Reboot: Mechanic

Theobold was somewhat speechless when Mary had no shame. She was indirectly telling him in the face that she was going to copy their military weaponry. 

He already anticipated that it would happen when he decided to give them the weapons, but did she really need to say it aloud? 

Some things were usually better to leave out despite everyone knowing the answer, so Mary's response came as a shocker to Theobold. 

"I do wish you the best of luck in copying it." In the end, Theobold faked a cough and could only wish them good luck in doing so.

Though inwardly, Theobold suspected that something must have occurred, so he kept that in mind to investigate further. 

Mary's concealment might be pitch perfect, but it was too perfect, which caused him to believe the reasons should be something else. Something that they needed to discuss privately to prevent news from leaking out.

'Could there be something wrong with my soldiers or the information regarding my plan?' Theobold wondered silently.

"Anyway, I'm sure the three of you should be tired by now after the long journey to arrive here. So I shall leave the three of you to converse while I head out to do some surveillance and calculation of the aftermath." Theobold excused himself gracefully, giving one final glance at Vanessa. 

Vanessa simply toyed around with a miniature device in her hand, a signal to let Theobold be reassured that she would call for him if there were any troubles.

Nodding his head slightly, Theobold then left the tent, allowing the three of them to be at ease and catch up with each other. 

Since he was the commander of a strong military team, it was naturally obvious that they might be somewhat uncomfortable with his presence. 

Therefore, he decided to leave, not only to let them converse easily but to investigate further as well as the damages that had been done on the frontline.

With Theobold's presence vanishing, Shi Tian and Mary gradually took a seat by the table, seemingly fatigued. 

"So what were the two of you discussing?" Vanessa opened her mouth and asked after a few minutes had gone by. 

"And don't bother giving me that half-baked excuse of being joyous in being able to copy Commander Theobold's military weapons. That might work on him briefly, but not for me." She added, warning them to not attempt to deceive her.

"Tsk, who do you think you are?" Mary snorted coldly and crossed her arms. "Why would I even be honest with you? You ain't my mother unless you admit you're an old hag." 

"Sorry, you clearly looked older than me, you damn old bag." Vanessa sneered coldly in response. She wasn't going to take in the insult as if she was a weak-willed woman. 

If Mary wanted a fight, then she would gladly comply with her.

Meanwhile, Shi Tian was confused and utterly speechless by the development.

Why must these two always act as if they're oil and fire? 

Are they incompatible or just love to fight against another talented woman? 

"That's enough fighting for the two of you!" Shi Tian stepped in and demanded. He glared at the two of them, prompting them to shut their mouth and swallow whatever words they were about to say. 

Both Vanessa and Mary pouted slightly, seemingly afraid of continuing on with their farce.

The scene was quite comical, given that Shi Tian was the weakest amongst them, yet commanded the highest authority when he became serious.

A few seconds later, Vanessa shrugged her shoulders and said, "I wouldn't have said anything if you were to be honest with me." 

"But why should we be honest with you?" Mary retorted but kept her tone at a minimum when she noticed Shi Tian was giving her a cold glare. 

Facepalming, Shi Tian was wondering if these two were arch-enemies in their previous lives. 

"Mary, do you mind stepping out a bit, and see if that Soldier Tron finished collecting the weapons for us?" Shi Tian suggested, his intention being clear. 

Right now the two of them were at each other's throats, so the best solution was to simply separate them. 

Naturally, Mary was unresigned for being the chosen one to have to leave the tent, but she also understood that Vanessa needed to be heavily protected regardless if she had the ability to handle herself alone or not. 

"Hmph, make it quick." She clicked her tongue and reluctantly exited the tent.

Once Mary was gone from the tent, Shi Tian sat down exhaustedly. 

"Seriously, what is with the two of you? Constantly bickering?" He then stared at Vanessa and asked. 

"I don't know. She's just giving me the vibe of hypocrisy. It's like her current appearance or identity was falsified and that she's hiding a deeper secret." Vanessa shrugged her shoulders. 

Even she was unable to describe it explicitly when being asked why she was so against Mary. 

Meanwhile, Shi Tian was thoroughly astonished by Vanessa's intuition. If possible, he even wanted to praise her intuition for being so accurate.

When he first met Mary, he simply thought of her as a secretary. But the more they interacted, and witnessing her peerless skills in mobility plus fighting ability stunned him. 

Hence, Vanessa's intuition couldn't be more correct when she believed Mary was concealing a deep secret.

"And what about it?" Shi Tian responded with an emotionless tone. "Even if she is hiding a secret, who else in this world isn't? Don't forget that your uncle was acting friendly to you, but was secretly scheming for your death. So please tell me, how can you discern Mary accurately then?" 

"So you're siding with Mary huh?" Vanessa crossed her legs and clicked her tongue in annoyance. 

"No, I'm not siding with anyone. I'm just stating things based on fact." 

"Tsk, you always have a way with your words."

"It's not that, but being an adult and mature." 

"So you're calling me a child?" 

"I'll just tell you about what we discussed, but promised to not reveal it to anyone else?" Shi Tian gave up and stopped trying to convince her otherwise. 

His words would constantly be altered into a meaning that he did not mean.