The Real Daughter Just Wants to Pilot Mechas - Chapter 86

In Jiang Momo’s value system, being upright was a high compliment. Just like how she’d dared to sell a super-precious material for cheap to bait Ling Yelin, simply because Little Eight said he was an upright man.

Jiang Momo lowered her eyes slightly, a bit embarrassed. “I’m not really as good as you think.”

“You’re very good,” E Mingjun said firmly.

He had never seen anyone as perfect as Jiang Momo. She was like a blazing sun, radiant and scorching. Just looking at her felt like your eyes might burn.

Jiang Momo looked up and met E Mingjun’s intense gaze. The atmosphere felt strange, so she looked away and took another half-step back.

When the old soldier rushed back, the first thing he saw was the odd tension. The two people who had been inseparable from the moment they met were now standing far enough apart for three people to fit between them.

“Unbelievable. I was only gone for five minutes and you two are already fighting?” the old soldier asked, stopping nearby and deploying two intact mechas.

E Mingjun looked up quickly. “We’re not fighting.”

“Not fighting? Then what’s this?” The old soldier gave a knowing wink at Jiang Momo and then circled around to offload the other seven damaged mechas.

Jiang Momo’s attention immediately shifted to the new arrivals.

Aside from the first mecha the old soldier brought, the other seven weren’t too badly damaged. The internal metal neural fibers were intact. There was just some outer shell damage.

Jiang Momo squatted nearby and carefully recorded the energy pathways on each mecha shell she dismantled. After tucking away her notebook, she turned her head to confirm that E Mingjun was back to normal before standing and inviting him to spar.

“Which one of these is the mecha I repaired before?” Jiang Momo placed one hand on the mecha’s calf and asked.

“None of them,” the old soldier said. “After you finished fixing that mecha, Major General Lu took it for a test pilot and then he took it away. He said the data wasn’t right and needed further study.”

“So the reason you didn’t immediately ask me to repair these eight is because the last one I did wasn’t fully fixed?” Jiang Momo quickly made the connection. “If that’s the case, I’ll hold off on repairing this one until the results come in.”

Alas, she really wasn’t a professional.

Jiang Momo sighed inwardly and deleted her plan to have E Mingjun go home after sparring while she stayed up all night analyzing materials for repairing the crippled mecha.

The old soldier hesitated for a while, struggling to find words of comfort, then swallowed them and just said, “Okay.

“We’ll tell you the moment the data’s out,” he promised.

“What about these?” Jiang Momo pointed to the seven lightly damaged mechas.

“Go ahead and repair them. Our soldiers already tested them. All the ones you repaired before ran just fine.” The old soldier scratched his head.

“Good.” Jiang Momo climbed into the nearest mecha. After donning the sensory gear and confirming E Mingjun had also climbed in, she stretched out the mecha’s arm and crooked her finger at him.

Across the way, E Mingjun’s mecha cupped its fists in salute.

Seeing he was ready, Jiang Momo activated her mental power and charged at him.

The old soldier stood by and sighed, “That’s our Momo. That punch has some serious power!”

Before the words finished, the two mechas collided.

The clash ended with E Mingjun’s mecha striking Jiang Momo’s mecha in the abdomen and knocking her down. She quickly got up and lunged again.

Ten minutes later.

The old soldier stared blankly at the mecha getting up again from the ground.

Brutal. It was just too brutal. Jiang Momo tried so hard and didn’t even graze E Mingjun’s mecha, let alone land a punch.

Jiang Momo wasn’t one to give up. With every defeat, her resolve only deepened.

She had almost never fought someone with such a strength gap in a match with no consequences for failure. E Mingjun’s techniques, which incapacitated opponents without injuring them, were completely new to her. She was bursting with excitement and wished she could tie him down for a month of non-stop sparring.

The two of them stayed in the training grounds from daylight to night and then to daylight again. The old soldier waiting on the side was so exhausted he couldn’t keep his head up, nodding off repeatedly, while Jiang Momo finally jumped off the mecha, still full of energy.

“Done sparring?” E Mingjun followed her down.

Jiang Momo shook her head. “There’s class in the morning.”

The old soldier jolted upright, eyes instantly clearing. “It’s over?!”

“Yeah.” Jiang Momo patted his shoulder. “I’ll fix those mechas as soon as possible. Don’t worry.”

“With you on it, what’s there to worry about?” The old soldier chuckled dryly and followed Jiang Momo out. The air around him seemed to dim with fatigue.

Back when those two were still going at it in the early morning, even if he wanted to learn by watching, he couldn’t see their movements clearly anymore. After piloting mechas for so many years, he’d never known they could reach this level!

As soon as Jiang Momo left, he was going to report to Major General Lu that she had completed her training and didn’t need further instruction! The old soldier seethed with conviction.

