In Dragon Ball: A brutal beating of Frieza at the start

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Lin Wang picked up the silver chip left behind by Wen Wan; the star coordinates on its surface were radiating intense heat. "Activate the first form of the purification array!" He pressed the chip into the slot of the main control panel, and the twenty-four bronze bell replicas suddenly accelerated their rotation, green energy streams weaving into a hemispherical barrier. "Professor Chen was referring to life waves—energy devourers cannot absorb energy imprinted with emotions!"

"Emotional imprints?" Xiao Zhang shouted while dodging meteorites. "What's the use of talking about that now! We can't exactly cry in front of them!"

Lin Wang didn't answer. Suddenly, an illustration from his father's diary flashed through his mind: it was a waveform diagram drawn with an energy pen, labeled "Wen Wan's laughter frequency." He abruptly ripped off the star emblem from his collar, revealing a miniature data card hidden inside. It was given to him by Xiao Li before he left, supposedly a record of the bioelectric waves of three generations of the Lin family.

"Transfer this to the energy core!" Lin Wang tossed the data card to Xiao Zhang, then grabbed the floating bronze bell replica. "I need you to maintain the course; no matter what happens, you can't deviate from the coordinates!"

Xiao Zhang's hands trembled as he caught the data card: "What are you going to do?"

“I’m going to ‘stamp’ these energy flows.” Green light emanated from Lin Wang’s fingertips, the energy of the bronze bell seeping into his blood through his skin. “The ‘Watcher’ contract requires the mark of civilization, and the mark of humanity is our emotions.”

The moment the data card was inserted into the interface, countless points of light suddenly exploded on the holographic screen. Wen Wan's laughter in the laboratory, Lin Yanzhou's whispers while debugging the chip, the crisp sound of Lin An playing the bronze bell... these sounds that transcended time and space echoed on the bridge, gradually merging with Lin Wang's heartbeat.

"The shield is only at 30%!" Xiao Zhang's voice trembled with tears. "There are more and more of them!"

Lin Wang closed his eyes, immersing his consciousness into the energy flow of the bronze bell. He saw Wen Wan sign the contract at the End of the World, her eyes shining not with fear but with determination; he saw Lin Yanzhou shield his lover from the energy impact, the brilliant light emanating from his heart chip; he saw Lin An's resolute act of throwing the fragments of the bronze bell towards Earth before turning into stardust.

"Now!" Lin Wang suddenly opened his eyes, his fingertips drawing complex symbols in the air. "Transfer all the energy into my neural interface!"

"Are you crazy?!" Chen Bei's voice suddenly came through the communicator, filled with disbelief and shock. "Your body will be torn apart by energy!"

"This is the only way!" Lin Wang's arm had begun to become transparent, and green energy was surging wildly through his veins. "Professor Chen, do you remember what my father said? 'Energy always serves the will, not the form!'"

There was a moment of silence on the other end of the communicator, followed by Chen Bei's hoarse roar: "All team members, synchronize your bio-waves to the main ship! Let this kid see that we old guys aren't just sitting around doing nothing!"

The next second, Lin Wang felt a warm energy surge into the rear cabin. It was the life energy of the thirteen experts, carrying different frequencies, yet perfectly merging the moment it reached his body. The replica of the bronze bell suddenly emitted a clear, melodious sound, and countless faces emerged from the green energy flow—three generations of the Lin family, all the team members present, and countless figures who had protected Earth from ancient times to the present.

"They're retreating!" Xiao Zhang screamed with ecstatic joy.

Lin Wang peered through the translucent palm and saw the black energy-devouring entities dissolving. When they came into contact with the green energy flow infused with life waves, they reacted like ice and snow meeting the blazing sun, emitting a shrill scream. Before dissipating, the foremost black shadow suddenly coalesced into a blurry humanoid shape, and Lin Wang was surprised to find that its outline bore a striking resemblance to the consciousness of the "Watcher."

“I see…” Lin Wang murmured to himself, “You are not the enemy, but the corrupted ‘Watchers’.”

