The Real Daughter Just Wants to Pilot Mechas - Chapter 22

“Seven figures?!” Jiang Momo silently counted on her fingers for a while before understanding, her expression blank. She felt like she’d just been stabbed. “And I only get three thousand?”

Yan Chang sat up awkwardly and, without thinking, added salt to her wound. “Yeah, it’s ridiculous. They post a missing person notice offering just three thousand and stick it on the floating island. What a joke! Like running around naked on a grindstone, embarrassing!”

Jiang Momo didn’t respond. She felt like she’d just been struck by lightning.

Why does it feel like money suddenly lost its value after just one trip out?

“Hey, Master, we’ve arrived.” Yan Chang looked at the scene outside as their position changed from midair to the surface of a floating island and casually snapped his fingers.

The inside of the spaceship returned to its original appearance.

“This is Apartment Building 3221 on Floating Island 76.” Yan Chang stepped off the spaceship with Jiang Momo whose eyes were blank and pointed to the building while tilting his head back. “This building has ten floors. The top floor is yours. Bear with it for now, make do, and stay here.”

“Thank you.” Jiang Momo took a few steps and noticed that Yan Chang hadn’t followed. She turned around and waved to him. “Aren’t you coming?”

Jiang Momo didn’t think much of it when she said that. She had assumed Yan Chang invited her to stay as a sort of roommate deal as Little Eight had previously mentioned, and she had been thinking about cooking to offset the rent.

She was confident in her combat abilities and wasn’t worried about anyone having bad intentions. She had lived on a planet with alien beasts before with no problem, adding one person was nothing.

“It’s so late, why would I go up there? Here’s the key. It’s the only copy. Once you open the door, record your information and then you won’t need to carry it anymore.” Yan Chang pulled the key from his pocket and handed it to her. “Stay safe. I’ll wait down here. After you go in, wave to me from the window and I’ll leave.”

“Ah, thank you.” Jiang Momo accepted the key, scratched her face a bit awkwardly and said, “If anything happens with your mecha later, feel free to come to me.”

“I’ve been waiting for you to say that, Master! My mecha needs fixing right now!” Yan Chang’s eyes lit up and he quickly pulled the mecha storage device from around his neck and handed it to her like he had just found a savior. “I didn’t know how to ask! A top-notch mecha maintenance master like you must be fully booked. Sorry to trouble you! How long will it take to fix?”

“Is the damage serious?” Jiang Momo asked.

If not, she could sleep on it and have it done before noon tomorrow.

“Very serious. The forearm bone structure in the right arm is completely shattered, so it needs to be replaced,” Yan Chang said.

Jiang Momo nodded. “Got it.”

***

After entering the apartment, Jiang Momo placed the key in the reader. A beam of light extended from the lock and scanned her from head to toe.

A young mechanical voice spoke, [Information recorded. Smart assistant Qiqi at your service~ Please enter.]

With a soft click, the door opened slightly from within, revealing a pitch-black space.

The next second, all the lights in the room turned on, flooding it with brightness.

The first thing that caught her eye was a huge floor-to-ceiling window across from the door and several mechanical arms curled up on the ceiling.

As Jiang Momo observed, a mechanical arm near the door opened the shoe cabinet and retrieved a pair of soft-looking slippers, placing them in front of her.

Meanwhile, another arm in the living room had already poured her a glass of water and handed it over.

Jiang Momo changed shoes and walked straight to the window. From there, she saw Yan Chang leaning wearily against the garden fence under a bright streetlight. The lights reflected off his red hair like fire. Maybe he noticed her because he suddenly stood up straight and waved enthusiastically at her, his movements full of youthful energy.

As Jiang Momo stared down at him, suddenly Yan Chang’s face appeared on the glass window, magnified.

He had a dazzling smile, with four dimples at the corners of his mouth, and sparkling round puppy-dog eyes. With the zoom, she could even see the fine fuzz on his face.

[Detecting the resident observing the outside view. Image enhancement applied. Would you like to keep this function?]

“Keep it,” Jiang Momo said, stepping back slightly.

[Function retained.]

With her head slightly raised, Jiang Momo stared into Yan Chang’s magnified eyes and for a moment, she felt like his gaze was incredibly clear, like she could see all the way to the bottom.

As she watched, her light brain blinked a few times.

[The Federation’s Strongest Mecha Pilot]: Get some rest. I’m heading off. Everything in the room was prepared for you. Use whatever you like.

[Jiang Momo]: Thank you.

Jiang Momo couldn’t quite describe her feelings at that moment, so she typed a simple, serious reply. Then, after thinking a bit more, she added more.

[Jiang Momo]: I’ll repair your mecha as soon as I can.

[The Federation’s Strongest Mecha Pilot]: No rush, Master. Get some rest first. I’m not in a hurry.

Yan Chang’s figure soon disappeared from downstairs.

Jiang Momo watched his spaceship disappear into the distance before stepping away from the window.

She wandered through the overly spacious apartment and found an open area to bring out Yan Chang’s mecha.

Since she definitely wasn’t going to fall asleep, she decided to start the repairs right away.

