Reboot: Mechanic

Although Shi Tian was trying to keep his composure, he was positive that Phoebe was on the verge of harming him, albeit not visible.

She could plant 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 clasped 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— 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 blame their terrible luck."

It was terrible luck because Shi Tian knew there was usually only one outcome for the person in such a scenario.

Those who usually stumble across a conspiracy, whether it was by accident 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 relay back to Phoebe that she was waiting for Shi Tian, and that if he doesn't return promptly, then trouble will be coming 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 accidentally 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 suddenly laughed 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," Phoebe commented.

"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 ruthless commander.

No one could become a commander without having their hands stained with blood and tons of kill count, whether it was some beasts or humans.

Shi Tian kept a calm composure and gazed at Phoebe.

"Why should I feel any fear, Commander Phoebe? We're not enemies, and I might have accidentally ruined your plan, 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 a commander, death should have been obvious to her soldier.

But most importantly, Shi Tian was more flabbergasted when he realized Phoebe's value of him had actually increased, rather than decreased.

How hilarious 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. Each commander is more sadistic and weirder than the others. Maybe I might become like them in the future if I experience things they have.' Shi Tian exclaimed inwardly.