    She could care about both, albeit a minimal difference between the two.


    "And don''t act like a saint, Mary." Vanessa rolled her eyes. "I''m sure you were equally doubtful when you kept asking Nathan to rethink his decision to be a vanguard."


    "Doubtful, yes. But I''m not going to worry about the consequences of failure once I decide to let him be the vanguard." Mary crossed her arms and said coolly.


    "Nathan is a mechanic, and despite the limited weaponry, he can definitely utilize them greatly. Instead of worrying, I''m more concerned about how much he could seed." She added, letting Vanessa know that she was different from her.


    "How much could he seed?" Vanessa raised an eyebrow, seemingly dumbfounded by the confidence Mary had in Shi Tian.


    Sure, she had witnessed Shi Tian''s ability back at the Horology Restaurant.


    But other than deflecting some of Kralos Tal''s attack, she didn''t see anything amazing, much less a powerful strikeing from him.


    Mary smirked coldly when she noticed how confused Vanessa was. Indeed, it would be surprising if Vanessa had ced a lot of trust in Shi Tian.


    "Vanessa, do you know what Nathan was like before he became affiliated with Optic Mech?" Mary turned to her and asked.


    Pondering for a moment, Vanessa answered, "Isn''t he just your everyday mechanic?"


    Vanessa didn''t have much of an impression of him when they first met. In fact, she found him extremely hateful when she recalled how heartless he was and tried to leave her for death instead of helping her.


    Meanwhile, Mary shook her head in response and revealed, "That''s what everyone thinks now that his name was pasted with the modified ymore Mines. But before that, Nathan was a nobody and had entered Gearits City illegally."

 Chapter 289 Improvement

    Chapter 289 Improvement


    Vanessa was astonished when Mary suddenly revealed Shi Tian''s past before he had be a somewhat prominent figure in Gearits City.


    Before Shi Tian had be famous under the alias of Gavin for the distribution of the modified ymore Mines, no one had known or even heard of him.


    However, Vanessa was affiliated with him when he revealed himself as Nathan.


    At that time, she didn''t find him to be quite special as a mechanic aside from his personality and behavior that distinguished him from others.


    All she knew was that despite how hateful Shi Tian was, there was not an ounce of lust in his eyes when he witnessed her in a pathetic state.


    When she was still in a pathetic state thanks to the ambush, a nefarious man would have done a lot of terrible things to her. Ignoring all these details temporarily, Vanessa was more intrigued that Mary stated Shi Tian was a nobody.


    "Wait a minute, are you trying to tell me that Nathan wasn''t even a mechanic when he illegally entered Gearits City?" Vanessa rubbed her temples and asked. She wasn''t even bothered that Shi Tian had entered illegally in Gearits City, given that it was not umon for someone to do that constantly.


    No matter how tight the security was, there were always bound to be some loopholes that allowed others to smuggle in, whether it was resources or humans. Anything can be smuggled through loopholes since the people guarding are human beings after all.


    Meanwhile, Mary merely smiled in response, but her smile was enough to confirm Vanessa''s question.


    "Unbelievable¡­" She opened her mouth in disbelief and muttered, clearly unable to fathom Shi Tian''s rapid improvement.


    Even the most talented mechanic had to take more than 3 months to aplish something. Yet Shi Tian was able to achieve something like the modified ymore Mines in less than a month.


    Regardless of the fact whether it was Shi Tian who hade up with the idea of the modified ymore Mines, just the fact that he was able to craft them in batches alone was enough tomend him.


    "Now do you understand why I''m confident in him?" Mary smiled briefly.


    "That Nathan¡­ he might not know it, but his talent is very frightening. I''m afraid that he would surpass me in less than half a year if he continued such progress." She added, praising Shi Tian''s talent for the first time in public to others.


    All along, Mary never onceplimented Shi Tian sincerely nor told to other people, given that she feared that he might becent and ruin his future just like most prodigies in the past.


    There were quite a lot of prodigies in the past on the mechanic path, but because of thepliment, their ego had risen to an unbelievable degree.


    And in the end, these so-called prodigies merely drop like flies, unable to match up to the expectationsid on them.


    Vanessa nodded her head, agreeing that such talent was indeed very frightening. Given enough time, Shi Tian would definitely rise up if there were no hups.


    However, Vanessa was still somewhat doubtful of one thing. Talent was one thing, but experience in fighting was another thing.


    "Nathan is still an amateur and doesn''t know how to fight properly. The enemies are elite soldiers, so he would definitely fall for a trap and get heavily injured." Vanessa eximed.


    It wasn''t that she didn''t want to believe in Shi Tian, but the enemies were simply far superior.


    "Hmph, don''t be fooled by his behavior, Vanessa." Mary suddenly snorted coldly.


    "Nathan might be calm and collected, never showing a hint of mercilessness. But that was merely a facade he created to mask his true emotion. Once serious, he was definitely a cold-blooded person who could kill without batting an eyelid." She warned Vanessa.


    The reason why Mary never underestimated Shi Tian was back in the incident regarding the Night Intruders. Back then, she had killed quite decisively and showed him a bloody scene. Yet Shi Tian had no reaction, not an ounce of fear could be seen in his eyes.


    In fact, Shi Tian even went as far as cleaning up the corpses, leaving nothing behind with his tamed Dust Mites.


    It was then that Mary knew Shi Tian was possibly the same type of person as her when ites to pretending and acting in front of others.


    Maybe it was because only she was able to witness it personally that caused her to have a lot of trust in Shi Tian whenever he decided on something.


    Rarely had she ever seen Shi Tian proimed to do something and unable to fulfill it.


    Meanwhile, Vanessa felt a cold chill running through her spine when she realized how high Mary had evaluated Shi Tian to be.


    "Then do you think Nathan will get even with me?" Vanessa rubbed her chin and asked.


    "Why would he get even with you?" Mary raised an eyebrow, confused by Vanessa''s question.


    Was that really what she managed to grasp despite her exnation?


    She can''t be that dumb, right?


    Mary was stunned by Vanessa''sprehension to be so negligible.


    Did she not understand the main point?


    "I mean¨C Nathan is the type to never owe a debt, but would also make sure no one owes him a debt." Vanessa scratched her head, rifying the foundation of her question.


    "And since I deceived him, would he be angry and want to get even with me?" She added.


    Mary rolled her eyes in response, clearly too exhausted to converse with Vanessa any further.


    She was truly someone special.


    One moment, she could be a devious scheming woman. But the next moment, she could be a klutz,pletely and utterly clueless in everything.


    "Whatever, just go to bed. Nathan himself has said it. If he doesn''t send a text ore back within 2 days, then we shall proceed forward without him." Mary turned on the security mode in the Iron Sentinel and went to her area, preparing to get some ample rest.

 Chapter 290 Misery

    Chapter 290 Misery


    Vanessa, despite her often devious and cunning demeanor, had moments of genuine concern and self-doubt. The revtion of Shi Tian''s past had left her somewhat bewildered and questioning her own actions.


    As Mary sighed and turned in for rest, Vanessa remained seated, lost in thought.


    She couldn''t help but reflect on her choices and the web of deception she had woven. Deceit was a tool she wielded with finesse, but it also came with consequences.


    She pondered Shi Tian''s potential reaction to her deceit and feigning innocence toward him.


    Would he seek retribution or vengeance for her actions?


    Or would he adopt a more pragmatic approach and prioritize their collective survival?


    "Nah, I doubt it. That bastard still owed me it for using me as a gambling chip. So if he dared to seek vengeance, then I''ll make sure he''ll suffer." Vanessa murmured and clenched her fist.


    Despite that, she still decided that it was to prepare for the worst-case scenario. Nothing was for certain, and she had yed a somewhat dangerous game, so the consequences could be catching up with her.


    ''Whatever, Nathan isn''t the type to actively look for troubles.'' Vanessa concluded in her mind, walking to the makeshift bed and preparing for sleep.


    Today was truly quite the turbulence event she had experienced, having to discover Theobold''s nefarious intention and many deductions and ns. All of them were exhausting, to say the least, and she was somewhat regretting her decision to leave Chronosworth City.


    As everyone gradually went into a slumber, the wilderness continued to be a restless ce for many, including those who were still frantically searching for the supposed dense area location leak.


    "Goddamn it, where is the strange energy?" A person d in a fancy military uniform shouted in frustration.


    "Dear Egg Benedict, are you trying to make a fool out of me?"


    The person turned around and smiled bitterly. He was Benedict, the militarymander of the Green Snake team. And naturally, the only person that dared to question him would be someone in the same rank as him, Phoebe.


    "I''m not making a fool out of you, Phoebe," Benedict exined, seemingly trying to pacify her anger. He had confidently said the strange energy would be nearby, but it had already been quite some time already.


    And other than the asional monsters they spotted that had scattered around due to the Gso variants'' monster wave, they could barely see anything around.


    Phoebe''s patience had long been tested to the limit by now. At first, she was merely bored and found it humorous to mess with Benedict.


    But as time passed by, and Benedict kept doubling down that the strange energy was nearby, it became quite clear that he had lost his senses.


    "Enough, I have listened and followed your nonsense for a long time now. I should have known it wouldn''t be an amusement, but a clown show through and through." Phoebe raised her hand up and said, telling Benedict to just stop.


    She thought maybe an idiotic fool might strike gold someday and they might actually encounter something good.


    However, reality was different from movies or fantasy-like elements.


    There was no gold dropping from the sky, and there sure wasn''t going to be a miracle where Benedict might lead them to the correct ce.


    "Wait a second, Phoebe. You have to believe me. My senses are truly telling me that we are really close." Benedict panickingly said, attempting to fake an act that he was sensing the strange energy.


    s, Phoebe merely rolled her eyes in response.


    She was now wondering just how Benedict managed to rise up to the position of a militarymander. His intelligence was worse than her most ordinary soldiers.


    ''The Carlson Family is indeed doomed to fall when they could promote such a man as theirmander.'' Phoebe thought to herself.


    Just when Phoebe thought about how to kill her boredom, she suddenly received a report from hermunication device.


    Taking a look, Phoebe''s smile curled upper and wider, almost as if she had just received great news.


    The same was happening to Benedict, who seemed to be excited by the report he had gotten as well.


    "You know what, Phoebe. I think you might be right and that the strange energy location is bogus. Though I''m sure to find the one responsible for it by posting the location when it''s not confirmed." Benedict smirked evilly.


    "Looks like your soldiers aren''t that ipetent either." Phoebe ignored Benedict''s remark regarding the responsible person for tricking them.


    Instead, she asked whether he got the same news as her. "You received the news, right?"


    Benedict nodded his head.


    "If such explosive news urred and I still don''t know about it, then I should just pack my bags and go home." He said, even started giggling at the same time.


    "Mhmm, that Theobold has surely got some rotten lucktely. To have one of his elite soldiers'' toon heavily injured and returning to the camp like a bunch of defeated rats is such a disgrace." Phoebe mused.


    "I know right. This is the best news out of the shit show we have." Benedict ced his hands by his hip,ughing heartily.


    Not an ounce of sympathy or pity could be seen in these two militarymanders'' faces. They might not be able to fight against each other, but that doesn''t mean they aren''t allowed to enjoy the other side''s misery.


    Theobold''s elite toon soldiers weren''t harmed by them, so why should they be concerned or worried. It was his fault for not managing his soldiers well and allowing them to receive such disastrous failure.


    "Anyway, I''m done searching for this nonexistent strange energy. I''m going to head back and see Theobold''s expression." Phoebe eximed, turning around and ready to leave the area.


    "Wait for me as well! I could care less about some strange energy when I could see Theobold''s darkened expression. I bet he''s malding real badly right now." Benedict chuckled loudly, echoing his hands to signal his soldiers to get ready to return.

 Chapter 291 Level 30

    Chapter 291 Level 30


    As everyone got busy with their own agendas in the wilderness, in the dimly lit cave, a person gradually awakened from his slumber.


    "Sleeping with wounds really sucks." Shi Tian rubbed his eyes softly andined.


    Some of his bandaged wounds were starting to bleed again, thanks to his unconscious sleeping gesture identally bumping into the cave wall, agitating the wounds.


    Nevertheless, Shi Tian merelyined once and stopped, unlike most people that would press on the matter and continue to act like a bitch.


    In exchange for a great battle, with himing on top despite the disadvantages, a few mere wounds were already a bargain that Shi Tian had gained.


    His life could have been lost if he were beyond unlucky.


    "Time to re-bandage the wounds," Shi Tian sighed softly, retrieving the medical kit and being forced to detach his mechanical right arm again to assist him.


    Maybe it was because he was too used to the mechanical right arm that it became very awkward and unusual for him to have it detached.


    Removing the bandages, Shi Tian saw numerous blood stains that had dried up on them, showing just how severe his injuries were.


    Smiling bitterly, he shook his head calmly. Ever since the battle with the Armored Rats, this was probably his second time being so heavily injured.


    Not even Kralos Tal had dealt damage to him despite his unbelievable strength.


    Just when Shi Tian was still brooding over the previous battle and how many mistakes he had made, the status screen suddenly appeared, astonishing him.


    "What the?" Shi Tian was confused, given that it wasn''t scrolled all the way to the description list.


    Previously, when he wasmunicating with the integrated chip, the status screen would always be scrolled all the way down in the description in which the integrated chip used it asmunication.


    However, this time, the status screen merely appeared with his name, something that should have happened if he wished for the status screen to appear.


    Though his confusion was soon answered as his eyes nced upon his level, 30.


    "Level 30? How did that happen?" Shi Tian was dumbfounded. He had checked his level and remained at level 29 before going to bed.


    So how did he suddenly level up?


    And while he was confused, the status screen suddenly went all the way down to the description list.


    Description: It''s been confirmed that one of the soldiers that the host had shot was originally in critical condition. However, that soldier had sumbed to his injuries a few hours ago. Hence, the host received experience points for that kill.


    Although Shi Tian was somewhat joyous that he had finally leveled up to 30, he was more intrigued as to how the integrated chip was able to learn this information.


    Like how did the integrated chip know the critical condition soldier had died?


    There were so many doubts and questions in his mind, but he also knew the integrated chip would not reveal anything to him.


    Shi Tian was aware that the integrated chip was highly secretive and selective in the information it shared with him.


    It was as if the integrated chip believed that certain knowledge would do him more harm than good, implying that he was not yet strong enough to wield such information effectively.


    Sighing inwardly, Shi Tian acknowledged his current limitations. Despite his rapid progress, he understood that he was still far from bing a formidable force.


    "I know you''re concealing information for my own good, so I won''t question you." Shi Tian mumbled.


    After mumbling that, Shi Tian began to focus on the changes in his status screen. Quite a lot had changed since thest time, with his attributes'' value bing higher and higher.


    ¨C


    Name: Shi Tian


    Race: Human


    Main ss: Mechanic


    Sub ss: Avable [Host can choose any subss by clicking to see the option]


    Level: 30


    Health: 1800 (Injured)


    Stamina: 130


    Attributes: Strength: 29, Dexterity: 27, Endurance: 28, Agility: 35, Intelligence: 43, Charm: 25, Luck: 15


    Free Attribute Point: 28


    Abilities:


    -[Passive] Serene Calmness: Able to remain calm and collected


    -[Passive] Pain Tolerance: Level 6 (Upgraded as a shooting dummy)


    -[Active] Dust Mites Summon


    -[Active] Fleet Footwork (Movement Technique)


    Power Level: 40-90 Atk


    Grade: F (Still a Mediocre Person)


    ss Talents: Avable [Click to expand the ss talent tree to see more]


    Reputation: 30 (Optic Mech), -25 (Heaven''s Mecha/Harrett Family), -20 (White Syndicate), 45 (Gearits City''s Citizens) [Click to expand the list to see more]


    Equipment: Mechanical Right Arm, Boosters'' Suit, Pistols, Smoke Grenades


    [Host had reached the first advancement and could be somewhatmendable. Though it''s unwise to be arrogant just because of a little improvement. One tiny mistake is enough to have your life forfeited.]


    ¨C


    Browsing through the status screen, Shi Tian noticed there was quite a bit of information that he had to click to expand the list to seepared to the past.


    The first thing he noticed was naturally the option to choose a subss, but most importantly, a ss talent.


    ss talent, just based on its title, was enough for Shi Tian to understand that it was something that benefited his mechanic ss greatly.


    Without hesitation, Shi Tian willed for the ss Talent to be extended so that he could see the options avable to him.


    When the ss Talent list was expanded, Shi Tian''s eyes nearly popped out from the numerous options avable for him to choose from.


    Tech Savvy: This talent could make the Host exceptionally skilled at using and understandingplex tech.


    Quick Repair: The host could be known for his ability to perform rapid repairs in the heat of battle, reducing downtime for damaged equipment or vehicles.


    Weaponsmith: The host gains the talent of crafting custom firearms or melee weapons, making them more effective or unique.


    Remote Operations: The host could have a talent for controlling drones or remotely operated devices, allowing him to scout, sabotage, or engage inbat from a safe distance.


    Evasion Expert: The Host will gain the talent to evade attacks more effectively, with a heightened ability to dodge or take cover inbat situations.


    Overcharge: The host could possess the ability to temporarily boost the performance of mechanical devices, giving them increased power or efficiency for a limited time.


    Digital Specter: The Host shall gain an exceptional talent for infiltrating secure digital systems, allowing him to bypass security measures and gain ess to restricted data, including but not limited to cybersecurity and virtual technology.

 Chapter 292 Class Talent

    Chapter 292 ss Talent


    Shi Tian found himself faced with an intriguing array of ss talents, each offering unique advantages that could greatly benefit his mechanic ss.


    Tech Savvy caught his eye first. The idea of bing exceptionally skilled at handlingplex technology appealed to his inquisitive nature.


    Quick Repair seemed practical, especially for someone often in the midst ofbat. Rapidly repairing damaged equipment could be a game-changer.


    Weaponsmith intrigued him as well. Crafting custom firearms or melee weapons sounded like a creative and potentially lucrative path.


    Remote Operations presented an interesting option for someone who liked to strategize from a distance, controlling drones and remote devices.


    An Evasion Expert seemed valuable for survival in dangerous situations. Improved evasion and cover abilities could make all the difference.


    Overcharge had its merits too. Boosting the performance of mechanical devices could be a decisive move inbat.


    Finally, Digital Specter stood out as an option that was different from most of the other talent. Unlike the rest that dealt with what a basic mechanic was, Digital Specter essentially allowed him to deal with virtual technology.


    And given the integrated chip''s constant broad and wide knowledge, Shi Tian could be positive that the integrated chip was a type of virtual technology.


    Even without being close to something, the integrated chip itself could be hacked into any electronic device and gain the necessary information it needed.


    Otherwise, how else could it be exined that the integrated chip knew the critical condition soldier had died?


    ''Tech Savvy talent might sound amazing, but it''s just basicprehension at the end of the day. I could already understand the tech if I study long enough, so the talent is practically useless.'' Shi Tian thought to himself.


    As for the other ss talent, he already gained a somewhat affinity with most of them. And with time, he would be able to do that stuff anyway.


    After careful consideration, Shi Tian made his choice, "Digital Specter. I''ll choose the Digital Specter ss talent."


    As he selected this talent, he felt a sense of connection to it, as if it resonated with his unique abilities and interests.


    And within the ss Talent in the status screen, it now indicated that he had gained the Digital Specter.


    With the Digital Specter as talent now, Shi Tian vividly recalled the hacking moment that Mary had made.


    For some reason, he seemed to have understood the concept and grasped the method of how it was done.


    But aside from that, Shi Tian could somewhat grasp the principles of how the integrated chip in his mind was able to unravel a dark secret. The dark secret was the revtion of Theobold being an impotent man.


    "Did you manage to infiltrate most of the electronic cameras back when I was residing in Gearits City?" Shi Tian asked, seemingly curious about the integrated chip''s action.


    If that was the case, then it meant that the integrated chip had been secretly collecting information all along.


    A few secondster, the integrated chip seemingly responded in an ambiguous manner.


    Description: Since the Host had gained a new ss Talent. Shouldn''t it be better for the Host to get familiarized with it and find the answer himself? Do I look like your personal encyclopedia?


    Nodding his head, Shi Tian could only agree with its ambiguous response.


    Indeed, since he was given such a talent as an option, it became quite clear that the integrated chip wished for him to work for an answer.


    "Wait a minute, then did I fall into your trap to choose this particr talent?" Shi Tian raised an eyebrow, seemingly dumbfounded at the revtion.


    Most of the other ss talents were something he was already familiar with, and those would merely increase his ability briefly. It was only the Digital Specter that offered new knowledge and something that he currently needed. With the glooming silent response from the integrated chip, Shi Tian was positive that he was indeed forced to choose the option.


    Of course, that was on the basis that he was clever enough to weigh all the options avable and choose the best possible one. If he was a bit dumb and chose something like Quick Repair, then he might as well just suicide.


    The Quick Repair talent was aplete bait.


    Why, you might ask?


    Who in their right mind would just sit still and not do anything when the enemy is repairing their equipment in front of them?


    This wasn''t a video game where you could hit the pause button and go into your inventory to repair the durability of your item.


    This was real life, and every second, every millisecond was enough to decide one person''s life and death.


    Shaking his head, Shi Tian held zero regret in choosing his ss talent.


    One must be decisive and once chosen, there should be no looking back and pondering over whether they have made the right decision or not.


    The type of people who usually question themselves in their decisions are usually those who are ipetent and can''t do anything without guidance from another person.


    Knowing the integrated chip wouldn''t answer his question regarding whether he was manipted into choosing the Digital Specter, Shi Tian decided to move on and considered his option for a subss.


    He might be the luckiest one to simultaneously have two sses to master with the help of the mysterious integrated chip in his brain.


    However, little did he expect his expectations to be shattered thoroughly when he clicked on the list to expand the options.


    The subss weren''t the main sses that he had known such as Esper, Magus, irvoyant, Berserker, and Mechanic.


    It was somethingpletely different, almost as if it was a secondary job type of his main ss, Mechanic.


    "Fucking hell, did I just got trolled by the integrated chip again?" Shi Tian twitched his mouth and cursed in a vulgar manner.


    He was simply too stunned and realized just how much of a fool he was being when he thought he could gain a ss to manipte magicule.

 Chapter 293 Sub Class

    Chapter 293 Sub ss


    Shi Tian had to rub his eyes twice to ensure that he wasn''t daydreaming and was looking at the status screen.


    He couldn''t believe that he had been trolled by the integrated chip.


    Though to be fair, it was never exined what the sub-ss was going to be.


    He merely assumed it would be another option to choose a secondary ss such as the Esper, Magus, irvoyant, or even the Berserker ss.


    s, there are never such amazing benefits in this godforsaken world. There are never any freebies without paying the equivalent price for it.


    "Were you enjoying my plight this entire time?" Scratching his hair slightly, Shi Tian subsequently asked if the integrated chip was enjoying his misery and naive mentality.


    Although there wasn''t an answer from the integrated chip, based on the empathetic bond he had built with it, Shi Tian was certain the integrated chip indeed enjoyed his plight.


    Shi Tian sighed, a mixture of exasperation and resignation. It seemed that his journey in this world was full of surprises, some pleasant, and others, like this one, more perplexing.


    "Well, I guess I should''ve known better than to expect things to be straightforward," he muttered to himself. "No point dwelling on it now."


    He began to explore the subss options more carefully, realizing that even if they weren''t what he expected, they might still offer valuable benefits. Each subss had its own unique description, and he needed to choose wisely.


    The options list had a total of 7 sub-sses to choose from.


    Mecha Operator: This subss specializes in piloting and controllingrge mechanical constructs, like mechs and vehicles. It enhanced proficiency in operating mechanical weaponry and systems.


    Tech Ninja: A stealthy and agile subss that focused on covert operations and sabotage. It offered skills in infiltration, espionage, and disabling electronic security systems.


    Gadgeteer: A subss for inventors and engineers. It provided the ability to create advanced gadgets and modify equipment, enhancing their functionality.


    Cyber Samurai: A blend of traditional martial arts and cutting-edge technology. This subss excelled in closebat, using high-tech weaponry and armor to devastating effect.


    Hacker Extraordinaire: This subss delved deep into the world of virtual hacking. It provided advanced skills for infiltrating digital systems, bypassing security, and gathering critical information.


    Steelskin: A tank-like subss focused on durability and defense. It provided enhanced resistance to physical and energy-based attacks, turning the character into a formidable, nearly unstoppable juggernaut.


    Master Tinkerer: A subss for those who wanted to push the boundaries of mechanical innovation. It allowed the creation of unique, experimental devices and mechs.


    As Shi Tian read through each option, he couldn''t help but be intrigued by the possibilities they offered. While they weren''t what he expected, they still represented avenues of growth and specialization within his mechanic ss.


    Not to mention, unlike the ss Talents, all options were amazing.


    "Damn it, how am I supposed to choose from this?" Shi Tian clicked his tongue in frustration.


    Based on the options this time and before, it was clear that the world had already invented mecha, something he had thought only existed in movies and novels.


    Yet he had never seen a mecha appear.


    Could it be that Gearits City was actually behind in terms of technological advances?


    Anyway, Shi Tian stopped his thinking from going awry again and focused back on the important decision ahead of him.


    Which subss to choose from?


    After much contemtion, Shi Tian made his choice. It was a decision that felt right, aligning with his recent experiences and his growing fascination with the world of hacking and virtual technology.


    "I choose Hacker Extraordinaire," he dered, the words carrying a sense of determination.


    Just when Shi Tian thought he was done making such a major decision that would affect his future path, the integrated chip suddenly gave a response¨C one that was extremely infuriating.


    Description: The host does not need to choose, given that the subsses are all avable for you. They are interchangeable and can be utilized simultaneously. All the host needs to do is upgrade them gradually for the subsses to be utilized to their maximum potential.


    Shi Tian''s face was twitching uncontrobly, and to make things worse, his anger quickly subsided thanks to the passive ability [Serene Calmness] activating.


    The ability prompted him to cool down, and despite the original anger he had felt earlier, he was able to breathe calmly without exerting much emotion.


    Of course, he could remain angry, but Shi Tian knew being angry at it wouldn''t help him at all.


    Taking another deep breath, Shi Tian asked softly, "So the subss is different from the ss Talent and does not need to be chosen. They are all avable to me and I can simply upgrade them equally, right?"


    Description: The host got it right. To make things simpler, there will not be any levels listed for the subss, but merely have them active. The efficiency of each subss would be increased once you did something equivalent to the subss exnation.


    "If that''s the case, then why did you not tell me from the start?" Shi Tian made a very awkward smile as he asked.


    Description: The host had sumbed to his own thinking and believed himself to be intelligent. Hence, there was no point in exining when the host wished to make a decision.


    Nodding his head, Shi Tian might not be able to hear the tone, but it was quite clear that the integrated chip was taunting him.


    Sure enough, it was indeed his fault toe to the conclusion that he could only choose one subss.


    Never once did the status screen instruct him to choose one, but because the ss Talent section only allowed him to choose one, Shi Tian had unconsciously thought the sub-ss would be the same.


    "There''s no need to be so polite, IC." Shi Tian smiled briefly. "Next time, if you see me wasting time for no apparent reason, you can kindly remind me so that time won''t be wasted." He added, subtly warning the integrated chip.

 Chapter 294 Markings

    Chapter 294 Markings


    The situation left Shi Tian with mixed emotions.


    On one hand, he was relieved to learn that he wasn''t restricted to choosing just one subss; all of them were avable, and he could develop them simultaneously.


    This provided him with incredible versatility and potential.


    However, the revtion also left him somewhat frustrated. He had spent time agonizing over his subss choice when, in fact, there wasn''t a point to do so.


    The integrated chip''s withholding of this information felt like a practical joke.


    It was also because of this simple yet meaningful revtion that Shi Tian understood something.


    The integrated chip could be reliable at times, but also not reliable at other times.


    Everything depended on its mood, and this made Shi Tian ponder whether this was a good thing or not.


    If possible, Shi Tian would want to remove the integrated chip, but it also worried him deeply regarding the status screen that indicated his current attributes and other important details.


    "Forget it, let''s check the surroundings." Shi Tian shook his head, standing up from the ground, and getting ready to inspect his surroundings.


    As much as he wanted to test his subss and ss talent, he had nothing to work with. However, there was something that he could attempt to do.


    The subss- Mecha Operator could technically be used once Shi Tian gave it a bit more thought.


    His boosters'' suit should be considered a mech of some sort, so wouldn''t his efficiency and proficiency with the boosters'' suit increase?


    With a mentalmand, he activated the boosters'' suit. The familiar sensation of enhanced mobility washed over him as he hovered slightly above the ground. The suit responded to his thoughts effortlessly, and he felt a surge of satisfaction. It seemed that his intuition was correct.


    Shi Tian began to experiment, pushing the suit to its limits, and darting through the cave with increased speed and agility. He tested its defensive capabilities, making quick evasive maneuvers to simtebat scenarios.


    With each passing moment, he could feel his connection to the boosters'' suit growing stronger. It was as if he was bing one with the machine, a true Mecha Operator in the making.


    Nevertheless, Shi Tian didn''t let this new discovery blind his goal and current predicament.


    "My mobility seemed to be more efficient nowpared to the previous battle earlier. If I had this subss earlier, then maybe I wouldn''t have been riddled with bullets." Shi Tian murmured, seemingly still depressed about his blunder.


    Shi Tian''s thoughts wandered back to the intense battle he had faced earlier.


    The memory of bullets tearing through the air and the sensation of pain from his injuries was still fresh in his mind. He couldn''t help but rey the events, wondering if things might have been different with the newfound abilities of his Mecha Operator subss.


    As he continued to test the limits of his boosters'' suit, his movements became increasingly fluid and precise.


    He executed aerial flips and spins effortlessly, feeling the thrill of enhanced mobility. It was a stark contrast to his earlier struggles in the battle against the soldiers.


    Despite his frustration and regrets, Shi Tian knew that dwelling on the past wouldn''t change anything. He had to focus on the present and the future.


    The Mecha Operator subss provided him with a unique advantage, and he was determined to make the most of it.


    With renewed determination, he decided to explore the cave further.


    "I''ve been wondering all this time, but the cave doesn''t appear natural." Shi Tian muttered softly, his eyes ncing at the deeper part of the path.


    Normally, it wouldn''t be surprising to have caves forming in the wilderness, but the area they are in doesn''t seem to be suitable for caves to form.


    Caves are formed by the dissolution of limestones, and Shi Tian had inspected the area earlier. There are no limestones anywhere, which means this cave was not natural but made by someone, whether it was a human or a monster.


    It was just that he didn''t bother checking previously due to his injuries and fatigue.


    And now that he had subtly recovered, Shi Tian decided to explore the cave.


    His enhanced mobility allowed him to traverse the uneven terrain with ease, and he moved deeper into the cave, guided by a sense of curiosity and purpose.


    As he ventured deeper, the cave''s interior began to change.


    The rocky walls gave way to smooth, metallic surfaces, and dimly lit corridors stretched out before him. It was as if he had entered a different world altogether.


    Shi Tian''s instincts were correct and he knew immediately that such surfaces cannot be natural.


    ''What an unbelievable sight.'' Shi Tian paused his movement temporarily to nce at his surroundings.


    The metallic corridors stretched out before Shi Tian, illuminated by a soft, eerie glow. The transition from natural cave formations to this artificial environment was stark and bewildering. He couldn''t help but feel a sense of awe and trepidation as he continued to explore.


    Every step he took echoed through the corridor. The air was cool and sterile, devoid of the earthy scents he had grown ustomed to in the wilderness. It was as if he had stepped into a high-tech facility hidden beneath the surface.


    "Just what did I step into?" Shi Tian questioned himself softly.


    Despite the bewilderment, the passage was getting somewhat difficult to navigate.


    Luckily, the Mecha Operator subss was proving to be invaluable in this kind of environment.


    His enhanced mobility allowed him to navigate the corridors with ease, and he felt a growing confidence in his abilities. It was a stark contrast to his earlier vulnerability in the open wilderness.


    As he ventured deeper into the metallicbyrinth, he began to notice peculiar markings on the walls.


    They resembled aplex blend of symbols and diagrams, some of which seemed almost alien in their design. It was clear that this ce was not only artificial but also highly advanced.


    Shi Tian couldn''t decipher the meaning behind these markings, but he couldn''t shake the feeling that they were significant.


    ''Could these markings be rted to the Gso variants'' monster wave¡­ or the strange energy?''

 Chapter 295 Trackers

    Chapter 295 Trackers


    The enigmatic markings on the walls only deepened Shi Tian''s intrigue and raised more questions than answers.


    As he continued to move through the metallicbyrinth, his thoughts raced, trying to piece together the puzzle before him.


    The symbols and diagrams were unlike anything he had ever seen, and theirplexity suggested a level of knowledge and technology far beyond his understanding.


    It was clear that this underground facility held secrets of immense importance.


    With each step, the sense of istion and vulnerability grew.


    He couldn''t shake the feeling that he was being watched, that every move he made was being monitored. The sterile environment and the mysterious markings only added to the eerie atmosphere.


    Pausing his movement, Shi Tian knew advancing forward might bring forth trouble way beyond his capacity.


    ''Curiosity kills the cat, and I have no n on being the cat.'' Shi Tian eximed inwardly, choosing to halt his investigation and move back.


    As for the markings on the walls, Shi Tian swiftly recorded them in his mind. He had attempted to use his Cellos device to take some pictures but noticed that his life seemed to be in danger whenever he tried to take out any electronic devices.


    Although it was just an intuition, Shi Tian sure as heck wouldn''t test his luck.


    Call him cowardly or whatever?


    But toward some unknown and mysterious sceneries such as this, Shi Tian was unwilling to gamble with his life. He might have gambled with Vanessa previously, but that was because he was confident that Vanessa would remain unscratched even if something went wrong.


    However, here¨C he was all alone, so even if someone wanted to take his life, no one would know or be bothered with it.


    That was just how pathetic life was in this world.


    Without hesitation, Shi Tian increased the boosters'' suit power, heading toward the entrance of the cave again.


    As Shi Tian exited the area, a figure hidden in the shadow subsequently retreated, seemingly uninterested in chasing.


    His intuition was not wrong and he was indeed being watched from the start.


    Luckily for Shi Tian, he managed to avoid raising a death g and left before anything serious urred.


    Shi Tian''s decision to retreat from the mysterious underground facility was a wise one, driven by a keen sense of self-preservation. He had been captivated by the enigmatic markings and the secrets they held, but he was not willing to risk his life for the sake of curiosity.


    As he made his way back through the metallic corridors, the feeling of being watched seemed to recede. It was as if the unseen presence that had monitored his every move had lost interest now that he was leaving.


    Patting his chest softly, Shi Tian thought to himself, ''Looks like there really was someone spying on me. It''s a good thing I didn''t venture further and retreated swiftly.''


    Additionally, the Mecha Operator subss once again proved its worth as Shi Tian navigated thebyrinthine passages with ease.


    His enhanced mobility allowed him to make a swift exit from the facility, and the eerie glow of the metallic walls gradually faded behind him.


    Emerging from the cave entrance, he couldn''t help but breathe a sigh of relief. He had narrowly avoided a potentially deadly encounter, and the experience had taught him a valuable lesson about the dangers of the unknown in this world.


    "Good thing the mysterious figure was not interested in me, otherwise, I might have died there." He murmured, feeling relief. Despite the closer encounter though, Shi Tian was rather pleased to see immediate effect on his subss activating.


    All the risks and injuries he had sustained were worth it by reaching level 30.


    However, it was still a shame that his status screen did not function like a video game''s status screen.


    Normally, in a video game, if a yer levels up their character in an MMORPG game, then their health and everything else would be recovered to full.


    However, that was not the case here, which reminded Shi Tian dearly that he was struggling in real life and not some games. Death meant the end and not a game over or a restart.


    ''Let me text Mary about my safety,'' Shi Tian eximed inwardly, taking out his Cellos device and sending Mary a text that he was safe.


    Just when he was sending a text, Shi Tian suddenly had a bad premonition.


    Maybe it was because he had obtained the subsses, but Shi Tian realized that someone had managed to track him. It was a feeling that he had just received the moment he sent a text to Mary.


    ''Damn it, they were actually still tracking me.'' Realizing he had made another blunder, Shi Tian didn''t bother wasting any more time as he retreated from the cave area.


    However, he made sure to do one final thing. He was going to leave traces of his presence within the cave, along with some used grenades in the depths of the cave.


    He might not be interested in what was inside, but maybe these soldiers might be misdirected there. And if they weren''t clever like him and continued to delve deeper into the cave, offending the mysterious figure, then that would be the best-case scenario.


    This was called borrowing someone''s knife to kill his enemy.


    "Trackers on me, then please raise the death gs on my behalf." Shi Tian sneered coldly.


    He had already lost all respect for anyone within Theobold''s army the moment he realized just how insidious he was. Hence, whether his army died or not wasn''t his problem anymore.


    It was just a shame that if they met again, he still needed to act hypocritical and be friendly with him, lest Theobold might be suspicious of him.


    The reality was this harsh. Even if you know the person is an enemy, you must act friendly to not cause any trouble.


    ''I should probably take more detours just in case more people are still tracking me.'' Shi Tian made a n to not meet up with Mary and Vanessa just yet, unwilling to leave behind a single clue that might lead to them.

 Chapter 296 An Old Acquaintance

    Chapter 296 An Old Acquaintance


    Shi Tian''s attitude toward Theobold''s army had soured considerably.


    He had seen firsthand just how ruthless and insidious they could be, and he no longer felt any obligation to protect their interests.


    Survival had be his top priority, and he was willing to do whatever it took to stay alive.


    "If Theobold pushes too far, then I''m going to expose his impotency to everyone, shattering his hard-earned reputation throughout these years." Shi Tian muttered softly.


    Although Theobold was insidious toward him, it was indeed a fact that he had saved numerous lives on behalf of Gearits City.


    However, that kind of event was something that urred when he was still stacked in the pile of corpses in the graveyard ce. It had nothing to do with him, so he did not feel any gratitude toward him, much less owe him a favor.


    Currently, he was holding a critical piece of evidence that could ruin Theobold, but unless it was absolutely necessary, Shi Tian did not wish to utilize it.


    After all, it could be a good piece of ckmail material in the future.


    And with his boosters'' suit still active, Shi Tian continued to navigate the wilderness, his senses on high alert.


    He knew that the danger was far from over. Just the early blunder had made his vignce heightened and he dared not to rx for a single moment.


    A night might have passed by, but it was quite clear that the elite soldiers of Theobold were more persistent than he thought.


    Having his mask on, Shi Tian didn''t put it away even if it was pointless for him. The mask provided good coverage of his face, ensuring that the enemies would never be able to recognize him.


    Of course, Shi Tian didn''t dare to becent either and thought a mask was enough to hide his identity. If the enemies were perspective enough and analyzed his physiques, height, and everything else, then they might truly make a connection.


    As Shi Tian propelled forward with the booster''s suit thrust power, Shi Tian halted himself when he met an old acquaintance up ahead.


    Chuckling softly, Shi Tian pulled out his gun and smiled.


    "I must say. We are really destined to meet. Back then when I was alone and barely had anything, you were there to greet me with bites that nearly took my life. And now that I''m alone again, we met yet again." He raised his gun and aimed at the familiar creatures in front of him.


    Yep, they were creatures that always moved in groups and also had a hideous appearance, the Armored Rats.


    Shi Tian''s encounter with the Armored Rats brought a wry smile to his face, tinged with a hint of irony.


    These creatures, once a menace to him when he was just starting his journey in this harsh world, had now be a manageable obstacle, thanks to his growth and the newfound powers of his Mecha Operator subss.


    With practiced ease, he took aim at the approaching Armored Rats. His boosted mobility allowed him to maintain a safe distance while firing precise shots.


    One by one, the creatures fell, their hideous forms crumpling to the ground.


    "Times have changed, my furry friends. You used to be a real threat," He mused aloud as he continued to eliminate the approaching rats. "But now, it''s my turn to turn the tables."


    As thest of the creatures fell, Shi Tian holstered his weapon.


    He couldn''t help but reflect on how far he hade since his early days in this world. The struggles, battles, and near-death experiences had all contributed to his growth and survival.


    However, his encounter with the Armored Rats served as a reminder that danger could lurk anywhere, even in the seemingly mundane environment.


    He needed to remain vignt, especially with Theobold''s army hot on his trail.


    Shaking his head, Shi Tian quickly checked up on the corpse for any possible Source Crystal in their body. He wasn''t going to simply leave the corpses here and let anyone know that there was a battle here.


    Additionally, he might as well take the time to gain some profit. He didn''t waste these normal bullets for no reason. Each bullet fired was equivalent to him losing money.


    How could he possibly allow himself to go bankrupt?


    As he scavenged for any possible Source Crystal, the ones he scavenged were stored in his Dimension Ring. Even their corpses are worth some money.


    After searching for quite a while, Shi Tian was somewhat disheartened to realize how unlucky he was.


    Of all the Armored Rats corpses here, not a single one contains a Source Crystal.


    "You''ve got to be kidding me¡­" Shi Tian twitched his lips in disbelief.


    "What kind of crap stats is this? Luck is 15, but where''s the luck at all?" He added, seemingly frustrated by the findings.


    Was it a wrong choice to not increase his luck?


    But was it necessary to increase his luck? Luck seemed so superficial and did not provide much guaranteepared to the other stats.


    Unable to ponder over this to get a concrete result, Shi Tian simply shook his head and cleared the evidence of his traces here.


    It was a good thing that his aim was getting more and more precise¨C to the point that there was barely any blood scattered after piercing these Armored Rats with the bullets.


    However, Shi Tian also knew no matter how hard he might try to clean up the scenes. If the elite soldiers were still tracking him, then with their expertise, they would still be able to discern a battle had taken ce here not long ago.


    The word elite wasn''t just for show, and these soldiers were great in their adaptation to any changes in the circumstances.


    Now that they had somewhat grasped his skills and abilities, it would be impossible for Shi Tian to be sessful in another ambush.


    "I hate it when the enemies are so capable. Why can''t they be some typical braindead young master?" Shi Tian clicked his tongue, annoyed that his enemies were toopetent.

 Chapter 297 No Escape

    Chapter 297 No Escape


    Havingpleted his cleanup, Shi Tian moved on, determined to stay ahead of his pursuers.


    He knew that he couldn''t afford any more slip-ups, especially with the knowledge that someone was still tracking him.


    As Shi Tian continued forward, he encountered more than a few monsters, some being Armored Rats, and some other monsters that he had no clue about.


    Some of the monsters were quite unique on their own, but nothing too difficult for Shi Tian to deal with.


    When his normal bullets couldn''t prate their armors, Shi Tian would in turn go to closebat range, utilizing his other subss [Cyber Samurai] which improved his mechanical right arm tremendously.


    The power output of his mechanical right arm had increased tremendously, almost to the point that Shi Tian thought his mechanical right arm was a different version.


    Having experienced a feeling of such great power, Shi Tian came to realize that level 30 was the actual start of his journey to bing stronger. The previous levels were merely some prototype training arc.


    With a punch, Shi Tian burst through the internal organs of the monster from the impact alone.


    "This is too unbelievable." Shi Tian muttered in amazement. That punch wasn''t even half of his strength, but that didn''t matter anyway.


    The [Cyber Samurai] subss had amplified his punch by quite a lot, able to mimic the power that he would have ushered with 70 percent of his strength.


    Finishing the battle rather quickly again, Shi Tian once again decided to loot the corpses, just like anyone would have done.


    He was taking his time quite leisurely, mainly because he had sensed the elite soldiers didn''t fall for the bait he had thrown.


    They didn''t venture into the cave like he had thought. Although it was somewhat of a shame that he couldn''t borrow someone''s hand to kill them, Shi Tian didn''t find it disheartening.


    In fact, he was actually looking forward to the elite soldiers to show up.


    He was confident in his escaping ability with the increase of his mobility, so he wanted to use them as a dummy test.


    What better test is there aside from elite soldiers who have trained their entire lives for battles?


    ''There''s no escape anyway, so I might as well let them track my electronic device.'' Shi Tian sneered inwardly.


    He might have turned on his Cellos device to let the elite soldiers detect him, but he was naturally doing the same.


    The elite soldiers had the means to track him, but so did he.


    This time, he wasn''t utilizing his subsses, but his ss Talent [Digital Specter]. Having gained an affinity with virtual technology, Shi Tian could barely hack into the elite soldiers'' devices and check on their location.


    Call him broken or anything whatsoever!


    But this was something that he had earned through blood and sweat.


    Not to mention, if he met someone even more talented than him, then his abilities were nothing in front of them.


    The idiom meaning that there is always a bigger mountain was a concrete fact.


    Just because he had gained a tremendous upgrade, Shi Tian was notcent in believing he was the strongest.


    He knew he was still far behind from being able to be called a decent fighter.


    After all, his ss was a Mechanic, a ss meant to utilize equipment to fight on his behalf.


    But so far, he had no equipment that could truly be counted as his own.


    Most of the equipment he had obtained was either through a corpse or someone else lending him the blueprint or items.


    So technically speaking, he still can''t be considered a true Mechanic until he managed to craft somethingpletely from scratch and on his own as well.


    Patiently waiting at the top of a tree branch, Shi Tian calmly gazed at the far east.


    The elite soldiers were chasing at quite a rapid speed, and since he was forced to always confront the monsters up ahead, it was a given that they would arrive sooner orter.


    In addition, Shi Tian does not wish to exhaust his stamina and cartridges to help clear the path for the elite soldiers.


    Of course, Shi Tian could also choose to run from the monsters and avoid fighting them, but that was impossible. The monsters had locked onto him, so no matter what, they would continuously chase him.


    If it was just a few groups of monsters, it was still doable, but what if more monsters grouped up?


    By that time, Shi Tian would have managed to create a whole swarm of monster waves himself, all of them wanting to taste his flesh. And with such a scene, there naturally would be a ton ofmotion. By that time, he would be basically announcing to everyone his position.


    Having calcted all of those possibilities in mind, Shi Tian decided the best course of action was to eliminate these persistent elite soldiers.


    Since they were unwilling to let him go despite his earlier bluff, Shi Tian shall let them know what pain was.


    ''I have given you guys a chance to stay alive, but you chose death. So don''t me me.'' Shi Tian eximed inwardly, his eyes narrowing upon spotting the presence of the elite soldiers.


    He subsequently turned off his Cellos device, preventing them from urately pinpointing his current hiding spot.


    An ambush wouldn''t work as much as their first encounter, but Shi Tian was still going to try to surprise attack them.


    His theory was that it wasn''t possible, but reality was usually different from theory. So he might as well give it a try before outright banning the idea.


    As the elite soldiers suddenly turned cautious and tread forward very carefully, Shi Tian wasn''t a bit surprised by their actions.


    With him turning off his Cellos device, he was essentially telling them that he was ready for them.


    ''Be paranoid! Be afraid! I can be anywhere and everywhere.'' Shi Tian smirked coldly.


    This was the psychological warfare that he had prepared for them.

 Chapter 298 Psychological Warfare

    Chapter 298 Psychological Warfare


    Shi Tian had lost most of his traps in the ambush earlier, but that was information only known to him. This group of elite soldiers had no idea just how many traps and grenades he had left.


    In fact, they won''t even know if he had more stuff that he hasn''t yet revealed.


    To them, Shi Tian was like a mysterious figure that hadpletely decimated them earlier.


    Of course, he had been injured quite heavily by his bullets, but the soldiers didn''t know about how heavy the injuries were.


    After all, he had shot their leader''s right eye despite their supposed formation defenses and still escaped in their very own eyes.


    How could these elite soldiers not be slightly wary of him?


    ''Look at these bunch of cuties. So cautious and moving at a snail-like pace.'' Shi Tian eximed inwardly.


    The psychological warfare proved effective with his meticulous nning.


    However, this alone was not enough to frighten these elite soldiers.


    If this was enough to frighten them, then they truly are a joke of a soldier.


    Calmly waiting for the elite soldiers to walk to the first checkpoint, Shi Tian made sure to angle his trajectory to aim for the trap he hadid for them.


    He might not have traps, but he did have some materials that could cause an explosion upon contact with the bullet. The material was sh powder, something he had found in thepartment of Mary''s Iron Sentinel.


    "Wait a minute," Suddenly one of the soldiers in the front raised his hand and halted hisrades.


    "I smell something unusual." He then said, warning his fellowrades.


    "Let me help you out. What you''re smelling is merely the death door awaiting you." Shi Tian suddenly spoke, stunning the soldiers briefly.


    Seizing the opportunity of their sudden stunned movement, Shi Tian quickly pulled the trigger, firing at the sh powder he had ced earlier.


    The gunshot echoed through the area, a deafening explosion of sound that seemed to reverberate in every direction. The sh powder ignited in a blinding burst of light, catching the elite soldiers off guard.


    Blinded by the sudden brilliance, they fumbled for their weapons, disoriented and struggling to regain theirposure. Shi Tian had used this momentary confusion to his advantage.


    With his enhanced mobility and agility, he leaped from his concealed position,nding amidst the temporarily incapacitated soldiers. His mechanical right arm gleamed menacingly in the aftermath of the sh, its power enhanced by his [Cyber Samurai] subss.


    In the chaos, the soldiers barely had time to react. Shi Tian''s mechanical fist struck like a battering ram, delivering devastating blows that sent them flying in all directions.


    The precision and force behind his punches were awe-inspiring, a testament to the newfound strength he had gained at level 30.


    The soldiers'' armor, despite its protective properties, crumpled under the force of Shi Tian''s onught. Bones cracked, and cries of pain filled the air as they struggled to defend themselves.


    However, these elite soldiers were not to be underestimated. Despite the initial shock, they quickly regrouped, their training and discipline shining through. They formed a defensive formation, shields raised, and weapons ready.


    Bullets and energy sts whizzed through the air as the soldiers unleashed a barrage of firepower.


    Temporarily halting himself, Shi Tian realized they were going to counterattack, albeit faster than he had thought.


    ''As expected, they aren''t dazed by the ambush much.'' Shi Tian wasn''t surprised that they had regained theirposure rather quickly.


    With his ss Talent [Digital Specter] abilities, it allowed him to predict their movements and anticipate their attacks, giving him a significant advantage in dodging and weaving through the lethal hail of projectiles.


    As he continued to engage them, Shi Tian couldn''t help but feel a strange mix of exhration and fear.


    His fear was that the battle might end quicker than he had thought, causing him to be unable to recognize how far his potential had gotten. As for his exhration, it was naturally the ease of how fast he could end thempared to previously.


    Smiling menacingly, Shi Tian easily avoided the rain of bullets as if they were empty air.


    And without hesitation, Shi Tian propelled forward to a weaker defensive potential. Illuminating the center palm of his mechanical right arm, Shi Tian was ready to give them a taste of their own medicine.


    A st ofser produced by the Source Crystal in his mechanical right arm was his ultimate trump card.


    Theser erupted from the center palm of Shi Tian''s mechanical right arm with a blinding intensity. It tore through the air like ance of pure energy, streaking toward the soldiers.


    Caught off guard by this unexpected attack, they attempted to raise their shields and evade, but the searing beam of light was too fast. It struck with pinpoint uracy, slicing through their shields and armor as if they were made of paper.


    "Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!"


    The soldiers'' cries of pain and rm filled the air as theser struck home. One after another, they were incapacitated, their bodies scorched and smoking from the intense heat. The precision and power of the attack were nothing short of devastating.


    As the smoke and haze cleared, it revealed a scene of chaos and destruction.


    Several of the soldiersy on the ground, their armor and weapons damaged beyond use. Others were nursing severe burns, and theirbat effectiveness greatly diminished.


    Shi Tian, however, didn''t let up. He knew that if he gave these elite soldiers a moment to recover, they would retaliate with deadly force.


    His [Digital Specter] abilities allowed him to move with unmatched agility and speed, closing the distance between him and the wounded soldiers in the blink of an eye.


    With precise strikes from his mechanical right arm, he swiftly neutralized any remaining threats, ensuring that none of them could pose a danger.


    It was a brutal and efficient disy ofbat prowess, a testament to his growth and adaptability in the face of adversity.


    "Should have listened to my warnings earlier." Shi Tian kicked one of the scorched soldiers away, showcasing his brutality.

 Chapter 299 Little Babies

    Chapter 299 Little Babies


    The area had be a battlefield, with the echoes of gunfire and the smell of burnt metal and flesh hanging in the air. Shi Tian stood amidst the aftermath of the confrontation, his chest heaving with exertion.


    His encounter with these elite soldiers had pushed him to the limits of his abilities, forcing him to tap into the full potential of his [Mecha Operator] and [Cyber Samurai] subsses.


    It had been a harrowing battle, one that could have easily ended in his demise if not for his strategic thinking andbat skills.


    Don''t be fooled by the battle that he had managed to win easily, but only Shi Tian himself knew that one mistake would result in a disastrous oue.


    "If these soldiers were properly equipped for battle and not for tracking, then maybe they wouldn''t have ended in such a pathetic state." Shi Tian murmured softly.


    As the adrenaline began to subside, Shi Tian breathed a sigh of relief as he nced at some of the soldiers, who were still struggling to move.


    It was just a shame that they couldn''t move thanks to the scorched wounds, added to the brutal punches and kicks that Shi Tian had given them.


    Their bones werepletely crushed, unable to move a single inch. To add salt to their injuries, Shi Tian made sure to confirm his punches had thoroughly shattered some of their internal organs, preventing them from attempting to even do something funny.


    After all, he would never know what kind of final attack they might do when they realized their life was over.


    Not to mention, he could not confirm whether one of them was a Magus, Esper, or a Berserker. As for the irvoyant ss, with their failure to predict such an ambush, Shi Tian was positive that none of them were a irvoyant ss.


    irvoyant ss are known to have foresight, so if the soldiers truly had foresight, then Shi Tian wouldn''t havee out as victor with little to no scratches.


    While stretching his body, one of the struggling soldiers suddenly asked, "Are you truly someone from the White Syndicate?"


    Hearing the question, Shi Tian''s expression turned cold.


    He turned around and nced at the struggling soldiers who had asked him the question.


    Laughing quite menacingly, Shi Tian purposely made his voice deeper, a far cry from his original tone.


    "If I wasn''t someone from the White Syndicate, then who else can I be?" He then asked the struggling soldiers with an amused tone.


    The struggling soldiers gnashed his teeth despite the excruciating pain. "You could be Nathan, someone that we were tracking. Other than that, who else could have known about us."


    "Nathan?" Shi Tian moved his head slightly away, acting confused. "How hrious is that. Is that your final words before your death?"


    "Heh, Nathan, aka Gavin, the mechanic and provider of the ymore Mines. I''m sure you have heard of that if you are truly from the White Syndicate."


    "Oh, that Gavin. You''re quite humorous to believe I''m him. But whatever, let''s just say I am him then." Shi Tian chuckled softly, outright admitting his identity to the enemy.


    Afterward, he knelt down and nced at the struggling soldiers.


    "As for the person that you are secretly connected to, I shall remind you once again. Mess with the White Syndicate again and it won''t just be this group of elite soldiers, but your entire toon. Is that clear, Theobold?" Shi Tian gently warned them, his tone very mild, but also very imposing at the same time.


    As for the struggling soldier, although he showed no reaction on the surface, it was visibly clear that he was terrified.


    He didn''t expect the opposing party to have discovered his trick and scheme to try to figure out the enemy to send the intel back to themand center.


    ''Could this person trulye from the White Syndicate?'' The struggling soldier was trembling in fear, clearly not expecting Shi Tian to have figured out his ploy.


    The struggling soldier was filled with confusion, but Shi Tian no longer paid attention to him. Instead, he went ahead and grabbed at the device that the soldier was using to secretly pass on information.


    "Not a bad device," Shi Tian smirked coldly, disabling the device and keeping it.


    Such a device was rare to find, so how could Shi Tian possibly destroy it?


    By disabling it and confirming that the other party could not track him down with it, Shi Tian was content with the result. The device could help capitalize his knowledge further involving high-tech stuff.


    Once that was done, Shi Tian scanned the surroundings again, ensuring that there were no loopholes whatsoever.


    All the soldiers were either unconscious or heavily injured to the point of being unable to muster any movement.


    Nodding his head, Shi Tian crackled an evil and menacingugh.


    His menacingughter sent a chill running down the soldiers'' spine, clearly terrified by his action.


    Shi Tian was also acting this way on purpose.


    Since he proimed to be from the White Syndicate, he should act entric and sinisterly to solidify his im.


    "You see¨C I left in a hurry not because I was scared of your childish toon, but because I wasmanded to retreat after giving a warning. It was really regrettable that I could not continue, and was forced to let you go so easily." Shi Tian began talking to himself as if he was psychotic, his hands retrieving a jar.


    The jar from the soldiers'' perspective was an empty one, confusing them thoroughly.


    "My little babies have been starving for quite a while." Shi Tian opened the jar very slowly.


    "So on behalf of chasing me, I shall give you the honor of dying as a soldier. No need to thank me. Your corpse is enough to satisfy me." He then said, releasing the entities that were in the jar.


    The entities were microscopic beings, so the soldiers were thoroughly baffled by Shi Tian''s action.


    However, their bewilderment was soon answered when they witnessed theirrade getting devoured alive.


    Screams of terror subsequently echoed through the area.

 Chapter 300 Feasting

    Chapter 300 Feasting


    The soldiers who were still conscious could only watch in horror as theirrade was consumed by the microscopic beings that Shi Tian had released.


    It was a gruesome and nightmarish sight, as the creatures seemed to devour flesh and bone with terrifying efficiency.


    Their screams of terror pierced the air, a chilling symphony of agony that echoed through the forest. It was a cruel and unusual punishment, one that left the soldiers traumatized and paralyzed with fear.


    Shi Tian watched the horrifying scene with a cold, detached expression. He knew that his actions were ruthless, but he had no intention of showing mercy to those who had relentlessly pursued him.


    ''If I didn''t recover in time and managed to level up to 30. I''m sure they wouldn''t spare my life even if I begged.'' Shi Tian thought to himself, watching his Dust Mites feasting on the corpse as if they were a bunch of starved beggars.


    He had neglected these Dust Mites for quite a while, and their hunger showed. Luckily, they weren''t mad at him and didn''t try to attack him.


    Or more like they didn''t dare to attack him, considering that Shi Tian could see them very vividly and exterminate them if they attempted such acts.


    "Don''t eat too fast. I want them to suffer dearly for ignoring the warning that our White Syndicate had given them." Shi Tian warned sternly,manding the Dust Mites to slow down and make sure the pain would be an excruciating one.


    As he had stated in the past, he was not a hero or a viin. But that doesn''t mean he was going to let his enemies scot-free.


    For those who offended him and wanted his life, Shi Tian will dly return the favor tenfold.


    "M-Monster¡­" One of the soldiers who were witnessing hisrades being devoured alive stutteringly said.


    He was looking at Shi Tian as if he was a monster incarnation.


    "Monsters? No, I''m more of a pacifist myself." Shi Tian said sweetly.


    "..."


    Proiming to be a pacifist yetmitting such an atrocious act in front of them, the soldiers would be insane if they believed him.


    Some of the soldiers who knew their fate would be no different than their dyingrade that was being eaten alive, have decided to bite their tongue, hoping tomit suicide.


    They did not wish to bear such pain.


    Of course, Shi Tian could stop them frommitting suicide simply by prying their mouth wide open.


    But he didn''t do it.


    He wanted the enemies to know that they had a choice on how to die and to suffer the consequences.


    Had they retreated and stopped tracking him, Shi Tian wouldn''t have forced them to such a fate.


    Calmly watching some of the soldiers outrightmitting suicide and some still unwilling to ept death, Shi Tian was recording the entire scene.


    He was not a sadist who enjoyed the suffering and torment of others, but the recording was a necessary one. To ensure that the White Syndicate wouldn''t trouble him for framing them, Shi Tian decided to go above and beyond.


    By sending such grotesque recordings to the military and announcing in public the consequences for offending the White Syndicate, it would help ease the White Syndicate members'' anger toward him.


    ''The White Syndicate was known for their terrorizing acts, and with their insanity behavior, they would revel in the acts and forget about the framing part.'' Shi Tian eximed inwardly.


    It was all just a conjecture, but Shi Tian was positive that the White Syndicate would be more pleased than angry.


    As thest soldier''s screams faded into an eerie silence, Shi Tian sealed the jar once more, trapping the remaining Dust Mites inside. They had been filled to the brim andpletely satisfied with their meal.


    With the Dust Mites being satisfied, Shi Tian nced at the scene in front of him.


    Originally a very grisly scene filled with blood, the area was nowpletely cleaned, almost as if there were never a battle. The Dust Mites'' cleaning ability proved effective, given that they devoured the blood cleanly.