Just then, the shuttle suddenly burst out of the asteroid belt. The full view of the "Forgotten Land" was finally revealed: countless broken stone pillars floated in the void, each covered with fragments of bronze bells. Black energy streams wrapped around them like spider webs, but retreated the moment they came into contact with the green energy.

"The core area is reacting!" Xiao Zhang pointed at the screen. "The stone pillars are reorganizing!"

Lin Wang's gaze fell on the center of the ruins, where a huge fragment of a bronze bell floated, its surface engraved with the same star coordinates as Wen Wan's chip. The moment the green energy flow reached the fragment, the entire void suddenly lit up, the broken stone pillars began to piece together at a visible speed, and the shattered bell fragments danced in the air, eventually forming a complete circular array.

"Purification completion rate 80%...90%..." Xiao Zhang's voice grew increasingly excited, "The black radiation is dissipating!"

Lin Wang's body had become so transparent that he could see the star map behind him, but he felt no pain, only an unprecedented lightness. He saw Wen Wan's image standing in front of the reconstructed ruins, smiling at him; he saw his father and mother's figures waving to him in the energy flow; he saw Xiao Li standing in the secret room of the Starry Sky Building, giving a thumbs up to the communicator.

"The contract is complete," Lin Wang said softly, his fingertips tracing the patterns on the bronze bell one last time.

When his consciousness returned, Lin Wang found himself lying in the shuttle's medical bay. Chen Bei was staring at the data on the screen, his gray hair still stained with oil. "Kid's got a tough life," the old professor said without looking up. "Three neural interfaces burned out, four ribs broken, but at least he's survived."

Lin Wang tried to sit up, but Chen Bei pressed him down. "Lie down," the old professor's voice softened. "Your father was always like this back then, thinking he was made of iron." He took out a worn chip from his pocket. "This is what he gave me back then. He said if I encountered any trouble that I couldn't solve, I should use this to activate the 'last resort'."

Looking at the familiar patterns on the chip, Lin Wang suddenly realized something: "The energy barrier in the meteorite belt... was it set up by you?"

Chen Bei gave a bitter smile: "There are always people in the United Government who don't believe in the 'Watchers.' They were afraid you would bring the pollution back, so they secretly installed a detonation device in the asteroid belt. I hacked the system and changed the detonation program to an energy barrier." He paused, his voice choked with emotion, "Back then, I always said he was too idealistic. Now I understand that some ideals are worth risking your life for."

Just then, Xiao Zhang rushed in, holding up a holographic screen: "Brother Lin! Look! New star map coordinates have appeared in the core area!"

Lin Wang took the holographic screen and saw that among the densely packed starlight, a string of coordinates was flashing with golden light. Next to the coordinates was a line of small text, using the Lin family's ancestral code: "When the contract crosses galaxies, the true protection has only just begun—Guardian Lin."

Chen Bei leaned over for a look, then suddenly burst into laughter: "This kid, he really thinks he's a Watcher."

Lin Wang gazed into the distance through the porthole. The reconstructed array of bronze bells shone with a dazzling green light, like an eternal lighthouse. In that once-forgotten star field, countless purified "Watcher" consciousnesses were transforming into specks of light, merging into the torrent of the universe.

“It wasn’t me,” Lin Wang said softly, tapping the holographic screen with his fingertip. Suddenly, the golden coordinates branched out into countless smaller branches. “It was us.”

Suddenly, Xiao Zhang pointed at the screen and exclaimed, "The coordinates are being copied! They're connecting all the known civilizations in the universe!"

Chen Bei's smile slowly froze. He looked at the ever-extending golden lines and suddenly understood the words Wen Wan had left behind: "The true meaning of a contract is not inheritance, but resonance."

When the first communication signal from an alien civilization reached the shuttle, Lin Wang's fingertips glowed green once more. He knew this was not the end, but the prologue to countless beginnings. And those heartbeats that transcended time and space would eventually resonate in every corner of the universe, playing the most magnificent symphony.

