Reboot: Mechanic

In the interior of the Iron Sentinel, Shi Tian took off his mask as he revealed a confused expression. 

He didn't know why Mary wanted to drag him away, given that they were still in the midst of a discussion regarding the plan.

"Is there an urgent matter?" Shi Tian asked calmly, waiting patiently for Mary to explain her action. She must have had her reasoning for doing so. 

Mary nodded after a brief moment, her expression serious. She, too, removed her mask and reached for a button on the control panel within the Iron Sentinel.

With a deft touch, she activated the encrypted communication channel. 

This channel was reserved for confidential matters, typically used by high-ranking officers or individuals with sensitive information.

Once the channel was secured, Mary spoke in hushed tones. "Nathan, there's something I need to discuss with you privately. It's a matter of utmost importance, and we can't risk it being overheard."

Shi Tian's curiosity deepened at her words. He recognized the gravity of her tone and nodded in agreement. "Of course, Mary. What's going on?"

Mary leaned in closer, her voice barely above a whisper, despite the secure channel. "I've received some intelligence reports that indicate there might be a spy or informant within our group. Someone is leaking out our information."

Alarmed, Shi Tian made sure to keep his composure, his expression turning solemn. 

"What kind of information are they leaking out?" He then asked. 

Mary shook her head slowly, a clear indication that she wasn't sure which information exactly. 

However, she continued with her explanation, "Mechanist Isaac managed to interfere with a communication signal while he was preparing for us in the wilderness. Within that communication signal, it was the exact same route that Commander Theobold was briefing us earlier." 

With that revelation, Shi Tian could now understand why Mary started to act childish while pretending to drag him out for something else. 

So it wasn't simply because she was joyous about obtaining the latest weapons from Theobold, but it was also an excuse to leave the premises. 

"If this kind of information were leaked, then the goal of this can only be two." Shi Tian pondered for a moment and said calmly. 

"One of them should be wanting the plan to fail so that chaos would continue along with casualties…" 

Before Shi Tian could finish the second goal, Mary helped him complete his deduction. "And the second goal would be our death. Someone did not want us to survive and wished for us to be buried along with the Gilaso variants." 

During a monster wave, casualties were so high that no one would even notice if one or more people had succumbed to their deaths. In fact, it was during this time of crisis that nefarious people would take it as a great opportunity to eliminate the people they had hated. 

After all, no one would be able to identify or discern whether the corpse was slain by another human or monster thanks to the corrosion that affected the corpse– to the point that even an autopsy was useless.

"Do you think this communication signal was sent to the Harrett Family or is it related to Jonas Hill, the person that you told us to be careful about?" Mary asked, seemingly looking at him if he had some clues or hints.

The name Jonas Hill was still fresh in her mind, given that it was from Shi Tian. And she knew his personality was to never speak out about something unless he was sure about it. 

Meanwhile, Shi Tian was caught in a dilemma because he had no idea of this matter occurring behind the scenes.

Too many people had wanted to kill him thanks to his direct and indirect action, which was quite hilarious. 

He wanted to remain hidden and avoid any interaction with others, but that didn't stop people from wanting him dead.

"There's too many people that want us dead, so it's hard to pinpoint a particular culprit." That was all Shi Tian could say. 

Last time, they pinpointed the Gilaso variants expansion to be related to the Harrett Family, only to find out they were horrendously incorrect. 

Thus, he had decided it was best to not accuse someone, and only be suspicious and cautious of them. 

Mary nodded her head in understanding. 

It wasn't as if she was hoping for an answer when she dragged him here. She merely wanted him to realize that even the tent they were stationed in might not be safe. They needed to be on guard constantly. 

"Anyway, when the drones are delivered to us. You should know what to do with it, right?" Mary then asked, shifting the topic.

"I'll run a thorough scan on it and see if there are any abnormalities. Then run a copy of its structure into the database so that we can copy its technological usage." Shi Tian responded, letting her know that he wasn't going to accept the drones as it is.

Now that they knew there was someone secretly transmitting their supposed plan to unknown personnel, there was no way he would accept random things without a thorough analysis. 

The drones that they would soon receive could be a trap or have some other devices secretly planted in them. 

"Mhmm, I'll analyze with you as well when we receive the drones," Mary informed him. "Although I don't doubt your skills, we need to ensure that everything is near flawless. Can't afford another incident similar to Yolanda." 

"No need to explain, Mary. I wasn't planning on analyzing it alone either way." Shi Tian chuckled softly. 

Time slowly passed by, and the two of them wore their masks back on and made their way to the tent.

"Hmm, you two took quite a while. Did something important happen with Optic Mech?" Theobold raised an eyebrow and enquired. 

Mary shook her head in response, acting extremely natural. 

"No, I was just discussing with Nathan how to copy the weapons' technology when Commander Theobold generously donated them to us." She joked, feigning innocence as if the previous conversation with Shi Tian never occurred.