The Real Daughter Just Wants to Pilot Mechas - Chapter 59

The battle soon began and the stands erupted in gasps of surprise.

Major General Pang’s eyes widened in shock as he turned to Lu Feng in disbelief. “He’s really moving like this? The more his movements deform, the stronger he gets?!”

Lu Feng didn’t reply, silently watching the dark silhouette darting between the light gray mechas in the field.

Its movements looked strange, extremely fast, yet oddly mismatched due to the deformed motions. Two out of three punches would miss because of the improper form but the one that landed would instantly eliminate a mecha.

Major General Pang couldn’t contain his curiosity and poked Lu Feng’s arm. “So where did you find him? There hasn’t been anyone like that from the Central Mecha Academy for years. Wait, no. Maybe there was someone like that. Did you recruit the person ranked number one on the elite list?!”

Then why didn’t that guy even look at the olive branch he’d offered personally?!

Lu Feng gave him a cool glance. “No. I picked her up during a mission.”

“You found a gem like this on a mission?! Why don’t I ever find one?” Major General Pang was completely incredulous. He gave a snort. “Fine, don’t tell me, see if I care!”

He turned back to continue watching the match.

Inside the training grounds, most of the fighters had already shifted positions after being chased down by Jiang Momo who had driven them more than ten meters away.

Compared to the previous round, offense and defense had completely switched roles.

Jiang Momo zeroed in on the mecha closing in on her. She bent her knees and leaped forward, closing the distance rapidly, and delivered a kick straight to the back of the nearest mecha.

Another one was eliminated.

From the moment they turned to retreat, trying to put distance between them, their will to fight had completely shattered.

Jiang Momo scanned the remaining mechas and locked onto her next target.

During the battle, she could hear the strain of metal parts grinding from her own mecha but she ignored it and continued moving, though she didn’t apply any more force.

She had grasped a delicate balance on how to function normally even with deformed movements.

That was a clear sign of progress.

Soon, only two mechas remained standing on the field.

Jiang Momo calmly raised her arm, ready to punch the last mecha that had been forced into a corner.

Just as she raised her hand, a grating creak came from her mecha, and then it jammed and stopped moving.

The opposing mecha, seeing her frozen with her hand raised, thought she was deliberately trying to pressure him psychologically. Enraged, he immediately punched back.

With just one punch, the mecha that had been chasing them around for over ten minutes fell flat on its back.

The audience erupted.

Lu Feng immediately stood up. “What happened?”

He strode quickly toward the field.

Major General Pang followed, eager to see what the fuss was about.

The victorious mecha, still confused, saw the two major generals approaching and promptly exited the field, knowing the win wasn’t honorable.

As expected, the two men headed straight for the downed mecha. Lu Feng was just about to open the cockpit when it opened from the inside.

Jiang Momo poked her head out, wearing an awkward smile. “I think I broke this mecha.”

Lu Feng sniffed the air, noting the smell from the energy core and joints. He nodded. “The mecha overloaded. It just needs some repairs.”

“Overloaded?”

Jiang Momo thought it over. If that were the case, she’d be better off using an exoskeleton than piloting an S-grade mecha. With the exoskeleton, her movements wouldn’t deform and she could smash an alien beast’s head directly.

Of course, she kept those thoughts to herself and didn’t show any disdain for the S-grade mecha on her face.

“You’re not suited for piloting mechas,” Lu Feng said after a pause. “If you overload in a real battle against alien beasts, it’ll be dangerous.”

Then he turned to Major General Pang, knowing his own words were often blunt, and expected him to offer a bit of praise or comfort.

Only to find Major General Pang staring dazedly at Jiang Momo’s face.

Lu Feng nudged him.

Major General Pang blinked like he was waking from a dream and stammered, “You—you— She—she’s…”

“What is it?” Lu Feng asked.

“She’s a girl?!” Major General Pang looked completely stunned.

Lu Feng and Jiang Momo exchanged a look, both clearly confused by his shock.

“Aren’t girls usually not great at piloting mechas?” Major General Pang blurted out.

Lu Feng frowned. “You don’t have any female soldiers in your divisions?”

Major General Pang paused and then nodded honestly. “None that are especially good.”

“Then that means you’re not a very competent leader,” Lu Feng said. “All our soldiers in the First Military District are strong.”

Major General Pang let out a dry laugh. “That’s not important. So her mecha can’t continue, right? Should we send someone else?”

Lu Feng looked at Jiang Momo.

Jiang Momo nodded. “Yeah, send someone else. I have something to do. I need to leave.”

She’d just gotten a message while in the cockpit. Yan Chang was inviting her out for a meal.

“Do you need someone to escort you?” Lu Feng asked.

Jiang Momo declined. “No need. I’ll just take a shared aircraft.”

Major General Pang looked around and then clapped his hands. He knew it! She was an external recruit! No way Old Lu could’ve trained a soldier that powerful!!!

***

Jiang Momo followed the address Yan Chang had given her to a restaurant. Sure enough, E Mingjun was there too.

It was a small, noisy eatery with some tables placed right out on the sidewalk. Waiters wove through the tight gaps between chairs and customers, balancing trays with difficulty.