Chapter 364: The Beacon of Bloodline

The nutrient solution in the medical pod dripped slowly down the transparent tube, condensing into tiny droplets on the pod wall. When Lin Wang opened his eyes, the first thing he saw was the simulated starry sky on the ceiling, drawn according to the starry sky of the Lin family's old house on summer nights. The three stars of Orion's Belt were particularly bright, like the light that his mother, Lin An, used to guide him with a bronze bell.

"Awake?" Xiao Li's voice was thick and hoarse. The old man was dozing off in front of the control panel, stardust still clinging to his gray hair. "You've been sleeping like a rock for the past three days. That old bastard Chen Bei almost dismantled my medical pod."

Lin Wang moved his fingers and found a pale green energy bandage wrapped around his wrist. It was made of the energy fibers of the "Watcher's Seed." A slight tingling sensation came from where it touched his skin, but it gave him a strange sense of peace. "'Forgotten Land' purification data..."

"Don't worry, it's ten times better than expected." Xiao Li sat up abruptly and pulled a bulging canvas bag from his pocket. "The bureaucrats of the United Government just passed a resolution yesterday to name that star field the 'Linwang Reserve.' Here, this is the certificate, made of lunar basalt, it's so heavy it could kill someone."

Lin Wang took the heavy stone slab, the gold-plated star emblem on it almost blinding under the light. He suddenly remembered what Xiao Li had said in the secret room of the Starry Sky Building before he set off: "Three generations of the Lin family have been grappling with the stars. Academician Wen studied star charts, your grandfather made heart chips, and your mother went even crazier, turning herself directly into stardust."

"Uncle Li, the new coordinates on the chip..."

"Don't even mention it." Xiao Li's smile faded as he pulled a red-covered document from his canvas bag. The word "Top Secret" on the cover was crossed out with three lines. "The experts from the United Government argued for two days and two nights, and finally voted to reject the exploration plan. They said the energy characteristics of the 'Gap at the End' were too dangerous. If it were to detonate the energy field of the entire universe, no one could bear the responsibility."

Lin Wang's fingertips traced the signature line on the document. The ink was still wet on the signatures of the seventeen experts, each marked with "Oppose." He suddenly noticed a line of pencil writing at the end of the document: "Recommendation to destroy all relevant star maps and permanently seal off the area—Zhang Qiming."

“Professor Zhang is still so radical.” Lin Wang pushed the file back, his gaze falling on the silver chip in the center of the control panel. The star coordinates left by Wen Wan were slowly rotating, like a series of pulsating heartbeats. “But he forgot that the ‘Watchers’ star map was never meant to be used for containment.”

Suddenly, Xiao Li pulled a tin biscuit box from the bottom of his canvas bag. Inside were stacks of yellowed letters. The top one had a crookedly drawn bell on it, and next to it was written, "To Xiao Wang: When you can unravel the secret of the bell, go to Andromeda to find Grandpa." It was his father Lin An's handwriting, with the tremors of his still-healing hand still visible in the strokes.

“This was found while sorting through Lin An’s belongings.” Xiao Li’s fingers tapped lightly on the letter. “In her last letter, she said that the ‘Gap at the End’ was actually the cradle of the ‘Watchers,’ and all energy flows originated from there, including the Energy Devourers.”

Lin Wang's heart clenched. He recalled the images he had seen in the "Forgotten Land": when the blue-skinned Watcher fired the silver chip into space, the purple nebula in the background perfectly matched the star map of the "Gap at the End" in the document.

“I’m going.” He pressed the cookie box to his chest, the metal casing sending a cool sensation through him. “Not because of the United Government’s orders, nor for any kind of heroism.” He paused, his voice as soft as a sigh. “I want to know what was hidden in the starry sky that Mom looked at last.”

After a long silence, Xiao Li pulled out a gleaming brass key from the deepest part of his canvas bag. “On the third basement floor of Xingyao Building, there’s an ‘antique’,” the old man said, shoving the key into Lin Wang’s hand. “That’s the shuttle that Academician Wen modified back then, called ‘Locust Blossom Fragrance.’ She said that if one day we couldn’t stay on Earth anymore, we could drive it to find locust blossoms in the universe.”