    This scene also made him somewhat regretful, considering that he was cleaning the corpse by himself when he had such a handy tool all along.


    ''What a failed use of my resources. I''m stillcking too much experience.'' Shi Tian sighed inwardly, understanding his growth still needed more improvement.


    Even with intelligence, there are bound to be things that he might have missed. And that was only natural because mistakes urred so that they couldprehend and adapt themselves to notmit such simr mistakes again.


    Turning away from the scene, Shi Tian''s expression gradually returned to its usual calm andposed state.


    The sinister and menacingugh was all an act that he had put up, just in case there was still someone watching despite his safety measurements.


    Nothing was absolute, and Shi Tian did not want to slip up on his acting until the end.


    Activating his boosters'' suit again, Shi Tian was satisfied that he had gained many equipment and tools from the deceased soldiers. Their equipment wasn''t much, but it was still something and could be stored in his Dimension Ring for future uses.


    "I know you don''t like to speak much, but can you determine if any more people are tracking me or not?" As Shi Tian continued to leave the scene, he asked the integrated chip to confirm whether he was safe or not.


    However, there wasn''t a response from the integrated chip, clear evidence that it was unwilling to assist Shi Tian much, almost as if it didn''t wish for him to create a reliance on it.


    Nevertheless, the silent response was enough for Shi Tian toprehend the answer. He was safe, otherwise, the integrated chip would have definitely made some remark.


    ''Let me send Mary a text that I would meet up with her now. As for the recording clips, I''ll make sure to give Theobold a very warm gift.'' Shi Tian sneered inwardly. His respect for Theobold had long gone down the drain.

 Chapter 301 Gutsy

    Chapter 301 Gutsy


    Sending a text to Mary about where they would meet up, Mary was kind enough to send him a map of their current location.


    With the map as guidance, Shi Tian didn''t take long to meet up with them.


    His mobility had increased tremendously, and even he was somewhat shocked at the speed that he could produce.


    "The feeling of being extremely fast is really satisfying." Shi Tian smiled in joy.


    Back then, he had personally witnessed the speed that Mary could produce and was envious of her ability. Such speed that could cause others to not even be able to react in time was amazing.


    However, just being fast isn''t everything.


    One must also have the strength that could disable their enemies, otherwise, they would just be running aroundps in them, unable to cause any damage.


    Sometimeter, Shi Tian arrived at the meeting ce and patiently waited for Mary and Vanessa.


    Throughout the path, he had made sure to double-check whether there was someone following him or not. Additionally, he also sent his GPS location to Mary so that they could also check as well.


    If there were indeed someone following him and he failed to detect it, with Mary''s expertise, she might be able to figure something out.


    ''It seems like the coast is clear.'' Shi Tian thought to himself, noticing the Iron Sentineling toward him from afar.


    If the coast weren''t clear, then Mary wouldn''t have driven the Iron Sentinel here.


    A few minutester, the Iron Sentinel appeared in front of him and he heard Mary''s voice.


    "Quickly get in!"


    Without hesitation, Shi Tian hopped in and walked to the innerpartment, only to notice Mary was on the wheel, quickly driving away.


    Confused, he turned to Vanessa, clearly looking for an exnation.


    "There''s news of the White Syndicate appearing, and it''s sending quite the panic. The elite soldiers from Commander Theobold were also heavily injured and their demise was posted online already." Vanessa exined, showing him images on theputer screen.


    Looking at the images, Shi Tian didn''t know whether tough or cry about the information.


    They were the exact soldiers that he had encountered and messed with.


    Especially the one particr soldier with his right eye missing.


    That was the supposed leader that Shi Tian had personally shot the Esper special bullet and pierced through the soldier''s eyeball.


    "Is that why Mary is in a rush to exit the area?" Shi Tian asked curiously.


    "What else?" Vanessa rolled her eyes in response.


    "The White Syndicate could easily obliterate us, given how easily they had done it toward Commander Theobold''s elite toon."


    She had personally witnessed the prowess of the White Syndicate and nearly forfeited her life in the process. So naturally, she agreed with Mary''s decision to avoid encountering any one of the White Syndicate members.


    "Right¡­" Smiling bitterly, Shi Tian turned around and told Mary to stop elerating.


    "There''s something I need to inform you guys." He added, choosing to reveal the truth. Sooner orter, they were going to know the truth anyway, given that they had known about him going after the enemies tracking them.


    They were merely confused temporarily due to the White Syndicate name being dropped from rumors alone.


    As Shi Tian managed to get their attention, he began to exin the battle he had with Theobold''s elite soldiers, including the fact of framing the White Syndicate for the deed.


    By the time they managed to absorb the information, Vanessa was the first one to have an outburst.


    "Have you gone insane, Nathan?" Vanessa eximed in disbelief. "Do you know how dangerous it is to impersonate the White Syndicate?"


    Contrary to Vanessa''s outburst, Mary was more calm and more collected.


    She nced at Shi Tian and asked, "You must have another n to salvage the situation, right?"


    And she continued, "Impersonating the White Syndicate was a bold move, but if done correctly, then the White Syndicate wouldn''t pursue much so long as it increased their notoriety and status."


    Shi Tian nodded his head. "Before I can reveal further, I''ll need the two of you to swear an oath, promising to not divulge the information to another person regardless of the means. You can''t even give an indirect response either."


    To protect himself, Shi Tian needed to guarantee the information would not be leaked.


    After all, his actions were equivalent to challenging the military and once caught. His face would be in the wanted posters with a huge bounty on him.


    He could not afford to be careless, even if he trusted Mary and Vanessa somewhat.


    Who could be absolutely certain that in the future, they would not betray him?


    "You''re quite gutsy, Nathan." Mary chuckled softly, having understood Shi Tian''s thought process. They were all clever people, so it didn''t take long for her to understand Shi Tian''s worries.


    Although a bit annoyed, she understood his perspectives as well.


    It was all thanks to the deceitful Vanessa that had caused trust issues to happen in the first ce.


    Had Vanessa been honest from the start with her intention, Shi Tian wouldn''t have suggested swearing an oath to ensure the secret remained safe.


    Meanwhile, Shi Tian merely smiled calmly.


    "Thanks for your understanding." He said, knowing Mary was going to swear the oath.


    A few secondster, Mary swore the oath. Their attention soon turned to Vanessa, who subsequently felt pressured to swear the oath as well.


    "Ugh, so troublesome." Despite saying so, Vanessa swore the oath nevertheless.


    "Are you happy now, Nathan?" She then clicked her tongue and asked coolly.


    "Yes, thank you forplying," Shi Tian nodded.


    "Also, this happens because you aren''t trustworthy." He added, reminding Vanessa that the root of this was thanks to her.


    Before Vanessa even had a chance to respond to his remark, Shi Tian swiftly showed them a recording clip by connecting his Cellos device to theputer screen.


    "The recording isn''t much, but it''s a grotesque demonstration of my impersonation as a member of the White Syndicate," He said, downgrading the horrific scene.

 Chapter 302 Darknet

    Chapter 302 Dar


    As the recording yed, Mary and Vanessa watched in a mix of shock and fascination.


    The footage showed Shi Tian''s encounter with Theobold''s elite soldiers, including the gruesome aftermath with the microscopic entities known as Dust Mites devouring the incapacitated soldiers.


    Vanessa winced at the sight, unable to tear her eyes away from the horrifying scene.


    Pausing the recording, Vanessa took a deep breath and spoke, her voice trembling slightly,


    "That... that was brutal. But it''s also brilliant in a twisted way. Impersonating the White Syndicate like that, it''s... it''s insane." Vanessa stuttered, seemingly nauseous at the recording.


    She wanted to curse Shi Tian for showing such a grotesque scene, but she also understood his actions. Shi Tian''s actions were essentially boosting the infamy of the White Syndicate.


    Hence, the White Syndicate would most likely admit the footage was done by them, even if it wasn''t true.


    Such recordings were enough to send fear among the people and imprint the White Syndicate name into their hearts. It was cost-effective, so why wouldn''t they ept such free advertisement?


    Mary, on the other hand, remainedposed, her expression unreadable.


    Unlike Vanessa who believed it was a somewhat brutal action of Shi Tian, she was more focused on another aspect.


    "It seems like you have improved significantly," Mary murmured softly. "Did you n for such an improvement from the beginning when you decided to be the vanguard and stop them?"


    Shi Tian scratched his head softly. He wasn''t surprised that Mary would notice his improvement right away. After all, she was technically his mentor in terms ofbat.


    "Well, not exactly nned, but I expected some results." Shi Tian shrugged his shoulders and replied honestly.


    The truth was, he expected to gain some improvement, but not a drastic improvement. Had he known the result would be this amazing, then he would have grind harder to level up.


    Even if it meant losing countless nights of sleep, Shi Tian was willing to go all in for this advancement.


    "Anyway, what are you nning to do with this recording?" Mary asked, not bothering to ask how he managed to improve. Some things were just meant to be confidential and secret, so she had no intention of prying further for information.


    "You wouldn''t really be thinking of uploading this recording to everyone, right?"


    "That''s exactly what I nned to do."


    "Do you know the consequences of such action? There''s really no going back once you let everyone watch this."


    Shi Tian nodded his head. Of course, he understood his actionspletely.


    "The moment I killed the soldiers, I had already taken a path of no return. Since that was the case, then why don''t I go all the way, putting the nail in the coffin." He calmly said.


    "No wonder you made us swear an oath." Vanessa suddenly intervened, rubbing her temples as if she had just realized how severe the situation was.


    "You aren''t just impersonating the White Syndicate but outright provoking Commander Theobold and smearing at the military of Gearits City." She eximed, realizing just how crazy Shi Tian was bing.


    "They started first." Shi Tian responded like a child, pointing the finger at Theobold for starting the fight in the first ce.


    "And don''t forget, Vanessa. If you weren''t protected well, you would have forfeited your life as well." He added, reminding her plight.


    Stumped, Vanessa realized she no longer had a point to argue or condemn Shi Tian''s action.


    He was right after all.


    Maybe Theobold hadn''t made a move against her yet, but based on his suspicious action so far, Vanessa was positive that he was scheming something against her. It was just a question of when and where it would happen.


    "Ugh, then how are you going to send the recording to them?" Vanessa asked, clearly in shambles with the events.


    "Did you forget about the leaked source?" Shi Tian asked her as if she had dropped a few brain cells.


    "Are you nning on making use of SterVision Media again?" Mary interrupted, knitting her brows in the process.


    It wasn''t that long ago when they had utilized SterVision Media to publish fake news regarding the supposed leaked location.


    That alone had already made a dent in their credibility, but if they were to publish such grotesque and tant recordings in there, then it wouldn''t be long till SterVision Media would sell them out.


    After all, the faked location could be understandable, but a video that showcased Theobold''s soldiers being killed and ending up in such a pathetic state would enrage all citizens.


    On the surface, Theobold was still known as a remarkable and honorablemander.


    Shi Tian leaned back in his seat, contemting the best course of action.


    Mary was right; they couldn''t rely on SterVision Media again, especially not for something as incriminating as this recording.


    "SterVision Media is out of the question," he admitted. "They won''t risk their reputation any further. We need a different tform, something more underground, where the truth can circte without being easily shut down."


    There was a limit that SterVision Media was willing to go. And doing something like targeting an honorable person in their base operation was definitely crossing their bottom line.


    Hell, even QuantumMedia Group would personallye out and destroy their subsidiarypany without hesitation to rify any misunderstandings.


    As Shi Tian was pondering their next best option, Vanessa chimed in, "The Dar. It''s awork of hidden websites and forums that operate beyond the reach of standard search engines. Information, even illegal or controversial, often finds its way there."


    "Dar huh." Mary rubbed her chin and muttered.


    Indeed, the dar was actually the perfect ce to post such videos without having to worry about being tracked.


    After all, most people who operate in the dar are criminals, so it was an unspoken rule that attempting to track any user there is extremely offensive and could possibly make you be a target to be assassinated.


    A few secondster, Shi Tian nodded in agreement. "The Dar could work. We''ll have to find a way to ess it discreetly and upload the recording anonymously. But before that, I want to add some context to the video. Exin why Theobold''s elite soldiers attacked me. We need the public to question their motives."

 Chapter 303 Agitated Wounds

    Chapter 303 Agitated Wounds


    Vanessa and Mary exchanged nces, seemingly unable toprehend Shi Tian''s action.


    Just what kind of context does he want to add in the video aside from a brutal murder urring?


    Seeing their dazed expression, Shi Tian realized these two women might be scheming, but they didn''t understand human emotions much. They were severelycking such talent, especially Mary, who clearly does not care about strangers much despite being a receptionist.


    Her smile was quite fake in the past as well, but because Shi Tian didn''t want to offend her, he merely brushed it off and pretended nothing happened.


    "I''m impersonating a member of the White Syndicate, but other than those surviving soldiers and us, who else knows about it?" Shi Tian asked them a question, unwilling to spend a mouthful of saliva exining his action.


    "Right¡­ no one else knows you''re impersonating the White Syndicate," Vanessa murmured.


    They might be slow on the uptake, but they weren''t dumb either. With that singr hint alone, both Mary and Vanessa understood his point.


    If they simply post the video without context, then it could easily be misinterpreted as someone daring enough to attack the military during a time of crisis.


    However, if they include some context along with the White Syndicate being the culprit, then everything else changes.


    To put it simply, it was as if a video was uploaded, showing a young woman snatching an old woman''s food and throwing it into the trash without context.


    woman snatching an old woman''s food and throwing it into the trash without context.


    Then people would quickly think to themselves that the young woman was bullying the old woman.


    But what if there was a context that stated the old woman was eating expired food from the trash can, and the young woman was actually trying to prevent her from getting food poisoning or other sickness by eating it?


    This small example alone goes to show just how powerful a context could be in altering people''s perspective when they watch the video.


    It might not seem much at first nce, but context is very important to give the watcher a biased perspective before the video even starts ying. That was just how humans'' behavior was and why understanding such knowledge is critical.


    "I swear¡­ this Nathan is really like a psychological professor," Vanessa whispered softly to Mary.


    Mary nodded her head in agreement. "It''s not the first time that Nathan has manipted human emotion to his advantage. Back then, he was able to maneuver the crowd into excitement and go into frantic mode with just a few words of his."


    "The two of you¡­" Shi Tian smiled bitterly as his hands began typing on the keyboard.


    "If you''re going to gossip about someone, can you at least make sure the person isn''t here? Your tone might be low, but I can still hear it." He added, reminding them that his hearing was exceptional.


    "Oh? Is your hearing exceptional? Then how did I always appear behind you and you seemed surprised by it?'' Mary teased.


    "Forget I''ve said anything." Knowing it was a losing argument, Shi Tian decided to focus his attention back on typing ayer of text instead. In his text, he was going to glorify the White Syndicate while condemning the military.


    Of course, he was not going to paint the White Syndicate as a hero, but he was making the people watching doubt the conduct of the military. Such as why was there an elite toon all the way away from the Gso variants'' monster wave.


    What was their goal?


    Why were they there in the first ce?


    And most importantly, how did the White Syndicate''s action y a part in creating this scenario?


    Just what kind of secret operation was their honorable Commander Theobold doing?


    All of these would be the questions that people woulde up with once they watched the video. After all, the Dar might sound dangerous, but people tend to enjoy the thrill and risks of browsing it.


    Hence, even though the majority are criminals, there are notablymon people or other people who still abide by thews and are interested in the content.


    ''Oh Theobold, you should have just stayed put in your position. Why did you have to force my hand?'' Shi Tian eximed inwardly. He won''t offend others, but that doesn''t mean he is afraid of trouble.


    In fact, it was quite the opposite. With his personality, he wouldn''t be called Shi Tian if he was willing to let his enemy scot-free. And that was especially true for the people that had treated him as ab rat.


    He might not have a clue now, but once hetched onto a single hint, Shi Tian would never let it go until he got to the bottom of it.


    "Why do I feel an ominous pressureing from Nathan?" Vanessa felt her body trembling slightly. She turned to look at Mary, who was seemingly in a daze as well.


    "I think we''re kind of witnessing the real personality of Nathan," Mary muttered. Even she was somewhat horrified by the glooming and menacing aura emitting from him.


    Vanessa nodded her head, agreeing to Mary''s statement wholeheartedly. "I knew there was always something wrong with his smile. It was as if his smile was not genuine, but a sinister one."


    As the two continued to whisper among each other, Shi Tian felt as if his body was being shot by more bullets. And these bullets were even more painful than the ones fired by the elite soldiers from Theobold.


    "Um, never mind, I''m actually bleeding." Shi Tian suddenly murmured, realizing it was really his wounds that had been agitated and were bleeding.


    How unconventional was that, especially the timing of the wounds starting to bleed again?


    The bleeding was quite a lot, and Mary instantly noticed he was injured.


    "You have been shot, Nathan?" Mary asked in an rmed tone.


    "Yeah, those elite soldiers weren''t easy to deal with. I was riddled with bullets." Shi Tian smiled bitterly and said.


    Originally, he didn''t n on revealing his injuries, but with his body leaking so much blood, there was no way he could have kept it a secret.

 Chapter 304 I’m Poor

    Chapter 304 I¡¯m Poor


    Mary quickly shifted her focus from their earlier discussion to Shi Tian''s injuries.


    "Sit still, Nathan. Let me take a look at your injuries," she said, her demeanor shifting from detached to highly focused.


    "It''s no worries, Mary." Shi Tian raised his hand and said awkwardly.


    "It''s just the wounds being agitated and hence the bleeding. I''ll just rebandage them myself and I''ll be fine," he added, not willing to bother her with his injuries.


    If he wanted to receive such concern and care from the start, then he wouldn''t have bothered concealing it. He was not a child anymore, and Shi Tian didn''t wish to create a reliance on someone.


    Sooner orter, there''ll be times that he will be alone, with no one to assist him in recovery.


    Hence, getting used to it now was an ideal oue in his mind.


    s, Shi Tian had severely underestimated Mary.


    "When I said sit still, that was not a suggestion but amand." Mary shed a cold expression and said.


    "Also, the bullets used by the elite soldiers of Commander Theobold should not be taken as normal bullets. As if they would use such low-grade bullets in their arsenal." She warned, using her eyes tomand him to let her check on the wound.


    With her being so adamant, Shi Tian could only sigh softly and temporarily moved away from theputer screen, allowing her to check on the bullet wounds.


    Lifting his shirt up, Shi Tian revealed his bare body wrapped in bandages.


    The bandages were now soaked in a dye red color, clear evidence of him bleeding profusely for a while.


    Mary''s brow knitted when she noticed just how severe his injuries were under the cover of his clothes.


    ''Just how did he endure all this pain without uttering a single sound?'' She wondered silently.


    She examined his injuries with a practiced eye, her expression growing more serious as she assessed the damage.


    As she inspected the injuries, she asked, "Why did you conceal your injuries from us?"


    Before Shi Tian could even answer the question, she continued, "Did you think you''re some steel type that could withstand the injuries? Or did you not trust us and think we might harm you while you''re injured?"


    "W-What?"


    Shi Tian''s mouth was wide open in confusion. He tried to turn around and exin that was not the reason, but Mary stopped him from doing so by patting his shoulders lightly.


    "If none of the above were true, then I can''t fathom why you would want to conceal such injuries. Don''t you know these bullets can''t heal normally? The bullets areced with a type of poison. Once it makes contact with the internal organs of the body, it would start to coagte the blood and infect the white blood cell." Mary scolded harshly.


    "Wait a minute, Mary. If the bullets can have such an effect, then why is Nathan fine?" Vanessa raised an eyebrow and interrupted. It was clear that she was dumbfounded by Mary''s exnation.


    Her exnation was equivalent to saying being shot once was fatal, but look at the situation currently. Shi Tian was calmly sitting in front of them despite being riddled with such bullet types.


    "That''s what I don''t understand." Mary clicked her tongue in annoyance.


    "This Nathan kept trying to y safe, but he''s constantly putting himself in danger without noticing it. I swear he must have some sort of plot armor to still be safe after being hit by all these bullets." She added, walking to a container and taking out some isopropyl alcohol.


    The isopropyl alcohol was a more concentrated and enhanced version of regr isopropyl alcohol. It could help disinfect the wound, but also nullify the bullet''s effect that had beenced on Shi Tian.


    Naturally, such an item could be considered expensive, given the resources used to create it.


    "You owe me money for making me use this," Mary informed Shi Tian and was ready to pour some on his wounds.


    However, Shi Tian suddenly turned around and held her wrist.


    "I have to pay for this?" He asked in doubt. "No need to use it then. I can simply just bandage the wounds, and it''s not like I''m feeling anything abnormal in my body other than some asional fatigue."


    "..."


    The fact that Shi Tian valued money over his well-being was quite a shocker yet also not a shocker at the same time for these two women.


    Mary herself had long known about how stingy and frugal Shi Tian could be. It was as if it would kill him if he were to make a bad deal once.


    As for Vanessa, she had experienced it personally just how much of a scammer he could be. For using just a bit of his items, Shi Tian would charge her at an exorbitant price.


    Hell, it wouldn''t even surprise her if they were to be informed that Shi Tian operated a ck market, known to sell high-priced items but the items are low-quality ones.


    "Are you joking right now?" Mary knitted her brows and asked, her mouth twitching slightly.


    Shi Tian smiled bitterly when he noticed the two women''s expressions.


    Was it wrong of him to worry about money?


    Sure, the world might have be chaotic, but money was still the main currency to get around in. Matter of fact, money has be even more important now when most resources are locked behind by a price tag.


    "I''m poor, Mary." Shi Tian said with a straight face.


    "You can''t be that shameless, right?" Vanessa snorted coldly.


    "You scammed me quite a lot back when I was injured, so how could you possibly be poor?" She then said and exined to Mary how Shi Tian managed to scam her Dimension Ring.


    She thought now was the perfect time to inform Mary of Shi Tian''s ridiculous and wicked method.


    However, expectations were usually different from reality.


    "Geez, I thought you were quite clever for deceiving us, but it seems like I was wrong. You''re really dumb to be scammed by such an exorbitant price." Mary eximed in shock and disbelief.

 Chapter 305 Bullet Lodged

    305 Bullet Lodged


    Vanessa thought she was able to kick Shi Tian while he was down. But little did she expect it to backfired harshly and got insulted in the process.


    "Huh? Shouldn''t you be reprimanding him for being such a vile person?" Vanessa was shocked and pointed her finger at Shi Tian, clearly still wanting to me it on him.


    s, Mary merely rolled her eyes in response.


    "You weren''t forced, and it''s clear the deal was a hoax in the first ce. Yet you didn''t think of that and gave in to his demand. Who could you me other than yourself for being dumb?" Mary snickered coldly. Ignoring the dumbfounded Vanessa, Mary then turned her attention to Shi Tian.


    "You have two options now, Nathan. You either pay for the treatment or I can make your injuries worse to the point that you would want to scream like a little girl." Mary smiled brightly and gave him two options.


    Though the two options were clearly disadvantages to him, thetter being the worst one.


    Am I being extorted? That was the question lingering in Shi Tian''s mind right now. What Mary was doing was seemingly no different than what he had done to Vanessa in the past.


    No wonder there was a saying that karma would always find its way to the correct person. It might take days, weeks, months, or even years, but they would never fail to find them.


    "How much are you going to charge me?" Shi Tian felt immense heartache as he enquired about the cost of it. Nothing hurts more than having to pay more than the actual cost of an item. "Charge him a high price!" Vanessa suddenly echoed from behind, seemingly recovered from her initial shock by Mary''s reprimand. She was practically cheering for Shi Tian''s demise. However, to both Shi Tian and Vanessa''s shock, Mary''s next words made one person very happy whereas the other was very gloomy. "Don''t worry about the price. Vanessa will pay on your behalf since she''s so enthusiastic." Mary smiled brightly and eximed. "You''re the best, Mary." Shi Tian hurriedly gave a thumbs up for her majestic and grand demeanor that no one could match up to.


    "What the hell?" Vanessa was far from happy as she was about to throw a fit. "Why should I pay for his treatment?" "Because he got injured at the end of the day thanks to your careless self." Mary sneered coldly. "Were it not for you carrying a GPS item, letting the enemies track us down constantly. Then why would he be injured in the first ce? Not to mention, it was thanks to Nathan that we realized we were being tracked." She added, shooting Vanessa down with each reason given.


    All of them were concise without any way to defend or deny them, prompting Vanessa to go from cheerful to depressed mode rather quickly.


    As Vanessa started sulking from the side, Mary no longer paid attention to her and told Shi Tian to move slightly to the side, so she could start pouring the isopropyl alcohol on the wounds.


    Although Mary did not understand how Shi Tian was unaffected, it was clear that his outer body was still suffering from the aftermath. Thus he was bleeding profusely, and it was not because of his wounds being agitated.


    There are no such things as his wounds suddenly bing agitated unless something had urred within the body or outside the body.


    "Wait a minute, Nathan. Are you serious?" Mary''s rmed tone was sudden and unexpected.


    "W-What''s the matter, Mary?" Shi Tian tried to turn around and asked.


    Meanwhile, Mary ignored Shi Tian and turned her attention to the sulking Vanessa. "Stop sulking over there ande look at this. Can you believe him?" Mary shouted, acting as if she was the mother and Vanessa was the child throwing a tantrum. Confused, Vanessa stopped her sulking behavior and walked toward Mary. And the moment her eyesid on the spot that Mary was indicating, she was twitching her mouth in disbelief. "How the hell¡­" She wanted to curse but realized it was pointless.


    "Just what is it?" The confused Shi Tian asked, clearly not knowing the discovery they had made.


    "Shut up, Nathan." Mary scolded harshly. "You''ve said you treated your injuries, so why are there still bullets in your body?" She raised her tone and shouted agitatedly. It was clear that she was beyond furious at how careless Shi Tian could be.


    "There is?" Shi Tian raised an eyebrow, seemingly in a daze. He knew he was riddled with bullets, but it was also true that he thought all the bullets were taken out. After all, he didn''t feel much difort or any abnormalities. "Enough of your act and go lie down. I''ll need to examine your wounds and see how poorly you have done." Mary ordered coldly. Based on her tone and actions, even Vanessa knew Mary was trying to calm down while assisting Shi Tian.


    At the same time, Vanessa was astonished by how clueless Shi Tian was. It didn''t match his character at all for not realizing such a thing. Who in their right mind would not know if a bullet was still within their body?


    However, the evidence was presented right in their face, and Shi Tian was truly clueless and didn''t even seem bothered by it.


    A few secondster, Shi Tiany on the floor with his stomach facing it, showing his back directly to Mary.


    While lying down, Shi Tian was pondering over the possibility of how he was clueless. ''Is it because my pain tolerance was high enough that I didn''t realize it?'' If Mary hadn''t said anything, then the bullet would most likely remain lodged in his body for who knows how long.


    Just imagining the scenery of that urring caused Shi Tian to feel a chill.


    "Um¡­ I really didn''t know about it, Mary." Shi Tian tried to rify, hoping that she would understand it was an honest mistake.


    "Shut up!" Mary snorted coldly. "Once I take out the bullets, we''ll then deal with your body condition." ''But what about the dense area filled with strange energy?'' Shi Tian wanted to say those words aloud but knew if he did, then he would most likely get screwed over.


    Rebirth of the Death Knight

 Chapter 306 Ignorance

    306 Ignorance


    Time was going extremely slow ording to Shi Tian''s mind. As his body wasid tly for Mary to remove the bullets from his body, he could hear the metal nking sound whenever Mary removed one. At first, it was just a few metal nking, but as time passed by, he heard more metal nking sounds, indicating that there were more than just a few bullets lodged in his body.


    When he realized that, Shi Tian knew he was in trouble.


    ''Would they think I''m not a human, and possibly a robot instead?'' Shi Tian thought to himself. He didn''t want to create any misunderstandings, but with the current circumstances, even he would start to think the person was not a human.


    So why wouldn''t Mary and Vanessa believe he was some extraterrestrial species? To make matters worse, the atmosphere waspletely silent. Other than the metal nking sound, no one else was making any noises.


    "Have you eaten yet, Mary?" Shi Tian tried to make some small talk, hoping to ease the atmosphere. The enemies were gone, so shouldn''t the atmosphere be colorful and brightful? Instead of this gloomy atmosphere, almost as if they were at the end of the world.


    Actually, they were at the end of the world given the world was overrun by monsters and could only retain a few locations as strongholds. But that wasn''t the point.


    "I''ve got some corpses that I have killed and we can cook them." Shi Tian exined, letting them know that he got some monster corpse that could be eaten.


    Mary twitched her brows when she heard his suggestion. What Shi Tian suggested had made it worse for him.


    "Nathan, I don''t know if you realize this, but monster corpses are mutated. You can''t just cook their corpse unless you process it and extract the impurities." Mary said in an exhausted tone.


    And she continued, "If a person eats the mutated corpse directly, then food poisoning was the least of their concern. They''ll have a chance of being infected and mutated as well." "W-What?" Shi Tian eximed in shock, trying to get up but Mary poured some more isopropyl alcohol on his back, prompting him to stay down.


    "Don''t tell me you have even eaten the monster''s corpse directly?" Vanessa chimed in, seemingly dumbfounded by the revtion.


    "Uhh no, of course not." Shi Tian quickly denied it.


    However, his denial doesn''t seem convincing enough. And Mary was honestly too appalled to even question him further. She really did not want to know the truth, even though she had an answer somewhat in her mind.


    Vanessa also stopped enquiring when she noticed Mary was uninterested as well. As for Shi Tian, he had managed to learn another valuable lesson today.


    It seemed that the time when he ate the Armored Rat''s corpse directly was equivalent to suicide. Yet he didn''t receive any side effects.


    Maybe at that time, the integrated chip in his mind was already working things behind the scenes without his knowledge. Otherwise, he would have long died.


    ''How hrious. I kept saying I must be cautious, but instead of cautious, I have been courting death at every turn and corner.'' Shi Tian eximed inwardly, feeling bitter about his action and decision.


    Were it not for the integrated chip, then he would have died a long time ago. He wouldn''t even be able to step foot in Gearits City if he weren''t blessed. The world had changed too much, and whenever he thought he attained some knowledge, another fact that showed his ignorance came in. It was as if the world was constantly trying to remind him that he was powerless and wasn''t omnipotent. Sometimeter, Mary finished patching up the wounds for Shi Tian. "Go rest now." She then ordered. "As for the recording, we can wait a while to upload that. We''ve wasted enough time already and we should have been in the dense area by now." ''You don''t say genius!'' Shi Tian wanted to scream those words aloud but didn''t dare to.


    He wasn''t being cowardly but was giving her the respect she deserved. After all, she did patch his wounds up even though his body was abnormal and didn''t have any side effects.


    "Wait a minute, didn''t you go ahead to the dense area?" Shi Tian put on his clothes and asked suddenly. "I was distracting Commander Theobold''s elite soldiers while the two of you went ahead. So I thought you have been there already." The time he spent fighting against Theobold''s soldiers, plus the fact that he spent a night alone to recuperate. There should have been enough time for them to arrive in the dense area.


    Yet reality seemed to differ and it was crystal clear that they didn''t enter it.


    Mary looked at Shi Tian with a hint of annoyance. "Well, we didn''t go ahead as you thought," she replied. "We waited for you."


    Shi Tian blinked, a bit surprised. "You waited for me? But I thought we were in a hurry to get to the dense area."


    Vanessa chimed in, a mischievous smile ying on her lips. "Nathan, you did some crazy stuff back there, and we didn''t want to leave you behind without knowing what happened. Mary insisted on waiting for you."


    As much as Shi Tian wanted to believe their exnation, there was an intuition of some sort. He was positive that they were just trying to avoid the topic and was not speaking the truth.


    Wait for him?


    Ha, that might be true if the world wasn''t so fucked up! However, the world was fucked up, and knowing these two shrewd women, Shi Tian was positive they are hiding something from him.


    "I might look like a fool, but please don''t underestimate too much." Shi Tian stood up and said coolly. As if he was going to be that naive and believe their ims. "Speak, what caused the two of you to not advance forward?" He asked, demanding the truth. Beating around the bushes with these two was a waste of time and energy.


    Rebirth of the Death Knight

 Chapter 307 Anonymous User

    307 Anonymous User


    Mary and Vanessa exchanged nces, their expressions shifting from yful to more serious. It was clear that Shi Tian''s persistence had brought them to a point where they had to reveal the truth.


    "Fine, it''s not that we didn''t advance forward, but the dense area was swarmed with monsters." Mary scratched her head and answered. "Just swarm with monsters?" Shi Tian raised an eyebrow, seemingly still doubtful at her answer. With her skills alone, no monsters could ever possibly pose much of a difficulty to her. Not to mention, she was with Vanessa, who despite her naive personality on the surface was secretly filled with schemes and was in possession of Ancient Technology.


    "Ugh, the monsters are just like the Evolved Gso variant. They were practically impossible to be annihted." Vanessa clicked her tongue and outright revealed the truth.


    "Their senses are heightened to the maximum, and we can''t even get close before being spotted. If it weren''t for the fact that they rather bathed in the strange energy, then we wouldn''t have been able to escape." She added, letting Shi Tian estimate the strength of the monsters with the evolved Gso variant as a reference.


    Shi Tian himself had personally witnessed the strength of the evolved Gso variant, so it wouldn''t take long for him to determine the strength of the monsters. As calm as he looked on the surface, Shi Tian realized it was indeed foolish of them to believe they could get a headstart. The monsters'' senses are way better than humans, so if they could find such an area, then they would definitely spot it earlier than them and upy it.


    "No wonder you two arrived so fast to pick me up." Shi Tian held a deadpan expression as he said, clearly sneering and jeering at them two. "Tsk, don''t act so proud Nathan. You nearly got yourself killed, so you''re worse than us." Vanessa clicked her tongue and eximed. They might have experienced setbacks, but at the very least, they weren''t injured like Shi Tian.


    "Well, it''s obvious that I''m weaker than the two of you, but I still managed to repel the elite soldiers. But did you kill any of those monsters residing there?" Shi Tian questioned back. "W-Well, we didn''t want to risk anything."


    "That''s not my question." "It''s the same thing."


    "No, my question was, did you or did you not kill any of the monsters there?" Shi Tian red at Vanessa deeply. It was clear that he wasn''t going to let her off for making such a remark at him.


    Meanwhile, Vanessa lowered her head and said in a barely audible tone, "W-We did not kill any¡­" Nodding his head, Shi Tian no longer pressed on the matter further. He knew the limits he could pass and the limits that he should not pass. Sometimeter, Shi Tian grabbed a chair and proceeded to type up the context of the recording despite Mary''s ordering not to do it.


    His reasoning?


    If the monsters were as deadly as the evolved Gso variant they had encountered, then there was only one option left.


    And that was to rally all other people to be cannon fodder for them.


    It couldn''t be helped. They were incapable of dealing with the monsters, so instead of admiring them from afar, it was better to simply reveal the actual location to all.


    As for how the revtion would be¨C that was where the recording would take ce.


    Using the White Syndicate name again, they shall warn everyone to not enter the dense area as it is their territory from now on.


    "Aren''t you just provoking them to go anyway, Nathan?" Vanessa rubbed her chin softly and said. Shi Tian nodded his head. "That''s exactly the effect I wish to create. You see¨C people are quite hrious. They love to fight among others constantly, but when an outsider decides to intervene and fight, everyone temporarily stops fighting. Instead, they''ll turn all their attention to the outsider, forcing them away." He exined his theory.


    "Just think of Nathan as the shrewd chancellor who loves to create situations to push people to act on his n." Mary shrugged her shoulders. "Nathan is the type of person I despised the most. Very weak, but they used their brain constantly to create situations that benefit them." "Thank you for thepliment, Mary." Shi Tian smiled brightly, not offended by her remarks. After all, that was exactly how he acted and he found no shame in it. It was effortless work to make others work on his behalf. Why should he be ashamed of managing such things? Not many people could create such scenarios to make others do their bidding. It required tons of experience and maniption. A few minutester, Shi Tian officially made a post on the Dar under the identity of an anonymous user. Anonymous user, a great ount that ensured no one would ever figure out who the poster was. And given it was the Dar, even if someone attempted to track the user down, it would be a futile attempt.


    "Phew, now we just need to wait for the chaos to happen." Shi Tian stretched his hands and eximed.


    "Sigh, we''re really hopeless people." Vanessa suddenly said and shook her head. "The frontline is still being swarmed by the monster wave, but instead of trying to minimize the danger, we are increasing it." She added, feeling like she had lost a part of her soul for being so vile and profit-minded. However, it was only for a split second, and she gradually regained herposure.


    At the end of the day, Gearits City was an unfamiliar ce to herpared to Chronosworth City. Whether Gearits City ended up being in ruin had nothing to do with her. Initially, she merely agreed to help them out of gratitude and partially because of Shi Tian. But now that she realized Theobold''s character, why should she still help him out? "The citizens can only me themselves for having such great military teams," Mary shrugged, feeling zero guilt.

 Chapter 308 Pushing the Wave

    308 Pushing the Wave


    The moment Shi Tian posted the video on the Dar, it took quite some time before others started to click on it.


    It wasn''t difficult to attract attention when there were multiple keywords in the title post.


    White Syndicate Warning to the Military Teams in Gearits City!


    Each of the wording was attractive enough to prompt the Dar users to check out the post.


    If it was something bogus, then they would simply block the anonymous user and move on with their life.


    However, if it was truly some juicy content, then with their twisted and distorted mindset, they would find joy in it. And in turn, they would start advertising the video themselves without needing to be told.


    Such great content must be passed along for more to view, right? "You''ve really posted it¡­" Vanessa swallowed a mouthful of saliva nervously. "I''ll just say this once. If you''re ever caught, remember that I was never here nor do I know anything." She added, letting them know that she was not willing to get involved in a matter as big as this.


    Her identity in Chronosworth City prevented her from causing such a big matter. After all, if dealt with incorrectly, she might have just generated a war between two cities. And at that time, it was noughing matter to see the wilderness filled with blood and corpses. "Hmph, as expected of a "nobility" from a big city." Mary snorted coldly. "Always want to snatch the benefits, but also want to cut off any rtionship the moment something goes wrong."


    "T-That''s not true!" Vanessa quickly denied the usation thrown at her by Mary. "I never wanted to make an enemy out of the Gearits City militaries."


    And just when Mary wanted to argue further, Shi Tian faked a groan, catching their attention.


    "Please, I''m injured here," Clutching his chest tightly, Shi Tian shed a painful expression, an indirect way of telling them that he was in pain because of their bickering. "You''re injured huh?" Mary faked a concerned attitude as she walked toward him. "Want me to give it a little rub?" She then suggested, clenching her fist tightly.


    Seeing her really trying to punch him instead, Shi Tian quickly shook his head and raised his hands. "No need to rub it, Mary. I just need a little bit of rest and a rxing atmosphere to recover." "Is that so?" Mary halted her steps. "Then are you going to be in pain if Vanessa and I have a conversation again?" Remaining silent, Shi Tian realized why Mary was speaking so sarcastically. She was the one who had treated his injuries, so she knew exactly where his injuries were.


    The chest area that he had ced and proimed to be in pain was nothing. Hence, it was obvious that Mary instantly knew he was faking it. Meanwhile, Mary proceeded to walk toward Shi Tian, patting his shoulder and leaning close to his ear. "Try and intervene in our conversation again. Let''s see if you can survive tonight. Now go to bed and rest before your injuries fester." She whispered in a melodious and gentle tone. But to Shi Tian, it was the devil''s whisper and she was threatening to take a rest and not bother with her argument.


    Nodding his head like a good child, Shi Tian quickly dropped everything and went to the original area that he would usually sleep in.


    It wasn''t that he was afraid of Mary, but he knew his chances were slim when she used such a tone. It meant that she was serious and adamant about something. As for Mary, she sat on Shi Tian''s chair very naturally, crossed her legs, and nced at Vanessa.


    "You see¨C Nathan had already done something that cannot be undone. So if you are adamant in refusing to acknowledge anything, then I''m afraid to say that the deal we have initially would be voided." Mary said coolly.


    The deal naturally referred to their earlier negotiation regarding the high-tech drones in which Vanessa would provide the materials and they would provide the production. It was indeed a shame to potentially lose such a big deal, but Mary would rather lose the chance to earn some money than gain an unreliable ally.


    Vanessa''s expression changed as she realized the gravity of the situation. Losing a deal for the production of high-tech drones was not something she wanted, but she also understood that keeping her distance from the controversy Shi Tian had created was a matter of survival in this world.


    She sighed and finally admitted, "You''re right, Mary. I don''t want to sever our deal, but I also don''t want to be an enemy of Gearits City." The risk was just not worth it, and she did not want to be the culprit of a war between two cities. It was a really difficult dilemma that she was facing.


    Sighing softly, Mary now realized why she couldn''t read or understand Vanessa at all. She was shrewd at one point, but on another point, she was quite naive and slow toprehend the situation. "Vanessa, I don''t mean to be rude, but you are really confusing sometimes. What you said is all just a possibility. Possibility¨C as in it could happen or it could not." Mary calmly exined.


    And she continued, "Nathan had said that you have people arriving in Gearits City already, so you might as well instruct them to do something behind the scenes. Be a keyboard warrior and praise the White Syndicate for their brave action, essentially diverting all attention from even pinpointing the culprit to be us in the first ce." Suddenly, like an enlightened child, Vanessa sped her hands together.


    "Right, why didn''t I think of that? I can just make sure to convince everyone that the sourcees from the White Syndicate and with their conduct. Even if the White Syndicate wanted to deny the im, it would be futile." She added, grinning menacingly andughing wildly.


    ''I seriously regret trying to have a deal with her¡­'' Mary twitched her mouth in disbelief.


    Rebirth of the Death Knight

 Chapter 309 Prayed

    309 Prayed A few days had gone by since the post was made in the Dar. The room where Shi Tian, Mary, and Vanessa were stationed had be something of amand center. Computer screens flickered with data, charts, and information.


    During the past few days, Shi Tian, Mary, and Vanessa were utilizing the drone to scan the dense area. The low hum of the drone''s engines filled the room as its camera transmitted images of the dark and mysterious dense area.


    And just like the two of them had said, Shi Tian saw numerous evolved versions of the mutated monsters, each one more deadly than the other. The screen disyed grotesque creatures, their forms twisted and grotesque, with limbs and appendages that seemed to defy all logic. They moved in herds, like a nightmarish symphony of chaos.


    "No wonder the two of you retreated." Shi Tian finally understood why even someone as capable as Mary would choose to retreat. The sheer number and ferocity of these creatures was overwhelming.


    Hell, the dense area itself seemed to be the true monster wave in contrast to the one they were dealing with in the frontline. Had these evolved monsters decided to leave and attack them, then they would have suffered tremendous casualties. Their previous battles would have been nothingpared to what awaited them here.


    Not even the ymore Mines would deal much against them.


    "See, I wasn''t lying when it was really beyond our capability." Mary sighed softly, still feeling regretful about not being able to venture in. Her eyes were glued to the screens, the images of those terrifying creatures etched into her memory.


    The evolved monsters gathered there aren''t interested in their presence. Their motivations remained unknown, but it was clear that they had no intention of leaving their newfound territory.


    However, once they decided to step foot into the premises of the dense area, even if it was just by a small millimeter, all of them would start to turn hostile, ready to decimate them. What was worse was that the drones alone were incapable of dealing with even one of them, with theser proving futile to their tough armored skins. "It''s frustrating that these monsters are hogging the strange energy all for themselves. I want to bathe in it and see the effect as well." Vanessa ced her hand on her chin, pouting softly. Her expression showed a hint of envy for the creatures that had imed this strange energy source.


    "As frustrating as it is, there''s nothing we can do. With our current strength and equipment, we''ll be squashed to death before even getting a chance to bathe in the strange energy." Shi Tian said emotionlessly. His gaze was fixed on the screens, but there was a sense of realism in his voice. He was the practical one in the group, always considering their limitations.


    He was the realistic type, so knowing their capabilities were not adequate enough, they could only ept their fate. Fate of being ipetent and could only wait and watch from the sideline.


    "And this is why you''re boring, Nathan. You don''t risk anything, and always calcte everything beforehand." Vanessa rolled her eyes, frustration apparent in her tone.


    "It''s better to be boring than a naive hot-blooded youth that only knows how to charge forward without a n." Mary chimed in, agreeing with Shi Tian''s rationality.


    Shi Tian nodded his head. In a world where survival was a daily struggle, being a bit boring often meant the difference between life and death. He understood the importance of caution in this unforgiving environment.


    One moment of carelessness was enough to forfeit your life. And Shi Tian had just learned that kind of valuable lesson a few days ago when confronting the elite soldiers. He was in the upper hand, with all the ambushes and coverage, yet he was still riddled with bullets.


    If he were weak-willed and failed to retreat in time, then he would have died there on the spot. "Right now, it might seem like we are in a rxing state, but me and Mary have been surveincing the surroundings every few minutes." Shi Tian exined, letting Vanessa know that they had never let their guard down.


    Although Vanessa understood their perspective and action, she still couldn''t help herself feeling overwhelmingly frustrated. She was used to doing whatever the heck she wanted, without any restriction whatsoever. However, arriving in Gearits City had practically turned her world upside down.


    This she can''t do!


    That she also can''t do!


    How was she supposed to cope with such drastic changes from her usual lifestyle? "I''m bored, Nathan." Vanessa poutingly said, walking toward him and poking his arms repeatedly. She was acting like aplete child, wanting to have some fun and requesting the parents for it. Shi Tian twitched his mouth, feeling goosebumps in his arms from her childish act. He secretly nced at Mary, seemingly pleading for her help.


    s, Mary pretended to be blind as she looked left and right, ignoring Shi Tian''s eyes. To his disbelief, Mary went as far as to go to theputer screen, pretending to be working on something when he could clearly see her opening up a retro game to y.


    ''At least turn theputer screen on private mode so I don''t see it.'' Shi Tian screamed internally, wanting to curse Mary for her heartlessness. It was just a shame that he could no longer stare at Mary as Vanessa stepped forward and looked at him with docile eyes. "Nathan, don''t you have some interesting story to tell me? Anything is fine, as long as it distracts my mind." She said coyly. "Please stop it, Vanessa." Retaining a solemnposure, Shi Tian pushed her aside softly and demanded. "I can reveal something, but you need to act seriously and stop these fake acts of yours. I''m about to die of cringeness." "Tsk, how rude of you." Vanessa clicked her tongue and crossed her arms. "Many people would die to see me acting this way." "Then I supposed I am the minority. And thank heaven for that." Shi Tian prayed in response. Rebirth of the Death Knight

 Chapter 310 Nancy, Clear Skye Commander

    310 Nancy, Clear Skye Commander Vanessa''s yful antics continued for a while, but eventually, she realized that Shi Tian was not going to be easily swayed into indulging her. "Fine, I''ll stop." Vanessa shrugged her shoulders and relented. "Now tell me what was the revtion you got." Shi Tian nodded his head. He turned his attention to Mary, who was still fixated on her retro game. "Mary, you should also stop ying the game ande over here to listen." "What do you want?" Mary, with her eyes still fixed on the screen, asked in annoyance.


    What was a taboo? It was when someone was busy gaming and getting interrupted. Unless it is something important, then one should never bother or interrupt their gaming.


    "I guess you don''t want to know a major discovery I have found." Shi Tian shook his head and sighed. Of course, it was just an act to tempt Mary''s curiosity into stopping the game and focusing on him.


    After all, what he was about to reveal was the scenery he saw in the cave he went into hiding earlier. At first, he didn''t want to divulge it, but keeping it a secret wouldn''t do him well either. Who knows if the mysterious presence he had felt back then was going toe after him?


    The possibility was there, so to ensure his safety, it was best to slowly reveal it to everyone. That way, even if the mysterious presence wanted to silence him, it would be futile.


    If everyone knows something, then could it still be considered a secret? Closing her game, Mary moved her chair closer to him with a solemn expression. "Alright, you pique my curiosity, so speak."


    A few minutester, Shi Tian began exining the symbols and scenery that he had seen in the cave with vivid descriptions.


    Additionally, he even decided to draw the symbols out on theputer screen. After all, he was unable to snap some pictures back when he was at the cave, having a premonition that he might be killed if he dared to do so.


    Hence, with his memory alone, Shi Tian was able to recreate the same symbol he had seen in the cave.


    "Do you recognize any of these markings?" He then asked, seemingly believing that these two were more knowledgeable than him.


    Unfortunately, Shi Tian sometimes overestimated their knowledge as well.


    "I''ve never seen such peculiar markings before." Mary shook her head.


    "Yeah, it''s weird and mysterious looking. It''s like the symbol is for some sort of cult¨C you know, like those heretics?" Vanessa rubbed her chin softly, making her own prediction.


    However, the prediction was practically without any substances. It was all flowery words at the end without giving a concrete answer.


    "Looks like there''s no hope huh." Shi Tian murmured. He realized the possibility was slim, but it didn''t hurt to ask. And since even they didn''t know, Shi Tian could only put the matter aside temporarily. The three continued to idle around, waiting for the video they posted on the Dar to explode in poprity, seemingly waiting for a response. Back at the camping area, Nancy, the militarymander of the Clear Skye under the Warner Family, was browsing through the Dar to see if she could obtain more information regarding the situation.


    Unlike the other two militarymanders who had long since snuck out to the dense area revealed, Nancy was doubtful of the source. Given that she was a irvoyant, albeit not that great, had an intuition that the location was bogus.


    Hence, she didn''t choose to explore ahead like everyone else and decided to browse through the Dar for anything new. Usually, with a situation as big as this that could threaten the foundation of the Gearits City, there are bound to be many troublemakers hoping to gain some benefits from their crisis.


    ''If people are nning on taking advantage of us, then I''ll dly send them to hell.'' Nancy eximed inwardly, her eyes glinting slightly, exuding a dangerous aura. As she was browsing, she noticed a new post that seemed to have garnered quite a poprity. "What''s this?" Nancy was stunned by the audacious title posted by an anonymous user.


    "White Syndicate Warning to the Military Teams in Gearits City!" Nancy read the title aloud and was dumbfounded.


    Given that she was a part of the military in Gearits City, she naturally believed this kind of provocation title was directed to her as well.


    "White Syndicate¡­ isn''t that the criminal group that has been causing quite the messtely. Now they even dare to point their guns at us?"


    Astonished by the video, Nancy nevertheless clicked on the video to check what was in it.


    Her expression gradually changed as she continued on the video, finally realizing the people in the video.


    "Aren''t those Theobold''s elite soldiers?" Nancy raised an eyebrow and eximed in shock. The tone was so loud, that the outside soldier guarding the tent started asking Nancy.


    "Commander Nancy, is everything alright?" Still a bit in shock, Nancy quicklyposed herself and told her soldier that it was nothing. Making sure her tone was at a minimum, Nancy continued to watch the video in silence, analyzing the attacker.


    "No wonder Theobold has been sulkingtely and was not in his normal condition. His soldiers also came back heavily injured, and I was wondering what happened, so this was it." Nancy''s lips started to grin as she realized Theobold''s luck.


    Now that she realized the title was a clickbait and that the supposed military team was in fact directed to Theobold, she was in relief and also seemed to enjoy Theobold''s plight.


    However, teasing Theobold was one thing, Nancy had more important things to do.


    Putting on her sses, Nancy changed her gear as she began to analyze and check on the environment, terrain, and other stuff seen in the video to determine the location.


    ''A warning is not a bad move, but you underestimated us too much, White Syndicate. By posting such vivid details, I can now check the location.'' Nancy sneered inwardly. Rebirth of the Death Knight

 Chapter 311 Uproar

    Chapter 311 Uproar


    It didn''t take long until Nancy determined the location of the video that had taken ce.


    ''Heh, what an easy task.'' Her sses seemed to be shing a light as Nancy easily seeded in her tracking. Such action was a piece of cake for someone in her position.


    "The White Syndicate was too careless. It''s like they don''t even care about being tracked despite trying to warn Theobold to back off." Nancy snickered coldly.


    She was thoroughly confused by the White Syndicate''s action of posting such a video into the Dar.


    Were they trying to show off their power?


    Then they surely had failed it, given that Nancy was able to deduce the enemy wasn''t that amazing. The enemy merely utilized the element of surprise and chaos to gain an advantage.


    There wasn''t anything special regarding it, aside from the mysterious entities that were able to devour the soldier alive.


    Nevertheless, such entities capable of devouring a human alive weremon when there were still many more unknown monsters lurking all across the world.


    Thus, Nancy merely put the information into her database, in case they were able to encounter simr entities again.


    To be a militarymander, one must not only be strong and capable, but they must also be able to analyze and determine any type of situation thrown at them.


    Benedict might not look capable on the surface, and a little bit foolish. But only they knew that if Benedict was serious, then he was a foe to be feared among.


    "Theobold got a headstart from us and constantly tried to look good in front of the citizens. This time, let me be a good person and create an uproar." Nancy smiled sinisterly.


    Although she might not understand the anonymous user''s goal for posting such a video, she was quite positive that the anonymous user wished to cause an uproar.


    In fact, they might even wish to leak their location out on purpose as bait to reel them in.


    Despite knowing all of that, Nancy was still willing to follow the anonymous user''s desire.


    Why?


    Because it is definitely going to be fun, and Nancy merely wanted to see Theobold frowning and scratching his head.


    With that goal in mind, Nancy calmly sent the link to Phoebe, Benedict, and Samantha.


    As for Damon, that man was a brute and definitely wouldn''t care about the link she had sent.


    However, Damon was a crucial part of creating the uproar, given his temperament.


    "Tsk, I''ll just head over to him and show the video to him outright. I doubt he would dare to give me the cold shoulder." Nancy rubbed her chin, deciding to go to him directly.


    A few secondster, Nancy called out to the soldier outside to prepare for a small departure.


    "Where are we going, Commander Nancy?" One of the soldiers entered the tent and asked for their destination.


    Understanding their destination was key to them, given that they must prepare everything beforehand and ensure Nancy''s safety.


    "I''m just going to head over to Damon''s tent, so inform their soldiers," Nancy responded calmly.


    The soldiers were slightly stunned by Nancy but nodded their heads nevertheless.


    They were soldiers under her, so questioning her motive was essentially trying to challenge her authority. Only an idiot would do that and risk getting disciplinary action.


    Sometimeter, Nancy boarded the military vehicle and patiently responded to the text sent by Phoebe, Benedict, and Samantha respectively.


    All of them had seen the videos she sent and had quite a simr reaction.


    They were allughing and taunting at Theobold''s misery. The video was a p to his face and prestige.


    Phoebe: How did you find such an interesting video?


    Benedict: Hahaha, serve that bastard right. Imagine losing your elite soldiers and getting posted online on the Dar. Ahh, me and Phoebe are heading back to the camp, so make sure to wait for us to taunt the crap out of him.


    Samantha: ??? Benedict, you were together with Phoebe?


    Phoebe: Don''t misunderstand. I was bored and this Egg Benedict was being stupid as usual.


    Benedict: That''s quite rude of you, Phoebe. My intuition was not wrong.


    Samantha: I see¡­ Nancy, where are you? I''ll meet up with you then.


    Reading the text messages, Nancy twitched her mouth in disbelief.


    ''Just what is wrong with them?'' Nancy wondered silently. She knew these militarymanders were all unique and entric by their own means, but not this much.


    Did they not understand her point?


    Rubbing her temples, Nancy first responded to Samantha''s question by telling her that she was going to meet up with Damon.


    Nancy: I''m going to show Damon the video since he will never bother to chat here.


    Samantha: *surprised emoji* Good luck with that brick, Nancy. Let me know when you''re done, and I''ll meet you in your tent.


    Nancy: Yeah, I''ll inform my soldiers to let you wait there. But before that, do any of you understand the point of the video?


    Benedict: Hell fucking yeah! Theobold fucked up and I''m rushing back to see him mald!


    Phoebe: Ignore that Egg Benedict. I''ve seen the video and noticed it should be quite near our location.


    Nancy breathed a sigh of relief when at least one of them had gotten the gist of the video.


    Nancy: I''ll send the location of the scene to you, so instead of rushing back here. I hope the two of you can go investigate there instead and ry the information back.


    Phoebe: Tsk, as expected of the calctive Nancy. I knew you had a nefarious goal.


    Nancy: It''s a win-win situation, Phoebe. *cool emoji*


    After sending that final text, Nancy closed her phone, given that they had arrived at Damon''s tent.


    Despite them all stationing near the same camping area, there was actually quite a distance between them. After all, each one of them had brought a lot of soldiers with them.


    Hopping off the military vehicle, Nancy noticed most of Damon''s soldiers were actually doing drill training.


    ''Seriously¡­ they''re training too hard.'' Nancy twitched her brows.

 Chapter 312 Damon

    Chapter 312 Damon


    ?


    Nancy didn''t know what to say when she saw Damon''s soldiers training like madmen. They were way too hard-working and not even she would torment her soldiers to constant training.


    "This Damon must be doing this on purpose," Nancy murmured, believing Damon was trying to show his military team was not idle like they were.


    Standing for only a few seconds, Nancy was soon interrupted by one of Damon''s soldiers.


    Of course, Nancy''s soldiers remained vignt and made sure that the soldiers from Damon maintained a distance. It only made sense that they would be cautious toward each other despite being in the same city.


    "Commander Nancy, our Commander Damon is busying up with a train schedule for the soldiers. So you''ll have to wait for a while before you can meet with him." One of Damon''s soldiers informed respectfully.


    Nancy''s status and rank were still above them, so he must pay adequate respect. Otherwise, even if Nancy doesn''t punish him, Damon himself would personally punish him for being rude.


    s, Nancy''s soldiers weren''t having it when they heard that theirmander had to wait.


    "Do you want to die? How dare you tell our Commander Nancy to wait outside?"


    "Enough, we''ll wait. But remember, every second he makes me wait. I''ll remember it and return it dearly." Nancy waved her hand, signaling her soldiers to back down while making a clear threat.


    If the opposing party was Damon speaking, then Nancy can''t do much.


    However, it was merely a soldier and Nancy had no need to give a damn about what the soldier said. If so, then where should she ce her honor and prestige?


    The garbage can?


    She might look like a fragile woman on the surface, but one should never judge a book by its cover.


    "Tell Damon, I''ll give him only 1 minute to meet with me. Otherwise, he can stay ignorant of everything and work on his training schedule." Nancy sneered coldly, snapping her finger.


    Her soldiers quickly understood the meaning and brought a chair out from the military vehicle, allowing Nancy a ce to sit down.


    As Nancy calmly sat on the chair, Damon''s soldiers were sweating nervously internally. One of them had already gone back to inform Damon about Nancy''s arrival, including her threat.


    The rest could only remain outside, remaining as a human wall fortitude to prevent Nancy from entering their territory.


    Inside Damon''s tent, the soldier who had rushed to convey Nancy''s message approached Damon with a nervous demeanor.


    "Commander Damon, Commander Nancy is here, and she''s... not pleased. She says she''ll give you only one minute, or she''ll leave."


    Damon looked up from the pile of training schedules he was reviewing. His expression shifted from concentration to a mix of irritation and amusement.


    "One minute, is it? Very well."


    Others might not know the underlying meaning, but Damon knew what it truly meant. One minute might not seem like much or even normal to some people, but to them, one minute could essentially alter the tide of a situation.


    So for Nancy to be this specific and use such a statement, Damon was positive she must have found something important. Otherwise, she wouldn''t have rushed to his tent.


    As Damonrose from his desk, he adjusted his uniform with the calmposure of someone used to dealing with such challenges.


    "Let''s not keep her waiting," Damon said, walking out of his tent.


    Outside, Nancy''s soldiers were ready for any turn of events. They might respect her authority, but they also knew she expected them to be ready for anything.


    As the entrance to Damon''s tent finally opened, revealing Damon and a select group of his soldiers, they held their ground.


    Damon walked up to Nancy with a deadpan expression.


    "What is it, Nancy?" He asked, addressing her name directly. They were of the same status, so unlike themon soldiers or other people who had to address them withmanders, they were quite casual instead.


    "Tell your soldiers to back off," Nancy didn''t look at him and outright demanded it. At the same time, she also signaled for her soldiers to step away.


    Unfazed by her action, Damon nodded his head and waved his hands to signal his soldiers to give them some space. Once both sides had their soldiers retreated slightly, Nancy handed her tablet toward him.


    Taking the tablet, Damon soon saw the video in the Dar, along with notes that Nancy had made on the side.


    Squinting his eyes, Damon''s expression gradually changed from unfazed to an amused one, seemingly intrigued by the battle.


