Steel Dragon

Night fell quickly, but Mei Mei didn't even see the time pass. She spent hours scribbling in her notebook, doing math, listing everything that was still useful in the shop. Grandpa's drone blinked messages all the time, throwing graphics, memes and even old tutorials on the screen.

Mei Mei just wanted one thing: to make Chun-Li whole and, if possible, better than before.

She looked at the pile of scrap leaning against the wall. There was a broken robot arm, exhaust pipe, computer fan, wire wrapped around a piece of plastic and a box full of nuts of different sizes. Grandpa projected a 3D hologram of Chun-Li, spinning slowly.

"Come on, engineer. Show what you're made of. Just don't blow up everything before turning it on."

Mei Mei answered, pretending confidence. "If it blows up, at least it makes a winner's noise."

Grandpa laughed, blinking a sunglasses emoji. "Improvisation is art, but I want to see it work."

She started with the mecha's arm. She took the exhaust pipe and a piece of rusty rail, measured the fit with a digital ruler. The drone spun, shining light on the right spot. "This pipe is from your great-grandfather's time. If it holds, it's already an upgrade."

Mei Mei fixed the piece with two clamps and started welding with the cave-era welding machine. Every time the wire stuck, she smelled the burning metal and remembered grandpa's classes, always complaining about her work.

"Don't do bad improvisation, huh?"

"Trust me, grandpa. Here it's quick work, but honest."

The new arm was crooked, but didn't fall. She fit an old fan in the back, trying to create a cooling system. Grandpa projected a chart explaining: "If it spins fast, it might help. If it jams, it blows the thermal sensor."

Mei Mei used a piece of plastic to protect the wires, wrapped everything with insulating tape, put in one screw of each size. The drone filmed everything, laughing at every improvisation. "If the TV crew sees this, we'll win a comedy reality show."

She didn't care. She knew she had no choice. Without money, only creativity was left. The arm started to take shape, ugly but sturdy. Mei Mei even found an old bike support, cut it in half and fit it as a clamp to hold objects.

She tested with an empty can, and the mecha held it tight. "Look at that! The arm really grabs!"

Grandpa-AI celebrated, playing a victory sound. "Congratulations, improvisation engineer. Now try not to break it on the first test."

Mei Mei wiped sweat from her forehead, looked at the result. It wasn't pretty, but it worked. The cooling system was clumsy, made with a fan, but it was already something. She hooked up the wires, connected to Chun-Li's panel, heard the fan spinning.

The drone showed a panel on the screen:

[Status – Chun-Li]

Right Arm: upgrade activated (grabbing function)

Cooling: 48% functional

Structure: 61% integrity

Energy: 69%

She celebrated alone. "First improvisation done. Now the rest of the robot is left."

Grandpa kept spinning, throwing a "it's working" meme.

After the arm, she looked at the internal system. Chun-Li was overheating and turning off by itself. Needed better cooling, but didn't have any good parts. She took two notebook fans, fixed them with wire, used some plastic cups to channel the wind, even added a grill that looked like a barbecue.

Grandpa almost had a fit. "You're going to use a cup as a robot part? That's a sin in engineering."

She laughed, but tested it anyway. Put everything together, tied with tape, added a few drops of weld, plugged it into the battery. The fans worked. Not perfect, but already cooled the panel.

"See? When there's no dog, you hunt with a cat."

The drone projected a temperature chart. "If it works, that's already halfway."

Mei Mei tested the new arm using the VR helmet. Entered the virtual cockpit and moved the controls. The arm reacted a bit crooked, but held the can. The cooling system worked for a few minutes, then made a weird noise and jammed.

Grandpa didn't let it slide. "Already jammed? Trade that cup for something less ridiculous."

She searched the scrap box and found a pot lid. Adjusted it, made a support with steel wire, connected again. Now, at least, the system lasted longer before overheating.

Mei Mei celebrated. "That's already an upgrade, isn't it?"

Grandpa-AI laughed. "Yeah, if it passes the street test, I'll record your face to put in the improvisation museum."

She spent the whole night fixing details, changing wires, testing sensors, correcting bugs. Grandpa-AI helped, complained, laughed, but gave good tips when she least expected.

In the end, Chun-Li had a new arm, an improvised cooling system and lots of patches. It wasn't pretty, but it had her style. Mei Mei felt proud.

In the morning, she left the house with the drone flying low and the robot in the back of the improvised truck. The sun hadn't even come up right, but she wanted to test everything as soon as possible. She stopped in a side street, put on the VR helmet and turned on the system.

Grandpa-AI warned: "Ready? First upgrade you never forget."

Mei Mei took a deep breath. "If it goes wrong, at least I'll try again."

She activated the arm. The robot moved, grabbed a box, threw it up, caught it again. The fan didn't explode. The pot lid held up.

She screamed with joy. "It worked! You can laugh, but it worked!"

Grandpa-AI played a round of digital applause. The drone spun above her.

"Now it's on. Steel Dragon is coming back, even if it's with improvisation."

Mei Mei felt stronger, more confident. She knew she was far from ideal, but that first upgrade was the start of everything. And, in her own way, it was already a victory.

At the end of the test, the drone showed a simple message on the screen: "Proud of you, engineer."

Mei Mei smiled, took a deep breath, and felt that, for the first time, Chun-Li smiled too.