chsdbacks Page 39
Page 39
A blue light shone in the darkness, illuminating a face he knew all too well—Bulma, but not the Bulma he knew. This Bulma wore a mechanical goggle over her left eye, her short blue hair was shaved with lightning bolt patterns on one side, and a cynical smirk played on her lips.
Hey, Mr. Time-Traveling Fugitive, she blew a gum bubble. If you want to live, come with me.
Lin Ye didn't move: Why should I believe you?
Bulma's mechanical eyepiece flashed a stream of data: Lin Ye, age 22, from a parallel universe, a member of the Time Patrol, was caught in a time rift while saving his companion, Number 18. She tilted her head. "Do I need to read your information again?"
Lin Ye's pupils contracted slightly: How do you know all this?
Because I am the smartest person on this planet, Bulma turned and walked into the darkness. Even if the Red Ribbon Army controls the surface, the underground is still my kingdom. Hurry up, the patrol's mechanical dogs aren't as patient as I am.
After a moment's hesitation, Lin Ye followed. Bulma led him through the intricate underground passages, finally stopping in front of a rusty metal door. She placed her hand on the identifier beside the door, and a red light swept across her retina.
"Welcome home, Your Majesty," the mechanical door murmured in a hoarse greeting.
Behind the door lay a colossal space that left Lin Ye speechless—an underground base the size of half a football field, its walls covered with monitors, where dozens of technicians busied themselves in front of holographic projections. In the center, a miniature Earth projection floated, displaying the locations of the Red Ribbon Legion's various strongholds.
"This is my snail shell," Bulma hopped onto a workbench, sat cross-legged, and became the last stronghold of the resistance.
Lin Ye looked around: What exactly happened in this universe? Why did the Red Ribbon Army take control of Earth? Where are Wukong and the others?
Bulma's smile vanished: the Namekian campaign had failed. Goku hadn't transformed into a Super Saiyan, and Frieza had wiped out everyone. A red glint flashed in her mechanical goggles, except for Vegeta.
Vegeta? Lin Ye asked in surprise, "He survived?"
Not only did he survive, but Bulma also jumped off the workbench and walked towards the central projection, gaining some kind of...mysterious power. She pulled up a blurry image—Vegeta was floating in the air, surrounded by purple energy, capable of destroying an entire fleet with a mere gesture.
Lin Ye gasped: That's...destructive energy?
"Do you recognize this power?" Bulma whirled around.
In my universe, this is the power of the realm of gods. Lin Ye approached the projection, but how could Vegeta possibly...?
Bulma pulled up another set of data: Five years ago, Vegeta suddenly appeared on the wreckage of Earth, claiming to have obtained the Saiyan God of Destruction System. Since then, he has become the only force capable of fighting against Mecha Frieza's army.
"System?!" Lin Ye almost shouted. "You're saying Vegeta is the system host?"
Bulma narrowed her eyes: "It seems you know more than I thought." She suddenly grabbed Lin Ye's wrist, "Come with me, I have something to show you."
She led Lin Ye to a secret room deep within the base. In the center of the room floated a cube emitting a faint blue light, its surface swirling with strange runes.
"This is a sample of the system energy I secretly collected from Vegeta," Bulma's voice deepened. "The Red Ribbon Army is also studying this; they want to replicate the system's power to control Mecha Frieza."
Lin Ye felt the time-space bracelet suddenly vibrate, and a line of blurry text appeared on the screen: [Detected energy from a similar system...]
Just then, a piercing alarm sounded throughout the entire base.
Oh no! Bulma rushes towards the control panel; they've found us!
The main screen showed a massive mechanical legion attacking the entrance to the underground passage. The leader was a hovercraft that Lin Ye was very familiar with—but instead of the pink Tyrant, it was a terrifying half-mechanical, half-biological body with cold red light flashing in its electronic eyes.
Mechanical Frieza... Lin Ye's throat tightened.
"Evacuate everyone!" Bulma shouted into the communicator. "Activate self-destruct program A3! We absolutely cannot let them obtain the system data!"
Chaos erupted at the base as technicians quickly destroyed documents and evacuated equipment. Lin Ye grabbed Bulma: "Is there a way out?"
Bulma points to a hidden passage: leading to an abandoned subway tunnel, but it won't last long. Frieza's mechanical army can scan the entire underground network.
What about Vegeta? Isn't he fighting Frieza?
