Reboot: Mechanic

Shi Tian was wondering why he was so long-winded, but now it was all crystal clear. Everything up to this point was him trying to extort him, except this time, he was using the name of Crimson Mage to his benefit. 

Truly, the older a person gets, the more sinister and shrewd they are in life.

If he was to refuse him, then this would have given him leverage to accuse him of being disrespectful to the Crimson Mage. And if that was to get into her ears, then Shi Tian knew his life would definitely be anything but easy.

'Hehe, I already explained her ruthless behavior and how unruly she is. Let's see if you still dare to slash my price like that.' Old Man Chao sneered inwardly, but on the surface, he kept a smiling expression on his face.

Old Man Chao thought he had cornered Shi Tian successfully, hence he was smiling from head to toe. Alas, there was something that one should never do, and that was celebrating too early.

"Hmm, you're right, Old Man Chao. I don't mind paying back the original price tag if the Crimson Mage was to appear here. And at the same time, I wouldn't mind disclosing how much you are stealing from her back. Now I'm sure the Crimson Mage would love to have a talk with you when that happens." Shi Tian flashed a gentle smile and said calmly. 

"..."

Stunned- Old Man Chao seemed to have been hit with a stun grenade or some sort as he was utterly speechless at that response.

"What's the matter, Old Man Chao? I thought you revered the Crimson Mage, so why don't we take this chance to meet with her? As her future tenant, I need to pay her adequate respect and greetings." Shi Tian said innocently.

"Ahem, the Crimson Mage is a busy person, and she's not someone that we lower-being could see just because we want to see. Let's just head to your apartment room for inspection and then you can proceed with the payment we made previously." Old Man Chao quickly retreated in trying to get more money out of his pocket.

Who was he kidding?

Meet with the Crimson Mage and tell her his broker's price was possibly even more than hers, and that was using her name as leverage too?

There are faster ways to court death than that.

"I see, then please lead the way." Shi Tian said calmly, showing an expressionless face. 

He had already won this war of attrition and Old Man Chao finally admitted defeat. Just that alone was enough to satisfy him and there wasn't a need to sneer at him any further.

After all, it was still the truth that without Old Man Chao, he wouldn't be able to get his hands on a great apartment room. 

As for the military's irk or resentment, Shi Tian could give two fucks about them. 

Sometime later, the two of them entered the main lobby of the apartment and were quickly stopped by a security guard. The security guard was wearing a normal uniform and doesn't seem to be anyone special, but Old Man Chao was being extremely respectful.

"Hello, I'm here to guide the new tenant for the vacant room on the fourth floor." Old Man Chao said politely and retrieved a few documents to hand over to the security guard.

In this apartment complex, there were a total of five floors, with each floor consisting of 10 rooms. The main lobby to the fourth floor was for tenants' usage, and the fifth floor was reserved completely for the Crimson Mage. 

Without authority, no one was allowed to access the fifth floor, including the security guards.

Despite the apartment being quite small compared to others, none dared to underestimate it given the reputation and action it had done in the past. 

A few minutes later, the security guard nodded his head and returned the document back to Old Man Chao. 

"I have confirmed it, and you are authorized to access the fourth floor. But keep in mind that you are not allowed to snoop around another room other than the one you are assigned." The security guard warned. 

"Of course, I understand the rules set by the Crimson Mage." Old Man Chao smiled and calmly guided Shi Tian toward an elevator. The elevator had a biometric scan and required the person to scan their pupils before it could activate.

Old Man Chao leaned forward and had his pupil scanned and a few seconds later, the elevator door opened.

"You will have your pupil registered once you complete the transaction. Remember, you must give a down payment for 3 months first." Old Man Chao said as they entered the elevator. 

And to Shi Tian's surprise, the elevator didn't have any buttons to press. Instead, there was a mechanical voice that said they were going up to the fourth floor automatically.

'What an advanced technology. No wonder why Gearits City is still able to fend for itself.' Shi Tian thought to himself. It wasn't just the fact that the elevator could operate by itself, but the fact that he sensed there was something special within the elevator's interior- the same feeling he had when Isaac Aaronax activated the formation.

Although a bit different, Shi Tian could subtly deduce the formation had been inlaid on the elevator itself, most likely another defensive measure set by the Crimson Mage.

Unfortunately, Shi Tian couldn't deduce any further considering the elevator's speed was extremely fast. Not even 5 seconds later, they had already arrived at the fourth floor.

"Your room is 404, and I have the key here." Old Man Chao walked toward a door labeled 404 and opened it. 

And the moment Shi Tian entered the room, it was as if he had entered a new area. He could feel his body getting stronger and a wave of stamina gushing into him. 

"Don't be surprised. This is just something the Crimson Mage herself set." Old Man Chao chuckled softly. He had been to other rooms before, so he knew about the effect of the room. If it was possible, then he would have wanted a room for himself as well. 

'Sigh, why did the Crimson Mage only want weak people?' Old Man Chao wondered inwardly.