Chapter 39

Chapter 39

In her initial plan, the three mechs had similar problems, which would have allowed her to repair all three smoothly in one go.

But clearly, each of these three mechs required specific fixes.

If there were no time constraints, Jiang Se would have patiently worked through the problems with these mechs slowly, even if it took the entire morning—she wouldn’t have minded.

But now, she was on a tight deadline—only one hour.

On the other side, Lin Xu stood with his arms crossed, his gaze coolly watching Jiang Se.

Though he didn’t say a word, Jiang Se knew that, given his personality, if she failed to finish the repairs on time, he would likely yank her away without hesitation.

Jiang Se had no desire to do a hundred push-ups. She crouched on the ground, studying the three mechs, chin in her hand, deep in thought.

Then, Lin Xu watched as Jiang Se wheeled over a silver metal ladder and began disassembling the mechs. Using a screwdriver, she removed the problematic parts directly from all three mechs and laid them out on the ground.

The administrator, seeing this, arched an eyebrow in surprise and said, “Hey, what is she doing? I’ve never seen anyone repair mechs like this before.”

“Isn’t she going to repair them one by one?”

After all, the maintenance personnel sent before always repaired them one at a time, followed by debugging and a series of tedious, complex procedures.

“I think she plans to repair all three at once,” Lin Xu remarked, watching Jiang Se’s busy back as she crouched on the ground.

“All three at once?” The administrator tsked. “Is the repair tech sent this time really that skilled?”

“Mm.” Lin Xu didn’t elaborate, only adding, “She only has an hour.”

“An hour? Is she in such a hurry because she has to rush to the next job after this? She must be a top-tier technician, right?”

...

Jiang Se ignored the conversation between the two. Her focus was entirely on the mech parts in her hands.

The faulty components of the three mechs were laid out in a row before her. Jiang Se rubbed her temples, trying to collect her thoughts.

The first mech's problem was in its left arm. After disassembling the part, Jiang Se found that a screw inside had worked itself loose. However, the location of the loose screw was so awkward that it could easily be mistaken for a deeper malfunction.

After all, a mech is a complex amalgamation of countless components. A problem in any tiny part can, like the flutter of a butterfly’s wings, lead to severe consequences.

Jiang Se tightened the screw, set the arm aside, and moved on to the left leg of the second mech. This one's problem was clearly more serious than the last.

...

An hour flew by. After tightening the last screw on the final mech, Jiang Se wiped the sweat from her forehead and looked up at the others. “I’m done!”

Her tone was calm, but it was laced with strong confidence.

Because of that confidence, even in the dimly lit warehouse, she seemed to glow.

“By the way,” Jiang Se leaned lazily against the mech and asked, “I didn’t go over time, did I?”

“No, you still have ten minutes left,” Lin Xu replied.

“Oh, perfect. Well then, come inspect the mechs!” Jiang Se said.

“Inspect?” The warehouse administrator was taken aback and looked at Jiang Se. “Isn’t that your job?”

Jiang Se smiled at him. “You might have misunderstood. I’m not a repairperson; I’m a student here on a training exercise.”

“Ah, you’re a student?” The administrator’s expression became one of even greater shock.

After all, it was pretty astounding for a newly enrolled student to possess such skills.

Since she was a student, the administrator stepped forward and climbed into each mech one by one for inspection.

When he descended from the last mech, he looked at Jiang Se seriously and said, “You did an excellent job repairing them. I even feel like these three mechs are performing better than before.”

“Of course,” Jiang Se said. “I tweaked a few internal parts. Though I didn’t have enough time to do a perfect job, it should be sufficient.”

“You’re very skilled,” the administrator said, his expression shifting from somewhat casual to very earnest. “Have you considered joining our military district after graduation? We offer quite good benefits for outstanding Mecha Pilots.”

After all, their military district collaborated with Alliance University. While they had excellent talent in Mech Pilots and Commanders, they were a step behind the Capital Military District, which partnered with Central University, when it came to Mecha Pilots.

Now that an exceptionally talented Mecha Pilot had appeared, it was only natural to openly try to poach her.

“Hmm…” Jiang Se thought for a moment, then said, “Let’s talk about it after I graduate!”

The warehouse administrator smiled on the surface, but inwardly he was ranting: “After you graduate? By the time you graduate, the military districts trying to recruit you could probably fill a table and start playing mahjong right there!”

“Alright,” Jiang Se stretched lazily and looked at Lin Xu. “Senior, we should go back and report to the instructor!”

To be honest, the instructor probably never expected her to successfully repair all three mechs. Jiang Se was quite looking forward to seeing the instructor’s reaction.

On the way back, Jiang Se walked with her head down, seemingly lost in thought.

Lin Xu suddenly spoke up. “Have any military districts invited you before?”

He hadn’t missed Jiang Se’s faintly amused expression when she heard the invitation earlier.

“Well, sort of,” Jiang Se said. “The Capital Defense Army invited me, asking me to consider their district for internships and after graduation.”

Compared to the Fifth Military District, the Capital Defense Army was clearly superior in both benefits and other aspects.

“What are your thoughts on that?” Lin Xu asked.

“I haven’t graduated yet, so I don’t want to decide too early. I feel it’s still premature to discuss this. Besides, I might not join any military district after graduation but instead choose to become a freelance Mecha Pilot.”

After all, when she browsed the Mecha Pilot Forum before, she saw many Mecha Pilots choosing to become freelancers for various reasons, not wanting to be tied down.

“A freelance Mecha Pilot?”

Lin Xu repeated the phrase, shook his head with a smile, and said nothing more.

The two soon arrived at the assembly point.

Under the scorching sun, their squadmates were standing at attention, sweat dripping from their necks and dripping onto the ground.

The few students who had been punished alongside Jiang Se were on the ground, struggling painfully through push-ups. Their postures, limbs, and even facial features were completely contorted.

It could no longer be called doing push-ups; it was more like crawling on the ground in dark, twisted agony.

“Push yourself up! Didn’t you eat? You have energy to play on your device but no strength for push-ups?”

The instructor frowned, watching them, and barked sternly.

“I really can't, Instructor… no strength left… I feel like I’m about to see my great-grandfather in heaven!”

A male voice gasped in reply.

Perhaps his tone was too humorous or his expression too sincere, someone among those standing at attention couldn’t help but laugh.