The Real Daughter Just Wants to Pilot Mechas - Chapter 34

Jiang Momo and Jiang Yingying stared at each other for a while.

Then she lowered the index finger of her left hand from her temple. Her movements looked perfectly natural but to Jiang Momo, there was a hint of reluctance in her actions.

What’s on her temple?

Jiang Momo narrowed her eyes and scanned the area Jiang Yingying had just touched. She didn’t see anything special. She immediately summoned the invigilating robot, flipped through its ‘Invigilating Manual,’ and awkwardly marked that pose as ‘of special concern.’

Soon, the invigilating teachers received footage from the robot’s scan.

“What’s going on? She didn’t do anything. Is the robot malfunctioning?” Shou Tao leaned toward Pang Pan and asked, “Did you get the footage?”

“Yeah, the robot says this point of concern was recorded by Jiang Momo. But it doesn’t look like anything special.” Pang Pan casually turned the soundproofing in the exam hall to the max to ensure the other students couldn’t hear them.

He looked toward the other invigilators not far away. Clearly, they’d also received the footage and were similarly puzzled.

“This is ridiculous,” Shou Tao muttered as he closed the pop-up footage window. “Always stirring up trouble…”

Just as he said that, another series of alerts popped up.

“Why are so many students doing that same exact gesture?” Shou Tao suddenly straightened up. “That’s way too much of a coincidence. Could they really be cheating? How did Jiang Momo notice? Does she have different eyes than the rest of us? Can she see things normal people can’t?”

He was still baffled and about to complain to Pang Pan again when he saw the latter walk directly to the nearest ‘suspicious student’ and stop in front of him.

That student was pressing on his temple, pretending to be deep in thought. Suddenly sensing someone nearby, he looked up and saw an invigilator standing over him, arms crossed, staring down.

“Do you have a headache? Are you feeling unwell?” Pang Pan’s voice came from the speaker on his collar.

The student shook his head and somewhat stiffly lowered his hand.

But Pang Pan didn’t leave.

Across the exam room, many students encountered the same situation.

“Teacher Momo, why did you think something was off about them?” Pang Pan’s voice came from the speaker. Jiang Momo instinctively pressed the speaker and noticed that no one else around her seemed to hear the sound.

“Mr. Pang, can I touch the students?” Jiang Momo asked directly.

“According to the exam rules, no,” Pang Pan replied.

“Never mind, then.” Jiang Momo looked a little disappointed. She stared at Jiang Yingying’s temple, itching with curiosity.

Jiang Yingying stared at her exam paper. Seeing that Jiang Momo was determined to sit next to her no matter what, she took a deep breath and began to answer the questions.

Jiang Momo tilted her head, watching her movement. Her gaze gradually shifted to the exam paper. She blinked.

She couldn’t understand a thing. How was it harder than her own written exam?

She subtly scratched her head.

What even was the test? Did it have anything to do with mechas at all? No way anyone could answer it without studying for a dozen years! No wonder the prep class ended up just helping students cheat.

Jiang Momo glanced at Jiang Yingying again. She was clearly struggling, frowning with her pen twitching restlessly.

Feeling Jiang Momo’s stare, Jiang Yingying looked up impatiently and met her gaze.

“What are you looking at? Are you proud of yourself or something?” she mouthed silently.

Jiang Momo smiled and summoned the invigilating robot to issue a warning.

“Talking during the exam. First warning,” Jiang Momo said in an official tone.

Jiang Yingying clenched her pen and looked down furiously.

She had already agreed with her family to study mecha manufacturing. But based on her usual grades, if she applied for that major after the exam, she would definitely be reassigned to a bottom-tier major. That’s why she enrolled in a cram school. She hadn’t expected things to turn out like this.

Time passed quickly and the exam ended.

The robots collected the papers one by one and handed out the major selection forms.

Jiang Momo watched as Jiang Yingying wrote ‘Mecha Manufacturing Department’ on the form, then crossed it out and changed it to ‘Mecha Repair Department’ before handing it to the robot.

“We pick our majors right after the test?” Jiang Momo asked through the speaker.

Shou Tao quickly replied, “Yeah. The academy thinks this method saves time. Once the robots grade the papers, they can assign majors immediately. Classes start tomorrow.”

As Jiang Momo was still processing the system, Jiang Yingying had already stormed out, furious. On the way out, she deliberately bumped Jiang Momo’s shoulder, only to stumble from the impact herself.

“I should’ve never invited you to study with me!” Jiang Yingying snapped, still not realizing what had gone wrong. She was convinced Jiang Momo had targeted her.

