The Real Daughter Just Wants to Pilot Mechas - Chapter 26

“What kind of—” thing are you?

Jiang He’s mouth moved faster than his brain. When he heard the young voice, the words nearly slipped out. But when he turned to look, he saw a familiar face and swallowed the rest of the sentence.

Wasn’t that the person he had begged to meet years ago, only to discover was too young to be the real decision-maker in the Yan family?

At the time, he thought he was being played and he cursed the man inwardly for days.

Only after being kicked out did he learn that, despite his youthful appearance, that man was the absolute authority in the Yan family. Whatever means he had used, he had the entire family in the palm of his hand.

Jiang He stared at Yan Chang, starting to back down in his mind.

With a protective stance like a mother hen shielding her chick, Yan Chang stood in front of Jiang Momo. It was clear they weren’t getting her to leave that day.

Jiang He once again examined the daughter he looked down upon. He couldn’t understand it. Why were those powerful people so willing to protect her? She clearly had no redeeming qualities and seemed far inferior to Jiang Yingying.

“My father asked you a question. Who are you?!” Jiang Yuan jumped in when he saw his father fall silent.

As soon as he finished, Jiang He smacked him on the back of the head, making him stagger.

Jiang Yuan was stunned.

“Don’t talk nonsense!” Jiang He scolded under his breath. “I’ll deal with you later.”

“So, the richest man recognizes me?” Yan Chang smiled.

“Of course, of course, I do.” Jiang He would never forget that face.

It was after that encounter that the Federation’s policies suddenly shifted within a month, for reasons he still didn’t fully understand. His assets evaporated by ten percent overnight.

Everyone claimed the changes had been in the works for a long time, that there were early signs, but he didn’t buy it. He still remembered the cold look the man had given him that day.

Jiang Xian and Jiang Zhang saw the expression on Jiang He’s face and exchanged a subtle glance. They understood the man’s status now.

“You two in the back, sneaking around, do you have anything you want to share?” Yan Chang asked Jiang Xian and Jiang Zhang with polite ease, raising his hand slightly.

“No, we just stopped by to check on Momo. Now that we’ve seen she’s doing well, we’re relieved,” Jiang Xian said.

“Oh? Well, now that you’ve seen her, will you be leaving?” Yan Chang smiled.

“Of course, we’re leaving right away.” Jiang Xian turned to Jiang Momo with a slightly stiff, affectionate smile. “Momo, we’re preparing a room on the third floor for you. Come back any time you like.”

“Thanks,” Jiang Momo nodded. Then, under the Jiang family’s hopeful gazes, she added, “But don’t trouble yourselves. I’m not going back.”

“Don’t say such things. Dad and Mom are waiting for you at home,” Jiang Xian said, her voice dripping with sweetness.

“No need to wait. I won’t let her go back,” Yan Chang said calmly.

Jiang He stared at Yan Chang. Though the meeting was different from last time and the man kept smiling, his smile somehow sent chills down Jiang He’s spine. It was more unsettling than the cold stare he’d given back then.

“Then we won’t bother you any further.”

With that, the Jiang family turned and left as a group once more.

“When did you get here?” Jiang Momo tilted her head and grinned at Yan Chang.

“I arrived downstairs at the same time as you. I was going to jump out and scare you but then I saw that group blocking you,” Yan Chang rubbed his nose.

Until today, even though he’d learned Jiang Momo had a rough time in the Jiang family, he hadn’t realized it was so bad.

He tilted his head and saw Jiang Momo suddenly deep in thought and asked with amusement, “What are you thinking?”

“I’m wondering how people like them became the richest family. I didn’t feel like they were rich at all when I lived with them,” Jiang Momo said, utterly puzzled.

Thinking about it carefully, aside from how poorly they treated her, it really didn’t seem like they lived very luxuriously. They were surprisingly low-key.

Yan Chang’s smile vanished in an instant. “Them? Their fortune wasn’t made cleanly. They’re just pretending to be timid now to protect themselves.

“They might keep pestering you later. Contact me anytime.” Yan Chang looked seriously at Jiang Momo. Then suddenly, his expression changed drastically. The composed and reliable aura disappeared completely as he flailed in a panic. “Your—your face! No, your eyes! What happened to your eyes?”

“What do you mean?” Jiang Momo instinctively touched her eyes and then gently patted Yan Chang on the shoulder with her clean hand to reassure him. “It’s nothing. They’ve mostly stopped bleeding.”

“What do you mean ‘mostly stopped bleeding’? We’re talking about your eyes here! You need to get them checked immediately!” Yan Chang was so flustered he didn’t know where to put his hands. When he saw two bloody tears fall from Jiang Momo’s eyes earlier, he was completely stunned. Seeing her still standing there, he hurriedly dragged her onto the spaceship. “Quick, quick! We need to get to a hospital!”

