Find a rich stepfather

With an advanced engineer like Uriel on hand, tracking a location based on their current information was incredibly easy.

Uriel deployed a micro-camera drone. The small golden sphere flapped its tiny wings, zipped into the exhibition hall, focused on the center, and zoomed in—

“Isn’t that my little white-haired test pilot?!”

Yu Chen’s heart stirred. The little bird had snuck out through the waterway multiple times. He had vaguely suspected something, and now that his suspicions were confirmed, he felt much calmer.

As long as he doesn’t fly out of his control, there won’t be any trouble.

Yu Chen glanced at Uriel through the video feed, following the sound of his voice. Even though the other couldn’t see him, Uriel felt the weight of his psychological trauma increase dramatically.

Yu Chen emphasized coolly, “Not yours. Mine.”

“…Yes, sir.”

“You’ll provide the commentary from now on.”

“Me? Ah, but I’m just a mecha engineer! Commentary is—” Uriel stole a glance at his uncle’s expression and, driven by a strong survival instinct, straightened his back. “…I should be able to handle it.”

As it turns out, everyone has their own area of ​​expertise, and you shouldn’t force yourself to do something you’re not good at.

Uriel braced himself and, using the descriptive skills he’d long since forgotten from primary school language class, described the battlefield. Then, he lazily manipulated the camera to find a talkative bystander and switched to a live relay.

The talkative Lu Xun: “Rattlesnake Unit 0 is entering the field! Just as expected of an experimental unit, the deep grey-blue paint job comes with radar invisibility and its lines are clean and beautiful.”

Uriel let out a breath of relief. Good! Well said.

Lu Xun: “There it is! The single-handed, three-step side vault onto the mecha! My idol is so beautiful, so cool! I wish I was the one being stepped on…”

Yu Chen: “…”

Uriel: “…”

Maybe we should switch channels?

When the news of the individual match broke, spectators crowded the edge of the field.

Bearded Vulture was warming up, looking experienced and seasoned. He belonged to the sturdy, strong Accipitriformes order and specialized in heavy mecha. Glancing at the lightweight mecha piloted by the young opponent, he stroked his beard and smiled. “Friendship first, competition second. I’m Reckless Vulture. May I ask for my little friend’s handle?”

Many in the mercenary circle preferred not to reveal their real names, so using handles was a custom. Bai Ling, of course, also had a fixed codename.

However, he scanned the edge of the field and noticed six or seven hidden cameras. Considering that there were also many small manufacturers exhibiting in the adjacent hall, such as those selling paint, awnings, and genuine leather interiors, he wondered if there might be potential sponsors watching the live stream out of boredom.

Bai Ling: “Hello. I’m ‘Ad Space for Rent’.”

The onlookers: “???”

A group of bosses, who had been playing cards while listening to the stream, froze, then burst out laughing.

Bearded Vulture face stiffened and the corner of his mouth twitched. Absurd! Young people these days have no subtlety! Writing your ambition right on your ID? How can you possibly gain the appreciation of high-end manufacturers like that? Even if you did, you’d only attract low-tier factories!

Three minutes later, the match began on time.

With the clang of the bell, Bearded Vulture instantly slammed his throttle to the max. Aiming for a quick kill, he intended to crush his opponent in one blow and fired directly at [Ad Space for Rent].

“BOOM—”

As the grey smoke cleared, a three-meter-wide crater dented the ground.

The crowd cheered, “Reckless Vulture! Reckless Vulture!”

Bearded Vulture looked on with a sneer, but his eye twitched. The crater was empty. His scalp tingled, and he spun around rapidly to block.

“CLANG!”

In the next second, [Ad Space for Rent] dove straight down. The beam saber in its hand, carrying immense gravitational potential energy, slammed into the seams of [Reckless Vulture]’s back armor. He was trying to pry off the enemy’s armor like a turtle shell!

Inside the cockpit, Bearded Vulture roared in anger, “Naive!” He raised his arm for a close-range blast at Bai Ling’s mecha’s neck, but the opponent agilely dodged. Bearded Vulture immediately leaped into the air.

