The Real Daughter Just Wants to Pilot Mechas - Chapter 50

Jiang Momo stared at the uniform handed to her and didn’t take it. “You’re so sure I’ll join?”

They even had the uniform ready.

Lu Feng placed the uniform on the small table between them and leaned back in his chair casually. “No one would turn down this invitation.” His tone was full of certainty.

Jiang Momo immediately recalled the earlier, inexplicable interrogation she’d been dragged into and her anger flared up.

“I refuse!” she said flatly.

Lu Feng sat up straight, his gaze toward Jiang Momo shifting slightly, apparently surprised.

It had been a long time since anyone dared to speak to him that loudly.

“Do you know why you weren’t arrested for leaking information?” Lu Feng tapped the table and asked.

“I know,” Jiang Momo said.

Lu Feng smiled. “Because you made contributions to federal security?”

“Because you contacted Luo Yanghong in advance,” Jiang Momo replied. “He looks a lot like one of your previous subordinates. Are they related?”

Lu Feng was genuinely surprised then. “You’re a lot sharper than I expected. So even knowing this, you still plan to refuse me?”

“Of course.” Jiang Momo nodded. “I have classes. I don’t have time for emergency missions.”

“As long as you agree, I can get you out for a reasonable reason,” Lu Feng said, not even realizing his tone had softened from its original harshness. “If you join, we can provide you with an S-grade mecha for missions.”

“Mecha manufacturers can’t pilot mechas.”

Jiang Momo’s heart did skip a beat when she heard ‘S-grade’ but as soon as she processed the condition ‘for missions,’ her expression quickly returned to calm indifference.

“That rule is for registered mecha manufacturers. As far as I know, you’re not registered with the Federation.” Lu Feng rested his chin on his hand and looked her over. “And judging from your physical training marks, you don’t seem like someone uninterested in piloting. You’ve trained before, right?”

Jiang Momo: “…Actually, I haven’t. I can’t pilot a mecha.”

Back on the desolate planet, Little Eight’s database only included manufacturing knowledge, not piloting. She couldn’t even operate any manually operated mechas.

And once she got to the Capital Star, the highest grade mecha she had access to was E Mingjun’s super A-grade mecha. But because its response time was slow, her performance was more like taking one step and falling two. She’d never actually succeeded in piloting one.

“You can’t pilot a mecha?” Lu Feng was surprised. He gave her another once-over. “Normally, external personnel aren’t required to train but if you need it, we can arrange targeted training.”

“I’ll think about it.”

Jiang Momo had already made up her mind to say yes. Her original goal in coming to the Capital Star was to pilot mechas and now that she had such a great opportunity, how could she not be tempted?

As she thought about it, she unconsciously leaned a bit toward the exit of the aircraft.

The next second, the aircraft door slammed shut with a ‘whoosh’.

Jiang Momo looked up at Lu Feng who had one hand pressed against the door. She took a sharp breath. “What’s the meaning of this?!”

“You can think it over right here. I want an answer before dawn,” Lu Feng said directly.

“Do I even have a choice now?” Jiang Momo let out a laugh of disbelief.

Lu Feng raised a brow. “Of course. You can choose to agree now or later.”

Jiang Momo had never been someone who responded well to pressure. She leaned back in her chair and stared straight at him.

Once again, the two of them were in an inexplicable standoff.

In the end, it was still Lu Feng who caved first.

After thinking it over, he said, “Although external personnel aren’t officially enrolled, don’t have to attend mandatory training, and their salary and benefits are different from official members, they do have more freedom. Overall, it’s still a good deal.”

Jiang Momo immediately caught on to the key point. “There’s a salary?”

“Of course.” Lu Feng nodded. “Though not much, only fifty thousand a month.”

“Paid even without missions?” Jiang Momo did some quick math. That salary wasn’t far off from a teacher’s and the workload was clearly much less. “Why didn’t you lead with such an important detail?!”

Lu Feng suddenly laughed and coughed lightly, the pale blue luster in his glassy eyes gleaming faintly. “If there’s a mission, there’s also a mission bonus at around one hundred fifty thousand. If the injuries are serious, you get compensation of around four hundred thousand. And if you die, your family gets—”

“That’s enough. I don’t want to know the rest,” Jiang Momo interrupted and grabbed the combat uniform from the table. “How do I contact you?”

Lu Feng handed her a card. “This card is linked to my ID. Just swipe it at the entrance of the First Military District’s Special Forces base and someone will receive you. The address is on the bottom right of the card.”