    Sometimeter, Damon returned the tablet to Nancy and asked, "Was this the reason why you came to me in a rush?"


    Nancy nodded her head. "You''ve seen the notes I''ve made, so what do you think?"


    "Theobold''s action was quite suspicious to have sent one of his elite soldiers'' toon to such a location. But what I''m curious about is the enemy. It''s clear that the enemy isn''t that skilled, but also quite skilled at the same time." Damon rubbed his chin.


    "How should I exin it briefly? Right, it''s like a rough gem that hasn''t been polished yet." He added, having found the word to describe the enemy.


    As for the promation to be a member of the White Syndicate, Damon knew it was a farce from the start.


    Contrary to his earlier behavior on the surface, Damon was now emitting a new kind of personality, almost as if the personality he had disyed on the reunion with Theobold was him pretending to be irrational.


    However, his behavior didn''t surprise Nancy one bit, given that each and every one of them loved to pretend to be a pig to eat a tiger. If they truly didn''t have any capability, then their rank would long be reced by someone more capable.


    Connections have no part in the military, and only your strength and intelligence are counted.


    "I came here to ask if you are interested in figuring out Theobold''s goal." Nancy suddenly revealed, shing a somewhat sinister smile.

 Chapter 313 Familiar Figures

    Chapter 313 Familiar Figures


    Damon looked at Nancy, his eyes glinting with a mix of curiosity and intrigue.


    He had always been aware of Nancy''s directness and cunning. She was someone who didn''t waste words, and her actions were often calcted.


    Hence, this made Nancy quite a formidable foe, and he had no interest in bing one of her pawns or puppets. Nevertheless, the situation this time had thoroughly intrigued him.


    "Figuring out Theobold''s goal, huh?" Damon mused, pacing back and forth, his fingers tapping rhythmically against his chin.


    "Theobold is a slippery one, that''s for sure. But this time, he messed up quite terribly, especially with how trash his elite soldiers looked when the enemy wasn''t even that strong."


    Nancy nodded her head.


    "Indeed, it''s clear that Theobold is weakening and his soldiers aren''t as strong as in the past. But that''s not my point." She responded calmly, shaking her head as Damon seemed to misinterpret her meaning.


    Knitting his brows, Damon tilted his head slightly.


    "Are we not focusing on the enemy?" He asked confusingly. To figure out Theobold''s goal, the swift and obvious answer was to identify the enemy.


    Once they managed to capture the enemy, any information could be extracted in due time, so long as there was still some breathing in the enemy.


    "Do you think the enemy wouldn''t know we would have such thoughts when they post the video?" Nancy suddenly asked, prompting Damon to think critically.


    Sure enough, with Nancy''s reminder, Damon was indeed suspicious of the anonymous user''s goal to upload such a provoking video. They weren''t even trying to conceal the location, to say the least.


    It was as if they were trying to wee them in.


    "The enemy did this on purpose to bait us in?" Damon raised an eyebrow.


    "Mhmm, and not just that. It seemed like they understood ourplex military rtionship as well." Nancy smirked coldly.


    "We know it''s a clear bait, but this is a bait that we''re going to bite for sure without hesitation. It''s as if we''re moths that love to fly to the fire."


    Damon remained silent, clearly unable to refute herparison with their current circumstances.


    This was a great golden opportunity to drag Theobold down, and if they missed it.


    Who knows how many more opportunities are left?


    Their goal ining here was to suppress the monster wave, but their actual goal was to ruin Theobold''s prestige among the citizens. Once his prestige was ruined, getting rid of him wouldn''t be difficult.


    It could be said that Theobold was the outsider and the hated target among them all as militarymanders. He was always too extra and pretentious in their eyes.


    "So what is your n, Nancy?" Damon asked. He wasn''t a critical thinker like Nancy, who always nned like ten steps ahead of anyone.


    "I''m going to follow the enemy''s intention and add oil to the fire." Nancy curled her mouth up, shing a sinister smile. To be fair, she was uninterested in the monster wave and longed to find something else to do.


    If it weren''t for the fact that it was an order from the Warner Family, then she wouldn''t even be out in the wilderness.


    "You''re going to send the video to Theobold?"


    "Not going to¡­ it''s more like I''ve already sent it and am waiting for Theobold to make a move." Nancy corrected.


    "You''ve worked pretty fast." Damon had to praise her efficiency. Once shetched onto something, she was going to do it at a rapid speed.


    "ording to my calctions, Theobold should have received and seen the video by now. Hence, I came over to ask you to bring your soldiers to him. Your soldiers arebat addicts, in contrast to mine. Plus this is your chance to get revenge from back then." Nancy exined, being extremely calm and gentle in her tone.


    "Hmph, this is why you''re a dangerous foe." Damon snorted coldly, outright calling her shrewd and scheming.


    Nancy shrugged her shoulders in response. "It''s a habit, so nothing I can do about it. Just like how you can''t stop yourself from constantly training."


    Unable to refute her im nor could he win her in an argument, Damon chose the wise option. And that was to keep his mouth shut and wait for what she had to say instead of second-guessing.


    He was positive that she did not juste all the way here to inform him of such superficial information.


    Patiently waiting, Nancy understood Damon wasn''t going to humiliate himself by inputting his thoughts.


    ''Tsk, he caught on pretty quick.'' Nancy cursed silently. She was hoping to humiliate him more for fun but looks like that n must be scrapped.


    Faking a cough, Nancy scrolled a bit on her tablet and handed it to Damon again.


    "Do you see that?" She then asked.


    "Woman¡­ I haven''t even yed the video yet." Damon twitched his mouth.


    "Then hurry it up."


    "..."


    Speechless, Damon ignored her and kept his eyes on the tablet, watching the video quietly. By the time he finished, Damon seemed to have recognized the figures in the video yet he couldn''t seem to recall.


    "I''m pretty sure I''ve seen them somewhere. Otherwise, I wouldn''t have found them familiar." Damon said, returning the tablet.


    "Do you recall the Horology Restaurant incident a few weeks ago?" Nancy asked.


    "Right, that incident. It was suppressed by the higher-ups, but we still got relevant information about it. And if I recall correctly, Otis arrived at the scene first followed by Theobold." Damon eximed, finally realizing why he recognized the figures in the video.


    The video was Vanessa and Shi Tian entering the Iron Sentinel and exiting the camp.


    Nodding her head in response, Nancy exined. "Theobold tried to cover up, but Otis was a clever man. He informed us and even saved the recordings of the people involved before Theobold created a fake one to deceive the public."


    "Hmph, that Otis? He might have the same rank as us in name, but his authority and power are nonexistent. But he sure is clever to know not to grovel under Theobold, or he''s going to get it." Damon snorted coldly.

 Chapter 314 Spyware

    Chapter 314 Spyware


    Otis was a militarymander, but insiders know that was merely a title.


    He was like the domestic affairs military, in charge of the safety of Gearits City.


    Despite that, Otis doesn''t have much authorization to ess most confidential areas unless he obtained permission from the higher-ups.


    Hence, not one of them had taken Otis seriously nor was he important enough to be included in anything. Only the lower citizens without power might fear Otis and his superficial power.


    "Otis wished to gain some control by doing such action, right?" Damon asked.


    "He certainly does, but only a bit minimally. He''s not stupid enough to demand outrageous things."


    "Heh, he''s clever indeed to know his limit. If he dared to demand something more, then I might as well send him to sewage duties." Damon snorted coldly.


    The ambiance outside was thick with both tension and the faint scent of strategy. Damon''s expression carried a mixture of irritation and anticipation.


    "Anyway, I didn''t show you the video to degrade Otis further, given that we know he''s garbage," Nancy said, standing up and zooming in on the two figures.


    With a few taps on her tablet, the images on the screen became clearer, revealing the figures of Vanessa and Shi Tian.


    "I suspect that the videos on the Dar have something to do with them. Given that they have secretly left the camp, coincidence with the time footage of this video and the fact that Theobold had an abnormal rtionship with them."


    "There''s no time footage in the Dar video, so how did you know the time matches?" Damon questioned.


    "Do I look ipetent to you?" Nancy sneered coldly in response.


    "Even without the time footage in the video, a bit of investigation in the surrounding atmosphere, and the weather-like, I can easily determine the time. Mix and match, and we''ll get a hit."


    Damon nodded his head, agreeing to her im. "So you''re suspicious of them, and now you''re telling me this to capture them?"


    Nancy shook her head and sighed. "If I wanted you to capture them, then I might as well do it myself. What I want you to do is provoke Theobold and question his integrity in public."


    "Question his integrity?"


    "Mhmm, shady rtionship with these people, along with his conduct in sending his elite soldiers to somewhere else. I want you to make sure everyone knows Theobold is not as honorable as he seemed on the surface."


    It was finally now that Damon understood Nancy''s goal. She made all these connections and through spections, she created a deadly hole for Theobold to fall in.


    Theobold''s influence and powere from the citizens'' trust in him.


    However, with so many doubts and suspicions suddenlying to the surface, questioning his motive, Theobold''s reputation would be ruined. By that time, removing him and stripping his power would be a cakewalk.


    With that goal set, Damon wasted no time and ordered his soldiers to stop the training drill and get ready for a battle.


    "Very shrewd of you to use me as a pawn, but seeing his downfall is satisfying." Damon grinned sinisterly.


    He knew Nancy was unwilling to go to the front as the initiator, so she came all the way to him to make him the initiator.


    And with such conclusive and juicy evidence, even if Damon doesn''t say it aloud, he would be willing to do it.


    "I''m just helping you achieve vengeance." Nancy smiled brightly, acting as if she was merely lending a hand.


    "Oh please, as if you don''t have a nefarious goal in doing all of these." Damon rolled his eyes and snorted.


    Did she want to use that as a pretext for him owing her a favor?


    Fat chance!


    It was a win-win situation that benefited the two of them, so there was no way he would allow her to gain an advantage over him.


    "What a stingy and rude man as always." Nancy shrugged but didn''t press on the matter.


    Obviously, it would be great if Damon would owe her a favor from this, but that was just a bonus addition. She didn''t actually have much hope in scheming him.


    It would be too easy if she was able to earn a favor from him. There''s no challenge in that.


    Sometimeter, Damon''s soldiers all gathered in three straight lines, ready to be deployed at a moment''s notice.


    "Let me guess, you won''t go with me?" Damon asked, despite having an answer in his mind already.


    Nancy grinned but didn''t say much. The silent response was evident enough.


    Damon shook his head and raised his hands, signaling his soldiers to advance forward. It was time to make some moves after being cooped up here.


    While this was happening, back at the Iron Sentinel, Mary giggled softly.


    "Looks like your video is really causing quite the storm, Nathan," Mary informed him.


    Shi Tian, who was chatting with Vanessa regarding something, turned around and looked quite confused.


    "What do you mean, Mary?" He asked softly.


    "Look at the scene happening right now." Mary waved her hand, echoing him to go toward her, and nced at theputer screen.


    Although unsure of what was going on, Shi Tian quickly went over to Mary''s side and nced at the screen.


    "What the¨C"


    Shi Tian''s mouth was wide open, almost like an "O" shape, given that he did not know when or how Mary aplished such a thing. The scene on the screen was transmitting a live recording of Theobold and his soldiers.


    While Shi Tian was dumbfounded by the scene, Vanessa calmly walked over and rubbed her chin.


    Her brows knitted slightly as she deduced, "Based on the camera angle and how it''s recording, I think you must have done this when you purposely went to Commander Theobold enthusiastically regarding his FTAV Mark X vehicle."


    Mary seemed surprised when it was Vanessa who had managed to deduce how she had done it.


    "I really can''t tell when you are naive and when you are clever, Vanessa. You are surely one hard-to-read individual." Mary eximed, essentially admitting to having nted spyware.


    "You were pretending to be excited by the vehicle and were in fact nting spyware?" Shi Tian was stunned by the revtion.


    "Just when did you think of that? I thought you were really a fanatic at that time."

 Chapter 315 Showdown

    Chapter 315 Showdown


    Shi Tian waspletely astonished when he realized Mary was acting from the very beginning, and she had even made some nning beforehand.


    He was truly bewildered and realized he was not the only one who had something cooked up in mind.


    "I was indeed fascinated by the FTAV Mark X vehicle when I first saw it, but it''s also true that I utilized it as an opportunity to n a spyware." Mary smiled cheekily.


    Since she was indeed a fanatic, it simply made her acting even more perfect.


    Given that it wasn''t an act but her real emotion. Such real emotion could not be faked, which essentially lowered Theobold''s guard and failed to detect her sneaky action.


    "Unbelievable¡­" Shi Tian twitched his mouth in disbelief.


    "Not that unbelievable, Nathan." Mary shrugged her shoulders.


    She then turned around and pointed at Vanessa. "Look at her for example. She''s naive but also clever in some aspects. Hence, she was able to deceive us without being detected at all."


    "Hey, that''s kind of rude of you!" Vanessa crossed her arms and responded.


    Feeling that her response still wasn''t enough, Vanessa continued, "Even if it''s true, did you really have to word it like that?"


    "You see what I mean?" Mary turned back to Shi Tian and gestured her hand to tell him to look at Vanessa clearly.


    Vanessa herself literally admitted to being naive without realizing it herself.


    Seeing it personally, Shi Tian had no choice but to admit it was indeed true. People are surely fascinating one after another, especially with how their mind works.


    A tacit understanding was created between Shi Tian and Mary, with Vanessa remaining ignorant, clearly unable to understand their point.


    And Mary had no ns on rifying for her anyway as she continued to discuss with Shi Tian.


    "The few days, I''ve been monitoring Theobold''s tent through his parked FTAV Mark V, and I can tell the other militarymanders are already beginning to work swiftly," Mary exined.


    "Took them long enough." Shi Tian smirked coldly. When he posted the video, he didn''t bother to conceal anything.


    However, that doesn''t mean he wanted to let some random folks in as well. He wanted capable people¨C people who could use the environmental details to determine the time and location of the video.


    "I would have been bbergasted if they still failed to meet my expectations." Shi Tian rubbed his chin and said.


    "I''m sure the one that''s working behind the scenes now is Nancy. She''s a frightening foe, but that doesn''t mean we have to confront her. Our goal is partially aligned for now, with Theobold being the main target." Mary zoomed in on the camera angle andughed coldly.


    Time slowly passed by, and they were now enjoying a fascinating drama.


    "Oh look, that should be Damon." Mary pointed at the newly arrived figure. "I''ve researched some data on him before, and although there was information that was secured tightly, he has some tension with Theobold."


    "Tension with Theobold huh? It looks like Theobold isn''t going to have a good time then."


    As the trio watched silently, waiting for the scenery to unfold, in the live scene at the camp, Damon stood tall and exuded a confident aura.


    "Theobold, get your ass out of your tent," Damon demanded, his soldiers also shouted right after Damon, albeit having addressed Theobold asmander in contrast to Damon calling his name directly.


    A few secondster, Theobold came out of his tent with a deadpan expression.


    Having seen a video that was sent to him anonymously, Theobold could subtly guess Damon''s goal foring here.


    "What do you want, Damon?" Feigning an ignorant act, Theobold crossed his arms and asked coolly.


    "Oh, stop the ignorance act, Theobold." Damon shed a cold smile as he snapped his fingers, prompting a soldier behind him to hand him some files.


    Grabbing the files, Damon made a slight nce, ensuring the other spectators were watching, scrutinizing this scene. His soldiers were also recording this scene live, transmitting it back to all the citizens in Gearits City.


    Damon''s goal was simple. He wanted Theobold''s reputation to bepletely tarnished today.


    ''Seems like they are out to get me this time.'' Theobold thought to himself. With his keen perspectives, how could he not see what Damon was pulling?


    "So are those files something about me?" Theobold smirked and asked.


    "Of course, they''re evidence of you abusing your authority." Damon snorted coldly, throwing the files into the air.


    "Abusing my authority?" Theobold raised an eyebrow, grabbing one of the papers that wasing down from the air.


    "Do you mean this usation?" He then asked and continued, "using me of fabricating a recording andmitting traitorous acts despite the impending danger in the monster wave?"


    "What else? There''s also a recording of you splitting your elite toon to a faraway ce." Damon crossed his arms, raising his tone purposely. The more attention they garnered, the more likely Theobold was going to be ruined tonight.


    Humans are such hrious beings. They might not know the details, but if they heard multiple people moring and chattering about one specific thing, then a biased view would be established.


    Once a biased view was created, it would be extremely difficult for the used to escape unscathed, even if they were proven innocent in the end.


    The damage to reputation would have been done already.


    Of course, Damon didn''t n on banking on this to actually ruin Theobold. Otherwise, he wouldn''t have struggled for so many years.


    However, he could at least put a dent in his hard-earned reputation, and that was enough for him to feel satisfied.


    Everyone in the crowd was waiting for the scene to unfold, seemingly anticipating what Theobold''s response would be.


    "Hahaha, you''ve caught me, alright." Theobold suddenlyughed heartily, surprising everyone in the crowd, including Damon.


    "I didn''t realize you were so obsessed with me that you have to inspect every one of my actions. Had you told me earlier, then I wouldn''t mind sharing some of the military intel to you!"

 Chapter 316 Bested

    Chapter 316 Bested


    At first, Damon was dumbfounded slightly by the fact that Theobold admitted to the usation without trying to defend himself.


    However, that was until the part when Theobold suddenly revealed that he was willing to share some of the military intel with him.


    ''What kind ofst-ditch effort is he trying to pull?'' Damon wondered silently, seemingly curious at Theobold''s final struggle.


    The seconds ticked by, each one loaded with an unspoken tension that enveloped the area.


    Finally, Damon couldn''t hold himself back and shouted, "What kind of nonsense are you talking about, Theobold? Military intel? Since when did fabricating a recording and derailing from the original goal any part of military intel?"


    "Because it''s military intel, which is why I was hiding it." Theobold shrugged his shoulders.


    "Fabricating a recording, do you think I could do such a thing if I didn''t receive permission?" He then questioned Damon back, seemingly reversing the situation.


    The crowd started to change their attention to Damon.


    "Yeah, why does Commander Damon have such files when Commander Theobold was concealing them for military intel?"


    "Maybe Commander Damon is jealous of Commander Theobold''s reputation. You should already know who''s more popr than the others."


    "Indeed, I''ve also heard rumors that they were in discord in the past, and Commander Damon was always holding a grudge."


    The whispering and gossip among the spectators might not be loud, but with his hearing ability, Damon was able to hear them perfectly clear.


    Word games were never his fort, so he had expected Theobold would be pulling some simr stunt to reverse the tide to his advantage. It had always been like that, so Damon wasn''t surprised by it.


    The only thing that truly shocked him was that Theobold was shameless enough to use military intel as an excuse.


    Military intel, just that one term alone was able to nullify every suspicion.


    However, it was also a critical mistake of Theobold to use military intel, because if proven wrong and Theobold could not back it up, then losing his rank was the least severe punishment.


    "Do you have any proof that you were doing some military activity?" Damon snickered coldly. "If you don''t have any evidence that could back your im up, then under the Military Code of Conduct, Chapter 3, Article 5, I can forcefully detain you for judgment."


    There might not be any court present with the current state of the world, but that doesn''t mean there wasn''t a military trial where the Five Families leader would gather together to make a decision.


    Of course, such action meant that the situation was extremely severe enough that threatened the safety of Gearits City.


    The military trial had nevermenced once, given people aren''t that dumb enough tond themselves in such sticky trouble, or they were subsequently killed before it was ever needed.


    Just when Damon thought he had the edge, Theobold suddenly shed a sinister smile.


    It was the very same sinister smile that Damon recognized back then when he had caused the death of many of hisrades. A bad premonition started to loom over his head as he wondered what kind of trump card Theobold was holding.


    And right in front of everyone''s eyes, Theobold snapped his finger and a soldier brought up a device that shed a hologram picture.


    Three simple words were shown there with a direct stamp of approval.


    Permit to fabricate- with the stamp of approval belonging to the Hill Family, one of the Five Families in Gearits City. Each of the Five Families had the authority to give a seal of approval to any militarymander without needing to inform the others.


    It was also because of such conduct that the Five Families were all able to maintain their own military team individually.


    But everyone was stunned because they never expected Theobold would also be able to gain a seal of approval from one of the Five Families. After all, he had always remained neutral and was serving the citizens wholeheartedly on the surface.


    "I''m sure your eyes are working fine, Damon. So tell me, what was the point of your action today?" Closing the hologram picture, Theobold then questioned Damon''s integrity.


    "Everyone here, please be a witness, especially you¨C Damon''s soldier. You''re recording it live right now, so make sure to not close the recording. Otherwise, everyone would know that yourmander is guilty of something and wished to hide."


    The soldier who was in charge of recording it live from Damon''s order was caught in a dilemma.


    On one hand, it was hismander, but on the other hand, he was going to receive bacsh from Theobold and everyone else that was currently watching the scene.


    As for Damon, he might have looked calm on the surface, but inwardly, he realized Theobold was prepared the entire time.


    ''The Hill Family¡­ which means that Phoebe should have known about this.'' Damon eximed inwardly.


    Nancy had informed him that she had contacted Benedict, Samantha, and Phoebe regarding this. This meant there was a high chance of Phoebe being a rat and traitor among them, feeding the information to Theobold so that he could be ready for this.


    Meanwhile, Nancy, who was standing from afar had her eyes narrowed as she quickly removed Phoebe from their group chat.


    Unlike Damon, who only had suspicion, Nancy was more straightforward and decisive.


    Nancy: Benedict, you better separate from Phoebe now. That Phoebe is in cahoot with Theobold.


    Samantha: Geez, you banned Phoebe so fast! *stunned emoji*


    Benedict: Rest assured, I''m already staring at her right now with my soldiers. If things don''t go right, then we might just have a brawl.


    Nancy: Don''t start a brawl with her. The n must be changed, soe back to the camping area.


    After texting that, Nancy clenched her fist as she red at Theobold from afar.


    ''What an unkible cockroach. So you were aware this entire time but pretended to not know anything. And to even use your elite soldiers as bait to make us believe it. How devious yet admirable of you!'' Nancy praised Theobold''s action sincerely.


    She had truly been bested in this round.

 Chapter 317 Chain Reaction

    Chapter 317 Chain Reaction


    Nancy knew she had lost this chess round thoroughly. Never once had she expected the Hill Family would cooperate with Theobold.


    Had she known that they were cooperating, then she would have never divulged the news to Phoebe. This was her mistake, and sending a video to Theobold in an anonymous manner, was her second mistake.


    With Theobold''s intelligence, it wouldn''t take him much longer to learn that she was the one orchestrating behind the scenes.


    "Damon is going to suffer tremendously if I don''t intervene now," Nancy murmured softly, feeling a great headache.


    Their n from the start was wed and was now taken advantage of by Phoebe and Theobold.


    The citizens back in Gearits City had also lost a massive amount of respect for Damon, with everyone questioning whether he was suitable to be a militarymander or not.


    "Damn, the world is already in chaos and the monster wave is ravaging the district areas. Yet thismander Damon is still trying to sow discord among the group."


    "I know right, can we still be safe with such a militarymander?"


    As the crowd began questioning Damon''s integrity in the poprized streets in Gearits City, the headquarters of the Harrett Family waspletely silent.


    Samuel Harrett, situated in his usual center chair, was watching the live recording with an emotionless expression.


    His fingers repeatedly tapped on the meeting table, seemingly in deep thought.


    ''The Hill Family coborated with Theobold and set up such a deadly trap against us. No wonder they were targeting us and using us of starting the monster wave.'' The jigsaw pieces were starting to reveal their picture, and Samuel Harrett was far from pleased despite having his confusion cleared.


    In fact, he was beyond furious, but having maintained his position in such a high ranking for a long time, he was able to reveal zero expression on his face.


    "Damon is going to suffer tremendously after this incident." Samuel Harrett finally spoke up after remaining silent.


    As much as he wished to alter the situation, it was nearly impossible to stop the gossip among others.


    They were already in quite a perilous situation with the usation of being the cause of the monster wave previously. And now with Damon''s farce, their reputation was going to tank another huge hit.


    Just when things couldn''t get any worse for them, Samuel Harrett suddenly received a call. Upon ncing at the caller, he was somewhat surprised it was Butler Wade.


    Butler Wade understood him the most, so he should have known not to disturb him if he was in a meeting, unless he was here personally.


    Ignoring the people in the meeting room, Samuel Harrett epted the call and asked, "Why did you call me, Wade?"


    "I''m sorry Patriarch, but it seems like the Young Miss had snuck out again."


    "Again? Were you not watching over her properly?" Samuel Harrett mmed his palm on the table, losing hisposure.


    There was always a limit on how much setback a person could receive. Damon having dug a hole for himself had already tested his limit, but that was still manageable.


    After all, the most he could do was temporarily suspend him for investigation as a statement to the public, but his daughter, Olivia Harrett. That was a whole different story.


    "Just how are you doing your job, Wade? Have you gone senile already?" Samuel Harrett raised his tone and shouted, going as far as insulting Wade.


    Naturally, Wade understood the anger he wasing from and didn''t take it to heart. "The Young Miss was throwing a tantrum and threatened to destroy the property if I didn''t go out to get her favorite food."


    "Then just let her destroy it. I have so many properties. What is one property going to affect me?"


    "B-But it''s the property in D-sector." Wade lowered his tone and said gloomingly.


    At the mention of D-sector, Samuel Harrett had his brows wrinkled, seemingly unable to believe his daughter could be that spoiled.


    Taking a deep breath to calm his agitated emotion, Samuel Harrett asked, "Then have you tracked where she had gone?"


    "Yes¡­ it''s the frontline of the current monster wave."


    BAM!


    The armrest of his chair was shattered into debris, and Samuel Harrett was exuding a frightening and murderous aura, causing some of the people in the meeting room to have difficulty breathing.


    "Patriarch, do you need us to leave?" One of the members in the meeting room asked.


    Samuel Harrett was toozy to respond as he merely nodded his head and waved his hand.


    Regarding the situation now, Damon''s fate wasn''t going to be ideal and there wasn''t much they could do about it anyway. The only way to quench the rumors was for them to do their best and end this monster wave farce.


    A few minutes had passed by, and the meeting room was an empty space again.


    "Wade, the frontline is a mess now, so bring her back immediately. Also, whoever was in charge of guarding Olivia. Have them all killed! I do not need ipetent fools." Samuel Harrettmanded.


    "Rest assured, Patriarch. They have been killed already." Wade''s voice was void of any emotion as he ryed that the people responsible while he was gone were in already.


    "What about their family?"


    "It''s being determined, Patriarch. If you don''t want them alive, then I''ll send someone over to get them killed."


    "No need for that. Just have them all killed as well. Their lives are worth nothingpared to my daughter." Samuel Harrett''s eyes glinted with a vicious light.


    He can''t get revenge against the Hill Family temporarily, but for these people who are as good as ants in his eyes. Killing them to vent his frustration was enough.


    "Understood, I''ll assign someone to finish the job then," Wade responded swiftly. "I''ll be leaving Gearits City now to retrieve the Young Miss."


    "Bring a few elites with you as well. I don''t want any mishaps." Samuel Harrett said, ending the call.


    Turning his chair around, and ncing at thendscape from the altitude he was in through the window, he sighed softly.


    "What a great chain reaction you have orchestrated, Jonas Hill." He murmured.

 Chapter 318 Downfall

    Chapter 318 Downfall


    While the storm was brewing in the headquarters of the Harrett Family, back in the Iron Sentinel, the trio waspletely stunned by Theobold''s retaliation.


    "Hey, Mary¡­ this is just a suspicion of mine, but do you think he knew about your spyware a long time ago?" Shi Tian asked in an uncertain tone.


    Having just witnessed how Theobold managed to reverse the situation against Damon with such ease, Shi Tian can''t help but believe they might have severely underestimated Theobold''s capability.


    And as confident as her with her ability, Mary was also self-doubting.


    "If he did notice, but remained ignorant. Then I can only say he''s one dangerous foe we''re facing against." Mary rubbed her chin and muttered softly, unable to imagine the consequences.


    Nodding his head in agreement, Shi Tian kept his eyes on the screen, watching the situation unfold.


    Currently, in the camping area, Damon waspletely trapped, without a way to retreat or advance forward.


    What else could he say?


    With Theobold proiming that it was military intel, along with a stamp of approval, attempting to pursue further would be seen as him trying to threaten the lives of Gearits City instead.


    Damon also noticed that some of his soldiers were beginning to waver, clearly confused as to what to do.


    They came here, expecting to arrest Theobold, but now it was pretty clear that the person being arrested might be Damon, their very ownmander.


    Luckily, Damon got another trump card. "If you say this is military intel, then can you please exin why you split some of your toon to another area. It can''t be that you wanted to search for the dense area as well, right?"


    The atmosphere seemed to have changed the tide, with tension shifting back to Theobold upon Damon''s questioning.


    His question made sense to the spectators as well.


    After all, what could be more important than suppressing the monster wave?


    It can''t be that Theobold had some selfish goal as well and wished to search for the dense area filled with strange energy, right?


    Damon smirked coldly when he managed to keep his ground and didn''t falter despite being initially surprised.


    ''Heh, let''s see how you''re going to make an excuse for this. Even if you got the stamp of approval, I doubt you would dare to use that excuse as well.'' He eximed inwardly.


    If Theobold truly attempted to use the same excuse, then he was essentially dragging the Hill Family down, indirectly using them of having nefarious intentions.


    Once that happens, the Hill Family themselves would be forced to announce that it was all Theobold''s selfish goal and not theirs, unless they want to be dragged down and be med.


    Suddenly, Theoboldughed merrily as he shook his head. "Oh, Damon, have you not seen the video posted on the Dar? I have found traces of the White Syndicate and intended to stop them from causing troubles in Gearits City."


    Theobold then turned his attention to the crowd and held a pitiful expression.


    "Is it wrong for me to want the citizens in Gearits City to remain safe? I''ve even sent my elite soldiers in the hope of stopping them, but as everyone can see, my soldiers suffered heavy casualties. We don''t ask for gratitude for our actions because we swore to protect Gearits City, but can you not undermine our goodwill as nefarious?" He ced his hand on his chest and asked sorrowly.


    And this single speech of his caused the spectators to be ashamed of themselves.


    Indeed, how could they point their finger at amander known for his honor and principle to protect their livelihoods?


    "Commander Theobold is correct. Damn, I''ve felt like swallowing a mouthful of flies when I realized I was misled by Commander Damon."


    "I agreed! Commander Theobold has always been serving us wholeheartedly, but what did Commander Damon do?"


    "Hmph, other than hiding in Gearits City, we have barely even seen his face. And the first thing he came out to do was to use our heroicmander. Does he have any shame?"


    As the gossiping among the spectators gradually became louder, Damon was shocked by the shamelessness of Theobold.


    What kind of speech was that?


    Tracing the White Syndicate?


    Bull Crap!


    Damon was positive that Theobold knew that the enemy was not from the White Syndicate and merely impersonated one just based on the enemy''s skill alone.


    However, even if he wanted to deny it and use it as an excuse, no one would believe him. They would only believe what their eyes are seeing.


    And right now, Theobold had all of his injured soldiers, with one of them even losing his right eye to stand behind him pitifully.


    The scenery alone made others sympathize with their situation and caused them to be embarrassed at their judging critics earlier.


    Could their injuries be fake?


    Theobold had brilliantly yed his cards. His appeal to the citizens'' emotions, coupled with the sight of his injured soldiers, had sessfully turned the crowd against Damon.


    Damon''s usations were now ringing hollow, and his actions appeared questionable at best.


    Damon clenched his fists, his frustration and anger simmering just beneath the surface. The situation had spiraled out of his control faster than he could have imagined. He hadn''t anticipated Theobold''s masterful maniption of public sentiment.


    ''So he was prepared to act shameless and even utilized the impersonification of the enemy to his advantage.'' Damon cursed silently, gnashing his teeth.


    Meanwhile, in the hidden room beneath the Hill Family''s manor, a man was sitting in his chair with meticulous movement.


    The man was Jonas Hill, who watched the live feed intently, with a calcting smile on his face. Theobold''s speech had been a masterstroke, and the citizens of Gearits City were once again rallying behind theirmander.


    "Theobold is quite the orator and actor," Jonas Hill remarked, his toneced with admiration. "He may prove to be a valuable ally in the days toe."


    Behind him were a few advisors, who nodded their heads in agreement, understanding theplex web of alliances and enmities that Jonas was weaving.

 Chapter 319 Retreat in Shame

    Chapter 319 Retreat in Shame


    While Jonas Hill was amused by Theobold''s capability, back in the Iron Sentinel, the trio continued to watch the unfolding events.


    The streets of Gearits City were also buzzing with renewed respect for Commander Theobold.


    And Mary was concerned about the possible ramifications of Theobold''s reversal.


    "I fear after this incident, Theobold''s position would be strengthened, which makes him even more dangerous," Mary said quietly.


    Shi Tian shook his head.


    "Not just that," he responded calmly. "I think Theobold had long known about our little ploy and was ying along all for this very scenario."


    "It can''t be, right?" Vanessa suddenly interrupted and gasped in shock. "What kind of man would Theobold be if he had such foresight? Like, how would he know there would be a dense area filled with strange energy and that we would discover it?"


    Shi Tian rubbed his temples softly, seemingly pondering rapidly.


    He was recalling all the things that had happened previously and connecting them all with this newfound information.


    His brows were knitted tightly, and Vanessa wanted to say something else but was stopped by Mary.


    Seeing the current Shi Tian reminded Mary of the time when he would be thinking heavily toe up with a deduction or solution.


    A few minutester, Shi Tian was starting to sweat profusely, seemingly horrified by something.


    "What is it, Nathan?" Mary swiftly retrieved a small napkin and wiped some of his sweat, asking in concern.


    Taking a deep breath, Shi Tian gently took the small napkin to wipe the sweat himself. He then nced at Mary and Vanessa with a somewhat pale face.


    "Do you remember when the evolved Gso variant arrived at the camp?"


    Both Mary and Vanessa nodded their heads in response.


    Of course, they would remember that incident. It had caught thempletely by surprise when it suddenly appeared out of nowhere without any warning.


    The only saving grace of that incident was that there weren''t any deaths aside from some injuries due to the monster''s unexpected energy wave attack when it was about to die.


    "That evolved Gso variant nearly caused my eardrum to erupt," Vanessa eximed, touching her ears and feeling blessed that she didn''t lose her hearing ability.


    After all, Vanessa was directly on the battlefield aspared to Mary and Shi Tian, who were inside the Iron Sentinel. With the immacte features of the Iron Sentinel, it was able to nullify most of the energy wave attacks, providing them to receive minimal damage.


    "My condolences, Vanessa, but that''s not my point." Shi Tian said, understanding her pain.


    "What I mean was how did the evolved Gso variant able to avoid all detection and snuck attacks on us?"


    "Well¨C I mean¡­" Vanessa was stumped, clearly unable to answer his question.


    Meanwhile, Mary caught on to his point and eximed, "You suspect that it was done by Theobold, which is why it would exin why none of the detection worked."


    Nodding his head, Shi Tian turned his attention back to the screen. "If I''m not wrong, Theobold will soon use that evolved Gso variant as an excuse to kick Damon down a notch, thoroughly shattering his reputation."


    Sure enough, Shi Tian''s deduction was soon revealed to be correct when Theobold began to use that as context to exin his difficulty and feeling depressed about being used as a traitor.


    Such actions made the citizens sympathize with him further and brought Theobold''s reputation and honor to a new height.


    As for Damon, he was now outright being sted for being an insidious person and trying to smear dirt on an honorablemander. It was a total loss for Damon as he could only retreat in shame, unable to defend himself.


    Regarding word games and deviousness, Theobold was clearly superior to Damon, who didn''t think his n clearly.


    "I''m afraid Damon''s position asmander will be in jeopardy now," Mary muttered softly.


    "It can''t be that serious, right?" Vanessa was astounded by how easily one could lose theirmander position.


    "If it was under normal circumstances and conditions, then Damon at best might be reprimanded and forced to apologize publicly. But what is the current state of Gearits City?" Shi Tian asked her, wanting her to utilize her brain more toe up with an answer herself.


    After pondering for a while, Vanessa seemed to have been enlightened.


    "Right¡­ Gearits City is now under a state of emergency, so for this situation to happen. Damon has essentially made himself the target of all the hate and frustration." She sped her hands.


    Unfortunately, Shi Tian was far from happy despite knowing about the oue. "I doubt that''s the end either."


    "What do you mean?" Vanessa raised an eyebrow in confusion.


    Wasn''t the curtain beginning to close with Theobold thanking the spectators for their trust and belief in him now?


    Instead of replying, Shi Tian shed a bitter smile toward Mary, who subsequently nodded her head.


    "It seems like we were being yed as chess pawns the entire time." Mary crossed her arms and said sorrowly. Having been used to doing whatever she wanted in the past, being used like a pawn gave her a bitter taste in experience.


    "I''m sorry, but am I the only one that doesn''t get what the two of you are thinking about?" Vanessa waspletely dazed. She doesn''t understand the dynamics of rtionships much or the events that corrte with each other.


    Though it wasn''t surprising for her to not know when it was quite obvious she was a spoiled woman, who didn''t have to scheme much aside from gaining a business deal.


    Shi Tian''s expression was gloomy as he realized how pathetic he was.


    "This Theobold really yed me like a fiddle. The elite soldiers he sent were indeed elite, but definitely not the best. Otherwise, they wouldn''t have lost to me." Shi Tian muttered softly.


    "I''m sure Theobold has a thorough analysis of each of us now and is ready to retaliate if we directly go against him."


    "It''s a good thing we got rid of the rigged IC chip early, or else we would have been screwed even more," Mary added, having realized the culprit of the rigged IC chip was none other than Theobold.

 Chapter 320 Contemplating

    Chapter 320 Contemting


    Shi Tian pulled his chair back, and an exhaustive expression appeared on his face.


    He waspletely overwhelmed and bested thoroughly, with zero chance of possibly countering back.


    It was times like this that he would be envious of Vanessa, who doesn''t overthink much.


    Being ignorant sometimes was bliss. They could feel zero pressure and be carefree asposed to those who understood the tremendous pressure being ced upon them.


    "Mary, I''ve recalled Gerald knowing Theobold, so do you think Gerald would have an idea?" Shi Tian suddenly asked.


    Having recalled their interaction and conversation, it was clear that Gerald was once very close to Theobold.


    "Gerald huh¡­ he was in the military once but left after a certain incident. As for what it is, I didn''t pry further." Mary rubbed her chin softly.


    "Understandable." Shi Tian didn''t mind that Mary didn''t know much between them. Given that it was probably their secret, it would have been rude to pry them for information.


    However, Vanessa was less than understanding and nudged Mary''s arm.


    "Come on, Mary. Now''s not the time for some etiquette but information. Contact Gerald so that he can give us some insight regarding Theobold''s character." She said in an urgent tone.


    Shi Tian secretly wanted to give her a thumbs up for being so direct and straightforward but kept a deadpan expression on the surface.


    After all, Vanessa''s status and position were more appropriate in asking such requests from Mary. She was on equal terms with Mary, unlike him, who still needed to rely on Mary and Optic Mech to gain the proper knowledge and resources.


    However, that was only a temporary situation, because sooner orter, Shi Tian would have to learn to adapt by himself in a solo manner. It was just that the current him was inadequate to aplish anything alone, much less exploring his mechanic crafting skills.


    His resources were limited, meaning he couldn''t even craft any items despite having quite a few ideas in his mind.


    A few secondster, Mary sighed softly and understood that it was time for her to ask Gerald about it. All along, she never asked him about it out of respect, but the situation had now changed.


    Taking out her Cellos device, Mary sent Gerald a text. "Done, we''ll just need to wait for Gerald''s response, but now we''re in a dilemma."


    "Dilemma?" Vanessa tilted her head in confusion. "What kind of dilemma are we facing?"


    "We''ve sent the dense area location to bait people in, but I''m sure Theobold already had a counter-attack n for it." Shi Tian answered. If Theobold''s actions so far were within his expectation, then surely, their actions were long expected by Theobold.


    Taking a deep breath, Shi Tian suggested, "Let''s drop this dense area and return to the camp. Whatever strange energy is filled there, it''s beyond our capacity already. And I''m quite positive that this is something orchestrated by Theobold anyway."


    Mary knitted her brows, seemingly contemting her decision.


    "I swear¡­ Why are the two of you always oveplicating things?" Vanessa crossed her arms in exasperation.


    "Since we are wasting time here, let''s just suppress the monster wave and return to Gearits City. There''s nothing we can do anyway other than that." She added, shoving somemon sense to these two overthinkers.


    Both Shi Tian and Mary nced at each other briefly, before bursting out inughter.


    "Haha, it''s good to be a simpleton." Shi Tianughed heartily and said before having his emotions calmed down due to his passive ability.


    As for Mary, she pped her hands and praised Vanessa sincerely. "You''re right, Vanessa. This is probably the first time you have ever said something somon sense that it''s kind of shocking."


    Looking annoyed, Vanessa red at Mary. "Are youplimenting me or insulting me?"


    "Complimenting of course. The dense area, regardless of how you look at it, is simply too risky. So why are we still brooding over it?" Mary chuckled softly.


    Shi Tian nodded his head in agreement. "We have always been bothered with how to enter, but never once decided to not enter. The strange energy¨C as tempting as it may sound, we aren''t that desperate for power."


    What he just said wasn''t someforting words, but his genuine feelings.


    Why should he care about some strange energy that may or may not actually improve his strength?


    After all, he had leveled up to 30 and gained many subsses and a ss talent on top of that. Those were all something he earned through hard work.


    Sure, it might have some connection with the integrated chip in his mind, but the achievement he had today was mostly because of his determination and resolution.


    "Indeed, Theobold probably thought we would be fixated on that, having us wrapped in his fingers. Unfortunately, we can simply choose to ignore it and not care about it." Mary shrugged her shoulders and snickered coldly.


    She was powerful enough and did not need to rely on external forces to boost her ability.


    As for Vanessa, she was even more carefree, given that she was the one who mentioned it. Her goal in joining them all along was the business deal and that was it.


    "Wow, I felt like I did something great," Vanessa giggled sillily.


    "Yes, you did something great, and it just so happened that it reminded me of something." Shi Tian stood up and sped his hands.


    "What is it?" Both of them asked in response.


    Curving his mouth upward, Shi Tian shed a wicked grin. "Did you forget about the bet we made previously when I decided to be the vanguard?"


    "Bet? What bet?" Mary looked confused and began walking away.


    "Hmm, Nathan must be drunk from overloading his brain." Vanessa nodded her head and began following Mary.


    "Hey, the two of you. Stop feigning innocence." Shi Tian called out when he noticed the two of them were trying to renege on the bet.


    "Mary, you''ve promised to give me resources and materials. As for you, Vanessa, the favor I owed you is nullified." He added, chasing after them as they attempted to flee.

 Chapter 321 How Adults Act

    Chapter 321 How Adults Act


    As the two women attempted to flee, there was barely enough space left in the Iron Sentinel for them to run away.


    It didn''t even take a few minutes until the two of them were cornered by Shi Tian.


    "Nathan, are you trying to assault us?" Vanessa, having realized that running was futile, decided to y rogue and pretend to be a victim.


    Both Mary and Shi Tian were stunned by her acting so docile and pitiful in an instant.


    And just when Shi Tian thought Mary would scold her like previous times, Mary did the opposite.


    "Yeah, Nathan, you can''t be trying to assault your mentor, right?" Mary also acted along with Mary, using Shi Tian of trying to assault them.


    "..."


    Never once did Shi Tian expect the two of them to be so shameless as to y rogue in an attempt to nullify the bet that he had made.


    "You two are going to y this kind of game huh?" Shi Tian twitched his brows and asked in disbelief.


    "What game? You think assaulting us is a game?" Vanessa cried in panic and covered her chest with both her arms.


    "This is why you can never trust men. The moment they gained some power, they believed themselves as god and wished to do all sorts of their impulses desire." Mary cowered in fear and eximed, acting like a real victim.


    Utterly speechless and astonished that Mary would be so unreasonable as to y along with Vanessa, there was only one thing he could do.


    "Fine, the two of you want to y rogue, right?" Nodding his head repeatedly and pointing his fingers at the two of them, Shi Tian retreated his steps a little bit.


    The two thought Shi Tian had given up, but to their surprise, Shi Tian took out his Cellos device and began ying a recording.


    It was the very recording that had the two of them agreeing to the bet.


    "You scoundrel! You actually recorded us secretly?" Vanessa dropped her "victim" acting immediately and cursed at Shi Tian for ying rogue.


    How could he secretly record them?


    That was a foul y and really not cool of him. They trusted him and he repaid them with a secret recording of them.


    Where was the trust and honor?


    "Don''t me me when the two of you started ying rogue first." Shi Tian snorted coldly. Luckily he was clever enough to record the conversation back then, otherwise, he would truly have no ce for regret.


    Vanessa rolled her eyes at the despicable actions of Shi Tian.


    "Hmph, I''m done talking with a perverted man." She scoffed and grabbed Mary''s hand. "Let''s go, Mary. Who knows what other kinks this perverted man might do to us?"


    Mary, riding with the wind, simply nodded her head and proceeded to walk around Shi Tian.


    The oue of this scenario waspletely out of his expectations, and Shi Tian knew that these two women were more shameless than anyone alive in this world.


    ''Tsk, I''m still going to remember this.'' Shi Tian vowed to himself.


    Those were free resources he was talking about, and he needed them to begin his crafting invention.


    s, none of them cared about his motive and intention as Mary began driving the Iron Sentinel back to the camp.


    Who would have thought that in the end, they would be going around in a circle. That was just a clear demonstration of how sometimes in life, just because you wished to do something, you might not achieve it.


    It was a shame that they couldn''t achieve much despite working so hard for it, but it was a fact that they must now ept it.


    A few secondster, he started heading back into the control room of the Iron Sentinel and met up with the two women who had escaped earlier.


    "No worries, I already remember what you lost to me, so there''s no point in fleeing." Shi Tian quickly said when he noticed Vanessa was about to run away again.


    "You''re annoying." Vanessa clicked her tongue in annoyance but didn''t bother to run away anymore. That was just a small little time of fun to stop brooding over the serious matter only. Now they are switching gear back to your usualposure.


    "But are we going to be irreconcble with Theobold?" Vanessa subsequently asked.


    "Yes and no," Shi Tian responded. "Yes, we are irreconcble with Theobold, but that''s only between us. On the surface, we are still allies, and unless we did something in public like Damon, there was nothing Theobold could do to us."


    Mary nodded her head in agreement, her eyes focused on the road. "Indeed, adults like us are truly hrious. We hate each other, but in public, we treat others like we''re besties."


    "That sounds exhausting¡­" Vanessa murmured, feeling fatigued just from thinking of how one could act so friendly toward an enemy.


    "Exhausting as it may be, that''s just how life is." Shi Tian shrugged his shoulders. "If you are just ordinary folk like me, then you will know just how far you can go by suppressing your emotions and not acting impulsive."


    As he said that, there was a slight sorrow hanging on his face.


    It reminded his past when he gritted his teeth and smiled brightly at people whom he found disgusting.


    If it wasn''t that he needed the sry and money to treat Sheng Lan, then he would have long given those people a sky-uppercut punch in their chin.


    Shattering their jaws would have satisfied him tremendously, but his impulsive behavior was suppressed by the responsibility on his shoulders.


    Nowadays, Shi Tian no longer had such responsibility, but the suppression came from hisck of strength. As long as he got enough strength to nullify the consequences and aftermath, that would be the time when he would unleash his fury.


    "Is it just me, Mary, or is it that Nathan always seems so scary when he''s thinking about doing something evil?" Vanessa whispered to Mary, sensing an unsettling aura around Shi Tian, describing him as ''scary'' when contemting nefarious deeds.

 Chapter 322 Comet Figure

    Chapter 322 Comet Figure


    As the Iron Sentinel continued on its path, Vanessa''s curiosity got the better of her.


    She couldn''t help but ask Shi Tian, "Nathan, why are you so determined to gain resources for your crafting?"


    She had been somewhat curious as to why he was so adamant about gaining the free resources from Mary.


    Heck, when he was chasing them, she was able to sense that Shi Tian was more prone to asking Mary. Thus, when she helped Mary with an excuse to escape, Mary was willing to follow her lead without hesitation.


    And hearing such a question, Shi Tian shed a bittersweet smile.


    "Vanessa, I''m not like you. Although I don''t know how special your identity is, I can tell you''re not amon person. But I am amon person." He responded.


    "You can have the confidence to scheme your way in to negotiate a deal with Mary regarding the offering of rare materials. But I don''t have that capability. My resources are all technically borrowed by gambling my life as a decoy for the New Region."


    The atmosphere quickly turned rather gloomy when Vanessa realized she might have gone too far with her question.


    Given that Shi Tian had never once uttered a singleint or ranted in life, she thought he was always a confident man, always able to tackle any unexpected situations.


    It was only now that she realized Shi Tian was merely putting a strong front as a facade to hide his poor upbringing.


    With her head lowered, Vanessa fidgeted her fingers around and apologized, "Sorry, I didn''t know you were struggling."


    "If you''re really sorry, then I don''t mind you giving me some free money." Shi Tianughed cheekily and extended his hand.


    Yawning, Vanessa stretched her arms and ignored him purposely, choosing to focus on the path ahead.


    "Are we returning to the camp soon?" She then asked Mary, treating Shi Tian as air.


    Of course, Shi Tian already knew these two women were beyond stingy, given Vanessa had long recovered from her initial plight. She would be foolish to be scammed by him again.


    Whatever, at least it was worth a try in requesting some free money. It doesn''t hurt to make a try on something like this that wouldn''t harm him if he were to fail anyway.


    Taking a seat next to Mary, Shi Tian nced at the road ahead of them and said, "By the way, we didn''t really go back empty-handed. At the very least, Theobold did have to sacrifice something in his n, and for us, it''s the drone."


    For Theobold to orchestrate this kind of n to drag Damon''s reputation and honor down, it was clear that he was willing to sacrifice as much as possible for the result.


    His elite soldiers, his technologies, and possibly more things that were still unknown to them.


    Mary, with her eyes still fixed on the road, nodded her head in agreement.


    "Indeed, we did manage to obtain the drone, but we shouldn''t becent about it. For a man to be willing to offer something like this for free to advance his n, the more worried we should be."


    "Agreed, but that should be a concern when we return." Shi Tian replied, understanding the magnitude of the circumstances.


    As the trio continued their discussion, seemingly finding something to distract themselves with, a loud explosion suddenly urred ahead.


    "What the¨C" Vanessa eximed in shock but paused herself when she noticed a figure flying out from the ck smoke.


    The figure was rising high in altitude before crashing down like aet just a few meters ahead of them.


    And despite being in the Iron Sentinel, the trio could hear a "stter" kind of sound, indicating the impact and most likely the status of the figure.


    "The figure is dead, right?" Vanessa asked with a pale face, watching theet figure start to form a pool of blood around him.


    "No, the figure''s still alive." Shi Tian shook his head and replied, his eyes narrowing. The figure in front of them might have received tremendous injuries, but Shi Tian could discern the figure was still alive, based on its limping movement.


    As for Mary, she had long stepped on the brake and was more perspective than the two. She was able to recognize the figure''s uniform.


    "I believe that''s a uniform for Benedict''s soldiers," Mary revealed. "And based on the explosion we heard, I think they''re in a big fight."


    "Are you sure they aren''t here to intercept us instead?" Vanessa, who was finally able to manage to regain herposure, asked cautiously.


    Maybe it was because she had been ambushed before, but it was clear that she was somewhat traumatized by such unexpected events urring.


    The detail might be minimal, but Shi Tian was able to detect it. Nevertheless, now was not the time to ask for her well-being, but to understand what was going on.


    "I''ll send the drone up ahead to survey the situation." Shi Tian decisively said, taking control of the drone and sending it right away.


    Mary nodded her head.


    "Me and Vanessa would check on the figure. If the figure is indeed from Benedict''s side and it had no enmity with us, we can use this to our advantage." She said, putting on a mask and grabbing another one for Vanessa.


    "Uhh¡­ can I not go and stay here?" Vanessa held the mask with a dazed expression. A clear reluctance could be seen on her face as she did not want to be involved in this sticky mess.


    "Suit yourself then," Mary was not interested in convincing her and grabbed the medical kit from thepartment. Afterward, she exited from the back of the trunk of the Iron Sentinel, clearly rushing to check up on the injured figure.


    The injured figure might still be breathing, but it wouldn''t be long before it sumbed to its death if medical assistance were not made.


    As for Vanessa, she noticed Shi Tian working fast with the drone, and seeing Mary''s resolute actions, she finally couldn''t afford to idle around.


    "Ugh, just what is wrong with me!" She clicked her tongue, putting on the mask, and swiftly followed behind Mary.

 Chapter 323 Treating The Injured

    Chapter 323 Treating The Injured


    With the Iron Sentineling to a halt, Mary had donned her mask and exited the vehicle. The situation was tense, and her actions were guided by abination of caution and curiosity.


    While Mary was going to check up on the crashed figure, Vanessa subsequently followed soon. Maybe it was because of her guilt or subconscious of not trying to be useless that prompted her to assist Mary.


    "I''m going to help Mary out as well," Vanessa announced to Shi Tian, ensuring that he would know that she wasn''t going to be idle and useless.


    Shi Tian merely nodded his head briefly without responding.


    He was indeed a bit surprised that she was willing to take action, given that she was constantly worried about being embroiled in the drama of Geairts City due to her identity.


    Nevertheless, Shi Tian was d that Vanessa was starting to change her mindset and behavior. It simply meant that she was adapting and learning.


    While both the women had exited the Iron Sentinel, Shi Tian expertly maneuvered the drone, its rotors humming as it soared above them.


    It transmitted real-time footage to his console, giving them a bird''s-eye view of the battlefield. The conflict was a chaotic spectacle, and it was clear that the soldiers in Benedict''s uniform were locked in a fierce firefight.


    "Just who is fighting Benedict''s army?" Shi Tian murmured in confusion.


    The drone''s camera panned further, revealing the gravity of the situation.


    Shi Tian soon came to the conclusion that it wasn''t just a random skirmish; it was a full-blown battle with tanks, artillery, and infantry. Smoke and dust filled the air as explosions punctuated thendscape, creating a scene reminiscent of a war zone.


    As Shi Tian observed the chaos through the drone''s lens, he noticed something peculiar.


    There was a group of soldiers who seemed to be retreating from the battle.


    They were heavily wounded, supporting one another as they stumbled away from the conflict. These were the soldiers who had likely ejected from the explosion moments earlier.


    However, that wasn''t even the peculiar finding that he noticed. It was the opposing party that caused Shi Tian to be dumbfounded.


    The enemy that Benedict was fighting¨C was simr wearing a different kind of military uniform.


    "Damn, are they having a civil war right here?" Shi Tian eximed in shock when he recognized the opposing sidemander. Mary had given him information in the past, so he knew the faces of the militarymanders, and the one Benedict was fighting was none other than Phoebe.


    Confused by the twomanders going to war against each other, Shi Tian decided to record the battle anyway.


    ''Might as well keep it for future uses¡­ who knows if ites in handy?'' Shi Tian thought to himself.


    Back on the ground, Mary approached the injured figure who had crashnded in front of the Iron Sentinel, with Vanessaing up from behind.


    Mary noticed Vanessa had decided toe out in the end, but paid no attention to her. Instead, she ced her attention on the soldier.


    The injured soldiery sprawled on the ground, his uniform torn and bloodied. Mary knelt beside him, her years of medical training taking over.


    "Hey, can you hear me?" Mary asked, seemingly trying to engage in a conversation with the soldier.


    When injured, it is best to ensure that the patient does not lose consciousness. After all, it would be disastrous if the patient lost consciousness and went into aa, with some of them never reopening their eyes again.


    The injured soldier, while still in tremendous pain, nodded his head in response to Mary''s question.


    Seeing that he was still responsive and couldprehend her words, Mary proceeded to open the medkit.


    Carefully, Mary began to assess the soldier''s injuries, and her expression grew graver with each passing moment. The soldier''s condition was critical. His breathing was shallow, and he had lost a significant amount of blood.


    As Vanessa arrived at the scene, Mary informed her, "We need to stabilize him, and prevent him from losing any more blood."


    "I can manipte some of the magicule and create a branch to help stabilize his limbs." Vanessa quickly suggested, letting Mary know that she was capable of doing such things.


    "Then hurry it up and do that," Mary rolled her eyes. Time was of the essence, so why was she even bothering to suggest things to her?


    Just do it!


    As if learning what you are capable of would help the situation.


    "What''s with the tone¡­" Vanessa clicked her tongue, finding Mary to be so bossy at times. Nevertheless, she quickly maneuvered her hand, began manipting the magicule, and constructed an earthy vine that soon tightened around the injured soldier''s effectively stopping the blood from leaking out.


    As if that wasn''t enough, she also began to inject some magicule to stimte the injured soldier for a speedy recovery.


    The pale face of the injured soldier soon regained some color in his face as he seemed relieved slightly.


    While Vanessa was healing the injured soldier through the maniption of magicule, Mary on the other hand began administering physical medical aid.


    Time slowly passed by, and the injured soldier was no longer in a critical state, thanks to the teamwork of both Mary and Vanessa.


    "So what happened to you that caused you to crash down like aet?" Vanessa then asked the moment she realized he was safe. It was as if she was so eager for an answer that she didn''t even let him get a breather.


    Mary, wanting to scold her, decided it was best not to, given that she wanted an answer as well.


    The injured soldier coughed a few times, seemingly unwilling to reveal the cause of his plight, given that he had recognized Mary. Back when he arrived at the camp, he recognized Mary was standing quite close to Theobold, prompting him to be overly suspicious of their conduct.


    It was clear that he was doubting whether or not their appearance was a scheme or not.


    "It''s nothing major¡­ we were merely having a military training drill and it went wrong." The injured soldier gave a terrible excuse and attempted to get up, only to stumble and crash right back down.

 Chapter 324 Third Party

    Chapter 324 Third Party


    Mary facepalmed when the injured soldier attempted to lie to their face, but did it in a very pathetic way.


    Only a fool would believe his words!


    Military training drill gone wrong? What kind of dumb and hrious joke was that?


    Even the normally naive Vanessa rolled her eyes in exasperation. If possible, she wanted to undo her earthy vine and let the injured soldier bleed some more. Maybe he had too much bad blood that caused him to act so retardedly. "Should we just let him die and rot here?" Vanessa turned to Mary and asked, ignoring the fact that her words could be heard by the injured soldier.


    Mary seemed to be in serious thought, contemting Vanessa''s suggestion.


    And the injured soldier who noticed this became wary but was more prone toward frightened. At the end of the day, no one wished to die, not especially when they knew they could live.


    "You know what, Vanessa. You''re right, why did we waste our resources on him? It''s not even our problem in the first ce." Mary shrugged her shoulders and eximed, pretending to agree with Vanessa.


    Naturally, Vanessa understood what Mary was trying to do.


    So without hesitation, she slowly retracted some of her earthy vine, prompting the injured soldier to instantly feel some of the pain due to the vine being removed slowly.


    "W-Wait a second," The injured soldier raised his hand, his expression filled with panic. He had just got some recovery and was not suitable to sustain any more injuries, let alone bleeding again.


    "What is it?" Both Mary and Vanessa turned their attention to the injured soldier, seemingly annoyed.


    Realizing he was not in the advantage of concealing information if he wanted to live, plus the fact that the matter was going to be revealed anyway.


    The injured soldier chose to reveal what was going on. After all, a war among the militarymanders wouldn''t be a secret for much longer, no matter how hard they tried to suppress it.


    Coughing a few times thanks to the injuries, the injured soldier began to exin the situation to them.


    "Cough, Commander Phoebe was coborating with Theobold to scheme against us, and ourmander realized it. Themander then ordered us to strike against her in suspicion that she was nning something nefarious. But little did we expect, Commander Phoebe was prepared all along and managed to counterattack decisively."


    "Hmm, I''ve heard that Commander Benedict was always referred to as Egg Benedict because of his intelligence, but I didn''t expect him to actually try to fight Commander Phoebe." Mary was somewhat in disbelief.


    Just what kind of mess were these militarymanders creating?


    Instead of being progressive in actually helping to suppress the monster waves. They were all trying to take advantage of it and wished to achieve their own selfish goal.


    It was no wonder Mary could care less if Gearits City would turn into ruin.


    The same goes for Vanessa, who can''t fathom why someone would want to ruin their own city when there aren''t many human cities left in this broken and torn world.


    Mary was now continuing her role as a medic because of the revtion, couldn''t help but interject with a hint of sarcasm, "So, they decided to have a little showdown in the middle of a deadly monster wave? How charming."


