Reboot: Mechanic

Chapter 320 Contemplating

Shi Tian pulled his chair back, and an exhaustive expression appeared on his face. 

He was completely overwhelmed and bested thoroughly, with zero chance of possibly countering back. 

It was times like this that he would be envious of Vanessa, who doesn't overthink much.

Being ignorant sometimes was bliss. They could feel zero pressure and be carefree as composed to those who understood the tremendous pressure being placed upon them.

"Mary, I've recalled Gerald knowing Theobold, so do you think Gerald would have an idea?" Shi Tian suddenly asked. 

Having recalled their interaction and conversation, it was clear that Gerald was once very close to Theobold. 

"Gerald huh… he was in the military once but left after a certain incident. As for what it is, I didn't pry further." Mary rubbed her chin softly. 

"Understandable." Shi Tian didn't mind that Mary didn't know much between them. Given that it was probably their secret, it would have been rude to pry them for information. 

However, Vanessa was less than understanding and nudged Mary's arm. 

"Come on, Mary. Now's not the time for some etiquette but information. Contact Gerald so that he can give us some insight regarding Theobold's character." She said in an urgent tone.

Shi Tian secretly wanted to give her a thumbs up for being so direct and straightforward but kept a deadpan expression on the surface. 

After all, Vanessa's status and position were more appropriate in asking such requests from Mary. She was on equal terms with Mary, unlike him, who still needed to rely on Mary and Optic Mech to gain the proper knowledge and resources.

However, that was only a temporary situation, because sooner or later, Shi Tian would have to learn to adapt by himself in a solo manner. It was just that the current him was inadequate to accomplish anything alone, much less exploring his mechanic crafting skills.

His resources were limited, meaning he couldn't even craft any items despite having quite a few ideas in his mind. 

A few seconds later, Mary sighed softly and understood that it was time for her to ask Gerald about it. All along, she never asked him about it out of respect, but the situation had now changed. 

Taking out her Cellos device, Mary sent Gerald a text. "Done, we'll just need to wait for Gerald's response, but now we're in a dilemma." 

"Dilemma?" Vanessa tilted her head in confusion. "What kind of dilemma are we facing?"

"We've sent the dense area location to bait people in, but I'm sure Theobold already had a counter-attack plan for it." Shi Tian answered. If Theobold's actions so far were within his expectation, then surely, their actions were long expected by Theobold. 

Taking a deep breath, Shi Tian suggested, "Let's drop this dense area and return to the camp. Whatever strange energy is filled there, it's beyond our capacity already. And I'm quite positive that this is something orchestrated by Theobold anyway." 

Mary knitted her brows, seemingly contemplating her decision. 

"I swear… Why are the two of you always overcomplicating things?" Vanessa crossed her arms in exasperation. 

"Since we are wasting time here, let's just suppress the monster wave and return to Gearits City. There's nothing we can do anyway other than that." She added, shoving some common sense to these two overthinkers. 

Both Shi Tian and Mary glanced at each other briefly, before bursting out in laughter. 

"Haha, it's good to be a simpleton." Shi Tian laughed heartily and said before having his emotions calmed down due to his passive ability. 

As for Mary, she clapped her hands and praised Vanessa sincerely. "You're right, Vanessa. This is probably the first time you have ever said something so common sense that it's kind of shocking." 

Looking annoyed, Vanessa glared at Mary. "Are you complimenting me or insulting me?" 

"Complimenting of course. The dense area, regardless of how you look at it, is simply too risky. So why are we still brooding over it?" Mary chuckled softly. 

Shi Tian nodded his head in agreement. "We have always been bothered with how to enter, but never once decided to not enter. The strange energy– as tempting as it may sound, we aren't that desperate for power." 

What he just said wasn't some comforting words, but his genuine feelings.

Why should he care about some strange energy that may or may not actually improve his strength?

After all, he had leveled up to 30 and gained many subclasses and a class talent on top of that. Those were all something he earned through hard work. 

Sure, it might have some connection with the integrated chip in his mind, but the achievement he had today was mostly because of his determination and resolution. 

"Indeed, Theobold probably thought we would be fixated on that, having us wrapped in his fingers. Unfortunately, we can simply choose to ignore it and not care about it." Mary shrugged her shoulders and snickered coldly. 

She was powerful enough and did not need to rely on external forces to boost her ability.

As for Vanessa, she was even more carefree, given that she was the one who mentioned it. Her goal in joining them all along was the business deal and that was it.

"Wow, I felt like I did something great," Vanessa giggled sillily.

"Yes, you did something great, and it just so happened that it reminded me of something." Shi Tian stood up and clasped his hands.

"What is it?" Both of them asked in response.

Curving his mouth upward, Shi Tian flashed a wicked grin. "Did you forget about the bet we made previously when I decided to be the vanguard?" 

"Bet? What bet?" Mary looked confused and began walking away.

"Hmm, Nathan must be drunk from overloading his brain." Vanessa nodded her head and began following Mary.

"Hey, the two of you. Stop feigning innocence." Shi Tian called out when he noticed the two of them were trying to renege on the bet.

"Mary, you've promised to give me resources and materials. As for you, Vanessa, the favor I owed you is nullified." He added, chasing after them as they attempted to flee.