Normally, but… Bulma’s words were interrupted by a loud bang. The base’s ceiling suddenly collapsed, and three combat robots fell from the sky, their red targeting lasers locked onto them.
Lin Ye instinctively tackled Bulma, but a beam of energy grazed his back, shattering the equipment behind him into pieces.
"Get down!" He drew his phase gun and fired a shot that struck the core of the nearest robot. The shockwave from the robot's explosion knocked him to the ground.
The other two robots adjusted their weapons, preparing to fire. At that critical moment, a purple energy wave swept across, instantly reducing the two robots to dust.
"Looks like I've arrived just in time." A haughty voice came from above the hole.
Lin Ye looked up and saw Vegeta floating in the air, but he was completely different from the Vegeta he knew—this Vegeta was wearing a dark purple battle suit, with a diamond-shaped crystal emitting purple light embedded in his forehead, and terrifying destructive energy swirling around him.
"Vegeta!" Bulma shouted. "Frieza's main force is attacking the East Wing!"
"I know," Vegeta said coldly, "I came here after him." His gaze fell on Lin Ye. "Is this the time traveler you were talking about?"
Bulma nodded: He recognized the system's energy.
A flicker of interest crossed Vegeta's eyes: Interesting. He suddenly turned to the side, but said, "Let's wait and see, our old friend is here."
With the roar of machinery, Mechanical Frieza's hovering chair slowly descended into the damaged base. Half of his body retained its original biological tissue, while the other half was a cold-glowing mechanical structure, with a blood-red crystal embedded in his chest, similar to Vegeta's forehead.
Vegeta, we meet again. Frieza's electronic voice is mixed with his original voice, which is creepy. There's also Miss Bulma and... this strange friend.
Lin Ye felt the time-space bracelet vibrate violently: [Warning! Abnormal system response detected!]
Frieza, Vegeta floated in front of Lin Ye and Bulma. This time, I will completely destroy your system core.
Frieza let out a piercing laugh: What a ridiculous declaration. My mechanical army already controls 75% of the galaxy, and you're still protecting these ants.
Without a word, Vegeta conjured a purple ball of destructive energy in his hands: Ha!
The energy ball hurtled towards Frieza, who raised his mechanical arm, instantly creating a red barrier. The shockwave from the collision of the two energies overturned the remaining equipment in the base.
"Bulma, what do we do now?" Lin Ye shouted amidst the explosion.
Bulma pulled Lin Ye to a corner: "There's a secret passage beneath my lab that leads to my private spaceship. But we need to create an opportunity."
Lin Ye looked at Vegeta and Frieza in the midst of their fierce battle: Vegeta's system... can he win?
Usually evenly matched, Bulma rapidly operates the microcomputer on her wrist, but Frieza has recently upgraded his mechanical army. Look!
She pointed to the main screen, which showed dozens of mechanical spaceships approaching Earth.
He summoned a fleet. Bulma gritted her teeth; even Vegeta, no matter how strong, couldn't withstand that many.
Lin Ye suddenly had an idea: Bulma, can your system energy sample interfere with Frieza's system core?
Bulma's eyes lit up: Theoretically, yes, but I don't have enough—
Using my time-space bracelet, Lin Ye removed the damaged device. It had just reacted to the system's energy and might be able to amplify your sample's energy.
Bulma quickly took the bracelet and connected it to her own device: a brilliant idea! But this could only cause a brief interruption, at most a few seconds.
That's enough. Lin Ye looked at the battlefield. Vegeta only needs one chance.
Bulma's fingers flew across the holographic keyboard: Give me thirty seconds... twenty-five...
On the other side of the base, the battle between Vegeta and Frieza had reached a fever pitch. Purple and red energies intertwined in the air, each collision triggering a small earthquake. The crystal on Vegeta's forehead shone brightly as he clasped his hands together, forming a massive ball of energy.
Ultimate Flash!
The energy wave blasted towards Frieza, who sneered. The red crystal on his chest suddenly split into countless red energy lines, forming a giant net in the air that gradually neutralized Vegeta's attack.
"It's no use, Vegeta," Frieza scoffed. "My system has already analyzed all your attack patterns."
Now! Bulma pressed the last button.
The time-space bracelet and the system sample simultaneously emitted a blinding blue light, and an energy pulse shot directly at the red crystal on Frieza's chest. Frieza's mechanical body suddenly stiffened, and the system core flickered erratically.