    Vanessa, her exasperation somewhat transformed into a kind of morbid curiosity, chimed in, "It''s like a soap opera, except with more blood and less romance."


    The injured soldier''s face turned bright red, seemingly embarrassed by their sarcasm andparison of their actions being equivalent to a soap opera drama.


    "Anyway, the injured soldier can be carried with your magicule, Vanessa." Mary packaged everything else back into the medical kit. "Now that we have unwillingly be a third party to their conflict, we might as well intervene to stop them."


    Although confused as to why Mary would offer to take the initiative of helping someone, Vanessa gradually maneuvered her magicule, lifting the injured soldier up with the earthy vine.


    With the earthy vine carrying the injured soldier, he was soon carried as if he were a baby, albeit much rougher and worse than a baby carrier.


    "Can you be a bit more gentle with the earthy vine?" The injured soldier smiled bitterly and asked nicely.


    Unfortunately, Vanessa turned around and red at him. "Are you going to pay me for the service?"


    "P-Pay you?"


    "See, since you''re not paying me, then why should I be gentle with you. It''s not like I know you well. Plus, you should be grateful that I''m even doing this." Vanessa snorted, turning around and snapping her finger, slowing down the movement of the earthy vine traveling.


    With that said, the injured soldier could only hold a gloomy experience as he endured this rough and slow journey to the Iron Sentinel.


    Meanwhile, Mary held a dumbfounded expression as she looked at her.


    With her knowledge of Vanessa, it was clear that she was rich, so why did she just speak like a poor person would do? That was a stark contrast to her status and identity.


    "When did you be money-hungry?" Mary asked confusingly.


    "Isn''t it all thanks to that irritating Nathan?" Vanessa clicked her tongue and responded. "Back then, I was injured simr to that soldier. And that Nathan was one heartless piece of shit, who capitalized on that to rob me clean."


    "Rob you clean?" Astonished, Mary nced at her up and down, clearly mistaken by the implication.


    Covering her chest area with her arm quickly, Vanessa was embarrassed by Mary''s misunderstanding.


    "No¨C not that kind of rob clean. I mean he robbed my wallet clean for treatment." She hurriedly rified, though her face was still beet red, having recalled that she had once stripped naked for Shi Tian to treat her wounds.


    Just remembering that incident made herpletely bashful and shameful.


    Although Vanessa''s face was covered with a mask, Mary could sense that Vanessa was unusual.


    ''Huh, maybe there was something that happened. She''s too suspicious.'' Mary thought to herself, her curiosity getting the best of her as she wished to figure it out.

 Chapter 325 Did You Knew?

    Chapter 325 Did You Knew?


    The injured soldier, now being carried by Vanessa''s earthy vine, was both physically and emotionally ufortable.


    He couldn''t have anticipated that his life would depend on the whims of two seemingly unpredictable women in the middle of a battlefield.


    What made it worse was that the two women seemed to be engaging in a hearty conversation. It was as if they were not in a hurry at all.


    Hismander was still in a bitter fight with Phoebe, and if it wasn''t for his injured state, he would have rushed back to assist Benedict.


    Outsiders might think Benedict was a strict and idioticmander, but only the soldiers under him truly understood him. Despite his usual conduct, Benedict treated his soldiers with respect and care.


    Of course, some might call them delusional, but aside from cursing and yelling, Benedict had never made them do things they weren''t willing to.


    Just like the current fight against Phoebe, all of the soldiers were willing to fight on Benedict''s behalf.


    "I know I have no right to rush you two, but if you wish to intervene, then we must make haste." While in the back, the injured soldier warned Mary and Vanessa that they should hurry their movement.


    "He''s right, just increase your earthy vine speed," Mary whispered softly and said.


    "I''m sure Nathan must have found something by now with the drone, so we shouldn''t keep him waiting." She added, throwing Shi Tian''s name out as well.


    Although Mary was unsure how or what Vanessa thought of Shi Tian, it was clear that she didn''t hold any repulse toward him.


    After all, anyone would have been furious and constantly wanted to thrash the other party if they were scammed by them. Yet instead of doing any of that, Vanessa seemed perfectly fine interacting with Shi Tian.


    Sure enough, Vanessa didn''t bother to argue much and increased the earthy vine speed.


    However, thefortableness was still not taken care of, prompting the injured soldier to grit his teeth to withstand the pain. As a soldier, this kind of pain was still bearable. It was just that the pain could have been avoidable was what made him somewhat bitter.


    Sometimeter, they returned to the Iron Sentinel, and the injured soldier was ced in the far back side. There was no way they would allow him to see the real interior of the Iron Sentinel.


    "You stay here and use the time to rest. Don''t move or touch things when you''re not supposed to." Vanessa warned coldly.


    As for Mary, she was slightly stunned to see how cold-blooded Vanessa could be. Maybe this was her true personality when meeting with strangers that she was not fond of or wished to interact with.


    ''Got to keep this in mind for future data.'' Mary thought to herself, putting this scene into her memory for now.


    With that thought process, the two subsequently entered the inner part of the Iron Sentinel and noticed Shi Tian was already inputting data.


    "You''re working hard." Devoid of the previous cold tone, Vanessa looked at Shi Tian with surprise.


    "What do you mean?" Shi Tian raised an eyebrow, confused by her remark.


    This was natural if they wished to obtain information and understand the situation they were about to face.


    "The drone scans have recorded the current battlefield ahead, and it seems like Commander Benedict is having an all-out brawl with Commander Phoebe. As for the reason, it''s still unknown since I dare not approach them too closely with the drone." He then exined, showing the recording on theputer screen.


    Mary nced over it and nodded her head.


    "We''ve rescued the injured soldier and given him a temporary first-aid medical. In exchange, he revealed why they were fighting in the first ce." Mary exined and proceeded to let Shi Tian understand the cause.


    A few minutester, Shi Tian knitted his brows, seemingly in deep thought.


    "Although I understand where Commander Benedict wasing from, his action this time was ridiculous. It''s borderline stupid, to say the least." Shi Tian gave his input on the matter.


    After all, it might be 90 percent true that Phoebe had coborated with Theobold to scheme against them, now was not the time and ce to spend all their resources. At the very least, he should have kept his hostility under control until the monster wave incident was over.


    "Couldn''t agree more," Vanessa sat down, shrugged her shoulders, and agreed with Shi Tian. "Even if Benedict did win against Phoebe, what was he going to do? Kill her? Or did he seriously think detaining her would do much?"


    The current situation was already perilous, and with thesemanders being so willful was truly a headache.


    None of them ever thought about the bigger picture or the long-term benefits. They only had short-term benefits in their eyes.


    Or maybe, that was exactly what someone wanted.


    They wanted to cause chaos, because only when there is chaos, would the major power structure be changed.


    "Either way, one thing we must be cautious about is the Hill Family." Mary suddenly warned them.


    "Theobold managed to acquire a stamp of approval which effectively squashed Damon''s im originated from the Hill Family." She added, before staring at Shi Tian with a somewhat pale expression.


    Feeling her intense stare, Shi Tian tilted his head slightly and asked, "What is it, Mary?"


    Mary remained silent, but the horror in her expression was visible, almost as if she had just witnessed a frightening creature or scenery.


    "Did you get poisoned?" Vanessa, who was watching from the side, was dumbfounded by Mary''s sudden change.


    Ignoring Vanessa''s remark, Mary walked forward and ced her hands at the back of the chair where Shi Tian was sitting, her face extremely close to him.


    "Did you know something about this all along, Nathan?" Mary asked in a soft but solemn tone. Her gaze was staring directly at his eyes.


    After staring for quite a while, she continued, "Otherwise, you would have never warned us about Jonas Hill before this shit show had urred."

 Chapter 326 Coming In Hot

    Chapter 326 Coming In Hot


    The situation inside the Iron Sentinel had grown tense.


    Even Vanessa, who was nning to watch the show from the sideline, was astonished by the revtion.


    "Wait a minute, Nathan knew something all along?" Swallowing some of her saliva unconsciously and nearly choking, Vanessa eximed in shock.


    Given that Shi Tian had only informed Mary and Isaac Aaronax in the past when he discovered his reputation list in the status screen had listed those who had a negative value of him, it was clear that Vanessa was kept in the dark.


    However, that could not be med since Shi Tian didn''t wish to involve too many people in his situation.


    Not to mention, he didn''t even have an idea who Jonas Hill was when he noticed the negative 45 value.


    But with the current revtions one after another, Shi Tian had a feeling that Jonas Hill was the true mastermind behind everything. Otherwise, how could anyone exin the fact that Theobold had the Hill Family stamp of approval?


    With all that conclusive thought, herees the main problem.


    How did he know about the name Jonas Hill?


    As if that wasn''t the worst part, how did he learn of that name and tell them to be wary of it?


    ''I doubt a mediocre excuse would help me out.'' Shi Tian thought to himself. With Mary''s intelligence, if he gave a half-baked excuse, it would be shot down rather quickly.


    The integrated chip in his mind was his greatest secret, so no matter what, Shi Tian would never ever reveal it to another person.


    Call him paranoid or selfish or whatever you believe in.


    Revealing one''s greatest trump card was equivalent to exposing yourself naked in front of everyone, allowing them to thoroughly analyze you.


    "Would you believe me if I said I really don''t know anything?'' Shi Tian held a bittersweet smile as he asked if they could believe him.


    After all, if the role were to be swapped, even Shi Tian would have serious doubts about the opposing person.


    To his surprise though, Mary nodded her head and retreated away.


    "Although it''s very suspicious of you to somehow know something, I doubt you are resourceful enough to be orchestrating these things." Mary shrugged her shoulders and said, seemingly dispelling her suspicions.


    However, the reason for her to dispel it was quite hurtful, to be honest.


    She was essentially proiming that he was incapable of doing such things even if he wanted to.


    That was kind of more hurtful than actually being used of being involved.


    Luckily, Shi Tian was not the type to brood over such matters as he breathed out a sigh of relief, narrowingly avoiding being interrogated further.


    While this situation was temporarily put aside, one person was still dumbfounded by the whole ordeal.


    "Am I the only one still confused here?" Vanessa asked, ncing back and forth between Shi Tian and Mary.


    "Yes, you are. So suck it up and continue to monitor the injured soldier on our behalf." Mary coldly said andmanded her, using the same kind of tone that Vanessa had used earlier on the injured soldier.


    It was kind of ironic, or maybe it was karma for her previous action.


    However, Vanessa wasn''t the type to simply shut her mouth and obey others. If so, she wouldn''t havee all the way over here from Chronosworth City.


    "Why should I monitor him?" Vanessa crossed her arms and asked haughtily.


    "Then let the injured soldier die, and that you wasted your effort and energy on him." Mary rolled her eyes.


    "I-I¡­"


    Stumped, Vanessa was unwilling to let all her effort go to waste.


    If she was going to let the injured soldier die from the start, then why did she even spend all that effort to head outside to cure him?


    "Hmph, even if the soldier wanted to die, he must ask for my permission. I dared him to even try." Lifting up her sleeves, Vanessa stormed off her chair and rushed to the injured soldier, her expression extremely fierce.


    Shi Tian felt his arms were getting goosebumps when he saw that kind of expression.


    ''That injured soldier could haveet crash anywhere in thisrge acre of wastnd, but he had to choose the road in front of us. It''s like he''s asking to be tortured.'' Shi Tian thought to himself, feeling zero sympathy for the injured soldier.


    A soldier must always be prepared to face life-and-death situations, so he should be grateful that he was rescued.


    As for the other great treatment and care?


    What a joke!


    Have you ever seen any soldiers being treated well?


    If you did, then those aren''t real soldiers.


    Real soldiers are always in difficult terrain,mitting the most dangerous mission at the cost of their lives in return for the safety and peace they are fighting for.


    Though Shi Tian''s thought process was soon interrupted by Mary.


    "Anyway, send me the coordinates of the battlefield, Nathan." Mary sat down, her hands holding onto the steering wheel as she asked for the location.


    "Sent," With fast efficiency, Shi Tian quickly sent Mary the specific coordination of the battlefield.


    Having cooperated with her for quite a while by now, Shi Tian knew she was going to ask for it, so he had it ready.


    "Nice, it''s not going to be easier than the dense area." Mary stepped on the elerator pedal and warned him.


    Of course, Shi Tian already understood what they were going to face as they advanced forward. Two militarymanders practically going to war with each other wasn''t something easy to dispel.


    Nevertheless, they are going to being in hot on them and stop them from having a civil war.


    Why would they do something so troublesome?


    The answer was easy. It was very easy because it didn''t require many brain cells toprehend.


    If they are going to fight with their lives on the line, then they might as well use those enthusiasm and bravery on the monster wave instead. That way, they could rx and not have to exert much effort.


    "Let''s just hope we make it in time to save our cannon fodders." Shi Tian murmured, praying that the soldiers were still alive.

 Chapter 327 Social Media Power

    Chapter 327 Social Media Power


    The atmosphere inside the Iron Sentinel had rxed somewhat after the tension created by the revtion of Shi Tian''s prior knowledge.


    Mary''s suspicions had been dispelled, albeit somewhat dismissively, leaving Vanessa bewildered and on the brink of her own assignments.


    The injured soldier, once the source of their impromptu conflict, was now under Vanessa''s watchful eye, and she approached her new duty with the same determination she used to confront her earlier frustration.


    And with the coordination sent by Shi Tian, Mary quickly sped up the Iron Sentinel, hoping to reach the battlefield as soon as possible.


    As Mary was driving fast, Shi Tian asked, "How are we going to stop the two militarymanders from fighting?"


    They had only wanted them to stop but had nevere up with a n on how to.


    Bothmanders had a toon of soldiers with them, so would they really listen to them to stop their heated battle?


    "Did you not see how Damon fell from the sky and is now at the risk of losing his rank asmander?" Mary, with her eyes still fixed on the road, replied with a rhetorical question.


    "I see¡­" Shi Tian nodded his head, not needing any more rification.


    Damon''s downfall was because of public opinion and his deed practically being spread all throughout Gearits City.


    At that point, no matter what Damon tried to do, it was already toote. He had broadcasted them live, and it backfired heavily.


    With everyone now seeing the live recording, there was no possible chance of him covering it or even suppressing them unless he wished tomit genocide.


    Having that information printed in their mind, it goes to say that the same could be utilized for the current battlefield ahead of them.


    If they threatened to stream it live, then would Benedict or Phoebe still dare to fight?


    Let''s not mention the public opinion first, but the families backing them.


    Shi Tian doubted Benedict would have the courage to go against the Carlson Family unless he wished to have hismander position stripped away.


    "The power of social media is one fearsome weapon, even in an apocalyptic world. Who would have thought?" Shi Tian chuckled softly.


    "You just realized that?" Mary asked sarcastically.


    "It''s not like we hadn''t just used the power of social media to cause a mess." She added, reminding him that they had utilized social media power long ago.


    Shi Tian nodded his head.


    "You''ve caught me there." He admitted being a bit absent-minded.


    Shi Tian acknowledged the irony of their own use of social media to manipte situations.


    Sometimes, the very tools and tactics that had once served as sources of entertainment and connection in the old world had now be potent weapons in this harsh new one.


    Of course, it might not be the case for everyone, especially if one had lost their senses and couldn''t be bothered about their reputation.


    Thus, just because it worked numerous times, doesn''t mean it was going to continuously work the same. That was an important point that both of them must understand.


    After all, depending on the problem itself, different solutions might be needed to resolve it.


    Time slowly passed by, and Mary warned Shi Tian. "We''re about to arrive at the battlefield, so prepare for battle at any moment."


    Shi Tian held a smile on his face as he directly showed Mary that he was long prepared for the battle.


    Just because they believed the social media threat was going to stop them from fighting, they still needed to be properly geared before diving straight into the conflict.


    Who knows if the soldiers who were focused on the battle had time to think properly about other things?


    "Well, it''s not like you''re going outside and directly screaming at them for attention." Mary teased when she saw how tense Shi Tian was acting.


    "Huh? Oh, of course, not." Snapping out of his thought process, Shi Tianughed it off. He wasn''t thinking about how to get their attention but was thinking about something else.


    And he continued, "We got the mounted turret equipped, so all we need to do is fire it, and if that wasn''t enough to get their attention. I still got some explosive powder left that we can use to create an explosion loud enough to garner their attention."


    "Hmm, that''s true, but I don''t wish to use too much of our resources," Mary responded calmly. Resources are precious, and if it isn''t absolutely necessary, she does not wish to expend too much of it.


    It might seem frugal of her, but Shi Tian was the same as her in that kind of mindset.


    Resources are scarce, and they weren''t some bigshots that could afford to waste them as if it was nothing to them.


    "Should we demandpensation from them as well, Mary?" Shi Tian suddenly asked curiously.


    Since this was going to be detrimental to bothmanders, then shouldn''t they get some benefits in return for keeping their mouths shut.


    And sure enough, Mary curled her lips upward, shing a sinister grin.


    "It took you long enough to realize my intention, Nathan." She turned around and stared at him, showing a somewhat hideous and nefarious expression.


    Shi Tian scratched his head in shame.


    Clearly, he had failed her expectations slightly for not thinking of extorting these militarymanders from the get-go.


    "Hehe, too many things were going on, so I couldn''t think properly, Mary." Shi Tian exined himself.


    "And if we''re going to demandpensation, then the medical aid that you gave to the injured soldier must be calcted as well."


    "Of course, Nathan. An injured soldier whose life was about to be gone must be calcted in thepensation as a different category. The effort and treatment we gave are top-notch." Mary shrugged her shoulders, speaking as if it was only right that they get some payment.


    The two of them startedughing somewhat sinisterly, almost as if they were two peas in the same pod.

 Chapter 328 Internal Strife

    Chapter 328 Internal Strife


    As they neared the battlefield, Shi Tian and Mary shared a sinister moment of shared understanding.


    They realized that not only could they potentially use social media as a weapon to prevent themanders from fighting, but they could also demandpensation for their intervention.


    In an apocalyptic world where resources were scarce and precious, they weren''t willing to expend their limited supplies and effort without some form of reimbursement.


    "Ahh, I can''t wait to get my hands on more money." Mary grinned wickedly.


    Meanwhile, Shi Tian was starting to get nervous and asked, "I do get a share of them, right?"


    After all, most of the resources they used were from Mary, and not his.


    As for Mary, she stared at Shi Tian for a few seconds, seemingly deciding whether or not to share the wealth.


    Thankfully, Mary wasn''t so heartless as she raised three fingers up.


    "30 percent, and that''s the best you can get." She said in a strict tone, clearly indicating to him that it was non-negotiable.


    Nevertheless, 30 percent was already quite a lot for Shi Tian, and he dly epted the percentage share.


    To put it simply, it was as if a freeloader, who didn''t need to do much or offer up his own resources but could still receive a sustainable amount of money for them to spend.


    Who was going toin about receiving less in that situation?


    Only the greedy ones would be dissatisfied and wish to cause a ruckus to gain more despite their incapability.


    "Well, that''s enough discussion now because we''ve arrived." Mary sped her hands, turned around, and focused up ahead.


    At the same time, Shi Tian narrowed his eyes, his expression turning solemn.


    "Damn, they are really going all out." Mary stepped on the brake and eximed in disbelief.


    "Indeed, just what is wrong with them?" Shi Tian twitched his mouth.


    The scene that greeted Shi Tian and Mary was one of chaos and destruction.


    They had entered a zone of frenziedbat. The sound of gunfire and explosions echoed through the air, creating a deafening cacophony.


    Soldiers d in various types of armor and wielding an assortment of weapons were engaged in a fierce battle. Bullets whizzed through the air, and the ground was scarred with craters from the explosive devices.


    Amidst the chaos, Shi Tian and Mary could see two distinct groups of soldiers, each fighting under a different banner.


    The soldiers of Commander Benedict, distinguished by the emblem of a Green Snake on their uniforms, shed with those under Commander Phoebe, whose emblem was a Scarlet Ruby.


    It was a brutal and desperate battle, as both sides fought for dominance.


    Soldiers exchanged fire from behind makeshift barricades, and the armored vehicles on both sides fired their heavy weapons, adding to the cacophony.


    Swallowing a mouthful of saliva, Shi Tian turned to Mary and asked, "Are you sure our mounted turret is going to attract any attention?"


    It wasn''t that he wanted to be a party pooper or something, but he highly doubted their mounted turret sound was going to be more impressive than the current arsenal that bothmanders are utilizing.


    And if Shi Tian was doubting it, then it wasn''t much different from Mary''s original opinion.


    After a quick evaluation, Mary was positive that their mounted turret was just going to be a small droplet of water in the gigantic ocean. In other words, it was impossible to garner anyone''s attention.


    Hell, even explosions aren''t going to do much when the twomanders are practically throwing explosives at each other.


    Shi Tian''s skepticism about their ability to attract attention in the midst of the furious battle was well-founded. The cacophony of gunfire, the rumble of armored vehicles, and the deafening explosions drowned out any other sounds.


    The soldiers were fully engrossed in the battle, and even the appearance of the Iron Sentinel hadn''t caused a significant disruption. It seemed that themanders and their troops were too focused on their feud to be easily swayed.


    As the two were watching the battlefield erupting into chaos, Vanessa returned with shock.


    "Do you two hear the explosive sounds?" Vanessa asked before halting her movement when her eyes noticed the battle ahead.


    "Hot damn, are they engaging in a war over some trivial matter?" She then eximed in disbelief, clearly unable toprehend the actions of the twomanders.


    And she wanted to continue to say something else to describe the battle, but couldn''t figure out the precise words.


    Meanwhile, Mary noticed it and chimed in, "Are you trying to say these two are having quite the internal strife?"


    "Yes, that''s the term I''m looking for." Vanessa sped her hands. "Was the reason for the internal strife so drastic to warrant such measures?"


    "No clue, but I know one thing. If we don''t stop them, then it''s going to be bad." Shi Tian interrupted, his eyes narrowing at the twomanders on each side, clearly lost in their emotions.


    They were simply way too irrational to start a battle and waste all their arsenals.


    "There''s no other choice left," Mary suddenly sighed and nced at Shi Tian.


    "Give me your mechanical right arm for a second." She then demanded.


    Confused, Shi Tian didn''t understand what she was nning to do. Nevertheless, he did as told and detached his mechanical right arm before handing it to her.


    Once Mary got the mechanical right arm, she began tweaking some things and inputting a series of codes using her Cellos device.


    A few minutester, Mary returned the mechanical right arm and asked, "How strong are you right now, Nathan?"


    "Umm¡­ eptable?"


    "I meant as in your strength. Can you withstand a lot of weight now?"


    Nodding his head slowly, Shi Tian found the whole ordeal to be somewhat confusing.


    "In terms of strength, I have increased quite a lot since the item that you gave me." He replied, with the item naturally being the Metallic Stone, but considering Vanessa was present, he didn''t dare to reveal it outright.


    "Very well, now you''re going to go out and charge the Light Beam to attract them."

 Chapter 329 Supercharged

    Chapter 329 Supercharged


    Shi Tian was slightly taken aback by Mary''s request to detach his mechanical right arm at first and the subsequent modifications she made to it.


    The arm, which she returned to him, felt slightly heavier. It now had a smallpartment and what appeared to be a modified emitter.


    Truth be told, Shi Tian didn''t know what that modified emitter was until Mary told him to charge the Light Beam.


    Everything started to make sense to him, but it also made him question something.


    "Wait a minute, so all along, the mechanical right arm wasn''t even in its final form?" Shi Tian asked in shock.


    "I had charged a Light Beam before in the past, and its power was strong, but definitely not enough to be louder than the current sound in the battlefield. So how strong is this emitter?" He enquired, seemingly curious about it.


    Naturally, he would be curious about the modification, considering that he was walking in the path of a mechanic.


    If he also learned andprehended such modifications, then wouldn''t he be able to craft even more superior technology in the future?


    Meanwhile, Mary seemed to hold aplicated expression, almost as if she did not want to reveal or divulge the topic.


    "Let''s just work one thing at a time, okay?" She said after a few seconds. It was clear that she didn''t wish for Shi Tian to know what kind of modification she had done.


    Although it was kind of a shame, Shi Tian didn''t pressure her further.


    He knew that if the modification could amplify his Light Beam to a new height, then it meant that the tech was quite high-level.


    Or it could even be confidential information, so it only made sense that he was not allowed to learn it.


    But understanding and epting it were two different matters.


    As much as he tried to hide his emotion on the surface, it didn''t seem like the passive ability was kicking in, given that it wasn''t a serious emotion that was going to affect him.


    Mary could also sense the bitterness and regretfulness of Shi Tian, but there wasn''t much she could do.


    ''It''s better that you take things slowly and not skip any important steps, lest it might be detrimental for you in the future.'' Mary eximed inwardly.


    As for Vanessa, she didn''t pay much attention to the modification. It was as if the technology wasn''t that impressive in her eyes, or the fact that she had seen way better ones.


    However, it was quite understandable considering Vanessa''s status. It might not have been stated, but a clever person who would be able to discern her status should be simr to the influence of the Five Families in Gearits City.


    Otherwise, how was it possible that she was able to offer up many rare materials in exchange for the drone production from Mary.


    The contract had been signed, and Vanessa might have seemed naive at times, but she wasn''t foolish enough to try to renege the contract. Thus, the contract alone was enough validation of her wealth, so modifications like these should be asmon as monsters roaming in the wilderness.


    Meanwhile, Shi Tian was slowly inspecting the modification, seemingly trying toprehend how he was going to activate the Light Beam.


    "Is the procedure the same?" Shi Tian asked Mary.


    "If so, then what''s the power output and how much stronger has it been?" He continued, clearly wanting to get a somewhat clear idea of what kind of prowess he was going to emit.


    "The modified emitter is only a one-time use, so don''t think too much aside from supercharging the Light Beam. I''m sure you have tested the feature before, so it''s the same except you would be activating the emitter during the process." Mary rubbed her chin and exined.


    The exnation might seem vague at first, but essentially, the procedure was the same.


    The only difference was that the power of the Light Beam would be amplified many times stronger than the times he had tested in the past.


    It was no wonder Mary asked whether or not his strength had improved.


    After all, the load of producing such a powerful Light Beam would definitely put a heavy strain on his body if he was inadequate.


    "Okay, if you have no more questions, then get out already." Mary pointed to the back and told him to leave. Time was ticking down and while she was exining it to him, the battle was still erupting.


    If they kept stalling, then by the time they garnered their attention, it would be toote.


    Smiling bitterly, Shi Tian quickly grabbed the mask from apartment, put it on, and rushed to the exit of the Iron Sentinel.


    Along the way, he noticed the injured soldier who was now covered in bandages, and blood seemed to be dried up in his clothes.


    The injured soldier wasn''t moving at all, prompting Shi Tian to wonder what Vanessa had done to him to make him look so¡­ lifeless?


    ''I should probably check the recordingter about what happened.'' Shi Tian thought to himself, exiting the Iron Sentinel.


    As soon as he was out on the battlefield, the sound became louder, showing how much the Iron Sentinel was able to block off the soundwave.


    "Geez, it''s like they are throwing money into the ocean." Shi Tian murmured, feeling heartache for how wasteful these twomanders were being.


    And without further ado, Shi Tian jumped on top of the Iron Sentinel and began churning his mechanical right arm.


    The procedure was exactly the same, but once the modified emitter was activated, Shi Tian felt his right arm was bing heavier by the second.


    He nearly stumbled from the sudden heavy weight, but luckily, he was used to it in the past due to the Metallic Stone feature.


    "Sure enough, Mary wasn''t joking at all when you need to have a lot of strength to withstand it." Laughing bitterly, Shi Tian''s mechanical right arm began glowing a dense blue light, as he patiently waited for the perfect moment.

 Chapter 330 OG 5

    Chapter 330 OG 5


    Upon the Iron Sentinel''s roof, Shi Tian readied himself.


    His mechanical right arm glowed with a dense blue light as he charged the Light Beam.


    The enhanced power of the emitter made his arm feel increasingly heavy. His tension mounted as he watched the battlefield, searching for the perfect moment.


    "Come on, move out of the way already." Shi Tian muttered softly. The Light Beam was going to be powerful, so he did not want to identally injure any of the soldiers.


    He merely wanted to gain their attention, and not their enmity. But the only way to attract their attention was the center of the battlefield.


    Continuously charging up the Light Beam, Shi Tian was beginning to feel a slight strain on his body, but he preserved.


    "Just a little bit more¡­" He mumbled, his eyes narrowing as he nced at the battlefield.


    For some reason, even though he was quite far from the battlefield, his vision was still perfect, almost as if his eyes were equipped with binocrs.


    After waiting for quite a while, Shi Tian finally found the opportunity.


    With a deep breath, he unleashed the supercharged Light Beam, sending it right into the empty center of the battlefield.


    The brilliant beam pierced the smoky air, rising high into the sky, visible to all. The soldiers on both sides, momentarily distracted from their fierce battle, gazed upward at the unexpected spectacle.


    Once the Light Beam was released, white smoke began emitting from his mechanical right arm, and Shi Tian dropped down. Sitting at the top of the Iron Sentinel, Shi Tian was sweating profusely.


    He had overestimated his strength and ability, and the bacsh of producing such a heavy and powerful Light Beam was immeasurable.


    And while he was recovering from the shockwave of the Light Beam, Mary subsequently drove the Iron Sentinel ahead to the battlefield.


    Now that both sides of the soldiers realized there was a third party, they had temporarily stopped their battle.


    As for Benedict and Phoebe, both of them held a solemn expression at the Iron Sentinel. It was clear that they had finally noticed the appearance of an unknown vehicle.


    However, it didn''t take long for them to recognize the vehicle, given that they had done their own research beforehand.


    "You''ve brought backup too?" Benedict red intensely at Phoebe and asked in disbelief.


    Having recognized the vehicle and that it was near Theobold''s camp, Benedict was utterly shocked that Phoebe would be so shameless to call for backup as well.


    Was she really trying to bring out all their alliances on the battlefield?


    "Hey, don''t you dare use me!" Phoebe raised an eyebrow and retorted. "Does it look like I''ve called for backup? This is private fighting, and I''m not shameless enough to need someone else to back me up."


    "Hmph, maybe if it was back then I would believe you. But who knows now since you have decided to ally with Theobold."


    "That was not my decision for the nth time I have told you. It was an order from the higher-ups and I can onlyply."


    "Save the excuses to yourself." Benedict snorted coldly. "Damon is already in ruin because of you two, and I can''t believe you''re willing to side with Theobold against us. We were the OG 5!!!"


    OG 5, a simple term meaning the original gang of 5 people, namely Benedict, Samantha, Nancy, Phoebe, and Damon.


    However, that OG 5 seemed to have been ruined now with Phoebe defecting to an outsider, and Damon''s reputation and position being at risk.


    Phoebe rolled her eyes at the mention of OG 5. Of all the people on the list. It was only Benedict who actually cared about it and constantly mentioned it time and time again.


    "Can you just stop it with the OG 5?" Phoebe asked irritatingly. "It''s cringe and no one uses that kind of terminology anymore."


    "For you, it''s cringe because you''re a traitor. But for me, it''s a great memory." Benedict crossed his arms.


    "Whatever, I''m going to see who shot that Light Beam earlier. Had it actuallynded on my soldiers, then I would have suffered more casualties than needed." Phoebe ignored his remark and focused her attention on the arriving vehicle.


    Meanwhile, Benedict felt offended, given that he believed Phoebe was proiming that his soldiers were trash and couldn''t cause her to suffer more casualties.


    "Hmph, with or without that Light Beam, you would have lost severely tonight," Benedict shouted loudly, clearly wanting to showcase his ego and pride.


    Unfortunately for Benedict, Phoebe had long gone ahead to meet with the arriving vehicle,pletely ignoring Benedict.


    Realizing he was being ignored, Benedict angrily signaled his soldiers to temporarily stop the fighting and to take a rest. As for the injured, they shall be healed by the medical team swiftly.


    With the series ofmands made, Benedict subsequently followed up ahead, temporarily putting the fight with Phoebe aside.


    "Who are you people?" Phoebe, who was already up ahead, questioned with a hint of hostility in her eyes.


    She didn''t order her soldiers to outright detain or shoot at them, mainly because of the Light Beam earlier. The forces in that Light Beam were no joke. She was positive that if the Light Beam were targeted at her soldiers, then they would have been obliterated or severely injured.


    As Phoebe asked such a question, she noticed a person was sitting on top of the vehicle, seemingly exhausted.


    Narrowing her eyes, she was able to increase her perception and recognize that person.


    "Gavin¨C no, it should be Nathan¡­ the mechanic of the ymore Mines?" Phoebe murmured softly.


    On the surface, Shi Tian used his alias Gavin to deceive the public, but for them with sufficient manpower, they only needed to investigate a little to realize his name was Nathan.


    As for his actual name Shi Tian, no one else knew about it.


    The Iron Sentinel continued to advance forward for a bit more before stopping, with almost all soldiers'' eyes on them.


    A few minutester, Mary got out of the vehicle with an aura of confidence.


    "Rest assured, I''m not your enemy, but I''m just here to give you a word of advice." She said in a cool manner.

 Chapter 331 Four Traits

    Chapter 331 Four Traits


    When Mary stepped out of the Iron Sentinel, radiating confidence, and assured Phoebe that they weren''t there as enemies, it managed to garner all the attention from the opposing side.


    Even Shi Tian and Vanessa were somewhat amazed by the demeanor that Mary was exuding.


    Despite being a singr person, she was able to confront them with such ease and calmposure.


    It was not an easy thing to do when faced with so many soldiers that could easily rain bullets on them.


    Breaking the silent atmosphere after Mary''s promation, Phoebe stepped forward and asked, "What do you mean by giving us a word of advice?"


    As for Benedict, he did not wish to let Phoebe take all the spotlight as he stepped forward as well, and equally demanded the same question, albeit in a paraphrased version.


    "Yeah, do you even know what is going on with us here? What piece of advice are you trying to offer?" Benedict pointed his finger at Mary and asked with an air of authority.


    Meanwhile, Phoebe rolled her eyes in annoyance when Benedict was at it again.


    What kind of time was he trying to waste by paraphrasing her question?


    As the twomanders were ring at each other, Shi Tian, who was still sitting on top of the vehicle shouted. "Hey, two prideful militarymanders. Are you embarrassed or not?"


    Since he was going to resume his role as an outspoken and arrogant person, then naturally, Shi Tian wasn''t going to let these twomanders assume control of the conversation.


    They arrived and caught their attention with style, so how could he possibly let their momentum be drowned because of these two questions?


    "Embarrassed?" Benedict raised an eyebrow in disbelief. "Who are you and how dare you question us?"


    When Benedict finished his words, his soldiers simultaneously raised their guns up and pointed at Shi Tian, seemingly ready to fire at will with a single signal.


    Normally, such dramatic and imposing authority would frighten most people, but Shi Tian just loved to be the minority.


    Instead of being frightened by the sight, Shi Tian smirked coldly and stood up.


    "Who am I, you asked, right?" Shi Tian chuckled.


    "I''m the mechanic that provided the ymore Mines to assist the frontline to suppress the monster waves, Gavin. As for the daring part, I can''t admit it when you are clearly more daring than me, Commander Benedict." He added, jumping down from the top of the vehicle andnding just in front of Mary. Benedict narrowed his eyes slightly when he realized Shi Tian hadn''t lost hisposure despite his soldiers'' actions.


    Nevertheless, he wouldn''t back down now and had his pride wounded.


    "Hmph, isn''t it just a few traps delivering to the frontline? How dare you act so conceited for such a trivial task!" Benedict sneered coldly, clearly looking down at Shi Tian and his pathetic achievement.


    "You''re right, how dare I act conceited, but aren''t you worse than me?" Shi Tian tilted his head and asked.


    "As a militarymander of Gearits City, instead of utilizing the resources provided to you to help salvage the crisis. You instead used the resources for an internal strife, causing explosions left and right. And did I forget to mention casualties?"


    Benedict wanted to argue further until Phoebe intervened and stared at Shi Tian, seemingly trying to understand his motive.


    "Gavin¨C no, it''s more correct to call you Nathan, right?" Phoebe said in a gentle tone, but her underlying implication was quite heavy.


    Phoebe''s question might seem simple at first nce, but the identity that Shi Tian currently used was Gavin.


    So if he admitted to being called Nathan, then it meant he was indirectly admitting to falsifying his identity. Such a crime could easily have him apprehended on the spot and it was justified too.


    ''They say women are venomous viper, and they aren''t wrong.'' Shi Tian thought to himself.


    Just being careless for even a brief moment, and he would have stepped into a trap already.


    "I''m Gavin, but my nickname is Nathan. So only those who are close to me call me Nathan." Shi Tian replied somewhat cheekily.


    And he continued, "If you prefer to get close to me, then feel free to call me Nathan. Otherwise, Gavin is fine as well."


    ''Look at this scoundrel¡­'' Phoebeughed silently in her mind.


    She had just attempted to trap him, and he not only managed to easily divert the main objective but also created a misunderstanding in which she was attempting to have a closer rtionship with him.


    Mary wanted tough in response, having witnessed just how cheeky and shrewd Shi Tian could be despite his usual calmposure.


    As for Benedict, these word games were too high level for him toprehend. The only thing he subtly understood from the conversation was that Shi Tian was Gavin but people also called him Nathan at the same time.


    Keeping a bright smile, Phoebe merely nodded her head. "I''ll just call you Gavin then."


    "Ahh, what a shame then. I was expecting you to call me Nathan." Shi Tian shrugged his shoulders but didn''t press on the matter any further. It could be said that they had made a tacit agreement to not divulge about his identity issues.


    Phoebe rolled her eyes, clearly having somewhat of an idea regarding Shi Tian''s character.


    Arrogant, cheeky, flirty, and extremely annoying. All four traitsbined into one created Shi Tian.


    "Pfft," Unable to hold herughter anymore, Mary started making some small giggles. She found Shi Tian very hateful whenever he acted rogue and a scoundrel toward someone else.


    Of course, the hateful was not the true hate, but more of a yful hate kind.


    Meanwhile, Phoebe took a deep breath, ignoring Shi Tian''s cheeky remark as she focused her attention on the main point again.


    "Anyway, who shot the Light Beam and why are you interrupting our affair?" Phoebe asked in a solemn tone. She was more concerned about the powerful Light Beam that had nearly caused the very surface of the Earth to shake tremendously.

 Chapter 332 Cease Fire

    Chapter 332 Cease Fire


    Having gone back to the topic, Shi Tian flexed his mechanical right arm for Phoebe, almost as if he was telling her that it was him.


    Squinting her eyes, Phoebe stared at his mechanical right arm, seemingly dumbfounded that the Light Beam was produced from the right arm.


    ''Was he hiding his ability?'' Phoebe wondered silently. Given that Shi Tian was already a known mechanic, it wouldn''t be surprising that he would have more items in his craft.


    However, the Light Beam earlier was simply too powerful, and even she was afraid of her soldiers being hit by it. So now that she realized Shi Tian was capable of crafting such items and weaponry, she needed to reevaluate Shi Tian.


    A profound mechanic was not to be estimated, especially when they have a lot of equipment in their sleeves that could disrupt an entire battle or situation.


    Sometimeter, Shi Tian decided to go straight to the point.


    "The twomanders, I suggest you cease fire now." He suggested, but was more in demand.


    "And before Commander Benedict attempted to use his mighty aura or authority to tell us that we have no right. I wished to ask, what rights do you have to cause numerous casualties and wasting resources for internal strife?" Shi Tian red at Benedict when he noticed he was about to throw a fit again.


    Sure enough, Benedict was stumped and had no excuse for his action. To be more precise, he was unwilling to give his excuse, given that the reasonings for such actions truly didn''tpensate for the oue.


    No one in their right mind would be causing such a massive battle when things were still chaotic.


    Only an idiot like Benedict would do such a thing, and he was amander?


    Says a lot about the Carlson Family''s intelligence to implement someone like him in such a high rank.


    As the atmosphere became awkward, Mary decided to intervene to de-escte the situation.


    This was their n from the start, with Shi Tian being the aggressor, and she being the mild one.


    "Listen, the soldiers are already wounded for a bad cause, and I don''t wish to have more hindrance when the monster wave is about to attack us again. So long as you agree to cease fire and call a temporary truce until the monster wave is suppressed, our lips are sealed." Mary exined calmly.


    Both Phoebe and Benedict seemed to ponder this proposition.


    The tension on the battlefield persisted, but the idea of a ceasefire resonated with them, especially as they considered the impending monster wave. The potential for a united defense against amon enemy began to outweigh the prideful continuation of their internal strife.


    "I''m fine with the cease-fire, but I''m not sure if this Egg Benedict agrees to it." Phoebe shrugged her shoulders and pushed all the me on Benedict.


    And despite that being the truth, Benedict was unwilling to receive all the me. "Hmph, if it weren''t for you coborating with Theobold, then would I have started a fight? All along, you were baiting me to go further and further away from the camp."


    "I was not baiting you. I was seriously intrigued whether you had an intuition or not." Phoebe defended.


    "As if!" Benedict snorted coldly. "If you were truly intrigued then you would have informed me long ago, and not at this time."


    "Ahh, Gearits City was truly in good hands when we got these two militarymanders." Shi Tian sighed softly on the sideline.


    "Don''t you agree, Mary?" He then turned to Mary and asked, clearly provoking the two.


    "Brat, just because you gain some achievement for the frontline, doesn''t mean you''re invulnerable." Benedict threatened. He might have some discord with Phoebe, but that doesn''t mean outsiders like Shi Tian couldment on them.


    The behavior and reaction of Benedict wasn''t anything special, because that was just how realities were.


    As long as you were equal with them in status, then you can insult or tease them without having to worry.


    But once a person with a somewhat inferior status attempts to do such a thing, then those insults and teases are equivalent to disrespecting them and could result in a severe bacsh.


    However, that was only an "if" situation or whether the inferior status was truly ignorant or had the qualification to back it up.


    "Go ahead, Commander Benedict. I dare you to try andunch an attack on me." Shi Tian stepped forward, and spread his arms out, looking defenseless. It was crystal clear that Shi Tian was daring Benedict to make a move at him and that he would not retaliate.


    "Fine, you''ve asked for it." Benedict snickered coldly and was about to strike, but Phoebe managed to intervene and stop him in time.


    Benedict wanted to shout at her for stopping him. Unfortunately, when he felt the cold aura and cold expression from her, his sound seemed to have been set at zero, not uttering a single sound.


    "You must be kidding us right, Gavin?" Phoebe giggled softly and said, "We''re a militarymander, not some barbarian. We would nevery a hand on awful abiding citizen, especially someone that had gained achievement in this current monster wave."


    Shi Tian gradually lowered his arms and nodded his head.


    "Is that so? Commander Benedict really had me worried there for a second." He then said, taking a step back and snapping his finger.


    With that snap, Vanessa, who was inside the Iron Sentinel, pressed a button in the control panel. Soon, a somewhat transmitter appeared outside from the interior.


    After waiting for a second, Shi Tian then pointed at the transmitter. "I was really scared for Commander Benedict for a second because if he had truly struck at me. Then his deed would instantly be exposed, and I''m afraid we might have witnessed a second incident, namely, Damon''s downfall 2.0."


    "You¨C what?" Shocked, Benedict was in disbelief that he nearly fell into a trap that might result in the same oue as Damon.

 Chapter 333 Word Games

    Chapter 333 Word Games


    As Shi Tian exined the potential consequences of an attack, Benedict''s face grew pale.


    He realized how close he hade to making a grave mistake.


    Damon''s downfall had been a significant blow to Gearits City''s leadership, and he didn''t want to follow in his footsteps. Damon''s position was at risk, but Benedict enjoyed his power and did not wish to lose it at all.


    Meanwhile, Phoebe, with her usual pragmatic demeanor, had already grasped the implications.


    "You''re clever, Gavin," she acknowledged. "You''ve made your point. We''ll agree to the ceasefire as proposed."


    "Hmph, it''s only because Phoebe said so." Benedict, still grasping onto the tiny pride he had left, snorted and left the scene swiftly. His soldiers were trained, so it didn''t take long for them to carry the wounded to retreat to the scene.


    As for the dead soldiers, they could only me themselves for being inadequate and forfeiting their lives.


    That was just how the reality was for those who sumbed to their death, regardless if the fight was justified or not.


    These soldiers might be soldiers, but they also enjoyed privilege better than the average citizens. They were well fed, and families were guaranteed to have a household, so what more could theyin about?


    Do they dare to defy themanders'' orders and lose all of those benefits?


    The moment they epted being a soldier, then they should have prepared that one day, they would die. It was just a pity that their death was for something as insignificant as this.


    However, Shi Tian didn''t feel any pity for them despite knowing their fate.


    He had seen the true hideous actions that humans could take oncews were thrown out of the window and had personally experienced inhumane acts as well.


    Did anyone take pity on him back then?


    No¨C not a single one had stepped forward to aid him. In fact, they were all aplices and agreed to let him be the sacrificialmb simply because of one concrete fact.


    And that was being weak.


    Only the weak would get trampled on repeatedly and receive zero assistance.


    With Benedict promptly leaving the scene, Shi Tian watched as rows of military vehicles swiftly followed behind. With his keen perspective, he also noticed not a single one of the soldiers was feeling sad about their fallenrades.


    "Mary, did you send the injured soldier back to them?" Shi Tian suddenly recalled the injured soldier, who was residing in the Iron Sentinel.


    Mary nodded her head.


    "I''ve already instructed Vanessa to kick him out." She responded.


    "And thepensation?"


    Instantly, Mary''s face turned dark, a clear indication that she had forgotten to demandpensation.


    And although she didn''t say any words, Shi Tian was able to discern that she was probably cursing in her mind and remembering to put thispensation into a list.


    s, that wasn''t important now, considering the event wasn''t over yet.


    "Well, Benedict has left, so I guess we can have a proper discussion now, right Commander Phoebe?" Shi Tian turned to Phoebe and asked calmly.


    Others might not have noticed, but Shi Tian had discerned Phoebe''s speech when sheplimented him for being clever.


    She wasn''tplimenting him for having the transmitter ready to save themselves from being attacked by them.


    Instead, she wasplimenting him for giving her leeway and an excuse to negotiate with Benedict that she wasn''t on Theobold''s sidepletely.


    Why is that, you might ask?


    Just the fact that Shi Tian had given her a chance to halt Benedict from making the same mistake as Damon, was leverage enough to dispel some of Benedict''s discontent.


    After all, if Phoebe was truly against Benedict, then she wouldn''t have stopped him in time and allowed him to fall into the trap that Shi Tian hadid out for him.


    However, that wasn''t even the main objective of Shi Tian. His main objective was to befriend Phoebe, who was clearly leagues above Benedict in terms of intelligence, wisdom, and deployment strategy.


    From the battle so far, it was clear that Phoebe was at the advantage, so how did the battle stall for so long?


    The answer was simple¨C Phoebe was taking it easy on Benedict.


    "Speak, what kind of discussion do you want to talk about?" Phoebe crossed her arms and asked curiously.


    "Naturally, it''s being an ally. Whether it''s the wilderness or back in Gearits City, having someone in a high position like you as an ally will reassure us." Shi Tian said straightforwardly.


    "You''re quite honest. Aren''t you afraid that I''ll reject you right here and then, or possibly even risk my reputation to silence you?"


    "Please stop the joke, Commander Phoebe." Shi Tian chuckled softly and shook his head.


    "If you weren''t interested, then you wouldn''t have stayed around and even understood my hidden implication. Let''s not y any more word games for now?" He added, suggesting that they just go straight to the point with their intention.


    Word games were truly a headache to maneuver around, and Shi Tian was toozy to continue with it.


    With that said, Phoebe no longer bothered with her double-meaning sentences as well.


    "Theobold gave me some warnings in advance that the three of you seemed to have different motives foring here, and it seems like he wasn''t wrong." Phoebe calmly said, casually revealing that she was in factmunicating with Theobold secretly.


    "I''m sure Commander Theobold had taken quite the care for us." Shi Tian replied amicably, almost as if he was unaffected by the revtion of being scrutinized by Theobold.


    Truth be told, Shi Tian truly didn''t take into mind Theobold monitoring them and sending elite soldiers at them. After all, he would have done the same thing as well if the roles were reversed.


    Hence, Shi Tian wasn''t holding much grudge against Theobold once he had thought it over.


    Did Theobold actually harm him?


    The short answer was no.


    As for the long answer, that was merely a possibility and not something that had urred.


    ''Some people aren''t enemies forever, but can be allies depending on the circumstances.'' Shi Tain thought to himself.

 Chapter 334 Back On Track

    Chapter 334 Back On Track


    "Hmm, so you''re trying to say that you don''t mind working with us temporarily?" Phoebe raised an eyebrow and asked.


    Since Shi Tian said to not beat around the bush, his implication was that he didn''t mind Theobold''s conduct and was calling a truce.


    "Of course, Commander Theobold and us don''t have any grudges,pared to Commander Damon. So why wouldn''t we work together?" Shi Tian shrugged his shoulders.


    Nodding her head, Phoebe agreed that there wasn''t much animosity between Shi Tian and Theobold. After all, they had only known each other for less than a month, so what kind of grudges could they have?


    Aside from the fact that Theobold was secretly deceiving and tracking them down, there was nothing else.


    In fact, Theobold would be the one to hold grudges, given that Shi Tian had not only killed some of his elite soldiers and taken an eye away from the leader, but he also publicly posted a video of their humiliation.


    Hence, it could only be said that the two of them are even now. And as for the lives lost, they are already dead, so what was the point of mulling over it?


    Just take a look at Phoebe and Benedict! For their selfish and childish reasons, they spent a lot of resources fighting, resulting in casualties, but no one was punished for their death.


    Why?


    The world does not operate in morality anymore but through strengths and benefits.


    "Well, what more can I say?" Phoebe suddenly chuckled softly.


    "That Light Beam you demonstrated had allowed us to know not to underestimate you, and we have no n of going against you either. I''ll let Theobold know that everything was just a misunderstanding." She added, letting him know that she would let bygones be bygones.


    From now on, they would restart their rtionship from scratch, and be back on track as a proper ally with zero scheming behind each other''s back.


    Extending his hand, Shi Tian was d that this farce could be ended in such a manner. Not a perfect ending, but it was a win-win ending for both parties, and that was enough.


    In life, there is no such thing as wless victory. Even if there was, the wless victory isn''t something that one can easily achieve.


    "I''m d to have resolved everything, so as to prove our sincerity. We''ll give you the recordings of Benedict''s outburst toward me." Shi Tian said, snapping his finger.


    A few secondster, Vanessa came out from the Iron Sentinel with a USB drive in her hand.


    "Here''s the recording, Commander Phoebe." Vanessa walked toward Phoebe and handed it over.


    Meanwhile, Phoebe was somewhat dazed, seemingly confused by Vanessa''s actions and appearance.


    ''This Nathan is indeed not simple. Even Vanessa seemed to be listening to hismands.'' Phoebe thought to herself, realizing that she might have still underestimated Shi Tian.


    Unlike Shi Tian, whocked both resources and information, Phoebe was the pr opposite of him.


    Having investigated Vanessa, Phoebe knew her identity was no different than the status of the Five Families.


    Which meant that she was a proud woman, but here we are, Vanessa was following and listening to Shi Tian, whom they still haven''t managed to find much information about.


    Grabbing the USB drive, Phoebe nodded her head and decided to return the favor as well.


    "Since you''re being sincere, then I shall do the same." She calmly said and nced at Vanessa.


    "Theobold had investigated the incident at Horology Restaurant, and I''m sure you should have figured out the culprit by now with your resources. But there should be something that you don''t know about?"


    Hearing that from Phoebe, Vanessa''s emotion seemed to have wavered a bit, almost as if she was stunned.


    "What is it?" Vanessa''s expression turned solemn and asked.


    Regarding the incident, she was always mulling over it and wished to track down each one of them who was responsible for it. As if she would be amicable and let those who wanted her life be scot-free.


    "The White Syndicate seemed to be involved in it, coborating with your uncle. The White Syndicate''s objective was the Ancient Technology you possessed, and as for your uncle¡­ I''m sure you know why." Phoebe revealed.


    "My Ancient Technology?" Vanessa raised an eyebrow.


    "Heh, they''re probably wanting it for the uing New Region, right?" Shi Tian suddenly interrupted.


    "That''s right, Gavin." Phoebe pped her hands and praised him.


    "Just call me Nathan. We''re allies for now, and I won''t tease you about it." Shi Tian chuckled softly.


    He then turned to Vanessa, patting her on the shoulders, and warned. "This is a great lesson for you, Vanessa. Never reveal your wealth to anyone, because wealth brings you cmity."


    Vanessa nodded her head but didn''t forget to pinch Shi Tian''s waist.


    "Yeah, not only does it bring cmity, but it also brings a scammer that wants to take advantage of my wealth constantly." She clicked her tongue and sneered.


    "It''s not my fault that you were easy to scam." Shi Tian shrugged. He won''t and probably never will feel ashamed of swindling her with the Dimension Ring. To date, that was his best record in scamming others.


    A precious Dimension Ring and he was able to obtain it with such a small price. He would be willing to conduct such trades daily if the chance arrived.


    "Ahem, I guessed we''re clear now, right?" Phoebe faked a cough to get their attention when she realized the two were somewhat yful bickering. She could tell their rtionship was somewhat ambiguous, but didn''t n to pry further.


    Shi Tian pushed Vanessa to the side, preventing her from pinching his waist again. He then sped his hand as a sign of gesture of respect and said, "Yes, I''ll see you back at the camp,"


    "Very well, I''ll see you back at the camp." Phoebe proceeded to signal for her soldiers to gather up and prepare to leave the scene.


    The bodies that remained on the scene will decay soon due to the pollution, or probably be devoured by nearby monsters anyway.

 Chapter 335 Difference In Values

    Chapter 335 Difference In Values


    As Phoebe promptly left the scene of the battlefield with her soldiers, Shi Tian nced over at the pile of corpses.


    His expression was somewhatplicated as he couldn''t find a word to describe the scene.


    These soldiers who followed the orders of theirmanders and had their life forfeited, couldn''t even get a proper burial.


    Matter of fact, they were even left to rot by the pollution or some monsters that might be hiding to feast on their corpse.


    "They really aren''t great people." Vanessa suddenly eximed.


    "For a petty reason, they caused such casualties, and didn''t even bother to mention or regret their actions." She added, feeling somewhat bitter.


    Naturally, she had ordered some people to die in the past, but it was always for a proper reason. Never once had she indiscriminately had someone killed because of a petty reason.


    "Did you really think they would care how many soldiers they have lost?" Shi Tian snickered coldly.


    "The world isn''t filled with rainbows, and you should have understood that fact by now. Even you, yourself, had nearly lost your life twice, but did anyone feel bad for you?"


    "I know, but it just doesn''t feel right. We''re all humans, struggling to survive in this forsaken world. So why must we still have infighting?"


    It wasn''t that Vanessa didn''t understand the circumstances, but the fact that she couldn''tprehend why humans must be so fickle.


    Shouldn''t they all be working together to restore humanity and wipe out all the beasts that had overtaken the world?


    s, Shi Tian merely shook his head when he realized Vanessa was hopeless.


    She was too naive despite all the experiences she had gone through.


    Ignoring her, Shi Tian walked toward the pile of corpses and began scavenging for loot.


    Phoebe and Benedict might be a spendthrift and were unwilling to retrieve any of their equipment from the deceased soldiers, but not for him.


    As if he would let such equipment and resources rot here.


    Vanessa was visibly stunned by Shi Tian''s actions.


    "Do you have any shame?" She asked in a disbelief tone.


    "Do you even know the difficulty of surviving in this world by being alone?" Shi Tian didn''t even need to reply to her when Mary stepped in and scolded Vanessa.


    "You are pampered from the moment you are born, but not everyone is lucky and blessed like you. For people like Nathan, who only had himself to rely on. Resources, no matter how trivial it is, he will look at it as if it was a pot of gold or fortune." She then exined, not feeling disgusted by Shi Tian.


    In fact, she respected Shi Tian''s actions for not being a spendthrift.


    This was practically a golden opportunity to increase his inventory, and he would have been a fool to simply let it rot in ce.


    And seeing Shi Tian looting with such a solemn expression, extremely adamant about not missing any single resource, Vanessa began to question herself.


    She was wondering if she would do the same action as him. Mary''s words struck a chord in her, and she came to realize just how much of a spoiled brat she was.


    No, it wasn''t even a spoiled brat at this point. It was her being ungrateful despite having everything handed to her whenever she wanted. Yet she still acted impulsively and believed her family was restraining her.


    Looking back, she realized her petty little scheme to obtain a big business for her family was simply nothing but a fart in their eyes whenparing how much the family treated her.


    "Was Nathan always so frugal like this?" Vanessa turned to Mary and asked, seemingly curious about how Shi Tian lived.


    Meanwhile, Mary shrugged her shoulders in response. The time that she knew Shi Tian was no longer than the time Shi Tian had encountered Vanessa.


    "The only thing I can say is that his identity ispletely mysterious," Mary responded in a low but subtle tone.


    "I''ve tried to investigate him, but there were practically zero traces of him. However, I do know he isn''t rich and was extremely stingy in his spending."


    Mary paused her remarks there, allowing Vanessa to think of the answer herself.


    Sure enough, it didn''t take long for Vanessa to realize the only time that Shi Tian had spent a lot of money was when he stocked up the refrigerator with food for her.


    Though, she had to cough up the money in the end, proving just how irritating he was.


    Sometimeter, Shi Tian finished looting all the corpses, as he stood near the center and silently prayed for them. He might not know them, but thanks to their possession, he had managed to gain quite a fruitful loot.


    As the saying goes, those who helped you shall be respected. And those who harmed you, make sure to repay them twice or many times whenever the chance shows up.


    After the praying was done, Shi Tian returned to the two women''s side.


    "What are you two discussing?" He then asked. "It''s probably about me being hical, right?"


    "How did you know?" Vanessa identally had a slip of mouth.


    As she messed up, she bit her lips softly, seemingly trying to avoid eye contact with Shi Tian.


    "I don''t think it''s hical. Only Vanessa here is the spoiled one." Mary calmly replied when she noticed Shi Tian was looking at her. Announcing that she wasn''t prejudiced, Mary soon went back to the Iron Sentinel, preparing for departure.


    As for Vanessa, she held a guilty look as she sneakily followed Mary behind, promptly avoiding Shi Tian''s stare.


    Shaking his head, Shi Tian was dumbfounded by her childish act. Since he dared to do such things, then would he really care about how others think of him?


    ''The battlefield between these twomanders might have benefited me in the end. But who knows how many families had to deal with their lost members now?'' Shi Tian eximed inwardly, ncing at the pile of corpses ahead.

 Chapter 336 Trouble After Another

    Chapter 336 Trouble After Another


    As Shi Tian concluded his thoughts, he resolved to honor the fallen soldiers in the best way he could.


    Despite the ongoing chaos and instability of the world, he understood the significance of paying respect to those who had lost their lives in this tumultuousndscape.


    "You may have been forgotten since no one would be bothered to send your corpses back to Gearits City. But at the very least, you can rest in peace, unlike some other unfortunate beings." Shi Tian mumbled softly.


    Gently walking over to the pile of corpses, he took a moment to set up a makeshift memorial.


    Gathering rocks and wooden remnants from the battlefield, he carefully constructed a small altar tomemorate the fallen soldiers. cing some wildflowers and whatever remnants of respect he could conjure up, he created a touching tribute to the departed souls.


    While Shi Tian was busy doing this, Mary smiled softly in the Iron Sentinel.


    "Look at him, always acting so cold-hearted, but it seemed like he still had some heart." Mary calmly said, turning her attention to Vanessa.


    "I''m sure his inner nature isn''t bad, but it''s just that the world is an unforgiving ce. He probably doesn''t want to show his weakness to anyone." Vanessa chimed in.


    The time she spent with him wasn''t much, but she could feel that despite his shrewdness, there was a hint of humanity left in him.


    "Whatever, he''s probably doing this to repay his gratitude for the resources he looted from them. The resources should be decent enough to warrant him to do such acts." Mary stretched her arms.


    Although she knew there was something fishy, she decided to give him the benefit of the doubt.


    "Why does it seem like Nathan is doing this with a nefarious intention now that I''ve heard you?" Vanessa raised an eyebrow, seemingly suspicious of Shi Tian''s action.


    "Could it be that he''s going to demand some money from the deceased soldiers'' families?" She suddenly gasped and looked at Mary in disbelief.


    Mary quickly faked a few coughs, clearly not trying to answer that question.


    Truth be told, she came to such a conclusion as well but found it rude to point it out.


