The Real Daughter Just Wants to Pilot Mechas - Chapter 91

“Has she shown signs of forgetfulness lately?”

“No idea.” Yan Chang was baffled. “How would I know if she’s forgetful or not?”

“Ask her later,” Yan Yunkui said, putting the report down. “Either way, we need to test her mental power.”

“Alright,” Yan Chang relented.

***

When Jiang Momo climbed out of the treatment pod, Yan Chang and Yan Yunkui were already waiting and they entered the room.

“How do you feel? Do you still feel uncomfortable anywhere?” Yan Chang rushed over, scanning her condition.

Jiang Momo raised her arm in a fist to show off. “Nope, I feel fantastic. Let’s go.”

The feeling was so novel. Honestly, it was the first time in her life she’d felt such complete lightness and it only ever came right after exiting the treatment pod.

Yan Chang hesitated but at Yan Yunkui’s prompting look, he lightly grasped Jiang Momo’s wrist. “We’re not done. We missed a test last time.”

“Oh, okay.” Jiang Momo nodded.

Yan Chang glanced at Yan Yunkui.

The doctor led them to the end of the corridor.

Jiang Momo followed half a step behind, her eyes suspiciously flicking between the two men’s backs.

They were hiding something from her, she was sure of it.

Soon, the three reached a fully enclosed room. In the middle was a metal bed, cold and sterile-looking.

“Lie on it for a couple of minutes, that’s all,” Yan Yunkui said, stepping aside for her and eyeing her closely.

Now they looked even more suspicious!

Jiang Momo looked at Yan Chang who smiled at her.

Maybe he’d made peace with something because the smile felt familiar. Jiang Momo blinked. Confused but trusting him, she walked in.

The heavy metal door shut behind her.

Following the instructions coming from a speaker above, she removed her light brain and set it aside, then lay flat on the bed.

A translucent, hollow oval capsule at the head of the bed lowered and covered her body from head to toe.

Outside, Yan Chang anxiously watched the slow-shifting data on the monitor. He confirmed again, “Can you delete the results before they upload to the system?”

Even if Jiang Momo had some sort of agreement with the military now, he didn’t know how deep that went. If the Federation wanted her, would the military protect her?

Yan Yunkui had answered that question several times already. He pinched his nose in exasperation. “Relax. Don’t you trust my reflexes? The machine gives a readout before the final result is submitted. I’ve got it.”

As they spoke, the screen data suddenly spiked, shooting up exponentially and quickly surpassing the usual SSS-rank threshold.

“You see this?” Yan Yunkui pointed. “Her mental power is SSS-rank at minimum.”

Yan Chang straightened a bit. “If it’s like you said, is there a treatment plan?”

“No, there isn’t,” Yan Yunkui said grimly. “Like I said, it’s theoretical. No one in history has had mental power this high. At this rate of decline, the effects of the treatment agent will only weaken over time. At most, she has five more years.”

Yan Chang grew solemn. “Who says there’s never been one?”

“I specialize in this. You think I wouldn’t know if there was such a precedent?” Yan Yunkui scoffed, then seemed to think of something and blinked before looking at Yan Chang. “I get it now. The first president who took office after the Alien Beast War in our unofficial history died because of this.”

Yan Yunkui paused for a moment. “But he died less than a year after taking office, so there’s not much we can draw from that.”

“There must be a way,” Yan Chang said. “He died at forty-six. Jiang Momo is only eighteen.” Yan Chang’s tone was very firm.

Yan Yunkui never really went against Yan Chang’s wishes, so he began following that train of thought to look for a solution.

He murmured, “If even during the Alien Beast War, with such backward medical tech, there were ways to deal with this, then there should definitely be a way now.”

Yan Chang lowered his eyelids.

He was so certain there had to be a cure because that president hadn’t actually died at forty-six. Back then, due to an assassination attempt and his own disgust with politics, he had faked his death and disappeared, eventually starting over under a new identity and forming the Yan family that survives to this day.

Of course, only the ruling members of the Yan family know this. Everyone else just hears bits of ‘unofficial history.’

“Speaking of which…” Yan Yunkui scratched his head, thoughts drifting. “It was said that guy could build the legendary mecha because of his exceptional mental power. So doesn’t that mean, if there’s a way to make it again, Jiang Momo might be able to recreate it? And it just so happens she works in mecha manufacturing!”

Yan Chang didn’t answer.

Yan Yunkui realized how ridiculous that sounded and gave an awkward laugh. “Just kidding. That method’s been lost for ages.”

Yan Chang lowered his eyes again.

Actually, it might not be completely lost. It’s just that no one can understand it anymore.

They had a bunch of ancient books from the Alien Beast War era stored in the Yan family’s warehouse. One of them had even been loaned to the Central Mecha Academy. They’d hoped that once it was seen by someone proficient in the ancient script, they might get a sense of its contents. After all, the titles of the books seemed very similar, possibly part of a series.

However, the academy hadn’t reported anything unusual. Ge Qing had nearly worn that book out years ago but there had still been no reaction from the Federation. So Yan Chang assumed those books probably had nothing to do with mecha manufacturing.

While the two were talking, the data on the monitor surged again. Yan Chang glanced at the off-the-charts numbers and turned to Yan Yunkui.

“That’s probably enough, right?” Yan Chang asked.

Yan Yunkui checked the time. “Normally we’d wait another thirty seconds.”

Just as he finished speaking, a muffled ‘bang’ came from inside the machine. A burnt smell filled the air and the screen went black.

“What happened?” Yan Chang jumped and took two steps back.

Yan Yunkui went up to tinker with it, lips trembling from distress. “It exploded.”

Yan Chang immediately understood and his face grew tense. “Jiang Momo’s mental power has already exceeded the machine’s capacity?”

“You could say that,” Yan Yunkui replied, voice shaking. “We were too conservative with the time estimate.”

At the current rate, she has at most two years left.

Theoretically, while the human body always possesses mental power, it can only be gradually sensed and used after age eighteen. This interaction is mutual, meaning that from eighteen onward, mental power begins to burden the body. But for ordinary people, the burden is so mild they may never feel it throughout their lives.

“Jiang Momo just reached adulthood,” Yan Yunkui said.

“Yeah, only two or three months ago.”

At that moment, Jiang Momo pushed the door open and walked out. Seeing Yan Yunkui looking at her, she pointed inside and said, “The light suddenly went out while I was lying in there, so I crawled out. By the way, your system isn’t very smart. It’s automated going in but I had to crawl out myself.”

The space in there wasn’t large and she had to wriggle quite a bit to free herself.

Neither Yan Yunkui nor Yan Chang responded to her comment.

Jiang Momo looked around, confused, and then was startled by the look on Yan Chang’s face. “Yan Chang, are you crying? What happened?”

“It’s nothing.” Yan Chang’s voice was slightly shaky as he glanced at Yan Yunkui.

Yan Yunkui sighed. “For now, try to use up your mental power regularly. I’ll work on a solution.”

Jiang Momo blinked. “What are you two being cryptic about?”

“Have you been forgetful lately?” Yan Yunkui asked directly.

“Not really,” Jiang Momo said.

“Your body…” and its functions are declining.

Yan Yunkui was about to tell her the truth when Yan Chang jabbed him hard in the waist, forcing him to change course mid-sentence. “…has no serious issues. Just make sure you get at least eight hours of sleep a day, eat regularly, and avoid spicy or stimulating foods.”

Jiang Momo nodded. “Got it.”