Reboot: Mechanic

"Do you have any complaints about the punishments?" Mary asked coldly.

Shi Tian shook his head and replied calmly, "No, I shall comply and oblige to the punishment you have given me." 

"Good, the materials and the new products' blueprints will be given to you soon. I'll have someone inform Mechanist Isaac about this matter." Mary snorted and left the tent, acting as if she was suffocating had she stayed any longer.

Once her presence was gone completely, Shi Tian flashed a slight smile. 

Her intention, if one isn't clever enough to decipher it, then they might believe Mary was truly punishing him for the audacity to make such a big decision alone. 

Her punishment to be precise, wasn't considered a punishment at all. In fact, it was considered a reward for his merits in achieving such a beautiful result. 

And why is that?

Mary had stated that he would be assigned to crafting the Claymore Mines, including their future new products. 

This meant that he would now have access to more blueprints that can't be bought for money, and a great experience for him to gain more expertise. 

'Thank you, Mary, for giving me such a great opportunity.' Shi Tian thanked her silently. He was wholeheartedly grateful and understood why she needed to act in such a cold and angry manner toward him.

It was a measurement to protect him from the others that worked with Mary. 

After all, she didn't want the others to believe he benefited from nepotism and needed to be punished for acting rashly. 

She had truly pondered over her action on how to actually reward him with such a deceptive act and cover. Acting as a jealous boss and punishing him as if he was a criminal, she truly painted herself as the bad guy. 

How could Shi Tian not appreciate such kindness and careful preparation from her? 

Appreciating her effort, Shi Tian subsequently returned to studying the Claymore Mine. They might have sold out all, but Shi Tian purposely kept one of them for him to understand its properties. 

And he was sure Mary had long known that he had kept one behind. She was in charge of everything, so how could she not know how much stock they had? 

"What an exhausting situation…" He murmured, stretching his hands and getting ready to disassemble the Claymore Mine. 

Since he was going to be in charge of crafting them now, he needed to use this time to prepare himself ahead of time. As for sleeping, Shi Tian had decided it was unnecessary, given that he couldn't afford to waste time. 

While Shi Tian was determined about it, Mary had already gone to the tent where Gerald and the others were resting. 

"How's the situation?" Mary quickly went straight to the point, not bothering with the formalities. 

"Just as you have expected, Lady Mary. Our informants have reported that the people from Heaven's Mecha had secretly purchased our Claymore Mines." Gerald calmly reported the situation.

"If I have to guess, they are probably trying to disassemble the Claymore Mine, and once they attempt it, we are going to enjoy a blasting ceremony." 

Mary nodded her head.

"Hmph, without the blueprint and or knowing the procedure of how the Claymore Mine is made, disassembling it is equivalent to asking for death." Mary made a scornful laugh. 

She had long expected that their competitors wouldn't dare to sit still when a new product was announced, especially with how big of a commotion they had created thanks to Shi Tian. 

Now all she needed to do was wait patiently for the competitors to self-destruct by themselves.

They won't even need to lift a single finger to effectively kill the competitors' Mechanics. 

"Yes, if those mechanics from Heaven's Mecha, or even other mechanic stores are that low, then they are going to suffer big time." Gerald laughed heartily. 

"Oh, right, I have also investigated the person that Mechanist Isaac's apprentice had killed. Luckily, that person doesn't seem to be from a powerful background." 

"That's good to know," Mary breathed out a sigh of relief. They were truly fortunate that it wasn't a person of importance. Otherwise, there would have been several headaches incoming for them to deal with. 

A few minutes later, Mary sensed that Gerald seemed to be having some trouble but didn't voice it out.

Concerned, she asked, "What else is there that you need to report on, Gerald?" 

Gerald scratched his head when he realized his thought process was found out so quickly. 

Glancing back and forth, Gerald lowered his voice, "Just who is this Mechanist Isaac's apprentice? I've never heard of him before and his actions are a bit peculiar if I must say." 

"Peculiar huh?" Mary chuckled softly. "Well, you're not wrong to think that way. After all, his actions and behavior so far are still incomprehensible to me. His ways of doing things, and how he can kill someone mercilessly yet his eyes remain crystal clear and innocent is just something else."

"Then why would Mechanist Isaac take him in as an apprentice?" 

"You can ask Mechanist Isaac about that since I don't know either." 

"What? You don't know either?" Gerald lost his composure and exclaimed in shock. 

Mary shrugged her shoulders. 

"For now, all I can tell you is that Nathan is going to be our decoy once the New Region is safe to explore. Thus, his current actions aligned with our motive, so just make sure to focus on your post and not do anything else. Is that clear?" She squinted her eyes and warned. 

Although still confused by the situation, Gerald could only nod his head and oblige. 

"Understood, Lady Mary. I'll have someone to guard around him." Gerald said solemnly. 

Mary patted his shoulders and smiled calmly. "I know this is unexpected, but you're an experienced man and understood our goal. Don't disappoint me." 

"I won't disappoint you, Lady Mary."

Mary nodded, turned around, and began walking to the exit tent. Though before she left, she gave one final order. 

"Also, the person that Nathan killed isn't from a powerful background, but you should know I don't like any risks. Cut off any roots that could potentially become a danger to us."