    Who told Shi Tian to always be so calctive and shrewd?


    Because of his character, it had be increasingly difficult for anyone to believe he would ever do something out of goodwill without trying to look for benefits.


    Poor Shi Tian didn''t know the two women were judging him so poorly and was focused on continuing his business.


    As the makeshift memorial took shape, he whispered a silent prayer, a plea for their souls to find peace in this ravaged world.


    Even though their names and faces were unknown to him, he at least gave them a proper burialpared to most unfortunate ones that can''t even have a memorial tablet.


    "Rest assured, deceased soldiers. I have taken a picture of each one of you, so if your family everes up to me. I''ll make sure to send them the picture, albeit with a bit of reward." Shi Tian mumbled, not feeling a bit ashamed of his conduct.


    What he did was considered magnanimous already.


    Just the fact that he wouldn''t actively look for the deceased soldiers'' families was his gratitude for looting them.


    sping his hands, Shi Tian returned to the Iron Sentinel promptly.


    As soon as Shi Tian arrived at the front, Vanessa looked at him and asked, "So, are you going to demand payment from the deceased soldiers'' families?"


    Unlike Mary, who was going to keep silent since she did not wish to pry information from others, she was still somewhat curious.


    Starting the vehicle, Mary pretended to focus on driving but actually had it on auto-driving mode as she perked her ears up to listen in.


    Shi Tian didn''t n on hiding his intention either, so he was directly confused.


    "Yes, I will naturally demand payment for such works since I''m not the one that got them killed. But I also won''t actively search for them unless theye to me themselves." He shrugged his shoulders and responded.


    Call him cold-hearted or disgusting or whatever insulting term you have in your mind. But he was someone doing his best to survive. It might seem immoral, but at the very least, he wasn''t like some criminals who would actively search for troubles from others to sustain themselves.


    Hell, there were even worse criminals who were willing to kidnap women to pleasure themselves and possibly even kill themter on as well.


    Comparing these vile viins, Shi Tian''s actions could be considered mild and gentle.


    While Shi Tian was having such a thought process regarding his action, Mary and Vanessa only silently nced at each other. They were speechless that their intuition was correct, and that Shi Tian was truly a profit seeker in any situation.


    Given that the atmosphere had turned somewhat awkward, Shi Tian was also toozy to have a conversation. Taking a seat by the side, Shi Tian mentally began to recalcte the resources he had managed to gain this time.


    Time slowly passed by, and Mary soon drove the Iron Sentinel back to the camp area.


    Although not many days had passed since they had left the camp, it still felt like an eternity with the amount of turbulence and obstacles they had to deal with.


    What was worse was that Mary seemed to have realized there might be more troubles back here.


    "Trouble after another¡­ just which one of you is the bane?" Mary eximed in disbelief when she saw the scene up ahead.


    Her limit was reaching near the end as she turned to Vanessa and Shi Tian, seemingly trying to discern who was the unlucky star in their group that constantly attracted trouble.


    And before Vanessa could even speak up, Shi Tian smoothly raised his hand and pointed his finger at Vanessa.


    "It''s obviously Vanessa. There''s no other possible candidate." Shi Tian responded, extremely smoothly and swiftly throwing her under the bus without hesitation.

 Chapter 337 Olivia Harrett

    Chapter 337 Olivia Harrett


    Vanessa was utterly speechless when she saw how fast Shi Tian was to point his finger at her and med her.


    "What?" She raised an eyebrow and shouted. "It''s clearly the bane being you, Nathan."


    "Look at you speaking nonsense, Vanessa." Shi Tian sighed softly and shook his head.


    "Who was the one that got ambushed and nearly lost her life? And who was the one that barged into the Iron Sentinel shamelessly, causing us to face numerous obstacles?"


    As Shi Tian rapidly raised so many questions that seemed to pinpoint Vanessa''s involvement in their n as the true culprit of their unluckiness, Mary had no choice but to agree.


    Back then, when she was merely training Shi Tian alone, other than the Night Intruder, there were no other problems as big as this.


    "Ohe on, you seriously believe him?" Vanessa was aghast when she saw Mary wavering and seemed to be giving her the "it''s you" look at her.


    Mary shrugged her shoulders in response. "Who knows, Nathan does have a point when he gets his reasons to back up his im."


    But to be fair, she was just making a joke out of this nonsensical scenery that they kept encountering.


    Luckily, this time, the trouble doesn''t seem to being after them, but on another person. Or more specifically, Theobold, who was currently being confronted by a spoiled woman.


    A spoiled woman, who was even worse than Vanessa in terms of everything, Olivia Harrett.


    It wasn''t difficult to be well-known when the said person was such a troublemaker or arrogant. In other words, an unlikable person tends to be remembered by most people.


    "You have a lot of nerve, Theobold!" Olivia Harrett''s voice resounded throughout the camp.


    "I don''t know who gave you the courage to denounce the very person that our Harrett Family appointed. If that''s the case, then are you going to detain me as well?" She added, seemingly provoking Theobold to make a move against her.


    The tone was so loud that even Shi Tian, who originally had no intention of looking since Mary said the trouble wasn''t after them took a nce.


    The voice was familiar to him as well.


    "It''s her huh?" Shi Tian said in a dumbfounded tone once he realized who the snotty and bratty voice belonged to.


    "You know her?" Vanessa looked at him in astonishment. Clearly, she didn''t expect someone like Shi Tian to know about her.


    "Of course, not personally. I met her a few times back when I ordered takeout in the Horology Restaurant." Shi Tian rified himself.


    "And there was an incident in one of the safeholds in District C." As he said that, he nced at Mary, who instantly understood his meaning.


    Before all this mess had urred, they were indeed upying the safehold reserved area at District C.


    It was also during that time they had sent their greatest regards to Heaven''s Mecha. Coincidentally, when the explosion urred due to the Heaven''s Mecha ipetence mechanic, Olivia Harrett happened to be present at the scene.


    Thus, it could be said that they had dealt with Olivia Harrett in the past, albeit indirectly and unintentionally.


    "I see¡­ maybe it was you that''s the unlucky one since you met her multiple times." Vanessa rubbed her chin and said, pinning the me back on Shi Tian.


    Shi Tian rolled his eyes, seemingly exhausted to even argue with her further. If he wanted to, then there was more reason he could reverse the situation against her, but he was better than that.


    Instead of wasting time arguing with her, he decided to just let her have the feeling of gloat¨C you know how it is, women.


    As Vanessa was feeling proud, believing to have stumped Shi Tian, the two of them were more focused on the current scene ahead of them.


    Olivia Harret could be considered an unexpected variable in Theobold''s scheme, having been put in a difficult spot right now.


    Militarymanders?


    That kind of rank might have been someone powerful and authoritative to themon folks but for people like Olivia Harrett. They were merely a bit better than ants.


    Could Theobold outright attempt to pull a simr scheme against Olivia Harrett as he did to Damon?


    The answer, whether it was long or short, was impossible.


    Not to mention, if Theobold dared to use the Hill Family stamp of approval, it was equivalent to announcing a war among the Five Families.


    His backer would definitely not support him and be quick to throw him under the bus in that case.


    "Looks like Commander Phoebe is already there trying to diffuse the situation." Shi Tian calmly said when he noticed Phoebe standing in between the two.


    "Indeed, but I doubt she could do much either," Mary said solemnly. The only possible way for someone to suppress her at this point was if another heir or someone of higher status than Olivia Harrett showed up.


    However, the chances of that happening seemed extremely slim.


    While Shi Tian and Mary were helpless at the situation, Vanessa suddenly stretched her arms and smirked coldly, "Let me handle this."


    Without even waiting for them to give a response, Vanessa swiftly exited the Iron Sentinel and proceeded to advance forward to the scene where Olivia Harrett was flexing her authority.


    "She really just went ahead??" Shi Tian was stunned when he saw how nimble and quick Vanessa was.


    She had just said she would handle the situation, and the next moment, she was already up ahead, almost nearing the tense atmosphere.


    The atmosphere was palpable, with Olivia Harrett practically parading around and showing her domineering side.


    "Why are you suddenly a mute now, Commander Theobold?" Olivia Harrett asked sarcastically.


    "I was sure you love running your mouth and defending yourself. So what''s the matter now?" She pressured again, clearly wanting Theobold to make a mistake so that she could capitalize on it.


    The other spectators merely kept quiet and watched the scene with anticipation. They were enjoying Theobold''s plight and wondered how the situation would resolve itself.

 Chapter 338 Well-Spoken

    Chapter 338 Well-Spoken


    As the crowd of spectators waited in anticipation, Olivia Harrett began pointing fingers at Theobold directly. Theobold''s soldiers were livid when they saw how she was disrespecting theirmander, but what could they do?


    Theobold had made sure to signal his soldiers to back down and not do anything at all. Unlike them, Theobold knew Olivia Harrett was tempting him to make a move so that she could further her aggression. With Olivia Harrett repeatedly attempting to provoke Theobold, Phoebe on the side seemed to be trying to de-escte the situation.


    "Young Lady Olivia, everyone here is prioritizing over the suppression of the monster wave. We can''t afford to waste time like this." Phoebe said calmly.


    But little did she know, Olivia Harrett turned to her attention and red. "Oh, so you''re telling me that I''m wasting everyone''s time when Commander Theobold here is so righteous to kick Damon off the frontline?" ''Wasn''t she an impulsive woman? How did she be so glib-tongue?'' Shi Tian, who heard it, was surprised by her counter. Although he had never interacted with Olivia Harrett directly, he had managed to hear her immaturity from afar. The current Olivia Harrett seemed to have be a different person, almost as if she turned¡­ smarter? "That was not my meaning, Young Lady Olivia." Phoebe quickly shook her head and denied the allegation. "What I''m trying to say is that Commander Theobold and I, along with the rest of the people here, have to deal with the monster wave. We need to prepare ourselves, given that the movement of the monster wave seemed to be active again and ready to strike." She added, reminding Olivia Harrett of the current situation.


    However, it was quite clear that Phoebe was trying to imply that Olivia Harrett was causing a scene unreasonably and if any mishaps were to go wrong, it would be her and the Harrett Family''s fault.


    It was truly a devious remark of Phoebe that had so many hiddenyers of implication. And when Shi Tian thought this spoiled youngdy would definitely fall for the trap, the opposite happened.


    "Commander Phoebe, you are quite a pessimistic person. How am I dying your so-called preparation when I recalled you had juste back to the camp?" Olivia Harrett raised an eyebrow and asked. "Also, if I recall, Commander Theobold here wanted to drive Damon out from assisting in the frontline. So who is the one that is truly trying to disrupt the morale and forces in the frontline?" She then questioned, astonishing everyone in the present. Olivia Harrett''s point madeplete sense. Yes, it was true that Damon tried to use Benedict and failed, but that doesn''t mean Damon needed to get out of the frontline.


    Damon''s soldiers were all extreme addicts in training, so their strengths were crystal clear to the people here. Since Damon falsely used Benedict, then shouldn''t he redeem himself by suppressing the monster wave? "Those don''t seem to be her wordings, Nathan." While everyone was dumbfounded by Olivia Harrett''s rebuttal, Mary seemed to have noticed something suspicious. "You mean someone else is directing her speech?" Shi Tian looked at Mary and asked softly. Mary nodded her head. "I have investigated this Olivia Harrett person before, and all information came with a single conclusion. She was an immature brat, and there is no way she would suddenly be so fluent in her speech." "If you''ve said it, then it means the current her is receiving instruction from someone on how to rebuke others. " Shi Tian mumbled. "And that person should be someone more authoritative than her, such as her father, Samuel Harrett. Only he is capable of instructing her andmanding her to listen." Mary concluded. The pieces were falling together and it made perfect sense of the current confusing scenes. Samuel Harrett was the highestmanding personnel in the Harrett Family, so it would have been beneath his status toe all the way over here to lecture a militarymander. However, if that person changed to the well-known spoiled brat, namely his daughter, then everything would be easier.


    Everyone knows Olivia Harrett''s temperament in the higher circle, so who couldin about it? "Heh, let''s revert this well-spoken Olivia back to her immaturity then." Shi Tian suddenly shed a cold grin. He might not have liked Theobold because of his devious scheme and conduct, but their current circumstances needed Theobold. In fact, he even made all the trouble to be on the good side of Phoebe.


    Hence, Shi Tian could not allow Olivia Harrett, or more importantly, the person behind her to reverse the tide. "What are you nning to do?" Mary asked in a cautious tone. "Don''t do anything that might cause us to be the focus of attention." "Rest assured, Mary." Shi Tian chuckled softly. "Look at Vanessa, she''s waiting by the sideline to make her entrance, but is currently hesitating because of how well-spoken Olivia is. Since she needed an opportunity, I''m merely giving Vanessa one." He pointed at Vanessa and said. "And how are you going to pull that off?" "With this Spymon." Shi Tian grinned and retrieved an item that he had crafted. The Spymon was an electromaic pulse item, with the blueprint given to him long ago by Isaac Aaronax, and it took him a long time to even sessfully create one.


    The rest of the attempts ended up in failure, resulting in him with quite the heartache for losing so many precious materials.


    Hence, he had never once taken it out to use it, because the Spymon was a one-time use item. Once activated, it will be self-detnotated, meaning all the materials inside would be rendered useless as well.


    He can''t even recycle the material and use the leftover pieces to recreate another. It was truly an expensive item that only the rich could afford to waste. "I''m not going topensate you for utilizing the Spymon." Mary instantly made her stance loud and clear that she wasn''t going to reimburse him. "Rest assured, the one who will reimburse me isn''t you¡­ but Vanessa." Shi Tianughed sinisterly.

 Chapter 339 Electromagnetic Pulse

    Chapter 339 Electromaic Pulse


    "I knew you were a stingy person, Nathan." Mary clicked her tongue and judged him. As if he was willing to use the Spymon had it not been Vanessa trying to take the initiative to dissolve the situation. Meanwhile, Shi Tian had no shame when being called a stingy person. He would rather be a stingy person than be a spendthrift. Money and resources are important for survival, and he could not afford to waste them all as if it was nothing. "I would say we''re the same kind, Mary." Shi Tian lightly said, reminding her that she was greedy as well. However, Mary shook her head and disagreed with Shi Tian''s im.


    "That''s not true!" She denied it adamantly. "I don''t ask people to reimburse me. Instead, they were the ones eagerly wanting to reimburse me for a chance to meet with me and have a conversation." "Tsk, just brag all you want." Shi Tian rolled his eyes. He was positive she was talking about her past, in which she goes in disguise and pretends to be someone else, simr to those espionage spy movies. Nevertheless, Shi Tian sneakily left the Iron Sentinel and angled the Spymon toward the designated area, namely Olivia Harrett''s position. As Olivia Harrett was still speaking in such a fluent and decisive remark, Shi Tian hurled the Spymon near her location. Obviously, he can''t just directly throw it next to her, given that it would be unnecessary and bring trouble for him as well. The Spymon radius was quite big, so he simply needed to ensure Olivia Harrett was within the proximity of the EMP field. Not to mention, Shi Tian can''t afford to EMP the entire security they had on, lest it might cause chaos. The Spymon deployed the pulse, emanating a controlled field that targeted only Olivia Harrett''s area. A barely perceptible disruption rippled through the air, affecting the devices in its radius without alerting the entire security system.


    An almost imperceptible shimmer coursed through the area as devices near Olivia Harrett began to falter, causing a momentary interruption in her speech. She paused, ncing around, perplexed by the sudden glitch in the devices.


    "Yes, dismissing Commander Damon might have hindered our strength slightly, but it was better than keeping him around that would affect our morale." Phoebe continued to defend their actions as to why they forcefully had Damon dismissed from the frontline.


    Her exnation also made logical sense to the spectators as they agreed with her. Sure, losing Damon and his soldiers might be detrimental to their overall strength, but it was better to not have him than to keep him, given that it would only lower their morale. Damon was someone who attempted to use his fellowmander for the sake of pettiness, so why should they keep such an uncontroble variable in their fight? Who knows if he might disrupt their formation with another false usation? And as everyone calmly waited for Olivia Harrett to respond to Phoebe''s statement, she was noticeably pale, almost as if she had lost all of her will to counter the argument.


    She also had no choice but to take off the earpiece that she was wearing because it was buzzing in her ear. With the EMP activated, the earpiece was no longer working and was in fact hurting her ear. And without someone instructing her anymore, Olivia Harrett instantly reverted back to her original self. "Hmph, what a bunch of nonsense!" Olivia Harrett harrumphed and waved her hand. "Do you think our Harrett Family would be that dumb to assign someone with such an important post to use anothermander?" ''What a dummy.'' Shi Tianughed inwardly. Without any guidance, this spoiled young woman was indeed no different than a naive person. What kind of questioning was that? It had long been proven that Damon had falsely used Theobold in public, given that he couldn''t provide evidence to back up the im. And sure, Shi Tian, Mary, and Vanessa might have known that Damon was correct, but the rest of the public didn''t.


    To them, the oue was that Damon was jealous of Theobold''s achievement, prompting him to try to smear his reputation, only to fail miserably. Yet here we are, with Olivia Harrett practically shooting herself in the foot with that question. While everyone was seemingly stunned by the sudden stupidity of Olivia Harrett, Shi Tian grabbed a small rock and threw it at Vanessa.


    Vanessa, feeling a small rock hitting her thigh, turned around and noticed Shi Tian as the culprit.


    He was giving her a hand signal that it was time for her to make an entrance.


    It took a few seconds for Vanessa to realize that the current abnormality should have been done by Shi Tian. The timing was too wless, to say the least, and with Olivia Harrett currently making a fool out of herself, it was time for her to act. She nodded her head, ready to make her grand entrance. Carrying an air of confidence, void of her previous naivety, Vanessa strode forward and pped her hands.


    "Wow, I thought Commander Damon himself was shameless enough to use his fellowmanders, but I didn''t expect the person above him to be even more shameless. I suppose that''s simr to the term like father like son, right?" Vanessa chuckled softly, publicly denouncing Olivia Harrett.


    "You are the father!" Olivia Harrett swiftly rebuked Vanessa when she heard her insult.


    However, little did she expect that Vanessa was more devious than anyone could believe. "Oh, I''m the father?" Vanessa ced her hand on her chest and looked visibly shocked. "If I''m the father, then why aren''t you greeting me properly, you ungrateful brat?" She then scolded harshly, prompting the crowd to burst intoughter.


    Not a single one of them expected a solemn and tense atmosphere to turn soedic in an instant. As for Shi Tian, he was silently praising Vanessa to be even more outspoken, seemingly in awe and astonished. "She has been hiding such a personality from us all along." He mumbled, eagerly waiting for Vanessa to disy her forte.

 Chapter 340 Vanessa Ariston

    340 Vanessa Ariston


    Vanessa''s poised denouncement of Olivia Harrett, cloaked in veiled insult, was like a strategic masterstroke on calligraphy. The gathered onlookers were taken aback, initially stunned by the audacity of her remarks before a wave ofughter erupted, breaking the somber atmosphere. Hearing theughter from these onlookers, Olivia Harrett was livid. "You have a lot of nerve to humiliate me," Olivia Harrett turned her attention to Vanessa and said solemnly. "Do you know there are always consequences for those who use the wrong words?"


    "Of course, I do. Yourmander is the perfect example of suffering the consequences of using the wrong words." Vanessa chuckled softly.


    Olivia Harrett narrowed her eyes coldly when Vanessa had not once, but twice insulted her. Who the hell did she think she was? Not even Theobold dared to utter a single sound as she reprimanded him repeatedly.


    So how dare this nobody attempt to humiliate her?


    "Someone detained this disrespectful woman right this instant!" Olivia Harrett pointed her finger at Vanessa and quicklymanded. Even if the soldiers present weren''t under her, she knew they wouldn''t dare to disobey her if she asked to detain someone, especially someone so rude toward her. s, not a single soldier dared to make a move. Or more like they didn''t dare to make a move without the permission of theirmanders. Maybe if Olivia Harrett was the family they were under then they might have listened. Unfortunately for her though, Olivia Harrett only had such power over Damon, who coincidentally was not present in the scene. Damon had long gone back to Gearits City to report the situation to Samuel Harrett regarding the mess he created. And because Olivia Harrett sneakily came to the wilderness, it was natural for Damon to be unaware of her presence here. When Olivia Harrett realized not a single soldier made a move, she was beyond furious. "Do you take my words as empty air?" She turned to the soldiers and asked in anger. "You over there, go and detain her." "Oh please, detain me?" Vanessa shook her head andughed in contempt. "Are you even capable of detaining me?" "Hmph, I''m the heir of the Harrett Family, one of the five families that govern Gearits City. Why can''t I detain you?" "Wow, heir of the Harrett Family. That''s quite arrogant of you." Vanessa snickered coldly.


    Afterward, she discharged her magicule and suppressed Olivia Harrett. "One of the five families, but I''m from Chronosworth City where there''s only one governing family, the Ariston Family. And I''m Vanessa Ariston." Vanessa then announced, proiming her family name in public, sending a wave of shocker to everyone except a few individuals. Some of the individuals included Theobold, who had long investigated Vanessa''s origin. Hence, he had not once dared to truly plot against Vanessa, given Vanessa''s special identity was enough to cause Gearits City to fall. Unlike Gearits City which had manyplications in terms of governing and ruling parties, Chronosworth City was more straightforward, having only one powerful family governing it. Vanessa Ariston was the legitimate heir to Chronosworth City, which made her identity and status leagues above Olivia Harrett, who was merely an heir to one of five families ruling parties.


    Not to mention, the technological advance and military strength of Chronosworth City were far superior to Gearits City.


    And sure enough, Olivia Harrett''s face turned pale upon realizing the identity of Vanessa.


    However, she was still unresigned, given that it was just a one-sided argument from Vanessa. Where was the evidence and proof that Vanessa was truly the heir of the Ariston Family? "Hmph, how dare you impersonate someone of the Ariston Family?" Olivia Harrett was unwilling to believe such an important figure would show up here. After all, with such prestigious status and with the vast amount of resources in Chronosworth City, there was no point for their heir toe all the way here.


    She was betting on the fact that Vanessa was merely trying to bluff her and make her rethink her decision. s, this time, Olivia Harrett had betted on the wrong move. Vanessa was unfazed by Olivia''s disbelief and questioning. Instead, she snickered coldly at the pathetic attempt of Olivia Harrett in trying to smear her.


    She subsequently produced a unique token, specially crafted with materials that even the EMP interference caused by Shi Tian''s Spymon couldn''t obstruct. The token emitted a radiant glow, disying the unmistakable emblem of the Ariston Family, solidifying Vanessa''s im.


    The sudden emergence of this irrefutable symbol of authority silenced the doubters, casting a newfound light on the validity of Vanessa''s identity. The area became hushed, almost as if they were waiting for Olivia''s next move in light of this decisive evidence.


    "That''s really the emblem of the Ariston Family."


    "Yeah, and we all know that the token can''t be activated unless you are authorized." "Heh, this spoiled youngdy has finally met her match. The Chronosworth City might be far from Gearits City, but with their strength, it won''t be long for them to arrive here." Given that the tokens couldn''t be activated unless they were truly from the Ariston Family, it was clear that no one doubted Vanessa''s im anymore. The onlookers were enjoying the unexpected development, seemingly curious of how much shame Olivia Harrett would bring to herself.


    There was not a single person here who thought Olivia Harrett would continue to ask people to detain Vanessa Ariston. That was equivalent to asking for war and incurring the wrath of Chronosworth City. And as spoiled as Olivia Harrett might be, she knew the consequences of her actions today. She was spoiled, arrogant, and haughty, but she wasn''t foolish enough to believe her status could be imposed against someone from another city. Her status was only viable in Gearits City and the citizens living there. Meanwhile, Shi Tian was utterly astonished when he finally got to know Vanessa''s true identity.


    All along, he only knew her identity was special, but never this special.


    ''Shit, then doesn''t that mean I have offended the authoritative governing family in Chronosworth City?'' Shi Tian was unable to fathom the consequences of the aftermath if they learned of his deeds toward Vanessa.

 Chapter 341 Flexing

    341 Flexing


    Just like most people watching the scene, Shi Tian was seemingly caught off-guard by Vanessa''s identity. All along, Shi Tian merely thought Vanessa held a somewhat high status in Chronosworth City, but definitely not this high. Hell, her identity alone could easily send anyone in Gearits City to shambles with a singlemand of hers.


    ''With such high status and the fact that she snuck out alone here for some fun. No wonder she was targeted.'' Shi Tian thought to himself. If he was jealous of Vanessa''s status and position, then even he would have sent assassins to kill Vanessa. After all, if Vanessa died, it meant a power struggle in Chronosworth City to change hands. ''Screw the respecting and not prying for information. I''m going to ask her for the details of Chronosworth City even if it was impolite.'' Shi Tian clenched his fist and swore inwardly. His prior restraint in not prying for information, out of respect or perhaps a fear of being seen as intrusive, now seemed like a missed opportunity. The sense of inadequacy in not probing for more information about Vanessa and her background left him feeling unprepared and somewhat foolish amidst the current revtion. He realized that his hesitance had caused him to miss out on crucial details that could have given him a better understanding of Vanessa''s situation.


    "Why was I so foolish?" Shi Tian questioned himself, having realized intelligence does not equal wisdom.


    Sure, he might have intelligence, but without wisdom to allow him to make good judgments was detrimental. Wisdom came through experience, perhaps without us even realizing it, and intelligence, in all its many forms, was often something inherent or something people consciously work on improving.


    The realization dawned on Shi Tian that understanding more about the power structures between cities and their governing families was not just a matter of curiosity but a matter of survival. The potential consequences of crossing someone as influential as Vanessa or her family, the Ariston Family, loomed ominously.


    ''Vanessa isn''t a grudgeful person, right?'' Shi Tian wondered silently, his eyes remained locked on the scene in which Olivia Harrett was getting frightened. While Shi Tian was pondering over his fate, Olivia Harrett, on the other hand, was not faring much better.


    In fact, she was beginning to panic and wondering how her father might punish her for causing such a gigantic mess. Normally, the mess she caused was within Gearits City, so her father could still cover it up for her, prompting her to not have to worry about a single consequence of her actions.


    Spoiled?


    Yes, but that was because she knew she could afford to be spoiled and not receive any consequences.


    However, the mess this time was rted to another city¨C one that was even more advanced than Gearits City. Who knows if her father could still bail her out in such circumstances? "So what is it, Miss Heir?" Vanessa suddenly asked coldly. "Are you still trying to detain me? But I''m afraid you might not even have the capability to attempt such an act." As humiliating as that sounded, Olivia Harrett could only clench her fist in anger, suppressing her emotion deep within her heart. "What''s the matter? Cat got your tongue?" Vanessa snickered and stepped forward, cing her hands on her hip. "Weren''t you so authoritative earlier, bbering your mouth left and right? Why did you turn into a mute now?" She added, insulting her further.


    Now that she had revealed her identity to everyone, she was done trying to y low-key or so she had tried. Vanessa realized that her identity factor alone could divert most of the trouble, and understood just how important her status was. Just look at the current scenario. Had she not revealed her status, not a single person would have given her adequate respect.


    However, once her status was revealed, everyone seemed to be afraid of her, almost as if even breathing next to her was a frightening thing.


    "D-Don''t you dare go too far, Vanessa Ariston!" Olivia Harrett finally spoke up and shouted. "This is still within the vicinity of Gearits City, and not your Chronosworth City." "Pfft," Vanessa made a chuckle when she heard how pathetic her retaliation was. She didn''t mean tough at her, but the nonsense that Olivia Harrett uttered was truly nonsensical¨C to the point that even the other onlookers wereughing in amusement.


    Vicinity?


    This Olivia Harrett must have lost her brain somewhere. They were in the wilderness, and everyone knows, there are no actualws within the wilderness. Sure, some people might still be afraid of certain people with status such as Vanessa, but aside from that, it could be said that the wilderness was awless ce. With that in mind, it made perfect sense that everyone thought Olivia Harrett was a fool after all. The eloquent speech or talk that she had made earlier seemed suspicious now.


    Taking a step forward, Vanessa started poking at Olivia Harrett. "Vicinity? If I am harmed even by a single hair, then let''s see if you still have the confidence to say you have any vicinity." Vanessa sneered, essentially threatening her.


    "Y-You just wait! I''ll make sure you will pay for this." Olivia Harrett stepped backward and pointed at her anxiously, before swiftly leaving the scene.


    She was spoiled but not dumb. Without anyone backing her up at the moment, it would be foolish of her to go head-to-head with Vanessa, whose identity and status were leagues above hers. Seeing Olivia Harrett hastily leaving the scenes, Vanessa then turned her attention to the onlookers, who were no different than those gossip women. "The show''s over already. Do you have that much free time in your hand when the monster wave seems to have a new movement now?" She scoffed coldly, prompting the rest of the onlookers to leave the scene as if they were rats. sping her hands right after, Vanessa was relieved to finally show her might once in a while. These people will never learn until they meet someone stronger than them in their own game.

 Chapter 342 Fakeness

    Chapter 342 Fakeness


    After the spoiled youngdy had left the scene hastily in bitter defeat, Vanessa shifted her attention to the dispersing crowd, her confidence evident in her demeanor.


    "The spectacle''s done. Are you all really that idle, focused on frivolities while a monster wave is stirring?" She scorned, observing how easily the onlookers scattered, intimidated by themanding aura she emanated.


    She was not the type to flex her authority, but that didn''t mean she didn''t enjoy the feelings of being revered and feared.


    Breathing a sigh of relief and satisfaction, Vanessa felt vindicated in her disy of strength. She recognized that these individuals needed to learn through experience; strength, both in influence and authority, was whatmanded true respect.


    The argument with Olivia Harrett affirmed her belief in the power her identity wielded in shaping others'' actions and reactions.


    ''Had I kept my identity a secret, then these people wouldn''t even give a damn about my words.'' Vanessa thought to herself, recognizing how her status was a double-edged sword.


    The altercation had cemented the vast chasm of power between the cities, affirming that Vanessa''s identity alone had changed the dynamics in the wilderness.


    It revealed the intricate power y and the often-unspoken rules between cities and their ruling families.


    For Vanessa, it was a disy of dominance, a reminder to those witnessing the scene that there existed a hierarchy transcending mere geographical boundaries.


    And that was despite the world having turned into ruin, we still have people worrying about status this and status that.


    No wonder humanity was on the brink of extinction, given how "united" they were in the face of cmity.


    At the moment, no one dared to approach the current Vanessa, given her special identity.


    Not even Theobold stepped forward now that Vanessa herself had revealed her identity. Previously, he could feign ignorance about the matter despite having known the truth, but he couldn''t do that now.


    Seeing how isted Vanessa was bing, Shi Tian sighed softly and could subtly understand why she had never once revealed herst name.


    Maybe it was because of this fear and respect people would have for her when she revealed her status that made her want to keep it a secret.


    Shaking his head, Shi Tian proceeded to step out from his hiding spot and approached Vanessa with casualness. His actions were equivalent to telling the people that he wasn''t afraid of Vanessa''s status and that he wasn''t going to treat her any differently.


    "Should I call you Vanessa or Vanessa Ariston now?" Shi Tian chuckled softly and teased.


    Vanessa rolled her eyes at his bad humor.


    "Are you seriously teasing me when you learned of my identity?" She then asked, seemingly trying to threaten him.


    Shi Tian shrugged his shoulders in response, "What identity? The Aristonst name? You''re still the same old Vanessa that I have known."


    Realizing his intention, Vanessa started chuckling a bit. Indeed, that was just how he would react if simply remembered her as Vanessa and not Vanessa Ariston.


    Though it didn''t surprise her that he wasn''t deterred by her identity, lest that wouldn''t be the Shi Tian she knew, but an imposter.


    After all, if Shi Tian was truly one to be afraid of one''s status, then he wouldn''t have attempted to cross Theobold, much less scammed her.


    With Shi Tian being casual with Vanessa, and her domineering aura subsequently diminished, the atmosphere was finally turning for the better.


    Previously, the atmosphere was extremely tense, with not a single person willing to make a sound.


    However, thanks to Shi Tian''s overly casualness with Vanessa, everyone was seemingly at ease now.


    Even Mary had gotten off the Iron Sentinel and met up with them. "The two of you really know how to make a scene."


    "Hmph, as if you weren''t enjoying it from the vehicle." Vanessa clicked her tongue and retorted. "Don''t think I didn''t know, but I bet you wereughing wildly when you saw how I chased that spoiled youngdy away as if it was a stray cat."


    "What can I say? That was indeed fascinating and enjoyable to watch." Mary shrugged, outright admitting that she was enjoying the scene.


    Like how could she not?


    How many chances or opportunities are there to see an heir from one of the Five Families be so publicly humiliated and pushed over?


    The answer was that it could be counted with one hand, or more specifically one finger. Because what Vanessa did was the first instance ever that an heir was publicly humiliated by someone simr to their age.


    While the trios were conversing, Theobold finally took the chance to interrupt them.


    "Haha, we are surely blessed to have someone from the Ariston Family in Chronosworth City to help us out." Theoboldughed heartily and stared at Vanessa, his tone extremely polite.


    Vanessa was inwardly disgusted by Theobold''s fakeness and wanted to say something in return that was not so friendly.


    Except, Shi Tian was faster, given that he knew Vanessa was definitely not the type to be able to conceal her emotions. She needed time to adjust and control her emotions, so Shi Tian dly covered Vanessa with his back as he brought himself to the front.


    "Commander Theobold, your words aren''t too nice, right?" Shi Tian raised an eyebrow and questioned.


    "You''ve made it sound like we''re so distant. It kind of made us feel somewhat sour about it." He added, feigning to be hurt by his politeness.


    Of course, Theobold also knew about the deeds that Shi Tian had done, but just like Shi Tian, he also understood the circumstances.


    Phoebe also informed him of Shi Tian''s intention to remain an ally, and he would be foolish to go hostile.


    "Haha, my mistakes." Theobold startedughing and scratched his head.


    "You must have been tired from the exciting adventure, right? You should take a quick rest."


    Theobold''s suggestion might seem innocent at first, but Shi Tian understood the implication.


    Exciting adventure¡­ that was referring to him killing and injuring some of his elite soldiers.

 Chapter 343 Terrible Soldiers

    Chapter 343 Terrible Soldiers


    Shi Tian nced at Theobold, carefully deciphering his words while maintaining a calm facade.


    "An exciting adventure indeed, Commander Theobold. Unfortunately, our ''adventure'' was just as thrilling as yours." His voice was serene, masking the gravity behind his words.


    Theobold''s expression shifted, though he tried to maintain his affable smile. "Ah, I see. Battle is thrilling in its own way, isn''t it?"


    Shi Tian nodded his head, agreeing with Theobold. "A battle always makes a person energized, filled with emotion. Sometimes, they could even unleash powers that they never thought they were able to conjure."


    On the surface, it seemed as if the two were having a casual conversation, but those with a keen perspective would be able to discern that it was anything but casual.


    Each one of them was like a venomous viper, with each word they spoke aloud being a toxin.


    Vanessa''s eyes seemed to be going around in a circle, seemingly filled with a headache. She was too fatigued andzy to hear these two men ying word games against each other.


    Why are they treating this as if they are in a political debate?


    Once or twice was adequate already, but if they kept going on, then it was just boring and annoying.


    "Ugh, I''m exhausted, so can we stop the conversation for now?" Vanessa feigned to be overly fatigued and interrupted their conversation.


    "Hmm, Vanessa is right. We haven''t gotten ample rest yet, so we shouldn''t idle here longer." Mary chimed in, agreeing with Vanessa.


    Already understanding that they didn''t wish to converse with them further, Theobold nodded his head and smiled amicably.


    "You''re right, after an exciting adventure, one would feel overly fatigued. You should get some rest to recover from your fatigue since the monster wave is starting to be agitated again." He advised.


    "Well, the women are the boss." Shi Tian chuckled softly and said. "Vanessa also wished to discuss something with us as well, so she would return with us. I''m sure you wouldn''t mind that, right Commander Theobold?"


    "Of course not, Vanessa is perfectly safe here. And I''ll ensure that she won''t be disturbed."


    "That''s very reassuring to hear, Commander Theobold." Shi Tian gave a slight nod.


    And with that said, the trio turned around and returned to their original position. The Iron Sentinel was also parked there long ago from the auto-function of it.


    Maybe because the Iron Sentinel was a moving protected vehicle, but Vanessa was morefortable residing in the Iron Sentinel than the tent.


    Who knows how "safe" the tent truly was?


    The tents were all surrounded by strangers and shrewd militarymanders. Each of them was up to no good, given how easily one had fallen without being able to muster up much of a fight.


    That alone was enough for Vanessa to not wish to interact with them any further.


    In her mind, she was better off staying with Shi Tian and Mary. At the very least, these two aren''t as scary and threatening as the rest.


    Sometimeter, once they had returned to their Iron Sentinel, Theobold''s amicable expression vanished upon entering his tent, followed by Phoebe.


    "Are you sure they really wanted to continue to ally with us?" Theobold then questioned Phoebe, seemingly finding the whole ordeal to be confusing.


    Phoebe shrugged her shoulders in response.


    Truth be told, it was hard to read Shi Tian''s motive and mind, considering he was clever in his speeches.


    However, because of that, she was positive that Shi Tian wouldn''t do something stupid like what Damon had tried to do.


    "I''ve chatted with Nathan before, and from his speech. He''s not the type to act irrationally." Phoebe said, giving her input on the matter. "Also, he was giving me quite a leeway to dissolve the grudge that Benedict would have on me, so I owe for that."


    "Oh? He managed to help you resolve the conflict with Benedict?" Theobold was suddenly intrigued.


    And needless to say, Theobold''s response meant that he had long known about the "civil war" between Benedict and Phoebe, prompting her to remember that Theobold was not an easy individual to deal with.


    Sure, they might have worked together right now, but that was only for a temporary moment, and because of an order from the higher-ups.


    "Yeah, and his intention was clear that he wanted to steer away from the mess," Phoebe said and shrugged, unwilling to divulge further.


    Theobold nodded his head, having understood Phoebe was holding back some information. But no matter, those weren''t important to him.


    And just when Phoebe was about to announce her leave, Theobold suddenly revealed something.


    "Oh right, I''ve found a few terrible soldiers in my toon, so I have them killed already. As for their families in Gearits City, you wouldn''t mind assisting me in ending their lives as well, right?" He said in an extremely casual tone, almost as if it wasn''t anything serious.


    "A few terrible soldiers?" Phoebe narrowed her eyes and asked calmly.


    "Yeah, they were terrible and seemed to be doing something behind my back." Theobold chuckled softly. "Luckily, Mary was there to bring light to me regarding the matter, so I managed to salvage it in time. Otherwise, I would have lost big time."


    He then snapped his fingers, and a soldier from behind stepped forward and handed Phoebe the list of names.


    "My hands are tied with the current monster wave bing agitated and might go on a rampage at any moment. Plus, I don''t have enough soldiers to do the task in Gearits City, but you can, right?"


    Meanwhile, Phoebe kept quiet as her eyes scanned around the list of names, having found them quite familiar.


    Though she made sure to keep a deadpan expression on her face, revealing zero emotion.


    A few secondster, Phoebe threw the list of names back on the floor and advised, "Murdering people in Gearits City wouldn''t be good, Theobold."


    "I''m not telling you to murder them publicly, Phoebe." Theobold curled his lip upward and grinned wickedly.


    "You can just have them arrested with a false usation and an ident suddenly urred while they''re in prison."

 Chapter 344 Three Birds With One Stone

    Chapter 344 Three Birds With One Stone


    Phoebe was stuck in a dilemma, having realized the sinister scheme of Theobold.


    Not only did he reveal the fact that he had killed some of his soldiers, but he also revealed that these soldiers were spotted because of Mary.


    Essentially, Theobold was causing a rift between her and Shi Tian''s party, plus the fact that he wanted her to personally end these soldiers'' family members as well.


    The nefarious scheme of Theobold was well done, to say the least, if Phoebe had to reverse their role.


    ''This is why one should never cooperate with a wolf. They will bite anyone regardless if they''re on the same side or not.'' Phoebe cursed silently, ming the higher-ups for agreeing to this.


    The list of soldiers in the name was naturally people they trained for covert operations to spy on others.


    Yet they were now spotted, and Theobold was practically telling her to personally kill their remaining bloodline with her own hands.


    What was worse was that Theobold didn''t mention these soldiers were rted to her, implying that he was going to treat it as a few soldiers gone rogue and had zero connection with them.


    However, if she was to refuse the request, then it meant that she was indirectly admitting these soldiers were from the Hill Family, and the cooperation might be over.


    At that time, she would definitely be punished for doing a terrible job by the higher-ups.


    "Just this list of soldiers, right?" Phoebe took a deep breath and asked.


    "Mhmm, and remember to send the video so that I can save them to remind my toon to not do such a terrible job, Phoebe." Theobold nodded his head and smiled innocently.


    "Very well, I''ll have it done in 3 days."


    "3 days are a bit long, isn''t it? Is the Hill Family that ipetent now¨C to the point that they can''t even do such a simple matter in a single day?"


    Clenching her fist, Phoebe rephrased herself. "It''ll be done within 24 hours and the video will be sent to you directly."


    Being forced into a corner with his venomous words, Phoebe could not afford to let Theobold berate the Hill Family for their ipetence in silencing a few people.


    The families of these soldiers who had been caught red-handed could only have themselves to me. For giving birth to these soldiers who failed to conceal themselves properly.


    Meanwhile, Theobold pped his hands andughed heartily when he heard Phoebe was going to get it done within 24 hours.


    "Hahaha, as expected of the Hill Family. Their power and authority is no less than the other four families." He praised andplimented them.


    However, in Phoebe''s ears, they were anything but praises.


    It was a full-on insult to them, and if possible, Phoebe truly wanted to take her gun out and shoot at Theobold.


    "If there''s nothing else, then I shall leave. Benedict caused me to be quite fatigued." Phoebe said coolly, directly turning around and exiting without waiting for his response.


    Though it didn''t matter much, given Theobold had no intention of replying. He was merely grinning as he watched her back slowly disappear from his sight.


    "Heh, I''ve found them long ago, but Mary did inform me of traitors. So I''m merely speaking a white lie. Let''s see if you still want to cozy up with them, Phoebe." Theobold muttered, feeling blissful to have cleansed his soldiers a little bit.


    As he returned to his seat, Theobold made sure to give anothermand to a soldier nearby, "Oh, right, make sure their bodies are kept well. They''ll be quite useful as a distraction and food for the monster wave when we begin our attack."


    The soldier made a salute and showed a solemn expression, "Yes, Commander Theobold."


    The soldier was extremely polite, but a tinge of fear could be seen in his eyes when he realized just how dangerous themander he was working for was.


    Without daring to dy the order, the soldier promptly dismissed himself to ry themand to the rest, lest he was afraid of being one of the soldiers that would serve as distraction and food in the monster wave.


    Theoboldughed maniacally when he saw how frightened and tensed his soldiers had be.


    Phoebe''s deduction wasn''t wrong, but it wasn''t entirely correct either. He was not killing two birds with one stone, but killing three birds with one stone.


    First was the traitors being wiped out in his toon. Second was that he managed to avert Phoebe from getting overly friendly with Shi Tian. Andstly, he ensured his domination and authority within his soldiers to not defy him.


    Those who defied him would end up in a terrible situation, especially with how their corpses are treated afterward and how their close families are being killed as well to join them.


    As Theobold was mesmerized by how almost everything was going ording to his n, another soldier with an eyepatch on his right, arrived at the tent.


    "Commander Theobold, are we really not going to do anything to that Nathan?" This soldier not only had an eyepatch on his right eye but his face was filled with red line marks, almost as if he had been whipped harshly.


    Turning around and looking at the soldier, Theobold''s eyes narrowed. "What? Do you want me to seek revenge on your behalf, Felix?"


    Felix, remained silent when being questioned of wanting him to seek revenge for him.


    Although he had taken some pills and was healed by Magus, Felix would never be able to forget the grudge of having his right eye gone, as well as being humiliated.


    "That Nathan is a threat, Commander Theobold." Felix finally responded, trying to paint Shi Tian in a bad light in hopes that Theobold would eliminate him.


    "A threat?" Theobold shook his head andughed loudly. "Instead of being a threat, he might as well be called a great helper."


    He then stood up from his seat, turned around, and red at Felix furiously.


    "I''ve sent you all to spy on them, yet not only did you fail miserably ande back in an embarrassing state. But you also lost your right eye to someone that weak. For someone that weak, he made me open my eyes at how ridiculously weak my soldiers actually are!"

 Chapter 345 Felix

    345 Felix


    Being reprimanded harshly by Theobold, Felix could only remain still and allowed himself to be scolded. But even still, Felix refused to let the culprit live peacefully which made him wear an eyepatch from now on.


    It was an eye that he lost, and even if there were mechanical eyeballs avable as recements, the eyeballs weren''t that advanced with Gearits City''s current technological progress. They were no different than a temporary solution that gave him a little bit of vision and nothing more. Not to mention, his pride and wounded heart would never allow him to forgive what Shi Tian had done to him once he realized the culprit was him through Theobold''s analysis. "Enough of your nonsense and return to your camp." Theobold waved his hands and snorted coldly. "If you weren''t a loyal soldier of mine, then I wouldn''t have you just whipped. Instead, I''ll turn you into one of those traitors." He then shouted, dismissing Felix. Felix could only gnash his teeth angrily as he grudgingly exited the tent, knowing that he would only bring more punishment to himself if he had stayed. ''Since you won''t do it because of the circumstances, then allow me to do the deed.'' Felix''s eyes glinted in a fierce light as he vowed vengeance. He knew Theobold was in a difficult situation right now, unable to publicly make a move, especially when Vanessa had revealed her identity to be from the Ariston Family. So he would have to be the one to do it and take all the me if it ever failed. While Felix was nning on scheming for his revenge, back at the Iron Sentinel, Shi Tian was busy crafting things by the desk. His expression was solemn, seemingly focused on the items that he was crafting.


    Vanessa was curious as to why Shi Tian was working by the desk the moment they returned to the Iron Sentinel. She was confused as to why he didn''t use this opportunity to take some ample rest. They were traveling for quite some time and experienced quite the ordeal scenario despite not having achieved much. "Why are you crafting them?" Vanessa grabbed one of the parts and asked. She recognized this to be a smallpartment of the ymore Mine, but at the same time, Shi Tian''s nearpleted item didn''t look like a ymore Mine either.


    "I''m making a new modification of a ymore Mine." Shi Tian exined,his eyes remained fixated on the electric circuit. "People have gotten used to the new modified ymore Mine, so the trap wouldn''t be as effective as in the past. Hence, I''ll need to recreate a new one to fend off attackers." "Fend off attackers?" Vanessa knitted her brows, seemingly stunned by his reasonings. "Who will attack us here, Nathan? Are you just bored and wanting to find something to do?"


    As Vanessa asked such questions, Mary subsequently stopped her surveince temporarily to eavesdrop on their conversation. She was equally curious as to why Shi Tian seemed to be in a rush to craft new traps.


    "We should be careful in these few days." Shi Tian warned them. "Since Theobold already knew our deeds, or more specifically, my actions against his soldiers. Then, needless to say, those soldiers will harbor nefarious intentions." "All thanks to you." Vanessa rolled her eyes, seemingly ming him.


    Though it was quite evident that Vanessa didn''t care much about it. With the information they had back then, what Shi Tian did was considered a good option, not optimum, but wasn''t terrible either.


    Why?


    Who knows if those enemies were truly trying to harm them?


    There was no guarantee, and with their sneaky actions, it was better to be safe than sorry.


    "Are you suspecting that Theobold might send his soldier for revenge?" Mary asked in concern, in contrast to Vanessa, who only knew how to y the me game.


    Shi Tian chuckled in response as he shook his head. "No, Theobold isn''t that impulsive to throw away the facade now that we are ying nice." "Then why are you worried?" Vanessa raised an eyebrow and interrupted. "Aren''t you just being paranoid now? Do they still dare to attack you when I have revealed my identity already?"


    "Theobold may be amander, but amander is still human nevertheless. He canmand his soldiers, but the soldiers are human as well. Do you think they will just stay put when they realize the culprit of their plight is right next to them?" Shi Tian looked at Vanessa with an exhausted expression.


    "Also, your identity might be special in public and no one would dare to suffer the repercussions of harming you. But what if they do it discreetly? Don''t forget, you were ambushed once, so it''s clear your identity isn''t full of protection." He then reminded, telling her to not be so conceited. After hearing that, Vanessa started walking back and forth, seemingly agreeing with Shi Tian''s worry. "But even still, why would they risk offending Theobold by attacking us?" Vanessa couldn''tprehend the soldiers'' action for wanting to attack them despite knowing the consequences. "Vanessa, if someone shot one of your eyeballs away, would you be pleased and happy to be so close to that culprit?" Shi Tian suddenly asked. It was at this moment that Vanessa finally realized why Shi Tian was so concerned about their situation. She gasped in horror and looked at Shi Tian with a disbelief expression. "You are the one that did it, so why would he target us?" "Anger could fuel one person to do things that they will never consider. And since you''re interacting with us, that essentially made you one of the targets." Shi Tian exined, albeit vaguely. Although he didn''t know how to exin to them directly, Shi Tian had checked on the reputation earlier while he was conversing with Theobold. He wanted to check whether Theobold''s value had dropped more negatively or not. And during that time, Shi Tian noticed a person called Felix was having a negative value of 98, a clear evidence of Felix wanting him dead. ''I don''t know who Felix is, but he should be the one that I shot his right eye away.'' Shi Tian eximed inwardly.

 Chapter 346 Negative 98

    346 Negative 98


    Shi Tian might not understand the reputation list thoroughly, but he was quite positive that the highest number one could get was 100, meaning the lowest number should be negative 100.


    Of course, all of those are just his conjectures and have not been proven, but it should bemon sense that one would use such measurement. Nevertheless, even if that was not the case, it was evident that Felix was immensely hostile to him for having a value of negative 98.


    And there was only one person that Shi Tian could think of to be the culprit¨C the leader of the elite soldiers that he had ambushed. "Mary, do you mind opening the recording number 3 and identifying the soldiers?" As he was focused on soldering some of the resistors into the electric circuit board, Shi Tian asked Mary to check something for him.


    Since he had the recordings, then he might as well ask Mary to verify the information for him.


    And if the result was null in the end, then he would still continue to finish up the crafting.


    After all, it would not only increase the amount of tools he could use in battle but also increase his familiarity with crafting. It was two birds with one stone, and there was zero harm in doing it aside from sacrificing a little bit of rest.


    There is always enough time to rest, but if the situation and circumstances don''t allow it, then so be it. He could restter on, given one careless mistake might make him rest eternally. Meanwhile, Mary could only sigh softly as she started checking up on the recording number. She felt as if she had suddenly be Shi Tian''s subordinate when it should have been the other way around. ''I''m his mentor, but why did it feel like I''m the mentee now?'' Mary pondered silently. She didn''t know whether or not it was a blessing that she really didn''t care much about who was in charge. Otherwise, she might truly throw a fit like the spoiled Vanessa here. "You mean this recording of you ambushing the soldiers with some smoke grenade and stun grenade?" Mary asked to confirm whether or not it was the correct recording.


    "Yes, can you identify the leader specifically? He''s the one hiding in the center like a coward." Shi Tian responded. After hearing that, Mary started to type numerous things on the keyboard as a bunch of coding appeared, pinpointing the leader''s position specifically. Vanessa, who was watching Mary from the side, felt her head getting dizzy from the speed of her typing. "Ugh, this is why I hate technology." Vanessa had to close her eyes repeatedly from being dizzy. "No one told you to look." Mary rolled her eyes in response when Vanessa was back to her usual self. It was a stark contrast to her earlier imposing and domineering behavior when she confronted Olivia Harrett. Though, Mary was somewhat d to see Vanessa revert back to someone casual and voice her honest opinion from time to time. If she were to act like the spoiled Olivia Harrett, then Mary was afraid that she would have killed Vanessa over and over again.


    A spoiled brat like Olivia Harrett was not only likable, but they were extremely disgusting. They were even worse than the current air pollution. "Nathan, your recording sucks." Watching the recording and trying to alter the scene, Mary had no choice but to admit Shi Tian sucked at recording. "Everything''s blurry and it''s not even 1080p. No, the quality is even worse than a 144p video." Mary was utterly astonished by just how terribly the video Shi Tian had produced despite the advanced technology they have currently. "It''s not my fault, okay." Shi Tian attempted to defend himself. "I only remembered to record the scene once I finishedying out all the traps to ambush them. Not to mention, I had to be discreet so I can''t even split a second of my attention to ensure the quality is good." "Stop giving excuses when you suck at videography." Mary hissed coldly.


    "Yeah, stop trying to give excuses." Vanessa quickly chimed in, not giving up an opportunity to shame Shi Tian.


    Shi Tian merely kept quiet after seeing these two women enjoying themselves andining about his videography. As the saying goes, a good gentleman does not argue or fight with thedies. Therefore, he shall just let them judge him all they want. So long as he knew it was unavoidable, that was enough. "The quality is too terrible." Mary shook her head and responded. "Then is it not possible to figure out the leader''s identity?" Shi Tian asked, a tinge of disappointment could be heard in his tone.


    "No, I''ll just have to use digital image processing by taking a snippet of the paused video." Mary corrected and proceeded to exin the procedure. "The digital image processing can help me modify the terrible quality and give somewhat of a good image of the leader''s face. Then I can use another software to do apatibility check to see whose face matches it." As Mary finished her exnation, Vanessa looked at Mary with wariness. "You are quite the mysterious person, Mary," Vanessa said in a solemn tone, her expression being void of her yfulness. "Mysterious or not, it''s still not on par with you, Vanessa." Mary shrugged and said. Only Vanessa understood the implication of her words and not Shi Tian, mainly because he wasn''t that knowledgeable. However, Vanessa was someone with such a high status, so naturally, she understood the implication of Mary''s method. Mary was essentially saying that she could ess a database that recorded all of the citizens'' facial recognition in Gearits City to find a match for the person. And naturally, such a database was considered highly confidential information, because it was a dangerous weapon when it got into the wrong hands.


    Vanessa herself had such a database in their Chronosworth City as well, but only she and her father could ess them. As for the rest that wished to ess the database, they needed special permission from her father to do so.

 Chapter 347 Digital Image Processing

    <h4>Chapter 347 Digital Image Processing </h4>


    ?Mary ignored the cautiousness that Vanessa had invoked as she took a snippet of the paused video.


    Pasting the image into the software, Mary started to type some code, with the first phrase converting the image to grayscale.


    By turning the image into grayscale, Mary essentially erased all traces of the other colors that would have hindered her findings. At the same time, she wrote a code that manually does a histogram on the grayscale image.


    The histogram was a graph that showed the frequency of numerical data using rectangles. The height of a rectangle (the vertical axis) represented the distribution frequency of a variable (the amount, or how often that variable appeared).


    The goal of doing a histogram was to illustrate the major features of the distribution of the data in a convenient form.


    While Mary was focused on digital image processing, Vanessa''s solemn expressions were gradually broken down when she saw all that technical stuff.


    "Ugh, kill me now," Vanessa shook her head, unwilling to look at all thatplicated stuff.


    "You can work on digital image processing. I won''t bother you any longer." She then said, swiftly leaving her area and walking toward Shi Tian.


    Rather than killing her eyes with the graphing of histograms and otherplicated code, she would rather look at Shi Tian doing some physical things.


    At the very least, she could see Shi Tian building each part meticulously before assembling them together.


    However, she didn''t realize that she wasn''t that wee.


    "Could you move aside a bit and not block the light?" Shi Tian asked when Vanessa was standing precisely at a spot that blocked off the light that allowed him to see the miniature parts.


    Vanessa clicked her tongue when Shi Tian was indirectly calling her a nuisance to his work and telling her to get out of the way.


    Pouting slightly, Vanessa decided to grab a chair to sit and purposely block off the light from Shi Tian.


    Shi Tian was speechless at how petty Vanessa could get.


    "Vanessa, I''m trying to work on a serious business here. So can we not act willfully here?" Shi Tian asked softly, almost as if he was conversing with a little kid.


    Although Vanessa stayed silent, she still subsequently moved her chair and let the light shine on the equipment at the desk.


    At the same time, she nced at Shi Tian and asked somewhat depressingly, "Am I that annoying to you? Why are you always treating me so coldly?"


    She had flexed a bit against Olivia Harrett to help pacify the tense atmosphere, so she thought he would haveplimented her a little bit.


    But who would have thought Shi Tian to not even praise her a little bit?


    It wasn''t easy to scare off Olivia Harrett, because she could tell not a single person in that scene was capable of scaring her off. Only she was able to, and without her intervention, who knows if his n would be foiled in ce.


    After all, if Theobold was subsequently sent away by Olivia Harrett, then whatever Shi Tian had established with Phoebe would be null.


    Putting his soldering iron down for a moment, Shi Tian turned to Vanessa.


    With a deep breath, he exined, "That''s just who I am, Vanessa. I''m not a friendly person, and I don''t wish to get too close to someone."


    "But you are close with Mary."


    "That''s because Mary and I have some sort of a negotiation deal. She and Optic Mech will provide me resources whereas I will be a decoy for them once the New Region opens up. In other words, we''re in a transaction rtionship, and not a friendly rtionship."


    "Then why don''t you ask to cooperate with me?" Vanessa tilted her head slightly and asked.


    And she continued, "What Optic Mech can provide you, I''m sure with my resources, it''ll be better than them. And don''t give me some bullshit excuse like honoring a promise. You are a shameless person, so there''s no way you would honor your word."


    Shi Tian wanted tough at how correct Vanessa was in deducing his characteristics. Indeed, he was not an honorable person, and if necessary, he wouldn''t mind reneging his promise in an instant.


    s, as tempting as Vanessa''s offer sounded, Shi Tian still shook his head.


    "I''m afraid not, Vanessa." He kindly refused her. He believed Vanessa enough to know that she shouldn''t be scheming against him in a harmful way, but that could not be said for the others within Chronosworth City.


    Previously, he had eavesdropped on her conversation and realized the undercurrent in Chronosworth City should be more deadly andplicated than Gearits City.


    And why is that?


    Gearits City''s power structure was split into five or six pieces, but Chronosworth City''s power structure was dominated by a singr family.


    With Vanessa being so willful, and in high risk unless she could retain full control of her city, then Shi Tian feared that his life would be more dangerous if he agreed to her deal.


    As the saying goes, an enemy will target you simply because you are close to their actual target, and Shi Tian does not wish to involve himself in a moreplicated mess. Not to mention, he wasn''t even sure if Vanessa''s decision alone mattered much in the overall picture.


    ''Optic Mech is the safer choice, and I have already nned everything, so changing the ce and pace at this time would mean death.'' Shi Tian thought to himself, returning to his crafting and ignoring Vanessa''s bitter expression.


    As Shi Tian continued crafting, he could feel a heavy and gloomy atmosphere weighing on his back. Vanessa might have remained silent, but he could sense her emotion and it was giving him quite the difort.


    He wanted to tell her to move away but was afraid she might cause another scene or drama.


    "Nathan, I''ve found the identity."


    Luckily, Shi Tian was rescued when Mary shouted that she had finished her modification.


    ''Thank you, Mary~'' Shi Tian was grateful to her silently.

 Chapter 348 Identified

    <h4>Chapter 348 Identified </h4>


    ?When Mary informed him that she finished identifying the leader''s identity, Shi Tian quickly dropped the materials on his desk and rushed toward her.


    Of course, he made a sneaky nce at the current depressed or bitter Vanessa and was internally relieved that he could avoid feeling pressured.


    If it was any random woman, then Shi Tian truly could care less, but because Vanessa was somewhat pivotal in their n as well, he was overly helpless toward her.


    Especially when everyone in the camp knew about her "special identity" that even Olivia Harrett could not afford to act willfully.


    "So who is the person, Mary?" Shi Tian asked swiftly the moment he arrived behind Mary. His eyes stared at the screen and was amazed by Mary''s skills in digital image processing.


    Going from his terrible quality of 144p, Mary managed to turn the image around in high quality, albeit very different from what an image looked like.


    The image was grayscale and seemed to have undergone a histogram equalization.


    "You did histogram equalization on the picture you took a snippet of?" Shi Tian questioned once he noticed what Mary had done to the image.


    Mary nodded her head and said, "Yeah, with the terrible video quality, the image is practically unrecognizable unless Ipletely change it into something else."


    Given that the image was extremely pixted and hard to discern who they were, and could be said to look like anyone, Mary knew she needed to search for another method.


    And histogram equalization of the image was the optimum choice in this situation.


