The Real Daughter Just Wants to Pilot Mechas - Chapter 134

Jiang Momo still remembered that day clearly.

After much hard training under Little Eight’s guidance, she had finally developed the ability to retreat unscathed from a swarm of alien beasts on her own. She was feeling cocky when she ran into a seemingly ‘stray’ alien beast. Excited, and judging from its outward appearance that it wasn’t very strong, she charged straight in.

But before she could even make contact, she suddenly felt a wave of weakness wash over her. The alien beast opened its mouth and spat out a massive ball of energy that exploded right in front of her. If it hadn’t been for Little Eight’s quick intervention, her head might’ve been blown clean off.

Looking back now, Jiang Momo realized that the alien beast probably hadn’t been alone. It most likely had a unique constitution that drained the energy of its own kind, which meant it couldn’t stay too close to other alien beasts.

With that thought, Jiang Momo turned on her heel and hurried back to the research lab in just a few steps.

The lab was completely empty now, with only Black Tiger and Scarface remaining, sitting on the ground chatting idly. When they sensed someone entering, they immediately sprang to their feet.

“Leader, you’re back? We were just about to go rest.”

“Not yet.” Jiang Momo stopped them. She walked over to the stack of boxes in the corner and picked one up. “What material are these energy-insulating boxes made of? And how many are left?”

“There are not many left, maybe a few dozen,” Scarface answered quickly. “If you want more, we can call everyone back to make more.”

“Great, then thank you in advance. I need your help with something,” Jiang Momo said without hesitation.

Scarface blinked in surprise. He thought Jiang Momo would refuse since she had just ordered everyone to rest minutes ago. “No problem, we’ll call them back right away!”

***

On Tuesday afternoon, Lu Feng received a message from Jiang Momo that the energy cores had finally been successfully developed and the legendary mecha could finally go into mass production!

Within ten minutes, Lu Feng rushed to the research lab, only to be showered in confetti by an overexcited crowd of researchers.

The researchers hadn’t expected Lu Feng to show up so suddenly and immediately quieted down.

Lu Feng wiped his face, not surprised at all that Jiang Momo could so effortlessly blend in with this bunch. He asked, “What exactly happened? Last I heard, a critical step was still missing.”

“That was true.” Jiang Momo nodded. “But I got inspired at the military’s Medical Center. I extracted a few tubes of blood from an alien beast that could absorb energy and added them to the experiment. It worked immediately. The effect is incredibly strong, though, so we’re still experimenting with the optimal ratio.”

She smiled as she ticked things off on her fingers. “We plan to create mechas of different levels based on this effect. The highest level can absorb energy in large quantities without direct contact and kill the alien beast outright. The mid-level works on contact and also kills. The low-level one needs prolonged contact to drain energy and kill, but it’s less likely to affect teammates.”

Jiang Momo rambled on energetically, only realizing afterward that Lu Feng was staring at her blankly, not really listening. She waved a hand in front of his face. “Lieutenant General Lu? We were thinking of forming an elite corps combining high- and mid-level legendary mechas, while the low-level ones can accompany regular soldiers. What do you think?”

Lu Feng snapped his gaze away from the dazzling glow of the first-class merit medal in front of him and nodded. “I have one question.”

“Go ahead.”

“If we’re going to mass-produce them, how do we obtain enough alien beast blood for the raw materials?” Lu Feng asked.

Jiang Momo pulled up a photo from her light brain and sent it to Lu Feng, then pointed to an exoskeleton mecha and syringe in the corner. “When you encounter this species of alien beast on the battlefield, just wear that suit and draw its blood.”

After saying that, she saw Lu Feng in a trance again. She clapped him on the shoulder. “Is that going to be too difficult? If so…” She could go to the desolate planet more often to draw blood. She hadn’t killed that alien beast; she’d just taken its blood and let it go.

Lu Feng shook his head, dazed. “No, it’s just… the progress is so fast it doesn’t feel real.”

They were all human, so why was the gap between people so massive? In just a few months, Jiang Momo had developed a super S-grade mecha and now the legendary mechas could enter mass production. It was unbelievable.

Before meeting her, he actually thought he was exceptionally talented.

He took off his hat to wipe off some dust, put it back on, then removed it again and gripped it in his hand. Suddenly, he turned and marched off. “I’ve got to report this to the higher-ups right away!”

Watching him hurry off, Scarface stepped forward cautiously. “Leader, that thing you said to Lu Feng about high-, mid-, and low-level mecha… when did we develop those?”

They hadn’t even stabilized the quality of the energy cores yet!

Jiang Momo gave him a sidelong glance. “We’ve got enough samples. When the time comes, we’ll pick the best ones. No sense in wasting them.”

That alien beast was so powerful it could drain her energy in an instant. As a material, its blood was overflowing with special active compounds. So although the amount of blood added to each test was about the same, the energy cores produced varied wildly in quality. The strongest one had knocked out an entire research lab full of people the moment it was made.

Luckily, Jiang Momo had just returned from drawing blood and hadn’t taken off her isolation suit yet, so she quickly sealed it in a box. Otherwise, the whole lab would’ve been drained dry.

“So… isn’t this kind of a false report?” Scarface asked nervously.

Jiang Momo placed a steady hand on his shoulder. “What I told Lu Feng was just a reasonable projection. Besides, the reporting process isn’t instant. We’ve got a week or two to lock down the optimal range.”

Scarface still looked uneasy but said nothing more.

***

Two days later, Scarface’s worries came true. Lu Feng came back bursting with excitement and announced that he had already reported to the higher-ups. That very afternoon, the President and a team of military leaders would come to inspect the research lab.

They were to prepare a full report and live demonstration. If results met expectations, everyone in the research lab, except the two former interstellar pirates, would sign new work contracts. Scarface and Black Tiger would be released from custody under community supervision.

The rest of the research team, who hadn’t made any actual progress: “…”

Lu Feng looked around. “What’s wrong? Aren’t you all happy?”