Reboot: Mechanic

The area had become 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] subclasses. 

It had been a harrowing battle, one that could have easily ended in his demise if not for his strategic thinking and combat 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 outcome.

"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 glanced 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 were completely 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 Clairvoyant class, with their failure to predict such an ambush, Shi Tian was positive that none of them were a Clairvoyant class.

Clairvoyant class are known to have foresight, so if the soldiers truly had foresight, then Shi Tian wouldn't have come 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 glanced 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 hilarious is that. Is that your final words before your death?" 

"Heh, Nathan, aka Gavin, the mechanic and provider of the Claymore 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 glanced 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 platoon. 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 the command center. 

'Could this person truly come 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 menacing laugh. 

His menacing laughter sent a chill running down the soldiers' spine, clearly terrified by his action.

Shi Tian was also acting this way on purpose. 

Since he proclaimed to be from the White Syndicate, he should act eccentric and sinisterly to solidify his claim. 

"You see– I left in a hurry not because I was scared of your childish platoon, but because I was commanded 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 their comrade getting devoured alive.

Screams of terror subsequently echoed through the area.