Reboot: Mechanic

An unknown amount of time had passed by, and only the sound of impact could be heard occasionally.

Each time Shi Tian was close to reaching Mary, there would be a trap that somehow got triggered, blasting him to another trap. And just like that, a chain reaction occurred, sending him all the way back from the start.

Naturally, with such an event happening continuously, Shi Tian came to suspect that there was foul play around.

Mary was definitely triggering a trap purposely just when he was about to complete the supposed obstacle course. 

'Tsk, even though I know it, I can't even react in time.' Shi Tian cursed inwardly. He was frustrated at himself for being slow and weak. 

As for Mary's foul play, he was more than grateful for her to be so crafty and tricky with him.

After all, there is no such thing as fair play in this world, and one should always be cautious and vigilant toward their surroundings. 

"Come on, Nathan! You wasted so much time and still haven't completed this extremely basic obstacle course. Could it be that you don't care anymore and just want to call it a day?" Mary yawned and taunted loudly once she noticed Shi Tian was staying still.

"You don't need to constantly taunt me, Mary." Shi Tian snapped out of his daze and said calmly. 

"I'm not giving up, so you are free to continue to play dirty." 

"Heh, play dirty? Is that an accusation of a failure?" 

"Whatever you say, Mary. But just you wait till I reach you." Shi Tian laughed, rushing forward again.

"How much longer must I wait then? Also, save the profound quote or vows. It's cringe." Mary commented. 

Her comment was so feisty that Shi Tian nearly fumbled in his second step and activated a proximity trap. 

Triggering so many proximity traps and sound traps consecutively, he was already getting some sixth sense instinct to avoid them. 

Hence, he could tell that he was so close to activating a trap, even if he couldn't see it from his current perspective. 

'That was close,' Shi Tian breathed a sigh of relief. It would have been embarrassing if he failed so quickly after attempting so many times. 

Luckily, the training proved to be fruitful, considering how easily he managed to balance himself back and avoid making another misstep.

However, Shi Tian couldn't be blissful any further when Mary suddenly clasped her hands.

"Alright, that's enough for today's training," Mary announced. 

"Huh? But didn't we just start the course?" Shi Tian was dumbfounded. 

"Just start the course? Would you kindly take a look at the sky first and then tell me that again?" Mary snorted coldly and pointed upward.

Confused, Shi Tian glanced at the sky, and sure enough, it was getting dark. 

In fact, it should already be considered nighttime even though they arrived here around the morning. 

"When did the time go by so fast?" Shi Tian uttered in shock, clearly unable to believe they had spent such a long time on this obstacle course. 

Mary sped up and appeared instantaneously in front of Shi Tian, shaking her head. 

"The time goes fast for a failure that can't even complete a simple obstacle course. Sigh, how wrong was I to believe you have some untapped potential." She then said in disdain.

Though inwardly, she was impressed with his fast improvement given that she could tell he was a complete amateur regarding these types of challenges. 

To be able to attain such a high result on their first day was already a great feat. But to not have him get cocky or careless because of the achievement, she would rather take him down a notch, honing his mentality instead.

Meanwhile, Shi Tian smiled bitterly and clenched his fist. "Sorry for my incompetence, Mary. I promise to do better." 

Mary remained silent for a brief moment before nodding her head. "Leave the traps there for now and go back inside Iron Sentinel. We're going to camp in the vehicle, so one person will rotate as a night guard." She softened her tone and said, walking back to the Iron Sentinel.

Shi Tian made one final glance at the obstacle course in silence. Today, he might have failed to complete it, but he swore to definitely complete it sooner or later, even if Mary was doing foul play.

Sometime later, they arrived at the back of the Iron Sentinel, where the space is bigger and allowed greater movement than just being stuck in a seat. 

It wasn't an exaggeration to say the backside of Iron Sentinel was a mini room. 

Taking off the gas mask, Mary inhaled and exhaled deeply. With the air ventilation system installed in Iron Sentinel, she could breathe normally. 

"Haa~, the air is truly much better in my trusty vehicle than outside," Mary exclaimed, feeling exhausted from standing outside the entire time. It was hard being a trainer, having to constantly look out and arrange the traps for Shi Tian. 

Meanwhile, Shi Tian also took off his gas mask, taking in a deep breath, faking that he needed to breathe in some fresh air. 

If he had to be honest, then the truth was that he didn't even feel his breathing was affected by the hazardous air outside. 

It was the same as if he was breathing normal air, much to his confusion. His body functioned properly like any normal human such as feeling hungry and tired. 

"Here, eat some of these foods and go to sleep soon. I'll keep watch as the night guard in the first rotation." Mary pulled out a storage compartment and threw some food at him.

The first rotation would go on for four hours, allowing him ample time to rest. 

Shi Tian nodded his head and ate the food without any complaint. 

While eating though, he asked politely, "By the way, Mary, what was the movement technique that you displayed?" 

Mary pondered for a few moments. Finished eating her food, she calmly replied in a soft tone, "It's just a deviation of the Skylet Footwork technique. Nothing special."