allendalepharm Page 21
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The detector design diagrams on the large screen rotated continuously. Number 18 walked to Lin Ye's side; the subtle humming sound of the android device had become noticeable—she now needed to replenish her energy regularly, just like a normal person. "That makes sense," she said softly, her golden hair fluttering gently in the breeze. Infinite energy was, after all, a product of the system's distorted laws.
Suddenly, the ground in the center of the plaza cracked open, and a black stone monument slowly rose. Its surface was smooth as a mirror, and each name engraved on it emitted a faint golden light. Lin Ye saw Future Trunks' name, next to which was engraved a delicate little sword pattern, and below it were the words: Guardian of Time. His fingers unconsciously traced the name, the cold touch reminding him of the last time he saw that young man.
The seventh and fifth universes will exist as a neutral realm. The Supreme Kai's voice pulled Lin Ye back to reality. Any race can exchange technology and martial arts knowledge here, but any form of system resurrection research is strictly prohibited. Violators will be permanently expelled.
Among the crowd, Lin Ye noticed several unusual figures: his Western Gunslinger version was demonstrating a shooting technique to his Wizard version; King Vegeta from a certain universe was sitting with Goku, with several empty bottles of liquor in front of them; even more surprisingly, he saw a Perfect Cell, the once fearsome monster, now patiently teaching a group of children from various races how to control their ki.
How wondrous. Bulma's voice came from behind her. She held a drink that kept changing color, and the light and shadow of the square reflected on her glasses. Without the coercive constraints of a system, true peace had been achieved.
Lin Ye subconsciously touched his chest, where the system chip had once been implanted, now only a faint scar remained. "Because the choice has returned to everyone," he replied softly, "freedom often inspires more goodwill than coercion."
Vegeta suddenly leaped onto the platform, a move that elicited cheers. "Silence!" he roared, his voice tinged with unusual excitement. "One month from now, the first Unsystematic Martial Arts Tournament will be held in Universe 7.5!"
The entire room fell silent, everyone holding their breath as they waited for what would happen next.
Vegeta flashed his signature fanged grin: "The prize is—the chance to fight me in my prime!" Of course, he pointed to the row of brand-new simulation pods at the edge of the plaza, which were memory simulation devices.
The cheers nearly lifted the roof off the temple. Lin Ye couldn't help but smile—this was indeed Vegeta's style of motivation, simple, direct, and incredibly effective.
As night fell, the celebratory feast raged in the plaza. Food from various races filled the hundred-meter-long buffet table, the air thick with the aromas of roasted meat, alien fruits, and exotic drinks. Lin Ye, carrying a blue beverage, walked alone to the top of the temple, from where he could overlook the brightly lit celebration. A night breeze brushed against his face, carrying the unique plant scents of New Namek.
"Hiding here contemplating life?" Number 18's voice came from behind. She had changed out of her combat suit and was wearing a simple white top and black trousers, holding two glasses of Earth-made juice.
Lin Ye took the juice, the sweet and sour taste spreading on his tongue. He was just thinking about the future, gazing at the starry sky. Without the system's guidance, we might take many detours.
Number 18 leaned against the marble railing, her blonde hair gleaming softly in the moonlight. But at least it was her own path. Suddenly, she pointed to the sky and looked.
A shooting star streaked across the deep blue sky, followed by a second, a third... Soon, the entire night sky was lit up by the meteor shower. Lin Ye remembered what his mother had told him when he was a child: every shooting star represents the fulfillment of a dream.
The system prompted him... He spoke instinctively, then laughed self-deprecatingly, "Sorry, it's a habit."
Number 18 smiled, a rare occurrence, her eyes gleaming like molten gold in the moonlight. "Need I remind you? Starting tomorrow, you'll be teaching me a new method for controlling my breath." She shook the energy limiter on her wrist; this was much more troublesome than before.
Just as Lin Ye was about to answer, he suddenly felt a burning sensation in his chest. Looking down, he saw the scar emitting a faint golden light. At the same time, a particularly bright shooting star in the sky suddenly changed its trajectory and flew straight towards the temple.
What is that...?
The meteor disintegrated the moment it touched the temple's protective shield, transforming into countless points of light that formed a line of shimmering text:
The real challenge begins when the Ring of Hope is completed. —T
Android 18 immediately assumed a fighting stance, her android energy gathering in her palm. Trunks? She glanced around warily.
