The Real Daughter Just Wants to Pilot Mechas - Chapter 84

“Xiang Jiuming, calm down.” Jiang Momo pressed down on Xiang Jiuming’s shoulder with one hand, stopping him from arguing further with his classmates. She said calmly, “Every student’s situation is different. As a teacher, I respect everyone’s choice.”

Xiang Jiuming stepped back angrily, giving space.

Jiang Momo looked around the room. “You are the first class I’ve ever led and also the one I’m most proud of. Professor Ge said our grades might go down in school history. That wouldn’t have been possible without all of your efforts. I’m truly thankful for your cooperation during this time. I hope all of you can go even further in your future studies and careers.”

“Teacher Momo, we’ll miss you.” A student burst into tears. “But getting into the research institute has always been my dream. With my abilities, I might not get accepted during the regular application period. That’s why I had to take the early admission route. You know, the earlier you apply, the higher the chance of acceptance.”

For students like them, who could graduate just one month into the first semester of their fifth year, early applications were almost guaranteed acceptance. But if they waited any longer, nothing was certain.

“I support your choice,” Jiang Momo repeated. “I hope we’ll have the chance to meet again in the future.”

A few more students started crying and the entire manufacturing area was quickly wrapped in a sorrowful atmosphere.

Looking at her students with tear-filled eyes, Jiang Momo couldn’t help but feel both amused and moved. She went around comforting them before holding a simple farewell ceremony for the students who had decided to graduate early.

The farewell lasted all the way to the end of class. During that time, Shi Qin had been standing quietly by Jiang Momo’s side, clearly wanting to speak but holding back.

Jiang Momo kept waiting for Shi Qin to say something. But even after class was officially over, he remained silent. However, his gaze was too intense for her to ignore, so after the students left, she called him aside.

“What’s wrong? Do you have something to tell me?” Jiang Momo brought Shi Qin to a corner and asked.

Shi Qin hesitated a bit. “Teacher, I also applied for early graduation last week. The academy has approved it. So… could you please approve the assistant application I submitted to you?”

Jiang Momo’s expression was blank. “What application?”

She hadn’t received any applications on her light brain the past few days.

“I submitted it on the school website on Saturday. It says the approval process is now with you,” Shi Qin said, a little awkwardly.

He had been afraid that if he waited too long, someone else might swoop in and take the position. So he acted fast and submitted his application the very moment his early graduation was approved. He hadn’t even slept that night.

He had thoroughly researched the academy’s hiring rules and one teacher could only receive one applicant at a time. Only if the teacher rejected the first applicant could someone else apply. So all he had to do now was convince Jiang Momo to accept.

“I’ll check with the academy in a bit,” Jiang Momo replied, somewhat uncertain. “Are you sure you want to be my assistant? You won’t regret it? Judging by how your classmates are behaving, it seems like early admission into the research institute is better, right?”

“That doesn’t matter to me,” Shi Qin said firmly.

He had seen with his own eyes how Li Yu, a researcher from the research institute, had changed his attitude toward his teacher, Jiang Momo. Other than being impressed by her incredible skills, Shi Qin couldn’t think of another reason.

“Then I’ll wait for you. Good luck.” Jiang Momo patted Shi Qin’s shoulder.

Shi Qin staggered a bit under her two heavy pats, barely keeping his balance. Then he spoke carefully, “Teacher Momo, I’m worried that if the others find out I graduated early, it might influence their decisions. Could we maybe not tell them for now?”

Jiang Momo raised an eyebrow. “But the assistant list will be posted on the academy website, right? The students who chose to stay because you didn’t leave early might feel worse when they find out the truth.”

Shi Qin hadn’t thought that far. He just didn’t want everyone to leave all at once and make Teacher Jiang sad. Hearing her words, he lowered his head and thought for a moment. “You’re right. I’ll tell them at the appropriate time.”

***

After saying goodbye to Shi Qin, Jiang Momo returned to the academy and went to the HR office to check on Shi Qin’s application.

