Reboot: Mechanic

In a more speculative 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 sarcastic comments 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 traditional communication 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 displayed 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 seconds later, the screen started scrolling down, going to the section of his attributes. 

'It worked…' Shi Tian exclaimed inwardly. 'Now let's see if we can expand the reputation list.' 

The reputation list had gradually increased too much– 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 relationship 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 relationship 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 relationship 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 seconds later, 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 explanation 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 indeed communicate 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 available. 

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't comprehend 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.