What?! Frieza's electronic eyes flashed wildly; this was unacceptable—
Vegeta didn't let the opportunity slip by. He instantly teleported in front of Frieza, his right hand wreathed in extremely concentrated destructive energy, and pierced straight through Frieza's chest.
"This is for Namek," Vegeta said coldly, crushing the red crystal.
Frieza's mechanical body erupted with countless sparks as he let out a defiant roar: No... impossible... my system... my empire... With a deafening explosion, his body shattered into pieces.
"Run!" Bulma pulled Lin Ye towards the secret passage. Frieza's self-destruction would trigger a chain reaction, and the entire base would collapse!
They had just rushed into the tunnel when a series of explosions rang out behind them. The tunnel shook violently, and rubble kept falling from the ceiling.
Turn left ahead! Bulma pointed out the way; my spaceship is right there—
Her words came to an abrupt halt. A huge piece of concrete crashed down on her head. Lin Ye shoved her aside, but was grazed on the shoulder and fell heavily to the ground.
Lin Ye! Bulma knelt beside him.
"It's nothing," Lin Ye gritted his teeth and stood up; it was just a superficial injury. "Keep going!"
They finally arrived at a small hangar at the end of the passage, where a sleek, silver spaceship was parked. Bulma quickly entered the activation code, and the hatch hissed open.
"Get in!" She pushed Lin Ye into the spaceship. "We have to leave Earth immediately!"
Just as the hatch was about to close, a purple energy wave blocked it. Vegeta floated outside the spaceship, the crystal on his forehead still shimmering faintly.
"Trying to leave without saying goodbye?" he asked coldly.
Bulma rolled her eyes: We saved your life, Vegeta.
Vegeta snorted and floated into the spaceship: Frieza's fleet is still in orbit. You can't get out without me.
The spaceship began to shake violently, and large sections of the rock on top began to collapse.
"No time to argue!" Lin Ye shouted, "Take off!"
Bulma rushed to the pilot's seat, her fingers flying across the control panel. The spaceship's engines roared, and in the final second before the base completely collapsed, it burst out of the underground space and sped towards the blood-red sky.
Chapter 104 The Battle of Twins
The spacetime rift twisted and deformed before Lin Ye, and the star-shaped mark on his left palm burned with pain. When his vision cleared again, he found himself standing in a desolate desert—but the sand here was purple, and two suns hung in the sky.
I've finally found you. A familiar voice came from behind me.
Lin Ye turned around abruptly and saw Vegeta from the main universe hovering in mid-air, his battle suit severely damaged and his face bearing unhealed wounds.
Vegeta? What's wrong with you?
Before he could finish speaking, a golden energy wave suddenly descended from the sky. Vegeta quickly pushed Lin Ye away, but was himself thrown dozens of meters by the explosion.
Hahaha, what a touching reunion! Mechanical laughter echoed through the desert. Mirror Vegeta stepped out of the spatial rift, his body fully repaired, covered in black armor, with a glowing system core embedded in his chest.
Vegeta from the main universe wiped the blood from his mouth and stood up: "Leave this imposter to me. You go find the spacetime anchor; the two universes are merging!"
Lin Ye then noticed the unusual surroundings—Teyvat's unique Star Snails and Namekian plants were growing in the desert at the same time, and Liyue's Geo elemental imprints would occasionally flash across the sky.
Trying to run? Mirror Vegeta raises his hand and summons hundreds of mechanical Friezas. Kill him!
The mechanical army swarmed in. Just as Lin Ye was about to engage, Vegeta from the main universe unleashed a dazzling golden light: Get out of the way! He transformed into Super Saiyan Blue, and a single energy wave destroyed half of the mechanical soldiers.
"Hurry!" Vegeta shouted, "Go find Bulma!"
Lin Ye gritted his teeth, turned around, and summoned wind elements to accelerate towards the faintly visible outline of the city in the distance. A deafening explosion came from behind him, and two terrifying energies collided in the center of the desert, causing the space to crack like a spiderweb in glass.
The streets of West City are even more fragmented than those of the Mirror Universe. Lin Ye wanders through the ruins, discovering that the buildings here possess both Earth-style architecture and Teyvat features, with roadside billboards displaying composite advertisements for Rebirth Hall's Rebirth Packages and Universal Capsules.