Reboot: Mechanic

"Stretching huh…" Shi Tian muttered softly. 

He knew Mary was definitely not stretching and was instead trying to slap 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 Tian commented, 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 out laughing 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 to laughing. 

"An aged woman like Mary usually becomes 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 glaring at her currently.

"Screw you," Mary clicked her tongue and attempted to slap Shi Tian.

Luckily, he was already prepared that she was going to slap him. Hence, he was able to retreat to the side quickly and avoid the slap.

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, proclaimed 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 minutes later, 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 glanced at Shi Tian and purposely emphasized the certain someone as she explained 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.

Alas, 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 place.

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 place 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 easily compared to others. 

And it was totally not because his charm was quite hard.

Or is it? 

The doubtfulness of this could only be left for later in the future, given their attention was now focused on the badge.

Placing the badge on a desk, Shi Tian began scanning the properties to check for the GPS-related system involved in it. 

There was also a reasonable doubt as to why Shi Tian believed the culprit to be Theobold.

Ever since Vanessa proclaimed that she was able to sneak out of her tent and come 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.