Lin Ye shook his head: No, it's the first letter of Time. He recalled Future Trunks's final warning, and the ultimate threat they still hadn't faced. The light script gradually dissipated, but before it completely disappeared, Lin Ye keenly noticed a barely visible dot in the lower right corner of the letter T—like a small part of a massive symbol.
Vegeta's voice came from below, accompanied by laughter from the crowd: "Hey! How long are you two going to stay on the roof? The party's just started! Krillin says he can drink all the Saiyans out of the water!"
Lin Ye took a deep breath and turned around with a relaxed expression: Here we come! Tonight, we'll drink until we drop! He deliberately raised his voice so that the people below could hear him, which immediately caused a cheer.
But deep down, he knew the peaceful days wouldn't last long. While everyone was immersed in joy, no one noticed—Trunks' name on the temple's stone tablet was glowing faintly, and even more unnoticed, in some corner of the universe, within the energy network formed by the seven Super Dragon Balls, an unusual data fluctuation quietly flashed.
Chapter 70: Open Ending
The waves lapped against the beach in front of the Turtle Hermitage, making a soothing lapping sound. Lin Ye lay on a sun lounger, his eyes slightly narrowed behind his sunglasses, enjoying the rare tranquility. Since the system crashed a year ago, the universe had finally returned to peace.
Brother Lin Ye! Look what I caught!
Gohan's voice came from the sea. Gohan, now a young man, walked across the waves, carrying two large, still-throwing fish. Behind him followed Pan, a little girl holding a pile of shimmering seashells in her hands.
"Uncle, look! These seashells glow!" Xiao Fang excitedly held the seashells up to Lin Ye, her face flushed from running.
Lin Ye smiled as he took the seashell, but suddenly sensed something was amiss. He turned the seashell over, and his pupils contracted sharply—the back of the seashell was engraved with tiny Saiyan characters, the warning signals Vegeta had once taught him.
"Gohan..." Lin Ye was about to speak when the sky suddenly darkened.
It wasn't dark clouds, nor was it a solar eclipse; rather, a translucent black film was slowly unfolding from outside the atmosphere, like a giant net covering the entire sky.
Bulma! Lin Ye immediately pressed the communicator in his ear.
"I see it!" Bulma's voice was unusually tense. "Anomalies in space have been detected globally! Not an energy reaction, but... a distortion at the mathematical level! It's altering the fundamental parameters of the universe!"
Lin Ye instantly entered battle mode. Although the arduous training of the past year had only restored him to 30% of his original strength, his body's combat memory remained sharp. Gohan shielded Pan behind him, his aura increasing.
What is that? Gohan looked up at the increasingly dark sky, his voice heavy.
A huge Z-shaped symbol gradually emerged in the center of the black film, exactly the same as the logo on the system interface back then. But this time there was no energy fluctuation; instead, it gave people an eerie sense of emptiness, as if it were not a physical entity, but a loophole in reality.
It wasn't a system regression... Lin Ye muttered to himself, cold sweat beading on his forehead. It was something more primal... something that existed before the system was even born.
Vegeta's spaceship roared in, kicking up a cloud of dust as it landed. He could briefly maintain his Super Saiyan form, his blond hair dancing in the wind: So this is it? Where's Kakarot?
"Dad went to the Supreme Kai's World to train," Gohan replied, his eyes fixed on the sky.
The black film began to pulsate rhythmically, like breathing. With each exhale, tiny black particles drifted down. A grain of black sand landed on the back of Lin Ye's hand and vanished instantly, leaving only a cool sensation.
A mathematical virus... Bulma's voice was filled with terror; it was deconstructing the fundamental laws of reality! The gravitational constant, the speed of light limit... all parameters were being rewritten! This was not something that could be countered by force!
Gohan, refusing to believe it, conjured a ki blast with one hand and shot it towards the black membrane. The energy beam did not explode upon contact with the membrane; instead, it was absorbed—not absorbed, but conceptually erased, as if that part of the energy had never existed.
How could this be... Gohan stared at his hands in shock.
Suddenly remembering something, Lin Ye took out a treasured fragment of creation from his pocket. After the fragment came into contact with the black membrane radiation, new patterns suddenly appeared on its surface—star maps of twelve universes, with a point of light twinkling in each universe.
"I understand!" Lin Ye shouted. "This isn't an attack, it's a distress signal! Something is trying to restructure the system to fight this virus!"