    Histogram equalization was a method used to enhance the contrast of an image by adjusting the distribution of pixel intensities. It works by spreading out the most frequent intensity values in an image, making it more evenly distributed.


    To put it simply, this process helped to improve the overall appearance of the image, bringing out more details and making it visually clearer and sharper.


    And through this method, Mary could ess the database while modifying the search bar to get a close resemnce of who the person matched.


    "With the histogram equalization, I''ve got five people that match the result," Mary revealed.


    "Five?" Shi Tian raised an eyebrow, seemingly dumbfounded.


    "There shouldn''t be that much." He added, finding it confusing. The image might have undergone some changes, but this was a person they were talking about.


    Just how many look-alike people could there be in Gearits City?


    It was hard to even find a single doppelganger that existed, let alone five in total. The chances of that happening were extremely rare.


    Meanwhile, Mary rolled her eyes and gave Shi Tian a pinch, prompting him to quickly move away to avoid being pinched further.


    "What was that for?" He then asked, rubbing his waist on the spot that Mary had pinched fiercely.


    "Normally, there shouldn''t be that many, but thanks to your great videography, it ended up having such results," Mary exined, clearly riled up when the fault was his and not hers.


    Realizing it was his fault in phrasing his intentions wrongly, Shi Tian scratched his head slightly.


    "So that means we need to investigate these five candidates?" While Shi Tian was trying to act innocent, Vanessa suddenly stepped forward and asked curiously.


    Mary ignored the dumb behavior of Shi Tian and turned her attention to Vanessa. "No need, because we can just do the process of elimination."


    "Right¡­ we''re looking for someone in the military, and you got the database." Vanessa sped her hands, having understood Mary''s intention.


    Since Mary could ess the database of Gearits City which should have been restricted and heavily defended against hackers, Mary could simply look up information of each of the candidates.


    Whoever data wasn''t involved in the military or more specifically, Theobold''s toons were automatically eliminated, given that they were searching for someone who leads the elite toon of Theobold.


    This was also why it was dangerous to hold such a high position because anyone could easily confirm it was you since the position isn''tmon.


    A few minutester, Mary pinpointed the candidate to be Felix, a man in his 30s who had joined the military at the rtively young age of 19.


    "Felix was a rising star in Theobold''s 24th military recruitment. He came out on top with nearly a perfect score and was soon transferred to the elite toon. At the age of 24, he managed to earn quite the merits in sessfully leading a small team to suppress the rampaging monsters in District B." Mary read the data aloud and was somewhat astonished by Felix''s achievement.


    "Geez, this Felix is practically a shining star that probably has a great future ahead of him." Vanessa chimed in and said, her eyes slowly turning to Shi Tian.


    And it didn''t even take a second for Shi Tian to understand the eyesight she was giving him, especially the implication of her statement.


    She was essentially saying Felix''s future was bright, but because of him, Felix''s military career ended abruptly.


    How could a person who lost half of his vision remain as a leader of an elite toon that demanded the best of the best?


    "If I''m Felix and know the culprit that caused me to lose all of my past efforts, then I''ll definitely kill you as well." Vanessa joked, clicking her tongue and shaking her head at Shi Tian.


    "No wonder you were hastily crafting new stuff to protect yourself. You knew you had messed up by not having him killed." Mary seemingly taunted with a snicker.


    Had Shi Tian managed to kill Felix and not taken his right eye, then there wouldn''t have been any trouble.


    However, Shi Tian failed miserably which resulted in him creating a very hostile rtionship with Felix.


    What was worse was that Felix wasn''t someone to be trifled with.


    Sure, he might have been ambushed early on and looked weak, but now that Felix was aware of Shi Tian''s capability. His revenge would surely not be simple, but in fact, meticulous and deadly.


    ''This is what happens when you fail to cut the root off.'' Shi Tian clenched his fist, having realized the enemy was a formidable foe.

 Chapter 349 Madness Descend

    <h4>Chapter 349 Madness Descend </h4>


    ?Having realized the achievement Felix had aplished throughout his life, Shi Tian would be foolish to underestimate this foe.


    Seeing how Shi Tian was staying silent, Vanessa chuckled softly and asked, "Are you scared now?"


    As if that wasn''t enough, she continued to taunt his plight. "Who told you to act so confidently and arrogantly? Didn''t you want to win the bet, you did it now!"


    The bet she referred to was naturally the one that Shi Tian asked to nullify the favor or debt he owed her, as well as gain some resources from Mary.


    However, now that they were in this situation, it became evident that whatever Shi Tian gained was not worth it.


    To earn a little bit of resources, he in exchange managed to gain such a vengeful enemy who was not only capable but could n ahead on how to have him killed.


    "There''s no point in regretting my actions." Shi Tian took a deep breath and said calmly.


    "Since it was because of my incapability that resulted in this, it served as a good reminder to me to always finish what I nned from the start. Otherwise, this is the kind of consequence I would face." He added, his expression extremely solemn.


    "No need to act tough, Nathan." Vanessa grinned wickedly. "Just ept what I offered earlier, and I''ll guarantee your protection."


    "What offer are you talking about?" Mary suddenly interrupted and looked at the two confusingly.


    "Nothing, it was just her nonsensical brain talking again." Shi Tian casually brushed off and returned to his desk.


    "What do you mean by that?" Looking annoyed, Vanessa kicked his chair aside and nced at Mary.


    "I was thinking of poaching him from you, and that was the offer."


    If others didn''t know, then they might have thought Vanessa revealed that because of Shi Tian''s insult.


    However, Shi Tian knew she was merely acting and purposely revealed it to Mary in this manner to nt a seed of doubt in her mind.


    Essentially, Vanessa was hoping to make Mary doubt him, forcing him to have no other choice left but to join Vanessa''s side once Mary no longer trusted him.


    It was quite the devious n of her, except she failed to understand a simple concept.


    "I''m d that you''re trying to poach him, but I doubt your situation satisfied him," Mary responded with an emotionless tone.


    The response was a bit different from Vanessa''s mind, and when she saw Shi Tian chuckling at her, she was displeased.


    And before she could do anything about it, the Iron Sentinel itself started to tremble heavily. The trembling was worse than the time when an evolved Gso variant had suddenly ambushed them, prompting the trio to be alerted.


    "The monster wave!" Vanessa called out but realized it was dumb of her to bother saying the obvious when she noticed Shi Tian and Mary were already checking on the surveince.


    "It seemed like their numbers had increased exponentially." Mary knitted her brows and said.


    "No wonder the monster waves weren''t attacking yet. They were actually waiting for their numbers this entire time." Shi Tian held a solemn expression.


    He had seen the monster wave through the broadcast back when he was still in Gearits City, so he had a somewhat understanding of their numbers.


    However, it was clear that the current number seemed to have been more than the initial monster wave attack.


    "Can we even suppress them?" Vanessa was doubtful that their forces to be able to suppress that many monsters.


    "Regardless if we can suppress them or not, we''re merely a supporting character here." Shi Tian gently reminded her. "We are technically a supporter with our technologies, and as for the actual fighting, that''s the job of those militarymanders."


    Mary nodded her head in agreement. "Mhmm, if the militarymanders ck off, then it just means Gearits City is bound to fall, and I doubt none of them were willing to let that happen."


    Despite eachmander having their own agendas and schemes, they weren''t stupid enough to let their city fall down.


    After all, where could they go if their city were to fall into ruin?


    Go to another city to live?


    Sure, that might work, but all of their status and ranks they worked hard for would have been for naught.


    Worse, they might even lose more than they gained because once they lose their power and authority over their soldiers, the grudges they have made in the past woulde back to haunt them.


    "So we''re taking a backseat in this crisis?" Vanessa seemed to be in a daze when she asked such a question.


    Though it didn''t surprise Shi Tian and Mary much, considering the city she was in should have been more united and stronger than the forces in Gearits City.


    "Not exactly a backseat. Optic Mech wishes to gain merits and increase their reputation, so Mary would want to gain fame from this monster wave." Shi Tian calmly said, his eyes staring at Mary, clearly waiting for hermands.


    The long-awaited monster wave had finally ushered in its final phase, and it was time for Mary to make the decision.


    Meanwhile, Mary looked suspiciously at Shi Tian.


    "Why did it seem like you''re not surprised at all?"


    What she implied wasn''t the monster wave, but implying how he seemed to know she had a n all along.


    "You''ve texted Gerald back when we asked you to figure out some information regarding Theobold. And on the surface, it looked like you were reluctant, but it was quite obvious that you had been ordering Gerald."


    Mary curled her lips upward, making a grin as she was seemingly impressed by Shi Tian''s perception skills.


    "Indeed, I have been waiting for this madness to descend for a while now. I can finally put the n into action." She admitted, sending a text message to Gerald.


    As for Vanessa, she only had two words in her mind.


    ''Sly foxes.'' She eximed inwardly, a terminology to describe these two clever but cunning people.

 Chapter 350 Bloodbath

    <h4>Chapter 350 Bloodbath </h4>


    ?Seeing the two people each had their own mind and scheme, Vanessa realized her identity might truly not mean much to them.


    ''These two are sly foxes, and I bet they are scheming against me too.'' Vanessa thought to herself.


    Nevertheless, now was not the time to think of their cunningness, but the impending danger from the monster wave.


    Aside from the constant tremor in the Iron Sentinel, they were able to see the other mercenaries and soldiers beginning to suppress the monster wave.


    "We need some more people to cover the fire here!" A person shouting for assistance, his guns rapidly shooting at the Gso variants that attempted to breach their defensive line.


    "We need more backup here as well. There''s too many of them." On the far opposite side of the person, another was shouting for assistance.


    The defensive lines they had set up were far and wide, making it extremely difficult to keep their defenses from being breached by the seemingly unlimited number of Gso variants.


    Of course, everyone knew the defensive lines were too far stretched, but there was no other choice. The frontline coveredrge acres ofnd, so they needed to ensure each of them was blocking the monsters from entering.


    As bullets, grenades, and other weaponry rained chaos on the frontline, each of themanders was swiftly taking their post to control the situation.


    From the far end of the west side, Benedict had taken over and began making formations,manding his soldiers and the other mercenaries in the area.


    "Soldiers maintain the light machine gun and create a narrow path for the mercenaries to focus their attention on. Mercenaries, do your best to suppress the narrow path, and don''t worry about the other sides!" Benedict shouted loudly, taking up a high post to survey the battlefield.


    And a bit further from Benedict, there was Samantha,manding her Amethyst team to deviate from the Gso variant path with their Esper skills.


    "Those that can control the terrain, make it difficult for the Gso variants to advance further!" Samanthamanded, her hands controlling the magicule presence in the battlefield ahead.


    As Samantha utilized her Esper abilities to control the environment, the ground responded to hermand.


    Ruptures and upheavals appeared, forming obstacles that impeded the progress of the monstrous Gso variants. Some fissures were strategic, causing the ground to surge upward and pierce through the creatures, fatally striking their vital organs.


    The Gso variants that had been struck, shrieked horribly as they sumbed to their injuries.


    Samantha''s precise and strategic maniption of the battlefield demonstrated the power of her Esper skills.


    The Amethyst team, under her guidance, worked harmoniously, creating a chaotic yet effective setting that hindered the monsters'' advancement. The battlefield became a scene of controlled chaos, orchestrated by Samantha''s leadership and her team''s coordinated efforts.


    While this particr field was subtly suppressed by Samantha, further away from her, Nancy was meticulous in her strategy.


    Unlike Samantha''s wless utilization of her skills, Nancy had long ordered her soldiers to set up traps and explosives beforehand, having analyzed the monster''s wave movement and making precise calctions.


    "As expected, these Gso variants are taking the path that I have calcted." Nancy sneered coldly, nodding her head to a soldier, who subsequently sent a signal for them to begin activating the traps.


    Nancy''s calcted strategy was well underway as the traps and explosives were activated, in line with her precise calctions of the Gso variants'' movement patterns.


    The traps were triggered just as the monstrous wave approached, detonating with a series of loud, echoing explosions. The calcted chain reaction ensued as the traps unleashed their devastating power, causing chaos among the invading horde.


    The explosions sent shockwaves through the ground, hurling various monsters into the air, their monstrous forms falling in a frenzy of chaos.


    The strategically ced explosives proved to be an effective defense mechanism against the encroaching threat.


    Simultaneously, the soldiers were ready, taking advantage of the confusion and disarray among the monsters.


    "All soldiers fire your weaponsnow!" A sergeant under Samantha shouted furiously.


    They aimed with precision, firing heavy artillery, sniper rounds, and various weaponry to target the weakened Gso variants, ensuring those that managed to survive the explosions met their end swiftly.


    Thendscape was painted in chaos, with smoke billowing from the explosions and the resounding screams of the Gso variants blending with the gunfire.


    Shrieks of cries from the Gso variants could be heard amidst the chaotic field.


    This coordinated assault led by Nancy disyed not only the might of the prepared traps but also the skillful execution of a battle strategy.


    Her soldiers worked in sync with the nned detonations, further weakening and devastating the monstrous horde.


    Amidst the cacophony of battle, the ground had transformed into a minefield, littered with the remains of the Gso variants. The soldiers, now emboldened by their initial sess, prepared for the next phase of the relentless assault, all under the calcted leadership of Nancy.


    "Do we start the next phase now, Commander Nancy?" The same sergeant now looked at Nancy and asked whether they should proceed or not.


    Nancy pondered for a while before shaking her head. "No need for the next phase at the moment. We''ve done our job already, so let''s wait and see what Theobold and Phoebe are up to."


    Since they were tasked with this specific area, not letting the Gso variant breach their defensive lines was enough already. She was not going to exhaust her entire resources when it was not needed.


    "Oh, make sure that what we just did is ryed back to Gearits City. Let them know our work was done beautifully and that the Warner Family can see it." Nancy grinned somewhat sinisterly.


    The sergeant merely nodded his head and began signaling for the support unit of their team to start editing the videos.


    While her soldiers were simultaneously multi-tasking undermand, Nancy nced at the bloodbath ahead of her with an expressionless face.


    After all, the bloodbath was exactly what she had envisioned when she made these calctions.


    "If only I hadn''t miscalcted Theobold''s coboration with the Hill Family, then I would have gotten a perfect score," Nancy murmured, seemingly still dissatisfied with the oue of Damon.

 Chapter 351 Scorching Field

    <h4>Chapter 351 Scorching Field </h4>


    ?As the center field of the defensive lines was handled by Nancy''s meticulous tactics and the far West being dealt with by Benedict and Samantha, the East defensive lines were handled by Phoebe and Theobold.


    Compared to the West field, which seemed to have smaller numberspared to the East field, Phoebe found herself being overwhelmed by the Gso variants.


    "Commander Phoebe, our bullets aren''t doing much damage to the Gso variants. Some of them are bigger in size and seem to be tanking the bullets for the smaller and agile ones." A soldier rushed ahead and informed Phoebe of the unusual circumstances.


    The Gso variant that they are attempting to defend had their body size varied.


    Some were immensely big in the size of a bear, and they were rushing in the very front, deflecting the bullets from their soldiers that tried to take out the smaller-sized ones.


    Phoebe observed the field, her brow furrowed as she assessed the situation. Therger Gso variants acted as shields for the smaller, more agile creatures, making it difficult for the soldiers to tackle the threat effectively.


    ''Hmm, so they developed some sort of intelligence huh.'' Phoebe eximed inwardly. However, the intelligence was only so-so, given Phoebe was already able to detect many ws in this supposed formation of the Gso variants.


    "Since these smaller ones think they are safe because of the big ones, then let them believe it." She snickered coldly.


    "Ry my orders, drench these lovely creatures with the highly mmable oils using the modified guns." Phoebe then ordered the soldiers to switch their arsenal.


    "Yes, Commander Phoebe!"


    The soldiers soon changed their weaponry, going from firing bullets to firing mmable oils. The battlefield and the Gso variants were soon drenched in the mmable oils.


    As the oils drenched their bodies, the Gso variants seemed to be confused by the oil, clearly not understanding its features.


    Phoebe gazed from afar and concluded that the Gso variants might have formed some intelligence, but it was only very minimal and not enough toprehend the situation.


    ''Luckily, they aren''t that intelligent yet, otherwise, who knows how many losses we would have.'' Phoebe thought to herself.


    "Commander Phoebe, we have drenched the field and the enemies with the mmable oils," A soldier arrived and informed her.


    Phoebe nodded her head. She stepped forward and announced, "All fire element Magus listen up. Go and burn them to a crisp!"


    "Yes, Commander Phoebe!" The soldiers with fire element Magus skills shouted in unison.


    As the fire element Magus soldiers responded to Phoebe''smand, the air began to crackle with power, a crescendo of fiery energy building around the creatures.


    With synchronized precision, the Magus soldiers conjured their abilities, each releasing torrents of searing mes.


    The field erupted into an inferno, a ze of scorching heat that enveloped the coated Gso variants. Their howls and shrieks merged into a cacophony of torment as the fire gnawed away at their flesh.


    Phoebe observed the unfolding chaos with a sense of cold satisfaction. The creatures, now aze, il wildly in agony, their shield-likerger counterparts failing to protect them against the inferno.


    The heat of the mes blistered the air, scorching everything it touched, leaving a sickening stench of burning flesh. The once intimidating Gso variants now writhed helplessly amidst the mes, their size, and strength rendered meaningless against the devastating power of fire.


    "Keep the mes steady, and shoot anyone that escaped from the fire!" Phoebe shouted, ensuring the soldiers maintained the intense mes to thoroughly quell the threat.


    As for the lucky Gso variant that managed to escape from the scorching hell, they were greeted with a round of bullets that easily prated their burned skins.


    These mmable oils weren''t ordinary and were capable of reaching a high temperature higher than a volcano eruption.


    So what if their skins are tough?


    Could they withstand a heat that was stronger than a volcano eruption?


    Maybe if they were stronger, then probably, but unfortunately for this case, these Gso variants were at best D-grade monsters. If it wasn''t for theirrge quantities and venomous attacks, then they wouldn''t even be qualified as a threat to Gearits City.


    Waiting for a few more minutes, the mes danced and roared, scorching the creatures, causing them to stagger, trip, and eventually sumb to the merciless ze.


    The battlefield, once upied by the fearsome Gso variants, was now a charredndscape, littered with the remains of the defeated creatures.


    However, Phoebe didn''t dare to rx a bit, given that reports of more iing Gso variants were arriving soon.


    "How many more mmable oil reserves do we have left?" Phoebe turned to a soldier and asked swiftly.


    "We still have around 20 gallons of mmable oil left." The soldier quickly reported.


    "And how much did we just spend?"


    "About 9 gallons."


    "9 gallons huh¡­ a bit more than I''ve estimated." Phoebe knitted her brows and mumbled, seemingly in contemtion. The mmable oils in their reserve were dwindling fast, and she knew it wasn''t a long-term strategy to confront the Gso variants.


    These mmable oils were produced to create a deadly scorching rate when met with fire, making them extremely scarcepared to normal cooking oil.


    ''Ugh, this is all Theobold''s fault for wanting to ensnare Damon. If it wasn''t for that, then how could the Gso variants nearly quadruple their original numbers?'' Phoebe cursed silently.


    As Phoebe was deep in thought, the soldier asked nervously, "Do we use more mmable oils, Commander Phoebe?"


    Phoebe pondered for a bit longer before shaking her head. "No need, wasting it more wouldn''t be beneficial for us anyway."


    "Understood!" The soldier was ready to leave to return to his post until Phoebe stopped him.


    "Wait a second," Phoebe called out.


    "Tell the soldiers to begin to deviate a path, using the remaining oil in the field so that the Gso variants will be deterred to Theobold''s side. But make sure to do it discreetly, and use the pretext of rescuing the injured soldiers."


    She then said in a low but subtle tone, seemingly emphasizing their actions need to remain a secret.

 Chapter 352 Theobold’s Side

    <h4>Chapter 352 Theobold¡¯s Side </h4>


    ?As the soldiers proceeded with Phoebe''s orders, they deftly maneuvered to subtly disperse the remaining mmable oil.


    Utilizing the pretext of aiding the injured soldiers, they discreetly coated specific paths, making sure to lead the next wave of Gso variants in Theobold''s direction.


    The troops worked swiftly and quietly, careful to maintain the guise of rescue while executing Phoebe''s diversionary tactic.


    Phoebe observed the execution of her n from a distance, her eyes fixed on the discreet yet deliberate actions of her soldiers.


    "Hope you enjoy this little present of mine, Theobold." She muttered, still feeling angered for being forced to kill the families of the soldiers who were caught.


    As heartless as she could be, those soldiers were loyal to her and had given her quite the intel in the past. Their lives were forfeited, so she was nning on letting their family live a good life afterward.


    However, that n could no longer be fulfilled, having been forced to silence them as well as the pressure from the higher-ups.


    So seeing the sight of the strategic dispersion of the oil, it felt like an intricate chess move amid a high-stakes battle, positioning her pawns against an advancing threat, namely Theobold in this case.


    She appreciated the soldiers'' obedience to her subtle instructions, ensuring their actions remained under the radar.


    As thest trails of the oil were scattered across the field, the soldiers began guiding the wounded away from the soon-to-be contested area. Their act of escorting the injured soldiers back to the designated "safe zone"pleted the ruse, concealing the true motive behind the oil trail.


    "Well done, now use this time to recover your stamina properly." Phoebeplimented them and allowed them to rest. She was going to handle the surveince now and ensure that the ruse would bepleted under her action solely.


    It wasn''t that she didn''t trust her soldiers, but rather that she wished to take revenge with her own hands.


    The higher-ups pressured her to work with Theobold, but if a mishap were to ur to him, then what can she do about it?


    ''Even if this wouldn''t kill you, Theobold. I hope that your soldiers can follow in the footsteps of the deceased families.'' Phoebe sneered inwardly.


    While Phoebe was orchestrating such a scheme, Theobold was fully engrossed in his tactical approach at his East side.


    Observing the ongoing battle situation with the Gso variants, he had been meticulously nning his strategies tobat the horde. His attention to detail and strategic insight were evident as he coordinated his troops, preparing them for the impending threat.


    "Hmm, at this rate, the horde should be suppressed sooner orter," Theobold murmured. His soldiers were different from the othermanders, given that they had constantly been in the wilderness, alwaysbatting different types of monsters.


    Therefore, even if he ordered his soldiers to confront the monster head-on, it wouldn''t pose much of a problem. Nevertheless, Theobold still preferred to fight smart rather than to use raw strength to ovee everything.


    With everything nned, Theobold then turned around and looked at Felix, who was seemingly lost in his own thoughts.


    His eyes narrowed and he asked, "Are you still thinking about getting revenge, Felix?"


    Felix snapped out of his thought process after a few seconds as he quickly shook his head.


    "No, Commander Theobold."


    "Do you take me for a fool, Felix?"


    "I dare not, Commander Theobold."


    "So you dare not to, but still take me for huh." Theobold snorted coldly and red at him.


    "Don''t think that just because the monster wave is starting I''ll be distracted. I already know about your little scheme, but I''m going to warn you right now. Without my permission, you''re not allowed to act."


    Felix was rmed at first but then turned confused. Theobold''s meaning was seemingly implying that he was allowed to seek revenge, but he needed his permission for the green light.


    "D-Does that mean¨C"


    Before Felix could continue his question, Theobold merely nodded his head and turned his attention back to the monster wave.


    "Vanessa''s identity is too special, so unless she''s separated from Nathan, I cannot afford to offend the people in Chronosworth City. At the very least, we must not be involved in anything rted to Vanessa." Theobold calmly exined.


    Theobold had long known someone was targeting Vanessa, hence he managed to arrive swiftly at the Horology Restaurant as soon as the incident was over.


    It was because he had been informed beforehand when he was allowed to show up to avoid suspicions.


    He didn''t mind covering some of the evidence, but he would definitely not allow himself to be involved in the conspiracy that would take Vanessa''s life.


    After all, he would be foolish to bear the repercussions from the Chronosworth City.


    Meanwhile, Felix seemed to have understood Theobold''s meaning. It wasn''t that he was not allowed to seek revenge, but it must be done when the target was alone, and not with Vanessa.


    "I understand, Commander Theobold," Felix said solemnly, making a salutation.


    "If you understand, then why are you still here?" Theobold asked irritatingly, his implication being to tell him to begin spying on what Shi Tian and the other two women were doing.


    Felix didn''t bother saying anything else and quickly left the scene, shing off a sinister grin.


    ''Hmph, Nathan, you''re mine.'' Felix clenched his fist and eximed inwardly. Since all he needed to do now was to separate Vanessa from them, then everything should be easier now.


    However, little did they know, Shi Tian was spying on them from afar.


    "Would you look at that, Vanessa!" Shi Tian chuckled in amusement. "You''re now our lifesaver apparently."


    "Hmph, I''m d you know it." Vanessa held no shame and proudly epted thepliment, even crossing her arms to show her haughtiness.


    "Though this was all thanks to Mary''s effort in the end. Otherwise, we wouldn''t have known what they were nning to do." Shi Tian turned his attention to Mary.


    "Meh, it was just a tool that Mechanist Isaac had created, and it would have been a waste to let it rot." Mary shrugged her shoulders.


    The drone was used to spy on Theobold, but it was thanks to a camouge tool that Mary had installed in the drone that allowed them to hide their presence that allowed them to get close to them without being detected.

 Chapter 353 Camouflage Tool

    <h4>Chapter 353 Camouge Tool </h4>


    ?Shi Tian was initially surprised by Mary when she revealed a camouge tool that could literally conceal the drone''s presence and any detection equipment.


    It was practically a cheat code, but when he thought about it further, the camouge tool that Mary revealed should have simr properties to the boosters'' suit.


    After all, his boosters'' suit was equipped all along, but none seemed to have detected it given its invisible function mode.


    In fact, even he would asionally forget about the boosters'' suit being equipped, having gotten used to its weight on his legs and everything else.


    ''Maybe I should disassemble the technology and see how it''s done?'' Shi Tian pondered silently. As much as he didn''t wish to break such an important piece of equipment, the curiosity was kind of itching him.


    Who doesn''t want to learn more technology that could be implemented in his mechanic skills once he has enough resources to go crazy?


    While thinking that, Shi Tian nearly wanted to p himself in the face when there was a risk-free option that he could have gone to.


    ''Hello, my dear and lovely IC. Do you mind analyzing the properties of the boosters'' suit equipped on me, and more specifically, the invisible function?'' Shi Tian used his mind and asked in a very cringe tone about the integrated chip.


    Of course, he had stated previously to not rely on the integrated chip too heavily, but that was just a statement, okay.


    He would be foolish to not utilize the resources and help he could get to make his life easier.


    Was he ying some game in hell mode?


    Absolutely not!


    And if there was ever an easy mode or a beginner mode, then Shi Tian would dly take it. So long as he learned the properties himself once the integrated chip simplified things for him, then all was well.


    He was merely taking a shortcut than going through the long and tedious path to get to the same endpoint.


    Waiting for a few seconds, Shi Tian noticed the status screen popping up and scrolled straight down to the description section. It was clear that the integrated chip was replying to him.


    Description: How about no, Host? The host had proimed earlier to not wish to rely on the integrated chip, so what''s with the sudden change of heart?


    Shi Tian held a deadpan expression when he read the response.


    As expected, the integrated chip having an empathetic feature was a mistake.


    Whoever created the integrated chip must have been a lonely person without anyone to talk to! Otherwise, why would they ever want to create an integrated chip like this that would refuse the host''s request?


    ''The advanced technological era is truly the end of humanity. Look at this artificial intelligence integrated chip treating me.''


    Shi Tian purposely shouted that in his mind. As for the reason, it was obviously to let the integrated chip understand his emotion and frustration, given that it could read what he said in mind.


    Description: So the host wished to renege his vows from earlier and y the shameless card?


    As Shi Tian read the message, a video was subsequently disyed by the side of the status screen, and the video was none other than his internal monologue of not wanting to rely on the integrated chip too much.


    Twitching his mouth, Shi Tian was utterly speechless that the integrated chip would have that scene recorded.


    He was even about to y the shameless card and ask what vow, but with that video ying, that option was nullified.


    ''Fine, so be it. Stay dormant then, why even bothermunicating or linking with me if you are that discontent with assisting me?'' Shi Tian pouted inwardly, clearly copying Vanessa''s behavior.


    Since Vanessa always tried to y this card, then why couldn''t he do the same once in a blue moon?


    The integrated chip could connect with his mind, so it could easily tell he was ranting as an act.


    After all, if the integrated chip remained adamant and refused to assist him, then Shi Tian could only take the long path and do whatever it must take to understand the camouge tool.


    Luckily for him though, the integrated chip didn''t seem to be so heartless.


    Description: The host can stop the act. Vanessa''s type of behavior is disgusting, so the Host is kindly advised to never behave the same. Analyzation had already begun, and it would take approximately 5 hours to decipher the technology being utilized.


    ''5 hours only?'' Shi Tian was astonished to see how little time was needed to decipher the technology.


    He was prepared to wait for a lot of months to even get some results.


    Description: The host underestimated the integrated chip''s ability too much. The time would have been shorter if the Host had been more adamant about crafting and actually doing Mechanic-rted stuff. However, the Host decided to spend all his time on trivial and scheming stuff, hindering the Host''s achievement.


    As hurtful as it sounded, Shi Tian also understood that the integrated chip was speaking facts and it had never once sugarcoated its words.


    However, it should have at least been a bit lenient to him.


    Was he really that foolish to want to hinder his own achievement, especially in the mechanic path?


    No, it was because he didn''t have the resources to even craft anything. He was penniless from the very start when he awakened from the deep slumber in the graveyard field.


    Everyone might think he was a fake mechanic and that he was wasting his time, but aren''t all his actions currently to obtain more resources so that he could actually begin the mechanic path?


    There are no miracles in this world, and his luck was as good as a pea.


    ''You''ve said it like I want to scheme and idle my time in other stuff, IC. If you want me to improve, then why don''t you hand me some resources. That way, I can focus my full attention on mechanical stuff.'' Shi Tian asked about the integrated chip for resources.


    s, the response from it didn''t surprise him much.


    Description: Resources are obtained through the Host''s effort. If the Host can''t even get resources himself, then are you even qualified to be called a Host, and not a freeloader?

 Chapter 354 Call To Arms

    <h4>Chapter 354 Call To Arms </h4>


    ?Shi Tian sighed inwardly, feeling the weight of the integrated chip''s words resonating within him. The integrated chip was far from sugar-coating the truth, and it struck a nerve within him.


    The integrated chip was right¡ªShi Tian had been caught up in schemes and trivial activities, all to gather resources and get ahead.


    However, in the vast world of mechanics, without resources, progress remained a far-off dream. But the integrated chip''s biting remarks weren''t helping either.


    It was clear that the integrated chip was enjoying his plight in trying to gather the resources while judging him for not working as a proper mechanic.


    ''Just do the analysis and tell me when it''s done.'' Shi Tian said, unwilling to converse with it further. With that said, Shi Tian subsequently closed the status screen and avoided looking at his pathetic stats.


    He had already seen his level remain the same, and the stats were still quite low when the status screen was scrolling down to the description part which the integrated chip utilized tomunicate with him.


    The only positive part about him was probably his keen eyesight that could see perfectly and because of that, his aiming was great.


    Other than that, there really wasn''t much that Shi Tian could be proud of.


    As Shi Tian was lost in thought, Vanessa nudged Mary''s arm and asked, "I''ve been wondering for a while, but does he always look like he''s in a daze?"


    Confused, Mary turned to Vanessa. "What do you mean by that?"


    Given Mary was focused on her screen and task, she didn''t have the idle time like Vanessa to be looking at Shi Tian.


    Thus, Vanessa needed to exin what she had just seen. "Nathan was looking at the empty air earlier, and his expression was changing from frustration to somewhat coy."


    "Are you trying to use Nathan of imitating you?" Mary twitched her brows and questioned. After all, what Vanessa described was none other than what she had been doing all along.


    She would act frustrated at times, yet at other times, she would act coyly. If it wasn''t because Vanessa was normal in her brain, then they would have long suspected Vanessa to be suffering from a dissociative identity disorder


    Meanwhile, Vanessa was not a bit amused when Mary was quick to point the finger at her and implying that she was the one acting insanely.


    "No, listen, I swear Nathan is hiding something from us," Vanessa uttered and proceeded to whisper in Mary''s ear, telling her why she suspected that Shi Tian wasmunicating with something invisible or unknown to them.


    After listening carefully this time, Mary indeed found it weird, since she had seen her fair share of Shi Tian''s abnormality.


    The most recent incident would be when Shi Tian somehow managed to produce a blueprint of the rigged IC chip for her.


    The blueprint was sophisticated and she was positive that Shi Tian shouldn''t have that kind of skills to draw them, let alone identify the properties of the rigged IC chip that she failed to decipher.


    However, Mary also understood that a person should have one or two secrets with them.


    And it made sense that Shi Tian would have a big secret that he kept to himself. Otherwise, how was it possible for him to make it through the wilderness and arrive at Gearits City?


    "Vanessa, I understand your point, but you shouldn''t pry too much." Mary kindly advised. "I''m sure you have your fair share of secrets or schemes in your mind, so I doubt you would want either one of us to talk about you behind your back, right?"


    "I guess you''re right¡­" Vanessa bit her lips softly and realized she was indeed a bit too much for calling Shi Tian out for behaving weirdly.


    Just when Mary wanted to tell Vanessa to leave her alone, everyone heard a loud shout from outside.


    "Rying Commander Theobold''s order, the three of you are requested to be on the frontline for assistance!"


    The voice came from a soldier belonging to Theobold, and everyone was somewhat surprised by the sudden call of arms.


    The soldier also didn''t stay much longer after announcing it as he quickly returned to his post, almost as if he didn''t want to let them have a chance to refuse the request.


    "That Theobold is scheming something again." Vanessa clicked her tongue and was quick to use Theobold''s actions.


    Though who could Theobold me other than himself for being so cunning and untrustworthy?


    While Vanessa was quick toin and use Theobold, Mary noticed Shi Tian''s expression.


    "You don''t seem surprised by the call to arms, Nathan?" Mary asked in amusement.


    "Well, aren''t you the same, Mary?" Shi Tian chuckled softly and returned the question back to her.


    "I guess you''re right. The othermanders are exhausting their resources and arsenal tobat the monster wave, with Theobold having to deal with thergest number. So how could Theobold stand by and let his resources drain tremendously while we get to sit back and rx?"


    "Heh, if I was Theobold, then I would definitely not let them rx at all."


    Mary nodded her head in agreement.


    Being called to arms was expected from them, so Mary was long prepared for it.


    "Gerald and the rest are in position already, so even if Theobold wants to do something to us. He''ll definitely suffer for trying to." Mary informed them.


    Shi Tian simultaneously retrieved a few traps that he had crafted earlier. "My traps are also ready, so any fools that want to seek trouble with us can receive a death sentence."


    As Shi Tian and Mary stared at each other, seemingly understanding each other''s n, Vanessa didn''t want to feel left out, so she stepped forward and announced something of her own as well.


    "Well, I''ve also got my people on standby now. They are ready to assist me as soon as I make a signal." Vanessa proimed, and a hint of pride could be heard in her voice.


    s, the reception was poor and she was ignored by the two of them.

 Chapter 355 Protective Shield

    <h4>Chapter 355 Protective Shield </h4>


    ?As Vanessa expected some praise or apuse for her action, she was disappointed to see little to no reaction from them.


    "Ohe on, aren''t you going to say something about me nning ahead?" Vanessa crossed her arms and asked in disbelief.


    "Um, not sure how to word it, but we know about it, Vanessa." Shi Tian informed her, as well as the reason for theirck of reaction.


    They had long known about Vanessa calling for her backup and had them on standby. Therefore, they weren''t surprised by the announcement that didn''t seem like one since it wasn''t much of a secret.


    "B-But how did you know?" Vanessa was stunned.


    She had purposely concealed the matter and chose to reveal it now because she didn''t want to feel left out or look useless when the two of them had something cooked up for this situation.


    Shi Tian had his new traps modified and crafted, and Mary got some reinforcement, so she decided to reveal that she got reinforcement too.


    Yet there was like a cold wind breeze brushing past her when she made the revtion. It wasckluster and made her look like a fool, especially when Shi Tian revealed that they knew about her "secret" action.


    "Vanessa, you constantly went to the back of the Iron Sentinel. Do you really think we wouldn''t see that and not realize what you were doing at the back?" Mary was somewhat fatigued when she had to exin it to Vanessa.


    "Am I really that obvious?"


    Vanessa still seemed to be in denial, having believed she was quite slick and sneaky in her actions.


    Meanwhile, Shi Tian rolled his eyes. He walked toward theputer screen, pressed a few buttons, and simply yed a recording.


    As the recording yed out, Vanessa heard it and instantly recognized that it was her voicemunicating with someone, along with her nning.


    "The Iron Sentinel is equipped with cameras, albeit hidden. So everything is recorded." Shi Tian yawned, almost as if he was toozy to even exin more.


    "You are unbelievable, Mary." Vanessa was quick to point the finger at her. "How sick must you be to equip hidden cameras in your own vehicle?"


    "You''re the sick one, Vanessa!" Mary looked furious when she was used of being sick. "In the wilderness, you must be retarded to not have any cameras equipped and other securities."


    "Mhmm, it''s the same concept why most apartments and houses have security cameras. That way, if there are intruders entering your property, then you would know what happened." Shi Tian chimed in, agreeing with Mary''s reasoning.


    The technologies are so advanced nowadays, and only a fool wouldn''t use them to their advantage.


    Speechless, Vanessa knew she lost the argument and was even more displeased with herself. She had thought she was being sneaky, yet the truth was that she was still too careless.


    In fact, she even needed them to reveal how and why they knew. It wasn''t that they were omnipotent and could predict everything, but they had seen and heard all of her nning.


    "By the way, Vanessa, you should really upgrade your firewalls." Shi Tian kindly advised.


    "Your electronics could easily be traced if you''re careless, so make sure to triple-check all your electronic devices to ensure they aren''t bugged."


    With that gentle reminder, Vanessa squinted her eyes and understood his meaning.


    "You bugged my Cellos device?" She red at Mary and asked with a hissing tone.


    "Why would you expose me, Nathan?" Mary ignored Vanessa and looked at him with a disbelief expression.


    "Although I''ve made a bet and won, you try to renege on it. So I might as well reveal it as the favor that I owed Vanessa." Shi Tian shrugged.


    Feeling frustrated at how she was ignored, Vanessa demanded Mary to get rid of the bug.


    s, Mary practically gave her the middle finger and told her to get rid of it herself if she got the skills. After all, she was the heir to Chronosworth City.


    What kind of heir in such a grand city would they be if they were incapable of removing a bug?


    "Hmph, just you wait, Mary. I''ll remember this grudge." Vanessa hissed and warned.


    "Whatever, it''s time for us to meet up with Theobold anyway. If this spoiled heir wants to rant, then she can just stay here." Mary tidied her clothes, put on her mask, and said calmly.


    Shi Tian subsequently followed by putting on his mask, clearly ready to leave.


    As for Vanessa, she wasn''t prepared at all and could only hastily rush herself to be prepared.


    Who told her to be that bad at multitasking?


    While she wasining and ranting, both Shi Tian and Mary were preparing themselves to exit the Iron Sentinel.


    "W-Wait for me," Vanessa yelled out when she noticed the two were truly about to leave without her.


    s, it fell on deaf ears as Shi Tian and Mary exited the vehicle. However, they still waited outside for Vanessa, and it was not because ofpassion.


    "Vanessa is our shield now, so as long as she stays with us, Theobold can''t do much to us." Shi Tian smiled bitterly, clearly not feelingfortable to be hiding behind someone for protection.


    The same goes for Mary, who was more prone to acting alone and always doing whatever she wanted.


    "Indeed, as hopeless as Vanessa might look, her identity is now our protective shield. However, that''s merely because I don''t want to have a real fallout with Theobold yet." Mary sighed softly.


    And she continued, "Once this matter is done, I''m going to go back and thrash the crap out of Mechanist Isaac. Why do I have to embroil myself in thesemanders'' political fights?"


    "Is it because you haven''t showered for weeks and that you can''tze around?" Shi Tian enquired, clearly pointing out the real reason for her frustration.


    "Do you want to have the priority of a thrashing section instead?" Mary asked in an emotionless tone, prompting Shi Tian to shut his mouth and retreat a bit.

 Chapter 356 Assisting

    <h4>Chapter 356 Assisting </h4>


    ?A few minutes had passed, and Vanessa subsequently exited the Iron Sentinel, seemingly in panic.


    Luckily, her panic seemed to have vanished once she noticed Shi Tian and Mary were standing in the distance.


    "Phew, I thought you two were really that heartless in dumping me." Vanessa caught up to them and said with a sigh of relief.


    "But I bet it''s probably because you needed my presence to ensure your safety." She then questioned, seemingly suspicious that the two truly waited for her.


    Based on her understanding and interaction with these two in the past weeks, Vanessa was positive that they would definitely leave her if it weren''t for her special identity.


    And to her astonishment, both Shi Tian and Mary nodded their heads simultaneously.


    It was clear that the two had no intention of bothering to hide their action.


    "Shameless!" Vanessa hissed coldly.


    "You''re free to return if you don''t want to be our protective shield." Shi Tian shrugged and turned around.


    Mary also turned around and began walking toward Theobold''s location where he was busy confronting the monster wave.


    Seeing how nonchnt their behavior was, Vanessa simply sighed and was too exhausted to evenin. She had seen shameless people before, but it was the first time she had to deal with people like them.


    Not only did they not care about being exposed, but they even admitted to using her to their advantage.


    Just what was she supposed to counter when they didn''t even bother defending or hiding it?


    Shaking her head, Vanessa rushed ahead and chased after them.


    This kind of fighting was exciting for her after all.


    Being cooped up in the safe haven of Chronosworth City for a long time, a fight on this kind of scale had never been seen by her. At least, not with her very own two eyes personally in the scene.


    Sometimeter, the trio arrived near the battlefield and heard numerous loud explosions and bullets firing from afar.


    "It seems like Theobold is still in a fierce fight with the monster wave here," Mary mumbled.


    "The other sides seemed to be done with the first wave already, but Theobold was struggling for a while now." Shi Tian narrowed his eyes and said suspiciously.


    Since they had the camouge tool, they naturally spied on the results of the othermanders in their battle against the Gso variants.


    They saw how themanders had easily quenched the first wave with ease, but Theobold was still fighting despite his soldiers being the most experienced out of the rest.


    Not to mention, Theobold was even forced to send a soldier to them and request their assistance, which was a clear definition that Theobold was indeed struggling.


    However, that was what made the situation fishy.


    Wasn''t Theobold the one who orchestrated the evolved Gso variant monster?


    So how could he be struggling with the normal variants?


    "I guess someone doesn''t want to see Theobold have an easy life either." Mary snickered coldly.


    "Do you have any clue who that someone is?" Vanessa asked. It was clear that she expected that one of them had an answer in their mind.


    "You answer her." Mary looked at Shi Tian andmanded.


    "Theobold''s soldier is here to receive us, so I''ll chat with him first." She then said, clearly letting Shi Tian choose whether to deal with the soldier or answer Vanessa''s doubt.


    And naturally, Shi Tian chose to answer Vanessa. As if he would want to interact with the soldiers, given his history with them.


    Who knows if one of the soldiers was someone under Felix?


    It was better to be safe than sorry.


    As Mary began conversing with the soldier who had arrived for the situation, Vanessa started nudging Shi Tian''s arm.


    "Come on, I''m sure you have some ideas. Tell me," Vanessa asked eagerly.


    "I only have an idea, but I''m not positive about it." Shi Tian replied. He didn''t wish to go into a conclusion again without concrete evidence. Thest time he did that, things didn''t go too well.


    "Then just tell me your educated guess." Vanessa pouted. "It doesn''t have to be right."


    ncing back and forth, Shi Tian wanted to make sure no one was eavesdropping them.


    A few secondster, Shi Tian moved close to her and whispered in her ear, "The most likely suspect should be Phoebe. She''s the one that''s closest here, so Theobold may be struggling hard because she has done something."


    Feeling his breathing in her ear, Vanessa''s face gradually turned red, probably from embarrassment.


    After he finished whispering, Shi Tian moved away from Vanessa, his expression remained unchanged.


    He was more concerned with the turbulence they might face.


    With Theobold being so different from what they had initially met, Shi Tian was unable to think of his next action. For someone to change so drastically, meant that they are never the type to beprehended from the start.


    Whatever Theobold had shown to the public, all of it could be a fake and was never his true self.


    Another possibility was that some of them were true, but had now been mixed with lies.


    Theobold could be the honorable man that the citizens of Gearits City know about, but because of a certain event, he is now a changed man.


    As for that reason, Shi Tian believed it was because of his impotence, but was that the true reason, Shi Tian could not confirm it.


    ''Theobold concealed himself too much,'' Shi Tian thought to himself.


    Unable to read a person was challenging, but that wouldn''t stop him from advancing forward.


    "Let''s go, Vanessa." Shi Tian calmly said when he noticed Mary signal to follow ahead.


    Catching up to Mary, Shi Tian enquired what the soldier had informed her.


    "Theobold is struggling because the number of Gso variants exceeded his estimations. So now he''s asking us to assist him by using our traps and¡­" Mary paused her words as she turned her attention to Vanessa.


    Shi Tian instantly understood the gist of that small action.


    "What an insidiousmander. He wants Vanessa to use her Ancient Technology already." He sneered coldly.

 Chapter 357 Renege Promises

    <h4>Chapter 357 Renege Promises </h4>


    ?Mary didn''t bother to respond, proving that Shi Tian was correct in his deduction.


    Though it didn''t surprise him much either, considering Vanessa''s importance was the possession of an Ancient Technology.


    "So Theobold''s goal is still my Ancient Technology, right?" Vanessa suddenly interrupted and asked.


    Shi Tian nodded his head.


    "Rest assured, Vanessa. Even if he requested you, it doesn''t mean he will get his way." He said somewhat defensively.


    "Oh, are you concerned about me?" Vanessa got those puppy eyes and looked at Shi Tian, having discerned his somewhat defensive tone.


    "You are someone that has a big business deal with Optic Mech, and I owe Optic Mech somewhat for their resources given to me. Hence, I merely didn''t want others to take advantage of you and possibly ruin the business deal." Shi Tian rified.


    However, that was his big mistake, considering that rifying meant that it was indeed a fact.


    After all, Shi Tian was never the type to exin himself unless he was feeling guilty.


    "Hehe, if you''re concerned about me, then just say so. What''s with thatme excuse?" Vanessa giggled in amusement.


    Mary nodded her head in agreement. "You are really bad at lying sometimes, Nathan. Try harder next time."


    Realizing that Mary was so quick to sell him out, Shi Tian was speechless.


    It was definitely because she was still kind of mad that he exposed her by bugging Vanessa''s device. Otherwise, he was positive Mary would have just stayed silent and not said anything.


    "Think what you believe, but my conscience is clear." Shi Tian shrugged.


    "All I''m saying is that if Theobold wants to use your Ancient Technology, it will definitely not be easy for him."


    "But we promised to assist him back in Gearits City." Vanessa chimed in.


    "Promise? Did we sign a contract or anything?"


    "You want to renege on it?"


    "Hmph, even if we renege on it, what can Theobold do to us?" Shi Tian smirked coldly and stared at Vanessa.


    "Had you told me your identity from the start, then I wouldn''t have even bothered making any deal with Theobold." He added, informing her that the tables had turned already.


    The situation now was different from the time when they were escaping from the Horology Restaurant.


    Back then, Shi Tian was afraid of being implicated despite being a victim because they were nobodies and didn''t have any supporting power behind them.


    Not even Optic Mech could do much in that situation, given Optic Mech wasn''t poprpared to now thanks to the ymore Mines contribution.


    However, with the revtion of Vanessa''s identity, everything changes at this moment.


    In fact, the ones that should be afraid were no longer them, but Theobold and the rest of the power holders in Gearits City.


    Why?


    An important figure like Vanessa was ambushed in broad daylight, and the culprit even managed to escape.


    How were they supposed to answer Chronosworth City for letting such an incident ur in their city?


    "Act as haughty and arrogant once we meet with Theobold, Vanessa." Shi Tian advised. "The more arrogant you are, the more difficult Theobold would be in trying to take advantage of us."


    "You really are shameless." Vanessa praised. She was amazed at how quick his attitude would change the moment he held the advantage.


    "This is called being smart, and not shameless. Back then, we had toy low and agree to the disadvantage, but now, why should we?" Shi Tian snickered.


    Assisting Theobold for free?


    Jokes on him, because Shi Tian was never the type to do something for free.


    Call him a greedy or dishonorable person, but he would rather be greedy and dishonorable than some goody-two-shoes heroes who would always be taken advantage of.


    Does being a hero have any benefits?


    Other than superficial praises, there were none, whereas the viins and those who are selfish get to live for a long time, doing absolutely nothing.


    Mary was simrly silent when she heard Shi Tian''s remark.


    Indeed, he was right that the advantage was in them now, so why should they still do the bidding for others without a fee?


    Patting Vanessa''s back, Mary whispered sweetly, "Just act as arrogant as you want. Didn''t you have a lot of pent-up anger for being an outcast all the time from us? Go and vent that anger at Theobold and his soldiers."


    It was like the devil''s whisper tempting her very soul, and Vanessa understood she was being used by them.


    However, even if she knew, Vanessa was indeed pent up all along with anger for being treated so terribly by them.


    Cracking her knuckles, Vanessa grinned sinisterly. "Heh, you''re right. Who cares about a promise that is not stated in a contract? Verbal promises? Screw that crap!"


    With that said, Vanessa held a pride of confidence as she strode forward, not even bothering to wait for Shi Tian and Mary.


    ncing at her confidence back, Shi Tian subtly raised his hand up, and Mary dly sped her hands on his, making a p.


    "You are shrewd, Nathan," Mary eximed.


    "Not as shrewd as you." Shi Tian dared not ept the mantle, given Mary was leagues above him in manipting others.


    "Hmph, still shameless as always." Mary snickered, shook her head, and proceeded to catch up to Vanessa.


    "If shameless means living longer, then I sure am shameless." Shi Tian smiled and quickly followed them.


    Sometimeter, the trio arrived at the main battlefield, and Theobold was shoutingmands left and right.


    "The left side is being overwhelmed. Soldiers from toon A, split your team in half and rush to the left side." Theobold was standing at a tall position, overseeing the entire battlefield that was practically filled with Gso variants.


    There were too many to even count, and it was hard to even see the geographical terrain.


    Vanessa was stunned by the sight, almost as if she couldn''t fathom that there were this many Gso variants.


    "Just where did all of theme from?" She swallowed a mouthful of saliva.

 Chapter 358 Hiding Spot

    <h4>Chapter 358 Hiding Spot </h4>


    ?While Vanessa was stunned by the sheer amount of Gso variants on the battlefield, Shi Tian was pondering something.


    He narrowed his eyes when these numbers were too many. If there were these many from the start, then where were they hiding?


    None of the sensing devices they had ced in each location had detected any of them.


    "Mary, do those sensing devices have thermal imaging equipped?" Shi Tian turned to Mary and asked.


    Mary nodded her head.


    "Yes, the sensing device covers the whole proximity of the area, so if there were some hiding in caves or other discreet ces, it would have detected them." She responded.


    "What about underground?" He continued with his questions.


    "Hah, there''s no point in detecting underground because the Gso Variants can''t go underground¨C"


    Suddenly, Mary paused her words, and a grim expression appeared on her face.


    Indeed, they had studied the Gso variants so everyone knew they were incapable of going underground, which was why the sensing devices never bothered checking underground.


    After all, it would be a waste of time and money to include underground sensing when they were confident it would be empty.


    "Are you trying to say these Gso Variants came from the ground beneath?" Mary raised an eyebrow and asked. "But that didn''t make sense. Their ws aren''t designed for digging, and even if they tried, they would never be able to dig that much to conceal all these numbers."


    Shi Tian agreed with her analysis, but there was one crucial point that Mary had missed.


    "Mary, have you forgotten about the Moles that we had encountered and fought?" Shi Tian brought up the Moles, whom they had fought, and when he deployed a crap ton of ymore Mines at them.


    A bone-chilling feeling covered her back when Mary realized a terrifying possibility.


    She nearly stumbled to the ground, but luckily, Shi Tian was quick to react and held her by the arm.


    "Thanks," Mary smiled bitterly, clearly realizing that the monster they had just casually killed on the road could be potentially assisting the monster wave.


    However, there was just one thing she couldn''t fathom.


    How and why would the Moles assist in hiding the Gso variants?


    And Shi Tian seemed to be a wizard, having answered her doubts.


    "Don''t forget Vanessa herself owned an Ancient Technology that could turn the tide. So what makes you nullify the possibility of someone using an Ancient Technology to control the Moles?"


    Although there were still a lot of things that Shi Tian didn''t know, that didn''t mean he could not piece some information in his mind together to conjure a conclusion.


    Maybe it was because of his insignificant knowledge that allowed him to deduce something without overthinkingpared to most people who have intensive knowledge of too many things.


    As Mary needed time to absorb this possibility, Theobold finally had the attention to notice their arrival.


    "It''s good that the three of you have arrived." Theobold quickly said.


    "Our soldiers are struggling to repel the massive amount of Gso variants, so we''ll require Vanessa to lend a hand." He added, going straight to the point without beating around the bushes.


    Meanwhile, Shi Tian was more wary of how abnormal Theobold was acting.


    At the very least, he expected Theobold to speak in a roundabout way to borrow Vanessa''s Ancient Technology, and not outright talk about it.


    ''It seems like Theobold is really struggling and it''s not an act.'' Shi Tian thought to himself. As ruthless as Theobold was, he wasn''t the type to sacrifice his soldiers without a proper use.


    After all, Theobold would never attempt to snatch Vanessa''s Ancient Technology in public, much less even think about it. The cons were just simply too much for the pros of snatching the Ancient Technology to be worth the trouble.


    However, Shi Tian wasn''t going to let Theobold have an easy way either. His soldiers dying was beneficial to them as well.


    That was just the harsh reality of it.


    "Before that, can you tell me why your soldiers are struggling to repel them in precise detail, Commander Theobold?" Shi Tian stepped forward and asked calmly.


    Theobold nced at Shi Tian and then Vanessa, who seemed to be distracted by something. It was clear that Vanessa didn''t n on saying anything, so he deduced that she had basically given him the mantle of conversing.


    With a sigh, Theobold nodded his head. "Very well then. Please follow me."


    Theobold could only curse silently and be a tour guide to show Shi Tian why their soldiers were slowly dying from being overwhelmed.


    Following Theobold to the battlefield, he began exining, "The Gso variants'' skins are tougher than the previous data extracted. The bullets don''t do much to them and they have a tank-like Gso variant blocking the bullets for the smaller-


    sized monster."


    Squinting his eyes, Shi Tian was able to see the bullets were indeed ineffective.


    At the same time, he noticed some of the soldiers were fighting them in closebat. And in another area, some soldiers were grouped up, firing their magic spells.


    The soldiers that aren''t ss-specific could only assist them from the back, shooting their turrets and explosive weapons. These were the regr soldiers who didn''t have the talent to achieve a ss.


    "The soldiers with their respective sses are handling the situation well, but it''s their support that''scking severely." Shi Tianmented.


    "Indeed, they are regr soldiers, with some attempting to dabble in the mechanic skills, but were unable toprehend much of the technical stuff," Theobold exined calmly, but inwardly, he was cursing at Shi Tian for stating the obvious.


    Time was ticking down, and with each second, his soldiers were facing more difficulty.


    Yet there was nothing he could do, given Shi Tian clearly knew how to y his cards right.


    By speaking up and being the lead, he was essentially being the representative for Vanessa, whose identity was above him as well.


    "Rest assured, Commander Theobold." Shi Tian said calmly, clearly nonchnt as his soldiers struggled.


    "Your weaponry is wed, and I''m a mechanic. So I shall fix your weaponry. That way, your soldiers could support the vanguard properly."

 Chapter 359 Fixing

    <h4>Chapter 359 Fixing </h4>


    ?"F-Fix the weaponry?" Theobold twitched his mouth, seemingly in a daze by Shi Tian''s suggestion of his plight. The battle was happening right now, so just how long would he need to get it fixed?


    Was he trying to fool him?


    Or was he nning to have them all fixed once his soldiers had already fallen in the battle?


    Nevertheless, Theobold managed topose his emotion, subsiding the anger from within him.


    "How long are you going to need to fix them, Nathan?" Theobold asked, his tone very mild¨C to the point that it was quite terrifying.


    As for Vanessa, she was somewhat worried for Shi Tian. He was clearly testing Theobold''s bottom line repeatedly.


    "Mary, shouldn''t you do something?" Vanessa whispered to Mary and asked her to defuse the situation. Her identity was special, so she couldn''t afford to step in at the moment.


    Meanwhile, Mary was still lost in thought, her eyes fixated on her Cellos device. It seemed as if she was trying to investigate something and all other noises were blocked off from her.


    Seeing Mary''s state, Vanessa realized it was dumb of her to ask her to intervene.


    ''Whatever, if Theobold is truly enraged and acts irrationally, then I''ll just step in.'' Vanessa eximed inwardly.


    She truly wanted to intervene, but Shi Tian told her to trust him, so she could only wait by the sideline and see what kind of n he was cooking up.


    Let him cook!


    "It won''t take long, Commander Theobold." Shi Tian chuckled softly and responded. There was zero hint of fear in his tone.


    "What do you mean by that?" Theobold continued to question, clearly wanting an estimated time and not some superficial words.


    "10 minutes, that''s all I need."


    "10 minutes only?"


    "If you don''t trust me, then just make a countdown, Commander Theobold." Shi Tianughed and proceeded to walk toward the supporting team.


    Astonished, Theobold was unable toprehend Shi Tian''s actions.


    If Shi Tian were to say he needed around 30 minutes, then he could only ept it despite being suspicious.


    But 10 minutes?


    What could he aplish with just 10 minutes?


    Not to mention, 10 minutes goes by pretty fast, and by that time, if Shi Tian failed to make any changes, then things wouldn''t be good for him.


    ''Let''s see if he''s making a fool out of me or he''s really hiding some skills.'' Theobold thought to himself, deciding to wait 10 minutes for Shi Tian to do whatever he wanted.


    As for Vanessa, she decided not to worry and believed in him.


    "Commander Theobold should rx a bit and take a break. Since Nathan himself said 10 minutes, then 10 minutes would be all he needed." She stepped in and reassured Theobold.


    Having interacted with Shi Tian for quite a while already, Vanessa believed he was never the type to proim something unless he was confident.


    Thus, she doubled down and was willing to vouch for Shi Tian''s n.


    Since Vanessa was willing to vouch as well, Theobold could merely nod his head and wait patiently.


    Meanwhile, Shi Tian didn''t notice Vanessa was vouching for him as he was secretlymunicating with the integrated chip.


    The reason why he was confident was the integrated chip actually took on the initiative this time and informed him that he should get his hands on the weaponry.


    Of course, Shi Tian was skeptical at first, not knowing what the integrated chip was nning, but then a bunch of information simply overwhelmed all of a sudden.


    And miraculously, the information didn''t pain him at all and he was able toprehend all of them in an instant.


    It was miraculous because if any students were able to absorb information like that in an instant, then they would never ever fail a course.


    Although Shi Tian was somewhat suspicious of the integrated chip''s motive, he doubted it was trying to harm him. They both live and die together with their current link.


    After all, the Pain Tolerance was granted to him when he was on the verge of dying, and when he was still in a deep slumber, it was the integrated chip that rebooted him back to life.


    Arriving at one of the supporting soldiers, Shi Tian merely tapped on his soldier and waved his hand, a signal equivalent of telling him to fuck off.


    The soldier was at first confused, before turning into rage for being rudely interrupted by some brat. He was busy assisting his fellowrades, and Shi Tian was wearing normal clothes instead of a military uniform.


    Just who does he think he was?


    It was hard to me the soldier for reacting so strongly since not everyone had seen or interacted with Shi Tian.


    However, the soldier quickly calmed down when he heard a cough and realized Theobold was by the side.


    Theobold made a side-eye gesture once he caught the soldier''s attention, and simply tilted his head slightly to order the soldier to make way.


    With the soldier promptly moved aside, Shi Tian ignored the soldier and kept his eyes on the weaponry.


    "So this is the railgun ster¡­" Shi Tian mumbled, having learned of the weaponry name because of the integrated chip.


    The Railgun ster design had a sleek, ergonomic design, typically constructed from lightweight but highly durable alloys and reinforced polymers.


