Ziye merely felt a lightness in her body, lifting effortlessly into the air, which startled her greatly. Opening her eyes, she saw the perpetually expressionless face of F431 and let out a breath of relief. "Put me down, please." F431 was intelligent enough to heed her words, replying with a single, "Yes, Master," before setting her gently back on the ground. The little commotion with F431 had thoroughly broken her concentration. With no mind left for idle contemplation, she poked the little bean sprout curled up beside her, diligently helping her with her homework. "Let's go to the Pilot Training Base." The little sprout immediately sprang up, taking the lead and guiding the way.

Upon entering the base, Ziye again chose the Warrior-class frame. She began reconfiguring it based on her latest understanding, but this time, the familiar ease was absent. The little sprout lay lazily on her head. Seeing her hesitate over shield selection, it tapped its transparent wings. "Master, to assemble correctly, you must first determine your focus. If you are the pilot, are you aiming for close combat or long-range engagement? Once decided, then select the weapons and shields most advantageous to that combat style." Ziye paused, considering it. The little sprout was right. Without a defined focus, the assembly would likely be a chaotic mess—useless in a long-range fight and instantly overwhelmed in close quarters.

She stripped every piece of equipment off the mech and began repositioning and reinstalling everything. This time, she committed to long-range combat, equipping the best shield and the finest ballistic system. However, before she could finish installing, the energy reserves plummeted drastically. When the decline stabilized, she sighed upon seeing the reading. The time displayed was 02:30:00. That meant it could only sustain operation for two and a half hours. In the Pilot Training Base, a truly spectacular battle was expected to last a full three hours; two and a half hours of energy was clearly insufficient. She pinched the bridge of her nose, dismantled everything again, and started over. Going back and forth like this, the more she assembled, the less intuition she possessed, leaving her so frustrated she wanted to crush the assembly interface with her bare hands.

The little sprout craned its neck to peer at her assembly interface, then quickly retreated. For Ziye's age, her current level was quite commendable. But she was, ultimately, a child. When things didn't go her way, frustration set in, and the more frustrated she became, the worse the results. It decided to simply watch, refusing to offer any verbal guidance; she needed to grope her way through this realization on her own. The little sprout snickered silently atop her shoulder. It had secretly adjusted the assembly settings to allow a three-day window anyway, giving her plenty of time to ponder.

After trying a total of ten times, Ziye finally grasped the core concept. The mech's spatial capacity was finite; equipping too many heavy weapons would likely deplete the energy supply. Once the energy reserves stabilized at an acceptable level, there might be no room left for other necessary devices... It was a process of trade-offs. To assemble optimally, one had to consider all factors and performance metrics comprehensively. The individual data readouts from the light-computer were independent; there was no way to ascertain the composite value or the exact defensive and offensive output. She possessed the blueprints, but she couldn't link those blueprints to the current data and assembly choices to derive an aggregate score, nor could she utilize the blueprints to actively guide the assembly process. Therefore, she needed a bridge—something to tie it all together! Perhaps, developing an assembly simulation system?

Input the mech's parameters, attributes, and all relevant data as the foundation. Then, list the indices and performance metrics of every available piece of equipment that could be installed. Simulate the assembly piece by piece, calculate the final values, compare them against the initial goal to see if the configuration was viable, and only then install it onto the actual mech... The more Ziye thought about it, the more excited she became. She imagined: this would not only make everything immediately clear but also save an enormous amount of time. For daily use, it could even save significant expenditure on equipment purchases.

She explained the idea to the little sprout, which immediately whined in protest. "Easier said than done! Do you have any idea how difficult it is to collect the data for all the major models currently on the market? Crucially, new models are released every month—you’d need to update constantly!" Ziye ignored its lament, asking only one thing: "Will you help me or not?" The little sprout instantly changed its tune, its tiny sprout on its head perking up. "Of course, I'll help. What’s a little data collection? That couldn't possibly stump the great me!" Ziye gave it a sidelong glance. The sprout stuck out its tongue, happily flying to her waist and hooking its tiny shoot onto her clothing. "This master is about to commence data consolidation. Don't bother me unless it's urgent." Ziye stroked its head. "Good boy."

The little sprout swung from her clothing like it was on a swing, feeling immensely pleased. The master she had chosen was not entirely dense after all; she had managed to regroup and identify the key issue so quickly. It certainly wouldn't reveal that it had already collected nearly half of the required data! Now, it only needed to gather the remaining half, and the project would be complete. As for the new models released monthly, the Pilot Training Base database had to update anyway. It just needed to write a small program—one that could embed itself secretly within the database—ensuring that all subsequent updates would be automatically forwarded to it. Unless it was a mech it specifically cared about, it would rarely need to lift a finger itself. The little sprout chuckled inwardly. It would never tell her that the program it wrote had a rather common name: Virus!

Ignoring the sprout's alternating expressions of laughter and deep thought, Ziye meticulously clarified her thoughts and began reassembling the Warrior-class frame once more. This time, unbound by any constraints, she firmly positioned the Warrior for long-range engagement, centering every component around superior offensive capability. She watched the Warrior-class frame deploy onto the battlefield, observing its pilot shred the opponent into oblivion, finally satisfied. She clapped her hands, grabbed the little sprout, and headed off to inspect the new models.