Sure enough, his info had already arrived. Since the verification period was still within 48 hours, the application hadn’t yet shown up on her light brain.

Jiang Momo didn’t hesitate. She approved it on the spot.

Just as she finished, Ge Qing came rushing in. “Don’t approve it yet!”

“It’s already approved,” Jiang Momo told the panting Ge Qing leaning on the doorframe. Then she turned to the HR officer. “It can’t be revoked, right?”

The HR officer shrugged. “The notification’s already been sent to the applicant. It can’t be undone.”

Ge Qing’s hand shook with frustration. “Too rash, way too rash. Such a good talent and now he’s wasting his skills in the academy. The research institute is the real home for geniuses! Ah! Shi Qin was the most gifted student in this cohort. What a waste!”

“Calm down, calm down, Professor Ge!” Jiang Momo patted his back and tried to soothe him. “Our academy isn’t bad either. Especially with you holding the fort!”

Ge Qing waved his hand dramatically, nearly in tears. “What am I? Just full of knowledge with no way to teach it. I’m not as good as you.”

“Don’t say that. Shi Qin made the decision himself to be an assistant. We can’t exactly hold a gun to his head and force him to change his mind,” Jiang Momo said. “Besides, times are changing. Just because someone can’t teach now doesn’t mean they won’t be able to in the future.”

With the strange frequency of the alien beasts appearing in the Central Star System and the military’s overall performance, she figured it wouldn’t be long before the whole population was forced into combat. She couldn’t think of another way for the Federation to survive.

Ge Qing’s first instinct was to think Jiang Momo was talking nonsense just to cheer him up. But since the younger generation meant well, he didn’t argue. He simply sighed deeply.

Given the current trends, the monopoly in the mecha manufacturing industry was only going to get worse. Those in power weren’t about to hand anything over.

Now that Ge Qing had calmed down, Jiang Momo messaged Shi Qin via light brain to ask if he’d received his successful application notice. After getting a positive reply, she comforted Ge Qing a bit more and then left.

She had a mecha piloting session scheduled with E Mingjun that afternoon at the military base. She was already running late.

***

At the base gate, Jiang Momo squatted while E Mingjun stood, both waiting for the slowly approaching old soldier to open the gate.

The old soldier looked at the large man who had come as Jiang Momo’s friend, E Mingjun, up and down. His attitude had softened noticeably compared to before.

Jiang Momo quickly stepped forward and whispered in his ear, “So? You checked and found nothing wrong with him?”

The old soldier shot her a sideways glance and smiled. “You’ve got a good eye.”

“I also know it was Major General Lu’s direct unit who checked him, right?” Jiang Momo asked mysteriously and quietly.

The old soldier was shocked. “How do you know that?”

“Because only Major General Lu’s unit has few members, strong capabilities, and most importantly, they’re trustworthy insiders.” Jiang Momo counted on her fingers. “If I’m right, the Central Star System only started showing signs of the alien beasts after they came back, right?”

The old soldier looked at her serious face with complicated emotions. “You’re wasting your talent not being a recon soldier.”

Jiang Momo laughed and changed the subject. “I told you my friend couldn’t possibly be suspicious. He’s the Student Council’s president of the Central Mecha Academy and the record-holder for the Mecha Piloting Department.”

“Wait a minute.” The old soldier held his forehead as if recalling something. “He’s the same ‘Demon King’ who broke the academy’s mecha record during military training and made the instructor question his life and cry for days?”

A big question mark appeared over Jiang Momo’s head. “You mean you guys checked him for so long and didn’t even go over the basics?”

The old soldier looked a bit guilty. “It’s mostly because we couldn’t access his data from before he came to the Capital Star, so it seemed suspicious.”

Jiang Momo: “Fine, whatever.”

Ever since she found out that Lu Feng hadn’t even reviewed her own file when inviting her to the team and only realized she was the unlucky person they rescued from the desolate planet as they were passing by, she’d given up on expecting any logic from them.