Of course, before starting, she once again used her light brain to send a friend request to E Mingjun.

It was only after receiving Yan Chang’s message earlier that Jiang Momo realized the new light brain he gave her had only one contact left, Yan Chang’s.

“Good thing I still remember E Mingjun’s code,” Jiang Momo murmured as she entered the numbers from memory.

She felt good now. It felt like her life was finally back on track.

Just then, her light brain dinged. An email came in. She checked the sender but it was completely blank. No traceable information.

Jiang Momo hesitated for a while but eventually opened it. Inside were a few lines of text and a video.

[I remember showing you a photo of Yan Chang before. I don’t think you’d forget. So I won’t bother telling you to stay away from him. I’m sending you this surveillance footage, what you do with it is up to you. I’ll support you unconditionally. I’ve checked your new light brain. It’s clean. Use it without worry.]

That tone…

It sounded like Little Eight!

Jiang Momo got excited and was about to reply, only to realize she couldn’t, since there was no sender information.

She thought for a moment and opened the video.

The footage showed the entrance to the Central Mecha Academy where Yan Chang and Ling Yelin were facing off. In the video, Yan Chang had his head held high and one hand braced on the gate, blocking Ling Yelin from entering. His attitude was casual.

“Well, what brings you wandering around today?” Yan Chang asked.

“That’s none of your business,” Ling Yelin said with a glance.

Yan Chang pulled up a photo of Jiang Momo on his light brain and smiled. “It is my business. And unfortunately for you, you’re too late.”

“How did you find her?” Ling Yelin asked, clearly surprised Yan Chang had also been looking for Jiang Momo.

“Same as you. Surveillance,” Yan Chang pointed at the sky, “Plus a tracker.”

“We’re not the same. I didn’t use a tracker,” Ling Yelin said.

“You mean you didn’t give her one?” Yan Chang sneered. “We both know what kind of people we are. Don’t act all innocent. I found her first. And you’re not getting through this gate today. Go back.”

The video ended there.

Jiang Momo had never seen Yan Chang act so aggressively. She was about to watch it again but the email had already disappeared.

“The email’s gone?” Jiang Momo searched her light brain thoroughly but couldn’t find a single trace. She gave up.

“Of course I remember Yan Chang,” she said, sitting cross-legged and muttering to her light brain.

Yan Chang and Ling Yelin had both been in the noble profiles Little Eight showed her back then and the info had been detailed. How could she forget? But the strange thing was those files never mentioned that Yan Chang had an older brother.

“Little Eight’s info came from the internet. It’s normal for there to be some discrepancies with real life,” Jiang Momo reasoned with herself and turned her focus back to repairing the mecha.

Yes, even after watching the video, Jiang Momo didn’t change her view of Yan Chang.

People naturally try to get close to things that benefit them, that’s normal. When she got residency on the Capital Star, she’d done the same thing. No big deal.

Besides, she figured the only connection between her and Yan Chang at the time was Jiang Yingying’s bank card. She had already left it at the Jiang family’s house after transferring the money out. It had no real impact on her now.

The huge mecha had already appeared in the open space and Jiang Momo was surprised to find it fit the space perfectly.

“The dimensions were planned just right,” she murmured, closing her eyes and checking inside the mecha storage. It was empty. “No spare parts? Guess I’ll go buy some in the morning.”

After all, she had accepted so many of Yan Chang’s favors already, so fixing a mecha and buying a few parts was no big deal.

She circled the large mecha twice and confirmed that Yan Chang hadn’t lied. Only the mecha’s arm was damaged. But strangely, aside from the arm, there wasn’t a single scratch elsewhere.

Had he gotten blasted by a cannon before the fight even started?

Jiang Momo pinched her chin and thought for a while, then directed the mechanical arm above to remove the mecha’s arm.

If it were the old her, she would’ve just done it all by hand. But after several recent rounds of repairs and manufacturing, she realized all those assistant repair robots were truly a blessing for humanity. They saved so much effort!

If it hadn’t been for the robots when she made the D-grade mecha, she definitely wouldn’t have the energy to do repairs for Yan Chang now.

[Detecting the resident is repairing a mecha. Would you like to purchase parts?]

A large projection screen dropped from the ceiling, displaying all the parts needed for the mecha’s forearm.

Jiang Momo glanced at it and was immediately shocked by the prices. “This is way too expensive.”

[These are all express deliveries within half an hour. Since it’s currently early morning, it’s a bit more expensive.]

“How much cheaper would it be during the day?” Jiang Momo asked directly.

The cheapest part in the projection would cost her at least two months’ worth of pocket money from her family!

If she were to build a mecha using those parts, the cost of the parts alone would be higher than just buying a mecha outright!

[This is a floating island. Prices for all goods are inflated. It’s recommended to buy in person.]

[Reminder: The smart home maintenance features here are high-cost. Please proceed cautiously if funds are insufficient.]

After that line, the mechanical voice even let out a noticeable sigh.

Jiang Momo was full of question marks. What’s going on? Was she just dissed by an AI?