After hearing Sato Yu's answer, Yu Xiao was just as startled as Bai Ying!
"Bean... was she born this way?" Bai Ying suddenly felt the milk candy in her mouth melting a little too quickly.
"She's been like this ever since I first met her, at least." Sato Yu's tone wasn't heavy. "Don't let the fact that Bean can't talk fool you. She's very lovable."
Hearing this, Bean quickly waved both little hands to deny it.
"...Isn't she your daughter?" Bai Ying reached out and stroked Bean's smooth, short black hair.
"What's wrong? Do you think she doesn't look like me?" Sato Yu suddenly laughed. "Just kidding. Bean isn't my biological daughter, but I raised her as my own."
Bean nodded vigorously too.
"How old is Bean this year? She looks no more than thirteen or fourteen." Bai Ying's expression gradually turned serious.
"If I had to say, she should be fourteen." Sato Yu slowly let his smile fade.
"Why make a fourteen-year-old child pilot a mech?" Bai Ying crushed the milk candy in her mouth. "I thought the minimum age for selecting Jaegers was eighteen?"
"You don't look like you've been an adult for long yourself, kid."
"I'm nineteen." Bai Ying was displeased by the way Sato Yu addressed her. "You still haven't answered my question."
"The Fourth Defense Line Islands are in worse shape than you think. When the 'Razor Raid' happened, Xingtian hadn't even been built yet." Sato Yu spoke calmly. "After that attack, Zhaori, Daoquan, and Yijin could no longer stand on their own. Otherwise, why do you think our legion is called the United Front?"
"That's no reason to send Bean into battle." Bai Ying firmly refuted him. "Are you saying there isn't a single person in those three countries who could replace her?"
"You're