She turned around and yanked E Mingjun, who was walking two steps behind, up to walk beside them. Then she glanced around and noticed they weren’t heading toward the usual training ground. She asked the old soldier, “Aren’t we going to the training field today?”

“It’s full,” the old soldier replied expressionlessly. “The new combat simulation takes up too much space and all the training fields were requisitioned. You’ll have to make do with an empty lot.”

After a pause, he added, “You’re a real designing genius. Just look at the simulation you made. Nowadays, just mentioning your name at the military base makes every soldier flinch.”

“Huh?” Jiang Momo was confused and thought he was joking. She laughed. “No way. How would anyone even know I was the designer?”

The old soldier pulled up a battle recording from when he participated in the simulation and quickly skipped a part of the video.

A line of text floated across the screen.

[Battle ended. We look forward to your next performance. Producers: Jiang Momo, Qin Chu.]

In the background, a mecha cockpit had been shredded by an alien beast and the overall scene looked brutally intense.

“On average, that message pops up every two minutes,” the old soldier said with a stiff smile.

If he hadn’t already known Jiang Momo, he might have developed a trauma response by now.

Jiang Momo scratched her head.

She didn’t know much about tech, so she had no idea where credits like that were supposed to go. But seeing how confident Qin Chu had been, she figured it was fine, even if it was a bit awkward.

“This combat system is pretty unique,” Jiang Momo remarked.

The old soldier: “…It really is.”

“Momo designed this combat system? Can I try it out?” E Mingjun, who had been quietly standing by like a background prop, asked seriously after watching the simulation battle displayed in front of the old soldier for a while.

The moment the name ‘Momo’ came up, the old soldier instinctively tensed up all over. Then he immediately came to his senses. “Of course. Come with me. Momo, would you like to try it too?”

“I’ll pass.” Jiang Momo shook her head.

She knew the system’s content inside and out and it held no challenge for her.

Soon, Jiang Momo and E Mingjun followed the old soldier to a remote training area fenced off with netting.

The training field was about a hundred square meters and a mecha stood silently at its center.

The old soldier cautioned, “The simulation pain sensitivity level is very realistic. Try choosing a lower setting.”

“The lower the pain sensitivity setting, the higher the chance of randomly getting a harder difficulty. I do not recommend it,” Jiang Momo advised.

The old soldier was shocked. “That’s a feature?! No wonder I always end up surrounded by forty or fifty alien beasts every time I go in.”

“My condolences.” Jiang Momo patted his shoulder.

E Mingjun walked over and smoothly leaped onto the mecha.

The old soldier and Jiang Momo stood side by side on the sidelines, tilting their heads up to watch the mecha’s movements.

Jiang Momo raised her light brain. “Can we see what he’s seeing in there? I want to record a couple of clips.”

“You can record here,” the old soldier said, leading Jiang Momo to a corner with their backs to the mecha. Then, using his clearance, he brought up a display screen. Soon, E Mingjun’s perspective appeared on it.

It was clearly a desolate planet with thick vegetation all around and no signs of human habitation, only the occasional movement of alien beasts nearby. Very quickly, an alien beast launched an attack.

On the screen, the mecha swiftly retreated to a safe distance. While pulling back, its arm lifted slightly, firing two shots in different directions and piercing the bodies of two alien beasts.

“Damn. If you told me he’s never fought the alien beasts before, I wouldn’t believe it,” the old soldier said, eyes practically glued to the screen, face full of shock. “Students these days are something else.”

“There are a lot of skilled and talented mecha pilots out there,” Jiang Momo said thoughtfully. “This kind of system doesn’t have to be limited to the military. It could be made into a game or brought into schools for competitive training. The more people in the Federation who understand alien beast knowledge, the better.”

The rights to the combat system were in her and Qin Chu’s hands, so she’d earned licensing fees for every copy sold. It’d be a waste not to monetize it.