The Real Daughter Just Wants to Pilot Mechas - Chapter 71

The mecha breaking down was truly unexpected. Even Jiang Momo hadn’t seen it coming.

“Are S-grade mechas so fragile?” She crouched beside the severed arm joint, frowning.

With the metal neural fibers snapped like that, how was she supposed to fix them? If she couldn’t, would she have to pay for them?

She looked up slightly at E Mingjun. “Have you ever seen this happen before?”

E Mingjun shook his head. “It might be mechanical failure caused by overheating and reduced elasticity from friction. Technically, with the metal neural fibers, even if the arm broke, it shouldn’t have detached. So this isn’t entirely your fault. It’s a quality issue.”

Just then, the old soldier came over and chuckled. “Even if you’re not part of the squad, the mechas we gave you are top tier. You can’t blame the mecha just because of poor handling.”

Jiang Momo asked carefully, “So… do I have to pay for the repairs?”

“Yes,” came a voice from behind them. It was Lu Feng.

The old soldier glanced at Major General Lu in confusion, stepped back with a salute, and cleared the area, his mind full of questions.

They usually never made outsiders pay for repairs. What’s Lu Feng up to?

Jiang Momo’s mind flashed with one giant ‘I knew it!’

“How much are we talking?”

“Not much. Around 2,000,000 star coins,” Lu Feng said breezily. “The metal neural fiber is one whole unit. If it breaks, the entire thing has to be replaced.”

Was this extortion?!

Jiang Momo was shocked. Even a full mission wouldn’t earn her that much.

She sucked in a breath. “What if it breaks during a mission?”

Lu Feng knew exactly what she meant and replied directly, “That’s different. Combat damage and training damage are covered under different policies. You used up the full training repair quota yesterday.”

Jiang Momo nodded, feeling a bit guilty. She scratched her head and stared miserably at the broken mecha arm, as if her star coins were growing wings and flying away in neat rows.

If she really had to fix it, buying the materials alone would cost a fortune. And more importantly… she didn’t even know how.

“This might take me a while to fix,” Jiang Momo said cautiously.

“No rush. You won’t need the mecha for missions. Just finish the repairs before you leave the squad,” Lu Feng replied.

Jiang Momo froze.

Wait… if she never finishes fixing it, could her temporary gig become permanent?

“Can I take it outside with me?” She quickly shook off that thought and pointed to the broken arm.

“No,” Lu Feng said flatly.

Jiang Momo let out a resigned sigh, carefully inspected the materials around the damage, jotted down the ones that needed to be replaced, and then stood up. She bid farewell to Lu Feng and the old soldier before leaving with E Mingjun.

The old soldier watched the two leave, feeling an inexplicable sense of desolation radiating from Jiang Momo’s entire being.

After hesitating for a while, he finally asked, “Major General Lu, if she can’t fix it, are you really going to charge her star coins?”

Lu Feng looked at him in surprise. “You’re usually quite smart. Why would you ask something like that? Of course not.”

“Then why did you say all that just now? She might resent us when she finds out the truth later,” the old soldier said, trying to defend Jiang Momo who he’d always found to be a refreshingly straightforward girl.

“Weren’t you the one who said Jiang Momo might be capable of repairing an S-grade mecha?” Lu Feng clasped his hands behind his back and lifted his chin slightly. “It was just a test. Haven’t you get bored of seeing the faces of the researchers at the Military Research Institute? If we had our own repair technician, we wouldn’t have to fight tooth and nail for those overpriced maintenance slots.”

The military’s yearly maintenance quota wasn’t much, barely enough for frontline troops. The rest had to be competed for on the internal net where the research institute released limited high-priced maintenance slots. It wasn’t about the money as their military merit guaranteed them plenty of funds but those slots were hard to get. Worst of all, the folks at the Maintenance Department had horrible attitudes and always looked down their noses at everyone. Just seeing them made his blood boil.

“Isn’t this too much pressure for Jiang Momo, though? We originally brought her in just to help eliminate alien beasts,” the old soldier said.

Lu Feng replied, “I’ll pay her for the repairs. We spend billions each year on maintenance and half of that is just for those scarce quotas. Wouldn’t it be better if our own people earned that money?”

“So…” The old soldier swallowed nervously. “that mecha of hers…”

Lu Feng shook his head. “No issues. I didn’t have time to tamper with it. The damage was purely due to repeated use of the mecha to perform mechanical movements beyond its design capacity, which caused internal wear and structural failure.

“I observed from afar and it’s strange. Her deformed movements never exerted that much force before. She almost tore space apart. Who was that person standing next to her? Look into him.”

***

On the spaceship, Jiang Momo sat across from E Mingjun, frowning deeply, her mind spinning on how to fix the mecha as quickly as possible.

