As Shi Tian extended his hand out for a handshake while introducing himself, he was inspecting Gerald.
Gerald stood tall, with a lean yet athletic build that hinted at his years of physical training and experience in surviving hostile environments.
His chiseled features and sharp, steely brown eyes gave him an aura of intensity and determination. His short, dark hair was often messy from the constant encounters with turbulent winds in the wilderness.
Clad in a sleek, futuristic armored suit that is equipped with an array of gadgets and tools, Gerald looked prepared for any challenge that came his way.
‘The suit of his seemed to be the same type of material on my right arm.’ Shi Tian thought to himself, analyzing Gerald’s suit.
Gerald’s suit surface glimmered with a metallic sheen, providing protection against extreme temperatures and hazards he may encounter during his explorations.
And while Shi Tian was inspecting Gerald, the same thing was happening to Gerald, who was similarly inspecting Shi Tian.
Shaking hands with Shi Tian, Gerald realized Shi Tian was paying close attention to his suit.
“It’s nice to meet the apprentice of Mechanist Isaac.” Gerald smiled amicably and proceeded to explain his suit.
Shi Tian scratched his head slightly when he got caught inspecting his suit too much. Though he was still shameless enough to listen to his explanation in detail.
After a few explanations, Shi Tian came to realize his armored suit was a trusty multi-functional wrist device that adorned his arm, serving as both a communication device and a data analyzer.
It was a crucial tool for gathering information, hacking into complex systems, and detecting any potential threats that lie ahead.
“I see, the armored suit is indeed a work of art that Master Isaac could craft.” Shi Tian praised and complimented Gerald as well.
Their conversation continued in formality, all flowery exchange without any substances.
“Alright, the two of you can stop complimenting each other back and forth. Let’s save that when we actually produce some physical results.” Mary clasped her hands, stopping these two from continuing a boring conversation.
“Hahaha, it seems like Lady Mary is a bit displeased now.” Gerald laughed heartily and glanced at Shi Tian. 𝗻𝐨𝐯𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺
“Then we shall have a talk later on,” He added, cupping his fist.
Shi Tian nodded his head and cupped his fist in return. “Indeed, we have a lot of time to interact in the future. Let’s pause for now before Mary becomes infuriated at us.”
Although the two of them had just gotten to know each other, they seemed to have developed an understanding and that was to not mess with Mary.
“Why are you two making some funny expressions?” Mary crossed her arms and questioned, clearly confused by the two men’s actions.
“Nothing, this is just a casual man-to-man thing.” Both Shi Tian and Gerald replied simultaneously, brushing past the topic.
“Anyway, I should look after my subordinates for now.” Gerald then said, exiting the tent once he realized the situation wasn’t in his favor.
Once Gerald exited the tent, Mary narrowed her eyes and stared at Shi Tian.
“Speak, what is this man-to-man thing?” She demanded an answer, clearly uncomfortable with their expression earlier.
“Become a man and you’ll know.” Shi Tian shrugged his shoulders, returning to his seat to continue his repair on the Claymore mines.
Just because he had listened to most of her instruction, doesn’t mean he was a whipped man that would say yes to her.
If it was something unreasonable, then Shi Tian wouldn’t pay attention to it.
Mary clicked her tongue when she saw Shi Tian ignoring him. ‘Curses, just what are these two up to?’
Her curiosity was rising, but she also understood that she might never get a proper response from them. From Gerald’s reaction and how hasty he left, it was clear that he didn’t have any intention of explaining.
“Stop being curious and walking around, you’re distracting my attention.” Shi Tian commented. With the increase of his perception, Mary’s constant back and forth was quite distracting for him.
He was working on repairing a dangerous trap, so being distracted would be extremely deadly. Just one wrong mishap and the tent they are in might explode into pieces.
Of course, that was an exaggeration, considering the material used to build the tent could withstand the powerful explosive.
“You’re not even fixing the correct thing either way, so why are you trying to sound like an expert?” Mary clicked her tongue and said. She then proceeded to point out his flaw and what should have been done instead.
“I might not be a mechanic, but I have seen Mechanist Isaac working on his equipment before and picked up a thing or two from him.” She added, putting Shi Tian in his place.
And sure enough, Shi Tian went silent mode and no longer attempted to tell her to stop walking back and forth around him.
After all, the flaw she pointed out was correct and even the instruction to fix was on point, meaning her expertise was higher than him. Since that was the case, then it was best to just keep quiet and follow the instructions.
The faster he was done repairing these Claymore mines, then the faster he could get out of this tent and proceed forward.
As time slowly passed by, Mary seemed to have become somewhat of a senior sister to Shi Tian, guiding him through the process whenever he was stuck on something.
“This here should be connected to this part,” Mary commented.
“But wouldn’t that cause the entirety to break apart?” Shi Tian paused and asked confusingly.
The part that Mary told him to connect didn’t make any logical sense. In fact, it was the equivalent of telling him to connect two things that aren’t supposed to mesh.
While he was confused, Mary suddenly smacked the back of his head and lowered her tone.
“Shush, this is the reason why no other Mechanics can replicate Mechanist Isaac’s craft. They are too stubborn and unimaginative, just like the current you.”