The Real Daughter Just Wants to Pilot Mechas - Chapter 116

Yan Chang hurriedly left his villa, leaving E Mingjun somewhat bewildered.

“Does he really trust me that much?” E Mingjun glanced around and spotted a barely noticeable surveillance camera in the living room. He relaxed a bit, sat back on the sofa, and called Jiang Momo.

Jiang Momo didn’t pick up.

He scratched his face and then sent a message to inform her that Yan Chang planned to visit the desolate planet.

There was still no reply from Jiang Momo.

About ten minutes later, E Mingjun’s light brain flashed.

[Jiang Momo]: Okay, I’m busy. We’ll talk later.

“What’s she busy with? Did the test results come out?” E Mingjun’s curiosity was piqued but since Jiang Momo said to discuss it later, he didn’t push. He lay back on the sofa, waiting for Yan Chang to return.

About half an hour later, Yan Chang returned.

He looked like he had deliberately groomed himself, every strand of hair was in place, and his overall demeanor was restored to its usual lively and bright state. Aside from the faint dark circles under his eyes, his complexion was clear, and his features were sharp and clean. A subtle fragrance lingered around him, adding to his refreshed appearance.

E Mingjun stared at the more refined-looking Yan Chang for a while and hesitantly asked, “Did you go back to the old estate for…?”

“To get a gift for Jiang Momo,” Yan Chang replied immediately. “Then I went to borrow a spaceship from Wu Yue and she gave me a free makeover.”

E Mingjun remained silent for a few seconds.

Considering Wu Yue’s usual approach, offering something for free meant she must have already made a killing off him. It showed just how seriously Yan Chang took Jiang Momo.

“I used to think that spaceship was useless but now it seems pretty handy.” Yan Chang nudged E Mingjun’s shoulder. “Tutor E, I got three sets. One for each of us. Thanks for telling me the truth. Otherwise, I’d still be in the dark.”

“Have you sorted it out?” E Mingjun asked.

Yan Chang waved his hand dismissively. “It doesn’t matter. I’ll give her the gift first. The light brain’s communication system has privacy protection, so she probably doesn’t know yet that I found out she’s the Mecha Queen. So…”

E Mingjun: …

“She knows.” E Mingjun lowered his head.

“Huh? You even turned off the privacy system for her? Well, in that case, I’ll just have to apologize non-stop and stick to her like glue to mend things.”

Regardless of his romantic outcome, someone as talented as the master had to stay within his circle. He couldn’t afford to let her slip away.

***

When E Mingjun and Yan Chang arrived at the desolate planet, the cave looked exactly as it had when E Mingjun left. Even the alien beast meat that Jiang Momo had prepared for roasting was still sitting untouched on the table.

“Is… is Master living under such harsh conditions?” Wearing the mecha exoskeleton that E Mingjun had helped him put on earlier, Yan Chang looked around the spacious cave, shocked. “The natural environment on this planet looked pretty primitive from the spaceship. Are there wild beasts here?”

“There shouldn’t be any wild beasts,” E Mingjun said.

Yan Chang let out a breath. “Good.”

E Mingjun added, “But there are alien beasts.”

“What?” Yan Chang blurted out, quickly covering his mouth. In a lower voice, he asked, “So the danger you mentioned before was about this?”

“But don’t worry. With Jiang Momo around, most alien beasts won’t come near,” E Mingjun reassured him.

Yan Chang nodded weakly. “Right. Master is so skilled in mecha combat, so she can probably smash alien beasts just like in the simulator, wham and bam.”

E Mingjun nodded solemnly. “Pretty much.”

“Master excels at everything,” Yan Chang sighed. “By the way, where is she? Out hunting? Let me try contacting her.”

“She should be in the storage room.” E Mingjun walked deeper into the cave.

Yan Chang followed quickly, rehearsing his apology speech in his mind.

Then, he saw E Mingjun take a leap into a dark, narrow entrance at the back of the cave.

“Wait, just jump in?” Yan Chang hesitated only briefly before following suit.

The storage was dark, illuminated only by the faint light of a screen. In that dim glow, Yan Chang saw a familiar profile.

His heart thudded heavily, echoing in his chest like a loud crash. His blood seemed to freeze for a moment and then rushed back the instant Jiang Momo glanced at him.

They were staring at each other only for a while, though he couldn’t tell how much time passed. It might be a second or a minute and under the dim light, Jiang Momo’s eyes were filled with cold rationale, and then she turned away.

E Mingjun walked over to Jiang Momo and focused on the data rapidly scrolling on the screen.

Yan Chang peeked over but couldn’t make sense of it.

He scratched his head and then sat cross-legged on the floor, waiting for Jiang Momo to finish her analysis and notice him.