He hadn’t expected this disabled, one-legged pilot to be so troublesome. Five minutes had passed, and he hadn’t landed a single shot. But lightweight mecha were glass cannons on the battlefield. If this fight dragged on, [Ad Space for Rent] definitely wouldn’t hold out.

Bearded Vulture hardened his heart and decided to use his ultimate technique—

Lu Xun’s pupils contracted. “Damn it! [Reckless Vulture] is going to use his acid finishing move! That old bastard! What happened to ‘friendship first’?”

Just as he spoke, a sky-filling volley of acid shells formed an inescapable net, about to engulf Bai Ling.

Bearded Vulture’s fans said smugly, “Once Old Hu uses this move, even if the mecha doesn’t explode, it’ll be severely corroded. No matter how pretty the paint job, it’s finished.”

Inside Rattlesnake’s cockpit.

Warnings flooded the console. Rattlesnake’s voice was cold and urgent. “Master! Calculated evasion probability is decreasing! There is an 80% chance we must endure the acid rain! Please hold onto the handrails!”

Bai Ling suddenly said, “Rattlesnake, do you trust me?”

Rattlesnake didn’t hesitate. “Of course, Master.”

Bai Ling’s gray eyes glinted sharply. “Switch to manual control immediately.”

Dare to splash acid on his mecha and ruin its face? He must have a death wish.

Although the Rattlesnake didn’t understand his intention, this time, it chose to abandon calculations and trust its intuition—

Wait? Can artificial intelligence have intuition?

Rattlesnake relinquished operational control. Bai Ling’s slender, talon-like fingers flew across the panel as his eyes rapidly scanned the data, like a precisely operating machine.

His steady demeanor somehow ignited Rattlesnake’s fuel tank. Rattlesnake suddenly roared its engine and also began to howl earnestly:

Bai Ling: ?

Who corrupted my little girl’s voice bank?

At that moment, Ptolemy, holding two ice cream cones, happened to be innocently passing by.

Ptolemy couldn’t find Rattlesnake, so it came to check the backfield. Suddenly, a light flashed in its camera lens, and it excitedly switched to recording mode.

Magnificent! This is a maneuver it had never seen before!

Mecha flight paths should follow curves, but Rattlesnake was currently flying in perfectly straight, sharp-angled lines.

At impossible angles, it repeatedly skimmed past the acid shells, before finally piercing the net with a stylish exhaust trail. It turned, executed a beautiful saber throw, and hit Bearded Vulture’s mecha right between its eyes.

Bearded Vulture slammed his fist on the console. Based on his experience, continuing the fight would likely result in his loss. Rather than losing his top-eight reputation before even registering and becoming a laughingstock, it was better to cut his losses…

“Very impressive, little friend. Shall we call it a draw here?”

Bai Ling didn’t waste words. He went straight in with the saber and finished him.

Bearded Vulture’s back armor flew into the air, landed in its own pool of acid, and was completely destroyed.

Referee: “The match is decided! [Ad Space for Rent] wins this individual match, earning 200 points!”

Rattlesnake flew a nimble victory lap. If one observed its trajectory, it was exactly like an invisible hand using the sky as paper and the mecha as a pen, the exhaust trails leaving enormous, calligraphic strokes across the vast blue expanse—

AD SPACE FOR RENT

The audience: “…Any sponsors watching? Look at this kid! So hardworking!”

Just then, Uriel arrived, having rushed from the company building behind the venue. He sincerely complimented, “A first victory in the strictest sense. Very impressive.”

Bai Ling had just exited the cockpit, still processing. “Doesn’t he get 10 points for beating me? Why did I get 200?”

Uriel: “Oh, that. It’s because you have the newcomer protection bonus. If you successfully challenge a player with a higher score than you, your points are multiplied by 20.”

Bai Ling stated righteously, “But I just studied the rules. There’s no such clause.”

Uriel secretly wiped his sweat, maintaining a serious expression. “It’s a competition. It’s common for the higher-ups to change the rules on a whim. You know how those old nobles are, don’t you?”

Bai Ling’s expression froze. He didn’t know who came to mind, but he pursed his lips and said, “True enough.”

Uriel then took Bai Ling to register.

