The Real Daughter Just Wants to Pilot Mechas - Chapter 88

“Can I get paid more?!” Jiang Momo blurted out in excitement, then coughed lightly and corrected herself, “I mean, the value of a super S-grade mecha must be higher than an S-grade one. Plus, this might be the first super S-grade mecha in the Federation. It’s definitely significant.”

Lu Feng replied calmly, “It is significant. The research institute offered two hundred million to buy the mecha back.”

Jiang Momo’s eyes instantly lit up.

Lu Feng continued, “I didn’t agree.”

“Why not?” Jiang Momo was so shocked her voice nearly cracked.

She had never seen that much money in her life! Was Major General Lu really that indifferent to wealth?!

“Because I think figuring out how it was upgraded is more valuable than handing it over to that bunch of useless people just to sit around. And I believe you’re the only one qualified for this task,” Lu Feng said. “You want to figure it out too, don’t you?”

Jiang Momo took a deep breath.

True but she wanted the money even more.

“Is there any room to change your mind?” she asked, still struggling.

“What room?” Lu Feng blinked and then quickly realized what she meant. He laughed. “They said we could still return it for the same price if we changed our minds within half a month. There’s less than a day left now.”

“Can I see the mecha?” Jiang Momo mentally hyped herself up.

A day should be enough.

“Of course.” Lu Feng immediately deployed the mecha onto the open space in front of the office building.

Jiang Momo looked up. She wasn’t sure if it was her imagination but under the sunlight, the mecha seemed even more ‘imposing’ and ‘majestic’ than before.

“Mind if I try it out?” she asked Lu Feng.

He nodded.

Jiang Momo climbed in swiftly, entered the cockpit, closed the hatch, put on the sensory gear, and activated the mecha, all in one smooth motion.

This time, the mecha’s response speed was subtly faster than before. She performed a few warm-up moves using the mental power compression technique Lu Feng had taught her and didn’t notice much difference. Then she tried E Mingjun’s technique.

This time, she noticed a distinct change. The inertia when the super S-grade mecha was coated with mental power was significantly reduced. In other words, it was much easier to control its strength during movement.

Lu Feng looked up at the mecha executing warm-ups with unprecedented power, deep thought in his eyes.

Soon, Jiang Momo jumped back down.

“What are the criteria for classifying it as super S-grade?” she asked.

“In testing, all of its metrics vastly exceeded the maximum values of existing S-grade mechas,” Lu Feng replied.

Jiang Momo pinched her chin and murmured to herself, “So, there is a special substance in the Golden Crow ore that increases the speed of mental power detection?”

She thought for a while, opened her light brain, and typed a message to Ling Yelin.

[Jiang Momo]: What’s the difference between standard metal neural fibers and the one you gave me last time?

Ling Yelin must have been using his light brain too, as he replied almost instantly.

[010]: Standard metal neural fibers come out of the factory very thin and long. They’re different from the one I gave you. You don’t know how to use it? Do you want me to ask someone from the research institute?

[Jiang Momo]: No need, thanks.

[010]: No problem. So, is there more Golden Crow ore?

Jiang Momo didn’t respond. She looked up at Lu Feng.

The metal neural fibers made with the Golden Crow ore were clearly more sensitive to mental power. When used, only a small amount of mental power was needed to extend them to the limit. So, it made sense that piloting would also involve faster mental power response.

Lu Feng immediately understood. “You’re sure it’s a mental power sensitivity issue?”

Jiang Momo shook her head. “I’m not sure but that’s the only variable.”

“Then study this mecha for now. Let’s talk when there’s a concrete conclusion,” Lu Feng said bluntly.

Seeing that Jiang Momo looked like she wanted to argue, he raised his hand right away. “Our military district has higher-grade mechas now. We can apply for a larger military budget. Once the funding comes in, I’ll transfer it to you directly. It won’t be much, probably just a few tens of millions.”

“Alright.” Jiang Momo nodded.

Obviously, even if the research institute took the mecha back, there was no way she’d get the full two hundred million. She was already satisfied with the cut.

“But the report was just submitted. We’ll have to wait another month or two,” Lu Feng added.

“No rush.” Jiang Momo was calm now. “What about that crippled mecha? Has it been repaired? I want to see if I can replicate it again.”

“Of course not!” Lu Feng took off his white gloves, pulled a mecha space button from his pocket, and handed it to Jiang Momo. “Just take it with you to fix. No need to go back and forth.”