Vegeta frowned: Are you crazy? You still want to revive that control system?
"It's not a system..." Lin Ye quickly explained, tracing the star map on the fragment with his finger. "It's the universe's own defense mechanism! Look at the position of the light spot—"
On the star chart, the twelve points of light form a perfect circle. Then, a thirteenth point of light appears between the seventh and sixth universes, filling the gap at the center of the circle.
The Ring of Hope... Number 18 appeared behind everyone at some point, his silver hair gleaming coldly in the eerie light, the moment Trunks had foretold.
The black membrane suddenly contracted violently, coalescing into a human-sized shadowy figure. It had no facial features, but everyone could sense that it was staring at the fragment in Lin Ye's hand.
Bulma's detectors are blaring an alarm: the math collapse rate has risen to 37%! It's learning the rules of our reality! At this rate, the physical laws of the entire universe will collapse!
At the critical moment, the fragments suddenly flew into the air on their own, and beams of light shot out from the twelve points of light in the universe simultaneously. As the beams converged, a blurry humanoid outline gradually took shape—it was the purest system form in all the host's memories, without any control programs, only the most primitive function of fulfilling wishes.
The shadowy figure showed signs of retreat for the first time. But it was too late. The pure system light being reached out and touched the shadowy figure. There was no explosion, no flash; the two annihilated each other like matter and antimatter, leaving only ripples spreading outwards in space.
The sky cleared up again, as if nothing had happened. Only the huge Z-shaped tracks left on the beach proved that what had just happened was not an illusion.
Is it over...? Xiaofang timidly peeked out from behind Gohan.
Lin Ye picked up the fallen fragments and found a new line of small text on them: Phase One Defense Complete. Prepare for the real challenge. —T
T? Number 18 frowned. Trunks? Or something else?
Vegeta snorted and deactivated his Super Saiyan form: Looks like the vacation is over.
On the distant horizon, a uniquely shaped spaceship is slowly rising. Its hull is engraved with a mixture of Saiyan script, Namekian runes, and symbols of Earth technology—a symbol of the new era of Universe Seven.
Gohan picked up Pan: Should we notify all the warriors? Including Dad and Uncle Piccolo?
Lin Ye gazed at the boundless starry sky, where countless civilizations were being rebuilt. He recalled the last scene he saw in the system core a year ago—the scene of all his universe counterparts nodding simultaneously.
No. Lin Ye turned and walked towards the spaceship, the fragments glowing faintly in his hand. This time, we'll take the initiative.
Vegeta's lips curled into a fighting smile: Just what I wanted.
Number 18 quickly caught up: Wait, are you just going to leave like this? At least tell Bulma.
She had already told her. Lin Ye shook the communicator on her wrist; she was preparing a universe-wide broadcast to summon all surviving former hosts.
Gohan hesitated for a moment, then handed Xiaofang to Chi-Chi who had rushed over: "Mom, I have to go with them."
I knew I couldn't stop you. Kiki sighed, tears welling in her eyes. "At least say goodbye to your father..."
It's too late. Lin Ye watched the fading light on the fragments; the passage was closing. Either leave now, or stay here forever.
Gohan kissed Pan on the forehead, hugged his mother, and then walked resolutely toward the spaceship: for the future of all universes.
The moment the spaceship hatch closed, Bulma's voice came through the communicator: "Lin Ye! I just deciphered that Z symbol—it's not a letter, but the symbol for a set of integers in mathematics! That dark figure might be..."
Communication was suddenly lost. The spaceship had broken through the atmosphere and was heading towards the depths of space, a direction only debris could guide it to.
Outside the spaceship's observation window, the azure Earth gradually shrank. Lin Ye gripped the fragment tightly, feeling the faint but resolute pulse within it.
Whatever lies ahead, he said softly, "This time, we'll make our own choice."
Vegeta stood beside him, arms crossed: "I hope the opponent is strong enough, otherwise it will be too boring."
Gohan was adjusting the spaceship's navigation system: the route had been set, but the destination coordinates were not on any known star map.
Number 18 checked the weapons inventory: enough to destroy a small planet... hopefully enough.
The spaceship entered a hyperspace jump, starlight stretching into lines. Behind them, in front of Master Roshi's house on Earth, Xiaofang picked up a new glowing seashell, its back engraved with Saiyan script different from the previous ones:
Trust them. —K.
