The Real Daughter Just Wants to Pilot Mechas - Chapter 45

[Agree.] Jiang Momo’s finger twitched slightly.

Less than three seconds after she sent her reply, another email popped up.

[We have received your response. Starting from the next class, Introduction to Mecha Manufacturing will be live streamed across the entire network. Viewership numbers will be converted into performance bonuses and factored into your salary. We wish you a pleasant teaching experience.]

‘Performance bonus? What’s that?’

Jiang Momo read the message twice, flipping the words over in her head. She only understood that she was probably getting a raise. Feeling very pleased, she turned off the light brain and started class.

***

After the theory class, the afternoon was for practical class.

When Jiang Momo arrived at Base No. 1 with her materials, she was almost knocked over by a wave of cheers and screams.

“Teacher Momo! All of us can now sense energy pathways!”

“We smashed the academy record!”

“Teacher, can we touch a mecha this class?!”

The noise made Jiang Momo feel like her head was about to explode. She quickly raised her hand to signal silence. “Quiet!”

The cheers stopped immediately.

Jiang Momo looked around and saw the students staring at her with eyes full of admiration, like eager puppies. She cleared her throat.

“You’ve all done well. When the bell rings, come to the podium to pick up a panel and start carving out the energy pathways. Once everyone’s done, we’ll assemble them together.”

She added, “I personally selected all of these materials in advance. They can be used to make a mecha’s upper arm.”

Honestly, the class was originally supposed to use newly made B-grade mecha components for students to practice disassembling and assembling. But things got delayed, so for now she had just pulled together whatever parts she could find from the school’s warehouse. They’d have to make do.

It was a pity she couldn’t take them directly to the academy’s materials warehouse. The biggest challenge in B-grade mecha manufacturing lay in the initial part preparation. Right now, just teaching assembly was fine but if she had to keep finding and preparing all the parts herself, it would eventually limit the students’ development.

Since the academy didn’t allow bringing students into the materials warehouse, maybe for future practical classes, she could take them to the Mecha Parts Exchange instead. Even if they only looked and didn’t buy, that was fine. The materials were way too expensive and her salary couldn’t cover it. There were fifty students, after all!

Jiang Momo pondered to herself. Was there a way to get them all certified as repair technicians? Then she could take them into the maintenance center’s materials warehouse.

The students were completely unaware of her internal monologue. The moment she finished speaking, they cheered again.

Seeing how easily satisfied they were, Jiang Momo turned her gaze to Shi Qin and his group. “How’s your progress?”

“We’ve all successfully disassembled a mecha’s forearm once. Everyone can now reassemble it. The fastest time is 2 hours and 53 minutes and the slowest is 15 hours and 23 minutes.” Shi Qin stepped forward to report with a hint of excitement, looking a bit proud. He was clearly waiting for Jiang Momo to ask who had the fastest time.

“Not bad.” Jiang Momo understood what his expression meant but she didn’t take the bait. Instead, she said, “This class, you all assist the others with carving energy pathways and assembling the mecha. Later, we’ll organize after-class disassembly and reassembly practice based on the order in which students successfully complete their energy pathways.”

The other students had been eavesdropping the whole time. When they heard her words, their blood boiled and they all got fired up and ready to give it their all.

Soon, the class bell rang. Forty students rushed up to the podium to grab materials. They moved fast and in the blink of an eye, the podium was cleared.

Three minutes later, a student shot his hand up. “Class monitor, I found it!”

Standing on the podium, Jiang Momo watched as Shi Qin walked over and the student pointed out the pathway on the material panel.

That’s right.

“These students really are quite talented,” Jiang Momo muttered to herself.

Soon, following the lead of that first student, others also raised their hands quickly. Once they confirmed successful carvings, groups of students huddled together and began seriously discussing how to assemble the parts.

Seeing them, Jiang Momo finally relaxed, sitting down at the side of the podium and sipping the drink E Mingjun had prepared for her in advance.

The students moved faster than she’d expected. Before the end-of-class bell rang, they had already fully assembled the mecha upper arm.

“Teacher! We finished assembling it!”

Even the students themselves hadn’t expected this. From carving the energy pathways to full assembly, it took less than two hours.

Sure, strength in numbers helped but for many of them, it was their first time assembling a mecha. Being able to fully assemble it was practically a miracle!

‘Thank you, Teacher Momo! Thank you, class monitor! Thank you, academy!’

“Very impressive.” Jiang Momo stood up, looking at the assembled mecha arm lying on the ground, and then turned to the quietly standing Shi Qin. “This arm will be added to the after-class disassembly sequence. The class monitor will be in charge of storing it and organizing students for practice. The next class might be at a different location. I’ll inform the class monitor and he’ll inform the others. That’s it. Class dismissed!”

***

At 10 AM the next day, Jiang Momo was taken to the competition venue by Yan Chang.

The Mecha Arena was located on the second underground level at the edge of the Capital City District. The venue was huge and the main hall alone could accommodate over ten thousand people.

