Chapter 358: Chapter 358: 4th Tier Awakening (Please Subscribe)
"Alright, don’t be so sour! Pei Yan said that if there is indeed this intention from above, they will definitely convert all of us into Origin Superpower Users, but whether you can enter the Elite Squad will depend on yourselves. However, even if you can’t make it into the first team, you should at least be able to get into the second team, right?" Ye Jiumu teased, having seen through his teammates’ thoughts.
"Oh, I knew Pei Yan wouldn’t forget us!" Kong Lin chuckled.
At this moment, Xia Yu, standing aside, looked impatiently toward the sidelines and said, "Why is Pei Yan putting on such airs, taking so long without showing up!"
"Don’t worry, let’s wait a bit longer!" Wang Wenze turned his head and said softly, "You just got back and didn’t see that starting from early yesterday morning, container after container of goods have been sent to the Investigation Hall. Every time a vehicle came, Pei Yan absorbed it. He hasn’t closed his eyes for an entire day and night, and he just caught a nap after absorbing everything this morning."
Just as the two were talking, Pei Yan walked into the training field with hands behind his back, sauntering slowly. Seeing his smug demeanor, Xia Yu snorted coldly, "He’s certainly good at putting on a show!"
Pei Yan, upon entering the field, whispered a few words with Gu Shenghui, then nodded contentedly and waved everyone to clear the field. Moments later, only he stood alone in the center of the vast training ground.
"What’s this kid up to?" Vice Admiral Zhang, having witnessed Pei Yan’s last training session, turned his head and asked Cen Xiaoran beside him.
"Not sure, he’s keeping it secret from us for now. But judging from the extent of his equipment absorption yesterday and his attitude today, he’s obviously very satisfied with his new abilities!" Cen Xiaoran responded with a smile.
"Indeed, I’ve seen the combat footage from his third-stage awakening. He performed very powerfully! After this incident, I’m even more eager to see his current performance!" Vice Admiral Zhang said, removing his cap and lifting a binocular to watch intently.
At this time, Pei Yan in the stadium certainly didn’t appear to be aware of all eyes on him. He rubbed his shoulders, raised both arms levelly, and in an instant, numerous streams of iron spewed from his arms. Within a very brief period, humanoid mechanical duplicates, identical in size and appearance to him after mechanization, coalesced and stood woodenly around him.
"Holy crap, it’s a shadow clone technique!" Wang Wenze rubbed his eyes incredulously, then squinted to take a careful look and exclaimed, "Wow, even the skin on their faces is exactly the same. Wait, that intact eye can show the difference!"
Before he finished speaking, all the mechanical duplicates fastened their face shields simultaneously. Witnessing this, Wang Wenze clapped his hands and clicked his tongue, "Well, now there’s no way to tell them apart! Jiumu, Xia Yu, can you identify Pei Yan among the crowd?"
The two of them stared at the center of the training field filled with hundreds of identical mechanical duplicates and hesitated for a long time before each pointed to two completely different individuals as their chosen targets.
Meanwhile, there was also a stir from the observation deck. Vice Admiral Zhang peered through the binoculars for a while and murmured, "It looks quite impressive, but isn’t it just what he demonstrated before by converting animals to machines? This time he’s just converting them to humans, right?"
"Be patient and keep watching. It shouldn’t be this simple!" Cen Xiaoran advised, squinting while reclining on a chair.
Without waiting for those on the sidelines to urge, a figure among the mechanical duplicates waved a large hand, and the surrounding duplicates immediately took action, either running, flying, or executing various attack moves. In the next second, more than ten mechanical duplicates leaped up and flew into the air, spreading their arms, launching close to a hundred rockets roaring out toward the designated shooting range outside the training area.
Simultaneously, mechanical duplicates on the ground began their actions, some raising their arms to convert into electromagnetic cannons to bombard the targets, others erecting metal storms or Gatling guns to frantically barrage the field outside. For a moment, the shooting range was shrouded in dust and smoke.
Watching the scene through the binoculars, Vice Admiral Zhang’s hands trembled slightly. He got up and shouted to the side, "Engineer Li! Engineer Li!"
Equally stunned by the sight before him, Engineer Li snapped back to reality upon hearing the call and hurriedly ran up to listen to Vice Admiral Zhang’s low, hushed talk, "Did you guys supply Pei Yan with such powerful firepower equipment in this transport? I didn’t see this mentioned in the approval report! This is reckless! It’s peacetime now, how could you approve so many heavy weapons without proper authorization?"
Engineer Li wiped the sweat off his forehead and hastily explained, "Absolutely not! Apart from a hundred nearly-retired tanks, what’s transported this time are almost entirely civilian products, and even those tanks did not carry any ammunition!"
"Then how do you explain the weapon systems on these mechanical duplicates and the rockets? The rocket consumption this time has long exceeded the batch quantity previously approved for Pei Yan!"
Hearing Vice Admiral Zhang’s questioning, Engineer Li had no appropriate explanation, and he stood there, at a loss for words.
"This might be Pei Yan’s new ability. He probably can self-evolve weapons now, constructing and decomposing all the weapon equipment he’s absorbed, excluding electromagnetic devices." Cen Xiaoran leaned forward with interest.
Upon hearing this, Vice Admiral Zhang slumped back into his chair, dazed, scratching his head and mumbling, "Such a powerful ability concentrated on one person, is that really okay? Elder Cen, should we, in the future, take precautions against him...?"
"I understand your concern, but I advise you not to do anything. His family is under our protection now, which already signifies immense trust. I believe we should trust these young people. Although they may not have the spirit of dedication comparable to the older generations, after my observation, they are still a responsible group that can bear heavy burdens for this society. We just need to do our part, and they will choose the right path." Cen Xiaoran paused and sighed, "Moreover, the current situation does not permit us to indulge in too much suspicion. Having an extra powerful ally is invaluable, and I have a bad feeling that what Shen Yu predicted may indeed come true."
Vice Admiral Zhang was momentarily stunned upon hearing this, and was about to delve deeper into this topic when an exclamation rang in his ear, "Look, something is happening in the field again!" Hearing this, he turned his head involuntarily to look at the field once more.
He saw that the mechanical duplicates, each responsible for their unique performance attack tasks earlier, had now gathered from sky to ground into a semi-circle, encircling a single mechanical duplicate at the center of the field.
"It seems that this person is Pei Yan’s real body, neither of you guessed correctly!" Wang Wenze teased the two beside him with a laugh.
"Stop talking, just watch! Who knows what kind of new trick he’s up to!" Ye Jiumu responded without blushing or flinching.
The words had hardly faded when the roar of guns and artillery abruptly erupted, storm-like bullets pouring indiscriminately in all directions toward Pei Yan standing at the center, leaving the onlookers stunned, many of whom stood up and exclaimed in surprise!