Wishful Thinking

Sitting patiently inside the military vehicle, Shi Tian had no intention of trying to do anything funny. It was not necessary, and it was already pointless to attempt to salvage anything.

By now, he was positive that the news of him meeting with Phoebe privately should have been spread around the other commanders, especially Theobold.

Since it was already a concrete fact that could not be denied, Shi Tian could only accept this fate and face whatever turbulence might come at them.

As Shi Tian was immersed in his thought process, seemingly trying to plan ahead, the military vehicle suddenly stopped advancing forward.

"Sir Nathan, we have arrived at the destination." The soldier, who was driving at the front, informed him respectfully. "Thanks for the hard work," Shi Tian responded, swiftly exiting through the door and heading to the Iron Sentinel without any delay. Meanwhile, the military vehicle promptly reversed and drove away. Though Shi Tian was able to detect the soldier's intention of purposely driving close to Theobold's side. It was as if the soldier was afraid Theobold might not know he was escorting Shi Tian back to the Iron Sentinel and wanted to announce it in his face.

'Sigh, why did I have to be involved?' Shi Tian twitched his brows, feeling uneasy about being the focal point now. The decision to be a decoy surely wasn't easy, and with the current situation, he was indeed the main attraction.

Now, he was even more sure the families backing these commanders would soon start to take notice of him.

Entering the Iron Sentinel, Shi Tian was greeted with a sarcastic smile from Mary.

"Congrats, Nathan. You've managed to garner the most attraction in this monster wave crisis." Mary clapped her hands and praised. "Indeed, getting a private meeting with a beauty like Commander Phoebe must have felt amazing, right? Did your heart flutter and beat rapidly when you faced her?" Vanessa chimed in, and a hint of anger could be detected. Rolling his eyes and taking a seat, Shi Tian responded, "I've already got quite the headache from the interaction with Commander Phoebe. Can you spare me the sarcasm and the jabbing?" "Oh? So you single-handedly decided to make a deal with Commander Phoebe, and now you expect me to help clean up your mess?" Mary raised an eyebrow and asked in a deep voice.

Shi Tian smiled sheepishly at that statement. During the ride in the military vehicle, Shi Tian had texted Mary regarding the deal being made with Phoebe, so he already expected some kind of judgment or punishment from Mary.

After all, to complete 15 EMPs within 3 days was impossible with him alone. Like even if he sacrificed all of his sleep, he still wouldn't be able to meet the deadline with his current skills. Thus, the only solution was to bring Mary into the factor. Mary was a multi-tasker, so not only was she a talented Berserker, but she was also a prodigy in the mechanic aspect. With Mary's help, Shi Tian was sure that the 3-day limit would be more than enough.

"Listen, Mary, it's a win-win situation for us in the end. We don't like Theobold, but with Phoebe's help, it's a different story." Shi Tian tried to defend his action.

Alas, Mary was not pleased and kept a deadpan expression. "Even if it's a win-win situation, this is not the first time you have decided upon something yourself without informing me beforehand. The Claymore Mines demonstration in the past and now this. It's like you don't even plan on respecting me at all." She retorted. "Hey, you don't need to be that harsh on him, Mary." Vanessa suddenly interrupted when she saw how rude Mary was being. "Yeah, Nathan might have gone overboard this time, but wasn't he still doing this for you and Optic Mech? Theobold was no longer a reliable ally, but Phoebe is different." "The adults are talking. So kindly keep your mouth shut and let us talk." Mary hissed coldly and glared at Vanessa. Vanessa clicked her tongue in anger when Mary was essentially calling her a child. "Hmph, aren't you still hugging my identity to remain safe? I dare you to say it again." The atmosphere was getting tense by the second, so Shi Tian needed to defuse the situation, lest it might cause irreconcilable consequences. "Alright, the two of you can stop. The faults are mine alone, so you're free to reprimand me." Shi Tian stepped forward and went in between the two, afraid they might clash again.

However, little did he expect, the situation would swiftly change and both Mary and Vanessa proceeded to point their fingers at him.

"Of course, it's your fault." They shouted in unison, almost as if they were following a script. "Whatever, I'm not a mechanic, so the two of you can stay all night and day to craft the EMPs." Vanessa yawned and stretched her arms, ready to lay down to sleep. With Vanessa retreating to the back, Mary kept her gaze on Shi Tian. The gaze was no different than a venomous spider, looking at its prey, ready to strike the moment an opportunity arises. "I know you're mad, but there's nothing much I can do either." Shi Tian sighed softly and sat back down. "In that atmosphere, if I refused, then it meant that I was cutting the bridge we had constructed with Phoebe. By that time, we are truly in a difficult spot, given that Phoebe might even cooperate with Theobold fully to eliminate us." He added, wanting her to know that it was not something he could control. "Next time, if such a situation happens again, the first thing you must do is inform me. Just because you have a bit of intelligence, doesn't mean you would always know and grasp the situation." Mary warned solemnly.

And she continued, "You might think that you have no solution other than agreeing to the cooperation, but that's just your wishful thinking. That Phoebe requested for you precisely because she knew you aren't the real deciding factor for Optic Mehc, but us."

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