“We’ve divided the space into 36 competition areas. Each can hold over 30,000 live spectators. The arena is 200 meters long, 175 meters wide, and 230 meters high, fully up to federal standards. That screen in front shows the interior of all match areas.”

The manager had come to greet them as soon as Yan Chang arrived. Noticing how his gaze kept drifting to the girl next to him, the manager quickly caught on and began giving a detailed introduction.

As Jiang Momo listened, she memorized the route. “Where’s the maintenance area?”

“Just ahead on the left, in the mecha storage center. I’ll take you there.” The manager glanced at Yan Chang, then quickly stepped up to walk half a step ahead of the two, and said, “We are the third-largest official mecha competition organization in the entire federation with the largest mecha reserves. We’ve got 31 B-grade mechas alone, not to mention countless C and D-grade ones. If you’re ever interested in piloting for matches, come to us. Renting mechas here is cheaper than at the academy.”

“She’s a manufacturer.” Yan Chang tilted his chin slightly toward the manager.

The manager’s eyes lit up and his smile became much more sincere. “Oh, that’s wonderful! Do you have any high-grade mechas with approved serial numbers for sale? We’ll take them all and give you a 20% service fee!”

“Not at the moment.” Jiang Momo shook her head.

As they spoke, the three of them arrived at the mecha storage center.

It could definitely be called a center because the area was so vast you couldn’t see the end of it. Among the dense rows of C and D-grade mechas, the few dozen B-grade ones in the middle looked somewhat towering.

“The mecha storage center isn’t open for random access. Normally, when customers come to spar, the staff will bring out whichever mecha is needed.” The manager smiled at Jiang Momo. “But if you, a manufacturer, want to go in, I can open it for you.”

“No need,” Jiang Momo declined politely. “Where’s the repair room?”

“Just up ahead.” The manager quickened his pace and led Jiang Momo to the far end of the storage center.

A row of doors appeared in front of them.

“These repair rooms are temporarily locked right now. Cameras are being installed inside. They’ll only be opened when the official matches start. We’ve got 550 repair rooms in total, plenty for this competition.”

“There’ll be a live stream during repairs too?” Jiang Momo frowned slightly. “The audience’s gaze could affect a repairer’s performance, especially for those of higher levels.”

Yan Chang had told her before that the competition would be broadcast across the Federation but only scenes from the arena were usually shown. Rarely any footage of the repairers was included.

“That’s a new requirement from the organizers. They said a competition shouldn’t just show off the mecha pilots but also promote the repairers’ skills. I think it’s just for recording, not live broadcasting, so it shouldn’t cause too much interference,” the manager explained.

“If it’s just recording, that’s fine.” Jiang Momo relaxed a little.

Back during her exam, being watched by just a dozen invigilators already made her uncomfortable. If thousands of people were watching at once, it would be a heavy burden for any repairer.

“By the way, I heard the repair materials for the competition will be provided by your side?” Jiang Momo asked.

The manager nodded. “Yes, we’ve got a dedicated materials warehouse with ample stock. No matter what’s needed, it can be delivered within two minutes. But after the competition, we’ll need to charge the material cost at market price. I’ll take you to have a look.”

On the way to the material warehouse, the three passed through the mecha storage center again. Jiang Momo glanced at the large mechas in the center and suddenly had a flash of inspiration. She asked the manager, “Do most of the participants bring their own mechas?”

“No, most of them rent from us. B-grade mechas are hard to buy and for C-grade, renting is more cost-effective than buying,” the manager replied.

Jiang Momo thought aloud, “If they’re rented, wouldn’t they be subject to serial number restrictions? Why don’t you try making your own mechas? You’re not short on materials.”

The manager paused and then explained, “We thought about that too and even applied for the licenses. But the problem is, few manufacturers are willing to do it. Making a mecha takes a long time. If we supply the materials, the labor fee is lower than selling a finished mecha and the profit is still way less than what they’d earn doing repairs. In the end, we gave up the plan because we couldn’t recruit anyone.”

Jiang Momo tried to keep her tone calm as she asked casually, “Are your requirements for manufacturers high?”

“Not at all, as long as they’ve passed the Level B Mecha Certification Exam,” the manager answered.

Jiang Momo took a deep breath. “What if someone can make B-grade mechas but doesn’t have certification yet? As long as you only pay once the work is confirmed, I’ll cover any wasted material at full price.”

Yan Chang seized the opportunity to chime in, “Master can even make above B-grade mechas.”

The manager’s eyes lit up instantly and he excitedly grabbed Jiang Momo’s hand. “Master, absolutely! You’re very welcome to join us!”

“Can I bring assistants?” Jiang Momo asked.

“Of course! How many do you plan to bring? Do you need any services from us?” the manager asked.

The word ‘assistant’ was rarely heard on the Capital Star anymore. Usually, anyone qualified to assist a Level B manufacturer would have at least partially mastered B-grade manufacturing methods. The manager was excited. Maybe in time, they’d get a few more manufacturers from the group!

“No services needed but there are a lot of us,” Jiang Momo said.

The manager paused. “How many?”

“Fifty.” Jiang Momo smiled guiltily.