The Real Daughter Just Wants to Pilot Mechas - Chapter 39

Jiang Momo rubbed her chin, her gaze deep and thoughtful, as if her mind were racing. But in reality, she had already completely spaced out.

She had no clue at all.

Looking at the seven students staring at her expectantly, Jiang Momo was internally screaming for help.

Help! Anyone, please say something to ease this awkward atmosphere! Whose brilliant mind came up with such detailed lesson plans? Would it be too late for her to cram it all now?

Fortunately, before she could come up with anything, a savior arrived.

The class monitor she had just appointed walked over and dutifully reported, “Teacher, all the materials have been distributed. Would you like to begin by teaching the students who are new to mechas about energy pathways or continue listening to these seven report their progress and connect it with previous lessons?”

Connect with previous lessons?

A flash of inspiration struck Jiang Momo.

This class monitor really was the right choice!

She raised her right hand to her mouth and gave a small cough, trying her best to appear calm and in control. “Why don’t you all start by organizing what you’ve learned so far? I’ll come check on you later.”

“Okay, Teacher.”

The seven students, relieved to finally be given something to do, hurried off to fetch their notes.

“You didn’t pick out a material panel?” Jiang Momo noticed the class monitor was empty-handed and asked.

“I’m the furthest along in the class, so I’ll need you to give me a separate lesson later,” the monitor said politely, standing beside Jiang Momo like the model student he was.

“Got it.” Jiang Momo nodded, scanning the students around the base.

The base was a fairly large classroom with only one big round table in the center, about waist-high for Jiang Momo. It was big enough for the entire class to gather around with space to spare. There were no chairs around the table and the students who’d received materials had all placed their panels on the table and were standing on the side facing Jiang Momo.

“Everyone, class is starting,” Jiang Momo said while trying to think of what to say next.

Since teaching Peng Ji back at the examination site, she had roughly realized that Little Eight’s teaching method didn’t quite work for others. She had to find a new entry point, something people could actually understand.

Before she could get another word out, the class monitor spoke first, “Everyone, please take out your notebooks and pens and turn off your light brains. According to academy regulations, content from Mecha Manufacturing Practical lessons must not be shared online. Please turn in your notes after class. They will be redistributed before the final exam.”

Jiang Momo turned to look at him and the class monitor gave her a questioning look. “Did I say something wrong, Teacher? When I joined upper-level practical classes early, the senior students told me this before our first class.”

The academy had a tradition of upperclassmen mentoring underclassmen. Because students had different talents and learning speeds, some outstanding students passed the Level C Mecha Certification Exam by their fourth year. At that point, they could opt to attend Level B classes with the year above. Of course, teachers couldn’t start from scratch for every student, so the initial teaching was often handled by senior students.

“No, it’s fine. I just think you really are perfect for the class monitor role.” Jiang Momo asked, “What’s your name?”

“Shi Qin,” he said with a barely contained smile. “I passed the Level C Mecha Certification Exam two months into the first semester of my fourth year. I’m currently studying mecha leg structures.”

“Not bad,” Jiang Momo praised offhandedly. “Then you—”

“Then I’ll go finish organizing my notes. Call me if you need anything,” Shi Qin said, turning to leave.

Jiang Momo: “?”

He’s leaving already? She’d wanted to ask him more.

Watching Shi Qin jog away, Jiang Momo cleared her throat and went over the logic in her head one more time. Under the eager gazes of the students, she slowly began, “Before we officially start, I have a question. Are there any students here who haven’t activated their mental power yet?”

The students exchanged looks. Soon, soft murmurs filled the room.

“Teacher!” A student in the front row raised his hand and called out loudly, “No one in this class has a mental power below S-rank!”

As his voice fell, Jiang Momo noticed the students standing taller with pride, clearly proud of the fact.

“Alright.” She nodded, lightly tapping her left index finger on the back of her right hand. “Now, please pick up the material panels in front of you…”

Shi Qin, still organizing his notes, silently followed up in his head, ‘Release your mental power, sense the fluctuations between it and the material panel. If your talent is good, within three days, you’ll be able to detect changes in the fluctuation range and locate the energy pathway.’

That was the universal template all teachers used. He’d heard it so many times, he could recite it by heart.

However, what Jiang Momo said next completely surprised him, making him snap his head up.

Jiang Momo said, “Observe the texture direction along the edges of the material panel and find the smoother points.

“On each panel, you can usually find five to eight such points. These points, paired together…” Jiang Momo was mid-sentence when her arm suddenly went numb. A sharp alarm blared directly in her mind.

A large warning message appeared before her eyes.

[Warning, warning. According to Federation regulations, it is forbidden to teach beyond your level. Violators will be treated as leaking classified information.]

