The laughter of the crowd had not yet died when Wang Chen struggled to rise, his limbs trembling, sweat mingling with the sting of humiliation. Every eye in the courtyard seemed to pierce him, weighing his worth, mocking his weakness. The whispers were venomous:
"Pathetic… a cripple trying to awaken…"
"He'll embarrass himself again. Just look at him."
The cruel laughter of his classmates stung worse than any blade. Three years of suffering—the accident that took his family's fortune, the years spent crawling just to survive—had led to this moment. And yet, the boy who had been cast aside refused to bow.
Wang Chen's fists clenched until his nails bit into his palms. He felt the familiar ache of blood and frustration, but also a spark that had never dimmed: the refusal to surrender, the need to protect his family at any cost.
"I don't care what you think," he muttered, his voice low but unyielding. "If this is the only way… I'll pay any price to awaken."
One cruel student stepped forward, sneering. "Oh? You dare hope to awaken? Hah! Just die here and save us the trouble."
Another mocked, "You've been dragging this class down for three years. Just crawl back to the hospital where you belong."
The words hit him like stones, yet he felt a strange calm settle over his fury. This was the moment where everything he had suffered could either break him—or forge him into something far greater than anyone expected.
Wang Chen raised his head. His eyes, once dimmed by despair, now shone with determination. "I… will awaken. Even if I have to give my soul for it."
The platform pulsed with divine energy, the Mechanical God's Heart responding to the earnest, desperate plea. The metallic resonance deepened, echoing inside his chest as if something ancient and powerful recognized his resolve.
"Will you offer yourself… as the vessel of the Mechanical God's Heart?" the divine voice intoned.
Wang Chen did not hesitate. "Yes. I will sacrifice everything—my soul, my body, my very being—if it means I can protect my family and forge my destiny!"
A blinding light engulfed him. The crowd gasped, shielding their eyes. This was no ordinary awakening. The air vibrated with the sound of whirring metal and pulsing energy, a heartbeat forged in iron. Wang Chen's body trembled violently as the Mechanical God's Heart fused with him, burning through his soul and reshaping his very essence. Pain and power intertwined in a violent symphony, threatening to tear him apart, yet he refused to falter.
When the light finally receded, the courtyard was silent. Wang Chen's aura flared like a living storm, raw and uncontainable. He had awakened—not as a common S-rank knight, but as something far stranger, far more dangerous: a hidden, mechanical power coursing through every fiber of his being.
Ren Yinian stepped forward cautiously. "Wang… you survived. You… awakened," he said, awe mingled with disbelief.
Wang Chen, gasping and trembling, met his gaze. "I… I did. But this… this is only the beginning."
Before the crowd could fully comprehend what had happened, a darker truth emerged. Wang Chen's awakening was no mere accident—someone had orchestrated the events leading to his supposed failure. His once-promising life, derided and discarded, had been sabotaged.
Ren Yinian's expression hardened as he murmured, "Three years ago… your accident… it wasn't an accident. Someone wanted to ruin you. They calculated every step. They thought they could destroy your potential… but they underestimated you."
Wang Chen clenched his fists, anger mixing with the raw exhilaration of his newfound power. "Then I'll show them… I'll reclaim everything that's mine. And I'll make them regret ever touching me."
The Mechanical God's Heart pulsed inside him, a living reminder of the price he had paid—and the power he now wielded. It was a contract forged in fire and steel: a pact between human and machine, soul and artifact, desperation and destiny.
A whisper echoed inside his mind, metallic and alive:
"You are my vessel… and through you, all injustice shall be undone."
Wang Chen's lips curled into a determined smirk. He could feel it—the tides of fate shifting beneath his feet. His path was no longer one of survival. It was one of retribution, vengeance, and the forging of a new world, where the weak would never be mocked again.
And somewhere in the shadows, the orchestrator of his misery watched, confident that Wang Chen would fail. But for the first time in his life, Wang Chen did not fear the shadows. He would face them—and he would rise.