Childhood Dreams

Chapter: Childhood Dreams

"Oh, tell me, why did you choose mecha design?"

Leng Yaozhu asked with curiosity.

She herself was a four-word Battle Armor Master, so she understood a thing or two about related professions.

As far as she knew, most boys would choose auxiliary professions like mecha maintenance or forging; delicate work like design was predominantly dominated by female spirit masters.

Just like herself, she was also a very accomplished mecha manufacturer.

"Hmm~"

Faced with this question, Qiangu Wuji pondered for a moment before explaining vaguely.

"I'm just interested. After all, being able to design a set of battle armor for myself with my own hands—just thinking about it feels cool."

He certainly wouldn't admit that it was because he had been influenced by a certain tokusatsu show.

Before he transmigrated, he was actually a fan of tokusatsu.

Every time he watched the protagonists on TV encounter danger, shout a few cheesy lines, transform into their cool, imposing armor, and finally defeat those ferocious enemies, he felt a thrill.

Thinking about it now, such shows were actually quite childish, but there was no doubt that it was once the dream of countless people.

Although he was grown up now and no longer possessed the hot-bloodedness of his youth, mechas and armor would always be an eternal romance for any man.

Damn, why am I getting more excited the more I think about it?

Qiangu Wuji thought for a while, and image after image surfaced in his mind—these were the styles of armor from the shows he remembered from his past life.

Thinking of that cool armor, he grew a bit excited, rummaged through his schoolbag for paper and a pen, and buried his head in the desk to start sketching.

"What are you doing?"

Leng Yaozhu watched with curiosity and couldn't help but lean in to take a closer look.

"I have some inspiration, I want to draw it out and see."

Qiangu Wuji didn't even look up.

Seeing this, Leng Yaozhu smiled.

The way Qiangu Wuji was acting now was truly just like any other child at this stage.

Sometimes she felt that although her son was smart and excellent, he was too mature—so mature that he didn't seem like a six-year-old child at all.

While this was a good thing, as a mother, not being able to see the innocent side of her son was always a bit of a regret.

But now she realized that her son actually had a side that belonged to a child.

As expected, no matter how excellent Wuji is, he is still just a child!

Leng Yaozhu smiled knowingly, then said nothing, resting her chin on her hands as she quietly watched her son's masterpiece from the side.

A few minutes later, a hint of surprise appeared on her face.

Wuji's drawing skills are this good?

At this moment, on the white paper in Qiangu Wuji's hands, the preliminary outline of a suit of armor had already leaped onto the page.

Originally, Leng Yaozhu thought that no matter how much of a genius her son was, since this was his first time drawing, it couldn't possibly look like much.

However, it exceeded her expectations; although the drawing on the paper wasn't finished yet, the preliminary outline was already quite decent. Once it was fully completed, she imagined it wouldn't be too bad.

That's not right, when did Wuji learn this? How come I didn't know?

Leng Yaozhu was full of confusion. She had watched this son of hers grow up; she knew better than anyone what he was capable of.

"Phew~ done," just as she was completely baffled, Qiangu Wuji finally finished his masterpiece. He stretched and let out a long breath, "Still feels like it's missing something!"

Finished?

So fast?

Leng Yaozhu was slightly stunned. She looked closely and realized that the set of armor on the paper was indeed completely finished.

It was a style of armor she had never seen before, a full-body suit with colors of black intertwined with noble gold. A long sword in the right hand and a shield in the left, the design was quite imposing.

However, the most eye-catching part was the palm-wide belt at the waist; right in the center of this belt was a strange circular device.

Looking at this object, Leng Yaozhu asked curiously.

"Wuji, this belt is...?"

"Oh, you mean this?" Qiangu Wuji followed the direction of her finger and explained casually, "This is an energy-sensing device I envisioned. The user only needs to inject spirit power into it to summon the battle armor."

In truth, this was just the transformation device used by the protagonists in Armor Hero. Saying it this way now was just because he didn't know how else to explain it.

"Inject spirit power?" Leng Yaozhu listened, her expression strange, "Your idea wouldn't be that one must inject spirit power to use the battle armor, would it?"

Qiangu Wuji nodded.

He also knew that this activation method was too backward for the battle armor system of this world.

But how to put it? If you removed the step of injecting energy, could it still be considered a complete transformation?

A transformation cannot lack its corresponding activation method, just as the West cannot lose Jerusalem, and the 3D district cannot be without Tifa.

This was persistence, and also a principle that could not be compromised.

Seeing him nod, Leng Yaozhu sighed, rubbed his head, and said with a smile.

"That's right, no matter how outstanding you are, you are only six years old after all."

"Regarding this design of yours, setting aside the fact that the activation method is problematic, this style is also far too outdated. In the battles of us spirit masters, Battle Armor is ultimately just an auxiliary; what determines victory or defeat still depends on the person themselves."

"In such situations, the design of Battle Armor should prioritize being lightweight. Only Battle Armor that is lighter and more effective is truly good."

Leng Yaozhu took another look at the armor on the blueprint.

She did not deny that the Battle Armor designed by Qiangu Wuji was very novel; whether it was the full-body coverage style or this unique activation method, it was truly one-of-a-kind throughout the entire Federation.

However, for a true top-tier Battle Armor Master, this kind of design was simply a burden.

The relationship between a Battle Armor Master and their Battle Armor emphasizes being as responsive as one's own fingers and arms, requiring only a single thought to have it cover the body.

But since this was her son's first work after all, Leng Yaozhu certainly wouldn't discourage him.

Therefore, after saying those words, she changed her tone to encourage him.

"Wuji, you don't need to feel discouraged. After all, this is your first attempt, and being able to make it like this is already very impressive."

This was indeed a fact; as someone coming into contact with design for the first time, the ability displayed by Qiangu Wuji was already something many of his peers could only look up to.

"Mom, you don't need to comfort me; I know what I made isn't good," Qiangu Wuji naturally wouldn't be satisfied with just this bit of praise, and he shook his head very modestly.

Hearing this, Leng Yaozhu rubbed his head again, saying nothing more.

After a while, she stood up and picked up the design draft from the table.

"No matter what, this is your first work, it would be a pity to throw it away, so let's keep it as a memento."

After speaking, she walked to the wall nearby, raised her hand, and with a slight exertion of force, embedded the draft completely into the wall.

Having finished, she turned back and smiled with satisfaction.

"A record of my son's growth."