Seeing Jiang Momo and E Mingjun part ways and take different airships, the old soldier immediately turned and sprinted toward Major General Lu’s office, only to find Lu Feng already standing under a mecha, looking up at it.

“Major General Lu! I have something to report!” The old soldier stopped and saluted.

Lu Feng didn’t wait for the report and spoke directly, “This is a super S-grade mecha.”

“I want to—” The words the old soldier had prepared died in his throat. His mind went blank from the shock. He reflexively repeated, “What kind of mecha did you say?”

“Super S-grade,” said Lu Feng.

“The research institute developed a super S-grade mecha?!” The old soldier was so shocked his face flushed a deep red. His words came out in a rush, “What are the requirements to apply for one?”

Lu Feng frowned. “That bunch of useless researchers could never do it in this lifetime. This is the one Jiang Momo repaired earlier.”

“Eh???” The old soldier felt like lightning had struck him. He blinked. “Oh no.”

He really hoped he hadn’t said anything inappropriate to the master just now.

“Right, what were you about to say?” Lu Feng asked. “What do you want?”

“I want…” The old soldier’s brain turned fast. “To bring Jiang Momo’s friend into our First Military District!”

“We already invited him. He declined,” Lu Feng replied casually.

“Then I have nothing further. I’ll take my leave.” The old soldier turned and beat a hasty retreat.

***

Jiang Momo returned to the academy.

E Mingjun hadn’t come with her. At the base gate, he had said he had other matters to attend to and would be gone for three or four days. He told her to leave a message via light brain if she needed anything, then flew off.

“I think E Mingjun is acting weird.” Jiang Momo walked down a campus path, silently speaking to Little Eight.

Little Eight snorted twice.

[That’s the emotional behavior of humans during courtship.]

“Huh?” Jiang Momo looked confused. “What courtship? I’m saying that when he said he had to leave for a few days, he looked really off. He’s definitely hiding something from me!”

[Do you want me to track his whereabouts?]

Jiang Momo hesitated.

If it were back when she first arrived on the Capital Star, she would’ve immediately told Little Eight to check. But now…

“No need. Everyone has their own privacy.” Jiang Momo said. “Didn’t you hate it when Yan Chang tracked my location?”

[But you didn’t mind, did you?]

At the mention of that, Little Eight’s data fluctuated. Its cat-face icon showed disapproval.

“E Mingjun might care, though,” Jiang Momo said.

Little Eight decided not to argue. It buried its cat head and started chewing on data-popcorn in frustration.

Jiang Momo didn’t stop walking and headed toward the teaching building.

Her practical class was held in the Mecha Arena. She had come back mainly to prepare repair materials in advance so she could move them to the military training base and start fixing the mechas as soon as the class ended.

With her head down, she didn’t notice the students on both sides smiling at her. Ever since she arrived at the academy, she had been used to being stared at while walking around.

But this time, their smiles held a deeper meaning.

She didn’t realize what that meaning was until she turned the corner toward the building.

It was hard not to think too much when faced with a huge bouquet of roses and heart-shaped lights laid out all around.

Behind the heart-shaped lights, Ling Yelin saw Jiang Momo and immediately picked up the roses from the ground.

Jiang Momo froze. Her first reaction was ‘Damn.’ Whether she accepts or rejects him, there’s no way she can just continue doing business with Ling Yelin like before. And she’d planned to buy metal neural fibers from him long-term!

The second reaction was she should’ve grabbed a student earlier when they were all staring at her and questioned them. Now it’s too late to run.

Her mind was full of cries for help as she stood frozen, watching Ling Yelin walk toward her.

The two were less than 100 meters apart. Jiang Momo’s heart pounded as Ling Yelin stared straight at her with the gaze of a predator locked onto prey.

Three minutes later, Yan Chang arrived after receiving a message about Jiang Momo’s abnormal vitals. What he saw was Ling Yelin holding roses and gazing affectionately at Jiang Momo.

Yan Chang instantly exploded, rushing over like a missile and knocking Ling Yelin away.

“What the hell are you doing? Expanding your business to flower sales now?” Yan Chang stood in front of Jiang Momo like a protective mother hen, arms spread wide.

Ling Yelin had noticed the resistance in Jiang Momo’s eyes. He had been planning to press his advantage but with Yan Chang there, he didn’t want to look pathetic. He said politely, “I’m just celebrating Teacher Momo’s online viewership hitting a record. The flowers aren’t for sale.”

Ling Yelin was never sentimental without benefit. If he was putting in emotional effort, it meant there was something hugely profitable about Jiang Momo.

Yan Chang curled his lip with a ‘Yeah, right’ expression.

He was absolutely not letting Ling Yelin succeed.