The Seji family's subsidiary, Hexin Group, had just released a new model last week: the Indigo-type. Ziye wanted to examine the current cutting edge and resolutely entered the equipment assembly area to start building. The monitoring within the training base was far stricter for new models than for standard ones. Before entering the assembly room, not a single metallic item—not even a zipper—was allowed inside. Ziye felt profoundly lucky that her clothing contained no metal accessories. Furthermore, the light-computer in the room was hardwired only to the internal network, completely severed from the outside world. Ziye ran her hand over the cold metal exterior of the Indigo-type, secretly marveling at the indispensable existence of the little sprout. Otherwise, finding the crucial technology embedded in the new model would have been utterly impossible.

Although she was 'stealing' data, she wouldn't engage in such despicable acts as leaking technology or reselling it to others. Having experienced that sort of bitterness herself, even when dealing with the Fiaya family, who were her mortal enemies, she refused to resort to such base methods. All core technology—once she understood it and grasped the current trends—she wouldn't even keep a backup on her own light-computer; she entrusted it all to the little sprout. Anything stored within the little sprout, if it chose not to reveal it, even God couldn't pry it loose.

The Seji family was a clan deeply devoted to defense. Their design philosophy consistently emphasized heavy protection: thick chassis armor, superior shielding, and high resistance. Ziye mulled over the Seji style, silently reflecting that the mechs of a great family always perfectly mirrored their philosophy of survival. The Fiaya family, distant from the jurisdiction of the Interstellar Federation, commanded its own sovereign star sector. Accustomed to arrogance, their mechs always prioritized overwhelming firepower over armor integrity; if trapped, they were effectively finished. The Seji family, neighbors to the Federation, harbored deep suspicion towards them. Consequently, all their mechs featured high defensive strength, though their firepower was slightly curtailed, as they dared not provoke open conflict with the Federation.

By drawing these analogies, Ziye could derive a detailed profile of one model and essentially bypass the need to review the core data of other Seji family mechs. A quick check of their generalized data on the light-net would reveal the underlying concepts. Ziye was completely engrossed in her research. She considered buying one just to dismantle and study it, but poverty held her back. She reluctantly logged back onto the forum.

On the Mobile Forum, there were dozens of private messages addressed solely to her. She skimmed a few; they were all from Xingbao or various greetings welcoming the 'little lady' and introductions. Ziye simply blocked all private messages and navigated directly to the homework section to claim assignments.

Chun Niu, who had been anxiously waiting by his light-computer for a full day, finally saw Meng Ya Ya log on and felt a wave of relief wash over him. Ever since Meng Ya Ya had arrived, he felt perpetually unsettled, worried every day that the girl might disappear. Indeed, this girl was a catastrophe. Chun Niu sighed dramatically.

Then, he witnessed Meng Ya Ya’s terrifying speed again. At eight in the evening, she accepted several dozen Level One assignments and ten Level Two assignments in one go. By ten in the evening, they were all completed and submitted! What an absolutely terrifying pace! Chun Niu was a young genius. His superior often told him, "You are one in a hundred thousand, but we can't rule out the existence of a genius one in a million." At first, he thought his superior was just saying that to keep him from getting complacent, but today, he truly witnessed it. Honestly, he could not have completed that volume of problems with absolute accuracy in just two hours.

Chun Niu meticulously reviewed every one of her answers and was once again deeply shaken. If the previous few days showed the skill level of a Great Master, today's performance was already that of a Grandmaster. The concise and flawless problem-solving methods, the ingenious, unconventional techniques—they left him thoroughly humbled. After checking a few problems, he suddenly realized that every single assignment dealt with engine mechanics. He connected all the problems, pondered them further, and suddenly experienced a burst of inspiration. The very engine quandary he had been unable to solve for so long was laid bare before him! Chun Niu experienced immediate enlightenment. He decisively sent an email to all administrators: "I am entering seclusion and will be offline for the near future. Contact me via Super-Message for emergencies. Also, you absolutely must keep Meng Ya Ya here." Another administrator, Cang Yun Lang, happened to log on just then. Seeing the email, he casually replied: "Don't worry about leaving. I will definitely pursue her with the intention of marriage." Chun Niu responded coldly: "Dare to touch her, and you'll answer to me!" With that, he logged off.

Cang Yun Lang moved to the chat board and saw Meng Ya Ya's ID still active. Wanting to play a prank, he sent a broadcast across the entire forum: "Meng Ya Ya, come out and greet your guest!" The board immediately erupted in laughter. Only Ziye remained unaffected. She had muted the audio and gone to take a shower, completely unaware of Cang Yun Lang's announcement. Cang Yun Lang waited for a long time without any response from Ziye, sighing in frustration, "Is that Meng Ya Ya really a girl? Ignoring me, that's so hurtful!" Several people in the channel had heard Meng Ya Ya’s voice and proceeded to mock Cang Yun Lang for his poor social skills. Furious, Cang Yun Lang swore an oath to everyone present: "If Meng Ya Ya turns out to be a girl, I, Cang Yun Lang, swear to capture her heart within six months!"