    Its appearance was streamlined and sophisticated, featuring a blend of matte and metallic finishes.


    The gun''s structure contains intricate circuitry and power lines running along its frame, allowing it to harness immense electromaic energy.


    This high-tech weapon operates by using a series of electromaic coils and conducting rails to elerate solid metal orposite bullets.


    When activated, a powerful electrical current is generated and directed through the coils, creating a powerful maic field. This maic field propels the bullets forward at tremendous velocities.


    Admiring its design and operation function, Shi Tian proceeded to check on the ammunition, given that the ammunition was what caused the struggle to happen.


    ording to the information he had absorbed, the Railgun ster uses specialized, aerodynamically designed bullets made of advanced materials like depleted uranium, tungsten, or other dense alloys. These bullets are loaded into a magazine or an internal chamber, ready for firing.


    Unsurprisingly, Shi Tian realized the bullets were made of uranium and not tungsten.


    ''Make sense¡­ uranium is way moremon, unlike tungsten.'' Shi Tian thought to himself.

 Chapter 360 Railgun Blaster

    <h4>Chapter 360 Railgun ster</h4>


    ?Having checked the ammunition was made with themon uranium material, Shi Tian didn''t bother to inspect further.


    Since the ammunition was made with cheap materials. Then naturally the effect wouldn''t be that ideal.


    However, that still doesn''t answer the question of the current circumstances.


    As cheap as the material may be, a ton of uranium-made ammunition should still deal quite a load of damage to the Gso variants, and not bepletely ineffective.


    ''Seems like I need to do a thorough analysis.'' Shi Tian sighed softly, knowing that things would surely not be easy for him.


    Ignoring his surroundings, Shi Tian began analyzing all of the Railgun ster''s features.


    Looking at the firing mechanism, he realized it was not a simple pull of the trigger and it fired.


    To fire, the user aims the ster at the target and activates the trigger. And what made it so special was that the electromaic coils instantly released a burst of energy, propelling the bullet down the conducting rails.


    The rapid eleration due to the electromaic forces sends the bullet hurtling toward the target at hypersonic speeds.


    Essentially, this meant that the bullet should have been quite lethal, and prated some of the Gso variant''s tough skins. Yet the expected oue didn''t happen and the Gso variant came out unscathed.


    ''The firing mechanism works properly, so it''s not this either.'' Shi Tian concluded. Both the ammunition and firing mechanism were functioning as it was meant to be, meaning the problem was something else.


    "It''s been 5 minutes already," Theobold said, feeling uneasy at how Shi Tian was just inspecting the same thing they were inspecting a while ago.


    "Rx, Commander Theobold. Didn''t Nathan say 10 minutes?" Vanessa responded.


    "I didn''t expect Commander Theobold to be an impatient man."


    "..."


    As much as Theobold wanted to shout that his soldiers were slowly being overwhelmed by the Gso variants at this very moment, he could only suppress his emotion temporarily.


    However, he might have suppressed his emotion, and Vanessa could discern that Theobold was on the verge of erupting in anger.


    Interacting with people like Shi Tian and Mary truly helped her greatly in reading people''s thoughts, regardless if they showed it on the surface or not.


    ''But seriously Nathan. You only have half the time left. It''s going to be difficult for me to bail you out if you fail to aplish it.'' Vanessa prayed silently, hoping that Shi Tian could truly do what he had stated.


    Although she was going to bail him out anyway, the problem was that it wasn''t going to be easy, given Theobold''s personality.


    While Vanessa was starting to be concerned but kept a calm expression on the surface, Shi Tian was beginning to inspect the interior parts.


    "The Railgun ster has three features, and each of them is inherently unique." Shi Tian mumbled, narrowing his eyes.


    Variable firing modes: single shot, burst, or continuous fire, depending on the user''s preference and the model''s design.


    Adjustable muzzle velocity: Users can often adjust the firing speed of the bullets for different purposes, from precise targeting to long-range assaults.


    Energy cell or power source: It may use rechargeable energy cells or advanced power sources capable of providing sustained firing.


    Checking thoroughly, Shi Tian didn''t find any fault in either of these three features. They were all working perfectly fine.


    ''Hey, are you positive that the weaponry is indeed faulty? If not, then I''m really screwed here.'' Shi Tianmunicated with the integrated chip in his mind.


    Despite having the information, Shi Tian was more disheartened than happy to find zero fault in any of the intended functions.


    Time was ticking down, and he had less than 2 minutes now to find the problem out. Otherwise, Theobold would surely give him a good beating for wasting his time while acting somewhat haughty.


    A few secondster, Shi Tian breathed in relief when the integrated chip responded rather quickly with the status screen appearing in front of him.


    Description: The host had only checked the ammunition, firing mechanism, and the three features of the Railgun ster. But has the host ever thought about the advantage of the Railgun ster?


    ''The advantage of the Railgun ster?'' Confused, Shi Tian quickly pondered over the advantages of this type of weapon.


    Just like there were three features, Shi Tian was able to think of the three main advantages of the Railgun ster.


    High velocity and kic energy: The bullets can achieve speeds several times faster than conventional firearms, enabling high pration and impact.


    Minimal projectile drop and faster target acquisition, thanks to the impressive velocity of the bullets.


    Efficient in various environments.


    ''What''s there to be concerned about these three advantages?'' Shi Tian then questioned the integrated chip, clearly confused by its reminder. These were merely advantages and didn''t affect the functionality of the Railgun ster itself.


    Description: The host can sometimes be really ignorant. Didn''t the host just mention the possibility of how the Gso variants were able to avoid detection?


    Reading it, Shi Tian suddenly thought about the underground. If even the integrated chip was bringing it up, then it meant his guesses had just been confirmed to be true.


    Moles were indeed being utilized to dig arge underground area for the Gso variants to reside.


    And since underground rtes to terrain and terrain corrtes with the environment. Then the hint that the integrated chip gave him was regarding the final advantage of the Railgun ster.


    ''The environment is filled with pollution and more impossible things that corrupt thendscape itself which would have never urred if it weren''t for the fissure crack in the sky. So if this rtes to the environment, then it could only mean that¡­'' Shi Tian thought to himself and finally understood the integrated chip''s meaning.


    As Shi Tian figured out the main cause, Theobold suddenly arrived behind him, and his expression was solemn.


    "Times up, Nathan! Have you figured out the problem yet, or are you just fooling me?" He asked in a somewhat threatening tone.

 Chapter 361 Environmental

    <h4>Chapter 361 Environmental</h4>


    ?Shi Tian chuckled softly when he could feel the pressure that Theobold was emitting.


    It was clear that Theobold was trying to intimidate him, most likely to push him down a bit from his high horse.


    His implication was clear that even if he had the support of Vanessa Ariston, it didn''t mean he could act haughtily in front of him.


    However, it was just a shame for Theobold, who believed Shi Tian must have definitely failed in figuring out the problem. After all, his best soldiers had already done some troubleshooting, only to end up in failure.


    So how was it possible for Shi Tian to figure out the problem in 10 minutes?


    ''Theobold, I feel bad for you.'' Shi Tian sneered inwardly. Obviously, he could tell from Theobold''s current behavior alone to understand what his mind was thinking about.


    Still keeping a calm and collected expression.


    Shi Tian stood up and smiled, "I have figured out the problem and already know the solution to it, Commander Theobold."


    "Hmph, I knew you were just fooling me¡ª" Theobold was about to finish his sentence until he had to double-check himself.


    "Wait¡­ you''re saying that you have figured out the problem and found a solution already?" He asked in disbelief, his mouth twitching slightly. It was clear that he was not expecting such a response and was ready to scold the crap out of him.


    Meanwhile, Vanessa suddenly pped her hands and cheered from behind.


    "Haha, I just knew Nathan was never the impulsive type." She eximed, before turning her head to Theobold, seemingly confused. "And Commander Theobold, why did you suddenly say my Nathan was fooling you earlier?"


    Vanessa made sure to emphasize the word "my", meaning that Shi Tian was under her protection, so Theobold better be careful of his next words.


    Otherwise, things would get quite messy for him.


    "Ahem, I was merely excited that Nathan here has found a solution and so I have lost myposure earlier. My soldiers are still engaged inbat, so they''ll need Nathan to solve it fast." Theobold faked a cough and easily made a few excuses for his earlier speech.


    Vanessa also didn''t n on pressing on the matter, given that it wouldn''t matter much anyway. There was nothing she could truly do about it since Theobold merely misspoke a bit and could not warrant much of a retaliation.


    Shi Tian also understood this part and was d that Vanessa was clever enough to keep quiet.


    Had she pressed on the matter, then things would be tense and awkward. There was no need to trigger such a thing for now.


    "Anyway, the problem isn''t with the Railgun ster itself." Shi Tian exined.


    "Instead, the problem lies with the environment." He then said, pointing his finger at the battlefield in the front.


    "The environment?" Both Theobold and Vanessa were dumbfounded by him.


    "I''m guessing Nathan is saying that the Moles were indeed involved and caused a drastic change in the environment, which inevitably caused the Railgun ster to be faulty." Mary, who finally snapped out of her thoughts, stepped in and gave her input.


    Shi Tian nodded his head in regard to that.


    "Mhmm, we need to know that the world we''re living in can no longer be defined with themon sense that we had in the old days. The Moles assisting the Gso variants have caused a maic distortion, making the Railgun ster''s ammunition trajectory distorted and weakening the effect of the bullets."


    He rified, highlighting the issues were the environmental effect hindering the Railgun ster''s power, and not because the Railgun ster was faulty.


    In fact, the Railgun ster was functioning perfectly, and if possible, Shi Tian truly wanted to steal one for himself to use.


    Meanwhile, Theobold took a few seconds before he could somewhatprehend Shi Tian''s meaning.


    "So are you saying that the battlefield is like a maic field and is the cause of the disturbance and weakening of my supporting soldiers to the vanguard?" Theobold asked, seemingly startled by this revtion.


    It wasn''t that Theobold couldn''t trust Shi Tian''s exnation, but he found it unable to ept that kind of fact.


    Being amander for so long, yet he failed at doing the very basic prevention such as investigating the environment was like a stain to his honor and pride.


    Truth be told, he can''t be med for the negligence since he didn''t encounter any Moles when arriving herepared to Shi Tian and Mary.


    They were merely lucky enough to have the chance to encounter a few Moles that seemed to have deterred from their original pathing. Otherwise, they would have never thought about the underground part either, much less the environment being affected altogether.


    "Wait, so we know it''s the maic field disturbing the Railgun ster, then how do we solve it? Especially in this chaotic moment?" Vanessa asked him anxiously.


    After all, Shi Tian had proposed to solve the problem, and not figure out what the problem was.


    The meanings between these two were vastly different, and knowing Theobold, they were positive he would still reprimand and punish Shi Tian harshly.


    Being stared at intensely by three people simultaneously, almost all the pressure was ced upon him.


    If it were others right now, then they might have been overwhelmed and turned timid already. However, that was for others, and not him.


    Keeping a confident aura, Shi Tian stretched his arms and calmly said, "Rx yourself. I''ve said I will solve the problem, so naturally, I will solve it."


    He then nced at Theobold, who seemed eager as hell to punish him and requested. "Commander Theobold, can you please tell your vanguards to retreat from the front for approximately 10 meters?"


    Although unsure of what Shi Tian was nning to do, Theobold saw both Mary and Vanessa nodding their heads, their meaning being crystal clear.


    They were both vouching for whatever Shi Tian was nning to do.


    "You know what Nathan is trying to do?" Mary whispered to Vanessa, seemingly amused that she was vouching heavily for Shi Tian.


    Vanessa shook her head in response. "Nope, not a single clue, but I''ve learned my lesson to never doubt him after the previous bet."

 Chapter 362 Magnetic Field

    362 Maic Field


    Mary had a gist of what Shi Tian was nning to do, given that she knew most of the things that he had on him. However, Vanessa was a different case, and she was actually acting merely on belief and not rationality.


    Thus, it stunned Mary quite a bit to see the amount of trust Vanessa had in Shi Tianpared to the previous times.


    "You trust him that much?" Mary mused. "I thought you always think of Nathan as a weak individual." "He may be weak, but his shrewdness and cunningness can''t be underestimated. Hence, it''s not that I trust him, but I know he''s not the type to do something unless he is confident in it." Vanessa responded. "I see¡­"


    Nodding her head, Mary no longer bothered to converse further and focused her attention on Shi Tian. She wasn''t worried that Shi Tian would be incapable of solving the problem.


    Why?


    His mechanical right arm was literally the best equipment, given that it could cause a sonic boom as well, by changing the form of the gear. And sure enough, Shi Tian did just that as he changed the gear form of his mechanical right arm. Shi Tian''s mechanical right arm smoothly transformed, gears shifting and mechanisms adjusting. The soft hum of advanced technology apanied the change, capturing the attention of those around him. The once intricate tool now took on a different form, its capabilities expanding. The metallic structure of the arm shifted, and a low, resonant sound filled the air.


    The transformation wasn''t just visual; it was functional. The mechanical right arm, now in its altered state, exuded a powerful aura.


    Theobold squinted his eyes slightly when he noticed the uniqueness of his mechanical right arm. ''That right arm is not simple.'' Theobold had seen quite a lot of mechanisms and equipment throughout his life, but never once had he encountered something like Shi Tian''s mechanical right arm.


    Shifting gears wasmon, but the current Shi Tian''s mechanical right arm was exuding a powerful sonic boom¡ª something he had never noticed before until now.


    As Theobold was staring intensely at his right arm, Mary cautiously nced at Theobold by the sideline. Since the mechanical right arm was one of Isaac Aaronax''s greatest products to date, it had never been revealed to the public. Thus, Mary was cautious of what Theobold would do now that he got a glimpse of it.


    Meanwhile, Shi Tian was aware of Theobold''s intense gaze, but feigned ignorance. He red at the iing Gso variants that were charging at him. When the mechanical right arm gear shifted, it naturally attracted most of the Gso variants'' attention, having realized Shi Tian was a dangerous foe that needed to be eliminated. Smirking coldly at these Gso variants, "Do you really think I''ll be sending myself to death?" With a leap of faith, Shi Tian utilized his boosters'' suit to lift himself into the air, and with a thrust, Shi Tian activated the sonic boom.


    The sonic boom reverberated through the air, a powerful shock wave emanating from Shi Tian''s mechanical right arm. The Gso variants charging toward him were caught off guard, disoriented by the sudden burst of sound and energy.


    As Shi Tian soared through the air, the altered terrain beneath him quivered from the sonic disturbance. The pollution-infested environment seemed to respond to the disruptive force unleashed by the mechanical right arm.


    "As expected, the maic field has been rendered useless now with the sonic boom." Shi Tian muttered, gazing beneath him. The Gso variants were momentarily stunned and hesitated in their advance. The chaotic sonic boom disrupted their coordination, causing a massive shift in the battlefield. Meanwhile, Theobold was observing the unforeseen power of the mechanical right arm as he widened his eyes in surprise. The unique capabilities of Shi Tian''s technology had surpassed his expectations.


    ''Whoever created that mechanism must not be underestimated.'' Theobold thought to himself, realizing the powerful impact of Shi Tian''s mechanical right arm.


    "What are you people waiting for? Start countering the Gso variants!" Mary shouted furiously when Theobold''s soldiers all stood in a daze, seemingly astonished by Shi Tian''s powerful move. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    Her one shout brought the soldiers back to reality as they quickly unleashed another barrage of attacks.


    And this time, the supporting soldiers were finally able to maximize the prowess of the Railgun ster.


    Without any maic field disturbance, the effectiveness of the Railgun sters was crystal clear. The uranium material ammunition prated through the Gso variants'' tough skins as if they were fucking tofu. "Hell yeah, eat my ammunition!" The supporting soldiers all shouted excitedly, clearly cheering that they were finally able to do something to them.


    Shi Tian twitched his mouth when he could hear them shouting so enthusiastically. ''Are they born a fighting maniac?'' Shi Tian pondered silently. What was there to be excited about finally killing a few Gso variants? Not even he would get excited when killing some monsters, at least not overreacting like them.


    Retreating from the battlefield, and letting these soldiers take over now that the maic field was disrupted by his sonic boom, Shi Tian swiftly returned to Mary and Vanessa''s side. "What did I say, Commander Theobold. Problem solved." Shi Tian sped his hands and said proudly to Theobold. Others might not know what Shi Tian meant, but Theobold understood the meaningpletely.


    Shi Tian wasn''t proud of solving the problem but was proud of being able to p him across the face indirectly. After all, Shi Tian was able to figure out the problem and solve it within the 10-minute mark whereas he was helpless and even tried to request Vanessa, who belonged to the Chronosworth City for help.


    And if one thinks deeper about it, then it meant that Theobold was incapable and needed outside help to suppress the monster wave despite the othermanderspleting the task with such ease. In other words, Shi Tian was challenging and insulting his ability as amander. ''What a venomous tongue you got¡­'' Theobold cursed silently, keeping a magnanimous smile on his face.

 Chapter 363 Trivial Task

    363 Trivial Task


    The atmosphere in the area was tense, given Shi Tian''s statement was no different than attacking Theobold, albeit in a roundabout manner. "Indeed, it''s all thanks to your help, Nathan. Otherwise, I can''t imagine the casualties that I would have." Theobold managed to suppress his anger and responded gracefully.


    "You overpraise me too much, Commander Theobold. It''s just a trivial task not worth mentioning." Shi Tian waved his hand and refused to acknowledge his achievement.


    "Hahaha, maybe so, but as themander, it''s only right to give my thanks to people who made contributions." Theoboldughed heartily, purposely avoiding Shi Tian''s implication.


    He then excused himself with the pretext of needing tomand the soldiers and oversee the resumed battle against the monster wave.


    Once Theobold had gone far away to be able to listen in, Mary stepped forward and snickered coldly. "You are quite venomous with your words, Nathan. Look at you¡­ scaring him awaypletely." Vanessa nodded her head in agreement. She wasn''t that naive and innocent to not understand that Shi Tian wasn''t being humble, but was actually being quite arrogant. Shi Tian mentioned the problem-solving to be a trivial task, but if that was truly a trivial task and Theobold failed to do it, then wouldn''t that mean Theobold was overly ipetent? "But are you sure it''s correct to actively provoke him?" Vanessa asked in concern. It wasn''t that she didn''t like how Shi Tian was constantly poking at Theobold with insults, but she was wary that he might have gone overboard. After all, an enraged person would usually never think twice before making a move. "Rest assured, Vanessa." Shi Tian chuckled softly. "If Theobold really tries to make a move against me, then he would be naive to believe I''ll be some easy target to be dealt with." He kindly reminded her. As weak as he may be in terms of everyone else, his survivability was not to be underestimated.


    Just take a look at Kralos Tal!


    Weren''t Kralos Tal extremely strong and tough to deal with? His tomahawk axes were no joke and each of them was lethal enough to kill a person from the first impact.


    Yet Kralos Tal still failed to do enough damage to truly harm Shi Tian. And that wasn''t even the worst part, but the fact that Shi Tian was able to stall him long enough for reinforcement to arrive.


    That incident alone should be enough evidence that Shi Tian might be weak, but he could still be extremely problematic for the enemies. Nevertheless, she was quite appreciative of Shi Tian''s effort. After all, he did all of this to prevent Theobold from being able to witness her Ancient Technology. Mary, understanding Shi Tian''s strategy, found his approach amusing. "You''re quite the troublemaker, Nathan. I hope you know what you''re doing and that you''re not going to burn yourself in the process." She warned him sincerely.


    Shi Tian grinned in response. "Oh, I''m well aware of my capability and limits, Mary. Theobold may be cunning, but he won''t act recklessly, at least not now for sure. He knows stirring trouble with me is a risky move."


    Vanessa, though appreciative of Shi Tian''s effort, couldn''t help but feel a sense of difort. "But what if he really exhausts everything to act against you? You''re not invincible, you know. So even if you could dy him, I doubt you wouldst much longer if Theobold is determined to kill you." Vanessa said in concern.


    Sure, Kralos Tal was unable to kill him, but that was because time was against him. However, if Theobold truly lost his mind and didn''t care about repercussions, with his manpower in Gearits City, it would be easy for him to kill Shi Tian. Shi Tian''s expression remained calm. "Vanessa, never once would I underestimate him again. The lesson with his soldiers already gave me a wake-up call, so I won''t let my guard down. And if he does decide to make a move, I have my ways of dealing with it. I''m a Mechanic at the end of the day." "I like that confidence, Nathan." Mary approved of his confidence. She might not be interested in mechanics, but she was still a prodigy in it as well. Hence, she was proud of the mechanic ss and would be displeased if someone attempted to disrespect a mechanic. "I''ve learned from the best," Shi Tian chuckled softly, giving the credit to Mary. "If it weren''t for your help, then I would probably still be struggling for quite a bit." "The two of you speak as if mechanics are the greatest. Why don''t I try to dabble in the ss as well?" Vanessa rubbed her chin and eximed. Both Shi Tian and Mary gave Vanessa a stare for a brief second before shaking their heads simultaneously. "Just forget it and stick with your Esper, Vanessa." Shi Tian said straightforwardly.


    Mary nodded her head in agreement. "I''m afraid that the amount of resources you have in Chronosworth City still wouldn''t be enough for you to waste to aplish something." It was clear that the two of them had zero hope of Vanessa ever being able to dabble in the technical aspect of a mechanic. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    She was a talented esper no doubt, but mechanics were more than just crafting and repairing. The technicality involved and the knowledge one would need are tremendous, and there was never an end to learning more.


    Hence, their advice was to tell her to forget about it. Mechanic was not an impulsive decision one could simply make and expect to be a prodigy. If that were the case, then wouldn''t this world be filled with an infinite amount of mechanics? "You two are really two peas in a pod. Completely heartless and unsupportive." Vanessa stomped the ground in anger when she saw their reaction to her decision.


    Shi Tian and Mary nced at each other for a moment before nodding their heads, "Thank you for thepliment."

 Chapter 364 Feigning Ignorance

    364 Feigning Ignorance


    After teasing Vanessa for a while, Shi Tian''s expression turned solemn. The joking phase was over, so now they needed to focus on another important task ahead. "Mary, I''ve noticed you were standing in a daze previously. So have you figured out a way yet?" Shi Tian asked softly. Mary nodded her head. "Yeah, I''ve figured it out pretty much around the same time you detected the problem." "What way?" Vanessa interrupted, and as usual, looking confused at their conversation. The conversation between Mary and Shi Tian was always cut abruptly. Yet they both still managed to understand each other. It was something that she was somewhat jealous of because she wanted to have that kind of connectivity with someone as well.


    Back in Chronosworth City, she would never be able to converse with people naturally and without any status being in the way. They would either address her as the Young Heiress or Lady Vanessa or other formal name. It was never a casual conversation between friends who could speak their minds whenever they wanted, without having to worry about troubles. After all, offending her in Chronosworth City was equivalent to asking to be deported, killed, or demoted. "You exin to her, Nathan." Mary patted Shi Tian''s shoulder and said, "I''m going to return to the Iron Sentinel and instruct Gerald." As Mary excused herself, Shi Tian was left without a choice but to rify things again for Vanessa. However, he suspected that she wasn''t actually ignorant of their conversation. Instead, he had a feeling that she was just trying to get involved in their conversation and be included, almost as if she was scared of being an outcast. After all, there was only one conclusive information that she should have known, and that was regarding the underground being dug by Moles that conceal the Gso variants. He had mentioned this to Mary while Vanessa was following closely behind them, so she should have heard it as well.


    "Are you really ignorant or are you just pretending?" Shi Tian narrowed his eyes and asked directly. He was in no mood to beat around the bush with her.


    Beating around the bush was only necessary for people that he needed to be cautious about. Of course, that doesn''t mean he wasn''t wary of Vanessa, but he was merely treating her as a temporary ally and not an enemy. Being confronted all of a sudden, Vanessa was caught off-guard, seemingly trying to avoid the question.


    However, that reaction alone was enough for Shi Tian to confirm the fact that she was indeed ying stupid all along. She really wasn''t ignorant and understood the conversation, but it seemed as if she was acting this way for a reason.


    Sighing softly, Vanessa also understood Shi Tian would sooner orter catch on to her act. "Are you mad that I''m always feigning ignorance?" She asked somewhat nervously. "If you are, then I can exin myself."


    "No need, I was merely confused that you would not be able to understand when you were able to fool us quite amazingly." Shi Tian shook his head. Although he did say he would pry for information whenever possible, this wasn''t something important that he would need to know. In fact, Shi Tian believed that if he truly listened to her exnation, then he might get himself involved more in her life, which he does not want to.


    "The battle is starting to turn in Theobold''s favor, and with the current momentum, Theobold''s soldiers shouldn''t struggle further. So let''s just leave before we get into another word game with him." Shi Tian then said, calmly leaving the scene.


    Nodding her head in agreement, Vanessa swiftly followed Shi Tian. They were going to return to the Iron Sentinel to meet up with Mary, but an unexpected soldier cut them off.


    The soldier was dressed in a different military uniform from Theobold''s soldiers and Shi Tian recognized the emblem on the uniform. "A Scarlet Ruby emblem¡­" Shi Tian muttered and stared at the soldier.


    "You''re under Commander Phoebe''s military team?" He then questioned, seemingly confused about Phoebe''s soldier appearing here. The soldier nodded his head in response. "Yes, I was ordered by Commander Phoebe to bring Sir Nathan to the battlefield on her side. Can you please follow me?" The soldier asked respectfully, not daring to underestimate Shi Tian.


    A person that theirmander wished to meet was surely not simple, especially when theirmander highlighted and emphasized the matter of respecting this individual. "Why does your Commander Phoebe want to meet with Nathan?" Before Shi Tian could even think of a response, Vanessa stepped forward, standing in front of him, and asked. With her identity, these soldiers were surely going to be even more respectful and fearful. Just one wrong move by them and they would suffer an unimaginable amount of punishment. Thus, the soldier dared not disrespect Vanessa and responded politely despite the hostile tone. "I''m not sure either, but Commander Phoebe said it was important and that Sir Nathan will regret it if he doesn''t follow me." Hearing that, Vanessa believed the soldier was trying to be funny in front of her. She asked a question, but this soldier was clearly beating around the bushes and not telling her anything. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    She was about to unleash her wrath at him but was stopped by Shi Tian.


    "Rx, Vanessa." Shi Tian held her arm and said. "The soldier is merely a messenger, so it''s natural that he might not know much either."


    "Are you really going to follow him there?" Vanessa turned around and whispered, a tinge of worry and concern could be detected in her tone.


    "You worry too much, Vanessa. What is Commander Phoebe going to do to me when you know I''m going to be there?" Shi Tian flicked her forehead and chuckled. It was clear that Phoebe did this on purpose and made sure the soldier would ask him in Vanessa''s presence. This was her way of telling that she meant no harm and that there wasn''t anything fishy.

 Chapter 365 Extravagant

    365 Extravagant


    When Shi Tian exined how he would be safe, Vanessa could only reluctantly give up.


    "Fine, but remember toe back quickly. Otherwise, who knows if you would wind up dead in some ce?" Vanessa clicked her tongue, clearly displeased. "Lady Vanessa can be reassured. Our Commander does not n to harm Sir Nathan here." The soldier was seemingly taking her pouting seriously and swore to her that Shi Tian would be safe.


    Meanwhile, Shi Tian nearlyughed in response. Having interacted with her for a while now, he knew when she was pouting and joking about.


    But for others, they would see her pouting as serious, and naturally scared the soldier somewhat to be giving such a response. Luckily though, he didn''tugh at the soldier''s serious response because of Vanessa''s fierce re at him when she seemed to have sensed he was going to react in such a way. Unwilling to stay any longer, Vanessa pinched Shi Tian''s arm as revenge and hissed coldly, "If you don''te back soon, then I''ll spread the news that you are having a tryst with Commander Phoebe to everyone." "A what??" Shi Tian was startled by her, but Vanessa had already started to leave, going as far as using her Esper ability to flee faster. He was utterly speechless when he was going to be used of having a tryst with Phoebe.


    Was she trying to kill him with misinformation? Such a lie was enough to garner him massive hatred from others and death gs being raised. ''She better be joking and not actually do it.'' Shi Tian eximed inwardly, feeling a cold shudder of having imagined the consequences if that truly happened. "Um, Sir Nathan?" As Shi Tian was worried that Vanessa might actually do it, the soldier asked for his confirmation. "Are you agreeing to meet with ourmander?"


    Snapping out of his thoughts, Shi Tian nodded his head and extended his hand as a gesture of telling him to lead the way. There was no need to converse further with the soldier, given he was merely acting on order.


    As for wanting to know the reason Phoebe might want to see him, he would know it when he gets there. Why should he waste his time with a soldier who probably won''t interact with him aside from this incident? Sometimeter, Shi Tian arrived at the side that Phoebe was tasked upon and noticed almost all of her soldiers were rxing, almost as if they were here on vacation rather than actually fighting the monster wave.


    ''Weird¡­ she shouldn''t be this rxed.'' Shi Tian pondered silently. Having seen her internal strife with Benedict, Shi Tian could confirm most of her arsenal should have been emptied or close to empty.


    So how was it possible for her to be so rxed?


    Additionally, Shi Tian heard zero battle sounds, meaning Phoebe was done with her side already, which caused him to be even more astonished.


    "We have arrived," The soldier promptly said. Shi Tian didn''t bother saying anything and directly walked toward Phoebe, who just so happened to be enjoying some alcoholic drink, albeit in a somewhat surprising situation.


    She had a barrier field surrounding the vicinity of her location, preventing the pollution and other garbage chemicals that are in the atmosphere from affecting her.


    Honestly, Shi Tian wanted to investigate what the atmosphere truly contained that made it uninhabited for humans, but it was rted to science.


    Science was never his strong suit, nor did he want to overwhelm his brain cells with more chemistry or other scientific stuff. Just the mechanical aspect of mathematics and a little bit of science being involved was enough for him.


    "I have brought Sir Nathan over here, Commander Phoebe." The soldier reported solemnly and respectfully. Taking another sip of her alcohol, Phoebe waved her hand, a signal equivalent to dismissing him.


    She then looked at Shi Tian, who seemed to be keeping his distance. "Don''t tell me you''re afraid of me now that you''re alone, Nathan?" She joked. "No, I''m just wondering about the technological aspect of this barrier of yours." Shi Tian humored, touching the barrier that seemed translucent. It felt as if he was touching the barrier, but if he moved a bit further, then his hand would easily go through it.


    The barrier was fascinating, to say the least, so he was wondering how it was constructed. Never hurts to learn more, right? "If you''re that interested in it, then I don''t mind giving one to you. It''s powered through condensed Source Crystal and has to be replenished once it''s about to run out. That''s the only con of this barrier. It''s very expensive to maintain." Phoebe mused. Shi Tian didn''t find the battery for sustaining the barrier to be from the condensed Source Crystal. There was a reason why Source Crystal was highly sought after and always in demand. The amount of usage for Source Crystal was limitless. The only thing holding you back was your imagination and creativity to utilize it. And as tempting as Phoebe''s generosity sounded, Shi Tian still shook his head in response.


    "I''m afraid I would have to decline you, Commander Phoebe." He said, entering the barrier. "I haven''t done anythingmendable, so giving me a barrier like this means something is quite fishy." To have no merits but still receive a generous reward usually meant a bad omen, and he was not one to let himself be embroiled in such a type of event.


    While declining her generosity, Shi Tian also wanted to get a feel of change from being inside the barrier asposed to being outside the barrier.


    However, there was practically zero change, further cementing his confirmation that he was unaffected by the atmosphere. Thus, a barrier like this was essentially pointless to him, given he didn''t even need it in the first ce. Not to mention, this barrier must be burning lots of Source Crystal to be maintained, and he would rather use them for more practical uses than this kind of extravagant.


    Imagine putting up a barrier just so you could drink a little alcohol?


    Jeez, talk about being so rich that you don''t even care about anything. And that was not to mention the fact that she was still engaged inbat with a terrifying monster wave. ''One day¡ª actually no, I still won''t waste money like this.'' Shi Tian eximed inwardly. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

 Chapter 366 Called Upon

    366 Called Upon


    As Shi Tian was fantasizing about his day of being filthy rich, Phoebe brought him back to reality when she ordered one of her soldiers to bring over another makeshift seat for him.


    "Have a seat, Nathan." Phoebe calmly said. "The conversation we''re going to have isn''t going to be short, so I doubt you would want to stand there all day long." ncing at the makeshift seat for a second, Shi Tian smoothly sat down and stared at Phoebe.


    As for the surrounding soldiers, who seemed to be orchestrating an intimidating scenery, almost as if they wanted to make him feel tiny or scared. They unfortunately failed miserably in trying to scare Shi Tian, given he knew Phoebe wasn''t a dumbmander like Damon, who would attempt to demote themselves. "Your soldiers seemed like they wanted to devour me whole." Shi Tian chuckled softly. "Are they perhaps jealous that I get to converse with you in such close proximity?" "Hah, you sure have a glib tongue, Nathan." Phoebeughed, putting away her alcoholic drink which a soldier swiftly held on her behalf. "Alright, jokes aside, I''m sure you must be wondering why Theobold''s side was struggling, right?" Sure enough, once Phoebe started getting to the main point, Shi Tian changed his expression as well.


    Phoebe''s words might be difficult toprehend because she was not the straightforward type,pared to Vanessa. She was the type to say something, but her sentence had many meanings hidden behind it. In other words, she would never interact or converse with retarded people, unless they were somewhat equal to her status.


    Not to brag, but Shi Tian was definitely the retarded type that would act irrationally. And he was able to understand that Phoebe was essentially she got her eyes on them.


    He had basically just gone to Theobold and assisted him. But before he could even take a breather, one of Phoebe''s soldiers arrived and asked to bring him over here, which meant she knew exactly when he was done and was avable. The timing was simply too wless.


    "I suppose the reason for his struggle has something to do with you, right?" He leaned forward and muttered softly. Now that he had given it a thought, he arrived here quite fast, meaning the distance between the monster wave here and Theobold''s side wasn''t far at all.


    So for Theobold''s side to have an astronomical number of Gso variants appearing, and added with the fact that Phoebe was extremely rxed here. There was only one conclusive thought in his mind¡ª and that was the monster wave supposedly on Phoebe''s side was somewhat diverted to Theobold, causing him to technically face two sets of monster waves. Sure enough, when Phoebe merely grinned sinisterly without answering, Shi Tian was slightly astounded at their superficial alliance.


    On the surface, it seemed as if they had formed an alliance, going as far as making Benedict start a brief civil war with her. Yet the situation now was quite clear. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    Phoebe was against Theobold, but the Hill Family she was working for seemed to have a different idea and wished to ally with Theobold.


    And speaking of the Hill Family, it reminded him of Jonas Hill¨C a person with such a negative value of him in the reputation list.


    ''I might as well check the changes in the reputation list now.'' Shi Tian thought to himself, opening the status screen while conversing with Phoebe.


    He would be dumb to wait and not simply multi-task. "So what exactly is your motive to call me over here?" Shi Tian asked, his eyes looking at the reputation list which showed Theobold''s value of him was getting more negative. Make sense, he would be surprised if Theobold was still viewing him in a good light despite his actions earlier. As for Jonas Hill, it remained unchanged. He wasn''t sure if that was supposed to be a good thing or bad thing, considering Jonas Hill was still harboring hatred for him.


    "Take a look at this," Phoebe snapped her finger and a soldier brought over a tablet. The tablet then projected a holographic screen of the terrain. "The terrain here is the one in front of us, and I''m toozy to walk there to tell you. But I''m sure you should be fine with these holographic images since mechanics like you are prone to reading blueprints." She added, flicking the holographic screen to go closer to Shi Tian. At first nce, the terrain doesn''t seem to be anything special, but upon closer inspection, Shi Tian was impressed that Phoebe was able to figure out something.


    The underground terrain. As Shi Tian was inspecting the holographic images, Phoebe continued her exnation. "When I told my soldiers to drench the ground with oil and burn ''em up all to a crisp. I noticed the ground material seemed too soft, so Imanded my soldiers to dig further. And guess what, the underground was like a whole new area itself. My soldiers went down for so many inches, and still hadn''t reached the end." Shi Tian wanted to act surprised by the discovery, but Phoebe was simply too prospective to notice his futile act.


    "But it seems like you already know about this, Nathan. Otherwise, you wouldn''t have used a sonic boom to disturb the maic field ced in the underground." She suddenly said, a cold smile appeared on her face.


    It was at this moment that Shi Tian finally realized one thing that had been daunting to him.


    The matter that daunted him was how in the world the monsters were so intelligent enough to create a maic field that specifically counter the Railgun ster in Theobold''s arsenal.


    And with Phoebe''s revtion, Shi Tian finally realized why he was called upon here.


    She was angry or displeased to be more precise. "The maic field was done by you and your soldiers, but my one sonic boom ruined your n. It can''t be that you are trying to make mepensate for the maic field now, right?" Shi Tian kept hisposure and calmly responded in a light-hearted tone.

 Chapter 367 Dealing

    <h4>Chapter 367 Dealing</h4>


    Although Shi Tian was trying to keep hisposure, he was positive that Phoebe was on the verge of harming him, albeit not visible.


    She could nt poison on him that would be hard to detect and then slowly control him. Or she could even inject some of her magicule in his body in the form of a time bomb, only killing him once the coast was clear.


    There are tons of methods to kill a person without being in the scene with the current technology and surreal power in this world.


    Of course, all of those were just an "if" possibility and Shi Tian would retaliate if Phoebe truly attempted to do something like this.


    ''Hopefully, she is just displeased and wouldn''t go overboard.'' Shi Tian thought to himself, his eyes constantly looking at the reputation list with Phoebe''s name on it.


    The value on Phoebe''s name was still on a positive note, but once that value dropped and went negative, then that was when he would be on his guard, ready to make a move.


    The atmosphere was tense and palpable, but other than that, Phoebe''s eyes simply stared at Shi Tian.


    After what felt like an eternity, Phoebe suddenly sped her hands and smirked, "Are you somewhat afraid now, Nathan?"


    "Not a bit." Shi Tian shook his head and responded.


    "Oh, I would have thought you might have a sweaty back by now when you kind of know my secret. And you know how this world works¡ª those who know other people''s secrets¡­ usually don''t live long." She chuckled.


    Shi Tian nodded his head, not denying her statement. "Those are the unfortunate ones and can only me their terrible luck."


    It was terrible luck because Shi Tian knew there was usually only one oue for the person in such a scenario.


    Those who usually stumble across a conspiracy, whether it was by ident or on purpose usually end up being killed.


    After all, only dead people will remain silent forever and reassure the conspirator that the secret won''t be exposed.


    However, those who are killed are the type of people who usually have no one caring about their whereabouts, meaning even if they disappeared, no one would notice it.


    Another possibility was when the conspirator had no choice but to risk everything to silence the person, regardless if the person''s identity was high up or not.


    These were the two possibilities, and it just so happened Shi Tian did not belong in either one of them.


    First of all, he was not a nobody and Vanessa had literally warned the soldier earlier when she told him to return quickly.


    Those words of hers weren''t meant for him, but for the soldier to ry back to Phoebe that she was waiting for Shi Tian, and that if he doesn''t return promptly, then trouble will being for her.


    The second possibility was that Phoebe might have plotted against Theobold, but she definitely knew about Shi Tian''s action of killing Theobold''s soldiers as well.


    Hence, in a humorous way, both of them are technically on the same page.


    With that being said, the conspirator, Phoebe, truly does not have a legitimate reason to risk everything to silence Shi Tian for knowing her scheme in trying to thwart Theobold.


    The cons were just way more than the pros she could achieve.


    And there was one more fact that everyone seemed to have forgotten: Shi Tian didn''t identally stumble across her scheme, but it was Phoebe herself who had revealed it to him.


    In other words, Phoebe was testing him and his character.


    "Were you trying to put up a show to determine if my character is dependable and reliable?" Shi Tian asked calmly.


    Hearing that question, Phoebe suddenlyughed and she waved her hands, dismissing the imposing soldiers by the side that had been trying to put pressure on Shi Tian all this time.


    "Jeez, you are way too calm for someone who is not from the military, Nathan," Phoebemented.


    "Did you seriously not feel a tiny bit of fear?" She then asked, seemingly unable to believe that he didn''t get scared at all.


    Sure, she was a beauty, but underneath that beauty was a ruthlessmander.


    No one could be amander without having their hands stained with blood and tons of kill count, whether it was some beasts or humans.


    Shi Tian kept a calmposure and gazed at Phoebe.


    "Why should I feel any fear, Commander Phoebe? We''re not enemies, and I might have identally ruined your n, but you''re not unreasonable either. Otherwise, you wouldn''t have forgiven Commander Benedict easily." He responded, not an ounce of fear could be heard in his tone.


    And instead of fear, Shi Tian was exuding an air of confidence with the way he brought Benedict into the conversation.


    Benedict was someone who had attempted to fight her previously, even garnering some casualties from both sides. Yet Phoebe clearly didn''t hold any grudges against Benedict and seemed relieved that Benedict was willing to stop going against her.


    This alone showed that Phoebe was reasonable and not someone to make grudges easily.


    Her soldiers might have died because of Benedict''s impulsive action, but she also knew this stemmed from her fault. Thus, she was willing to forgive and not strive for revenge.


    Not to mention, these were soldiers, they were meant to die on the battlefield. So even if their death were unjustifiable, in her mind as amander, death should have been obvious to her soldier.


    But most importantly, Shi Tian was more bbergasted when he realized Phoebe''s value of him had actually increased, rather than decreased.


    How hrious was that?


    Or maybe that was only natural for someone that could survive and attain such a position in this fucked up world.


    ''This is like dealing with a devil, but also not quite. Eachmander is more sadistic and weirder than the others. Maybe I might be like them in the future if I experience things they have.'' Shi Tian eximed inwardly.

 Chapter 368 Connoisseur

    368 Connoisseur


    A few minutes had gone by ever since Shi Tian''s response. The atmosphere waspletely silent, with only Phoebe gazing at Shi Tian.


    As for Shi Tian, he kept his cool and remained perfectly still, albeit somewhat ufortable. After all, being gazed at in such an intense manner, it was hard for one to remain fine. Finally, after what felt like an eternity, Phoebe sped her hands and smiled in joy. "Looks like I truly wasn''t wrong about you when we first met during the small banter between me and Benedict." She nodded her head and praised.


    Meanwhile, Shi Tian truly missed Vanessa at this moment. Vanessa was always outspoken and straightforward, albeit somewhat immature and naive. But at the very least, he didn''t have to expend his brain cells in the interaction and could rxpared to interacting with Phoebe. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    An internal strife that caused a lot of casualties was now downgraded to a small banter. And it was clear that Phoebe wanted Shi Tian to believe it was merely a small banter and nothing more, given her emphasis on the word.


    Although Shi Tian understood her intention, he didn''t expose her and somewhat followed the flow.


    Who cares if those soldiers really died?


    The world isn''t a colorful rainbow environment, filled with honorable people. Instead, it was a world dominated by the strong, going back to the extreme primitive age. Whoever held the strongest fist, determined thew. As for the wilderness, it was merely a different kind ofwless ce that only the strong survived. "May I ask what you think of me during our encounter in that small banter you were having?" Shi Tian asked calmly, emphasizing the word small banter as well.


    Phoebe seemed pleased when Shi Tian caught on to her intention and followed her flow. "First of all, you are clever. You know how to create an advantageous situation for yourself, but at the same time, you also know your limits and not go overboard. It''s rare to see people like you who know how to adapt to a situation." She responded, grabbing the alcohol from her soldier to take another sip.


    After taking a sip, she nced at Shi Tian and asked, "Oh, right, do you also want a drink as well?" And before Shi Tian could politely refuse, she continued, "It would be rude to not drink when someone offers you one. Here, you can have this one."


    She then extended the ss of cup that she had just drank to Shi Tian, clearly handing it to him to have a taste.


    Looking at the ss of the cup, Shi Tian was truly stunned this time. Others might think this was a golden opportunity to drink the same cup that Phoebe had drank. After all, who doesn''t want to drink in the same cup as a beauty like Phoebe? However, that was only for others who only think with their lower part.


    Shi Tian was currently cursing and imagining beating Phoebe up in his mind.


    This poisonousmander was really unbelievable.


    She was practically giving him an impossible test to pass. Why?


    She drank it and generously offered him the same cup, which most people could only dream about. So if he refused, then words would get out for sure, and many people would soon target him. Not to mention, it would be seen as him disrespecting her by refusing to drink from the same ss as her.


    But if he did take the ss cup and drink it. Then not only would he garner more hatred, but he was also essentially showing that they were in a very good rtionship or in cooperation. This meant that even if he didn''t want to cooperate with Phoebe any deeper than for the current moment, he would no longer have that choice to retreat. In other words, no matter what options he chooses, it would be a lose situation. It was a test where there were no correct answers to choose and only wrong answers. ''I still underestimated thesemanders.'' Shi Tian regrettably admitted that he had lost this round.


    True, thesemanders would never harm him with Vanessa''s presence. But that doesn''t mean they can''t do other things that would involuntarily get him into more trouble or muddy waters than it is. And as hateful as it might be, Phoebe today had shown him that even with the protection of Vanessa, she could still give him a massive migraine.


    Since either option was still going to end up in the same ending, Shi Tian decided to y rogue. ''You started it, so don''t mind me.'' Shi Tian sneered inwardly.


    He grabbed the ss cup from her and smiled softly, "Thanks, I''m kind of thirsty having traveled for quite a distance." After giving his gratitude, Shi Tian twisted the ss cup around, found her lipstick mark, and proceeded to drink in the exact same location, even tasting the lipstick vor.


    His actions were seen clearly by all the nearby soldiers, and as for Phoebe, she was extremelyposed, her expression remained unchanged despite the unexpected move of Shi Tian.


    She dared to give him her ss cup, so naturally, she expected that Shi Tian mightmit such action.


    But so what?


    It was just her lipstick mark and not a real kiss. What was there to be embarrassed about? As if she would blush in redness and be embarrassed by such an act. "How''s the alcohol? Is it to your liking?" Phoebe then asked, crossing her legs and making a somewhat sexy pose.


    Finishing the alcohol in one gulp, Shi Tian gave a thumbs up to Phoebe. "Not bad at all, Commander Phoebe. The alcoholic content hits the spot, especially your lipstick vor. It seems to be a vor of raspberry punch." He responded, acting as if he was an expert connoisseur.


    "You really are different from most people, Nathan. To think you can even guess the vor of my lipstick correctly." Phoebe mused. "Do you want to have a try on my lipstick as well? Or perhaps, do you want to try it on from the source?" She traced her lips and asked seductively.

 Chapter 369 Cooperate

    369 Cooperate n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    Shi Tian had thought his action was bold enough already, but never once did he think Phoebe was scarier than him.


    She was able to remain calm and even offered such ascivious offer. It was as if she was daring him to take advantage of her. If it were normal people by now, then they might have been bewitched already andmitted such an act without thinking properly.


    Raising his hands up in a form of surrender, Shi Tian sighed softly and shook his head. "You win, Commander Phoebe. Can you stop teasing me already?" The test just kept getting harder, and this test was like a mountain pressing on his back, forcing him to grovel.


    And if he resisted, then even if he won, his back would be injured tremendously. Of course, that was just an idiom meaning that he had thoroughly lost this game of wits.


    "What teasing are you talking about, Nathan?" Phoebe raised an eyebrow and asked innocently. "I''m not teasing you at all. If you really want to try it on, then my lips are here for you to try." She said, going as far as leaning closer to him.


    "I was wrong, Commander Phoebe." Shi Tian pleaded. "I shouldn''t have used the sonic boom and ruined your meticulous n." Seeing how Shi Tian admitted defeat and had no will to continue further, Phoebe curled her mouth upward. Phoebe was grinning at the oue that she had anticipated, albeit somewhat unexpected in some things. She left her lipstick mark on the ss cup on purpose to create an opportunity, but she didn''t expect Shi Tian to go ahead and taste it, saving her quite the trouble of baiting him into wanting a try on her lip. Although his action was somewhat bold and unexpected, Phoebe yed along and didn''t mind being taken advantage of. It was just a residual mark she left and not her real lip. To put it simply, an indirect kiss was nothing, and she wouldn''t lose muchpared to what she could gain from it. Looking innocently and naively, she proceeded to ask in a cute tone to continue her motive. "If you admit that you''re wrong, then shouldn''t I get a bit ofpensation?" Shi Tian smiled bitterly and finally understood that women are indeed the most venomous and dangerous creatures alive. How was he supposed to win this game of wits from the start when a woman yed such a rogue-like character? Thepensation Phoebe was asking for was definitely not rted to money. Given how extravagant she was, there was no way shecked any kind of money. Thus, the onlypensation she could possibly be seeking was having him do some tasks that her soldiers weren''t suited for. "If you want me to do something, then I expect to get paid." Shi Tian responded honestly. "Also, the task should be something within my ability, which I''m sure you are positive about. But I''m just pointing it out there."


    Phoebe nodded her head. "Naturally, Nathan, I wouldn''t be looking for you if it weren''t something you could aplish." "So what is it that you want me to do?" "It''s quite simple actually. You''re a mechanic, so I want you to build the exact EMP that you have used earlier and disrupt Theobold''s equipment."


    Although Shi Tian''s expression remained unchanged, he was secretly shocked. The EMP she was referring to was the Spymon that Shi Tian had activated earlier to prevent Olivia Harrett and an opportunity for Vanessa.


    He was positive that no one was looking at him when he did that and was discreet with his move too. Yet it seemed like he was still caught by Phoebe.


    "What EMP are you talking about?" Shi Tian raised an eyebrow, looking confused as he feigned innocence.


    As if he would admit it on the spot like some retards might do.


    "In this tablet, I managed to salvage one particr footage. Do you need me to show it to you?" She asked sweetly. But this kind of sweetness wasced with poison, one that you only need to taste once and die. 17:14


    Who knows if she was merely bluffing and just wanted him to admit it?


    Sorry, but he was not that ignorant to simply admit something right away when questioned.


    "You can feign innocence all you want, Nathan. But I''m not stupid either." Phoebe mused, seemingly not surprised by Shi Tian''s denial. She proceeded to exin her investigation, and while doing that, she made sure to keep her eyes on Shi Tian. "The timing of Vanessa''s arrival and the sudden change of Olivia Harrett''s behavior, especially her subtle action of touching her ear. It''s quite easy to deduce that her earpiece was disrupted and I have checked earlier. Some of the electronic devices nearby were also disabled temporarily, meaning an EMP was active." Shi Tian was truly speechless at how perspective and meticulous Phoebe was.


    No wonder she was able to be amander. If anyone really underestimated Phoebe just because she was a woman, then they really would have suffered tremendously. In fact, they might even die without knowing why and how. As Shi Tian remained silent, Phoebe decided to continue to show some proof. "In this tablet, I managed to salvage one particr footage. Do you need me to show it to you?" She asked sweetly. But this kind of sweetness wasced with poison, one that you only need to taste once and die. Shi Tian quickly raised his hand and stopped her from showing the evidence. "No need, Commander Phoebe." He swiftly said. He was positive that she was not bluffing this time. Why?


    The integrated chip in his brain was like the biggest jackpot he had ever gotten. Without even needing to ask, the integrated chip seemed to have infiltrated and hacked the tablet anonymously and confirmed that the footage contained the very evidence of himmitting such a deed.


    Therefore, why should he humiliate himself by agreeing to see the footage?


    "We can cooperate, but the material must be provided by you. At the same time, I wished to be paid for my effort in it. I''m not rich, so money is really important to me." Shi Tian gave in and listed his demands.

 Chapter 370 Time Limit

    370 Time Limit


    When Shi Tian realized he had no other choice but to agree to her demand, he still wished to retain some advantage, such as getting paid for the task.


    After all, taking the initiative and refusing to see the footage, helped him a bit. Had he really seen the footage before listing his demands, then it most likely wouldn''t have been approved.


    Why?


    Because at that time, it was no longer a cooperation, but somewhat of a ckmail.


    Phoebe could easily send that footage to Olivia Harrett and let her know he was the true culprit for her embarrassment. And at that time, things certainly wouldn''t look bright.


    But thankfully, he didn''t, and Phoebe was clever as well. She wasn''t going to push her limit since he knew his ce and agreed to cooperate.


    And sure enough, Phoebe sped her hands together and smiled brightly. "Heh, your demands¡­ I ept. Just tell me the materials needed and I shall bring them to you. As for the payment, what do you think it''s a suitable amount?" She then asked, letting him choose the price tag. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    ''Fucking bitch!!!'' Shi Tian screamed internally, wanting to strangle Phoebe on the spot.


    If anyone thought that she was being generous and letting him choose the payment amount, then you couldn''t be more wrong.


    This was essentially her giving him another difficult test.


    If he chose an amount to be lower than the amount in her mind, then he was indirectly downgrading himself.


    However, if he chose an amount to be higher than the ones in her mind, then it might seem like he was trying to extort her. Some might call Shi Tian overly paranoid and tend to overthink, but that was just how harsh the reality was.


    This world was not filled with rainbows and colorful people that would be kind to you. There are no such things as free lunches. As Shi Tian was pondering for quite a while, Phoebe mused and asked, "Are you struggling to think up the amount you want, Nathan? It''s not a difficult question at all. You can just honestly tell me how much you want to be paid." Taking a deep breath, Shi Tian figured out a way to save himself. "Let''s not rush too far ahead, Commander Phoebe. For now, I''ll just tell you the materials I''ll need, and once the task is done, we can then discuss the payment." He responded with an amazing diplomatic answer. Not giving her the direct answer, but also somewhat hinting that the answer was given. It was an answer that most people hate because it was essentially not saying anything from the get-go. However, it was precisely the existence of such answers that ensured the atmosphere and situation were rtively calm. And Phoebe wasn''t angered by the answer either, given she would have done the same, albeit much quicker and more thoroughly. This alone goes to show his experience wasn''t as great as hers. "Not a problem, but I''ll need to know when you''ll be done." She enquired.


    "How many EMPs do you want?"


    The estimated time could only be given if he knew how many he needed to craft. Like if she only wanted two or three, then time would be quite fast. But if she wanted like 20-30, then the time would naturally take longer.


    He was not a robot or a machine that could consistently produce the EMPs without taking a break. Phoebe rubbed her chin at the question. She was calcting in her mind at Theobold''s equipment. It was a shame that she couldn''t infiltrate his base enough to know the precise amount in his arsenal.


    However, if she based Theobold''s equipment on hers, and considering the fact that Theobold was always out in the wilderness,batting monsters. Then it meant that his equipment should at least be double that of hers, but she also needed to include the factor that Theobold had quite the sponsorship from other merchants that were grateful for Theobold''s protection. ''The merchants are still selfish people though, so the sponsorship shouldn''t be that much. Let''s just think he should have around two and a half times more equipment than me.'' Phoebe thought to herself.


    Composing her thoughts, she then asked, "How long will it take for you to make around 15 EMPs, and do you know the precise radius of the affected area?"


    "15 EMPs would require me to take at least 3 weeks or so, given that I''m still not skilled at it. As for the precise radius, it has an effect of at least 5 meters." Shi Tian informed her. The Spymon, as great as it was, doesn''t cover much of the area. Otherwise, he wouldn''t have needed to get close and aim his throw to disrupt Olivia Harrett''smunication. "3 weeks¡­ that''s too long." Phoebe shook her head. "Is it possible for you to increase the speed?" "No offense to you, Commander Phoebe, but it''s not easy to craft an EMP from scratch. It takes a lot of time and meticulous effort to create one. You wouldn''t want a faulty one either, right?" "Nathan, if you can get it done within 3 days, then I''ll make sure to pay you generously." Phoebe shed a solemn expression and said. She needed these EMPs fast, so she can''t afford to dy. 3 weeks? By that time, what was the point of needing the EMPs? 3 days was her limit because she was sure the monster wave wouldn''tst much longer. The monster wave, other than the monster numbers and some unexpected variables, if they were truly serious and went all-out, the crisis would easily be resolved. It was merely because each of them had their own goal and was trying to dy as much as possible. But 3 days was nearly the maximum time they could afford to dy.


    After all, none of them wished to rouse suspicion from their respective families that they might be scheming something. "I can only say I''ll try, but no guarantee, Commander Phoebe." Shi Tian clenched his fist and said.

 Chapter 371 Subtle Threat

    <h4>Chapter 371 Subtle Threat</h4>


    Phoebe was somewhat reassured when Shi Tian was able to say he could try to make the time limit.


    "If you can really do it, then I''ll guarantee you will have quite the hefty pocket with my name on the line," Phoebe eximed, going as far as using her credential.


    Though, that was as good as a fart for Shi Tian.


    Credential?


    Seriously, does credential even matter in this world?


    Nevertheless, Shi Tian still pretended to care and nodded his head in response. Inner thought should never be revealed to anyone, and he also wouldn''t be dumb enough to let Phoebe read his mind.


    Just the fact that Phoebe was willing to go so far as to sabotage Theobold, meant that she was not the type to be trifled with.


    "Anyway, let''s not waste any time and tell me the materials you need." Phoebe shifted the topic and asked Shi Tian to give her a list. The more time they wasted in the conversation, the less time she had to sabotage Theobold.


    And it was quite evident that Phoebe was finally showing signs of impatience.


    Sensing her impatience, Shi Tian was also d that this negotiation was finallying to an end. He was truly exhausted from ying these psychological and word games with Phoebe.


    As he was making the list of materials down, Phoebe kindly warned, "I know you might list materials that aren''t required, but make sure to not go overboard, Nathan."


    Shi Tian nearly choked on his own saliva when he heard that.


    He was just choking identally at a very bad time.


    It was most definitely not because he was doing precisely that and attempting to yoink a lot of free materials from her.


    s, Phoebe was well aware of Shi Tian''s motive, but she didn''t n on pursuing the matter.


    It was only right that some would try to get some benefit for themselves. If Shi Tian didn''t even try such stuff despite having the opportunity to do so, then she might have to re-evaluate her impression of him.


    Time slowly passed by, and Shi Tian finished listing the materials.


    Phoebe made a few nces at the list and was speechless at the number of materials required. Although there were quite a lot, only a few of them could be considered rare.


    Nevertheless, she was still astonished by how shameless he was able to go by demanding so many materials.


    She was not a mechanic, but she still had some knowledge of the EMP. So she was positive that some of the material listed waspletely unrted to the crafting of the EMP.


    ''I supposed this is his way of telling me not to tease him too much.'' Phoebe thought to herself.


    With the interaction she had with Shi Tian, she understood he wouldn''t make it so obvious. Hence, it only meant that Shi Tian wanted her to know that he was indeed taking advantage of her.


    "What''s the matter, Commander Phoebe? Are the materials hard to get?" Shi Tian asked innocently.


    Phoebe rolled her eyes and snapped her fingers, signaling a soldier that was behind her.


    "Get the materials and deliver them to Nathan''s Iron Sentinel as soon as possible." She handed the soldier the tablet andmanded.


    "Roger that, Commander Phoebe." The soldier epted the tablet and quickly went away, clearly to prepare for the materials to be delivered as soon as possible.


    This was something that theirmander was prioritizing, so any mishaps would result in severe punishments for them.


    As the soldier promptly left the scene, Shi Tian also stretched his arms.


    "Well, I think that''s the end of our conversation, right?" He stood up and said. "I should probably head back to the Iron Sentinel."


    "Why? Are you afraid this woman would eat you alive?" Phoebe mused.


    "I''m not afraid, Commander Phoebe. I''m not a handsome fe that could tempt others from wanting to devour me." Shi Tian humored.


    "Perspective of an appearance is dependent on the person''s individual thought. Whether you are regarded as handsome or not depends if that''s the type an individual likes." Phoebe rified, standing up and staring at Shi Tian.


    "And lucky for you, my perspective of you is quite decent and not someone that I would eliminate at first nce."


    "I guessed I surely am lucky." Shi Tian responded calmly, feigning ignorance of her implied meaning.


    She was definitely making a threat just now that if a person ever became an eyesore to her, then she wouldn''t hesitate to eliminate them from existence.


    "I''ll have my soldier drive you back to the Iron Sentinel, Nathan," Phoebe said, signaling for her other soldier to escort him back.


    And as much as Shi Tian wanted to reject the "kind gesture", it was clear that Phoebe was adamant about it.


    ''Sigh, looks like I''m being used as a pawn between Theobold and Phoebe now.'' Shi Tian cursed silently.


    Theobold clearly wanted to ensure that they would not get too close to Phoebe, so Phoebe decided to have her own soldier to escort him back, indirectly telling Theobold that their rtionship was extremely amicable.


    In other words, he was being sandwiched by twomanders respectively, each one more entric than the other.


