Old Wang's aged face was frighteningly dark.
His brows knotted into the shape of the character river.
His jaw trembled.
He said nothing, but at that moment silence spoke louder than words.
M78 Nebula?
First the Moon, then outer space?
After all that fuss, this Xu Tiebang is actually Ultraman Tiga!
If that's the case…
Then just now Xu Tiebang was racing toward the M78 Nebula from Earth at two million light-years per second.
"Nonsense!"
Old Wang roared, blowing his beard and glaring.
His whole body shook with rage.
"jiangtian mecha Unit One, link successful!"
A sudden voice rang through the Briefing Hall.
Old Wang instinctively looked at the giant screen at the front of the hall.
In the boundless starry sky, a blue planet appeared before everyone's eyes.
It filled half the screen, edged with a crystalline white halo—dazzling, breath-taking.
The profound, majestic sight stole the breath of countless onlookers.
Every previous worry was instantly forgotten.
After a brief daze…
Old Wang caught a glimpse of his granddaughter Wang Yixue's pure, fair cheek reflected in the Holographic Helmet.
Thank heavens, little Yixue is safe!
Absolutely wonderful!
"Grandpa, can you hear me? I only just noticed your call request—I was doing the Rookie Tutorial."
Her familiar voice sounded.
Tears of old age blurred his eyes.
At this moment he was no longer the aging pillar of the nation's scientific world.
Merely an ordinary old man.
After a short silence the Briefing Hall erupted in thunderous cheers.
Countless eyes brimmed with tears.
Not just for Yixue's miraculous survival.
But for the miracle-working jiangtian no. 1!
Everyone present knew exactly what a manned space-faring mecha meant for the nation.
Old Wang and Old Man Hua understood it perfectly.
They quickly reined in their emotions and regained composure.
Now was not the time for sentiment.
"Little Yixue, during the climb you must have endured extremes of heat and cold—glad you pulled through!"
Old Wang said with feeling.
Yixue, puzzled by his remark, paused before replying sweetly,
"The cockpit's been a steady twenty-five degrees the whole time—very comfy!"
"Mm, glad you made it—huh? What??"
Clatter!
In his shock he dropped the microphone.
Old Wang picked it back up.
Puffing and panting…
He asked again,
"Little Yixue, you mean you're still in your denim hot-pants and tank-top and felt no temperature change at all?"
"Yep, is something wrong?" Yixue tilted her head, a flicker of confusion in her eyes.
"Heh… nothing, heh… all good…"
Old Wang's throat was dry; he swallowed and gave a strained laugh.
A thousand question marks rose in his mind.
He'd seen the mecha himself—no Heat-Shield Tiles, not even a Thermal-Barrier Coating.
Just some unknown alloy daubed with red paint.
Inconceivable.
The mystery became an unsolved enigma of Zhonghai Military Research Base—
and indeed the entire world!
Even Old Man Hua was stunned.
Today's events had shattered and ground his worldview to dust.
Pulverized it!
The researchers around them frowned in tangled knots.
Their minds hit a dead end—how could the cockpit stay constant temperature?*
*constant temperature: constant-temperature
Old Wang forced down his flood of questions.
He took two deep breaths…
Then said,
"Little Yixue, mastering that mecha won't be quick. Don't rush—look for an auto-return button first; that's what matters."
"No worries, I'm doing the Rookie Tutorial—about ten more minutes and I'll be able to fly jiangtian no. 1 home."
With that, Yixue blinked and lifted her chin like a kid showing off a perfect score.
Pfft—
Old Wang had tried to take a sip of water; it all shot out.
He yelped,
"Rookie Tutorial?"
"This isn't your favorite mobile game—how could a tutorial make you qualified!"
"Aiya, Grandpa, it's basically the same. You're so out-of-touch. jiangtian no. 1 is super smart and user-friendly; after a few minutes I could already sing, dance, and rap in it." Yixue rolled her eyes, looking proud.
"This…"
Old Wang was at a loss for words.
He, the most senior scientist of the nation, leader of countless powerful projects, had just been called outdated by his granddaughter—
and in his own field of expertise.
Where could he even appeal?
And what on earth was this "Rookie Tutorial" that turned an ordinary girl into a mecha pilot in one sitting?
Wasn't that just child's play?
He felt oxygen-deprived and desperately needed a couple of hits from an O₂ mask.
His blood pressure was yo-yoing—unbearable.
Like riding a roller-coaster.
Seeing Old Wang's color fade, Tong Yao quickly fetched the Emergency Medical Oxygen Bottle.
She inserted the nasal cannula into his nostrils.
Only then did Old Wang exhale in relief.
"So… Little Yixue, can you check the fuel? Keep an eye on it—don't run short on the way back."
The moment the reminder left his lips, nearby researchers snapped to attention.
Their eyes toward Old Wang brimmed with admiration.
Truly a veteran scientist—always zeroing in on the critical point.
There had been past space tragedies caused by overlooking fuel margins.
"Fuel?"
Yixue hadn't thought about it.
She glanced at the fuel gauge.
And casually answered,
"Ten bars total—nine and a half left."
"Uh—"
Old Wang's face twitched; he yanked the nasal cannula out and flung it to the floor.
Stomped on it twice.
Were it not for the setting, he'd have cursed aloud.
Damn it, stop showing off—I'll just quit breathing, alright!!
He was completely crushed.
Utterly broken.
From ground to space and only one-twentieth of the fuel spent?
Could it get any more outrageous?
Old Wang was dumbstruck.
His mind was a mess; he began to doubt life itself.
"Oops!"
Yixue suddenly exclaimed.
Everyone on the screen snapped their gaze over.
"Grandpa, I found another Reserve Energy icon—bigger capacity, fifty bars!"
Her innocent, melodious voice reached Old Wang's ears.
His eyes rolled back and he collapsed stiffly backward.
"What was that noise?"
Yixue couldn't see the video; she only heard something fall.
"Grandpa? What happened, Grandpa?"