The Real Daughter Just Wants to Pilot Mechas - Chapter 135

When Jiang Momo arrived at the research lab after receiving Lu Feng’s message, she was immediately met with an oppressive atmosphere. The entire room was shrouded in gloom and the researchers looked like their spirits had been completely drained.

“What’s wrong with all of you?” Jiang Momo looked around at the lifeless faces, surprised.

She’d spent a great deal of effort getting the researchers to open up and return to something resembling normal mental states. How had everything fallen apart overnight?

Scarface was sitting on the floor with one hand propping up his face. He sighed. “Leader, what are we gonna do? If the higher-ups find out we made a false report, we’ll be done for!”

“What false report?” Jiang Momo blinked.

Scarface looked shocked. “The one you gave Lu before! That long, impressive-sounding one!”

“I already said this before that it was just a bit of reasonable planning.” Jiang Momo was entirely unbothered.

Scarface’s eyes widened. “The leadership is coming to inspect us this afternoon! How are we supposed to implement this ‘planning’? We haven’t even managed to make two energy cores with identical effects!”

“Why do we need them to be identical? We’ll just pick three energy cores with different properties, build a mecha for each, and tell the leaders those are the high-, mid-, and low-level models,” Jiang Momo said. “And who said mass production must start by defining specifications? We just produce within safe margins and then sort them by strength.”

Scarface’s eyes lit up. “I’ll start picking them out right away!”

“Pick the weakest energy core for the low-level model. We still have to sell the dream to the leadership,” Jiang Momo reminded him.

Scarface didn’t understand what ‘sell the dream’ meant, but that didn’t stop him from carrying out her instructions to the letter. He immediately ran off.

***

That afternoon, Jiang Momo displayed the three completed legendary mechas at the center of the base’s training field and then directed the researchers to line up in two rows behind them.

Scarface fidgeted with his sleeves and whispered, “Leader, isn’t it inappropriate for me and Black Tiger to stand right in the center? We’ve got… special backgrounds.”

“Of course it’s appropriate. You two were the main force behind making these mechas,” Jiang Momo spoke with certainty.

After spending some time with the two former interstellar pirates, she’d realized their emotional states were unusually stable and nothing like the volatile, extreme personalities that stereotypes suggested. As a result, she wasn’t as wary of them as she had been at first.

As they spoke, Lu Feng approached with a large group in tow.

The man being escorted in the center was clearly the President, flanked on both sides by high-ranking marshals. But what caught Jiang Momo off guard was the person standing closest to the President.

“What the hell? Why is that mad dog here?” Scarface hissed.

Jiang Momo narrowed her eyes. “Who are you talking about?”

“The one standing next to the President. A few years ago, before we got caught, he stormed our research lab and caused a scene. I’ve still got a scar from him,” Scarface muttered, frowning at the memory. “He attacked everyone he saw until half the equipment got destroyed. We reported him to the interstellar pirate group for arrest, but a few days later, the military swept through and took down the entire group and our research lab with it.”

Now Jiang Momo was certain that the man was E Mingjun. She looked toward the President and locked eyes with him.

E Mingjun smiled faintly and discreetly greeted her.

“This is the creator of the legendary mechas? So young?” The President walked up to Jiang Momo and, seeing her clearly youthful face, turned to Lu Feng to confirm again.

“Yes, and also the creator of the super S-grade mecha,” Lu Feng replied with confidence.

The President raised his hand. “Don’t mention that super S-grade mecha, the name alone gives me a headache. Congress won’t shut up about punishing the person who made it in secret and those brainless citizens camp out at my residence demanding I release them. I mean seriously, what does that have to do with me? They should go to the High Court. I don’t write the laws, I don’t have judicial authority…”

He rambled on without restraint. No one around him responded, clearly used to his endless chatter.

Jiang Momo kept a standard fake smile on her face, her ears only half-listening to the President’s tangent while signaling to Lu Feng to steer the conversation back on track.

Lu Feng raised a hand slightly, motioning for her to wait.

“These three mechas look like B-grade mechas,” E Mingjun interjected smoothly, stepping in front of Lu Feng without drawing attention.

The President, drawn by E Mingjun’s comment, turned back to the mechas. “Really? I don’t know much about this stuff, so I can’t tell the grades apart. But the report said these legendary mechas are devastating against the alien beasts. I guess they just look like B-grade on the outside.”

“Right. Standard mecha grades are judged mostly by appearance and material quality. The more complex the craftsmanship and the better the texture, the higher the grade,” E Mingjun said.

Jiang Momo added, “The legendary mechas were indeed modified from B-grade mechas, which is what makes them quick and easy to mass-produce.”

“As always, your judgment is flawless,” the President said cheerfully, patting E Mingjun’s shoulder.

It had been the President himself who had reached out to E Mingjun after receiving the military’s report because he immediately recalled the origin of the research project.

He had won his election by a margin of only a fraction of a percent against a highly popular candidate and before even taking office, the entire Federation was already protesting. In truth, there had been some shady dealings. He couldn’t even get within ten kilometers of the Presidential Palace at first.

He was considering forceful suppression… and then E Mingjun had swooped in out of nowhere with concrete evidence of the interstellar pirate group’s human experiments and a high-efficiency combat strategy to eliminate them. That single battle, coupled with media coverage, had transformed him into the most beloved president in Federation history.

But beneath all that prosperity, who could’ve known it was just a result of internal strife among the interstellar pirates?

“There’s another advantage to B-grade mechas,” E Mingjun said.

The President asked, “What’s that?”

“Low pilot skill requirement,” Jiang Momo answered. “Paired with our three levels energy cores, they can be operated by ordinary civilians and still pose a lethal threat to the alien beasts, capable of one-hit kills.”

“Even civilians can pilot them?” E Mingjun asked.

“Yes, very safely. We’ve tested it. As long as the operating time is under ten minutes, there are virtually no serious side effects,” Jiang Momo said. She could tell from the way E Mingjun kept responding that he had grasped her intention and she followed his lead.

“That’s incredibly valuable.” E Mingjun turned to the President. “It’s a golden opportunity to break the research institute’s monopoly on mecha manufacturing. B-grade mechas aren’t difficult to manufacture and more manufacturers could transfer directly to the military.”

The President had been half-lost in the technical discussion, but the moment he heard ‘break the research institute’s monopoly,’ he snapped to attention.

The research institute was under the Congress’s control. Breaking the monopoly would sever the legislature’s check on the military.

“Promote it. We have to promote it,” the President decided immediately. He turned to those beside him and said, “Have the military draft a rollout plan. Separate internal and commercial use. Only release the lowest-level legendary mechas to the public.”

Then he had a sudden idea. “And later, organize competitions under various pretexts to secretly select people who can pilot mid- and high-level legendary mechas for special recruitment.”