Jiang Momo didn’t change expression or pause. She smoothly continued, “… seems like they could all connect into pathways but for you, only one path is correct. The others are distractions.”

[Due to a system misjudgment, the warning has been retracted.]

The alarm disappeared.

Jiang Momo secretly let out a sigh of relief.

She had remembered what Ge Qing told her about not teaching beyond her level but she didn’t know where the boundary was or what the consequences would be, so she’d tested it a little.

She opened her light brain to check and sure enough, there were two emails. One was a Warning Notice and another was a Warning Retraction Notification.

Jiang Momo held up a panel and traced a straight line across it with her finger. “On this panel, this line is the pathway. We can determine this by observing surface texture patterns to infer the flow underneath or by using mental power resonance. For now, don’t look at your own panels. Use your mental power to explore the one I’m holding.”

The students immediately extended their mental power toward the material Jiang Momo held.

Shi Qin had stopped sorting his notes. Her comment about ‘finding points’ was still echoing in his mind.

None of the other teachers had ever mentioned those points. If they were useless, Jiang Momo wouldn’t have brought them up. So, when she said ‘for you, only one path is correct,’ could it mean that for Jiang Momo or for higher-level mecha manufacturers, there were ways to make all paths correct? If so, then maybe those pathways were the key difference between B-grade and A-grade mechas! In that case, A-grade mechas might represent having access to more energy pathways!

“Top student, what are you thinking about?” a male classmate who had already finished organizing his notes leaned over and waved a hand in front of Shi Qin. “Do you need help organizing? You’ve got way more material than me.”

“No, thanks,” Shi Qin declined.

Jiang Momo scanned the room and saw that none of the students showed that spark of realization she was hoping for. She emphasized the correct energy pathway again with her finger.

“Feel carefully for how this path’s feedback differs from the others. Remember that feeling! This is the energy pathway,” she explained seriously. Still not seeing the reaction she wanted, she propped the panel on the table and wandered to the back of the crowd.

Shi Qin was still buried in his notes.

Jiang Momo glanced at him. In just a few minutes, he looked like he’d been mentally hit, his eyes glazed, and he was clearly out of it.

She patted him.

Shi Qin snapped out of it, startled to find Jiang Momo standing beside him. Flustered, he looked down at his messy, barely-started notes and immediately apologized. “Sorry, Teacher, I zoned out.”

“No problem.”

Jiang Momo took a few pages from his notes. They were filled with dense records of the materials used in mecha joints, including names, detailed structures, angles, weights, internal components, and strange symbolic annotations. They were so detailed it was as baffling as the theory in Introduction to Mecha Manufacturing.

She was silent for a moment. Under Shi Qin’s anxious gaze, she asked, “How do your practical classes usually go?”

“The teacher lectures at the front while we take notes,” Shi Qin replied.

“Have you actually touched a mecha?” Jiang Momo asked.

The students all nodded in unison. “Yes.”

“Have you ever taken one apart?” she continued.

Several people shook their heads. “No, mechas are very expensive. Normally, teachers won’t use a whole mecha for teaching. They’ll just use parts to demonstrate but mostly they just explain things.”

“So, can you now assemble the parts you took notes on?” Jiang Momo asked, holding up the notes.

The group looked at each other in silence. They had never actually practiced it themselves.

The materials were expensive. The cost for materials to make a B-grade mecha was about 700,000 star coins, which students simply couldn’t afford.

“Actually, you don’t really have to learn this part. Robots can completely handle the assembly,” Jiang Momo said.

“But Teacher, you know as well as we do,” Shi Qin quickly said, “that robots aren’t reliable. Plus, we don’t want to stop at just B-grade!”

In certification exams, the use of robots to assist in manufacturing was strictly forbidden. At most, they could be used to check whether the energy pathways were complete.

Jiang Momo lowered her head and thought for a moment. “Next class is tomorrow morning?”

“Yes,” Shi Qin replied.

“I see. You all don’t have to attend this class. You can head back,” Jiang Momo said.

The others all turned to look at Shi Qin.

Shi Qin immediately apologized, “I’m sorry, Teacher. It’s all my fault. I was too slow, I didn’t take proper notes, and I even argued while you were speaking. Before the next class, I’ll organize my notes and write a self-reflection. Please punish only me. Don’t involve the others.”

“Forget about your notes. You all don’t lack knowledge.” Jiang Momo raised her hand, “And I’m not punishing you. You didn’t do anything wrong.”

“I’m sorry,” Shi Qin said, lowering his head dejectedly when he realized Jiang Momo was firm and there was no room for negotiation.

“You all can go. Shi Qin, stay,” Jiang Momo said to the rest. “Next time, just show up to class. No need to bring anything else. I’ll teach you real mecha manufacturing.”

Manufacturing, of course, starts with hands-on experience.