Lin Wang gripped the key tightly, suddenly remembering the locust tree in the old house's courtyard. Every spring, Wen Wan would pick the most fragrant locust blossoms, put them in a glass bottle, and give them to Lin Yanzhou when he returned home late from work. His father said it was their "interstellar navigation system"—they could tell the way home just by smelling the flowers.

Three days later, as the "Locust Blossom Fragrance" departed the solar system, Lin Wang discovered an unexpected passenger in the cargo hold. Chen Bei was squatting beside a fragment of a bronze bell, studying the patterns on it with a magnifying glass; the old man's prosthetic eye gleamed metallicly under the light.

"Don't glare at me," Chen Bei said without looking up. "The autopilot system on this wrecked ship was modified by me for Academician Wen back then. You young people can't handle it." He pulled a USB drive out of his pocket with a sticky note on it: "Lin Yanzhou's Private Diary, Volume 37."

When Lin Wang took the USB drive, his fingertips touched the scars on the back of the old man's hand. Those were left when the "Eternal Heartbeat" chip exploded. His father always said that Chen Bei had used his hand to block the flying fragments in order to protect him.

“Your grandfather always said that the most dangerous thing in the universe is not energy-devouring beings,” Chen Bei suddenly said, wiping his prosthetic eye with his sleeve. “It’s the suspicion between civilizations. Just like now, all thirty civilizations that are willing to join the exploration team are secretly sending me messages, asking if we should prepare weapons in advance just in case.”

Lin Wang's gaze swept over the thirty metal crates in the cargo hold. Each crate was engraved with different symbols of civilizations: there were spiral patterns from the Zeta Galaxy, triangular symbols from the Alpha Nebula, and ring marks from Andromeda. These were the representatives of the surviving Watchers civilization from the "Forgotten Lands," and their representative was a ball of light no bigger than a palm, which was currently curled up next to the fragments of the bronze bell, emitting a warm glow.

“Seven more days to reach the ‘Gap of the End’.” Xiao Zhang’s voice came through the communicator, filled with barely suppressed excitement. “Director Li just sent a message that the children in the Martian colony have made thirty small models using the recovered bronze bell fragments, each engraved with our star coordinates.”

Lin Wang opened the holographic image sent by Xiao Zhang. On the screen, dozens of children held up palm-sized bronze bell models, forming a huge circle on the red sand. Sunlight shone through the patterns on the models, casting green spots of light on the ground, like a locust leaf growing on Mars.

"They say it's a talisman for the universe." Xiao Zhang's voice suddenly choked up. "Brother Lin, do you think we can really win?"

Lin Wang looked at the sphere of light in the cargo hold. Suddenly, the Watcher representative emitted a crisp sound, and the holographic projection on the top of the cargo hold instantly lit up, displaying star maps of thirty civilizations. In the center of each star map was the same bell pattern, and green energy flowed slowly between the patterns, like a river spanning galaxies.

“Tell the children,” Lin Wang said into the communicator, “to hang the model in the window. Once we’ve purified the ‘Gap of the End,’ we’ll see the green light here.”

When the "Locust Blossom Fragrance" arrived at the "Gap of the End," the entire formation held its breath. The edge of the universe presented an eerie two-tone appearance: one half was pure purple, like the energy solution in Wen Wan's laboratory; the other half was a viscous black, with the shadowy figures of energy-devouring entities churning within it, like undisturbed ink.

"Activate the joint purification array!" Lin Wang's voice echoed across the thirty ships through the communicator. "Remember, keep the energy frequency at 7.3 Hz, which is the vibration frequency when the locust flowers bloom on Earth."

Thirty streams of green energy shot out simultaneously from the ship, weaving into a massive light curtain in the void. The leading energy-devouring entity crashed into the light curtain, letting out a piercing scream as its black body instantly vaporized. But more energy-devouring entities surged forth from the purple nebula, like a rising tide, gradually engulfing the green light.

"Energy down by 30%!" Xiao Zhang's voice trembled with tears. "The ships in the Zeta system are about to collapse; their shields are smoking!"

