Chapter 2043: Repair Opportunity

They spent what free time they had left going through more examples, though Ning deliberately stopped correcting every mistake she failed to notice. At some point, she needed to learn to recognize them herself.

The following morning passed normally.

Their first several lessons covered military communications, mechanical systems, and battlefield coordination, with none of them being particularly unusual compared to what Ning had already experienced at the academy.

Naysha paid attention throughout all of it, though Ning noticed that she occasionally moved one hand slightly beneath the desk, tracing invisible paths with her finger as if imagining the movement of a Mecha around obstacles.

Eventually, they reached the simulation period.

Lorna was already waiting near the simulation pod when the class entered, and the large observation display had been activated above the room. The same Rank 1 Mecha assessment Ning had completed previously would be used again, with five students scheduled to attempt it during the session.

Naysha was among them, just as she had said she would be.

She stood with the rest of the group while Lorna reviewed the rules, although there was little need for most of them to hear the explanation again.

The objective remained unchanged.

Travel as far as possible while maintaining combat effectiveness, avoid unnecessary damage, identify targets correctly, and manage the limited fuel and ammunition provided by the simulator.

The first student was called forward.

He performed reasonably well.

His preparation period was competent, and once the simulation began, he avoided most of the early debris without wasting too much fuel. His largest problem came from combat, where he consistently fired more shots than necessary and eventually entered the later portions of the simulation with almost no ammunition remaining.

Once several Mekharans appeared together, he could do very little.

His Mecha was destroyed shortly afterward.

<208 Points>

The student emerged looking disappointed but not devastated.

Two hundred and eight was not exceptional, though it was far from a disastrous attempt. Getting 250 points would be considered great. 300 was what one required to be recommended for a True Simulation session.

Though Ning’s result had suddenly made every good number from before look horrible in comparison.

Lorna briefly explained where he had wasted ammunition before calling the next student.

The second attempt went worse.

The cadet struggled with movement from the beginning and repeatedly overcorrected whenever debris forced them away from their intended route. Ning glanced toward Naysha several times while watching.

She noticed it too.

Her expression changed slightly every time the student made one of the same mistakes Ning had shown her the previous night.

The cadet lasted for some time despite the inefficient movement, but by the time combat became more difficult, the Mecha had already consumed far too much fuel.

<152 Points>

The student climbed out of the pod, clearly devastated. They had never expected to do so badly at all. They could not understand why they had suddenly gotten worse.

Ning could hear a few people talking about how the cadet had previously scored over 200 points, so the drop was quite bad.

Lorna made several comments about maintaining momentum before looking toward the group again.

"Naysha."

Naysha stepped forward.

There was no visible hesitation in her movements, though Ning could tell that she was considerably more focused than usual.

She had been waiting for this.

Naysha entered the simulation pod and settled into the seat before connecting her helmet to the system behind her.

The pod closed.

A familiar simulated cockpit formed around her, and the two-minute preparation timer appeared across her vision.

<Preparation Period: 2:00>

Naysha placed her hands on the controls. Before she could begin testing anything, another message appeared.

<Unregistered machinery detected.>

<Would you like to scan?>

Naysha paused.

For half a second, she had almost forgotten about the Upgrade System.

There was no obvious reason not to scan the simulator.

She selected yes.

The System responded immediately.

A layered schematic began forming across her vision, spreading outward from the controls before mapping the entire simulation pod around her. Components appeared in translucent sections, allowing her to see internal supports, wiring, processors, control interfaces, connection ports, sensors, and countless smaller pieces she would never normally have known existed.

The scan continued while she began testing the Mecha controls.

By the time she finished checking the machine’s turning response, the schematic was complete.

Several sections were highlighted. Naysha almost ignored them, as she had no reason to waste her precious seconds on this. The simulator clearly worked, after all, and she did not have the time or desire to upgrade it to make it better.

However, one of those highlighted sections did not notify her of an opportunity to upgrade it.

It notified her of a possible repair.

The highlighted section was right beside her right hand.

A control handle.

She focused on it.

<Minor repair available.>

<Internal connection wire partially loosened.>

<Estimated effect: Reduced input responsiveness.>

Naysha looked toward the handle.

From the outside, nothing appeared wrong.

When she moved it slightly, the simulator responded normally.

At least, normally enough that she would never have noticed the difference without the System pointing it out.

Naysha examined the schematic more closely.

The loose wire was accessible.

Barely.

She still had more than a minute before the preparation period ended.

There was no reason not to try.

Naysha reached beside the control housing and found the small opening shown by the schematic. Her fingers barely fit inside, but after several seconds of feeling around, she touched the wire.

It was indeed loose.

She caught it between two fingers and pulled.

The connection tightened, and Naysha kept hold of it.

There was no time to dismantle the handle and repair the connection properly, but if she held the wire in place throughout the simulation, the connection should remain stable.

She returned her attention to the controls.

One hand remained awkwardly positioned beside the handle while the other tested acceleration, torso rotation, targeting response, and weapon movement.

The difference was subtle.

Very subtle.

But it was there.

The controls reacted a fraction faster and responded better as well. More happened now with the same amount of pull as before.

’It really works.’