Jiang Momo sat across from them, giving the greasy table and chair a quick wipe before sitting down.

“This place wasn’t your idea, was it?” she asked Yan Chang.

“It was!” Yan Chang nodded excitedly. “E Mingjun said food from the Border Star System tastes weird and hard to get used to, so I figured we should adapt in advance. I thought we’d have to go to a second-tier planet to find places like this but turns out the Capital Star has plenty. What are they called again? Right! ‘Fly restaurants’!”

He continued, “Sure, the environment’s rough, worse than that prison I squatted in back when I was researching the interstellar pirate hunter, but it’s tolerable.”

Jiang Momo paused mid-wipe.

She remembered Yan Chang once said he’d gone to jail on purpose to gather intel on the interstellar pirate hunter.

Good thing she decided to bring him along.

“Wu Yue said we’re leaving tomorrow.” E Mingjun suddenly asked, “Don’t you have class?”

“Professor Ge said he’d cover my afternoon class. So once I finish my theory class in the morning, we can leave,” Jiang Momo replied. “Didn’t you say you’ve been searching for the interstellar pirate hunter for ages? We should go as early as we can.”

E Mingjun blinked, his eyes softening with emotion. “We’ve waited so long already, half a day won’t matter. There’s no need to owe favors for my sake.”

Jiang Momo smiled. “Don’t overthink it. Just focus on getting ready.”

It didn’t make much difference to her when they left but since Professor Ge was offering to help, she might as well make good use of the free time.

As for what Professor Ge taught in that class, she could just ask Shi Qin and the others when she got back.

***

The next morning, after her theory class, Jiang Momo met up with E Mingjun and Yan Chang at the classroom entrance.

“No one in class today?” Yan Chang peeked inside curiously.

Jiang Momo glanced at the empty room and explained, “The school said too many students were affecting teaching quality, so only the top twenty of each year are allowed to attend.”

“So the top twenty didn’t want to come?” Yan Chang asked, puzzled.

“No idea.” Jiang Momo shrugged.

The three walked out of the academy side by side.

Wu Yue’s spaceship hovered just east of the school gates, casting a large shadow.

Jiang Momo stopped right under the middle of the ship and soon, a beam of light descended, teleporting the three aboard.

Wu Yue was behind the bar mixing drinks. On a single-person sofa, Ling Yelin sat in a sharp suit, swirling a glass of sake in his hand.

“Boss Ling is coming with us today,” Wu Yue said cheerfully, giving Jiang Momo a casual high-five.

Jiang Momo walked over.

Wu Yue excitedly whispered an apology to her. “Sorry, but Boss Ling gave way too much. He paid me five hundred thousand!”

Well, to be exact, she had extorted five hundred thousand out of Ling Yelin!

Jiang Momo did the math.

That five hundred thousand was enough to bring 15 people up there, so she immediately turned her gaze to the clueless, still-posing Mr. Bigshot Ling Yelin who was shaking his drink theatrically.

E Mingjun noticed the look in Jiang Momo’s eyes. How to describe her gaze? About thirty percent mockery, seventy percent amusement.

He immediately turned his gaze toward Ling Yelin as well, observing his every move.

Every time that man appeared, Jiang Momo would look at him. There must be something valuable about him.

“What are you looking at me for?” Ling Yelin asked, half-smiling as he stared at the unusually icy block of a man.

He was clearly trying very hard to be good to Jiang Momo but she only seemed truly relaxed when that ice block was around. Why?

E Mingjun averted his eyes. “I wasn’t looking at anything.”

“I can tell what your look means but I don’t need a man’s approval.” Ling Yelin shifted his gaze toward Jiang Momo, only to realize that she was admiring Wu Yue’s new bag and hadn’t even looked his way.

Failing to make an impression, Ling Yelin drained his drink in one go.

***

Time passed slowly on the spaceship. Just as they’d all begun to warm up and sit around playing cards, the ship finally wobbled its way to their destination.

“We’re here!” Wu Yue threw away her clearly losing hand and excitedly ran to the transport platform, waving at the four others whose faces were still plastered with sticky notes. “Come on, hurry up!”

Jiang Momo tore the notes off her face with both hands, stood up from the ground, and stretched her legs before walking over to Wu Yue.

The other three followed.

“Right below us is the address E Mingjun gave me. We’ll land right at his front gate,” Wu Yue explained.

Yan Chang raised a hand. “Can’t we just land in his yard?”

“That’s against the law here!” Wu Yue crossed her arms.

Yan Chang was about to argue again when in the next second, he was already transported outside the gate.

The gate was ajar, unlocked. Yan Chang poked his head in.

Ling Yelin frowned in disgust and was about to stop him when he heard Yan Chang’s whisper. “Why is it so clean in here? Is he trying to skip town?!”

Then, he pushed the door open.

Inside, the courtyard was spotless. In the house directly across from the gate, someone was carrying bags and luggage toward the back. He must’ve heard the commotion because he quickly turned his head to look and was so startled by the sight of several ‘burly men’ at the door that his legs gave out.

He plopped down and covered his face, skillfully begging for mercy. “I haven’t said anything yet. I’ll leave right away! Please don’t hit me!”