ABFMV Chapter 35 Part 2

This was the very first assignment after being accepted as Elder Jiang’s student. She had to give it her all—she couldn’t let him down.

She just hadn’t imagined it would be this overwhelming.

He Tan led her down to the first floor of the research institute, pointing to a small room at the far end of the hallway. “From now on, this will be your workspace. It’s your personal lab. Only your iris scan will open the door.”

“As for the materials, they’re in Storage on the fifth basement level. The entire floor is the materials depot. Go down there and the staff will ask what you need. I don’t need to take you, right?”

Xu Linlang shook her head, showing she could handle it herself.

Two hours later, fifteen full crates of parts were hauled into her tiny lab, nearly filling it wall to wall.

Staring at the mountain of parts, she quickly pulled up the files He Tan had sent her.

Counting carefully, she realized there were a total of 586 different types of C- and D-class components.

She had to assemble all 586 of them in just one week.

And the individual parts were scattered and fiddly—at least three to four thousand pieces in all.

Even scarier was that the information He Tan sent her contained only one-line descriptions for each part—no details about their functions, principles, or compatibility.

Many of these components hadn’t even appeared in the past fifty years of real exams or thirty years of practice exams. She had no idea what they were.

Sure, she was given assembly diagrams for each part, but those were practically useless to her.

For the first time, Xu Linlang felt the urge to drop out.

After her little breakdown, she opened her personal terminal to contact He Tan:
[Professor He, do you happen to have a more detailed version of the C- and D-class parts data?]

He Tan replied quickly, but the answer wasn’t what she wanted.
[That stuff is way too basic, I don’t keep it on hand. You’ll have to check the Mecha Academy’s digital archives.]

[Okay, thank you, Professor He.]

Sighing, Xu Linlang packed up her study tools, slung on her little backpack, and headed for the Mecha Academy’s digital archives.

The archives really did have detailed records. Xu Linlang chose a quiet seat and began copying down the parts she didn’t understand or thought were important into her e-notebook.

The place worked like a modern library, just a bit more advanced.

In the silent reading room, only the sound of people’s footsteps could be heard. Before long, Xu Linlang was completely absorbed in the complicated functions and principles of each part.

If it hadn’t been for closing time, she wouldn’t have left at all—she wanted to familiarize herself with all the parts as quickly as possible.

Better to learn them thoroughly now than waste time fumbling through them while assembling.

Just as a girl walking past turned to leave, her backpack accidentally knocked Xu Linlang’s e-notebook off the desk. Xu Linlang jumped in alarm.

If it had been damaged, her whole afternoon would’ve gone to waste.

The girl quickly crouched down to pick it up. When she saw who the owner was, her hands shook uncontrollably.

Xu Linlang was worried she might drop it again.

The girl stammered nervously, looking terrified. “I—I didn’t mean to, I was just passing by. I’m sorry, really sorry! If it’s broken, I’ll pay for it!”

Xu Linlang took the notebook, checked it over, and saw it was fine. She shook her head. “It’s okay.”

The girl blinked, surprised that Xu Linlang was so easygoing. She tried to make small talk. “It’s almost closing time. Aren’t you leaving?”

Xu Linlang stretched. “Yeah, I’ll pack up now.”

The girl hesitated a moment, then introduced herself. “I’m Jin Duoduo, from the Mecha Maintenance Department.”

The name immediately struck Xu Linlang—it was exactly the kind of artful, auspicious name that only parents of the older generation could come up with.

Jin Duoduo. What a great name. If she could, she’d take it for herself.

Maybe because she liked the name so much, and because Jin Duoduo was extra pure and sweet-looking, Xu Linlang tucked her e-notebook into her backpack and smiled. “Guess I don’t need to introduce myself. Want to head out together?”

Jin Duoduo nodded. “Sure.”

Xu Linlang asked curiously, “So what do you usually learn in Maintenance?”

Jin Duoduo counted on her fingers: “Cleaning mechs, applying protective films, painting designs on them…”

The more Xu Linlang listened, the more envious she felt. It all sounded so light and fun. If Maintenance was heaven mode, then Manufacturing had to be hell mode.

“Then why are you here in the archives? Doesn’t sound like you guys have heavy coursework,” Xu Linlang asked.

Jin Duoduo scratched her head, embarrassed. “This is just extra study for me. I really envy you—you actually got into the department you wanted.”

Xu Linlang raised a brow. “Wait… do you mean you wanted to be in Manufacturing too?”

She was just about to tell her to run while she still could, when Jin Duoduo shook her head shyly. “No, I wanted to go into the Mecha Piloting Department.”

Xu Linlang was stunned. With her sweet, delicate looks and soft voice, Jin Duoduo seemed like the last person who would say that.

But her face lit up with joy. “Yeah! Piloting a mech, crushing enemies, wiping out Zerg—that’s just way too cool!”

Seeing the infinite yearning in Jin Duoduo’s eyes, Xu Linlang suddenly felt like maybe she was the real softie here.

But soon Jin Duoduo’s smile faded. “But my genetic rating is D. I’ll never be able to pilot a mech in this lifetime. Just being able to study something related to mechs at all is already a blessing.”

Xu Linlang didn’t know how to comfort her. All she could say was, “Maybe one day, they’ll invent mechs that don’t require a certain gene level. Then you’ll be able to take one onto the battlefield yourself.”

Jin Duoduo laughed lightly. “Since you’re Elder Jiang’s disciple, I’ll take your word for it.”

She said it playfully, though she clearly thought Xu Linlang was just humoring her.

Neither of them imagined that years later, mechs unrestricted by gene level would really be developed, and the one who created them was none other than Xu Linlang.

And the very first person to pilot one was Jin Duoduo.

When she was promoted to major general on the strength of her outstanding battle record, the first person she thanked in her speech was Xu Linlang, saying plainly: Without Xu Linlang, I wouldn’t be where she was today.

…

Outside the Mecha Academy’s digital archives, a group of girls was gathered, eyes sparkling.

The building only had three exits: one on the left, one on the right, and the main entrance.

Lu Xiao stood by the left exit, flipping through a file, looking very much like he was waiting for someone.

Qi Ye stood by the right exit, checking his terminal every so often—it was obvious he too was waiting for someone.