    "Right this way, Sir Nathan." A soldier gestured for Shi Tian to hop into their military vehicle. The military vehicle had all the protection it needed to ensure the upant remained safe no matter the situation.


    Nodding his head, Shi Tian could only slowly enter the military vehicle and allowed himself to be escorted back in a high-


    profile manner.


    As difficult and tense as the atmosphere was, Shi Tian was still somewhat proud of the result. Not only was he able to get free materials and money, but he was also able to use this as a chance to improve his mechanic skills.


    The day he could truly focus on the mechanic aspect and not these political conflicts, shall be the day he would be a force to be reckoned with.


    ''If only this crisis could just end right now¡­'' Shi Tianid on his back and prayed silently.

 Chapter 372 Wishful Thinking

    372 Wishful Thinking


    Sitting patiently inside the military vehicle, Shi Tian had no intention of trying to do anything funny. It was not necessary, and it was already pointless to attempt to salvage anything.


    By now, he was positive that the news of him meeting with Phoebe privately should have been spread around the othermanders, especially Theobold.


    Since it was already a concrete fact that could not be denied, Shi Tian could only ept this fate and face whatever turbulence mighte at them.


    As Shi Tian was immersed in his thought process, seemingly trying to n ahead, the military vehicle suddenly stopped advancing forward.


    "Sir Nathan, we have arrived at the destination." The soldier, who was driving at the front, informed him respectfully. "Thanks for the hard work," Shi Tian responded, swiftly exiting through the door and heading to the Iron Sentinel without any dy. Meanwhile, the military vehicle promptly reversed and drove away. Though Shi Tian was able to detect the soldier''s intention of purposely driving close to Theobold''s side. It was as if the soldier was afraid Theobold might not know he was escorting Shi Tian back to the Iron Sentinel and wanted to announce it in his face.


    ''Sigh, why did I have to be involved?'' Shi Tian twitched his brows, feeling uneasy about being the focal point now.


    The decision to be a decoy surely wasn''t easy, and with the current situation, he was indeed the main attraction.


    Now, he was even more sure the families backing thesemanders would soon start to take notice of him.


    Entering the Iron Sentinel, Shi Tian was greeted with a sarcastic smile from Mary.


    "Congrats, Nathan. You''ve managed to garner the most attraction in this monster wave crisis." Mary pped her hands and praised. "Indeed, getting a private meeting with a beauty like Commander Phoebe must have felt amazing, right? Did your heart flutter and beat rapidly when you faced her?" Vanessa chimed in, and a hint of anger could be detected. Rolling his eyes and taking a seat, Shi Tian responded, "I''ve already got quite the headache from the interaction with Commander Phoebe. Can you spare me the sarcasm and the jabbing?" "Oh? So you single-handedly decided to make a deal with Commander Phoebe, and now you expect me to help clean up your mess?" Mary raised an eyebrow and asked in a deep voice.


    Shi Tian smiled sheepishly at that statement. During the ride in the military vehicle, Shi Tian had texted Mary regarding the deal being made with Phoebe, so he already expected some kind of judgment or punishment from Mary.


    After all, toplete 15 EMPs within 3 days was impossible with him alone. Like even if he sacrificed all of his sleep, he still wouldn''t be able to meet the deadline with his current skills.


    Thus, the only solution was to bring Mary into the factor. Mary was a multi-tasker, so not only was she a talented Berserker, but she was also a prodigy in the mechanic aspect. With Mary''s help, Shi Tian was sure that the 3-day limit would be more than enough.


    "Listen, Mary, it''s a win-win situation for us in the end. We don''t like Theobold, but with Phoebe''s help, it''s a different story." Shi Tian tried to defend his action.


    s, Mary was not pleased and kept a deadpan expression. "Even if it''s a win-win situation, this is not the first time you have decided upon something yourself without informing me beforehand. The ymore Mines demonstration in the past and now this. It''s like you don''t even n on respecting me at all." She retorted. "Hey, you don''t need to be that harsh on him, Mary." Vanessa suddenly interrupted when she saw how rude Mary was being. "Yeah, Nathan might have gone overboard this time, but wasn''t he still doing this for you and Optic Mech? Theobold was no longer a reliable ally, but Phoebe is different." "The adults are talking. So kindly keep your mouth shut and let us talk." Mary hissed coldly and red at Vanessa. Vanessa clicked her tongue in anger when Mary was essentially calling her a child. "Hmph, aren''t you still hugging my identity to remain safe? I dare you to say it again." The atmosphere was getting tense by the second, so Shi Tian needed to defuse the situation, lest it might cause irreconcble consequences. "Alright, the two of you can stop. The faults are mine alone, so you''re free to reprimand me." Shi Tian stepped forward and went in between the two, afraid they might sh again.


    However, little did he expect, the situation would swiftly change and both Mary and Vanessa proceeded to point their fingers at him. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    "Of course, it''s your fault." They shouted in unison, almost as if they were following a script. "Whatever, I''m not a mechanic, so the two of you can stay all night and day to craft the EMPs." Vanessa yawned and stretched her arms, ready toy down to sleep. With Vanessa retreating to the back, Mary kept her gaze on Shi Tian. The gaze was no different than a venomous spider, looking at its prey, ready to strike the moment an opportunity arises. "I know you''re mad, but there''s nothing much I can do either." Shi Tian sighed softly and sat back down. "In that atmosphere, if I refused, then it meant that I was cutting the bridge we had constructed with Phoebe. By that time, we are truly in a difficult spot, given that Phoebe might even cooperate with Theobold fully to eliminate us." He added, wanting her to know that it was not something he could control. "Next time, if such a situation happens again, the first thing you must do is inform me. Just because you have a bit of intelligence, doesn''t mean you would always know and grasp the situation." Mary warned solemnly.


    And she continued, "You might think that you have no solution other than agreeing to the cooperation, but that''s just your wishful thinking. That Phoebe requested for you precisely because she knew you aren''t the real deciding factor for Optic Mehc, but us."

 Chapter 373 Unexpected Visit

    373 Unexpected Visit


    "Wishful thinking?" Shi Tian was dumbfounded by the statement Mary had made.


    Did he truly make a dumb mistake based on the currentyout they are in?


    "Yes, wishful thinking is what you are, Nathan," Marymented. "Why did you even agree to the deal in the first ce? I''m sure it''s not for those materials or money despite how much of a money-grubber you are." She crossed her arms and asked, demanding to know the truth.


    Being a money-grubber was absolutely fine, but one should always know their limits on what kind of money they could get. And Mary was positive that Shi Tian wouldn''t be blinded by momentary greed to ept the deal behind her back.


    Sure enough, Shi Tian realized Mary was making Vanessa leave the scene to ask him for the truth, given that she should have some clue about it. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    Nodding his head, Shi Tian helped confirm her thought. "Phoebe has footage of memitting the EMP incident that caused Olivia Harrett to lose face." "As expected, Phoebe is surely one devious schemer," Mary muttered. She was a hacker, but even she could not afford to hack directly into the devices of a militarymander. The militarymanders'' cyber security was not easy to breach, and they had their own set of defensive firewalls to blockade hackers. The firewall was many times more difficult than the StellerVision Media. Attempting to hack them was essentially asking for death. "So it''s because she got ckmail evidence against you which caused you to ept the deal, right?" Mary asked calmly. Shi Tian nodded his head, albeit with his head somewhat lowered. Indeed, he was careless this time, and his actions were caught red-handed by Phoebe.


    As his head was lowered, Mary suddenly smacked at it and hissed, "This is why you need to stop acting like you are some god, Nathan. You''re not omnipotent, so stop trying to act alone and believe what you think is the best course of action." Shi Tian remained quiet, clearly knowing now was not the time to utter a sound. If he dared to make a sound, then it would only infuriate Mary further, prompting her to be even more extreme in her reprimanding. And the tactic worked fantastically, given Mary stopped her reprimanding when she saw how silent Shi Tian was being.


    At the end of the day, the deal was done. She wanted to strangle Shi Tian for making such a decision without consulting them, but what was the point of that?


    She could only ept it and assist him, lest the decoy they catered might end up dying before the New Region even began. "Whatever materials and money you scammed from Commander Phoebe are confiscated." Mary snorted coldly. Shi Tian was stunned and wanted to say something but managed to stop himself in time when he saw that re from her.


    Nodding his head, he could onlyply with whatever Mary wanted to say. While the Iron Sentinel gradually had their atmosphere calmed down, back in Gearits City, Optic Mech was having quite the unexpected guest.


    Isaac Aaronax was working on his craft when he was informed an important individual had sought his attention.


    "Who is that important person?" Isaac Aaronax asked impatiently through the tel, his eyes remained focused on the desk. On the desk was a prototype drone that Mary had sent him. It was the very same type of drone that Mary had obtained from Theobold.


    He was analyzing the schematic drawing and blueprint of the drone that Mary had sent and attempted to recreate it.


    Thus, he was somewhat annoyed when he was interrupted. He was still trying to figure out what went wrong, and being interrupted was thest thing he needed.


    "It''s someone from the Hill Family, Mechanist Isaac." A voice responded through the tel. "The Hill Family?" "Yes, it''s Jonas Hill from the Hill Family." When Isaac Aaronax heard the name, he was a bit startled, followed by confusion. ''Why would he want to meet with me?'' Isaac Aaronax pondered silently. Optic Mech never had any direct dealings with the people from the Hill Family, so he was taken by surprise. The only people who had tried to contact and poach him in the past were those from the Harrett Family. And recently, with the fame that Shi Tian had brought to them, some other people in their respective families had tried toe over to curry favor.


    However, those people would only order their subordinates, and not the important individuals. Jonas Hill was a name that had only been made public because of their heir suddenly disappearing. They were in quite the muddy water until Jonas Hill made a lot of achievements and feats that helped maintain the Hill Family''s status as part of the five families.


    Pressing a button, Isaac Aaronax''s desk transformed into a normal-looking one, concealing all the tools and the prototype drone. He then informed the person in the tel to let the person into his workshop.


    A few minutester, Jonas Hill arrived at Isaac Aaronax''s workshop.


    When Isaac Aaronax saw Jonas Hill, he began inspecting him.


    Standing at an imposing 6 feet 4 inches, Jonas Hill had amanding presence that demanded attention. His build is athletic and well-defined, suggesting abination of strength and agility.


    His sharp, chiseled features give him a rugged and determined look. Dressed in sleek, tailored attire, Jonas Hill seamlessly blends a sense of sophistication with an edge of practicality.


    And it was precisely these types of people that Isaac Aaronax was wary of. Despite their great appearance, underneath them should be filled with venomous thoughts and shrewdness. "It''s a great honor to finally meet with you, Mechanist Isaac." Jonas Hill broke the silent atmosphere as he extended his hand, seemingly trying to shake his as a greeting gesture.


    However, Isaac Aaronax casually avoided any physical contact by saying, "My hands are quite dirty from the mechanic work, so please take a seat over there." Not looking offended, Jonas Hill retracted his hand and kept a bright smile, his thoughts remained unknown.

 Chapter 374 Energy Core

    <h4>Chapter 374 Energy Core</h4>


    Jonas Hill seemed to have made himselffortable, walking around and ncing at the work that Isaac Aaronax had done.


    "Mechanist Isaac is truly a busy man." Jonas Hill jokingly said.


    "Not even those of the Harrett Family were able to entice you to join them. And the fact that these mechanics work seemed to be more impressive than those created by the Harrett Family." He added, admiring some of the items on the shelves.


    Although everything seemed carefree from his tone of speech, Isaac Aaronax wasn''t foolish to believe such a person came all the way over here to praise him.


    Who knows what type of person Jonas Hill was?


    A person who could single-handedly prevent their family from falling into ruin despite losing their heir was not someone to be taken lightly.


    "You overpraise me too much, Mr. Hill," Isaac Aaronax humbly responded.


    He was not taking any credit nor the praise for being better than the Harrett Family''s mechanics, even though that was the hardcore truth and fact.


    Knowing it and boasting about it were two different factors.


    Knowing he was better than them was enough, and boasting would only cause more unnecessary trouble for him. And as a mechanist, that was not needed in his life.


    "Oh, how humble of you, Mechanist Isaac." Jonas Hill chuckled softly.


    "But it''s precisely this humbleness of yours that the Hill Family wished to be able to recruit you."


    So that was the goal huh.


    Isaac Aaronax seemed to have gotten a gist of Jonas Hill''s motive now.


    It appeared that his motive was no different than the rest, except he was showing up here personally aspared to the other.


    The others only ordered their subordinates toe here, given that it was beneath them toe to this particr area known for the lower and middle ss.


    ''What a waste of time,'' Isaac Aaronax thought to himself.


    It was just another person wanting to poach or recruit him, and he would rather focus on his mechanic work than deal with these people.


    However, Isaac Aaronax was stunned when Jonas Hill suddenly ced down a glowing object.


    "I''m sure you know about what these are, right?" Jonas Hill smiled brightly.


    Isaac Aaronax''s attention was immediately drawn to the glowing object Jonas Hill had ced on the table. The soft hum emitted by the device hinted at its advanced nature, and Isaac''s curiosity got the better of him.


    Going to hisputer, Isaac made a quick analysis of the glowing object, and sure enough, the output of the data shocked him thoroughly.


    "The glowing object is an energy core¡­" Isaac muttered, seemingly in disbelief. The energy core was different from the condensed Source Crystal.


    Most of the technological stuff in the current era required Source Crystal to power them up.


    Without Source Crystal, a technology would essentially be just an empty shell, unable to be utilized.


    "How did you produce the energy core?" Isaac asked, clearly curious as to how Jonas Hill was able to have such a mystical item.


    Throughout the years, people, or mechanics to be precise, had tried to replicate the power of the Source Crystal, only to end up in failure.


    The Source Crystal came from a monster''s part, and these monsters were all abnormalities that didn''t belong to Earth. Therefore, no matter how hard they tried, it was just impossible for them to recreate such an energy core.


    The data output had shown that the energy core that Jonas Hill revealed could possibly be more powerful than the Source Crystal too.


    And as a mechanic, how could he not be fascinated by such a groundbreaking achievement?


    "Haha, those eyes are yours are making me quite joyous," Jonas Hill suddenlyughed heartily when he could sense Isaac''s emotions wavering.


    "You don''t have to answer me now, Mechanist Isaac. I respect you so I''ll let you make the decision once you get a try with this gift of mine." He then said and promptly left the workshop.


    Jonas Hill''s footstep was nimble and fast.


    By the time Isaac had regained hisposure, Jonas Hill was already long gone, with only the energy core left on the table.


    The energy core now was like an enticing dish that wanted him to devour right away, but Isaac managed to suppress his desire.


    There were never free lunches in this world, so to be extra careful, Isaac began utilizing his tools to give a thorough analysis of the energy core.


    Earlier, it was merely a brief analysis, but now he was going to scrutinize the energy core, making sure that there were no problems with it.


    Time passed by rather quickly, and Isaac was breathing heavily as he confirmed the energy core was functional and real.


    "Just how did he manage to produce this?" Isaac muttered softly.


    He had attempted to see if the energy core could be replicated, but it seemed like Jonas Hill was confident that he would never be able to figure it out.


    Otherwise, he wouldn''t have left the energy core here and left so quickly.


    With the energy core just sitting at the table, Isaac swallowed a mouthful of saliva nervously. He was positive that the moment he epted this "gift", then the situation in Gearits City would soon undergo anotherrge change.


    Even if he still refused to be recruited, it would be hard to make a clear cut with the Hill Family once he used the energy core in the future.


    As Isaac was stuck in a heavy dilemma, back in the frontline, Shi Tian finally received the materials from Phoebe.


    "Sir Nathan, all the materials you listed have been delivered." One of Phoebe''s soldiers reported.


    "If you confirm everything is good, then please sign here as proof." The soldier then extended the tablet for his signature.


    Shi Tian nodded his head and signed his signature "Nathan" once he made a quick inspection that everything was indeed delivered as promised.


    "Rest assured and tell yourmander to wait 3 days for the item to be finished."


    "Very well, ourmander would be pleased to hear that."

 Chapter 375 Get Crafting

    375 Get Crafting


    After the soldiers obtained the signature from Shi Tian and reassurance that the items would bepleted in 3 days, they promptly left the scene. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    Their job was only to deliver the material to Shi Tian and nothing else. They don''t dare to overdo or do less than what they were told. Shi Tian also didn''t stop them from leaving. In a way, these soldiers were merely considered small fry, so talking with them wouldn''t benefit him anyway. "So that''s all the material huh," Mary asked from the sideline, seeing Shi Tian recounting the boxes of materials again once he carried them in the Iron Sentinel.


    Shi Tian sped his hands and nodded. "Yeah, I''m surprised that Commander Phoebe was actually able to deliver them so quickly. The materials I''ve demanded aren''t small." He then said, feeling quite proud at how much material they had gained. As he was feeling proud, Mary suddenly walked forward and pushed him aside softly.


    "What are you doing?" Shi Tian asked in a dumbfounded tone. "Confiscating the materials duh." Mary rolled her eyes and snorted. Did he really think she would forget about what she had said? She had already said that she would confiscate all non-rted materials to craft the Spymon EMP item. And she was definitely going to see through it with no exception. "Ohe on, Mary. I''m already broke and you''re going to confiscate all of them?" Shi Tian smiled bitterly.


    "Fine, you can have them back." Mary suddenly stepped back and smiled.


    But before Shi Tian could cheer, Mary continued her word. "But then you can try to craft the Spymon by yourself all alone. Let''s see if you can meet the deadline like you have just confidently said to her soldiers." Instantly, Shi Tian''s mood went from joy to depression. "You are really a devil¡­" He murmured, realizing that Mary was extremely cold-blooded. "Alright, stop sulking and bring in the necessary materials inside." Mary turned around and began walking back inside. And she continued, "If you do a good job. Then maybe I might just leave you with some materials, but that''s only if you do a good job." "Consider it done," Shi Tian clenched his fist. As Mary prepared to set up the workshop for them to craft, Shi Tian swiftly carried in the necessary materials needed inside. Shi Tian carefully sorted through the delivered materials, separating those essential for crafting the EMP devices from the rest. Boxes of metallicponents, intricate circuits, and advanced alloys were neatly arranged on the work table.


    As Shi Tian organized the materials, Mary retrieved a holographic blueprint of the Spymon EMP device. The blueprint projected a three-dimensional model, allowing them to analyze the intricate design and identify the specificponents required for each EMP unit.


    Although the two were somewhat familiar with the Spymon device, having the blueprint to follow made things easier. "Nathan, have you grabbed the tools¡ª" Before Mary could even finish her sentences, she already saw him working on it. Shi Tian fetched an array of specialized tools, each designed for precise and delicate work. Micro Soldering equipment, nanowire cutters, and molecr adhesives were among the toolsid out for the crafting process.


    "You were saying?" cing the tools neatly on the worktable, Shi Tian asked her.


    "Nothing, let''s just get to work," Mary shook her head. Time was ticking down, so there was no need for the small talk. That could be saved forter on once they are finished.


    So with a keen focus, Shi Tian and Mary began integrating the variousponents. Tiny nanocircuits were delicately connected, and microprocessors were calibrated to ensure the EMP devices would function wlessly.


    Mary took charge of the calibration process, adjusting the electromaic frequencies and power levels of each EMP unit. This step was crucial to achieving the desired effect without causing unintended disruptions.


    While Mary was working on that, Shi Tian worked on installing the condensed Source Crystal into each EMP device. The Source Crystal acted as the energy source, but that wasn''t enough. Compact, high-capacity batteries capable of providing sufficient power for the electromaic pulses were carefully integrated into the design as well.


    Throughout the crafting process, Mary conducted meticulous quality checks. She scrutinized every connection, ran diagnostic tests, and ensured that each EMP unit met the stringent standards required for deployment in the field.


    Aware of the tight deadline, Shi Tian and Mary worked seamlessly, utilizing theirplementary skills. Mary''s proficiency in mechanics and Shi Tian''s understanding of electromaic technology created a synergistic workflow.


    "Nathan, how many more do we have left?" Mary asked, her eyes focused on theputer screen. Shi Tian made a swift calction and told her, "So far, we''ve only made 4 even with our current speed." "And how much time has passed?" "Around 4-5 hours or so."Hoa K?


    Given that they needed to be meticulous in every aspect, they couldn''t afford to rush any steps and skip ahead. Who would know what kind of problems would ur if they attempted to cut corners? Mary sighed exhaustively and was starting to feel tired from working consistently without a break. "Ugh, this is worse than fighting some monsters." She massaged her neck andined slightly. "If you''re feeling fatigued, then just take a rest, Mary." Shi Tian suggested. "I''m fine with finishing up the final touch."


    Although this was repetitive and tedious, Shi Tian had to do simr tasks back when he had to craft numerous ymore Mines without rest. Thus, he was used to such a working pace. Mary was pondering about acting strong, but she still nodded her head in the end. This was the main reason why she couldn''t handle the mechanic ss despite being quite the prodigy. The tedious and meticulous workload was simply too much for her. You must remain focused at all times or your work could risk being faulty in the end, causing you to waste hours of hard work for naught. "Good luck, Nathan." Mary sent her regards as shey on her chair,pletely exhausted.


    c71241599ffa2342522e9fa0e93245a9d8ec4ad4e8c3c5baf0c66a8666374fd09fae10cee75b3986ad466748c5ddfc4af36cd8abbc0c757b34358b23a0e9fba9

 Chapter 376 Advice

    376 Advice


    Time slowly passed by, and while the world outside of the Iron Sentinel was busy with their own task. Inside the Iron Sentinel, one person waspletely swamped with one task only. Shi Tian was finishing the fourth Spymon EMP device as he breathed a sigh of relief. A day might have gone by fast, but at the very least, he managed to craft 4 Spymon¨C a task that he never expected to be able to aplish.


    Back then, one Spymon had caused him to spend a long time. It took him days and tons of reworking, because of a problem in one aspect. And when that one aspect was resolved, another problem urred, causing him to nearly get a migraine.


    "Nathan, you should take a rest as well. It''s not good to work constantly without a break." Mary kindly advised him, that her back remained lying on thefortable chair. "I''m fine," Shi Tian smiled briefly, grabbing a new set of materials as he attempted to start the next Spymon.


    He wasn''t trying to act tough, but the amount of crafting work being done here was worth it.


    Why?


    When he opened his status screen, Shi Tian was greatly revitalized by the increase in efficiency with his subsses. ¨C


    Name: Shi Tian


    Race: Human


    Main ss: Mechanic


    Sub ss: 7 in total [Click to expand on the list]


    Level: 32


    Health: 2000 (Normal)


    Stamina: 140


    Attributes: Strength: 32, Dexterity: 30, Endurance: 31, Agility: 37, Intelligence: 44, Charm: 27, Luck: 17 n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    Free Attribute Point: 32


    Abilities: -[Passive] Serene Calmness: Able to remain calm and collected


    -[Passive] Pain Tolerance: Level 6 (Upgraded as a shooting dummy) -[Active] Dust Mites Summon


    Grade: E (Took the Host long enough to advance)


    ss Talents: [Next obtainable Talent at level 60. Good luck, Host]


    -Digital Specter: The Host shall gain an exceptional talent for infiltrating secure digital systems, allowing him to bypass security measures and gain ess to restricted data, including but not limited to cybersecurity and virtual technology. Reputation: 40 (Optic Mech), -25 (Heaven''s Mecha/Harrett Family), -20 (White Syndicate), 50 (Gearits City''s Citizens), -65 (Jonas Hill), -35 (Theobold), 7 (Phoebe) [Click to expand the list to see more]Hoa K?


    Equipment: Mechanical Right Arm, Boosters'' Suit, Pistols, Smoke Grenades, ymore Mines, Spymon EMP device


    [Host had started his first step in the world officially. Despite the numerous advantages, the Host is kindly advised to not be conceited and still remain cautious. Also, the Host should do more mechanic work instead of political conflict or making schemes. Mechanics usually hide in the back, and never the front. The Host is kind of dumb for always going to the frontline as if he were some tank.]


    ¨C


    Browsing through his status screen, Shi Tian noticed one thing that particrly stood out.


    And no, it was not the statistics or the reputation list that he had always kept an eye on nowadays. It was the ring chunk of text that the integrated chip in his mind had to say about him.


    What does the integrated chip mean that he was dumb for going to the frontline?


    Did he have a choice to hide in the back? ''You''ve got to be kidding with me, right? Do you think I don''t want to sit in the back and rx? How about you just offer me free materials and more blueprints so that I can actually do what you want?'' Shi Tian ranted to the integrated chip in his mind, wanting him to know his frustration.


    If possible, he also wanted to be like some pro mechanic who could create mecha to fight on their behalf.


    But it just so happened he does not have that Midas touch or some kind of blessed person passive skill that would always get free things thrown at them.


    Everything he had obtained so far was through his hard work and negotiation with these powerful people. Just when Shi Tian wanted to punch the integrated chip¡ª as if it was even possible in the first ce, he received a response from it.


    Description: The Host can just increase his luck attribute if he is this dissatisfied with his current predicament. Why are you even saving the free attribute points? They are worthless if you never even used them. "Some intelligent guy" right here. "..." For some reason, Shi Tian felt that ever since the empathetic bond was formed, the integrated chip seemed to be a real person. A person that loved to taunt andugh at him, but never produced any actual support. It was as if the integrated chip was a backseat gamer, who would constantly tell the person still alive in the game to do this and that while they were killed in action. Shi Tian''s anger got so bad that the passive skill [Serene Calmness] was activated, pacifying his emotion.


    ''You want my luck to increase, right? Fine, let''s increase it with the free attribute point then. But if it doesn''t help and I die, then die with me, you goddamn IC!'' Shi Tian gave a middle finger and began dumping all 32 free attribute points on the luck attribute without hesitation.


    Soon, his luck jumped from the initial 17 all the way to 49.


    ''There, are you happy now?'' Shi Tian cursed at the integrated chip. Meanwhile, his middle finger was still being revealed, and Vanessa arrived at the interior.


    "Are you alright, Nathan?" Vanessa asked when she saw Shi Tian giving the middle finger at the work table.


    When she turned around to nce at the surroundings and noticed Mary rxing by the side with her eyes closed, she thought Shi Tian was stressed out. "If you''re stressed, then take a break." Vanessa scolded softly and proceeded to walk toward him. Taking the tools that Shi Tian was holding, she then told him to close his eyes.


    "Here, let me rx your muscles a bit to calm you down." Vanessa softly said and began massaging his shoulders, causing Shi Tian to be in aplete daze at the situation.


    ''What is going on?'' He eximed inwardly in disbelief. Description: Heh, still want to curse at me now, Host? By the way, you are wee to get my advice! \


    c71241599ffa2342522e9fa0e93245a9b77279a7b89d8342071b2e9f762bbf13299e3ba7e28696fe9bce2690976f5

 Chapter 377 Luck

    <h4>Chapter 377 Luck</h4>


    Shi Tian was utterly speechless and astonished when luck actually worked so quickly.


    Never once did he think Vanessa would ever offer him a free massage.


    What was more astounding was that Vanessa''s skills in massaging were actually rxing his muscles which were starting to get stiff.


    His mouth was wide open in an "O" shape, a clear evidence of him being shocked to numbness.


    Shi Tian''s luck attribute point was now the highest among all of his other attribute points. He didn''t even have the attention to care about the integrated chip''s prideful remark as he swallowed a mouthful of saliva.


    "Umm... I know it''s kind of rude, but why are you giving me a massage, Vanessa?" Shi Tian asked nervously.


    He knew it was a bad idea to question such a good thing, but he needed to know why Vanessa suddenly acted this way. Her current action was something he had never anticipated or expected in the past.


    If it was him in the past and someone told him he was going to get a free massage from Vanessa, someone who held a high status in Chronosworth City, then he would haveughed it hard.


    After all, that was the equivalent saying of an ugly and poor man being able to marry the hottest celebrity woman in the world.


    See how unbelievable that was?


    The chance of that happening was close to zero, or even negative value because that was just how the reality was.


    After waiting for some time, Vanessa responded, "Well, you are technically the backbone of this team here. So if you are to fall ill because of fatigue, then who would deal with those venomous snakes?"


    The venomous snakes she was talking about referred to the likes of Theobold and Phoebe. They are considered venomous snakes because each of them had their own motive that was hidden from the public.


    Who knows when they will strike at you?


    Meanwhile, Shi Tian was still somewhat skeptical of the reason. It didn''t make sense to him why she would suddenly massage him because of that reason.


    ''Did luck really y such arge part?'' Shi Tian pondered silently, feeling perplexed by the situation.


    Luck was something that no one could ever guarantee or calcte about. So to rely on luck was like a gamble, and Shi Tian never wanted to gamble with his life until he was absolutely certain of winning.


    As Shi Tian was submerged in thought, Vanessa''s voice brought him back to reality.


    "Am I massaging the right area?" She asked gently.


    Although still a bit weird out of the situation, Shi Tian pointed at his lower left shoulder more.


    "Over there is still kind of sore," he said softly.


    Vanessa nodded her head and proceeded to massage the sore area that he had pointed out.


    While this unlikely situation was happening, Mary, who had her eyes closed the entire time, was curious why there was no sound. Since Shi Tian was crafting things, she should have heard soldering or metal nking together.


    Confused, she opened her eyes and when she saw the scene in front of her, she nearly fell from her chair.


    Rubbing her eyes repeatedly to confirm that she wasn''t being illusional, she was even more dumbfounded.


    "What is this scene¡­" Mary muttered inplete shock and disbelief.


    Swallowing a mouthful of saliva, she faked a cough and asked, "Nathan, aren''t you supposed to craft the Spymon? Didn''t you know the deadline was looming closer and closer?"


    And before Shi Tian could even respond, Vanessa paused her massaging temporarily as she turned and red at Mary.


    "Do you think Nathan is some sort of machine or robot?" Vanessa raised an eyebrow and asked sarcastically.


    "Look at you resting and sleeping in the chair while Nathan was here working so much. Instead of even feeling guilty for not contributing much, you even have the nerve to question him cking? Very mature of you, Mary." She scolded harshly.


    Shi Tian secretly wanted to praise Vanessa for spouting such facts that he dared not to say.


    ''Luck is fantastic.'' Shi Tian eximed inwardly, wanting Vanessa to keep cooking.


    Let her cook!


    s, Mary was unamused and even squinted her eyes at Vanessa.


    "So you''re telling me that if someone acts impulsively and creates this trouble in the first ce. Then I''m obligated to help and save that person from being in trouble?" Mary crossed her arms and questioned back.


    Vanessa was subsequently stumped, unable to rebuke Mary''s statement.


    Indeed, this mess started from Shi Tian, but that was because he was forced to. Otherwise, who knows what kind of predicament they might be in?


    "Even if Nathan was wrong in the first ce, he is still your teammate nevertheless. Or are you that heartless to let your teammate die?" Vanessa clenched her fist and asked.


    "If so, then I suppose you really don''t have to feel any guilt. However, my respect for you would dwindle hard."


    "As if your respect is worth anything from the start." Mary sneered coldly.


    However, she still moved closer to the work table, her intention being clear. She was going to assist Shi Tian, but not because of Vanessa''s influence.


    She merely didn''t want to be used of being azy person who would ck off.


    "Move over," Mary said somewhat annoyingly as she pushed Shi Tian''s chair away from the work table.


    "You owe me one for making me do this." She added, gnashing her teeth.


    Vanessa held a smirk when she realized her provocation worked like a charm.


    "Since Mary is willing to help, you are wee, Nathan." She whispered softly to Shi Tian, seemingly looking for some praise.


    And this time, Shi Tian couldn''t refuse her request and praised her wholeheartedly.


    "Yes, you have done a very good job this time, Vanessa." Shi Tian made a sneaky thumbs-up for Vanessa. Not only did she help rx his muscles, but she also got Mary to assist him now.


    It was the perfect scenario that he had imagined, but never believed it would actuallye true.

 Chapter 378 True Mechanic

    378 True Mechanic N?v(el)B\\jnn


    Shi Tian and Vanessa were somehow having a rxing day in contrast to Mary.


    Mary seemed as if she was offended or angered by Vanessa''s statement of her being azy person and not a team yer. Thus, she was full-on turbo with the crafting. Her hands were moving so fast that it was hard to even see what she was working on at the moment.


    One second, her hand was gathering tools and materials, but the next second, she was already integrating the tiny resistors into the circuit board. By the time Shi Tian and Vanessa got a clear vision or idea of what was going on, Mary was done with the circuit board.


    "Jeez, is that how fast you mechanics are with your hands?" Vanessa twitched her mouth in disbelief, and her hands temporarily stopped massaging Shi Tian''s shoulders.


    She was bbergasted by Mary''s speed and tempo. She was like the racing car in a track field, unstoppable and undetectable. Shi Tian was equally astonished as he tried to mimic the hand movement of Mary, only to end up realizing his hands were uncontroble when he attempted to hasten his speed. It was the same as if a person was tasked to draw a circle with their left hand and a square with their right hand simultaneously. It sounded simple, but when you really attempted to draw them, you would realize it was a difficult task.


    "Maybe that''s just how a true mechanic is¡­" Shi Tian muttered, feeling therge gap between him and Mary. "Didn''t you just say you have started taking the path of a mechanic? Why are you trying topare yourself to someone who has been doing it for a long time?" Vanessa asked, knocking some sense into his brain.


    Indeed, the current Shi Tian was aplete beginner when ites to mechanics like Mary.


    However, one needed to take into ount the fact that Shi Tian started extremelyte, and had already achieved quite the feat. "Is this some kind of pep talk?" Shi Tian joked in response. "I''m just admiring Mary''s skills and wish that I could one day achieve them myself. Of course, I''m confident that I can reach it. It''s just that I''m not sure when I will reach there." He added, clenching his fist tightly.


    There were so many things that had been on his mind but was unable to do anything because of his insufficient power. Mechanics were supposed to build and craft numerous items to their advantage, going as far as assisting them in battle. But he was only able to craft some traps and EMP. In his mind, he does not even qualify as a mechanic. He was no different than those soldiers under Theobold who could only use the items provided to them for assistance in battle.


    As Shi Tian was mulling over the fact that he did not feel like he was a mechanic, Vanessa was somewhat silent. She knew what kind of true mechanic would fight, and the reality was¨C none of them ever fought like Shi Tian.


    Only a foolish person would attempt to confront an enemy head-on and not use their machines or items for long-range. "Nathan, I just want to let you know. My offer is still up, and you can always reconsider it." Vanessa whispered softly. She was reminding him that if he epted her offer, then countless resources and materials woulde to him.


    And as great as that sounded, Shi Tian still shook his head. He was not an idiot, but he truly did not wish to involve Vanessa further. Just look at the current predicament he was in!


    Because he decided to affiliate himself with Optic Mech, and now he has all these messes that he had to deal with. Of course, he could also renege on it and leave without a word, but with Optic Mech''s hidden power. He was afraid that he would be chased down and captured in the end. By then, his life might be over as well. Not to mention, Optic Mech had never done anything wrong to him at all. In fact, they even provided him with the foundation of how to be a mechanic. Just these two reasons were enough to make him feel guilt-ridden if he attempted to backstab them.


    Shi Tian realized she had stopped massaging his shoulders and knew she was definitely looking for a response to his refusal.


    Taking a deep breath and sighing softly, Shi Tian turned around and nced at her. "Vanessa, I''m sure you know by now, but I don''t like to associate myself with others." He spoke softly. "Remember how we met? You were injured and were about to die if you weren''t carried out from the pit. But still, you have seen my reaction. I didn''t want to help you because I''m afraid of the trouble you might bring." He knew bringing this matter up would definitely irk Vanessa, but he had no choice. That was the only way to make Vanessa iste herself from him. He doesn''t want to cause trouble for other people. But at the same time, he also refused to let other people''s troublee to him.


    That was his personality from the very start, and he had never changed from that ideology. Meanwhile, Vanessa closed her eyes, seemingly trying to absorb his meaning. A few secondster, she reopened them and asked, "You don''t want to associate with me despite learning of my identity. Then that could only mean one thing. The enemies you have are stronger than me, right?"


    If it was any other people by now, they would have definitely rolled their tongue out and wrapped their arms around her leg. Who doesn''t want to befriend her? Yet here we are, with Shi Tian constantly trying to avoid or establish a close friendship with her. Shi Tian remained silent but nodded his head anyway. He couldn''t confirm whether the enemies he was looking for were stronger than her, but it was still a decent reason to use in rejecting her.

 Chapter 379 RF Shielding

    379 RF Shielding


    Having confirmed from Shi Tian that his enemies seemed to be stronger than her despite having the Chronosworth City at her disposal, Vanessa was somewhat stunned. What kind of fearsome enemies were they? What was worse was that Shi Tian rarely lied, so it was hard for Vanessa to believe he was deceiving or fooling her with that confirmation.


    ''Stronger than the Chronosworth City¡­ could they be from a city more advanced in technology?'' Vanessa pondered silently. Comparing Gearits City with Chronosworth City, it was crystal clear that thetter was superior.


    However, that doesn''t mean Chronosworth City was the biggest and strongest power in the world. There are many more ces and locations stronger than them. It was just that they couldn''t ess or go there because of the terrain and miasma field. "Anyway, I guess you won''t be in the mood to massage my shoulder anymore." Shi Tian chuckled softly and stood up, doing some stretches. As he made some stretches, Shi Tian really had to praise her skills silently. His muscles seemed so rxed now and he was able to move them around more smoothly. It was a far cry from his previous tensed muscles that hindered his movement slightly. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    Seeing how Vanessa was silent, it became quite clear that she was somewhat angry at Shi Tian''s reasoning.


    His reasoning was no different than saying her identity was nothing muchpared to the enemies that he was facing. But how strong was Shi Tian?


    This man can''t even win a one-on-one duel with her if they truly fought, so how dare Shi Tian indirectly imply that she was inadequate and weak to coborate. "Hmph, hope you dislocate your shoulders." Vanessa stuck her tongue and cursed him. She then walked away and went closer to Mary''s side, prompting Shi Tian to realize the reality.


    ''As expected¡­ luck cannot be relied on.'' He thought to himself, understanding that there are never free lunches in this world. Her taking the initiative to massage him was indeedced with a sinister and shrewd plot. After Vanessa sat down grumpily next to Mary, the atmosphere became quite awkward. There were only three people in the Iron Sentinel, and the other two had long figured Vanessa''s spoiled or grumpy mood was just an act. Hence, they found it unbelievable that Vanessa would still act in such a behavior.


    "Jeez, is this how you behave in Chronosworth City?" Mary paused her work temporarily and asked Vanessa. She was originally focusing on the craft but was interrupted by a foul mood Vanessa all of a sudden. "Hmph, no one dares to act that way toward me back in my city," Vanessa sneered coldly and crossed her arms. At the same time, she kept her re at Shi Tian, clearly ming him for being so unruly and rude. Shi Tian and Mary looked at each other briefly before shaking their heads in response. It seemed like Vanessa was indeed spoiled and just loved to act like that whenever things didn''t go her way on purpose. This was the so-called natural habit or bad habit to be precise.


    After all, Vanessa was no fool and knew this kind of act didn''t work on them. But still, she decided to act upon it because she was addicted or wanted a method to vent her frustration.


    "Anyway, you can help me out with this part since you''re done being massaged." Mary shifted the topic and told Shi Tian to assist her.


    Shi Tian nodded his head, but his next actions surprised her. Instead of working on the part that she requested, Shi Tian somehow grabbed apleted Spymon.


    Seeing that, Mary was dumbfounded and asked curiously, "What are you doing?"


    While continuing his work on the supposedlypleted Spymon item, Shi Tian calmly exined his actions. "I''ve checked on the Railgun ster for Theobold previously when I said I was going to fix it. And it took a while because I was also inspecting the specs of it." "So you think the Spymon wouldn''t be able to affect Theobold''s equipment?" Mary was quick on the intake after hearing the brief exnation from Shi Tian. Since he had mentioned investigating the specs of Theobold''s weapon, Railgun ster, it meant that he got a clue about it or realized something. "Mhmm, the Railgun ster from Theobold is quite special. I noticed that there was a smallpartment in the specs, so I secretly recorded it. It was only now that I''ve confirmed that the smallpartment part was capable of remaining active despite being affected by an EMP." Shi Tian exined and went to type on the keyboard, showing Mary the data obtained on theputer screen.


    Mary nced at the data and was astonished. "When did you start this?" "Right when you decided to take a rest." "And you didn''t bother to inform me until now?" Shi Tian shrugged. "It''s not that I want to keep it a secret, but I didn''t want to say something aloud without confirming it." There had been times when they were so full of themselves, only to end up being embarrassed because of their failed inferences. Mary also understood his reasoning. Indeed, she does not want to be incorrect again in her guess and end up bing a joke. "Fine, then have you figured out how to counter it?" Mary crossed her arms and asked. If Theobold weaponry could ignore an EMP disruption, then it meant that it had some form of RF shielding technique such as electromaic radiation or electromaic shielding. These are themon techniques being used so that electromaic risks are mitigated and the electromaic field is effectively blocked with barriers of maic materials. Because these methods were somon, Mary doubted it would be easy for Shi Tian to loop around this obstacle. An EMP attack is not rare in this world now that technology has advanced tremendously. "Rest assured, Mary. I''m not one to give up so easily." Shi Tian mused, pretending to be somewhat mysterious. At the same time, he felt blessed that the integrated chip in his mind had given him the solution.

 Chapter 380 Counter Measurement

    Chapter 380 Counter Measurement


    ??An RF shielding might be difficult for others to counter, given that they won''t know the actual specifications of the RF shielding.


    Sure, Shi Tian may have obtained the data that an RF shielding was active, but that doesn''t mean a simple recording of it could let them determine the type of RF shielding.


    If that was the case, then Theobold would definitely never let him approach the Railgun ster.


    Theobold was confident that his RF shielding was impable and couldn''t be identified, but never once did he expect Shi Tian to hold the biggest trump card: the integrated chip.


    ''The IC chip can identify and figure out a way to counter the RF shielding in a matter of seconds. I don''t know whether to feel blessed or wary of it.'' Shi Tian thought to himself.


    Having such a powerful item might sound great, but it also horrified him somewhat. The usefulness that it had shown frequently was making him wary as he began to doubt its origins.


    Origins as in the integrated chip does not belong to Earth and was from the chaotic and mysterious fissure sky crack in the year 2139.


    As he wondered about the origin of the integrated chip, his thought process was interrupted by Mary, who was still asking how he managed to figure out a counter to Theobold''s RF shielding so quickly.


    "How are you so confident, Nathan?" Mary asked.


    "You know that if you make a mistake, then it''s going to be disastrous for you."


    She wasn''t trying to demotivate him but was trying to warn him that this was going to be a big gamble.


    If he wins the bet, then he will win a lot, such as resources and connections.


    However, if he loses, then his life might be in danger, mainly because Phoebe wouldn''t forgive him. And even if Vanessa decided to protect him, his life in Gearits City could be considered over.


    After all, Shi Tian wouldn''t be offending onemander, but multiplemanders as well as the Five Families backing them.


    "Rx, Mary¡­ when have you ever seen me being the type to take any risk?" Shi Tian chuckled softly and asked.


    He was trying to lessen the tension in the atmosphere but little did he expect Mary to start counting the incidents.


    Raising one of her fingers up, Mary began talking, "Well, there''s this incident at the Horology Restaurant. If it wasn''t for Gerald''s timely arrival, you and that woman would have been killed by Kralos Tal."


    She then raised her second finger up and continued, "Two, you confidently chose to be a vanguard, but came back riddled with bullets. And you still had the nerve to act tough despite the bullets beingced with poison."


    After saying that, Mary was about to raise another finger, only to be halted by Shi Tian.


    "Okay, you win." Shi Tian raised his hands up as a form of surrender. He was really afraid that she might start bringing up more incidents.


    Mary only named one of the few most popr incidents and that was enough already. There was no need to go any further.


    Meanwhile, Mary clenched her hand and stopped counting the times that he had surely risked his life to achieve something.


    "Since you surrendered, then let me see what you are nning to counter the RF shielding. And if it''s not effective, then I''m going to punish you just like the old times when you are still being trained." Mary smiled sweetly and said, causing Shi Tian to feel a shiver down his spine.


    Checking his posture, Shi Tian made sure to sit upright to prove to Mary that he was confident.


    As if he was going to start acting timidly or cowardly and get punished for it.


    "I''ve already identified the frequency used by Theobold, so I''m going to have a frequency jamming on the shielded area." Shi Tian exined.


    Mary was startled for a moment, given that the frequency being used by Theobold would be extremely difficult to identify. There are simply too many frequency possibilities and to precisely pinpoint the specific value of the frequency was unheard of.


    "How did you know the frequency Theobold used?" Mary asked curiously.


    Even she was helpless and incapable of doing such a feat in a short span of time, much less having the proper tools and equipment to measure and determine it.


    Meanwhile, Shi Tian kept a silly smile on his face as he simply responded, "That''s a trade secret, so sorry, but can''t tell you."


    However, the truth was that the information was obtained from the integrated chip, and even he had no idea how he figured it out. So how was he supposed to answer her question when he practically cheated?


    "But are you just going to rely on frequency jamming?" Ignoring his so-called trade secret, Mary was still skeptical about the frequency jamming.


    Even if he does get the same frequency, that doesn''t mean it would work.


    Would Theobold be that careless and not anticipate that kind of possibility?


    "Of course, I didn''t think frequency jamming was enough." Shi Tian mused.


    "In addition to that, I also nned on injecting a sonic or energy wave type to disrupt the RF shielding just in case the frequency jamming fails."


    As he said that, Shi Tian flexed his mechanical right arm, changing the gear form as well, and creating a churning-type of sound.


    Previously he had caused a sonic wave on the terrain beneath to ovee the obstacle that Theobold was facing. So from that logic, he could also use the same type of attack to disrupt Theobold.


    "You''ve really thought it all out and was not simply being rash and impulsive¡­" Mary twitched her mouth, seemingly stunned by his action.


    She thought he was being irrational when he agreed to such a deal with Phoebe, but now it seemed like he had everything nned from the start.


    "I might have thought it out, but it''s still a somewhat gamble, Mary. Therefore, I''m grateful for your advice and warning." Shi Tian smiled calmly, telling her not to brood over the matter.

 Chapter 381 Deadline

    Chapter 381 Deadline


    ??With Shi Tian finding such a counter measurement against Theobold''s equipment, she found it unbelievable.


    In just a brief moment, Shi Tian managed to grasp the principle of a mechanic and was able to use his mechanic skills to disrupt others.


    ''He might surpass me in terms of mechanics very soon.'' Mary thought to herself, deducing the pace of his learning capability.


    He was ignorant¡ª that one was true, but he was also a quick learner and able to adapt to the situation.


    "Um, Mary, do you want to help me out?" Shi Tian asked awkwardly when he noticed Mary seemed to have been in a daze.


    "I''ve already written the form and steps on how to do them, so we can split the work as usual." He added, wanting her to stop overthinking.


    The current him was quite suspicious to say the least, so to prevent Mary from catching on, he could only attempt to overwhelm her with tasks. That way, she would not have the time and energy to ponder over the matter.


    And sure enough, Mary fell into his trap as she nodded her head.


    "Right, the deadline ising fast." She responded, regaining herposure and focus.


    ''Sigh, I''m never going to embroil myself in these types of situations anymore. I''d rather work solo and not have to worry much.'' Shi Tian eximed inwardly.


    It was indeed a mistake to make himself affiliated with Optic Mech, but it was also an unavoidable event if he wanted to improve.


    Back then, he knew little to zero things regarding the world.


    Not to mention, hecked resources and waspletely outdated¡ª as in the understanding of the new items, technologies, weapons, monsters, and geographical elements,


    ''Whatever, people say you learn from mistakes, and I surely did.'' Shi Tian shook his head and resumed the crafting.


    Luckily, he was able to have Mary''s help in crafting the base of the Spymon, saving him the trouble and difficulty that he had been struggling with.


    And surprisingly, Vanessa seemingly stopped her pathetic acting that fooled no one, came over, and helped assist Mary such as giving her the tools that she needed at that moment.


    Just like that, the trio was working in full turbo and before long, the deadline date arrived.


    "Phew, this is the worst," Vanessa eximed loudly as sheined.


    "Mechanics are truly a bunch of nerds!" She added, having realized the amount of attention and focus one must have to craft something from nothingness.


    "You''ve barely even helped out." Mary twitched her brows when she saw how much Vanessa wasining. She was the one with the ck eyelid, given that all the difficult parts were done by her and Shi Tian barely helped her out.


    Meanwhile, Shi Tian held a guilty smile and handed her a Magical Electrolytes(Magel) drink. "Here, drink this to rejuvenate yourself."


    Mary didn''t bother to say anything, grabbed the drink, and began drinking nearly half the bottle in one gulp.


    As soon as she drank the Magel, Mary''s facialplexion turned for the better, and it was clear that the effect of the drink was effective.


    In an instant, Mary went from the appearance of a near-dead person to a revitalized and energized person.


    "Nathan, next time, if you pull a stunt like this again. I''m going to rip your head off." Mary gazed at Shi Tian coldly and threatened. Never once did she expect that she would need to sit for so long, crafting for who knows how long.


    This was precisely the thing she hated the most which prompted her to give up the mechanic path.


    Yet Shi Tian had inevitably caused her to do the very thing she hated, so how could she not wish to strangle him alive?


    Naturally, Shi Tian understood now was not the time to argue or refuse her.


    Thus, he nodded his head and promised her.


    "Rest assured, Mary. I''ll never do things like this alone without permission." He said solemnly, sounding very convincing.


    "Hmph, you better do as you say." Mary clicked her tongue and snorted.


    "And you, don''t think I didn''t see youughing just now, Vanessa." Mary suddenly turned around and red at Vanessa.


    Vanessa, who was gloating earlier, quickly revealed a deadpan expression, seemingly trying to act innocent.


    Seeing her action, Mary was toozy to even bother with this entric heir.


    Her physical appearance might have recovered, but her mentality was still in shambles. So arguing with Vanessa now was not the best choice to make. Thus, she shook her head and decided to walk to the back.


    "Tsk, she''s so imposing." After Mary had walked away, Vanessa crossed her arms and voiced her mind.


    "Imposing as she might be¡ª the very least is that she got the qualification to do so." Shi Tian calmly responded.


    "Simrly, you have the qualification to be haughty to those militarymanders, and they are unable to do anything to you because of your status."


    "Well, that''s just natural." Vanessa shrugged.


    "Since that''s natural, then it''s only natural for Mary to be imposing as well. Even though everything went well in the end, it was still somewhat my fault that caused her to assist me in the craft." Shi Tian exined, having felt guilty for causing Mary to be troubled.


    If his skills weren''t that terrible and could have met the deadline himself, then Mary wouldn''t have needed to drop her work to assist him. He was positive that Mary had been trying to survey the situation the entire time.


    However, thanks to him, he had caused Mary to be unable to check up on others which could potentially be bad for them if they failed to notice something was amiss.


    And just now, Mary might have seemed like she was going back to rest, but Shi Tian knew she was definitely checking up on the recording of the past few hours to backtrack.


    As Shi Tian was silently thanking Mary for her effort, some military soldiers had arrived outside of the Iron Sentinel.


    "Looks like they are really adamant on the time." Shi Tian smiled awkwardly.

 Chapter 382 Mentality Drained

    382 Mentality Drained


    The military soldiers outside were discreet and made some noise signals, prompting Shi Tian to know that they belonged to Phoebe''s toon. Given that their actions right now were considered a confidential matter, it would be bad if they were too shy with their actions and attracted others. Grabbing the box that was now concealed tightly, Shi Tian told Vanessa to watch over the perimeter of themand center. "Make sure that there is no one spying on us, Vanessa."


    "I''m already watching on the screen. You should hurry yourself up instead."


    Hearing that response, Shi Tian didn''t bother to say anymore as he carried the box out. On the way out, he also noticed Mary was indeed checking on the recording, her eyes remained focused. Without distracting or interrupting her, Shi Tian carefully maneuvered his movement. A few secondster, Shi Tian exited the vehicle and was somewhat surprised to meet with the two military soldiers dressed in a casual mercenary outfit. "Have the packages been done with, Sir Nathan?" One of the soldiers asked solemnly.


    Shi Tian nodded his head and extended the box. "It''s ready, and that is the end of our deal." The other soldier grabbed the box and as he grabbed it, he realized the weight of the box was quite heavy. He wanted to check on the content of the box by opening it, but Shi Tian halted him with a warning.


    "If I were you, then I wouldn''t open it. Despite the security being in ce, you''ll never know if someone was spying on us with different methods." Shi Tian''s words meant that no matter how careful they might be. There would always be a loophole that their enemy might use.


    Hence, to protect the content of the box, the best method was to check it once they returned to their base. Otherwise, once the content of the box was leaked, then all effort was for naught.


    The other soldiers also understood this meaning and doubted Shi Tian would attempt to swindle theirmander. Thus, he nodded his head and signaled for hispanion to simply carry the box to their vehicle. A few minutester, the soldiers exited, and unbeknownst to them, someone was indeed spying from afar. "Tsk, just what was on that box?" Felix, who was holding a pair of advanced binocrs, cursed in anger. He had surveyed the area beforehand and found a perfect spot to check on the movement of Shi Tian. However, because of the distance he was in, he could not hear anything aside from seeing Shi Tian handing over a box to a group of soldiers. And since the soldiers were dressed in casual clothes, he was not able to deduce whom they were working for.


    Felix also wanted to track the vehicle that the soldiers had gone to but was unable to. Once he attempted such an action, the chances of him being caught were high. And at that time, it would be difficult for him to obtain his vengeance. Turning his attention back to Shi Tian, Felix clenched his fist angrily and wished to strangle him alive. "Just you wait, bastard! I''ll have you know the price of taking my eye and embarrassing me would be your life." With that said, Felix exited his hiding spot, nning on returning to Theobold''s side to report the situation. Since he can''t do anything, he might as well inform Theobold that Shi Tian was nning something fishy behind his back. Maybe he would regain his truth in that way and even the power that he used to hold. And just like that, another two days had passed by. Gunfire and casualties seemed to be the norm in the frontline, with everyone starting to be exhausted at this repetitive fight that doesn''t seem to have an ending.


    "Ugh, just how many Gso variants are there?" "I''m sick and tired of eating this garbage food. I want to go back to the city."


    "What''s the point of going back to the city? Do you think those military forces would let us return when we''re still capable of fighting? All the militarymanders have shown themselves on the battlefield." "Hmph, I bet that Commander Damon must be enjoying his life now. I wonder if he did that farce from the beginning to avoid the frontline!" As time went by, the mercenaries and other people who were eligible to fight were starting to think crazily. They even started to use Damon''s actions of being on purpose as an excuse to avoid fighting. People were exhausted by the constant repetitive fighting¡ª to the point that even the news broadcast had gradually stopped reporting the situation.


    The citizens in Gearits City were also bored by the same report news, saying that the frontline was containing the monster wave, but with no information of when it would end. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    Intion had also started to rise with transportation being dyed orpletely blocked due to the frontline needing to receive a continuous stream of supply lines. Back in the Iron Sentinel, Vanessa was alsoining like most people. "Jeez, just when will this monster wave end? It''s been way too long and I''m tired of eating these jerky." Vanessa ranted, her mentality draining rapidly.


    "I also want it to end, but with the current situation, I doubt so." Shi Tian took a deep breath and responded. He typed something on the keyboard and showed it to Vanessa. "Just look at the data that we have gathered in the past few days. The number of monsters we kill is increasing daily, but it doesn''t seem like it because there are always more monsters afterward. Meanwhile, our casualties are starting to take a toll and it shows." "Mhmm, at the current rate, we would actually lose," Mary interjected. "What? You''re telling me we''re actually losing when we managed to thwart the monster wave from advancing?" Vanessa eximed in shock. Shi Tian nodded his head. "If we want to win, then we can only find the source of where these monsters areing from. And that means¡ª we need to go underground."

 Chapter 383 Discovery

    383 Discovery


    At the current rate, Shi Tian noticed that everyone else on the frontline was frustrated and fatigued from the constant fighting. If the frontline were to copse because people failed to manage their mentality, then it would be a catastrophe.


    "Are you nning on revealing the news of the underground to the rest of the people, Nathan?" Mary suddenly asked.


    There was no way they would be heroic to explore the underground to rescue these people. Hence, Mary was somewhat positive that he was thinking of revealing this information to give them hope and a goal to strive for.


    "I wanted Theobold''s army to suffer a bit more, but Phoebe still hasn''t done anything yet. And the regr people are now on the verge of giving up. I don''t think we can dy it any longer." Shi Tian exined his reasoning. If possible, he wished to conceal the information for much longer. However, that was no longer possible when even Vanessa was starting to go crazy despite knowing this information.


    Not to mention, the status of Gearits City was not in good shape. Despite having no attachment to the city, Shi Tian can''t afford to let the city crash down at the moment.


    The New Region¡ª he was looking forward to it as well, and without anyone being the vanguard to check for traps and hidden danger, his life could very well be forfeited. "Then how do you want to spread it?" Mary knitted her brows and asked. Shi Tian curled his mouth upward. "Brad from SterVision Media." Brad was the manager channel for SterVision Media, and because of their actions previously, he had gotten quite the bacsh for promoting a fake dense area.


    Hence, now was the time to repay him a little bit. It was the methodology of the carrot and the stick.


    "I''m sure Brad was still holding a grudge against us, but if we let him get a chance at redemption, his opinion of us will change." He continued. They already have a pile of evidence avable in their hands. So all they needed to do was send all this information to Brad, and with theirwork, it wouldn''t be long for Brad to fact-check them and confirm it was true.


    Once that happened, even he would know that this was his chance toe back from his initial failure.


    "Did you n for this from the start?" Mary questioned in disbelief. She was able to understand the gist of his scheme, so she was somewhat stunned by the revtion. "Not really, Mary." Shi Tian shrugged. "I''m not a irvoyant who could foresee the future, but I surely can adapt to new information and situations. With Brad''s situation, I can tell he would definitely want to be the first news media to inform the public of the solution."


    It would be a big discovery and great merit to Brad that even his parentpany would be pleased to see his capability. And as for his previous failure, that would be thrown out the window as no one could be bothered about his mistake if his merit were that impressive. Mary could only shake her head silently when Shi Tian had already nned this far ahead. She even wanted to ask if he was going to send the information now, but realized that was not needed.


    He already prepared beforehand and only needed one click to send the relevant information to Brad.


    "You¡ª ugh, whatever. I don''t care anymore." Mary rolled her eyes and sat down. Truth be told, she was exhausted as well of the monster wave. It had been going on for too long in their mind.


    And with Mary''s permission, Shi Tian quickly sent the mail to Brad.


    "Now all we need to wait is for Brad to write a dramatic article to be released." Shi Tian smirked coldly.


    As they silently waited in the Iron Sentinel, in the headquarters of SterVision Media, Brad was banging his head repeatedly on his desk.


    "Damn it all. It''s all those hackers'' fault that I''m about to be demoted." Brad cursed in anger. He had been threatened by his superiors for his poor judgment and for allowing a non-proven article to be published on the front page, causing a massive bacsh and negative feedback from people. "Don''t let me encounter those hackers again. Otherwise, I''m going to fucking kill them or my name shall be swapped to Darb." Brad mmed his fist on the desk, venting his frustration.


    After mming his fist on the deck and hurting himself in the process, Brad quickly blew some air on his fist to soothe the wound. At the same time, hisputer suddenly rang¡ª a notification of some sort.


    "What now? Anotherint about my management?" Brad clicked his tongue and nced at the screen.


    At first, he didn''t care much, believing it was anotherining mail. However, when he noticed the sender was titled "Beloved Hacker" along with the icon of the avatar that he had encountered in the firewallwork, Brad was livid. "Fuck! You dare to cause me trouble again?" Brad''s veins could be seen visibly on his forehead, a clear definition of his fury. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    Nevertheless, he still opened the mail and read what the hacker wanted now that they had ruined him.


    As he kept on reading and looking at the evidence being sent in the attachment, Brad''s initial anger slowly shifted to confusion. After confusion, he was soon dazed and astonished.


    By the time Brad finished reading the mail, his anger hadpletely dissipated, recing it with jubtion.


    The information was backed with concrete evidence such as videos and photos, so with just a little fact-checking done, Brad instantly realized the astronomical value of this mail.


    "Hmph, if this is proven to be true, then I might regain the trust of my superior and even reverse my current plight." Brad was revitalized and motivated as he quickly grabbed his Cellos device, ordering his subordinates to start working.


    He was not going to let this golden opportunity slip away from the palm of his hand.


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