Bai Ling didn’t have the 50,000 fee. He was planning to borrow some high-interest loan from a black market bank and pay it back next month. But Rattlesnake sent him a message: “Master, I have three thousand here. Take it.”

Bai Ling paused. “Where did you get… you—” He suddenly couldn’t speak.

Bai Ling remembered the last few years before his death in his past life. His organs were failing and they forced him to retire from the front lines. He could only struggle alone, scraping by selling small items.

They often went to the subway station entrance to sell water, umbrellas, and balloons…

He, and Rattlesnake.

Rattlesnake seemed cold, but it was actually an AI with feelings. It liked flowers and colorful things. When Bai Ling dragged his sick body to the market to buy stock, it willingly acted as his cargo truck.

Together, they would stuff its cockpit and luggage rack full of cheap balloons. Rattlesnake would be very happy, saying, “My belly is full of colorful bubbles.”

That day, it was pouring rain. People scattered, and Bai Ling didn’t sell a single umbrella. Soaked to the bone, he limped back to the side of the street. The first thing he did wasn’t to climb into the cockpit for shelter, but to frantically pull the plastic rain cover over Rattlesnake.

The wind was strong. Bai Ling felt like his own broken body was about to be blown apart.

He heard Rattlesnake speaking. It was old too, always having parts that couldn’t be fixed. Its loudspeaker crackled as it said: “I want to cry. I really want to cry. But crying is something only humans do. I might be broken. Maybe it’s just my condensation dripping.”

Rattlesnake extended a worn wing, holding it over Bai Ling’s head, trying its best to shield him from the wind and rain.

Bai Ling stood on the street. His lower leg was submerged in the icy rainwater, and he shed tears that it could not shed itself.

A hero should fall at their most glorious moment, not collapse namelessly on the street.

Especially Rattlesnake, which had faced death with him countless times.

So, this life, he absolutely could not repeat that path.

He had to find a rich stepdad for his little girl…

“Don’t worry about the registration fee. Gorgon Design Bureau already paid it for you,” Uriel reassured him.

Bai Ling turned his head, slightly suspicious. “I signed the experimental contract with your studio, not Gorgon. Why would they pay for me?”

Uriel: “Ahem. Well, Gorgon is sort of my big boss… Anyway, just don’t worry about the money.”

He couldn’t exactly say, Our big boss has taken a liking to you and wants to exclusively buy up all your ad space…

Uriel smoothly steered the conversation back to the experiment and led Bai Ling to the studio.

Bai Ling casually asked if he had been busy lately. Uriel sighed. “Busy doesn’t even begin to cover it! The Mecha World Cup is about to start. All the field staff, mechanics, and rescue personnel have been pulled away. I often have to follow the company team to debug data.”

“By the way, do you know any good mechanics you could recommend? We’re short-staffed here.”

In the mecha circle, pilots were the ones with the widest network.

Bai Ling thought for a moment and wrote him a list. It was full of reliable people he had used during his revolution in the past.

Uriel rubbed his hands together, pushing his luck. “Do you know any announcers or commentators?”

Bai Ling: “? Doesn’t the official tournament broadcast have commentators?”

Uriel didn’t dare say this was his own extra requirement. The big boss thought his commentary was too dry and couldn’t capture even a tenth of Bai Ling’s fighting style.

They set that matter aside for the moment because Uriel still needed to run Bai Ling through twenty sets of tests and then conduct thousands of analyses.

By the time they finished all the experiments, night had fallen.

Bai Ling was exhausted. After performing three hundred major jumps in Rattlesnake, his prosthesis was long out of power.

Uriel looked at the data, satisfied. “That’s all for today.”

However, just as they stepped out the door, a communication came from the registration office. They said the physical exam data Bai Ling had submitted was too poor, and they didn’t recommend he participate in the competition.

Bai Ling asked coldly, “And if I insist on going?”

The registration office replied, troubled, “Then your alpha guardian must come here in person and sign a ‘Waiver of Responsibility Agreement’ at this office. And…”

“The deadline is 9 AM tomorrow.”

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Author has something to say:

Little Bird: We need to find a rich stepdad for our cute little cyber-girl, one who can afford a rain cover.

Old Merman: (Holds brand of love) (Flashes royal inheritance) (Pulls out household register)