The Real Daughter Just Wants to Pilot Mechas - Chapter 69

When Jiang Momo asked her question, the squad members responded enthusiastically.

“Of course, feel free to dismantle them.”

“Right, I almost forgot that your main job is mecha manufacturer!”

“That’s so convenient! If it breaks, you can fix it right away! I wish I had that skill too.”

Since no one objected, Jiang Momo walked toward the nearest S-grade mecha with her tools in hand.

No alarm sounded!

She immediately pried open the rear hatch of the cockpit. As the cover lifted slightly, she noticed the metal neural fibers were embedded tightly with the shell, almost as if they had fused into one.

However, with just a bit more force, the shell suddenly loosened, opening a half-centimeter-wide gap.

Once the shell was removed, the metal neural fibers still connected like a spiderweb, seemingly forming a complete circuit.

The core components of the mecha’s energy system were now in full view.

The squad members, despite piloting mechas for years, had rarely seen the mecha’s inner structure. Out of curiosity, they all gathered around.

Jiang Momo paid them no mind. After confirming there was no damage, she started to ‘repair’ it. At least, that’s what it looked like.

She quickly disassembled the entire core from top to bottom, tearing it down completely, and then reassembled it just as quickly. The whole process took less than twenty minutes.

The team didn’t understand what they were seeing and could only marvel at Jiang Momo’s speed.

Meanwhile, the entire structural layout of the mecha’s core was unfolding in her mind like a detailed schematic. What parts to use and how to assemble them, the information flashed through her head and was stored away.

Once she confirmed she had memorized all the key details, Jiang Momo put the shell back on.

In her estimation, as soon as the shell was reinstalled, the cracks in the panels should have automatically encased the spiderweb-like metal neural fibers but they didn’t.

They remained completely separate. She realized it only when the sound of her tapping felt off and she pried the edge open again.

Jiang Momo sneakily glanced around. The squad members still looked at the mecha expectantly.

Cold sweat instantly drenched her back.

Would it be a problem if she admitted she couldn’t actually fix an S-grade mecha?

With one hand on the undamaged shell of a nearby mecha, her mind spun rapidly. Her face turned red from the effort. Several minutes passed with no movement.

What’s the real difference between a fully functional material panel and a scrapped one?

She extended one finger, touching the port at the panel’s edge. Then she tentatively released a bit of mental power through her fingertip.

Just a small amount, the exact level she’d figured out previously that matched the material panel’s resonance frequency.

However, the cracked panel didn’t resonate. Jiang Momo clearly felt her mental power sink into the shell and scatter wildly before hitting a clear resistance at the boundary and dissipating.

A boundary?! A crack counts as a boundary too!

Jiang Momo immediately increased her mental power output. Then she closed the shell, focusing the energy on both sides of the crack and pushing inward.

The crack began to close.

Soon, the metal neural fibers were tightly embedded into the cracks again.

She pried the shell open a bit more and confirmed that everything looked just as it had before. She wiped the sweat from her forehead, stood up, and nodded to the mecha’s owner.

“Try it. See if it’s working now.”

She was looking up at the mecha, not noticing that the color of the light brain on her wrist dimmed slightly.

The squad member immediately jumped in and soon the mecha powered up.

Exclamations sounded around her.

“Amazing! It’s fixed already!”

“I guess we won’t need to request a mecha repair tech on missions anymore. They’ve got terrible attitudes and aren’t even guaranteed to come.”

“Sorry, Master. I actually doubted for a moment that you could fix mechas.”

Jiang Momo let out an awkward laugh. “It’s fine.”

To be honest, she’d been doubting herself too.

Without saying more, she went on to repair the other mechas.

Thanks to her disassembly and reassembly earlier, over a dozen mechas were soon completely repaired. The squad had no clue about the actual damage level but seeing how her repairs got faster and more efficient, a sense of reverence started to build. Everyone began to reflect on themselves.

So, when Jiang Momo started the second round of combat, she noticed everyone had leveled up their aggression. Every move seemed like they were trying to destroy her mecha completely.

Jiang Momo: …

Did she do something to piss them off?! Why were they suddenly acting like they were on steroids?!

The phrase ‘fueled by setbacks’ found perfect embodiment in those mecha pilots.

On the third round, when Jiang Momo picked up her tools again, she discovered that a few of the mechas actually had their energy cores damaged beyond her ability to repair them in the field.

She let out a long breath. “This mecha’s parts are damaged and need to be replaced. You’ll probably have to take it to the Maintenance Department.”

She didn’t want to pause because she was exhausted or demoralized. She simply felt that the battle wasn’t giving her anything new and she just made mechanical, mindless output. She needed time to reflect.

The squad members let out small groans of disappointment but obediently packed up their mechas and said goodbye before heading off to repairs.

Jiang Momo’s gaze lingered on their departing backs and then turned to the old soldier.

He hadn’t packed properly since the outing was a rush. Seeing Jiang Momo’s sweat trickle into her eyes, he silently pulled a towel from his bag and handed it to her.