First, learn how to dismantle a mecha. Then naturally, learn how to assemble it.

If you can take it apart, you can put it together.

That was the most important part of Little Eight’s teaching philosophy and she planned to carry it forward.

After the other seven left, Jiang Momo turned around and saw that Shi Qin was still hanging his head, looking wronged. She chuckled a bit and patted his back. “It’s alright. I really wasn’t blaming you. Cheer up, I’ll still need your help for what’s next.”

Shi Qin took a deep breath and lifted his head. “Just say the word. I’ll do anything.”

“Judging by those students, we probably won’t need the material panels I brought for this class,” Jiang Momo said, pointing. “Help me carve energy pathways on all of them.”

She had originally thought that even if they’d never seen energy pathways before, they should be able to sense them with mental power pretty quickly. After all, she had already marked out the paths for them. So she brought two material panels per student. Unfortunately, the class ended up not needing them.

“I have a requirement. Before you carve, make sure that the energy pathways on each panel can pair up.”

“From these?” Shi Qin had mentally prepared himself but still didn’t expect Jiang Momo’s request to be so picky.

After he learned how to carve energy pathways, he confidently applied for a job as a repair tech at a maintenance center. They claimed professional robots would handle the assembly and experience wasn’t necessary as long as you could carve the pathways.

But once he got there, he realized that it was extremely rare to find materials with matching pathways. You could search half the warehouse just to find one compatible set.

“Yes,” Jiang Momo nodded and sat leisurely on the tall stool by the podium. “Remember how I told you to locate the connection points?”

The reason she kept Shi Qin behind was because she noticed the thoughtful look on his face earlier. She suspected he may have had some insight and wanted to confirm it.

Ge Qing only said she couldn’t explicitly teach knowledge beyond their level but if a student figured it out themselves, it didn’t count as breaking the rules.

“I remember.” Shi Qin nodded and then crouched by the pile of materials left over and began examining the edges. After a few minutes, he found the first suspected connection point.

“Teacher, is this a port?” Shi Qin held up the panel and asked.

“Yes.” Jiang Momo nodded.

Shi Qin paused for a moment and then slowly identified the rest of the connection points and moved on to the second panel. He became increasingly skilled and started to notice some patterns.

“These panels don’t have matching pathways,” Shi Qin said after examining all the panels. He looked up, his tone carrying a hint of tentative exploration. “But if each panel contains more than one usable pathway, then these ports would easily match up.”

Jiang Momo stared at him silently.

Just as she thought, Shi Qin’s expression didn’t change, which meant he wasn’t warned about discovering something beyond his level.

Jiang Momo sighed in relief and smiled. “You’re a smart one.”

That vague praise made Shi Qin’s eyes light up. “So if I haven’t found a working pathway yet, should I still carve them?”

“No need, class is almost over,” Jiang Momo said, glancing at the time.

“I understand, Teacher! Thank you.” Shi Qin returned to his earlier proper demeanor and helped gather all the material panels, including the one Jiang Momo had set out earlier for demonstration.

“Teacher, we’ll return the materials. You should get some rest.” Shi Qin smiled politely, arms full of panels. “My ID number is 88866632. If you need anything done, just contact me.”

“Thank you.” Jiang Momo nodded and immediately opened her light brain to send him a friend request.

Once all the students were gone, Jiang Momo left the classroom as the end-of-class bell rang and returned to her office.

Coincidentally, Ge Qing was there too. He was practicing calligraphy at the desk. When he saw Jiang Momo enter, he asked, “Did you read that book?”

“I did. It was very enlightening,” Jiang Momo said.

“As long as it inspired you. Unfortunately, the more advanced books are classified. I only have viewing access, so I can’t share them,” Ge Qing said as he continued writing, movements slow and calm. “You might not understand it yet but for a teacher, finding a talented student is incredibly fulfilling.”

And not being able to pass on all that knowledge was a true regret.

“I get it,” Jiang Momo said sincerely.

But now that she knew Ge Qing could manufacture S-grade mechas, a more pressing question popped into her head. “Professor Ge, I remember you once told me that we can’t teach students knowledge beyond their level. That must be classified too. But today I mentioned the concept of ports to a student and didn’t get any warning.”

She’d been wondering about that since Shi Qin started identifying ports. Why was she allowed to talk about ports but not about multiple energy pathways? What exactly defines something as ‘beyond level’?

Ge Qing froze.

It seemed like there was a loophole in that rule and he’d never realized it until now.

“We can experiment with that later,” he said.

“Alright. But Professor Ge, there’s something I confirmed today,” Jiang Momo said with a smile. “Even though teachers can’t explain things directly, students can still make wild guesses. So I have a reckless little theory, could you listen to it?”

We’ll have 3 chapters per week from now on, on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.