Chapter 71: Fragments of Memory
The Hyperbolic Time Chamber, once considered an ideal training ground, was now filled with an unsettling atmosphere. The pure white space was no longer calm; it began to tremble violently, as if an invisible storm was raging. Lin Ye, who was undergoing intense training, stumbled from the sudden tremor and nearly bumped into Vegeta, who was quietly meditating nearby. A faint smell of burning permeated the air, as if something was being mercilessly roasted by the high temperature, adding fuel to the already tense atmosphere.
“System warning: Spacetime stability has dropped to 65%…” The system’s electronic voice, named Alice, suddenly rang out in the small space, but the voice was filled with unnatural noise, making it particularly jarring. “It is recommended to terminate the training immediately.”
Lin Ye frowned, his forehead beaded with sweat. He raised his hand to wipe it away, and the dazzling golden aura of his Super Saiyan 3 form gradually dimmed. He looked down at his hands, a hint of doubt and wariness flashing in his eyes. Beneath his skin, he saw blue data streams flickering faintly, like the static on an old television screen—it looked eerie no matter how you looked at it.
"Hey, you lowly warrior." Vegeta slowly opened his eyes. The deep blue aura that had enveloped him was now mixed with some strange silver sand, which rippled slightly with his breath. His voice carried his usual arrogance and disdain, "Your ki is out of control again."
This wasn't the first time this had happened. Ever since Lin Ye came into contact with that mysterious fragment of creation at the Temple of Time, he had frequently sensed abnormalities in the system's operation. But what truly chilled him was what happened three days ago. At the time, he was clearly sparring earnestly with Number 18, but suddenly his consciousness blurred, and he "saw" himself in a completely unfamiliar, pure white room, with a golden sphere emitting a soft glow floating before him…
“It’s not out of control,” Lin Ye said in a deep voice, his eyes filled with determination and resolve. He brought up the system interface, and the retinal projection flickered erratically in this unstable space, as if it might disappear at any moment. “The system is tampering with my memories.”
Vegeta's tail snapped straight up instantly, a Saiyan's instinctive reaction when alert. He abruptly stood up, sand grains falling from his battle suit. But these grains of sand were not ordinary matter; they were crystallizations of temporal turbulence, manifesting only in the unique environment of the Hyperbolic Time Chamber.
"Your broken system is finally going to rebel?" Vegeta's lips curled into a cold smile, but his eyes were unusually sharp, as if they could see through everything. "I told you long ago that external forces are unreliable."
Lin Ye did not immediately refute. He quietly pointed to a point in the void, his voice steady and powerful: "Alice, play the recording of the most recent memory anomaly."
At his command, a holographic projection slowly appeared in the air. In the image, Lin Ye stood in that mysterious, pure white room, and in the golden sphere of light floating opposite him, a humanoid silhouette was faintly visible. Upon closer inspection, this humanoid silhouette had a face exactly like Lin Ye's, but its eyes were constantly rotating mechanical gears, exuding a cold and eerie aura.
"Subject No. 57, you are merely an energy battery raised by the system," said "Omega" within the sphere of light. Its voice, sharp and piercing, sounded like hundreds of superimposed electronic sounds. "All resistance is merely a stress test within a pre-programmed sequence..."
Vegeta was instantly enraged by the image and words. He roared and punched the projection, shattering it like glass. "Enough! This kind of trick doesn't deserve to be called Saiyan!" His aura suddenly surged, his hair began to glow with a silvery light, and he seemed to be enveloped by a powerful force. "Show me something real!"
Lin Ye's pupils constricted sharply upon seeing this. He clearly realized that Vegeta's form had changed. Mysterious sands of time flowed within the deep blue aura, and ancient Saiyan script even appeared on his skin, radiating a mysterious and powerful aura. This was neither Super Saiyan Blue nor Ultra Instinct, but a completely new evolution unlike anything he had ever seen before.
"What is this...?" Lin Ye couldn't help but ask, his eyes filled with surprise and curiosity.
“Deep Blue? Toki no Suke.” Vegeta cracked his wrists, his knuckles popping like beans, a smug look on his face. “That little trick Whis taught me secretly.”
Before he could finish speaking, he suddenly reached out and grabbed Lin Ye's shoulder with such force that it felt like he could crush bones. "Now, let me see what's going on in your head!"