The next afternoon, after talking with the Origin Maiden, Pei Yan appeared in the training ground, rubbing his sleepy eyes. Gu Shenghui looked at the haggard-faced Pei Yan and understood that despite his exhausted appearance, Pei Yan's body was burning with a fierce fury and a soaring fighting spirit.

"Everyone's here, so I'll start now!" Pei Yan put his hand on his neck, twisting it as he glanced around, and said to the high-ranking members of the investigation hall.

Elder Lin squinted his eyes and nodded approvingly at Pei Yan: "Begin! We've transported everything you need overnight from various locations."

Pei Yan nodded, took out the pendant left by his sister from his pocket, and, without hesitation, swallowed it. The crystal block quickly melted in his abdomen, and the origin within him initially hesitated before eagerly converging around this new influx of energy, like long-lost lovers passionately reuniting.

Yet the embrace perhaps was too intense. Pei Yan felt as if every cell and blood vessel in his body was about to explode. His eyes instantly became bloodshot, and his skin, once tanned dark, turned a fiery red with the surging power inside him. The skin began to crack, and blood burst forth, drenching him and staining his clothes crimson.

"Ugh... ugh... ahhhhh!" The intense pain made Pei Yan lose consciousness momentarily, tilting his head back and letting out meaningless sounds toward the sky. But he knew he had to endure! This was the task the Origin Maiden had given him yesterday, and this origin contained the energy to transform his physical body. He could only bear this excruciating pain with his fleshly body, for only in this way could his power achieve a qualitative leap.

"Teacher, shouldn't we help him?" Watching Pei Yan kneeling with his eyes rolling back, his blood staining the ground beneath him, Elder Lin asked worriedly.

Cen Xiaoran leaned on his cane, his face grave, and whispered, "Wait a bit longer. You should notice that his body is rapidly healing while being destroyed at an incredible speed. Be ready to intervene immediately if this transformation exceeds his body's limits."

Fortunately, this continuous bodily fission did not last long. About ten minutes later, Pei Yan's body convulsed less frequently, and his skin, once stained red by blood, stopped cracking. The countless times it had broken and healed left scars that were gradually fading.

"Ugh!" Pei Yan, utterly exhausted, exhaled deeply, and a gleam returned to his eyes. He tried to stand, but even a small movement caused his muscles to ache intensely due to the origin now filling his body.

Yet a voice echoed in his mind for a long time. He raised his head, eyes wide open, murmuring to the distance, but injured as he was, he couldn't speak loud enough!

"Quick! Pei Yan seems to have something to say!" Observing the entire situation, Gu Shenghui immediately noticed this and called for people to gather around and crouched to ask, "Pei Yan, what do you want us to do?"

Pei Yan scanned the people around him with his eyes, finally fixing on Engineer Li. Noticing this, Gu Shenghui quickly pulled Engineer Li over and pushed him in front of Pei Yan. Pei Yan asked in a small voice, "Engineer Li, the stuff I wanted, the... the..."

"It's ready! It's all prepared! But in your current state, are you sure? Why don't you rest and recover a bit before proceeding?" Engineer Li looked with sympathy at the battered Pei Yan and advised him.

Pei Yan shook his head and refused, "Now! Quickly!"

"Alright! Alright! Now it is! Someone, bring it over!" Engineer Li turned back and shouted loudly beyond the crowd.

Soon enough, soldiers carried one machine box after another from the vehicle, placed them in front of Pei Yan, and unboxed them, taking out strange instruments and arranging them side by side.

"These were transported as per your request, equal to the level of products you have absorbed before, without much advancement. Are you sure you want to absorb them?" Engineer Li squatted beside Pei Yan and pressed on.

Pei Yan nodded and extended his right hand with difficulty but failed because of the distance. He tried to lean forward, but each slight motion caused his mouth to twitch in pain.

Seeing this, Gu Shenghui, ultimately, hoisted Pei Yan from behind and placed him next to the machine box, supporting his hand on the box.

A pale blue light streamed from his palm, and Pei Yan slowly closed his eyes. This absorption felt longer than any other time. Once his eyes shut, it was as if he entered a meditative state, kneeling motionlessly while his body automatically and slowly absorbed the machine box in front of him.

No one in the room left. Gu Shenghui stayed by his side, moving each completed box away for the next one to be placed in his reach. This process continued for six hours, and by the time Pei Yan finished absorbing all the boxes, darkness had fallen, and it was already past eight in the evening.

Seeing Pei Yan finishing all the absorption and hesitating whether to move the strange instruments forward, Gu Shenghui suddenly heard a rustling behind him. Turning around, he saw Pei Yan, coming out of a semi-conscious state, slowly opening his eyes. What surprised him was that not only Pei Yan's mechanical left eye but also his perfectly healthy right eye now glowed with a mechanical light.

"Now, do you possess independent consciousness?" Pei Yan asked internally, holding his forehead.

Unlike the usual cold mechanical response, a voice filled with emotion and humanity echoed in Pei Yan's mind this time: "Yes, Master, I now possess independent consciousness. This is your third-stage awakening ability. While significantly enhancing computational power, you have acquired the capability to endow mechanical products with intelligence and independent thought. Rest assured, my loyalty to you is unquestionable, and you still hold life-and-death control over me."

"Hmm!" Pei Yan acknowledged this was true; the instant he felt the awakening, he also understood the method to destroy his internal system consciousness.

"Since you've gained self-awareness, it seems wrong to just call you system. Let me give you a name."

"Sure, Master. Would you prefer me to use a male or female voice?" the system's voice responded.

Hearing this question, Pei Yan was taken aback for a moment then replied, "Female! It feels weird to constantly hear a strange man's voice in my head."

"Alright! Is this voice satisfactory to you?"

"Don't use Xia Yu's voice! That's even weirder, okay!"

"How about this voice then?"

"No, don't use Zhao Yuanhu's! It makes me feel like some creepy guy! And not my mom's voice either! Pick someone I don't recognize!" Hearing the consecutive voices echo in his mind, Pei Yan couldn't help but shout to stop them.

"What did you say?" asked Gu Shenghui, who was supporting him, looking utterly perplexed.

"Huff!"