I Became A Mech Soldier After Waking Up in The Future.

After Keiko had finished reading through the document and placed it back on the table, she looked at Jeanne with a puzzled expression and said, "But... What does this have to do with me?"

"Do you know what position I'm in in the military aside from my rank as a Major?" Jeanne asked.

Keiko hesitated for a moment and then answered, "You're the chief instructor at Baldwin Academy of Military and also the chief researcher at Feynman Institute of Science."

"That's right," Jeanne nodded, "One of my projects right now is to design a new prototype mecha that can exploit the advantage of a person's high mental strength to sustain a longer period of complete synchronization between the pilot and their mecha." She sent another document to Keiko's table, "We call this project "Valkyrie's Profile", and one of the requirements to be the test pilot for this new mecha is that the person should have above-average mental strength. Until now, I'm the only person capable of being its test pilot among the researchers if we only take mental strength into account. But I'm a non-combatant officer, so we need another test pilot for this project. And here you come into the picture. You also lost your mecha in your last mission, right? So, it's a happy coincidence."

"Am I really suitable for this project?" Keiko asked bluntly. She didn't know what Jeanne was planning by inviting her to join this project, so she felt a little bit wary. She spat out some excuses, "After all, I've never known about my mental strength before. And it's not like no one is more capable than me, like Captain Amanda, for example."

Jeanne saw the wariness in Keiko's eyes and sneered, "Huh, do you always have such low self-esteem? Where is the "Death Reaper" that beat me down several days ago?"

"No, I just…"

"And you obviously didn't listen to what I said before," Jeanne rolled her eyes at Keiko, not allowing her to finish her sentence, "If we only considered mental strength as the requirement for the test pilot, this opportunity might not have come to you." She added, "You are also aware of it, using hot weapons in an environment full of greeneries isn't exactly the best thing. Because of this reason, the prototype was designed to be a close combat mecha using cold weaponry. Other than mental strength, we need a person with top physical strength and extraordinary combat ability."

While speaking, Jeanne got up from her chair and walked closer to Keiko, stood in front of her, and patted her shoulder, "When it comes to martial arts, even the seasoned soldiers couldn't hold a candle to you, this I guarantee." Jeanne spoke with so much confidence that it flattered Keiko, making her heart a little bit warmer. That's why you're the top priority as the pilot candidate right now. What do you think? Do you want to take this opportunity?"

Keiko hesitated for a bit before muttering, "I… I think I want to give it a try…"

She still didn't trust this cunning lady wholeheartedly, but she also didn't want to disappoint someone who had high expectations of her.

"Good, I've already installed the prototype mecha data to your personal ID. So, you can start familiarizing yourself with this mecha," Jeanne clapped her hand happily, and her eyes shone brilliantly. She continued, "Several days later, before the field training, the prototype will be sent here from the Feynman Institute. You'll be able to try it in real-time very soon."

"…." Keiko was speechless. She felt that she had unknowingly fallen into one of Jeanne's traps.

Jeanne didn't know what Keiko thought, but even if she did, she would only show a cunning smile at her.

She reminded Keiko, "And you must remember that this is an opportunity. It means that you're not guaranteed to be selected as the project's test pilot. You need to prove yourself first."

Keiko nodded in understanding and asked, "What should I do?"

"Do you know the monster arena in the virtual mecha battle platform?"

"Yes."

"Then it's easy," Jeanne had come back to her chair. She slumped comfortably on her chair, smiled at Keiko while crossing her hands, and said, "If you can reach the top 3 ranks within a week, the new mecha will be yours."

Top 3.

It would be difficult, but it wasn't impossible.

After all, she had gotten used to piloting a mecha and her training had shown it worth it. Even when she compared her skills with Lieutenant Lu Diyun who had the best mecha piloting skill in Left-Wing Squadron, she didn't get left behind that far.

The thing that she got concerned with was the commotion that would occur afterward. She didn't want to draw unwanted attention lest she risked accidentally exposing herself, the situation would be gotten out of hand by then.

"Can I not submit the results into the system ranking?"

Keiko was aware that the system had an option to conceal the battle records when requested by the record holder. This feature was usually used by researchers or soldiers involved in confidential projects so that the results and data of their battle wouldn't be leaked to the public.

"Heh, you're really acting low-profile huh?" Jeanne sneered mockingly but didn't disagree with her, "Suit yourself. You just need to send me the screenshot next week. You still have my contact on your list, don't you?"

"Yes, yes." Keiko nodded like a chick pecking at rice. And then she asked, "Is there anything else, Major?"

"Are you that eager to stay away from me?" Jeanne frowned; her face revealed a slightly hurt expression.

Keiko's heart twitched as she saw Jeanne's hurtful expression. She quickly coaxed her, "No, no. I just don't want to disturb Major resting time any longer."

To her surprise, Jeanne's expression quickly changed like a cunning fox, she waved her hand and an evil smile appeared on her lips, "Heh, I'm done with you. You can go now."

Keiko just realized that Jeanne was easily playing her like a fiddle. She shook her head inwardly and sighed deeply.

"Thank you, Major!"

She saluted and then exit the room hurriedly.

Jeanne looked at her disappearing back and her smile deepened.

###

Author's note:

Hello, my dear reader!

I want to give a boost to this book so I'll do a targeted vote with a reward this week (21st Feb - 27th Feb).

This week voting target:

500 PS = Mass release 3 chapters at the end of the month (28th Feb) + 3 chapters System Journey to Godhood.

750 PS = Mass release 4 chapters at the end of the month (28th Feb) + 3 chapters System Journey to Godhood.

1000 PS = Mass release 5 chapters at the end of the month (28th Feb) + 3 chapters System Journey to Godhood.

Don't worry, I have a sufficient amount of chapters in the stockpile this time, so it definitely not an empty promise!

So, do me a favor and give me those power stones! Thank you all and happy reading!