She had chosen the safer option of applying for the Mecha Repair Department. But if her grades turned out to be good enough for the Mecha Manufacturing Department, she’d hate Jiang Momo forever. Jiang Momo had ruined her future!

Jiang Momo calmly agreed, “You really shouldn’t have.”

If Jiang Yingying hadn’t invited her, she wouldn’t have found out about the cram school or the cheating plan.

“But how does your cheating method even work?” Jiang Momo reached out and touched Jiang Yingying’s temple. As soon as the invigilator deactivated the shielding device, she activated her mental power.

A glowing dot lit up at Jiang Yingying’s temple.

“Seal the exam hall immediately! Don’t let anyone leave!” Jiang Momo said urgently into the speaker.

“Got it!” Pang Pan responded right away. The exam room doors slammed shut, trapping students already heading for the exit.

All the invigilators quickly gathered around Jiang Momo.

“What’s going on?” Pang Pan was the first to speak.

“She has a mechanical device implanted under the skin at her temple,” Jiang Momo said directly.

Several invigilators frowned.

“If it’s mechanical, the security check would’ve caught it.”

“We stood beside these students for hours and didn’t notice anything.”

“Teacher Momo, we’re aware you have a family connection to this student. Please don’t let personal feelings influence your judgment.”

“We have scanning equipment, right?” Jiang Momo turned to Pang Pan. “I read in the Invigilating Manual that it can be used if the security check alerts or if an invigilator raises concerns.”

“Correct.” Pang Pan fetched the scanner from a cabinet near the entrance.

It was about the size of a palm, resembling a magnifying glass. The entrance scanner detected objects based on wavelengths and only showed rough shapes but this device could see through the surface and reveal the actual object inside.

Jiang Yingying turned to flee but Jiang Momo held her down firmly.

Soon, the scanner was placed near Jiang Yingying’s temple. Under everyone’s gaze, a tiny black dot, no larger than a grain of rice, appeared in the middle of her temple.

The entire hall fell silent.

The students who had been marked as suspicious instinctively moved to the back of the crowd, only to be caught by the robots.

“Send them to the Academic Affairs Office and let the administrators decide how to handle it,” Pang Pan instructed.

Soon, dozens of students were escorted out.

“They’ll probably lose their eligibility this year. Teacher Momo, how did you even notice something was off?” Pang Pan asked, only to realize Jiang Momo had vanished. He turned to the other teachers.

They shrugged, saying they hadn’t seen where she went.

***

Jiang Momo soon arrived at her office, technically, as it was the one she shared with Ge Qing.

After scanning her ID at the door and pushing it open, she was stunned by what she saw.

It was a massive room filled with greenery and had a vibrant and lively atmosphere. Jiang Momo recognized many of the plants since they’d previously appeared on her dinner table.

“Professor Ge has pretty good taste,” Jiang Momo murmured as she looked around, growing increasingly hungry.

Of course, it wasn’t the plants, the spacious office, or even the elegant desk and wall of books that truly stunned her. It was the two scrolls hanging on the wall.

It was her first time seeing the ancient script on the Capital Star. A sense of familiarity welled up inside her.

She stood in place, admiring the scrolls for several minutes, before sitting at the desk with her name on it.

Jiang Momo received her course schedule right after catching Jiang Yingying. Although the classes weren’t assigned to specific groups, the schedule included the subjects and times for the coming week.

She didn’t know how to teach anything yet, so she decided to check out the textbook and prep her lessons.

She picked up the already-prepared ‘Introduction to Mecha Manufacturing’ from the desk and opened the first page.

“Overview of Mecha Manufacturing, Origins of Mecha Manufacturing, Five Basic Concepts of Mecha Manufacturing… What even is this stuff?”

The more Jiang Momo read through the table of contents, the more lost she felt.

“Isn’t mecha manufacturing just a matter of doing it? I remember when we were on the desolate planet, the books Little Eight showed me were full of illustrations. It wasn’t this complicated at all, right?”

Jiang Momo flipped through the book seriously, only to realize that even though she had evolved into a semi-literate person and could recognize most of the characters now, she still couldn’t understand what the book was saying.

“I can recognize every single character, so why can’t I understand it when they’re put together?”

The knowledge just wouldn’t go into her brain. The more Jiang Momo read, the sleepier she got, and soon her eyelids started fighting each other.

Just as she was nodding off with the book in her hands, imitating a pecking chick, Ge Qing came back to work overtime and happened to see the scene. He let out a soft chuckle.

Jiang Momo snapped awake and stood up as soon as she saw him.

“Professor Ge!” she greeted Ge Qing with a smile. “I’m here to prepare for class. I heard I’m teaching tomorrow. It’s way too sudden. I didn’t prepare anything at all!”

