Chapter 9: Entrance exams (6) - Can it be seen as punishment if the offender enjoys it?

Nathan could feel Doctor Chen tense up at his response. He stood in place without saying a word as he waited for him to speak. "I understand."

Doctor Chen broke the ice as he let out a heavy sigh before releasing Nathan from the hug. "Doc, are you okay?"

Doctor Chen nodded. "Mn, I'm fine. You don't have to say anything else. I'm well aware of what you are referring to." Nathan shook his head. "Alright then. But…"

"What?" "Why'd you slap me?" Nathan felt wronged as he still felt the stinging sensation on his cheek. "That's because you were about to divulge sensitive information. For the time being, do not tell anyone about what you wanted to tell me just now."

"… I understand." Nathan was aware that the man before him would never do anything without a reason. For him to warn him with such a serious look, he must have his reasons.

"Good. Now about your entry into the academy. Do you think you can manage?... Your scores are really bad." Doctor Chen meant well with his words. He wasn't about to allow Nathan to throw himself into a hopeless situation.

That was also why he took Nathan's words seriously. The fact that Nathan had been entrusted humanity's fate meant that he had no other choice. It made him realize just how hopeless the future was.

He felt heavy-hearted just thinking about it, but alas, he had to maintain his appearance before Nathan.

"I know but I don't have a choice. I have to do this." Nathan replied. "Hmm, I've never seen you with such determination before for anything other than tech."

Nathan chuckled awkwardly as he placed his palm on the back of his head. "Well, a lot has happened." Doctor Chen sighed as he shook his head. "I understand. You do what you have to do. I'll support you in whatever way I can."

"Thanks." Nathan smiled as he reached in for another hug with Doctor Chen happily obliging. "Oh yeah, I have to ask. How come you got here so fast?"

"I was called into the Guardian for some work. When Hassan sent me the message, I abandoned everything and rushed over here."

Nathan pulled away from the hug. "I guess you'd be heading back now, right?" "Unfortunately so." Doctor Chen replied.

Nathan was about to excuse himself when he suddenly remembered something. "Can I ask you for a favor?" Doctor Chen put up a brow. "What is it?"

***

Hassan stood outside the workshop with a saddened expression. He had realized the moment he stepped out, that the building had been sealed off. "I should have known that he would do something so sly."

Alas, he was unable to eavesdrop as he intended thus he waited outside for them to come out. He didn't have to wait for long as after thirty minutes, the door was opened.

Doctor Chen stepped out with a casual look on his face while Nathan followed behind silently. Their exit would give one the impression that Nathan had just received a terrible scolding.

"So I guess you guys are leaving now?" Hassan asked. Doctor Chen came to stand before him. "Unfortunately, Nathan will have to remain here."

Hassan frowned. "But his results were horrible. If he remains here, then…" Doctor Chen cut him off. "I know you mean well, my friend. But I believe Nathan has a good reason for deciding to stay at the academy."

Hassan glanced at Nathan. "Are you being serious?" Nathan remained mute at the side, his head down as his eyes were fixated on his feet.

"Let him do what he wants for now. Once the academy gets too much for him to handle, he will realize his mistakes then. For the time being, he can stay." Hassan felt at a loss.

"…Alright then. I guess since you are his guardian, you have the final say. Hope you won't regret letting him do what he wants later." Doctor Chen smirked nonchalantly.

"You don't have to worry. But since he decided to do something so brazen against my wishes, then I have no choice but to punish him. Thus I have told him to help you out in your workshop."

Hassan was taken aback. "You want to punish him by making him work at my workshop?" Doctor Chen nodded. "Is that not possible?"

"… I guess it's okay. But you do remember that Nathan derives joy from working with tech, right?" He couldn't understand how someone's hobby could become a punishment.

Doctor Chen merely chuckled. "Don't think too much about it. Just help me watch over him." Though Hassan was a bit confused, he saw no reason to decline thus he accepted after some thought.

"Alright then. I'll be taking my leave. I entrust his safety to you, my friend." Doctor Chen patted Hassan on the shoulder after which he took one last glance at Nathan with the latter finally putting his head up.

"Take care." Nathan nodded after which Doctor Chen took his leave. "I don't know what you guys talked about in there but in any case, since you are going to be staying at the academy, I will tell you now, be careful."

"Careful?" "Mn, the academy does not treat low scorers lightly. Be prepared for whatever comes your way and just try to not cause any trouble. I'll help you as best as I can."

Nathan listened quietly. "Hah, come with me. I'll lead you to the male dormitory." It was then that Nathan finally spoke. "Uncle Hassan, if you don't mind, I would like to start my punishment right away."

Hassan had a complicated expression on his face as he scratched his head, unsure of how to react to Nathan's request.

"Since when do people look forward to punishments?... I knew that Chen made a mistake with the punishment. But he should be aware of this, ah gosh, I'm having a headache thinking about this."

"Alright then. Come with me." Hassan lead him into the workshop again. The first time they entered, they had merely used the resting area for their meeting.

Nathan had already seen it from outside. This workshop was way bigger than just the small room he and Doctor Chen had spoken in.

Hassan proved him right as he moved to the back of the room and pulled out a keyboard. After punching in the password, there was a slight sound after which the wall slid back to reveal the real deal.

It had enough space to accommodate over two hundred people. But it wasn't the size that caused Nathan to have stars in his eyes. Instead, it was the assortment of equipment and tech stuff that was scattered around.

From guns to melee weapons to explosives to Exo suits, everything was here. Especially the Exo suits.

The reason Doctor Chen had asked Hassan to allow Nathan to work at his workshop was that the latter had informed him about the system mission.

He didn't directly tell him about the system, only making it clear that he needed something done before the end of the day.

Thus, Doctor Chen came up with the idea to 'punish' him by making him work in Hassan's workshop.

Nathan was unsure of how much the system was capable of, but as he had already decided during the tests, he had to figure out as much as he could. Thus the first step was completing the daily mission it had assigned him.

Depending on what happened, he would continue his analysis from there.

Hassan saw the expression on Nathan's face and shook his head. "So I guess you can get started on something." His words jolted Nathan from his thoughts.

"Can I take a look at suits that require refurbishing?" Hassan put up a brow. "You want to work on Exo suits?"

Exo suits. There was the result of creating designated combat suits using tachyons. They worked only with the passage of tachyon through its circuits.

This meant that without tachyon, it was a hunk of metal junk that looked nice.

The suit had a rather intricate design with full-body silver armor, along with a central core placed at the chest area.

There was also a retractable helmet that was almost completely made of a rather tough kind of glass and covered the wearer's head completely.

In any case, they varied as some were built light, others were heavy, some were designed for defense, and others were designed for speed.

They were installed with AI systems that measured the status of the wearer at all times. Due to how they were created, only cultivators were able to use them.

"Yeah." Nathan nodded with Hassan staring at him. "You know that's not possible, right?" Nathan knitted his brows. "Why?"

"Look, I know you may have come across them once or twice because of Brother Chen but that doesn't mean you would automatically be able to work with them. They are complicated pieces of technology, they aren't things for you to mess around with."

Hassan wasn't joking around. Each Exo suit was more precious than a diamond. In an age where resources were not easily acquired, they couldn't exactly play around with the little they had.

Also, Exo suits were not exactly simple pieces of tech. There was a reason why engineers and Scientists aboard Tech-Hub were treated with respect.