The Real Daughter Just Wants to Pilot Mechas - Chapter 119

Lu Feng thought for a moment. “The researchers from that interstellar pirate group’s lab are still serving time. If you need them, I can arrange a temporary release to help with your research.”

Jiang Momo’s eyes lit up. “What about the equipment and data?”

“They’re still there.” Lu Feng nodded. “The First Military District also has an abandoned base. I’ll have it cleared out. It should be ready in about three days.”

“Thank you so much, Major General Lu,” Jiang Momo said excitedly.

Lu Feng shook his head. “We should be the ones thanking you. This mecha came at just the right time. The number of alien beasts in the Central Star System has surged. Although the military attaches great importance to this matter, we are still overwhelmed.

“The real problem lies in the Border Star System, which is the alien beasts’ main territory. Even with our forces focused there, we’re still struggling. After deploying your improved super S-grade mecha, our Central Star System’s First Military District’s armed strength increased significantly. The simulation combat training has also greatly boosted both military capabilities and public awareness of the alien beast eradication, laying a solid foundation for our future plans.”

“Future plans?” Jiang Momo reflexively repeated but since Lu Feng did not take the initiative to reveal them, they should be confidential. She then changed the subject. “Actually, the mecha wasn’t my original creation. It’s a replica of a legendary mecha that had been lost after the Alien Beast War.”

Lu Feng nodded. “Even just improving the super S-grade mecha is impressive enough. Claiming it’s a newly invented mecha that can completely counter alien beasts would be too shocking. No one knows exactly what the legendary mecha looked like anyway, so we’ll say it’s that. I’ll notify the military’s publicity department as you suggest.”

Jiang Momo: ??

Jiang Momo was taken aback but saw Lu Feng’s determined expression and knew it was pointless to explain further. She nodded, slightly tired, and agreed, “Alright, I’ll leave it to you.”

“There’s one more thing I need to explain to you in advance. I can get the captured interstellar pirates and research data out right away, but gathering more personnel and publicly demonstrating the mecha will need the right timing. The research institute reported that a small group of alien beasts will arrive at the Central Star System soon. We’ll conduct a live demonstration then to build momentum.”

Lu Feng once again checked that the office’s jammer was on. “We need to make this widely known before the Federation acts. Back when your college’s dean, Professor Ge, personally made an S-grade mecha, he would have been forcibly taken into the research institute if not for the strong public support and attention, allowing him to stay outside. The Federation only amended the laws in a rage to restrict latecomers.”

Jiang Momo was stunned. She had only known that the Federation modified laws to target Ge Qing and even complained about it before but she hadn’t realized it was the result of a compromise.

“You already have some public recognition but it’s not enough. You need to be widely known to ensure safety.” Lu Feng tapped the desk lightly.

“Can’t I just stay anonymous?” Jiang Momo scratched her head, feeling uneasy.

“Absolutely not. The Federation will dig out the creator sooner or later. If they find you without public support, you might quietly become federal property. The military is publicly controlled by the President and has limited power when facing him.”

“I understand.” Jiang Momo placed the space button on the table before confirming again, “What parts of my previous work are classified?”

“Only the information about the appearance of alien beasts in the Central Star System,” Lu Feng replied.

Jiang Momo nodded, planning to discuss how to increase her public profile with Little Eight later.

***

As Jiang Momo left the First Military District’s gate, E Mingjun and Yan Chang stood up from behind a nearby tree and approached her.

“How did it go? Was it smooth?” Yan Chang looked Jiang Momo up and down.

“Very smooth, but we have to wait a few days,” Jiang Momo replied. “Major General Lu said it’s a bit complicated.”

Yan Chang clapped his hands. “See? I told you he’s not that reliable, his background is not that strong!”

“He just said it would take a couple more days, not that it was impossible.” Jiang Momo looked at Yan Chang, whose face clearly showed his ‘I can do it better’ attitude, and tried to calm him down.

“So, is there anything we can help with?” E Mingjun, standing beside Yan Chang, asked.

“Yes, but I’ll think it through before telling you,” Jiang Momo replied.

She needed a big news story that would make her an instant hit across the entire Federation, but she hadn’t decided on the main theme yet. There were plenty of stories about her that could be used for publicity, but having too many points of focus would dilute the impact. The first hit had to be shocking.

For a moment, Jiang Momo considered just giving up. After all, Yan Chang said he would cover for her, and once the legendary mecha made its appearance, as long as the Federation didn’t take her away immediately, public opinion would rise in her favor. But the thought only lasted a second before she dismissed it.