“Thanks,” Jiang Momo said, taking it.

“You don’t seem to enjoy combat,” the old soldier commented.

Jiang Momo shook her head. “I enjoy fighting people but only if I can clearly see how I’m improving.”

The old soldier smiled, clapping her shoulder without saying much more. “Do you want me to take you back?”

“No need. I brought a spaceship,” she said and walked off toward the base’s exit.

Just after boarding the spaceship, her light brain screen automatically popped up. A chubby Siamese cat crawled out from the bottom frame, sat down like a boss, and curled its tail.

[Momo, do you know why you were able to dismantle the S-grade mecha just now?]

“Because of the base’s special network interception?” Jiang Momo replied, uncertain.

She had been pretty sure but now that Little Eight asked, she wasn’t so confident anymore.

[Correct. And what else?]

Jiang Momo didn’t see it but Little Eight knew. Once she started working on the mecha, the confidentiality detection system had already activated monitoring. But because of military network interference, it could only record and not intervene. If she hadn’t fixed the mecha today, it would’ve been nearly impossible to get another opportunity.

Jiang Momo pinched her chin in thought. Suddenly, a flash of insight struck. “Is it because mecha repair and mecha manufacture follow the same path? So if I already know how to repair one grade, manufacturing that grade isn’t considered a violation?!”

Then she frowned. “Wait… so all that sneaking around I did was pointless?”

[Of course not. S-grade mechas are strictly military. Whether it’s repair or manufacture, the secrecy level is extremely high. Unless you’re in a special department, it’s forbidden to study them privately.]

[This rule came after Ge Qing taught himself how to build S-grade mechas. Since laws don’t apply retroactively, he got off. But you don’t need to worry either.]

“Why?” Jiang Momo asked curiously.

[Because the confidentiality detection system concluded you learned the skill before arriving on the Capital Star. Their failure to detect it earlier was their own oversight. So now the system assumes you’re already capable and grants you the highest level of access. No restrictions will be placed on your future studies. Even if you build S-grade mechas, no one will question it.]

“They concluded I learned it earlier? Why?” Jiang Momo didn’t understand.

[Because according to records, no one in the Federation has ever dismantled and reassembled an S-grade mecha without prior system training.]

[Even the best manufacturers and repair technicians lack fine control of their mental power. Based on the average records, just that final step you completed would take them at least six months to grasp.]

Jiang Momo blinked. “Wow. I really am a genius.”

[Objectively speaking, yes.]

The Siamese cat nodded solemnly in agreement.

***

When Jiang Momo returned to school, she saw Yan Chang waiting by the academy gate, leaning against it with his head slightly lowered, seemingly waiting for someone.

“Who are you waiting for?” Jiang Momo asked, standing in front of him.

Yan Chang looked up. “Of course I’m waiting for you. I’ve got something to tell you in person, it’s about E Mingjun.”

“What is it?” Jiang Momo looked at Yan Chang’s expression and immediately sensed that something wasn’t quite right.

“Didn’t you ask a few days ago if I could get in touch with E Mingjun? Before he left, he mentioned wanting to further investigate the people threatening the informant, and since he’s always going off the grid, I didn’t think much of it. But today, I saw a picture on the news. Look.” Yan Chang turned the interface around for Jiang Momo to see.

The headline read, [Interstellar Pirates Clash Again in the Chaos Star System, Suspected Battle for Leadership of the Interstellar Pirate Group.]

“Look at this mecha in the corner. Doesn’t it look exactly like E Mingjun’s?” Yan Chang pointed at the image.

Jiang Momo’s expression grew serious. “It really does. How did he get involved in that?”

“So what do we do now? Should we go save him?” Yan Chang looked eager.

Jiang Momo frowned. “The military won’t intervene?”

Yan Chang shook his head. “They can’t. As soon as a warship enters, it’ll be locked on immediately. So are we saving him?”

Jiang Momo was silent for a moment. “Let’s save him.”

“Save who?” a familiar voice spoke up.

E Mingjun, wearing a clearly expensive designer outfit even Jiang Momo could recognize, stood behind them.

“Eh?! What the heck? Weren’t you in the Chaos Star System just this afternoon? Isn’t that your mecha in the picture?” Yan Chang looked confused.

E Mingjun smiled. “It is my mecha. I figured I wouldn’t be needing it anymore, so I sold it.”

He looked much more radiant than before. The gloom in his eyes had lifted and he now looked more like someone his age, bright and refreshed.

“Why didn’t you sell it to me?!” Yan Chang blurted out and then remembered that regular folks could only pilot up to A-grade mechas. He quickly changed tone, slinging an arm around E Mingjun’s shoulder. “You really gave me a scare. I thought something happened to you. I even hired mercenaries so we can go to rescue you.”

E Mingjun chuckled and his eyes briefly met Jiang Momo’s.

She returned a smile.

But beneath her smile, she quietly pushed down a flicker of suspicion.

Why did it seem like E Mingjun’s hair color had gotten slightly darker?