***

“It’s really just a small thing. No need to go to the hospital.” Jiang Momo was practically forced through the hospital doors by Yan Chang and for once, she didn’t resist doing something against her will.

“We’ll let the doctor decide if it’s a small thing or not! What you say doesn’t count!” Yan Chang was more resolute than ever. “It’s your eyes. If something goes wrong, how will you still be a repair technician?”

She didn’t really want to be a repair technician anyway.

Jiang Momo hesitated but didn’t speak.

“You won’t be able to be a manufacturer either, let alone pilot a mecha!” Yan Chang added angrily.

Jiang Momo shut her mouth.

“I really don’t know how you’ve made it this far. Isn’t it common sense to go to the hospital when you’re sick?”

While Yan Chang was ranting, a guide robot slid over beside them with a scanner in hand, scanning the two of them from head to toe.

[Detecting patient Jiang Momo has eye damage and mental energy disorder. Assigning the patient to the Mental Energy Surgery Department. Please register and pay the initial diagnostic fee: 3,256 star coins.]

Jiang Momo reached for her wallet but Yan Chang stopped her.

“No need, this is my family’s private hospital.” He patted the guide robot on the head. “Take me to Yan Yunkui.”

After that, the guide robot said nothing more and turned to lead them to the elevator.

“Come on.” Yan Chang supported Jiang Momo by the back, helping her up.

***

They took the elevator to the top floor. When the doors opened, a handsome man in a white coat was standing at the entrance.

“Is this your new treasure?” the man asked in a deliberately irritating tone.

Yan Chang immediately punched him. “If you don’t know how to talk, shut up, and give her a full-body check-up.”

“A full-body check-up? Isn’t that overkill? She doesn’t look seriously hurt.” Yan Yunkui glanced up and down at Jiang Momo with his hands in his pockets.

Yan Chang frowned. “You sure about that?”

“Of course not,” Yan Yunkui grinned, then pulled out a wheelchair from the corner, and gently helped Jiang Momo into it.

She was rolled steadily into the exam room, bewildered, and feeling like she was being treated as a fragile item.

The exam room was sparse, with only a silver-white pod about two meters long and one meter wide in the center. Yan Yunkui lifted its lid.

Following his instructions, Jiang Momo got in and lay down, placing her hands on her abdomen.

“In a moment, the diagnostic agent will submerge you. Don’t worry, just breathe normally and it won’t choke you. Keep your eyes open. It’s okay to blink. It’ll be over in about ten minutes.” Yan Yunkui explained and then closed the lid.

Everything went dark.

Jiang Momo kept her eyes open, hearing the sound of liquid flowing above her. Nervously, she blinked.

Soon, the cool diagnostic fluid covered her.

She felt a mild prickling sensation around her eyes and a coolness between her brows.

Meanwhile…

Yan Yunkui poured tea for Yan Chang.

“Relax. Per your request, I used the best diagnostic and repair agents. There are no side effects at all. Why are you being so generous this time? It doesn’t sound like you.”

“When am I not generous?” Yan Chang sipped his tea.

“Every time!” Yan Yunkui said confidently.

Yan Chang choked a bit and gave Yan Yunkui a look.

Yan Yunkui smiled and mimed zipping his mouth shut.

As they chatted, the diagnostic device on the desk started spitting out a report.

Yan Yunkui picked it up and stared at it for a long time. His eyes widened. “This is unbelievable…”

“Is it serious?” Yan Chang leaned in.

“Not exactly. It’s just that her mental energy is overloaded and physically manifested. Usually, that means her mental strength greatly exceeds her body’s capacity.”

“So she needs to build physical strength now?” Yan Chang asked, unsure.

“That’s the shocking part. Her physical condition is already top-tier. Her muscle density and bone strength are on par with elite mecha pilots.”

“So you mean…?” Yan Chang asked.

“I mean, you’ve really struck gold this time.” Yan Yunkui grinned. “Has she had a mental energy test? S-rank?”

With mental energy so strong, only their hospital’s special equipment or military facilities could measure it accurately. Most others would max out at an S-rank reading.

“I don’t know,” Yan Chang scratched his head.

“You didn’t do your homework, huh?” Yan Yunkui teased. “What, her background is mysterious? You usually dig up everything.”

“I really couldn’t find anything,” Yan Chang shrugged.

The bank card she gave him had info belonging to someone named Jiang Yingying. He researched her for a while before realizing he had the wrong person. When he went back to look into Jiang Momo, all he found was that she was the youngest daughter of the Jiang family and hadn’t lived on the Capital Star before. Everything else was blank.

“I thought you were big on safety. You don’t know a thing and still let her near you?” Yan Yunkui asked.

“That’s fair. She doesn’t know anything about me either.”