The Real Daughter Just Wants to Pilot Mechas - Chapter 93

Jiang Momo had previously watched the full simulation battle on Yan Chang’s light brain. Although it was the student version, it likely wasn’t too different from the military’s, so she felt reasonably confident in Qin Chu’s skills.

“For the team battle, I don’t plan to limit the number of participants per match. Set it so that anyone who presses the match button within ten seconds joins the same game,” Jiang Momo said after thinking for a bit. “For alien beasts, set the range from 1 to 9999. Each match adjusts the quantity according to player count.”

Qin Chu jotted everything down.

Seeing she had noted all the key points, Jiang Momo asked, “If people figure out the pattern later and a bunch join at once, will that cause lag?”

“Nope,” Qin Chu replied without looking up. “With the current devices, even if the entire Federation joins at once, it’ll be fine.”

“The whole Federation?” Jiang Momo’s eyes lit up. “Can we make the team battle compatible across all versions?”

Qin Chu understood what she meant. “You mean people inside and outside the military can match together?”

“Exactly. Let’s throw in a few clumsy rookies for the soldiers. It’ll be good practice for them.” Jiang Momo smiled.

Qin Chu immediately pictured the scene in her mind and grinned as she marked that suggestion as a priority.

“Great idea. Let’s set it up that way. If this mode ever gets released to the public, it’ll help push military-civilian integration too.”

Realizing what she’d just said, Qin Chu quickly shut up and smacked her forehead, annoyed. She’d been writing speeches for her boss so much lately that now, the official language just came out naturally.

Jiang Momo didn’t mind and continued, “We can also set up a scoring system and upload classic match clips, ones with the most alien beasts killed in the shortest time, and make them available for paid study.”

Qin Chu followed up, “If we’re talking about monetization, direct payment isn’t very appropriate. Let’s design a point system instead. Since we’ll have points, we can also open a shop system to sell more advanced equipment and skins. Then, based on individual gear and skins, we can create a ranking system.”

Jiang Momo blinked. “Why isn’t direct payment appropriate?”

“Because it’s unfair,” Qin Chu said. “If players can spend money from the very start, it could break the game balance and ruin the experience for ordinary players. If we can’t retain regular players, paying players won’t get that sense of superiority from comparison and that’s how many games go bankrupt.

“Besides, if we have a shop system, the initial equipment we release shouldn’t be too powerful. If it’s too hard early on, people won’t stay,” Qin Chu kept going.

Jiang Momo said, “…You’re quite the expert.”

She hadn’t thought about any of those. Her original plan was to play a few rounds herself, record them into highlight videos, and charge people to watch and learn. That way, she could make some money.

“No, I just really love playing games,” Qin Chu said, scratching the back of her head a little awkwardly. “I feel like this battle system will eventually hit the market, so I want to design it well from the start. Am I talking too much?”

“No! Not at all! Every single word was extremely important!” Jiang Momo slapped Qin Chu on the shoulder with sincerity. “I’m really lucky to be designing this battle system with you! If it were someone else, they wouldn’t be as thorough and responsible as you.”

Qin Chu blushed deeply at the praise, her cheeks turning red. “It’s not as great as you say. I don’t know that much.”

“You’re excellent,” Jiang Momo said confidently. “If there’s a similar collaboration in the future, you’ll be my first choice!”

Qin Chu nodded vigorously. “I’ll do my best.”

After unintentionally giving Qin Chu a huge compliment, Jiang Momo continued explaining her ideas about the alien beast data.

“The ten alien beasts from before were standard ones. We can use them as a base and create variants by adding flying, burrowing, or invisibility abilities to increase their combat value. The alien beasts with special abilities need specific weaknesses set. Oh right, we didn’t set any weaknesses last time, did we? I’ll send you the locations of each alien beast’s weak points, so just add them in.”

Qin Chu gasped and then relaxed a bit after Jiang Momo explained what she meant by weak points. “So, the weak point is a spot that can bypass the alien beast’s defense? Attacking it has the same effect as shattering a heart or skull?”

“More or less, but some beasts won’t die quickly even if their heart or head is gone. However, if you hit the weak point, it can be fatal in one blow,” Jiang Momo explained.

Qin Chu frowned. “What’s the principle behind that?”

