Reboot: Mechanic

Back in the Iron Sentinel, the tension had somewhat eased now that the mysterious force pulling their avatars together had been neutralized. 

Vanessa, although initially stunned by Shi Tian's actions, had returned to her seat, chastened by the consequences of her unintentional mistake.

Shi Tian, still focused on the screen, was doing his best to recover their positions. 

The cybersecurity bots were relentless, and their numbers had increased since the earlier chaos. Mary, on the other hand, was nearing the final stages of her mission.

As Shi Tian maneuvered his avatar, dodging the bots' attacks and making progress, he couldn't help but think about the mysterious force that had drawn them together. 

It was an unsettling phenomenon, and he wondered if it had been orchestrated by the opposing party or if it was a glitch in the system.

Vanessa's clone was still intact, so that means it wasn't damaged until Shi Tain decided to destroy it. 

However, another possibility was that it could also mean that the other party's attack wasn't physical but more of an integrated attack. 

Her clone was compromised and the other party was able to mimic the control of Vanessa's movement, but at the same time, they were gradually hoping to collide it with Shi Tian's clone.

'Does that mean they were hoping to compromise my clone as well to track down Mary's?' Shi Tian wondered silently. Given Mary didn't seem to have any trouble, it was obvious that the coast was clear on her side as compared to theirs. 

Hence, their clones were the only clues left for the other party to track down Mary and stop her hacking.

Unfortunately, Shi Tian didn't have much time to ponder over it, given that the cybersecurity bots seemed to have been agitated. 

They started firing off layers of complicated codes in every direction, almost as if they didn't care whether or not it was directed at his clone.

"Tsk, so now they're praying for luck." Shi Tian clicked his tongue in annoyance. What he hated the most was that they would resort to such tactics; randomize attacks. 

Previously, the cybersecurity bots might be sending out swarms of complicated codes in hopes of damaging his clone, but they were all rational and could be anticipated. 

However, now that the enemies resorted to randomizing the attack, meaning even they won't know when they will send out swarms of codes. 

It became increasingly difficult for Shi Tian to avoid them now that he couldn't anticipate when and where these swarms of codes would fire. 

"Do you want me to wipe off your sweats, Nathan?" Seeing Shi Tian's fingers moving extremely fast on the keyboard and his forehead dripping down lots of sweat, Vanessa retrieved a napkin and asked from the sideline.

Shi Tian barely had time to acknowledge Vanessa's offer as he continued to focus on the intense battle with the cybersecurity bots. Sweat was pouring down his face, and his fingers danced across the keyboard with lightning speed.

The cybersecurity bots' randomized attacks were making it increasingly challenging to evade their assaults. 

Each swarm of codes seemed to come from a different direction, and Shi Tian had to rely on quick reflexes and split-second decisions to dodge them.

Vanessa, sensing the urgency of the situation, didn't press the issue and simply took matters into her own hands. 

She gently wiped the sweat on his forehead, and Shi Tian allowed her without taking his eyes off the screen. 

Every moment counted, and distraction could lead to disaster, so he could only let Vanessa help him wipe the sweat that was about to block his eyesight.

As for Mary, she was sweating as well, but Vanessa dared not interrupt her, lest she might be blamed for the failure of the operation. Compared to Shi Tian, Mary's task was more critical and difficult. 

Time slowly passed by, and Mary's expression soon changed to a joyful moment. She was about to succeed, but then, something strange occurred.

"What the-" Shi Tian raised an eyebrow and muttered. 

On the screen, all the cybersecurity bots had deactivated and didn't seem to have any intention of attacking his clone "N" anymore. 

Mary was equally confused because she saw a worldwide broadcast within the network itself. It wasn't a firewall, but a simple message along with an iconic symbol known as an opponent surrendering; the white flag.

We surrendered and stopped all cybersecurity bots. Please don't damage our channel or I have no choice but to shut the system down forcefully. 

The message read. At first glance, it might seem like a threat that they were going to resort to shutting the system down, but Mary and the other party both knew that it was an empty threat.

Even if they shut the system down, it was already too late. Also, it was quite clear that the other party wanted to negotiate and didn't want Mary to take any drastic action. 

Mary read the message aloud and turned her attention to Shi Tian, asking, "Did your screen also receive this message?" 

"No, they are asking me to inform you about what condition you want to stop the hacking." Shi Tian shook his head and explained the message he got. 

It was similar to a worldwide broadcast within the network, but Shi Tian's screen received a different message than Mary's. 

Despite the difference in messages, both messages had the same intention, and that was to discuss with Mary, the hacker. 

"So what do we do then?" Vanessa, who was still wiping the sweat off Shi Tian, asked confusingly. They were about to finish, but the other party suddenly threw in the white flag and surrendered. 

"I'll remain here, but Nathan, you can reply to the message through their encrypted code," Mary explained. She wasn't going to be foolish enough to drop everything that she had just achieved. 

Her current location was already conquered by her, meaning it was now a dedicated space that only she could control. 

The other party had no authorization, but Shi Tian's location was different. It was still under the other party's authority and should be suitable to converse with them there. 

After all, if the other party wanted to pull some dirty trick, the only con would be losing the clone, which was already unimportant now.