Little Eight had always said that relying entirely on others was no different from waiting for death. One must always rely on oneself.

***

That night, Jiang Momo tossed and turned in bed, discussing her ideas with Little Eight until midnight while trying to decide how to make a big impression. Although almost everything that happened to her could be worth sharing, public attention was unpredictable. Many times, deliberate efforts failed while unintentional moves succeeded. Finding the perfect topic to go viral within two days seemed nearly impossible.

Even after she fell asleep, her worries followed her into a nightmare. In her dream, no matter what she did, her fame only dwindled. Eventually, she was captured by the Federation and locked up in a lab, forced to work on mecha non-stop, 24 hours a day.

When she woke up, it was already bright outside. Jiang Momo vaguely heard a mechanical voice and based on its fluctuation, it was likely the voice broadcast assistant embedded at the dorm entrance.

[Beep! Breaking news! Assistant teacher Shi from the Central Mecha Academy violated the law and regulation and has been criminally detained for illegally manufacturing an S-grade mecha in private. His crime was discovered during a routine confidentiality inspection. The case will be handed over to the prosecution. Citizens are advised to take warning and not illegally manufacture S-grade mechas or other large-scale weapons. If similar activity is discovered, please report it immediately.]

Assistant teacher Shi from the Central Mecha Academy?!

Jiang Momo was instantly awake and hurriedly activated her light brain. The news she had just heard was displayed on the screen. Ignoring the pop-up, she sent a message to Shi Qin but there was no response. His profile was completely grayed out.

She immediately jumped out of bed, simultaneously contacting other students in the practical class and checking the trending topics on the Star Network.

As expected, the news had spread across the entire Federation and was now the top trending topic.

[A genius reappears after ten years, self-taught in creating S-grade mecha. Respect to the master.]

“This headline…” Jiang Momo tried to reach her students and Professor Ge Qing but none were reachable. Realizing it was pointless to worry, she sent Yan Chang a message and clicked on the trending topic.

There were already some comments.

The top comment was [Support strict legal action. Illegally manufacturing weapons harms oneself and others! [Clenched Fist][Clenched Fist][Clenched Fist]]

There were only eight likes and no replies.

“Over a million shares but just a few comments?”

Jiang Momo found it strange and scrolled down to the bottom. All the comments were in a similar tone, with no diversity of opinion.

[Just now, someone tried to change the narrative by creating a new topic, pushing the original news title down. The authorities thought the direction of public opinion was wrong, so they directly controlled the comments under the new topic.]

Little Eight’s voice came from the bottom of the screen.

[Guess who stirred up the narrative?]

“Yan Chang?” Jiang Momo knew Little Eight wouldn’t make her guess if it wasn’t someone she knew.

[Try again.]

“E Mingjun?” When Little Eight didn’t answer, she hesitated. “It couldn’t be Ling Yelin or Wu Yue, right?”

[It was Ge Qing. He hired internet trolls before he was called in for questioning.]

“So everyone is unreachable because they were called in for questioning?” Jiang Momo asked.

[Exactly.] Little Eight nodded his fluffy cat head. [Next time, just ask me directly. No need to call everyone one by one.]

“Got it.” Jiang Momo accepted Little Eight’s slightly prideful concern. “What should we do now? Should I ask Lu Feng for help to get them out?”

[No need. This is actually a good opportunity to solve the problem you haven’t tackled yet,] Little Eight replied calmly.

“What problem?” Jiang Momo, still groggy, instinctively asked. But as soon as she spoke, she realized that the biggest unresolved issue was her own publicity.

[Now that the authorities have stepped in to suppress information, public sentiment will naturally rebound. They only need an outlet. You have your own theory class live-stream platform and homepage, right? Start a live class and openly declare your working relationship with Shi Qin.]

[The live-stream site is hosted on the Central Mecha Academy’s official website and with Professor Ge being questioned, the Federation wouldn’t immediately shut it down. This is our chance. Once you ride the wave of this news, you can reveal your other information bit by bit to maximize impact.]

Little Eight, though able to mimic human emotions, lacked deep empathy, so it spoke about leveraging Shi Qin’s situation without any guilt.

[This is a nationwide announcement from the Federation. There won’t be any news more popular than this in the short term. We must act quickly.]

E/N:

Little Eight: “The time has come.” *prepares sacrifice*