“What are you planning to teach tomorrow? I can help you plan it a bit.” Ge Qing walked over to her and picked up the book she was reading.

“I feel like I can’t understand this book, so I definitely won’t teach it well. I was thinking of combining it with my own practical experience to explain how to actually make a mecha,” Jiang Momo said a bit sheepishly.

She felt her lack of education was really holding her back and felt embarrassed in front of Professor Ge.

“Teaching from the textbook is a requirement for teacher evaluations, so you can’t skip it.” Ge Qing handed the book back to her. “I know you skipped through your studies when learning, so for theory classes, just read straight from the book. No students actually pay attention anyway.”

“But I remember students give teachers ratings at the end of every term.” Jiang Momo scratched her face.

Ge Qing smiled and shared his teaching tips, “As long as you don’t take attendance, highlight the key points for the final exam, and give generous daily grades, students will give you high scores.”

“Huh?” Jiang Momo was stunned.

“Our academy is a special field, so we don’t participate in the federation-wide college entrance exams. We do independent recruitment. But actually, the learning atmosphere is pretty much the same as other colleges, so don’t feel too pressured,” Ge Qing reassured her.

Jiang Momo was even more confused. She’d never been to school, so that was how it works?

“I saw on the schedule that I have a practical class too. Do I need to read from the book for that as well?” Jiang Momo asked.

“No, you don’t. That’s a fifth-year class. It’s a graduating class, so you just need to teach them how to build mechas. They’re already learning B-grade mecha manufacturing, which is just what you’re good at,” Ge Qing emphasized. “But there’s one thing to remember, you can’t teach them beyond their level. Don’t let them know about the next stage’s content.”

Jiang Momo tried to understand. “So that means I can only show them how to make mechas with simple energy pathway configurations?”

“Exactly. Otherwise, the Federation will come talk to you.” Ge Qing felt he had made himself clear and began watering the plants nearby, waiting for Jiang Momo to ask about A-grade mecha manufacturing.

According to his agreement with the Federation, he couldn’t teach others proactively. But if someone asked first, he could talk about it a little.

“Oh, I see.” Jiang Momo nodded.

Then the office fell silent for a dozen seconds.

“Any other questions?” Ge Qing hinted.

“Nope.” Jiang Momo thought he was trying to send her away, so she tucked the book into her pocket and bid him farewell. “I’ll go back to the dorm and prep a bit more for class tomorrow. You can get back to your work, professor.”

Ge Qing was a bit disappointed. “Go ahead.”

Jiang Momo took two steps back and turned to leave, then suddenly remembered something. She said, “Professor Ge, are those words on the wall written by you? They look so nice.”

“Those are the old characters,” Ge Qing said with a smile. “Do you know how they’re structured or are you just saying they look good?”

He thought Jiang Momo wasn’t the type to flatter people.

“I know them. I can read old characters,” Jiang Momo nodded.

“You can? Not many people can read them nowadays.” Ge Qing was surprised. He pointed to one of the calligraphies and asked, “What’s these characters say?”

“That one means ‘Great virtue carries all things.’ The one over there means ‘The highest good is like water,’” Jiang Momo replied.

Ge Qing laughed. “So you really can read them! That makes things easier!”

He turned around and pulled an old-looking book out from a cabinet.

“This is a general manual for A-grade mecha manufacturing from the time of the Alien Beast War. You can take it back and read it. Books from back then are great and self-study is totally doable.”

“Weren’t mechas during the Alien Beast War different from now? Didn’t they not have grade divisions?” Jiang Momo asked.

Little Eight had drifted to the desolate planet during the Alien Beast War period and its info hadn’t been updated since. So the mecha manufacturing she initially learned had no grade levels, only types.

“Right. In the early stages of the Alien Beast War, mainstream mecha manufacturing was manual with sensor support. But later on, legend says the research institute invented a powerful purely sensor-based mecha, which drastically boosted the military’s combat power and ended the war quickly. After that, all mechas were replaced with sensor-type mechas, the kind we use now.

“Then, after regime changes, the Federation promoted new characters and the ancient script became history. The legendary mecha manufacturing method was lost and S-grade and A-grade manufacturing techniques are now controlled by the Federation. Ordinary people can’t access them,” Ge Qing explained. “I only learned about all this because I studied the old characters with my family. It’s been 135 years since the Alien Beast War and much has been lost.

“It’s a pity. Even modern experts can’t read all the ancient script. Otherwise, who knows, we might have been able to recreate that legendary mecha,” Ge Qing sighed with regret.