Reboot: Mechanic

As the recording played, Mary and Vanessa watched in a mix of shock and fascination. 

The footage showed Shi Tian's encounter with Theobold's elite soldiers, including the gruesome aftermath with the microscopic entities known as Dust Mites devouring the incapacitated soldiers.

Vanessa winced at the sight, unable to tear her eyes away from the horrifying scene.

Pausing the recording, Vanessa took a deep breath and spoke, her voice trembling slightly, 

"That... that was brutal. But it's also brilliant in a twisted way. Impersonating the White Syndicate like that, it's... it's insane." Vanessa stuttered, seemingly nauseous at the recording. 

She wanted to curse Shi Tian for showing such a grotesque scene, but she also understood his actions. Shi Tian's actions were essentially boosting the infamy of the White Syndicate. 

Hence, the White Syndicate would most likely admit the footage was done by them, even if it wasn't true. 

Such recordings were enough to send fear among the people and imprint the White Syndicate name into their hearts. It was cost-effective, so why wouldn't they accept such free advertisement? 

Mary, on the other hand, remained composed, her expression unreadable. 

Unlike Vanessa who believed it was a somewhat brutal action of Shi Tian, she was more focused on another aspect.

"It seems like you have improved significantly," Mary murmured softly. "Did you plan for such an improvement from the beginning when you decided to be the vanguard and stop them?" 

Shi Tian scratched his head softly. He wasn't surprised that Mary would notice his improvement right away. After all, she was technically his mentor in terms of combat. 

"Well, not exactly planned, but I expected some results." Shi Tian shrugged his shoulders and replied honestly.

The truth was, he expected to gain some improvement, but not a drastic improvement. Had he known the result would be this amazing, then he would have grind harder to level up.

Even if it meant losing countless nights of sleep, Shi Tian was willing to go all in for this advancement.

"Anyway, what are you planning to do with this recording?" Mary asked, not bothering to ask how he managed to improve. Some things were just meant to be confidential and secret, so she had no intention of prying further for information.

"You wouldn't really be thinking of uploading this recording to everyone, right?" 

"That's exactly what I planned to do." 

"Do you know the consequences of such action? There's really no going back once you let everyone watch this." 

Shi Tian nodded his head. Of course, he understood his actions completely.

"The moment I killed the soldiers, I had already taken a path of no return. Since that was the case, then why don't I go all the way, putting the nail in the coffin." He calmly said. 

"No wonder you made us swear an oath." Vanessa suddenly intervened, rubbing her temples as if she had just realized how severe the situation was.

"You aren't just impersonating the White Syndicate but outright provoking Commander Theobold and smearing at the military of Gearits City." She exclaimed, realizing just how crazy Shi Tian was becoming.

"They started first." Shi Tian responded like a child, pointing the finger at Theobold for starting the fight in the first place.

"And don't forget, Vanessa. If you weren't protected well, you would have forfeited your life as well." He added, reminding her plight.

Stumped, Vanessa realized she no longer had a point to argue or condemn Shi Tian's action. 

He was right after all.

Maybe Theobold hadn't made a move against her yet, but based on his suspicious action so far, Vanessa was positive that he was scheming something against her. It was just a question of when and where it would happen. 

"Ugh, then how are you going to send the recording to them?" Vanessa asked, clearly in shambles with the events. 

"Did you forget about the leaked source?" Shi Tian asked her as if she had dropped a few brain cells. 

"Are you planning on making use of StellarVision Media again?" Mary interrupted, knitting her brows in the process. 

It wasn't that long ago when they had utilized StellarVision Media to publish fake news regarding the supposed leaked location. 

That alone had already made a dent in their credibility, but if they were to publish such grotesque and blatant recordings in there, then it wouldn't be long till StellarVision Media would sell them out.

After all, the faked location could be understandable, but a video that showcased Theobold's soldiers being killed and ending up in such a pathetic state would enrage all citizens.

On the surface, Theobold was still known as a remarkable and honorable commander. 

Shi Tian leaned back in his seat, contemplating the best course of action. 

Mary was right; they couldn't rely on StellarVision Media again, especially not for something as incriminating as this recording.

"StellarVision Media is out of the question," he admitted. "They won't risk their reputation any further. We need a different platform, something more underground, where the truth can circulate without being easily shut down."

There was a limit that StellarVision Media was willing to go. And doing something like targeting an honorable person in their base operation was definitely crossing their bottom line. 

Hell, even QuantumMedia Group would personally come out and destroy their subsidiary company without hesitation to clarify any misunderstandings.

As Shi Tian was pondering their next best option, Vanessa chimed in, "The Darknet. It's a network of hidden websites and forums that operate beyond the reach of standard search engines. Information, even illegal or controversial, often finds its way there."

"Darknet huh." Mary rubbed her chin and muttered. 

Indeed, the darknet was actually the perfect place to post such videos without having to worry about being tracked. 

After all, most people who operate in the darknet are criminals, so it was an unspoken rule that attempting to track any user there is extremely offensive and could possibly make you become a target to be assassinated. 

A few seconds later, Shi Tian nodded in agreement. "The Darknet could work. We'll have to find a way to access it discreetly and upload the recording anonymously. But before that, I want to add some context to the video. Explain why Theobold's elite soldiers attacked me. We need the public to question their motives."