“Thanks.” Jiang Momo took the card and tucked it into her pocket, holding the uniform with one hand and pulling the door open with the other. “I’ll get going then.”

“I’ll take you back,” Lu Feng said and shut the door again.

The aircraft started up quickly.

Half an hour later, Lu Feng dropped Jiang Momo off at the entrance of the Central Mecha Academy and left.

Jiang Momo stared in the direction the aircraft disappeared and asked silently, “Little Eight, how was my performance just now?”

The Siamese cat rolled over. [Not bad. Acting a bit money-minded lowers other people’s guard. Even if your desire to pilot a mecha is pure, others might not see it that way.]

Jiang Momo had received Little Eight’s tip right after getting the light brain and entering the elevator, or else, with how much she longed to pilot a mecha, she would’ve immediately agreed the moment Lu Feng mentioned training.

“Let me check in with Yan Chang first.” Jiang Momo opened her chat with Yan Chang, pulled out her medal, took a picture, and sent it over.

Yan Chang replied immediately.

[YanChangChangChangChangChangChangChang]: Master, I’m just glad you’re safe! Get some rest! I’m with Tutor E right now. I showed him your medal too!

[YanChangChangChangChangChangChangChang]: [Image]

Yan Chang sent a selfie of himself and E Mingjun, both wearing movie glasses. It looked like they were watching a film.

[YanChangChangChangChangChangChangChang]: Oh, right, I also got in touch with the Energy Association’s president. He promised not to bail out that green tea. Once the detention ends, he’ll arrange for him to apologize to you.

[Jiang Momo]: Got it. Thank you.

[YanChangChangChangChangChangChangChang]: No need to be polite. Go sleep early, you’ve got class tomorrow!

After that, Yan Chang logged off.

Jiang Momo closed the chat and stated, “Yan Chang isn’t on the Capital Star.”

[Right, he’s on a first-tier planet under the Energy Association. But how did you know?]

The Siamese cat sat up in surprise. ‘Don’t tell me my little human was actually getting smarter?!’

“Just a guess.” Jiang Momo smiled.

Yan Chang had never sent her photos or videos before just to prove something. So what were they doing that he didn’t want her to know?

***

Elsewhere, Yan Chang closed his light brain and looked at the Energy Association’s president beside him who was smiling obsequiously with a wine glass in hand.

They were in an especially luxurious private hotel suite with a large round table filled with hundreds of dishes, many of which were banned for consumption on the Capital Star.

“Oh dear, Mr. Yan, what a coincidence this is. I only just adopted that bastard kid recently. I didn’t expect him to offend someone he shouldn’t have.” The president’s face crinkled with laughter. “I’m getting old, my eyesight’s failing. I should’ve just left him to rot on that second-tier planet…”

“President Li.” Yan Chang raised a hand, cutting off the rest. “I’m here today to discuss the energy reform.”

President Li fell silent for a moment. Then he opened the door and told the guards outside, “Remove all the surveillance equipment here. We’ve got important matters to discuss.”

***

The next morning, Jiang Momo woke up refreshed. She stretched with energy and cheerfully greeted Little Eight, “Good morning, Little Eight!”

[Morning.]

The Siamese cat washed its face with a paw while giving a reminder, [Today is your first time giving the course Introduction to Mecha Manufacturing to the entire federation. The academy sent a message this morning saying the class will be held in the original classroom. To recreate the classroom atmosphere, they even found 200 students to act as stand-ins.]

Jiang Momo thought for a few seconds before realizing what the last two characters meant. “The academy actually said that directly?”

[Not exactly but that’s not important. Have you decided what to teach today?]

“I’ll just continue from the last class. The material Ling Yelin gave was really good and quite useful.” Jiang Momo casually picked a suit and changed into it.

[This is your first live broadcast. This course might later be added to the premium curriculum and available for repeated viewing by the entire federation, so I suggest you spend the first ten minutes reviewing last week’s lesson.]

“Ten minutes?”

[That’s enough. Introduction doesn’t have much actual content anyway.]

“Alright then.”

Jiang Momo quickly recalled last week’s three classes in her head and realized that Little Eight was right. There really wasn’t that much content.

After getting herself ready, Jiang Momo left the dorm and walked toward the teaching building under the gazes of curious students.

“Little Eight, I just remembered. If Peng Ji isn’t teaching this week, what about his students?” she asked silently.

[Theory students will attend your livestream and practical students will be handled by Shou Tao.]

Jiang Momo nodded.

***

When she arrived at the classroom, the 200 students arranged by the academy were already seated.

Jiang Momo glanced around.