About an hour later, Jiang Momo’s voice rang, “Why are you back so soon?”

She glanced secretly at Yan Chang who was sitting cross-legged on the ground with his back to her and asked the question to E Mingjun.

She had originally planned to finish observing the data and then go hunting to make a grand meal as an apology for Yan Chang. She didn’t expect them to return so quickly.

“We borrowed Wu Yue’s spaceship. When did the test results come out?” E Mingjun asked.

“Right after you left,” Jiang Momo said. “The structure inside this energy core is very complex. To determine its specific effects, it still needs a second round of testing.”

As for its function, the preliminary assumption was that it could balance and convert two types of energy back and forth.

E Mingjun nodded and then looked at Yan Chang who was still sitting with his back to them and said to Jiang Momo, “Yan Chang brought you a gift.”

“A gift for me?” Jiang Momo looked a little surprised. After a moment’s hesitation, she walked forward and patted Yan Chang on the shoulder. “I’m sorry, Yan Chang, I should apologize first…”

Before she could finish, Yan Chang leaned back from the touch and fell to the ground, his eyes closed.

Jiang Momo was startled. “What’s wrong? What happened?”

Then she suddenly realized something, glanced back at the analysis device, and quickly hoisted Yan Chang onto her shoulder. She signaled E Mingjun to put the energy core into the isolation box and then swiftly climbed out of the storage room, placing Yan Chang on the spacious open ground outside.

“Is his energy drained?” E Mingjun squatted next to Yan Chang, placed a finger under his nose to check his breathing, and relaxed when he found it normal. “It hasn’t been long and there was no direct contact. It should be nothing serious. A day’s sleep should do it.”

Jiang Momo clicked her tongue, feeling guilty. “It’s all my fault. I forgot about that.”

Since she and E Mingjun had been in there for so long without any issues, it hadn’t even crossed her mind.

***

Yan Chang woke up to the alluring aroma of food. Opening his eyes, he found himself lying on the ground under the sky, with a large table of dishes set up above his head. He moved his oddly sore limbs and slowly sat up, rubbing his stomach. “Wasn’t I in the storage room just now? Weird… why am I so hungry?”

“You’ve been out for a day.” Jiang Momo crouched down beside him with concern. “It’s my fault for not warning you. The device has radiation and can drain a person’s energy.”

Yan Chang’s thoughts clicked into place. “So, did your plan succeed, Master? Did you manage to get that thing from the Jiang family?”

“You knew I went to the Jiang family for that?” Jiang Momo was so surprised she forgot to apologize, blurting it out.

Yan Chang dusted off his pants and stood up. “It’s just a guess. Master, I brought you something I think you’ll like, a little gift.”

Just as Yan Chang was about to say the word ‘gift,’ Jiang Momo quickly and clearly interrupted, “I’m really sorry, Yan Chang. I should have told you the truth earlier. I never meant to play with your feelings. I honestly didn’t know how to handle it at the time, so I thought it was better to keep it from you.

“I was scared that if it went wrong, we wouldn’t even be friends anymore. But now, it seems like I messed up anyway. I sincerely apologize. I promise I won’t do this again. Can you forgive me?”

Yan Chang froze, his carefully prepared apology plan instantly falling apart.

“I’m not mad at you. I thought about it and it’s mostly my fault. We’re so familiar with each other, yet I didn’t recognize your voice.”

After saying that, he took a spatial compression storage box out of his jacket pocket and retrieved three worn books, their pages yellowed with age.

“Ye Fei’s Diary!” Jiang Momo took a small step forward, her eyes lighting up. “How did you get this?!”

“These are relics from my family, they’ve been kept in the old estate. When I saw the carvings on the wall in the photo E Mingjun took, they looked like the ancient script, so I thought you might understand them. So I brought them along.” Yan Chang pushed the stack of books toward her, placing them in Jiang Momo’s hands.

Jiang Momo held the books, momentarily at a loss. “Wow, this is priceless.”

It truly was. Ever since discovering that energy core, Jiang Momo had been dreaming every night about finding Ye Fei’s Diary 3 and creating a legendary mecha, reaching the pinnacle of her career.

Unfortunately, she hadn’t found a single trace of it in reality. Now, it was as if a mountain of gold had just fallen into her lap, leaving her so excited that her head was spinning.

Yan Chang, seeing how thrilled Jiang Momo was, felt a bit awkward and rubbed his nose. “I just wanted to show them to you. I’ll have to put them back later.”

“No problem! Thank you so much!” Jiang Momo squeezed Yan Chang’s shoulder with enthusiasm before eagerly running off to the side to start reading Ye Fei’s Diary 3.