The Real Daughter Just Wants to Pilot Mechas - Chapter 25

“Thank you, Professor Ge.”

When Jiang Momo heard Ge Qing say ‘not even one,’ she felt something was off. She didn’t see herself as some once-in-a-lifetime prodigy. The fact that not a single person like that had appeared in the Federation after so many years seemed like something worth serious thought.

“No need to be so polite,” Ge Qing smiled. “If you have any other questions, feel free to ask me anytime.”

Jiang Momo rubbed her head. She actually did have a question.

“Professor Ge, although I can see them now, I’m still not really sure how the mental energy appeared. And I don’t think I can control it. I can’t seem to turn it off.”

“Usually, when mental energy appears for the first time, it stays active until it’s fully depleted. After that, you’ll be able to feel its presence with your awareness. It’s like a breeze at the center of your forehead,” Ge Qing said, pointing to his brow. “If you keep it active consciously, you’ll go into a state of overuse. With long-term practice to stretch out that limit, your mental energy will grow.”

“I got it. Thank you,” Jiang Momo said sincerely. “Professor Ge, would it be okay if I add you as a contact? That way I can ask you more questions later.”

Her foundation was still weak and asking dumb questions now would waste the opportunity. It was better to get Little Eight out safely and study with it first, then come back with better questions.

“No need to talk about teaching. I only happened to learn a bit earlier than you. You’ll find out everything eventually too.” Ge Qing reached out and bumped her hand lightly.

Her light brain flashed.

Jiang Momo assumed that meant the contact was added successfully and didn’t open it to check.

“Alright, looks like this old guy can’t help you much for now. I look forward to seeing you at the academy so we can continue our discussions on mecha manufacturing.” Ge Qing gently patted Jiang Momo’s shoulder, like a kindly elder.

“Okay, Professor Ge. See you at the academy!” she said cheerfully.

After seeing Ge Qing off, Jiang Momo turned and walked to the front desk, asking the receptionist to take her to the warehouse to select materials.

It was still early and she wanted to fix Yan Chang’s mecha while her eyes could still see the energy pathways.

***

Inside the material warehouse, various mecha materials and components were neatly organized by function and part type.

Jiang Momo followed the receptionist in. At a glance, she could clearly see the energy pathways on each material.

“Miss Jiang, you can look around here and take whatever materials you want. The machine at the door will automatically calculate your total. I’ll leave you to it,” the receptionist said, opening the door for her and leaving without concern.

If it were anyone else, he might have needed to supervise. But with Jiang Momo, he had complete trust.

Their order system required the account to have enough funds to cover triple the price in case of damages. He had seen in the system that Jiang Momo’s light brain was linked to an unlimited credit card.

Once the door closed behind her, Jiang Momo scanned the warehouse.

It was massive and she couldn’t even see the end. From the entrance, her gaze swept inward and the number of visible components increased rapidly.

Then suddenly, her eyes throbbed with pain. She quickly shut them, feeling like tears were being forced out.

She wiped them away and opened her eyes again, only for her vision to return to normal.

Alas, she had only managed to spot three of the needed components. Looks like she’d have to keep searching for the others.

Thinking of that, Jiang Momo headed toward the areas she hadn’t checked yet.

As she walked, something felt off.

Why was she still tearing up?

She raised her hand to wipe again, only to realize it wasn’t tears on her fingertips. It was blood.

“So this is overuse, huh?” Jiang Momo casually wiped her face with her sleeve, glanced around and seeing that aside from some blurry vision she had no other symptoms, she relaxed. “Looks like I’ll need to find time later to test my current limits.”

Using both hands to cup her face so the blood wouldn’t drip and cause trouble for the cleaning staff, she also directed the three skeletal parts she had identified earlier to be carried by a transport robot.

The pain in her eyes gradually subsided.

Jiang Momo blinked a few times. Once she confirmed no more ‘tears’ were falling, she lowered her hands and wiped them off casually on the hem of her dress.

She remembered that the upper floors of the Mecha Maintenance Center were clothing stores. She’d go buy a new outfit to change into afterward.

Thinking as she walked, Jiang Momo didn’t slow down. Starting from where she had last stopped scanning, she picked up materials one by one to check for proper port placement.

“Finding the ports really is much easier with direct sight.” Jiang Momo tapped along the edges of a material she had just picked up. After confirming it wouldn’t fit with the forearm she made or Yan Chang’s mecha main body, she regretfully set it down.

In her plan, if things went smoothly, she only needed to replace the ring between the forearm and the main mecha arm to connect the three pathways to the main one. If not, she’d need to replace two more rings to make them fit.

She didn’t have much spare cash to buy parts. Skeletal materials were far more expensive than outer shell panels.

Jiang Momo picked through the warehouse for three hours before finally heading out with a few chosen materials.

At the door, the wall-mounted scanner swept her from head to toe and started beeping.

[Detection complete. 4 pieces of mecha shell paneling selected: 1,621 star coins. 1 mecha joint skeletal part selected: 6,243 star coins. Total: 7,864 star coins. Please proceed to payment.]

Jiang Momo held out her wrist.

[Payment complete. Best of luck with your repairs.]

The door opened, revealing the empty area outside.

The warehouse was in a remote location. Jiang Momo looked both ways before slipping along the wall back to the repair room.