She already had a good grasp of S-grade mecha build but she wasn’t familiar with the distribution of the metal neural fibers. According to Lu Feng, the metal neural fiber was a single system and had to be replaced entirely. The problem was that it had three pathways.

Looks like she’d have to completely dismantle the mecha to figure it out.

E Mingjun noticed her brows furrowed so tightly they were practically knotted together and got anxious too. “Don’t worry. If you don’t have enough star coins…”

“I really am anxious.” Jiang Momo abruptly looked up. “But not because of the star coins.”

She had just figured out the best piloting method and was still riding the high of that breakthrough. She hadn’t even fully practiced the basic movements when the mecha broke down. From the look on Lu Feng’s face, it was likely he wouldn’t let her touch another mecha until it was fixed.

Which meant another big problem had landed on her plate.

It would take three months from carving the energy pathways to degrading the material panels, which meant even if she had everything ready now, she’d need at least three months to finish repairs.

Three months! If she could use that time to practice, her piloting skills would improve by leaps and bounds.

Jiang Momo gritted her teeth.

In the future, she must not exercise a single action for that long again!

Seeing that he couldn’t help much, E Mingjun poured her a glass of warm water and gently consoled her, “You can’t rush mecha piloting. Sometimes, taking a break can actually help. When you return, the contrast might make progress feel even more dramatic.”

That actually hit home. Jiang Momo took a deep breath, forcing herself to calm down. She sorted through her jumbled thoughts and opened her light brain to contact Ling Yelin.

[Jiang Momo]: Ling Yelin, do you still have any metal neural fibers left? Just the regular kind is fine.

Ling Yelin responded quickly.

[010]: You already used up the last one? That stuff should’ve been enough to build an entire mecha, according to the research institute.

An entire mecha?

Jiang Momo frowned. That tiny bundle of fibers?

She felt a bit grateful now that Ling Yelin hadn’t told her that earlier. Otherwise, it would’ve completely derailed her thought process.

That tiny bundle stretching out to cover an entire mecha would mean the fibers were extremely thin. It’d be easy to assume they could fit in the energy pathways. Once that mindset settled in, it’d be hard to shake. Even if she later saw notes or internal diagrams of an S-grade mecha, she’d likely rationalize the error and continue down the wrong path.

[010]: Wait. You’ve already started working on an S-grade mecha?!

[Jiang Momo]: No, I’m just curious about the difference between regular metal neural fibers and the ones made from the Golden Crow ore. I want to explain it to my students later. I know the answer now, so there’s no need to buy more.

She brushed Ling Yelin off quickly and leaned on her hand, diving into the next issue.

***

Soon, the spaceship arrived at the academy and the two said goodbye at the entrance.

E Mingjun went to deal with Student Council matters while Jiang Momo returned to her office.

Sure enough, Ge Qing was there but he didn’t look up like he usually did. He was focused on his calligraphy.

Jiang Momo didn’t pay much attention to his unusual behavior. She weakly greeted him, then collapsed into her chair and sighed heavily, slumping over the desk looking thoroughly deflated.

Even though E Mingjun said the improvement might be more noticeable after a break, it would take three whole months!

A few minutes later, Ge Qing finished his last character, put his brush down, and looked up at Jiang Momo with a faintly amused expression. “What’s wrong? Do you want to gloat about your students building a B-grade mecha and feel like you needed to ease into it?”

Jiang Momo waved a hand from the desk. “No, it’s not that. I’ve really run into a problem. Ugh.”

Ge Qing’s smile faded and he walked over. “What kind of problem?”

“Professor Ge, do you think there’s a place where one day can feel like three months?” she asked miserably.

Ge Qing raised an eyebrow. “Of course there is.”

He’d already guessed what the issue was when she mentioned the three-month timeframe.

Still… her progress really was unbelievable.

Jiang Momo’s eyes lit up and she sat up straight. “Really?!”

“Really.” Ge Qing nodded. “Wasn’t your final round of exams held in that exact place?”

Jiang Momo suddenly remembered that last test where everyone’s exam duration was different, yet when she came out, everyone was waiting in the main hall. Her mind cleared. “Right, I remember now! But it can speed up time by that much?!”

“In fact, at maximum settings, you can finish in just one hour,” Ge Qing replied. “Do you want to use it? I have clearance.”

S-grade mechas were vital assets of the Federation and a lot of high-tech equipment was developed specifically to support the production. The one at their academy was an older model the Military Research Institute had decommissioned. Word had it that the research institute now had even more advanced versions.

Jiang Momo jumped to her feet and bolted for the door.

“I’m going to prep everything now!”

She needed to gather all the materials, and carve the energy pathways, and only then could she begin the process.

Ge Qing stood by the window, watching her sprint away, and shook his head with a smile.

“Youth is amazing.”