Jiang Momo reached out and watched as Lu Feng placed the space button, still warm from body heat, into her palm. She clenched her fist around it and raised a brow. “I already have that level of clearance?”

“Of course,” Lu Feng said. “Because of your special contributions, your treatment has also been upgraded. You now have the same privileges as a standard lieutenant.”

If Jiang Momo were an official member, she’d at least have a third-grade merit by now.

“Got it.” Jiang Momo didn’t ask for details. Anyway, her account was about to get a massive deposit soon anyway.

She tucked away the space button, looked at the two people waiting nearby, and then pointed to the mecha still standing behind her. “Can I pilot this one a little longer?”

Lu Feng glanced at the time. “Of course. You go ahead and train. I’ve got other work to do, so I won’t keep you company.”

“Do your thing, don’t mind me.” Jiang Momo waved him off and quickly climbed back into the mecha.

Lu Feng watched her back, said a few words to an old soldier, then turned and left.

***

Jiang Momo kept practicing mecha piloting until she confirmed that it moved normally under mental power control.

By then, the old soldier had disappeared somewhere.

She looked around, walked to a tree, and retrieved the space button for the mecha she had just piloted.

“They’re really trusting me with this?” Jiang Momo stared at the space button in her hand, completely baffled. “Isn’t this mecha super important?!”

“Of course it is.” Lu Feng had received an alert from the system and rushed down from the office building. Hearing that line as he reached her, he answered right away, “The whole military district is under surveillance, so it can’t be lost. Besides, it’s safer in your hands anyway, no need to worry.”

Jiang Momo gave a small laugh. “You sure trust me.”

“If I didn’t, I wouldn’t have invited you to join the team,” Lu Feng replied. “So, what’s next? Do you want to try the combat simulation? A few people made the leaderboard in the last two weeks. We’re planning to roll it out across the entire First Military District.”

“I’m heading back to school. I’ve got classes this afternoon and need a nap first.” Jiang Momo yawned. It was already six in the morning.

***

Jiang Momo returned to the academy by ship just before 7 AM. After some thought, she chose breakfast over going straight to her dorm to sleep.

The academy cafeteria was surprisingly empty for breakfast time with only a few scattered students eating.

“Wondering why there are so few people?” Yan Chang peeked over her shoulder and plopped down next to her without a care.

“Are there any events happening in the academy lately?” Jiang Momo asked. “This time slot used to be packed.”

“You haven’t heard? It’s because of that combat simulation thing. It went live yesterday afternoon. Every student dorm has one simulation pod installed. Everyone’s probably immersed in fighting the alien beasts right now.”

“The students like it that much?” Jiang Momo asked.

Yan Chang slapped his thigh. “Totally! It’s super fun. I played all night and couldn’t even kill one alien beast. They say the teacher dorms will get them too. You’ll know once you try. It’s insane. The alien beasts are super tough.

“Oh right.” Yan Chang suddenly remembered something and chuckled. “Every time your character dies, the producers’ names flash on the screen. One of them has the same name as you! What a coincidence. Every time it happens, I feel like it’s you mocking me!”

Jiang Momo looked at Yan Chang without speaking.

He laughed for a moment and then suddenly paused, realizing something. His hand froze behind his head. “Wait, don’t tell me it is you?”

“Do you have a recording of the gameplay? Let me see.” Jiang Momo didn’t admit it immediately. She wasn’t sure if the military had modified the combat simulation before releasing it.

“I do.” Yan Chang pulled up a video from his light brain and sent it over.

[King of Alien Beasts]: [Video]

The video was 45 seconds long. After skipping the intro and death screen, the actual fight lasted 30 seconds.

Jiang Momo watched it twice. Once she confirmed the alien beast data hadn’t changed from her original settings, she closed her light brain.

“Did you set the pain sensitivity level high? You only drew five alien beasts.”

“I set it to 100% pain sensitivity. Tutor E said you need pain to know where your moves are off,” Yan Chang said instinctively and then paused. “So pain sensitivity level is related to the number of alien beasts? What’s the maximum you can draw?”

“Fifty-one,” Jiang Momo replied.

He had asked someone in the First Military District before but no one knew the answer.

Yan Chang immediately understood that every time he saw ‘Jiang Momo’ pop up on the screen after dying, it really was the person in front of him.

He sucked in a breath. “Aside from piloting mechas, is there anything you can’t do?”

Jiang Momo just smiled and didn’t answer.

She could pilot mechas too now.