Reboot: Mechanic

As Vanessa expected some praise or applause for her action, she was disappointed to see little to no reaction from them.

"Oh come on, aren't you going to say something about me planning 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 their lack 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 revelation. It was lackluster 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 explain 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 the computer screen, pressed a few buttons, and simply played a recording.

As the recording played out, Vanessa heard it and instantly recognized that it was her voice communicating with someone, along with her planning.

"The Iron Sentinel is equipped with cameras, albeit hidden. So everything is recorded." Shi Tian yawned, almost as if he was too lazy to even explain 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 accused 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 planning.

"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 glared 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.

Alas, 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 was complaining 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.

Alas, 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 of compassion.

"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 feeling comfortable 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 these commanders' political fights?"

"Is it because you haven't showered for weeks and that you can't laze 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.