How to say it? As expected of handpicked students, they looked different. Each one looked like a top student. Even when she walked in, they only glanced up briefly. The classroom was so quiet it made her uncomfortable.

“Students, later during the lesson, I may need your cooperation. If I ask questions, please raise your hands actively,” Jiang Momo addressed them.

This time, the students didn’t even lift their heads and just stared at their books.

It was Jiang Momo’s first time experiencing ‘cold violence’ from students, she was not quite used to it.

She thought for a bit, walked to the first row, peeked at a student’s book, and then, feeling overwhelmed, returned to the podium.

There were too many characters she couldn’t understand!

“I thought I’d evolved into a semi-literate person. It turns out I still have a long way to go,” she said, leaning against the podium.

[You’re progressing very well. Don’t be discouraged. Instead of worrying about that, think about how to make the class more interesting to keep people engaged if there’s no interaction.]

“Can’t I see the bullet comments?” Jiang Momo asked.

[Nope, this is a public course, not a regular livestream.]

“If it really comes down to it, I’ll just lecture straight through.” Just as she said that, she received a message from Ling Yelin.

[010]: [Introduction to Mecha Manufacturing Courseware (Advanced Version)] This version works great for online teaching. Use it first.

Jiang Momo tapped it open and in an instant, she found herself on a battlefield.

The 200 students below the podium also noticed the change in environment and looked up to see hundreds of mechas and alien beasts fighting mid-air.

“This is footage from the Alien Beast War!” one student suddenly shouted.

Jiang Momo snapped out of her awe and quickly closed the courseware.

The surroundings returned to a regular classroom.

Jiang Momo crouched behind the podium, scratched her head while thinking for a bit, and then typed a message.

[Jiang Momo]: Is your auction starting soon?

[010]: 11 AM today. I’m just waiting for your Golden Crow ore.

[Jiang Momo]: I finish class at 10. I’ll bring it to you before 11. Send me an address.

[010]: No need. Wu Yue will come pick you up. Just focus on teaching.

***

The atmosphere of the class was exceptionally good, even Jiang Momo got fully immersed in teaching.

Even after it ended, the students were still excitedly discussing the content.

Jiang Momo followed the lively students toward the dorms but after only a few steps, Wu Yue popped out.

“Momo! I watched your class, it was amazing! The live viewers hit ten digits! You’re trending again. So cool!”

“Ten digits?!” Jiang Momo mentally counted how many people there would be and was instantly shocked.

Wu Yue waved her hand in front of Jiang Momo. “Boss Ling told me to pick you up. Let’s go?”

“Wait a second, I need to grab something from my dorm first,” Jiang Momo said.

“Alright, I’ll come with you! Then we’ll take my brand-new spaceship to the auction!” Wu Yue beamed. “You haven’t seen my new spaceship yet, right? It’s super spacious! Oh, and look at my new bag. Cute, huh?”

She held out a palm-sized pink purse that sparkled golden in the sunlight.

Jiang Momo didn’t know much about bags but still nodded. “It looks great!”

“You’ve got taste! I showed it to Boss Ling and he actually asked what I could even fit in such a small bag!” Wu Yue rolled her eyes and then grinned as she looped her arm through Jiang Momo’s, dragging her along. “Let’s go! We’ll be late if we dawdle!”

***

Jiang Momo’s first glimpse of Wu Yue’s spaceship left her utterly stunned.

It was huge, at least three times the size of the one Yan Chang had used, and could probably hold a thousand people.

The ship was entirely black with a matte finish that gave it a premium look. Inside, it was too luxurious to describe.

“What’s that?” Jiang Momo pointed at a corner that looked like a small pond.

“My swimming pool! I love swimming. You know how boring interstellar travel can be. There’s also a gym over there,” Wu Yue said, settling on a couch. She took some juice from a robotic arm and handed one glass to Jiang Momo. “This ship is amazing. It uses the latest anti-gravity tech, so interstellar travel feels just like being on a planet, no discomfort at all. Other than being a bit pricey, it’s perfect. It can avoid all detection and even perform long-range continuous space jumps and saves on wormhole tolls.”

No wonder Ling Yelin once said that even Yan Chang’s ship couldn’t compare.

Jiang Momo suddenly remembered something. “It can do long-range continuous space jumps? Then how long would it take to reach the Border Star System?”

“A round trip will take about two days,” Wu Yue replied. “Why? Are you planning to go?”

Jiang Momo nodded.

E Mingjun had mentioned that they’d found leads on the interstellar pirate hunter and needed to visit the Border Star System.