“No idea.” Jiang Momo shrugged. She thought for a moment and asked, “Is it hard to modify that part of the setting?”

Qin Chu let out a breath. “Last time I added some basic AI data into the alien beasts, so this time I just need to adjust the settings slightly. There’s no need for a full rework.”

“That’s fine, then.” Jiang Momo didn’t know how much work that actually was but seeing Qin Chu so relaxed, she didn’t worry and continued to propose ideas, “These mutated alien beasts with special abilities usually have two weak points. One minor one, which is ability-related and you can just set it based on the ability. For example, a flying beast with wings could have feathers as a weak spot, it could be vulnerable to water, and if it gets wet, it can’t fly.”

“What about the major weak point? Is it the same as before?” Qin Chu asked.

Jiang Momo shook her head. “Alien beasts with special abilities don’t generate them spontaneously in battle. They rely on long-term accumulation and the ability storage spots are usually fixed. These areas are more distinct from normal skin and often have objects that can counteract their ability. For instance, a twisted hair that becomes sharp when pulled out is a major weak point.”

Qin Chu looked completely confused.

Jiang Momo took a deep breath. “We’ve encountered one of these before. The military should have video footage. I’ll ask Major General Lu to send it to you later.”

“Okay.” Qin Chu nodded repeatedly and lowered the priority of setting the new alien beasts’ weaknesses.

Then Jiang Momo rambled on with a bunch of basic settings about the alien beasts. Only after confirming Qin Chu had recorded everything did she leave with peace of mind.

Outside the Military Research Institute, Yan Chang was still sitting cross-legged on the ground, resting his face in one hand, seemingly looking at his light brain. Jiang Momo tiptoed over and tapped him gently on the shoulder.

Yan Chang jumped in shock and looked up sharply, only to see Jiang Momo smiling at him.

“You got scared that badly?” Jiang Momo was surprised. She didn’t think she’d been that quiet coming over.

Yan Chang stood up calmly and stomped his feet. “No big deal. I just didn’t expect you to come out so soon. I was just checking my battle records.”

He looked around, then leaned in and whispered, “Can you tell me what updates were made to the battle system?”

“We added a team battle mode, some new alien beasts, and a shop system,” Jiang Momo replied. “Oh right, what grade mecha are you guys using in solo battles simulation pod now?”

“A-grade,” Yan Chang said excitedly. “So that means we’ll be able to buy S-grade and even super S-grade mecha in the shop?!”

“Probably.” Jiang Momo nodded. “But you can’t use star coins. It’ll all be point-based.”

Yan Chang inhaled sharply. “How do we earn points? Can they be traded? If they’re hard to earn but can be traded, they might get really valuable.”

Jiang Momo blinked and immediately sent Qin Chu a message to add a trading system.

That way, the plan she just abandoned, to record her own gameplay and sell the videos, could be picked up again!

“Let’s go. It gets cold around here at night. Let’s get some sleep and talk tomorrow.” Yan Chang pulled out the jacket he’d been holding and draped it over Jiang Momo’s shoulders.

Jiang Momo hadn’t really felt cold but she accepted the gesture graciously. She wrapped the coat around herself and followed him toward the spaceship.

***

Jiang Momo originally thought Yan Chang only followed her around that day because he was free but unexpectedly, for the entire week that followed, he stuck to her like a tail. He even forced her into a strict routine of early sleep and early rise.

During that time, Jiang Momo repaired the S-grade mecha with the broken leg and just as they predicted, it upgraded to super S-grade once repaired.

The A-grade mecha the students made was also completed and sold to the Mecha Arena. The manager was so thrilled he set off fireworks outside the venue for three days straight in celebration.

As for the A-grade mecha originally meant for Yan Chang, it still hadn’t been built because he insisted Jiang Momo maintain her strict schedule. She could tell he really missed his mecha but he still refused to let her stay up late. His attitude puzzled her.

Meanwhile, that week, some videos of mecha fighting alien beasts began appearing on the StarNet video platforms. Military personnel confirmed that the alien beasts shown were indistinguishable from real ones. Views soared quickly but across the vast Federation, the videos only circulated in limited areas and didn’t cause much of a stir.

So when the military issued a notice that they would be launching a full holographic combat simulation game, it didn’t cause much commotion.