***

Jiang Momo placed the materials she had carried out onto the floor of the repair room and squatted down in a great mood to start engraving the energy pathways.

“These materials only cost a tenth of what they go for online on the floating island. Amazing.”

Saving money was earning money. Jiang Momo finished drawing all the energy pathways in one go, then summoned Yan Chang’s mecha and removed the damaged forearm and the materials she planned to replace.

This time, she intended to install it herself. After observing the assistant repair robots’ technique earlier, she felt it was a bit too rough. If the installation was unstable and the three pathways didn’t all connect to the main one, any pathway without energy contact would render the materials useless.

She carefully assembled the mecha, confirmed all three pathways were fully connected, and patted the nearby assistant repair robot which was spinning around in frustration from having its job taken. “I’m leaving now, see you next time.”

***

Jiang Momo left the Mecha Maintenance Center and bought two sets of basic black tank tops and cargo pants from a clothing store upstairs. Then she threw the white dress she had worn from the Jiang family into a trash can. Noticing a promotion at a hair salon, she dashed in to trim her overgrown bangs and happily headed toward the floating island’s sky ladder.

That day, she secured a relatively stable job, gained an unprecedented ability, and made a kind and friendly new friend (Ge Qing). Everything was wonderful! If Little Eight were there right now, she’d definitely be showing off to it!

As she walked, Jiang Momo opened her light brain which she hadn’t checked in a long time.

As soon as it booted up, a message popped up.

It was from Yan Chang, sent around the time she had added Ge Qing as a friend.

[The Federation’s Strongest Mecha Pilot]: How did Master rest? Are you awake?

[The Federation’s Strongest Mecha Pilot]: Message me when you wake up! I’ll come find you! I discovered an amazing new restaurant!

Jiang Momo looked at the message and typed a reply with a slight movement of her finger.

[Jiang Momo]: I’m awake. Where are we eating? My treat.

After checking her account balance, she closed the light brain with satisfaction. She had a little money now. Before, she had been freeloading off E Mingjun and Yan Chang but now she could finally treat them.

Thinking of E Mingjun, Jiang Momo reopened her light brain to check. The friend request she had sent him earlier still hadn’t been accepted.

“He’s probably busy. I’ll treat him separately next time.”

[The Federation’s Strongest Mecha Pilot]: Got it. I’m on my way.

[Jiang Momo]: I’ll wait for you at the apartment. Hurry up, I’m starving.

***

Jiang Momo’s good mood lasted right up until she arrived at the apartment entrance.

Just before she could enter the apartment building, Jiang Yuan rushed out from a nearby corner where he’d been waiting. Then, Jiang He, Jiang Zhang, Jiang Xian, and Jiang Yingying walked out slowly, blocking her path upstairs.

Jiang Momo was wearing light-colored cargo pants. When she changed earlier, her eyes had bled a bit and a small smudge ended up on her pants, although it wasn’t too noticeable.

“Where’d you get that filthy thing? You look terrible,” Jiang He scanned her up and down with a critical gaze. “Is that blood on you?”

Jiang Momo looked up at the man she was meeting for the first time. Somehow, she sensed the man was the so-called elusive father she’d only heard about.

He didn’t look young. Time had left its mark on his face, with deep lines under his eyes. He looked a bit aged and serious. He probably had a tough youth.

“I have a minor injury. It’s nothing serious,” Jiang Momo replied honestly.

“A girl acting so carelessly, what kind of behavior is that? How did it happen?” Jiang He said. “Yingying has never behaved like this.”

Jiang Momo took a deep breath, absurdly thinking that she was actually lucky not to have grown up in the Jiang family. “If Yingying is so wonderful, why are you looking for me? Trying to use me to get close to Ling Yelin?”

“You should show some respect. How can you refer to him by his full name like that?!” Jiang He scolded sternly. Then, after a pause, he asked, “When is he coming?”

Jiang Momo didn’t want to deal with them and said nothing. Her eyes were starting to ache again.

“And what’s with those cheap clothes? Ling Yelin’s so rich and he still lets you wear this garbage?” Jiang He glanced at her clothes with clear disdain. “At least in the Jiang family, we had new clothes custom-made for you regularly.”

Jiang Momo laughed in disbelief. “Hah, don’t flatter yourselves. I couldn’t even get a proper meal in your house.”

“That’s because you didn’t behave properly. Do you think your mother would mistreat you for no reason?” Jiang He replied.

“Right, you’d never do that. You’d spend half a million on a dog, so generous. How could you possibly mistreat me?” Jiang Momo smiled coldly.

“Where did you hear that from?!” Jiang He immediately exploded in anger.

That was a sore spot for him. He hadn’t even told his own family.

Back then, in order to build connections with the Yan family, he had trusted the wrong people from their extended branch. In two months, he spent almost thirty million. He thought that even if he couldn’t secure a noble status, it would pave the way for Jiang Yuan’s political future. The Yan family had deep roots in politics and a word from them could open all kinds of doors.

But when he finally met the Yan family’s key figure, he learned that person was a completely marginal side-branch member and the money was gone.

Jiang He took a deep breath. “Don’t provoke me. When exactly is Ling Yelin coming?”

“He’s not coming. If you have something to say, talk to me.” Yan Chang walked over and stood beside Jiang Momo.