A Chemist's Interstellar Saga
Chapter 81: An Incident Before The Competition

Chapter 81: An Incident Before The Competition

At the Mecha Department...

Since yesterday, when Bernanke saw the mecha that seemed to be repaired by a helper, he had come up with an idea.

After hesitating for two days, Bernanke went to the director’s office to find Magen.

"Sir..." Bernanke hesitated, unsure how to start.

"Bernanke, what’s the matter?" Magen asked, seeing Bernanke’s uncertain expression.

"Well, sir, I was looking for an assistant, and I thought the helper you arranged for me the other day was pretty good. I was wondering if they could be my assistant. What do you think?" Bernanke finally said.

Magen thought for a moment and then said, "You mean her? But she’s not one of us. She can’t be your assistant, and she’s still a student."

"A student?!" Bernanke said, surprised.

"Yes, she’s a student in our Department of Mecha Manufacture," Magen added.

"Are students this skilled nowadays?" Bernanke thought of the mecha he saw repaired the other day and was amazed.

Magen raised an eyebrow, curious. "Is she really that good? I think she’s just a freshman."

Magen thought the girl had just cleaned the mecha well and thus earned Bernanke’s approval. He liked tidy kids too.

Thinking this, Magen nodded, feeling even better about the girl. He thought he might show her more advanced mechas next time.

"A freshman this year? That means she’s only in her teens. She can disassemble and replace broken parts on her own without making any mistakes. That’s really impressive," Bernanke praised, still surprised.

Hearing this, Magen suddenly realized something. He stared at Bernanke, almost speechless, "You mean she repaired a broken mecha by herself?"

"Yes. Didn’t you find the helper for me? Why do you seem to know less than I do?" Bernanke asked, puzzled.

Magen kept his mouth shut in silence.

In fact, he just randomly grabbed someone to clean the dirty mecha. This was also Bernanke’s fault for not putting the mecha away during his break, leaving it dirty in the repair room.

It seemed the Mecha Department needed a new rule: except during repair time, dirty mechas must stay in the Space Button.

The more Magen thought about it, the more annoyed he felt with Bernanke. He might be the first to be dealt with under this new rule.

"Sir..." Bernanke felt uneasy under Magen’s gaze. He swallowed nervously, and wondered what he had done wrong.

"No problem. Follow me and show me the mecha she repaired," Magen said, choosing to skip the topic for now, his tone dismissive.

He was very curious if the girl was really as good as Bernanke said. Magen led Bernanke to his own repair room and motioned for Bernanke to bring out the mecha.

Bernanke nodded and took out the Comet-Class mecha. The once battered and broken mecha now looked brand new, looking powerful and intimidating.

If Magen hadn’t seen the mecha before, he might not have recognized it. It was clear that Arix had put a lot of effort into the repair. Magen silently nodded in approval.

The mecha was clean and looked new—an extra point for that.

Then Magen thoroughly inspected the mecha inside and out, his admiration growing stronger. If 100 points was the maximum, Magen would give her 99!

The only thing he was dissatisfied with was that he found some parts in the mecha that he hadn’t provided. Although Arix had volunteered them, Magen didn’t feel right about taking advantage of a young girl.

Thinking this, Magen sent Bernanke away and used his opticomputer to check the records of visitors to the Mecha Department from the other day.

When he found Arix’s photo, his eyes lit up, and he opened the file.

Visitor Records of the Mecha Department:

- Name: Arix Kering

- Gender: Female

- Identity: Daughter of Admiral Thaddeus Kering

- Entry Pass: One-time

- Sponsor: Kellan Kering

After reading the file, Magen was surprised. He hadn’t expected her to be the granddaughter of an old friend.

Thinking of the sweet and well-behaved girl, Magen started to feel a bit jealous of Matis. ’How does that old rascal get all the good luck?’ The woman he once had a crush on married Matis instead, and even Matis’s children were exceptional. Now, Matis had a lovely granddaughter too.

For the first time in his life, the lonely Magen felt a bit empty and cold.

Magen sighed deeply, then he opened his opticomputer to contact someone he had labeled as "old hypocrite."

"Well, well, a rare guest! What brings you here?" Matis’s smiling face appeared on the 3D virtual screen.

From the moment he saw Matis, Magen’s expression soured, but he forced himself to hold back his dislike. "Arix, she’s your granddaughter, right?"

Matis raised his eyebrows in surprise and replied, "Yes, my little granddaughter. Why?"

"I want her to study mecha with me. Make it happen," Magen said bluntly.

Matis was speechless.

This wasn’t something he could just decide. Ever since Arix developed the Psychic Healer, more and more people had opposed her staying in the Mecha Department.

Recently, Matis had begun to have doubts himself. So when he heard Magen’s words, his expression finally turned serious. "Are you sure Arix is suitable for mecha?"

"Hey! Old hypocrite, what do you mean by that? Are you questioning Arix, or are you questioning me, a master of mecha?" Magen was furious, his eyes blazing as he glared at Matis.

"Ahem.. Why do you always come up with these nicknames? Anyway, this isn’t something that can be explained in just a few words. Many people are against Arix staying in the Department of Mecha Manufacture. If you can take Arix as an apprentice, it would actually be a good thing," Matis said, exasperated by the ongoing issue.

Lately, Matis had been stressed to the point of losing hair over this matter. Almost everyone who learned that Arix was in the Department of Mecha Manufacture gave him a look of reproach, as if saying, ’A child doesn’t know any better, but you, an adult, are encouraging this nonsense. A genius in potion-making, and you’re letting her waste time on forging mechas.’

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