Reboot: Mechanic

Mary truly didn't want to help Vanessa, but realizing how badly she can screw up on a simple task, she bet that she would continue to make the situation worse.

If Mary continued to reject her, and Vanessa went to Theobold for help, she would definitely expose her suggestion, then things would turn bad. 

After all, Theobold had just discovered a traitor among his precious military team. 

So if he found out that Mary also attempted to leak information to create a diversion and easier situation for her. Then the chances of Theobold using her as the sacrificial lamb were high.

And there was no way Mary would allow herself to become some sacrificial lamb. 

"Ugh, just get inside the Iron Sentinel, but remember this. Whatever you see inside, you better keep quiet about it and not expose it." Mary stepped closer to Vanessa and warned solemnly.

Shi Tian was probably still working on the semiconductor to replace the rigged IC chip, so if Vanessa decided to spill the bean, then everything was for naught.

Meanwhile, Vanessa twitched her brows as she looked at Mary. 

"I just don't know how to do this sneaky thing much, but I know how to weigh the situation," Vanessa explained, telling her that she wasn't a fool. 

It was merely about her being inexperienced in such matters because she never had to do something like this. Usually, she would have others do this on her behalf, but because most of her people aren't situated here, there wasn't much she could do.

And even if she did have people, she had sent them to investigate her Uncle and the potential threat that still lay in Gearits City.

"Whatever, I'm too lazy to even converse with you." Mary waved her hand, opening the back of the Iron Sentinel. 

Vanessa seemingly followed closely behind, and the soldiers who were guarding her from afar glanced at each other in disbelief.

"Ehm, she went inside the vehicle." One of the soldiers said to his companion.

"No shit she went in. I'm not blind." His companion rolled his eyes and wondered if he needed to smack his head. 

"I know you're not blind. I'm just asking what we should do now."

"What do you mean what should we do now? We obviously wait outside and guard around the perimeter. That vehicle belonged to Mary, and not some unknown people, so what are you worried for?" 

"Well, we were assigned to guard Vanessa and not keep our eyes off her, but now we have our eyes off her. Wouldn't Commander Theobold blame us for failing to oblige our duty?" 

"You don't tell Commander Theobold and I won't tell either, so who would know? Just pretend Vanessa is still nearby and that we're properly guarding."

As the two soldiers discussed what to do and how to proceed with their duty, Vanessa and Mary went through the supposed 'filter' to the real compartment of the Iron Sentinel.

"Woah, it doesn't look big outside, but inside is quite spacious." Vanessa glanced around, seemingly surprised by the spacious room available. 

"Hmph, that's why my Iron Sentinel is the best." Mary sounded proud when she saw Vanessa being surprised by her vehicle. Alas, it was only for a brief moment, given that she heard Vanessa's next word.

"This is probably similar to one of my smallest vehicles back in Chronosworth City." Vanessa proclaimed, causing Mary to nearly stumble. 

Mary took a deep breath, seemingly trying to calm herself. 

'She's not worth it, Mary. She's definitely not worth your energy.' She reminded herself silently. 

A few seconds later, they arrived at the main section, and sure enough, Mary saw Shi Tian still working on the semiconductor.

He was so focused that he didn't even notice they had arrived and was now staring at him.

"What is he doing-"

Before Vanessa could finish her question, Mary made a 'shh' action with her finger on her lip, telling her to not interrupt him.

Mary might not like being a mechanic, but she knew fairly well to not interrupt someone when they were in a trance. With a glimpse, she could tell Shi Tian should have found some breakthrough and was now tackling it forward.

Hence, there must not be any noises from them that might or could break his trance.

Staying as quiet as possible, Mary pointed at the back, informing Vanessa to move back from where they came from.

After moving back, Vanessa could finally ask her about Shi Tian's actions. "Is he crafting something again? It doesn't look like a Claymore Mine." "Don't worry about it." Mary swiftly replied with this sentence, effectively shutting down her curiosity. 

"Tsk, another so-called mysterious thing." Vanessa clicked her tongue. 

"You know, I kind of have enough with this secret there and this secret that. What is wrong with everyone these days? Can't you all just be honest like Commander Theobold?" She added, voicing her complaints to Mary and comparing them with the people she had interacted with. 

"If you like Commander Theobold being honest, then why don't you go marry him? He might be old, but he's definitely a man that you can rely on." Mary snorted and teased. 

"No thank you," Vanessa rolled her eyes. "You can have him instead since you suggested it. I bet you want an old and reliable man like Commander Theobold in your life."

"Hah, fat chance. I'm independent and can support myself, unlike someone who can't even do a simple task." 

"Hey, I'm just not an expert at that kind of stuff." Vanessa scoffed. "It's like if I tell you to manipulate some magicule and create earthy vines, you probably can't do it right?" 

"How's that similar to the task you failed?" Mary was dumbfounded by her analogy. 

One was something that could be done with or without magicule uses whereas the other could only be done with sufficient magicule manipulation.

Just when their conversation was suddenly heating up, they heard a deep and solemn voice from afar, prompting the two to look like a bunch of frightened kitties.

"The two of you… do you want a microphone and a stage for your show?" Shi Tian appeared from afar with a smile that was not so friendly.