Lin Wang stared at the silver chip in the center of the control panel. The star coordinates left by Wen Wan suddenly lit up, forming a paragraph of text on the screen: "When the heartbeats of all civilizations converge into the same song, the cradle will open." He suddenly remembered the words in his father's diary: "Wen Wan's heartbeat frequency is perfectly synchronized with the energy flow of the bronze bell, like a key and a lock."

"Attention all units!" Lin Wang grabbed a fragment of the bronze bell and infused it with his bio-electric waves. "Adjust your energy frequency to synchronize with the 'Eternal Heartbeat'!"

"Are you crazy?" Chen Bei's roar came from the passenger seat. "Every civilization has a different life frequency. Forcing synchronization will cause energy overload!"

"Trust the Watchers." Green light emanated from Lin Wang's fingertips. "What they left behind was not weapons, but the conductor's baton of a symphony."

A miracle occurred when the energy flows of the thirty civilizations began to pulsate at the same frequency. The green light curtain suddenly became transparent, and through it, one could see that in each civilization's ship, someone was placing their palm on a bronze bell—the lizardmen of the Zeta system were twirling the bell with their tails, the energy body of the Alpha Nebula was directly merging into the light, and the Watcher's orb of light was dancing an ancient dance on the fragments of the bell.

"What's that?" Xiao Zhang suddenly pointed to the center of the purple nebula.

Lin Wang's pupils suddenly contracted. In the center of the nebula, countless glowing stone pillars were reassembling, eventually forming a giant bronze bell. Within the patterns on the bell's surface, images of all civilizations emerged: humans planting locust trees on Earth, blue-skinned watchmen repairing star maps, and even murals left behind by long-vanished civilizations. In each scene, the same action was depicted: hands pressed against the bell.

“That is the ‘Heart of the Universe’.” Chen Bei’s voice trembled. “Your grandfather once said that the Watchers believed that all civilizations originated from the same heartbeat.”

When representatives of thirty civilizations simultaneously placed their palms on the "Heart of the Universe," the black energy-devouring entities suddenly ceased their surging. As if drawn by an invisible force, they slowly drifted towards the purple nebula, transforming into specks of starlight the instant they touched the light of the "Heart of the Universe."

Lin Wang felt his body becoming transparent. Green energy flowed from his fingertips, merging with the light of the "Heart of the Universe." He seemed to see Wen Wan's smile in the laboratory, Lin Yanzhou's focused profile as he debugged the chip, and Lin An's gentle gaze as he looked at Earth before turning into stardust.

"Tell those who come after me." Lin Wang chuckled into the communicator, feeling his consciousness merging into that warm light, "Protection is not a relay race, but a circle formed by everyone holding hands."

When the joint exploration team arrived, they saw the "Heart of the Universe" suspended in a purple nebula, with new star coordinates constantly emerging within the green veins on its surface. Next to the foremost coordinate, there was a line of small print written in Earth's common language: "Next stop, where locust flowers bloom."

Chen Bei suddenly pointed out the porthole. In the cargo holds of thirty ships, the bronze bell models made by the children were simultaneously glowing, the green light spots penetrating the hulls and forming a huge locust tree shape in the void.

"Look!" Xiao Zhang exclaimed in amazement, "They're navigating."

In the final moments of Lin Wang's fading consciousness, he suddenly smelled the familiar scent of locust blossoms. He thought, this is probably the direction of home, not a specific planet, but the place where the heartbeats of all civilizations resonate, an eternal beacon forged by blood ties.

Deep within the "Heart of the Universe," a new bronze bell is slowly taking shape. In the patterns on its surface, one can vaguely see the smiling face of a young boy and the ever-shining star emblem on his chest.

Chapter 365: The Contract That Never Fades

The morning light at the Mars base always carries a metallic sheen. Outside the dome, the stars have just crept over the outlines of the craters, and pale golden light streams through three layers of reinforced glass, casting dappled patterns of light on the floor surrounding the holographic screen. A dozen or so children sit around suspended seats; the youngest is just school-aged, the oldest can already read star charts and coordinates. Each child has a bronze bell sticker on their forehead, its green veins shimmering faintly in the light, like stars just dredged from cosmic dust.

"Little Li, Little Li, tell us quickly!" Lin Xiaoman, a little girl with pigtails, swung her legs, the edges of the stickers she was sticking out a bit. "Yesterday we talked about Uncle Lin Wang going to the Gap of the End, what happened next?"

The boy next to her, Zhao Lei, pushed up his virtual glasses, and a string of star trail data flashed on the lenses: "Xiaoman, what's the rush? Xiao Li's database contains 731 versions of the story; it has to be done according to the timeline."

The white-haired robot, Xiao Li, rotated the optical lens and gently tapped the edge of the holographic screen with his metal knuckles. The screen lit up with a buzz, first displaying a chaotic nebula, then revealing a clear image: Lin Wang, dressed in a dark blue combat suit, was bending over adjusting a communicator, a bronze bell clipped behind his ear, swaying gently with his movements.

"In the year 2144 AD, on the outskirts of the Land of the End." Xiao Li's electronic voice, tinged with a simulated hoarseness, seemed deliberately tuned to a frequency from a thousand years ago. "Lin Wang had just completed his third space jump, and the temperature of his mecha's outer shell hadn't yet cooled down..."

"Mecha? Is it the 'Stardust'?" Su Xiaoxiao, a little girl in the back row, suddenly raised her hand, clutching a mecha model with bell patterns engraved on its metal shell. "My dad said it's the most powerful mecha, capable of splitting open black holes!"

Xiao Li's camera blinked, as if he were laughing: "Strictly speaking, it's 'Stardust III'. The first two generations were scrapped when they crossed the asteroid belt." He pulled up the exploded diagram of the mecha, and the virtual projection hung in the middle of the children. "Look here, the energy tank on the left side of the cockpit was originally for the weapon system, but Wen Wan later converted it into a life support device."

The holographic screen suddenly switched to a different scene: Wen Wan, wearing a white lab coat, was squatting beside the wreckage of a mecha, holding a welding torch, her face smeared with oil. When she looked up, she met the camera's gaze, and a smile played on her lips: "Lin Wang, if you keep urging me, I'll take apart your communicator and use it as a backup power source."

"Aunt Wen Wan is so fierce." Lin Xiaoman stuck out her tongue, but pressed the sticker on her forehead even tighter.

“That’s out of concern.” Xiao Li switched to Wen Wan’s personal log projection, and green data streams flowed in the air. “The spatial radiation of the Gap of the End is three thousand times that of Earth. Wen Wan didn’t close his eyes for seventy-two consecutive hours to calculate a safe flight path. The log says: ‘If this bastard dares to get into trouble, I will carve his star orbit coordinates on a meteorite so that he will orbit the black hole forever.’”

The children burst into laughter, and Zhao Lei suddenly pointed to the corner of the screen: "What's that?"

In the video, a silver chip is visible in Wen Wan's pocket, its edges gleaming green.

"Wen Wan's personal chip." Xiao Li's camera dimmed slightly. "It contains three things: Lin Wang's medical report, a spatial model of the Rift of the End, and an audio clip..."

He paused, and suddenly a clear heartbeat sound rang out from the holographic screen. Not one, but four, gradually merging from a jumbled mess until they finally converged into a single, resonant "thump-thump," like the sound of a drumbeat striking the universe.

Lin Xiaoman subconsciously touched her chest, then looked at Zhao Lei next to her: "Is it the same as our heartbeat right now?"

“Almost identical.” Xiao Li brought up the real-time monitoring interface. The heartbeat waveforms of each child were jumping on the screen, eventually overlapping and perfectly matching the waveform in the audio. “March 17, 2145, core area of ​​the Land of the End. Senior Lin Yanzhou’s heartbeat recorder transmitted this data at the last moment. At that time, Wen Wan was in the command cabin, Lin An was in the supply station, and Lin Wang was in the mecha…”